chapter_0176

Aria’s words didn’t register in my mind. All my senses were focused on the divine power emanating from her hand.

It was a light that would make any ordinary priest or nun seem like a candle in front of the sun, and it was no less dazzling than Rosalia’s, who had been personally chosen by the Goddess as the Saint.

“How……?”

“I just told you. This is our fate.”

Aria smiled brightly.

“When the divine power that had disappeared along with the Saint’s miracle returned, I gained this power as well. I had to hide it until now. I’m sorry, even from Leona. I didn’t know why I had awakened divine power myself. But as soon as I heard that you were going to the Demon God’s domain, I realized. I gained this power to help you, Mr. Mira. Because that’s what we’re meant to do. It’s our fate.”

The divine power had returned when the Saint’s miracle, mediated by the Holy Lance, had restored Rosalia’s divine power.

I still didn’t know why the other priests had regained their powers, but on top of that, Aria had also awakened divine power of a magnitude comparable to, or perhaps even greater than, Rosalia’s?

‘Why?’

In the current situation, Aria was living a rather ordinary life at the Academy, unlike the original story. Thanks to me, Leona had already awakened and was actively fulfilling her role as the hero, but Aria hadn’t.

Most of the events that were supposed to happen in the original story had been preemptively resolved by me, so Bellium Academy hadn’t been destroyed, and Laura hadn’t died.

Crucially, Rosalia had taken a completely different path from the original, so the Goddess hadn’t chosen Aria as the next Saint. So how did this happen?

‘Because she’s the protagonist?’

Was it because Aria was the protagonist of the novel that formed the foundation of this world? Was she born with this ‘fate’ because she was meant to be the protagonist?

“You look very surprised, Mr. Mira.”

Aria, who had been standing right in front of me, smiled mischievously.

“I understand. I was also very surprised when I first manifested my divine power. But not anymore. I’m not surprised or hesitant anymore because I know what I have to do. I have to help you, Mr. Mira. I want to use this power for you first and foremost. It will definitely be of help. I won’t let you down, so please.”

The eyes that looked at me burned with intense will. I had never seen Aria so strongly wishing for something. She was determined not to accept any refusal, no matter what.

“……Alright.”

After a long internal debate, I nodded heavily.

If Aria had indeed awakened divine power simply because she was the protagonist of the novel, taking her with me wouldn’t be a hindrance. I intended to keep her by my side and watch over her, just in case.

“Thank you, Mr. Mira!”

A smile, more radiant and beautiful than any I had ever seen from Aria, bloomed on her face.

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“You’re going to defeat the Demon God…… Very well. You might actually be able to do it. After all, you defeated that Mahbath, didn’t you? It’s not an answer I like very much, but I don’t think you’ll listen to me if I try to stop you. Instead, I have something to say. Do you remember when I said you would grant me any wish? I’m using that right now. Come back alive, no matter what. I don’t want to experience the pain of parting with someone dear to me twice.”

“Since it’s your decision, I won’t stop you. It’s fine. If anything happens to you, I can just follow you. I have no intention of eating anyone else’s life force. I’ve never heard of a Queen starving to death, and I don’t know how long it will take, but the Queen is a being that cycles anyway, right? I’ll just think of it as starting that cycle a little earlier. Go and come back. I’ll be waiting for you.”

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After saying goodbye to the Chairman and Nika, I returned to find Aria cautiously gauging my reaction.

“Um…… Mr. Mira. Can I ask you one thing, if it’s okay?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Do you not need to tell your family or Beatrice? Especially Beatrice, she seems to care about you a lot……”

“No. I’m not going to die or anything. I’ll be back soon, so why bother worrying them unnecessarily? It’s not like I can just tell them I’m fine. I already told the Chairman and Nika that I’m fine, and I’ve told my family the same. It’s fine.”

In the end, I was lying to my parents and Beatrice, but since I’ve already been lying to them about so many things, adding one more won’t make a difference. After all, the fact that I’m a possessor is a secret in itself.

“What about you? Aren’t you going to contact Leona?”

“I’m fine too. For the same reason as you. We seem to have something in common in that regard. Maybe it’s fate.”

A radiant smile returned to her face. The Aria who had been cautiously observing me a moment ago was gone.

“……Are you ready?”

Aria clenched her fist.

“Yes. Don’t worry about me. I’m already determined. I won’t be a burden to you, Mr. Mira.”

Why was Aria so insistent on following me? Was it really because of fate, as she claimed? With her divine power awakened, I couldn’t outright distrust her, but something about the situation felt irritatingly vague.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

I took out the peculiar item the Demon God had given me and held it in my hand. Following the instructions that flowed into my mind, I drew a line in the air with my arm. A red line appeared in the air, and the line slowly widened, revealing a pitch-black space beyond it. It was a dimensional gate connecting to the Demon God’s domain. After exchanging glances with Aria, I stepped through the gap between the lines.

Beyond the gate was a space that was different from both the Demon World and the Heavenly Realm. The sky, stained black, gave the place an entirely different atmosphere, though it resembled the Heavenly Realm in many ways. In fact, it was so similar that I was surprised.

“It’s awfully quiet.”

“Yeah.”

The Demon God had said that she would welcome me as soon as I arrived, but there was no sign of a welcome ceremony, let alone its presence.

‘Could it be that she got angry and left because I rejected her proposal?’

That seemed unlikely.

Probably.

“……Let’s keep walking for now. We can’t just turn back because it’s a little quieter than expected.”

We searched the Demon God’s domain with Aria, but no matter where we went, we only found similar landscapes. The Demon God itself was nowhere to be seen.

I looked down at the item in my hand. By now, I was starting to suspect that this world itself might be a trap.

“Mr. Mira, look over there!”

Aria’s urgent voice broke the silence. I turned my head to see a building that hadn’t been there before in the distance. It looked familiar.

‘Why is that here?’

It was almost identical to the temple I had seen in the Heavenly Realm, where the Goddess was imprisoned. The only difference was that this one was black instead of pale white.

“I was keeping an eye out in case something like this happened, and it suddenly appeared. It wasn’t here before……”

“There must have been a barrier that only reveals itself when you enter a certain area. It seems the condition is different here, though.”

I wasn’t surprised, having already experienced the temple in the Heavenly Realm appearing and disappearing right before my eyes.

I took a moment to calm Aria down and then proceeded towards the temple. The more I approached, the more uneasy I felt. The temple was strangely similar to the one in the Heavenly Realm.

The door opened just as easily as it had in the Heavenly Realm. I hid Aria behind me and cautiously stepped inside.

“……Huh?”

And there, on the throne, I found a woman’s corpse, bound in chains with a hole in her chest.

“What……?”

Confusion washed over me. How could it have died, and so soon after sending its avatar to invite me here? And why did it look exactly like the Goddess?

“Is that the Demon God?”

Aria’s voice trembled. It seemed she hadn’t expected this situation either.

“……I don’t know either. Let’s find out.”

I approached the corpse on the throne. Chains bound the woman to the throne, and the ends of the chains extended to the ceiling, walls, and floor, fixing them in place.

Just like the Goddess.

The blood that had flowed from the hole in her chest had already dried. I cast a detection spell. There was no trace of the being that had pierced her chest. I maintained the spell as I observed the corpse.

‘Is this really the Demon God?’

The more I looked, the more doubtful I became. The height, for one, was significantly different from what I remembered of the avatar.

It was hard to tell for sure because of the loose-fitting robe, but it seemed at least as tall as me, if not taller. The avatar I had seen before had been noticeably shorter than me, by at least a head’s length. I began to suspect that this might not be the same being as the avatar I had encountered.

The avatar could have changed its appearance to be different from its main body, but I didn’t see the point in doing so. After all, the Goddess’s avatar and main body had looked identical.

‘How tall was that avatar again?’

I tried to estimate its height in my mind. It had been wearing a billowing robe, so it was hard to tell for sure, but definitely……

“Why are you acting like this, Mr. Mira?”

Aria, who was about as tall as me, tilted her head in confusion at my gaze.

“It’s nothing. Just…… be careful. If this really is the Demon God’s corpse, the being that did this to it might be nearby.”

“Yes, I’ll be……”

Before Aria could finish her sentence, we heard footsteps outside the temple. The detection spell I had cast earlier indicated that someone was approaching.

I furrowed my brow. The fact that they had appeared right in front of us without my detection spell picking them up earlier meant that they had either intentionally revealed themselves or used teleportation.

Either way, it wasn’t a good sign.

“Get ready to fight, Aria.”

Golden and blue lights flared up on either side of me. The door, which had closed automatically when we entered, swung open again. Someone walked in.

“……”

However, their appearance was very different from what I had expected.