That day, the world rejoiced at the descent of the gods, a sight not seen in a long time, and subsequently trembled at their oracles.
Suddenly, the gods descended.
In the town where the gods actually descended, there was an atmosphere of bewilderment at first, wondering what was happening.
Afterward, when the gods emitted a detectable divine aura, the people immediately understood what the floating presence in the sky was.
As the understanding that the gods had descended spread, joy welled up in people’s hearts.
However, at the same time, a question arose: why had the gods descended?
As if to answer this question, the descended gods spoke directly to the people.
When the content of their message was revealed to be “Divine Judgment,” everyone’s faces turned pale.
“Divine Judgment” is a judgment carried out by the gods through a direct descent like this one.
It is understandable that people at the time mistakenly believed that the gods had descended only upon their town and that the “Divine Judgment” would take place there.
This divine descent occurred simultaneously worldwide, a fact that would later reveal their misunderstanding.
Furthermore, shortly after this descent, the gods conveyed the details of the “Divine Judgment” to the people.
Even though they knew the content of the judgment did not directly concern them, whether it was inevitable for humans to suspect some form of involvement at that point, or if they should simply accept it, was something no one could answer.
Putting that aside, there was only one thing the gods conveyed.
It was simply that a “Divine Judgment” had been passed upon the temple in the Kingdom of Gates, located on the North Continent.
It is important not to misunderstand: the critical point was that the judgment was on the temple in the Kingdom of Gates, not on the kingdom itself.
Neither Kousuke nor the gods intended to cause any harm to the people of the Kingdom of Gates through this event.
However, they accepted that some people might still bear the brunt of it, and they had come to terms with this being the Kingdom of Gates’ problem.
The extent of the damage would naturally depend on how the Kingdom of Gates responded to this judgment.
The gods had no intention of intervening beyond this point.
In any case, this divine descent made the “Divine Judgment” known throughout the world.
Naturally, each country began to investigate what the temple in the Kingdom of Gates had done.
As a result, the actions of the Kingdom of Gates became known to the upper echelons of each country and even to their respective temples.
Since a “Divine Judgment” had taken place, it was impossible for the Kingdom of Gates to conceal it.
If asked, Amamiya Tower would have provided accurate answers, leaving no room for secrecy.
Moreover, the gods themselves had been involved with precision in this matter, which also contributed to its inability to be hidden.
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Kousuke delivered three judgments to the Kingdom of Gates, and one of them was immediately implemented.
That judgment was, of course, to sink the warships of the Kingdom of Gates that were approaching the Central Continent.
However, sinking them did not involve using that particular weapon on manned vessels.
After issuing a warning, they used the tower’s functions to create unrepairable holes in the hulls of the ships.
Furthermore, as promised to King Arthur, they had also given them ample time before issuing the warning.
While the specific orders King Arthur gave are unknown, provisions and food were already being transported when the attack was carried out, indicating that clear instructions had been issued.
However, there were over a dozen ships approaching this time, and about three of them were attempting to leave the area.
Kousuke, of course, sank those three ships as well, without any discrimination.
There was no rule prohibiting them from fleeing, so he had no intention of saying anything about it.
In fact, the three ships that fled likely suffered greater losses.
Had they stayed put instead of fleeing, there would have been no casualties. The decision to deliberately incur losses was King Arthur’s instruction.
Although there was a possibility of casualties from his attack, Kousuke felt no particular emotion about it.
Whether this was due to his newfound divinity or the changed world, his senses might have been different from before.
In any case, the first of the three judgments was executed on the same day as the meeting with the Kingdom of Gates.
The next judgment to be carried out was the “Divine Judgment” on the temple of the Kingdom of Gates, following the descent of the gods.
Even with the reason of “Divine Judgment,” the descent of gods worldwide naturally takes considerable time, so it was executed after a day’s wait.
The world experienced some confusion for a short period after the “Divine Judgment” was enacted, but it soon subsided.
Once they realized they were unaffected, people returned to their ordinary lives.
The problem lay with churches other than the one where the divine judgment was passed.
After all, some temples had engaged in similar activities.
They were filled with trepidation, fearing that judgment would soon be passed upon them as well.
However, this judgment was specifically for the temple of the Kingdom of Gates, and no divine judgment was passed on other temples.
Despite this, fortunately, no temples began engaging in similar activities as before, feeling relieved.
There were no individuals brave enough to repeat such acts so soon after the “Divine Judgment” was carried out.
The last action taken was the conquest of Bahem Tower.
The time it took was not due to difficulties in the conquest itself, but rather the time it took to reach the tower.
By the way, Kousuke did not participate in the conquest.
Since it would be freed soon after being conquered anyway, there was no need for him to go.
Only Kouhi went to the tower.
Mitsuki also wanted to go, but one of them had to remain to guard Kousuke.
After a fair game of rock-paper-scissors, Kouhi was chosen to go.
Kousuke would have been fine with either of them going, but they both refused.
For them, guarding him was the top priority.
Kouhi apparently completed the tower conquest at full speed, taking less than ten days.
It has not been confirmed whether Carl was in the tower when Kouhi conquered it.
Moreover, Kouhi reached the tower faster than the group from the Kingdom of Gates that had come there, so it is possible he was not there when the conquest was completed.
However, even if Carl had been there, it is conceivable that he would have escaped.
As promised, after the conquest, it was immediately made accessible, becoming a tower that anyone could freely conquer.
It has not been confirmed whether Carl attempted to conquer the tower afterward.
Adventurers were seen entering, as expected, but no information about the tower’s conquest was received by the control panel.
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As expected, the series of judgments dealt a severe blow to the Kingdom of Gates.
Ironically, though not directly, it is unclear whether the “Divine Judgment” prevented other nations from intervening, which might have been fortunate for the Kingdom of Gates.
Regardless, the Kingdom of Gates had no choice but to focus solely on rebuilding their devastated country.
“At the very least, they will not dare to interfere with our continent again,”
Said Alec, standing before Kousuke, with absolute certainty.
It was unlikely they would be foolish enough to attempt anything against Amamiya Tower again in their current state.
Furthermore, there was another effect.
“It’s also significant that nations that were previously hostile towards us have become hesitant.”
This was probably a more significant outcome for Amamiya Tower.
After all, it was now perceived that hostility could lead to the involvement of the gods.
To be precise, that is not the case, but Kousuke chose to let them misunderstand, as it was beneficial.
He would not exploit such a misunderstanding.
Doing so might have made them no different from the Kingdom of Gates.
Since he answered truthfully when asked, that misunderstanding would likely be cleared up soon.
“So, does this mean there are no longer any countries that will interfere with us in strange ways?”
“I wonder? Humans are forgetful creatures. Some may view this event as a thing of the past and seek out other methods.”
“Ah, I suppose that’s true.”
Alec’s goal is for them to be unable to interfere until that time.
One method for achieving this is what he had previously proposed to Kousuke: the creation of a nation.
This matter had, of course, already been communicated to Kousuke.
How Kousuke would make his decision after receiving this information was another story.
This concludes the main story of Chapter 25.
This was the conclusion reached; how was it received?
Some may find it too sweet, but Kousuke believed this was the appropriate level, as he did not want to incur unnecessary resentment.
Following this, as usual, an interlude will be presented before Chapter 26.
