274 – Hero Killing

Blow has died. Having confirmed that with my own eyes, I take a step forwards.

The Hero notices me. There is an expression of astonishment on his face. It seems that he has realised by instinct, that I am the same being as the Nightmare of the Labyrinth who once defeated him.

The Hero Julius also recognises my clones, as whenever he sees one he relentlessly pursues and gets rid of them. The non-combat orientated clones used for monitoring, cannot beat the Hero. Owing to that, I couldn’t keep track of the Hero through monitoring. Most likely, he has a strong impression remaining of not being able to even lay a finger on me, so I think he gained a sensitivity to my existence.

Therefore, it was in my expectations that he might immediately break into an escape on noticing me. Within the accelerated time, I gaze upon the Hero who has a desperate look. I’m sorry to say, but no matter how much he tries to muster his strength, the Hero can never defeat me.

I open my eyes. The least kindness I can do, is to give him a painless death. With my improved Evil Eyes, I assault the Hero with the Evil Eye of Extinction. There are two attributes that I didn’t lose once I became a god. Darkness and Corrosion. To be precise, Darkness and Death. The attributes that Evil God D rules over.

The Evil Eye of Destruction grants death to the Hero, and his body is destroyed. Compared to the power of D herself it might be weak, but it is still undoubtedly the power of god. There is no reason why the Hero could withstand it as he not even a god.

The Hero has been finished off without a doubt, and also the comrades with him have been dealt with the same way. There was one person who withstood it, but that was also within expectations. What was unexpected, lies in a much different place.

「Take care of the rest.」

「Eh?」

Due to the emergency situation, I delegate all battlefield operations to Waldo-kun, and teleport. Where I’ve appeared is a huge room with an enormous magic circle filling it that looks like a geometric pattern. In the center, is the upper half of the body of a woman.

In the bottom level of the Elro Great Labyrinth, deeper within there exists the place where the Goddess is sealed. The core of the System that supports this world.

I quickly approach the Goddess. The top half of her body, has diminished since the last time I saw her. Much more than I had expected.

Suppressing the rage that feels like it might boil in an instant, I grab the Goddess’s chin. I would like to believe that I still have my composure since I didn’t just crush her with my hand like that.

「Do you actually realise, what you have done?」

I couldn’t hold back from using a threatening voice. I open my eyes, and glare right at the Goddess. With her vacant stare, the Goddess merely continues to murmur System messages.

「Don’t ** with me!」

I didn’t use a loud voice. However, my voice probably contained as much anger as possible.

Just who, for what reason, and for whose sake, do you think this war is for? This Goddess has ruined all of that. All this groundwork was for none other than liberating the Goddess from the System, yet she’s **ing ruined that all by herself.

The purpose of this war, is for reducing the number of humans and demons who can fight, while simultaneously securing energy, and reducing the number of people who will be harmed by destroying the System. In addition, by means of defeating the Hero, I could delete the Hero related requirements from the System, and secure the energy related to that. I have various other reasons for doing this, but those of the two main ones. Both were plans to gather a lot of energy quickly.

However, despite that, the amount of energy collected was less than I had expected. It had been lessened. Because the Goddess had needlessly intervened. The Goddess obstructed the dismantling of the Hero System. Using her body, and a portion of the recent influx of energy.

Since her intentions can’t be communicated I can only guess, but most likely the Goddess fully understands what I’m trying to do. Well, since I’m hacking the System and various other things, it would be strange for the Goddess who is the core of the System to not know. The problem is, not only does she know, but she has begun to intervene against my actions.

「Do you hate it when people die that much? Even though you know just for whose sake it is that they’re all killing each other?」

I tighten the grip on my hand holding the Goddess’s chin. Even though the Demon King has taken actions while being resolved to die, this woman has rendered those actions futile. As if I could forgive that. What a **ed up situation.

「Take a good look.」

I project an image in front of the Goddess’s eyes. Projected there is a battlefield. The battlefield where the 1st Army are fighting. Even by itself it’s gruesome enough that I’m sure that for this Goddess it’s painful to watch.

However, I’m not done yet. To that battlefield, I summon a Queen Taratekt. Next, I give it an order to trample down the demons and humans indiscriminately.

「Don’t you avert your eyes okay? Because you did something unnecessary, I’ve been forced to take even more lives. This scene, is due to your desires, and what you caused.」

There is no objection. However, a slight action of her shaking her head in denial can be seen. So that she won’t be able to take her eyes off the images even for a second, I put my strength into the hand holding her chin.

What a foolish Goddess. While wishing for peace more than anyone else, she more than anyone else is the perpetrator who is forcing the people of this world to walk down a blood smeared path. Even if it means taking D’s malicious salvation. This time was also the same. If she’d kept quiet then I would never have had any intention to commit this atrocity. I still had many things that I had wanted Argnar to do after all. I’ve been unexpectedly forced to crush them.

The reason why I didn’t crush the 2nd Army or 5th Army, was because I thought it was better that way considering what happens next. The 1st Army demons are the elite. And so is the human army that they’re facing. That being the case, by annihilating them the amount of energy that can be recovered is large. In order to recover the most amount of energy with the fewest number of deaths, the only option was to crush the 1st Army.

Sorry, Argnar. In order to grant the future you wish for the demons, the only option was to abandon you. Even then, depending upon the situation I still might not be able to grant your wish.

Without sparing her anything I make the Goddess watch the trampling of every living being by the Queen Taratekt. Even when everything is finished, for a while I forced her to continue watching the scene filled with corpses.

「Don’t do anything uncalled for. Realise that each time that you do the number of casualties will increase.」

I roughly release my grip from her chin. Somehow, those eyes of hers that were vacant from the start, seem to have become even more like eyes of a dead fish. Serves you right. Even still, my irritation doesn’t calm down. I’m so angry that I can almost talk normally. For such a pathetic reason, I was forced to sacrifice Argnar. Damn her.

Leaving that aside, I must quickly find out who the new Hero is. I gotta get in touch with the Divine Word Religion, and have them search.

While thinking about future plans, one of my clones detects an abnormality. It’s the clone that is keeping watch on Yamada-kun. While in class, Yamada-kun suddenly stood up and began to act suspiciously.

It can’t be. It can’t be, it can’t be, it can’t be!?

「You, you!」

I punch the Goddess, hard.

「Just how much do you have to interfere until you’re satisfied! Just how badly will you crush people’s feelings until you’re satisfied! Do you really want to save people’s lives that much!? Why can’t you understand that is exactly what is driving people to their deaths!?」

I resist the urge to kill this Goddess right here, right now. If I actually did that, then what was the point of all the things I’ve done until now.

This Goddess, in addition to continuing the Hero System, specified the next **ing Hero to be Yamada-kun. Yamada-kun, a reincarnator. She definitely chose a reincarnator knowing that I can’t or won’t kill him. Even though the Goddess should know why it is that I’m trying to decisively revoke the Hero System. To recover energy? That’s certainly one of the reasons. However, the biggest reason, is to prevent the Demon King from being killed. Due to the System, a Demon King can always be killed by a Hero. Even if that Demon King has status values that are vastly superior to the Hero’s. In order to get rid of that fear, that’s why I’ve been doing all this to try to get rid of the Hero System.

「Do you want the Demon King to die that much!? The Demon King who, more than anybody else, has been trying so hard for so long for your sake!」

I hear my teeth grinding. If I stay here any longer, I really will start wanting to kill the Goddess. I turn my back on the Goddess, and teleport away from that place. I didn’t even want to see what kind of expression the Goddess had.