Tis-ha gritted their teeth, gripped their sword tightly, and stood up.

The wounds on Hieronymus, who had received the blessing, disappeared entirely. If that were all, it would have been manageable—just a matter of fighting him again.

But the elderly man who had been standing on this battlefield, wielding various spells and demonstrating seasoned techniques, became younger. He regained the vitality he had lost to time.

In many works, terms like "second form" or "second phase" are used, but they all mean one thing:

He had become stronger.

The monstrous man who had single-handedly faced the elite soldiers of the Ansellus Kingdom and former warriors of the Future Hope Sect stood up once more.

However, no one present was looking at Hieronymus.

Instead, the gaze of everyone was fixated on a small girl standing right in front of him.

A girl in her early teens with long purple hair.
Although Rebecca Rolf’s real age was in her late teens, her small stature made no one perceive her as such.

According to Andrew, who betrayed the leader of the Future Hope Sect after realizing the corruption of the religion he once trusted, she was simply a girl who had the power to bestow blessings.

He explained that she was merely a captive, exploited by the Future Hope Sect.

When asked for proof by the people of Ansellus, Andrew pointed at Tis-ha and asked:

"After converting to the Sacred Light Religion, has there been any change in the blessings?"

At that time, Tis-ha shook their head. There had been no change. If anything, their regenerative power had grown stronger with each passing day as they matured.

He then gestured toward the people who followed him, explaining that they, too, had betrayed the sect leader but still retained their blessings.

Thus, Andrew declared that the girl had nothing to do with the cult and was someone he must rescue.

The people of the Ansellus Kingdom didn’t fully trust Andrew’s words but found them intriguing.

After all, the blessings were extraordinary. Having faced blessed individuals as enemies for so long, they knew them better than the Future Hope Sect in some ways.

So, they began to dream of seizing an opportunity to take her with them, should it arise.

They were indulging in such hopeful fantasies, right up until the moment when the thing wearing the skin of the girl in front of them started laughing—a grin splitting its face unnaturally wide.

"What is that laughter?"

Unintentionally, truly unintentionally, Yasle asked this question.

Unfortunately, the question had been voiced.

"When you're happy, you’re supposed to laugh, right?"

She didn’t lie because she believed herself incapable of lying well. While she might deliberately withhold certain details or explain things in ways that fostered misunderstanding, the words she spoke were always true.

"What exactly makes you so happy?"

And so, her answer to Yasle’s question was also entirely truthful.

"I can now go anywhere. I no longer have to sink into the bottomless depths, gazing endlessly at the sky above where lights flicker and vanish. I don’t have to wait in despair and hopelessness for the falling lights anymore. I no longer have to stare blankly at the star-filled heavens, longing for the faint warmth contained within those lights."

As if singing, as if unable to contain her joy and excitement, the being that Hyungkeshni had once defined as an Outer God spoke.

"I no longer have to pick up the lights that have sunk to the depths just to obtain warmth and burst them."

And now.

Krssaksshibal, the unnameable god, or the god who should not be named—the true identity of a deity known by many names—was revealed.

What had previously been thought of as a simple rule, that deeply despairing individuals would explode, was now exposed as an act of someone’s will.

In some worlds, there existed knowledge of this Outer God. In this one, a very select few had a vague sense of its presence, forming the foundation upon which Hyungkeshni had coined the term "Outer God."

But such knowledge was hidden.

It was forbidden knowledge, not meant for anyone to know.

Even if revealed, it would do no good. It was far more comforting for people to believe it as a law of nature.

Because it was seen as a law, the most heinous acts—exploitation until death, chopping off hands for failing to meet a quota—were slightly restrained.

And it was this perception that gave rise to primitive religions.

The belief in a god who grants power to those in deep despair was salvation in itself for people in such states.

But in this world, there is no salvation that comes without a cost.

For the Outer God, it was a desperate act to obtain warmth. For humans, it was no different from being hunted.

Taking warmth meant taking lives. Thus, the Outer God’s actions were evil.

In other words, the evil god that devoured people was right in front of them.

And it was a god that hungered with fervent desire.

At first, they couldn’t understand what this god was saying. But their inherently sharp minds, made even sharper through blessings, quickly pieced together the answer, albeit hesitantly.

Yasle, feeling as though her heart had frozen, attempted to grab the girl by the collar but failed.

The sight of the girl, smiling so genuinely and happily, was so terrifying that her hands wouldn’t move. So she shouted in denial:

"You! Don’t tell me you’ve taken my knowledge in exchange for blessings! That you’ve gained the knowledge to summon yourself!"

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Three dry claps, the kind some use to mock others in certain worlds.

"Yes, that’s right. I gained it, Hieronymus."

Then, she looked around.

"I made a pact with Hieronymus. He said he wanted revenge using my power, so I allowed it. He offered sacrifices, and I accepted them. He desired blessings, so I granted them. Wasn’t it all what Hieronymus wanted?"

It was true.

Yet, even as the Outer God spoke those words, Hieronymus and everyone else could only stare at her with expressions of pure terror.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t comprehend the words.

If the girl’s words were true, then the villain here was indeed the leader of the Future Hope Sect.

However, this fear did not belong to the realm of reason.

It resided purely within the domain of instinctive emotion.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the shadow of a towering stone pillar over the area, the girl's eyes glowed ominously with a purple light—an actual, physical light emanating from them.

It was like staring at a creature deep within the uncanny valley. Everyone present felt an overwhelming sense of fear and revulsion toward the thing before them, which only barely resembled a human.

Seeing their expressions, the Outer God spoke.

"Do not be afraid."

And so, they became even more terrified. That thing could read human expressions, understood what those expressions meant.

Even Yasle, usually adept at deciphering people's faces, couldn't comprehend what Hyungkeshni's grin signified. Yet this god, who understood human behavior so thoroughly, could.

Though few truly understood the full extent of its nature, the sight of a girl telling frightened people not to fear her was utterly horrifying.

One person, however, grasped the meaning.

Yasle gripped the artifact in his hand. The strange object the Outer God had once dismissed as "peculiar" was a sort of magic staff with the power to enhance its wielder.

It was an ancient relic, once held only by the leaders of Yongrang Theocracy. Its capabilities could easily be imagined.

"Return to where you came from."

Hieronymus began chanting a long incantation.

Joanna, interpreting it as an attack on Rebecca, leapt forward to stop Hieronymus.

No one present knew.

Joanna Smith—how she truly regarded Rebecca Rolf.

Hyungkeshni believed Joanna saw Rebecca as her daughter. Hieronymus and the others assumed she worshipped the god with devout reverence.

But all of them were wrong.

Ironically, Joanna was the one who most clearly recognized the true nature of the Outer God. Her tragic past allowed her to see the primal wildness concealed within. Decades of enduring injustice had given her insight into the god's restrained demeanor.

And yet, she noticed small gestures. The way it silently cleared tools she used to tidy up. How it took care to shake off sand-covered shoes before entering after seeing her struggle to clean the floor.

It did nothing overtly significant. It treated her as a companion—neither above nor below, not as a friend, but as someone who shared the space with mutual respect.

Someone unlike anyone Joanna had ever known in her life.

She didn’t see it as a god, nor as a friend, nor as a superior she was duty-bound to serve. Nor did she regard it as a surrogate for the child she’d lost long ago, or could never have.

Ambiguous as their relationship was, it moved her to act simply because it pleased her.

And then, as she stood to shield it, someone struck her down.

It was Tis-ha.

"I don’t know what’s going on! But the most dangerous thing here is that thing! Do it, Hieronymus! Send it back quickly!"

He protected Hieronymus.

Even though he’d been fighting with him moments earlier, even though Hieronymus was his mortal enemy, not a single person present criticized Tis-ha.

Because they all understood, from the earlier conversation, that something was gravely, catastrophically wrong.

Before their minds could process it, their instincts screamed: the girl must be eliminated first.

The Outer God watched as Joanna, who had lunged at Hieronymus, was impaled through the arm and abdomen by Tis-ha.

"Jo…anna?"

For the Outer God, this situation made no sense. It hadn’t said anything particularly strange. It had merely stated that it was following Hieronymus’s commands.

Why?

Why was Joanna, of all people, lying here dying?
And why had Tis-ha done it?

And at that moment.

Hieronymus’s chant concluded.

A pillar of pure white light descended from the sky, crashing down upon the Outer God.
The light struck its head as though a literal pillar had fallen from above.

It was an ancient technique, dating back to the days of Yongrang Theocracy, used to banish gods back to the heavens.

When the light eventually faded, all that remained in its place was a blonde-haired girl.

She stirred.

The girl moved, causing everyone to tense and raise their weapons toward her.

Slowly, she sat down on the ground, placed her hand over her chest, and took a few deep breaths. Then, she opened her eyes.

Her pupils were now a soft blue, devoid of any unnatural glow.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Rebecca Rolf."

Everyone realized it at once. The being standing before them was not the Outer God they’d faced moments earlier. It wasn’t merely a change in appearance—the very way she spoke was entirely different.

Rebecca stretched out her hand, pointing a finger at Yasle.

"The leader of the Future Hope Sect. You murdered me and my family."

And then she condemned him.

Those present vaguely understood. The person before them was human.

The thing that had filled the body’s interior was now gone.

Recognizing this, Tis-ha and the people of the Ansellus Kingdom turned their weapons back toward Hieronymus.

The brief alliance was over.

They prepared to fight again, but no one could move.

"I need you to hear this. Listen closely, Hieronymus. Or rather, Yasle, former leader of Yongrang Theocracy."

The sharp-eyed Yasle, who had been radiating murderous intent moments earlier, turned his head abruptly toward Rebecca.

Seeing his expression, Rebecca faintly smiled and began to curse in a tone borrowed from the thing that had once possessed her.

"You summoned that Outer God to this world. You brought forth the thing that could do nothing but gaze upward from a place deeper than this earth, and you placed the key to countless worlds in its hands."

Yasle understood what she was saying. He had prepared to argue that such a thing required significant effort on their part, but Hyungkeshni’s earlier warning suddenly resurfaced in his mind:

The Outer God is spreading words only we understand.

At the time, they’d dismissed it as nothing more than a change in terminology—just the god redefining itself.

But now Yasle realized what might happen if that term became connected to his summoning ritual. Unconsciously, he fell to one knee.

Rebecca recalled what she had seen within the god. Each glowing star represented a different world. Their clothes, customs, even species differed.

There might be as many worlds as there were stars. Perhaps even more.

Rebecca fixed him with a cold gaze and continued.

"The Outer God won’t limit itself to this world. It will extend its reach to as many worlds as there are stars in the sky. You should never have summoned such a thing into this world. It’s all your fault. The future? Hope? You’ve thrown it all into the cold sea. Or perhaps this will hurt you more."

And then, borrowing the manner of speech from the entity that once occupied her body, she said:

"It was your mistake."

Yasle understood the weight of her words. The summoning should never have happened. Everything was the fault of the Future Hope Sect.

Both his knees hit the ground. Like a scolded boy, he clutched at his chest as though his heart were in pain.

He was in such a defenseless position that anyone could have killed him with a single strike.

But no one moved.
No one spoke.

Let’s use a term that doesn’t yet exist in this world:

They experienced cosmic horror.

Irrational, indescribable, beyond explanation. The inevitable, undeniable certainty of total ruin stood before them.

And they were left with an unbearable despair, knowing that even killing the enemy before them wouldn’t change a thing.

Unaware of the implications of the blessing still functioning as it should.