“I will leave for now. But call me if something happens.”
‘Okay.’
Salia turned away from the water glass and sighed with relief.
Her golden hair swayed in the wind.
“…Now, what to do.”
No one else was in the god seat now. It still looked like a plain garden of stone. Hardly the kind of place for a great god to live. Especially since she had acquired over a dozen worlds.
That being said, she had no intention of changing it with unnecessary decorations. At most, she might just add a few flowers and trees.
But what was important now was the game.
She agreed with Sheto about not offering up worlds. Had he wanted to receive protection that way, she would have been quite surprised.
But it was also true that it was a severe decision.
“Without any more power…things will only become harder.”
He had hit a roadblock now. And if he wanted to get stronger, he now had to target enemies that were above him.
Of course, there was also another option. That of just hiding away from the other Heroes, and waiting quietly until the game ended.
However, eventually, he would be found, hunted and killed. In order to survive, it was best to fight and win.
Salia sighed heavily and opened the doors of the god seat, and then she entered the hall.
She took one step forward and thought that she heard someone gasp. After that, there was a surprisingly strange silence.
There was no one around the door she had emerged from. There were groups of people some distance away, but they were too far to be heard.
And no one was sitting on the steps in front of her. And while there were some figures in the garden up ahead, she did not see any gods.
“Oh, dear…”
After defeating her older brother, the gods around Salia had disappeared.
Not just the lesser gods that participated in the games, but the spectators as well. There was a clear will to keep their distance from her.
The elf god had been one of the last to move away. But he was nowhere to be seen now.
These days, the Heroes called her an evil goddess.
The gods she went up against would never meet her eyes, and after their Heroes fell, they asked for mercy while curling up their bodies and turning into stone.
These gods probably spread the word when speaking to their Heroes. About how she had defeated her own brother and taken his power.
Had she made the wrong decision??
She had stopped regretting, ignored the words of the dragon god who told her to make a new world, she made a contract with a monster, and through careful planning, defeated her brother’s subordinate.
In the end, the games were a place for the gods to compete for power, and a charade put on with the demons. However, the act was supposed to be for the good of the world.
Still, that was no reason to massacre weak monsters, and destroy anything that was seen as unfit for the world. She felt this was true, and so she had walked with Sheto.
The result was that she was alone here.
“Besides…nothing is completely right.”
Deep in her heart, there were the roots of vengeance. To get back at the gods who ruined her old world.
A goddess who killed Heroes out of hatred. That was enough reason for her to be seen as evil.
“I suppose I really am a terrible goddess.”
“Why, you seem awfully sad right now.”
The cool voice tickled her ears. The Goddess of Judgement was suddenly there and smiling.
“What do you want? Has some god challenged me to a duel again?”
“Hehe. A murderous heart casts shadows across respected faces. I think you should stop thinking like that.”
The goddess said in her pitch black suit. She wielded a giant clock staff, as if it was light as a feather.
“I am not interested in idle chatter. I have much to think about.”
“I suppose you are trying to find a way to strengthen your kobold.”
“…Ah, I have already dealt with that.”
“In that case, should I expect a request from you anytime soon?”
Salia looked around. It was during such times that she was grateful that there was no one near her.
“I have no plans for that. Likely…I never will.”
“…You must be joking. You will have that kobold continue to fight…without any protection?”
“Not from me. But you may be called when he levels up. Otherwise, you need not bother showing yourself.”
Yesta laughed at the cold remark.
“Hehehe. I did not expect to hear that from you. However, are you sure?”
“About what?”
“When that kobold is defeated, your sad fate would be that of elimination as well.”
Indeed, in order to give Sheto his abilities, Salia had wagered her own existence. If Sheto were to die, She too would disappear. Or perhaps she would be absorbed by another god, and become a subordinate.
“The other gods are already ‘buying back.’ Perhaps it is time for you to do the same.”
“Use the worlds taken from my brother, and buy back my own existence?”
During the games, world and faith were offered in order to give protection to Heroes. And if you lost, then all of that would be taken by the opponent.
However, once your Hero leveled up and defeated opponents, then you could use newly acquired lands, faith, and bonuses to ‘buy back.’
By doing this, the victor would not only strengthen their Hero, but secure their world and faith, and insure that damages were minimized when they did lose.
“My subordinate is risking his life to fight. I should not be the only one who is safe. In the first place, I will lose everything if I lose. There is no reason for some as poor as me to be worrying about such a thing.”
“Poor.”
Yesta said with a smile.
“If that is what you think, then I suppose it is true.”
“What are you implying?”
“Nothing.”
The goddess did not say anything more, and just walked away.
She was a strange one.
For the gods, who could live forever, and so time meant nothing, she was a ‘lesser god.’ But for those with fixed lifespans, she controlled life and death. The ultimate ‘greater god.’
Before she became the master of the games, no one even knew about her.
Indeed, she had probably gained the most ‘power’ because of the games.
“Elm Aud, ‘Wanderer of this World’ arrives!”
The dryad’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
The giant form came through the door calmly, and then lay down on the green field, just as he always did.
He was probably the only one here who she could talk to normally. And so Salia felt a little relief as she was about to walk towards him.
“Oh, Dragon God. I hope you are doing well.”
But as if to stop her, the gods gathered around the dragon first.
“This sudden greeting…how clamorous.”
“Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you…”
“No, I was here first. It is about the book I borrowed before…”
Some of the gods were familiar to Salia. They were all gods who were participating in the games. Also, they were stealing glances at her.
She supposed this was their idea of strategy. Prevent her from speaking to the one person who would cooperate with her.
“Oh, dear…”
Feeling weary of it all, Salia began to wall through the corridor that surrounded the plaza. As if sensitive to the movement, figures began to move out of her way.
She could not find it in herself to blame them.
The dragons, known as powerful beings, and the fairy tribes, known for their exceptional ability to nurture and protect nature. The dragon gods and elf gods who ruled over them were able to maintain their power without getting involved in conflicts, but minor gods without such backgrounds were forced to take action to prevent their own extinction.
For them, participation in the games was a gamble for their own survival. They were desperate.
That being said, she had existed for a very long time as someone who had nothing. And so all of these facts felt like something that was very far away.
There had been a time when she felt that she wouldn’t mind dying. Even if she was called a fallen god, nothing could hurt her more than having her own world destroyed.
But now…
“Sheto…”
The small monster. Her one ally.
She wanted to protect him no matter what.
But what should she do? While maintaining his belief, his dedication and will.
“I could just…”
Choose someone else. Would that be allowed? But would that still require the changing of a world into power.
Not offering a world. She wanted to hold onto that mantra.
However, if she lost, then she would lose something much more valuable.
“Damn it…”
She put her hands on the railing and looked down. Thinking about something so hopeless just puts a weight on your shoulders.
“Has something happened?”
“…I told you to not come unless I called you.”
“Ah, pardon me. However, while this is awkward to say, I think you have mistaken me with someone else?”
Indeed, the voice was different. Salia turned around frantically.
What she saw was a rat that stood on two feet and came up to her waist in height.
It was wearing rags for clothes and its brown fur seemed to be covered in soot.
“I-I’m sorry. You just caught me while I was deep in thought…”
“Not at all. I should not have interrupted you then.”
“So, who are you?”
The rat smiled.
“I am called Evacus. It is a pleasure to meet you, Goddess of Peace.”