Chapter 127 – Anomaly Report 1
That night, Menew said Seker’s name three times before going to be. This was because he had decided that he must talk to him about what happened in Caprichio.
He closed his eyes and felt his consciousness slipping away. When he appeared in that white world, he saw Horus, Seker, and one other god waiting for him at the table.
The strang was a man with long red hair and a severe expression. Menew thought that there was something familiar about him, as he made his way to the chair. He then asked awkwardly.
“…Set?”
“That’s right. I returned, thinking that it would be best for me to be present this time.”
“Well then. Let us all exchange information.”
Seker snapped his fingers, and then tea and snacks appeared in front of them. It would be the beginning of a long talk.
Set was the first to open his mouth.
“About Apep. He seems to be affecting dragons. As Menew already knows, the gold dragon, wood dragon, and water dragon have already been greatly affected.”
Dragons were phenomena and masses of elements. If he was able to affect them, he must have more power than Seker and the others, who barely had any ability in that world.
“It is probably because he has a body made from Mr. Menew’s genes. The skills and status…if he can freely add bonuses to them, he would be able to wield great power like a god.”
Horus folded his arms, deep in thought. And then he opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“However, if that was the case, then he should be able to affect the sky tree directly. Considering Menew’s power, it would not be strange for him to have that ability.”
“Perhaps it is a difference of faith? Horus, Set and I have had a boost in popularity, thanks to Mr. Menew’s ‘Flying! Horus-tan.’ However, Apep does not make an appearance in it. I was able to reincarnate Mr. Menew because of the faith on earth. But even if he can steal a body, he may not be able to give himself abilities that equal our blessings…that is to say, reincarnation bonuses.”
Was Flying! Horus-tan really that influential? Menew wondered as he listened to them. Also, he felt a little uncomfortable knowing that all of these gods had been turned into cute girl characters.
“But he has enough power to affect dragons. Alo, it seems he has taken control of a shadow organization in that other world, and is conducting different experiments.”
“Do you mean the Wind Clan? Who sells illegal potions and slaves?”
It was finally time for Menew to say something.
“That’s right. They work evil in human society, but mean to take in spirits as well. The spirits are doing a good job of stopping it, though. Caprichio had done well. Even though the gold spirit was not able to stop the dragon…it was probably because it was a place where Apep’s influence was strong.”
“It might be a little premature, but… Is it most likely that Apep is in El Dorado?”
“It is.”
Menew then saw that the subject was starting to change, and so he frantically opened his mouth.
“So, um! I want to know what to report to the humans! If you don’t mind!”
The three gods turned to one another.
For Menew, making a report to the guild tomorrow was a more pressing matter than the great threat that was Apep.
“Yes…indeed… While they are doing ill in human society… The Wind Clan does not exceed the realm of humans…”
“It would not be a lie to say that you entered the dungeon and came to an understanding with the spirit. I doubt Menew could invent more of a story.”
Horus-tan was surprisingly blunt. But it was true.
“So I appeared and made peace with the spirit. That can be the explanation? There is no lie, and they won’t find out about Apep.”
“Yes, Apep…”
“It would be best to keep silent about that. It will cause unnecessary chaos among the humans. Besides, we have Mr. Menew to put a stop to it. As well as Set.”
“As for my existence, you can just report it as I told you already. While it is unusual for gods to appear, it is not that rare in cities of faith. And so you can say that it helped you resolve things in the dungeon. However…keep the matter with Sety a secret. After all, even she does not know.”
After hearing this much, Menew nodded with a relieved expression.
Even if he had been reincarnated with bonuses, and had a talent for drawing. He was just one person.
And he was afraid of being involved with this being called Apep. However, if there was no other way, and he knew what must be done, he had a strong enough sense of justice to do it.
The old Menew, who was called Kazuya Yamamoto, would have run away. He would have locked himself away so that he could draw.
But now, Menew had other things that were important. He knew the comfort of having friends.
He wanted to protect that. He had grown enough to feel that way.
“I’m glad that I was able to hear what I wanted. It’s almost time… Thank you. All three of you.”
“I am sorry to have pushed everything onto you. But know that we will always be watching over you.”
Menew thanked them and got up to his feet. Seker also stood and spoke to him somberly.
While he still felt a little worried, he had the support of all these gods. And so Menew smiled as he fell into the hole.
“…Was it a mistake to entrust them to the sky tee?”
Set murmured quietly.
The sky tree was the counterpart to Apep—order itself, the very system of balance. If a god were to interfere with order, it would be no different from what Apep had done.
And so, the branches of the sky tree were connected to and managed most worlds. Earth was an exception because…many gods were recognized there. So that the gods kept their eyes on it.
A world managed by gods and not the sky tree. That was the world that Kazuya Yamamoto had come from.
But the world that Menew was in was different. In a way, you could say that there was only one religion.
Most of the other worlds were like that. Earth was just an exception.
And the gods could not keep their eyes on all of those worlds. And so even if their names and appearances were different, they were unified as a single existing god.
That was why they created the system of order with the sky tree. And they left the management of the worlds to it. And then Apep came to be as chaos. In order to protect the sky tree, the gods fought Apep and sealed him away in the underworld.
“Without the sky tree, the world would have been swallowed up by chaos, even if Apep was not there. There are too many worlds for us to see.”
“Human possibility, imagination. It is something already similar to chaos in nature. Even as we speak, a new world is being born, the sky tree’s roots will reach it, and it will be managed with order.”
Said Seker and Horus. Set closed his eyes.
One thing was for certain. If all was swallowed up by chaos, there would be no difference between humans and gods, no difference between the worlds, human will, thoughts, emotions, individuality, and abilities would all be merged into one.
It would be a world without imagination or creation. A world like a single ocean. Infinity and zero.
And that would be such a waste.
Set opened his eyes and smiled.
“Was it wrong to reincarnate him?”
“No.”
Seker said adamantly.
“That alone…even if it was against order…was not a mistake. There is no way that Mr. Menew’s existence is a mistake.”
“However, it is true he took advantage of the moment.”
“Still… I wanted Mr. Menew to see more things and be able to draw.”
“…Well, he has not bored us, at least. Really, in such a vast world, everything is going to be entrusted to a single human… It is so uncertain…”
“But he has increased people’s faith in us, and so we must support him. Though, I feel bad. I wanted him to live a long and peaceful life, but ended up burdening him.”
“He has the imagination to raise a god’s rank. There is nothing to worry about. Right now, we must watch over him and see his potential.”
Horus said with a laugh, and their conversation ended.