Chapter 100
When the Divine Beast was cornered by Terence and Vineta, my eyes caught something.
A small stone, about the size of a human palm, separated from the radiant body of the beast.
Just as in the novel, the Divine Beast tried to protect its core when in danger.
“Vineta! Don’t let it escape!”
Following my words, Vineta nimbly chased the meteorite while Terence cleaved the beast in two.
“I’ve got it!”
She successfully snatched it and sprinted toward me.
“Divine Beast!”
I stretched out my hand and shouted, just like Liena did in the novel.
“Submit to me willingly!”
My hand met the rough surface of the meteorite.
It trembled violently, glowing as it struggled desperately.
“Why… why… it’s still intact?”
The lifeless body of the beast—more accurately, a fragment of the Divine Beast—spoke.
Since the voice was transmitted directly to my mind, the Divine Beast could communicate with me even in its split state.
“These beings should have been eliminated by me just a moment ago.”
It was referring to Terence and Vineta.
“I felt no attacks being blocked by a shield or anything. Then why…?”
I answered the fragment of the Divine Beast without letting go of its core, the meteorite.
After all, it was going to belong to me soon. A little courtesy was warranted.
“What you attacked wasn’t these two humans, but the magic stone that Terence infused with his power.”
The beast’s eyes widened.
“Having sensed his power once before, you mistook the stone for him when you felt the same energy again.”
The Divine Beast noticed our presence in the mine when Terence had infused the magic stone. In other words, it could detect other beings’ magical energy very sensitively.
I realized I could exploit that trait and devised my plan accordingly.
First, Terence infused the magic stone with his energy. Then we separated at the fork in the path. Both paths led to this location, though their entrances were different.
I appeared first, boldly drawing the Divine Beast’s attention, while the other two acted stealthily.
After placing the magic stone convincingly, they hid elsewhere.
Because they had the invisibility artifact I had given them before we separated, they could deceive the Divine Beast even more thoroughly.
Among the two artifacts I noticed in the backpack, one was the gemstone Elliot had left, and the other was the invisibility artifact.
“It wasn’t an expensive artifact, so the stealth effect probably wasn’t perfect…”
The fragment of the Divine Beast received my words.
“I let my guard down because I sensed that man’s power. Had I paid more attention, I might have noticed.”
The split body of the beast transformed into two small clusters of light.
“You…”
The two clusters merged into a slightly larger single cluster.
“I thought you were just a greedy human, relying on petty tricks, but you’re quite clever.”
Unexpected praise.
“Moreover, you took my full-force attack directly without any shield. Even with precautions, no ordinary person could have attempted that.”
“Ah… that’s…”
I was about to explain that it hadn’t been intentional—but then something completely unexpected happened.
“Idel!”
Terence, still alert and watching the light clusters with Vineta, rushed toward me.
“You really took the attack without a magical barrier? What were you thinking?!”
Fuming.
“You promised me you’d always wear the bracelets!”
“C-Calm down!”
“Do I look calm? If Elliot Rude’s artifact hadn’t been as remarkable as you expected, you’d be in serious trouble!”
He inspected me closely, checking for injuries.
“I’m fine. Completely fine!”
I said this, but I was honestly nervous—the gemstone Elliot had given me had crumbled to dust.
‘That was really lucky.’
If the Divine Beast’s attack had been stronger, or if the eccentric inventor of the artifact had been less competent, I would have been badly hurt.
That was why Terence and Vineta had given me their bracelets. Even if they were destroyed, the magical barrier would weaken the Divine Beast’s attack.
After several moments, once Terence confirmed I hadn’t been harmed, his tension eased.
“…Sorry. I raised my voice without thinking.”
“No, I was reckless too.”
“I understand why you did it. You wanted to reflect a greater blow back to the Divine Beast.”
Because the artifact’s effect reflected attacks, the more risk I took, the higher the chance of our victory.
Seeing the countless rays of light the Divine Beast generated, I steeled my resolve: our victory mattered more than my safety.
“But don’t do such a thing again.”
His voice trembled painfully. His expression didn’t look good either.
“You must value yourself more.”
“Terence…”
Vineta, also guarding the light clusters in place of the master, spoke.
“I agree.”
I had nothing to say. When I had thrown off the bracelets earlier, I hadn’t thought at all about the people who cared for me. I had only wanted to defeat the Divine Beast and be useful.
In a way, it was my selfishness.
“Sorry. I won’t do it again.”
I said in a small voice. Terence responded, his tone softening.
“…Do you promise?”
“Yes, I promise.”
Just as the atmosphere was calming, the Divine Beast, which had been quiet until now, spoke.
“I don’t understand. Blessed one, your courage in taking my attacks barehanded deserves praise—but why are you being scolded?”
“You’ve never observed humans up close, have you?”
“Why would I? I’ve been here since coming down from the surface recently.”
“Then come with me and see for yourself.”
“Is it worth the trouble?”
“You’ll think differently once you see.”
I was confident. In the novel, the Divine Beast that followed Liena changed in many ways after experiencing human life.
“Humans may seem insignificant to you, but we also have our own lives and values.”
“…I see. Defeated by you, I have no grounds to complain.”
“And! Earlier you said something about my greed—but sure, I have some desire, but I’m average at most.”
Even in such a tense moment, I couldn’t help but defend myself.
“You, the exalted messenger of gods, can say whatever you want because you don’t have to toil for a living. Got it?”
The Divine Beast answered after a while.
“I don’t know.”
Well, unsurprisingly. In human terms, it was like a newborn baby—full of ignorance.
“I don’t know well… but your words make me curious.”
The light clusters wriggled and changed shape.
“It’s fine.”
I stopped Terence and Vineta from preparing to counterattack, thinking the Divine Beast would strike again.
It appeared in its beast form once more.
This time, it was smaller, had short legs, and no horns.
Vineta tilted her head.
“A dog? Cat? Or a fox?”
It was a peculiar animal somewhere between a dog, cat, and fox.
“Rude! I took this pitiful form because of the energy I used against you.”
The Divine Beast waddled toward me, expressing displeasure in a normal voice for the first time.
I crouched and stroked its head.
“Not pitiful at all—pretty cute, even.”
“…That comment is rude as well.”
“What’s wrong with calling something cute cute?”
Holding its core in one hand and its fragment in the other, I stood and looked around the mine.
“You like it here, don’t you? That’s why you’ve stayed these past few days.”
“True, my origin is mineral, so that’s understandable.”
“Then the core stays here. Only the fragment needs to go to the human world.”
The Divine Beast furrowed its brow.
“Strange. You speak as if for me, but I sense greed in you.”
“It’s just your imagination.”
I wasn’t leaving it here to produce magic stones for me. Absolutely not!
Anyway, I had achieved the goal of controlling the Divine Beast. I looked at Terence beside me.
“You did amazing work. Let’s get out of here!”
As always, I expected him to smile gently at me—but then…
“Terence?”
He leaned—or rather, collapsed—toward me.
“Terence!”
I awkwardly supported him and touched his forehead—it was burning.
“Your Highness!”
With Vineta’s help, I laid him on the ground. He groaned painfully.
Then I realized. His earlier strained voice and unhealthy expression weren’t just because he was worried about me.
‘It’s from overusing his magical energy!’
The side effects were worse than a headache.
I found his flask of medicinal tea, tried to administer it, but it didn’t help.
“I-It’s fine. There’s more tea….”
Frantically, I searched the backpack for the spare medicinal tea I had brought.
“No use.”
At that moment, the Divine Beast’s voice stopped me.
“I can see it. The godly energy surging violently within that human.”
It looked down at Terence without concern.
“You drew too much power to strike me, the Divine Beast. Water from herbs can’t contain that.”
“But Terence said he’d be fine.”
Honestly, this was the part that worried me most when I first devised the plan.
The burden on Terence might be too great.
Terence confidently reassured me he would be fine as long as he drank medicinal tea. He knew his body better than anyone.
The Divine Beast dismissed my concern easily.
“Either he misjudged, or he lied.”
“….”
If Terence lied, it was obvious why: to reassure me.
“Give up. If you cannot calm even with the blessed one present, that human is hopeless. Humans cannot handle godly power…”
“Yes! The goddess’s blessing!”
I shook the Divine Beast violently.
“The goddess said I have a blessing too! So why isn’t Terence recovering?”
In the novel, even with side effects, Michael would recover quickly when Liena was nearby.
“Hmm… perhaps your divine power is too weak?”
“I have a blessing! How can my divine power be weak?”
“You… don’t really believe in gods, do you?”
My arms, shaking the Divine Beast, froze.
“One who doesn’t believe cannot have strong divine power.”
Strength drained from my body. I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
“…Then what will happen to Terence now?”
“He’ll die.”
What? Terence would die?
I shakily tried to check his temperature again.
Then Terence opened his eyes. He grabbed my hand and placed it on his face.
“Idel.”
Our eyes met.
“I’ll be fine. Take Vineta and leave first.”
He said it in a hoarse voice.
