episode_0196

“Why did you call us like this?”

|I did not call you. You came to me on your own accord|

“…”

That makes sense.

I cut through the dimensional crack.

And when I jumped in, I found myself in front of the eyes of the God of the Underworld.

But as I jumped in, I felt a force grabbing and pulling our bodies…

|Perhaps our fate brought us together for this meeting|

“…”

I immediately realized the audacity in that voice.

Indeed, it was the God of the Underworld who had pulled us in.

But then why? Why did the God, who had told me to solve things on my own when I desperately called for help, suddenly summon me like this?

I felt my whole body trembling, cold sweat breaking out.

It wasn’t just because of nervousness.

The pressure that the God of the Underworld was emitting, pressing down on my body as if to crush it, was overwhelming.

“Do you… have something separate to discuss with me?”

|There’s nothing in particular. I simply wish to have a conversation with you|

“By conversation, you mean…”

|You were pondering how to handle the destroyed seat of the Underworld Judge, and I appeared just in time. Wouldn’t it be good to discuss that matter?|

“…”

I wondered what was going on…

Sure enough, the God was angry with me.

The seat of the Underworld Judge had been transferred to me.

But I refused to take responsibility and destroyed it within ‘my world.’

I thought maybe the seat would return to the God of the Underworld…

It seems that once destroyed, the seat will not regenerate.

In the God’s gaze looking down at me, I could sense a hint of deliberation on how to deal with me.

“I… unintentionally destroyed the seat. I am truly sorry…”

|It’s all just a facade. If you stay by my side and assist me, isn’t that the same as being the Judge? Anyway, now that you have returned to my side, let’s start the work. Are you prepared in your heart?|

“Uh…”

Damn.

It seems the reason the God of the Underworld was angry was not because of the destroyed seat, but because I tried to escape.

I can’t help but feel unjust and frustrated no matter how much I think about it.

Why do Satan, the God of the Underworld, and everyone else keep thinking of using me?

“That, that’s… Actually…”

|Hahaha! Just kidding. It’s fine to worry. I won’t force you against your will. Since you will die and be dragged to the Underworld, we will meet again. I won’t be so harsh|

“…”

Was the last part a joke too…?

In the form of a spirit, I could see my future of endlessly repeating tasks by the side of the God of the Underworld.

Let’s live kindly.

Let’s not commit any sins that would lead us to die and be dragged to the Underworld.

I firmly made that promise to myself.

|You seem quite surprised. While I apologize, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will answer anything|

“I have one question. Is it possible to regenerate the destroyed ‘world within me’?”

|It’s impossible|

A clear answer without hesitation.

Once the ‘world within me’ is destroyed, that’s the end of it.

Although I had a hunch from the beginning, receiving confirmation from the God of the Underworld made me acutely aware that I had crossed an irreversible river.

“Then… if I erase the world within me, can the erased ‘existence’ be restored?”

|…|

For the first time, there was a delay in the response to that question.

It was a rare silence in my conversation with the God of the Underworld.

|If there is a way|

“What is it?!”

Hope arose.

I had taken extreme measures to escape the Underworld for now, but…

If I can never recover my ‘existence’ forever, then returning to the present world would be meaningless.

If I cannot keep my promise with the heroines, it is as good as not returning at all.

|Forge your inner world|

“But you said that regeneration is impossible, didn’t you?”

|Regeneration is impossible. However, forging anew from the beginning is entirely possible|

“······!”

If I shatter my inner world, that’s the end of it.

Recreating it is impossible.

But starting anew from scratch seems to be possible.

Of course, it’s never an easy story.

Creating is much more complex and difficult than destroying.

But just the fact that there is hope is enough.

Even if it’s a rough road ahead, just knowing that there is a path in front of me makes me able to step forward without hesitation.

“Thank you. It was very helpful.”

|Are you not going to ask how to forge a new inner world?|

“I think I’ll have to figure that out myself. It’s not an area where there are any tricks, anyway.”

Tricks?

That’s useless.

I’ve known it all along, but I truly realized it after coming to the demon realm.

The essence of swordsmanship.

And the way to infuse magic.

Teaching all these tricks may seem easy, but it only makes things more confusing.

If I had taught my past self the trick to condense and destroy ‘my inner world’, I would have been stuck obsessing over that trick and never succeeded.

The important thing is not those side paths but the core.

If you keep looking for shortcuts, you may benefit a few times, but eventually, you’ll fall into a deep pit and won’t be able to get out.

In the end, only those who diligently follow the right path reach the final destination.

That’s why Tran Silvia gave me the instruction to ‘infuse the sword’ and why Astharoth told me to ‘infuse magic’.

If I ever have to teach someone, my words will probably not be much different.

|That’s······. It doesn’t seem like an enlightenment that a mere mortal could obtain. Talking like a soul that has been silent for thousands of years, are you really someone who has only lived one life?|

“······!”

|Hahaha. Fooled again. Where is the audacious one who repeatedly breaks down the essence of the world by living multiple lives? It’s my job to catch those who deviate from the essence and bring them back to the right path, but I can’t see such a person right now. Either their existence has been erased or they have been annihilated······. As an incompetent god of the afterlife, I have no idea who that person is or where they are|

“······.”

The gaze staring at me seems to contain a bit more anger.

My body trembles uncontrollably.

I’ve been caught, after all.

Even if I haven’t been caught, it’s clear that I’m not just an ordinary mortal, as he suspects.

But the god of the afterlife just stares at me.

As he said, I have been erased, and I don’t exist in this world.

I’m right in front of him, but I’m beyond the influence of the god of the afterlife.

“If I ever come across that audacious one, I will report it to the god of the afterlife.”

|Please do. If possible, I would like to meet them as a spirit after death. If they are in a state of a spirit, I might be able to figure out how they deviated from the essence, how their existence was erased but they still roam around perfectly fine|

“Y-yes······.”

He makes a creepy sound.

‘Figure it out’······.

A spirit is not a machine.

‘Let’s live a good life.’

I must never die and come to the afterlife.

No matter what!

I firmly engrave this in my mind as I look at the god of the afterlife, who seems slightly disappointed.

“Then let’s look forward to the next meeting. It seems like your body can’t handle any more than this.”

“Yes. I have one more question. It seems like the Divine Realm does not interfere with mortals unless they deviate from the laws… So, why did you retrieve Velfegor, who was wandering through dimensional rifts, and why did you pull me here?”

“Why do you think I pulled you here?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you not think that you pulled me here? What is attraction? It is the force that pulls each other. It does not work if only one side pulls.”

“…!”

It was only then that I realized.

The reason why the Divine Realm knew that we would meet again someday.

It was because I had noticed the force pulling the Divine Realm towards me.

The source of that force was probably what Satan referred to as a ‘being familiar with death.’

Even though my identity had been completely erased.

A ‘being familiar with death’ seemed to be something that could not be completely separated from me as long as I did not perish.

‘The force has always been pulling me…’

I think I understand now.

A force that was so strong that I could feel it in my body was not the only force.

There were other forces, big and small, pulling me from different directions.

One of them was the force of attraction towards the Divine Realm.

It was because of that force that I arrived in front of the Divine Realm as soon as I crossed dimensions from the Demon Realm.

So, isn’t there a place other than the Divine Realm that is always pulling me?

‘The connection in the mortal world is pulling me!’

I feel it.

Until now, I had never even been aware of the concept of attraction.

But now, I can feel the big and small forces pulling me from various places.

Perhaps, the force pulling me from the Demon Realm.

The force pulling me from the Divine Realm.

The force pulling me from the mortal world.

And also… a strong force pulling me from somewhere unknown.

[The system window appeared in front of me.]

Perhaps because my existence had been erased, the system window had completely shut down.

‘Somehow, I feel like I can manipulate attraction.’

Until recently, attraction was just a vague concept to me.

Now, I feel confident that I can manipulate it.

If there is no attraction in a certain place, I cannot be pulled there at all.

But if there is even a faint presence, I feel like I can be pulled towards it.

“Thanks to you, I have gained enlightenment. I have found a clue to head towards the mortal world.”

“You keep coming and going on your own, gaining enlightenment and leaving. I am really looking forward to when you return to the Divine Realm. It is the first time that a lifespan of less than a hundred years feels so long.”

“Hahaha…”

I’m sorry, but I will never return to the Divine Realm again.

I forced a smile with that meaning and infused magic into my fingertips.

The sense of impending danger that my blood would boil and I would die if I stayed a little longer was slowly creeping up on me.

“Stay well.”

I saluted and slashed through the air with magic.

And then, a vast emptiness unfolded before me.

I grabbed the hands of the beings blocking my vision and hearing on both sides and jumped inside.

‘I will focus on the force that pulls me towards the mortal world, and the force that I pull towards the mortal world.’

Just like how I unintentionally left the Demon Realm and pulled the Divine Realm towards me to appear in front of him.

Dragging the present strongly will lead to the present.

Of course, even if the god of the afterlife plays “cruel jokes” and keeps pulling me towards him, no matter how hard I try, I will continue to be pulled towards him, but such jokes are enough with just one time.

After all, jokes are not meant to be repeated twice.

“What happens if you go towards the unknown place pulling you?”

Among the forces coming towards me, I shuddered upon discovering the unknown.

And it’s not just one, but several.

Where on earth is this pulling force coming from?

“No way…?”

Perhaps it could be a force pulling me from the real world.

As that thought crossed my mind, a sudden longing arose.

I want to go back.

I don’t know where it is or if it’s a safe place, but the hope of being able to return to reality momentarily paralyzed my brain.

“No. The promise comes first.”

But I quickly regained my composure.

There must be a reason why I escaped the afterlife by erasing my existence.

To return to the heroines.

It was because I didn’t want to see them cry.

“It’s been about a week, right? I got out faster than I thought. Please be safe…”

The force pulling towards the present is gradually increasing.

The ties pulling me are getting stronger.

And in the next moment.

The once darkened vision was suddenly filled with bright light.