Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

Satou here. I once read in a book that whenever there are two humans together, conflict is bound to arise. Back in my school days, I was sometimes asked to mediate arguments between couples, and more often than not, these disputes stemmed from misunderstandings caused by people not listening to each other. Communication really is important, isn’t it?

◇

“Don’t pay any heed to the Demon King’s idle chatter, you know?”

Suddenly, a young girl of about five or six appeared—utterly out of place in a setting like this.

Her AR display only showed “UNKNOWN (identity unknown).”

But her face looked somewhat familiar.

“To think you would show yourself before my lord so boldly! That’s unlike you, Parion, who’s usually so timid!”

Is this girl Parion Divine God, the one who summons the hero?

The Demon King conjured a sphere of "combustion" and transformed it into the blade of a glaive, slashing at the girl.

She burned up instantly like a paper craft model.

Huh? Are gods actually weak?

“That’s rude, you know? My hero, this form was created to save you from falling under the Demon King's sway,” she corrected, regenerating her appearance without me noticing, then scolded me.

Could she be reading my mind?

“You say my lord is the hero?”

“You’d better be quiet for a bit.”

The Demon King was suddenly trapped inside a painting that appeared in midair.

Now I remember—that face! It was the girl waving from the painting in the Duke’s Castle hallway.

“So you finally recall,” she said.

Wait a minute. If she contacted me back then, does that mean she knows that Satou is actually Nameless?

“Of course. I’ve always been by your side.”

Could it be the god is a stalker?

“That’s harsh. At least call me your guardian spirit or protective deity, would you?”

Please stop conversing with my inner voice.

Oh, but more importantly, I have a question.

“God, were you really suppressing civilization as the Demon King claims?”

“At least I’m not interested in human affairs. My interest has always been solely in you.”

I feel like she’s dodging the question.

Better press her further.

“You didn’t manipulate people’s minds to prevent things like printing presses or hot air balloons from spreading, did you?”

“Well, some gods might have done that. But why would anyone try to hinder the printing press? What’s the best-selling book on Earth? Try to recall.”

Best-sellers... that’s right.

Then what was the god’s motive in blocking it?

“Then, you didn’t cause disasters or stage false flag acts to gather faith, right?”

“I didn’t, but it seems other gods did. They apparently found it hard to control natural disasters, so eventually, the gods of war made their followers fight proxy wars for their amusement.”

She shrugged her small shoulders as if it were someone else’s problem.

Typical divine mischief, but although she dismissed the Demon King’s words as nonsense, isn’t she implicitly confirming them?

“Also, since the demon gods appeared, they’ve been holding back. After all, even if they don’t act, the demon gods cause disasters as ‘monsters’ and ‘demon kings’ on their behalf. The gods lead leisurely lives, basking in the faith that flows in, doing nothing at all.”

Something feels off. This contradicts the Parion Divine God I read about in the myths who learned hero summoning magic from the dragon god.

Maybe it’s the difference between picture books and reality, but it bothers me.

“Listen closely, my hero. You can always be just who you are. Just be strong enough to stand beside me.”

Having said that, she vanished as if melting into the sky.

◇

Breaking through the painting, the Demon King reappeared.

“You’ve been thoroughly deceived, God’s watchdog!”

“You’re the one who jumped to conclusions, aren’t you?”

The Demon King looked battered, unlike the composed gentleman he had appeared to be moments ago.

His body, about 180 cm tall, had undergone two transformations and now resembled a gigantic five-meter-tall werewolf.