It had been two days since Igami and I made the decision to track down the so-called Hero. The journey had been quiet for the most part, long stretches of open fields broken only by scattered clusters of trees and low bushes swaying in the summer wind. The sunlight was sharp overhead, gilding the grass in gold. Every so often, weak monsters wandered through the wilderness—slimes bouncing aimlessly, their gelatinous bodies quivering as they pulsed across the ground. Harmless creatures, barely worth noticing.
Igami walked at my side as always, her composure unwavering, her gaze fixed calmly on the path ahead. Her very presence was steadying.
"So" I said, glancing at her "you told me the Hero must be close because you can feel the corrupted divine magic inside of him?"
She gave a single, deliberate nod. "Yes. It's faint… but I can sense small traces of it. Divine magic twisted into something unnatural."
I raised my hand, summoning a small orb of energy that hovered above my palm. The sphere shimmered with purple and black, a foul, pulsing light that seemed to swallow the air around it. Contained, controlled—but unmistakably wrong. "So the demons—or whatever creatures are pulling the strings—are twisting divine magic itself into this… corrupted power?" I asked, my voice low.
"Yes" Igami replied without hesitation, her tone sharpened with disdain. "The beings who manipulate heroes and villains alike exploit what the goddess grants them—magic, fortune, destiny—and bend it into weapons for themselves. They steal divinity and soil it. It is disgusting."
Her focus never wavered from the horizon, but I could feel the disgust in her voice.
I frowned slightly, thoughts turning inward.
If I kill a main character… I can take its place in the universe, right?
The System's reply was immediate.
[Answer: Correct. If you slay a main character, you may take their role seamlessly. Reality will acknowledge you as them. For example: if you defeated Ichigo Kurosaki, you could assume his place and be recognized as Ichigo by all others—summons excluded, of course.]
I see… I thought to myself, my eyes narrowing as I let the corrupted orb vanish from my hand.
That was when I felt it.
A wave of nausea struck me—an acrid taste filling my mouth, like swallowing spoiled iron. My skin prickled, every instinct screaming danger before I even understood why. The atmosphere itself felt heavier, polluted.
And then Igami spoke.
"Master" she said softly, but her voice carried an edge of steel. Her finger rose, pointing ahead. "The Hero is right there."
My eyes followed her gesture, and I saw them—a group of six figures moving across the field. Ordinary at a glance, adventurers laughing, speaking casually among themselves. But one stood apart.
The moment my gaze settled on him, the truth became clear.
The so-called Hero was wreathed in an aura that clung to him like tar, black and purple flames writhing around his body. I doubted anyone else could perceive it, but to me it was glaringly obvious—an aura of corruption feeding off the divine mana of this dimension. A parasite cloaked in a mask of light.
He wore a smile, laughing easily with his companions, his gestures disarmingly friendly. A facade. To the world, he was a beacon of hope, a savior. To me, he was nothing more than a leech, a demon in disguise.
And then he noticed me.
The instant his eyes met mine, his laughter faltered. He felt it—the divine mana overflowing from me, not stolen, not twisted, but pure and unbroken. His expression tightened almost imperceptibly, the smile still plastered on his face but brittle now, hollow.
"Igami" I said firmly, my tone leaving no room for hesitation. "Use a sleeping spell on his companions and teleport them away. They're not corrupted like the Hero. I won't let them be dragged into this."
Igami immediately stepped forward, placing herself between me and the approaching group. Her posture straightened, calm yet commanding, her sapphire eyes glowing faintly as she answered "Yes, Master. Right away."
She raised both hands, each channeling a different spell. In her left palm, a luminous magic circle bloomed into existence, its intricate lines pulsing with soft, silvery-blue light. The glyphs twisted and rotated like a living mechanism, feeding mana into the air. [Sleep Lock]. The spell was subtle but absolute—her will could cradle minds in eternal slumber for as long as she desired, limited only by her mana reserves. And Igami's mana was… endless.
In her right palm, another circle flared to life, simpler but no less effective. The shimmering lattice of light hummed softly as she wove the fabric of teleportation, preparing to whisk the innocents away before the coming storm.
The Hero's eyes flicked toward her, and a smirk tugged at his lips. He took a single step forward, speaking with a sickening blend of arrogance and charm. "You have some impressive magic, don't you? Why waste it here? Come to my side. Together we could be even more powe—"
His words were severed mid-sentence.
A sharp crack split the air as an ice shard, razor-thin and blazing with speed, shot past his face. It missed by barely a centimeter, close enough to slice open his cheek. A line of crimson welled across his skin, staining the mockery of a smile he still wore.
Igami's voice rang out, cold and cutting, her composure intact but her fury clear in every syllable. "Shut up, you disgusting bastard."
And though her expression remained poised, her eyes burned with restrained anger. Igami never wasted words, and yet in that single outburst, the truth was laid bare: she loathed him.
The Hero's smirk faltered for the first time, and the space between us grew heavy, the true battle pressing closer with every heartbeat.
The Hero, brimming with arrogance, lunged forward without hesitation. His aura flared with corrupted divine energy, black and violet streaks licking off his body like flame. He charged at Igami head-on, his speed tearing up the ground beneath his boots.
Yet Igami didn't move. She simply stood her ground, posture unshaken, her expression unreadable.
At first, I felt a spike of alarm. Why isn't she dodging? But then I realized. Igami wasn't being reckless—she was studying him. She knew as well as I did that main characters are so ABSURDLY STRONG, they carried strength honed by fate itself, and corruption only amplified that. For him to rush in so carelessly? It didn't make sense. There had to be something more.
Then, in the space of a breath, her eyes sharpened—she understood.
With a sudden, precise movement, she stepped neatly aside, just out of his trajectory. Her fist snapped forward, a clean and devastating strike that connected squarely with his jaw.
The sound echoed like a thunderclap.
The Hero's body twisted violently through the air, sent flying several meters before crashing into the ground with a spray of dirt.
Igami froze for half a second, her sapphire eyes wide. "…So weak" she murmured, disbelief lacing her voice. "It felt like punching a slime…"
Her gaze immediately turned to me. "Master, take cover!" she told sharply. "He's resistant—if I strike him with full force, the impact will scatter debris. You could be harmed."
I gave her a small nod and raised my hand, weaving mana quickly into a shield that shimmered faintly around me, its surface bending the light like a clear dome.
The Hero wasn't down for long. With a furious roar, he cut through the dust cloud and shot back into the air, his corrupted aura flaring even darker. He soared toward Igami once more, his sword gleaming with condensed energy, the blade angled toward her neck.
The strike landed.
The blade connected with her skin—yet not even a scratch appeared. The sound was dull, almost pathetic, as though he had struck against indestructible stone rather than flesh.
Igami tilted her head slightly, unimpressed. Her voice was calm, but cutting, laced with disdain. "You are rather weak… are you even trying?"
Before the Hero could recover, she lifted her arm high and brought her fist down in a brutal arc.
BOOM.
The impact smashed him into the ground with explosive force, the earth shattering beneath the blow. A massive crater burst outward, dust and rock erupting into the sky as his body was driven deep into the soil.
The battlefield quaked, the echo of her strike rolling for miles.
And in the silence that followed, Igami stood tall, her presence unshaken—while the Hero lay buried in the ruin she had created.
The Hero erupted from the crater in a sudden burst of force, shards of rock and clouds of dust exploding upward with him. His body blurred as he kicked off the edge, twisting midair before his hand swept across the ground.
With a vicious motion, he hurled dirt and debris directly at Igami's face.
it worked.
Igami's eyes narrowed, her lashes instinctively lowering for just a fraction of a second against the sudden spray. It was the tiniest lapse—an instant so brief most wouldn't notice. But the Hero seized it.
His other hand shot forward, and I felt it before I saw it—corrupted divine mana twisting into form, swirling violently until it hardened into a long, jagged stake of black wind. He launched it straight at me.
My shield flared the moment it struck, light bending and trembling under the impact. The sound was sickening, a screech like glass fracturing. Cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier. My eyes widened. my shield!
The realization struck cold.
corrupted divine magic could unravel even high-level protection spells.
"…"
Igami turned her gaze toward the Hero, and the change in her expression chilled me more than the attack itself. Her usual composure—cold, regal, unshakable—fractured into something else entirely. Her sapphire eyes darkened, consumed by a fury so sharp it bordered on madness.
Her voice tore through the battlefield, raw and unrestrained.
"How dare you! You insolent fool!"
The ground cracked beneath her as she launched forward, faster than my eyes could follow. The Hero barely had time to raise his weapon, panic flashing across his face. For the first time, I saw fear ripple through his confident facade. He knew what was coming.
And then it hit.
Her fist drove into his stomach with devastating precision, the impact echoing like a cannon blast. The corrupted aura around him faltered as his body folded around her strike. A spray of crimson burst from his mouth, his eyes bulging as blood gushed down his chin. The sheer force hurled him backward, his boots dragging trenches into the earth before he collapsed to his knees, gasping.
"D-damn…" he choked, clutching at his gut. Yet even battered, he still tried to gather energy, his hand trembling as another mass of corrupted mana began to swirl into shape.
Igami didn't give him the chance.
With a swift, merciless kick, she struck his arm, snapping it upward at an unnatural angle. The half-formed spell fizzled into nothing, scattering into corrupted sparks that hissed in the air.
"Don't you dare" she spat, her voice venomous, trembling with wrath. She leaned toward him, every word like a blade. "I know where you were aiming. At my master." Her eyes narrowed, a cruel edge twisting her beauty into something terrifying. "You must be stupid to think I would ever let you lay a hand on him!"
The Hero's face contorted in pain and humiliation, his bravado stripped away beneath Igami's unrelenting presence.
And I, standing just behind my cracking shield, couldn't help but see her not just as a servant—but as a wrathful guardian, a force of nature that would tear the world apart before letting me fall.
What followed was something that might have scarred me for life—if not for the passive [Strong Mind] protecting me from breaking.
Igami… she didn't just defeat the Hero. She dismantled him. Blow after blow, methodical, precise, cruel. Every movement of hers was deliberate, crafted to cause him not only pain but despair. She turned his own corruption back on him, made him drown in it. The man screamed, bled, and begged—until his voice finally broke into nothing but pitiful gasps.
And then it was over.
When Igami returned to me minutes later, she was once again the flawless maid, her composure restored as if she had merely stepped out for a stroll. Her uniform was spotless, her face calm, her hands clean of even a drop of the Hero's crimson blood.
"He is done for, my master" she said softly as she stepped through the shimmering edge of my shield, her form passing easily within. Of course—it was my mana. To my power, she could never be an enemy.
"Are you hurt?" she says with her usual sweet voice she has when talking to me.
I let out a slow breath. "Not hurt" I admitted "just… surprised that his stake managed to crack my shield."
Igami gave a single nod, acknowledging it without judgment. Then her eyes sharpened. "You need to approach the bastard's body. Once you stand before it, you'll notice his mana core. Touch it—and you will complete the mission."
I swallowed my hesitation and walked toward what was left of the Hero. His body twitched faintly, no longer human so much as a husk. Just as she said, I could see it clearly: his core, exposed to me like a shining organ of raw essence.
I crouched down, extended my hand, and touched it.
In an instant, the world shifted.
My vision was swallowed by white—a vast, endless plane. Floating within it were countless black chains, rattling faintly though there was no wind. At the center of it all pulsed a black orb, sickly and alive, radiating an aura of purple energy that made my chest tighten.
I approached slowly, my steps echoing across the empty void. This easy? I asked myself.
The System responded at once:
[Answer: Yes. Break it, and you will destroy the being controlling the Hero.]
[Warning: Due to the Demon's full possession, breaking the orb will also shatter the Hero's mana core. Revival will become impossible.]
"I see…" I murmured, my hand hovering over the throbbing sphere.
For a moment, I studied it. The chains groaned, straining against the orb's pulsing power. And then, with a sharp exhale, I lifted my hand high and brought it down.
CRACK.
The orb split cleanly in two, a surge of black energy bursting outward like shrapnel before dissolving into nothingness.
The white world around me fractured violently. Splits of darkness crawled across the floor and ceiling until everything collapsed. The void itself rejected me, hurling me back.
I gasped as I fell—but warm arms caught me.
"Master."
Igami. Her voice was firm, her presence grounding. She began weaving healing spells without pause, bathing me in wave after wave of soothing light until my strength returned. My lungs steadied, that whole cursed energy was gone. I was whole again.
When I stood, I looked past her shoulder—and saw the Hero's body.
It was… different. The gaping wounds, the shattered bones, even the twisted corruption—it had all vanished, healed as though the damage hadn't belonged to him, but to the parasite that once controlled him. His face was peaceful now, his features softened as he dissolved into pure mana, disappearing completely in seconds.
And then I remembered.
[Summon]
I called upon the System, shaping an edited body, identical in appearance to the Hero's own. A vessel.
System
I commanded.
Add all the Hero's abilities and memories to this new body.
[Affirmative. Uploading…]
[…Manual skill addition complete.]
The hero no longer cruel—his gaze was clear, almost innocent. Divine energy shimmered faintly around him, pure this time. Proof he was free.
"Where… am I?" the Hero asked, his voice dazed but untainted.
I almost spoke, but Igami was quicker. She stepped forward gracefully, her tone smooth and reassuring. "You were attacked by a horde of monsters. We defeated them for you and already sold the bodies." She gave a small smile, elegant yet convincing. "Consider it a favor, Hero."
The Hero blinked, still disoriented, but nodded faintly. Behind him, his companions stirred as well—already awake, their memories conveniently adjusted by the System's [Memory Creation]. They accepted the story without question.
"Well, we are off" I said simply, turning away. Igami understood immediately. She raised a hand, tracing a sigil in the air.
In the blink of an eye, we vanished from their sight, reappearing two hundred meters away—far enough to slip past even the keenest assassin's detection magic.
I lowered myself onto a makeshift seat—a tree trunk that Igami had crafted for me with casual ease, cutting down the towering oak in a single stroke and tossing the rest of it aside like nothing but waste wood. The air still smelled faintly of fresh sap and torn bark.
Igami stood at my side, poised as always. Her posture was flawless, every muscle ready to respond at the slightest hint of danger. She was calm, but her eyes were sharp—constantly scanning, constantly protecting.
Then she spoke, her tone as firm as steel. "Master, we need to return to the inn immediately."
I looked up at her, blinking in mild confusion. "Huh? Why?" The question slipped from me honestly, curiosity plain in my voice.
Igami's expression hardened. "Because you are heavily tired" she said, almost scolding, though her voice still carried its usual refined composure. "I can feel it. Breaking a demon core demands enormous mana expenditure. Yes, you have infinite mana—but infinite does not mean effortless. When vast portions are drained rapidly, it is like water being sucked into a bottomless pit. Your body will feel it. And right now, you are on the edge of collapse."
I frowned, but I couldn't deny it. My body was sluggish, my thoughts slightly blurred. She was right—I was running on willpower more than strength. "Yeah…you're right" I admitted with a sigh. "I should train myself to endure it. Right now, I'm… close to passing out."
Her eyes softened ever so slightly at my honesty. Without wasting another breath, she raised her hand and wrapped us in a teleportation spell.
In a blink, the forest vanished. We reappeared inside our inn room. Igami guided me gently to the bed, her movements precise yet tender. She laid me down as though I were fragile glass. Leaning over, she pressed her lips softly to my forehead. The warmth of her kiss was the last thing I felt before sleep swallowed me whole.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the inn.
I stood in a place of breathtaking beauty. Vast forests stretched endlessly, their leaves shimmering with an emerald glow. Rivers as wide as city streets coursed with crystalline water that gleamed like liquid sapphire. Birds flitted through the air, their songs weaving a melody that felt alive with mana. Deer grazed calmly at the riverside, unafraid. And above it all, fantastical creatures soared—a massive bird with radiant plumage glided gracefully across the horizon, its feathers scattering sparks of light and more far was an gigantic lion on top of a mountain licking his left paw.
What struck me most was the serenity. There was no fear, no predation. Every living being here fed not on flesh, but on the pure mana that saturated the world. And deep within me, understanding bloomed.
This is my mana core.
Perfect. Untouched. Limitless. It was paradise made flesh, a reflection of infinite mana given form.
And there, rising at the center of it all, was a colossal castle. Its towers stretched high, glimmering with divine radiance.
I approached its grand doors. Without a sound, they opened on their own, as though welcoming me home.
Inside, the halls were immaculate, shining with golden light. Yet they were eerily empty. For a place so beautiful, it felt almost… too quiet.
Then I felt it.
A surge of power, overwhelming, nearly suffocating. Divine energy unlike anything I had felt before pressed against me like a tidal wave.
I turned around to see and...there she was.
The Goddess.
She sat elegantly at a table of silver and glass, sipping tea from a delicate cup. And standing at her side, dutiful as ever, was Igami, holding the saucer beneath the cup with flawless poise.
"You are even better than I expected" the Goddess said, her voice smooth and sweet as honey, flowing into me like warmth on a winter's night.
Overcome, I stepped forward without hesitation and embraced her. She returned the gesture almost eagerly, her arms wrapping around me, her smile radiant.
"My darling" she whispered, her tone playful yet full of pride. "So straightforward, aren't you? You've already completed half the mission. The Hero is purified."
I nodded quietly, my chest tightening with a strange mix of relief and awe. She waved her hand and a second teacup appeared before me. Without question, I sat across from her and took it, sipping the liquid. It was warm, soothing, almost addictive in how perfect it tasted.
The Goddess leaned back slightly, her eyes shining. "Seems I made the right choice" she mused. "Well, Igami tells me nothing but good things about you, including your sexual encounter with her, I would love to experience it too"
I blush like a damn tomato...why is she so PERFECT?!
Igami gave a faint smile at her words, but said nothing.
Then, with the grace of a mother rewarding her child, the Goddess offered me something small wrapped in light. A piece of candy—simple, harmless-looking.
I accepted it without hesitation, placing it on my tongue. Sweetness bloomed instantly, flooding my senses.
And then I awoke.
My eyes shot open back in the inn. I felt it immediately—my mana coursing like a raging river, surging stronger than before. It wasn't just mine anymore. Threads of divine magic intertwined with it, weaving into my core, expanding its brilliance.
The Goddess had rewarded me.
--
I'm thinking about making 3k words the minimum from now on, then I will make them bigger as I get more comfortable
The creative block is absurd...
So fuck it, big ahh chapter again