Chapter 262
The Game Difficulty Is Insane
Glenn had followed the gloomy-looking goddess all the way to the outskirts of Istierenne.
The violet-eyed goddess introduced herself as Ludiker, the God of Poetry and Theater.
She was a god Glenn had never seen in the original story.
Even so, the reason Glenn willingly followed her was because she had said she would guide him to Minis.
Step, step—
Glenn followed Ludiker as she walked ahead, occasionally glancing back at him nervously.
They eventually arrived at a poor neighborhood far from the cathedral.
It was also where the Lantern-Under-the-Lamp Mansion, Glenn's temporary residence, was located.
“This way… this way…”
Glenn did not ask why Minis, who had appeared at the cathedral and taken control of the Holy Empire in the original story, was now hiding in such a remote place.
He had no expectation that the goddess, who was terrified of him because he was a God Slayer, would calmly explain the situation.
She doesn't seem very good with words in the first place.
Besides, I can roughly guess what's going on…
The situation he was imagining was so negative that Glenn could only hope his guess was wrong.
But why did only his ominous premonitions always seem to come true?
“Minis… I brought him.”
“Ah…”
The moment Glenn entered the shabby house deep inside the slums after following the lower god Ludiker, he couldn't help but sigh.
“He appeared at the cathedral, just as you said.”
“Ah… yes. Good job, Ludiker.”
A bright light flickered in one corner of the shabby living room.
At its center stood a mysterious and slender goddess looking at Glenn.
She was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, breathing heavily.
Glenn knew that face all too well.
A higher god who was the God of Light and the Sun, and who had the support of every human on the continent.
“Minis.”
Glenn called her name, wondering if it was really her.
The beautiful blue eyes with golden rings soon met his gaze.
“Hello.”
“You recognize me, don't you?”
She was one of the gods closest to the pinnacle of divinity alongside Nox.
Yet now she was in the lowest place in the Holy Empire.
“I understand that you don't have faith, but I would appreciate it if you didn't leave out honorifics.”
“I am a goddess who came all this way to help you, after all.”
“……”
It was the same soft yet imposing voice Glenn had heard in Gray Eden.
The game must have used a voice actor to record her lines.
Yet somehow, her voice sounded exactly the same.
However, Glenn couldn't even feel the slightest bit of intimidation from Minis now.
Her body was far from intact.
In contrast to the relaxed smile welcoming Glenn, light was constantly bursting from the hole in her abdomen.
It was the phenomenon of the power that formed a god's absolute body scattering away in real time.
In other words, Minis was disappearing.
Not immediately, but very slowly, so that she could clearly feel herself disappearing.
“Aren't you going to talk to me?”
“…I will.”
Glenn sat down in front of Minis.
“Just like you seem to have a lot to say, I also have a lot to discuss with you.”
“Though, we don't have much time.”
He had not intentionally used honorifics.
It had simply come out naturally.
“…Hehe.”
“Then let's get to the point.”
Minis smiled faintly.
In Gray Eden, she had always worn a benevolent smile.
When the story reached its climax, she would remove her mask and reveal a cynical expression as she looked down on the lowly beings beneath her.
Depending on when they encountered her, whether as a human character or a demon character, they could see many different sides of her.
But this resigned and empty smile was quite unfamiliar.
What was she feeling as she watched her own body slowly disappear?
Glenn was slightly curious about the true feelings she had never shown in Gray Eden.
But he did not pry any further.
He simply comforted her miserable disappearance with polite words that contained no real warmth.
She had been the first mastermind in Gray Eden.
And regardless of her intentions, it was still true that she had supported Glenn until now.
“How did this happen?”
When Glenn asked, Minis let out a hollow laugh and quietly looked up at the ceiling.
“How did this happen?”
“Hmm… I'm not sure where things went wrong.”
“That's not what I meant.”
“I know.”
“I just said it because everything feels so empty…”
“You met Silperinne, right?”
“How much did she tell you?”
“I heard what happened when Symposion fell to the surface.”
“She doesn't know anything about what happened afterward.”
Minis did not ask how much Glenn knew about the truth in the first place.
Her body would soon disappear.
She had no time to worry about such trivial things.
“It's just as you guessed.”
“After falling to the surface, I was attacked by Nox and Uelos together.”
“And this is what happened.”
“…Judging by numbers alone, your faction should have been much larger, shouldn't it?”
“That's right…”
“But Uelos was something far beyond what I expected.”
Her clear blue eyes seemed to search through her memories.
“As you said, my forces were definitely stronger than Nox's.”
“I had been recruiting Nox's friends for quite a long time, after all…”
“But Uelos's power was on an entirely higher level than mine and Nox's.”
“An entirely higher level?”
“Yes.”
“Just like the power you possess.”
Minis raised her index finger and pointed toward Glenn's heart.
“You already know that your power is something that doesn't exist… something that shouldn't exist.”
“The same was true of Uelos's power as seen through my God's Eye.”
“He erased the power I released as if that had always been his destiny.”
A power that could erase an opponent's power.
It clearly had something in common with Holy-Demonic Power.
“Anyway, that's how I lost.”
“I escaped and tried to make another plan.”
Minis lowered her gaze toward her abdomen, which was steadily losing its power.
“But I never got the chance.”
“I never imagined I would end up disappearing.”
“Hehe…”
Her words sounded like a death sentence.
Glenn had come here intending to make Minis his ally, at least temporarily, to keep Nox and Uelos in check.
But Minis had already been defeated by their alliance and was now destined to disappear.
If that was the case, Glenn would have to face the gods led by Nox and Uelos with only his own party.
Can I save her with an elixir?
No. It won't work unless it's Mythic-grade.
Could I use Holy-Demonic Power and the Sword of Boundary to cut away her injuries?
It's too late for that.
Saving Minis was impossible.
The situation was far more hopeless than Glenn had expected.
It was enough to leave him genuinely flustered.
“What about your faction?”
“Half of them joined Nox.”
“I don't know about the rest.”
“They'll probably stay with their followers somewhere on the surface and see how things develop before deciding what to do.”
“Then there's a high chance they'll join Nox soon as well.”
“Probably.”
“Without me, there won't be anyone capable of stopping Nox.”
There were only three or four gods here, including Ludiker.
“Disappointed?”
“I didn't expect you to lose.”
“Neither did I…”
