“…G.o.dmother?”
“You remember me.”
Of course I remember.
The meeting with G.o.dmother had been a big shock to me. Her mana was strong enough to make the surrounding air flicker with a huge fox’s appearance. To protect her species, she used curses and ghosts to kill people while asleep, and her status was an apostle of the G.o.d of Devotion. G.o.dmother was the divine being who had remembered our first encounter.
Her ability at that time seemed G.o.d-like enough to me. Then again, I had tried to attack her with a knife. Admittedly, I had been out of my mind.
“How did you become a G.o.d if you were on that stage?”
“Because I’ve been outside.”
I couldn’t believe she’d been outside from the start. It was challenging to comprehend.
“What’s your name?”
Before inquiring more, I asked the ident.i.ty of G.o.dmother, who was now a G.o.d. If you wanted to know about a G.o.d, you must get to know his or her name. A G.o.d’s name spoke for his or her ident.i.ty.
“Sacrifice.”
As expected, I was glad that I’d asked for her name. I could figure out a lot just by hearing G.o.dmother’s name.
“I thought the G.o.d of Devotion designed the 61st floor.”
“He was involved on the 19th floor—the place where you and I met. No, wait, there’s a catch. It’s where you and my remnants met.”
The remnants of a disaster.
Instead of transforming and becoming a G.o.d, did you throw away impurities and achieve G.o.dhood?
The G.o.dmother I had met was training to become an apostle.
Perhaps, somewhere on the 19th-floor stage, there was still a G.o.dmother who was training and intending to become an apostle, in repeated time; however, G.o.dmother’s body had gone beyond that of an apostle and ascended the throne of G.o.dhood. She described her past self as a remnant.
The G.o.dmother on the 19th floor was abandoned, bound there for eternity. The main body was left in its useful position, like a foothold for higher goals.
“Isn’t it fun?”
“Fun?”
“Your situation. Doesn’t it resemble mine? This stage was originally designed to be like that. You and this woman are the first challengers to go through the same process as me. The winner goes up, and the loser stays here forever,” the G.o.dmother said with a smile, in a calm tone.
She pointed at Lee Yeon-hee, who was standing next to her.
Because of the presence of a G.o.d standing right next to her, Lee Yeon-hee kept feeling uncomfortable. Maybe she saw my relationship with G.o.dmother’s remnants and thought of worse outcomes.
“Don’t be so angry. I mean nothing to you. I’m also a Pre-Vaccine G.o.d, so I know how crazy you are. Like the other G.o.ds, I won’t get involved in this either. I just wanted to watch,” she said amusedly.
“This situation?”
“Yes. I wanted to see who the winner would be.”
Sacrifice.
It may sound meek, but it was risking a loss to acquire something.
Even if the sacrifice that G.o.dmother meant was someone else’s sacrifice.
She wouldn’t consider other people’s feelings or positions.
She was such a G.o.d.
“The G.o.d of Devotion will be sad.”
“Haha, it can’t be helped. What can I do? This is also a part of being a G.o.d.”
The G.o.ds were like psychopaths. It hadn’t been many days, but the G.o.d of Sacrifice was a bit extreme.
She was a G.o.d who preferred sociopaths.
She wasn’t a G.o.d who was beneficial to mental health.
Let’s stop with this topic.
“It’s coming soon.”
After Lee Yeon-hee and the G.o.d of Sacrifice, the other G.o.ds were wrapping up the scene.
It was quite slow compared to the G.o.d of Sacrifice.
G.o.ds could wield considerable autonomy in a place where their influence and power prevail, like the G.o.d of Hope, who reversed the stage’s goal.
If the G.o.d of Sacrifice designed this place, it was no wonder that she spoke to me one step ahead of the others.
“Now, it’s time for me to leave.”
The G.o.d of Sacrifice spoke with regret.
I felt sorry, too.
“Why? Stay a bit longer.”
“Haha. Do you think I’m a fool?”
As soon as the G.o.d of Sacrifice said that, she was gone.
Her apostle remained but only stood dazed.
d.a.m.n it.
She’s quick-witted.
The G.o.d of Sacrifice referred to the Pre-Vaccine G.o.ds.
There seemed to be a difference in information between the Pre-Vaccine G.o.ds and the Pantheon G.o.ds.
They were G.o.ds bound by all kinds of restrictions.
If Pre-Vaccine G.o.ds wanted to get involved in a place beyond their dimension, there would be costs for collecting information.
I’ll have to ask later.
As soon as the G.o.d of Sacrifice disappeared, the power of the new G.o.ds filled the s.p.a.ce.
One by one, the G.o.ds began to move.
A single G.o.d could make you feel a ridiculous amount of pressure.
The G.o.ds’ pressure began to build up, and the air felt painful because of the weight of it.
If you were an ordinary person, your skin would burn just by touching the air while inhaling it into your lungs would make your body a mess.
When the number of G.o.ds summoned exceeded 100, the floor we were standing on began to crumble.
Lee Yeon-hee was lying down and working on something.
Her top priority was to survive as long as possible.
I turned around and looked at my party.
Yong-yong was working hard in earnest, so there was little damage.
I looked at it as if it were a fantastic sight.
Only Seregia was relaxed, and the rest of them were on alert with nervous eyes.
[Hey, isn’t this a little dangerous?] asked Hochi, his tone laced with uneasiness.
However, I had a lot of worries. The faster the G.o.ds grew, the noisier the stadium became. The G.o.ds were beings who talked even while putting pressure on us. Two thousand of them were renewed almost simultaneously, but none of them were extras. They all regarded themselves as the main characters.
Naturally, it became noisier.
No matter how heavy their presence was and how confident they were, there was nothing to say.
Because I couldn’t even hear them.
But the G.o.ds didn’t stop talking.
They weren’t even speaking quietly, and instead, they tried to carry out their voice and will, making it echo all over the place, and in the end, nothing could be heard correctly.
I thought that the Pre-Vaccine or the Pantheon G.o.ds’ Temple would be this chaotic and noisy.
There might be many purposes for the G.o.ds to be here. Some may be interested in me like the G.o.d of Sacrifice was, while others may want me as a new apostle. But several wanted to see the strength I had shown in the tournament, to take it, and to figure out how to be outside the scrutiny of the system and the G.o.ds.
There would be various purposes. Whatever they wanted, they only thought of me as a target of exploitation. That’s why they’d been here all this time.
“I have a proposition for you.”
“It’s even more amazing to see you in person.”
“Why don’t you resist?”
“Tell me!”
“My apostle…”
“Are you scared?”
I tried to concentrate on what the G.o.ds were talking about, but there was nothing worthwhile. They were just snorting like pigs.
Meanwhile, Lee Yeon-hee had her hands tightly closed on her ears. It was difficult to withstand this pressure with her ability.
“Shut up.”
There was no need to wait any longer. I’d already waited too long.
I released the power that had been sealed away.