“...Ugh!”
While talking with Pielot, Carla winced and lowered her head.
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
Pielot was flustered at Carla’s sudden pain. Carla didn’t answer and took a few harsh breaths.
“—Ah, it’s okay. I guess I’m tired too. I’ve got a bit of a headache.”
“You looked like you were in quite a lot of pain. Are you really all right?”
“Of course. Compared to you, Mr. Pielot, this doesn’t even count as pain.”
“...You shouldn’t ignore your own pain just because you’re looking at someone else’s.”
At Pielot’s words, Carla laughed. “Hehe, right.”
Carla raised her head again and said,
“Get some real rest now. You’ve done more than enough.”
“No. I’ll get up now, too.”
Pielot started to push himself fully up from the bed.
Carla’s hands closed on both his shoulders.
“Don’t. In your current condition, you’ll only get in Mr. Frondier’s way.”
“...But I have to tell Senior Frondier about Satan.”
The Satan Pielot had seen in his dream.
It had been far too vivid to call a dream, and he had clearly seen Satan’s face—one he had never seen before.
It wasn’t an ordinary dream. Satan had said something important. He’d seemed like he meant to become the king of demons.
Carla nodded.
“I’ll tell him. I’ll tell Frondier. So rest.”
“I’m the one who saw it firsthand, so if I want to convey it properly—!”
“Pielot.”
Carla’s earnest eyes fixed on him.
“Don’t rush.”
“Ah...”
“Frondier and the others will be fine. I understand what you want to tell him. I’ll pass everything on to Mr. Frondier, so don’t worry.”
Only then did Pielot loosen the strength he’d been using to rise.
In truth, he wasn’t in any shape to fight at all. His body had been pierced by an arrow, and he’d taken in mana from another world. For now, his priority was to recover as much as possible.
“...Understood. I’ll leave it to you, Ms. Carla.”
“Don’t worry.”
Carla flashed a small smile and stood. After confirming that Pielot lay quietly back on the bed, she left the hospital room.
Then, walking down the corridor, she scanned her surroundings.
'...No crows, but I can’t know where I’ll be exposed.'
Carla—or rather, Athena, who had possessed Carla’s body—thought.
'This possession is probably the last. If I run into Frondier in the middle of this, that really will be the end.'
For Athena, using Carla was not difficult.
What a god bestows on a human—be it divine power or a curse—is the same at its root. Since Athena had already granted Carla divine power once, possessing her now was no trouble.
The problem came after possessing her.
A host retains no memory of the time they’re possessed. Just like Salle, who was possessed by Odin.
So if Athena possessed Carla and later returned her body, then from Carla’s perspective, that chunk of time would feel clipped out. That dissonance couldn’t simply be ignored.
'So I had two conditions for possessing Carla.'
Either make it so Carla wouldn’t notice she’d been possessed,
Or, even if she did notice, make it so she couldn’t ask Frondier for help.
The first method was surprisingly not that hard.
She could simply move while Carla slept. Possess her body and act while she slept, then return the body before she woke. She might feel a little bodily fatigue, but she wouldn’t figure out she’d been possessed.
Athena had used that method to pass information about Frondier’s party to Caron.
'Frondier notices the moment a god or demon manifests in a human. I don’t know the mechanism, but still.'
That violet shimmer only Frondier could see.
It was originally visible only from a player’s perspective, yet Frondier could see that violet shimmer in this world as well.
'But it seems he can’t tell whether a god is inhabiting someone if there’s no manifestation.'
So even if Athena settled into Carla again, as long as she didn’t do this kind of “possession,” he wouldn’t catch on.
Conversely, if she did possess, she would absolutely be found out—so she needed a moment when Frondier wasn’t nearby.
Hence, now.
With Carla and Frondier far apart for their respective goals, this was Athena’s best chance.
'Sorry, Frondier. But I have something I have to do.'
Athena stepped out of the hospital.
Carla, in her own right, was skilled enough to serve as Atlas’s principal. She had ample mana, and Athena could quickly lift the body into the air.
“I don’t care much for such a far-fetched scale as a war between gods and demons.”
She turned her body, angling into a straight line toward the capital.
“But the impostors of Hera and Aphrodite in that capital—I can’t let that slide.”
For a god, nothing is more important than maintaining dignity.
Hera and Aphrodite were clearly goddesses on par with Athena. If demons continued to impersonate them, Athena’s own dignity would be dragged down with theirs. Gods whose relationships are close mutually affect each other.
Right now, Hera and Aphrodite had each bestowed divine power on humans, but both of them were on the Falind continent. Which meant they couldn’t wield power in this place.
So Athena had no choice but to step in.
'...And for some reason, as a god, I feel a peculiar wrongness about the disturbance happening in this capital.'
A demon impersonating Hera, a demon impersonating Aphrodite.
The sight of them making humans fight over something as ridiculous as “beauty.”
A sense of dissonance that Athena—who ought to be a complete outsider—couldn’t ignore.
It felt as if something had started off wrong.
“...Well, it will all end once divine punishment is delivered.”
Athena flew toward the capital in Carla’s body.
She had not the slightest thought of granting mercy or forgiveness to demons who impersonated gods.
At the instant she saw them, Athena would smite them.
Even if the result became the spark of a war. Even if countless lives fell into death.
A god’s priorities are as unambiguous as a demon’s.
***
“Vishnu.”
Frondier still fixed a chilling gaze on Vishnu.
His hand shaped like a gun was still pointed at Vishnu—at Elodie.
[Hm? What is it?]
Vishnu still rested Elodie’s chin on her hand.
There was nothing but leisure in the voice, as if Frondier’s killing intent didn’t reach at all.
“Answer what I ask.”
[Sure, anything.]
Because Vishnu spoke through Elodie’s body, it was exactly Elodie’s voice. That fact alone made Frondier bristle.
“Give me a reason to believe your words—”
Frondier’s murderous intent filled the room and then seemed to press outward.
By now, even Bael, caught between them, had his face locked stiff with tension.
“—and, even if I believe you, tell me why I should keep you alive right now.”
It doesn’t take long for Frondier to use his demonic power. Even if he triggered Pandemonium, he could end it in under a minute if he wished.
Frondier already recognized Vishnu as a potential enemy. Elodie’s god was toying with Elodie’s body. He had more than enough reason to kill; anything else was secondary.
[Ah, I can tell you that as much as you like.]
Yet Vishnu remained unhurried.
[Answer to the first question: I simply extended goodwill.]
“Goodwill?”
[Right. Like I said, I’m merely an informant. You were curious how gods would wage war against demons, right? I just answered. And the fact that Athena was hiding that is quite important information, isn’t it? Same for the fact I can enter Carla again anytime. I don’t need to give you a reason to believe me. If you don’t want to, then simply don’t.]
Considering the circumstances, most of what Vishnu was saying would be true.
After they met via Pandemonium, Athena had been all but certainly defeated by Frondier. Naturally, she had fallen off the list of entities Frondier needed to keep in check.
He hadn’t imagined she could return to Carla again. Even if it were possible, he’d thought she wouldn’t {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} risk moving under the danger named Frondier.
'The problem is why this one suddenly showed up.'
Frondier doubted not the information itself, but Vishnu’s intent.
At this timing—going so far as to possess Elodie to convey it—what was the purpose? On the brink of this war, what was Vishnu plotting?
[And about your second question.]
Cutting off further thought, Vishnu spoke.
[You don’t need to keep me alive.]
“What?”
[It’s not that you can’t kill me because there’s no need to keep me alive, right?]
Vishnu’s smile deepened.
[You can’t kill me because you can’t kill me.]
“...Are you confident you’d win in Pandemonium?”
[Ahahaha. That’s not it. Frondier, you’re unexpectedly the type to deceive yourself.]
Vishnu laughed.
Still half-laughing, Vishnu said,
[You can’t hurt Elodie.]
Words that seemed to pierce straight through Frondier’s chest.
Vishnu spoke as if Frondier’s current state was amusing.
[You saw just now. I can possess Elodie whenever I like. And I can get out whenever I like. As I said, Elodie’s resistance is quite fierce, so I can’t possess her for long. In a situation like this, what happens if you use your demonic power?]
Frondier’s demonic power undoubtedly reached gods. He had learned that fighting Athena.
But back then, Athena had underestimated Frondier, and she hadn’t been possessing anyone. Carla was the one operating the divine power, so there had never been a way to evade Frondier’s demonic power in the first place.
Now, however, Elodie’s body was under Vishnu’s initiative. If push came to shove, Vishnu could simply hand the body back to Elodie.
[Of course, it would be hard for me to switch with Elodie faster than you activate your demonic power. Low probability. Maybe the chance of success is about one percent? In most cases, things would go your way. Your demonic power would reach me before I could switch with Elodie.]
With that, Vishnu spread both hands.
[So, want to try? Trust that ninety-nine percent and use your demonic power to boot me out. How about it?]
“...”
Frondier’s fingertips were still aimed at Vishnu.
But his demonic power did not activate.
[Ahaha. See? You can’t kill me.]
As if having read it all—and almost bored by it—Vishnu lowered both arms.
[Even the mere one percent chance that Elodie could be endangered—you can’t take that option. And you can’t trust that ‘one percent’ I gave you either, can you? To you, my words aren’t ‘information.’]
To Frondier, information was something important enough to shape what came next.
For a simple reason: he hated unforeseen incidents.
If he were alone, he might be able to adapt even to those—but Frondier was no longer alone.
Especially in the war with Manggot, it had stood out: his mindset of refusing to sacrifice anything. Saving everyone and sacrificing himself instead.
That had worked up to now.
But if even sacrificing himself couldn’t save them—
Or if he were given no chance to sacrifice himself at all—
[That’s why you cling so hard to information. Whether enemy or ally, you want to know everything they’re trying to do. Ahaha. From the outside it looks like everyone follows you and you lead everyone, but up close, it’s really just you serving the whole by yourself.]
“...”
Sss—
Frondier lowered his hand.
The endless killing intent aimed at Vishnu slowly subsided.
Vishnu tilted Elodie’s head, puzzled.
[Hm? I thought you’d get angry. Surprisingly calm.]
“...”
Frondier didn’t answer.
He bowed his head and exhaled once, hard—as if to blow it all away.
Then he turned his head from Vishnu and walked out of the shop. After that, he retrieved Heukcheon, which had been binding Andro.
The reason his anger vanished was simple.
'It’s true.'
Vishnu was saying the right things.
He could not kill Vishnu, and there was no more information to be extracted.
Since he didn’t know when Elodie would take her body back, Frondier had to move. The hospital first, perhaps. If Vishnu’s words were true, Carla was already under Athena’s possession.
Behind him, Vishnu still threw out words.
[You don’t call that a comrade, Frondier.]
Frondier had heard a great many curses up to now.
Some had been cruel enough to make it feel like he truly would be swallowed by a curse.
But the words Vishnu spoke in Elodie’s voice, compared to all those before—
[That’s not a comrade, it’s—]
Crash!
A violent impact sounded in an instant.
Startled, Frondier looked back into the shop.
Vishnu had suddenly slammed a fist onto the desk.
No—that wasn’t Vishnu.
“...Sorry, Frondier.”
It was Elodie.
At some point, Elodie had taken her body back and was speaking in her own voice.
'...She took her body back while a god was speaking. Elodie’s resistance is surpassing the god’s expectations.'
Frondier was surprised at the sight, but Elodie was not.
Elodie was pouring out a murderous intent and fury so immense even Frondier might tense up, her gaze fixed on one spot.
Her eyes weren’t turned anywhere.
If anything, they were directed at herself.
She said,
“Would you go on ahead first?”
“...Elodie.”
“Please, Frond.”
Elodie still did not look at Frondier. No—her eyes didn’t move an inch, as if the target she had to face was clearer to her than anyone.
“It seems there’s a bit of education to be done.”
