Chapter 66: The Guardian Deity’s Grudge

The system had never bothered to display any kind of cost or consumption value from the start.

But a new skill had just appeared—what did that matter?

I might as well try it out.

Hwarrrr—!

Green flames surged up from my back.

It felt almost as if they were clamoring to be released.

How could something without life be so demanding? I truly couldn’t understand it.

Of course, I had no intention of refusing.

“So, what’s this new skill supposed to be?”

The moment I voiced my curiosity in my mind, a hologram popped up.

『Extreme Choice Activated』

“Wait, hold on! Why is the name like that?”

Normally, “extreme choice” implied something closer to “choosing to live,” didn’t it?

If I’d known the name would be this ominous, I might have thought twice.

But the skill had already activated.

「Extremely amplifies either Attack or Defense.」

「However, the unchosen stat falls to half or lower.」

「Selection window: 5 seconds」

Fortunately, it didn’t demand my life.

It simply skewed everything heavily toward one side—attack or defense.

‘What happens if I don’t choose anything?’

While I hesitated, the countdown raced downward.

「5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Complete.」

「Auto-selection: Attack」

『You are now in a glass cannon state.』

There was no special penalty.

One of the two would simply be chosen automatically.

‘Not bad. I was going to pick attack anyway.’

That’s what I told myself, but a faint unease remained.

Whether it was my imagination or not, the pouring rain began to sting against my skin.

Shwaaaaa—!

“Huh? Wait, this might not be just my imagination?”

They said defense would drop, but was I really taking damage from mere raindrops now?

It was only a guess, but if true, I’d have to fight as cautiously as possible.

Unfortunately, the situation refused to go according to plan.

Thud thud thud!

“Ah……”

A sudden sound made me glance to my right. My forearm had swollen to nearly twice its normal size.

It was the sound of my own body collapsing under the pressure of Destructive Retribution.

If a little more time passed like this, my arm might actually explode.

In other words, I had to throw everything into a decisive blow right now.

“Screw it—do or die!”

That half-god still didn’t fully understand my combat strength.

If so, our first real clash could become an unexpectedly huge opportunity.

Booom—!

The instant I kicked off the ground, a tremendous explosion rang out.

A crater four meters across formed beneath me, and my body shot forward.

The distance to the enemy closed in an instant.

—Th-this is…!

The half-god’s massive, shocked face rushed right up to mine.

At this rate, I might end up head-butting its lips.

I panicked and twisted my body sharply.

“Gah! Gross!”

—You’re the one who came charging at me!

“Doesn’t matter who started it—you’re ugly!”

What kind of nonsense…

Claaaaang!

The opponent’s telepathy cut off abruptly.

Because I had just swung the Communication Rod with everything I had.

It was perfect timing, but honestly, my arm couldn’t hold out any longer.

I couldn’t understand why the skill kept trying to fire on its own.

A person can get angry sometimes.

It’s not like I can’t reasonably vent my rage.

「Destructive Retribution is a difficult skill to handle. To master it perfectly, please improve your system functions.」

A hologram message suddenly appeared.

The system had started talking a lot more lately.

It used to only relay information, but now it was trying to have conversations.

‘This isn’t the time.’

I shook my head vigorously.

I’d almost fallen for the system’s tricks.

I was in a life-or-death battle right now.

‘I’m fighting with my defense halved. Where do I have time to get distracted?’

I quickly dismissed the hologram and focused on my movements.

The half-god, enraged to the tips of its ears, was unleashing merciless attacks.

It was firing what looked like water cannons from its mouth—something I absolutely could not let hit me.

Pshhhhh! Kwa-ga-ga-gak!

Sure enough, any rock struck by the blue energy shattered into pieces.

It felt like it had been sliced by a water-jet cutter.

Kraaaaa! To dare strike this noble body of Delia with a lowly hammer! I’ll kill you!

The creature writhed in agony.

I had landed a solid Destructive Retribution right in its chest.

Any ordinary living being would have died instantly.

Its torso was caved in by about twenty centimeters.

Yet astonishingly, it still seemed largely intact.

Judging by the way it kept firing water cannons nonstop.

‘But I really can’t stand it referring to itself in the third person.’

If it were some cute kid doing that, maybe.

This half-god named Delia looked almost exactly like Adam.

A beast in every sense—yet acting like that!

“As chairman of the Real Men’s Association, I absolutely cannot overlook…”

—Stop spouting nonsense and watch your front! At this rate I’ll die too!

I was dodging the water cannons nimbly when a frantic voice rang out. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Shugl wearing a terrified expression.

He’d held on impressively through the fierce battle without falling off.

But it looked like he’d reached his limit.

His tiny, adorable arms were trembling violently.

“Are you an idiot? Do you have to cling there?”

—Then what am I supposed to do? If I get swept away by the rapids, I’ll float far off. Coming back would be a pain.

“This’ll work.”

I grabbed Shugl and stuffed him into the inner pocket of my coat.

An explosive reaction followed immediately.

—Gah! What the hell are you doing, you bastard!

“You complain even when I help. Stay quiet. I’m really busy right now.”

—Krrgh!

Shugl poked only his head out and watched the situation with great interest.

I was dodging the insane barrage of water cannons with almost supernatural agility.

‘This is doable.’

Delia’s accuracy was abysmal.

It felt like it was just firing blindly without aiming properly.

The shock from Destructive Retribution probably hadn’t worn off yet.

If so, now was the perfect chance.

‘I need to land one more solid hit before it recovers.’

Fighting for too long with weakened defense would be too risky.

Quick resolution was the only answer.

I evaded the water cannons while gradually closing the distance.

But once I got close enough, no clear opening appeared.

The enemy was spraying everywhere.

‘No good. I’ll just hit it from here.’

Destructive Retribution was fundamentally a close-range attack.

However, it could still exert powerful influence from a distance.

Its attack range was simply that wide.

Pshung—! Tadadak!

“Chaat!”

I shouted a kiai while dodging a water cannon flying straight at me.

A blue beam shot forward and slammed right into Delia’s face.

Booooom!

Kraaaaaah!

A satisfying impact sound accompanied the enemy’s scream.

At the same moment, the endless streams of water abruptly stopped.

“Yes!”

I let out a triumphant shout and dashed forward.

I intended to finish it off for good this time.

But just as I reached striking distance—

—You lowly insect, how dare you!

Booooom!

Blue beams of light burst from the creature’s body.

Then came an inexplicable explosion.

There wasn’t even any gunpowder—why was there such a sound?

“Huh?”

Of course, I didn’t need to understand.

My body floating in midair was already demonstrating the result.

—I-I’m flying!

“Damn it!”

It seemed I’d been caught in that mysterious explosive force.

But letting the opportunity slip away like this was far too regrettable.

If Delia regained its senses, the fight would only get harder.

Even while being hurled backward by the immense power, I thrust the Communication Rod forward to the very end.

I attempted one final attack.

Destructive Retribution activated.

Shwhaaa—! Claaaaang!

I felt the strength drain from my body.

It seemed I could no longer use Destructive Retribution.

Still, the blue flash I fired struck Delia precisely in the temple.

—Oh! That guy’s going down.

Along with Shugl’s shout, I saw the enemy’s massive form collapsing.

The very last strike had landed perfectly.

Soon, the force pushing me away weakened dramatically.

Tap!

Landing on the ground, I picked up a nearby fishing net that had been rolling around.

It was torn to shreds by the ferocious storm, but it could still serve a purpose.

Not for fishing—for restraining.

“Alright, shall we get started?”

—Started what?

“I told you earlier. Arresting the perpetrator in the act.”

What’s that supposed to mean.

“I’m the governor and supreme judge, not a security officer. I’m going to capture and hand it over.”

—You’re the one who’ll judge it anyway. Isn’t it the same either way?

“No, no! Every matter in this world requires proper procedure. That’s how we minimize mistakes and injustice.”

I tightly bound the sprawled Delia’s arms.

Come to think of it, didn’t this thing fire water cannons from its mouth?

Then I should safely block that too.

Once I wrapped the net around its mouth as well, I finally felt relieved.

And just like that, I removed the root cause that had tormented Delriat every year.

From now on, even during the rainy season, half the city probably wouldn’t flood.

“Wait a second. Didn’t this thing say its name was Delia?”

—It did introduce itself that way.

“But the place I govern is Delriat?”

—Pretty similar.

“I feel like I didn’t exactly repel a disaster… It kept calling itself the guardian deity earlier, didn’t it?”

—Come on, no way. Half-gods are so arrogant—would it really accept a position like that?

Shugl shrugged.

These half-transcendent beings were merely products of coincidence.

Just fragments of lost divine or demonic authority that had leaked into the natural world.

There was absolutely no grand, noble will behind them.

At least, that’s what I understood.

“Pardon? What did you say this being’s name was?”

Kuro Allegan, who was temporarily filling the administrator role, asked with a strange expression.

I answered casually.

“Delia, apparently.”

“Delia?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! Goodness!”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Well, the truth is…”

The story that came from Kuro Allegan’s mouth was quite astonishing.

The origin of the city-state called Delriat.

The entity that had created a livable space in the desert for people was none other than Delia.

In other words, I had…

“Beaten up the real guardian deity?”

Looking purely at the result, that’s exactly what it amounted to.

“Then why was it causing floods?”

If it’s a guardian deity, shouldn’t it protect the city?

Not rampage like it did today.

After pondering for a moment, Shugl came up with a pretty good idea.

—Just ask it directly.

“Ah, right.”

Since Delia was already restrained, it was perfectly capable of answering questions.

I immediately shook the unconscious creature awake.

“Hey, wake up.”

—Mmm? Ugh?

Thanks to being a half-god with a sturdy body, it looked fairly intact even after taking three full Destructive Retributions.

I quickly threw my question at it.

People tend to speak the truth when half-asleep, after all.

“Listen, Delia. Why the hell did you do that?”

The response came immediately—and fiercely.

—Because you people stopped offering sacrifices!