GalaxyTL
* * *
This is an extra side story.
On a night a few days after the tumultuous ‘Dawn Day’…
…Under a cloudy sky, not a single star visible…
…A figure in a black robe was rustling through the grass on Mihabyushira Hill, searching for something.
With no starlight and only a faint glow from the magic lamps in the royal capital spread out below…
…That figure didn’t seem to be hindered in their search… and continued to rustle through the grass.
They seem to be looking for something.
“Haaaah…”
After searching for over six hours…
…The figure finally seemed to have given up, plopped down on the meadow, and sighed.
It was a man’s voice.
And then, he stretched.
Looking up at the sky.
And as he did, the hood of his black robe fell back, revealing his face, which had been hidden in the shadows.
It’s fortunate that no citizen of the royal capital witnessed that scene.
Because that man’s face…
…Was a skull… with no flesh or skin.
In this world of Ardyst, undead don’t exist, with very few exceptions.
And yet, this man is clearly… a moving skeleton.
What is going on?
Just who is this man?
The answer…
<<<Hey! Death God Alogoros! What are you slacking off for!?>>>
…Was immediately revealed by a woman’s voice that suddenly echoed around the skeletal man.
“H-Hey!? I’m not slacking off, Underworld Goddess Asava-sama!”
The skeletal man hurriedly jumped to his feet and stood at attention!
<<<Listen, Alogoros… I’m always… watching you… no, that’s wrong! I’m supervising you! Don’t even think about slacking off!>>>
“Hiee… You don’t trust me…”
<<<Hmph… You, who was holed up in your room, sleeping, without even submitting a vacation request, dare speak of trust?>>>
“Uu… I have nothing to say…”
<<<Th-That’s right! I have a great idea! I’ll allow you to live in my room! That way, I can be with you all the time… I mean, as your superior, I can properly supervise you…>>>
“Hiiih!? I’ll work, I’ll work, I’ll do my job! So please spare me from thaaatーーー!”
…Yes, the name of this skeletal man who hurriedly started rustling through the grass again… is the Death God, Alogoros.
He’s one of the lower-ranking gods, under the Underworld Goddess, Asava, responsible for collecting the souls of the dead in this world of Ardyst.
This suspicious-looking skeletal figure is a temporary vessel for him to operate in the mortal realm, and his true form is that of an ordinary man in his 30s.
And his current job is to manage and operate the ‘Soul Recovery System’.
In the Divine Realm these days, even the collection of souls is fully automated.
The job of a Death God… has changed quite a bit.
‘You have to work for souls’ is a saying from the distant past… Now, a Death God’s job is more like a systems engineer, not a salesman.
Now, the reason why Alogoros, who’s essentially in a technical position, came down to the mortal realm, even with his superior’s supervision…
Is…
“Oh…?”
…Because of a fragment of blood-red metal… that he finally found.
<<<You finally found a trace!? Where is he!?>>>
“…He’s… already gone. Only a remnant… can be felt. He escaped… or rather, this feeling… it’s more likely… that he’s been annihilated.”
<<<What!? Nuu, ‘likely’ annihilated…?>>>
The Death God, Alogoros… was searching for… the Great Evil Spirit, Engee Albitt.
* * *
A few days ago, an abnormality was detected in the ‘Soul Recovery System’.
For a short period of time, the system stopped functioning properly around the Ashgo Kingdom’s royal capital.
Asava, the Underworld Goddess, noticing that, kicked Alogoros, who was sleeping in his room, awake, and they hurried to understand the situation and investigate the cause.
And what they discovered was… the revival of the Great Evil Spirit, Engee Albitt.
This Great Evil Spirit, although not very well-known among humans, is a calamity that has been plaguing the gods for many years.
His intent to harm the world and the gods is clear, and although he’s not that powerful, he’s cunning, and despite being pursued by the Sealing God and the Punishment God for many years, they haven’t been able to catch him, a troublesome fellow.
Half the reason Asava and Alogoros created the Soul Recovery System was to capture Engee.
That Engee Albitt revived, and then immediately disappeared.
Because evil spirits are transformed souls of the dead, their search falls under Asava and the others’ jurisdiction.
That’s why Alogoros pulled out his dusty vessel from the back of his closet and came down to the mortal realm himself.
After all, due to various circumstances, he had already lost his apostle.
“Anyway, to conclude… for now…”
Alogoros, rolling the red metal fragment… a fragment of ‘Soul Devourer’… on his leather glove, said.
“It doesn’t seem like there are any more traces here. If we want to investigate further, it would be more efficient to do it magically from the Divine Realm… Speaking of which, didn’t the patron deity of this country see what happened that day? What was he doing?”
<<<It seems he was drunk and asleep.>>>
“Haaaah… well, I was sleeping in my room too. I can’t complain.”
Alogoros sighed, scratching his skull.
“So, Asava-sama, I’d like to return… This country feels… prickly, somehow… I’m getting a strong sense of being unwelcome…”
<<<Well, Death Gods… tend to be disliked. I apologize for making you do such an unpleasant job.>>>
“No, it’s not that… It’s not the usual kind of being disliked… It feels like I’m being intensely hated. It’s like… I’m being hated on the level of a terrorist who tried to commit mass murder. So please let me go home… it’s creepy.”
<<<Hmm…>>>
Asava was about to scold her subordinate for his cowardly remark, but she also agreed that further investigation on site was unnecessary.
<<<…Well, alright, I’ll allow you to return. Compile a report on the investigation and submit it later.>>>
So she gave him those instructions after thinking for a while.
“Understood.”
<<<One last confirmation… We can’t definitively say… that he’s been annihilated… right?>>>
“…Yes, we shouldn’t let our guard down. We should continue to be vigilant. He’s a genius. And incredibly persistent. Just like he was… when he was alive…”
Alogoros was once… human.
He lived in the same era as Engee Albitt… and was even a fairly well-known engineer.
Well-known enough for that arrogant Engee to remember his name.
He was caught up in the mass recruitment that accompanied the ‘Day of Ruin’, caught the eye of the Underworld Goddess, Asava, and became a Death God.
One a Death God, the other a Great Evil Spirit.
Alogoros and Engee… their positions have changed quite a bit.
<<<Then, return… Ah, but when you get back to the Divine Realm, come to my room first.>>>
“Hiee… Please spare me from another lecture. I’ve already reflected enough on my sleeping in… “
<<<N-No, that’s not it. It was a sudden dispatch to the mortal realm, so I thought I’d… treat you to a meal… Th-That… I tried making stew.>>>
“Ah, don’t worry about it… I want to get the report done right away…”
<<<B-But… I also have… wine!? Don’t be shy! It’s 10,000 years old!?>>>
“Is it even drinkable anymore?”
While saying such things…
…The skeletal Alogoros crumbled into dust.
And, blown away by the night wind, he vanished from the mortal realm.