Chapter 18 — Why Not Leave Half the Population Alive? That Should Help Spread Your Name
After destroying the bizarre “fusion of a machine from another world and a local person,” the UEG finished by mopping up the leftover humans in her surroundings.
“Hmm. I was looking for a place to use as a home base. I suppose this will do.” She had leaped in without much thought, so she didn’t really know where she was going, but it appeared she had ended up in some sort of castle. There was no need for her to rest her body, and she could go basically anywhere instantly, but wandering around without a clear base seemed lame somehow.
The UEG walked through the castle, looking for a place to relax, and found a chapel.
“This shall suffice.”
It was a beautiful white room covered in gorgeous windows to allow a large amount of light in. Great effort had been put into building it, giving it a peaceful air. The UEG sat down on the altar at the far end of the room.
“Now then, let us hear a report of the current situation. Assemble!”
The UEG called her subordinates. There was no real need to do so if she only wanted a report, and if she really wanted to know something, she could find out anything about this world on her own, but she would never do something so boorish. Though it would take some time and effort this way, for a god who could do anything easily, going through the motions like this was enjoyable.
The air in front of the UEG began to glow with a strong light, which eventually receded to show six kneeling figures.
“Hm? There seem to be more of you than I remember.” She knew Zakuro, the god who had been looking for her, and his two subordinates, Haruto and Euphemia, but there were now three more girls with them.
“Lady UEG, I have added them to our ranks at my discretion. I believe they may prove useful in wiping out humanity.” Euphemia introduced the new members: Risley, Carol S. Lane, and Ryouko Ninomiya.
“If that is what you wish, I do not mind. However, I cannot allow you to continue adding to our ranks ad nauseam.” She knew Euphemia may have thought some of humanity could be rescued by making them into allies. With these kinds of numbers, it wasn’t much of an issue; however, were she to continue adding members to their group non-stop, things would be different.
“Oh?! Why is Ootori here?” Carol looked over at Haruto in surprise.
“I should be asking you that,” he replied.
“Are you two already acquainted?” the UEG asked.
“Yes. We knew each other before coming to this world.” Haruto gave a brief explanation of their circumstances—how they had been summoned to this world by a Sage as a class.
“Hmm...I suppose those who were summoned here recently from another world can be exempted from my extermination.” She had planned on killing them all in the end, but she ended up changing her mind, deciding that they were too far removed from her desire for revenge. “Anyway, we have been sidetracked. Give me a report. Zakuro, what results have you had?”
“I destroyed a city. But do we really have to declare ourselves to everyone we kill? It takes an awful lot of time,” he answered. The UEG had ordered that they explain their reasons for killing people before doing so. The denizens of this world had all been complicit in her imprisonment. She had ordered that they be made aware of that sin before dying, though she herself didn’t adhere to the rule so strictly.
“Of course it is necessary. Merely killing them would mean nothing. If they are unaware of their sin, there is no point in taking their lives.”
“Understood. I will continue the extermination as-is, then.”
“I have also eliminated only a single city,” Euphemia reported next. “I made a declaration to the city at large, but is such a method acceptable?”
“I suppose there is no problem with that.”
“If I knew that was allowed, I would have done the same thing. Why didn’t you say that earlier?” It seemed Zakuro had explained things to each individual personally before killing them.
“I have a suggestion,” Euphemia continued. “Why not leave half the population alive? That should help spread your name.”
“Hmm...that does sound like a good idea. It should allow more time for fear to permeate the population. Very well, I will allow it. But half is still too many. When attacking a city, you are only to spare one third of the population. That should be sufficient to spread my name.”
“Understood.”
“Then next, Haruto.”
“I’ve been focused on wiping out secluded settlements in the woods. I’ve killed a few hundred people in total.”
“Is that all? Actually, that is fine. If we ended up with only small settlements at the end, finishing the job would become a chore. Continue as you were.” The UEG was satisfied with how things were going so far. “I shall continue participating in places that strike my interest. Continue with the systematic extermination of everything else.” After saying that, she returned her followers to where she had summoned them from.
“Now, where should I head next?” The UEG spread out the net of her consciousness, searching for the presences of those who were particularly strong. “No one who stands out...” Despite searching the entire world, there didn’t appear to be anyone of significant strength left.
“I suppose I will need to sharpen the scope.” By reducing the range of her search, she could increase the detail with which she was able to see and thus garner more precise information. As she did, she noticed that something seemed a little off. There were places that gave her almost no information at all. It seemed they were built to conceal whatever they contained. If she was only glancing over them, she wouldn’t have noticed, but now that she was consciously aware of them, scanning them wouldn’t be a challenge.
She restricted her search to those suspicious regions. They had powerful barriers protecting them in addition to their concealment, but that was hardly an impediment for her. No barrier would be able to resist her strength. Once she made it through, she was met with a shock. The amount of power tightly packed within was incredible. That alone wasn’t terribly surprising, but the fact the power had a connection to the UEG herself was.
“Hmmmm? What is happening there? My memories of the time leading up to my imprisonment are still rather vague. Did I leave something behind? No matter. I have already decided to wipe out all life. Hiding will not be enough to save you!”
The UEG searched through the contents behind the barrier. There were a number of powerful people inside. Plenty of beings more powerful than the Divine King and the bizarre machine she had just destroyed were wandering about there.
“I suppose it matters not whom I choose first.” She couldn’t get a good grasp on precisely how strong they were with a brief glance. She would eventually kill them all, so it didn’t matter what order she killed them in.
Deciding that, she picked one at random and headed out.
◇ ◇ ◇
After passing through the barrier, the UEG was greeted by a rural landscape. She walked along a path leading between the fields. She could have appeared immediately beside her target, but that wouldn’t feel right. Whether she killed them immediately or not depended on her mood. Right now, she felt like making her presence fully known before engaging with her target. Unless the target was a total moron, they would be able to notice her coming.
She eventually ended up at a small, cozy wooden house. She knocked on the door. This was also all according to her whims. She could easily enter without permission or pass through the walls of the house...or obliterate the entire building from the outside. But she felt like waiting for the occupant’s response.
“Hello.” A man opened the door. He was young but plain, wearing worker’s clothes. He appeared to be some sort of god, but not one of any level the UEG cared about. “Can I help you?”
“I am the Ultimate Extermination God. You may refer to me as UEG for short.”
“Uhh... What...? You’re pretty weird, aren’t you?” The man made no effort to hide his displeasure.
“I have introduced myself. Who are you?”
“Touichirou. Touichirou Hakamada.”
“Hm. Sounds like the name of a fool.”
“That’s the last thing I want to hear from you. Anyway, that doesn’t answer my question. What do you want?”
“I am here to exterminate you, of course. I was locked up in this world, a sin for which all its denizens are culpable. As such, I have come to deliver your punishment. So die.”
“No way. Why should I die?”
“I am not asking you to kill yourself. I am saying I will kill you.”
“That doesn’t change anything. I don’t want to die either way.” Touichirou sighed. “You look pretty strong, huh?” he said, scratching his head.
“Very strong. There are none who are stronger. I have never met a being who could overpower me.” Her memories of the time she was trapped were vague, but if she didn’t remember who had done it, she was still technically telling the truth.
“So, you want to fight? Me and you?”
“Correct. Do not stand there and allow me to kill you. That would be no different from suicide. Struggle to the utmost to save yourself.”
“What the heck? This is a huge pain in the ass. There’s no way I can get out of it, is there? If you want me to join you, I’d be more than happy to.”
“There is no such thing. There is only one method by which you can preserve your life. To kill me!”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely!”
Touichirou sighed in response to the UEG’s unwavering declaration. It was a deep enough sigh that anyone watching would get concerned.
“This is really a pain in the ass! But looks like you’re going to make me fight no matter what. Good grief. That’s all I can think! Okay then, let’s go somewhere else. I don’t want to ruin the crops here.”
“I cannot imagine the battle will be so great in scope, but that is fine. If you wish to go somewhere else, feel free.”
“See you there.” With that, Touichirou vanished.
She couldn’t feel his presence anywhere close by, so he must have gone a considerable distance. The UEG teleported after him.
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