Lee Rihyung, who naturally healed the wounds, didn’t even look flustered. He just quickly approached and examined me. Ruvlian didn’t even seem to be visible to him. Rather, I was the one surprised by him. Divine power, mana, and aura. None of these existed in this world, so seeing Lee Rihyung naturally use divine power was unfamiliar. They said God had awakened their latent abilities, and it seemed his was divine power.
“Ah, fuck. This is so embarrassing……”
He swept his face down with both hands as if washing it and let out a sigh. I didn’t know why, but he was embarrassed. The reason didn’t matter, so I brushed it off as insignificant and urgently asked Lee Rihyung.
“What about Park Sichan and Kim Minsik? Are they alive?”
“Very much alive. They’re so alive that they’re going to get teased……”
It wasn’t a playful tone ending with ‘~you know.’ He was lamenting something. Even before his next words could follow, boom! Crash! The sounds of something breaking were heard consecutively. As if snapping back to his senses at those sounds, Lee Rihyung tried to go back outside the building. Reflexively, I grabbed his arm.
“Baek Shun, why?”
“You…… you’re going back out there? Do you even know how to fight with divine power?”
There was more divine power present than I expected. But did he know how to properly apply it in combat? In places like games, divine power was always for healing. Since there was nothing but healing, if you went into the middle of a battlefield without knowing how to apply it, you wouldn’t survive.
Lee Rihyung nodded and spoke in a matter-of-fact voice.
“I just do it like this and shoot it, right?”
Though not perfect, Lee Rihyung drew out divine power in an elongated form. It was impressive that he’d figured out an application method, but the condensation was weak and the amount leaking was substantial. Moreover, it was hard to call it sharp. It was so dull I wondered if the impact would even land. To be fighting with this level of application skill—it was sheer luck he was alive right now.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
It was a face that truly knew nothing. I called out to God.
‘God.’
As if God had nothing to say either, he answered with a crawling voice, “Yes.”
‘Can’t you just bring someone from another world instead? Hero, there must be people who were heroes in other worlds besides me.’
[The thing is…… the growing desires are because of the Demon God, you know? Because the Demon God entered the body of a parallel world Ruvlian who has exceptional magical talent, bringing people from other worlds would actually make things worse.]
The voice was clearly exhausted. God continued speaking as if to explain the reason.
[I told you there’s fighting happening in the heavenly realm too, right? I’m the one in charge of the world where the Demon God obtained a physical body and is running rampant, so I’ve slipped away and am doing this, but they don’t have time to worry about the people of their own worlds. So even if we bring someone over, if we use curses and magic to make their desires bigger, they’ll helplessly become the Demon King.]
It was the same method used on the parallel world Baek Sihyeon. Even if God bestowed blessings and protection, making desires extremely large allowed them to exploit that gap.
[The fortunate thing is that because this is a world I manage, I can block attempts to invade by amplifying the desires of people here. Gods become twice as powerful within their own worlds, you see. That said, I’m nowhere near strong enough to kill the Demon God, who is practically my creator.]
Blocking only. God was asserting that nothing beyond that was possible.
“Baek Shun? I need to go. Park Sichan and Kim Minsik are over there too.”
And this God was telling a human infinitely weaker than himself—a human who didn’t even properly know how to fight—to eliminate the Demon God. I realized that my judgment, thinking this God had at least some humanity, had been wrong. That Demon God, or the God clinging to me. Both regarded human lives as disposable items to be used once and thrown away.
As I looked at Lee Rihyung’s puzzled face with a twisted expression, Ruvlian put a little more strength into the hand holding mine. The intention was conveyed without words. Ruvlian was soothing me, telling me to calm down first.
“Lee Rihyung.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Sharpen your divine power more. You’re too dull. The amount you’re just wasting is too much too. Gather it properly and firmly. It’s a wonder you’re even alive right now.”
When I poured out many words in a monotone voice, Lee Rihyung made a blank expression. For his sake, I checked the risen divine power and mana and showed him a demonstration. Just making the elongated condensed divine power feel like a sharply honed sword. Seeing me, Lee Rihyung drew out his divine power again and after looking at my divine power and what he’d done, his mouth fell open.
Boom! Crash! The sound of a building collapsing overlapped with people’s screams. Right now, even at this moment, someone would be dying, but even if others died, I hoped Lee Rihyung—I hoped my friends—would live a little longer. Humans were always selfish, and I was human too. My precious ones were more important to me.
“Hurry.”
When I snapped at him as if urging him on, Lee Rihyung condensed his divine power a bit more. Just from watching and listening, he’d reached this level—he had talent. If I hadn’t existed and he could use magic along with divine power, I thought he might have been selected as the Hero.
“More.”
“More?”
It was a tone asking if it was even possible to do more. It wasn’t a matter of whether it was possible or not—it had to be possible.
After about 3 minutes passed, it became roughly similar. Creating forms freely to use like magic was so difficult that only Deadrian and I could do it, so I didn’t teach that. If I taught him over several years, he might be able to imitate it, but there was no way he could master it in just a few minutes now. I could confidently say it was absolutely impossible.
“Ruvlian.”
“Yes, Sihyeon.”
“How full is your mana?”
As if understanding my true intention, Ruvlian smiled with his eyes creased. It was a smile that brightened the surroundings, unsuited to this situation.
“I’m fine.”
But laughably, that smile and his words of being fine brought me a sense of mental stability. I had to bring up words I really didn’t want to say. I hated sending him to a dangerous place more than death, but I had to.
“I’m asking you a favor. Go with Lee Rihyung, and please move Park Sichan and Kim Minsik here.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll come quickly too, so please don’t die. Got it?”
“……Of course. How could I die when you’re alive.”
Ruvlian, who seemed surprised by my words and widened his eyes before smiling sweetly, healed my wounds with divine power before letting go of the hand he held. Soon his gentle hand slipped away.
Standing up from his spot, he turned his head toward Lee Rihyung. The smile that radiated light by itself transformed into something somewhat chilling. Lee Rihyung, asking the rather carefree question in this war situation of whether his name was Ruvlian, disappeared toward the place where screams and loud noises echoed as if being dragged away.
[Sihyeon……]
‘What.’
While Ruvlian was sending those two here, I planned to rack my brain, so I asked in a monotone. However, perhaps sensing that the voice was different from usual, God uncharacteristically hemmed and hawed. I was irritated.
‘Hurry up and say it. I’m busy thinking.’
[Are you upset? Still, if I don’t make them fight, everyone will die eventually, so it can’t be helped…… Because of various problems between the Demon God and our chief deity, the divine realm is quite strict about rules. This is the gods’ matter but I’m sorry for involving humans and not being able to resolve it immediately.]
God’s apology made me sigh reflexively. I understood awakening the latent abilities that would have manifested if they’d gone to a world where mana and divine power originally existed. But even so, wouldn’t it have been better to tell them to run away rather than telling them to fight? That just hastened their deaths.
That said, even if I argued about it now, nothing would change. The one most frustrated right now would be God. Besides, this wasn’t the time for us to be bickering among ourselves.
‘I get it. Is your life hanging by a thread right now?’
[Huh? Oh, if I intervene completely directly, I’ll vanish immediately, but I think I can do it weakly once or twice. Though I’d barely be clinging to life.]
‘Ruvlian’s mana and my mana and divine power. Can you fill them completely?’
[Yes. That much seems possible. Instead, after that… I won’t be able to do anything, but is that okay?]
‘Yeah. Do it.’
Ruvlian was most important. The Demon God wouldn’t just leave Ruvlian alone, who was currently the greatest threat. Moreover, though I’d forgotten because he so naturally occupied the spot next to me in every world, he wasn’t a person of this world. I at least hoped he wouldn’t fall victim to magic.
In an instant, mana and divine power filled up, and Park Sichan and Kim Minsik with surprised faces appeared before my eyes.
“Crazy! Baek Sihyeon!”
Park Sichan, who snapped to attention faster than the dazed Kim Minsik, pulled me into a tight embrace as I sat there. His voice was full of relief. It seemed he’d been worried because he couldn’t see me, but I didn’t know who was worrying about whom.
“Hey, let go.”
When I removed the arm around my shoulder, Park Sichan’s expression changed to one of disbelief.
“Man, you won’t even let me feel the emotion of our reunion.”
“Wow, fuck. You were alive? If you were alive, you should’ve shown your face, you crazy bastard!”
Finally reacting and trying to hit the back of my head, I blocked his arm and got to the main point. I had to raise their survival rate even a little and quickly go to where Ruvlian was.
“What are your abilities?”
“Huh? Mine’s mana.”
“Mine’s mana too though?”
I was relieved that all three of us didn’t have the qualifications of a Spirit Mage. In such a collapsed and desolate place, in a world where spirits didn’t even exist in the first place, if they had the qualifications of a Spirit Mage, they’d already be dead. That would have been useless.
“Hurry up and memorize this with your brain.”
I drew one defensive magic circle and one offensive magic circle in the air with mana like thin thread. Seeing the magic circles, the two had the exact same faces as Lee Rihyung when he saw the sharply drawn divine power earlier. Still, unlike him, the two regained their senses before I urged them on. Soon they had faces full of the question of why does this guy know this kind of thing? I thought they’d memorize it first since they weren’t asking, but—.
“You, you…… were you a power nerd?” They were saying that kind of shit.
Fuck, how did these guys even survive, really?
