Chapter 265 – For the Hero (4)

God is absolute.

God loves humanity.

These are all lies.

There are ants.

I watch their procession, and out of boredom, I pour water on them.

Ants, swept away by the sudden, immense flood.

To them, it is a cataclysm.

They tremble in fear, unable to comprehend their situation.

There is only one thing they can do.

Pray to their god.

Of course, I pay no mind to their prayers.

We are on the verge of the Great Cataclysm.

A world so corrupt that human selfishness has reached its peak, a world that makes even the gods shake their heads.

“We… we want to live, too.”

No one wants to die.

“If it cannot be us, then at least our children. Please, take our children.”

A middle-aged man, shedding tears.

The ash-colored sky signaled a world no longer fit for human life.

On the dark earth where not a single plant could grow, people desperate for survival are praying to me.

“You will remain here.”

I am not a god. But to them, I must seem like one.

“Save us! We want to live, too!”

The middle-aged man rushes at me.

I strike him down.

The man, sprawled pathetically on the ground, was wailing not from pain, but from despair.

The man’s child is watching me.

Venomous, slitted pupils.

I know what kind of emotions the child named Agares harbors.

Because I have seen that look countless times.

“None of you will board the ship.”

“…!”

No matter how much they cry, no matter how much they wish.

My power has its limits.

The number of lives that could enter my ‘ship’ was finite, and I had to save them in the most efficient way possible.

“I am sorry… for making you choose this.”

The goddess with a golden aura said to me.

She was looking at me with sad eyes.

“It is my mission.”

The reason for my existence.

The task I must perform.

The task only I can perform.

“I am sorry…”

“It is time to depart.”

“I’m sorry, Noah.”

There is a goddess in this world.

But she is powerless.

Some people think of gods as omnipotent.

That is clearly wrong.

There are no gods in this world.

There is only this damn thing called the Order System, a shackle in which everyone is trapped.

The gods are like game masters.

They simply know more and have a little more power than others.

Not so different from the users.

Though to the people, that might be the very definition of ‘god’.

It was time to prepare for departure.

The world would soon end.

The scales of the Order System had tipped to the left, and the decision could not be reversed.

To prepare for a new world, I efficiently prepared for salvation aboard the ‘ship’.

Elves, dwarves, gnomes, humans, and a pair of every animal and plant.

A pair of every living creature in this world boarded the ship.

I distinguished and selected the minimum essential species.

The Great Cataclysm had already occurred several times.

And now, once again, humanity was facing its end.

It was the beginning of the end.

The sky was black, and the sun had vanished.

A darkness, as if the entire world were covered by a veil, descended.

And so the ‘Ship of Salvation’ began its ugly, week-long journey to save only itself, abandoning all other life.

I operated the ‘ship’.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t a ship. It was just me storing the chosen lifeforms in a temporary space I created.

No one can withstand the tempest of this apocalypse.

Not even a ‘god’.

Only I could walk this desolate earth.

When the Great Cataclysm began, those who couldn’t board the ship screamed, starved, cursed, and wailed every day.

It couldn’t be helped.

Salvation is not fair enough to be granted to all.

Only the most exceptional species, those of the highest quality, could live on in the next world.

It would take time for the Great Cataclysm to end. I began my journey.

As the ‘ship’, I needed to ensure a safe voyage, so I had to avoid areas that were collapsing too severely.

Because even I am not absolute.

The land was corrupted.

Nothing could bloom here.

Everywhere I went was a vision of hell.

Trees turned to ash and vanished, rocks eroded into sand.

“Noah…”

“Lord Noah…!”

Even days after the Great Cataclysm began, there were still survivors.

With hollow eyes, they recognized me and crawled forward, their gazes pleading for salvation.

“Please, save us… We want to live…!”

I turned away from them.

I could no longer offer salvation, anyway.

“Do you have no feelings…?!”

“Save us, damn you!”

Ignoring them, I walked my path.

Through this ruined world, seeking the safest route. The least dangerous place.

Five days had passed since I began my aimless wandering.

Few people remained alive.

No, those exhausted by hunger were resorting to cannibalism.

The poison created by the overflowing demonic miasma of the Great Cataclysm drives humans mad.

Nothing can withstand it in a state of starvation.

They eat each other.

The cruel law of the jungle, a common sense that defies all reason, was becoming the order of this week.

“Lord Noah…”

I saw her.

“He…llo.”

A little girl was still alive, even after six days.

It was a miracle.

It was fortunate that the child was in a remote corner of the continent, not in a city.

No, it was hard to call it fortunate.

The child was already dying. Her fading eyes were perilously shadowed, as if she would draw her last breath at any moment.

“You’ve suffered.”

Had this child sinned, too?

They say the Great Cataclysm occurs to wash away humanity’s sins.

I do not question it.

That is my role.

Even a child cannot escape this disaster of salvation.

The law must be upheld for all.

“Lord Noah…”

The child calls out to me as I turn away.

She would surely say she was hungry, beg me to save her.

So I tried to depart again without looking back.

“If I do this… like this, my tummy doesn’t hurt…”

The child was holding her stomach with her two small, maple-leaf-like hands.

I could see a faint light, like that of a firefly.

Astonishing.

She was a child with the power of healing.

Despite her grime-streaked face, the child was smiling brightly.

I could now understand how she had survived in such a harsh environment at such a young age.

“I’ll make your ouchies go away…”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

The child staggered weakly.

Shrouded in the shadow of death, she walked toward me like a marionette with its strings about to snap.

“I’ll make it so you don’t hurt.”

The child took my hand.

Her hand was filthy, but I couldn’t pull away.

It was a cold warmth, but I couldn’t let go.

“You should have used that on yourself. I feel no pain. And I do not die.”

“That’s not true… Lord Noah is hurting.”

The child said to me.

I am not in pain. Not anywhere.

“How foolish.”

I murmured.

Beside the child were two figures, presumably her parents.

The child had been casting her healing spell over and over on her dying parents.

“Do you not resent me?”

I am a savior.

But to some, I must be an object of resentment.

That is why I cast aside my emotions to fulfill my duty and responsibility.

“No…”

The child, her strength fading, opened her heavy eyelids.

“Lord Noah… to make… a kinder world… you’re suffering all alone…”

With those words, the child closed her eyes, her face truly devoid of resentment.

I don’t know. I can no longer tell.

I understood why the child had said I was in pain.

My reflection in a shard of broken glass was crying.

Our journey over, we descended again upon the world, after the Great Cataclysm had ended.

There was nothing.

On the final day, a great flood had swallowed and dissolved everything.

From something to nothing. Everything was gone.

The ship returned to the surface. And from it, the surviving humans and animals began to live again.

The earth, cleansed by the deaths of others, was ready to accept humanity once more.

Watching life sprout anew in the world, I was filled with remorse.

“Do not blame yourself.”

The goddess said to me.

I was dying. Perhaps it was the divine punishment I deserved.

“You cannot do everything alone.”

The goddess looks at me with concern.

I hear her words of comfort.

“I still need you.”

The goddess pleads with me.

But I could not grant her wish.

And so, I found my rest.

***

I opened my eyes.

In that fleeting moment, I saw my past life.

That crazy, gold-sparkling goddess.

She said I died from being crushed while overexerting myself. Well, I guess that’s somewhat true.

I was carrying an immense mass all by myself.

The intense heat from the explosion feels like it’s melting my eyes, suffocating my throat.

*Hoo, haa.*

A breath escapes me.

Unable to withstand the immense mass, my inventory creaks.

Even my Inventory skill cannot handle it.

My trauma.

And my oath.

The reason I tried to save people like a madman must have been because I resented my own power for failing to save so many in the past.

But now, it’s different.

A single wing stretched out from my back.

I haven’t activated Phase 3.

Now, all my power was erupting from my body naturally.

That’s right.

In this very moment, I have awakened to a new power.

Upon my green domain, I overlay blue.

And over that, I lay a red domain.

I stack layer upon layer.

This is something only I can do.

“Come.”

Unconsciously, I had already drawn my hand through the air, completing the skill pattern.

The power I had drawn upon in the past, the power I had used. It was time to once again use the full extent of that power, of which I had only been using a fraction.

“Ark!”

*Kiiiiik—!*

In an instant, all the light intertwined, creating a massive shockwave.

He must have self-destructed with the intent of blowing me and my comrades away in one go, but things won’t go as he planned.

An immense inventory, larger than any I had created before, swallowed everyone up.

*KWWAAAAAA—!*

The explosion of black demonic energy washed over me.

Already injured, my body couldn’t withstand the surging blast and was being pushed back.

-[Savior Hero] has been activated.

-The more people you must protect, the higher your attack power increases.

-The more people you must protect, the higher your defense power increases.

-Unique Barrier, [Ark], is formed.

-You grow stronger in critical situations.

I raised the Holy Sword.

As if reflecting my will, the Holy Sword extended a blade of light dozens of meters long.

Pouring all my mana into it, I unleashed Grand Cross around me.

The vast holy power confronted the tidal wave of a black explosion.

-[Dimension Stone] cannot be used.

-Mass has exceeded the allowable limit.

Dammit.

The pressure is pushing me back.

Grand Cross, again.

I create a cross-shaped barrage around me, holding back the surging tide.

If I fall, the people inside me die too.

My injuries are severe, making it hard to hold on. The explosion was still consuming everything.

As my mana dwindled, even the power of my Grand Cross began to be pushed back.

-Mister, let me out.

Katrinne’s voice reached me.

-If I can just heal you…!

If I let Katrinne out now, she will die.

And it wasn’t as if I could extract her healing skill and use it myself. The situation didn’t allow for it.

-Let me out. Let me out! Please!

I ignored Katrinne’s voice.

-Sir Hero…

A clear voice, trembling slightly.

-I know this is bad timing… but even if I can’t lift a total of 500, I’ll try my best to hit 300 for you.

Olivier said, her voice choked with sobs.

-So please…

She’s really planting a death flag.

I had only one choice left.

-Marking coordinates.

*KUUUUUUUUUNG!*

-Coordinates confirmed.

My body is burning hot.

-Moving the Ark.

I always hated the nickname “Delivery Man.”

But here I am at the end, actually delivering a package.

Right now, I was grateful for this power I had once cursed.

-No!

A smile touched my lips.

I could hear my companions screaming.

The massive malice broke through the barrier I had created and exploded.