NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20
“Are you both alright?”
Having released the power of dreams, I rushed to the two gods who were collapsed.
They had been valuable investors from the start, and seeing them risk even death to keep their secrets for my sake made me even more worried.
“Could you help me get up?”
I grabbed the Mage Engineer’s arm and assisted him in standing.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks to your intervention, my core remained undamaged.”
The Mage Engineer patted his chest.
“A god has a core that establishes their identity through divinity. As long as this core is intact, a god can recover from any injury.”
“Ah… I see.”
Well, being a god, it seems natural that they can self-heal to some extent.
However, while talking like this about [Angry Mage Engineer Who Casts Off Rage], there was an awkward feeling of speaking directly as if to an ordinary human.
“Thank you for saving me. I was on the verge of shattering my divine core.”
“It was nothing. It’s all my fault this happened.”
“If I hadn’t asked you for help, you wouldn’t have become a target of the Demon God either. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s alright! It was a mutual decision! I needed someone like a Star Lord to be part of the story, after all.”
“…Is that so? Thank you for seeing it that way.”
The Mage Engineer, whose mechanical arm was automatically moving to restore itself, asked,
“By the way, how did you come to this Divine Realm? Have you achieved divinity?”
“Uh? Oh, no! That’s not possible! I projected my spirit here using my Star Lord’s power.”
“Power? …I see. I can sense the power of dreams. So, you’re still human then?”
“Yes.”
“Strange.”
“…Huh?”
“Do you know why, when a Star Lord communicates with beings on the ground, they don’t speak directly but in the form of [~~~ does ~~~]?”
“Uh… I don’t know.”
“It’s because the stature of a Star Lord is so high that if they spoke directly, a mortal’s brain might fry.”
“……Huh?”
“But you seem fine. That’s odd. No matter how high a mortal’s status, they should struggle.”
“…….”
Could it be because I can recognize the Star Lord and read their thoughts through the terminal?
I wanted to tell him this fact but stopped myself.
It would be better not to mention the uncomfortable truth of being able to read thoughts.
“Hmm.”
Goddess Ren placed a finger on one nostril and snorted, spitting out the blood that had pooled inside.
“Thank you, Apostle of Dreams.”
She was also covered in blood, but perhaps due to her self-healing abilities, her wounds were quickly closing.
Just as she approached us, leaning nearby,
“Sacrifice. You seem rather fragile.”
Goddess Ren’s brows twitched.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Unlike me, a scholar, you’re a non-fighting knight. I expected something from you as one of the seven great heroes, but you were no match for the Demon God.”
“……It’s because the opponent was too strong! You also got knocked out by a single spell from the Demon God!”
“Yeah, but I’m a Mage Engineer. If it were in my domain with all my equipment, I wouldn’t have been taken down so easily. But you were in your domain and were still overrun so quickly.”
“T-that’s…!”
Ren’s lips trembled.
She seemed quite frustrated; tears started to glimmer in her eyes.
Even though she seemed to want to retort, it appeared she had no words left.
‘It’s frustrating, but he’s right. Still, it’s frustrating,’ must be how she felt.
“Please don’t say too much. Goddess Ren has been consumed by [Sloth], so she hasn’t been able to train properly. Once she regains her senses through training, she’ll return to her former strength. Right, Goddess Ren?”
“You…!”
Swoosh!
Ren leaped into my arms.
“You’re the only one!”
Wham!
Having just faced a loss from the Demon God and realizing her own weakness, she was in a state of shock as she was once again shot down by the Mage Engineer. It must have been quite hard to bear.
I patted her back gently.
“I can also… pick up a sword and train to cut down that level of Demon God! I am the Sacrifice Who Overcame Sloth!”
Is she really that childlike?
With her splendid older-sister-like appearance contrasted by her childlike behavior, I couldn’t help but think that her followers would be in big trouble if they saw this scene.
More importantly, why was the Mage Engineer suddenly mocking his own ally?
Ding!
At that moment, a message from the Mage Engineer came through the terminal.
[Angry Mage Engineer Who Casts Off Rage wrote: ‘Can you tell me what happened with the Demon God?’]
[Angry Mage Engineer Who Casts Off Rage wrote: ‘For yes, raise one finger; for no, raise two fingers.’]
!!!
Only then did I understand why the Mage Engineer had intentionally provoked Goddess Ren.
The Demon God had embedded part of her power in me, vowing to keep an eye on me.
She was probably watching our conversation right now.
I raised one finger.
The Mage Engineer smiled satisfactorily.
Even without discussing what happened inside, I managed to draw the Demon God’s attention to something worthy of her interest and discreetly evade her gaze by communicating through the Star Lord’s message.
He had cleverly used the Demon God’s extreme arrogance in her own power against her.
Could he truly be one of the greatest geniuses in human history?
[Angry Mage Engineer Who Casts Off Rage wrote: ‘Did the Demon God command anyone to resurrect on her behalf?’]
I raised one finger again.
I pretended to scratch my thigh with my index finger while writing ‘Previous Demon King.’
Though the written words wouldn’t be recognizable just by finger-writing, it should be easily interpreted by the eyes of a god. Given the current circumstances with the Demon God’s eyes on Goddess Ren, it was quite fitting.
The Mage Engineer’s eyes widened as he looked at the tip of my finger.
He nodded as if he finally understood.
[Angry Mage Engineer Who Casts Off Rage wrote: ‘So, did you say you would create an episode for her?’]
I raised one finger again.
Then I placed my finger back on my thigh.
‘If we finish this, we can trap the Demon God.’
The Mage Engineer’s eyes showed intrigue.
[Angry Mage Engineer Who Casts Off Rage wrote: ‘Because of the deeds our benevolent one has performed for us, I have faith.’]
[Angry Mage Engineer Who Casts Off Rage wrote: ‘However, if things go wrong, the Demon God will target you.’]
[Angry Mage Engineer Who Casts Off Rage wrote: ‘It could be very dangerous.’]
I wrote again on my thigh.
‘It’s fine. If the episode is completed, the Demon God won’t be able to escape from inside.’
The Mage Engineer looked at me with worried eyes.
“You possess a uniqueness that even the Star Lords cannot match. However, the Star Lords have transcended their limits and achieved divinity. They too are hiding trump cards that others can hardly imagine. It would be wise to be cautious.”
He was genuinely worried about me.
Here I was, a representative of Mage Engineering, being cared for by one of the greatest geniuses in history.
I didn’t feel bad about it.
Above all, amidst the chaos of healing from the wounds inflicted by the Demon God, his composure in grasping the situation swiftly and shifting the Demon God’s gaze to question me was remarkable.
“Hah. There’s no need for such obvious statements. This kid is even more exceptional than you.”
Goddess Ren glared at the Mage Engineer while holding me close.
Her fluffy chest warmly enveloped my face.
“What a smart aleck.”
At first, I thought she was just pretending to be angry and wrestling with the Mage Engineer…
But it seems she genuinely felt that way.
“Bleh!”
“…Are you a child?”
As she stuck out her tongue while hurling what she considered an insult, the Mage Engineer clicked his tongue, as if finding her actions ridiculous.
*
[The Dream Storyteller screams about how anxious he felt.]
“Hahaha. I’m sorry, Star Lord! The situation was too urgent, and I couldn’t help it.”
They’re like brothers shoulder to shoulder in times of crisis, aren’t they?
How could I just stand by when my investors were in danger?
[The Dream Storyteller grimaces, saying it’s a slaughterhouse, thinking it’s too intense for him.]
“The Demon God has no reason to touch me since she wants something from me.”
[The Dream Storyteller questions how he would be left alone if he lost his only Apostle, stomping his feet with all his might, but only making a thudding sound.]
“I won’t do anything dangerous like this again. But this time, I was confident that the Demon God wouldn’t harm me, so I acted. I value my life too, you know?”
With a promise to offer up some sweet desserts as a sacrifice next time, I barely managed to soothe the Star Lord. Then, I activated developer mode and created a new episode.
This time, it would be the backstory of the Demon God.
The previous Demon King, her master, would be the protagonist of this episode.
It’s a common theme in many worlds—stories of a master who cares for their beloved disciple.
But…
What about a tale where, for the sake of a beloved disciple, the master acts like an evil and kills, deliberately hiding the truth, only to be assassinated?
That’s something you’d often see on Earth but much less so here.
Let’s tell another tale of malevolent intent.
My vision unfolded through the power of dreams.