(Again?)
That was Marius’s true feeling.
This was the third time.
Zagan, Decarabia, and Tindalos.
He had realized that while the timing wasn’t fixed, he always saw this after defeating a major demonic entity.
The surroundings were entirely white, and before him stood a person whose facial features were blurred, a person he could only assume was male.
“Thank you.”
This time, he heard the voice clearly.
“…Who are you?”
Marius moved his tongue, and his thoughts came out as spoken words.
“I am Nyarla. I am from another world. Thank you for destroying Tindalos.”
“Did you, by any chance, bring me to this world?”
Marius’s immediate thought showed he was unusually sharp.
“Yes.”
Nyarla admitted it readily.
So easily was it acknowledged that Marius was at a loss for words.
“May I speak?”
“Please do.”
Marius nodded in agreement, urging her to continue.
“Although Nyarla and Tindalos are in opposition, I cannot destroy them with my own hands. That was our relationship.”
“…Is that why you summoned me?”
He addressed her with polite language, as she was, after all, a deity.
“No.”
Nyarla denied it instantly.
“First, Tindalos created monsters to destroy me and established a system that would produce what are called Demon Lords. Eventually, it paved the way for a being that could defeat gods. To counter that, I granted humanity the concepts of levels and skills, and prepared a system that would produce beings called Heroes.”
“So, the conflict between humans and demons is a proxy war between gods…?”
“I do not deny it.”
Marius felt he understood.
It seemed to explain why humans and demons continued to fight.
Tindalos and Nyarla aimed to destroy each other, and humans and demons existed as their means.
“The greatest creation of Tindalos’s system is a being called Auraniess. That individual would have eventually possessed the power to kill gods.”
He couldn’t be accused of worrying too much.
Auraniess, who was strong in his original world, was unbelievably powerful in this one.
“So, was I the countermeasure for that?”
“No.”
Denied yet again, Marius’s shoulders slumped.
“There were others summoned before you. In your world, you seem to describe it as disappearances or being spirited away.”
“Huh…?”
Marius was surprised.
Were some of the annual missing persons cases the work of this Nyarla?
“Beings like Heroes and Champions were no match for Auraniess. The only one with a chance, Melinda Guilford, died of old age.”
“Couldn’t you have granted her a blessing to make her immortal?”
Marius thought this, but Nyarla’s reaction was subdued.
“I couldn’t set such a precedent. At the time, my power had not yet recovered. I was unable to alter Melinda’s existence.”
After Melinda, who ended the “Dark Age,” there was peace for a while, but then Demon Lords began to rampage again.
This was the era of human-demon conflict that Marius knew.
“After repeated attempts, I learned that it was better to bring the souls of the deceased rather than living humans.”
Hearing this, Marius wondered how many people had been brought to this world.
Perhaps among the past Heroes, there were Japanese people.
“Because living humans cannot be granted power as intended.”
“…How many times did you try?”
Marius asked before he knew it.
It might be wrong to blame Nyarla.
However, he was in a state of mind where he couldn’t help but ask.
“I do not recall. However, it was unavoidable to counter Tindalos and Auraniess.”
To someone from his original world, it sounded like the excuse of a kidnapper.
While he could understand those invited after death, his heart ached for those summoned while still alive.
Marius himself had no confidence that he wouldn’t have gone mad if he had possessed no power.
“Could those who were summoned while alive return?”
It was a natural question.
At least for Marius himself.
“No.”
Therefore, Nyarla’s answer filled him with a sense of futility.
Yet, it was also a fact that it was thanks to this that he was where he was now.
Marius was too calm to overlook this and condemn the deity before him.
Or perhaps he was too kind.
“For my next question,”
As Marius began to speak, Nyarla remained silent.
Thinking she wanted him to continue, he went on.
“Why did you grant power to so many different people? Wouldn’t it have been better to concentrate the power on one individual?”
This was Marius’s biggest question.
If she intended to make heroes by granting power to various individuals to counter Tindalos and Auraniess, she should have just concentrated that power into one person.
That way, the number of missing persons from his original world would have been fewer, and the Evil God would have been defeated sooner.
“It’s not that simple. First, I had to find someone who could act as a vessel for my power.”
Nyarla said this.
She explained that it took considerable time to identify those with a vessel capable of withstanding her power.
“And even among those who became Heroes, there were vast differences afterward.”
Becoming a Hero didn’t mean they could immediately defeat the Demon Lord.
Some failed to defeat Demon Lords, and others, succumbing to their power, neglected their efforts and descended into degenerate lives.
“In fact, the latter were the majority.”
A hint of sarcasm laced Nyarla’s words, making Marius feel apologetic for something that wasn’t his fault.
It was as if her words contained anger towards those fools who were given the potential to defeat Evil Gods and Great Demon Lords but failed to utilize it.
“No, I’m sorry. I know it’s not my fault, but still.”
“Indeed. You have nothing to apologize for. Besides, you did well. You deserve a reward.”
The mention of a reward stimulated Marius’s material desires.
His wives thought him selfless, but that was only concerning things with personal attachments.
His true desire was for a reward from a god with no such attachments.
“I shall grant you the honor of offering me your body, of eternally preserving your consciousness, and of bearing witness to my deeds.”
“…Huh?”
Marius, to his discredit, couldn’t immediately comprehend what she had said.
A few seconds later, he finally grasped it and tried to protest, only to find his tongue wouldn’t move.
“Hahahaha, you can’t move, can you? That’s because I’ve sealed all your power!”
Nyarla, her demeanor suddenly shifting, shouted this.
Unbeknownst to Marius, her divine face had become clear. He gasped in astonishment at seeing it.
Her hair and eyes were black, and she looked exactly like him, Marius – the face he had seen so many times before.
“I was surprised when I first saw you. I never imagined that someone with a face so similar to mine would exist, even if you are from another world. It’s only natural that you could withstand my power and become stronger than I imagined.”
Marius stared blankly at the sudden reminiscence.
“And now, I have come to a conclusion. The ultimate, supreme, invincible, absolute, and sole god, I, Nyarla, require a body suitable for descending to the mortal realm, and yours is it. Come now, try to say something.”
“W-was that your intention from the beginning?”
As Marius glared at her, gasping for breath, Nyarla, revealing her true, wicked nature, responded with a booming laugh.
“Of course. And I’ll tell you something else. Your power, while partly reflected in your status, was the same as in your original world when it came to intelligence. That’s because I sealed it. If your intelligence had been at your status level, you wouldn’t have done as I pleased. You might even have seen through my true intentions and hindered me.”
Some of Marius’s lingering questions were resolved.
It had seemed odd that his intelligence remained the same when his physical abilities had weakened compared to his original world.
“And while I’m at it, most of what I told you was a lie.”
This struck Marius’s heart with further shock.
“It’s true that I summoned you and others and created Heroes to defeat Tindalos. However, the reason for summoning so many people is different.”
She paused, then peered into Marius’s face.
The divinity had vanished from her expression, replaced by malevolence.
“It’s because it’s fun. I find it unbearably amusing to see humans suddenly brought to a different world, crying out. It’s incredibly comical to see grown adults weeping as they call out the names of their parents, siblings, and friends.”
Her disagreeable words and sickening laughter struck Marius’s heart.
It was as if the resentment of Nyarla’s victims lingered, amplifying the horror.
“It was by chance that I realized that the reincarnated individuals were even more comical in that regard.”
She added insult to injury.
“It was hilarious to see some people who were trash with zero value in life claiming they were chosen by a god. I almost died laughing. That’s why I started summoning only the deceased. I wonder what kind of foolish words and actions will entertain me this time; I look forward to it.”
“If I created Heroes, they would use their power…?”
Marius’s question was met with uproarious laughter.
“That’s right. But I am a god. I can take away the power I bestowed upon you at any time.”
He felt as if he had been struck on the head with a blunt instrument of despair.
It seemed plausible yet he had never imagined it.
He might not have fully processed the current situation.
Nyarla, sensing Marius’s state of mind, smirked mockingly.
“Why so shocked? Even if you call it a cheat, it’s still something I gave you, isn’t it? The only reason I haven’t taken it from you is for my own descent to the mortal realm. The reason I haven’t destroyed your spirit is to enjoy your reactions.”
She moved her face close again, whispering into his ear.
“Once I possess your body, I will thoroughly make love to your women. And after much intimacy, I will tell them that I am not Marius. That I am the enemy who has taken over Marius’s body and sealed his spirit. I wonder how your women will react? Will they be so shocked they commit suicide? Or will they challenge me to a fight to get you back? I will caress them with pleasure while listening to your screams.”
“I-I-won’t-let-you.”
Marius tried to punch Nyarla but found his body unresponsive.
This god was the worst.
Tindalos, who merely wanted to destroy the world, seemed better than Nyarla.
“It’s useless. You are now the same as you were in your original world, except for your mental strength. But with your paltry mental strength, you cannot escape my restraint.”
The true Evil God mocked Marius’s resistance.
Still, Marius did not give up.
The god hurled more words at the human.
“Hey, Marius, no, Ryuji Yamada. You were reincarnated in another world, gained immense power, only to realize you were merely a pawn in my hand. How does that feel? You were nothing more than a clown to entertain me; how does that feel? Now you will have your body taken, your wives and your future stolen. How does that feel?”
Nyarla laughed with malice, mockery, and contempt.
“So, how do you feel right now?”
…Marius couldn’t even blink.
