Chapter 47

“What do you even take me for?”

This is so unfair.

Belva is blocking me from even getting near the giraffe.

Let me make this clear, I’m not going to do something like catching and eating a giraffe alive.

I’m a civilized person, you know.

Sure, I’ve changed a lot since I ended up here.

But I was someone who lived a normal social life without any issues.

I’m not some cannibal straight out of *Robinson Crusoe*.

“So, let’s compromise with one arm.”

“Please, just hold on a little!”

“Just kidding. But if there’s no other way, then I’ll have no choice.”

“…There will be something if we look.”

Honestly, the value of that giraffe creature is incredibly low in my eyes.

I’m interested, but there’s no reason to keep it alive.

That’s about it.

If this weren’t Miho’s territory.

Or if I didn’t have the luxury.

I would’ve devoured it quickly and absorbed its abilities.

Without a second thought.

In that sense, it’s a bit of a shame.

“Lucky you.”

I muttered softly as I got up.

The giraffe, pretending to be unconscious, twitched slightly at my words.

It’s bad at pretending to sleep.

Its breathing pattern changed noticeably too.

It’s desperately trying to play dead, but…

Among the monsters I’ve killed, some had the ability to detect heat.

When you’re asleep and when you’re not.

There’s a fundamental difference in body temperature, but it doesn’t seem to know that.

Anyway, as Belva said, there’s no need to rush.

I’m different from before, when I had to grab everything in sight to feel satisfied.

I tapped Miho on the back.

She tilted her head back and looked at me with a questioning gaze.

What?

“I’m going out for a bit. Can you check if divine power can be learned later in life?”

“Sure. But where are you going?”

“Just cleaning up a bit.”

Now that I’ve figured out how that otherworldly god is interfering, I need to sweep through and tidy things up.

Like the rabbits by the lake, I can’t guess how many creatures might already possess divinity.

It might be a more serious situation than I thought.

I went outside and found a suitable spot to land.

The wide-open scenery, with mountains and rivers stretching out, was impressive.

All sorts of monsters and beasts were in plain sight.

It felt like standing on a teacher’s podium during a presentation.

I gestured lightly toward a group of monsters.

Black smoke, like rain from the sky, pierced through their bodies.

They all flinched in surprise.

Then they tilted their heads, confused.

It’s strange, isn’t it? Their bodies were pierced, but nothing happened.

That group is clear.

Divinity is unique and never mixes with others’, so finding it is surprisingly easy.

For example.

“Uh, uh, uh…”

Like that.

I thrust my divinity into a creature staggering like a parasite-infested mantis.

It collapsed, spewing a galaxy-like mix of black and white light from its mouth and nose.

Ugh. Disgusting.

I frowned and swallowed its body.

Anyway, this is how I’ll clean them up one by one.

It’s not an easy task, but…

For me, who understands and acquires the essence of divinity through these creatures, it’s absolutely necessary.

And the enemy won’t just sit back and watch.

If they have a brain, of course.

Kugugugung-

From far away, all sorts of sounds are crossing the sky.

The idea of affecting the ground like that is only possible if they don’t know my abilities.

I’ll just devour them all.

I also possess divinity, so I could predict the enemy’s next move.

I carefully removed the last Sealing Orb from my neck and placed it in the Void Space.

It’s been a long time since I’ve undone this.

I didn’t have a reason to, and once undone, it releases an uncontrollable amount of power.

Power I can’t fully control feels like it’s not really mine.

But I don’t have the luxury to worry about that now.

The enemy is coming.

As expected, far more creatures have been corrupted by its divinity than I thought.

The energy I’m sensing is unusual.

Its judgment was simple.

Before being picked off one by one, compress all divinity into a single entity.

It must’ve thought that was the highest probability of success.

And it’s actually a wise decision.

However, while I roughly estimated its power, it hasn’t grasped mine at all.

It’s completely clueless.

I said it was 10%.

That light in the sky.

A cluster of stars of unimaginable size.

A suffocating pressure, as if the universe itself had been compressed.

Even after feeling all that.

It’s still 10%.

Not entirely accurate, but close enough.

Of course, in terms of sheer power, the difference is huge.

Not just me, but even this entire dimension combined wouldn’t match it.

Even the size of the divinity the incoming entity possesses far surpasses mine.

That’s why it should’ve doubted.

As expected, beings born like that aren’t very clever.

It should’ve realized with a little thought.

That my 10% chance of victory isn’t just about power, but includes other variables.

[Little monster, tell me your name…]

The world is red.

This was the moment it spread.

Whoosh-

In the void, three petal-like flames bloomed brilliantly.

They formed a ring.

From the ring, a heat so intense that it felt like it could turn the entire area into a sea of fire in an instant if I didn’t restrain it.

If this were Earth, the entire ocean would evaporate in less than a second.

Below it, a red, burning figure could be seen.

Though clearly not its true form, the overwhelming Divine Power was impressive.

Yeah, you want me to say its name?

“How rude.”

I ignored the words and slowly moved toward the center of the heat.

Thud, my knee gave out.

Before I knew it, everything below my knee was gone.

Huh.

Wherever I felt heat, that part disappeared.

In the fierce flames, parts of me melted and regenerated repeatedly in less than a second.

I felt a mocking resonance from it.

Unaware that the intervals between my melting were gradually lengthening.

[······!]

Finally noticed, huh?

The panicked figure, who had been leisurely observing, changed its stance and charged at me.

Curious.

What kind of attack would it use?

The moment I thought that, it was already extending its shoulder.

A bright red fist filled my vision.

The movement was clumsy, as if this kind of attack was awkward.

It felt like a child’s play.

But it was an attack I couldn’t avoid.

Because my legs were melting.

Boom-

It felt like a meteor crashing down.

My vision went black.

And a few seconds later, I opened my eyes as if nothing had happened.

Still not dead, huh.

It lacked the firepower to kill me.

It could destroy my legs, break my arms, and crush my torso.

But it wasn’t enough to kill me.

I took another step.

Dodging the swinging fist, I struck its knee with my regenerated leg.

Crash!

With a massive impact, its leg bent grotesquely.

Its body collapsed.

…Just this and its balance is broken?

Baffling.

An unexpected reaction.

If its power doesn’t work, it can’t even defend against such a simple attack.

Crunch-!

Grabbing the flailing arm of the enemy, I pulled it hard, tore it off, and swallowed it.

The now one-armed enemy screamed, spewing flames.

[─────!!]

Surprisingly, the amount of divinity contained in that single arm was comparable to my total Divine Power.

A sense of fullness and satisfaction spread through my body.

Information about the enemy flooded my mind.

Even as I was hit by the spewing flames, there was no soot left on my body.

A tingling pleasure ran up my spine like goosebumps.

“Haa…”

I exhaled softly, clenching and unclenching my fist.

Now I need to change my plan.

Let’s think.

A 10% chance of victory.

Can I hold out long enough to adapt to this otherworldly god’s attacks?

Before I die, can I somehow absorb the god’s power and gain an overwhelming advantage?

That possibility was factored into the odds.

And now, against an enemy with the same divinity, albeit a weaker version, I held out perfectly.

I even absorbed some of it.

Now my divinity has adapted to its divinity.

I’ve also figured out related information.

Is it still 10%?

No.

The scales have tipped.

Now my chance of winning is slightly ahead.

Considering the pathetic combat sense it showed, the gap might be even wider.

I glanced at the sky.

I almost burst out laughing.

The Milky Way, which had been floating majestically like a monument, was flying away beyond the universe.

Is it running away now?

Just because it lost once?

“How cute.”

Muttering that,

I looked down at the remnants of divinity, crouched and covering its head.

Now this is just trash.

With its connection to the main body severed, it poses no threat to me.

It’s just a hot doll, a lump of Divine Power.

Hmm…

Saying that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

This makes it seem like I’m eating trash.

“Ah… Agh, ah…”

I approached the figure, mumbling incoherently, and slowly reached out my hand.

The figure, its flames extinguished, was surprisingly a beautiful human female, but I felt nothing.

It’s funny to feel this way now, but today felt particularly empty.

I didn’t even think about killing a fellow being.

It was hard to even consider it as the same life.

There was just a deep, abyssal hunger moving me from within.

Tick tock.

Like the sound of a clock in a dark room where my parents lay.

I alone, holding my breath, listening to the clear sound.