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“Thanks to that, the Gods are in an uproar. At first, we brushed it off as just a rumor, but once we realized that the Goddess of Life was behind that prophecy, it turned into a serious issue.”

“The Goddess of Life?”

“Yes. If it’s not just any god but the Goddess of Life, then it’s definitely not an ordinary prophecy. After that, the gods gathered to find a solution. They discussed what must happen for humans to be worshipped as gods, and there were even ideas about making you, just newly born, a divine child and ascending you as a god.”

“A divine child….”

“That was just an opinion; it was never put into practice. It ended with a bit of gossip, so there’s no need to worry.”

Hades continued speaking in a calm voice.

“Besides that, they investigated how long it would take for humans to grow and achieve enough merit to be deified, and they even looked into rituals that would forcibly sacrifice other lives to ascend them as gods. There were various discussions, and in the end… the gods concluded that they were absolutely short on time.”

“Short on time, huh…? No, I feel like I heard something ominous. Forcibly ascending other lives as gods?”

“You can forget about that. If they really attempted it, the Goddess of Life would have been extremely enraged. Anyway.”

After a small cough, Hades continued.

“Humans are extremely weak right after birth, so they naturally take enough time to grow. But even for the gods, that time was running out.”

“Is the downfall of the gods approaching?”

“Yes. While the Goddess of Life is compassionate, she is not one to be patient. Once she genuinely gets angry, it’s no small feat for the world to be half-destroyed.”

“Half-destroyed, you say….”

“Long ago, there was an incident that caused the once-thriving dragons to fall all at once, which was due to the Goddess of Life’s anger. Many no longer remember it now.”

Listening to Hades, Rychlen’s expression turned blank. Dragons? You mean the ones from legends once thrived? And they fell all at once? All thanks to the Goddess of Life??

It was a series of unbelievable stories, but Rychlen tried to gather their thoughts somehow and spoke up.

“It feels surreal, hearing such shocking stories in succession.”

“I understand. It may not be known to humans, but it’s unknown to elves. Anyway, just the fact that Baal, the once king of the gods, wasn’t present was enough to seriously offend the Goddess of Life.”

“Just being absent was enough to make her angry? Was my past life that important to the Goddess of Life?”

“More than being important… it was that you caused such a ruckus that even Baal, who was crowned by you as the king of the gods, had to give up his position. The anger likely stemmed from the point of having her authority invaded. As for your past life… it’s just a matter of feeling sorry for having placed an excessive burden on you.”

“Feeling sorry, huh….”

Rychlen felt a great disappointment and wondered why they felt that way. It was just a past life. It shouldn’t have anything to do with their current self. So why the disappointment?

“After that, the gods sought mercy from the Goddess of Life. They were way too short on time to make you a god.”

“Hmm… But why are they all so flustered around the Goddess of Life? Can’t the other gods team up to defeat her?”

In response, Hades shook his head slightly.

“Even if all the gods teamed up, they wouldn’t be able to do anything against the Goddess of Life. She is a deity of such immense power.”

“The Goddess of Life?”

“To humans, she might just be known as a benevolent goddess and the deity who selects heroes, but really, she is in a class of her own compared to other gods. She’s a deity born alongside the creation of the world.”

“Born with the creation of the world… Now that’s something I can’t just ignore.”

“It seems she herself doesn’t give it much thought, but anyway, you can think of it as the gods being flustered by the Goddess of Life. That’s why they only seek mercy from her.”

“Mercy….”

Rychlen shook their head slightly. If they were in the position of the Goddess of Life, they wouldn’t know why they should grant such mercy.

Setting aside their past life, if the middle management they appointed was removed by others… wouldn’t anyone get angry?

Especially if the reason for their removal was due to the misdeeds of those they managed… that’s a no-brainer.

“In such a situation, the Goddess of Life set conditions for the gods. In exchange for what the gods possess, she’d extend their time.”

“What the gods possess?”

“Yes. The fragments left by your past life… Baal.”

“Fragments…?”

“Baal’s soul has reincarnated as you, but being the king of the gods, he left behind quite a bit. Some gods managed to obtain the fragments left by Baal and have become superior beings compared to the others.”

“It’s about my past life, but… I don’t feel great about it.”

“In exchange for recovering Baal’s fragments, the Goddess of Life granted a ten-year extension to the scheduled destruction. After that… they recovered three of Baal’s fragments, granting a thirty-year extension.”

“Three?”

“Yes. Baal’s emotions, Baal’s body, and Baal’s wisdom. So those three. If they also recover Baal’s authority held by Zeus, everything but the soul will be gathered.”

“Everything but the soul… Which means… I have to die right now?”

To that, Hades shook his head.

“You don’t have to die right now. It’s fine if you finish your life as a human.”

“What? But if what you said is true, if I don’t return to the position of a god, won’t the gods ultimately fall?”

“Hmm. If I borrow the words of the Goddess of Life, she said, ‘Those gods should just be destroyed once.'”

“The Goddess of Life… didn’t plan to forgive the gods from the start?”

“Yes. She never intended to forgive them.”

Hades’ words were nearly identical to a death sentence for the gods.

“Of course, she won’t erase all the gods. Some gods are certainly beneficial to the world. She will strip the gods of their divinity who need to be stripped, and maintain those who can be maintained. It’s more like a thorough sorting procedure.”

With that, Hades looked at Rychlen.

“Of course, if you return as the king of the gods, the Goddess of Life might reconsider…”

Hearing Hades, Rychlen fell deep into thought.

Becoming a god. That would undoubtedly be an enormous honor. Ascending to a being beyond human will be passed down in legend.

Even the legendary hero couldn’t become a god, despite all the achievements they accrued.

But… is that really okay?

With their ascension to godhood, those gods would continue to exist?

As such thoughts crossed Rychlen’s mind, an inexplicable feeling of loathing began to creep up their spine.

They normally had no particular feelings about the gods, but just by hearing Hades’ stories, that loathing built up.

Like emotions that had been suppressed breaking free from Hades’ words. As if memories belonging to a past life began to seep into them.

“Are the gods… necessary?”

“Well, at least the Goddess of Life believes that she doesn’t need as many gods as she has now.”

“Do the gods bring harm to this world?”

“There are gods who don’t, but though, the ones causing harm are more numerous.”

Hades’ words made Rychlen nod.

“In that case, if I give up the position of a god… the gods will be sorted out.”

“That’s true. But ascending to godhood will surely be a tremendous honor. Are you planning to give up such glory?”

At Hades’ words, Rychlen shook their head.

“If becoming a god doesn’t lead to the sorting of the gods, it means that most of those problematic gods will still be there.”

“That’s… true.”

“If they’re left alone like that, isn’t it possible that someday the Goddess of Life would get angry again?”

“If something like this happens again, then yes.”

“And if I become a god… wouldn’t I end up being the king of the gods, just like my past self?”

“Yes. That’s a definite outcome. The Goddess of Life kept the position of the king of the gods empty for you.”

Hearing Hades’ words, Rychlen’s mind was made up.

If they were to repeat what their past self did, a substantial problem would surely arise.

Unless the gods were sorted out.

So.

“I will not become a god.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. If I become a god, it will just be a repeat of my past life.”

“It might be, but… we’ve already sorted out quite a number of gods, you know?”

“Since we’re at it, wouldn’t it be better to sort through them thoroughly?”

Rychlen spoke lightly, like someone suggesting it would be better to take out all the trash piled up in their house at once.

Though it was a blasphemous way of treating the gods as trash, there were no ears of the gods in this place, so there was no problem.

“I understand. If you’ve made up your mind that way, there’s nothing to be done. I will relay that to the Goddess of Life. She’ll prepare accordingly… um, you don’t need to know this.”

After saying that, Hades waved his hand lightly, and a small box flew in from somewhere.

“This box contains the soul of your friend that you’ve been searching for. I would like to apologize a bit for using him.”

“Using?”

“Yes. I used him to summon you to the underworld. Originally, you were supposed to die from him, but you would have frozen to death while asleep in the street due to being drunk.”

Rychlen’s face went blank at Hades’ words.

“Frozen to death on the street, you say?”

“Yes. I changed that fate to have you die from him, making you come to the underworld. As compensation… I extended your lifespan a bit with my authority. I apologize a bit for you ending up killing your friend.”

“Um… but I don’t actually remember killing that friend. Was that how it happened?”

“Yes. As a side note, about the knowledge of keeping a corpse cold to prevent it from rotting, I believe the Goddess of Life softly whispered that into your ear.”

Rychlen tilted their head at Hades’ words.

It indeed… somehow felt like the thought of keeping a corpse cold to prevent it from rotting had suddenly popped into their head, but did the Goddess of Life have a hand in this?

Not sure, but hopefully, it all got resolved well.

“But can lifespan really be so casually extended?”

“Normally, it can’t be, but this time it’s special. You were used to summon you to the underworld, so you deserve some compensation for that.”

Hades said this nonchalantly, while Rychlen could only shake their head slightly in response.

 

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