Chapter 14 · 9 min

Chapter 14

Vic123tory!

Nirvakh, the de facto leader of the Void.

And Epin, the most independent divinity among the powerhouses of the Fifth Dimension.

The relationship between the two was closer to that of frenemies than close friends.

Of course, as time passed, the distinction between the two had become rather vague.

In any case, that was how it was if one traced it back to its roots.

Epin first encountered Nirvakh as a 'snake hunter.'

Originally, she had tracked Nirvakh in order to capture a monstrous serpent that possessed divinity.

However, Nirvakh did not allow himself to be caught by Epin.

Because his origins had never been those of a mere snake in the first place.

As time passed, Nirvakh became one of the strongest among the transcendent-class anomalies of the Fifth Dimension, and he was eventually able to meet Epin again, who had already given up snake hunting long ago.

Old grudges inevitably fade with time.

The relationship between the two, which had begun as an ill-fated connection, had now turned into that of friends who had spent long, long ages together.

Even the occasional bickering between them, if one examined its true nature, was merely a form of amusement.

"...Hey, hey. Are you really okay?"

Therefore, even if the two themselves called their relationship one of frenemies.

If one of them was reduced to a horribly ruined state, naturally, the other couldn't help but worry.

For Epin, that moment was now.

"No, if you're going to be like this, at least stay in your true body."

Nirvakh stared blankly at the sky, looking almost skeletal.

The appearance of his incarnation had withered away completely.

Of course, that was merely an indicator of his own state of mind.

An incarnation's appearance was entirely unique to itself, so it wasn't as if his body had actually deteriorated.

...But seeing him like this only made the situation seem even more serious.

"Hey, answer me."

"Ah... you're here...?"

Only a hollow answer devoid of even a shred of spirit returned.

Epin felt that she could roughly guess the cause.

"Don't tell me you're still trembling because of that?"

"..."

"This is ridiculous. If you were going to be like this, you shouldn't have run your mouth."

It was clearly related to the series of revelations that had happened in the gallery not long ago.

Of course, none of it had actually caused Nirvakh any harm.

Naturally, because the underlying circumstances couldn't possibly be uncovered from just a few lines of text.

However, the author.

Oz knew the truth.

That fact was tormenting Nirvakh.

He wasn't afraid of something like eternal annihilation.

In truth, no matter how ancient a divinity from a previous world might be, even they could not easily erase a highest-ranking divinity.

Even if the act itself was possible, the aftermath would be no small matter, so he didn't think something like that would happen over such a trivial quarrel.

...But that truth.

He was simply afraid that the origin of his existence, buried in darkness, would be revealed.

"Hey. She didn't seem like the type to do that. She hasn't said anything since then, has she?"

"That's why I'm lying low like this..."

"Yeah, lying low is fine. But is sitting here looking like you're about to die really necessary? You're making me feel like shit just looking at you."

You've really turned into some pathetic loser.

Even as Epin hurled insults at him, Nirvakh merely lowered his head dejectedly.

The dark blue hair of his incarnation crumbled apart on its own. No matter how one looked at it, this was severe.

Epin let out a deep sigh.

"Haa... If you're going to be like this, then at least apologize or something. I don't know for sure, but she seems like she'd probably accept it."

"...Should I?"

"It'd be better than sitting here trembling like this, you idiot."

A god is one thing, but you're just a fucking moron─

Watching Epin shake her head as she said that, Nirvakh slightly raised his head.

Maybe that really would be better.

He himself had considered it several times, but even that was difficult to do because he was still afraid.

What if he received a thoroughly negative answer?

However, she had a point that it would still be better than doing nothing.

[ Um, Sister Oz... are you there? ] - Nonexistent

[ I was truly at fault for what happened last time... ] - Nonexistent

[ I'll do anything I can, so please, could you forgive me... ] - Nonexistent

And so, he first sent a preface.

Hoping desperately that his sincerity would get through.

Hoping that the answer he received would be willing forgiveness.

"...What the hell."

And that message, filled with desperate sincerity.

The person who received it displayed the word "bewilderment" plainly across his face.

"No, was it really that serious?"

I don't hate you, though?

______________

"Why is this guy making such a huge fuss again?"

I couldn't help but feel somewhat dumbfounded as I watched the flood of apologies pouring in from Nonexistent.

Of course, back then, he'd suddenly leaked my DMs, and the aftermath had been somewhat chaotic, so I had gotten a little heated.

But was there really any reason to go this far?

"Hmm."

Even if only because of that question, I needed to think about it from his perspective.

It began with the trade for the spiritual fruit.

Jade Dew Fruit wasn't exactly a top-tier spiritual fruit even below transcendence, so Nirvakh, who thought I was a transcendent, assumed I used it for skincare.

After all, in terms of rarity, it was still a rare fruit with limited natural habitats, and many absolute beings used it simply for cosmetic purposes.

Because of that, he misunderstood me as being a female form.

Afterward, he got excited after hearing that he ranked near the top of the rankings, ran his mouth, and confessed everything.

"Thinking about it again, this bastard really is hilarious."

Separate from my bewilderment at how ridiculous he was, I had gone through some trouble because of it, so I mixed a little personal resentment into the evaluation at the bottom of the tier list.

...And now we were here.

"What the fuck."

I genuinely had no idea.

Why the hell was this guy making such a huge fuss?

It seemed like he'd fallen into some incredible delusion, but I couldn't guess what had caused it.

...Of course, it wasn't as though this had any negative effect on me.

Still, seeing him bowing so low and trembling like this was a little burdensome.

[ I'll do anything within my ability, so could you please forgive me... ] - Nonexistent

The problem was that I wasn't exactly some being who had the right to decide whether to forgive him or not.

Both in the gallery and in reality, I deliberately held my head high and acted either like a coarse bastard or like someone pretending not to care─

But that was about this far removed from my true nature.

If anything, I was the one who had benefited by taking actual goods in exchange for telling him his ranking in advance.

The nonsense in the gallery also seemed to be dying down... so in practical terms, the harm he'd caused me wasn't much at all.

"...Wait."

So at first, I was simply going to reply that it was fine.

But thinking about it, opportunities like this weren't exactly common.

Of course, the DM window was currently filled with messages from some fairly incredible transcendents.

Judging only from what they were saying, they seemed ready to hand over their liver and gallbladder alike.

In a way, that was only natural. Most female-form transcendents currently either already had companions or had declared themselves completely and permanently single.

The desperation of old bachelors who had missed their marriageable age by tens or hundreds of billions of years was bound to be on another level.

If I gently coaxed them and made them cough things up, I might really be able to wring all sorts of things out of them. But if I did that...

"I might actually die."

Even putting aside something like my conscience, I shouldn't toy with a man's sincere feelings.

Especially when what would eventually come for me wouldn't be some simple knife attack, but the galaxy-scale annihilation of an enraged High-Ranking Divinity.

Therefore, an opportunity like the present, where I could legitimately(?) fleece the other party, was difficult to come by.

Judging from the state of these messages, the other side would probably feel more at ease if I accepted something anyway.

What should I ask for?

"Weapons or something like that aren't really it."

Naturally, Nirvakh probably had treasures of astonishing caliber rotting in piles.

But anything above a certain level would run into restrictions based on civilization level.

Forget the Greater Heaven World, I couldn't even receive items commonly used at the Upper Realm level.

This ring was an enormous exception because of its special nature, and that was also why I'd surrendered to greed and accepted it.

But should I ask for something far lower in grade?

That didn't make sense either. I could just trade my accumulated points for something at that level.

And so, after thinking for a while about a fair, impartial, rational, mutually beneficial transaction─

...I suddenly recalled something from the novel.

"Ah. That's it."

And I immediately sent a message.

Me>[ ■■■ ]

"What the hell is this."

However, I couldn't help but be slightly startled by the censorship that appeared in the DM window.

"It censors this too?"

I'd never experienced it before, so I hadn't realized that censorship also applied within the gallery.

Well, it was something that only came up very late in the story.

[ Yes, Sister Oz ] - Nonexistent

However, the reply came back as though nothing was wrong.

He had probably guessed for himself what was hidden behind the censorship.

It seemed I'd done well to humor his insistence on calling me "Sister" a little.

Me>[ Stop calling me Sister. And from now on, you won't leak anything we talk about outside, right? ]

[ Yes, absolutely not! ] - Nonexistent

Me>[ Stop using honorifics too. I wasn't even that angry in the first place. Of course I can just let it go ]

[ Really? ] - Nonexistent

Me>[ I said stop using honorifics... But in exchange, do one thing for me ]

[ Just say the word! ] - Nonexistent

...Apparently, it would take a little time before those honorifics disappeared.

Me>[ Give me some of your death. You don't need to put in much, about two scales' worth should be enough ]

[ Will that really be enough? ] - Nonexistent

Me>[ I told you, I'm not that angry. I'm going to give it to a kid I know, so that's enough ]

[ Ah. I'll send it quickly! And I'm really sorry! ] - Nonexistent

The joy and relief I could feel through the text were slightly absurd.

I'd spoken as though it were nothing, but it was definitely something that would cause him at least a slight loss.

"...What the hell did he think I was going to ask for?"

Apparently, he'd been prepared to pay a price far higher than this.

Was this the ultimate scam? A scam where even the victim could be happy.

"This won't build up bad karma, right?"

I'm afraid that if this keeps up, I'll become an Evil God once I transcend, so maybe I should live a little more virtuously.

______________

The Transcendent Gallery, where the embers of the Fifth Dimension tier list and the lingering topic of my gender still faintly remained.

What was left after the commotion was idle chatter about shitposts and the debates derived from them.

I decided to go along with the gallery's peaceful atmosphere and wrote a single post.

Partly to start dropping hints about the next topic, and partly to relieve my boredom while waiting at the General Exchange.

-Vic123tory!

-What the hell, why are all the Hero bastards coming out? hahahahaha

-Is Oz from the Empire?

"Ah fuck, what the hell is this now."

But apparently, the gallery had only been peaceful when I wasn't there.

As I cursed while looking at the comment section that had gone completely insane, countless gazes focused on me.