The Foreigner on the Periphery

"No matter how much I thought about it, there was no alternative."

"An... alternative?"

Dong-cheol didn't stammer because he didn't know the word.

Dong-cheol just couldn't understand the context in which the man had brought it up.

The nameless man seemed to realize he had skipped too much of the story. Clicking his tongue with an "Oops!", he habitually scratched his head right through his hat. A few vivid strands of blond hair peeked out from underneath.

"I mean I had no choice but to sneak out. I couldn't think of any other way."

The man who had asked if he believed in God was now leaning against the wall right next to Dong-cheol.

The goblin felt uneasy about his bizarre behavior, but somehow, his instincts weren't telling him to run away.

He decided to hear the guy out for now. He still had to wait for his friend anyway.

He babbled on about all sorts of things, complaining about how lonely he was being separated from his brothers with no one to talk to.

From the context, Dong-cheol guessed the man had been locked up for quite some time.

"Who... exactly... stopped you from leaving?"

Even though he was wearing a mask, the man covered his mouth with his hand as if sharing a deep secret.

"...I can't tell you that. I'd get in huge trouble. He's way too important. He might actually be the strongest person on Earth."

He continued in a whisper.

"And this is a secret, too... Jeez. You won't believe me unless I tell you this part, so I have no choice, bro."

The goblin was taken aback. Bro? Does he even know how old I am to be calling me that out of nowhere?

"Actually, I'm an incredibly gifted Divine Power user. They said I might even be the best in the dimensional plane. Good enough to go down in history if word got out, you know?"

Only then did Dong-cheol figure out who he was dealing with.

He used to run into people like this on the streets back when he was homeless.

Ah, he's just unwell in the head.

Suddenly, it made perfect sense where the man had been locked up all this time.

"That record won't be broken for a long time. Plus, I'm going to live a really long time, you know? At least a few hundred years, maybe a few thousand if I'm lucky? It seems like I've got the blood of a long-lived race mixed in me. So I'll only keep getting stronger. Honestly, I'm not supposed to talk about this either... but whatever, it's fine. Your soul is pure, bro."

The goblin felt a twinge of pity. Instead of shaking him off and leaving right away, he decided to play along.

His guardian must be looking for him. I should try to persuade him and take him to the police.

If he tried to drag him off right now, the man would surely resist. Dong-cheol decided to humor him and wait for an opening.

While he thought this, the unidentified, presumably mentally ill man happily continued to ramble.

"At some point, I could just feel it. A being I could dedicate my everything to and 'believe in' without a single shred of doubt. That being and I were already connected. The god I serve—I don't know his name yet, but he has to be the most powerful being in the universe. That's why I've become such an outstanding priest."

An incredibly arrogant declaration.

Dong-cheol had no way of knowing this was just a backlash from the inferiority complex the man had suffered in the past.

The goblin merely offered a pitying smile. He kept nodding, pretending to relate.

"It was a shame, really. It'd be so nice if I could share this joy I feel. I wanted many people to know about him. Meaning, I wanted to increase the number of believers. They call that evangelism."

He thought to himself.

If the number of followers serving the greatest god in the universe increased, just how much more wonderful and beautiful would the world become?

"But the people around me had absolutely zero interest in religion. It's just a trait of their species, so I had half given up..."

The man pointed a finger at the procession and tents in the plaza.

That was the reason he had come out onto the streets.

"Then these aliens suddenly popped up out of nowhere."

"Dream...land?"

"Yeah."

Displeasure seeped into his tone.

"They're healing all the sick people in the world, right? It's a disaster. At this rate, everyone on Earth is going to convert to Dreamland."

"Why... is that... a disaster...?"

"Do you see that flashing light in the last tent?"

"...Yeah."

"People on Earth are busy singing their praises, but honestly... it's not even that impressive. It just means their god is mediocre. Isn't that obvious? Because the god I believe in is the best."

Dong-cheol held back a sigh. He then began shooting desperate glances at the police officers controlling the procession. Sadly, none of them met his eyes.

"Plus, they say it's harder to convert someone who's already a devout believer. At this rate, those aliens are going to bewitch everyone in the world. I need to gather believers before that happens. So I was looking for my very first target to evangelize..."

He lifted his sunglasses again. His blue eyes locked straight onto Dong-cheol.

"And then I met you, bro!"

He sounded so excited he could barely contain himself.

"I've never seen anyone with a soul as pure as yours! And as far as I know, goblins don't possess a Supernatural Ability, but..."

He slowly looked Dong-cheol up and down.

"You're different! That's proof you've been chosen!"

At that moment, Dong-cheol grew anxious once again.

The guy was definitely crazy, but it seemed he really did have a Supernatural Ability.

Dong-cheol knew from experience that a crazy person with power was a massive headache. Fortunately, there was no red light emanating from the man's body yet. Preparing to trigger his 'fast movement ability' at a moment's notice, Dong-cheol casually asked,

"I'm sorry, but... you just... look like... a normal guy... to me?"

"Oh, that?"

The man winked.

"I'm hiding it right now. We can't have those aliens freaking out and rushing over here. But I'll make a special exception and show you. You'll believe me then, right?"

Dong-cheol thought his words made absolutely no sense. Not that it was particularly surprising.

"If you do that... they'll... spot you..."

"Don't worry. I'll control it perfectly so only you can see it and no one else."

"...?!"

Right as he was about to ask how that could possibly work, Dong-cheol remembered another ability he possessed that he had forgotten about.

—!

Ever since the day he regretted failing to see through the true identity of the dragon that attacked the bookstore, Dong-cheol had been able to see the true nature of people.

For example, he felt as though the "Master" of the shopping arcade harbored a colossal darkness within his body, and from the short-haired woman who had visited him once, he sensed an illusion of countless strands stretching out and swirling like a starfish.

And now.

The moment a strange color settled into the eyes of the man who had been spewing nonsense,

"...Ah? Ah?!"

Flash!

Dong-cheol saw a brilliant light that felt like it would burn his eyes out.

   *

Minjun did not uncross his arms.

"If you're talking about alternatives, do you mean the Todds? Are you saying that since exterminating an entire species is a grave sin, we should pick a race that won't go extinct even if we kill that many? Meaningless."

He shook his head.

"Initially, I set the sacrifice at 150 million sapient beings. I figured the Kavite population would reach that level after a few hundred years. Looking at it now, reality has fallen short. Around 130 million, was it? But I plan to proceed anyway. Pushing it a bit, it's still just enough to succeed. Even so, if you absolutely insist on switching to the Todds..."

He calculated the numbers.

"Out of over 500 million Todds, by what criteria would you single out 150 million? Based on whether they directly participated in the war? Those individuals wouldn't even make up ten percent."

"I don't mean we should offer the Todds instead. I thought we should change our fundamental approach rather than just swapping out the sacrificial lambs. The reason you chose Dark Magic as a substitute for Mana Crystals, Father, is because it's a process that efficiently extracts energy."

Not only magic power, but the innate mass, life force, lingering resentment, and various negative emotions and pain of a sacrifice all combined to make a person excellent fuel.

"But... I believe there is a better way. It is even a power that doesn't require someone's sacrifice as collateral."

Minjun's lips stiffened. He looked as though he already guessed what was coming. Before he could interrupt again, Asiph-1 poured out his words.

"The concentration of mana in the atmosphere is important for the initial awakening, but after that, the power of a Supernatural Ability depends on the individual's magic power. However, there is one Supernatural Ability that uniquely defies this theory. It is an ability heavily bound to mental factors rather than innate magic power."

"Hold on."

Despite his creator's attempt to stop him, Asiph-1 paid it no mind.

"You must have seen the current prowess of the order's priests. Due to recent events, their faith has become deeper than anyone else's."

The aftermath directly translated into power.

"They barely consume any of their own life force when unleashing their abilities. They don't need to be born with outstanding magic power. They don't need sacrifices, either. All they need is faith. It's a miracle where power simply surges as long as they 'believe' in someone without asking for anything in return. The areas of the brain stimulated during this process are the exact opposite of Dark Magic. Unconditional positivity and conviction, even a euphoria bordering on ecstasy...!"

Asiph-1 radiated heat from his entire body. In contrast, Minjun's eyes were utterly frigid.

"Don't tell me your alternative is..."

The son nodded.

"Yes, it's Divine Power!"

Pleading for him to reconsider, Asiph-1 bowed his head deeply.

Right after, he felt the atmosphere shift the moment Minjun's shadow moved across the floor.

Words plunged down like daggers onto Asiph-1's shoulders.

"I resent the time I've wasted listening to this."

The creator had already stood up. As if there was no reason to stay here any longer.

Asiph-1 hurriedly raised his head.

"But only Divine Power defies most common sense, including the laws of energy and magic theory. If we utilize this power, we might be able to awaken the primordial race with very few sacrifices. And going further... it could be utilized in the plan for the universe to achieve eternal life!"

"That's a power that didn't even exist before we fell asleep. Even I haven't been able to completely figure out its true nature. And you want to start researching it now?"

It wasn't that Minjun was completely uninterested, but he figured it was something to look into after he woke all of his kin. It had simply been pushed down in priority.

"Furthermore, your words are all based on baseless assumptions. What if the research fails? What if Divine Power is also the result of sacrificing something? Or what if its power turns out to be so weak that it's useless for anything we're aiming for?"

Minjun continued pointing out the flaws.

But Asiph-1 didn't give up.

"Because it is a power based on mental factors, I can analyze it with my abilities. I will look into the minds of the priests more precisely and deeply than now, and I will prove exactly which elements making up their minds connect to the power. If that succeeds, I can 'cultivate' belief!"

"Are you saying you'll artificially mass-produce people as faithful as them? And gather that power to awaken our kin?"

Minjun couldn't understand.

"You emphasized free will so much yourself, yet now you're reciting a method that could brainwash even more people than my original plan. You're contradicting yourself."

"Look closely at the reality of Divine Power users! Even excluding our order, the vast majority of the gods they believe in are absurd concepts that couldn't possibly exist. As countless cases have proven, the object of their faith isn't what's important. If they can project such strong belief toward an illusion, it might be even easier to strengthen their belief toward someone who exists nearby and whom they already believe in—in other words, a 'person.' If that power manifests straight into Divine Power!"

"Nonsense. I don't want to hear anymore."

Asiph-1 cried out in a cracking voice toward the creator, who had already turned his back.

"Please withdraw the order for species cleansing. The first time is always hard. But from the second time onward, it becomes second nature."

The process would become easier, and he would grow numb to the guilt.

"Not everything will go perfectly in the future. You cannot brainwash everyone in the universe, and there will be races that refuse to worship you as a god. Every time you have to suppress a rebellion, you, Father, will end up seeking the easy way out."

Asiph-1 believed the future after Minjun drove the Kavites to extinction was even more terrifying.

Once he committed a massacre, making similar choices in the future would become far too easy.

"Even if you are nothing more than a god born of fabricated illusions."

Asiph-1 spoke his beliefs.

"A god who orders the annihilation of species and races just because they lost a war, resisted, or simply didn't believe in him—such a god must not exist."

The creator stopped right before kicking the door open to leave.

"Why in the world?"

A dry voice.

"My kin were defenselessly consumed like livestock. We were already on the verge of suffering something akin to a massacre, and I am merely trying to recreate it. They are just getting their karma in return. You know this, so why are you trying so hard to stop me?"

Asiph-1 stared at him with clear eyes.

"You already know the answer, Father."

For the first time, Minjun was at a loss for words.

The son voiced the thought he had harbored for a long time.

"I am not daring to ask you to forgive them. Forgiveness is noble precisely because it is not an obligation, and no one else can force it upon you. Furthermore, indiscriminate forgiveness only allows evil to flourish like weeds. Instead, I wish to beg you regarding the severity of the punishment."

"..."

"Massacres are something that have repeated countless times throughout human history, but precedence does not always guarantee justification. I also know that you have limits to your abilities, just as you said. However, I am truly terrified of you giving up on finding an alternative. A future where you continue to carve away the humanity within yourself...!"

Crackle!

Sparks flared in the space like a strike of lightning.

Only then did Asiph-1 shut his mouth.

"..."

He could not read the creator's mind. But just by looking at his back, he felt like he could tell that complex thoughts and emotions were swirling in his heart.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity had passed.

"How much time do you need?"

Color returned to Asiph-1's face. He answered reflexively.

"If you just give me one year..."

"One week."

"...?!"

"Prove the principles of Divine Power and that it can replace my method within seven days."

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