Chapter 140: Hero? – 2

Chapter 140: Hero? – 2

When I first saw it, that being was insignificant.

Just a human, nothing more. That was all.

It seemed to be entangled with a being from another world, but it was nothing more than that, just a human.

That was the only reason I didn’t pay much attention when that human created items imbued with power from another world, which they called ‘potions.’

Naturally, it wasn’t because of that human, but because I was in the middle of a very important plan, and I didn’t want to get into a fight with a being who could arbitrarily insert a human into my world.

Moreover, the child who was doing an excellent job as a ‘prophet’ had taken an interest and approached that human on her own, so there was even less reason to pay attention.

And so, time passed.

At some point, the prophet began to say that the prophecies were not coming true.

This was impossible in a world where everything was under my control. Therefore, at first, I thought it was due to the prophet’s lack of ability and did not respond.

However… something began to go strangely wrong. Unlike before, when everything was in the palm of my hand, unnecessary and impossible ‘variables’ began to appear.

Because of this, I temporarily stopped what I was doing and observed the human world.

Honestly, I was very surprised at that point.

The Duke, who should have died, was alive and once again influencing the Empire, and as a result, the Duchess, who should have gone mad, was growing up under the Duke’s protection.

The Saintess, who should have been completely unaware of her true nature, was realizing she was a fake and trying to change the world.

In addition, due to items that shouldn’t exist in the world, the number of adventurers dying was gradually decreasing, and the world, which was clearly my world, was slowly slipping out of my control.

“…This cannot be.”

It had been a plan long in the making. Even for me, the creator of the world, pitting humans and monsters against each other was not an easy task.

Moreover… I had to deceive both humans and monsters, which made it even harder.

Occasionally, very occasionally… it was also troublesome to quietly deal with beings who saw through my intentions.

Well, even they didn’t know the facts I had deliberately concealed.

In any case, it was true that things were going badly.

“Elena, my prophet.”

“…!! Yes! My God! Speak!”

“I looked into the child who, as I mentioned before, does not appear in the future.”

“Then, what will you do with that girl’s fate?”

The current prophet was a clever child, and she obeyed only me, not the church or other humans.

It was natural. I had personally selected a clever child and deliberately showed her prophecies from a young age, separating her from her family.

During the First Great War, there were inconveniences because the prophet was attached to the church, so this time, I simply separated her from the church.

In that process, her family became the Pope, and she herself could hear God’s voice directly, so there could be no greater glory than this.

Recalling the absolute truth that was not even worth doubting, I commanded.

“If we bring her to our side, she will have some use. Try to recruit her.”

“…If she doesn’t agree to be recruited…”

“You’re asking again, unlike yourself. Of course, she will be executed. Have you developed a personal fondness for that human?”

She flinched for a moment at those words, but the prophet eventually agreed to follow my command.

It was a very subtle movement, but it was far from the prophet’s usual blind obedience to my words.

……Indeed, that human is dangerous. One by one, small but clear, my control over the world is weakening.

Since a human of that caliber wouldn’t follow my request to join me anyway, my intention was essentially to kill her and end it.

Of course, when the prophet met that human, I didn’t know that human would be holding the Holy Sword.

Because that troublesome human kept changing the future and overturning my script, I temporarily ‘discarded’ the originally destined Hero and created a new one, which is why she can’t even manage her own belongings properly.

Well… since humans are destined to be annihilated along with monsters anyway, it doesn’t really matter if the Hero is that incompetent.

“…Tsk. I don’t know what that Holy Sword is doing, clinging to her. Come to your master.”

And so, I summoned the Hero, who had once dealt with the Demon King with me.

That foolish fellow who thought I had granted him life as the Holy Sword in recognition of his achievements as the Hero.

The truth? It was just a hassle to clean up afterwards. The Great War, the Hero, and the Demon King were all just a play for me.

Even if I could know the future of the world and control it, I couldn’t control every single creation, so inevitable cleanup was necessary.

At that time, I judged that the fellow now trapped in the Holy Sword, being excessively righteous, could become troublesome if he learned unnecessary truths.

The problem began there.

Though not as much as the prophet, the Holy Sword, after hearing my plan, rebelled against me.

…Honestly, I didn’t expect it. It had been a long time since I had trapped the former Hero in the Holy Sword and neglected him, so I thought his uselessly righteous personality would have faded.

It should have been that way in the first place, and only such futures existed and were observed.

“Hah…… Is it that human again?”

If I had my way, I would have dealt with that human immediately.

Dealing with that human, who was somewhat protected by a being from another world, was difficult but not impossible. It would require a lot of power, but it wasn’t impossible.

This is my world, my domain. Here, one can approach me, but not be stronger than me.

However…… if I used power to kill that human now, it was obvious that the ‘Demon King’ would not be able to endure it.

The prophet already knew this fact, so even after being defeated by that human, she would wait for the right time, only asking for commands.

“Tiring, this dog-shit too.”

I spoke with the prophet in front, and secretly poured power into the Demon King.

Foolish humans believe their God and the monster’s God are different.

Meaning, they were spouting the utterly novel bullshit that there were two creators in one world.

In the first place, whether human or monster, they are all creations of this world, and I, the creator and God of the world, made them all.

“Tsk. I made a mistake during the First Great War. There was no need to distinguish between the Demon God and the human God.”

During the First Great War, I created a ‘Hero’ for humans—a human who was a little stronger and didn’t die as easily as others.

The reason? I wanted to gain more praise from humans, who were then preoccupied with fighting monsters, and draw out their faith.

As I wished, humans praised me, and I did similar things for monsters, with similar results.

And then, they started fighting each other arbitrarily. That was the First Great War of this world.

During the Great War, I remained thoroughly an observer.

No, to be more precise… I used the prophet to incite the war and granted each race only a tiny bit of what they desperately wished for.

A being like God grows stronger the more beings believe in and worship them.

Therefore, I never disliked fanatics. They were like the source of my power.

That’s why I incited the Great War. When else would there be more fanatics and deeper faith in God than during a war?

What if that God… granted what they desperately cried out for?

And so, whether as the human God or the Demon God, I spent each day intoxicated by the ever-increasing faith.

As faith grew, this world came even more under my control, which in turn helped me manipulate the Great War to my liking and extract more faith.

If I continued to grow in power like this, I would be able to completely own and control this world. I could even make all life move and live according to my will.

……However, as the Great War continued, both humans and monsters grew exhausted, and as their absolute numbers decreased, the faith that had been growing daily eventually began to dwindle at a certain point.

At that point, I acknowledged this inevitable necessity and stopped the Great War. The victor? Naturally, it was the humans, who had generated more faith.

And now, after a long time has passed. Humans are ungratefully forgetting my grace, and faith is gradually fading.

If I had my way, I would have started a Great War long ago to punish them… but the defeated monsters were too foolish and couldn’t generate proper faith.

Therefore, it took a long time to create a being who could extract faith from monsters, that is, a new Demon King.

Even the martial aspect is still incomplete, to the point where I have to directly supply power.

Because of this, I’m finally trying to start the Great War again… but some strange human has fallen in and is ruining everything.

Dealing with her using the prophet is also difficult. The prophet doesn’t particularly want to eliminate that human right now.

Even if a variable appears in the prophecy, she still has the complacent thought that there isn’t a dangerous enemy yet.

In the first place, the prophet only knows that I am the same being as the Demon God, but she believes my purpose is the formation of an ultimate paradise.

There’s no reason for me to talk about faith or anything like that to the prophet anyway. The prophet is merely a convenient tool, so it was natural for her not to know my true intentions.

“…It’s troublesome, but I’ll have to go back. I’ll cut off her limbs first to render her incapable.”

Therefore, I looked to meddle with that troublesome human’s surroundings and found a suitable candidate.

It was the Saintess created by the church, with absolutely no input from me.

It had always bothered me that a being I hadn’t designated was receiving a portion of the faith that should be mine, so this was a chance to get rid of her.

And so, I whispered into the Pope’s ear. To deal with the Saintess.

The Pope, as always, faithfully followed my command.

Ah, indeed, what a comfortable sight this is.

I truly wish everything in the world were always in the palm of my hand like this.

My creations daring to disobey my will. Such bothersome and unlawful things are now unnecessary in my world.

This is a process to achieve that, and a sacrifice of my creations.

Ultimately, it is my world, and it is mine. The sacrifices of my creations that occur in that process are no problem at all.

Since I made them, it is natural for me to use them as tools.

In the first place, wouldn’t they not even exist if it weren’t for me? This world is solely mine, and exists only for me.