Chapter 45
Back again, huh?
Why do all the bad guys see my back and yell, "Time to donut this fool!" before trying to turn me into, well, a donut?
Do I have something smeared on my back or something?
I thoroughly stomped on the back of the guy who dared to try and sneak up on me.
“Ugh! I made sure he was annihilated!”
The girl, or rather, the shadowy man in a girl's guise, sputtered in frustration, clearly confused.
He had the same appearance as the Wisdom Constellation, but the wicked Research Director’s ego resided within.
“I told you. I don't die.”
To think he hid inside a God for so long, waiting to devour their Divinity.
Such admirable dedication.
If only he'd used that dedication for good, he could've become a God properly, like our Investors.
“Damn it all! Let go of me, you vermin! How dare an Otherworld bug like you interfere with me!”
Only vile desires remained in this hag.
The nobility I’d seen in other Constellations was nowhere to be found in this one.
Had I met him outside, I wouldn't have stood a chance.
He waited, enduring through eons, plotting to steal Divinity.
There's no way the real me could handle someone like that.
But-.
“You keep saying 'vermin,' 'vermin...'”
Things are different now.
“Crawling on the ground like a bug, who are you calling vermin?”
Crack-
Unlike the Abyss Incident, with my Dream Power intact, I’m not only immortal but also impervious to pain.
It's like dying to a Boss's instant-kill attack in a game and respawning for round two.
However, I could barely contain my boiling rage.
I’d witnessed the Wisdom God’s entire Narrative through her dreams.
Her pain, suffering, sorrow, fear—all of it, up close.
And the culprit behind it all was standing right before me.
This disgusting monster who stole an innocent girl's life and tormented her for centuries with endless, repetitive gaslighting to fulfill his own desires.
“……Princess.”
“…Yes?”
She flinched at my call, her voice trembling.
“Tell me what you want. I can rip this bastard apart right now. Or I can throw him into my game and make him suffer an eternity of repeated deaths as a Boss.”
“……!”
This guy was basically her lifelong nemesis.
What would I have done if I were her?
Wouldn't I have immediately lunged at him in a fit of rage?
Yet, she was still trembling.
As if she still feared his clutches, even though I had him pinned down.
Ugh, this guy's really pushing it.
Weekly Boss isn't enough for him.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and I was just about to stomp on his head when—
“How dare…!”
His aura, the color of the divine clouds enveloping us, began to change.
“How dare you vermin discuss my fate! How dare youuuu!”
Gwoooooooo-
A storm of Divinity swirled around him.
I was pushed back by the force of the impact.
“Just die quietly.”
Clank- Clank-
“Wh-What?!”
Restraints conjured by my imagination bound him.
“Damn you!”
He thrashed, trying to break free.
I imagined more restraints.
The chains that bound the God who committed the sin of giving fire to humans.
The silk ribbons that restrained even the wolf who devoured the King of Gods.
Even the Turtle Shell Binding, famed for tying up countless men and making them weep.
Numerous shackles enveloped him.
“Graaaagh!”
The shackles that tormented a frail girl for hundreds of years.
I materialized those shackles too, binding him with them.
When the shackles covered him to the point where I could only see his head, his struggles finally ceased.
“No being of this Continent can escape my Divine Power. Other Gods’ powers are useless against me, the one who holds all the information of this Continent.”
Is he embarrassed after getting his ass kicked, so he’s making excuses now?
“You… you’re an Apostle of an Otherworld God. You’re not just some Otherworld vermin.”
“What are you talking about? You’re weak as hell.”
I reached for the Core that formed his Divinity.
I’ll collapse his Core.
He'll instantly lose his Godhood and become nothing but a helpless soul.
Like that guy in the Abyss, a plaything for me.
The moment my hand touched his Core—
Gugugugugug-
“Crisis is opportunity! If I devour you, I'll become the undisputed strongest being on this Continent!”
Divinity surged around his Core.
A shockwave on a completely different level from his previous struggles.
His Core began to crumble.
Pssshhh-
Following that, all the restraints binding him turned to dust and vanished.
“HHAHAHAHAHA!”
Freed, he soared into the air.
“This is…”
He neutralized all my powers…?
“A rampage of Divinity, embracing annihilation. For a God, whose Core’s collapse signifies the end of their existence, this holds unimaginable risk.”
The guy, with the same face as the Wisdom Goddess, grinned wickedly.
“But in return, it grants temporary omnipotence. Enough power to kill you right here, right now!”
Kwoooooo-
A storm of Divinity, with an unimaginable density, surged towards me.
“My Core will collapse as a result, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll just devour you before that!”
I'll restore my Divinity with Otherworld power and bring this Continent to its knees!
This is the power of humanity!
KHAHAHAHAHA!
The Wisdom Constellation cowered in fear as he broke free.
Getting her help seemed unlikely.
In fact, she might even get caught in the crossfire and be put in danger.
I needed to change the battlefield.
I leaped towards him.
Boooom!
We crashed through the building wall and flew into the next one.
‘I need to go higher.’
I had to put some distance between her and us, without him noticing.
Higher, further.
Boom- Boom- Boom- Boom!
I kept him in my grasp, smashing through dozens of buildings as I ascended.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Then, I slammed him into a massive skyscraper standing tall amidst the other high-rises.
Boooom-!
The smoke cleared, and
“Hehehehe! I thought I was gonna die, you vermin.”
He emerged, enveloped in five-colored divine light.
Burning his Core to unleash his power, I suppose.
Just looking at him emanated an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Crack- Crack-
He cracked his neck.
“……I understand now.”
Pew!
“!!”
A beam of light shot from him unexpectedly.
The ray incinerated my right arm, leaving no trace.
“Now I know how to use this power.”
His grin widened.
My severed arm regenerated.
I don't die, anyway.
If I just endure until his power runs out, he’ll self-destruct.
I could just run away and stall for time, but…
This could actually work…
Lady Constellation.
I have a favor to ask.
[The Dream Storyteller asks why you would choose such a cumbersome and dangerous method.]
Because I don’t like the idea of that bastard getting a quick and easy ending.
I want to destroy everything he’s built up until now.
I glanced down at her, still on the ground.
She can do it. I know she can.
＊ ＊ ＊
Booom- Boooooom-!
The roaring sounds echoed from high above.
The dark night sky was filled with the light of the ongoing battle.
The girl clenched her fists.
Her Prince was fighting.
Fighting to protect her, even though she had lost her Divinity and was now worthless.
Having once possessed all the knowledge of the Continent, she knew what the Research Director was doing.
Burning his Divinity to gain the most heinous power that defied even the Gods.
It was the last resort the Gods used in countless myths to avert dangers threatening the Continent.
Even if this was the Dream World, her Prince couldn't stop this desperate gambit.
If this continued, her Prince would become the Research Director’s prey.
“No……”
Again.
Why did everyone connected to her meet a terrible end?
She wanted it to stop.
She wanted to escape this horrible nightmare.
She wanted to erase that monster and live happily ever after.
But.
The girl looked down at her hands.
All her power was gone.
The power of Wisdom, forcibly bestowed upon her by him, had been completely stolen.
She had reverted to an empty shell of a God, an ordinary girl.
What could she possibly do?
With her extreme intelligence, she knew.
She could do nothing.
She was nothing but an obstacle… a hindrance to her Prince's efforts.
“Why……!”
Clang!
The girl screamed and slammed her fist against the ground.
Then-.
-Are you giving up already?
!!!!
A voice.
The girl’s eyes widened, and she slowly raised her head.
“……Samsam.”
A dreamlike scene.
Myuant-17-06, the girl who shouldn’t be here, who had died long ago, smiled at her.
-It’s your Prince. The Prince you’ve been waiting for.
“……But I have no power. There’s nothing I can do.”
She knew.
If she didn’t help him now, her Prince would die.
But even if she wanted to, there was nothing she could do.
-Hey, Unnie! That’s not true!
“S-Samsam……”
Another one, Myuant-25-03, appeared.
-Can Unnie really do nothing?
“……What?”
-It’s already all inside you.
The girl touched her chest, where Samsam-i’s finger pointed.
“Already inside me……”
Whooshhhhh-
The wind swirled.
A mysterious energy enveloped her.
Vast knowledge.
Exceptional intellect.
A complete Narrative.
All the conditions were met.
All that was needed was her will.
The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place.
Kugugugugu-
Immense power surged within her.
[Lewd Wisdom breaks free from its shackles.]
-That’s it. That’s our Chilchil-i.
-Unnie, you have to tell me all about your first night with the Prince later! Okay? Don’t forget!
Her friends’ phantoms faded, their smiles warm and encouraging.
“……Okay.”
Tears streamed down her face, but she smiled.
“I’ll tell you everything. All about my Prince.”
It was time to end this.
Time to punish the monster who tormented her Prince and her.
Time for the ‘happily ever after.’
[Lewd Wisdom is unleashed for one person only.]
Please wait just a little longer, my Prince.
I’m coming.