I Healed the Cold Dark Goddess’s Loneliness, and Now She Won’t Let Me Go! - Chapter 28

Sulug moved first to settle the incident. He worked to explain the situation to the people, informing them that the culprit had plotted to monopolize his power for himself and that the Goddess of Darkness had prevented it. Framing it in a way that protected Reine’s honor as much as possible.

The people of the city, the vast majority of whom purely adored Sulug, accepted this explanation. Some even began to praise Reine, and the situation reached a resolution.

Having finished this task in record time, Sulug finally headed for the Dark Domain to Reine’s side. He went to apologize once more and to confirm Haruno’s safety.

For a god, travel was instantaneous once he set his mind to it. But upon reaching Reine’s temple, Sulug felt a strange dissonance. The darkness of this land was thinning. Deducing that Reine’s blessing over this region was weakening for some reason, Sulug stepped into the upper level of the temple where he expected Reine and Haruno to be.

He was momentarily bewildered by the presence of high-quality furniture and mysterious mechanical appliances but he had no time to dwell on it. Sulug gasped at the eerie atmosphere drifting through the temple.

Steeling his resolve, Sulug entered the room where he sensed Reine’s presence.

“Reine, Haruno… thank goodness.”

There was Reine, sitting on the bed, cradling the sleeping Haruno. Seeing no injuries on the sleeping girl, Sulug let out a sigh of relief that she was safe.

“…Sulug, is it.”

Reine’s voice was a mere statement of fact. It contained neither the loathing that usually colored her voice when calling his name, nor the rage of an accusation regarding Haruno’s plight. Sulug felt an overwhelming sense of dread at this lack of emotion.

“Look, I am sorry. Because of me, Haruno who had nothing to do with this was hurt.”

“Indeed.”

A toneless affirmation. Sulug’s confusion deepened.

“But I was also in the wrong. I was possessed by a petty stubbornness toward you and brushed aside Haruno’s wish. If I had simply helped you as Haruno wanted, it would not have come to this.”

“…”

Sulug truly began to wonder who he was talking to. The words coming out of her mouth were entirely incompatible with the Reine he knew.

“…At any rate, if there is anything I can do to make amends.”

“Tell me, Sulug. You and I argued incessantly about how to interact with humans, did we not?”

“Eh…? Y-yes, we did…”

Interrupted by her sudden dive into the past, Sulug began to feel an indescribable kind of terror.

“Looking back, it seems you were right about everything. I withdraw all of my previous opinions.”

“—What?”

He truly could not comprehend. Sulug and Reine understood each other’s natures; they could usually imagine what the other was thinking. But Sulug understood nothing about the Reine standing before him now. The Reine he knew was not a being who would easily admit defeat and back down to him.

“Therefore, those villagers living below. You may have them all. I no longer have need of them.”

“What are you saying?”

Though he knew the meaning of the words, Sulug felt, for the first time in his long existence, the sensation of being unable to process them.

“Do you not understand? I realized it. When I saw Haruno about to fall, when her life was on the verge of being lost, I felt a rejection of it. I felt I would throw everything away to take it back. I feel I finally understand your feelings. In other words, the ‘humanity’ that exists for me refers to Haruno alone.”

“—”

This time, Sulug was truly speechless. And simultaneously, he understood. His sin was not merely endangering Haruno’s life. Because of him, he had broken Reine.

But even for Sulug, Reine’s next action was impossible to overlook.

“Having finally realized this, I am. happy to do exactly what you did.”

“What are you…”

Slowly, Reine pressed her lips against the sleeping Haruno’s. It was clear to Sulug’s eyes that this was no mere kiss.

“Huh! Surely you don’t…”

“It is the same as when you gave your power to the humans. From this moment, I shall pour half of my divinity into Haruno alone.”

“Then, the reason the blessing on this land was thinning.”

“I told you, did I not? I have no more need for other blessings. I was recalling them all to pour them into Haruno.”

“That’s madness! If you do that, Haruno will…!”

Sulug’s fears were justified.

“A… aaah… AAAAAAAHHHH!!”

The sleeping Haruno’s eyes snapped open, and she let out a harrowing scream.

“Haruno!”

In order to give his power to humans, Sulug had spent generations providing water mixed with his power, sufficiently diluted. Bit by bit, slowly. The power taken in by the parents was passed to the children, accumulating over centuries. It took two hundred years for people to gain enough power to use magic as they do now.

To pour half of Reine’s power into a single body. A human body was something no one should be able to withstand. Right now, the excessive power was likely raging inside Haruno, destroying every joint and fiber of her being. Normally, a person would be dead. But against that, Reine was tirelessly and desperately regenerating Haruno’s body. Healing her as she broke. If she continued, she might eventually finish pouring the power in. But until then, Haruno would experience unbearable agony.

“Stop it, Reine!”

“…Forgive me. Forgive me, Haruno. Truly, I do not wish to make you suffer. But you are at fault too, you know? You promised me, did you not? You promised you would not allow yourself to go where I cannot reach and yet, for Sulug’s sake, you put your life on the line and nearly died. Through death, we were almost parted. Ah, no… I am no longer angry that you moved for Sulug’s sake. I won’t say I’m not irritated, but I love the Haruno who is capable of such things. The problem is this: if you take such courageous actions with a human body, no matter how many lives you have, it will not be enough. I must make you sturdy. Besides, I have been turning a blind eye to it, but at this rate, you would lose your life in a few decades. No, perhaps even sooner. You might be afflicted by disease. Something might happen. I cannot bear it; I cannot allow it! That is why, yes. This was going to happen sooner or later anyway. One way or another, I had to make you a being like myself. After all, you chose me, did you not? Then you should become a being worthy of being my consort. Ah, I see… being born as a human was your only flaw. I must fix it with my love. Does it hurt? Are you in pain? I am as well. Every time you scream, my heart creaks. It feels as though it is being torn apart. So, we are a matching pair now, Haruno. We are sharing this pain together. I find that joyful; it feels like one of my few salvations. You feel the same, do you not, Haruno? Heh… ehehe, ah, how precious you are! You are adorable even when screaming! You said it once, didn’t you? That I am in a position to handle your life and heart as I please. Every time you treated yourself so thoroughly as a mere object, I felt a flicker of loneliness… but to hold your life in the palm of my hand like this, to cherish it, to love it, and to dye you in my colors as I wish… it truly is wonderful. I can feel that you are truly mine, and that you will never leave me. Are you afraid? Have I disappointed you? But listen, Haruno. I won’t say I don’t feel sorry, but it is already too late. It cannot be stopped. I was driven mad by you a long time ago. Even if you reject me now, even if you say you hate it, nothing will change. We will be… together forever, Haruno.”

“…………Reine…”

Sulug was forced to understand, however much he hated it, that his words would no longer reach Reine. As Sulug backed away, Reine turned her gaze toward him one last time.

“Do you not understand? I suppose you wouldn’t, you who possesses no love other than philanthropy. I thought that when we were divided, all ‘good things’ were taken by you… but this obsession, this love that scorches the very soul—this was my domain!”

“Huh! To make the person you love suffer is your…!”

“Stay back, or I will kill you.”

“……”

As Sulug took a step forward, Reine projected a cold, mechanical killing intent. Sulug was forced to realize she was dead serious.

“More importantly, is this wise? I have no idea what will happen to those who live in this land now that I have stripped away my blessing.”

“What… that’s bad!”

Withdrawing the blessing from the entire Dark Domain—there was no telling what the impact of Reine’s choice would have on the inhabitants. If something happened, Sulug was the only one who could save them.

“……Darn it, I’m sorry…!”

Sulug left the temple, the sound of Haruno’s tragic screams pulling at his heart.

Eventually, the peak of the power’s integration passed, and Haruno’s screams subsided.

“—With this, about one percent is done. Do your best, Haruno. We only need to repeat this a thousand times more, and then it will be over—”

The Goddess kissed the girl once again.