Souta had three people he wanted dead:
Hirohide Nanba, Takarada Ritsu, and Takatora Sudou.
The reason was simple, he was disgusted by them when he first watched the anime.
It was one of his first entries into the otaku world, and he'd held a grudge ever since!
In the latter half of the story after Gai's death, when the students were trapped in the school ,these three attempted to assault Shinomiya Ayase. Though the act was never completed, the intent was crystal clear.
Their behavior throughout the series was revolting, always as nasty as they could be.
Nanba even coerced and manipulated Kuhouin Arisa into sleeping with him through threats.
Souta didn't have any particular attachment to Arisa, it was just that Nanba and the other two made his skin crawl. He wanted to crush them like flies.
Now, with the virus outbreak, the high school where Shu studied had to be in chaos, just like in the original story.
Those three would inevitably do something vile, so why not eliminate the scum early?
He assigned the task to Gai.
The order was clear: castrate first, kill after. And make them suffer before they died.
Gai gave Souta a surprised look but didn't ask questions. He memorized the three names well.
Anything a god commanded, he would execute flawlessly.
He was already devoting his entire future to the divine cause, almost a fanatic now. Naturally, he wouldn't question whether a god's morality was "correct."
Even if Souta had ordered him to kill three innocent citizens, Gai wouldn't have hesitated.
"I'll head to the school now."
Gai bowed and turned to leave.
"Wait," Souta called out. "Do it tomorrow. Since Mana is back, let's throw a small party for her. It's been ten years, reconnect first."
Gai paused, looked at Souta, then at Mana, and bowed his head with genuine gratitude.
"Thank you for saving her."
…
Two days later, Gai returned with what Souta had requested, Shu's Void.
Shu's Void had the ability to absorb other Voids and the Apocalypse Virus.
Now, it contained the Voids of hundreds of students.
Ten years ago, during the Lost Christmas incident, Eve went berserk, and fragments of her genetic material scattered into the Voids of nearby children.
Those fragments had now been recovered.
Souta handed them to Inori, allowing Eve inside her to absorb the pieces and regain her complete form.
"What exactly do you want from me?!"
Eve demanded a conversation with Souta. Inori, annoyed by the noise in her head, granted her a few minutes of control.
Once she had the body, Eve furiously stormed up to Souta.
"How long are you planning to keep me locked up?!"
Souta gave her a sidelong glance, speaking indifferently:
"Locked up is a harsh term. Without Mana's soul anchoring you, you're like a rootless weed. If you leave Inori, you'll fall into dormancy. I'm helping you."
He had considered giving Eve her own body again, but for some reason, Inori had volunteered to "contain" her.
Souta figured that having Eve inside Inori would make it easier to spread the virus across other worlds later. Plus, with Inori's now-powerful soul, Eve posed no threat to her.
So he agreed.
"I am Mana!" Eve corrected. "I have her thoughts, her memories. I am Mana! Don't get it twisted."
Souta didn't bother arguing. He simply pulled out Shu's modified Void.
"This contains the Apocalypse Virus, now harmless thanks to my alterations.
The goal is simple: I want you to help me spread this virus worldwide, quietly ignite a fourth apocalypse, and strengthen humanity's collective psyche.
Once the task is done, I'll give you your freedom.
I could even create a perfect body for you. You're a virus, so reproduction is in your nature, right? You can go indulge all you want, I won't say a thing."
"…" Eve shot him a cold glare. "You've got me all wrong. I am Mana, not just some walking virus. And that kind of talk is seriously offensive. I would only ever choose one king."
"Shu?"
"Shu... He rejected me so cruelly back then. My expectations for him are... rather low now."
Eve gave Souta a curious, almost teasing look.
"You're a god, aren't you? And a male god at that. Compared to human genes, yours are... infinitely more noble…"
"Stop. Stop right there." Souta cut her off, exasperated. "I have zero interest in being Adam."
"I can sense it, you like that puppet quite a bit, don't you?"
Eve's lips curled into a sultry smile.
Using Inori's exquisite face, she wore a look that was both innocent and suggestive. The contrast sent a faint, illicit thrill through Souta.
"I could give you something better than that puppet. Why not consider becoming my king?"
"…" Souta suddenly realized: this Eve was way lewder than the one in the anime.
Maybe it was because she no longer had Mana's soul restraining her, letting her true nature shine through.
He really wanted to quote that meme: "You're so lewd."
But considering Inori was probably watching, he restrained himself.
"Not interested." Souta waved her off. "Back to business. Your power, combined with Inori's singing, should be able to create a resonance between the virus and all human DNA. So your next task is to make an album with her and distribute it worldwide."
"That's it?" Eve looked surprised.
She thought Souta would exploit her much more ruthlessly.
"Oh? You think making a global hit is easy?" Souta scoffed. "Where'd you get that kind of confidence? From Oprah?"
"...There are easier ways to collect faith."
Eve proposed seriously:
"Revert the virus to its harmful form and keep the vaccine to yourself. When the virus spreads, show up with the cure, you'll gain believers faster."
"No thanks." Souta shook his head. "I'm not that dark. The cult has a strong foundation now. We don't need to be that aggressive. Besides…"
He looked at her meaningfully.
"You want the virus reverted for personal reasons, don't you? Give it up. I already reworked the virus core. From now on, any virus spread will be harmless."
Eve's eyes showed a trace of frustration, but she didn't argue further.
Truthfully, reverting the virus wasn't essential, it was just something she wasn't used to.
Now that the virus was harmless, the malicious instincts within her had dulled. It made her feel... off.
"Fine, forget it."
Eve dropped the argument and changed the subject:
"By the way, do you know why this puppet chose to keep me inside her?"
She gave a mischievous smile.
"Because I told her I could help her get you to—"
Before she could finish, she suddenly blanked out.
Inori was back.
"Souta, I'm hungry."
The moment she opened her eyes, Inori addressed him directly.
"What was Eve about to say?"
Souta was curious.
Inori replied without hesitation: "Kung Pao Chicken, Twice-Cooked Pork, Mapo Tofu, Husband-Wife Lung Slices, Dongpo Pork…"
Souta: "?"
Inori, you've been corrupted.
…
With Eve's matters settled, Souta had fully achieved his goals in this world.
The Church's growth was now just a matter of time.
With no urgent tasks, he focused his energy on developing divine miracles.
So far, all the divine miracles he'd created were minor, intended for harbingers.
Now he aimed to create powerful techniques he could use himself to conserve divine power in battle.
But at his current pace, that would take years.
During this period, Inori started visiting him more often.
Since she couldn't find him during the day, she came to his room at night.
Sometimes, she let Eve out, who would then say or do something very bold.
After this happened a few times, Souta realized the real reason she kept Eve inside her.
She probably treated Eve like a "teacher."
A week passed like this.
Then, suddenly, his friend group pinged.
Kurumi tagged him in the chat.
Tokisaki Kurumi: "@Souta. I'm almost done."