Chapter 501: True Prologue - Top Parts

I wondered how long I had been here.

I moaned at the unbearable pain that assaulted my entire body and looked around with hazy eyes for help. Aah, the tears I’ve shed, pooling at the corners of my eyes, are so disturbing…

I could see that my hands, which were stretched out to the sky for no reason, were sticky with the bright red blood that had flowed from me.

「Guh… Argh… Help…!」

Why am I in this mess…! Guh, It hurts…! I wish it could be more comfortable…

「Aahh…」

Huh? It’s not hurting so much anymore? The pain and burning heat that had been gnawing at me from my bones suddenly eased. It’s rather, cold…?

I’ve heard that it’s worse if I can’t feel any pain in these situations.

Aah, maybe it’s time.

When I thought about it, I felt that my body had relaxed.

My grudge towards the car that hit me, or the safety of the child I saved, or the company that will be gone after I’m gone, and other unnecessary thoughts have completely disappeared from my mind.

What I am feeling right now is only relief.

「…Aah…」

I can’t even move my mouth. But that’s better if that means I won’t be suffering anymore.

Aah, so this is the end of me huh. My field of vision turns completely white, and a sense of being liberated surrounds me as if I’m floating in the air. I didn’t feel any pain at all, and it seems I can just get up and start walking normally.

「I’m dead… huh…?」

『That’s right, if we don’t do something with you, you might die』

「… Umm?」

『But what if I told you there was a way to save you?』

Is this hallucination? I had never heard these voices before, but it sounded so clear. It was as if a woman was whispering in my ear.

And what’s with that old-fashioned way of speaking?

『I know how you feel, but this is not a hallucination. I’m here to save you』

A hallucination that says they weren’t a hallucination… Haha, maybe it’s just me that doesn’t want to die so badly.

『I’ve told you that I’m not a hallucination. Well, it can’t be helped then, so how about this?』

Snap

I heard the sound of fingers being snapped, then my field of view changed again.

「Eh?」

「I welcome you to my realm」

I was supposed to be lying on the ground, but before I knew it, I was sitting on the floor. I couldn’t help but look around me.

The white space around me remained the same, but before I knew it, a small island had appeared in this endless space.

An island about the size of a schoolyard. In the center of it stands a solemn building made of stone. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s… A temple? Yes, it was indeed a temple. I’ve never seen one in person, but I’m guessing it’s something like the Parthenon in Greece.

I was sitting right in front of the temple.

And it wasn’t just the ground and the temple that suddenly appeared.

「How is it? Do you still insist on calling me a hallucination?」

A woman stood in front of the entrance to the temple.

There were plenty of things that caught my eyes, such as her strange outfit and hairstyle. But the first thing that struck me was a feeling of amazement, 「She’s so Beautiful」

She had a pure Japanese face, but it was surprisingly well-rounded. Not only that, but I could also sense a kind of inviolable Godliness from her.

It’s not just simple beauty, but an inhuman beauty, as if an angel had taken up residence in a statue of a Goddess and started to move.

I gulped and looked at the woman’s face for a moment, then finally I looked at her whole body.

Just like her face, her figure was also like a Japanese woman. However, it was not like the old-fashioned ones. Her kimono was not the type of kimono with a long hem like a twelve-layered kimono, but rather the type of kimono worn by Kunoichi in a manga. To put it simply, she looked like she was cosplaying.

It was thin, form-fitting, and had a long slit. It’s a design that could be called cheesy, but it looks mysterious just because this woman is wearing it.

The kimono is jet-black, just like her long hair and eyes, but the edges and the obi are unified with vermilion.

「Come」

「Eh?」

A woman pulls my hand and helps me stand. That soft, warm feeling was definitely not a hallucination.

「You’re not… a hallucination?」

「Yes, So you finally understand huh? Well, this isn’t my true form. This is a mixture of my Divinity and your image of me」

「I-in other words?」

「This is a temporary form of the Goddess in your head. It is easier to talk to you this way」

So, she’s saying that’s the image of Goddess I have in my head? A beautiful woman in a thin costume. Hmm, I’d like to say something about my vulgarity.

「So you’re a Goddess…?」

「I am the one in charge of the netherworld and reincarnation. In your sense, I am the Goddess of the underworld」

「Goddess of the underworld…? L-like Hades? No, she looks like from Japan, so, Enma-sama? or Izanami?」

「You’re right, and also wrong. But let’s not talk about my Divinity for now. Your current situation was more important」

Aah, by the way, what’s happened to me? No, the Goddess of the Underworld is right in front of me, so I must be dead, right? But I think she said something about there being a way for me to be saved…?

「Well, it’s up to you to decide if you want to be saved or not, but I also have a favor to ask of you」

「A favor…? From a Goddess to me?」

「Yes. Will you at least listen to me?」

「Y-yes」

「That’s good, then come with me」

「Ah, wait a minute…」

The Goddess of the Underworld turns herself around and walks into the temple. Is that a place that I can enter? Isn’t it a sacred place…

「Hey, what are you doing, come」

「Y-yes」

She said I could come in. I hurried after her. And then I was met with more shock.

「Welcome. I am the Goddess of the Silver Moon」

「Fufu, and I am the Goddess of Chaos」

Two beautiful women, no less so than the Goddess of the Underworld, were waiting for me.