Chapter 91: Difference in Level
Cecilia threw everything she had. She couldn’t see the demonic energy, but instinctively, she knew that the being next to Hoyeon was a demon.
She had heard it a few times in old tales. Demons were such powerful beings that they called themselves gods, and because of that, humanity had nearly fallen under their rule.
During the first invasion thousands of years ago, the goddess herself had blocked them, but during the second invasion, it was said that the continent’s very survival had been at stake.
Though much of the records had been lost, it was enough to make Cecilia understand just how dangerous demons were.
“Anima… please!”
But she believed there was a chance of victory. The demon’s true body was sealed, and even if it somehow made its way to the surface, its power would be nearly reduced to a third.
So, she decided to stake everything on this one chance. The demon’s physical body wasn’t stable yet, and she had the advantage of striking first.
She poured out every spell she knew until her mana was completely drained.
She hadn’t even hoped to defeat it. After all, she was just an ordinary elf—not a hero or a grand mage—so how could she possibly fight a demon?
“Ethan! Hurry!”
Her plan was to buy time. No matter how powerful the demon was, it would be impossible to take all those attacks head-on.
She didn’t like the idea of saving Hoyeon, who had handled her spirit so roughly, but she couldn’t just abandon her.
“…Miss Hoyeon! Get back!”
And she also needed to interrogate her about what kind of relationship she had with that demon.
Ethan had already rushed forward before Cecilia had even finished casting her spell, so all she needed to do was keep the demon’s attention.
“Oh, so this is the method that Byeolbi’s disciple proposed. Well, this is…”
But all her expectations crumbled with a single gesture.
“…Disappointing.”
For a moment, Cecilia couldn’t understand what had happened. Where did her magic go? Was this some kind of illusion?
“Not a single thing has changed since 500 years ago. For something the goddess claimed humanity would eventually reach, this is a rather pathetic result, isn’t it?”
But her blurred vision told her that all her mana had been completely drained.
If that was the case, then either the attack had been blocked, or the demon had understood the magic formula midway and completely dismantled it. This realization only added to her confusion.
If the attack had been blocked, there should have at least been an explosion or some sign left behind.
And dismantling the formula wasn’t possible unless the caster did it. Yet, not a single scorch mark remained on the fallen leaves.
Cecilia was horrified as she grasped the situation, while the demon openly displayed disappointment.
“A method to match my strength to that of humans, huh. Such an approach is too slow and inefficient… Sigh. Why would the so-called chief of the Academy make such a choice?”
The demon, who had shown no interest in Cecilia, finally looked at her carefully and reacted.
“…Hmm? Oh. Don’t tell me you’ve been using even your own kin’s bodies like that. No matter how scarce your resources are, isn’t that a bit too much, Ganian?”
How did the demon know the goddess’s name from her human days? Ethan had no way of knowing. He was only focused on getting Hoyeon out of there as quickly as possible.
It was just a guess, but he was convinced that Hoyeon had some direct connection to the demon, so he summoned every bit of strength he had to run to her.
Even though Cecilia’s support had literally evaporated, Ethan was desperate.
Just seeing a demon would have been enough to earn recognition, but he was already blinded by his ambition.
“Gaaahhh!”
But, just like Cecilia, he was subdued with a mere glance.
Like someone sinking into water, he was buried up to his chest in the ground, unable to move.
“What… What is this…?!”
He twisted and struggled, trying to claw his way out, but when he dug into the ground, he let out a low groan of pain.
“Hmm. You’d best not dig. If you want to hasten your own death by cutting your flesh, then by all means, continue.”
Ethan realized that he hadn’t been buried in the ground but rather fused with it—and he despaired. It wasn’t because he was about to die.
It was because he had lost his chance to get close to the goddess.
If he had taken just a few more steps.
If he had at least grabbed Hoyeon, he thought it wouldn’t have ended like this.
“…Hmm. The nuisances should stay like this. Now, let’s continue our conversation.”
***
“…Well. That’s how it went. If that foolish woman had treated me as an equal in a fair deal, rather than as a servant, I might have spared her mind. Truly a foolish woman.”
“…So that’s why you were inside Stefania’s body…”
To think that Stefania was the contractor. I had suspected something was off, but I never imagined she had been commanding a god.
“Well, putting that aside. You keep calling me ‘god,’ and it feels a bit awkward. Could you call me by my name instead?”
“…Pardon?”
Um, that was a bit… Even if a god asked me to, it felt like a senior telling a junior to speak casually, and it made me uncomfortable.
“Oh, come now. My name is Shikari. Though at some point, everyone started calling me ‘god’ instead.”
“…Yes. Shikari.”
“Hmm, that sounds much better.”
The god spoke, sounding quite pleased.
I sat quietly, listening intently to everything the god had to say.
About the state of this continent, and how disappointed they were with the goddess. But honestly, I couldn’t really focus. It was a difficult topic, and my mind was elsewhere.
“Tsk tsk. Freedom of choice, blah blah. You can’t achieve great feats by weighing such things. Clinging to outdated human species and all that. I don’t get why someone like the Chief would make such choices... But it seems you’re thinking about something else. Are those nuisances over there on your mind?”
Ah, I got caught. Well, it wasn’t like I could hide it. My eyes had been on the church folks over there.
“…Yes. What are you planning to do with them…?”
As annoying as their constant stalking was, I didn’t actually want them to just die.
I just wanted to tell them to knock it off and leave me alone. I didn’t think they were total scumbags.
...Probably not.
“There is no need to keep them alive.”
“…There’s also no need to kill them. They are my friends, so I would appreciate it if you could… give them a chance.”
Friends were friends. I didn’t particularly like Geum Taeyang, but if he died, Cecilia might be sad.
Still, since the god didn’t see a reason to spare them… Uh. I cautiously suggested it.
“Those are your friends? Not just a bunch of nuisances? I knew you found it hard to deal with people, but… are you serious?”
...Now that I thought about it, would it really be a problem if they were gone? No, if they weren’t around during class, it would feel kind of empty.
“Yes.”
“Hmm. There is no need to kill them… Very well. I shall grant your wish, my first follower.”
“…Thank you!”
Thankfully, the god decided to show mercy to them. Approaching Ethan, who had become one with the ground, and the trembling Cecilia next to him, the god plucked him out like a weed.
Not expecting the one who attacked them to be the one to save them, they looked back and forth between us and the god with confused expressions.
“…You should be grateful that this child has a kind heart. Now then, ‘Nothing happened here today.’ Understood?”
Then the god cast a spell on them.
“…Yes.”
Like they’d been brainwashed, they stared blankly, and at Shikari’s command to leave, they stumbled away.
“…How lenient. Those who disrupt order deserve harsh punishment.”
If I hadn’t known who they were, I might have felt the same. But now that I did, I couldn’t bring myself to think that way.
“…Considering they just got caught up in the situation, I thought giving them a chance would be the fair thing to do.”
“Hmm. That’s one way to see it. So... how are things going with that child? If you wish for them, just say the word. I can make them yours right away.”
Oh dear. It seemed the god was interested in my love life too.
“…I don’t understand why someone as refined as you would associate with a girl like that.”
I had managed to win Iris’s favor as we talked, but for some reason, she didn’t seem to think too fondly of Hoyeon.
“Are you referring to Miss Hoyeon?”
“Yes, but it’s not that she’s uneducated or lacks manners. It’s just... yes. She’s a bit scary, I suppose.”
Scary, huh. Well, Hoyeon did have a bit of a prickly personality with people she first met. And she did give off an intimidating aura, even if unintentionally. To the once-timid Iris, that must have been frightening.
“That’s how you feel. But Hoyeon isn’t always scary.”
“She might not be with you... Oh, look. Isn’t that Ethan and Cecilia over there?”
It was a bit out of the blue, but as she said, Ethan and Cecilia were indeed there.
But something seemed off about them.