Salia pushed her blonde hair away and bit her lip tightly. In fact, the only reason that Sheto was still alive was due to the ability strengthening she had bestowed on him.
However, all this meant was that his suffering was prolonged. He would still die. He had no weapon. A kobold could not shatter the collar and chains. If only he had some weapon, she might be able to enhance it so that he could cut through the chains. However, the goblins were not so foolish to leave them around.
Then what could she do? All she could offer were words of encouragement, which did nothing for him.
“…I will go then.”
Salia pushed the doors open roughly and entered the square where the gods gathered.
Cold looks turned towards her.
A foolish goddess who used a kobold. What amusing thing would she think of next?
Likely, none of the gods here would listen to her.
However, there was nothing she could do with her own power now. If she could risk her life to help him, she would have tried. But she had already wagered everything.
Did she have nothing to sell now?
“O Elm Aud, ‘Wanderer of this World,’ ‘Glimpser of Eternity.’”
Salia knelt before the dragon god, who was one of the few beings that did not direct curiosity or contempt towards her.
“I have a request.”
“…I cannot listen.”
Her shoulders shook. But still, she slowly brought her forehead to the ground. Upon seeing this, the other gods laughed.
“How…shameless.”
“After talking so big, she can do nothing but beg.”
“These fallen gods are such shameful beings…”
Only the dragon looked at her sadly.
“Stop. In spite of such gestures, I will do nothing. No, I cannot.”
“…It’s because of my brother.”
“Exactly. You are not to aid Saliashe in any way. He said.”
She bit her lip, but continued.
“But this request is not for me. It is about my kobold.”
“Your kobold?”
“My power was not enough, and he is now a prisoner of a monster army.”
She admitted, and the gods burst into laughter. It did not stop her.
“And so I need your help in order to save him.”
“Does that not equal helping you?”
“No. If you grant this wish, my life… No, my very existence will be in your service.”
“What are you saying!? He is merely a pawn. Why would you save him as if he has as much value as yourself!?”
Even the dragon god could make no sense of it. Of course, she knew how ridiculous this must sound.
However, it was her foolishness that had caused it.
“Please.”
“…Really. You seem incapable of learning, sister.”
He appeared, making his way through the other gods.
“Not only do you make that foolish decision, but then you shame yourself on top of that.”
“You can say what you like. I have no answer. However, I am merely dealing with the consequences of my actions.”
“But such things do not need to be dealt with. Just leave the games and apologize. And then I will help you.”
Salia replied harshly.
“I have no intention of apologizing!”
“No intention!? After throwing mud in my face, begging the dragon god, and now you are trying to save that rubbish! You cannot apologize for that! What happened to your dignity as a god!”
“Dignity as a god?”
Her brother’s words reawakened something deep in her heart.
A star that was rusted red. Wastelands. And her paradise that had existed beyond.
“Dignity! It went away, just like the life of the world that was mine!”
“Sa…Salia…”
Just then, an emotion other than disgust appeared on her brother’s face for the first time. But it quickly faded.
But she didn’t care. She continued to unleash the words that had been stored inside of her.
“I am the fallen goddess that people curse for not being able to protect her world! I tarnished the name of godhood! Why should I hesitate now, to give up what else I have left!? Gods! Leaders of the world and uninvolved bystanders! Watch carefully! The actions of a mad fool who is trying to save the life that you see as worthless!”
These words were not received well. And a vicious light seemed to appear in their eyes of the gods. Salia put her hands on the ground and pressed her forehead to the ground.
“But if you can feel pity for my pitiful, mad dance, I humbly beg for your compassion. If you find it unsightly, take my life immediately. But with the erasure of my existence, please, save his life.”
The square fell quiet.
They were not moved by Salia’s words. They were completely exasperated. Their eyes were like daggers.
“How pathetic.”
The words came from her brother’s lips.
“You must have thought that even if it was the weakest creature, you could manage if you stored up your power. But I doubt it was your idea. Who gave it to you?”
“…That is…”
“Ah, you need not say it. The goddess who governs the games visits all gods equally.”
Despite the sarcastic words, the summoned Yesta laughed.
With the same smile as when she whispered that darkness into her ear back then.
Amidst the wind, one person walked.
While savoring the single drop of compassion that had fallen into her heart. The words of the dragon god may have been selfish, but to her, they were priceless.
Just cling to them. A part of her heart whispers.
However, she could not look away from the devastation before her.
“There you are.”
She appeared suddenly. The goddess with the strange staff.
“…Goddess of Judgement. I am surprised to see you here in this wasteland. But please, take a look at my world, which has been turned to a land of death, thanks to your directions.”
“Ah, I never sought such consolation for myself from the beginning. I have come this time to announce the beginning of the game to you.”
“You want me to join?”
“Yes. The garden of the gods has open gates in many directions.”
Salia spewed out her venom like a drunk whose stomach was emptied.
“And so you want to tear apart what is left of me. Unfortunately, I am not quite made enough to make such a wager.”
“However, surely it is worth trying something, rather than to wander a land of endless death?”
“And so you intend to expose a pitiable fallen god for entertainment, adding a flourish to the predetermined outcome of your game, do you not? I have no interest in hearing such nonsense.”
“How tedious.”
The goddess laughed. If anything, she was clearly enjoying this.
“In this game, it is not in a land that is unrelated to you, Saliashe.”
“…And so what if it is?”
“Another world might disappear.”
“But it has not been decided yet.”
Salia said as she looked away.
That world did not have much value. Low-ranking gods might want the spiritual resources, but it was nothing that would interest those of the upper ranks.
“Besides, nothing will change because I was added. It would be like throwing a grain of sand on a frozen lake.”
“You could not even make a ripple. Hehehe… If you think so, then it will be so.”
Yes, there was no meaning. She would just be laughed at.
“However, to me, it seemed like your soul was still in that sand you were clenching.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Revenge.”
The word was so cold that it seeped into her brain. A secret wish was brimming out of the wound, now opened by Yesta’s words.
“Did you not wish to slay the one who laid waste to this land?”
“What are you saying?”
She did not answer, and continued.
“The games are played fairly. No matter how weak and brittle, if protection is given, and power stored, they can reach any height.”
“In principle, perhaps! But there is no fairness in a game when some are given the god vessel and numerous protections, and have a great advantage from the very beginning!”
For the first time, the Goddess of Judgement was not smiling. She looked disappointed.
“When the winner is predictable, the games become boring.”
“And so in order to entertain, you want to use me as firewood.”
“However, the wound that resides within you, even if you were to obtain a new land, it is unlikely to be healed.”
She had forgotten. Tried to forget.
“But surely you only visit this wasteland, again and again, because you cannot forget the hate?”
“No.”
“Even if you regained your previous glory, your heart would still have doubts and grudges.”
“No!”
From the scratched scab, emotions overflowed. The howling wind echoed like the crying voices of the dead.
However, Salia shook her head.
“Even so! I cannot destroy myself over such a thing! Otherwise, there would be no reason to live! And I must live!”
“The world’s will.”
The Goddess of Judgement said in a shockingly severe voice.
“You should not live or die while being bound by that, fallen goddess. Then you should watch from there.”
The strange-colored eyes. It was said that no one was able to look into them for long. They were directed at her now.
“Just sit there, and watch another world die away.”
The same eyes as that time. They were looking through her now.
However, it was just for a second. So quick that no one else noticed it.
“Well, it is nothing but an interlude to the games. An amusing show. I should praise you.”
“I am happy to hear it.”
She said with a blank expression that showed no interest. The brother god then smiled like he rarely did.
“…Salia. My beloved, foolish sister. You really do know nothing.”
“About what?”
“Your pawn is imprisoned in a fortress with about one hundred monsters, is that correct?”
She saw the light of a hunter in his eyes. The same kind of ugly spirit in the goblins.
“…You don’t mean!”
“I do!”
Zephalis laughed as he swung his arms.
Just then, the sky above transformed into a giant mirror.
And what was shown there, was the blue Hero just as he raised his left arm.
“Brother!”
“Now! Do it, my Hero!”
The magic energy in the bracelet shone like the blinding light of the sun in the middle of the night.
“Annihilate those vermin that slumber in the fortress!”
The god’s order descended with flames.