NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 147
The girl called Gaia was looking at Oko, making a cute face and smiling.
As if Oko’s words were funny.
“Oh my, what could that sound be?”
“You’re the one who created those half-baked outsiders, right? It’s hard for me to interfere directly.”
Yoko gestured, and all the knights that Gaia had blown up were finally restored.
Was it a return to the moment right after both the divine race and the knights joined in my words?
They exchanged sorry looks and bowed their heads, seemingly trying to break up the surrounding fight before dispersing.
What on earth happened?
Surely the divine race was pierced by the Spear of Longinus, and the knights had all been blown up by Gaia.
“I don’t really know. By the way, can you just swing that enormous power around carelessly?”
“At least for what you’ve done, yes.”
I didn’t know much about Oko’s abilities.
She never really tried to explain it to me in the first place.
“Anyway, I’m jealous of being able to see only what I want to see.”
With my current state, I couldn’t understand Oko’s powers at all.
If I had to express it, I would say that she rewound time because she wanted to see this situation now?
No, is it right to say Oko’s power is related to time at all?
I think I understand why Oko didn’t want to explain her abilities.
If she explained her overwhelmingly powerful abilities to me, she might have been wary that a distance would grow between us.
Whether my guess was right, Oko gave me a slightly sad look.
“Leydan….”
She wore a cat-like expression, forever gentle.
What would change just because I knew such an ability?
She was still just Oko to me.
“…Oko.”
“Yes….”
“With such a novel and cool power, you haven’t properly explained it to me until now?! Wow, that’s really disappointing.”
When I exclaimed playfully, Oko looked quite surprised.
That was exactly the reaction I wanted.
“Have I been left out again? Hah, Oko. You tell me not to hide anything from you!”
“Ah, no. It’s not like that….”
“Ah, I don’t know. I’m going to sulk at you, Oko.”
“Le, Leydan?!”
It was so amusing to see Oko flustered by my actions.
With such overwhelming power, she reacted like that to just one of my words.
In fact, I felt more comfortable with Oko.
It meant she liked me that much.
“Then after we clean up this mess, show me some of your abilities for fun. Then I’ll forgive you.”
“…Uh, okay.”
I smiled brightly at Oko, who reluctantly answered.
In truth, I hadn’t been angry from the beginning.
I acted this way because I thought it would prevent Oko from feeling distant.
After all, I viewed Oko as Oko.
“…I’m just a decoration, huh.”
Oh no.
I had been facing Gaia this whole time.
When I snapped back to reality, the knights holding the Spear of Longinus were all surrounding us, aiming their spears.
The Knight Commander was staring at me.
“Anyone who aids a rebel is also a rebel!”
Saying that, the Knight Commander showed no intention of harming Gaia at all.
Even with a real divine race before her.
From this, I realized immediately.
“…It’s you.”
“What?”
“It was your plan from the beginning. Seducing the emperor, making the empress jealous, and stirring things up like this.”
Gaia smiled as if it were amusing.
Her smile turned into a quiet laugh and then erupted into full-blown laughter.
Oko and I looked at her with disgust.
After a long time laughing, Gaia finally shut her mouth but still maintained her sneer.
“So, what will you do now that you know?”
“…”
“Humans have already stirred in anger. The divine race has also begun to rebel. You can’t stop it all by yourself, can you?”
“…Gaia, why on earth are you doing this?”
Oko asked Gaia, who had been mocking me with utmost seriousness.
I was curious too.
While the divine race and humans interacted, there was no harm for either side.
But Gaia took on a serious expression at Oko’s question.
“You, as a bystander, might not know, but I’ve been quietly observing humans and have realized something.”
“…What is it?”
“Among the beings I’ve created, humans are the most failed existence.”
…She referred to the beings she created, huh.
Before I could process that thought, Gaia continued to speak.
“Consumed by desire, believing they are the best, and without considering their surroundings, they just expand their territory… Even though they secure enough territory to live, they claim lands they don’t even use, destroying ecosystems. I couldn’t have felt more regret while creating the solar system and the earth.”
In that moment, as Gaia indirectly explained her power, I realized.
She must also be one of the top four divine beings that Oko had mentioned.
Listening to her words, it seemed her power was on par with Demeter.
Gaia smiled eerily.
“So from now on, I intend to turn things back. In name only, I won’t interfere directly.”
Turning back.
That must mean she intended to annihilate humanity right here.
I could feel the growing threatening aura from Gaia, knowing she would soon attack us.
I looked around.
There were about ten knights.
Their weapon was the Spear of Longinus, but to a human like me, it wouldn’t be any different from a regular weapon.
Moreover, I had become much stronger through Oko’s blessing.
As long as I was careful of the Knight Commander, it was a match I could handle.
“Oko, I’ll do what I can, so please take down that one.”
“What?! No way! You’ll be in danger….”
“If we can’t defeat that one, all of humanity will be in danger.”
It was not the time to plead emotionally.
It meant I had to clash with it as is.
Still, thinking of Oko’s concern for me made me feel bolstered.
Oko made a slightly grim expression before nodding as if to say she understood.
“Alright. Just don’t take any hits.”
“Yes, of course.”
Thus, Oko and I dove into our respective roles.
#
“Hah, hah.”
How much time had passed?
As I gasped for breath, I checked the now chaotic surroundings.
Not a single knight was stained with blood.
I had intentionally struck them with the flat of my blade.
It was Gaia’s brainwashing that was the problem; the knights under her control were not at fault.
Looking around, no knight had managed to get back to their feet.
Realizing I had clearly sorted things out, I turned around.
Oko was also pinning Gaia down to the floor by her neck.
Fortunately, it seemed we had successfully ended all troublesome matters.
Approaching Oko with a smile, I entered a certain distance to hear their conversation.
“…Is that something you can call a statement? Do you think the world works that optimistically?”
“There may be beings who aren’t like that. But you are extreme. Not every human is like that.”
“Do you truly believe that? I hope you’re not saying that based on the sight of that Leydan Tanton.”
At that moment, Gaia’s gaze suddenly shifted to me.
Her eyes sparkled for an instant.
I felt a bad omen, trying to lower my head, but the light hitting my eyes made my head throb.
“…What did you do?!”
“Living beings naturally tend to be faithful to their instincts. That Leydan Tanton was probably acting favorably toward you out of ugly desires, drawn in by your appearance.”
“What did you do to him! Just answer that!”
With a maniacal smile, the girl responded to the woman.
“Oh, nothing much. I just erased your memory of him and your current memories. I wanted to test something.”
She suddenly gripped the shoulder of the woman, whom she didn’t even know, and pulled her close, preventing her from escaping.
The woman began to squirm.
“Why would you do such a thing?!”
“Let’s have a bet, Oko Mira.”
The situation looked desperate, but I needed to return quickly.
Somehow, the woman looked at me with a desperate expression, but the shopkeeper and grandfather could be in danger.
“If the author saves you, I’ll tell you how to protect your precious ones from the disaster that will happen starting now.”
“Disaster…?”
“Did you think I’d act recklessly without preparing for this? It should start soon.”
Suddenly, snow began to fall from the sky.
It was a bizarre climate.
It was the middle of summer.
Clouds suddenly started to gather in the sky, and cold winds began to blow from all directions.
“The empress thought the emperor had discarded her, so she neglected her second-born child. A child raised coldly without parental affection can manifest powers to destroy the world.”
“…No way.”
“Hehe, you can’t ask leading questions. I’ll only tell you if you win the bet.”
Disaster?
What on earth does that mean?
The cold wind felt as if it would freeze my cheeks.
Even though I was wearing knight armor, it was still this cold, so the unprotected shopkeeper and grandfather were in serious danger.
“But if you lose the bet, you’ll die here. I’ll take over your powers entirely. What do you say? Isn’t it a fun bet?”
“Why would you make such a bet right now….”
“You can die if you don’t want to. It’s an opportunity, yet you kick against it? If you really don’t want it, I’ll put your memories back too. An egocentric human, I doubt you would put even strangers’ lives on the line.”
Since when had it started?
The Knight Commander was approaching the women with the Spear of Longinus.
“You bastard. You’ll pay the price for treason.”
The Knight Commander said that to me while charging toward the woman, aiming to stab the back of the woman being held by the girl.
It was obvious they intended to kill her no matter what.
The woman, for some reason, squeezed her eyes shut.
What should I do?
If I don’t return now, I might not be able to save my precious people.
“Die! Oko Mira!”
I…
Ultimately, I made an irreversible choice.