ONLY two candles are burning in the cellar. It’s too poorly lit to make out every corner of the room. Then I see it—a lone woman chained to the wall like she’s being crucified there.
“Queen Lia!” Lex dashes over to her.
This woman must be Cia’s mom. She does share the same hair color, and I can see some similar facial features. Unlike the king, however, she is covered in blistering injuries. The wounds are so grotesque, I instinctively look away.
“Lady Mizuha.”
“Right.”
My healing ability does nothing for recovering stamina or curing disease, but it is capable of healing wounds. I place my left hand on Queen Lia and watch as the deep cuts carved into her body heal before my eyes. She hasn’t regained consciousness, but her breathing sounds calmer now.
“Jela lost, then?” inquires a voice that sounds like an ensemble of overlapping bass notes. An obscured shadow sways in the deepest part of the room where the voice came from. The shadow’s outline is hard to make out, but it has a humanlike shape.
Lex and Sir Oden draw their swords.
“Sheathe your blades. I don’t have the strength to resist you now.”
“…Another one of your tricks, monster?”
Contrary to Sir Oden going on high alert, Pino is calm. “That stupid woman failed to revive you in full?”
“I see the tiny one is capable of holding a conversation.”
Pino snorts. His snotty attitude doesn’t fail him even before the Dark Djinn. “Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say you could only use your power through her as a conduit? It’s no wonder your attacks were laughable.”
“You would not be standing here if I were whole. Nay, Sadia never even let me net a countermeasure against her.” In the middle of the swaying shadow, two purple glowing balls I assume are eyes pierce through me. “Oi, you there.”
“M-Me?”
“Is there anyone but you who received Sadia’s powers, woman?”
Pino once ran the idea by me that my powers might belong to the Goddess, and it seems he was right.
“Get this over with.”
“Get what over with…?”
“Purification. What else?”
I stare blankly at the shadow. “Uh, are you sure? Don’t you want to fight it out or something first?”
“I’d much rather vanish than be stuck in this shitty state.”
Well, that’s sportsmanlike of him. It’s surprising after the underhanded, sinister picture I had arbitrarily painted of him in my mind. Maybe the Dark Djinn isn’t so bad after all? That stupid thought briefly crosses my mind, but I shake it right out of my head. The zombie apocalypse would’ve never befallen this world if not for this malevolent deity. He doesn’t need my sympathy.
I walk over to the Dark Djinn and reach out my right hand. “P-Pardon me, then.”
“…Oi, woman. I won’t go easy on you next time,” he threatens.
I was so stupid for thinking for even a second that he might not be evil. That proves it—he’s wicked through and through. Letting out a small cry, I stretch across the final distance and touch the Dark Djinn’s shadow. The darkness around the back of the room pulses, until the light created by my right hand completely erases it.
When the blinding light filling the room finally fades, I open my eyes along with the others. A frighteningly beautiful woman is left standing in the back of the room. She in no way looks like she’s someone of this world. A halo of light radiates from behind her, giving credence to that idea.
“Thank you all for what you have done,” the woman says in a clear, bell-like voice.
“Mayhap…you are Goddess Sadia?” Sir Oden asks in a trembling voice.
“Such appears to be the name you call me among your people.”
Sir Oden and Lex sigh in awe at her response. Even the all-knowing Pino appears taken by surprise. As for me, I’m not all that shocked. Perhaps because I could sense she was the Goddess the moment she appeared.
“Excuse me, I have a question… Are you the one who brought me to this world, Goddess?” I ask her the number-one question I wanted to ask should we ever meet.
Her expression drops into a doleful smile. “Yes. I have put you through much strife.”
“You sure have. You chucked me into a post-apocalyptic world full of nothing but zombies… I was nearly killed, then mistaken for a goddess and confined to a creepy hellhole against my will.”
“Ulp!”
“Ah, I’m not blaming you for it. Sure, I had to humiliate myself on a constant basis, since the only way to purify water was by spitting in it. But I don’t blame you one BIT for that.”
“Ummm…” Goddess Sadia is gradually shrinking in on herself.
“Merciless,” Pino whispers.
She put me through a hell of an experience, but I don’t actually resent her for it. This is just my passive-aggressive way of getting back at her.
“I just wish you had explained things to me first,” I huff.
“I-I’m sorry. It took everything I had just to summon you to this world and bestow my powers upon you.”
“But why me? I know it sounds weird for me to say this, but I’m sure there’s a more suitable person than me.”
Goddess Sadia gives a placating smile as she slowly shakes her head. “No, there is none but you. Your heart is closest to mine.”
“I’m…similar to you?”
I don’t have some pure and noble heart like a saint. Even so, being told I’m akin to a goddess not only doesn’t sound half bad, it makes me a little happy too. As I’m reveling in self-satisfaction, someone pops their head out around my shoulder.
“See! My goddess is the Goddess after all! Iris wasn’t wrong!”
“Iris?! I told you to wait outside!”
“Eep. I was curious about the immense light spilling from inside…”
“Shut your mouth and keep quiet.”
“Yes’m!” Iris drops to her knees and covers her mouth with both hands.
She always kicks up a loud fuss when it comes to the Goddess. I had her wait outside because I thought something like this might happen, but it looks like my efforts were in vain.
“I have something to ask you,” Pino enquires of Goddess Sadia with a hard expression. “Did Diallo take control because your powers were waning? I just can’t fathom that stupid woman having enough power to wake Diallo up.”
“You have guessed correctly. Torstana and Ladan are the main causes.”
As that conversation is going on, I whisper my question to Lex. “Hey, what are Torstana and Ladan?”
“Two major powers on par with Grantz. Both countries have been at war for decades.”
Cia once told me about two countries that were currently engaged in hostilities, and it seems these are the ones.
“That’s what I thought. But I can’t believe a being worshipped as a god is influenced by what’s going on in the world.”
Goddess Sadia offers a troubled smile in reply to Pino’s cynicism. It’s fine for him to be fearless and all, but he should at least be respectful to a goddess.
“The world should slowly purify itself now that I am back in control.”
“It won’t just come back at the snap of a finger?” I venture.
“As your friend mentioned, my powers are in a weakened state right now.” Goddess Sadia turns her attention to me, then changes the subject. “Now then, you successfully fulfilled your duties. If you so desire it, I shall send you back to your own world this instant.”
This was the topic I’d been hesitating to bring up myself. Really, though, I just wanted to know if it was possible to go back—I still haven’t made the final decision about what I want to do yet.
I look askance at Lex and our eyes meet. At first, his expression is a complex mix of emotions, but a smile immediately rises to the surface. He’s supporting my decision. I know that. I know it, but—
“Excuse me! Is it possible for you to hold off for a bit?”
“Lady Mizuha?!” Lex cries in disbelief.
“Ah, well, how do I put it? It’s all happening too soon.”
Lex’s surprise is reasonable, considering I’ve only ever spoken to him about going home. I’m starting to feel uncomfortable, so I shift my gaze back to Goddess Sadia to avoid looking at Lex.
“I am presently capable of speaking and using my power of my own volition. However, my existence is normally a part of the world. All my powers are used to maintain world order.”
“In other words, you won’t have the leeway to send me home after this?”
“At least not until the entire world has been purified of the zombie blight.”
How much time will it take for the whole world to be cleansed? I can’t even begin to estimate it. The one thing I do know is that Goddess Sadia is weak. It’ll definitely take an extraordinary amount of time.
“I am responsible for dragging you into my world’s problems. I shall do whatever it takes to keep my present form for a whole day.”
Meaning, I have to come up with my answer by then.
“I have yet to ask your name.”
“…I’m Mizuha.”
“I am the last person you wish to hear this from, but…please think it over carefully, Mizuha. This decision will drastically alter your future.”