## Chapter 1471 – Demon Lord Kim Kat

“Answer me. Verde.”

Surely, a being who has reigned as a god for thousands of years wouldn’t try to weasel out of this.

Of course, hearing directly from the source about how they came to this land is a decent gain in its own right, but I didn’t come here to listen to that kind of thing.

I’m asking the monster that devoured the souls of countless people.

Kadia and Elise.

And deceived the other priests.

「…」

The transmitted will is silent.

How human of it. The outer god Verde was showing a very human reaction, closing its mouth for a moment when faced with a difficult question.

It said it awakened its ego after devouring souls.

If so, these monsters who lived only according to instinct in that alien world came to this dimension, devoured souls, and were reborn.

「…」

A long silence.

“…”

I could smash everything right now, but.

I waited with my arms crossed.

It’s a promise I made with Kadia and Elise. I must hear from their own mouths what these bastards thought of humans.

How long has it been?

「That is a difficult question.」

“Difficult?”

「We did not properly understand humans.」

Didn’t understand?

“So you’re saying that because you didn’t understand, you don’t know what to think?”

Is this suddenly some philosophical drift?

「That is correct.」

“This bastard… do you think that’s something a being who has been worshiped by humans for thousands of years should say?”

ㅡCrack.

As I unclench my fist, the surroundings vibrate again.

“Shut up. Tell me what you think right now. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t understand. Tell me what you’ve felt until now.”

From the start, the idea that a god understands humans is something even the priests down there deny. Therefore, understanding or whatever is meaningless.

「…」

Verde was testing my patience more and more. For an outer god who has reigned for so long, it’s an extremely cowardly reaction… Right. I’m stronger than the outer gods now. If they stand before me, even any being will lose its dignity.

Just as I was feeling a kind of disappointment.

It spoke.

「Humans… are beings that can only survive if we protect them.」

Beings that must be protected.

“This bastard?”

The `heavy` will that flowed in for a moment. Was this a manifestation of sincerity? But I can’t accept it. In my eyes, this is just running its mouth.

To devour the souls of beings that must be protected.

“Did you just say you have to protect them?”

No. Is it saying that it’s unavoidable to protect them? Is it making such pathetic excuses because it’s standing before me now? It’s a pathetic answer that shames the countless priests down there.

If Captain Vakerel heard these words, he would have run on all fours to the other side of the human world.

「That is correct.」

Okay.

So there’s nothing more to say.
Just as I was about to sweep everything away this time.

Verde continued.

「Originally, humans were beings that could be called resources for us. We were beings that needed souls.」

“…”

「The souls of the Titans were also a good stimulus. But the Titans are a fierce and violent race. We thought it would be difficult to stably acquire their souls.」

“So you destroyed the Titans and replaced them with humans? Because they’re easier to handle?”

「That is correct. When we destroyed the Titans, humans worshiped us. And we learned. That the souls of humans, filled with joy and happiness, and worship, are even sweeter than the souls of Titans, filled with pain, anger, and hatred.」

“That’s.”

「We came to desire the souls of those who worshiped us.」

A terrible confession.

It was like discovering that a kindergarten teacher you thought was a good person was secretly a serial cannibalistic murderer who enjoyed the flesh of young children.

The outer god wanted the pure souls of those who worshiped it.

The outer gods who destroyed the Titans naturally gained the worship of humans and became symbols of good and justice. The outer gods, wearing such skin, enjoyed devouring the souls of the priests.

「However, humans were a weak race. The Titans were strong and did not have special faith. They were beings that did not need protection. In comparison, humans were weak and easily embraced faith. Humans were beings that needed protection.」

Beings that need protection.

「This small world filled with weak humans is too attractive to other beings. Just like we were. This world without Titans no longer had the ability to defend its own world.」

For that matter, the outer gods easily destroyed the Titans’ empire… No. That’s just what I know, but in reality, it might have taken quite a long time, and there might have been all sorts of difficult things.

“So. After tasting the souls of the humans who worship you. You thought you should protect them and enjoy it for a long time?”

「…We did not want to lose the stimulus, and we thought we had to protect humans.」

Of course, you’d want to protect them.

Even ants protect aphids.

But ants don’t harvest the souls of aphids.

「We protected humans in exchange for the worship of humans. Whether they accepted it or not, we simply guarded this world where humans who worshiped us exist.」

“Because you can only eat souls that way. Don’t be mistaken, Verde. You don’t want to protect this world. You just wanted to protect your restaurant or rice pot.”

「However, if we had not guarded this world. The human world would have already been destroyed.」

“So that justifies it?”

「We do not justify anything. We needed souls, and humans needed protection.」

ㅡ…

I felt instability in the will of Verde that was being transmitted.

Is it unable to be certain of its own will?

「But… to humans, we would have been no different from the Titans.」

“What.”

「The humans who worshiped us felt great joy in being absorbed by us. So intensely that even we who absorbed them could know it.」

That’s obvious.

Priests consider it natural to offer their souls to God.

「They rejoiced in escaping the rule of the Titans, and they rejoiced again while being ruled by us. It was difficult to understand humans. Perhaps this was a matter of order, I thought.」

Verde’s voice was gradually getting smaller. No. It’s not a voice. This is its will. I continued to feel uncertainty in the will of the guy that was being transmitted.

「I do not deny it. We cannot live without human souls. If we stop absorbing souls, we will return to our original form. The acquired ego will decompose and lose itself. That is the same as death. We do not want death. As all beings do.」

Okay.

“So you devoured souls because you didn’t want to die.”

「That is not the only reason.」

“What is it?”

「Even if it meant devouring souls, I thought we had to protect humans.」

“This bastard…”

「To the extent that if we had other means besides souls, I thought we should choose them.」

That kind of thing.

“I can’t believe it.”

It ran its mouth all it wanted, but the conclusion is that. They didn’t want to die, this world needed protection, and therefore they inevitably had no choice but to eat souls.

No matter how you look at it, it’s full of excuses.

“So you’re saying that even if it meant devouring souls, you thought they were beings that had to be protected.”

That’s similar to saying they thought of them as precious.

「…」

The monster was silent.

I just felt that the monster’s thoughts were just excuses and pretexts. I have no intention of understanding these bastards. Anyone can come up with a reason.

Just that.

“You’re not answering. I’ve heard your last excuse well.”

ㅡChwaak.

I unclench my fist again.

The anger that surges from within gathers in my fist. ㅡUrrrrrrng! What’s unfolding is the ultimate Demonic God Death Beam. I’ll turn this space into dust as it is.

ㅡKugugugugugung!

The celestial space is shaking.

ㅡSsaeeeeeeek.

The fragments of the outer gods fell helplessly just from the energy emanating from my fist. I still didn’t know which of those was Verde. But it’s over now.

At that time.

「In the body of a human.」

Verde’s will is transmitted again.

「If you who have become a god, you will be able to understand humans.」

Understanding humans.

「Unlike the worries of the being who summoned us. We now have no ability to recover our own strength. Because we have suffered too much damage, we are only maintaining our current state by absorbing souls. As time goes by, we are becoming more and more decrepit.」

Did it sense the end after seeing the unfolding Demonic God Death Beam?

Verde conveyed its will calmly, as if reciting a will.

「Therefore, we will eventually disappear. This was only a matter of time. We were… truly sorry about that.」

“I guess so.”

Because you wouldn’t want to die.

「But now. That regret has disappeared.」

“What?”

「A being has newly appeared to protect humans.」

That must be referring to me.

「That being does not devour the souls of humans, and is instead angry at the fact that human souls are being devoured.」

“Hey. Wait a minute.”

「So I will accept it. If there is a being to protect humans even if we disappear. We can accept our end. So take our power. Take our power and protect the human world.」

That was the moment.

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

Countless wills burst out at the same time, echoing in the celestial space.

These bastards are now… me.

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

「I will accept it.」

ㅡHwaaaaaaaak!

A whirlwind raged along with a torrent of powerful will. At this moment. Countless fragments hanging in the sky began to fall at the same time. As if acknowledging their end. Like snow falling, they fell.

“…”

Watching that.

I turn off the Demonic God Death Beam I was unfolding.

“Okay.”

This was the real answer.

ㅡHwareureureuk.

“Demonic Divine Art.”

The recovered Demonic God Death Beam.

“Kim Kat Park.”

I use it to build a barrier.

There was no need to shoot the Demonic God Death Beam. The power gathered in my fist became a barrier. The barrier, which was the size of a melon, gradually expanded and instantly covered the celestial space, dyeing the world white.

Verde’s will is no longer transmitted.

But a will that seemed to be united. It was sending a will to protect the human world. And what I felt in that will. It was a kind of relief.

“Come in.”

That’s why I was able to accept these monster bastards.

“Into my barrier.”

ㅡSsaeeeeeeek!

The fragments of the outer gods that were spread out widely. All of them began to melt like effervescent vitamins in water.

ㅡSareureureuk.

It was a dreamlike sight.

The pieces stretched out widely in the sky sparkled and melted away. The huge fragments fell like meteors, spewing out clusters of light, and the small ones melted and rose into the sky. All sorts of colors cover the celestial space that has become a barrier.

The melted powder was absorbed into my barrier as it was.

At the same time, I felt tremendous power.

“Outer gods.”

In the past, they regarded humans as just good resources. But at some point, they recognized them as beings they had to protect.

That could be said to be the process of a monster becoming a god.

Because a god is also a monster after all.

“But this Kim Kat.”

Is not a monster.

Therefore, I have no intention of affirming these monsters at all. It’s just something that happened. Did you feel guilty after eating souls? Did you get attached to humans after eating so many souls?

I asked such questions.

But there was no answer.

“Still, I have no choice but to acknowledge that you have protected the human world.”