The next day, I immediately went to visit God. Of course, I brought Lou's homemade prepared food and a cake made by the head chef, Claire-san.

"I'm so sorry to have caused you so much trouble...
It's nothing to worry about. I was just checking and calling. Anyway, I'll take this.

　A god who puts the souvenirs I gave him into a small refrigerator full of Showa style. I know it's a little late, but that refrigerator must be a sacred tool.

It's not so unusual for people to move to another world. People from other worlds can be summoned by others, or they can wander through a crack in space-time. Some people are born with this ability.

　It's the kind of thing you often see in novels, like summoning a hero or something. There's also a guy like Ende who has the ability to "cross the world".

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. What kind of world is that place I went to last time?
Is that it? To put it simply, it is one of the worlds that is very close to the one you are in now. So there must be many similarities between the two worlds. Well, it's not like 'the world where your other self is' or anything like that.

　It's true that it's been turned upside down, but there's a world map that looks exactly like it, a place where there's magic (apparently), and magical beasts. I don't want to get into that awful parallel world where I've become a woman or something.

And besides, that world was destroyed in a big war once.
'What? Is that for Fraise?
Yeah. It's a normal world war. The technology has escalated so much that it has destroyed its own civilization. But this is something that happens all the time in the world.

　Surely our world has its own myths like Noah's Ark and Twilight of the Gods (Ragnarok). Will the world evolve through destruction and rebirth and repetition?

'Is it against the rules for me to go to that world?'
No? I don't have a problem with that. If there was a problem, any crystalline seed trying to infiltrate your world would have been erased a long time ago. It's just one of many worlds after all.

　Apparently, it's the underworld? It doesn't seem to be a problem to go to It's okay for the people of the island to travel to another world, even if they wish to do so.

'.........Speaking of which, my sister was saying that if you use 'other space transfer', can you also transfer to other worlds more?
"Cross-space transference... The transference magic you normally use cannot cross the world gap. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. But Transferring to Another Space is a divine movement technique. It can transcend even that and cross the world.
So I could go back to the world I came from...
I could. But I wouldn't advise you to do that. You are already dead to them. In that world, a dead person cannot come back to life. That's why I couldn't bring you back from the other side.

　It would certainly be a panic if someone who was supposed to be dead showed up. Returning to the world you were in might just spell trouble. Perhaps you could at least stand in a dream pillow, though.

And if you can transfer to another space, you're already one of the great gods. As I said before, there's no need to be in a hurry to join the ranks of the gods. Even if you leave it alone, it will happen sooner or later. It's probably more convenient for now to just go with the flow of one or the other.

　I have the power of God, but not the limitations of God. It's because I'm such a halfway house that I can do some things. It's true that God is right, I feel like it's more convenient to stay in the gray zone for a while.
　If you want to go to and from that world, the doctor seems to be able to handle it. Since he even "analyzed" it, it would be possible for him to make the same thing in Brunhild's workshop.
　I thought about this while drinking the tea God offered me.





I've been thinking about this for a while now. Well, it's not impossible. That's right, let's make that while we make the dimensional transition gate. It's basically something that deals with the same large amount of magic power.
I mean, are you still going to make the dimensional transition gate?
Isn't it obvious? It's not nice to borrow someone else's invention, but there could be all kinds of applications for it.

　With the skills of the Kobo, he can do it in three days. That's too fast..... It's not like I'm creating a theory or a structure from scratch, it's just a duplicate, so maybe it doesn't take that much time and effort, but....
　Well, I left that one to the doctor, and I frowned at the report that was coming up on the table in the office.
　It's a report about the appearance of the 'soul-eaters'. To be precise, it's a report that the 'soul-eaten crystal skeleton' has appeared. This time it was the port city of Leafreath.
　The town was what is called a commercial city, and it was a town where all sorts of merchants came and went. Some were decent merchants, some weren't, and in this town's case, there seemed to be fewer decent merchants. It was definitely a town run by merchants, for better or worse, and it was a town with a lot of desire.
　It's not possible to say that the politics of Leafy's were bad in general. The greed of its people can be an energy that enriches the country.
　But in this case, that greed has been targeted.
　Apparently, rather than targeting the place where the "negative emotions" congregate, it seems to me that they are drawn to the "negative emotions" closest to the place where they appear.
　If that's the case, then it's completely at random. I can only hope that word reaches me before the city that was attacked is destroyed.
　There hasn't been a large scale appearance of the Frays lately, and it's kind of spooky.......
　As I was thinking about that, I received a call on my pocket phone. It's Relisha-san, isn't it? Has something happened at the guild?

Hello?
"Your Majesty! The usual 'soul-eaters' are appearing in the southern Yulong town of Changyun at the moment!
What did you say?

　It seems that the people from the Lordmare Branch who had gone to Changyun to negotiate the opening of the Adventurer's Guild had met up with each other. Was this good timing or bad?
　I couldn't let them get away with it either. I quickly unfolded the map and confirmed the location of that Changyun, then asked the doctor to tell everyone about the situation and transitioned to the former Yulong capital, the site of Shenhai.
　From the abandoned capital, which was still a pile of rubble, he immediately took off in his 'fly' for Changyun.
　Continuing to fly as fast as he could, he reached the skies above Changyun in about five minutes.
　Rather than the city's red-tiled roofs and various tall towers that stand out, my eyes are drawn to the people lying all over the place.
　Small crystal-like crystals sprouted from all over their dried up bodies, and they were dying with expressions of anguish on their faces.
　When I checked the corpses with my "God's Eye", I found that their souls had indeed been eaten. There was no doubt about it. It was the work of the Soul Eater.

''Gyaaaaaaah!

　A soul-crushing scream could be heard from a nearby street. It's just like a death knell.
　When I rushed to the spot, I found a huge monster beast biting the man's neck. The monster beast with its cloudy golden fur, which can be taken to be both a wolf and a lion, is leaking something other than divine energy and is mischievous.

''This is the Evil God?''

　It's about four meters tall. The glittering, red blood-like twin eyes were looking at me. The dark gold fur was hard and eerie, giving it an evil vibe.
　I wonder if they call it an evil beast, but it threw the man it was holding in its mouth in front of me and jumped up onto the roof. The wound on the man's neck is quickly closing up and his body is drying up, and a crystal flower is sprouting from the wound.

''Looks like there's no doubt about it...''

　The evil god beast that was staring at me on the roof jumped at me. I put the Brunhild that I took out from storage into blade mode and slash the body of the evil beast that was jumping at me as it passed me. Gakiyin! And a metallic sound echoed around the area.

''Hard?''

　I felt a shock on my wrist, as if I had slashed through the metal with a normal sword. When I looked at my hand, I saw that Brunhild's blade, which should have been made of crystal material, was missing. A lie!
　Tsk. In a manner of speaking, this guy must be a thing created by God, right? Even a neat god like that.

Well then, why don't you mind your own business!

　I raised my divine qi and performed a 'divine release' after a long time. My hair grew all at once, and I was instantly clothed in a platinum radiant divine qi.

''Kukku........ This divine qi........that little boy from that time.......!

　A dull golden vortex appeared beside the Evil God Beast, and a skinny, praying mantis-like old man appeared from it. ''Hmph, you're finally here.

''You look bored, Neat God.
"Don't you diminish your mouth... Just in time. I will take your soul as well. That will speed up your evolution, won't it?
"This beast is the evil one you made up, isn't it? You seem to have taken in some of the features of the Frazeez...

　Perhaps that's what affected the hardness earlier. Probably not even magic will work. It's not a good idea.

I've got some help. "We had a partner," he said, "and that's how we managed to create an excellent evil god. With this guy, you're nothing to destroy this world.
...destroy the world?
'The world destroyed by the evil gods will leave the hands of God. It will no longer be under the control of the World God. The world will no longer be under the control of the World God, and I will descend as the new God. Hmmm, isn't that pleasant?

　Are we going to let God abandon this world and then set it free?
　Evil gods are only born on earth. It is forbidden for gods to directly interfere with them. That's why the gods are given sacred artifacts to the brave and the saints to defeat the evil gods...
　And yet, if the brave men are defeated, that world is over. It will be abandoned by the gods and face a gradual destruction.

'I can see how you've always been a subordinate god.
Shut up! You're not even a subordinate god, no, not even a subordinate god, but you're a big mouth! ... well, all right. It will take you in and help this thing evolve further!

　The evil god beast that had been kicked by its birth parents opened its large mouth and spat out a mass of black fire at me with great force.

''Tch!''

　He popped the black flame bullet as hard as he could with his fist, which was covered in divine energy. It wasn't hot, but a considerable impact was transmitted to my right fist. Kuh, if he wasn't wearing divine spirit, his bones would have been broken.
　The black flame bullet that was shot fell far away from the town and raised a tremendous blast of flame into the sky. ''What the hell are you spitting at me?

''Evil gods eat souls and evolve in their own way. Well, that's what Yura's guy was messing with. He was right. He has evolved so much in such a short period of time.

　Yula? I knew he was going to be working with the dominant species.

"Well, we shouldn't spend too much time on this. It's just too much trouble if the sword god or the love god comes to you. Let's just get this over with.
Ha. I agree. Power rise, teleportation.

　Using instantaneous movement non-attribute magic, I burrowed into the bosom of the evil beast and slammed a powerful body blow, enhanced by 'Power Rise', into its gut. The beast's body bent in the shape of a 'he', spinning and blowing away.

''Gogaaaaah!

　The evil beast that was blown into the air hit the tower, destroying it and leaving it underneath the crumbling rubble.

''What?!''

　The subordinate god was startled and turned his attention towards the evil divine beast that had been blown away. Without missing the timing, Brunhild's bullet, which was clothed in divine Qi, shot out both of the Subordinate God's legs.

''Guh! You idiot! How can you, who are not even a lowly god, penetrate my divine spirit!
'Isn't that what you call a difference in godhood? I'm apparently a member of the World God's household, for one thing.
What?

　The subordinate god had his knees on the ground and was spewing things like shoushuu and golden vapor from both feet.

''Nonsense! How can you have such a divinity and yet not have any rank! Something that could immediately take the position of a senior god!
Unlike you, I know shame.

　Getting a post like that in the light of your parents' glory won't do you any good. And the gods around you would be a nuisance to the people around you.
　Now, what should we do with this subordinate god, the idiot? If I get rid of him, will he take over Hanakoi and Morohana's work? I guess it's about time for this guy and my divine spirit to come.
　As if I'd reckoned with such hesitation, the crumbling tower exploded, and an evil divine beast jumped out from inside.
　As it was, it stood between me and the subordinate god and fired three black flame bullets in a row. ''Not again!
　I could duck, but there would still be people alive in this town, and even if I ducked, I would certainly be caught in the explosion.
　In the end, I end up bouncing all the black flame bullets with my fist again, just like before, and blasting them far out of the town in the distance. This time, though, I made the divine Qi of my fist thicker so that it wouldn't hurt.
　With a limp, the subordinate god approached the evil divine beast's side.

''Kukku, that's enough for today. The next time we meet........

　You want to get out of here before your sisters get here? Not so fast. Before I could step out to give chase, the evil beast turned its head towards the subordinate god.
　In the next moment, the golden beast, with its bright red mouth open, didn't hesitate to stick its fangs into the throat whistle of the old man in front of me.

''Gah! Ggghhh...! What? Wha.........?

　The bitten subordinate god looked at the golden beast that was devouring his soul with incredulous eyes. I was also unable to move because of what happened too.

Ehhhhh!

　The subordinate god is turning into black sand from underneath his feet. The entire divine power is being eaten away. Eventually, when a flash of explosive light was released, there was already no figure of the Dependent God there, only the figure of an evil divine beast wearing a dark golden mist.

''Absorbed... no, eaten? The Dependent God?

　Suddenly, the evil divine beast's entire body unleashed a mischievous divine qi. That divine qi transformed into a cotton candy-like substance that drifted around the evil divine beast, and just as the main body was taken in by it, it was wrapped in cotton candy. Just like a silkworm making a cocoon.
　Eventually, the evil beast, whose entire body had turned into a golden cocoon, floated up into the air for about a meter or so and began to blink dully, as if it were transmitting its own heartbeat.

''Hey, what the hell is this...''

　A veritable cocoon. A huge dark-gold cocoon. It is floating in the air, pulsating with an eerie light.
　I don't know what it is, but I'm sure it's something troublesome. These things should only be disposed of immediately.
　He put Brunhild into blade mode and tried to slash that cocoon into a karatake breaker at once with his divine energy.
　However, like an arm push against a curtain, the cocoon drifted in the air and couldn't be slashed. It's like trying to cut a marshmallow floating in the water with a knife.
　I'm going to use a restraint system of ice bindings to secure the thing in place, and then I'm going to beat it to death. The figure is gradually becoming more and more diluted.

''Hey, hey, wait a minute, 'shaking back'?

　Large objects of existence that have broken the wards of other worlds and moved forcibly to this one are played out of this world several times until their presence is established. A system of forced repatriation where they are brought back to where they came from, just like a lapping wave returning to the ocean.
　It's a gratifying system that usually forces the dominant species to retreat, but this time it backfired.

'Ice, entangle, freeze curse, ice bind!

　He hurriedly cast a restraining spell, but the icy tentacles could not catch the cocoon.
　The golden cocoon had already been forced to retreat from this world.

''Escaped........''

　The divine energy emitted from the body is erased and the state of deification is released.
　And, as if in anticipation, Hanakoi and Morobane sister appeared from the air.

''Too late.''
I'm sorry. Hanakoi's sister was taking a nap.
'Shh! Shh! That's a secret, Moribane!

　What? Is that why?
　I look at Hanakoi's sister, who still has some kind of towel mark on her cheek, with a jit eye.
　Well, I guess once the evil god-beast ate the subordinate gods, they couldn't touch my sisters anymore.
　For now, I'll explain what happened in a nutshell.

''Even though the evil gods are of the lowest level, they have taken in a god...? That's a hell of a story....
'I'm with you, Winter Night, about earthly creatures gaining divine power, but this is a bit of a bad idea.

　Does that mean that the evil one is a creature of the earth? That's right, he wasn't born in the God Realm or anything.
　Normally, at this point in time, it's a dead end. There was no way a human being could compete with an evil god who had gained further divine power.
　If the world is destroyed and there are no humans to manage it, then this world will be abandoned and out of the hands of the gods, just as the subordinate gods had planned. It's ironic, though.
　And as long as the evil gods who have gained the power of the gods are in this world, no matter what they do, they will no longer be interfered with. The entire world will be isolated and will only be on its way to gradual annihilation.
　But in this world, there is a person who lives on the same earth, but who has the power of a god.

So, you want me to exterminate the evil gods?
That's what I mean. It's hard to feel like we're imposing on you, but...
Of course, it's support, so we're going to remain here on earth as before, right?

　d*mn, that skinny, skinny god. It's like he's creating an extra job for himself! You don't work... well, you wouldn't be able to do it anymore, even if you wanted to.

''Perhaps that 'cocoon' is trying to rebuild your body from scratch. In Fuyao-kun's case, the World God has repaired it, but it's not a half-hearted effort to create a body that can withstand the power of a god.

　So it's just like it looks, a cocoon. I'd like to strike the chrysalis before it's born as an adult, though.

In the meantime, we have to do something about the people who have eaten the souls of this town.
You have to help me.
Yes.

　There should still be a good amount of survivors. Quickly, or else the crystal skeletons (crystal zombies?) I'd be attacked by the guys who came back as
　I suppose that with the evil god turning into a cocoon, this commotion will end, but something doesn't feel right.
　I couldn't help but sigh as I thought of the battle against the yet unseen evil gods that would eventually appear.