Although she had initially been guided into carrying out the act of repaying a debt of gratitude, Reida could not help but have some doubts about her employer Darius, as well as the Human God who was helping Darius, even while planning to protect the world... Was that guy hiding something from her?
Because she actually did not want to become Darius's lackey, but if it was to repay a debt of gratitude, then even doing some things that violated morality seemed like something she had no choice about.
But if the world were destroyed and her granddaughter would also die, then it seemed that she could only continue down this dark path, but...
"I feel like I've suddenly been dragged into some incredible conflict. Could it really be like that Evil God said, that not being bad enough and not being pure enough in kindness is the root of human suffering?"
Reida sat alone inside the carriage of the transport wagon and sighed, but she did not know... the person she was troubled by at this moment, was right outside the carriage.
And she had not lived this long for nothing. Although she was melancholy for a while, she quickly made up her mind again, revealing a resolute expression, "No matter what, I was killed once. Whether the world will be destroyed or not, I should at least get revenge! And... that little brat even stole my sword! This time I'm in the dark while he's in the light, so there should definitely still be some chance to...."
"No, I don't think there's any chance," Although unfamiliar, the voice was impossible to forget. Before she could finish speaking, it suddenly came from outside the carriage, interrupting her muttering before continuing on its own, "But is this considered an insight gained after death? Although realizing the importance of purity at such an old age is a little strange, continuing to improve like this is also one of humanity's great advantages, right? Although you no longer have the possibility of continuing to improve."
"Ha-Hallucination?"
Just a moment ago, Reida had still been immersed in the shock of being resurrected from death, worrying for a while about her own position. It was only when that voice appeared and her body instinctively stiffened as though frozen that she finally realized that the surroundings seemed far too quiet, and the carriage had stopped moving at some unknown point.
At the same time, for some reason, her senses had been blocked, as though something strange had sealed off her sixth sense.
She also put a hand over her heart, desperately suppressing her pounding heartbeat. Only after cautiously poking her head out to look did she truly realize that she was not experiencing a hallucination, because, the nightmare that had killed her was actually standing right in front of the carriage.
A long time ago, Ash had already conducted considerable research into souls, so when he killed Reida, he noticed a strange situation.
The person who should have died had a soul that unexpectedly was not absorbed by his own system, but instead... was taken away first by an unexpected force.
In the memories he had read, there was an especially obvious missing section. Although that might have been because it was in a dream and therefore had not been read by mental magic.
Connecting this with what Reida had said, as well as the other party's sudden recollection of the favor from her youth, he also realized that something seemed to be targeting him.
Perhaps it was the will of the world, or perhaps it was something else, like the Human God Reida had mentioned? Although Ash had taken Eris away from the scene, he had not gone too far, keeping the entire city within the range covered by his magic-power detection.
Reida in particular, whose soul had not been taken by him, was one of the main objects under surveillance.
And then, he "saw" it.
The person whose heart had clearly already been crushed underfoot actually recovered in a bizarre manner without anyone casting any magic on her, and not long afterward, she even sat up.
"This is really interesting. Just what kind of existence are you?", Ash was somewhat surprised. He temporarily left Eris, who was eating snacks, behind, using going to the bathroom as an excuse to activate spatial magic. He instantly arrived at that street and suppressed the demons guarding the transport wagon, and slipped over. In the end, he simply stood outside the carriage, observing the woman who had come back from the dead through the carriage.
Moreover, Reida herself had not noticed that the wrinkles on her face had disappeared considerably, while her withered body seemed to have returned to middle age.
This made Ash certain that this was definitely the work of the Human God. At the same time, he began analyzing the direction in which the power that had caused Reida to resurrect and regain her youth was flowing.
And through reverse tracing, he could roughly discover that this was not coming from a completely different world. It should still be this world.
More precisely, it should be close to a region within this world that was similar to an alternate space. It was neither particularly near nor particularly far, and it was a strange region he had never reached or even heard of before.
After observing for a long time, when that power completely disappeared, he could not help but interrupt the old woman who was trying to operate behind the scenes.
Looking at Reida poking her head out, Ash temporarily put aside the many doubts in his heart and unconsciously revealed a rather interested smile:
"Didn't expect that, huh~ Reida? I haven't gone far yet."
"You're lying..."
"No, it's true. How about we have a chat? About the Human God, or...", Halfway through speaking, the smile on Ash's face suddenly disappeared, and his eyes became extremely cold, "Are you planning to make me kill you again?"
"W-Wait... Let's talk properly..."
Looking at this person known as the Calamity of the World, Reida's expression was extremely unpleasant. With nothing but her bare hands, she instinctively stepped backward several times.
She could not imagine how she should fight him now, nor could she understand why this monster had not left even after she had already died and her heart had been crushed beneath his foot. Why was he still here? Why was he watching over her?
However, when Ash nodded to indicate that she could continue...
Although Reida could not trust the Human God, she also found it difficult to trust the person who had just killed her. Therefore, she suddenly took advantage of the opportunity to turn around and flee.
But this scene was not beyond Ash's expectations. It was just that...
"I was actually hoping that perhaps you would choose me instead of that strange Human God, but... your choice still hasn't changed," He remained standing where he was without taking a step, but strange black matter gradually gathered between his hands without him realizing it.
Feeling a chill run down her spine for no apparent reason, Reida subconsciously glanced back, but she could not recognize what kind of magic it was at all, nor had she ever encountered such a strange situation.
But a frantic warning came from the depths of her soul, making her understand that the magic was dangerous. In fact... it truly was.
"Since you've already made your choice, you can't blame me... Now, how about I simply shatter your soul?"
An object that seemed to have condensed all the darkness in the world surged toward Reida as she flew into the air but had yet to land on the roof.
Unable to evade the black radiance while covered by the Divine Dragon Barrier, Reida was swallowed by the Abyss Magic, and in that instant, her body and soul were both reduced to dust.
Without putting up any resistance, she disappeared completely from her very origin, so there was no longer any need to worry about her resurrecting.
Because this was specifically prepared for those capable of resurrection. Even an existence possessing immortality would die completely after enduring this ultimate execution magic because its soul would be shattered.
And on the street that had once again returned to silence, Ash stood alone, somewhat puzzled, rubbing his chin as he muttered to himself:
"But speaking of which, I don't even know that Human God. Did that guy think I would kill him?"
Although he did not understand why that guy would think this way, or why he had taken the initiative to target him.
But since the other party had already started, then perhaps he should follow the other party's expectations and kill him. That would be the proper kind of "politeness," right?
After all, this was not a battle he had started.
———
In an unknown region that Ash did not know about, merely through the source of divine power, an unknown world was observed in reverse for a brief moment, the World of Nothingness.
In this white world, also known as the Boundless World, there was as usual a pure-white figure that looked like a conglomeration of mosaics..... the Human God, who was now furiously losing control.
"I was discovered? I was discovered? I really shouldn't have used divine power! It really was because that useless idiot couldn't do it! It's all that girl's fault! Now even the soul has been shattered! She completely deserved it! It's all that useless idiot's fault! Fate has changed again! But how exactly did that useless idiot die? Aaaaaah! There's too little information! Too little!"
The Human God paced back and forth through that empty void, furiously swinging his fists and beating the air, while roaring and venting his dissatisfaction with the Water God, attributing all the problems to the Water God's weakness.
The more he interfered, the more unclear the future would become, so he had always restrained himself from personally interfering too much in the human world.
But in the future he saw without interfering, he would be killed. He, who had finally become a god, would have his divine power usurped in reverse, just as he had devoured the Human God in the past.
And this was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
"Aaaaaah! I can't die!! I have to find a way! I have to find a way!"