Chapter 79 — Evil God

Chapter 79: Evil God.

「Evil God-samaaa, Evil God-samaaaaa…!! How could, how could this…!」

She completely fell for it.

Feign surrender, deceive the succubus, and subdue her as my slave. Then make a surprise attack against the evil god using the succubus’ monsters. This right here is the solution I came up with to subjugate the evil god. As for the evil god, he shouldn’t be able to endure when he’s in the center of that horde of monsters.

It’s an exceedingly cowardly fighting method that I really wouldn’t want Yuel to see, but my opponent is who he is. I’ll stop at nothing and hit him with everything I’ve got.

「Succubus! Don’t let up the attacks from the monsters! Make sure that the evil god is killed by them!!」

「Kuh… kuuuuh…! This thing, when did you…! Since when was there a magic tool that could dominate an apostle…!」

As I thought, the key to this strategy’s success was this collar. This magic tool didn’t exist within the pages of the Bible. It’s an entirely new magic tool, recently developed by the archbishop. I’m sure that neither the evil god nor the succubus herself had ever imagined that her control could be stolen by such means.

…But the evil god is quite tenacious as well. For a moment I thought he’d be instantly crushed to death, but he stubbornly persists, kablamming the surrounding monsters with large-scale magic. Being able to survive against that many monsters at point-blank range, I guess that stuff about him being a sword master wasn’t a lie after all.

「Area Heal! Area Heal! Area Heal!!!」

…But, perhaps to avoid hitting himself, he isn’t able to blow away all of the monsters at once. As I suspected, it seems like if you can get this close, the advantage of his large-scale magic can be drastically reduced after all.

Besides, unlike humans, there are many sturdy monsters. My healing magic wouldn’t make it in time for humans, but as for the large monsters that don’t die in a single hit, I can heal them back up right away.

Even if the number of monsters on the outer circumference seem to be decreasing, with my healing magic, the pressure on the evil god won’t let up very soon. At this rate, no matter how excellent the evil god’s sword technique is, he should go down in time.

「It’s working… it’s gonna work…!」

…Since I need to stay in range for healing magic, I can’t get too far away either. To be honest, I want to use the succubus to watch the progress from the sky, but if the evil god gets me in his sights there’s a chance that I could get sniped. All I can do is focus on providing support from the rear with my view obstructed by monsters. Frankly, I’m half-expecting to get swallowed up by an explosion at any second.

-For a few minutes, explosions and healing magic blend together.

「The explosions stopped…? No way, Evil God-samaaa…!」

Then, the explosions finally stop. The explosions were my proof that the evil god still lives, resisting the monsters. The fact that they stopped means…

「I did it…?」

For a moment, I feel assured of victory.

-However, that confidence immediately crumbles.

A beam of red light. I see it shining through from the center of the monster horde.

In the blink of an eye, that single beam of light increases to an enormous number of them. The next moment, the monster swarm vanishes into the light, accompanied by a thunderous roar. A gigantic fireball rises up, as if to swallow up the horde of hundreds and thousands of monsters surrounding the evil god in its entirety.

「Wh-oaaaahhh!!!」

「Higiii!!」

At the same time, the blast hits me and the succubus. Unable to maintain my footing on the ground, I’m blown back, knocked against the ground numerous times.

A hot wind scorches my throat. My eyesight grows hazy. I can’t hear a thing over the buzzing in my ears.

In that manner, I tumble along the ground.

「Ouch…」

Perhaps because I reflexively used healing magic on myself, I somehow survive. I check the succubus as well… but it’s no good. She’s collapsed on the ground, making no signs of movement. She doesn’t appear to be dead, but it seems like she fainted.

「Well, even if I use the succubus, there’s no point if it’s gonna be like this, huh?」

When I shift my gaze in the direction of the explosion, I see a slightly large crater. I could’ve sworn that a huge meteor just crashed down, that’s how super powerful it was.

The monster swarm… with power like this, it was most likely annihilated.

「But in that case…」

The evil god himself shouldn’t have come out unscathed. Rather, I’d be surprised if he didn’t die.

…By some chance, did he blow himself up? He hated the idea of being killed and chose to die by his own hands, or something? He didn’t want to be sealed away for a long time again or something?

No, thinking about it won’t change anything, will it? In order to confirm the evil god’s death, I walk through the thick swirls of dust, towards the center of the explosion.

But, out of the center of that explosion,

「Wha…!? How…!?」

with a relaxed demeanor, a man comes walking towards me. That same man who was riding on the troll’s shoulder. What’s more, there’s no sign that he was injured by that fireball just now. He’s completely unharmed.

「To think that I would have to get serious in a place like this. I ended up having to cancel the barrier magic on the royal capital… couldn’t this turn into a pincer attack now?」

The man mutters. Oh yeah… barrier magic. I completely forgot that existed. That magic he was imprisoning the royal capital with, he might have used it on himself.

…But it was written in the Bible that preparations are necessary for it. He shouldn’t have had that kind of time.

「Wait, don’t tell me…!?」

It’s not like there’s no possibility. If preparations are necessary, that means he just needs to make preparations.

…While the evil god was fighting that horde of monsters from all sides, while he was blasting away the distant monsters, he prepared the barrier magic.

-Then he set up a barrier around only himself, and immolated the monsters in their entirety.

I wonder if that’s what it means? …What frightening skill. I guess that’s why he’s called the evil god.

「That troll was a comfy ride, so I was quite fond of it. Such a shame.」

As he’s walking up to me, the evil god calls out to me. His expression is extremely composed.

…Now that the monsters are gone, I no longer have a road to victory. I may already be a carp on a cutting board.

Even if I run, I’ll be attacked from behind with magic. I could stand and face him, but I’ll clearly be cut down in a single stroke. It’s not like reinforcements are coming, either. And even if they did come, it’d just end with them getting mowed down by the evil god’s magic.

…I guess this is checkmate.

「…Looks like it’s my loss, huh.」

「You didn’t do half bad.

…Well, compared to the previous Sage, your endgame was weak.」

The evil god draws his sword. At this distance, a sword is likely faster than magic. As if to show off his drawn sword, the evil god comes closer. It looks like I’m gonna be killed at this rate.

…I grasp the cane in my right hand tighter and tighter.

However, the evil god makes a slightly contemplative expression and lowers his sword for some reason. What’s going on? He’s not gonna ask me for my last words or something, is he?

「Before I kill you, there’s something I want to ask. How did you get here?」

However, what comes flying my way is just a simple question.

「I rode in on a dragon, didn’t you see it?」

I came here riding on Ruruka’s dragon. The evil god should already be aware of that, though.

「No, that’s not what I meant. I’m asking you by what means you descended upon this world from Earth’s Japan.」

「…!?」

From Earth’s Japan…? Why are those words coming from the evil god? No, wait, if I think about it carefully… he has similar features. That large-scale magic which would need enormous mana, and his black-haired, human appearance.

「Don’t tell me, you’re a sage too…?」

The evil god was a sage. I didn’t think it was possible, but reconsidering it, something tells me it’s actually extremely likely.

「Wrong. Sage is just a label the church came up with on its own. That name doesn’t apply to me.」

Not a sage, but an otherworlder. In other words, that means we share the same roots? When the evil god sees my surprised reaction, he grins and continues speaking.

「So then, how did you do it?」

「I was stabbed by a slasher in Japan… the moment I thought I had died, for some reason I was here in this labyrinth city. That’s it. I don’t know why.」

The evil god mutters “labyrinth city… I knew it”, then looks at me with scornful eyes. Eyes of contempt for an ignorant human.

「…Do you have any idea why labyrinths exist in this world?」

「No, I don’t know.」

Why labyrinths exist in this world, huh?

…I’ve had this conversation before, with the saint. Although in the end, with no means of ascertaining the truth, she didn’t actually know.

「As a favor to a fellow countryman, I’ll tell you before I kill you. The labyrinths are tools for god to interfere with this world. The devices that god uses to intervene in this world are at the very bottom of the labyrinths. You were summoned by a labyrinth.」

…If I remember right, the saint was saying the same things back in the bath. I was only vaguely paying attention, but apparently it was actually true.

「I’ve travelled the world. When I previously attempted to conquer it, I also went to other continents besides this one. And there, I read a variety of this world’s myths… including ones outside the Church of Medine.」

「Outside this continent…!?」

「And when I did, I found that whenever a powerful dictator or a crafty invader appeared, a sage would suddenly show up from a labyrinth city to put a stop to them. No matter which religion I looked at, they all went like that.

…I was convinced. This world is being influenced by god, using the labyrinths as a medium.

…That’s why I decided to destroy all of the labyrinths. So that nothing will get in the way of what I’m going to do from now on.」

No matter the religion, a sage appears from a labyrinth to overthrow evil? In other words, does that mean there really is a being in this world capable of observing everything that goes on?

…That’s a little hard to believe, though.

Man, looks like the evil god’s objective was to destroy the labyrinths after all.

…But what the hell does he want to do after he destroys the labyrinths?

「What you’re going to do from now on?」

「I obtained offensive magic with this much destructive force. There’s only one thing to do, am I right?」

What he’s going to do with such immense destructive force. Such a thing, it can’t possibly be anything other than destroying stuff.

…Looks like the evil god doesn’t plan on talking any more than this. He pokes the ground with his sword, gazing at me.

「Hey, can’t you overlook me or something? C’mon, as a favor to a fellow countryman?」

I don’t wanna die yet. There are still so many things I have left to do. But the evil god makes a sarcastic smile and silently raises his sword overhead.

「…Guess not.」

Most likely, this guy is drunk off his own power. I bet he enjoys destruction just for its own sake.

In the Bible, the evil god was depicted annihilating every city along his invasion route in its entirety, people and buildings included. He was also depicted intentionally suppressing the power of his magic, enjoying carving away at the cities with his magic like he was making sport of them.

For him to acquire offensive magic of that degree, I can’t imagine what kind of experience he brought to this world. Nor can I comprehend how he came to think this way.

-But what is clear to me is what I have to do. If I’m defeated here, without a doubt the evil god will head to that labyrinth city where Yuel and the others are waiting. That’s why I return the evil god’s smile with this:

「Well then, I’m taking you with me.」