“What are you doing?! ...Wait, is that you, Rulaina? Even Asterion is here! And who... who is that little brat?”
“I’m not small enough for you to call me a ‘brat’! I am Ramuyadas!”
“You! Every single time, you get in my way! It’s your fault I didn’t make it in time! It’s all your fault—! Waaaaah!”
“Huh...?”
Gurnalava was an ancient deity. It seemed the Luck God and Spirit God were old acquaintances, but Ren-kun was a newcomer, appointed only recently as a divine countermeasure against the Evil God. This appeared to be the first time the two of them had actually met face-to-face.
Since they had been enemies for ages, they both clearly had plenty to say to one another. It looked like the situation was about to explode into a brawl... but then Gurnalava suddenly burst into tears, leaving even Ren-kun at a loss.
“Hey, what exactly am I being forced to watch here?”
Mr. Demuad looked on with utter confusion at the drama unfolding right above his head. Of course, I was just as baffled. Halfa and the others were staring blankly, unable to keep up with the whiplash of the situation. As for Mr. Abarum, the light had vanished from his eyes entirely.
“Is that really Gurnalava? The voice I heard was a man’s—deep and dignified... What is happening?”
“Don’t look at me...”
My own image of Gurnalava had been just as thoroughly shattered. When she first appeared, she’d had the presence of a regal woman, but at some point, she had shrunk down into a tiny, petulant girl. Her loud, messy sobbing made her look nothing like an Evil God. And certainly not like the Trial God.
Perhaps thinking it would be bad form to keep a little girl bundled up in a straw mat, her restraints had been quietly removed. She was crying too hard to run away or resist anyway, so I suppose they figured they weren't necessary.
A god can change their appearance or voice whenever they want. Garna-chan is quite vain, you see; she probably just wanted to make herself look impressive.
The Luck God offered this explanation as we stood there, perplexed. Thinking back, the Luck God had been wearing a pretty outrageous outfit when I first met her, too. There was no doubt they could alter their forms at will. That meant the voice Mr. Demuad heard had just been a persona crafted for her followers.
“So... why exactly is Gurnalava crying?”
I’m not sure. Though when she said she ‘didn’t make it in time,’ she must have been talking about that silver arm.
We had summoned her specifically to get answers, but Gurnalava was wailing so hard we couldn’t get a single word of information out of her. Still, she definitely seemed to know something.
“Tort, they’re back!” Lowell shouted a warning.
Our shouting must have drawn it in, because the silver arm was reacting to us again. It vibrated just like before, clearly intending to summon more silver Abomination Soldiers.
“Look! There they are! The Vanguard of the Outer World!” Gurnalava screamed hysterically.
But now wasn't the time to coddle her. As far as we knew, I was the only one capable of actually defeating those things.
They poured out in a massive swarm. This time, however, I had no intention of letting them make the first move. I’d wipe them all out at once with a Shredding Storm!
“It’s useless! To destroy them, you must strike with a high-powered attack capable of annihilating their physical bodies in an instant—!”
Garna-chan, Garna-chan. They look like they’re being destroyed just fine to me.
“What are you saying? That’s impossible... wh-why? Why are they turning to dust? How is this happening?!”
In Gurnalava’s eyes, the silver Abomination Soldiers were clearly terrifyingly difficult to deal with. Given that they’d actually neutralized attacks from Lowell and the rest, they would normally be considered formidable foes. Yet for some reason, whenever I attacked, the result was clear. Once the magical gale dissipated, the soldiers were gone.
Worried the arm might call even more reinforcements, we retreated back into the shadow of the Golem again.
“Hey, Ramuyadas! What is wrong with your follower?! How is he killing them?!”
“Gosh, shut up already! I don’t know either! It’s Ruto, so it’s probably just something to do with his luck!”
“Luck wouldn’t be enough for this!”
Gurnalava had finally stopped crying, but now she was lunging at Ren-kun. Since she looked like a little girl, it just looked like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum at her older brother. It was almost heartwarming—though Mr. Demuad was currently hiding his face in his hands, and Mr. Abarum was staring at the ground with a look of profound grief.
“Now wait a minute, Garna-chan! You shouldn’t underestimate Tort’s luck!”
“She’s right!”
Halfa and Spira jumped into the argument between the two gods... though they seemed to be missing the point entirely. Plus, it looked like they had picked up the Luck God’s nickname for her—they were both calling her Garna-chan now.
I understood why she didn’t feel like an Evil God anymore after seeing this side of her. But considering everything she’d done, I did wonder if being this casual with her was really the best idea.
“Listen to me! If human luck could stop those things, we wouldn’t have struggled! I won't say luck is irrelevant, but do you have any idea how infinitesimally small the probability of destroying them is? Let alone destroying that many at once—relying on luck alone is a fantasy!”
“It sounds like someone needs to show Garna-chan the truth!”
“Exactly! Tort-kun, show her!”
The conversation was spiraling in a very weird direction. I really felt like we shouldn't be ignoring the silver arm, but...
In that case, leave it to me! I’ll set my Divine Realm to its Casino Specification! Time barely moves in my realm, so you can have a real showdown!
The Luck God made the proposal with such infectious excitement that it was eventually decided: Gurnalava and I were going to have a test of luck.
Well, the result was predictable.
“Why?! Why can’t I win?! You’re just a human! You’re just a human!”
For the time being, I think I managed to make her understand that my luck was anything but ordinary.