Chapter 131

No matter how much I exert my strength, not a single ripple forms on the ocean.

Nah, I *am* the ocean. And realistically speaking, without any wind or temperature differences… it’s only natural no currents form in the sea.

But there were times when I did move.

Like when I was away for a while and something came to crush and kill.

Maybe it’s the difference between being inside and outside the fishbowl?

Could it be that I’m filled to the brim inside this fishbowl, just staring at walls I can’t simply surpass?

Though if this place feels like rock bottom… that possibility is low.

Going up is heavy and difficult, but falling down is simple.

While organizing my memories, I somehow feel smarter and look back.

As I spend time like this, a string slowly descends from above.

Finally!

Oh…

Ah…

That thing… It won’t reach me.

It’s too far. It’s shining towards some giant floating light way up there.

Even if it’s a floating light, it’s like looking at another planet from Earth with faded memories.

Shining brightly…

Who are you mocking? What’s with all that sparkling?

Since it won’t reach me, it’s annoying—just eat it already! Why are you pretending not to notice?

Pretending…?

Nope. Being down here, I know. I know how greedily they try to collect light. Like Daegon once did, they won’t miss out on easily obtainable light, the chance to ascend.

This thing is truly invisible.

Then why can only I see it? Is it mocking me?

Has my identity spread so much? Should I go to the second world where immortals live and break their bottles?

No.

Wait a sec.

This seems to be calling Daegon. A signal only Daegon can see. A phone number only specific people can receive.

Of course. Those below prepared everything for divine possession, and now if someone barges in saying “Oops, sorry!” and steals their spot, I’d make them regret ever being alive through any means possible.

So they made it visible only to themselves. So they could immediately know when they’re summoned and go, while keeping others in the dark.

It’s right in front of me.

But everything is too insufficient to reach me. There aren’t enough resources to come all the way down here.

However, what if I impersonate Daegon?

Isn’t it the same as swallowing up everything about Daegon and taking his place?

So instead of me, let it be Daegon grabbing Daegon’s things.

I grabbed the thin string that reached the bottom.

Of course, I couldn’t do it in one try, but after feeling its faint touch and attempting it tens of thousands of times…

Swoosh!

The sensation of being pulled upward.

And then…

I opened my eyes.

“Hohohoho! You’re too late, intruder! The great one has already descended! Watching us from the unreachable depths of eternity, bestowing endless treasures upon us, granting everyone the right to become His servant—the merciful god has arrived! Dagon, bless us!”

In front of me, a Fishman with a staff shouts. Around him lie Fishmen with massive stakes driven into their necks, forming a circle while endlessly chanting spells as they die.

And at the room’s entrance…

A girl stands holding an iron cane, her face full of despair as she looks up at me.

Her height equals ten men standing end-to-end. She has a fish head attached to a human body, gills on her torso, webbed hands and feet, and a tail resembling a mix of fish and shark extending from her hips.

This is the first time I’ve entered such a giant body.

So, what’s most needed at this point?

Yes.

Information.

Until now, I’ve been summoned to a lower position, forced to move around cautiously depending on the summoner’s whims.

This inevitably makes me act passively.

For the first time, I have a choice. In front of me are the summoner and his subordinates who mistake me for Dagon, and probably a lone girl who came here to stop him.

If the girl were alone and holding a pistol, I might think she’s a victim running away.

But she holds a blood-and-fluid-dripping iron lever in her right hand and a strange nail inscribed with characters in her left.

Before collapsing in terror, she forces strength into her legs to stand, scanning for any way to survive.

A person with courage facing fear.

The third world is unique.

So, let’s greet them.

“Hello. But I am not Dagon.”

I tell the truth. Though it doesn’t match the tone of the Fishman-shaped giant, it’s hard to change it now.

It’s like going mad from shivering in the cold, yet unable to go mad, so I keep begging for death until the end of eternity, and now my thoughts are stained beyond repair.

This is an unerasable scar.

Anyway, though the voice is unexpectedly high-pitched and sharp, since fish can sometimes be genderless or switch genders, it’s fine.

Clang.

Suddenly, all the Fishmen chanting around me lose their heads, cutting off the spell.

Ah, I get it.

If I don’t introduce myself properly, the summoning will cancel immediately—it’s like a security setting within the spell itself.

Establishing self-description as a rule for gods, and making it so failure to do so erases the summoning altogether.

Not a bad method.

First, I wave my hand and sweep up the lingering warmth from the corpses around me before it dissipates. Dead bodies often retain light and warmth shortly after death.

I’ve obtained information and warmth.

“Ugh… Great one who has possessed our god’s body! If you grant our wishes, even if you are not Dagon, we will follow you! Grant us safety! Dagon promised thus—if you are greater than Dagon, contract with us accordingly!”

Oh.

Quick damage control and a new contract proposed to the entity in front of them. I like it. Proceeding as a Fishman race wouldn’t be bad either this time.

Except…

Crack!

There goes the head.

Dagon does not forgive betrayal. He implements various measures to ensure those who call him cannot harbor other thoughts.

I’ve already thoroughly reviewed the memories.

But they don’t come immediately; it’s inconvenient because I only realize what they mean after something happens.

Is it because I’m not smart enough…?

I grab the Fishman’s severed head that flew out.

I crush it to obtain warmth, lick it to gain memories.

According to this world’s universal calendar, it’s the 36th century.

However, the lifestyle here is equivalent to the early 19th century based on the standards of the Faded World.

Fishmen, being marine creatures, can only see the ocean as a reference point, but ships are still primarily wooden.

Only here, magic is commonplace. Ships float in the sky, and occasionally flying wizards or magical creatures can be seen.

The ports raided by Fishmen resemble the early 19th century, except instead of guns, magic flies.

From the memory of seeing steamships fire electromagnetic cannons when large bio-weapons raised by Fishmen invaded, I can roughly estimate the level of naval and scientific technology…

This world is slightly more advanced than the First World.

So they hastily prepared.

The Sahaquin race here, originally created by Dagon, served as vanguards during his invasions of other worlds.

They dominate the surroundings as bridgeheads. Once the world is ripe, they call Dagon to offer it to him.

Unlike the Heavenly Teaching that existed where Dagon went…

No.

They simply lost to nature. The bio-weapons they created with Dagon’s technology were torn apart by wild animals, and even when they fled to the easier-to-navigate seas, deeper waters held stronger beasts.

Eventually, these invaders fell to living cautiously along coasts free from such monsters or somewhere on the water surface, becoming one of the barbarian factions.

These are they.

Barbarians believing in ancient gods.

Since they are fundamentally a religious-political race, becoming a cult-like group is unavoidable.

Still, they had technology, so they didn’t completely regress into barbarism.

The high-level resources required for powerful technology or abilities are the souls of intelligent beings, and humans were the easiest source.

It’s like having a petroleum civilization without petroleum.

Resources must be obtained. But rushing in leads to defeat.

So they devised an aggressive strategy.

Taking advantage of the navy’s slower mobility compared to Fishmen, they simultaneously raid all nearby villages to gather resources and return.

With the typical religious optimism of “Call the god, he’ll fix it,” they acted recklessly.

But heroes pop up everywhere, don’t they?

Who would expect a single human girl captured as a resource to suddenly awaken, break all security, steal important items, assassinate key figures one by one, and finally come to prevent the god’s descent?

However, this Fishman was competent.

They successfully summoned Dagon. With perfect preparation, they transformed into Sahaquin executioners and survived the awakened human girl to bring about the god’s descent.

The problem is that Dagon is gone, and someone stole his place to appear here.

Since this isn’t the dangerous god Dagon, while considering whether it’s worth killing, the human girl glares at me while observing the surroundings.

Scary.

“What should we do now that the summoner died?”

She blinks, her expression pausing for a moment before replying:

“Can you return?”

Her immediate display of hostility in response to my answer scares me.

Is this the infamous high school girl I’ve heard about?

So I said:

“I don’t want to go home.”

The girl looks up at me with an incredibly perplexed expression.

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