Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (WN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: 30

15-30 . Divine Punishment (4) Basis

But, aren't the most numerous ones the people who make use of either case depending on the situation?

◇

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you never thought that your true identity would be found out . "

Tactician Touya is pointing at me with a triumphant look on his face .

"I'm not a God--You won't believe me even if I tell you that right?"

"Of course!"

Tactician Touya is full of confidence .

"Could you tell me what's your basis for thinking that I'm a God?"

After I said that, tactician Touya grins and begins to talk .

"There are too many mysteries surrounding you . "

Tactician Touya calmly speaks as if he's a stage actor .

However, I'd like to be spared from his slightly narcissistic strange pose .

I somehow feel that his preferences will match with Dog-head's .

"The first entry about you in the slates is about your fight with the black greater demon in Seryuu city . "

That's certainly the case .

Of course, I'm written as [Silver Masked Hero] in the slates .

"Someone with a single-digit level couldn't have possibly won against a greater demon . "

Un, I forgot to change my level in the Exchange Column at that time .

"You must be possessing some kind of concealment-type artifact . Or so we thought, thus we had to investigate your identity . "

After saying that, tactician Touya peers into my eyes as if checking my reaction .

"However, even the most skilled people couldn't find any trace about you before you appeared in Seryuu City . Yes, so perfect we couldn't help but thought it was as if you suddenly came together with the 『Stars Fall』 . "

No no, I think I was transported at that time, so the suddenly appearing part is true .

"We played it safe and absolutely made sure to chase your whereabouts to prevent contact . And with each reports, we couldn't help but question the sanity of our informer . "

Tactician Touya slowly shakes his head with his finger on his forehead .

That gesture pisses me off somehow .

"Slaughtering senior greater demons one after another, and even easily beating the Golden Wild Boar King whose strength was famous among successive generations and the great monstrous fish Tovkezeera . "

The one who defeated Tovkezeera was Hero Nanashi, there was no information about me being the same person as Hero Nanashi in the slates .

"Let alone them, you even defeated the strongest 『Ancient King Dog Head』-dono who was called the evil god and the offshoots of Demon God-sama . "

--Nn? What's this?

I sensed something odd just now .

That sense of oddness disappeared before I could say it, but another question appeared instead .

"Isn't it said that no one besides Dragon God and Demon God have ever defeated Dog-head?"

When I pointed that out, tactician Touya looked a bit disgruntled .

Looks like he vaguely noticed that too .

"Hmph, it's most likely because it happened right after 『Ancient King Dog-Head』-dono had just revived so he was in a weakened state . "

The Dog-head beating was written humorously in the slates, but the detail as to how I actually defeated him wasn't depicted, and mysteriously, the little girl who intruded in my fight with the dog-head wasn't written at all .

"And, even though you had the power to defeat Doghead-dono, as weakened as he was, you bafflingly hid all of your achievements and continued your journey as a common man . You could have gained any kind of glory and fame if you just made it public, yet you only repeated your pleasure jaunts and philanthropic works . "

Cause my main purpose is going on trips in another world .

"We racked our brains at your mysterious acts . However, everything came to light once we confirmed a certain phenomenon . "

Tactician Touya's reasoning feels familiar to me somehow .

A deja vu of having your conjecture proven wrong .

"And? What is that phenomenon?"

I know that he's surely mistaken, but laughing at him would be too sad so I urged him to continue .

This is not because I pity him as a fellow sufferer of mistakes . Absolutely not .

"You can chantlessly teleport an impossible amount of things to an impossible distance away . However, that's fine and all . We thought that you were just hiding such a Unique Skill . "

Is he talking about Unit Arrangement?

Since I can teleport considerably far away with space magic, wonder which one is it?

"However, it doesn't seem like you pay the compensation for it . Not magic power, not your soul, nothing!"

He shouldn't be able to know my magic power consumption, maybe he's referring to me teleporting way outside the limit without replenishment?

"Such a thing is not possible for someone who's been given god's fragment, someone who is just given a portion of the authority . Someone that can freely command such an absurdity at will is an existence outside the principle . In other words, only a God . "

I see, so Unit Arrangement is that much of an absurd ability .

Come to think of it, when I experimented to see the limit, I could repeat it ad infinitum it stopped being funny, and I was also able to escape from the center of gravity many times .

"We also have other basis . "

"And that is?"

Might as well listen to it all .

"--30 years . "

What?

Did I miss him speaking again?

"Are you still playing dumb? It has only been 30 years since you were defeated and killed by Dragon God!"

Tactician Touya shouted irritatedly .

His fangs are about to reach a dangerous level, please calm down .

He seems to refer to God Zaikuon reviving even though it has only been 30 years since his dead .

"It's certainly strange . Please tell me the reason if you know why . "

"Hmph, you're not going to admit that you're God Zaikuon until the end huh . "

I mean, that's wrong .

"There's a true meaning in you not only piling up achievements as a fake hero but also hiding your philanthropic works . "

With a [zubi] sound effect, tactician Touya points his finger at me while taking a pose like he's leaning his back .

I almost impulsively shouted, "What'd you say!" out loud, but I held back .

I had a feeling that he'd snap and turn into demon lord if I teased him like that .

"I have a proper hero title y'know?"

I let him to cool down by pointing out his mistake a bit .

"Yes, a true meaning!"

Tactician Touya completely ignored me and continued on .

Can't be helped, I'll hear it till the end without doing unnecessary interruptions .

"What kind?"

"I'll only be preaching to the choir, but very well I'll have you hear it . "

For now, I urged him to continue .

"The period of revival for a god that has died is fixed . "

The weasel emperor is calmly glaring at me to not miss any of my gestures .

Unlike tactician Touya, it doesn't seem like he's entirely convinced that I'm God Zaikuon .

"However, there's also a way to shorten that . "

Judging from the oracle I heard before going here, is it prayers?

"In order to shorten that, the most effective way is people's genuine prayers and devout piety . Awe and reverence can also shorten the revival period but it is not as effective . "

Such a detailed explanation isn't written on the slates .

Looks like tactician Touya has another source of information besides the slates .

"You should understand that playing dumb after this far is meaningless!"

Thin purple hair begins to grow on the bald head of tactician Touya .

Apparently, he only shaved his head .

"In summary, what you want to say is--I gathered prayers and piety from the people by acting as Satou and Nanashi in order to hasten God Zaikuon's revival?"

"That's right!"

Swoosh, tactician Touya's hair lengthened into a straight long hair to his waist .

"You are the mortal frame of God Zaikuon . A split Mitama!"

I begin to think that my identity might really be God Zaikuon after this much of a grand declaration .

Of course that's a misdirected wrong deduction .

If what he said is the truth, then that means a split Mitama of God Zaikuon that's not even the main body defeated Dog-head and the Demon God's offshoots .

It doesn't seem like I can get any more useful information, guess I'll stop keeping his nonsense company and leave here?

◇

"Or perhaps you don't remember?"

Tactician Touya spoke with a slightly different mood when I was waiting for the right timing to leave .

He might have sensed that I didn't believe his deduction .

His tone somehow changes into that of a persuasion .

"Have you ever thought that your memories are inconsistent? Did it get cut off?"

--Mu .

I can't deny that .

My memories were interrupted between the time I fell asleep and awoke in younger body in the [Dragon's Valley] .

The reason for my rejuvenation is unknown, who was the one who teleported me is also unknown .

"Don't you ever feel that your thought is being manipulated by someone?"

--Mumumu .

. . . . Not never .

Although I can't confidently say that it has, I can't really recall the time when Hikaru disappeared .

Why did I think that her disappearance at the time was not a problem, and how I didn't think of Hikaru let alone worry about her until our reunion was also strange .

"Have you ever forgotten things that you intended to do before you realized?"

After being reunited with Hikaru I forgot to pursue that doubt further in spite of having it in my mind .

"Looks like I've hit the nail on the head . "

Tactician's Touya triumphant look is infuriating .

However, the more I denied that impossibility, the more I doubt that maybe even that thought is an influence from an outside force .

Tactician Touya pursues further at my shaken heart .

"Admit it! Split Mitama of God Zaikuon!"

--Impossible .

However, my heart is swaying, unable to intelligently deny like earlier .

The thought of my own memories and thought being manipulated brings anxiety and stress that have never arisen before in my heart .

Maybe .

Just maybe .

Is that--really the case?

『There's no way that's true isn't it?』

I heard a familiar voice in my ears .

That obviously disgusted-sounding voice had the power to blow away my worry in an instant .

『Calm down . My hero . 』

"You're--"

Two small hands hug my neck together with a fleeting light snowfall-like sensation .

Those of the little girl who was in the painting .

◇

--The little girl in the painting .

A mysterious being who appeared in the painting inside Duke Oyugock's castle and when I was being misled by Dog-head Demon Lord .

Dog-head Demon Lord called her [God Parion], she's shown as [UNKNOWN] like the Demon God's Offshoots on my AR reading .

"Who are you?"

『Me? I'm your princess . You're my hero . We're two birds who share a body and a pair of wings walking the eternity together--』 <TLN: An expression for 'a happily married couple' . >

Her clear comfortable voice similar to Lulu almost robs me of my consciousness .

I forgot how she evaded my question and ended up immersing myself in the sound of her words .

"Who are you talking to?"

"--Eh?"

Tactician Touya looks around at the surroundings suspiciously .

It seems the other people can't see her existence .

Since Dog-head demon lord could, she seems to be able to choose who can see her .

"Did you manipulate my--"

She puts her little finger on my mouth midway .

『I only do what you desire . I will be there as you wish . If you cannot remember it, that means it's something the current you don't need . It will be naturally released when you really need it . 』

Normally those sounded unbelievable, but for some reason, I felt like believing her without a doubt .

『Are you convinced?』

"--Yea . "

I nodded back at the girl .

The smiling little girl's body is becoming transparent .

Right, maybe she knows about it .

"Do you know the reason why God Zaikoun revived faster?"

I asked her that while feeling slightly impatient .

『Reason? Maybe the kids who didn't want the civilization to advance united? Because Divine Punishment can't happen unless all the seven Gods who arrived riding on the world trees assembled . 』

--Huh? I felt something odd again .

『Look, my hero . 』

A yellow light is spreading at the ground where the little girl pointed at .

That was the place where a demon lord was fighting an apostle .

『A big battle-loving idiot has appeared . 』

The yellow light becomes a huge person shape .

I think it's at least 100 meter tall?

The information of the person shape shown on my AR is the same as the little girl's--[UNKNOWN] .

The same as the apostle, but it's clearly different .

Warnings from Crisis Perception is alarming enough to tighten my heart even though it's so far apart .

"That's, don't tell me--"

『It is . You can tell the other big idiots over there too . 』

The little girl who was looking at the yellow person shape turned at me .

『Tell them, that's the Zaikuon you seek . 』

"That's, God Zaikuon?"

"W-what'd you say!"

Tactician Touya heard my muttering .

"What do you want me to do?"

『--Nothing . 』

The little girl gently smiles .

Her expression is like a mother, unsuited for her age .

『Do as you like, my hero . Do anything you like anytime you want . 』

After saying that, the little girl disappeared in the air .

Her parting words sounded like an invitation from a devil or a dark god, but I felt a deep affection for me in them .

I think that she's probably the one who summoned me to the [Dragon's Valley] .

◇

"Say it! Who was here! No, what was here!"

Tactician Touya grasped my shoulder and forcibly turned me around .

And just when I was soaking in the lingering sensation, what a cruel guy .

"An unknown little girl . "

"Little girl? --God Parion!"

Like I said, unknown .

"Touya . Whether he's a split body of God Zaikuon or not is trivial now . "

The emperor pointed at the yellow person shape--God Zaikuon with his line of sight .

"My fragments given by God are aching . There's no mistake that's a God--"

Is it just my imagination or is the weasel emperor swelling .

"--Our enemy . "

The yellow light that makes up God Zaikuon is pulsing .

<<<DIVINE PUNISHMENT>>>

Heavy sense along with awe arrived directly in my brain .

The Imperial Capital and the special tank corps outside turned into salt, swallowed by white tsunami and disappeared .

"The Imperial Capital is turning white?"

"That's the divine punishment . "

The Imperial Capital is turning white starting from the edge of the city .

Several purple pillars of light appeared in the slums .

Looks like several reincarnated people had turned into demon lords .

Even though I should have carried all the reincarnated people and [Brains] when I kidnapped the capital's people earlier, just where were they hiding . . . .

"It seems demon lords don't turn into salt . "

"Of course . That only works on the 『Being with Predestined Live (Mortal)』 . It has no effect on the followers of Demon God, demon lords who are 『Immortal Beings』 . "

The weasel emperor looks at me .

"Hero Nanashi, it appears God's power is mightier than we expected . It is very likely that the people won't be protected from the divine punishment by merely hiding underground . Please carry them out if you have a shred of sympathy for our people . "

"I left the people in the imperial castle, but I've saved the populace already . "

"Is that right . . . . My gratitude, Hero Nanashi . "

The emperor looked relieved when I told him that .

"What are you two going to do?"

Perhaps because of I saw that, I asked the weasel emperor and tactician Touya such a thing .

"It's good as long as the people are safe . However, I want to protect the underground burial mound . Protect it from the Gods' hands . "

"Okay . I'll blockade it with a strong barrier . "

It's not because I'm asked by martyr-like clear eyes .

I'm going to protect it since it's an important facility for me too .

"We will defeat the God . "

The emperor who's wrapped in purple light easily stands up from the throne .

"As the great demon lord of this generation, I will challenge and slaughter the God . "

The emperor presses both his hands on the ground and transforms into a purple beast .

"If I become a beast who's lost his reasoning after destroying the God, I'd like you to kill me with that anomalous strength of yours . "

Looks like the emperor's determination is firm .

"Understood . "

"Thank you . Hero Nanashi . "

The emperor who has turned into a beast becomes huge and breaks through the tall ceiling of the throne room .

"We will defeat the God . "

"I see . "

Without cheering or stopping him, I see the emperor off .

"Are you not going?"

"My turn will be for the last . The role of this body is to raise the final big firework called Imperial Castle . "

Tactician Touya replied me with some antique words midway .

He probably wants to draw a line for the rise of standard in their revolt against Gods .

"Explosion is romance . And there is no bigger romance than an explosion that drags a God with it don't you think?"

That reminds me, he's this kind of guy .

"You're right . "

"Yeah, damn I am . "

While looking at the fight between demon lords and the yellow person shape in the distant, tactician Touya laughs like he's yawning .

I felt insanity in his dark expression, sending chill down my spine .

There should be no need for me to see it until the end .

I should just come again once everything is over .

The bureaucrats and the court ladies who had stayed in the castle seemed to have left the capital using an escape VTOL .

The Temple Knights and soldiers are still fighting against the apostles even now .

"--Farewell . "

Muttering a good bye word that's unlike me, I go toward the seal of the burial mound .

I, who have finished all of my roles, leave the whitening dying Imperial Capital behind .