Chapter 1369
There was a brilliance that lit up the world.
Of course, ordinary people couldn’t tell whether that light belonged to Goddess Freyja or to Neltarid. Those who had claimed Neltarid had abandoned Earth abruptly dropped to their knees after witnessing the Saint Miracle.
Though the fallen weren’t able to come back, the spark of the miracle he ignited at the very end had pulled countless people out of despair.
“Have you finally decided to actually meet with me? You haven’t shown up all this time.”
Goddess Freyja silently looked down upon the world, not responding.
“I didn’t think Neltarid would go out like this.”
It was true that many had suffered because of Neltarid, but Davey still felt sorry for him. While Neltarid killed many in the recent incident, he'd also saved far more—likely tens or even hundreds of millions—in the past.
Therefore, his end was also regrettable.
At that moment, the tablet that was practically Goddess Freyja’s trademark flashed.
[You are suffering. What do you think happened to him?]
“He must’ve vanished. However, I don’t feel good about it. I know you can choose to send him off in a better way.”
She quietly walked inside her sanctuary.
[That's true. But isn't it too cruel to ignore the request of a child who worked so hard for so long?]
“Goddess...”
[Neltarid was a precious child.]
Davey wondered if she had made such a decision because of her developed emotions. It was something he felt the original Freyja would never have done.
Afterward, she slowly led Davey further in. They went to the deep layers of the sanctuary where her true self slept.
There, she took out a small cluster of light.
“Is that a dream world?”
Yet the power within it was terrifyingly dense, too much for a mere dream world.
[A completely different parallel world.]
‘A parallel world? It's different from the one I know.’
[A small world created by a miracle.]
What Neltarid wished for was to protect Priestess Freyja and stay by her side.
[The things within are all lies and truth.]
“What's with that vague explanation?”
[Are you the real?]
He nodded. “I must be real, right?”
[But to the ones inside this world, you are the fake.]
“Haha. That's pretty funny. Is that just what they feel? Or...”
In lieu of a response, she created another sphere.
Once he saw that, his eyes flew open. “Don't tell me...”
[This side is where you are now.]
It was merely a comparison, but she was saying that there was no difference between the two sides.
He knew it wasn’t a simple parallel world, finally understanding what she meant.
Just as the world had completely changed when Abel went back to his original timeline, the parallel world she’d created was also a place where both sides were real.
“Then is Abel from the future a similar case?”
However, she shook her head. The future Abel came from was an already existing future and became a split branch, but what she had just created was a newly formed possibility.
“...Still, it's not a life that can be mocked.”
It all depended on how one accepted it. That side believed they were real, and Davey knew his own side was real. Both were lies and truth.
Maybe what he had just witnessed was a real dimensional jump.
While such immense power was astonishing, when considering it was Goddess Freyja, it was nothing new.
[I usually don't allow such a massive relocation.]
Neltarid was worth making such an exception.
“Then what will you do now? You know as well as I do that if Neltarid disappears, Earth's system will collapse.”
Right now, a miracle was effectively keeping things frozen and stable, but leaving it alone would lead to a disaster down the line.
She slowly opened her hands, and light clusters began to gather above her palms. They formed a cradle, and someone could be seen sleeping inside.
“That’s...?”
[A successor.]
* * *
“Welcome. It’s a pleasure.” The young man, who had been busy gesturing while moving energy spheres imbued with immense power, turned his head.
When Davey saw the new arrival’s face, his eyes immediately widened. “Neltarid?”
“That's right. I’m Neltarid.” The young man looked identical to the Neltarid he had been fighting just moments before. The power he radiated was also the same.
“How did you...”
“Oh, I was late explaining. I apologize. I’m a fragment of the divine will that the previous Neltarid left behind before he vanished. I’m only a fragment, but Goddess Freyja will raise me into a complete god.”
A newly born god. Not a case like Neltarid or Willow, who became gods later, but one who was born as a god.
Davey was lost in thought as he accepted his handshake. He couldn’t help but wonder if Neltarid Mk II would follow the same path as the previous Neltarid.
If so, he figured it would be his own responsibility to kill him before he grew up and caused more trouble.
Neltarid seemed to remember something, and took out a sphere to look at. “Hehe.”
He showed a gentle, fatherly smile, as if looking at a cute daughter.
Davey looked at him with a bewildered expression, and he showed him the sphere.
“What do you think? Isn't she adorable? She’s my saintess.”
The sphere showed the scene of Agatha healing people.
Davey didn’t know how to respond.
“I truly love Earth, but I am not yet a mature enough god to handle all the variables on my own.” He then looked Davey in the eyes. “So, please. Give me lots of help.”
Following those words, the remnants of Neltarid's stigmata on Davey completely vanished.
Neltarid continued, “I don't have the capacity to bestow a stigmata upon you.”
Unlike the previous Neltarid, the current Neltarid was full of emotion, much like Willow.
“Consider it done,” Davey answered.
Neltarid simply smiled.
At that moment, the air tore open. Davey knew exactly where he was. He was in Neltarid’s sanctuary. Aside from the owner and him, the one invited guest, the only other being who could enter was Goddess Freyja.
However, the presence coming through the gap wasn’t Goddess Freyja.
It was—
“Neltarid, you son of a bitch!!”
Thud!!!
Willow burst through, her black hair flying behind her. She immediately landed a drop-kick on Neltarid the moment she appeared.
“Gaaa!!”
Since they were both on the level of gods, Neltarid was instantly sent flying and rolled across the ground several times.
Willow then climbed on top of him and raised her fist. “You know how much trouble I had to g—Dad?”
Willow, about to beat Neltarid in a rage, looked up with a surprised face.
Davey held her arm to stop her. “Hey, hey. Stop it. This guy isn't that same Neltarid.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? If this guy isn't Neltarid... ah?”
Realizing that this Neltarid was different from the one she knew, she flinched in surprise. “You... who are you?”
“Now, now, Willow. Calm down first. Dad needs to talk to you.”
“Ah... Dad?! W-Wait!!”
Davey slung the struggling Willow over his shoulder and glanced at Neltarid, who slowly stood up with an awkward laugh and bowed his head. “Senior Willow.”
“Huh?”
“As a goddess, you should maintain your dignity. You should cherish your junior.”
“You, you little bast—”
“That's enough. Come on, you little punk.”
“Kyaaak!”
Ignoring her struggles, Davey chuckled to himself.
The original Neltarid was a being who protected Earth and their creatures, even at the cost of sacrificing divine beings, and the current Neltarid was born from their will.
Still, it was hard to say that he was entirely gentle.
“Oh, right. The predecessor left a message.”
“What is it?”
“When the flowers fall and the sky grows high,” he began, his voice seeming to contain a strange power. “The divine child, who is destined to be a deity, receives a single chance to defy their fate.”
Willow didn't buy it. “Huh? What kind of bullshit is that?”
He smiled wryly. “I don't know all the plans of the predecessor yet, but I know this message must be delivered. Perhaps you, Senior, already know about it,” he said, turning to Davey.
“Me? Know what?”
“It's nothing.”
* * *
All the mad angels disappeared as if they had been saved. Neltarid’s miracle had stabilized all the unstable beings that had needed mad angels to be complete.
It was true that there had once been a lot of controversy, with people claiming Neltarid had abandoned Earth. Yet, once the world witnessed the Saint Miracle and saw it save them, people began to see things differently.
The narrative turned into a belief that some kind of evil had tried to shake the world, then Neltarid stepped in himself and saved everyone. The truth was different, but that didn’t matter too much. In the end, things worked out, and the Church of Neltarid avoided taking a massive hit.
The god born as Neltarid’s successor was quite emotional, unlike the past Neltarid. In many ways he was similar, as well, and if there was one thing most alike, it was probably how much he loved Earth.
Davey knew Neltarid wasn’t an idiot, so there was no way he’d create his successor carelessly. According to the Goddess, the current Neltarid was essentially the child of the former Neltarid, who had implanted a large portion of his power in him.
Same name, but different being. If someone asked Davey whether he believed it or not, he’d say he had no choice but to believe it.
Since hhe new Neltarid had emotions, he was pretty playful. As a result, he often bickered with Willow.
Watching two newly born rookie gods argue like that was honestly ridiculous.
“Hey, come on! Let me take that back! That was a mistake!”
“Oh,s come on, why are you like this, Senior? Don’t humans have a saying about that? No take-backs?”
“That’s for humans!!” Willow frowned over a uniquely-shaped chessboard, while Neltarid chuckled at her.
It was a sight unimaginable in the past. As Davey sat cross-legged and watched the two of them goof around, a thought occurred to him.
“Neltarid Mk II,” he called out.
“That is not my name.”
“Whatever. What are you going to do about the dimensional rift your predecessor shattered? We stopped the spread, but if you leave it as-is, it'll fester.”
He smiled bitterly. “I am already purifying it, little by little.”
Whether he was or not, Willow took advantage of the moment he focused his attention on Davey.
She flashed a wicked smile, and subtly moved a piece on the chessboard.
“Heehee... hehe... fufu.”
‘Who did that little punk take after to act like that?’
“It will take time, but I will definitely restore it someday. Since I am born as a god on this land that you, my predecessor, and Goddess Freyja established, I must act accordingly... Wait, Senior!! What are you doing!!”
“N-no...! I didn’t do anything!!”
“Don't be ridiculous! Not only did you take back a move, but you also subtly put a piece I captured back on the board! How did you even penetrate my divine power to change the board?!!”
“Hey! What's with your attitude toward your senior! You wanna die?!”
“No, don't change the subject! This, this, and this! Put all of them back in place!!”
“No way! If you've got a problem, you move it yourself!!”
“How can I beat you when I distributed so much of my power!!”
“Then just go with what we have right now! Geez!”
“Eek!?”
“Blah blah blah!”
Her cheekiness was astonishing.
Davey couldn’t help but wonder if Willow had always been like this.
Watching the two of them, he called out to Super Ribbon, who was healing herself.
“Ah... Father.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Thanks to the divine power you’ve given me, I’m almost completely healed...”
Her hair fell weakly, as if she was exhausted. She was absorbing the immense divine power he had placed in his Pocket Plane and healing herself, but the process was slow.
“I’m sorry,” Davey said to her.
“I’m your sword, Father. If I can't even do this, it’d blur my essence.”
If it had been Red Ribbon or Blue Ribbon, they would’ve been bawling about the pain.
No, in fact, they actually did. When Davey called Super Ribbon out after the fight with Neltarid, the two children had come out bruised all over, crying in his arms.
“The void grew larger after Willow left. Neltarid must’ve aimed for that gap.”
“Yes...”
“We have no choice but to let you recover your power for a while, so let's not step up and strain yourself or anything.”
Not that there was much need to wield her anyway.
“Yes...” As she bowed her head weakly, he roughly stroked her hair, and her expression turned sulky. “Stop it. You’ll mess up my hair...”
“Right...”
“But. Willow...”
“Hey! You better let go of that!” she suddenly shouted, turning to Neltarid.
“No! You did the same, Senior!! So why shouldn't I be able to do it too?!”
Davey couldn’t help but sigh as he watched them bicker like children, randomly moving pieces on a chessboard made of divine power.
‘So Willow likes chess more than Urd huh...’
Suddenly interested, Davey asked her, “Willow, want to play a round with me?”
She turned and stared at him blankly, then chuckled. “Dad, you suck butt at chess.”
Willow.
Her record against Davey was 255 matches and 254 wins.
Only 1 loss.
Abel was the same. Even without a blood relation, he knew the two were definitely siblings.
As Davey stood up with a crackle, she quickly scrambled away and hid behind Neltarid, telling him, “Hey! Junior! Stop Dad, now!”
“N-no! I don’t want to die!! You know that even my predecessor couldn’t handle him, so if I get hit, I am instantly wiped out!!”
“Hey! Are you just going to watch your senior get dragged away then?!”
“Please come quickly and take this bad-tempered senior away from me!!”
Watching them bicker, Davey took a step forward. At that moment, the reinforced communication artifact he made to receive calls from Perserque rang intensely.
“Hmm?”
Davey answered, and her face appeared inside the crystal ball. “Perserque?”
- Davey. Where are you right now?”
As he tilted his head at her strangely angry expression, Willow, Neltarid, and even Super Ribbon, who were watching them, slowly creeped closer.
“What's the matter?”
- I’m going to go catch that little punk, Evangeline.
Looking at the surrounding scenery, she seemed to be flying across the ocean.
“Evangeline? Did she cause trouble?”
“Honestly, that little punk Evangeline is always causing trouble,” Willow said, haughtily shaking her head.
“Is that something you should say, Senior?”
“Shut up, Neltarid.”
Davey had no clue what kind of trouble she had caused to make Perserque look so angry.
Reading the confusion his face, she quickly gave him an answer.
- It seems Evangeline spent a bit too much money in a game.
“Hmm...”
‘So that’s why she’s going to catch her. I’m sure Evangeline must’ve noticed and ran away immediately. The Gourmet Research Club probably tipped her off.’
In the past, Davey would agree with Perserque. But things were different now.
“Look, Perserque. This is a little funny to say now, but... Evangeline knows right from wrong to some extent after all this time, right?”
Even if she was young, her mind was already somewhat mature. That was why Davey often wondered if it was right to just keep restricting her.
- What did you say?
Davey saw a vein pop on her forehead as she flew on Megalodria.
“Besides, she earns her own money, so I feel like it’s a bit too much to keep telling her how she spends it.”
- Haah. Davey, it seems like you don't know how much that girl spent.
He tilted his head. “What? Is it a lot? How much did she spend?”
Her allowance was not that much to begin with, and since she earned money from streaming, he thought it was too much to control how she spent her own money.
He also thought she needed to be given some freedom to learn to control herself.
- Right. I also agreed with you, so I even told her a while ago that I wouldn’t interfere anymore.
“You did? Hmm. So, how much did she spend?”
- Three sheets.
“Three hundred thousand won? Come on, do you know how much she makes from one ad? Let's just let this one slide.”
Since Davey was happy to think that Willow found a decent friend, he comforted her cheerfully.
However.
- Three hundred thousand? That’d be nice. As soon as I told her to manage her own finances, she blew three hundred million won in a single month[1]. You idiot. I found the hidden bill, so it’s already been a month. That crazy gambling game... and she’s even the clan's squad leader something. Haah.
Super Ribbon's eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth. Willow gasped in shock, her eyes almost popping out. Neltarid just tilted his head.
Davey stood up immediately. “Evangeline, that little punk. Where is she?”
Most of her monthly earnings were donated to places like orphanages. Excluding that, her income was about twenty million won a month.
It was a huge amount of money, but considering her subscribers, it wasn’t surprising.
Evangeline definitely wasn't poor.
Hearing news that she had carelessly poured the money she had earned over the past year and a half into a game after just one month, Davey couldn’t help but flash a bright smile.
He never taught her to spend money more recklessly than she earned. He figured someone must’ve sweet-talked her on the side. And Evangeline, whose pride was at its peak, must’ve fallen for it.
“Where are you?”
- Looks like the middle of the Pacific...
Crack!!
Davey forcibly tore open a rift and cracked his knuckles. Then, he lightly hit and broke a sacred pillar in Neltarid's sanctuary.
“AHHH!! What the hell, man?!”
He pierced the pillar with his finger, then spun it around like a basketball, making its massive size and weight seem like a feather.
“Whoa... I'm too scared for my own good,” Neltarid muttered, leaving it alone.
“Neltarid, I’m borrowing this. Oh, and Willow.”
“Uh. Y-yes, Sir!!” Willow, instantly disciplined, jumped to attention and looked at him.
“Go tell Hyun-Ah to freeze all the cards under Evangeline's name.”
Because she was a being from Tionis, Evangeline had several unique benefits. Her bank cards were one of them.
Whatever the case, Davey decided he had to break the legs of that aloof little punk.
1. That’s about $200,000 USD. Quite the pretty penny. ☜
