Behind me, I saw 782 grasping her head and rolling around. I don’t know what she was trying to do, but she had a gaping wound in hẻ forearm and was bleeding profusely. 782 had a sharp piece of stone in her hand, and it looked like she had hurt herself to summon the demon.
“No, don’t…”
“I hate the sound of… bells…!”
The eyes of the other painting wizards turned blank, and eventually they all stopped moving. I also heard Lacius calling next to me, but my body did not listen. Every muscle in my body stiffened, and I could not move as if I were a piece of wood.
“I have given you the opportunity to participate in a grand mission. Useless things.”
At that time, a new bird mask appeared out of nowhere. A pure white robe without a single speck of dust. They have long, dark purple hair, and wear a white bird mask on their face. At first glance, they appear to be a woman, but when you look at the thick lines of their body, it will make you wonder if it is a man. The voice was also low and soft enough to make it impossible to determine gender.
“Yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Number 1092.”
The light purple eyes behind the bird mask narrowed as they looked at me. I furrowed my brows as I looked at the other person, who, like a reptile, could adjust the size of their pupils to whatever size they wanted.
“You’ve gained some fine company, but you stayed on Terran without summoning the Demon of the Scales, and now that you’re back in the desert, I thought you’d head for the temple, but you didn’t even set foot in it until I invited you. It’s not like you, and I find it interesting.”
The white bird mask’s presence was ominous from the start, and their words were no less unsettling. They must be someone with a high position in Fata-Morgana. Maybe even the leader.
“You were bored dealing with these vermin, right? In fact, a special beast like you deserves a worthy opponent… I was simply trying to see the skills of the new guys, so don’t be too offended.”
Grrrrr. When the white bird mask tried to approach me, Cat bared its teeth in a threatening manner. Lacius slammed Apollonius to the ground and stood in my way, while the fake Geisha lunged forward, blocking the white bird mask’s path with his sword.
“Who do you think you’re approaching?”
“You have the same face as the chief of Kun, but you are not him. If he finds out about this, he will be very offended.”
“Whatever. Don’t come near my Shay.”
“Hmm, such an ill-mannered servant, and I expected no less. After all, no matter how much ‘education’ we gave number 1092, she was always very rebellious.”
The white bird mask that caught everyone’s attention just by appearing laughed to themselves as they spoke.
“You f*cker!”
Unable to bear it any longer, the fake Geisha swung his sword and aimed at his neck. The sword cut through the foul air, pressing against the white bird mask. But surprisingly, the fake Geisha failed to inflict even a single wound on his opponent. Every time he swung the sword, it would stop in midair. It seemed like there was some sort of invisible shield surrounding their body.
“We… we’re all screwed now… … we’re going back to being slaves again.”
Behind me, number 782 expressed such despair in a trembling voice. I didn’t agree with that at all, but I couldn’t move, probably because of the bell in the white bird mask’s hand. Lacius also hesitated to attack, fearing the bells might harm me.
Three golden bells that appear to be made of gold and diamonds. It dangled from the end of a handle covered in distinctive snake-like scales.
“You probably forgot, so I guess I’ll have to introduce myself again. I am the new god of this world. I am the king of Fata-Morgana.”
Ding, ding. The clear sound of the bells filled my ears. Cat leapt forward and tried to snatch the bell, but was repelled once again. The white bird mask, which introduced themselves as God, walked away as if they were not the least bit perturbed. The fake Geisha’s sword that was trying to stop it turned soft as if it were tofu, and even the enraged Cat’s front paws were powerless to stop them. It looked like there was some protective magic covering their entire body.
“You need not know my name. I am called God and exist as one.”
This madman.
I struggled to overcome the power controlling my body. Lacius, being the Sun God’s descendant, seemed unaffected, and things made by painting magic don’t seem to be controlled either. But it seemed that those bells could control any human being.
“Destroy the altar.”
Rattle. With one shake of the bell, the painting wizards extended their hands, creating a massive rock. The rock with a sharp bottom flew quickly onto the black altar, crashing down upon it.
Crack! The altar cracked with an eerie sound. Soon, debris was flying everywhere, and Lacius blocked all of them with Apollonius.
‘Please. Move.’
I bit my tongue, trying to break free from the control. But the more I resisted, the stronger the pressure became. Eventually, like an insect caught in a spider’s web, I was unable to move even my head at will.
“Now the altar you sought so desperately is gone. I knew the entrance, but I didn’t know the way here. Thanks to you, I knew where to head.”
“Uh… how… did you…?”
“I saw it through Giogio’s eyes. Thanks to you, I will make everything bow before me, so I will give you the honour of being the first to serve me. Worship me. I will become your new god.”
Thud. A crazy person stood in front of Lacius. While he rambled about being a god, Lacius remained silent.
And now. Lacius finally opened his mouth.
“A coward cannot become a god.”
“What did you say?”
“And you can’t even be a leader. Sending puppets made of painting magic instead of coming yourself, you sure talk a lot.”
What does he mean by that?
I blinked, looking at the white bird mask. I can’t see his expression through the mask, but he’s clearly flustered. Contrary to how relaxed he was, he seemed to have flinched.
What. Those bird masks—are they really made by painting magic?’
“I know very well that you are quite cautious and timid, since you even cast a defensive spell on a painting. You must have feared death to resort to such tricks.”
“… … .”
“But whether you summoned them yourself or had another painting wizard do it, they are quite crude.”
Lacius repeatedly hits the white bird mask where it hurts the most. What was surprising was the lack of denial about whether it was all true or not from the white bird mask.
“Compared to Shay’s power, you are insignificant. That’s why you want her under your control, to use her strength.”
“That’s a funny assumption.”
“You are not a god or anything. You are merely a delusional narcissist.”
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