“…Bu—…?!” (Ahid)
Ahid lost his words.
However, as if to correct himself, he put on a strained smile.
“W-Whatever do you mean by that, my deity…? Of course, I shall face any mandatory trial. I will mend my ways, and properly bring salvation to the people this time. Please give me a divine message!” (Ahid)
Arcana spoke to Ahid, who knelt down and prayed.
“Here is my announcement to my faithful believer, Ahid Alovo Agartz the Oracle. I tried to save you, and chose you as my candidate. Since you were so irredeemable; I thought you were worthy of receiving salvation.” (Arcana)
“And I offer my deepest gratitude to my Selection God for choosing me.” (Arcana)
“However, that was a mistake.” (Arcana)
Ahid stopped praying and looked at Arcana, as if he couldn’t believe his ears.
“…A… mistake…?” he repeated, as if he couldn’t understand what it meant.
“What are you talking about…? Gods never make mista—” (Ahid)
“They do make mistakes. No god is almighty. I made a mistake. I should’ve never chosen you. Therefore, in accordance with our pact, I, the Selection God Arcana, will impart my final words to the Oracle.” (Arcana)
Arcana turned her gaze of pity on her candidate.
“You are by no means worthy of being the Proxy of the gods. The person I chose is Anos Voldigoad the Misfit, the man who overcame the judgment of the Almighty. Ahid, I now pass my judgment on you. Go back to being a simple believer, and live your life to the fullest.” (Arcana)
The red flame disappeared from the Pledge Jewel ring in Arcana’s hand.
As if to show that Ahid had lost his qualification as a candidate.
The latter, who had been helplessly staring at it, let out a small breath.
“…Heh… Heheheheh…” (Ahid)
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Ahid laughed, his eyes filled with madness.
“BUHYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I see, I see! So that claim about subjecting me to the same nightmare only one thousand times was a lie to set me up. Oh, what a petty little trick to pull on me. Just the sort of mindset an heretic would have.” (Ahid)
“Ahid, you’re mistaken.” (Arcana)
Ahid snorted at Arcana’s words.
“Shut up. A so-called god controlled by some order or whatever does not get to boss me around. Do you hear me? I never had any trust in gods. I just used them for my own convenience.” (Ahid)
“Hmm. Quite the huge 180 you’re pulling right now.” (Anos)
“As long as I know this is all a dream, it does not matter how much it hurts or how real it seems. In fact, there is no other world as comfortable to live in, as I no longer have to put on that silly act of believing in gods.” (Ahid)
Ahid used the <Possession Summon Azept> spell, and then drew the magic circle for <Transition Gatom>.
His body must’ve been possessed by something that could use the <Transition Gatom> spell.
“Perhaps you wanted to torment me and make me despair in a world where I have to renounce my faith, but that is shallow thinking. For I never had any faith to begin with, and this dream is not even a nightmare to me!” (Ahid)
He laughed, his face contorted in madness.
“Now, is this the one thousand and first time? Am I going to confront the foolish believers, who blindly put their entire faith in the gods, and the Pope, who always remains on his high horse, with the fact that there is no such thing as an “Almighty Radiance”? I wish they would just open their eyes already.” (Ahid)
The condition for him to wake up from the nightmare was to go around his own country, the nation of Jiordal, and proclaim that there was no god. And he had to keep doing it a thousand times.
Each time, the number of people who had to be informed of it was gradually increased to make the whole ordeal more and more difficult.
After a lot of trial and error, Ahid had become an expert at disproving the existence of gods.
It’d be interesting to see how he demonstrates the wonders of the skills he cultivated against the real Pope and Jiordal.
“You’d better hang in there. Things have been easy so far, but not anymore.” (Anos)
When I said that, Ahid glared at me in annoyance.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})“Any more words would be wasted on you in this dream, but if your real self is listening, then remember this, Anos Voldigoad the Misfit. I will never forgive you. No matter what it takes, I will definitely send you to the depths of hell. Do look forward to the moment I awaken. Hehehe… Hahaha…!” (Ahid)
Magic power filled his magic circle, then he vanished while laughing aloud.
“―HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…!!” (Ahid)
“Too bad for you, Ahid, but you’ll never wake up from this nightmare.” (Anos)
I chuckled hoarsely.
He went through trial and error trying to figure out how to wake up from his dream, and went around the country proclaiming that there was no god. It wasn’t hard to imagine the way his behavior would escalate.
I wondered what sort of despair he would experience.
Not to mention, it would all be self-inflicted.
“As you can see, Arcana…” (Anos)
I spoke clearly to Arcana, who still looked worried about the fate of the man beyond salvation.
“I’m not a god. And I have no intention of becoming one. I won’t save every single irredeemable individual.” (Anos)
I walked casually and stood in front of her.
“If you want a real god, a kind one who saves everything, then stop placing your hopes on others. Not everyone can forgive a grudge. Not everyone is unwilling to fight. Not everyone is a bleeding heart or a tender soul like you. Especially people like me. I’m never satisfied until I’ve knocked the fools down to the pit of despair at least once.” I declared while looking into Arcana’s pure eyes.
“If you still seek a kind god who saves everything, then you should become one.” (Anos)
“I’ve committed a sin I should never have.” Arcana said plainly.
“I’m a god who deserves punishment.” (Arcana)
“Who has the right to inflict greater punishment on one who desires it herself?” (Anos)
“I did something crueler than taking his life. I plunged his heart into despair with a false soul, and was unable to offer him any salvation, only destruction.” Arcana said with a look of self-admonition.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})“Who would believe in a god who makes mistakes? Who would forgive a god who has sinned?”
If there was anyone who could forgive her, it would be none other than the man who took his own life.
However, what had been destroyed couldn’t be restored. So getting his forgiveness was impossible.
“Then I’ll forgive you.” (Anos)
Arcana’s eyes widened at my words.
“I will forgive your sins. Selection God Arcana. If there is someone here in the Underground World who denounces you, I will be your shield.” (Anos)
Stunned, Arcana listens to my words.
“The sins you’ve committed can never be undone. Even if that man were resurrected, even if time went back and you made it so nothing ever happened, your sins would never be erased. Even if you were to disappear, your sins wouldn’t disappear either.” (Anos)
“…What do you think I should do?” (Arcana)
“If you admit your mistakes, then atone for them. All your life.” (Anos)
She paused, then asked again.
“Can I ever atone?” (Arcana)
“I think you saw what happened in that battle. You saw Emilia. And the Hero Academy students.” (Anos)
Arcana nodded.
“You got them back on their feet.” (Arcana)
“That’s not true. They admitted their guilt and stepped forward to atone for it. Emilia will continue to be tormented by the mistakes she made in the past. Still, she realized she had no choice but to move forward one step at a time. As long as the sins remain, you have no other choice but to do that.” (Anos)
Arcana looked straight back at me.
“There is no one who never makes mistakes. Everyone, both humans and demons, lives like this. So how can you, a god, run away from your sins?” (Anos)
I held out my hand to Arcana, who was tightly gripping the Sword of the Almighty.
“Let me ask you this. What is your atonement? Arcana, how do you wish to atone for your sins?” (Anos)
“…I…” (Arcana)
A strong will shone slightly from the eyes full of self-admonition.
It flared up like it was on fire, and strongly appealed to me.
“I want to abolish the Selection Judgment. This order is not kind to people. It’s a sacrificial ritual created for the convenience of the gods. The death of that man’s daughter and the invasion of Jiordal on Azesion all started with the Selection Judgment. If this continues, more fights will occur, and people will die again and again.”
Another teardrop spilled silently onto the floor.
“Anos Voldigoad the Misfit. You can do that. With you, I can put an end to this ritual.” she said with tears in her eyes.
“Please, let me atone.” (Arcana)
I gently took the sword from her hand and drew a magic circle on her palm.
The Selection Pledge Jewel that I had received from Arcana appeared there.
“I will believe in you. I will never doubt your kindness.” (Anos)
Believe in a god.
That was how pacts were made.
“Be my deity, Arcana. If you are willing to atone, I will forgive your sins.” (Anos)
A red flame lit up in the center of the Pledge Jewel.
It was the flame of pledge that represented my oath with a god.
Our oath was only one simple thing.
“We will destroy the Selection Judgment.” (Anos)
These were words of forgiveness and atonement I exchanged with the god who had sinned.
