Chapter 1.2. The Prologue Is An Epilogue!

Even  if the humans were to seal Ashtaroth again using artifacts by gathering the power of gods, they would be powerless before the completely resurrected Ashtaroth.

Filled with its overwhelming power, Ashtaroth felt moved and decided to enlighten the puny figure before it, accompanied by a sense of delight.

The figure nodded in response, their mouths curling into pleased grins. With an easy nod of approval, Ashtaroth inquired what reward they desired. After all, they had fully resurrected it. The reward ought to be substantial.

“Now, human, speak your reward. Do you wish to become my servants? Then, I shall grant you the position of my top servant. Or perhaps you seek the wisdom of dark magic? I shall bestow upon you the profound knowledge of the abyss.”

The figure said unexpected words in response to the demon’s inquiry about their desires.

“In the novel, it was incomplete. I remember the protagonist had a hidden artifact, and because of that, the resurrection was incomplete.  If the revival is incomplete, your power is reduced to less than half.”

“……”

Ashtaroth couldn’t comprehend the words at first, but they were concerned about whether the resurrection was complete. Indeed,  if even a single artifact were missing, Ashtaroth’s power would reduced to less than half. The number of artifacts collected was important, and unless the protagonist gathered all the artifacts, Ashtaroth’s power wouldn’t be complete. To achieve full resurrection, all the artifacts needed to be collected.

Ashtaroth was both amazed and exasperated by the figure’s skepticism. I wondered  if the figure didn’t trust its words, whether they thought it was an insolent deception. But that wasn’t the case.

“In the novel, I didn’t think that the weak artifacts both the protagonist and the enemy side used to seal Ashtaroth were the actual sealing artifacts. So, even the enemy side, who thought they’d collected them all, and the protagonists were surprised. They defeated the incomplete Ashtaroth, and the Saintess performed the resealing. The world returned to peace. It was a happily-ever-after ending.”

The figure spoke of things that seemed nonsensical.

“What are you talking about?”

“In the game, there was a hidden route where I could secretly steal the protagonist’s ring and face a hidden boss battle to fully resurrect Ashtaroth. The rewards were great, the drops were amazing, and the special ability I got was the ability to use the third job. You know, that was cool.”

Ignoring Ashtaroth’s perplexed expression, the figure continued their explanation, their words spreading through the room.

“But I had to defeat it within 10 minutes; otherwise, the restriction on the third job would remain. Well, I could just change jobs, but it’s a hassle, you know? The rewards tickled the collector’s spirit – something challenging as it’s available but not usable. That reward was aimed at the completionist crowd.”

The figure conjured a watch in their palm and pressed it with a click. It seemed to be a stopwatch. Click-clack, the stopwatch began to count down the time.

“So, farewell, Secret Boss. It’s been good, thanks to the game’s scenario. Heh heh heh.”

Understanding finally dawned upon Ashtaroth as it watched the figure laugh joyously.

“I might not fully comprehend, but I understand your insolent words of trying to defeat me. Die.”

Pointing its index finger, Ashtaroth displayed its power to the insolent human. It seemed this human was attempting to defeat them.

[Extreme Blaze]

A sun-like flame shot forth from Ashtaroth’s index finger, scorching the air and warping the space as it hurtled toward the human. A mere spark from that flame could reduce a human to ashes, erasing them without a trace.

Or so it should have been.

“What the?!”

However, to its surprise, the extreme blaze was absorbed and vanished the moment it touched the human. Ashtaroth couldn’t believe its eyes at this unbelievable sight.

“Oh, right, I absorb Fire attributes. My bad.”

“Then, how about this?”

[Extreme Wave of 4 Nature Elements]

A thunderous divine lightning roared from the weapon held in each of its 4 hands, an absolute zero freezing everything, a tempestuous wind blade that could cut through anything and a sand tsunami that petrified living things were all released, heading towards the human.

Yet, the result was just as astonishing. Just like before, the figure absorbed all the magic the instant it touched, vanishing without a trace.

“Sorry. Let me rephrase. I absorb everything except All-powerful attributes.”

“A power that defies all reason. What are you?”

Ashtaroth finally realized that the figure before it was not an ordinary human. I couldn’t fathom how they hid it, but it felt a vast power emanating from the figure. With a tense expression, Ashtaroth questioned in a serious tone.

“My second job is God. And my main job, you ask?”

Removing the hood that covered their face, the human smirked.

“Pay-to-win job, Old God. The ancient deity.”

Chaos spread centered around the Old God, melting the floor into a gooey mess and distorting space.

“…Old God?! You should have vanished into the depths of the universe!”

Feeling the unmistakable power of chaos, Ashtaroth trembled in fear.

“Yeah, it was quite a cost. Well, let’s try to defeat you within 10 minutes.”

With a casual tone, the figure claiming to be Old God responded to the astonished Ashtaroth and began the battle.

The Third Magic Academy, renowned in the Japanese Magic Empire, vanished along with a burst of light during a particular midnight.

Curiously, the security personnel and those remaining until night were all outside the academy, with no casualties.

The vanished academy left no trace, only a massive hole that plunged a hundred meters deep.

The tremors that occurred during the vanishing continued for a long time. Although it seemed like an earthquake, people believed it to be some form of ritual magic. Yet, even after investigations, the true cause remained a mystery.

What they did know was that the tremors lasted only for 7 minutes. That was the extent of their understanding.