Chapter 492: The Reason It Was Me

『Oioi, Isn’t that bad?』

「Yeah. In fact, I was in danger」

It seems that the Gods had sealed Fenrir inside Cherubim, and intended to gradually tear away at the Evil God’s power and purify it over thousands or tens of thousands of years.

However, the Evil God’s corrosiveness was unexpectedly deep, and instead of being cleansed, it invaded even deeper into Fenrir’s soul as time went by.

「The Divine Sword is an entity that is designed to counter the pieces of the Evil God. Therefore, I was supposed to be protected as long as I was sealed within it… However, the power of the Evil God was stronger than expected. Well, it was a combined existence of four pieces after all」

The Gods had taken notice. The Gods paid attention to Fenrir’s ability to take in the power of the beings he ate. However, there was no way that Fenrir, in his soul state, could take in his prey on his own.

So, the plan was to fuse the sword with Fenrir’s soul. The purpose was to absorb the power of the killed opponent and restore Fenrir’s soul.

『If I may say so, couldn’t they have just used the Gods powers to heal Fenrir normally?』

「Even though I am a member of the Divine family, I don’t understand everything about the Gods……I’ve heard that Gods have rules too and that they don’t allow any kind of interference on Earth」

So, the Gods wield their power within the rules that they have set. Otherwise, the world could be messed up by the whims of the Gods huh.

「And with the help of several Gods, the foundation of the current Master was created. It’s a sword with a built-in system that absorbs the magic stones it cuts and heals me」

「How about the wielder?」

「Well, what do you think? I’m not sure even the Gods had any guesses… But first, there was a problem that needed to be solved」

「A problem?」

「It’s the Evil God. Even if I were to perfect the system that heals me, that wouldn’t suddenly weaken the Evil God’s power」

「Certainly」

『So how did you solve that problem?』

「Fufu」

Hearing my words, Fenrir laughed. It wasn’t a laugh that made fun of me, but a mischievous laugh.

「The solution to that problem was you, Master.」

『Huh? Me?』

「What do you mean?」

「What do you think is the most troublesome power of the Evil Gods?」

「Ummm?」

『Troublesome power huh…?』

「Is it its fighting prowess? Its stubbornness? The evil beings they spawn? No. The most terrifying thing about the Evil Gods is their ability to control others」

A God has more or less control over his or her kin. If she is the Goddess of Chaos, she has control over her kin in the dungeon. If she is the Goddess of Beasts and Insects, she has the power over Beastmen, beasts, and insects. It is said that it is difficult for the kin to disobey their God’s orders. Of course, they are not absolute, but their powers are quite strong.

『I’m rather surprised that it’s not absolute. Can it be resisted?』

「In the case of the Beastmen, the average person would be unable to resist. If the Beastmen’s God commands them to do something, they would have no choice but to obey. However, if you are strong enough to be at the level of the Beast King and his entourage, I believe you can defy her control. Well, I don’t know if there is anyone who would defy a direct order from a God though」

『Ordinary humans would rather be willing to obey, huh?』

「Probably」

We know about the relationship between men and Gods. So, what about the Evil God’s kin members? Are they only evil beings?

「No, it’s not. An Evil God can rule over all who are born in this world」

A Kin member is an existence that was created by their God. Beastmen, the descendants of the Divine Beasts created by the God of the Beastmen, are under the control of the God of Beastmen.

「And before the fall, the Evil Gods were assisting the Gods when there was war between Gods」

In creating this world, the God of War assisted all the Gods. In other words, she is slightly involved in the entire creation of this world. Therefore, the control of the Evil Gods will also extend to everything in this world.

The War God helped in only a small part, though apparently, her control was not as great as that of the other Gods.

It is also said that the reason why kin members can resist the rule of the Chief God was that the Evil God has taken part in their dominant territory of control.

「And it seems that when he fell to the Evil Gods, his power was altered to specialize his control」

『What’s that? There’s no way you can win against that right』

「It would be difficult for an ordinary being to defeat the Evil God’s pieces. Only those who possess the Divine Sword or have the strength to overcome the Evil God’s control can fight against it」

『…Then, why am I involved in this? I was just a common Japanese man on Earth you know?』

Now I’ve become the Discarded Divine Sword, but when I was on Earth, I was just a regular guy. I’m an otaku whose hobbies were playing games, watching anime, and reading manga.

「That part about you being born on Earth is important」

『Being born on earth…? I see! So that’s why huh!』

「Do you understand?」

『Those who are born in this world are treated as kin members of the Evil Gods and are ruled by them. But I was not born in this world. So, I won’t be controlled by it huh!』

「That’s right」

It seems that they planned to connect Fenrir and the magic stone absorption system to the people from Earth and make use of their souls as the main personality, thereby nullifying the Evil God’s control.

It’s like a filter or a barricade, but anyway, Fenrir is protected by my presence now.

『It’s finally starting to make sense』

I didn’t know why I had been summoned when I was a normal human being, but it was important to me that I was born on Earth.

『Well, I don’t know the reason why I was the one chosen all among the candidates』

「You may think you were chosen at random, Master, but it seems you were screened accordingly」

『Is that so?』

「First, the form of the soul. I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard that the shape of the soul is very important to fit in as the main personality of the sword. I’ve heard that from the Gods. In particular, the core system of the sword was created by the Goddess of Chaos by applying the dungeon system. I’ve heard that compatibility with this is important」

『Eh? Dungeon?』

「That’s what I’ve heard, and I don’t know what part of the dungeon system they’re using either. However, the way you accumulate points to gain new powers may indeed be similar to that of a dungeon master」

That’s why I’m treated like the Goddess of Chaos’ kin huh. And the Goddess of Chaos said that I was also her kin. So, I guess I’m also the kin of another God. Maybe to the Goddess of the Silver Moon.

「Personality was also important too. You’re going to be the independent personality of a powerful sword, so you need to have a decent personality」

『Personality?』

I’m not proud of it, but I’m not a saint, you know? Rather, I’m a greedy snob.

「It seems rather important to be a greedy person. God said this. Good people are quickly ruled by their self-righteousness and start talking about justice, and bad people are out of the question. Moderate people with a certain level of conscience are preferable」

Haha, so you’re saying they prefer people who do everything in moderation huh?

「Then there are religious views. Atheists are bad, but fanatics are even worse. It’s bad enough when they come to our world and say that their God is the only one. Also, mental flexibility. You need to be able to adapt to this world to some extent」

I have an idea of a race that comprehensively meets the current criteria. It’s the Japanese otaku. They look down on those who pretend to be good people, but they don’t have the guts to do great evil, and if something happens, they will ask for help from God.

Hmmm, so there’s a reason why the main characters of otherworld reincarnation novels are all Japanese otaku huh? Perhaps the authors of the otherworld reincarnation stories that have been flooding the earth are actually returnees. I wonder?

「In addition, when they look on Earth from this world, it has to be a person who is just dying or has died. I guess that means it’s easier to summon their souls. When it comes down to it, there are very few people who can be summoned」

It would indeed be very hard to find a person with the right personality, that was dying or has died. It’s completely based on luck huh.

「In fact, I think Master was the fifth person I’ve met since I started looking for a suitable person. It seems that in a world where killing each other is the norm, being reincarnated as a sword is still a high hurdle. The previous four refused, but fortunately, Master agreed to become the main personality of the sword, and so the sword was finally completed」

Ooh, so I wasn’t the only one who met the requirements huh. Now I’m grateful to the previous four people who refused to be reincarnated. If I hadn’t been reincarnated as a sword, I wouldn’t have met Fran either.

「And when Master was summoned to this world by the power of the Goddess of the Underworld, some of your memories were sealed and then you were sealed as the main personality of the sword」

『That’s it. I want to hear more about that. Why did they wipe my memory? And what did they wipe from my memory?』

「It’s for Master’s sake. After all, Master as a former human was going to be reincarnated as a sword. If he retains his human senses, he will surely go mad」

Come to think of it, the Fanatics must have said something like that huh. It said that the spirit of a man cannot withstand being the body of a sword.

「So, it seems that they sealed away the memories that would strongly shake your personality, desires, and emotions as a human being」

『So that’s why there’s a lot of other memories I’m forgetting besides the ones before and after my reincarnation that I’m just not aware of?』

「That’s right. Of course, it was planned that the seal on your memories would be lifted once you were comfortable with the sword and had no problem regaining your memories. Master may not remember this, but it was explained to you before your reincarnation and you understood it」

That’s probably true. If I was asked to choose between going crazy or having some of my memories sealed, I would definitely choose the latter. Well, the mystery remains as to why I agreed to be reincarnated… No, if I was dying and someone offered me a reincarnation, I might accept it even if it was as a sword. I’m more surprised that there are people who refused.

『Is it different from what was planned now?』

「That’s right. That’s why I need you to come to this place. The Gods are not all-powerful, but I didn’t expect that their schedule would be so far off… I don’t know whether I should praise or lament for the Gods, either」