Chapter 582: 582

As I come to I pry my eyes half open, and realise I’m lying down with my belly on the ground… Where am I? My thoughts feel hazy.

Something important was happening. I need to remember. I defeated Lilixira, met up with the others… Right, and then I went to speak with Umukahime. After that…

“GuuoOOOh!”

Roaring, I leap up. Th-that’s right, I met God’s Voice. God’s Voice suddenly appeared and started rambling to me, then flew into a rage and tossed four [Spirit Servants] at me.

I then got frozen in place and had something done to me. I look around.

Tall, twisted trees are lined up around me. They’re tall, even from my perspective. They look around thirty metres high, over twice the size of a [Tyrant Guardian]. It feels almost as though I’ve gotten smaller.

An unnaturally bright blue moon is floating in the sky, illuminating this twisted forest with a bewitching light. That moon makes it clear that this is somewhere very different from anywhere I’ve been so far. It isn’t just the twisted trees and bewitching moonlight. The intuition I’ve cultivated is telling me this place is dangerous.

My understanding can’t keep up. Why am I here? Was I killed by that strongest Demon lord, Baal, and got sent to the afterworld?

If my memory is correct, then God’s Voice said ‘[Otherworld Sending]’. I wonder if that was a skill that banishes the target to another dimension. With that as a tool at God’s Voice’s disposal, rebellion seems completely impossible. But then, remembering the ridiculous strength of those [Spirit Servants], it seems about right.

Having thought about it, I still don’t understand. Too much of this doesn’t make sense. If God’s Voice wanted to send me here in the first place, then why make a show of those [Spirit Servants’] power…?

As my thoughts begin to come together, the images of Aro and the treant appear in my mind. Right! They got close to me and got wrapped up in the skill too.

Thinking about God’s Voice can come later! What happened to those two? I’m also worried about everyone else who were left behind.

“GuuOOOOOOOOh!”

My shout echoes through the eerie forest.

『Aro, treant! Where are you? If you can hear me, please respond!』

There’s no telling what might be lurking in this forest. I can’t imagine that common sense could apply here. After all, it’s somewhere that God’s Voice sent us. Broadcasting my position like this might be suicidal.

But, meeting up with those two is the higher priority. The worse this place is, the more danger they’re in.

“Dragon…god…sama”

From far away, I hear a faint voice. Mowing through the twisted trees, I charge towards the voice.

As I arrive, I see Aro lying limp on the ground. Checking her status, I see that she’s still alive. Her mind might be hazy from the shock of God’s Voice’s skill. But, her HP hasn’t gone down at all. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

『Phew, you’re safe…』

I carefully pick her up with my foreleg and put her on my back.

“Thank you, dragon-god-sama… Umm, where are we…?”

『I’ve no idea either. More importantly, where’s treant? If my memory’s not wrong, he should have been sent here with us…』

『M-master-dono! Are you close by? Pl-please help me!』

Treant’s [Telepathy] reaches me. I swallow my breath and dash in the direction of the [Telepathy].

『I’m on my way! Endure until I get there!』

I’m lucky to have found both of them so quickly. But, it sounds like he’s made contact with the locals. I have no idea what sort of monster might be living here. Whatever it is, I’ve no choice but to go all in to protect them.

…At the source of the [Telepathy], I find the treant, half-buried in the ground.

『M-master-dono! Please pull me out!』

…How did this happen?

“Treant-san… Why are you playing around at a time like this?”

Aro asks, despairingly.

『Y-you got it wrong! I don’t know how either! I used [Statue] to protect myself, so maybe that made me get stuck into the ground…!』

…I suppose that makes sense. I can’t remember much either from when the skill sent me here. He probably appeared high up, and then the hardness of [Statue] caused him to stick into the ground.

I grasp his trunk between my forefeet and strain to lift him up. I feel the ground shaking slightly as a result.

『Thank you, master-dono!』

I look down at his roots and see they’re way tauter than they needed to be.

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『…When I’m nervous or stressed, my roots get stiff like this.』

He explains to me. I glance at Aro on my back. She’s smiling faintly as she watches him.

I look back and take a deep breath.

『Y-you don’t have to be that exasperated…』

『No, I’m just glad both of you are safe. When I heard that scream, I was seriously worried a monster had found you. Seeing you like this has helped me calm down a bit.』

『Master-dono…!』

I hold my head and think. Both Aro and the treant are safe. I really am happy about that.

…But, the situation’s still terrible. Now that I’ve found them safe… and having seen treant-san acting like his usual self… I can finally reexamine the situation calmly.

I know why God’s Voice made a point of showing off his [Spirit Servants]. It was to prove the difference in our power, and to tell me that I’m far too weak to have any chance at the moment.

It was probably true that God’s Voice hoped I would choose to obey. But, that sudden rage was no doubt a performance to make the difference in strength obvious.

To instil in me an objective of getting even stronger, God’s Voice threatened to send the [Spirit Servants] throughout the world to rampage. I need to quickly escape from this world and stop God’s Voice. But, God’s Voice also made it clear that I stand no chance as I am now. So, while searching for clues as to how to return, I’m to raise my level. If I don’t obey… The cost is everyone I’ve ever met in the world.

『What kind of a ridiculous…』

I mutter unintentionally.

God’s Voice wants to observe the data of how I get stronger. But, I’ll never be allowed to climb to the same heights as God’s Voice. Once I’ve reached just one rung below, God’s Voice will use that ridiculous strength to squash me.

God’s Voice’s ultimate objective is to produce a monster stronger than themself, and then use that monster to destroy this world and return to their original world. But, I made it clear that I wouldn’t cooperate with that. There’s probably no chance that God’s Voice will let me get stronger than them.

If I were to lie and say I’ll obey, is there any chance I could take God’s Voice by surprise? No, they’re not that naive. There’s nothing I could possibly say to persuade them, and it wouldn’t be strange for God’s Voice to directly look into my heart somehow. That’s why God’s Voice told me to kill Aro and the others, to prove I don’t have any lingering attachments to this world.

Do I have no choice but to keep moving, just to keep saving new hostages one after the other? Now I think about it, this might be how it’s been for a while now. For everyone I’ve ever saved, if a different ‘Irushia’ was made to be God’s Voice’s underling, would they have ever been in such danger? If it wasn’t for me, God’s Voice probably wouldn’t have dragged them in in the first place.

Do I have no choice but to keep playing along to God’s Voice’s script? At the end, I’ll be abruptly killed. Once that happens, there’s no guarantee that Aro and the others will survive. After all, the scale’s way too big. God’s Voice is a god, after all. At the very least, they have a power worthy of being called godly.

I hang my head. What should I do? The more I struggle and with each trial I clear, the more of the world God’s Voice drags in, and the more difficult the problems presented to me become.

What can I possibly do?

『You always overthink things like this. There’s only one answer.』

I feel as though I hear a voice in my head, and inadvertently look to my left. Noone is there, but I feel as though someone was.

My mouth curves into a smile. Partner… Even after you’ve gone, you’re still pushing me on.

“Dragon-god-sama…? What’s wrong?”

Aro stands in front of me, asking worriedly. I suck in a breath, then raise my mouth to the sky and roar.

“GuuOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh!”

Aro and the treant quiver in shock and stand up straight.

There’s no use getting lost in hestiation. No matter what, I need to do whatever I can to improve the situation, even a little.

『I’ve decided, Aro, treant. I’ll do as God’s Voice wants and get stronger. But, not just to the point of being able to overwhelm someone like Lilixira, or defeat that giant spider monster!』

There’s only one way to escape from God’s Voice’s control. I have to outwit them and get stronger. That’s all.

There’s no way to tell if it’s impossible before I try. Right now, God’s Voice is slacking off and waiting idly for my level to rise. This is unmistakably a big chance.

『I’ll knock down that complacency and set this world free!』

That might be exactly what God’s Voice is hoping for. They did say that a strong will is essential for surpassing the walls of the system. But, that’s fine. If God’s Voice is going to incite me to get stronger, then I’ll blast through their assumptions and get even stronger.

Now that I think about it, I’ve always been trying to get stronger in order to protect something. To protect Miria’s village, to protect Nina and the ball rabbit, to protect the Lithovar village, to protect the city of Alban, and to protect my friends; I’ve always sought strength in order to protect what’s in front of me. But, that’s not enough. God’s Voice made a point of contacting me directly.

So, to protect everything, I need to get strong enough to defeat God’s Voice.

『I’m not going to aim for anything but the strongest!』

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