#1068 A Rebellious Hero

“Die! Oryaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Gwaaaaaaah!”

And just like that, Momoko’s patience snapped.

She unleashed the blinding light of her holy sword straight at the goddess Athena.

Athena, who’s been totally engrossed in their debate, didn’t even have time to react and took the full blast head-on.

“Higyeeeeeh! What in the world?! What is going on all of a sudden?!”

Athena lets out an un-goddess-like shriek.

But even after taking the holy sword’s flash directly, she doesn’t seem injured. I guess even a rotten god is still a god?

“Momoko?! What dost thou all of a sudden? ‘Tis forbidden to raise thy hand during a debate!!!”

“Shut up! Your outrageous nonsense is way more violent than any physical attack! Hurry up and realize just how dark and twisted you really are!!!”

Momoko is fuming.

And she has every right to be. This so-called “debate” is nothing more than Athena spouting selfish and cruel demands that are unbearable to listen to.

“Why should humans have to go to war just because it suits you?! Sure, this world was at war until recently, but that’s over now! We’re trying to move forward on a new path in a peaceful world! Isn’t it only natural for a goddess to watch over that?!”

“Peace is but worthless!!!”

Well, that’s quite a thing to say.

I guess it’s typical for a goddess of war.

“Peace is important.”

Or maybe not so typical.

Velesares, another deity of war, is saying the exact opposite.

“War is the climax of human history! The most splendid! The most renowned! The wars that art told for eternity art the supreme human beauty!! What is wrong with wishing for such a war to occur?!”

She sure knows how to ignore the grim and gruesome sides of war.

From humanity’s perspective, of course, peace is better than war.

Being free to live peacefully beats being restricted, threatened with death, and losing our homes and possessions any day.

Sure, there might be some people who say, “I love war!” or “Gentlemen, I love war.”

I won’t deny them that.

But if they want to fight and kill each other, I’d prefer they do it among themselves.

Just don’t drag in people who want no part of it.

And that goes for gods, too.

“Hold thy tongue! Man was created by the gods! Therefore, is it not natural for man to shed blood and sacrifice life for the honor of the gods?!”

“The gods toil for the sake of man.”

It’s pretty obvious who’s saying what.

“Anyway! Ye humans need only obey the gods’ commands and vanquish the enemies! A holy war! Especially thee, Momoko! Thou art the hero summoned to oppose the demons; thou must slay them as is thy duty!!!”

Athena shoots back.

It’s kind of amazing how she refuses to change her stance, even though no one agrees with her anymore.

“Battle the demons in the name of the hero and vanquish the gods’ foes. Thou wast summoned from another world for that purpose, wert thou not? ‘Twould be troublesome if thou dost not fulfill thy role properly, would it not?”

“You dragged me here without asking, and now you act like it’s none of your business?!”

That pretty much sums it up.

Summoning someone from another world without their consent and then expecting them to do your bidding is just too much.

“For that purpose, I bestowed skills upon thee. Having received abilities directly from this goddess Athena, thou shouldst employ them to the fullest, shouldst thou not?”

“Don’t act like you’re doing me a favor after dumping those trash skills on me! How about I use those skills on you instead?!”

Momoko brandishes her holy sword.

Her skill lets her insta-kill opponents at her level or below.

But seriously, if they’re weaker than you, you can beat them without a skill, and the fact that it’s an insta-kill with no room for mercy makes it pretty terrible to use.

And now she’s threatening to use it on a goddess, so it’s basically saying she’ll kill even a god.

“Aha? An instant death skill used upon this deity? What dost thou intend? After all, it was I who granted thee the skills—the very source of them, dost thou not see?”

“Ugh...”

Momoko groans, perhaps realizing what Athena is implying.

“The Goddess Scythe is a skill ineffective against foes stronger than thyself. Wouldst thou wield it, a human, against a god?! A lesser being against a higher existence? Dost thou not comprehend what that entails? Pupupupu!!!”

Athena looks at Momoko with a thoroughly mocking expression.

She’s utterly convinced of her overwhelming superiority.

And Momoko herself...

“Urgh...!”

She grimaces, admitting that Athena has a point.

I place a hand on Momoko’s shoulder and say, “It’s okay. Go ahead and fire.”

“Huh?”

“If you give up now, the game’s over.”

Once upon a time, some people in this world used secret arts to summon people from another world.

To force them to fight as their pawns.

Suddenly, without any regard for the summoned person’s circumstances.

And behind that were celestial gods scheming for control over the mortal world.

Momoko was also summoned here against her will and forced to fight as a hero—a victim.

She has every right to vent her frustrations.

“I’ll enhance your skill with my gift.”

“What?”

The gift I received from Hephaestus, the god of smithing, surpasses any skill.

It draws out more than 100% of the potential of anything I touch.

So when I touch the skill Goddess’s Scythe, it evolves into an executioner’s blade surpassing even the strongest.

“Skill Goddess Slayer’s Scythe Infinity! Gooooooooooo!!!”

“Huh? Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!”

The holy sword’s flash was unleashed.

It seems the skill’s properties were added to the light.

When the goddess was engulfed by the flash this time, she took massive damage—her skin burning and peeling.

She was swept away somewhere by the torrent of light.

“…A fearsome god-slaying attribute indeed. Might it rival the fangs of Fenrir of the Norse?” Velesares remarks. “Cursed Athena. Didst she think that, being in the position of a god, she would be inviolable? How foolish. If she pursues battle, she should be ready to fight and be slain herself.”

Despite his fellow deity being blasted away, he remains utterly calm.

Well, that’s understandable; even among gods, she’s not someone he could sympathize with.

“O Hero Momoko and saint. To have summoned thee unbidden from thy former lives and to have sought to make thee fight as humanity’s vanguard is an undeniable sin. I, Velesares, sixth in rank among the Twelve Olympian Gods, do earnestly beg thy pardon...”

Velesares bows deeply.

I kind of feel like, even if you apologize...

“Huh? Huh? The saint, too?”

Putting aside Momoko’s bewilderment just now...

Indeed, the root cause of dragging unrelated people into war through summoning was the celestial gods.

However, not all gods were evil.

Rather, it was only a small number of extremely wicked ones who toyed with human fate.

Even if someone like Veleares, who has been working behind the scenes for humanity, apologizes on behalf of those truly evil gods...

“Yet I cannot feign ignorance of my kin’s misdeeds. If it may soothe thy hearts even a little, shall I not bow my head?”

It’s always the thoughtful ones who get stuck with the tough jobs.

But what should we do now?

The evil has been defeated (?) but the main topic of the debate hasn’t progressed at all.

The problem of how to deal with the overpopulated world.

“Regarding that, a conclusion hath already been drawn. It was but Athena who obstinately resisted. In truth, a resolution hath already arisen.”

Wh-What did you say?!

Then what was the point of this debate?!

“That is, of course, to persuade Athena. She is, after all, a vital deity governing the world’s operations. Systemically, we cannot advance without her consent, vexing though it be.”

That’s an extremely troublesome system...!

“But, well, since thou hast vanquished Athena, it is deemed that we have obtained her assent. Thus, all is resolved. I thank thee.”

Wait, seriously?

But why?

“Indeed, it is but natural that the defeated obey the victors. With this, the world shall move toward ever greater good. I thank thee, O saint, O Hero. Thou have truly saved this world.”

Even being told that, Momoko still looked puzzled, going, “Uh... okay?”

Actually, I don’t really get it either.

From here on... what kind of changes will happen in the world?