She Remembers Me (4)

TL/ED: Lolz

"Why are you..."

I was at a loss for words. What kind of situation was this?

The goddess was bound in a pitiful state, so unimaginable that she was still alive.

'I'm sorry, but can you come closer...? Even conveying my voice to you is a struggle...'

In the center of the temple was a massive throne.

It used to be a majestic and authoritative place, now covered in bloodstains and wounds.

Edge of the throne.

At the edge of the throne, the goddess hung, her limbs bound.

Slowly, I ascended towards the center of the temple where the goddess was.

Carefully avoiding the corpses on the floor, I approached her.

As I got closer, the goddess barely opened her left eye and raised her head.

Upon seeing me, she smiled ever so faintly.

"You've finally come..."

Her voice was so frail that it could barely be heard if one didn't listen carefully.

Approaching her, I leaned in to listen.

"What on earth is going on?"

To think that all here were dead, and the goddess was in such a miserable state.

Who could have done such a thing?

After catching her breath for a moment, the goddess coughed harshly.

At the same time, blood flowed from her mouth.

"It's okay... this much..."

"What are you talking about?"

Anyone could see that she looked like she was on the verge of death.

I tried to release the chains binding her, but my hands were stopped.

No matter how many attempts, the result was the same.

It felt as if there was an insurmountable barrier, rendering me helpless.

"It's just a dream for you..."

She looked at me with a fragile smile that seemed like it could break any moment.

What happened to the goddess?

To who did the people around here die?

And why am I here?

"Why do you look like that? Why am I here? What happened here?"

"..."

"I have no idea."

"Are you very confused...?"

The goddess looked at me with a pitiful gaze.

n this situation, who is sympathizing with whom?

"Can you …believe me…?"

The voice was full of desperation, as if it was about to die at any moment.

And then an unexpected name came out of the goddess's mouth.

"Erina... can you trust me more than her...?"

"What?"

Erina, the character I created.

Why did her name suddenly come up?

"Everything was planned by her."

"Erina?"

"Calling you here, killed everyone, and made me like this... It's all her doing…!"

Alarm bells rang in my head.

It couldn't be true. She's just a character I created.

How could the endlessly kind and pure Erina commit such deeds?

But the goddess didn't seem to be lying.

Even the current situation couldn't be considered a lie.

"Explain to me from the beginning."

***

Heaven fell.

By the hands of one person, of all people.

"Why on earth would you do this...!"

All the angels around perished.

From fairies to valkyries. All those protecting the goddess fell.

The Goddess and Erina were the only ones left in heaven.

"Aren't you a hero! Why, someone who was always upright and admired by people...?!"

The goddess couldn't finish her words.

Before she could close her mouth, Erina's longsword flew towards her.

"Gah?!"

The longsword pierced her abdomen.

With her mouth tightly shut, Erina looked at the goddess.

Their gazes towards each other were contradictory.

The goddess screaming in anger and despair.

Erina stared down at her with a cold gaze.

The winner had already been decided.

The goddess couldn't overcome her.

Erina had already become a monster, slaughtering countless people and bringing about the destruction of the world.

The goddess tried multiple times to stop her, but it was futile.

Even the angels of heaven fought with their lives to protect the goddess.

Unfortunately, they couldn't achieve their last goal.

In the end, the goddess's final moments were approaching as well.

"Why..."

"..."

"Why are you doing this…?"

There was no particular reason.

It was just to create more chaos in the world.

Simply to follow her master.

To return to her master's side again.

For these reasons alone, Erina had committed murders until now.

The goddess's eyes flickered with rage.

As if making a last stand, she screamed out loud.

"Did you think... that he would want this...!"

"What...?"

For the first time, confusion flickered on Erina's face at the goddess's words.

She couldn't properly understand the meaning of what was said.

But she heard it clearly. The goddess mentioned her master.

“He who is already gone… Ugh...?!”

"What did you just say...?"

Erina drew her sword.

As the sword stuck in her abdomen was pulled out, the goddess's body collapsed.

"Why..."

With a trembling voice, Erina grabbed the goddess's neck.

She pressed her nails into the skin and applied pressure.

“How do you know him…?!”

She firmly believed that only she could perceive her Master's existence.

But for the first time, someone else mentioned her master.

Unpleasant emotions rose in Erina, almost unbelievably intense.

She was supposed to be the only one who could recognize her Master, hear His voice, and follow His commands.

"Speak."

Erina punched with her fist.

The goddess was unable to resist and was punched in the face.

The goddess, even while being beaten, continued to smile.

Laughter escaped from her like that of someone deranged.

She already sensed her impending death.

As she looked at herself dying and leaving the world alone, she laughed endlessly.

"Speak."

A chilling voice echoed in the goddess's ears.

Erina desperately swung her fist.

"Since when did you know...?!"

"From the beginning...!"

"What...?"

"Why would you know? Who do you think it was that connected you to him...?"

That couldn't have been possible.

She wanted to believe that the goddess had made it up.

But she wasn't lying.

"Why..."

“Isn’t it obvious? How could someone like you, nothing more than a mere person, hear his voice...!"

Erina tightened her grip on the goddess's neck.

Despite the gradually tightening pressure, the goddess only grimaced, never ceasing to speak.

"Think about what you've done so far...!"

"I only followed his orders!"

"Did he order you to destroy this world...?"

For a moment, Erina's hand loosened.

At the same time, the goddess used all her strength to push Erina away.

Just like that, Erina fell to the ground.

She had to get up. She tried to get up, but her body simply wouldn't respond.

Erina couldn't do anything.

The helplessness that had already spread throughout her body paralyzed her.

"He commanded you to save the world."

"I...!"

The kingdom she lived in had collapsed.

The villages she had saved under her master's command had all turned into ruins.

Even the Demon Realm and the Elven Forest had disappeared from the map.

Finally, just before the end, even Heaven was on the brink of destruction by her hand.

"Do not make excuses. All the sins are yours."

Erina couldn't say anything in response to the goddess's words.

She just stared blankly into the air, unable to close her mouth.

As if time had frozen, her eyes gradually became hollow.

“I just want him...”

"..."

"I just wanted to meet him ..."

It wasn't until it reached this point that she realized.

From the beginning, she never had the right to meet her master.

In the end, everything fell apart because of what she had done.

She lost her master forever.

Looking at Erina in despair, the goddess clenched her teeth.

She looked so grotesque that it was hard to look at it with your eyes open.

Despite being the one who had committed everything, her behavior, acting like a victim, was utterly repulsive.

"Give up now. He will never come back."

"No. I...!"

"Are you okay? What if he comes back and sees this?"

What exactly was she thinking?

"Maybe it's better to end your own life. Dying to atone is not a bad choice."

Suddenly the roles were reversed.

The goddess started tearing into her mercilessly.

In the silent atmosphere, Erina stared blankly into the air.

Her eyes were unfocused, like someone in a trance.

Then suddenly, she started breathing heavily.

A whirlwind of emotions surged in her head.

'I just wanted to meet my Master. I want to hear his voice again. I want to go back to the way it was.'

Watching her like that, the goddess felt more anxious than ever.

She thought death awaited her anyway

But why was she feeling a greater fear than death itself?

"You."

"What?"

"How could you have been connected to him...?"

The goddess hesitated to answer Erina's question.

But anyway, she was a dead person.

She thought that making her feel even more despair, knowing she would have to live alone, was the ultimate revenge.

"I am the Guardian of the System. The one who maintains the balance of this world."

Behind the throne.

A mysterious gem emitting a giant green light.

This world moved with the power of the System.

It was a truth known only to the Goddess among the all inhabitants of Heaven.

"The System...?"

"The source of the world's balance, but also the power to open Heaven and Earth."

The giant gem radiated with a mysterious light.

The truth of the world was there.

"And only I can manage the System."

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