87 – The Third Revelation

A dark night.

A woman ran through the night.

She ran and ran until she was breathless, finally reaching her limit and collapsing against a nearby tree.

[You mustn’t stop yet. They will be upon you.]

“It’s too hard,”

The woman whimpered.

Her gaze fell upon her own body.

Arms and legs so terribly withered. Skin twisted into something grotesque.

And the hump, bulging hideously from her back.

It was almost a blessing that the night was so dark, hiding the full horror of her form.

“Why… why hasn’t my body returned to normal? Why?”

[My power is insufficient. I have broken the spell of servitude that bound your body and soul, but that is my limit. I am not yet permitted the authority to heal your form.]

“I’m in pain. Goddess. I cannot run properly. It’s too hard.”

The woman collapsed, weeping.

[You must move. Child. You cannot fall now.]

“Why me… why me this… I have done nothing wrong.”

The being, called Goddess, was silent for a moment at the child’s sob.

The silence held a clear sorrow.

[I am sorry. So very sorry, Kanya. I have burdened you with a weight you should never have carried. But unlike the past, where there was no hope, now there is. There is now a way to heal your body and restore my divinity. Those who still believe in me remain.]

Woman.

Kanya ceased her weeping at the word.

“Truly…?”

[High in the mountains of Talahaim, my altar remains. I built it in secret three hundred years ago. Within it, I sealed a portion of my divinity. I was a frontline warrior in the Celestial War, and it was possible that my divinity would be shattered, falling to earth as it has now. This was my insurance. Kanya.]

“If you regain your divinity… will you be able to heal me?”

[I will be honest. My power is meant for the destruction of evil, not for healing. To mend a body twisted by twenty years of dark magic and sorcery will not be easy.]

Despair flickered in Kanya’s eyes, but the Goddess continued.

[But I swear by my very existence: I will never forget the pain and sorrow that you and your ancestors have suffered because of me. I will repay your sacrifice – the suffering you have endured in the clutches of hell for three centuries. Kanya, if need be, I will beg from other gods to heal you, and shower blessings upon you and your house.]

Kanya began to weep anew at those words.

“Can I… can I become beautiful too?”

[More beautiful than anyone else.]

The goddess’s comforting voice only intensified Kanya’s tears.

She covered her face with thin, withered arms.

The goddess soothed her once more.

[Just a little more strength, and we’ll reach the rocky mountains of Talahaim. If I can but recover my divinity there, I swear upon it, I will repay you. The journey will be painful and arduous, but if we reach that place and I regain my power, I shall make it worth your while.]

Kanya wiped her tears at those words.

Taking a deep breath, she rose from her seat.

Her emaciated legs carried her forward in a painful, plodding gait.

“Couldn’t we ask for help from the Pantheon? Wouldn’t the path to Talahaim’s rocky peaks be easier if we asked other gods for assistance?”

[Your soul and body would be destroyed, Kanya. Look at the magical sigil etched upon your stomach.]

At the goddess’s words, Kanya silently lifted her clothes, touching the magic circle drawn there.

The goddess had barely managed to restore her freedom by undoing the enchantment of subjugation the Demon King had cast upon Kanya’s soul and body, but that wasn’t the only dark magic afflicting her form.

[If a being possessing divine power were near you, the black magic would activate, and your soul and body would vanish. Forever. And with it, my own divinity, bound to your soul, would disappear as well. We cannot seek the Pantheon’s aid.]

“Then… then the Mage Towers, or even help from other factions…”

[Have you forgotten what kind of authority the Slothful Demon King wields?]

At those words, Kanya shivered involuntarily.

[Any ordinary person, whether they be mage or knight, unprotected by divine grace, is vulnerable to becoming a plaything of Belphegor. Ironically, you are far safer alone.]

“So… you’re saying I have to reach the rocky mountains of Talahaim with this body? While also evading the Demon King’s pursuit?”

[Yes. You must. Sadly, it is the only way.]

Kanya felt her vision dimming.

If she had a healthy body, perhaps.

But with this form, twisted and tormented for over twenty years, how was she to traverse such a long and arduous path?

It was utterly hopeless.

A journey devoid of even the slightest hint of positivity.

And yet, despite it all, Kanya clenched her fist tightly.

Wiping away her tears, she snapped off a fallen branch nearby, fashioning it into a makeshift staff, and used it to prop herself up, rising with great difficulty.

“Crying won’t change anything. But at least we have a glimmer of hope, right? I should be grateful for that. It’s a hundred times better than the days when I suffered nothing but pain, without even a sliver of hope. Don’t you think? Goddess?”

As Kanya spoke with swollen eyes, the goddess’s laughter echoed within her mind.

“Yes, Kanya. There is hope now. Let’s go. My child. I will go with you. I will grieve with you and rejoice with you as we go.”

Kanya raised her staff and began to walk.

Terror and despair.

And fear were vivid in her eyes, but a desperate will to survive burned even brighter.

*

He was a companion I hadn’t anticipated at all.

Truth be told, a companion I hadn’t even wanted.

But surprisingly, this unicorn fellow and I… we clicked.

“Hey, human. What’s your name?”

“Amael. Jericho Amael. And you?”

“My male kin, they called me ＜Damn Glorious Mane＞ with utter disgust, and the mares I mated with, they called me that name with overflowing affection. Before I died, the humans called me something like ＜Raging Fucking Unicorn Prick＞. Call me whichever you prefer!”

“One’s too long to say, and the other’s too vulgar. You’re a unicorn, so I’ll just shorten it to ‘Corn’.”

“Your naming sense is just dogshit.”

“Why? It’s easy to say, and it’s good. Corn.”

“Forget it, goddammit. Do what you want.”

I wondered if I could even communicate with a creature of a different species, who wasn’t even alive to begin with, but after exchanging names…

I unexpectedly realized that this guy and I, we communicated pretty well.

“Two questions arise. First of all, where are we going?”

“We’re going to a place called the Rock Mountains of Talahaim. I hear it’s the most treacherous place in the Empire, so no one goes there. No one even lives there.”

“Why go to such a desolate place with no kin?”

“To seclude myself and not meet anyone.”

“Without a female, either?”

“Yeah. Without a female, either.”

“Are you a crazy b*stard?! You’re not going to find a human virgin and bang her?!”

“I’m not. Doing that. I’m satisfied with the three women I saw along the way.”

“I don’t know why you’re committing the ultimate unhygienic act of banging non-virgins, but… well… I guess I can understand that much, since we’re different species. Moving on to my second question. Is time frozen around us right now? I hadn’t noticed because I’d been taking it for granted that things were standing still.”

“Yeah. It is. Frozen.”

“You froze time?”

“Yep. Froze it.”

At my words, Corn let out a dumbfounded, hollow laugh.

[Hey!! What are you? How the hell did you pull off a global time stop, you crazy b*stard?!]

“It’s… complicated. It just sort of happened one day. That’s the best I can explain it.”

[This… This is an impossible ability…]

Maybe the first time I’d ever revealed my ability to anyone.

I was low-key worried about the reaction…

[This means you can endlessly bang mares that can’t resist!! What a goddamn power!!]

The conclusion was that this Cone guy was just a unicorn obsessed with mating.

[This is incredible!! I can think of dozens of ways to play with this right now!! I’m so jealous! How many females have you screwed with this ability… hundreds, probably?]

“…Just those three you saw?”

[The three non-virgins in your bed?]

“Yeah.”

[Are you insane? This is a mating power!! You can screw any female you want, then get away scot-free, and you’ve only used it on three non-virgins? What kind of messed up brain and stomach do you have?! I could never!! There are so many ways to use this thing!!]

After yelling that, Cone began to ramble on and on about all the ways he could utilize my time-stop ability.

Seriously though.

His delivery was hilarious.

[Those four mares in the stable, frozen and unable to move, right? Well, you just unfreeze their back ends, just the areas with their lady bits! Then *bam bam bam bam!!* Four quick rounds!!]

No joke, this guy.

If I took him to Korea and made him a BJ streamer, he would be killing it with personal broadcast.

Somewhere between utter trashiness and amazing humor, listening to him prattle on about his plans for my time-stop ability…

For a moment, the worries about Asmodeus and the Celestial Realm seemed to fade.

This guy.

He’s got a silver tongue.

Inside the frozen world.

Enhancing my body’s strength, I took leaps over ten meters at a time, practically doing some kind of light martial arts. Because of Cone, I wasn’t bored for a second.

[Looking at you. Your mental strength alone isn’t enough to use the ability, so you’re borrowing my psychic power, right?]

“Yeah. You got it.”

[This is making my head spin? Listen. Don’t just invest my psychic power in the duration of your ability, but also in precision and delicate control! Then you can use it in way more different ways.]

“Like what?”

[You could wrap a frozen space around you like a suit of armor, right? Or you could create a time-stopped blade and swing it around—it would never break or get dull. Or, you could freeze a particular area in time and then move it at incredible speed. You could use it like a ranged weapon.]

“Those are all for fighting.”

[I can make you a good fighter!! I may look like I’m only obsessed with mating, but I’m skilled in combat, got it? I’ve lived in the wild, fought and defeated all kinds of monsters and human subjugation parties, a veteran of countless battles!! I’m confident in my fighting abilities!]

“That’s nice, but where am I going to find a fight? I just want to live quietly, away from people. Sorry, but I doubt I’ll ever need to fight using time-stop.”

Psychic amplification made using my mental power much more efficient, so I could maintain time-stop for a very long time, but having used it nearly all day, I was starting to feel it.

And it was late.

I should get some sleep.

Far removed from the capital city of Mars, on a quiet, deserted country road.

Thanks to the time-stop I had placed on the entire world, time hadn’t flowed much further than when I left Iomene, Almene, and Erpa in the bedroom.

I saw a tree growing picturesquely on the plain and approached it, lying down under its shade, using a rock as a pillow.

I’d altered my appearance with body modification, so no one should recognize me.

I’ll sleep just until my mental power recovers and then head straight for the rocky mountains of Talahaim.

[You got problems, or what? Why you so desperate to be alone? Aren’t humans supposed to be pack animals?]

“I’m the kind of person who makes everyone in the pack miserable. That’s why. I’m tired, Kon. See you tomorrow. You should get some sleep too.”

[What sleep is a soul supposed to get… Alright then. Sleep. I’ll keep watch. If there’s any baddies, I’ll let you know.]

I chuckled at that.

Yeah.

I plan on being alone from now on.

It’s good to have someone to talk to, at least I won’t be so lonely.

I closed my eyes.

Thinking would only lead to negative thoughts, worries, and anxieties, so I tried my best to think of nothing.

Perhaps that’s why.

Lulled by the fresh scent of grass and the sounds of crickets, I fell asleep.

And then, a short while later.

I woke up.

No.

It wasn’t waking.

A chilling sensation that felt like it was slicing my skin.

And a world consumed by fire.

All familiar things.

A Revelation.

The Third Revelation was beginning to unfold before my eyes.