She had originally still held onto a sliver of hope, but now... before she could even make herself believe in that hope, she had completely fallen into hell.
She couldn't think about anything, and she didn't want to think at all.
The sense of loss surging in like a tide bound her heart, immersing her in endless sorrow and pain, unable to pull herself free.
The girl couldn't control herself and fell to her knees, both hands clutching her inexplicably aching heart, instinctively curling up her body, letting out unconscious whimpers.
But those cries of grief ultimately dissipated into the biting cold wind, and she could never again recover the people and things that had already passed away.
The fierce wind howled past, mercilessly brushing against her face, messing up her hair, and even violently tearing the hat off her head.
Yet she seemed completely unaware, still immersed in that immense grief, her whole person like a soul that had been drawn out, unable to return to reality from this cruel truth for a long time.
———
Just like the vast majority of legends, which always gradually lose their original form, becoming more and more bizarre and detached from their foundations.
The rumors about the Evil God also, during the process of their spread, due to insufficient description, misunderstanding, and distortion, caused the essence of the original information to undergo significant changes.
And among them, the people Ash had saved were also part of what fueled the fire.
Because in the earliest version, Ash was completely described as a genuine Evil God and villain, and those rescued people of course wouldn't believe it.
And so, a new version naturally came into being, becoming that the Evil God happened to also kill the Water God, and Ash was someone who happened to be saved.
In the second version he was still alive, but the versions kept iterating, and ultimately... it went beyond the normal range, and Ash was inexplicably killed off, and moreover killed by himself.
Of course, rumors were rumors, and the vast majority of people actually didn't know who this person named Ash, whom the Water God was hunting, actually was. What people cared about was just the sensationalism.
The person who had been killed off, however, during this period of time, by announcing his identity, caused about thirty Demon Kings on the Demon Continent, in order to avoid offending someone, to all politely hand over documents for him to study magic, review historical materials, and investigate matters concerning the Human God.
Of course, those Demon Kings, though called Demon Kings, in reality their strength... was uneven. Although they appropriately governed different regions as monarchs, they did not rule, and at most only called themselves Demon Kings.
In the blink of an eye, by the time he had been on this continent for about a year, Ash had basically read through every Demon King's book collection.
Although some of these Demon Kings had long lifespans, they had no information on the Human God, only...
"In this six-faced world, there is also a four-dimensional world center, called the Void World, which is also the world where people gradually dissipate after death, a pure white place; the Void Realm is also the place people pass through when using teleportation magic... How strange, there's no way to reach it? Yet you can pass through it? Which claim is actually correct? If you can pass through it during teleportation, then reaching it shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Ash stared at the notes he had organized, unconsciously fiddling with a quill in his hand, brows tightly knit as he agonized over the authenticity of the documents.
Sitting nearby, Eris, who was happily gnawing on grilled fish, casually glanced at those notes.
Although she had long since forgotten writing, Ash's muttering clearly reached her ears, making her unable to resist speaking up and retorting, "What kind of messy nonsense is this? You're not thinking of going to that kind of afterlife world, are you? Or do you actually believe that kind of place exists?"
"...Just curiosity," He responded faintly, then no longer dwelled on this topic, slowly closing the book and casting his gaze outside the shop.
At this moment, they were in the coastal port of Wen, the only port city on the Demon Continent.
The town's terrain rose and fell, with many slopes scattered throughout. Looking from the entrance, the street scene could be taken in at a glance. The seaside restaurant they were in was only a stone's throw from that vast, boundless blue sea.
It was currently evening, and the afterglow of the setting sun gently scattered like golden gauze over the shimmering sea surface, dyeing the seawater a intoxicating gold.
On the distant horizon, several sailboats were slowly heading toward the port. Near the shallow waters by the coast, a flock of seabirds were flying low and circling over the sea, occasionally letting out crisp, pleasant calls, adding a touch of vitality to this tranquil harbor.
Whether for a vacation or a date, this seemed like a good place, and it also made Ash unconsciously rest his chin on one hand, immersed in the beautiful sea view in the sunset, only...
"There are seagulls in the sky, so why doesn't this shop sell seagulls?"
Eris, who was watching the sea view together with him, took a bite of grilled fish, yet unconsciously cast her gaze toward the seagulls in the sky, making a rather mood-killing remark.
This young girl, even after staring at the seagulls for a long while without realizing it... unknowingly drooled, making Ash's head ache at the sight, "What are you suddenly talking about?"
"I want to taste seagull!", Eris suddenly raised her hand, and looked at him with eyes full of anticipation, clearly wanting him to go help catch one.
"Watching the sunset by the coast at sundown, would a normal person think of eating seagulls?"
"Why not?"
"Are you full? If you're full let's head back," Ash rubbed his throbbing temples, forcibly ending this topic, and silently stood up to walk out of the shop.
"Stingy!"
"What benefit is there even if I'm generous?"
"I-If, if it's just my leg... I can let you touch it... how about that?", Eris pouted, deliberately refusing to concede as she offered her terms.
Making Ash turn his head to glance back, at those white-stockinged beautiful legs that had unknowingly grown slender and shapely, yet he silently shook his head, "Girls shouldn't say strange things. What if you run into a creepy old man?"
"Ah ha~ You hesitated!"
"No, I was sighing inwardly, speechless at you."
"Hmph, you dishonest guy, you want it but don't dare say it, coward."
Eris hummed smugly, while Ash only felt wronged.
Setting aside whether he wanted to or not... if he agreed, what kind of person would he become?
But before he could even figure out how to tease Eris a little, to keep this girl who gets out of hand if not disciplined for three days from acting recklessly, his gaze was unconsciously drawn to a demon woman in the distance.
Not out of lust, but because that person was not only very alluring in appearance, her neckline was also very low, and she even had three breasts, two alluring cleavages, a demon woman.
"Demons... amazing! To actually—Ah! That hurts?"
"Pervert! What are you looking at!", Eris, hearing his exclamation and noticing his gaze, furiously kicked him in the heel, and seeing him cry out in pain, said coldly, "Faking pain and you can't even fake it convincingly!"
"Whether it's convincing or not, never mind that," He reached out and pressed his hand on Eris's head, habitually pushing down her raised head, while saying righteously, "How am I a pervert? This is curiosity!? If humans didn't have curiosity how would they grow?"
"Hurry up and use your curiosity on something else!"
"On you? But you... never mind, let's talk about something else."
He had only glanced at her chest, and although he couldn't help but be somewhat shocked, Eris was clearly still small in figure, yet her breasts were already quite sizable, even reaching a C.
But he always felt that if he acknowledged it, this girl would become unbearably smug, so he still put on a look of disdain, as if he couldn't even be bothered to deflate her, and quickly walked ahead.
This made Eris so angry, she waved her little hands and quickly caught up, "What kind of look is that? In less than two years, I'll make you fall to your knees beneath my huge.. breasts!"
"Two years? Even in ten years you won't grow three breasts!"
"It'd be weird if they did grow! What difference would that be from a monster?"
"That statement is too rude, that person just now clearly... never mind, let's really talk about something else."
He had originally wanted to educate her, but talking about breasts with this girl really easily made people misunderstand his moral character, so Ash once again cut off the topic.
And it was worth mentioning... In that seaside restaurant, they had actually just gone to buy boat tickets, and in a few days they planned to take a ship to the neighboring Milis Continent, and afterward take another ship back to the Central Continent.