#179

Surely he hasn’t become a vassal?

‘I don’t think so.’

Unlike Pandemonium or Callister, I felt no connection to ‘Padeul Padeul.’

I could track his location through the saliva left on him, but…

‘I should bite him every now and then so I don’t lose him.’

[Stop! Stop it!]

‘It would’ve been fucking awesome if I could use the War God’s points.’

Perhaps due to the specificity of being an Othergod’s proxy, it seems he cannot be made a vassal unless he abandons his identity as War.

It might be possible to make him submit through Forced Persuasion, but the moment I did, he would cease to be the ‘Helper of the War God.’

‘A shame, but I’ll just have to coax him into doing as I please.’

He said that the more one is subjected to Forced Persuasion, the faster they ‘acquiesce’ to my words.

If it were a human, it might be different, but I feel no guilt whatsoever in manipulating a scrap of an Othergod like this.

‘Actually, shouldn’t this be viewed as character education rather than brainwashing?’

I decided to start by asking what I was curious about.

If he answered, great; if he couldn’t, Forced Persuasion would apply.

“Padeul Padeul. Answer my questions. What on earth is the System? Is that an Othergod too? Why do the Othergods follow the rules of the System? Is the System much stronger?”

[…I do not know.]

‘Did he get sulky because I called him Padeul Padeul?’

“O Great Proxy of the War God, please bestow your teachings upon foolish me. What on earth is the System?”

[It is unpleasant, so do not use such modifiers. What I do not know, I do not know. I do not like putting lies in my mouth.]

“…You really don’t know? Why?”

[Because there is no need to know.]

“Does the War God have muscles instead of a brain in his head?”

[An Othergod does not use a brain when thinking. And this applies to all Helpers, not just because I am War.]

“Really? Have you never once had a doubt?”

[Why are you curious about that? Looking at your state, you will be annihilated before you ever submit before me.]

“What does that mean?”

[The purpose of my existence is clear. I am a being that represents the War God, and I am here to win the game. What more is needed? Questioning one’s own existence only leads to cracks, self-loathing, and Eternal Annihilation.]

‘So the gods live without thinking?’

Because the moment they ponder the meaning of life, they die?

They’re fucking fragile.

[Do not doubt who you are. Do not act like a lowly creature with a mortal body. You are you. If anyone denies your existence, use that Silver Tongue of yours to mock and ridicule them to escape. Otherwise, you will either go mad or die.]

I stared blankly down at the chewed-up paper crane.

‘Did he just give me advice?’

Until a moment ago, he was angry, shouting, ‘Heh, kill me!’

What caused this change of heart?

“If I self-destruct, wouldn’t you be freed immediately? Why give me such advice?”

[…I do not know.]

‘He says he doesn’t know.’

“…Did you actually start liking this situation after experiencing it?”

[I wish to pour pitch into that mouth that spouts wicked words and set it ablaze. So that the tongue melts and sticks to the inside of the mouth, ensuring you can never speak again.]

“No, that’s not it—it doesn’t make sense. You gave me advice, but you don’t know why? Then the reason is…”

[You have failed to understand what ‘I do not know’ means. I am not a ‘tsundere.’ Both in my heart and on the surface, I want you to die in terrible agony. However, in reality, I gave you advice that is helpful. These two things have no causal link. Therefore, I answered that I do not know.]

‘What is he talking about?’

[Looking at your expression, you indeed do not understand. If you continue to mistake yourself for a human, you will remain in that state for the rest of your life.]

‘…Is this a side effect of Influence?’

Come to think of it, people who were influenced became kind to me.

Antonio, Nasir, Andrea…

[I shall explain more simply. Because the act of advising you was the optimal result, I advised you.]

‘So, you’re saying that since your pride won’t let you beg for your life, you’re indirectly saying you’re useful?’

“Sure, sure. I can see you’re trying.”

[…Ask something else. You will never understand anyway.]

Just by the fact that he was answering obediently, I could see his spirit had already been broken.

‘Other things I want to ask…’

“What do you think of the other Othergods? Is there interaction between them? I’m sure there is with the Mother God…”

[Do not speak of that thing in my presence.]

“…And the Distorted One?”

[A truly disgusting and truly hideous wretch.]

“Is that all?”

[What else is there to say? Regarding that thing, the more one speaks, the more it is a loss and a waste.]

“The Pioneer of Civilization?”

[I do not like him much. He spouts nonsense about failing to create a world without war to me, who is War. And that, in a battlefield where mutual assured destruction has begun and nukes are falling.]

“The Happy God?”

[…Does such an Othergod exist?]

‘His awareness of the Happy God is pathetic.’

He’s an Othergod, for goodness’ sake.

War and happiness are certainly polar opposites, but…

‘Isn’t it a bit strange not to even know of his existence?’

“Now, let’s end this petty squabble here.”

Pandemonium suddenly intervened and pressed the paper crane flat.

“I have no idea what conversation you’re having, but if you have more to say, let’s do it on the way.”

‘He doesn’t understand this?’

No, more importantly.

“On the way? Where to?”

“Isn’t everything resolved now? We have to go to my territory.”

Resolved? What?

“You didn’t like the idea of killing all the units of the Teres family, right? Now that we’ve secured a Helper, we can make the entire family the War God’s believers. It’s a bit remote, but it’s not a bad starting point. Food shortages were a big problem originally, but I’ve taken over all the granaries below it.”

‘…To this bastard, this is still a game.’

“I’ve built camps at intervals to serve as temporary relay stations, so most supplies can be handled there. Do you have anything important? Unless it’s something that can’t be replaced, let’s leave right now. I’ve packed everything.”

“…And the people?”

“People? Who? Idan… no, Athanas?”

“Not them. There must be people who escorted you to the Capital Church. Your family members. Aren’t you taking them?”

“…There aren’t any units important enough to take?”

‘Crazy bastard.’

I barely swallowed the curse I wanted to spit out.

“The Head of the family is there.”

“Ah, right.”

‘Ah, right?’

This patricidal piece of shit.

She might not be a mother to you, but to the Head of the family, ‘Marcello’ is the son she bore in pain.

At the very least, while using that body, you should treat her as a mother.

“How could you forget that? You idiot.”

I let out a long sigh.

I was already concerned about the state of the chapel where the Council was held, so I should go take a look.

The clue to solving the contamination might be there.

“No, I didn’t forget! I took care of her.”

“…You took care of her?”

‘Does he mean she’s tucked away in a carriage or something?’

“I almost died encountering an apostle while I was taking care of her.”

Hearing Pandemonium’s words, my heart softened slightly.

‘So he stopped by the chapel before coming to the bell tower.’

Of course, he probably only cared because it would be a waste if a high-performance unit died pointlessly.

Still…

“Want to see?”

‘…See what?’

Before I could express my doubt, Pandemonium pulled something out of thin air.

“Ta-da.”

“……”

You cannot put ‘something that is breathing’ into the inventory.

Because air does not circulate inside.

Even if the inventory were a place where fresh air was supplied, the ‘Head of the family’ would not have been able to breathe.

Light blue threads overflowed and spilled out from a white cloth.

“A specialty of the Teres family, ‘That which was the Head of the family’! With this, you too can become a Telekinesis master…”

“Put it back.”

“Huh? Okay.”

Pandemonium put ‘that object’ back into the inventory.

“…Now that I think about it, it would have been better to show you after processing it. Your mental strength is low right now, so you get Status Conditions if you see too many corpses, right? Did something happen just now because of that?”

“……”

“Sorry. I didn’t think that far. I just wanted to show you…”

“…Why?”

Why something like that?

Why did he want to show me?

“Huh? Because I’m giving it to you as a gift?”

“……”

“I originally intended to use it myself, but since I’m not contracting with the War God, I don’t need it anymore. Unless you make me your apostle…”

“…Did you kill her for that? To get a Sacred Relic?”

“Well, that was a secondary reason. The Head of the family had to die for the entire family to come under me, right? Of course, there will be some who refuse until the end, but those guys are useless resources anyway. The ambiguous ones in the middle only become docile when there are no other possibilities.”

I gripped the paper crane so hard it crumpled.

“…You piece of shit. What did you do to Pandemonium’s amygdala and insula?”

[I did not particularly touch anything. If anything, you are the exception. Other players are adjusted to perceive this world as a game.]

“Brother?”

[I do not know what the problem is. Do you dislike that he does not resemble you? Of course, the impulse to mold one’s believers into a similar image is a natural desire for a god.]

“Are you talking to the paper crane again?”

[But what do you intend to do by making him resemble you? Do you wish for him to fear blood and death, realize the weight of the slaughter he has committed, and be crushed by it?]

‘……’

[Without violence, peace cannot be maintained. You, of all people, should know that well.]

“I can’t let this slide. I’m confiscating it.”