SWNOVELS Book 14: Chapter 3: Part1
Here’s the chapter. Enjoy~
Chapter 3 – Between Worlds
Part 1
──The center of the vast Pacific Ocean.
There were some figures there.
“──It’s a horrible place.”
One of them was dressed in a uniform white robe with a hood covering his face.
The appearance alone was bizarre, but these people were clearly different from ordinary humans.
They were not standing on land but in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Instead of standing on land somewhere, they were floating in the air as if they were looking down at the Pacific Ocean.
“It took us a long time to get to this point…”
“It can’t be helped. It is all the fault of this Earth and that woman.”
“But the will of that damned Earth is gone, and that woman is missing too. Now is the perfect time…”
The robed figures spoke.
One of them had a bitter look on his face.
“Kuh… The more I think about it, the more humiliating it is. We, who are gods, are imitating humans, the creatures of the Earth…!”
Yes, the gods who had been overthrown long ago were gathered here in the Pacific Ocean.
The gods, with their powers diminished when their the Divine Beast was sealed by the people of Moatra, were destroyed in the rebellion of the humans whom they had treated as slaves.
Thus, humans were to create their Age… In fact, the gods had prepared these human bodies in case of an emergency.
But the gods, who originally recognized humans only as toys, could not bear to be demoted from gods to humans.
Most of all, the gods thought that they could destroy Moatra with their Divine Beast, so they only considered this as an insurance policy.
As it happened, Moatra’s power sealed the Divine Beast, and the gods were forced from their position.
Believing that they would be truly destroyed if nothing was done, they made the painful decision to use the bodies they had prepared to transform themselves into humans.
Though weakened, they were still gods and powerful, but by turning into humans, they lost even more of their power to an even greater degree.
Still, the gods had no choice.
Fortunately, by hiding as humans, they were able to escape the scourge of Earth, Saara, and the people of Moatra.
Moreover, even though their physical bodies had fallen to the human form, the faint remaining godly power was still alive and well, and they had transcended their human lifespan and gained an immortal body.
Therefore, they have spent a long time trying to recover their lost godly power.
“I understand how you feel, but you can take out your resentment on this planet after you restore the Divine Beast.”
“That’s also true. But the power is not at full strength yet. Even if we revive the Divine Beast, will it be able to defeat the humans in this state?”
As one god spoke, another opened his mouth.
“Do not worry. It is true that humanity has multiplied explosively during this long period of time. But only in numbers. Without technology like that of Moatra, there is no one who can use that terrible ‘star power’ and magic. Our victory is unassailable.”
“That is also true.”
As one god nodded in agreement with the explanation, another frowned.
“The only thing that worries me is that… we haven’t found the woman’s coffin.”
“Hmph. After all, the coffin was created with the little energy left of Earth. It would be impossible to continue protecting her with such a coffin.”
“That may be so, but I am not that optimistic. We must eliminate the uncertainties if we want to rule this world.”
The others felt the same way,
“…Utterly despicable. If only we could regain our power as gods and use our omnipotent power…”
“Even if we could use it, we wouldn’t know anything about this planet and that woman. That’s why we tried to eliminate their existence.”
One of the gods sighed heavily.
“Still, what can we do about something we can’t find? What are you going to do about it?”
“There’s one place I’m curious about.”
“What?”
The other gods stared at the god who had made the unexpected statement.
Despite the stares, the god continued to speak.
“In fact, I have sensed a strange surge of power coming from a place called Japan.”
“What? Could it be the power of that woman?”
“I don’t know. But do you remember the plane hijacking in that country not too long ago?”
“Yes, I remember. As I recall, a man solved it or something…”
The case the gods were talking about was the one where Yuuya saved Kaori’s sister Kasumi from the hijackers.
“Yes, that’s right. And that man is suspicious, at least I think so.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. In this day and age, it is impossible for one man to defeat a man with heavy weapons in his hands and free the hostages. What’s more, the man is said to have disappeared from the plane without a trace. Such a feat is absolutely impossible for people today.”
“What if…”
One of the gods spoke up as if he sensed it, and the god he was explaining to nodded.
“Yes. The man… has probably received some kind of magic power from that woman. It is also possible that the woman’s seal began to break when we moved.”
When it was thought that there were no clues at all, there were traces of something unexpected.
The gods pondered quietly.
“…I see, Japan, huh…?”
“I’d like to go look for it now, but there’s also the matter of the Divine Beast to consider.”
“Then let’s split up. Some of us will go to Japan to find the man. The rest of you will stay here to unseal the Beast.”
“That would indeed be better.”
“Umu. Then I, who brought up the subject, will go to Japan. I will ask you to resurrect the Divine Beast──”
After saying this, several of the gods instantly disappeared.
The remaining gods then stared at the Pacific Ocean below once again.
“Now… this time, the planet is ours──”
──And so, the history that should have disappeared begins to move.
＊＊＊
As various agendas began to be set in motion on Earth, in the Underworld…
“One, two, three… Nooo! I-I’m injured and need to take a break!”
“That’s not all. You’ll have to pay 10,000 yen for medical treatment.”
“Noooooo…! W-wait a minute! If I pay that, I will lose all my money!”
Reimei, Ikkaku, and Nikkaku were playing a board game.
While Reimei bemoaned the contents of the grid she was stuck on, Ikkaku continued calmly.
“I’m next… Oh, a child is born. Reimei-sama, Nikkaku. Give me ten thousand yen as a congratulatory gift.”
“I-I’m already broke! And you still want to take it from me?”
“That’s the way of the world.”
“N-nooooooooo!”
“U-um…”
Nikkaku spoke up in response to the heated pair.
“Nikkaku! You have to complain too! He is trying to extort money from me, his master! He is a gold digger!”
“That’s the rule, you know.”
“N-no, I mean… Reimei-sama, is your work okay?”
Without understanding why, Nikkaku was invited by Reimei to participate in this board game.
However, Reimei is in charge of everything that happens in the underworld, and most importantly, she has the important task of deciding the verdict of the dead.
Therefore, she should not have time to play like this…
“Don’t worry about it. When the boundary between the present world and the one that disappeared under the influence of the false god was restored, the function of the underworld was also manipulated.”
“I-is that so?”
Nikkaku was surprised to be told this so casually.
Furthermore, Nikkaku’s eyes were wide open as if he didn’t know anything about it.
“What, you didn’t know about it either?”
“Yes. I thought you were just sick of your job and escaping from reality…”
Reimei’s cheeks tightened at Ikkaku’s too-honest words.
“Y-you guys… Well, that’s okay. Let me tell you, you will also benefit from this change.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the past, in the underworld, unless there was something wrong, I would make all the decisions directly. But that would take too much time. Therefore, I have decided that those who have come to the Underworld and whose souls are somewhat untainted will either be returned to the wheel of reincarnation or will automatically ascend to the divine realm.”
“I see.”
“The same is true for impure souls. I have pre-determined the crime and punishment according to the degree of defilement of the soul, and I have modified the system so that the punishment is automatically assigned. And only when a person comes with a soul that exceeds that level of defilement will you bring that person before me.”
“…I was wondering why the number of souls of the dead has been decreasing so rapidly lately. I guess you could say it’s thanks to that; we now have less work.”
“That is true. Well, I’ve been working too hard until now. Before, it was dangerous to change the laws of the underworld because of the Meiko seal. But now that Meiko has been released, I can finally reshape the underworld.”
“I see what you mean. Anyway, I need you to give me 10,000 yen as soon as possible.”
“You still insist?”
In response to Ikkaku’s relentless pursuit, Reimei shouted and paid Ikkaku the 10,000 yen she owed him.
While such an unbelievable scene was taking place in the underworld, an Oni arrived on the scene.
“Reimei-sama!”
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“You have a visitor!”
“A visitor?”
After the change in the laws of the underworld, the number of visitors to Reimei’s place had decreased dramatically.
In particular, it was very rare for a visitor to come and not someone who was waiting for a verdict.
“──Long time no see, Reimei-sama.”
Behind the Oni was… the main body of Kuuya in the underworld.
The unexpected person startled Reimei.
“You are… Kuuya, aren’t you?”
“I am honored that you remember me.”
“What do you mean? You helped me save Meiko. Besides, there are not many people in the underworld who can handle the spiritual power to move freely.”
As Reimei said, originally, the dead could not move freely in the underworld.
This was to protect the order of the underworld, and if they needed to move, they were usually taken around by the Oni.
Most importantly, it was extremely difficult to move without the protection of the Oni, as they could be crushed by the mystical and spiritual power of the underworld.
However, Kuuya, with his enormous spiritual power and his newfound spiritual power from death, had become one of the few beings in this underworld who could move freely.
“How did you end up here?”
Reimei asked as he helped Ikkaku and the others to clean up the board game.
Then Kuuya opened his mouth with a serious look on his face.
“Actually…”
＊＊＊
“I see… The things you feared…”
Kuuya explained to Reimei what happened in the present world.
He reported that Yuuya had fought with himself from a parallel world and that he had been attacked by a mysterious man from outside the world.
“Reimei-sama. Do you have any idea who this mysterious attacker might be?”
“I have an idea. Anyway, I can’t say that I had nothing to do with their attack. Ikkaku!”
“Yes.”
At Reimei’s call, Ikkaku, who had been putting the board game away, stopped.
“Now go to the present world and bring Yuuya here.”
“As you wish.”
And as soon as Ikkaku nodded his head, he disappeared like a mist.
＊＊＊
“So this is Japan, huh…?”
When Kuuya was in contact with Reimei in the underworld.
A young man had arrived in Japan.
However, unlike ordinary tourists, the young man was greeted at the airport by a large number of media representatives and a group of imposing security police.
The young man was stunned by the over-the-top welcome.
“Hey, James, you don’t have to make such a big deal…”
“What are you talking about? Your Highness is the Crown Prince of our country, so it is only natural that security police should be deployed. Besides, there has been some disturbing news lately, and to be honest, I don’t think there are enough personnel.”
The young man sighs at the words of James, the butler.
“Hah… I was hoping for a romantic reunion alone with Kaori…”
“Please give it up. This is also for the sake of Your Highness. If something should happen to the girl named Kaori, Your Highness will be troubled, won’t you?”contemporary romance
“That’s true, but…”
“If you are unhappy with the number of security personnel, I, for one, cannot understand why the press is rushing to this airport.”
“It’s only natural for them to do so since I’m coming here. Besides, if I can show the world the relationship between Kaori and me here, the engagement is sure to happen.”
James raised his eyebrow at the young man who said that so vividly.
“Um… I didn’t expect His Highness to make the first move… If His Highness is right and makes contact with the girl named Kaori in this situation, it might be difficult to cancel the engagement…”
“What’s wrong?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Unhappy with the way things were going according to the young man’s plan, James now wondered what he should do.
done.co