175. Meeting with the god of Death, Gera (2)

“Kehehe. Do you see that area that’s burning bright red? That’s where Gera, the God of Death, lives.”

“Right.”

The place that Karupedan pointed with their finger looked like a place one would imagine if they thought of hell.

The floor was bubbling with lava, and pillars of flames rose up out of the ground all over the place.

However, I didn’t hear any painful screams.

Well, the stereotypical images of what we imagine heaven and hell to be like were made from our own minds, so there should be differences between that and the reality.

It didn’t seem that the wicked were punished and good deeds were rewarded.

To me, who was walking over there without much concern, Karupedan asked.

“Hm? Did you not hear from Barub? And what Lai Yanta spoke of before……”

“I heard.”

“Huh? But you’re still going to kill Gera?”

“……”

“I thought that this fight would be the most interesting one, but it doesn’t seem so?”

All the gods had agreed to destroy Earth.

The only person to stand against that was Gera.

However, it must’ve been too much to stand against everyone alone.

Instead, Gera had empowered the humans with special abilities.

What we were blessed with were the powers of the Awakened.

Not only that, but Gera had made skillbooks, artifacts, weapons, armor, and other items that assisted in the growth of the Awakened.

As if amused by what Gera created, Karupedan had created additional items far beyond the powers of what Gera could create.

What both of them created helped humanity.

However, the reasoning differed for each of them.

Gera had created them to save humanity.

Karupedan did so to watch humans struggle as they died.

The only god to have assisted the humans, Gera.

Karupedan must’ve thought that I couldn’t kill Gera.

Without the interference of the Unrivaled God, I would be far too lacking to defeat Gera myself.

After all, since Gera had given me this power, this same god could take it away.

However, the host to this game was the Unrivaled God, Karupedan.

That’s why it would be impossible for Gera to steal back the powers gifted to us, even if it’s to survive.

Of course, this was only taking into account of our combat capabilities.

What Karupedan was truly aiming for was humanity’s nature.

You could say that this was similar to how they had created an illusion of my mother during the previous test.

After observing me all this time, I didn’t understand why they still thought so.

To think that someone as pathetic as this held the title of Unrivaled God ruling over all domains.

It was enough to make me smirk from how absurd it was.

Not even looking at them, I spoke to Karupedan.

“Haven’t I already proven myself in the test to obtain the power of the Piece of Time and Space? I won’t be shaken by petty emotions. To be precise, I do my best to make sure that I don’t.”

“Without the help of Gera, humans would’ve been butchered already. Kehe. You’re planning to repay that goodwill with murder?”

“I think you still don’t understand what humans really are like. It’s pretty common between humans to pay favor with acts that would turn them into sword enemies. Anyone can do it, and it can happen to anyone. It’s nothing big.”

“Hehe….. This is more amusing than I thought? This is far outside of my expectations. I’m pleased!”

“So why didn’t you make us better?”

“…….”

“Also, how would you know for sure? Gera could’ve given us power just to watch us suffer like you did. How could we know for sure that Gera wanted to really help us. And if this God of Death was going to help us in the first place, Gera should’ve done a better job. Don’t you think so?”

“Hehe. Sure. You should confirm it yourself. Gera won’t be an easy opponent.”

“As long as I have King’s Marbles, I can face anyone.”

“Hm…. Is that so? I’ll see you in a bit. After you prove what you just said, that is.”

“What are you saying……”

“Heh. Then go on ahead.”

*****

“It’s hot enough to suffocate here.”

Matching the scenery, an intense heat followed.

Well, this place was the equivalent to the inside of an active volcano.

For a place that a god who has blessed us humans lived, this place seemed far more barren than the places that the Goddess of Light and God of Darkness lived at.

Perhaps due to this god residing over death, this place felt as though it should be hosting the most wicked and cruel god instead.

It was then.

“You’ve arrived?”

“……..”

“You’ve heard from Karupedan already, right? I am Gera.”

“Uh? Yes……”

Draped in a black robe, Gera appeared.

The black rope covered this god’s entire body.

One could easily mistake this as just moving cloth.

This god’s voice was nothing like any of the other gods’ voices.

Even with gods that did not have a gender, I could at least differentiate their voices between masculine and feminine, but it was impossible with Gera.

The sound of a machine? Inbetween? There was no way to describe it.

Their voice was something that wasn’t in either category.

Not only that, but this god was speaking respectfully towards me.

For a god who ruled over all domains to respectfully address a human of all species was a concept that was hard to grasp.

At their mannerism towards me, I also naturally found myself addressing them with respect as well.

“I was waiting for you.”

“……”

“In your travels here, I can see that both your body and heart has weathered vast amounts of injuries from both large and small winds.”

“Um……”

“I am aware already. You must be here because of Karupedan’s greed. Hai Yanta. Lai Yanta. You’ve met the two of them already, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Did the two of them come for you? Since you hold domain over death, I guess that’s obvious.”

“No. They did not come to me.”

“……”

“I wonder if Karupedan’s curiosity has been sated somewhat. The two of them seemed to have completely been obliterated from existence. After all, even though I hold domain over death, I wasn’t able to see them.”

“Is that so. Then you must be aware of why I’ve come here, right?”

“Yes, that is the case.”

“I’ve heard. You’ve given help to the humans. The power of the Awakened, artifacts, and the such…..”

“Help…. I’ve only given a chance. I gave humans a chance to rise up on their own two feet. A chance to prove that they can face and withstand the ridicule and trickery of the gods.”

“I wonder. Do you think that we’re doing well as you had hoped?”

“Of course. Plenty. Humans have shown me potential far beyond what I had hoped for. They’ve done so until now, and I have no doubts that they’ll continue to do so in the future.”

“……”

“Your expression doesn’t seem well. I guess it’s been hard to accept? That you have to continue killing in order to progress.”

“Hm…. I was happy that I had obtained a new goal.”

“As expected. After all, conquering the demonic realm threat had accomplished your goal.”

“Yes. Until I met you, that was the case. I even saw loneliness and emptiness in that crazy god who is probably watching us from somewhere even now.”

“They are a lifeform that has to live eternally, for who knows how long.”

“Is it because you two are blood related? Despite not being able to see a peep of your face and the rest, I can feel the same feeling from you.”

“To think that you can read into it that far. It seems that you’ve far surpassed the limits of humans. It’s not because of the new abilities you’ve obtained, but because you can sympathize with those in a similar situation as yourself, right? Now, what will you do?”

“…….”

“It seems that I’ve asked a pointless question. Seems as though you’ve already made your decision ahead of time.”

“That’s right. I did boast it to Karupedan, but it seems that standing before you, I cannot say a word of it.”

“Will you defeat me and progress forward?”

“Yes. I have decided to. And I have to.”

“The order in which Karupedan introduces the gods. What do you think it means?”

“…..”

“It seems that you’ve caught on from my question.”

“Is it the strength of the gods? That won’t be an issue. Even if strong opponents keep appearing before me, I won’t lose.”

“I suppose that you’ve put your faith in the King’s Marbles.”

“That’s right. It’s an artifact with an absolute rule from the Unrivaled God. I can’t help but put my faith in it.”

“There will be 3 more gods after me. You won’t be able to surpass them with your current pride.”

“What do you mean…..”

“I am not an existence that gives help to humans. I merely give them the chance. The answer, you must find on your own. However, I can tell you that after defeating me, the ability you gain may serve as the chance I’ve mentioned.”

“Is that so….. I don’t harbor any ill intent towards you…. But you are aware, right? Karupedan, god who shares your blood, has offered me this insane deal.”

“Of course. I am aware. I always thought that a day like this would come.”

“Then……”

At the same time as me swallowing the King’s Marbles, Gera’s attack began.

****

“Karupedan! What have you been doing here all this time?”

“Hehe. Gera-unni. 1 Look at this. I brought them from the mountain in the backyard.”

“What if you lost your way! You. You’re going to get scolded when we get back home!”

“Hehe. If you take a bite of this, you probably won’t. It’s really tasty. I brought it back for you, unni.”

“Let’s get back home quickly. Night will fall soon.”

“Yep!”

Holding each other’s hands tightly, the two sisters headed for the worn down home that radiated a dim flickering light.

While still in the Larkenta’s holy land territory, this was a house secluded far off from the rest.

The small child appeared to be somewhere between the age of 6 to 7, and her sister, who seemed a bit bigger, appeared to be only 10 years old.

The interior of the home they opened the door was far more shabby than the exterior.

Other than the small candle they lit for lighting, there was no warmth to be found.

A frigid home without parents, family, or anyone to greet them.

The basket on the kitchen table that should’ve been filled with bread was empty, and only chipped and cracked tableware was present.

It was a situation where one should be worried about today’s meal.

Yet the two of them had bright smiles on their faces, seemingly without reason.

Karupedan, who had searched all over the mountain for fruits and had now put them on the table, had climbed up onto the chair and was tapping the floor impatiently.

Briefly enjoying the scene with satisfaction, Gera quietly opened the cupboard and took out a fist sized bread to hand it to her.

“Here. Eat up.”

“Hehe. What about you, unni?”

“Unni got tired of waiting and ate some ahead of time.”

“That’s not fair! We should’ve eaten together!”

“Hmph! Why did you come so late then? If you’re late again like today, I’m going to eat all of it next time.”

“Hehe!”

“You were hungry, right? Is it good?”

“Yep!”

It was expected that a war that waged on for dozens of years produced orphans.

Those children would stay with their neighbors, or if lucky, go to the castle and do odd jobs to barely keep afloat.

These two were also orphans from the war, and despite not sharing blood, due to being in the same situation, they relied on each other more so than how actual siblings would.

But why? Why were the two of them living alone without anyone caring for them?

The reason why these children didn’t receive any help from around them was simple.

It was because they were the children of traitors.

Their parents committed crimes, and after a very long period of torture, were pitifully executed.

In Larkenta, no child below the age of 15 were killed.

No matter what crimes they committed, or even if they are the children of criminals.

This was a rule that had been followed for a very long time, and it hadn’t been broken once.

As Karupedan was eating her bread with a smile, the rotting door opened with enough force to break.