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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Ugh!”
“Come on! Over here!”
The Goddess of Death dragged me to a room. I’d initially woken up in a cave-like prison, but I realized this was a castle.
It was dark, with no light sources. I had to move carefully until my eyes adjusted.
“Hee hee hee! Now… where shall we begin?”
The room was filled with torture devices. Not playful toys, but…
Real torture devices.
Whips, spiked blades, branding irons, a tub of water for waterboarding…
There were even things I didn’t recognize.
“You’ll be spending the rest of your life here, relieving my stress. Ah, how exhilarating!”
“You’re insane.”
I wondered how I’d escape when she suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace, her ample bosom pressing against my face.
She dragged me to her bed.
A bed right next to the torture devices.
‘Wait… don’t tell me…?’
Torture wasn’t just physical. There was mental and sexual torture, too…
I struggled, but I couldn’t break free.
“Mmm!”
I couldn’t even speak. A sweet, cloying scent filled my senses.
“Stay still!”
She held me with one hand and reached for something with the other. I couldn’t see what she was doing.
Then, a familiar, unpleasant voice.
– What is it? You contacted me first.
The voice that had been my only companion during my long, frozen vigil.
‘Goddess of Time?’
Her voice sounded weaker than before, but it was her.
The Goddess of Death grinned.
“Feeling down? Life’s been worried about you lately. He says you’ve been rather listless.”
– Just tell me what you want. We’re not exactly friends.
She sounded unusually cold and distant.
“I thought I’d offer a little pick-me-up to a fellow powerless comrade, but you’re being rather cold.”
– I’m hanging up. Don’t contact me again.
“Are you sure you won’t regret this?”
– What?
The Goddess of Death released me and laid me down beside her on the bed. I could see the Goddess of Time’s face, floating in the air.
“Ta-da!”
“Gah! I almost suffocated!”
“You’re already dead.”
Right.
But that wasn’t the point.
– …Uh… uh…?
The Goddess of Time stared at me, her face contorted in confusion.
I avoided her gaze, and the Goddess of Death pulled me back into her embrace.
“Look who it is! Long time no see! I thought you’d want to see him.”
– You! You bitch! What did you do?! Daniel! Daniel McLean! I need to talk to…!
The Goddess of Death squeezed me tighter, a triumphant grin on her face.
“We’ll be having some fun, so you behave. I’ll call you again sometime.”
– Wait! Daniel, I…!
The Goddess of Time’s voice cut off.
The Goddess of Death kicked me off the bed.
“Did you see her face? Ah, so satisfying! This is the best day of my life! Thank you!”
“Cough! Cough!”
“So, today, I’ll just take your arms and legs.”
Her sweet tone was gone, replaced by a chillingly casual threat.
“Come here.”
She approached, holding a wickedly sharp saw. The embrace had been a ploy, a way to taunt the Goddess of Time. She felt nothing for me.
She intended to dismember me.
I’d briefly entertained the thought that she might have feelings for me when she’d hugged me, but…
Of course not.
Why would she?
‘I need to get that chain.’
I had to get the chain from her hand if I wanted to escape.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
I walked towards her, fists clenched.
She looked down at me, surprised.
She grinned and reached for my wrist, but…
I swatted her hand away.
“What’s this? Giving up already?”
She reached for me again, thinking I was just playing hard to get, but I swatted her hand away again.
“…You…”
She gritted her teeth, finally understanding. I wasn’t giving up. This was a challenge.
I stayed close, reading her movements. It was risky, but I was confident.
I was once the strongest on the continent, after all.
Flick. Flick. Flick.
I deflected her hands repeatedly, and she, now enraged, grabbed the saw from the bed.
“You asked for this. I was going to be merciful, but now you can live with the consequences!”
CLANG!
The saw missed, embedding itself in the floor. I dodged easily, and she gritted her teeth.
“Fine, let’s see how long you can dodge!”
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
She wasn’t a trained fighter, just a goddess who wielded darkness. Dodging her wild swings was easy.
‘She still can’t use her darkness.’
I’d been wondering about the collar and chain. She could have used her darkness to restrain me.
And the Goddess of Time’s words…
‘Fellow powerless comrade…’
“You used up too much power on the calamity, and now you can’t control your darkness, can you?”
“You…!”
She swung the saw even more frantically, making her easier to predict.
THWACK!
I kicked the saw, sending it flying.
She tried to pull the chain, but I was too close. It just rattled harmlessly.
She tried to reel it in, but I kicked her hand.
I was stronger than her in a direct physical confrontation.
“You… you…!”
She sputtered, speechless with rage. She turned and walked towards the torture devices.
I followed and kicked the display case.
CRASH!
Her hand, reaching for a tool, froze in mid-air. She glared at me and swung her fist, but I ducked easily.
Being smaller made dodging easier.
“You should know when to quit.”
“You’re out of shape.”
“Why would a goddess exercise?!”
She flailed, but she couldn’t touch me.
“Haa… haa…”
She collapsed onto the bed, exhausted.
“I’m… tired…”
“That’s what happens when you spend all day cooped up inside. You even used your powers for simple tasks, didn’t you?”
“…”
“Just like Rin.”
I remembered Rin, confined to her room in the palace, using her powers to eat and clean.
The Goddess of Death, having lived like that her entire life, was physically weak.
Her ample chest heaved, her thin legs looked fragile, and her arms were flabby.
“You… just you wait! When I regain my power…”
“That’ll take a long time.”
“J-just a thousand years!”
“A thousand years?”
Gods had a different concept of time. I sat beside her on the bed, crossing my legs.
“Well, I don’t have to worry for a thousand years, then. You should have conserved your power.”
Why had she wasted her power resurrecting the Time Priestess and awakening Rin?
“If I hadn’t, you would have gotten the dagger from Kurika, and I would have lost my chance to recreate the continent! I thought I could win with Kurika on my side!”
But I had won, thanks to the Goddess of Time. It wasn’t that long ago, but it felt like ancient history.
“It was the order, the order! I insisted on destroying the continent first, thinking it would be easy.”
“You didn’t anticipate the Goddess of Time reversing time?”
“Of course I did! But I thought the outcome would be the same! How could I have predicted a monster like you would regress?!”
“…”
She had a point. The Goddess of Time had searched for a suitable candidate for regression, and I was a lucky find.
“I hate you. You’re annoying. Just disappear.”
She covered her face with her hands, dropping the chain.
I shrugged.
“I’d love to, but is there a way back?”
She sat up abruptly.
“Of course not! You’re dead!”
I wasn’t surprised.
I stood and looked around. I’d expected other dead people, ghosts, or demons, but the castle was empty.
“If this is the underworld, there should be other dead people. Where are they?”
“This isn’t a social gathering.”
She just lay there, barely moving.
“Dead humans lose consciousness, then their memories, and are reincarnated. You would have been reincarnated after I destroyed and recreated the continent.”
“Hmm.”
“And you?”
“You’re special. Tainted by Time. You can’t just… fade away.”
It seemed obvious to her, like using a fork and knife to eat.
There wasn’t much to do with her just lying there. She seemed to have forgotten about dismembering me.
Or maybe it wasn’t that important to her.
“Haa… haa…”
“You’re that tired from moving a little?”
“It’s my first time! I’ve never moved this much in my life!”
She was starting to seem pathetic.
I couldn’t wander around. The darkness in the hallways was too thick. I might get lost.
So I stayed in her room, where there was at least a fire, albeit for heating a branding iron.
‘But I’m bored.’
The chain rattled annoyingly as I walked, but I felt fine otherwise. I wasn’t hungry, just bored.
I picked up a black rod, probably a torture device, though I didn’t know its purpose.
Was it for flaying skin? Or breaking bones?
I held it in both hands and started lifting it, like a weight.
“Haa… haa…”
She must have heard my breathing. She turned on the bed, without sitting up.
“What are you doing?”
“Exercising. Don’t talk to me.”
“What’s the point of exercising when you’re dead?”
She sighed, slumping back down.
“Just wait. I’ll cut your legs off when I regain my strength.”
“How long will that take?”
“Three… years?”
Seriously? She’d be bedridden for three years after ten minutes of exertion?
I finished my set and approached her.
I had an idea.
“Hey, get up.”
“‘Hey’? To a goddess?”
She reminded me of Eve and Tana complaining about morning training.
“Time for your workout, member.”
I grabbed her wrists and pulled her off the bed.
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May, Eris, and Eve left the academy. They’d formed a temporary alliance.
“The first step is finding Rin,” May said, adjusting her bag.
“Yes, finding Rin is the beginning,” Eve agreed.
Rin was their key to reaching the Goddess of Death.
“This must be… unpleasant for you. I’m sorry.”
The memories of the Goddess of Death were painful for Rin.
She was on the run because of her.
Eve and May regretted not being able to help her.
“But how do we find her?”
Eris brushed her hair back.
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