“I see. I shall admit it. It seems Tort’s luck possesses the power to destroy the soldiers of the Outer World.”
Gurnalava nodded with an air of self-importance that made it hard to believe she had been wailing with teary eyes just moments ago. Since she still looked like a little girl, she had absolutely no dignity, though.
“Garna-chan, what does all this actually mean?”
“Umu, allow me to explain.”
At the Luck God’s prompting, Gurnalava finally began her exposition.
Apparently, the bodies of the Abomination Soldiers were merely temporary vessels used to manifest in this world. No matter how much we attacked them, we couldn't actually damage the main body. In fact, they would regenerate instantly, making it impossible to neutralize them through normal means.
The only way to stop them was to strike the core connecting the main body to its temporary shell. If the core was damaged, the entity in the Outer World would be wounded, and the vessel would collapse.
Of course, they knew their own weaknesses and took measures to protect their cores. That was likely why the cores moved at such high speeds.
“Father said they likely shift the core rapidly within their own forms,” Gurnalava added.
“Father?”
“When we gods refer to ‘Father,’ we mean the God of Origin, Zeuladen, Halfa-chan,” the Spirit God clarified.
The God of Origin, huh? Basically the God of Creation. He was the one who had birthed the other gods—with the exception of Ren-kun, of course, who had been granted his divinity later.
“Wait,” the Spirit God interjected. “Father said that? Do you have any idea how much time has passed since he vanished? Are you saying their invasion has been going on for that long?”
I didn't know the specifics, but apparently, the God of Origin had disappeared from the world ages ago. If a god was calling it a long time, it must have been an eternity in human years.
“Indeed,” Gurnalava replied. “And to halt the invasion, Father journeyed to the Outer World alone. He hasn't returned since... The only reason the invasion was delayed this long is likely because he's been sabotaging them from the other side.”
“Father went to the Outer World? If you knew that, why didn't you say anything!?”
“I tried to tell you! But you were all so busy panicking over his disappearance that you wouldn't listen to a word I said!”
“Mu...”
“Garna-chan...”
Faced with the furious Gurnalava, the Spirit God and the Luck God wore sheepish expressions. It seemed there had been a serious breakdown in communication between the deities.
Ren-kun, who was the only one completely out of the loop, spoke up to break the tension. “So, is this why you’ve been obsessed with ‘trials’?”
Come to think of it, Gurnalava was originally a god who blessed those who overcame hardships. At some point, she’d started aggressively imposing those trials on people. Maybe she’d been trying to prepare humanity for the invaders from the Outer World.
“Exactly! The other gods were useless! I swore I would forge humans into warriors to prepare for the inevitable! ...Even if the results were catastrophic.”
“Regardless of your intentions, what you did wasn't even on the level of a ‘trial,’” Ren-kun pointed out.
“The enemies are abominations from the Outer World that won't die even if you kill them! I didn't think anyone could survive unless they were pushed to the limit!”
“Even so, you went too far...”
“I'd like to argue that point... but seeing as the only one capable of standing against them is your apostle, I suppose I can't.”
Gurnalava must have been desperate. Faced with a looming invasion by a powerful foe and the frustration of being ignored by her peers, she’d resorted to extreme measures. I couldn't easily forgive her for all the people who had suffered, but I felt like I could at least understand her perspective.
“Garna-chan!”
“...What is it?”
Halfa called out firmly. Gurnalava looked slightly taken aback as she turned toward her.
“We'll take care of those monsters. So, please, stop those cruel trials. This isn't the end of the invaders from the Outer World, right? If so, you need to train people with proper trials instead!”
“Mu...”
Gurnalava looked as if she’d been caught off guard.
“You are a Wingfolk... do you not hate me?”
Long ago, the Wingfolk had been driven to the brink of extinction because of Gurnalava's trials. That was why Ren-kun had taken them under his protection. Gurnalava clearly expected Halfa to condemn her. Instead, Halfa gave an unexpected answer.
“I... well, my father and grandfather might still hold a grudge. But I can tell you're not actually a bad person, Garna-chan.”
“You...”
At those words, Gurnalava’s—no, Garna’s—face crumpled as if she were about to burst into tears. She’d probably been struggling with her own regrets all this time.
“We'll help you too. Right, Tort?”
“...Yeah. Definitely!”
If Halfa had decided to forgive her, I wasn't going to object. Besides, if we had a bigger threat to deal with, we needed to focus on that. I loved this world—the world where I could see Halfa and Shiroru smiling.
“...Well, if Ruto and Halfa say so, I'll pitch in too,” Ren-kun added.
“Garna-chan, we'll help this time as well,” the Luck God said.
“Yes, and I apologize for my earlier behavior,” the Spirit God added.
“Everyone...”
As the other gods offered their support, Garna finally broke down into tears again. But this time, they were tears of relief. And that was a good thing.
Now that the gods had reconciled, all that was left was to destroy that silver arm!