Ch.305Epilogue – And Everyone Lived Moderately Ever After (1)

The wall had collapsed. The vain dream of the Industrial Spirit King died with a single star burst by the resurrected Sun God. The redness of the dying star quickly faded as sunlight began to pour in.

The wall that hadn’t even been scratched when multiple dragons gathered to breathe fire and ram it with their magic-infused bodies pathetically collapsed under its own weight when the dream crumbled.

No fragments fell to the ground. Intense poison and flames—not comparable to a god’s but powerful nonetheless—vaporized the debris, while other dragons used gravity magic to prevent even small pieces from falling.

Michael let out a hollow laugh. It wasn’t meant to mock. From his perspective, the situation was genuinely amusing.

“It’s ridiculously simple to handle. Without divine power, I would have been playing with the Industrial Spirit King’s head like dogs playing with balls in Central Park on a Sunday afternoon.”

He could feel Rose giggling in his arms. And he could also feel something much more unpleasant. Someone was clearing their throat behind them.

Michael wasn’t the type to be bothered by throat-clearing, but this one carried divine power. Behind him stood a woman with short black hair in an immaculate suit that seemed out of place amid the disaster.

She whispered to him quietly so others couldn’t hear. It was somewhat considerate.

“The Lord’s love, the Lord’s authority, the Lord’s glory. I’m Agent Joan from the Divine Security Bureau. I believe you know why I’m here. I’ll escort you to a quieter place. There are too many people here.”

Her tone was closer to a request than an order. Because of this, Michael nodded in response rather than drawing out his divine power. It was purely out of courtesy.

Rose looked back and forth between the woman and Michael. She clearly said she was from the Divine Security Bureau. And the Industrial Spirit King, who had possessed divine power, had been destroyed.

This might have been the first time Rose figured out the truth faster than Michael could come up with an excuse. Perhaps it had happened more often, but to him, it felt like the first time. Everything did.

Since they were the kind of people who could communicate just by looking at each other, Michael sighed. After stroking Rose’s lemon-colored hair as if trying to hold it in his palm, he spoke.

“Take this woman too. She seems to have figured out what’s going on, so have her sign a confidentiality agreement or put an embargo on her. Your esteemed superiors would have prepared for this already.”

“Of course. Come with me.”

The Divine Security Bureau agent led them into an undamaged apartment. To others, it appeared as if they had simply vanished—disappeared while they weren’t looking.

The room she brought them to was covered in terminal red bloodstains and black oil marks, but the kitchen table remained intact. Three of the six chairs were broken, but three were fine.

The divine power had prepared this. Seeing the apartment door of room 104 with its broken hinges perfectly closed, Michael felt there was no reason to hide anymore and drew his pocket knife.

He didn’t draw it to stab. He turned it once. It became his gladius. It was something Rose had seen before.

The detective spoke to her as if revealing the truth about the Argonne Invincibles. The atmosphere was lighter this time. Because this time, he hadn’t failed. The sky and sun were visible—that was success.

“I used connection ritual again with the blood I got from killing Sol Invictus. When I used Bunyan, my comrade, as a sacrifice, I gained human power… but when I sacrificed that petty and weak divine power, I gained the power of a god. This is my gladius. This is my divine power, and Sol Invictus is my name. Got it? I’d appreciate it if you kept quiet about anything else I might need to explain.”

Only then did Rose understand what Michael had done. He had taken on his worst curse again. Last time, he had made a regrettable choice out of fear, but this time, it seemed different.

The Divine Security Bureau agent sitting across from him placed her hand on her chest. She didn’t speak. Michael’s expression showed no regret. Rose’s hand tightened around his.

At that slight sensation, Michael clicked his tongue twice. The Divine Security Bureau agent, who had been about to take documents from inside her jacket, nodded quietly and waited.

They were not equals, nor was the Divine Security Bureau agent in a superior position. A god who refused to be worshipped could command that much respect.

This woman worries too much, Michael thought to himself. She’s worried that just as I was stuck on a day in 1918, I might now be stuck on December 31, 1924. He pulled Rose closer.

The winter light was warm, the blood on the floor too red, and the oil too black. Michael whispered while gently holding Rose’s head. The Divine Security Bureau agent couldn’t hear the whispered words.

She had no right to, and Michael had the right to make his words audible only to Rose. Michael lightly extended his hand to point at the sun outside the window.

“Don’t worry. After we go around that little fireball once, January 1, 1925, will come for me too. You know I’m not stupid enough to think that when you drunkenly said you wanted me to be Michael Husband of December 4, 1924, you meant you wanted me to stop at that day.”

Rose answered, but the Divine Security Bureau agent couldn’t hear her voice either. She felt slightly uneasy. That man was handling divine power extremely well.

He looked like a skilled worker using a tool. Indeed, he was. She should have been afraid of thinking of divine power as a useful tool… but she could easily tell that the God-President hadn’t condemned his actions simply to avoid causing a second disturbance in New York after the disaster.

So she took out the God-President’s letter that was routinely given to unworshipped gods arriving in America. The content hadn’t changed since 1776. It never did.

“Ahem. What I’m about to convey is a message from the God-President. Please listen carefully.”

As she unfolded the letter, her voice took on a hint of divine power. It was the same principle as when Gancan borrowed fragments of divine power from The Morrígan for his missions. She opened her mouth to deliver the message.

“Welcome, my brother. I hope you enjoyed your journey here. I am a god who neither calms the storms nor covers the sun, but that should have been enough for you.”

Yes, it was a long journey indeed. Michael knew this letter was merely a formality. He was always an observing divine power.

“If I caused storms and poured down rain and lightning, please forgive me. I did so because I knew you would reach this place despite it all. Or perhaps I believed that was the only way you could reach here. You know I’m not foolish enough to do such things out of malice.”

Only then did Michael feel discomfort. The God-President had made a mistake with him. He had shown him how he could heal his wounds with a simple command to rise and walk.

Seeing that, Michael had spat out hatred and refused the salvation the God-President offered, declaring he would not be saved by another’s hand. He could somewhat ruminate on his blind hatred for the God-President.

What if that was why the connection ritual worked? What if he was able to steal his power because he had shed his old hatred and come to understand the God-President a little? Michael clicked his tongue.

The Omnipotent is truly omnipotent. Agent Joan of the Divine Security Bureau knew that all other unworshipped gods would also click their tongues at this moment. She continued.

“But now you have weathered those storms and stand here. This is a place where you can live as you please. You can cast off the divine power that reduces us to less than humans, slaves to worship and divine power. Knowing the future has made us suffer from anxiety, and being able to do anything has corrupted us just as power corrupts people.”

Knowing the future… Sol Invictus had seen a vision during the fight and burst into maniacal laughter, giving Michael the opportunity for a final strike. He had left power for Michael because he had seen this moment.

“But not anymore. You can live in seclusion. If you haven’t tasted human life until now, you can start tasting it from today. This country is quite a good place for people to live.”

Strangely, the God-President’s letter to unworshipped gods never included any stern warnings about not using divine power. One could live perfectly well after setting aside divine power.

Just as divine power tempted humans, humanity also tempted gods. The humanity of only being responsible for oneself and being able to make choices for oneself was sweet.

Until now, unworshipped gods who had heard the contents of this letter had stepped down from their position as gods to reach the position of humans, but Michael had desperately climbed up to hear these words.

Nevertheless, it felt natural. It felt as natural as if it had been written specifically for the listener. Michael was now confused about whether this was something to be displeased about. Still, he nodded.

The letter wasn’t long. It was a simple, formal welcome letter. Though it wouldn’t have been so for the unworshipped gods who had heard its contents.

“So, welcome. This country welcomes you, today welcomes you. You are liberated. More precisely, you have cast off your own shackles.”

Only then did Agent Joan of the Divine Security Bureau close the letter, carefully insert it back into the envelope, seal it, and hand it to Michael. She added as if it were an afterthought.

“Ah, many people ask this… This letter wasn’t written specifically for you. The content has never changed since it was first established in the late 18th century. Does that answer your question?”

Michael decided to be sarcastic once more. The days when he had nothing to give the world but sarcasm were gone, but this was something that deserved sarcasm.

“Yes. That’s a sufficient answer. It’s very rational to think that the omniscient God-President didn’t know which unworshipped gods would come to America, so he wrote something suitable for everyone. Could you please ask him if he couldn’t convey his will in a less creepy way?”

“He knew you would ask that, yet he didn’t change his method. That’s the kind of person our omniscient superior is. You can put it away now. I didn’t come to warn you not to use divine power. Though you seem to have thought so.”

Only then did Michael twirl the gladius in his hand. He slipped the pocket knife, which now showed no trace of divine power, back into his pocket.

She had come to let him know that there was no need to use divine power. She had come to tell him that only human duties and responsibilities remained.

But Michael was a cautious person. He spoke while cramming Sol Invictus’s divine power inside him. Agent Joan wanted to click her tongue. In an instant, not a trace of divine power could be felt.

“Unlike the unworshipped gods who came here, I was born human, so I might take it out and use it if necessary? If I don’t like aging, I might bring out divine power to restore smooth skin.”

Agent Joan snorted at that question. It was of little consequence. In a world where magic was commonplace and dragons flew around, adding one more immortal wasn’t a big deal.

“Do as you please. You’re not the type to desire worship. You’ll choose to grow old with the person you love rather than immortality, and just as you handle divine power well enough for me to worry, you handle your body and tools well too, so you won’t really need divine power. Have you ever been so desperate for power in your life before?”

“Never, except this one time.”

What Michael had wanted then was simply life. Agent Joan somewhat rudely shrugged, but Michael didn’t mind.

“Then why do you think you’ll need it more often in the future? You’ll be able to live moderately.”

With those final words, Agent Joan of the Divine Security Bureau politely bowed and left the room first. As she exited, the broken hinges of apartment 104’s door broke again, causing the door itself to fall off.

After staring at the condition of the door, Rose realized it was also the work of the God-President’s divine power and said to Michael. She too was now letting out a slight chuckle.

“So… paperwork? What should we call this? Anyway, is that over now?”

“Seems like it.”

Michael shrugged too. There were still mountains of problems left to solve, but at least it seemed they wouldn’t have to deal with them while being chased by the Divine Security Bureau.