"Donât you have any followers of your own?"
Kanzaki Rei thought for a moment, then asked in return.
For just a brief instant, the smile on Lottieâs face stiffened.
"The Deeplands are completely isolated from the outside world. I have no means of contacting the surface, so... itâs rather inconvenient to develop followers."
She answered smoothly, her tone conversational.
There was none of the aloof, untouchable aura typical of gods. Instead, her attitude toward Kanzaki Rei was surprisingly approachable.
"No wonder Iâve never heard your name out there."
Lottieâs smile froze againâjust a little longer this time.
...Is this human picking a fight?
Do you think I donât want to be famous?Do you think I donât want to be known?Do you think I donât want followers?
I canât get out!
Iâm stuck in the Deeplands!
If I could leave, who in this world wouldnât know the name Lottie?!
Back then, she had clashed with a certain unknown Moon Sovereign. Her very name had been erased from the world.
Not a single soul remembered her.
Later, she expanded her divine kingdom into the Deeplands, fusing it with this realm.
And from that moment onâ
She lost all connection to the surface world.
But if she could seize the position of a Moon Sovereign, she would regain a fragment of that connectionâenough to interfere with the world during the fifth month of every year.
"Oh... so thatâs part of your trial?"
Lottie coughed lightly.
"Not exactly."
"A trial is a trial... you still need to pass it before I can use you."
"If you canât even pass, then you wonât be of any help to me."
"...Though, given the current situation, I could lower the difficulty a bit."
Sheâs... surprisingly easy to talk to.
But stillâ
Is this really okay?
He was standing face-to-face with a true god.
Were gods really this approachable?
She didnât even feel dangerous at a glance.
Kanzaki Rei felt both curiosityâ
And deep caution.
Her authority was over mind and illusion.
A being like that could trap him in an illusion effortlessly.
"Are you wondering," Lottie suddenly said, "why someone as weak as you can look directly at me without collapsing?"
Before he could answer, she continued:
"Thatâs because Iâm wearing clothes to suppress my divinity."
"If you saw my true, naked form... you definitely wouldnât be able to endure it."
Kanzaki Rei kept a straight face.
...but internallyâ
Do you even hear yourself?You shameless godâhow many times are you going to emphasize that youâre not wearing clothes?
Are you actually trying to make me imagine it?
No... donât think like that.
She governs the mind.
She can probably read everything.
...Wait.
She did just read my thoughts.
Did my God-Tier Talent â Unsolvable Mystery fail?
Or... does it simply not work against true gods?
He had always wonderedâ
At what level would his talents start to lose effectiveness?
Now, he finally had a test case.
Lottie watched his expressionless face.
Despite the lack of visible change, she spoke as if reading a book.
"Youâre wondering how I can see through your thoughts."
"To be honest, youâre full of secrets. I canât fully read you..."
"Especially your mind itself."
"But even if your true intentions are hidden, your expressions, movements, and gaze still reveal everything."
...So it does work.
Unsolvable Mystery wasnât completely negated.
That meantâ
Even against a true god, a God-Tier Talent still held some effect.
Though not absolute.
"I donât sense any fear from you," Lottie continued. "You must be quite confident in your ability to escape the Deeplands without my interference."
"Mm~ thatâs good."
"I need someone capable in the real world. If you had no tricks of your own, Iâd be the one troubled."
Kanzaki Rei replied calmly:
"I donât recall agreeing to help you."
This Lottie really was polite.
Every sentenceâyou this, you that.
What is she, some ultra-formal noble deity?
He found himself unconsciously mirroring her tone.
Otherwise, it felt... awkward.
"Itâs fine~"
"Youâll agree."
"I could tell the moment I saw youâyouâre that kind of person."
Kanzaki Rei let out a quiet breath.
"...What exactly do you want me to do?"
"I want a temple in the real world. A statue."
"And Iâd like you to spread my existence a little."
"Thatâs all?"
"Of course not. Thereâs also my Divine Descent Ritual."
"If you can fulfill the conditions for my descent, that would be even better."
Another Divine Descent Ritual...
That makes two now.
A thought flickered in his mindâ
What if two different descent rituals were triggered at the same time?
Would White... end up fighting this one?
"Youâre thinking something very rude."
Kanzaki Rei cut off the thought.
But another one slipped throughâ
So that was more rude than imagining you naked?
"...Thatâs also rude."
...Seriously?
Even fleeting thoughts?
Gods of the mind were truly irritating.
"Secretly disliking someone is also rude, you know?"
...Kanzaki Rei suddenly understood Ansu a little better.
Having your thoughts exposed like thisâ
And still being fine with it?
Then again...
Ansu had lived long enough to not care about dignity at all.
To him, life was just experience.
Even being humiliated was just another flavor of existence.
"If itâs only something like that," Kanzaki Rei said, "I can help."
"But Iâve heard that Moon Sovereigns reward their followers based on merit..."
If there were no binding contractâ
He didnât mind being a "follower" temporarily.
After allâ
War Godâs chosen.Honorary Priest of the Church of Life.Successor of the Church of Light...
Heâd played every role.
Say what needs to be said to humans.Say what needs to be said to ghosts.
As for who he truly followed?
That was up to him.
"No need to worry about rewards," Lottie replied sweetly.
"What I offer will be more than enough."
"But before thatâpass the trial."
"Otherwise, I canât send you out of the Deeplands."
"Even Iâm bound by its rules."
That made sense.
If she could freely send people outâ
She wouldâve done so long ago.
No need to negotiate like this.
"Youâve already passed the first trial."
"Awakening within the Deeplands."
"So next is the second trial."
"A test of your combat strength."
...Combat?
Straightforward.
"Youâre a Level 5 class holder, correct?"
"...Yes. How did you know?"
"When I look at you, itâs written all over your face."
...What?
You can see that?
His strength far exceeded Level 5â
Yet she still read it accurately.
"Iâll assign you a Level 5 standard trial."
"Alright."
As her voice fellâ
Darkness peeled away.
A massive creature emerged.
A Seventh-Tier Falling Star Scorpion.
Its body was enormousâdozens of times the size of Earth itself.
Three tails unfurled, each tipped with planet-like stingers.
"Be careful," Lottieâs voice echoed faintly. "This is a Seventh-Tier, Second Metamorphosis monster. Extremely dangerous."
Dangerous?
Kanzaki Rei raised a spear in his right hand.
His undead army already included Seventh-Tier, Fourth Metamorphosis entities like Parasitic Sea.
Danger?
Where?
He stepped forward.
[Skyfall Style â Third Form: Phantom Strike · Convergent Dragon Annihilation]
BOOM!
His arm flickeredâ
Too fast to see.
Countless strikes condensed into a single point.
A straight line tore through spaceâ
And through the scorpion.
A hollow tunnel blasted clean through its body.
Instant kill.
Silence.
Lottie reappeared beside him.
Her mouth opened slightly.
"...You... are really Level 5?"
She had intended to go easy.
After all, if he failedâ
Who knew how long sheâd have to wait for another candidate?
And with the Moon Sovereign competition approachingâ
Missing this chance would be disastrous.
So she had deliberately chosen the lowest viable difficulty.
For most geniusesâ
Defeating a Seventh-Tier monster at Level 5 was already a challenge.
She had even worried he might fail.
But insteadâ
He annihilated it instantly.
"...Youâve got some serious skill."
Her eyes lit up.
Maybeâ
She had truly found a gem.
"Mm! Your combat ability is excellent!"
"Trial passed."
"Nowâon to the third trial."
Kanzaki Rei paused.
This trial system...
It felt almost too casual.
Like a perfunctory physical examâ
Something that barely mattered whether you passed or not.