Chapter 8: A calm, straightforward fact

After leaving a sponsorship comment, I naturally expected a reply along the lines of, “What! You’ve donated 100,000 won? Unbelievable! How generous, Igogodon! I’ll solve Erin’s trials immediately!”

However, no matter how long I waited, there was no reply comment.

‘What the…?’

We were just communicating through comments a moment ago, so I assumed they would thank me right away.

Five minutes passed, then ten, and still, no comment.

‘What could have happened?’

An odd sense of unease crept up my spine.

But when I thought about it, ‘wasn’t it actually strange to expect immediate comment responses every time?’

I’d just grown used to the quick replies.

‘Guess they’re probably busy with something else.’

Even though I’d spent money, I didn’t intend to be entitled and demand an instant reply.

So, I stood up, ready to settle down for the night.

***

Bzzz! Bzzz!

‘Huh?’

Just as I was about to leave, a notification came in, prompting me to check the page again.

[“donation please (author): sjdw.wo.to << This is a 1:1 chatroom. Please enter here.”]

Suddenly, I found this unexpected message.

Without much suspicion, I clicked on the link.

As they mentioned, it was indeed a chatroom—a space strictly for 1:1 communication.

Interestingly, my nickname appeared as “Igogodon.” ‘So, did the author create this chatroom specifically for me?’

Since the site didn’t support 1:1 chat functions, it made sense that they might have created one if necessary… but who would want to chat with other readers on a manga site?

***

[Igogodon: Why did you call me?]

The author continued to repeatedly send messages of gratitude.

Well… 100,000 won is quite a significant amount for a sponsorship.

Even on streaming sites, a donation of 100,000 won is highly appreciated.

But isn’t this a bit over-the-top? 100,000 won doesn’t seem like an amount to cause such a commotion.

[Igogodon: Hahaha, if you’re so grateful, give me a solid lesson in the story.]

With this tone, it felt almost like watching a Game Master engrossed in a TRPG.

[Igogodon: Alright then, just let me know when the next chapter comes out.]

[Igogodon: ?]

Huh?

Leave a message?

Are they talking about some sort of reward for the donation?

Well, if adding my words into the manga is worth 100,000 won, it’s a good deal.

[Igogodon: Is anything fine?]

Feeling somewhat pleased with the continued praise, I started pondering what to say.

Let’s see… something to convey as a message from a god… that probably means addressing those annoying characters, right?

This one was simple.

The trickier part was the message for Erin.

Even if it was only in name, sending something to “Erin” felt significant.

Maybe a simple “Good luck, Erin” would work.

I was, after all, watching and supporting her journey in the manga.

…Nah, that’s too dull. Since I’ve already spent 100,000 won, maybe it wouldn’t be a waste to go over the top a little? After all, I’m the only reader.

***

As it turned out, the latest chapter had a total of only 10,000 views.

Despite everyone losing interest, the author had continued drawing the manga, supported solely by my sponsorship.

[Igogodon: Seriously, anything?]

In that case… maybe this much isn’t over the line, right?

I began typing the message from the god to all readers.

[Igogodon: Message from the god: “One simple fact: the name of the god is Igogodon.” Convey this.]

Hopefully, this would quiet down those chattering about the name.

But that wasn’t the main point.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly typed out the next line.

[Igogodon: And to Erin…]

[Igogodon: Tell her ‘Erin chuchuchan.’ (Blushing emoji)]

After sending it, I chuckled to myself.

‘Who would’ve thought, at my age, I’d find something like this amusing?’

But the only thing coming to mind was her well-endowed figure that had left an impression despite her modesty in the bath scene.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing a fan service scene.

If I pay for it and bring it up, wouldn’t they draw it?

[Igogodon: Yeah.]

[Igogodon: But if you can’t, just add something else.]

Good. If you’re aware, please include a fan service scene.

An awkward scene is better than a lackluster one—that was my philosophy.

***

After ending the chat, I let out a dry laugh for a while.

Erin chuchuchan… how will this over-the-top author even interpret this phrase?

At that moment, I wasn’t really thinking much about the message as a god.

What stayed on my mind was the lingering image of Erin’s chest from the bath scene.

Today, I was going to hold back…

With idle thoughts, I searched for “large chest” on the art site.

“Please save everyone deceived by the false god—”

Although Erin prayed with her eyes closed, there was no way for a young woman like her to overcome the strength of two men.

“When would you like the trial date, Lady Lumina?”

“As soon as possible, if you please. Surely, the god would want to open this poor lamb’s eyes without delay.”

“Come along!”

The voices of the two women discussing things faded into the distance.

‘Was she really about to be dragged off to prison?’

‘Am I… going to be locked up in a dungeon?’

However, Erin did not resent the god even in this situation.

If this was a trial from the god, she would accept it.

No, maybe it was because her prayers were lacking.

She would continue praying over and over, even while imprisoned.

She no longer doubted the god’s existence.

The god exists, and the god is called “Igogodon.” That was an unchanging, absolute truth.

So, surely, this time too, he will hear her prayers.

‘Igogodon, I, Erin, chosen by you, humbly plead… please answer my prayer. Please, grant me a miracle to overcome this trial.’

“…Huh?”

It happened so suddenly.

A flash.

What covered her vision was a flash of light.

“Ah, ahhhhh!”

“What’s going on? What happened?!”

As the flash shone into everyone’s eyes, their vision was blocked.

No, it was more than just a flash reaching everyone’s eyes.

This light…

This light—it was swallowing the world.

It was a light that consumed the world.

“This, this is…!!!!”

Yet Erin was not swallowed by the light.

In her vision, one person was clearly visible: Lumina.

The woman closest to a saint, who claimed that the god’s name was Ophel Aichel.

“What have you done?!”

It seemed Lumina could see her too.

This was indeed in front of the Grand Cathedral in the capital, Ophel Aichel, where many people had gathered…

Now, in a space made entirely of pure white light, only Erin and Lumina—the two women—remained.

“Aah!”

Then, Lumina, struggling to maintain her balance, suddenly had a book fly out from her body.

It was the Holy Bible—the book she, as a saint candidate, always carried close to her heart.

Containing the word of God and the journey from the beginning of time, it was the most sacred book in the world.

The Bible, as if it had come to life, floated up high into the sky… and then began to flutter, pages slapping against each other incessantly.

And then…

A voice began to resonate for both Lumina and Erin.

A voice that was so holy it was impossible to determine its gender—one that naturally instilled reverence.

“Before light and dark existed, in the primordial age, there was a god.

The god created a place to stand, and it was called ‘Earth.’

Afterward, the god created a place to reach, and it was called ‘Heaven.'”

“This…!”

The first verse of the Bible.

The monumental words marking the beginning of the grand narrative of the goddess who created earth and heaven, humans, and the creatures who would receive the name Ophel Aichel.

Lumina had read it countless times, yearning to hear the voice of the one and only God Ophel Aichel.

She had read it to the point of exhaustion to become a saint!

Though she hadn’t fully grasped the situation, her emotions naturally surged—reverence.

Despite not understanding the series of events, Lumina revered it.

She had been taught to revere such things.

However, what Erin felt was slightly different from Lumina’s emotions.

Somehow, she “knew” that the words being recited now would soon become a meaningless jumble.

“What…?”

In shock, she looked up at the Bible. Lumina was—

The Bible, as if it had a life of its own, was trembling.

No, that’s not it.

It seemed as though it was pleading to someone.

From the lowly to the high.

From the fading to the eternal.

‘Is it begging… to be saved?’

Erin’s gaze reached beyond Lumina’s comprehension.

This was… the moment of creation.

A fundamental transformation was occurring, as the world was being reborn anew.

Destruction for creation.

Creation blossoming from destruction.

A realm beyond human control—the “divine domain.”

The moment to “save all who had been deceived by the false god” was… something she instinctively understood.

And then—

A pillar of light pierced the Bible.

Both women intuitively understood.

They were witnessing a fragment of “divine slaughter.”

What they were seeing was the end of the outdated era of the old order.

The true god’s judgment descending upon the era dominated by the false god.

The Bible stopped its movement, and quietly began to spill forth every truth it had held within.

In the primordial age where there was only light and dark, there was a god…

The god created a place to stand and called it ‘Earth.’

Then, the god created a place to reach and called it ‘Heaven.’

The verses of the Bible…

Were disappearing.

It was a strange sight.

‘How many people could easily imagine a scene where sentences wither away, begging for life?’

Yet the god showed no mercy.

What was “once truth” lost its weight the moment it was stripped of its authority.

The birth of the god, the change in the world, the words that everyone in this world had desperately sought to adorn their tongues with divine authority…

All of it.

Vanished.

The sentences scattered into dust without a trace.

As if they never should have existed… no.

As if they had never existed at all.

And, on the now blank pages of the Bible, God’s words were inscribed in place of the erased letters—not the words of a false Bible, but true words.

The first verse heralding the dawn of a new age by the messenger of the god:

“A plain and simple fact: the name of the god is Igogodon.”

The world was being rewritten.