Chapter 170
[So you were the one who took what was lodged in my head.]
Leviathan was coiled up like a snake in one corner of the room.
The sight of such a pathetic creature looked more like a pet than a calamity of the Mythical Era, feeling cute rather than intimidating. It seemed appearances really were important.
[Just what are you planning to do by gathering those?]
“I plan to oppose the Demon God.”
He didn’t know the detailed inner workings. He was simply following it because the system window explained it that way.
There was a time when he doubted the system window, but after experiencing the case of the three villainesses, he had come to trust it.
“A mere human intends to oppose the Demon God…? Are you out of your mind…?”
Leviathan’s eyes widened in astonishment.
The Demon God that Franz intended to oppose wasn’t a god in name only like those in games or novels, but a truly omnipotent being.
Considering he had created leviathan, who was called a calamity by humans, his power could be said to far exceed Human imagination.
Therefore, leviathan’s reaction was only natural. For a mere mortal to oppose an omnipotent god was no different from reckless bravado.
“Even so, I can’t just sit and wait. Even if I fail, I will struggle until the very end.”
It was nothing but a matter of life and death. He could never give up easily.
And naturally, he had no intention of failing either. He planned to survive tenaciously no matter what and enjoy a peaceful retirement.
The conversation between Franz and leviathan ended there.
[You really are crazy.]
The creature uttered a brief remark and closed its eyes.
Franz, who had been staring blankly at the creature, soon shifted his gaze to the shield.
The massive golden shield was radiating divine power, befitting a holy relic. Just as clouds couldn’t completely block out the sunlight, it was impossible to entirely conceal its power even if it was sealed.
Closing his eyes and concentrating, he felt the intricately tangled sealing magic.
Like finding a needle in a desert, he searched for the key to undo the sealing magic within the vast ocean of information.
It was something he had done countless times before, but it was still not easy. The sweat that soon began to form on his forehead was proof of that.
'Still, it’s more manageable than before.'
It was thanks to the efforts he had accumulated so far, along with the fact that the caliber of his magic had risen by a level while dealing with leviathan.
The scattered puzzles slowly pieced together, and the misaligned cogwheels matched their teeth and began to turn.
How much time had passed like that? The moment the shield’s seal was released, his vision was gradually covered in darkness, and his mind began to grow hazy.
Eventually, Franz opened his eyes in a pure white temple. Whenever he came here, he felt as if his body was sinking into the ground, a sensation that was truly hard to get used to no matter how many times he experienced it.
“It seems I’ve been seeing you often lately.”
Turning his head at the familiar voice, he saw the Goddess Luan sipping tea. Her elegant posture was indeed befitting of a goddess.
“I don’t want to come here often, though.”
“Oh my, if you say things like that to my face, I might get a little upset, you know?”
He was sorry if she was upset, but it was his honest feelings. Coming here meant there were still problems left to solve.
Just when would he stop coming here…
Franz inwardly thought that as he sat opposite the Goddess.
“Would you like some tea?”
“I’m fine.”
“It’s delicious. What a shame.”
The Goddess said that and sipped her tea.
Somehow it seemed like she was drinking tea every time he came. Once or twice was understandable, but since it was every single time, he almost suspected it was a staged situation.
Well, that was a trivial matter, so he decided to move on for now.
“Do you happen to know what kind of being the Demon God is?”
“A bad guy…?”
The Goddess answered as if it were obvious.
Her expression felt strangely unpleasant, as it seemed to say, “You don’t even know that much?'
'Who would ask because they didn’t know that…'
Having created leviathan and various other calamities, and having tried to plunge the world into chaos, he was obviously a bad entity.
But that wasn’t the answer Franz wanted. He was hoping for something a bit more specific and tangible.
Franz forced down his frustration and asked kindly once again.
“Are there any characteristics? What kind of abilities does he have?”
“The power he uses isn’t much different from mine. After all, both he and I are gods. If there is a difference, it would only be the direction of the power.”
That meant the power the Demon God used was also divine power.
It wasn’t exactly good news for Franz. When it came to magic, he was at a level no one could match, but he was still severely lacking in divine power.
It seemed there would be a need to repeatedly research divine power from now on.
What immediately came to mind was the relationship and harmony between magic and divine power.
Be that as it may.
“When you say the direction of the power is different…?”
“If my ability heals wounds and breathes life into all things, he, on the contrary, worsens wounds and takes life away.”
The divine power Franz remembered held truly marvelous potential.
During the subjugation of the Demon Lord, it was thanks to Yusti-ah breathing life force into his dying body that he was able to live like this.
If that were to be used in an evil direction instead…
'That’s terrible…'
It would be possible to take hundreds, even thousands of lives with a single prayer. Furthermore, since the Demon God was practically the source of that power, the results would be unimaginably horrific.
The system window telling him to oppose such a being and save the world suddenly felt hateful.
“Why are you doing this only to me.”
Not that complaining now would change anything.
“By the way, you tamed the Demon God’s child, didn’t you?”
“Are you perhaps talking about leviathan?”
“Yes, it definitely had a name like that. It looked like a long earthworm, so it was a bit gross.”
Only someone on the level of a goddess could call it an earthworm; to the eyes of an ordinary person, it would be nothing short of a disaster.
To begin with, didn’t its size approach several leagues? Calling it an earthworm was a bit of a stretch.
“I figured that if it had been alive since the Mythical Era, it would surely be of help somewhere.”
A mage never makes an unprofitable deal. Therefore, he hadn’t killed leviathan because he judged it wouldn’t be helpful enough.
“If you judged it so, I don’t really have anything to say… But please be careful anyway. I cannot look into the minds of those strongly connected to the Demon God.”
“Yes, I will be as careful as possible.”
Franz had thought the same, which was why he had bound the creature in the form of Contract Magic.
If it harbored hostility and tried to cause harm, its head would probably be cut off immediately, resulting in its death.
“Then I will be heading back.”
Franz immediately stood up. He had already obtained all the information he could get, so there was no reason to remain here any longer.
“A-Already? It feels a bit faster than usual today…?”
“There’s no reason for me to stay, is there?”
“Don’t be like that, how about having a cup of tea? Since you’re here, we can talk a bit about Yusti-ah too…”
It seemed she was quite bored being all alone.
He wanted to say, “Then why don’t you call the World Tree and drink tea together-', but he ended up keeping it to himself. He already knew that the two of them didn’t have a good relationship.
“Come to think of it, I did have more to say.”
Thanks to the Goddess mentioning it, Franz was able to recall an important fact he had forgotten.
As Franz sat back down, the Goddess’s face lit up.
Unfortunately, however, it wasn’t as pleasant a conversation as she was hoping for.
“Come to think of it, didn’t you arbitrarily inform Yusti-ah of what I did last time.”
“T-That was…”
“Do you know how awkward that made things for me?”
No matter if she was a goddess, he had to firmly point out what was wrong. That way, the same problem wouldn’t occur next time.
Only after lecturing the Goddess for quite a while was Franz able to return to the villa.
“That feels so refreshing.”
As he regained his senses, Franz found the brilliantly shining shield grasped in his hand.
Franz put it into his small bag.
If he hadn’t had the bag, he would have had to carry the massive thing himself, allowing him to realize the preciousness of tools all over again.
'So I’ll be going back tomorrow.'
He hadn’t been away from the Magic Tower for this long since subjugating the Demon Lord. Was that why? He felt a bit regretful, yet returning to a familiar environment felt welcome.
'When I get back, I’ll have to check on Seri-ah and Zeni-ah, do the work that’s piled up, and report to the emperor too…'
Organizing the things he had to do starting tomorrow gave him a headache.
He sighed.
Franz let out a sigh and cleared his mind. There was no need to worry prematurely about things he would experience tomorrow anyway.
As soon as he closed his eyes, sleepiness quickly washed over him. It was because he had expended all his energy throughout the day.
Still, this trip was, for once, quite enjoyable.
He should come again next time.