01 – The sage has died

「Master Edelfuss! Please don’t lose consciousness! Aaa, why won’t the bleeding stop…」the nearby healer screams.

If the man praised as the beloved child of the Water God can’t heal me, then it’s truly impossible.

I am already 120 years old.

I think it’s a long enough time to have lived as a human.

「Master, in order to protect me…」

The famous Hero who is praised as unparalleled in history, considered as the strongest even among generations of heroes, is about to cry.

「These things come with age」

I laughed as I said so, but alas the hero burst out crying.

「You really are a crybaby. Cry and climb onto my bed…」

「Master Edelfuss. Please don’t bring up stories from when I was a kid…」

While wiping off their tears, the hero claps their cheeks and tries to raise the corners of their mouth but fails to put on a smile.

「So, did we defeat the Beast of Calamity? Are there any signs of revival?」

I was fatally injured in the battle against the Demon King, Beast of Calamity.

「No there isn’t! Its existence was thoroughly disintegrated by Master’s magic!」

The one who answered was the warrior known as the Sword Saint.

「Master, you haven’t taught me that magic yet. I will be upset if you die before that!」,says my youngest disciple, the mage, while clinging onto me.

Full of talent, motivated, and has an honest heart. I have drilled into him my magic knowledge.

Even without my guidance, he can self-study and surpass me as a mage.

「It’s not that great of a magic. Just an improvised magic I came up with on the spot. Since you saw it, you should be able to use it too.」

「…Please don’t say unreasonable things. Master, I beg you, please continue your guidance.」

The mage also started crying now.

Although they are excellent disciples, they’re all just a bunch of crybabies.

「I see, so the Beast of Calamity is safely exterminated. I’m glad」

Against the strongest Beast of Calamity that can potentially destroy the human race, the casualty is only one senile old man from subjugation. It’s a pretty good outcome.

However, my proud disciples are crying their eyes out.

「…What a face to put on」

「Master Edelfuss, please don’t leave us」

The veteran hero of a hundred battles cries out. Even though the hero is still the same old crybaby even after becoming stronger.

「You are my proud disciples no matter where you go from now on. Everything is going to be fine」

「That’s not true! Without Master, we wouldn’t know what to do…」

Even the strong hearted healer says such words.

「I have already taught you everything. Everything is going to be fine」

「We are still immature, we still need you Master」

The warrior’s tears were flowing like a river.

My disciples have grown up splendidly. They’re just babbling in a moment of grief.

They will recover soon and start making the world a better place.

I was blessed with disciples. And,

「…a place to die, blessed even on my deathbed. I have lived a very good life」

While listening to the cries of my four disciples, my consciousness disappeared.

……

…………

……………………

「Good Job, Edelfuss Wolms-san」

An unknown voice rings out from somewhere.

「Me? I am God. A beautiful and kind Goddess」

It must be a hallucination. No doubt the dream that people on the verge of death experience.

Otherwise, it must be the devil’s voice.

「Excuse me! I’m not a devil.」

That’s what the devil would say.

「After I came all the way here to acknowledge your contributions to the human race and to welcome you into the position of god」

God? Did the devil make a mistake? First of all, words that sound too good to be true is a lie and an insult.

That is something I learned from living one hundred twenty years as human.

「Mou, you don’t believe me, do you? You can become God, you know. Aren’t you happy?」

Absolutely not.

「Ehh—. If you become God, you will be able to do all sorts of things! Well, there are restrictions…」

Restrictions?

「…Maa, let’s leave it at that, it’s a trivial issue」

The restrictions are what I want to know about most…

「While you were alive, were there any regrets you left behind?」

Although I didn’t have any children, I raised splendid disciples in place of children.

I have no regrets. I am satisfied.

「So your only goal in life was to defeat the Beast of Calamity? I have been watching for a long time, so I know」

I suppose you have been watching me well. The Devil truly is a terrifying being.

「As I’ve been saying, I am a Goddess! A lovely, cute and beautiful Goddess!!」

Whether you’re a Goddess or otherwise, doesn’t matter. I was finally able to exterminate the Beast of Calamity.

Thus, I am already satisfied……

「The beast of calamity merely fell into temporary slumber. In the near future, it will definitely revive again.」

Huh? It will revive? Didn’t I exterminate it?

「Huh? No, because the beast of calamity is also a pillar of God. It can’t be destroyed as easily as that」

…………

「…But! But! It is already amazing you were able to do that much while being only human」

…………Was everything I did pointless?

「It certainly was not pointless. The Beast of Calamity will lay dormant for awhile」

What a joke.

「That’s why Edelfuss-san, you were judged to have reached the position of God」

………………

「Let’s discuss the rest once you’ve become a God. Well, you have to start by becoming my disciple」

Let me consider it. I’m still a little shaken.

「Very well, you can take however long you want. The flow of time here is different from the outside world」

Seems like a simple-minded devil.

「Like I’ve been saying, I’m not a devil」

Eliminate the interference and think.

「What? Interference…?!」

If I concentrate, I can block the voice of the self-proclaimed Goddess.

The Beast of Calamity is the enemy of the human race. But more so than that, it was my single goal; that I spent my life on to subjugate it.

To think that it’s still alive makes me frustrated.

「Goddess! No, it’s fine even if you’re the Devil!」

「Finally, you acknowledged me as a Goddess!」

At the same time as those words, the form of a goddess appeared before my eyes.

The form of an extremely beautiful woman.

Perhaps I had to call out on my own, or wanted to see it to be able to see it.

「Edelfuss-san, have you finally decided to become God?」

「I just want to defeat the Beast of Calamity, and for that sake I will become a God!」

「Err—-That’s a bit…」

The Goddess has a troubled expression.

「Is it perhaps impossible?」

「There are restrictions…」

Speaking of which, the goddess did mention those restrictions earlier.

「Please explain in detail」

According to the goddess, the Beast of Calamity is a god, to be precise, a former god; a fallen cursed beast that still holds the power of a God.

And if a God’s power were to hit Earth, the Earth would not survive.

「Well, there’s no point in becoming a god then」

I strongly hope to be able to defeat the Beast of Calamity.

But the starting point of my motivation to defeat the Beast of Calamity was also for the human race.

There’s no point in sacrificing Earth for the sake of defeating the Beast of Calamity.

「A God cannot directly intervene with Earth」

「Does a god need an intermediary creature on Earth such as humans to intervene on Earth?」

「Yes, fundamentally that’s how it works」

「One of my disciples was the beloved child of the Water God」

「Yes, but that’s not the only example」

「What do you mean?」

「The Hero is favoured by Holy God, the Warrior is favoured by Sword God, and the Mage is favoured by Magic God」

「I see… So, all my disciples were favoured by Gods」

No wonder they were the strongest disciples.

「And Edelfuss-san, you were favoured by me!」

「Ah, yes. That’s fine」

I am not too happy to learn that. On the contrary, it just troubles me.

「That means, I no longer have a way to handle the Beast of Calamity」

「…There is a way」

「Please tell me」

The Goddess explained again.

It seems that it is better to return to Earth, not as God but as a human.

「Basically reincarnation, so to speak」

「If so, I would like to be reincarnated」

「There are conditions」

「What are they?」

「After reincarnation, you must not conduct hideous acts that strays far from God’s will」

「That goes without saying. I won’t do such things.」

「And also, after your second life ends, you must definitely become a God」

「I understand. I shall stop with my second life」

「And finally one more thing, this is more of a parental affection than a condition…」

「What is it?」

「I will have you trained in the world of gods before reincarnation. Otherwise, you can’t win against the Beast of Calamity」

「If I can become stronger, then bring it on.」

「Since time flows differently here than on Earth, I will have you trained to your utmost limits」

The goddess laughed as she said so.

And so I devoted a very long time to training.

Not only did I train with the Goddess but also, the God of Magic, God of Sword, God of War, God of Water, God of Fire, God of Wind, God of Lightning, and the Dragon God.

I received training from many different gods.