"Everything is proceeding according to schedule…" murmured a Demon.
"Yes. Some unexpected things did occur, but everything still lies within our grasp," said another.
"I see. That is excellent. How are the stockpiled Blood Potion supplies?" asked Luciliano.
Another Demon laughed. "No matter how much the Pure-breed Vampires drink, there is no end to the magnificent black blood."
"Shouldn't you be more worried about the beasts? They're starving!" a fourth Demon cackled.
"I see. I agree with you. Doug-kun, could I ask you to feed the experimental animals?" said Luciliano.
"… I don't mind that, but can't you have a conversation in a more normal way?" Doug muttered, looking at Luciliano and the ten or so Demons that he was talking to.
The exchange between Luciliano and the Demons sounded as if they were plotting a conspiracy, but it was nothing significant at all. The Demons were merely reporting that the experiments were under control and going as planned though a little late, and that there were enough Blood Potion ingredients stockpiled no matter how much the Pure-blood Vampires consumed. As for Luciliano, he had merely asked Doug to feed the experimental animals, as it was time for their meal and they were hungry.
Luciliano seemed taken aback. "You want me to match my speech to theirs?!" he exclaimed.
"No, you're fine as you are! If you did that, I'd have no idea what the Demons are saying!" Doug shouted.
This time, it was the Demons who twisted their faces in discontent.
They were Demons tamed by Vandalieu in the Trial of Zakkart – the most intelligent ones who could best comprehend human speech.
They had roughly humanoid bodies, but they were grotesque, as there were large variations in the number of heads and limbs they possessed, as well as the shapes of their bodies differing from those of humans.
Though they had been brought out from the Trial of Zakkart, Vandalieu had simply kept them in a Dungeon that he had made. This was because the Majin king Godwin and others from the Majin nation had told him how difficult it was to handle Demons.
If Demons' bodies were destroyed, they would revive a few days to a few hundred years later with their souls, memories and personalities intact. Thus, they would do anything to seek pleasure, prioritizing it even above their own lives. For them, the state of being tamed was an enjoyable game of being a servant to humans.
They had told Vandalieu as much, so he had been unable to trust them and let them loose in the city. He had decided to choose Demons that seemed like they would be useful when he had time later.
But upon hearing this, the Demons had felt endangered.
"It is regrettable that you think us to be suspicious… even though we are doing our utmost to gain our lord's trust by displaying our loyalty," one of the Demons lamented.
"Indeed. You say such hurtful things, even though we are wearing cheerful smiles in order to please you humans," said another.
"Don't say such things to him, my brethren. Though he has experienced reincarnation like us, he has only experienced it twice. We are more experienced in this regard, so we should keep our tears inside and smile gently on the surface!" said a third Demon with a cackle.
The Demons, whom Doug was criticizing, were divided into those who criticized him back and those who advocated for overlooking his behavior and responding with cheerful smiles.
"You guys are definitely doing this on purpose, aren't you. Especially you," said Doug, pointing at the one who had laughed.
The Demon that Doug pointed at gave a low laugh. "It seems that you are more intelligent than you appear, Doug," it said.
"Vandalieu, Luciliano-ossan*, can I smack this guy?" Doug asked.
TLN: An informal way to say "ojisan" which is used to refer to older men or uncles.
Naturally, there was a Demon King Familiar stationed here in the underground workshop, too. It looked even more grotesque than the Demons; there was a large treasure orb in its chest, and it possessed arms that were made only of bones, blood vessels and suction cups.
It manipulated its arms by using the suction force of the suction cups to move the bones, and it picked objects up with the suction cups on its fingertips.
"I don't mind as long as it's outside the workshop," the Demon King Familiar said. "Also, this me is not Vandalieu; it's an alchemy-type Demon King Familiar."
"I am in agreement with Master. Also, if you consider the total number of years you have lived, I should be considered younger than you," Luciliano pointed out.
"Also, it's true that they are doing their best to gain our trust," the Demon King Familiar added.
"… Are you serious?" Doug muttered.
"I'm serious. The structure of their minds is different from humans to begin with, so they are quite arrogant, though," the Demon King Familiar explained.
"Indeed, my lord," one of the Demons said in agreement.
"We swear our eternal loyalty to you," said another.
"So please, spare our souls…" begged a third.
The reason the Demons had not only been tamed by Vandalieu but also were trying to gain his trust was because Vandalieu radiated a presence similar to the Demon King, their creator. And like the Demon King Guduranis, he possessed the ability to truly destroy them.
Demons were made of corrupted Mana; they did not fear the deaths of their own bodies. However, they could not be reincarnated if their souls were destroyed.
That was why they feared Vandalieu, who could devour souls. They were wholeheartedly trying to gain his trust so that they would not be destroyed, doing their best to interact with humans in the process.
… They did not take races other than the Majin seriously, which is why they could not help being disrespectful towards members of other races, like Doug.
"Look, they're so desperate," said the Demon King Familiar.
"You're right," said Doug.
The Demons had clearly discarded their pride; he could not think of them as being pathetic. In fact, he, Kanako and Melissa were working for Vandalieu for the same reason as the Demons, so this was only natural.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of companionship towards them.
I'll treat them a bit nicer from now on, he thought.
One of the Demons laughed. "What is the matter? Why is there such a strange look in your eye?" it asked him.
"… Vandalieu, I hate these guys after all," said Doug.
"They haven't seen humans for a long time, so they're not good at interpreting facial expressions," said the Demon King Familiar in the Demons' defense.
"More importantly, what about feeding the animals?" asked Luciliano.
"I don't need reminding," said Doug, pointing behind him with his chin.
Luciliano looked in that direction to see several containers floating in mid-air, animal feed already prepared inside them.
It was not the Telekinesis spell, but Doug's ability, Hecatoncheir.
Hecatoncheir was a powerful Telekinesis ability, and it also included Omnidirectional Perception and Force Vision. With all of these abilities combined, it was possible to unleash powerful attacks on the entire area around Doug. It would be like a giant with a countless number of eyes and arms going on a rampage; this was why the ability was codenamed after a mythical giant with a hundred hands.
Those around Doug had acknowledged it as a brute-force ability that allowed him to crush enemies and flip armored vehicles from a distance. However, the reality was that Doug was capable of using Hecatoncheir with great precision.
If he went all-out, he was certainly able to produce the kinetic energy to crush a tank, but he had undergone training to gain fine control, to the point that he was able to knit or do calligraphy with it.
He wouldn't be able to survive with only a rough control over his power, and the Bravers had started out as a disaster rescue team, not an organization that fought terrorism.
As a member of that organization, he had been required to perform more delicate tasks than one might expect, such as removing rubble to rescue survivors who had been buried alive.
This wasn't something that he had kept a secret, but… the reincarnated individuals who didn't know Doug well were unaware of his surprisingly fine control over his ability.
Also, it had been of no use when he died in Origin.
"Ah, you are quite skilled after all," Luciliano remarked.
"You are a strange creature, being able to see behind you despite not having eyes in the back of your head like me," said one of the Demons.
"Those are compliments, right?" Doug said suspiciously. "Well, I did similar tasks in my previous life, too. It's far easier in this world now that I have Skills, too."
Since Doug had acquired the Parallel Thought Processing Skill, his use of Hecatoncheir had become far more refined compared to when he was in Origin. He was likely capable of knitting multiple items at once, doing multiple pieces of calligraphy and cooking multiple dishes simultaneously… though these were not exactly his hobbies.
"By the way, how long are we keeping these guys? These are mostly already fourth generation, aren't they?" asked Doug, looking at the experimental animals that he had started feeding.
They were not animals that were used in experiments. They were the animals born as a result of the breeding experiments conducted between Undead implanted with Life Gold and Spirit Silver.
There were mice, rabbits, chickens, small pigs, frogs and insects. There were already several hundred of them. There was a particularly large number of mice and insects, but if they kept breeding at this rate, they could not all be taken care of.
"We made them reproduce over and over to make sure that there weren't any individual differences, after all," said the Demon King Familiar. "Some of them die naturally during the process of development, but their rate of reproduction is higher."
"Indeed… I suppose we should stop the experiment around the sixth generation. Honestly speaking, I have grown tired of it, as there are no differences between them and ordinary small animals," said Luciliano. "I thought that there would be at least one specimen with some unimaginable mutation by the fourth generation."
"Ossan… Don't go hoping for something that would become a biohazard," said Doug.
Despite Luciliano's very problematic hopes, the end of the experiment was in sight. It was possible that continuing only up until the sixth generation would not be enough, but the reality was that the animals that Doug was feeding looked like perfectly ordinary animals.
Well, I'm not that knowledgeable about animals, and it's my first time looking at animals from up close since I was reincarnated in this world. I saw a few horses, cats, dogs and mice, but I only saw monsters after that… Come to think of it, why are these guys so calm? Doug wondered.
Obviously, ordinary animals feared and avoided monsters. In addition to the direct threat that monsters represented, they could sense the corrupted Mana radiating from monsters, and felt an instinctive urge to avoid it out of a fear of being corrupted by it.
That was why Devil's Nests had almost no ordinary animals other than certain birds and insects that had evolved to not fear corrupted Mana.
This underground workshop was filled with just as much, if not more, corrupted Mana as a Devil's Nest. After all, there were ten high-Rank Demons lurking about, as well as several Demon King Familiars.
Ordinary animals would be driven insane by fear.
Despite that, the mice and rabbits were calmly nibbling on their food; the small birds let out cheerful chirps and the insects seemed normal as well.
Why is that? Is it because they're descended from Undead? Or is it because they've been in this environment since they were born, so they're used to it? Doug wondered as he fed them, but as he wasn't an expert, these were the only explanations that he could come up with.
He did feel almost satisfied by these explanations, but driven by curiosity, he called out to Luciliano who was moving bottles of Blood Potion behind him.
"Hey, why do you think these guys aren't scared of Demons and Demon King Familiars?" he asked, expecting Luciliano to immediately begin explaining with a triumphant look on his face.
But Luciliano's reaction was different to what Doug expected.
"Now that you mention it…" he muttered in shock. "I can understand them not fearing the Demon King Familiars, as they are made from Master's own body, and they are accustomed to him. But why do the animals not fear the Demons?"
It seemed that Luciliano hadn't noticed the fact that the animals weren't scared of the Demons until now, though he was not surprised that they weren't scared of the Demon King Familiars.
"What? Are animals supposed to fear us?" one of the Demons asked.
"These are the first animals I've seen other than monsters, so I never noticed," said another.
The Demons themselves were just as surprised.
Luciliano approached the animals' cages, his eyes sparkling with even more curiosity than Doug. "We must investigate this – oops," he said as a bottle of Blood Potion slipped from his hand, dropping onto the floor.
The bottles were built to be sturdy, but perhaps it had landed on a weak point; there was a shattering sound as the fluid with the black-red color of coagulated blood spilled out.
"Oh dear. Eleanora and Bellmond will give me a good scolding if they found out about this," Luciliano muttered.
One of the Demons cackled. "Should we tell the Undead Vampire woman named Isla, then?"
"Don't do that; she'll skin me alive," said Luciliano. "Well, it cannot be helped – let's gather it into a container with a cloth and reuse it."
"… I can cast Sterilization, so I don't mind reusing it, but don't let anyone drink it," said the Demon King Familiar.
"Hey, you're going to injure yourself on the broken pieces of the bottle," Doug warned. "Let me gather it up with my Hecatoncheir –"
The attention of Luciliano, the Demons and Doug was focused on the broken bottle and spilled Blood Potion. At that moment, the animals all simultaneously flooded out of their cages, which had been open in order to feed them.
Doug had been using Hecatoncheir to feed them, so mice, rabbits, small birds, frogs, lizards and rhinoceros beetles all escaped from their cages.
Of course, Doug tried to use Hecatoncheir to catch them. But even with his skillful control over his ability, it was difficult to catch multiple small animals without injuring them; it was too late.
But the animals, of which there were multiple species, did not separate and flee in different directions. They all flooded towards Luciliano's feet… the Blood Potion that he had spilt.
"W-what is this?!" Luciliano shouted, instinctively jumping out of their way.
The animals ignored him and began drinking the black-red liquid with their tongues and beaks.
"My lord, is that Blood Potion popular among animals, too? These animals ran towards it as if their lives depended on it," one of the Demons remarked.
"Who knows… I've never let animals drink it before. It's sweet, so I don't think they'd hate it, though," said the Demon King Familiar.
The animals were devouring the Blood Potion greedily. They shouldn't have been intelligent enough to know what effects the Blood Potion would have, so the Demons and Vandalieu (the Demon King Familiar) observed them with great interest.
Doug decided to see what happens, and Luciliano had taken out a notepad.
As they watched, the sound of flesh and bone being ground came from the small animals as they transformed.
Mice, lizards, frogs and rhinoceros beetles small enough to fit on the palm of a hand were now Giant Rats, Giant Lizards, Big Frogs and Giant Insects, each the size of a medium-sized dog.
The rabbits had grown considerably larger as well; they had become Horned Rabbits, with a single sharp horn protruding from their foreheads.
The small birds remained their original size, but they were now Scissor Finches with sharp beaks and talons.
"W-what is this?!" Doug shouted.
"Wonderful! To think that animals could transform into such a wide diversity of monsters right before my eyes!" Luciliano exclaimed.
Once the newly-transformed monsters finished draining all of the Blood Potion from the floor, they flooded towards the Demon King Familiar… and embraced him.
"Hmm?" the Demon King Familiar murmured in surprise.
Horned Rabbits and Giant Rats rubbed their bodies against it; Giant Lizards and Big Frogs were licking its eyes. Scissor Finches were chirping as they rested on its bone arms, and Giant Insects were clambering all over its body.
Though some of these behaviors were strange, they were likely expressing affection.
"Hmm, adorable, aren't they?" one of the Demons remarked.
"No, no, they might be swarming our lord to demand that he spills more blood. Of course, they would not be able to inflict a single wound upon him," said another.
Indeed, these Rank 1 monsters posed as much or even less of a threat than medium-sized animals out in the wild. They could even be described as the weakest monsters in all of Talosheim. It would be impossible for them to inflict even a single wound on the Demon King Familiar that was made of the fragments of the Demon King, even if they attacked the eyeballs directly.
But the important thing was that up until a minute ago, they had been nothing more than ordinary animals.
"Could it be that the ones left in the cages would turn into monsters if they drank Blood Potion as well?" Doug whispered in horror, looking at the small animals in the cages behind him through his Omnidirectional Perception.
He could see them all gazing at their transformed brethren from the wall of cages as they chirped and whined.
They were crying out in jealousy.
"While it's fine because they've transformed into Rank 1 monsters, this is a real biohazard! Hey, Ossan, Vandalieu, make sure you don't spill any more Blood Potion around here!" Doug shouted.
"It is as you say, Doug-kun. First, we must prudently investigate whether the other animals will transform into monsters, how much Blood Potion is required for them to transform, and whether their Ranks differ given different Blood Potion dosages," said Luciliano, and then he turned to the Demon King Familiar. "As such, Master, we will need increased Blood Potion production."
"It can't be helped. I'll bring my main body back," the Demon King Familiar said.
"Things have gotten interesting, haven't they?" one of the Demons laughed.
"Are there only mad scientists here except me?!" Doug shouted, clutching his head.
"Still, Doug-kun and I have consumed your blood, the original main ingredient of Blood Potion. Why is it that we have not transformed?" Luciliano wondered. "Is it because you did not activate the fragment of the Demon King at the time, or is there some other reason… or could it be, the onset of the effects has been delayed?!"
Doug returned to his ordinary posture like a machine. "I've already prepared myself for the worst, so don't go saying things that'll scare me!" he shouted angrily.
Meanwhile, in the 'city' of the Demon Continent, a sermon was happening on a temporary stage that had been hurriedly built on land that had become vacant for the city's future extension.
In the world of Lambda, much like during Earth's past eras, such sermons were a form of leisure for the common people. They included myths, legends, the teachings of the gods, anecdotes relating to those teachings, and moral lessons.
For those reasons, people listened to the sermons of clergymen, donated money, learned morals and became closer to the gods. This was no different in the 'city' of the Demon Continent, which in a way was the closest to the age of the gods, as the people could simply walk a short distance and meet their guardian deities directly.
"And so, Vandalieu conquered the Trial of Zakkart and brought me back to life. He accomplished what could only have been thought of as impossible," said Darcia, the one who was giving the sermon.
She was recounting the adventures of her son Vandalieu, so there was a larger crowd than usual gathered in front of the enormous stage.
She was amplifying her voice with a wind-attribute spell. As she watched her listeners being drawn to her words and overcome with emotion, she reminded herself what was next on the program.
Having to talk, sing and dance in front of a big crowd is a different kind of nervousness from having to talk to someone really important! But this is all for everyone to enjoy themselves as they learn about Vandalieu. Mom's doing her best, Vandalieu! she told herself.
"Our next performance is a medley of songs, with the theme being our adventures!" she announced.
The listeners stirred with excitement.
"We've been waiting for this!" one of them cheered.
In the next moment, bright lights of all colors illuminated the stage.
"We're including a song we finished today! We're sure you'll love it!" announced Kanako, the person in charge of songwriting and choreography.
"Every member has done their best to practice. I would most appreciate if everyone cheers for us," said Zadiris.
The listeners… the audience, cheered excitedly in response to Zadiris's request and began reciting enchantments and preparing Magic Items.
"… Light."
"Firefly Glow."
"Hey, cast it on my stick, too. I can't use light-attribute magic."
"That's why you buy a Magic Item, stingy guy. It can't be helped. Just this once."
"Heh, I owe you one."
The audience members were holding sticks that were shorter than wands, and with a small white light shining from their ends, the audience looked like a night sky full of stars.
Zandia raised her hands into the air. "Here we go, everyone!" she shouted.
She was holding a metal staff with a complicated shape… a transformation staff.
Zadiris, Kanako and Darcia raised their own transformation staves in sync with Zandia.
"Transform!" they cried in unison.
The stage lights grew brighter, and four cloaks materialized out of nowhere. The audiences' cheers were greeted by the four members, wearing their combat gear made from the transformation staves' liquid metal parts changing shape to form metal fibers… their costumes.
This sight brought the audiences' excitement to a climax. Their eyes sparkled as they bore their fangs and let out roars that would cause monsters to flee.
Some of them accidentally let out fiery Breaths; the 'Divine Spear of Ice' Mikhail, who was working as security, had to warn them: "Please refrain from releasing Breaths inside the venue."
To speak in defense of the audience members' honor, they were not merely excited by Zadiris and Kanako's leotards with mini-skirts attached, Zandia's dress with bold slits, or Darcia's plentiful chest.
Half of the audience were women, and many of them were wearing clothing that was just as revealing as Darcia's.
The audience was wildly excited by the format of the sermon… this idol concert.
The idols danced in time to the music, using their transformation staves and lights in an original performance. The audience contributed with their cheers, creating a sense of unity.
The songs and dances were new, and the audience was experiencing something they had never experienced before, and they were drawn into a new perspective on the world.
Phew. At this rate, our weeklong consecutive sermons… our fifth concert, is a success as well, thought Kanako, the mastermind behind Lambda's only entertainment scene.
Her costume had many ribbons and laces, emphasizing her cuteness, and she was giving the audience a radiant smile.
She had poured a considerable amount of work and effort into this concert.
A few groans came from the concert venue itself – Knochen.
Inspired by the deeds of Vandalieu, the 'Sword King' Borkus and others, the inhabitants of the 'city' had decided to expand it, and construction work had already started. Thus, Knochen had become a concert venue, utilizing the newly-vacated land.
Knochen was tougher now as had acquired several hundred of the Demon King's bones that Vandalieu had absorbed, and it had also undergone training on the Demon Continent. As a result, it had gone from a Rank 11 Bone Palace to a Rank 12 Death Bone Palace, and then a Rank 13 Bone Pandemonium.
Its size was indeed worthy of Pandemonium. It was large enough to fit the entirety of Tokyo Dome and the surrounding area inside it.
This space was being used as a stage, with seats provided for the audience, and Knochen was even skillfully producing a band performance… though the instruments were flutes and xylophones made of bone.
As for the lighting, it was being provided by the Demon King Familiars provided by Vandalieu. They were lighting-type Demon King Familiars, specialized for providing stage lighting, consisting of large eyeballs with bone arms protruding from them. They were singing the idols' names in flat-toned voices.
They controlled their arms, which were made of the Demon King's Bones, by gripping or sticking to Knochen's bones with the Demon King's claws and suction cups. They produced light with the Demon King's Luminescent Organs, and adjusted the lighting with the Demon King's lens.
However, Vandalieu was not watching the performance through these Demon King Familiars.
Because there was a great distance between the Demon Continent and Bahn Gaia, it was out of range of Vandalieu's Group Control Skill. Also, there was no pseudo-main-body-type Demon King Familiar stationed here like there was in Talosheim. This was because if Vandalieu created too many pseudo-main-bodies, it could cause chaos inside his own mind.
And thus, the Demon King Familiars in the Demon Continent were not under Vandalieu's control. As for the question of what would happen to parts of Vandalieu's body that were out of range of Skills such as Long-distance Control and Group Control… Ordinarily, they would not be able to move. Perhaps they could twitch in response to a stimulus, but they would not be able to produce any meaningful movement.
However, that was not the case for the Demon King Familiars. They were a part of Vandalieu, but they had been made so that they would be able to sustain their own existence independently to some extent, and they were equipped with enough sensory organs such as the Demon King's eyeballs and antennae, as well as nerves and sub-brains, to be able to conduct some form of thought.
Thus, the Demon King Familiars could move despite not being under Vandalieu's control. Their ability to think was decreased to that of an average animal, and they were unable to use most Skills, but they obediently followed the instructions of those that Vandalieu recognized as allies. Thus, they conducted physical work and construction in the 'city,' and they also served as guards to watch out for monsters approaching the outer wall.
And Kanako was using them as lighting staff.
I have to give them instructions in a lot of detail, but that's the only flaw they have. I just need to tell them what my plan for the performance is using Venus, and they follow the instructions perfectly, Kanako thought.
She had pretended that her cheat-like ability, Venus, was a power that let her charm its targets. However, it was a power that allowed her to imprint her own emotions and memories upon others. She was using this ability without reserve.
Ordinarily, Demon King Familiars would be unaffected by things influencing their mind due to the Deformed Soul Skill. However, even though the Skill prevented the Demon King Familiars' own memories from being altered, it was still possible to share memories and images.
As I thought, this concert… this idol unit has potential! Legion and Gufadgarn are helping us with transport, so I'd like to make them official members, but… that would need one of Legion's members to make a lot of effort, Kanako thought.
Even with these thoughts running through her mind, Kanako and the other idols continued their performance with no mistakes… or rather, with some small mistakes from the idols other than Kanako, but none that were large enough to affect the show.
Borkus and the others, who were watching from the audience, were also enjoying themselves.
"Sermons from other worlds are pretty fun! It's just like a festival! Zandia, don't trip over your own feet, now!" Borkus shouted towards the stage, waving a glowing stick in rhythm with the music.
"To be more precise, this is an idol concert, not a sermon. It's not common for there to be singing and dancing in Earth and Origin's sermons… though I won't say there's none," said Pluto in a calm tone, also waving a glowing stick.
"Is that right? But it was written somewhere, 'One-week-long-sermon,'" said Borkus.
"People wouldn't know what it is if we wrote 'concert,' so Kanako apparently thought of calling it a 'sermon' so that everyone would come to listen," Pluto explained.
"If I recall, the musical composition and choreography is a slightly altered version of the ones used in Origin and Earth. We've never heard them, so we wouldn't know, though," said Saria.
"She said that nobody would notice if she copied them exactly, so she'd make things easier for herself where she could," said Rita.
"Jyuuh, I see. How clever," said Bone Man with a nod, waving one of his own ribs instead of a glowing stick.
Naturally, even Kanako, who had been an idol in her previous life, did not have first-rate skills in songwriting and choreography in addition to everything else. She could do these things, but it would have been impossible to produce a medley with top-notch composition and choreography in only a few months.
Thus, she had made use of songs she had sung and heard in the past. It seemed that she had done this without hesitation, as the copyright license holders from Earth and Origin wouldn't come all the way to another world to make claims.
Zadiris's granddaughter Jadal was cheering as she watched. "Do your best, Grandma!"
"More importantly, Zadiris is… Is she really trying to not gain attention? I'm worried…" murmured Vigaro, Jadal's grandfather.
"Mother did say that she's going to do one year at a time, and she doesn't stand at the front too often, so it'll be fine if Kanako gets more members… probably," said Basdia, Jadal's mother.
"But you were invited to be a member as well, weren't you, Basdia-san?" Rita asked.
"That's right. Van made me a transformation staff already, too. Apparently, I'd just need to do some 'voice training' and dance practice and I'd be able to stand on the stage," said Basdia, showing Rita the transformation staff that she had received from Vandalieu.
It seemed that Kanako really was determined to fill her idol unit with magical girls.
"It's not like I'm not interested. I can see the effects it has on morale, and the dancing can be applied to combat techniques. It would probably be useful to inspire the Ghoul Amazonesses and lead the new Ghouls in Talosheim… like Mother," said Basdia.
"Zadiris-san is more popular among the Ghouls than she expected, after all," said Saria.
Zadiris was such a powerful type of Ghoul that her race title was not even known among the Ghoul tribes; to the Ghouls who had moved to Talosheim late, she was an inspiring figure – a true legend.
Now that she was standing on stage, there was no way that she would not gather attention. Even now, the Ghoul Amazonesses of the Demon Continent were cheering for her.
"I don't think Kanako thought this far, though," Basdia added.
"But if you were to stand on the stage as well, wouldn't she draw even more attention?" asked Borkus.
"That's what I'm a little concerned about. Mother said that the fad will die down after ten years at most, so I'm thinking that it should be alright," said Basdia.
"Mommy's going to be a magical girl, too!" Jadal said excitedly.
"Jadal's saying things like this, too, after all," said Basdia.
It seemed that Basdia was thinking of accepting Kanako's proposal. Perhaps the day that mother and daughter appeared on stage was close.
"This world's idol's standards are pretty amazing right from the start, aren't they," Pluto remarked, imagining how amazing Lambda's entertainment industry could be one day.
Even at this point, two members, Darcia and Zadiris, had children. Idols with children at the time of their debut… such idols would certainly attract a certain type of attention on Earth and in Origin, but these were the pioneers of idols in Lambda.
"We'll need to learn how to dance in a way that makes it look like we have a skeleton," said Shade, borrowing Pluto's mouth.
"We can't fail at dancing after Ghost finally agreed to it," said Isis through Pluto's mouth as well.
"You're right," Pluto nodded in agreement.
Legion could transform to make themselves appear just like a human, but this was merely an alteration of their appearance; they did not actually grow bones.
Thus, if they tried any strenuous activities like dancing, their body would flop about in a very strange performance.
"Perhaps it would be best to implant a spine and bones for our hands and feet while we're transformed," said Pluto.
"That is an excellent idea. Once the sermon is over, let us have Knochen share one skeleton's worth of bones," said Bone Man.
"Wow, Pluto-san's debut is coming soon, isn't it! Nee-san, we should join, too!" said Rita.
"Rita, we're here as Darcia-sama's guards and security staff; we can't become members," said Saria.
"… Incidentally, it is time for security staff to change shifts," Mikhail said reservedly, and the conversation came to an end.
However, there was another unsettling conversation happening somewhere else, with nobody stopping it.
A three-meter-tall, burly Kiryujin with horns, claws as well as scales covering its arms, legs and shoulders, was talking to a Maryujin with membranous wings and the tail of a dragon.
"Unforgivable… No, it should not be forgiven," the Kiryujin whispered.
"Yes. After doing something like that…" the Maryujin whispered back.
"Unforgivable… Heinz and his party. They have not received any punishment."
"You're completely right. They captured our Holy Mother and had her burned alive, but they're still treated as heroes."
These curses were directed not at the members on the stage, but at Heinz and the Five-colored Blades.
Darcia had mainly spoken of her adventures with Vandalieu; she hadn't deliberately gone out of her way to directly talk about her torture and execution at the hands of High Priest Gordan and the evil-god-worshipping Vampires pulling the strings, nor had she denounced Heinz.
Her objective was to have the audience learn of Vandalieu and enjoy the entertainment.
But Darcia's kindness only caused increased feelings of animosity towards Heinz and his companions, for mercilessly killing such a good person and causing the still-young Vandalieu long years of hardship.
Darcia was Vida's incarnation; to the listeners, she was a god in person. Some were already worshipping her as the Holy Mother. They could not help but feel anger at the fact that the ones who had killed her were being praised as heroes in another nation.
"Those Holy-Mother-killers…"
Voices cursing Heinz spread deep among the crowd.
And these sentiments had already spread in Talosheim and the nations inside the Boundary Mountain Range. The people of Talosheim in particular had heard the story from Vandalieu directly; Heinz's name was synonymous with the word 'villain' there.
But these cursing thoughts had never taken form until now.
As the music continued and the concert disguised as a sermon approached its end, two enormous gods appeared in the sky – Tiamat, the Mountain Queen Elder Dragon God, and Deanna, the Moon Giant.
The audience was surprised, wondering if there was a large-scale monster rampage or an attack by Alda's forces.
"Everyone, calm yourselves. Today is an auspicious day, and we wish to give a gift," said Tiamat, calming the audience down.
"A gift?" repeated Darcia, a puzzled look on her face.
The goddesses nodded.
"Indeed. The gift is not for you, Darcia, but for Vandalieu," said Tiamat. "My children, Vandalieu is the emperor who rules this 'city.' The emperor who rules my Maryujin and Kiryujin children, and the one who leads them. Thus, I wish to give him the Title of 'Elder Dragon Emperor.'"
Tiamat announced her wish to grant Vandalieu a Title higher than the 'Dragon Emperor' Title Lioen, the Crystal-horned Dragon God who was currently the most powerful Elder Dragon, had attempted and failed to grant Vandalieu.
The audience fell into complete silence for a moment, and then exploded in cheers.
"It seems that there are none in opposition of this. With everyone's agreement, there is no doubt that Vandalieu will gain this Title, as he is already being served by Fidirg and Luvesfol… Incidentally, where is that Pauvina? I was thinking of naming her 'Elder Dragon Princess' and granting her my divine protection," said Tiamat.
"Pauvina-chan was cheering for us in the audience up on the previous days, but they're in a Dungeon with Jeena-san, Rappie-chan and the others along with Luves-kun," said Darcia.
"I see; what poor timing. Well then, it can wait until they return, so please tell her to come to my statue," said Tiamat.
"It is unfortunate that we were not able to remove all of the obstacles," said Deeana.
"Dear me, I wonder what you are talking about?" said Tiamat, feigning ignorance.
Deeana sighed, and Kanako, Zandia, Zadiris, Basdia and Legion all looked at her.
"I shall grant you a divine protection. May it help you support Vandalieu," said Deeana.
The Moon Giant glowed faintly, and the light enveloped Kanako and the others.
"Amazing! Is this a divine protection?!" Kanako exclaimed.
"That is right. I am only able to grant it to those who are close to me, but… there are more of you than I thought. I am a little surprised," said Deeana, having been able to grant her divine protection to more people than she had expected. "Zandia, please tell your two older sisters to receive divine blessings from my brother when he awakens," she added, and her glow faded.
"Ah, yes! … Wait, Talos-sama is going to be resurrected?!" said Zandia.
"Yes. He was heavily wounded by Bellwood and Nineroad while trying to defend Vida, so it took some time, but it will happen soon… but perhaps he is simply unable to come out because there are many drunkards making noise on top of his head," said Deeana.
"Eh? Drunkards?" Zandia repeated blankly.
"You will understand if you ask Vandalieu about it later," said Deeana, and her image vanished from the sky along with Tiamat's.
"I see… It seems that something troublesome is about to happen," said Kanako.
"Yes, Talos-sama's resurrection… We need to call Nee-san and Jeena-nee back," said Zandia.
"The guests are really excited. I don't think they'll be satisfied unless we do an encore performance… Which songs shall we perform?" said Kanako.
"Is that what you're worried about?!" Zandia said, exasperated.
"Well, that is indeed troublesome as well… incidentally, my throat is…" Zadiris murmured.
With some hurried cooperation from the musicians and boastful singers of the 'city,' and a short break to allow their throats to recover, the idols performed several encore songs and the concert ended in success.
Meanwhile, Heinz was about to challenge a new floor in Alda's Dungeon when he suddenly heard an announcement in his mind.
"You have acquired the 'Holy Mother Killer' Title!"
"W-what?! I'm the 'Holy Mother Killer?!'"
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Ricklent, the genie of time and magic, was the creator of the god of Statuses, the god of Jobs and the god of Skills – the gods who ruled over the Status System.
The Demon King had taken advantage of an opening that Ricklent had left and added an unknown god to the system, the god of Ranks. This allowed monsters to be included in the system.
Through this process, Titles had begun to appear in Statuses, something that neither Ricklent nor Guduranis had intentionally included in the system.
To Ricklent and the Demon King, Titles were unknown factors, but a hundred thousand years had passed since then, and even humans had learned how they worked to some extent.
Titles could be gained by a being if a certain number of people… at least several thousand, referred to that being by the Title. The more exaggerated a Title was, the more difficult it was to acquire; such Titles became easier to acquire if influential or well-known individuals referred to the being as those Titles.
For example, the 'Hyena' Title could be acquired by an individual by being referred to as such by a considerable number of ruffians, that individual's victims, the government officials and adventurers trying to control them – about a thousand people in total.
However, a Title such as 'Greatest Swordsman on the Continent' would be hard to acquire even if acknowledged as such by tens, hundreds of thousands of people, unless one also had the acknowledgement of the ruler of an enormous nation covering half of the continent, or the acknowledgement of a god.
There was also a reactionary effect, related to the conditions required to acquire a Title.
Even if one who possessed a Title and gained fame was a worthy, just individual, some would hold resentment against them and others would spread false rumors out of jealousy or for their own gain.
Adventurers working in certain nations, famous knights, generals and army strategists in particular were commonly exposed to these. They would be praised as heroes in their own nations, but others in enemy nations would resent them and consider their military achievements to be evil deeds.
However, it was rare for this infamy to become Titles for such heroes. The fame they possessed in the form of the Title they already held cancelled that negative reputation out.
It was not known precisely how much fame was required to cancel out a certain amount of infamy. However, it was because of this reactionary effect that the 'Divine Spear of Ice' Mikhail who was a hero of the Mirg shield-nation two hundred years ago and the 'Light-speed Sword' Rickert Amid who had been one of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords had not gained Titles through their negative reputation among their enemies.
Of course, some Titles were ones that many called an individual for their everyday deeds, and nothing could be done about the individual being called by such Titles.
This was true for the 'Thunderclap' Schneider's 'Seed-Provider' Title and the 'Demon King' Title of Vandalieu, who was also the 'Holy Son of Vida.'
However, Heinz's everyday deeds were those of a noble and just S-class adventurer, an honorary nobleman. He was renowned for many things, and no infamy had manifested on his Status.
Until now.
"W-what?! I'm the 'Holy Mother Killer?!'"
Heinz, who had been preparing to head to the next floor of his trial, stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded by the sudden announcement in his head. He hastily checked his Status.
He had thought that there must be some kind of mistake, but a new Title called 'Holy Mother Killer' was clearly displayed in his Status.
"How can this be…" he muttered.
"Oi, Heinz, what's the matter? What do you mean by 'Holy Mother Killer'…?!" Edgar began, but he suddenly fell silent.
"Heinz, Edgar, what's wrong –?! This is… You two see it as well?" murmured Delizah.
"Oi, what's wrong with you three?" asked Jennifer.
"Did something happen? Your expressions are very alarming," said Diana.
Heinz, Edgar and Delizah were lost for words for a moment… They looked at each other and nodded before speaking.
"I, and probably Edgar and Delizah as well, have acquired a Title called 'Holy Mother Killer.' I checked my Status… It doesn't seem like I'm daydreaming or that I misheard," said Heinz.
"Holy Mother Killer?! 'Holy Mother' means a mother who is sacred, right? That's a totally evil title!" Jennifer exclaimed, before hastily covering her mouth. "… Sorry," she apologized.
"It's alright," said Heinz, shaking his head.
The party was currently on a path inside the suburbs of this Dungeon's 'town,' the one that led to the staircase that would take them to the floors that contained more trials for them. Thus, it was possible that someone might overhear them if they spoke too loudly. However, this 'town' was inside a Dungeon that Alda, the god of law and fate, had created as a trial to challenge the one who wished to succeed Bellwood.
Heinz and his companions had traveled to each floor through this path for over a year now, and they often exchanged conversation with the people of the 'town.' Through these interactions, they had noticed that these people were illusions of people who had lived peaceful lives… probably during the age of the gods.
In other words, they were similar to the monsters, Pure-breed Vampires and Majin that appeared as a part of the trials.
Even if the people of this 'town' learned of this scandal, news was unlikely to leak to the outside world.
"I see… Phew, I panicked a little," Jennifer said in relief.
"Still, this is not something that should be spoken in loud voices. 'Holy Mother Killer' is not a Title to be proud of, unless this is some evil god's trick," Diana said sternly, her face pale.
This was a serious situation.
In the religion of Alda, the god of law and fate, there was a pope and holy women, but none known as a 'holy mother.' Many of the gods of Alda's religion were male, and many of the churches that worshipped them were patriarchal societies.
Thus, most people would assume that a 'holy mother' would be an important figure of a religion other than Alda's… They would likely think of Botin, mother of the earth and goddess of craftsmanship, or… Vida, the goddess of life and love.
Heinz was a leader of Alda's peaceful faction, who recognized the existence and rights of Vida's races. Him and his companions Delizah and Edgar possessing a Title called 'Holy Mother Killer' could become a fatal scandal for them.
"Wait, Diana. There is no 'Holy Mother' position in Vida's Church either. I don't know about the past, but I'm sure there's no figure called that now," said Jennifer.
Indeed, there were female figures known as holy women in the Churches of Vida and her subordinate gods in the Orbaume Kingdom, but there was no official position called 'Holy Mother.'
There was surely nobody who even possessed the Title of 'Holy Mother.' Thus, it should have been clear that Heinz and his companions had not killed any Holy Mother.
"Jennifer, you're right. But the problem is that the fact that we've killed a holy mother has been recognized. By a large group of people or even gods, no less," said Edgar.
"That's impossible!" Jennifer exclaimed immediately, but her face fell as she realized that this could not be denied so easily. "… No, I suppose the Title appearing on your Statuses means that's what's happened."
"But what kind of group? At the very least, it has to be a group on the scale of the Orbaume Kingdom and the gods of Alda's religion that granted us their divine protections… The Amid Empire?" Delizah guessed.
"No, that's not possible. We've definitely moved our base of activities from the Amid Empire to the kingdom. The people of the empire won't think positively of that, but that doesn't mean they'd consider us 'Holy Mother Killers,'" Heinz pointed out.
He was right. No matter how negatively the people of the Amid Empire might think of Heinz and his companions now that they were S-class adventurers, they would not become 'Holy Mother Killers' just for having moved nations.
"At the very least, it means that we have killed a being that a certain group of people recognize as a 'Holy Mother.' I cannot think of any, however," said Diana.
"You're right… I can't think of any, either," said Jennifer, digging through her memory. "Most of the enemies we've defeated up until now were monsters, and we haven't even been a part of the war against the Amid Empire. I can't imagine that there was some bandit or assassin known as a 'Holy Mother,' either."
"It's Holy Mother, so it has to be a woman… Ternecia? That female Pure-breed Vampire?" Delizah suggested, naming the first prominent female enemy they had defeated that came to her mind.
To be precise, the party had merely finished off a Ternecia who had barely managed to escape from somewhere, but the world did acknowledge them as having defeated her.
But Edgar shook his head, a dispirited expression on his face. "Delizah, that's not possible. It's true that she's a woman, and she probably made a bunch of children in the sense of being a Vampire. Maybe the Vampire society worshipping the evil god of joyful life is large and influential enough to be the cause… but surely you can't call that a 'holy mother.'"
"Well, that's true," Delizah agreed.
Ternecia's image was one of a purely evil woman; there wasn't a shred of anything resembling a 'holy mother.'
"But then… could it be, that female Majin? If I recall, she worshipped an evil god and called herself the 'holy woman of darkness,'" said Jennifer.
"That one got away from us, remember? Who else…? I don't think there were any women among the Kijin group we exterminated, and we've only defeated a few small-fries after Ternecia," Edgar murmured.
Nobody could come up with an explanation.
But Heinz, who had been silent and deep in thought, finally spoke. "There is one that it could be," he said.
There was a thick crease between his brows; it was clear that he was suppressing a wish to deny the possibility that he had thought of.
"No way," Edgar muttered with a sigh. "You're not going to say it's that Dark Elf woman we captured in that tiny village in the Mirg shield-nation, are you? I'll tell you now, it's definitely not her."
"Why do you think that?" Heinz asked him.
"Why? It's obvious. I do think we did a bad thing back then, and it was a tragedy. Even more so now that we're raising Selen," said Edgar. "But that Dark Elf was known in the Mirg shield-nation as a 'witch,' and even in the Orbaume Kingdom, people would consider her a mother who met a tragic end, not a 'Holy Mother.'"
"You may be right if she was called 'Holy Mother' in the hidden Dark Elf village that she was born in, but… judging from your expressions, that was not the case," said Diana, looking at Edgar and Heinz's faces.
She had never encountered the Dark Elf… Darcia, herself.
Heinz and his party had not seen Darcia's Status back then either, and they could not imagine that being proficient in combat would be a requirement of being called a 'Holy Mother.' However, if she really had been such an important figure, she would have had multiple Dark Elf guards or guards of Vida's other races.
Thus, the fact that they had captured Darcia to fulfil a request from the Adventurers' Guild had nothing to do with gaining the 'Holy Mother Killer' Title.
"But there's a reason I think it's true, Edgar. The only ones who have acquired the 'Holy Mother Killer' Title are me, you and Delizah. Jennifer and Diana don't have it," Heinz pointed out.
The other four looked at each other. Indeed, neither Jennifer nor Diana's Statuses displayed the 'Holy Mother Killer' Title, even now.
"Heinz, that just means that we killed someone known as a 'Holy Mother' sometime before these two joined the Five-colored Blades. That doesn't mean it has to be that Dark Elf Darcia… Well, not that I have any other ideas," Delizah mumbled.
The old Five-colored Blades had been famous as notable young adventurers, especially Heinz, who had been a B-class adventurer at the time, wielding a magic sword wreathed in blue flames that he carried even today.
However, they had been incomparably weaker than they were now, and although their accomplishments as adventurers had been incredible, they were small in comparison to those of the 'Thunderclap' Schneider, an S-class adventurer.
Of course, they had not defeated any notable enemies, either.
Heinz's expression remained bitter.
"Delizah, everyone, she might not have been called 'Holy Mother' when we captured her," he said. "But what if she came to be known as a 'Holy Mother' after her death? It's not historically rare for deceased figures to be given titles."
"That's true, but that only applies for influential figures like knights who died in battle, or noblemen, or adventurers who defeated calamity-designated monsters at the cost of their own lives. So –" Delizah began to argue.
"What if her son went on to become an influential figure?" Heinz pressed on, cutting her off. "The Dhampir born between that Dark Elf… Darcia, and the Vampire Valen – Vandalieu, the one who appeared in the city of Niarki."
Everyone fell silent. In other circumstances, someone would be denying this idea – perhaps Edgar would even burst into laughter.
But every member present here had witnessed Vandalieu appearing alongside Pure-breed Vampires on the 50th floor of this Dungeon, freely wielding two – no, four fragments of the Demon King as well as incredibly unusual spells.
Edgar had guessed that it might be a monster that changed its own appearance to cause agitation in its enemies, but now… everyone realized that this had been nothing more than an attempt to escape from the truth.
This convenient escape from the truth was no longer convincing after hearing Heinz's theory.
"… It's true that he might be able to lead monsters and the Vampires who worship evil gods if he's that powerful, even if he is a child. It might even really be him that Ternecia was escaping from," Edgar muttered.
"So that means it's no coincidence that the gods recreated an illusion of him in this Dungeon," said Jennifer. "To think that he would give you guys the 'Holy Mother Killer' Title…"
"That's right. Vandalieu is still alive and becoming even stronger. I don't know whether he's planning revenge against me or whether he's trying to pull off something bigger, but… he's likely to harm the gods and this world. That's what Alda thinks, which is probably why he made Vandalieu one of this Dungeon's trials. If these assumptions are correct, he should appear one more time as an enemy further into the trials," said Heinz, wiping the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead and beginning to walk towards the staircase once more. "Let's go," he said to his companions. "If he appears before us again, we need to see if this is true, even if it's an illusion."
In a Divine Realm filled with a bright blue, several gods whispered amongst themselves.
"It seems that the ill news brought by the god of reincarnation was true."
"To think that gods such as Zuruwarn-sama and Ricklent-sama would side not with Alda, but with Vida… I cannot believe this."
"Were they afflicted by a maddening poison when they were wounded by the Demon King? Just like Zantark?"
"No, it is possible that they are still sane."
"What foolish things are you saying? If they are sane, why are they not working with Alda-sama!"
"I have heard that Zuruwarn-sama has always been known for his blasphemy since the age of the gods. Ricklent-sama is a god who perceives things not as good and evil, but through other criteria, is he not? They may be great gods, but we must not assume that they think in the same way as Alda-sama."
"How disrespectful! It is only natural for any great god to think about what is best for this world! In fact, both Zuruwarn-sama and Ricklent-sama joined forces with Alda-sama to fight against the Demon King Guduranis!"
"Then let me ask you this. Why did their subordinate gods act in that way during the battle that took place a hundred thousand years ago! Almost all of those with individual personalities sided with Vida, and the rest hid away in their Divine Realms, spouting nonsense about maintaining the attributes, not even showing their faces as this crucial event took place!"
Finally, this argument between the gods was interrupted.
"This is good," said a goddess who had been sitting silently in a corner of the Divine realm.
"Pargtarta-dono!" one of the other gods murmured in surprise.
The younger gods who had risen to godhood after the battle of a hundred thousand years ago turned to face the goddess who had interrupted. This goddess had been ordered to watch over the resting grounds of Peria, the goddess of water and knowledge, and protect them from Vandalieu. Other than initial greetings, she had not spoken a word up until this point, so the gods were surprised to hear her speak now.
She was Pargtarta, the goddess of flow. She was the first familiar spirit that Peria had ever created, and she was now a goddess. She was the most closely-trusted among all of Peria's subordinates. As the goddess of flow, she was a senior subordinate god who had not moved from this place so that she could keep the wounded, slumbering Peria safe.
"I am not blaming you. Gods too need recreation, after all. Youngsters being full of curiosity is nothing out of the ordinary, and lively discussion will deepen your own viewpoints. You may continue," Pargtarta said to the gods.
Realizing that she was indirectly telling them to speak calmly rather than argue angrily, the young gods remained uncomfortably silent, avoiding looking at each other.
Though Pargtarta was a subordinate god like them, she was as important to Peria as Curatos was to Alda. Though she was not worshipped independently, every Church deifying Peria would contain statues and sculptures depicting Pargtarta as well.
She was on a different level from the others.
Seeing the other gods fall silent, Pargtarta spoke to them quietly.
"I understand your feelings of unease," she said. "There is news that the Sun Giant Talos has been revived, is there not?"
"Y-yes. According to the gods that were keeping watch, the Pure-breed Vampires conducted a blasphemous ritual, and shortly after that, Talos roared as he rose from the earth," said one of the other gods.
"The marks on his neck made by Nineroad-sama's whip still remain, but it seems that he has been fully revived," said another, his words gradually becoming more fluid as he spoke. "However, he remains charmed by Vida's beauty just as he was a hundred thousand years ago; I have heard that he is staying inside the Boundary Mountain Range and has created a Divine Realm there."
Alda's forces believed that the Pure-breed Vampires had conducted some blasphemous ritual to revive Talos, and also that the Pure-breed Vampires had acquired the Sunlight Resistance Skill or something else that allowed them to conquer the sun.
However, the truth was that Talos had had enough of Dragan and Erpel fooling about on top of his head and shouted angrily at them, "Enough! I cannot get out if you are making so much noise on my head!"
Of course, Alda's forces were also wrong about how the Pure-breed Vampires had conquered the sun; it was because they were now Abyssal Pure-breed Vampires.
But it was true that the revived Vida was regaining her forces. Even the young gods who had not experienced the battle of a hundred thousand years ago were shaken by this fact.
With Pargtarta having pointed out their unrest, the young gods suddenly realized that they had never exchanged proper conversation with her, so they began talking to her about their worries.
"Judging from the present situation, what is happening on the Demon Continent? If Talos has been revived, then Deeana and Tiamat should have been revived as well, as they were less heavily wounded than he was. Farmaun-sama… Farmaun, is showing no signs of returning to Alda-sama."
"And Alda-sama is hiding something from us. He was apparently very shaken by what he was told about Vandalieu by Rodcorte. There is no mistake that it is something grave, if it is enough to cause unrest even in Alda-sama."
"According to the rumors I heard, he was in a fit of anger rather than being shaken… Vandalieu is someone who was reincarnated here by Rodcorte from another world, and there are approximately a hundred others who will be reincarnated here as well. Is it not likely that Alda was enraged by that?"
"From another world, just like the champions… but from Earth. If Vandalieu was born there, it is no doubt a hellish world filled with blasphemous people with no fear for gods."
Now that the topic had shifted to Earth, Pargtarta joined the discussion once more. "It is only natural for you to feel unease. Our lord Alda himself is shaken, after all," she said. "But you must calm yourselves. It is true that Vida's faction is organizing its forces; it may eventually become as powerful as it was a hundred thousand years ago, or even more so. But that will be hundreds or even thousands of years from now, will it not?"
Vida had been freed from Alda's divine authority and revived. She would likely gain more familiar spirits and heroic spirits, made from the souls of her believers.
The powerful members and ancestors of Vida's races such as the Pure-breed Vampires were on the move once more.
Two of the great gods had sided with Vida, and Vandalieu was currently moving behind the scenes in the Orbaume Kingdom.
However, Vida and the other great gods had not completely recovered from their wounds. They would not be able to gather new familiar spirits and heroic spirits right away.
And many powerful enemies, such as the Vampire True Ancestor, had been buried or sealed away a hundred thousand years ago by Alda's forces. These enemies would never return.
"Meanwhile, Alda-sama is raising a new vessel to become a champion who would succeed Bellwood, and attempting to awaken Bellwood himself. The other gods are finding and nurturing new heroes. We are not participating in this process as we must devote ourselves to protect this place, and if it is done poorly, we will end up with low-quality heroes. But we can trust the others' efforts to ensure this will not be the case," said Pargtarta. "Furthermore, through some strange turn of events, we have Rodcorte's full cooperation, do we not?"
"Now that you mention it, you are right. In terms of number, Vida's side has four great gods including the Zantark who has lost his mind, but none of those gods are in their ordinary states," one of the young gods murmured.
"That's right. I do not know how trustworthy Rodcorte is from what I have heard, but we will become a sturdier rock once Peria-sama is revived. Is that not right, Pargtarta-dono?" said another, looking up to Pargtarta with bright hope on his face.
Pargtarta nodded, providing the young gods with a great sense of reassurance. "Once our master is revived, I am sure she will do her utmost for this world's sake, too," she said.
"Yes, she is the goddess who is praised for knowing the hearts of gods."
"Peria-sama's knowledge will be of great support to Alda-sama, whose heart pains over the betrayal of his brothers."
With those words of praise for Peria, the young gods returned to their observation and guard duties with the desire to protect this place at all costs.
It seemed that the diversion had succeeded.
Pargtarta smiled at the gods as they left, then returned to her own position, holding her spear and shield.
The thoughts of beings with emotions are complex, so leading them is troublesome, but it is good that they are simple. Whether they stay to protect Peria-sama or not does not make a difference, but thanks to them, I have a good understanding of the outside world, she thought to herself, staring coldly at the young gods while still wearing a fake smile. It seems that the information is correct. My true master, can you hear my voice?
Pargtarta's master was not Alda. She showed respect for him for appearances' sake, but she was a goddess who belonged elsewhere.
To begin with, the current situation in which Alda controlled gods who managed multiple attributes was unnatural and irregular.
Pargtarta did not think anything of the young gods who had not noticed that the current situation was unnatural and irregular. It was only natural to be swept into an easier path; this was true for both gods and mortals.
Even Pargtarta herself was no exception to this.
My true master, my flow will go in the direction in which you point.
"I was watching as if I was dreaming. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for rebuilding this destroyed nation and saving my children, but… please stop making so much noise on my head."
These were the words Talos spoke after his revival, and ten days had passed since then.
An increase in Blood Potion production, a lecture by Darcia and the other idols to celebrate Talos's revival, and the taking over of the criminal organization had all been completed, so Vandalieu was trying to officially enter the city that he had set his sights on.
But as he stood in the line outside the city's gates, his consciousness suddenly faded away. The next thing he knew, he was being held in the mouth of one of Zuruwarn's heads.
Ah, a midday dream, he thought, but he couldn't do anything as he was carried off somewhere.
After they crossed a background that resembled a night sky, they arrived at their destination and Vandalieu saw a nostalgic sight.
A blue planet – Earth.
It had more clouds than Vandalieu had often seen in maps or on TV, but it was certainly Earth.
"There's someone that I want you to meet," said Zuruwarn.
"Before that, is it alright if I go and look up the recipe for Cola? Also, I'd like to taste the cheese and branded meats so I can have a reference," said Vandalieu.
"Hmm, that might be difficult. Descending on the planet as you are now would cause problems both for you and for the planet. Especially for the people on the surface," said Zuruwarn, shuddering at the thought of what would happen if a great monster and himself were to descend onto Earth.
Vandalieu then realized that he was small in comparison to Zuruwarn in his current form, but he was still the size of a multistory building.
"… Never mind, then," he said.
Hesitant to descend upon Japan in a building-size state, he reluctantly gave up on his idea.
"But if there is someone you want to know about, we can observe what they are doing now," said Ricklent, whom Vandalieu had only just realized was present.
Vandalieu thought for a moment, then suddenly realized that there was something that he wanted to know.
What had happened, approximately thirty years after his own death?
"I'd like to know what happened to the business that I would have had a live-in job at if I hadn't died, and the person who interviewed me," Vandalieu said.
Zuruwarn laughed loudly. "Is that what you want to know? I thought you'd want to know what happened to some idol or actress that you liked, but I was wrong! … Ah, sorry," he said, realizing that his mouth had accidentally let go of Vandalieu.
"Zuruwarn, he may be only a soul at the moment, but that does not mean we can simply release him into outer space," Ricklent warned him.
He reached out to catch Vandalieu, who was helplessly flapping his arms and legs in silence as he floated about in space.
"Vandalieu, it seems that the construction company that you would have joined is still in existence. However, the person who was in charge of your interview has moved to another company, and has risen to become the head of a department. He will reach the age for mandatory retirement next year," said Ricklent.
It seemed that the person in charge of Vandalieu's interview was still alive. He had remained in the corner of Vandalieu's memory, as he was one of the rare people who had complimented Vandalieu for enthusiasm. It was good to hear that he was doing well.
"I'm not interested in anything else," said Vandalieu. "Kanako and the others apparently checked on their family and friends before they were reincarnated in Lambda."
Kanako and the others had apparently learned about their family and friends through Shimada Izumi, who had been the class representative… though it had apparently been difficult to ask, as they had betrayed Izumi and the others in their previous lives; they had been vague with their words when they told Vandalieu about this.
Suddenly, Vandalieu remembered something – he, too, had a family, though only in the sense that they had lived in the same house as him.
He remembered them, but he didn't feel any desire to ask about his uncle, aunt or cousins.
I don't care, after all.
Now that he had a real, warm family, these people had become incredibly insignificant to him, even more so than before.
But I never ended up being able to get them back for anything… I suppose I'll just wish them misfortune, he thought.
"Ah, if you're thinking about your uncle's family, they've had plenty of misfortune, so let's not go and curse them," Zuruwarn said hastily, stopping him.
"We probably won't be noticed here, but this world is under Rodcorte's jurisdiction. We can't do anything too conspicuous," said Ricklent.
"Huh? Is it conspicuous for me to wish misfortune on them?" Vandalieu asked.
Zuruwarn and Ricklent's combined seven heads nodded.
It was apparently best for Vandalieu to refrain from wishing misfortune upon others in his current state.
"The people of Earth have so little Mana that they may as well have none, so they would not be able to resist even the weakest of curses," said Zuruwarn. "Now then, shall we get going? We'll visit the god of Earth first, then the god of Origin after that."
Title explanation:
Holy Mother Killer
A Title that marks criminals who took the life of someone praised as the Holy Mother. Unlike Titles such as Dragon Slayer and Colossus Slayer, it is not a Title of praise to celebrate a great achievement, but a negative Title given for the commitment of an evil act. It is a brand that marks criminals.
For that reason, it does not provide any positive effects. If it has been given forcefully, it may create some unwanted connections that might prevent one from living a respectable life, such as drawing attention from organizations that are hostile to the Holy Mother that was killed.
There are no negative effects to speak of, either… However, those who worship the Holy Mother would hate and wish to take the lives of those who possess this Title, and even those who do not worship the Holy Mother would not think positively of such a Title.
One could consider these to be the Title's negative effects.