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Stopping the God of Madness

It’s not as easy as it sounds, but it’s not like there’s absolutely no way to give it a shot.

The first method that comes to mind is, of course, deception. The God of Madness is currently lost in chaos and can’t control himself, so can’t we just offer up something that makes him think it’s the Goddess of Love, hide the real deal, and voila?

“So, this statue….”

“That’s not a bad idea. That statue is certainly one of my divine objects, and in any case, it’s connected to me. Since it’s just a shell for now, no one should get hurt. It should be enough for a diversion.”

“Then…!”

“However, you’ll be found out quickly.”

“…So it’s like that, huh?”

“Other gods might be different, but the God of Madness won’t become weak just because he’s lost it. Besides, the madness with focus is particularly tenacious. If he’s already decided to kill me and absorb my power to turn into something greater in madness, deceiving him with just a mere doll will be impossible.”

“Tsk. Talk about a hopeless situation…”

I shook my head and started brainstorming my next plan.

When it comes to the Goddess of Love, her obsession makes deception impossible. But judging by how mad she is, she’s bound to be impulsive.

The monsters cursed by the God of Madness have all sorts of characteristics, but one thing remains clear: they show consistent hostility towards adventurers… normal people.

Intelligent beings might prepare various tricks to deceive their opponents, yet the fact remains that they harbor infinite malice.

Powers do not suddenly change or appear from nowhere. When you trace it back, in the end, it comes from that god.

Like the other monsters, the God of Madness must be blind to the reality of his own condition.

“Can we make use of this?”

“It is possible, but… how do you mean?”

“Well, we could set traps or incite them to fight among themselves. The God of Madness surely won’t come alone.”

“That’s true. The berserkers created before the God of Madness went insane, and those who have completely lost their minds make up his army now.”

“If that’s the case, we’ll just need to prepare accordingly to the routes they take. How many can fight in the temple?”

“…The only one you saw at the entrance a moment ago is the only one. Most are skilled in healing and protection, but they have no experience in hurting anyone.”

“Even in times like this?”

“This place is the last refuge for those who can’t give up on love, even in such times.”

“It’s hard to argue against that… Ah, then are they skilled in barriers?”

The priestess in revealing attire didn’t seem to be a close-combat type, instead leaning towards projecting divine power from a distance.

If that’s the case, that leaves only me to tackle the front lines. Healing is important, but healing focused on one person has its limits.

If I can recover quickly when hit once, then that should be enough.

However, barriers… barriers have no upper limit. The thicker, the better.

I deeply felt this while fighting with Claudia III.

Once the barrier was up, it caught Ellie effortlessly with its full force.

…Ah, I miss Ellie. I also want to see Lydia, Benny, and Eve.

Maybe it’s because I received help from others during major battles, but facing this alone feels a bit overwhelming.

Still, it’s something I have to do.

After a moment of contemplation, the Goddess of Love nodded.

“I don’t know how strong of a barrier you want, but if I assist, we could hold off the entire army of madness for three days.”

“But that means we can’t stop the God of Madness?”

“…It seems I must personally go out for that. Just like you, I can withstand it for three days.”

“Winning in battle… no, I might have gone too far.”

To summarize, it means we can tank and heal, but we won’t deal any damage.

While we might prepare traps, there’s no one to battle within those traps. Dropping a boulder might be more effective.

It’s as if traps are set without spikes.

As for the leftover spikes… I will be taking on the role of the damage dealer.

“I get the picture now. Then engaging around the temple won’t work.”

“Why’s that?”

“The temple’s defense is indeed an advantage, but having more places to protect is a significant drawback. Instead, let’s limit the battlefield.”

“Limiting it means…?”

“Using barriers like walls to restrict the direction from which the God of Madness and his army can come in.”

No matter how large the opposing number, fighting in an alley means we’d only face two or three at most at a time.

Surrounding the area with barriers reduces the number of foes I directly confront. And all my remaining capacity goes into supporting me.

Even if it’s not easy to take them all down, it isn’t impossible either.

The army of madness is ultimately made up of beings tainted by madness.

In other words, they are monsters.

And I’m an adventurer whose business is hunting monsters.

“The problem lies with the God of Madness himself… but there’s only one method, right?”

“Whatever it is, I’m willing to assist.”

“Uh… I appreciate the offer, but it’s not something the goddess should intervene in… it’s a favor for the other gods.”

“Eh? But they won’t attack me, and they won’t help me either.”

“Maybe that’s true for the goddess. But I’m different.”

With that, I started bringing out all the powers I had amassed up until now.

Basilieus, Seed of the Mountain Range, Argetlam, One Loved by Death, Voice Calling the Dead, Cloak of Gluttony, Sacred Bloodline, Bold Gambler.

And lastly, even though it’s not a power, I pulled out the muffler, the sacred object most cherished by the God of Thieves.

“With this, I’m sure they’ll take an interest in me. If I offer my previous sacrifice, desperately pleading for assistance… we might manage somehow, right?”

The gods of this age are fundamentally thirsty for capable followers.

Suddenly, here I am, slaughtering monsters left and right?

They would certainly see the value in investing. Some might even be so enthusiastic that they’ll shower me with favors.

Of course, this hinges on cooperation from other gods, making it a gamble of sorts…

But what other options do I have? It’s either that or escape with the Goddess of Love if it comes to it.

The Goddess of Love was aware of this, yet her expression seemed a bit strange.

As if she were a person who just found out that a platypus’ bill is soft, filled with shock and odd melancholy.

“Wha, what…!”

“What?”

“How can you wield so many divine powers when I’m here…!”

“Whoa.”

Seems she was not particularly pleased with me possessing the divine powers of other gods.

“Losing gracefully… could be interesting?”

“……”

Wait, is it just an extreme possibility that expands the world?

The god’s mindset is hard to gauge. It’s easier to just give up on understanding it.

Shaking my head, I asked the most crucial question.

“Are you sure you can keep supplying divine power?”

“Divine power supply…!”

It was as if her eyes lit up at the mere mention of magic supply. But she soon adopted a serious expression as if dragged down by the weight of reality.

“I can provide it directly as long as my remaining power permits. It seems you have the qualifications as my divine object.”

She was probably talking about the embodiment of love. Unlike the future goddess of love trapped in a labyrinth, she’s right here before me now.

I could receive more than just passing on will; I would have backup.

“Ah, by the way, can you not strengthen me?”

“There’s not enough capacity for that, given the support from other gods… but let me ask. Why?”

The Goddess of Love looked slightly disappointed. I smiled brightly at her.

“But you can’t fight, can you?”

“Eh.”

“Letting a weakling handle control is a bit…”

“……”

The face of the Goddess of Love hardened as I bombarded her with facts.

Three seconds passed.

As time went by, whether pondering or blushing from embarrassment, she began to fidget.

“Hehe…”

“Stop smiling weirdly. Weak~ling. Weak~ling.”

“Ugh!”

Just a little teasing, and the Goddess of Love looked like she was about to fall over in joy.

This is what makes Pinkie…!

***

The God of Madness was marching straight ahead in a direct line, heedless of obstacles.

There wasn’t a single person foolish enough to try to stop the frenzied horde.

Time was short, so I mobilized all means at my disposal to prepare.

Among those who pledged allegiance to the Goddess of Love and followed me, some had left, but far more remained than I had expected.

So I had some of them take care of the monsters I had missed. It wouldn’t be a problem if they couldn’t handle the main force.

In case there was a food shortage, I also secured supplies from nearby villages, as panic-stricken people might flee.

The next order of business, one of the central points of our operation, was to enhance the strength of the sacred barrier using all the knowledge I possessed.

The only divine magic I could cast was healing and barriers. I had forcibly learned how to hack Claudia’s divine magic temporarily to disable it.

In other words, it was technology from a millennium later, more advanced than now. Plus, it was arranged so that multiple people could use it, taught by the strongest priestess of the time.

…Having finally started to understand the situation, I thought it likely that the knowledge I passed on might be misused as an advanced divine magic used collectively, and that Claudia would be the one using it.

Regardless, it should be significantly sturdier than the existing barrier.

Yeah, that’ll do.

Finally, the most crucial aspect.

I practiced how to manage the vast amount of divine power I would receive from the Goddess of Love.

It was far more than what I had been using in the confrontation with Claudia, requiring some time for adaptation.

Thankfully, I possessed a remarkable talent in handling divine power, so while I was gradually getting the hang of it, the pivotal confrontation was upon us.

In the distance of the wasteland, I could see an army emitting a dark red aura. Each one of them had lost their sanity, which was quite unsettling.

To think I’d return to the monster hunting from a thousand years ago.

It feels like I’m back at a support point.

If that’s the case, then I can only shout out like I did when I was a novice.

“Waballet!”

 

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