Chapter 400: 【Tales of the Gods 14】 The Death God, Alogoros, and the Underworld Goddess, Asava【Tales of the Gods 14】 The Death God, Alogoros, and the Underworld Goddess, Asava
* * *U//ppTodated fr/o/m nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)\/m
This is an extra side story.
On a night a few days after the tumultuous ‘Dawn Day’...
...Under a cloudy sky, not a single star visible...
...A figure in a black robe was rustling through the grass on Mihabyushira Hill, searching for something.
With no starlight and only a faint glow from the magic lamps in the royal capital spread out below...
...That figure didn’t seem to be hindered in their search... and continued to rustle through the grass.
They seem to be looking for something.
“Haaaah...”
After searching for over six hours...
...The figure finally seemed to have given up, plopped down on the meadow, and sighed.
It was a man’s voice.
And then, he stretched.
Looking up at the sky.
And as he did, the hood of his black robe fell back, revealing his face, which had been hidden in the shadows.
It’s fortunate that no citizen of the royal capital witnessed that scene.
Because that man’s face...
...Was a skull... with no flesh or skin.
In this world of Ardyst, undead don’t exist, with very few exceptions.
And yet, this man is clearly... a moving skeleton.
What is going on?
Just who is this man?
The answer...
<<<Hey! Death God Alogoros! What are you slacking off for!?>>>
...Was immediately revealed by a woman’s voice that suddenly echoed around the skeletal man.
“H-Hey!? I’m not slacking off, Underworld Goddess Asava-sama!”
The skeletal man hurriedly jumped to his feet and stood at attention!
<<<Listen, Alogoros... I’m always... watching you... no, that’s wrong! I’m supervising you! Don’t even think about slacking off!>>>
“Hiee... You don’t trust me...”
<<<Hmph... You, who was holed up in your room, sleeping, without even submitting a vacation request, dare speak of trust?>>>
Alogoros, rolling the red metal fragment... a fragment of ‘Soul Devourer’... on his leather glove, said.
“It doesn’t seem like there are any more traces here. If we want to investigate further, it would be more efficient to do it magically from the Divine Realm... Speaking of which, didn’t the patron deity of this country see what happened that day? What was he doing?”
<<<It seems he was drunk and asleep.>>>
“Haaaah... well, I was sleeping in my room too. I can’t complain.”
Alogoros sighed, scratching his skull.
“So, Asava-sama, I’d like to return... This country feels... prickly, somehow... I’m getting a strong sense of being unwelcome...”
<<<Well, Death Gods... tend to be disliked. I apologize for making you do such an unpleasant job.>>>
“No, it’s not that... It’s not the usual kind of being disliked... It feels like I’m being intensely hated. It’s like... I’m being hated on the level of a terrorist who tried to commit mass murder. So please let me go home... it’s creepy.”
<<<Hmm...>>>
Asava was about to scold her subordinate for his cowardly remark, but she also agreed that further investigation on site was unnecessary.
<<<...Well, alright, I’ll allow you to return. Compile a report on the investigation and submit it later.>>>
So she gave him those instructions after thinking for a while.
“Understood.”
<<<One last confirmation... We can’t definitively say... that he’s been annihilated... right?>>>
“...Yes, we shouldn’t let our guard down. We should continue to be vigilant. He’s a genius. And incredibly persistent. Just like he was... when he was alive...”
Alogoros was once... human.
He lived in the same era as Engee Albitt... and was even a fairly well-known engineer.
Well-known enough for that arrogant Engee to remember his name.
He was caught up in the mass recruitment that accompanied the ‘Day of Ruin’, caught the eye of the Underworld Goddess, Asava, and became a Death God.
One a Death God, the other a Great Evil Spirit.
Alogoros and Engee... their positions have changed quite a bit.
<<<Then, return... Ah, but when you get back to the Divine Realm, come to my room first.>>>
“Hiee... Please spare me from another lecture. I’ve already reflected enough on my sleeping in... “
<<<N-No, that’s not it. It was a sudden dispatch to the mortal realm, so I thought I’d... treat you to a meal... Th-That... I tried making stew.>>>
“Ah, don’t worry about it... I want to get the report done right away...”
<<<B-But... I also have... wine!? Don’t be shy! It’s 10,000 years old!?>>>
“Is it even drinkable anymore?”
While saying such things...
...The skeletal Alogoros crumbled into dust.
And, blown away by the night wind, he vanished from the mortal realm.
New arc begins in the !