Published: September 10, 2025
This is Satou. I believe that the original role of a clown is to entertain people. When did it come to mean a fool, someone to be mocked?
◇
“Guaaaaaaaa!”
God Zaikuon struggled violently, wrapped in the net of black sludge.
The membrane of black sludge didn’t break—perhaps due to its elasticity.
Eventually, God Zaikuon sank into the black sludge.
“Idiot!”
“That’s our Master? Pathetic.”
“Did he die?”
The Nymphs floated and circled above the black sludge.
Bubbles began to rise from inside the black sludge.
Curious, the Nymphs approached, but suddenly the black sludge exploded upward with tremendous force.
The Nymphs panicked and fled.
To prevent contamination from spreading, I caught all the black sludge with a golden chalice I found and then enclosed it tightly within a barrier, isolating it in an unused otherworld.
“Guhhaaaaaaaa!”
Where the black sludge scattered, God Zaikuon stood.
He seemed to have changed his image slightly: black tattoos appeared on his bare upper body and face.
The divine, yellow light that once shone from God Zaikuon was now murky and tainted, especially the outer edges of his yellow glow, which had turned black.
His eyes glowed red-black—the same as the Nymphs contaminated by the black sludge.
“So, this is the forbidden power…”
God Zaikuon muttered, coughing.
“…This omnipotent feeling isn’t so bad.”
It was hard to tell how much stronger he had become, but the Nymphs who had earlier surrounded and beaten him were now trembling under his glare.
“‘Our Master!’”
“‘Our loyalty belongs to you!’”
Apparently, the Nymphs intended to return under God Zaikuon’s command.
However, the Master himself didn’t seem to want that—
“Ginyaaaaaa!”
God Zaikuon’s arm stretched out, grabbing one Nymph and crushing it.
“Master, you’re going mad~”
“They’re killing meeeee!”
As the Nymphs panicked and fled, God Zaikuon chased them down with a speed far beyond before, swiftly hunting them like game.
“—Has his aura changed?”
God Zaikuon’s yellow light darkened and spread each time he hunted a Nymph.
He was definitely growing stronger, but it felt more like the contamination level was rising.
The black sludge that had contaminated the Nymphs had seemingly transferred to God Zaikuon.
“Next, it’s your turn.”
God Zaikuon attacked me.
Distance was irrelevant; in an instant, he closed in right before me.
I activated my magic power armor to block his attack.
—His strike was fast—and, above all, heavy.
I saw the same tattoo-like corruption invading my magic power armor that I’d seen on God Zaikuon.
I repositioned my units to maintain distance and discarded the magic power armor.
“Fool!”
God Zaikuon attacked at the moment I discarded the armor.
Though I redeployed the armor in time, I couldn’t cancel the inertia of the blow. I was thrown back, embedding myself halfway into the mountainside and creating a massive crater. It hurt a bit.
“Zai, zai, zai, zaiiiiiii!”
Was that a battle cry?
God Zaikuon’s saturated magical attacks rained down on me.
Each strike felt as powerful as advanced magic or even a forbidden spell.
His attack carved deep into the mountain, reshaping the terrain.
“Hahaha, hahaha!”
Floating in the air, God Zaikuon laughed triumphantly.
Sorry to break his spirit, but I had already escaped the initial impact using unit positioning and was now hiding under demonic essence camouflage.
“—Escaped, huh.”
Oops, he noticed I got away.
“Then I shall destroy his country to flush him out.”
Not something a god would normally say.
Since he seemed serious, I deactivated the demonic essence camouflage and revealed myself.
“Hmph, you’ve been exposed already?”
“Weren’t you supposed to avoid killing people recklessly?”
I forgot to be polite, but whatever.
I no longer cared to put on a facade.
“With this immense power, it doesn’t matter if my divine power source decreases somewhat. Humans will multiply on their own if left alone.”
Yeah, that’s exactly what someone drowning in power beyond their limits says.