章 101: The village and me

While controlling the statue with my phone, I'm also running towards the place where the shouting and destructive sounds were coming from earlier. At the point where the broken fence is, Gams and the others are fighting. One of the nearby watchtowers has collapsed, but there are no dead villagers in sight.

All of the combat troops are still alive and well, and they are still fighting. A little further back, Chem is healing one of the wounded elves. I decided not to go in front of them, but to hide in the shadows and control the statue. It would boost morale if they thought god had descended rather than me controlling the golem. I looked into my phone and saw the image from the statue's perspective.

"This way I can stay hidden and in control."

The battlefield is not in their favor, but they're somehow defending the collapsed fence area, it looks like it's only a matter of time until they lose. I tap the screen to activate the golem, and then pick up a spare weapon that was left nearby.

"Hold on! If they get through here, we're done!"

As the divine statue slipped in front of Gams, who was trying to encourage the fighters, it cut down the black dog that was about to attack with his right sword and the raging boar with his left sword.

"God of Fate!"

Hearing Gams' uncharacteristic shouts of joy, the scarred faces of the villagers came alive. You did a great job. Leave the rest to me. The statue can't speak, so I raise the sword in my right hand to show them that I got this. As soon as I jumped out of the hole, I saw a crowd of countless demons in front of me.

There's a black dog, a green demon, a fierce boar, and even a single-eyed red demon. In addition, there are monsters that look like lions with bat wings, and even golem-like monsters made of rocks that have gathered to form a human shape.

Even if I miss a few familiar monsters, I can leave them to Gams and his team. I mainly hunt the big ones and the ones I don't know. The closest target was a single-eyed red demon, so I ran in a straight line. A group of green demons blocked my path, so I cut them off, but didn't slow down my run.

I approached the single-eyed red demon in a cloud of blood. You may not have expected to be approached at this speed, but you hurriedly ready your weapon...unfortunately it's too late! I buried my cutting edge in the huge eyeball that was standing out so badly, and swung it upward instead of pulling it out. It should have a skull, but I easily sliced through it and the sword flew out.

I was surprised at how powerful the wooden statue was when I controlled it before, but it was clearly more powerful now. I wondered if this was an effect of me reaching level 2, or if it was an effect of being turned to stone. Either way, it was a good thing for me. The single-eyed red demon was defeated, and the monsters stopped moving, as if they were frozen.

I don't feel obligated to let them get away with it, so I set my sights on the next one and charge straight at it again. I cut through the monster in front of me like a weed, and slipped in front of the lion, I swung my sword, but in the nick of time, it flew into the sky and escaped.

If it flew, it could damage the village. I grabbed the corpse of the green demon that was lying at my feet and threw it into the air. It had just taken off and there was no time to avoid it, so it crashed to the ground in a tangled heap. I don't even give it time to get up and behead it. I've killed the big one, but there are more monsters to come. It's going to be a pain in the ass to do them all, but I've got to do it!

...…

How many monsters have I killed since then? The sword that was in the stone statue's hand was already gone, and it was now using a club that the monsters have been using and its bare hands. As a stone statue, it was quite destructive even with its bare hands, capable of crushing the head of an opponent with a single blow.

It was sunny at the beginning of the battle, but now it was raining quite heavily. Outside the fence that surrounds the village is a little hollow, so the water pools there and the foothold is not very good, to say the least. However, the monstrous strength of the stone statue and the stone body repels water, so there is little problem. In fact, the monster side seems to be having more trouble fighting.

If I take my time, I'll probably win. However, the enemy keeps running away from me and doesn't want to fight aggressively. When I chase after them, they try to enter the village, so I can't get more than a certain distance from the fence, and I'm losing ground.

"Are you going to wait for the fate points to run out...?"

The enemy's aim is clear. If you can't win, just wait for time to run out. The fate points, which should have been plentiful, are dwindling quickly, and I may not have five minutes left. There are more than fifty...monsters left in the visible range alone. I've killed all the big ones and the golems, but I don't think the wounded villagers can handle the rest.

"I've got it!"

A smile appeared on my face when I heard the voices of the villagers jumping out of the broken fence. The non-combatant villagers all came together to carry a long, long metal rod several meters long. I manipulated the stone statue and ran up to the villagers, then took the metal rod. No matter how strong the statue was, it was impossible for it to move as agilely as before with this weight in its hands. Even if I swung it around, it would be the end of me if the monster escaped out of range.

The monster seemed to understand this and smiled mockingly. As soon as I avert my gaze, the screen of my phone turns white, and a roar shakes my eardrums violently. Villagers who had evacuated to the back of the village were cowering, holding their ears. They seemed to be shouting, but the sound of thunder drowned them out and I could hear nothing.

When the light and sound disappeared, there was only silence. The villagers stood up and all slowly made their way to the large hole in the fence. I put my phone back in my pocket and followed them. I gulped as I saw the scene unfolded on the other side of the fence.

The torrential rain had stopped, and exposed to the sunlight was a statue of a god. Rolling around on the ground were the corpses of countless monsters. Everything was charred black and smoke was rising. The villagers rushed to the statue and, not caring to get dirty with mud, got down on both knees and said words of gratitude to god. The scene of the villagers surrounding the statue, holding up metal rods like spears and offering prayers, was like a piece of religious art.

"Good...."

I was more exhausted than impressed; I could barely stand, so I decided to put my back against the fence. I checked my phone and saw the message [Temptation of the Evil God is over]. There will be no more enemy attacks today. It's over. I did it....I was able to protect it.

I clenched my fists slowly and tightly and looked up to the heavens. If I didn't know any better, it would look like a miracle had happened. But this torrential downpour and the lightning were no accident. It was something I had done with the weather control.

First, I let the rain fall only outside the village, flooding the monsters and the area. Then I set up the lightning rod that I had been working on with the villagers for three weeks. I set the weather to "thunderstorm," narrowed the area, and dropped lightning to eliminate all the monsters.

This battle is the culmination of everything I've done so far. I made full use of the miracles I could perform, Golem Manipulation and Weather Manipulation, I also searched for a way to fight that only I could do, and this is the result.

"I did it."

I feel a little more confident in myself now that I've made it through today. I walked up to the villagers, who were still thanking God, and was shocked to see my feet stepping out to thank them for their hard work today. The ground was translucent from my toes to my ankles, and I could see through it.

"I see.....It's over."

It seems that the promised deadline has arrived. I had asked God to let me stay here until the [Temptation of the Evil God]. Now that it was over, it was only natural. I wanted to join that circle and laugh with everyone again, but I guess that was too extravagant to hope for.

The hand I stretched out to the villagers had almost disappeared up to my elbow. I was back in my world, back to being a player. It's sad, but it's okay. I've decided not to run away from reality anymore. I'll be watching from afar again, but I sincerely wish for the happiness of the village.

"I'm going to work hard so I can pay my bills."

As I watched the villagers and waited for this body to disappear completely, I saw something at the bottom of my vision. I looked down and saw Destiny bouncing around. When our gazes met, he stopped bouncing and stared at me.

"Thanks for everything you've done for me. It's been a real pleasure so far...buddy."

I bent down and put my fist out, and he bumped his little paw against the fist that was disappearing. Then Destiny burst into tears from his big eyes. It's not fair to cry. I've been holding back....I can't touch him anymore, but I cover Destiny in a hug.

"Thank you. Thank you so much....Live well, and don't eat anything strange, okay? Get along with the villagers. And also...."

My voice was choked and I couldn't speak. The last face I saw seemed to be crying and laughing, even though it was a lizard.

...…

I am floating in white light in a space where nothing exists but me. A comfortable feeling as if I was throwing my whole body on feathers.

"Yoshio, how was the other world?"

I am not surprised by the sudden voice. The experience from the end of last year to today has made me tolerant. I can accept this level without hesitation.

"You're the God of Fate. Thank you very much. It's been very, very fun."

Those are my heartfelt words. There were a number of inconveniences that were different from Japan, but I can say with pride that my days were fulfilling even with those inconveniences.

"I'm glad to hear that. Most people don't want to go back to their home world after crossing over. You seem to be different."

"I don't think I would have gone back before. But now I'm different. I still have a lot of unfinished business and a lot of things to do. Besides, there are people waiting for me."

After having been taken care of so much, I can't be so dishonest as to abandon everything and run away to another world. The place I should be fighting for is not another world but my original world. There may be many days in the future when I regret my decision to return from the other world. But even so, I want to be proud of myself for making this choice. Because the man who had been running away chose not to run.

"How does it feel to actually touch the villagers?"

"I can't treat them as NPCs in a village-building game anymore, they're just like me."

"I'm glad to hear that. Please take care of the villagers from now on."

"Yes! Thank you very much."

In hindsight, there were a number of strange things. The fact that I trusted her without feeling suspicious of her in that situation. I was sure I had checked my current location on my phone, but she approached me without even noticing.

"Oh, you knew, didn't you? Hmm."

The last thing I heard was a slightly happy voice, and this time my vision was tinged with black. But I don't feel bad. In fact, it calmed me down. In the darkness, I suddenly remembered what Chem had told me about the God of Fate.

"It is said that the God of Fate is the most human-like god, secretly descending into the human world to live with people. There is even a story that he had a child with a human. The God of Fate loves and cares for people more than anyone else, and if someone is in trouble, he gently reaches out his hand, laughs with them, and cries with them."

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but I was chosen by such a god.