Just because I could see it with my eyes didn’t an it was close.
A mountain of rocks, ssily stacked into a jagged stone peak.
Naturally, there wasn’t anything like a real trail up.
Without Body Modification, I was nothing more than an ordinary man. And Kanya had always been frail to begin with.
For the two of us, climbing that mountain ended up taking three full days.
During that ti, Kanya and I talked a lot.
Mostly about food.
She said she didn’t have any mory of eating proper als.
So I told her all about the different foods I’d eaten, and every ti I did, her eyes would light up as she listened closely.
At night, we curled up tight together in the cracks between the rocks, trying to avoid the freezing alpine winds.
No more followers appeared.
The two of us just kept chatting about pointless things as we walked, step by step, toward the summit.
And then, one morning, after three grueling days of climbing—
“So you mash the potatoes, pour gravy over the top, and then layer asparagus and at...”
“Jericho.”
I was right in the middle of describing a steak dish I’d eaten when Kanya suddenly cut off.
We’d reached the top.
There was nowhere left to climb.
Even though it was the highest point, the summit of Talhaim’s Rock Mountain was oppressively quiet and still, without so much as a breeze.
Kanya and I stared blankly at the scenery around us for a mont.
“Do you see those two rocks up ahead, the ones leaning against each other like a triangle? That’s where the Goddess hid her temple. Only I can enter. She made sure no one else could find it or step inside.”
Kanya extended her hand silently, pointing toward the distant rocks.
I gently pushed her back.
“Go ahead, Kanya.”
She took a few steps forward at my words—then stopped.
“Jericho.”
She looked at for a long ti.
“I think I have the right to know the truth. Just one last ti... Why are you helping this much? Who are you, really?”
It was a question worth asking.
I an, from her perspective, how could she not wonder?
“I’m soone who’s ant to carry your pain.”
After a bit of thought, that’s what I told her.
“I’m a really bad person, Kanya. So it makes more sense for to bear it instead of you. There’s sothing rotten inside . Sothing truly evil.”
I’m just a guy who wants to die in place of a little girl—by the hands of three Demon Lords.
So that explanation seed good enough.
“So don’t worry about , Kanya. No matter what happens to , don’t look back. Go seize your salvation with your own hands. You deserve that. Do you rember the food we talked about while climbing up here? Just think about eating all of that. You deserve to be happy. More than anyone else.”
Kanya looked at with a complicated expression.
“Tell your na. Jericho’s not your real na, is it?”
“It is. More precisely, it’s my family na.”
I patted her head.
“Amayel. Jericho Amayel. That’s my na.”
Kanya placed her hand over my chest.
“I don’t know what your reasons are for helping all this ti. I don’t know how you can use those absurd powers. I don’t know why you still won’t tell everything. But this one thing—I swear to you.”
She bowed her head deeply.
“I’ll rember you. Amayel. I’ll never forget.”
With that, she turned away and started walking toward the triangular rocks.
As she approached, the rocks rumbled and trembled, and the ground sank to reveal a hidden staircase.
Kanya gave one last glance, then descended the stairs and vanished below.
I stood there for a long while, staring after her. Then I stepped up to the entrance of the stairs.
No one else will get through.
Not the followers.
Not even a Demon Lord descending in person.
I’ll stop them with everything I’ve got.
And hopefully... I’ll get caught by the furious Demon Lords and have my soul destroyed.
In the anti, Kanya will ascend Belia and achieve salvation.
So I waited.
And whether it was a blessing or a curse—
I didn’t have to wait long.
The blue sky suddenly split open.
And slowly—
Sothing massive began to descend.
****
What ca down was sothing beyond human.
My limbs trembled.
It was hard just to stay standing, but I forced myself to focus, to hold still.
And finally—
Three figures landed on the summit, standing about five ters away from .
One was a woman with long hair, rail-thin like a patient dying of anorexia.
Another was a giant man, over two ters tall, clad head-to-toe in heavy armor.
And the last... was a small child, standing with a listless expression on her face.
The three of them silently stared at .
Cold sweat ran down my back.
I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth.
“If you’ve co all the way down here yourselves, I guess Kanya really is important, huh?”
I carefully reached into the mory I’d extracted and stored from one of the followers.
According to his mind, three cults were mobilized to track Kanya.
Envy. Sloth. And Wrath.
These three had to be them.
“Kanya’s already gone down. You’re too late. You’re not getting through. If you want to pass, you’ll have to kill first.”
I wanted to co up with a more creative taunt, but that was all I had in .
Even standing in front of a starving tiger or a bear wouldn’t feel like this.
Just facing them made it feel like every scrap of ntal strength I had was being shaved away.
I stared hard at the three Demon Lords.
I an, this should be enough to piss them off, right?
So hurry up and kill already.
As I braced myself, doing everything I could to hold out against the overwhelming presence of those three—
One of them moved.
The little girl at the back—the one with the bored look—stepped forward.
“The Goddess of War was never our priority, Amayel. You were.”
At her smiling words, I nearly dropped to my knees.
It was surreal—hearing a human voice while another one bood directly inside my skull at the sa ti.
The girl’s grin widened as she saw wobble.
“Amayel. Let’s talk. We are not your enemy. We are nothing like the gods of the Pantheon. We want you to be well.”
She even waved at playfully.
“A Demon Lord wants to be well? Could you maybe make your lies a little less obvious?”
Even as I spat back, she just kept smiling.
“You're right. To be precise, we want to use you. We want you to co over to our side. To stand with us and destroy both the Pantheon and the evil gods.”
“You really think I’d take your side?”
“Then what? Will you keep getting used by the Pantheon until you die? At least we are honest. Would you rather be exploited and discarded by those scheming bastards?”
Her words slid into my mind like a dagger—sharp and deliberate.
“[The gods of the Pantheon aren’t as benevolent as you think. They’re using you—completely and deliberately—as a tool to amplify their faith. Their condition isn’t good. So they have to squeeze whatever they can out of [N O V E L I G H T] the resources they’ve got.]”
The Pantheon.
Those ever-silent beings.
The ones who hurled curses of misfortune and threats of hell at , then vanished.
At the little girl’s words, sothing deep inside stirred—an anger I hadn’t fully acknowledged until now.
“[If you’re going to be used anyway, wouldn’t it be better to be used by us? We won’t pile a burden on your back and pretend we didn’t. If you work for us, we’ll pay you what you’re owed. We can give you what you want.]”
She took a step closer and held out her hand to .
“[We’ll help you live happily with the won you love. You’ll no longer suffer under fear and pain, no longer worry about the future. You want the truth, don’t you? Why you’re suffering? Why Lust is buried in your soul? We’ll tell you that too. Take my hand, Amayel. Let us be your strong allies—your companions.]”
Sweet words.
But even so...
I couldn’t trust her.
“I don’t want the whole world to suffer because of .”
“[Amayel. If you just take our hand, none of the things you fear will co to pass.]”
“And how am I supposed to believe that? You want to trust a Demon Lord?”
“[The mont you co to our side, everything shifts. Amayel, you’re far more important than you realize. If you join us, Pandemonium will gain the most powerful divinity. You’ll be able to bend this world to your will.]”
“I...”
“[Imagine it. A world without war. Without sorrow. Without human cruelty. If that’s what you want, it will beco reality. With overwhelming power, there will be no conflict. You can shape the world however you please. Don’t you want to try it? To remake the world as you want it?]”
The being in front of was a Demon Lord.
I knew—knew—I shouldn’t listen to those sweet, honeyed words.
I knew I should reject her.
But...
I couldn’t deny that sothing inside was wavering.
“What the hell do you want from ?”
“[It’s simple, Amayel. Very simple. Accept . Deep in your heart—accept . And every single problem in your life will vanish. Leave the Pantheon. Co to us, Amayel.]”
The girl extended her hand again.
“[Take it, child of man. Infinite gain, zero loss—only a fool wouldn’t take it.]”
I stared at her outstretched hand, dazed.
Should I take it?
Honestly, the idea of screwing over the Pantheon gave a weird sort of pleasure.
What I want isn’t anything grand.
No—
It’s never been grand.
I just wanted a simple, happy life.
But now, I’m saddled with the title of “saint,” the Pantheon, the Demon Lord of Lust...
It’s like these massive stories I can’t handle are being shoved onto my back, one after another.
If I take her hand, will it all get easier?
Will everything start going my way?
If I said I didn’t want to take it... that would be a lie.
Truthfully, I think about giving up—every single day.
Why the hell am I going through all this crap just to die?
“If I take your side... can I really live happily with the won I love?”
“[Of course, child.]”
“And I can make a peaceful world? A world without sorrow?”
“[If that’s what you want.]”
“I just want to live quietly. I don’t want anything complicated or big. I just... want that. Is that possible?”
“[I’ll make all your wishes co true. I swear it on my na.]”
The smile on the child’s face widened.
Her voice was soft—sweet.
So sweet that...
So sweet I actually wanted to just—reach out and grab her hand.
Yeah...
All I ever wanted was a quiet life with my wives. That’s it.
If I can get what I want so easily, why shouldn’t I take it?
Just take it, Amayel.
Take it and be free.
How long are you going to wander around, waiting for soone to finally kill you?
How long are you going to keep running, unable to find peace with the people you love?
If I just take her hand... I can get it all.
So take it.
Just...
Be free.
The mont I started to raise my hand—just a little—
It felt like a thorn, hidden inside soft flesh, caught in my throat.
“If I take your hand... what happens to the gods of the Pantheon?”
“[They’ll pay the price for using you, Amayel. They’ll all die.]”
“Does that include the Goddess of War?”
“[Yes. She will die as well.]”
“Then what about Kanya? Her soul is bound to the Goddess of War. If Belia dies, Kanya dies too.”
Kanya wasn’t just a Chosen One.
She, like , carried a divinity directly inside her soul.
If the god’s essence is destroyed, there’s no way she survives.
That much, I had learned from the mories I pulled out of the follower.
At my words, the little girl’s smile vanished.
“[She’s just one human, Amayel. What are you hesitating for? If you don’t take this hand, the Pantheon will keep using you until you die.]”
The girl extended her hand again, now with urgency.
“[Worry about yourself, Amayel. Just take the hand. It’s simple, isn’t it?]”
“I do hate the Pantheon, but that doesn’t an I want to kill them. And I don’t want Kanya to die.”
“[Amayel. If they live, the chaos won’t end. Trust . This is the fastest, most effective way. You only have to change your mind. Take my hand, Amayel.]”
The little girl reached out even further, more desperate now.
I stared at that outstretched hand.
Then let out a hollow laugh.
“So. You want to kill every god in the Pantheon, huh.”
Thanks to Kanya, I snapped out of it.
For a mont, I’d wavered—tempted by the promise of ease, beautifully wrapped and placed before —but it’s obvious what would happen if I took that hand.
The beings in front of were Demon Lords.
There would be no such thing as a happy ending.
A peaceful, quiet life?
A world without sorrow or pain?
That’s bullshit.
So...
“I refuse.”
That’s the right answer.
The little girl’s expression twisted in frustration.
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