Chapter 162

A God requests a conversation with me?

'This would be my second time conversing with a god.'

The first was at the territory of Bares, and the second would be now.

If I had to worry, it was that while the God of Pride was benevolent towards me, there was no guarantee that the Demon God of Gluttony would be the same.

The God of Bares, for some reason, showed me favor.

However, considering the general disposition of gods, it was more likely that they wouldn't be so kind......

"What should I do?"

I decided to choose carefully.

Because if the Demon God of Gluttony, like Miriam, showed me hostility, there was no way of knowing what the consequences would be.

I needed to be cautious.

"Miriam, for what reason did the Demon God of Gluttony summon me?"

So, I decided to ask Miriam about the Demon God of Gluttony's intentions.

If Miriam didn't give me a proper answer, it might be better not to talk to the Demon God of Gluttony at all.

To this, Miriam answered readily.

"The Demon God of Gluttony did not summon you to harm you. He only wishes to have a conversation."

"Hmm, did he leave any other message for me?"

Surely there must have been something he said when he requested to speak with me.

And as I expected, the Demon God of Gluttony left a single phrase.

"He said he would tell you the truth."

*Twitch*-.

My shoulders trembled once.

"The truth," he said.

......Perhaps the thought crossed my mind that the God of Gluttony might know something about what I wanted to know the most.

The truth about the six families hidden behind the scenes of the world, a truth that even I, the creator, did not know.

To me, who had yet to learn about it, the truth was paramount.

The duality and hypocrisy of those I had written as perfect good.

I had been able to experience it since I came to the Demon Realm.

That didn't mean I could describe the demons as good either.

'......It's difficult to call either of them good.'

It was difficult to distinguish between the two with a simple black-and-white logic.

However, in order to fulfill Adel's wish and survive, it was necessary to side with the demons.

But,

'Not all humans are my enemies.'

Strictly speaking, my enemy was Adel's enemy, the six families who were up to something.

I couldn't call those who simply lived in the human world my enemies.

Actually, maybe this was just my greed.

After all, my works mainly described humans and their positions, so I was attached to them.

Therefore,

'......I hope not.'

Even if, as I suspected, the humans were hiding something and the six families had some ulterior motive.

Hamel, as for you......

*Swoosh*-.

I shook my head, shaking off the thoughts that were about to engulf me.

First of all, I thought it would be good to talk to the arrogant God of Gluttony who said he would tell me the truth.

"Lead the way."

In the end, I decided to accept Miriam's proposal.

It wasn't clear why the God of Gluttony would tell me the truth or what his intentions were, but I figured it was worth a try.

Miriam nodded at my answer and spoke.

"Then I'll take that as a yes. But there's something you need to be careful of. You must never cause a disturbance inside the chapel."

"I know that much."

I wasn't a bad enough guy to be disrespectful in someone else's temple.

However, Miriam shook her head as if she wasn't warning me about that.

"No matter what you see, I'm saying don't cause a scene."

What did she mean?

I frowned, unable to grasp the meaning of Miriam's warning.

Then Samuel, in a stiff voice, asked Miriam.

[Miriam, you don't mean...!]

"Do you know something?"

[......Yes, for Miriam to give that warning, it means she's going to take you to the chapel that only she can enter.]

"Are you saying it's different from an ordinary chapel?"

[.......]

Samuel closed his mouth without answering my question immediately.

The more he did, the more my curiosity swelled.

What kind of place was it......?

"Follow me."

*Whizz*-.

Miriam turned her back and moved on, before I had time to ask any more questions.

In the end, I had no choice but to follow her without getting any more information.

Even so, I didn't think the God of Gluttony would try to harm me, so I decided to find out for myself.

What on earth had made Samuel so wary?

What was it that the God of Gluttony wanted to tell me?

There are things in this world that you can only know by experiencing them firsthand......

*Thump, thump*-.

And so we followed Miriam's lead and came to a door.

And the shape of the door that appeared.

I scowled at this.

The door wasn't in its normal form.

Of course, it was difficult to define the shape of a door, but at least this one was not ordinary.

'Thorns.'

A door made of thousands of thorns.

Sharp thorns that looked like they would pierce your hand if you touched them.

There was no doorknob.

It meant that the door couldn't be opened.

But instead of a doorknob, there was a hole in the middle of the door.

......Did this mean to put your hand in here?

It reminded me of the artifact in Italy, "The Mouth of Truth."

The relic that was said to bite off the hand of anyone who told a lie.

There was probably no connection between the Mouth of Truth and this door, but at least the way to use them seemed similar.

'It means put your hand in.'

If you want to go inside,

it means put your hand in without doubting God.

Therefore.

*Swoosh*-.

I slipped Samuel's thorn-covered palm through the small gap in the door.

[This bastard...?]

"You'll regenerate anyway."

[......That's true, but.]

After silencing Samuel's complaints.

I squeezed my eyes shut in case something unfortunate happened.

And then,

*Thud*-.

A powerful vibration came from the door.

I was worried that my hand might have been cut off because of the sheer magnitude of the vibration.

......But contrary to my worries, my hand was fine.

Instead,

*Rumble*-.

The door of thorns began to open.

And finally, the entrance opened.

I turned around and looked at Miriam.

"Lead the way."

"Right this way."

It was then, as I was about to take another step with Miriam in the lead.

[Hold on.]

Samuel stopped us.

[I can't go in, can I?]

"Why do you say that?"

[......This chapel is a place where only those who are permitted may enter, not those who have not been granted permission, like Miriam or you.]

In short, Samuel couldn't enter because he hadn't been granted permission.

So what was he suggesting we do?

[You're going to have to return me to my original body before we can enter.]

"No, that won't be necessary."

But Miriam shook her head at Samuel's valid question.

I didn't know why Samuel was allowed to enter with me, so I asked Miriam.

"There are no restrictions on bringing anyone else?"

"No, if someone who hasn't been invited by the Demon God of Gluttony enters, every part of their body will be pierced by thorns and they will die."

"......."

What a horrible end.

Then,

"You're not going to kill Samuel, are you?"

"Of course not. Why would I kill Samuel? He's my only precious family."

Family, family......

Well, the two of them had lived together for more than a decade, so even though they weren't blood related, it wouldn't be strange to call them family.

Then why did she say Samuel could come in with me?

Miriam quickly cleared up this question for me.

"Because the Demon God called for Samuel as well as you."

[Me?]

"Yes, he seems to have something different to say to you."

[Well, if that's the case.]

Samuel finally agreed to accompany me at the mention that the God of Gluttony had summoned him.

And so Samuel, still in the form of thorns on my wrist, entered the chapel, and

*Clang*-.

As we entered, the thorned door slammed shut.

......Did this mean we couldn't go back out without permission?

Now there was no choice but to talk to the Demon God.

As I was about to take another step.

"Remember."

Miriam's voice came to me, low and hushed.

"Never, ever cause a disturbance."

"......I understand."

There didn't seem to be anything particularly special about the entrance to the chapel yet,

but if Miriam was warning me like this, it meant there really was something here.

With a stiff face, I began to follow behind Miriam.

And when we had walked about ten paces inside the chapel.

*Groan*-.

I felt a churning in my stomach and a wave of dizziness washed over me.

'......What is this?'

I felt like the world was spinning.

And then suddenly.

*Groan*-.

My stomach twisted again and the dizziness intensified.

I felt bile rising in my throat, along with what felt like mana.

......Was this the reason why Miriam told me not to cause a scene?

But it wasn't unbearable enough for that.

So just as I was about to ask Miriam if there was anything else I should be careful of.

"......Miriam?"

She stopped walking.

At that moment,

I felt my soul escaping my body, and the world began to fade away.

I had felt this sensation before.

When I met the abyss while inheriting Adel's mana heart method.

The same sensation was washing over me now.

What was this?

Why was I feeling the same sensation as back then?

There shouldn't be any connection.

As I was puzzling over this incomprehensible feeling.

*Rustle*-.

Countless monstrous figures began to emerge from behind Miriam.

No,

could you even call those things monsters?

Countless thorns, countless teeth, countless heads, countless mouths, countless eyes, countless......

A being made of countless things lumped together was staring at me.

Just looking at it made my mind,

Crumble.

At this rate......

I would die.

I might die.

"Ah, ugh......"

A groan, indistinguishable from a scream, escaped my lips.

Vomit, tinged with yellow bile, started to spill from my mouth, and the blood vessels in my eyes burst, dyeing them crimson.

My mind was gradually being chipped away and worn down by a chisel.

Mentally, I was dying.

......And then.

*Woosh*-.

A black energy surged from within me.

This wasn't the mana fused with Bares's heart method, but pure mana produced solely by Adel's mana heart method.

The moment it washed over my body.

"......!"

I felt my breath return, and I gasped raggedly.

What,

what just happened?

As I tried to collect my thoughts to understand the horrifying phenomenon.

*Swoosh*-.

"......."

I felt Miriam's gaze and looked up.

And at that moment.

[ Greetings, child of the traitor. ]

A voice that was relaxed,

yet for some reason laced with playfulness, flowed from Miriam's mouth.

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