---

“Let’s make a list of gods we can discard without issues and those we might want to keep around… Hmm. Mom’s been asleep for 300 years, so she probably doesn’t know what’s going on.”

“Well, I’ve got the list of all the gods, but it’s ridiculously long.”

Let’s just ignore how ridiculously long that list has become for now.

“Uh, I see. Hmm… how about this? My friends and I can create the list! We’ll do it on behalf of Mom, and we’ll handle the cleanup too! Okay?”

The Sylphid, rolling her eyes, was trying to persuade me. It was clear what she was thinking.

Basically, they probably want to exclude the gods they have connections with or are close to from the list.

Well, I don’t particularly care about that part.

“Creating the list is fine, but I can’t leave the cleanup up to you guys.”

“Huh? So, will Mom handle it herself?! If that’s the case, the world will be doomed!!”

The Sylphid looked utterly distressed. Nyx next to her just tilted her head, confused.

“What do you mean doomed?”

“But…”

“I won’t blindly destroy everything. I’ll try to minimize situations where I have to use my power… Hmm. I might think about deploying dragons and golems too.”

Rather than smashing everything myself, it’s better to let others do the destruction to minimize collateral damage.

“Well, if that’s the case… it sounds okay. Yes. Anyway, we’ll quickly create the necessary list. Until then, we shouldn’t annihilate any other gods. Got it?”

“Right. It’s not like it’s something we need to do right away anyway.”

I can just take a look around the world, gather up some useful kids here and there, and then deal with it.

“And even if you guys make the list, it’ll just be a reference, so I might reflect your opinions to some extent, but don’t get upset if things don’t go exactly as written on that list.”

“Ah, um. Yes! As long as Mom’s help is around, it’ll be enough!”

“I also need to impose a few conditions when creating the list. That should make it easier for you when you’re making it.”

“Conditions?”

“Yeah. If you just say ‘we should keep this god’ without a valid reason, then I can’t accept the list. So, you need to outline criteria for who gets excluded from the list.”

Without these conditions, it seems like they’d want to exclude anyone just because of a friendly relationship.

So…

“First, not just humans, but any beings that directly harm life on Earth will be subject to disposal.”

“Beings that harm others?”

“Exactly. Even though I told you all not to come down to Earth before… but since Baal is gone, I’m sure someone will break my rules and cause a ruckus.”

The Sylphid nodded slightly at my words.

“Indeed, some gods have rampaged on Earth. I’ve been catching them with Shamash, but…”

“Those guys will have their divinity confiscated and be annihilated while their souls will be reincarnated as humans. There’s no reason to let beings that harm others remain.”

“Got it. So, any other conditions?”

Other conditions, huh. Hmm.

First, I should reduce the number of gods… maybe I should drop the weak ones who are unqualified as gods.

Being weak isn’t a crime, but if we need to reduce numbers, then it can’t be helped.

“Those who are too weak won’t be annihilated, but they should be removed from their positions as gods.”

“Too weak gods?”

“Yeah. For example, gods of trivial things like small rivers or hills, who don’t seem deserving of being gods.”

“So, you’re saying you’ll get rid of the weak gods?”

“Right. Hmm. Ah, it might be good to use faith as the benchmark. That way it’ll be clear.”

The strength of gods is usually determined by the amount of faith they receive.

Even gods born from trivial things can be deemed sufficient if they’re worshipped by many.

“Gods with little faith… Just that criterion alone will eliminate quite a few gods. Is that okay?”

“That’s perfectly fine. When were there ever too many gods in this world? There won’t be any issues.”

In the old days, there were no gods at all! It was just me!

Though, back then, there wasn’t much life either.

“So… will those gods also be reincarnated as humans?”

“Hmm. Annihilating them and turning them into humans seems a bit cruel. Maybe… it’s better to change them into something like spirits.”

“Spirits?”

At the Sylphid’s words, I nodded.

The souls of those who were once dragons, existing now as magical beings after shedding their physical forms.

If they could constitute themselves with magical power instead of faith… then gods could also exist as spirits, right?

No, rather, they could be reborn as pure beings free from dependence on the faith of others.

They won’t have to suffer the fate of being distorted by the beliefs of living beings anymore.

Even if they don’t become spirits, transforming into something like fairies would also be enough.

Let’s just say anything that’s not a god feels okay.

“Spirits… Hmm… that might actually be better than I thought. They should at least maintain some sense of self.”

“Then go spread the word to the other kids.”

Normally, I’d have to personally convey this to each of the other kids, but if I leave it to the Sylphid, everything will become much easier.

She would take on the role of spreading the word like breeze carrying a message.

“Yeah! Leave it to me! I’ll go do that!”

“After you’ve spread the info, it’s very likely that I won’t be here anymore, but… go ahead.”

I watched the Sylphid’s back as she rushed out of Baal’s temple, eager to convey the message to the others.

“So… let’s calmly listen to what has happened over those 300 years.”

Nyx, looking a bit tense. To ease her, I created some simple snacks and placed them on the table while looking at her.

I’ve heard general details, but hearing it directly from the person involved is always best.

“Yes!… A lot has happened during that time. It’s been truly tough.”

Nyx began to unload her grievances. It seemed she struggled a lot while Baal was missing.

Well, let’s make sure to listen to what she has to say.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Inside a dark cave.

In the highest mountain, a space within Sagarmatha.

Inside it, six beings sat around a round table, huddled together and exchanging opinions.

“Hmm… it seems like Mom is angry, right?”

“From what I’ve gathered, it certainly seems that way.”

Shamash and Thetis spoke up, followed by Sagarmatha.

“Yeah. She’s definitely angry. A huge deal.”

“Still, it doesn’t seem like she’ll just smash everything to pieces like before.”

Responding to Yggdrasil’s comment was the Sylphid, who had gathered everyone with her message.

“But she’s clearly angry. She instantly took off Zeus’s head while causing a scene in front of Baal’s temple.”

“Zeus’s head? That guy’s a bit of a fool, but he’s got some serious power being a major deity, right?”

At Ifrit’s words, the Sylphid nodded.

“That guy absorbed a substantial amount of heavenly power and authority. He was strong, at least not as strong as us.”

“Taking off such a guy’s head in an instant… hmm… we could probably do something like that too, but to do it in the blink of an eye…”

“Wouldn’t be possible unless you’re as fast as Shamash or the Sylphid?”

Shamash and the Sylphid shook their heads in denial at Thetis’s remark.

“We’re not compatible enough to catch him in one go. We’d have to engage in a battle of strength and press down on him.”

“Yeah. That guy has speed and destructive power.”

The six gods gathered here, known as Ancient Gods to others, sighed.

“Anyway, we’ll need to create the list Mom desires.”

“First, there’s no way we’re saving Zeus…”

“We don’t really need that guy around anyway.”

Thetis spoke bluntly, seemingly having a strong dislike for Zeus, who once tried to charm her.

“Hmm. It doesn’t seem like there’s many worthy ones to save among the Aesir.”

“Really? Yggdrasil, weren’t you on friendly terms with those guys?”

“Those guys just annoyingly keep asking for power. They’ve even toyed with the elves.”

Yggdrasil shook its head in disapproval.

“Plus, those idiots secretly stole useful souls.”

“Souls?! That happened? How?”

“They disguised their low-level goddesses as the Grim Reaper to secretly collect souls. Even the gods of the Underworld don’t know about it yet.”

“Yggdrasil, how do you know all this?”

At the Sylphid’s question, Yggdrasil scrunched its brows.

“Well, those fools tried to mess with the souls of elven beings, so I caught them easily and plucked their wings, drove roots into their arms and legs, and turned them into trophies. It was easy to get them to talk.”

“Why on earth would they do that? If mom finds out they’re messing with souls, she won’t sit idly by.”

“Well, the leader of the Aesir has been out of his mind. Since gaining heavenly wisdom, he has completely lost it, yelling about destruction… Aah!”

Yggdrasil’s expression changed as if it realized something.

“That one-eyed lunatic… maybe he foresaw the future?”

“The future?”

“Yeah. Things that will happen after Mom returns. The destruction that will come to the gods after Baal’s demise.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of others began to shift.

“I see. Heavenly wisdom comes from Baal, so he must remember a fair amount about Baal… he must have figured out about Mom’s existence.”

“Right. It’s the destined destruction.”

As Sagarmatha spoke, the others could only nod in agreement.

 

---