Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter Ep

THUS AN EVIL GOD IS BORN 

We’ve acquired a powerful ally in Güli-güli. 

The path ahead is clear. 

We’ll initiate the war between humans and demons as planned and acquire a massive amount of MA energy. 

Then we’ll combine that energy with the energy from dismantling the system and save the planet. 

But before that, we need to remove one major obstacle: the elves. 

That will help save Ms. Oka, too, so we absolutely have to do it. 

In other words, what I need to do now is prepare to both destroy the system and crush the elves. 

I’ve already started preparing for the latter by using my clones to gather information. 

Yes, they’ve finally gotten strong enough that I can safely send them out to spy on the elves. 

Basically, their stealth abilities have improved, and they’re fast enough now to get away if they’re spotted! 

…What, you’re not impressed? 

But it’s still a huge improvement from the start, when they could only relay information back to me, right? 

These things happen little by little, you know. Slow and steady wins the race. 

I don’t need to rush things along. If I just keep them moving forward at a regular pace, they’ll keep acquiring new abilities. 

I’m gonna make even more mini-mes, too, and send ’em out to spy all over the world and gather information from everyone, not just the elves. 

The more we know, the better. 

Whoever rules the information rules the world! 

And at the same time, I’ll start increasing my own combat abilities. 

If we’re going to crush the elves, that means we’re finally gonna have a face-to-face showdown with Potimas. 

Thus far, we’ve done battle only with Potimas’s clones. 

And those had reduced battle capabilities so they wouldn’t draw too much attention. 

If Potimas gets serious about taking us on, he won’t worry about holding back. He’ll bust out every last weapon in his arsenal. 

Which probably includes anti-dragon weapons, meant for taking on Güli-güli, who probably could’ve brought down that UFO. 

I don’t know if a weapon like that could actually beat Güli-güli, but if you’re gonna fight a god, you can’t half-ass the preparations. 

At present, I don’t know if a god like me (LOL) would be able to deal with a weapon like that. 

I’ve got to get strong enough to win without a shadow of a doubt. 

There’s no room for failure here. 

It’s time to pull out all the stops. 

Besides, I’m sure Potimas isn’t the only major opponent I’ll have to face. 

I mean, if we follow my plan, tons of the people who live in this world are gonna die. 

I’m sure Güli-güli won’t allow that. 

If mass death was all that was gonna happen, maybe he’d let me get away with it. 

After all, because of the way this system works, people have to die and get reborn to keep the world running. 

That’s why he’s not trying to stop the Demon Lord from starting a huge war with the intention of getting tons of humans and demons to kill each other. 

But if we break the system and the souls of the people who die in the process break completely? 

When we destroy the system, the skills and stats carved into people’s souls will be recovered, which will place a huge burden on those souls. 

If you do that to the people in this world whose souls are already weakened, they’ll die. 

And their souls will get smashed to bits. 

If your soul gets destroyed, that means you’re dead for good. 

You’ll never be able to reincarnate again, system or no system. 

Once he finds out about that, I’m sure Güli-güli will challenge me. 

Will he stand in my way to stop it from happening in the first place? 

Or will he witness the massive number of deaths and attack me in a fit of rage? 

I don’t know, but either way, we’re going to clash eventually. 

So I’ve got to get strong enough to beat Güli-güli, too. 

If it happens after we’ve already put the plan in motion, I can just run away with Teleport, but if he tries to stop me beforehand, I’m gonna have to get past him somehow. 

’Cause I have my own reasons for why I can’t back down. 

Now that I think about it, that’s a pretty tall order. 

But since I’ve decided to do it, I’ve gotta tackle it with everything I’ve got. 

…Except that’s not all I have to do, either. 

Like, that’s already enough to make my head spin, but there’s one more big thing I have to do. 

Remember? I’ve gotta destroy the system, too. 

But of course, I can’t literally just destroy the whole thing. 

I’ve gotta leave the part that regenerates the planet and adjust the rest to funnel all the freed energy into it. 

Which means I have to get a solid grasp of the entire system and start preparing to dismantle it. 

I’m basically trying to meddle with some really delicate conjuring that’s part of a gigantic interlocking system, so as you might imagine, it’s gonna be crazy difficult. 

In fact, this might be even harder than beating Güli-güli. 

But still, that’s just in a normal situation. 

If D actually did leave a secret method in the system to accomplish what I’m planning, then I just need to find that. 

Even a god (LOL) like me wouldn’t be able to dismantle a giant conjuring that D created and rebuild it from scratch. So I’m gonna put my faith in D’s love of entertaining twists and pray that there really is a secret mechanism of some kind. 

But either way, I’m gonna have to dismantle the system at some point. 

Which is exactly why I’m here right now. 

A giant magic circle stretches across the floor in geometric patterns. 

It even covers the walls and ceiling with patterns, all glowing faintly in a dreamlike scene. 

And at the heart of the magic circle is a single woman. 

The woman floats in the air, the magic circle entwined around her like chains that have cut her off from freedom. 

It’s less like she’s floating and more like she’s suspended from the ceiling. 

And as if that didn’t already look painful enough, the lower half of her body is missing, as if it melted away into nothing. 

It’s a horribly cruel sight. 

<Proficiency has reached the required level.> 

<Experience has reached the required level.> 

<Proficiency has reached the required level.> 

A voice reverberates throughout the room. 

Her lips aren’t moving. 

In fact, the voices constantly overlap one another in an endless echo. 

Like a dissonant chorus. 

Over, and over, and over. 

But even so, that voice is unmistakably that of the woman suspended from the ceiling. 

It’s proof that even now, the people of this world are continuing to level up their skills. 

It’s the voice that I once called the Divine Voice (temp.), the one believed by the Word of God religion to be the voice of God, the voice that relays notifications from the system. 

And the voice isn’t all she provides, either. 

This woman has been running the system alone here all this time. 

She’s the core of the giant conjuring known as the system. 

This room is the system’s center. 

Normally, no one would be able to enter this place, but that’s nothing my teleportation can’t get around. 

That said, it’s not impossible to get here using other means, either. 

It’s not in a separate dimension like the small room that contained the dark dragon Reise. 

No, this place exists firmly in the reality of this world. 

The system wouldn’t be able to control all of its delicate mechanisms from another dimension. 

Just like how you can’t make a call from outside the range of your mobile network. 

This place is deep in the Bottom Stratum of the Great Elroe Labyrinth. 

That’s right, the same dungeon in which I was born. 

The entrance to the Bottom Stratum was guarded by the earth dragon Araba, and it was in the Bottom Stratum that Mother made her nest. 

And this place is what they were protecting. 

The Demon Lord was so desperate to keep it safe that she put her most powerful asset down here to protect it. 

But normally, it would be all but impossible to get inside anyway. 

The impassable door prevents any trespassers. 

Since it protects the center of the system, the door’s defense is so high that no amount of assistance from stats would be enough to break through. 

And since it’s locked up without a key, it’s impossible to open. 

Even the Demon Lord, who placed Mother here to protect it, has probably never been inside. 

“……” 

So that’s why I brought her here with me. 

Buuut maybe that was a bad idea. 

This is my first time here, too, so I had no idea it was going to be in this state. 

It might’ve been cruel to let the Demon Lord see it like this. 

Silently, the Demon Lord walks up to the woman bound in midair. 

Then she stops right in front of her, close enough to touch if she reached out her hand. 

As the woman’s voice echoes clamorously throughout the room, the Demon Lord stares at her in silence. 

“Mother.” 

Her single murmured word is drowned out by the woman’s voice, barely making a sound. 

But faint as it was, it still reached my ears. 

There’s no blood relation between this woman and the Demon Lord. 

There couldn’t possibly be. 

But I’m sure she has her reasons for calling her that, a relationship rooted in their shared history. 

I don’t know much about the Demon Lord’s past. 

But I can guess from what she’s said before, and from what I learned from Taboo, that she’s been alive since before the system was a thing. 

Based on that assumption, I figured that the Demon Lord probably knew the woman trapped in this room. 

But it looks like their relationship was much, much deeper than I first thought. 

Why else would you call a woman who has no blood relationship to you “Mother”? 

The Demon Lord continues to gaze at her wordlessly. 

Just looking at her, never once reaching out to touch her. 

I watch over the two of them in silence. 

A long, long time ago… 

The world was considerably advanced. 

There were machines everywhere that made people’s lives easier. 

But the people of the past committed a grave error. 

They laid their hands on the forbidden power source, MA energy, which was never to be touched. 

A certain woman explained the dangers to them and pressed them to refrain from using it, but they paid her no heed. 

After all, MA energy could make their lives even better than they already were. 

But all that awaited them was destruction. 

By the time they had realized their mistake and tried to repent, it was all far too late. 

The end was fast approaching. 

As they wept in despair, the people beheld a single ray of hope. 

A means of saving the world by sacrificing a single woman. 

That woman was the very person who had warned them of the dangers of MA energy. 

As the people changed their tune and begged her to save them, she nonetheless agreed. 

And so she became the sacrifice that would keep the world alive. 

The people called her a goddess and worshipped her. 

That woman’s name was Sariel. 

Even now, she is chained up in the center of the system. 

The Demon Lord starts to reach out toward the goddess Sariel, then stops and withdraws her hand. 

“Lady Sariel… This is too cruel. It must hurt, right? Are you suffering?” 

The Demon Lord—the Demon Lord—is crying. 

I wonder why…? 

For some reason, I always thought the Demon Lord couldn’t cry. 

I thought she was too strong to let anyone see her tears. 

And I’m sure that she rarely ever cries, only in truly exceptional situations. 

This is obviously one of them. 

“But you still won’t stop, will you? That’s how you’ve always been, Lady Sariel.” 

I don’t understand her logic, but I’m sure she firmly believes every word she’s saying. 

“Please wait just a little longer. I… I’ll get you out of here, no matter what. I promise. I promise.” 

Maybe I misunderstood her. 

I always thought the Demon Lord was fighting for this world, but it looks like I was wrong. 

The Demon Lord has been fighting this lonely battle all these years just to save one person. 

Saving the rest of the world is just incidental. 

I understand that, because I feel the same way. 

But clearly, my commitment isn’t nearly as strong as hers. 

That much is obvious now. 

I have to admit, I’m a little jealous of the bond between the Demon Lord and Sariel. 

The Demon Lord turns away and walks toward me, the tears gone from her face. 

“Done already?” 

“Yeah. I’m more determined than ever now.” 

Just as she says, the Demon Lord’s expression is clear and resolute. 

“Thanks for bringing me here, White.” 

Maybe seeing the goddess Sariel and crying her eyes out helped her let off some steam. 

At first I thought I might’ve been wrong to bring her here, but if it wound up helping her clear up her feelings, I’m glad I did it. 

“Uh-huh. Good.” 

It was good. 

Not just for the Demon Lord but for me, too. 

I swore to stake my life on saving the Demon Lord to pay her back for saving me. 

But it looks like my resolve is still a bit lacking. 

The Demon Lord has been fighting all alone for the goddess Sariel for so long. 

She may have underlings, but she had no friends. 

But even now, she keeps on fighting without ever slowing down. 

How hard must that have been? 

How much determination must that have taken? 

In spite of it all, the Demon Lord is still fighting for Sariel even now. 

Would I be able to do the same thing? 

I don’t think so. 

I haven’t been staking my life on any of this at all. 

There’s got to be more, so much more, that I can do. 

That’s what seeing the Demon Lord’s attitude toward Sariel made me realize. 

And it also made me start to feel, from the bottom of my heart, that I truly want to help the Demon Lord, not just out of any sense of duty. 

How could anyone see her like this and not want to help her? 

Just look at how hard she’s working. 

She’s been running at full tilt for ages, even knowing that she might drop dead long before she reaches the finish line. 

The demon race hates her. The person she wants to rescue is suffering like this. But she’s still trying to save the world, even if it’s just the means to saving Sariel? 

She definitely deserves to be rewarded. 

After all that struggle, she’s more than earned a happy ending. 

No matter what anyone says, I won’t accept any ending that doesn’t leave the Demon Lord smiling. 

I’ll happily commit mass murder or anything else if that’s what it takes to make it happen. 

Saving the world? That’s just an afterthought. 

I’m saving only who I want to save. 

You won’t catch me claiming it’s for the good of the world or anything like that. 

I don’t care if most people will call me a villain. 

That’s not my problem. 

As these thoughts cross my mind, I realize that I really am related to an evil god. 

D cares only about her own entertainment. 

She’ll do anything that seems amusing, even if it results in a whole world’s destruction. 

I’m not quite as cruel as that, but I’m not so far off, either. 

I’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish my goals. 

Why wouldn’t I? 

I’m not trying to be a hero here, so I might as well play the villain, reaching my goals with whatever nasty tricks I can get my hands on. 

I’m graduating from being a plain old god (LOL). 

From now on, I’ll be an evil god. 

The evilest god this world has ever seen, plunging people and elves alike into the depths of horror and despair.