Chapter I: The Divine Venom
I’d informed just about everyone possible about the incoming merging of worlds. I used the world leaders from both worlds, Relisha’s guild network, and Silhouette’s Black Cats to spread the word and warn the population of any unusual circumstances that could spring up.
God Almighty said nothing huge would happen, but I wanted us to be safe rather than sorry. For that reason, I decided to close off Brunhild’s dungeon islands for the appointed day.
I had a lot riding on the pillar spirits and their subordinates, too. They’d be in charge of holding back earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and other such natural disasters. Thankfully, I had enough advance notice to put these countermeasures in place.
Spirits didn’t typically get involved with stopping stuff like natural disasters, but I asked them to lend me their power nonetheless. I was fairly sure they didn’t want the world to end anyway, so it was all good.
Thus, all I could do at this point was pray nothing bad would happen.
And, after three days... Dawn broke upon a new world.
I woke up before my smartphone’s alarm went off. I’d hardly slept, to be honest. After all, any time after midnight could’ve been the merger... God Almighty didn’t exactly have an exact schedule for when it was happening.
“Good morning.”
“Morning... Are you okay, Touya?” Yumina looked a bit concerned. She probably saw the bags under my eyes.
We decided that we’d spend the whole day relaxing with each other, waiting for the event to happen.
Everyone felt uneasy, though. After breakfast, they all gathered in the living room, reading or playing cards together.
I sat down on the couch and browsed news stories on my smartphone, and briefly realized that some kind of emergency broadcast system for everyone’s smartphones would be useful. I called Doctor Babylon and told her I wanted to do that, and she said it would be pretty easy if we used the spirits to generate real-time information on natural disasters.
It was a little late to make one before the merge, but I decided to make it for future events. Warnings for tsunamis or wildfires would be incredibly useful.
Just as I ended the call and flicked to the next new story on my smartphone, it happened. A massive rumble rang through the ground. Everything shook ferociously. The initial quake wore off, ultimately giving way to a few small rumblings that persisted in the background.
“It’s time...”
“T-Touya...” Sue walked over to me and clung to my side. I knew it would be okay, though. I had the spirits out there mitigating any damage.
“Touya, look at the sky!” Linze yelled out from the balcony. I walked over there with Sue clinging to my leg and looked up. The sky was black, even though it was supposed to be morning. Thick, heavy clouds roamed around the sky above.
“Wh-What’s that light up there?”
“It is beautiful, it is. But it feels strange, it does...”
Lu pointed upward at a strange arc of bright light in the sky. Yae stared upward with wide eyes.
“Did the sky split?”
“No, it’s an aurora. I don’t know if they occur in this world, but it’s a kind of natural light phenomenon.”
“It’s the Aurora Borealis. They’re usually localized above the Sea of Trees, but this is my first time seeing them despite my longevity...” Hilde looked uneasy as Leen followed up with a basic explanation. Back on Earth, they were seen in the frozen north, but it seemed to be a bit different here.
We looked up at the sky as the ground continued to rumble, but the rumbling was so faint at this point that it was kind of like being on a weak water bed.
The sky began to change color. It cycled from red, to green, to purple, and so on. Eventually, it faded, and rain began to fall. We went back inside from the balcony.
The rain was fairly light, just a bit of a drizzle. But there was something off about it.
“It’s made of light...?” Sakura muttered as she looked upward. The raindrops fell and glittered myriad colors as they pattered to the ground.
The rain didn’t pool or form puddles; it simply faded into the ground below as if a sponge was soaking it up. I reached a hand out a window, and even though I felt the sensation of raindrops on my skin, my hand remained dry.
I put a cup out on the balcony, and none of the rain collected inside that either. I had no idea what was going on.
“It’s some form of liquid rife with magical energy... Similar to ether liquid, I’d wager... Perhaps the magic in the atmosphere is condensing and falling to the ground...” Leen murmured to herself, clearly curious. I was glad that it wouldn’t lead to flooding, but I was certainly unsure about what kind of effects this would have. After all, it could be filling previously magically-barren places with magical energy.
“Oh, the sky’s clearing!”
“Ah, so it is... Wait, hold on!”
I looked up in response to Elze’s voice, but I noticed something strange as I saw the sun’s rays peek through the disappearing clouds.
Two suns were hanging overhead. Both of them were slightly overlapping with each other, too... Like a two-bubble Venn diagram.
Everyone stared up in absolute silence. Slowly, but surely, the two overlapping suns seemed to merge into each other before releasing a flash of light.
The bright flash caused us all to close our eyes tight, and when they opened again, only one sun remained in the skies above.
The gentle earthquakes also ended. I wondered if it was over.
“Open the world map. Project it into the air.”
“Understood. Displaying.”
The world map wooshed up in front of us, and it revealed what I expected. A map of a whole new world.
If I were to explain things simply, the Reverse World’s map was on the left, and the regular world’s map was on the right. But there were a few parts of the landscape that had changed.
“Eashen and Egret seem a little further out than they were before... Their equivalents in the Reverse World are pretty far out, too.”
“There’s a land bridge connecting Panaches and Refreese... I wonder if that’ll be okay.”
I looked up at the area Yumina pointed out. It seemed like the west border of Refreese now touched the east border of Panaches.
There wasn’t a huge overlap of territory, but I was a bit concerned about the people who might’ve lived there.
I sent the new map data up to Babylon and had the Doc send out a data update to everyone. Everyone’s phones were probably showing the old maps of their respective worlds.
Doctor Babylon seemed like she’d been expecting the call.
“How’s the situation around the world?”
“Nothing to report. No eruptions or tsunamis or anything. The atmosphere’s a little sparse right now, but it’s within stable levels.”
The spirits were doing their best, apparently. I made a mental note to prepare some rewards for them.
After I had the new world maps sent out to everyone, I started scrolling through my contacts list.
I needed to call the Emperor of Refreese, just in case.
“It seems like we’re connected, yes... But the other side is a smaller island nation, so I’m not too worried. The Queen of Strain informed me that the King of Panaches is a mild-tempered man, so I’m sure this’ll be fine.” The Emperor of Refreese seemed to have a fair understanding of the situation, so I was sure he’d be able to get by fine.
I was actually more worried about the positioning of the Curiela Kingdom, which was a nation that was now just a small stretch of water away from both Belfast and Refreese.
I didn’t know anything about that kingdom at all, but I’d probably be able to get some info from Strain or Gardio.
I breathed a sigh of relief and felt like things might be okay. However, something rang out, ending that momentary peace. I heard a cracking and splintering sound from the sky above, like a wine glass being ripped apart.
“Wh-What the?!”
“Touya, up there!” Yumina pointed up at the sky.
Something that resembled a shooting star was tumbling to the ground from the east. I used [Long Sense], along with my own divine sight, and managed to grasp its form.
It was a thorn. At least it resembled one. A muddy-gold thorn, some kind of twisted glass barb flying through the air.
It emanated the same filthy divinity that I now associated with the wicked god.
“Run Search! That object’s landing site!”
“Searching... Displaying.” A little marker fell down on my map.
Shit, it’s in Regulus!
It was just a bit north-east of the capital city in some open plains. I was only thankful that it didn’t seem to be near civilization.
But there was no real time for relief, it was clearly something sent by the wicked god. If something like that had fallen into the new world, then I could hardly leave it alone.
“I’ll be back in a minute!” It wasn’t too far away, so I used [Teleport] to warp there. I didn’t want to put the girls in danger, so I went alone. Assuming things were safe there, I’d open up a [Gate] to bring them over after checking it out.
I used [Teleport] to reach Regulus and found myself looking into a gigantic crater.
The enormous thorn was lodged inside the crater, squirming as it dug into the ground. Without counting the buried portion, it was at least thirty meters in length.
“What is this?”
I took a few steps forward before I noticed the ground around the thorn changing color, almost like cloth stained by water.
The dull-gold hue began spreading, slowly, through the soil itself.
“The very earth is rotting...”
“Ah...”
A mass of soil nearby rose up and took a feminine form. It was the Earth Spirit. I hadn’t summoned her, so she’d used a substitute body from her domain to communicate with me. Her actual body was probably back in the spirit realm.
“This thorn is emitting a venom that corrodes all it comes into contact with. Soon enough, the ground here will disappear from this world.”
“Disappear? How?”
“Well, this venom does not truly damage. It eliminates. All the soil it affects will simply have never been, as if vanished from reality itself...”
Huh, so it’s not even like melting into magma or something? Stuff just straight-up gets deleted from existence? Man, what the hell is that wicked god sending me annoying things like this for?
“My master, look at it.”
The Earth Spirit pointed at the giant barb. It began making chiming sounds as mutated Phrase constructs emerged from inside it. I didn’t know whether to be appalled or impressed.
All the mutants from the thorny barb were Lesser Constructs, at least. They brandished their bladed limbs and came charging toward me and the spirit.
I quickly cast [Storage] and pulled out a phrasium hammer, then doubled its weight with [Gravity] and swung it down toward the mutant scum.
They were all crushed along with their cores, leaving their remains to melt into sludge.
I quickly noticed that more and more mutants were coming out of the thorn, and no matter how many I mashed, it didn’t seem to be stopping.
Seemed like I needed to handle the disease rather than the symptoms.
I mashed a few more newborn mutants before aiming my hammer at the thorn with a full-powered swing.
I felt the impact when I hit against its surface, and it let out a noise like a gong being impacted.
Cracks began to run up and down the poisonous barb, splintering here and there. It shattered into fragments that then fell to the ground. With the thorn’s destruction came the end of the spreading poison, too.
“Damn it. It really shouldn’t be so adaptable. This is borderline harassment at this point.”
The thorn’s fragments began melting into a thick goop, just like the other mutants when they died. I assumed it would fade away into black smoke like the rest of them as well, but I was wrong...
The liquid goop began to condense and solidify until it was a fine golden powder. The powder began to swirl around in the air as if picked up by the wind, filling the surrounding area with a muddy-gold light.
“What the heck?”
“A-Aughghaugh?!”
The Earth Spirit began screaming, keeling over in agony before falling prone to the ground. I had no idea what had just happened. I ran toward her in confusion, crouching down to hear her out.
“H-Hey, you okay?!”
“I-I’m sorry, I... My master, please run from here... It’s... It’s...”
The earth that had formed her temporary body collapsed back to the ground before she could finish her sentence.
“The hell is this?”
I rose back to my feet, but I was suddenly assaulted by a dizzying sensation. I began keeling over, much like the Earth Spirit just had.
Wh-What’s going on here? I can’t feel my legs... I can’t... Muster strength... I tried to stand up, but I just slumped forward again. I couldn’t find the strength. A cold sweat formed on my brow, back, and all the rest of me. My breathing became ragged as my vision blurred. I felt violently ill.
“Ugh... W-Was it that powder...?”
The golden powder still fluttered in the air like a fine mist, almost taunting me. Breathing in any more of the stuff would be really bad news, so I needed to escape.
“[Tele...port]...”
My magic isn’t working? No, why? Is the powder causing this as well? What do I do?! I couldn’t draw any magic power from inside me at all. I tried again, but nothing happened. I tried to muster my divinity from within me as a last resort, but the moment I felt my apotheosis trigger, my body was wracked with horrible pain. I began vomiting violently, and my entire form paralyzed against the ground.
“Bwugh!” I rolled to the side, just narrowly avoiding my own puke. I could look up at the sky at this point, but what I saw made me wish I was dreaming.
“...Th-This can’t be happening...” In the western skies, I saw a horrible sight. Dozens of meteors in the sky, each clad in muddy-gold light. They were falling down as a group, each likely the same as the thorn I’d just destroyed. Nausea ran through my body again, and I could do nothing but watch as each thorn descended.
I tried again to move, but it was futile. There was nothing I could do.
I... I can’t even keep my eyes open anymore... What do I do...?
“Gwuh!”
“G-Grand Duke!”
I suddenly saw the hazy image of a girl with pinkish hair. Sakura? Oh... You must’ve teleported...
I saw her running toward me, tears in her eyes. It was the last thing I saw before my vision went black.
My eyes felt heavy as I opened them. A familiar ceiling came into view.
I was in my room, in my bed.
“You’re awake now, you know?”
“...Hey, Karen.”
Karen sat by my bed. There was a mass-produced smartphone in her hands.
I tried to sit up, but my body felt so sluggish I could barely move.
“You should stay laying down in bed, you know? The divine venom only just left your system, so your strength’ll take a while to return.”
“...I’m sorry, what?”
“It’s a type of poison that can kill gods. I didn’t really expect the enemy to have that kind of thing at their disposal, you know?” Karen grumbled quietly to herself, arms folded.
Venom... huh? I guess it did feel like I’d been poisoned.
Karen explained that the divine venom was a poison used to kill members of the pantheon. The stronger the divinity of the target, the stronger the effects on the body. Apparently, my divine relatives were extremely concerned that the wicked god had something like that available to it.
That made sense, since the pain only got worse when I activated my apotheosis.
Apparently, Karen had sensed it, but neither she nor the other gods could save me. Human bodies or not, they were still divine. They’d have collapsed on the spot if they came nearby.
Sakura bravely volunteered to rescue me, since she could use teleportation magic. Apparently, her being a beneficiary of divinity meant the poison affected her as well, and she’d slept for a whole day.
“She was out a whole day? Wait, what about me?”
“Three days. It was a really big issue, you know? Everyone was so scared that they barely left your bedside. My little brother sure is a popular guy, you know?”
Three days... I guess everyone was worried about me. I’ll have to say sorry later.
“So the venom’s gone from my body now?”
“Divine venom only takes effect while you’re in contact with it, you know? Now you’re out, you’ll be fine.”
Oh, that’s a relief. So as long as I keep away, I’ll be fine... Wait. Wait! Didn’t I see a bunch of thorns falling to the ground?!
“Display map!”
“Displaying.” My smartphone, which was on the side table, responded to my voice. It projected the new world’s landmass into the air.
“What...?!”
I was at a loss for words. On the western side of the map, on the Reverse World’s side, a portion was missing. Or rather, a portion had basically been cut off from the main continent.
The north and east of Isengard’s territory had been completely eaten away, isolating it from the rest of the landmass as a solitary, damaged island.
“This can’t be...”
“It was the same thing as the one you destroyed, you know? Just lots of them. They all landed around the Isengard area and the very land itself disappeared.”
“So it was those thorns...”
Just as the Earth Spirit warned me, the very earth had been eaten away. The one I’d stopped hadn’t managed to take effect, but clearly, it was dire. Water had filled in the gaps left behind.
“But why did they only fall down around Isengard?”
“Smaller ones fell in other areas, you know? But according to Regina, most of them went for this place because something got buried there in the past. She said that the remains or something might have drawn the thorns there, you know?”
Karen pointed to a spot on the map, and it all clicked together. It was the spot where the giant golden tree had appeared a while back. All of that might have been in preparation for this attack; the golden spores it emitted might have acted as some kind of marker directing the missiles...
“So what happened to Isengard?”
“...We don’t know, you know? The only thing we do know is that the divine venom is coating the entire landmass.”
“The whole thing?!”
“We can’t even use our divinity to look over there, you know? The venom creates interference, like TV static.” Seemed like the entire country had been corrupted with poison that interfered with divinity. There was nothing we could do. I had wondered why no cities were appearing on the Isengard map, even though I could make out the new shorelines, but it was probably blocking my search magic too.
What do I do? I won’t be able to use my teleportation, either... Hell, even if I could I’d probably fall unconscious or die due to the venom anyway.
It’d be easier if I knew a non-divine person with both teleportation and searching magic, but... I didn’t exactly know any regular humans with that level of talent.
“It’s a bit weird though, you know? Divine venom affects gods no matter what. Even if the wicked god is a mockery with a small amount of divinity, it should be just as affected...”
“I have a theory about that.”
Moroha appeared next to Karen as if out of nowhere... My divine relatives always had a habit of doing that.
“I always wondered why the wicked god stayed in the gap between worlds, and why it never actually showed itself. Now I think I get it. It was trying to build an immunity to the divine venom.”
“It was?”
“Yeah, I think bit by bit, it was getting used to doses of the stuff. It’s a wicked god with a murky divinity to begin with, so it might now have a body capable of withstanding the divine venom.”
“...No, I’d say withstanding isn’t the right word. I think it imbibed the venom.”
Karina walked in from the balcony window. Hey, c’mon! I know you’re a hunter, but couldn’t you have used the door like everyone else?!
“...Imbibe? How do you mean?”
“What do weak animals in the wild do to prevent themselves from being eaten?”
“Huh? I mean, sometimes weak animals form symbiotic relationships with predators... Or they camouflage themselves to hide, or they move around in groups instead. Oh... Now I get it.”
“Right. By taking in a toxin that can kill gods, the wicked god has rendered us incapable of hunting it. That was truly a cunning plan on its part, I must say. After all, now gods and those benefiting from their divinity can’t go after it.”
Poisonous creatures were divided into two sections in the wild. Those that used poison to hunt, and those that used poison to keep themselves from being hunted.
Creatures in the former category were animals like snakes or scorpions. They used their poison to weaken prey, and it was an effective hunting tool.
Creatures in the latter were more like poison dart frogs or pufferfish. They secreted a poison that deterred predators from coming near them.
The wicked god had clearly chosen to immerse itself in divine venom to defend itself. The stronger the divinity, the stronger the effects. But that made me think of something.
“...Does the divine venom work on regular humans?”
“It’d be ineffective. It’s completely harmless to anything that isn’t a god or those benefiting from a god’s divinity. But it can eat its way through magic barriers pretty easily, so even your [Prison] spell couldn’t contain it.” Moroha quickly replied. If even spells like that wouldn’t work, it was clearly formidable. Just as I pondered to myself, two other voices piped up.
“S’plenty lucky that the place with all the venom’s an island now. Divine venom’s the kinda thing that gets absorbed into the earth an’ spoils it. But Isengard’s got sea surroundin’ it now, which’ll dilute the toxins until they ain’t active no more. That means it won’t spread to the rest’ve the world.”
“But it’sh, hic! Still bad! The divine venom’sh corrupting all that land, hic! We’re godsh, sho we can’t go there, hic! Sh’like a poison shwamp.”
The god of agriculture and the god of alcohol started speaking as they leaned back on a nearby sofa. I hadn’t even noticed them enter the room. Still, it seemed like the airborne divine venom would soak into the earth in high concentrations, changing it into a corrupted zone that gods couldn’t enter safely...
That kind of reminded me of a famous American comic superhero who was weak to a specific kind of rare material...
“What about the citizens of Isengard?”
“Not much, really. The divine venom has contaminated the island, but obviously, it’s not harmful to regular humans. However, it’s a dangerous and lawless zone now. Mutants are popping up all over the island and killing indiscriminately. We heard this information from a group of survivors who boarded a boat and arrived on the mainland.”
As Moroha spoke, I heard Erik Satie’s Gymnopedies being played slowly on a guitar. The music was coming from my closet.
At this point, I wasn’t even going to bother thinking about it. The god of music was playing sad music while hiding inside my bedroom closet. So what? It honestly didn’t matter at this point.
“You mentioned some of the thorns dropped elsewhere? What happened there?”
“They were smaller, so only a few mutants emerged from them. The adventurer’s guild worked with various knight orders to defeat them and bust the thorns. The large ones were all focused on Isengard.”
“Is there any divine venom outside of Isengard?”
“The smaller thorns spread some, yes. But it won’t harm regular people or animals and should vanish over time. That being said, spirits won’t go near those places anymore... So the impacted areas will become small, barren patches of land.”
The spirits technically worked as beneficiaries of the gods, so it made sense they’d avoid places that could kill them.
But that also meant that Isengard wouldn’t be blessed by any spirits, either... That definitely meant that, over time, Isengard would simply become a barren husk of an island. A place nobody could inhabit at all.
“So, what now? This world’s out of God Almighty’s domain. It’s all up to you now, Touya.”
Karina grinned at me. What now? That should be obvious.
“I’m gonna beat that wicked god. I won’t let it do any more damage than they already have. I’m gonna wipe it out so hard that nobody’ll even remember it existed.”
Karina and the others glanced at one another, and they shared grins. I was a little bit irritated that they’d all expected me to say something along those lines...
“That’s what I like to hear!” Uncle Takeru charged into the room, blasting the door off its hinges as he yelled.
COME ON. WOULD IT KILL A SINGLE ONE OF YOU TO SHOW UP NORMALLY FOR ONCE?!
“We’re gonna help you all we can, kiddo! So fight with all your might! I’ll carry your body home when it’s all over!”
“I-I’m not planning on dying... Also, fix the damn door.”
I glared over at Uncle Takeru with an unamused expression. I didn’t want him creating bad omens for the future with baseless prattle.
“Touya! You’re awake?!”
The girls showed up, having clearly heard all the commotion. Everyone charged toward my bed in a huddle.
Gaaah, Sue! Don’t get too close! I reached out and grabbed Sakura by the hand. She had tears in her eyes.
“Thank you. If you hadn’t come to get me, then it could’ve been way worse...”
She slowly shook her head, raising her line of sight to meet mine.
“That’s just normal... It’s natural for any of us to help you, Grand Duke... We’re your wives, and you’re our husband. Please count on us more in the future.”
...You aren’t my wives yet, but I’m happy to hear that from you all the same. I leaned forward and gave Sakura a big hug. As I pulled back, I caught a glimpse of her smile. She was so darn cute!
“...I’m jealous.”
“Well, I guess she deserves it this time around. She was laying in bed for a whole day after what she did, so consider it her reward.”
Sue started grumbling, so Elze patted her on the head. If that was a reward, I’d be happy to give it out to any of them whenever they wanted...
Still, the divine venom affecting Sakura meant that all my fiancees were in danger. Given that we intended to beat the wicked god, that was a very serious issue.
“So, what do we do about the venom? If everyone in this room can’t do anything, then what about our knight order? Will they be affected?”
“That’s hard to say for sure, you know? If it’s someone completely unrelated to us, then it should be fine... But even by being affiliated with us, they’ll have tiny bits of divinity in them. The effects will be lighter, probably... But anyone you’re close to can probably be hurt by the venom, too.”
Karen grumbled to herself as she folded her arms. Seriously? Even people just on close terms with me?
“Romantic partners, friends, family, those you’ve done good deeds for, and even those who have just benefited from your goodwill... The divine venom will react to that blessing and eat away at anyone who has it. It’s probable that every single person in Brunhild could be affected by the venom at this point, given all you’ve done. Though the divinity would be so small that they’d probably only suffer nausea, rather than death.”
This venom was clearly designed to hurt absolutely everything vaguely related to the gods. What a horrible thing to be up against...
It could affect everyone I’ve ever known... Somehow that makes me uncomfortable. Guess it won’t affect people I don’t like or people I barely pay attention to, though.
“S-So is there no countermeasure to deploy against a poison like that?” Linze timidly raised her voice, prompting Uncle Kousuke to speak up.
“Nothing in the human world, kiddo. S’possible Touya could do what the wicked god did and take the poison into himself to try and become resistant to it... But if that happened, none of us or his wives-to-be could ever be near him again.”
“Nope! Denied! Not allowed!” Sue immediately shot that idea down. I wasn’t exactly a fan of that route either.
“We need to think of a way to get around this. And that... wicked god thing? We can’t let it do as it wishes.” Lu spoke firmly, but I had no real idea where to start. If everyone in Isengard was dead, we could’ve opted for remotely sinking the entire island, but I had a feeling they wouldn’t go down that easy.
“W-Well, I am not sure this is a plan, I am not... But...” Yae turned toward Karen and raised a hand. I wondered what she was thinking.
“This venom. Does it affect machines as well, does it?”
“Machines? I don’t think Frame Gears would work against that, you know? Even Touya’s [Prison] spell gets eaten away. Even if you put a protective barrier around the cockpit, you’d—”
“Ah, I did not mean Frame Gears, I did not. What about Gollems?”
I stared blankly for a few seconds before realizing what Yae was getting at.
“For example... if there was a Gollem Touya cared about a lot... would it be affected by the venom and shut down, would it?”
“...Nope, it wouldn’t. Gollems fall under the tool category, or weapons, I guess... At most, it’d become something like a sacred treasure, but venom wouldn’t affect a non-living creature.”
Moroha’s explanation made sense. Gollems and Frame Gears wouldn’t really be affected by the divine venom. If the venom could affect non-living things, then surely my clothing or smartphone would’ve been affected too. But they weren’t.
I saw a sudden ray of light amidst the darkness I’d just experienced. But if it was Gollems we needed more info on, then we’d have to talk to Elluka. I made immediate plans to head her way.
“Hm... So that divine venom affects anyone Touya likes?”
“Seems like we’re in trouble too, Elluka. We probably won’t die, but I imagine we’ll get a bit dizzy.”
Doctor Babylon grinned a bit as she spoke. Ugh... What a pain...
We obviously couldn’t bring up the whole god thing, so we just covered up the story by making out like it was a regular toxin.
It was just a regular old toxin that happened to exclusively hurt anyone I happened to like.
It was annoying to admit, but Doctor Babylon was right. It’d affect her and Elluka as well. If you asked me whether I cared for them or disliked them, I’d obviously have to say I cared for them... Despite how irritating the little child-bodied twerp in front of me was, she was still a big part of my life.
“So yeah, we can’t really do anything about Isengard. We can’t even send scouts out there.”
“Really? What if we just sent someone from a place other than Brunhild, then? For example, I’m sure the Black Cats could go in on your behalf. They’re not really related to you, are they?”
“Oh, I guess that’s true.”
I kept getting caught up in the idea that I had to be the one to fight the wicked god, but getting others to scout wasn’t a bad idea.
“Still, it’ll still be dangerous over there. I kind of feel bad asking others to risk themselves...”
“I get how you feel, but still. Anyway, you said that Gollems won’t be affected by this venom?”
“I did. That’s why I’m here to see if you can make a recon-type spying Gollem. Or if you know any legacy models that can do that.” Elluka leaned back, pondering a while. Eventually, she raised two fingers.
“Two issues with that. First, if we sent out a factory-model, or one I make for you... it’ll be largely useless without a master. You should know this from your experience already, but non-legacy Gollems aren’t really capable of autonomously following complex orders.”
That was true enough. The ones back in the Kingdom of Horn had terrible coordination. We needed a spy drone that could actually react on the fly.
“Second. Assuming my first point holds, we’d have no choice but to use a legacy Gollem. But a legacy Gollem with such sophisticated decision-making skills would need to have had several years of operating experience. It would have to be a Gollem with several years spent serving a master. Obviously, any master who has spent that long with their Gollem would have reservations letting us borrow it for a dangerous mission, right?”
“So you’re saying no sensible owner would let us do that.”
Most legacy Gollems were dormant once excavated. Since it had been so long since their creation, they’d lost the memories of their past as well and effectively became blank slates. They basically learned everything from the beginning with the help of their new masters.
The three Gollems I owned, Ruby, Saph, and Emerl had also gradually learned things over time. They were getting better at autonomous decision-making.
There was no way sending those three to Isengard would be good. They had no strength at all. Even if they were strong, I wouldn’t send them if some random guy came up and asked me to.
Hell, I’d even refuse to sell them.
I doubted that Norn or Nia would want to put Noir or Rouge in that kind of situation either.
“What now...?”
“We could always find a legacy Gollem designed to be good at spying, and start teaching it now.”
“If we waste time doing that, the enemy could be making their move. We need to be fast in this.”
Maybe our only option to win the race would be going slow and steady... Or maybe I could just ask the Black Cats if they had scouts available to go in on my behalf. But if they ended up meeting mutants, they’d need to be as strong as red adventurers to take them out.
“Well... we could also steal a legacy Gollem.”
“I’m not so sure about that one.”
I wasn’t exactly desperate enough to start committing crimes.
“I don’t exactly mean stealing from the innocent. There are a lot of legacy Gollems in use by criminals, after all... Most legacies started as stolen goods to begin with, anyway. I’m talking about that kind.”
...I guess that’d be kind of okay?
“Hm. I see what you’re getting at, Mistress. You’re talking about the Death Wings, aren’t you?”
Fenrir, who had been laying down on the floor, raised his head and spoke. I wondered what he was talking about.
“The Death Wings are a bandit group that is active in the Allent Theocracy. They’ve attacked numerous villages, and are quite hard to find. The reason for this is they seem to have a legacy Gollem built for spying and recon. Exactly the kind you need.”
“Gotcha. You’re saying we gotta take that one?”
I felt a bit bad, but Gollems themselves weren’t criminals. I didn’t exactly want to use a tool that a bunch of bandits had been using, but I was generally out of options. Plus, taking out such a villainous group would be a good thing.
“I’d be happy if you did this. The Gollems under that group happen to be my siblings.”
“Seriously?”
I raised my brow at Fenrir, who dutifully wagged his tail.
“They’re called Anubis and Bastet. They’re not exactly from the same line as Fenrir, they’re just from the product line that succeeded him. You could consider Fenrir to be their older sibling in that regard.”
If they were the same as Fenrir, I wondered if that made them animal-based models as well. If they were animal-looking, then that’d be good for surveillance... But I had reservations about the effectiveness of a wolf-shaped drone if they were extremely similar to Fenrir.
Honestly, things probably would’ve been easier if Fenrir went to Isengard for us.
But... Elluka wasn’t a member of Brunhild’s forces, she was tentatively a guest of ours. I wasn’t shameless enough to ask a guest for help.
Thus, it was settled. We had to steal those legacies from the bandits.
“But where are these guys? A group of outlaws would obviously be hiding away from the law... And I don’t know enough to use my search spell...”
“Snakes slither with snakes. Thieves tend to know each other, right? Don’t we have someone nearby who fits that description?”
“Ah...”
I knew who Doctor Babylon was referring to immediately. And so, I set off to speak to Nia and the others.
“The Death Wings, eh? We’ve never met with them directly, but we’ve heard the stories. They’re scumbags who raid villages... They even kill all the men they can find, then sell off the women and children as slaves.”
Wh-What the hell?! I found myself in a panic, and then my arms were suddenly seized. I looked up and saw the one grabbing me was a small, purple being.
It was the Gollem I’d obliterated earlier, Viola.
“Wait... It could regenerate even after being trashed that hard?!”
“You thought something like that could kill Viola? Ehehe. Viola regenerates faster than me because Viola can’t feel pain, silly!” But I trashed the G-Cube and the Q-Crystal... What gives?! I suddenly heard the sound of something falling to the ground, so I looked back at Luna. It was her clothing. She was now straddling me, fully naked, her form backlit by the rising sun.
“AUUUUUUGH?!” My entire body stiffened up from the shock. No other reason. Just shock. Luna’s smile had turned lascivious, and her heavy breathing caused her glasses to fog up. The hot sun bore down on her naked body, glistening with fresh sweat.
“Wh-Wh-What the hell is this?! Hold on. What are you even doing?! Stop!”
“Mmf... Don’t struggle, it’ll feel really good soon...” Luna opened up my shirt and lowered her naked body down to straddle my bare tummy. My arms were well and truly restrained thanks to Viola, and I had nowhere to run. Given that Luna wasn’t wearing anything, that meant I was making direct contact with her... Well... That...
“[T-T-T-Teleport]!”
“Whuh?” I instinctively warped away in order to escape. I hadn’t even set a target coordinate. I just needed to get the hell out. I ended up rolling on the ground about ten meters away.
That was... Disturbing. I can’t even count how many ways that was disturbing...
“Naughty... You’re surprisingly meek, Tou. It’s cute.”
“Quit it!” I can’t handle this. This is way too much for me. This girl is basically my natural predator. If she catches me again, I’m done for. That’s why I’m gonna run away! I’ve already dealt with everything here anyway! “Well, see ya!”
“Ah, wai-...” I didn’t hear the end of Luna’s complaints. I’d immediately warped myself to the Theocracy’s capital.
I’d planned on warping to a back alley, but I was still thrown off by the incident. I ended up on a rooftop.
I lay back on the roof, calming myself down as I listened to the hustle and bustle of people going about their lives. I could hear a lot of kids and raised voices from some gruff-sounding guys.
“...That was horrible.” I felt like a frog cornered by a snake. My heart was beating rapidly. I was just glad I managed to escape before having something important taken from me...
I was parched, so I took out some fruity water from [Storage] and gulped it down.
Whew... That hits the spot. At least I can think straight now.
I-I think I’m gonna go home. I did what I needed to do. I’ll have Elluka tune up those Gollems, but who should be their master?
It’s probably fine if Elluka takes them on, since they’re from the same production line as Fenrir. Fenrir should be pretty happy for the company, too.
I was about to head back to Babylon when I remembered the treasure I’d taken from the bandits.
Oh yeah, since I’m in the capital I might as well see about donating to orphanages or whatever.
“Let’s see... The closest orphanage. Oh, it’s right here.” I ran a search for orphanages and a marker fell right down on my current location. I was apparently on the roof of one.
That explains why I’ve been hearing kids. Explains those gruff guys, too.
Wait... Gruff guys? I glanced down from the roof.
I saw three thuggish men yelling at a woman, a group of children cowered behind her.
“The deadline’s tomorrow, lady! Might as well pack your shit and get outta here. Take the brats already!”
“P-Please... Think of the children. If we’re evicted, just where can they go?”
“Like I give a shit! Send ’em to the slums or something!” I didn’t know the details but it was clear these people were in some trouble.
These guys sure look like assholes... Oh? What’s this? A carriage drawn by black Gollems pulled up in front of the orphanage. A man slowly emerged from inside the ornate vehicle.
“Boss!”
“You guys’re taking way too long here. It’s just some shitty kids, isn’t it? Kick ’em out already.” The man referred to as their boss took a cigar out and placed it into his mouth. One of the thugs hurriedly lit it for him.
He was a chubby man, clearly over thirty. He wore a Chinese-style changshan gown. He had a balding head and some unnecessarily gaudy gold glasses on his face. His whole image was tacky. He also had a wispy mustache that made him look a bit like a catfish... But that wasn’t the most important thing here... I’d seen this guy somewhere before. He felt familiar, at least. “M-Mister Zabbit, we’ll get your money! Please have mercy!” The older woman, likely the orphanage owner, pleaded in front of him. He kicked at her and spat at the ground in disgust.
Zabbit... Zabbit? “Don’t cha touch me with them filthy paws, granny. Don’t ya get it? This is Papillon’s turf now, dig? Get the hell outta here, and take those brats with-”
“OH! THAT’S WHERE I KNOW YOU FROM!” I heard the word Papillon and it all came together. Ideally, I’d have never heard from this asshole again, but now I clearly remembered him.
He looked up toward my sudden exclamation, and sheer fear washed over his face.
Zabbit Grandt. He was one of the leaders of Papillon... Although technically he was now the sole leader. I’d only met him briefly, so it was fair to say he hadn’t left a strong impression.
Papillon was the underground organization that Silhouette and the other Black Cats used to belong to.
Zabbit constantly caused Silhouette and her brothels grief because he wanted control of her information network.
In the end, I cast a curse on the moron in order to make him cool off.
It was a curse that would slowly paralyze him if he or his subordinates harassed Silhouette any more.
Zabbit took Papillon and fled, though I hadn’t expected him to flee all the way to a neighboring country.
The organization certainly looked sloppier than it used to. From what I’d heard, though, several other key members left when Silhouette did.
I hopped down from the rooftop, landing in front of Zabbit and his lackeys.
His face paled, but he still managed to open his mouth and yell at me.
“Wh-What the hell are you doing here, huh?!”
“Just passing through. Call it a lucky coincidence. You still causing trouble, huh? Want me to put a nastier curse on you?”
“Eek!” Zabbit turned and ran from me. It seemed like his legs weren’t paralyzed, at least.
“[Slip]!”
“Bwroagh!” He fell forward and smashed his face against the sidewalk.
“You bastard!”
“What’d you do to our boss, huh?!”
“Shut it. I’m not in the mood to mess around today. [Gravity].”
The three goons yelled out as I made them fall to the ground under their own body weight.
“Hey.”
“Eep... Y-Yes?!”
“How much does this orphanage owe you, exactly?”
“Th-Three platinum coins! I-I-It’s a proper arrangement, honest! I have paperwork!” He took out a document from his breast pocket. It actually looked legit. Three platinum coins were around three million yen, if I recalled properly. According to the deed they had to pay up or surrender their property to Papillon.
“Well, whatever. I was planning on donating money to the orphanage anyway. Here. Three platinum.”
“What?” I casually passed three platinum coins over to Zabbit. Knowing that greedy bastard, he was hoping to claim the land with shady interest tactics. Too bad for him. He’d take the money and have to like it.
“All good, right?”
“Huh? Wait, but...”
“Boy, you must really want another curse put on you, huh.”
“Nooooo!” I was only making a joke, but it scared Zabbit so much that he leaped to his feet and ran full pelt toward his Gollem carriage.
“B-Boss?!” I released the weight magic on his three henchmen, and they chased after him at incredible speeds.
“U-Uhm... Who are you?” The orphanage owner nervously spoke to me.
I picked up the loan deed that Zabbit had left behind, and I burned it to cinders.
“Just a traveler. I was told to donate money to the local orphanages. I’ll be giving some to the other orphanages too, so don’t worry yourself.”
“D-Donate? But that’s so much!”
“I don’t know the exact details, I’m just doing this thanks to an anonymous benefactor. I’ve used up three platinum coins to square your debt, but I hope this amount will help you run the place.” I made up a convenient excuse as I passed seven platinum coins to the woman.
There were five other orphanages in the city of Allen.
I decided to give ten platinum coins to all of them. The money the bandits had didn’t quite make up that amount, but the valuables they’d been hoarding would likely cover the difference.
The orphanage owner bowed her head to me as I passed out snacks to all the kids.
Alright, time to hit the other orphanages, then back to Babylon.
I gotta take a break today, honestly. I don’t feel like doing anything after all this crap. I need to clear my head, get some real rest and relaxation.
I shook my head from side to side, desperately trying to erase the naked form that had been scorched into my mind by the burning sun. I sighed, opening up a [Gate] to the next orphanage.
“We are tasked with investigating the nation of Isengard?”
“That’s right, yeah. Don’t go too far, though. You need to prioritize your safety over anything else.” The black cat Gollem, Bastet, nodded its head. The black dog Gollem, Anubis, wagged its tail dutifully.
They were just as good as Fenrir when it came to communication.
“Leave it to me, boss-man! I’ll blast them all away! Woof, woof!” I was a little worried about the dog, honestly. Fenrir seemed to notice that and thwacked his little sibling on the head.
“Owie! What’s that for, bro?”
“You aren’t meant to fight anyone. Sneak around and get some information. That’s your priority here, got it?”
“Indeed. Our esteemed brother is right. Please do not go dragging me down.” Apparently, Fenrir was the older brother, Bastet was the middle sibling, and Anubis was the youngest sibling. Anubis was a little larger in size than Bastet, though.
“C’mon sis! I won’t drag us down. You think I’m that dumb?”
“I really do.”
“Hey, don’t say that! Dogs are smart!” ...I think there are a lot of dumb dogs out there... And you’re a Gollem, anyway!
Fenrir and his siblings were certainly well-developed in terms of personality, though.
I wondered if their Q-Crystals were of a higher grade than usual.
“If you’re in danger, then run away at once. You’re equipped with the means to do so for a reason.” Elluka gently pet Bastet on the head as she spoke.
I’d gotten the two Gollems to prevent her from sending her beloved Fenrir out to a dangerous place but ended up making her form a bond with the replacements anyway. Talk about counter-intuitive.
As an apology for the risk, I’d granted several powers to the Gollems.
I’d enchanted them with [Storage], [Accel], [Shield], [Fly], and [Invisible] on their bodies, along with [Paralyze] and [Gravity] for their claws. There was no way they could be harmed by regular humans or Gollems anymore.
Apparently keeping in wireless communication with them would be easy, too.
They weren’t living beings, so the divine venom didn’t have any effect on them.
It was a deadly poison to me and anyone affiliated with me, so we’d have to send them off from a nearby country.
I opened a [Gate] and took them to the western shores of Gardio, facing Isengard.
I tried to use my divine sight to look over at the faraway island, but everything was obscured by a murky golden mist.
People without any divinity wouldn’t be able to see it, and it wouldn’t have any effect on them, but there was no doubt I was seeing traces of the venom in the air.
“Don’t forget to report in often. You’ll be scouting for a month. Return here after a month even if you haven’t gathered all the info you wanted to gather. If you send for pickup we’ll send someone immediately.”
“Understood!”
“Yessir!” I had a feeling Bastet would be more than fine, but I was still a touch worried about Anubis.
“Hey, Anubis. Remember to keep quiet over there, okay?”
“Huh? What for? Bwah!” Anubis found himself slapped across the snout by his sister.
“You dummy! A talking dog would totally stand out!”
“Ohh, that makes sense. Gotcha, no problem! Woofity woof!”
“...Bastet. I’ll be counting on you to keep him under control.”
“I’ll make good use of him. Idiot or not.”
“Y-You two are being a bit mean!” Bastet hopped up on to her silly brother’s back.
They then promptly floated away using [Fly].
“Take care out there.”
“Will do! Look after our master!”
“Yup, we’re off!” Anubis activated [Accel] and blasted away across the surface of the water at the speed of sound. They kicked up a hell of a lot of water in their wake...
Didn’t I just say not to stand out?! I really hope nobody’s looking in this direction.
After a short time I noticed Anubis vanish into thin air, probably thanks to [Invisible]. I had a feeling it was Bastet’s call, rather than his.
Wonder if they’ll be okay...
Still, I had no choice but to trust in them. I had other things I needed to do.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Mochizuki Touya, Grand Duke of Brunhild.”
“The pleasure is all mine. I’m the King of Panaches, Rabert Tell Panaches. I welcome you to my humble kingdom.” A good-natured old man with a white beard smiled over toward me.
He was definitely over seventy, but he had the handshake strength of a man much younger.
I was at the Panaches Kingdom’s royal castle.
I’d been sent over to help them prepare for their meeting with Refreese, which was set for a few days later.
Refreese and Panaches were the only two countries to become directly connected by land after the worlds merged.
The northwestern border of Refreese was now fused with the eastern region of Panaches.
The overlapping land was small, a bit bigger than Brunhild, and was currently uninhabited. I didn’t think it’d cause many issues.
But it was still something the two countries needed to discuss, so the Emperor of Refreese was set to visit Panaches for a formal meeting.
He’d be coming over thanks to my teleportation, of course. Me visiting Panaches in advance would also help me establish a good area to [Gate] him in later on.
I had Kohaku with me, along with our knight order’s vice-commander Nikola. There were a few knights in tow, as well. It was really just a formality, though.
“I heard about you from my boy, Robert. He told me you rode a massive Gollem, but despite your ferocious strength, you have a humble disposition. I’ve also heard you fly around the world for the sake of peace and prosperity, that you have an honorable and kind nature.” ...Ahaha, I’m sounding almost like a saint here.
I looked toward the prince. He was standing there in his pumpkin pants, next to his light-blue Gollem.
“That’s right, father! Mister Mochizuki Touya is a stellar man, a great man! He’s a great friend as well! A wise and noble man with an open mind! He’s nothing but righteous!”
“...Don’t mention it, Prince Robert.”
Come on, dude... I know you don’t mean anything bad, but you’re kind of raising expectations a little high here. Also, when were we friends?
Norn and Nia definitely said it before, but he’s a troublesome prince indeed. The fact that he’s not actually a bad person makes this extra annoying to deal with.
The blue crown, Blau, was bowing profusely in my direction. It was just about the only thing stopping me from accidentally muttering about how tone-deaf this guy was.
Still, even if I made a comment, I had my doubts he’d even register it.
I passed on a mass-produced smartphone to the king as I discussed the upcoming Refreese visit with him.
The Reverse World nations with smartphones were... Primula, Triharan, Strain, and Gardio.
Silhouette of the Black Cats also had one, though.
I passed it over thinking it’d be better to have more countries in touch, but Panaches had been an island nation beforehand so it probably didn’t have much in the way of diplomatic ties. Still, since it was now connected to the mainland through Refreese, I had a feeling that things would change.
After I finished my meeting, Prince Robert came asking me for a smartphone. I was honestly conflicted about whether to give him one or not.
He kind of seemed like the guy who’d send you a ton of texts in quick succession.
Robert had the ability of spatial manipulation thanks to Blau’s power. He could teleport just like me, but the compensation for this power resulted in him needing to sleep after using it.
I couldn’t blame his dad for being so worried about him. It seemed like the king thought it would be good if his son had a smartphone, so he could keep in touch with his son.
Prince Robert was born when his father was quite old, so the king ended up doting on him and coddling him a lot.
Despite that, the prince didn’t grow up to be a selfish or stupid person, just kind of an annoying one. It was clear that he was a good son, and that the king was a good dad.
Given all that information, I had no choice but to accept.
“Thank you so much! We can contact each other whenever now, can’t we?”
“Only text if it’s not super urgent, and I’d prefer it if you kept those texts concise.” I briefly considered giving him Norn and Nia’s numbers so he could hassle them rather than me, but I had the mental image of them beating me up for it, so I decided not to.
“Oh, actually...” There was something on my mind, so I turned to the blue Gollem by my side.
“Blau. I have a question, if that’s okay.”
“Query? Acceptable. State intent.”
“Do you know about the white crown?”
“White. You refer to Albus?”
It knows the white crown... I didn’t expect a lead at all.
“You have memories of it?”
“This unit’s slumber did not last long post-war. This unit still contains several pre-war memories.” Blau had been passed down in the Panaches royal family since before the royalty even existed.
It hadn’t slept for as long as the other crowns, and thus had some memories of the early days.
Click.
“What can the white crown do, exactly? Is it a restorative ability? The kind that could patch up a barrier?” The two worlds had become one, so I had no doubts the boundary of the new world was under considerable strain.
If the barrier was broken completely, then this world would have no means of defense against external invaders.
The phrase... Or rather, the wicked god’s army, was basically like that. And I had no doubt there were other threats in the cosmos, too.
“This unit cannot discuss crown Gollem skills freely. The meister, our manufacturer, has hardcoded such limitations into us.” Hrmph. Guess that makes sense. If they could discuss those things freely, then stuff like weaknesses would be easier to find out. The meister guy, Chrom Ranchesse if I recall correctly... Guess he installed that as a security measure.
“The white crown, Albus, is a special model. It is designed as one of a pair, complementing the black crown, Noir. It is the ultimate folly, one that will bring all reality to naught.” Well, that’s a little ominous. Kind of makes it sound like a doomsday weapon. I thought it’d be like a white mage with healing abilities or something... But that sounds kinda dangerous.
Click.
“Do you know where the white crown could be?”
“Negative. This unit had believed it to be located with the black crown.” Maybe I should go talk to Elluka about this, there might be some clues wherever Noir was unearthed.
Click.
“...Do you need to keep taking photos?”
“This is amazing! I have captured the image of you and Blau on this tiny device!”
“Ask for permission before taking photos, man. You gotta have proper manners.”
“Oh, I see! Very well! May I take another?”
“No.” I curtly declined the prince, who was completely absorbed in his camera app. Despite his appearance, he was actually pretty smart. He only glanced at the manual a bit and immediately knew how his phone worked.
I had a feeling he’d probably start mailing me photos or selfies, so I told him he’d be better off sending those to his poor old dad.
After a little while, the prince started to talk in a more serious tone.
“Actually, Touya. There’s something I wish to ask of you.”
“...I’ll hear you out, at least. But I might not be able to do anything, depends on what you want.” If you ask me to get a selfie with you so you can set it as your wallpaper, then I’ll punch you in the teeth. I know you have no grasp of personal space.
“My fiancee lives in the Kingdom of Strain. I wondered if you could give her one of these phones.”
“In Strain? Oh yeah, I think I remember the queen mentioning something like that...” Her niece, I think... It’s not like I don’t trust her, she’s part of a royal family I have a good relationship with, but I’ve never met her before.
Then again, it’s not like I can’t just confiscate the phone if it’s misused. The Touya giveth and the Touya taketh away.
The prince explained that whenever he used Blau’s ability to visit Strain, he often had to sleep for a full day as the trade-off, so he didn’t get to speak with his fiancee much. That certainly sounded rough.
I’d already given a phone to the Queen of Strain, and Princess Berlietta. One more member of their royal household couldn’t hurt.
“We can hand it over ourselves. I’ll open up a [Gate] to Strain’s castle.”
“Wonderful! You truly are a wonderful best friend, Touya! Now I can introduce you to Ceres as well! Huzzah!” So she’s called Ceres, huh. Also, wait. When did I become this guy’s best friend? It’s true I don’t have a lot of male friends my age, but still...
Man, with Ende and this guy, most of my guy-friends are kinda... Weirdos. This might end up being pretty exhausting.
I shrugged a bit before opening up a [Gate] to Strain. I certainly hoped Robert was appreciative.
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