Guest of the Snow
The night scene, which is beginning to be sparsely lit, became visible from the window of the office.
There is only one person in the office lined with a large number of desks and computers.
Perhaps it should be called “what used to be a person”. Chojiro Satou, who was working overtime alone in his office late at night, had just died.
His body, lying on the desk with his back arched, was of medium height, giving off an air of exhaustion. His shaggy head, which had been trimmed with scissors because he had no time to go to a barber, was lit up like a spotlight. On his computer display was a presentation he was in the process of creating.
Behind it stood Chojiro.
The situation was hard to grasp. He was standing, but he was also sitting here.
“… Is this what astral projection is all about? Wait, am I dead?”
“Yes, you are.”
A voice echoed from nearby.
Suddenly, he noticed that there was a man standing beside him.
He was a tall, muscular old man, perhaps two meters tall. He was dressed in an ancient Roman toga-like garb and sported a beard that looked like rough rope. He resembled someone like ‘God’.
It was too conventional in form and did not seem particularly majestic in the office where they were standing in the middle of the night. This kind of thing is godlike only when standing at the far end of a white temple, hunched over a throne, Chojiro thought.
“You’re trespassing… What’s the security company doing?”
“You are not surprised, are you? You’re a sight to behold.”
The sharp eyes of the presumed god looked straight at Chojiro and he smiled just a little.
“Who are you? Are you…, God?”
“Yes, I am. But I am not a god of the earth. I am the one who rules over another world that is not far from the earth.”
With these words, the presumed god was elevated to the rank of self-proclaimed god.
“Your life has already ended. But if you so desire, I can reincarnate you into my world and give you a second life.”
“I see. What’s in it for me and what’s in it for you?”
Chojiro’s opinion was that no matter how much of a god he was, he would never do a good deed for free.
And if, as the self-proclaimed god said, he is from another world, he has neither obligation to nor connection with the people of earth.
The self-proclaimed god nodded as if he had anticipated Chojiro’s words before responding.
“I seek power. I seek the souls of heroes who will fight against the armies of darkness. The souls I call from the Earth can carry Divine Protections stronger than anyone there can carry, so they will become a great power. I promise you the honor of a warrior who has received the blessings of the gods.”
“Do I get a cheat or something like that?”
“First of all, I would like to bestow upon you the Divine Protection of “Heavenly Luck” for a happy life. Until the time comes when you must fight, enjoy a peaceful life. Then, if necessary, I will give you further Divine Protections. A life as a hero beyond human understanding, blessed by God, awaits you. You will be the hope of the people, and you will have wealth and honor.”
“I see.”
Not a bad deal, it seemed.
Not to boast, but Chojiro has been unlucky in life. If God himself were to give him good luck, he would not die in such a boring way like working overtime in the office late at night and dying of exhaustion.
And in some cases, he might even get additional cheat Divine Protections and live as a hero. Fighting is scary, but if God himself is giving the blessings, he will be able to handle it. Plus, he could run away from an unwinnable battle.
What will happen if he refused this offer? Will he go to the heaven of a religion he doesn’t believe in, or will he be reborn on the dark Earth again, or will he revert back to nothingness…?
Either way, he had no desire to stay on Earth.
“I’ll take your word for it.”
As soon as he replied, Chojiro’s vision was enveloped in light.
＊ ＊ ＊
“What luck is this …!”
Perhaps it was because of the sudden revival of memories, but it seemed as if both the torture René had suffered and the overworked death of Chojiro had only happened yesterday.
Chojiro swore in a little girl’s voice at the god who had invited him to reincarnate…, or perhaps it was René.
After she said it, she realized that it was strange that she could speak.
Because René’s torso and neck were now severed, and she should have died by now.
Suddenly she realized that time had stopped around her.
Whether or not time really stands still, she cannot be sure, but she can only describe it as such. Not a sound could be heard, people were stiff in their postures, snow was on its way down, and even jumping children were standing still in mid-air.
–W-what’s this…?
As she was wondering what had happened, a voice suddenly called out to her.
“Good day to you, Reincarnator.”
Without warning, something was next to René.
It was the voice of a glamorous woman. She was sitting on the edge of the executioner’s platform and turned around to look at René’s rolled head.
Her jet-black hair was tied up in a bun, she had black-rimmed glasses, a black striped suit, a tight skirt, black tights, and even her high heels were all black.
In contrast to her clothing, her skin was white without a hint of life, and her eyes were the color of dark matter, absorbing all light rather than black.
Her appearance was completely different, but this entrance was familiar.
“Are you an acquaintance of God or something?”
“I am a god, but I am an evil god. Pleased to meet you.”
“……Eh?”
René was taken aback by this simple statement.
Even children are taught in church and know the gist of the legend.
A long time ago, there existed a single being in an empty universe, “The Mediator”.
He (and she at the same time) divided itself and created all contradictory existences, such as heaven and earth, heat and cold, life and death, and so on.
And the last two beings created by “The Mediator” were the Great God and the Evil God.
The Great God (whose name should not be called unnecessarily) created humans, elves, dwarves, and other human races, followed by birds, beasts, fish, plants, and everything else that lived in this world.
But the Evil God did not see this as a good thing. To threaten the world, they distorted the creatures created by the Great God to create demons, turned those who could die into pawns as undead, and brought plagues and natural disasters with them to battle.
In this world, even now, the Great God and the Evil God continue to fight…
And the career woman in front of her was the enemy of the human race, the enemy of all living things. She is the Evil God.
“The Evil God…? So it’s your fault I’m in this mess!?”
“Ah! I appreciate it as the Evil God that everything bad is blamed on me, but at times like this it’s troublesome!”
Rene, her stomach churning with anger, could only think of the self-proclaimed Evil God who appeared on the spot as the presumed mastermind behind all this.
However, receiving a murderous stare, the Evil God looked up exaggeratedly to the sky and lamented.
“But to be honest, I can’t intervene that intrusively. I can only give Divine Protections and oracles or cause natural disasters. Neither I nor that rotten bastard can. I can give instructions to the Demon King’s army with an oracle and have them manipulated, but I can’t give such detailed instructions, and the current Demon King’s army doesn’t have the capacity to do anything like this. So this is something I have no control over. Please remain calm and listen to what I have to say.”
The self-proclaimed “Evil God” explained herself a little too quickly.
At least her tone of voice was earnest, unlike the one before, which would be unbecoming of the frightening “Evil God”, and one could sense her desire to speak calmly without offending René.
“Umm… Miss Evil God? …What can I do for you?”
For the time being, she trusted that the woman in front of her was the Evil God.
The appearance of her outfit is not very evil, but the situation can only be attributed to the power of an inhuman being. In any case, René’s head was separated from her torso, but she was still able to speak normally.
“I am here today to recruit you.”
The Evil God said with a business smile that seemed to be hard to pull off.
＊ ＊ ＊
For the time being, René had to explain the circumstances of her reincarnation (in a certain surreal state, with only her head lying on the executioner’s platform), but after hearing René’s story, the Evil God shrugged her shoulders as if to say, ‘I can’t help you at all.’
“Oh, ‘Heavenly Luck’… At best, it’s a charm-level cheat that manipulates chance, such as a chance of being run over by a horse-drawn carriage, or a chance of winning the lottery. It doesn’t work very well in a situation where a lot of people are trying to kill you with everything they have.”
“W-what in the world is this!?”
“But it does improve survival rates somewhat. It is effective to distribute them to all pawns for the time being in order to preserve them at relatively low cost.”
The words of the Evil God, who seemed to be talking to herself, were mixed with some odd language.
“…Cost?”
“I think I’d better start there. I, the Evil God, myself, will show you the abyss of myth.”
Before I knew it, the Evil God had a pointing stick in her hand, the kind of stick that looks like it wants to in a classroom.
Her black suit made her look like a career woman, but with just one prop, she looked like a teacher.
“You know that I have been fighting against the Great God in this world, don’t you?
But this world, created by the primordial “Mediator” is designed to maintain a balance between opposing forces. If the demons win too much, the power of the human race will increase… Such a see-saw game, like a swinging balance, will continue until some catalyst brings it to a conclusion. To be more specific, the more the human race is backed into a corner, the more powerful the Divine Protection cheats can be brought down. If that guy was insinuating, ‘I’ll give you cheats depending on the situation’ that’s what he meant. I think he was going to use it when the situation arose to secure the reincarnated people and bring down the Divine Protections. Right now, the human race is doing very well, so the Great God cannot offer the Divine Protections very well.”
“Going well…? With this? With things like this?!”
René cried out involuntarily as she heard the Evil God’s words.
Anger, fear, and disgust suddenly came back to her, and she burst into tears that surprised even herself, and even felt like throwing up, even though her body and head should have already been separated.
An execution show like that, with such a blasphemous mimicry towards people. She could not believe that such a world was doing well at all.
Seeing René like this, the Evil God’s dark-matter-colored eyes narrowed smugly.
“There’s enough room for the human races to kill each other.”
“No way…”
René was mortified. If that is the case, then the Great God is not only “unable to touch” this devastation, but also “unwilling to touch it” in any case?
At this very moment, the Great God is probably pleased with himself like a pet owner observing a catfight, saying, “Oh, how well the humans are doing.”
If he could give an oracle, he would intervene in a fight. If he can cause natural disasters, he can show his anger at atrocities. If God had that kind of spirit, René would not have had to suffer so much pain.
――Are you saying that people should make mistakes and learn for themselves at the end, after piling up corpses…? No kidding. In a world where there is an absolute being like God, there should be much less sacrifices if he leads humanity properly.
Half out of anger, René cursed God.
In the first place, God himself had invited Chojiro to reincarnate, but he had only given him a random cheat and no follow-up. René, who was half deceived, should have the right to resent him.
The Evil God stood up once and sat back down with her legs together in front of René, who only had her head on the execution platform.
The snow, which lingered on the executioner’s platform as well, did not register a single footprint, as if the Evil God were a hallucination.
“… Now, I said recruiting earlier, but I think you must have guessed my business by now. The predominance of the human race means that I can give you a strong Divine Protection. I would like you to be my pawn and ruin this world. We just had two of the Demon King’s army leaders taken out, so … I’ve got a good Divine Protection Cheat in my portfolio.”
The way she said it, she sounded like a salesman offering a shady product.
“Don’t you hate the God who deceived you and made you reincarnate?”
How could she not hate him?
Although Chojiro may have been at fault for not listening to the details of the explanation, God’s explanation at that time was terribly dishonest.
“Don’t you hate them? The people who sent you to your death for their own selfish reasons?”
How could she not hate them!
The people who have been running things in a world far away from René have taken away a life that should have been a small but happy one, taken away her mother, and even taken her life after causing her a lot of pain and suffering.
And shame on those who seem to revel in such atrocities as a show!
“If you wish to take revenge, I will grant you a special Divine Protection.”
The Evil God said that with a smile, as if celebrating René’s anger and resentment.
It was a smile like that of a benevolent mother. Although what she was saying was exactly what the Evil God herself would say.
“I know it’s what I wish for…, but why…, why me?”
René asked cautiously.
God had just deceived her. If even the Evil God deceived her now, she wouldn’t be able to look at herself again.
“Yes, I could go to Earth and scout for souls, but it would be too much trouble. Isn’t it the most thrilling thing to get back at him by taking his pawns…?”
“Haa, is that so…”
The Evil God sighed ecstatically.
In short, she seemed to be that kind of person, or God.
“And you’re just a reincarnated person who has a motive to fight the human race… Also, the fact that you’re a girl is a high point. I’m getting tired of having all these big, strong monsters in my camp, so I wanted to add a little flair.”
She thought if it’s okay that she’s an old man inside, but René didn’t say it.
It would be a problem if the Evil God changed her mind here.
“So, what kind of cheat exactly are you offering me?”
“Hmmm… it will bring you back to life as the most powerful undead, but it will be difficult to explain all of its powers. Once you have it in you, you will understand… How about a 30-day cancellation policy? If you don’t like it, you can give me back my Divine Protection until 24:00 midnight in 30 days. You can quit being undead and rest in peace. It will cost me a lot to get the Divine Protection back, so it’s a big favor I’m doing.”
“As long as it doesn’t have a brainwashing function on it, that’s all that matters.”
“I don’t have anything like that attached to me… The rest is up to you. How about it?”
“Of course, I’ll do it.”
René was still somewhat skeptical, but she was not concerned, so she took a leap of faith.
There is no greater pain than dying with a burning resentment in your heart.
“I’ll do anything to get rid of this resentment…!”
“Very well, then we have a deal.”
There were no papers, no signatures, no stamps.
A reddish-black, dark-colored light, which was apparently only evil, gushed from the fingers of the Evil God and was absorbed into René’s head and body.
“Gh-ghaah!!”
Her heart pulsed hotly.
It was strange to say that her heart was pulsating. Her head and body had long since been separated, and she was supposed to be dead.
But René felt it like a heartbeat. It was as if her heart was pumping hot blood like magma.
“I’m sure you’ll naturally learn how to use your powers, and you’ll get used to it after a few dozen or so random bloodsheds.”
The Evil God was speaking in a manner befitting an Evil God, but René had no intention of condemning her for it.
She felt that she could handle it easily now, and she already felt no remorse for killing someone.
It is revenge. It is her merciless and thorough revenge.
“One more word of advice: although it is theoretically possible for you to become stronger than the Demon King in the end, please be careful not to immediately start fighting stronger enemies. I wish you the best of luck.”
As if saying all she had to say had already been said, the Evil God disappeared without a trace. Immediately, time began to move. Sounds returned to René’s ears. The cheers of people rejoicing over her death.
Yes…, she should have been dead long ago, but she could see things and hear sounds clearly.
René had heard it once. Why silver-haired and silver-eyed are considered abominations in Ciel-Terra.
A hundred years ago, shortly after the founding of Ciel-Terra, a court astrologer had predicted it.
‘With cursed silver hair and silver eyes, the Destroyer will decimate the nation’…
René’s body, which should have been lifeless, twitched.
The shackles that had held René to the executioner’s platform snapped.
TLN: Here René art <3
