“I’m watching you.”
After hearing the words resonating in her mind, a kind of “miracle” unfolded as the ground suddenly split and a clean stream of water sprang up.
Following that moment—
Erin’s life which had previously been filled with endless hardships began to flow smoothly, as if rewarding her for her past struggles.
From unexpectedly finding well-preserved food in the underbrush to narrowly escaping threats from wild animals—could anyone believe that, no matter what she did, everything somehow resolved itself as if it had been predetermined?
‘They’re watching me…’
Could it really have been the voice of a god?
……………No, that would be impossible.
She’d been taught that only those who were chosen and qualified could barely hear the voice of a god.
She must have misheard it.
She was nearly on the verge of death, so hearing strange hallucinations wasn’t too surprising.
Thinking that, the emotion Erin eventually felt was closer to fear than joy.
‘What on earth is happening…?’
At first, she thought she was happy, drinking the water that surged up to quench her long-unfulfilled thirst.
She thought a miracle had happened.
But as the world began to “twist” in strange ways after that, and as unnatural events continued one after another, a fear she couldn’t ignore started to rise from deep within her.
Think about it.
Sure, it’s nice to say she narrowly escaped the threat of wild beasts but watching the wolves who had been pursuing her with hostility suddenly flee in terror was undeniably unsettling.
It was as if everything around her was artificially arranged.
Despite that, she decided to accept it.
Although she no longer heard any more strange voices, she was aware that thanks to these inexplicable events, she was still alive.
This inexplicable streak of immense luck continued to provide her with clean water, food, a safe place to sleep, and protection from the various threats she’d inevitably face while wandering through the ruins filled with plague-ridden corpses.
As a result she’d managed to survive for now, storing water and food in a makeshift shelter, living as safely as possible.
‘When will I ever be able to return to the way things were…?’
The village had been left in ruins.
Erin believed that Imperial soldiers would come down to restore order.
Of course she had no way of knowing how complex things were within the Empire itself, making them unable to concern themselves with a small village.
Still, every time she went out to search, she could somehow find food and water with ease… So, if she just held on, the security forces would come to deal with the bandits occupying her village.
Then, she could return home and properly lay her mother to rest.
If the voice she heard wasn’t a hallucination, but truly something akin to a god’s voice… she was certain she would survive.
She endured each nightmarish day with that single thought.
But unfortunately, the one who came to her first wasn’t a knight bearing the Empire’s emblem—
“You, hiding here alone while abandoning your family?”
“L-Let go of me!”
—but the bandits who had occupied her village and ravaged her friends and family.
“I’m not letting go! What’s that you’re holding? Hand it over!”
“No, it’s mine…!”
“Damn it!”
“Aaah!”
With a single punch, Erin dropped the food she had been holding.
“How did Erin, of all people, manage to get proper food in this situation?”
“…Huh?”
This man… does he know my name?
I hadn’t noticed because he was wearing a mask, but as I focused on his voice, a familiar figure came to mind.
“You… are you Karon?”
“You just realized that, you idiot?”
Erin’s face sank into despair at the revelation that someone she knew was part of the thieves’ gang—especially Karon, a former wanderer from her village.
“How… how could you do this? How could you steal? You’re from our village! We were like family…! My mother treated you so well…!”
“Shut up with that family crap! Family? Don’t make me laugh! You all—every single one of you—looked down on me because I had no parents and treated me like garbage!”
“What are you talking about? No one looked down on you. Who would provide food and a place to sleep to someone they looked down on?”
“In exchange, you made me work like a slave!”
“You were the one who first said you felt bad doing nothing and asked for something to do!”
“Shut up!”
Thud!
Karon stomped on Erin’s fallen hand over and over again.
“Aah… aaah… it hurts…!”
“Those eyes! I hated those eyes of yours! You were looking down on me, weren’t you? You, your family, everyone in that village! You all just saw me as a slave!”
But why was that?
The thing that hurt the most at that moment wasn’t her hand, which was being stomped on.
It was her heart.
It pained her just knowing that he thought this way.
“That… that’s… just your inferiority complex… The villagers… didn’t—”
“Shut up! I told you to shut up!”
Thud! Thud!
Just then several masked men, hearing the commotion, came running over.
“What the hell, you idiot? What’s all this noise?”
“Oh… sorry.”
“And the food?”
“Got it right here.”
The tallest of the gang members whistled as he picked up the dropped food.
“Wow, damn. What is all this? Looks like it’s in pretty good shape. Where’d you get this?”
“That girl had it.”
“What?”
The masked men approached Erin, lying on the ground, one by one.
“What? Do you know her?”
“Nope.”
“Hey, she seems to know your name, though.”
One of the men crouched down, locking eyes with Erin as he asked.
“Hey. Where’d you get this food? You, a girl, managed to get this?”
“Looking at her, she must have someone watching her back. She’s got a pretty face, so she probably didn’t have much trouble begging for food.”
“Damn, this guy’s insane. Alright, be honest. This food… looks like you got it from some decent folks.”
“It… was just lying there…”
“What? You picked it up? From the ground?”
“Bullshit!”
The gang laughed, amused, before shifting their tone back to interrogate her.
“Listen, if you tell us the truth, we’ll let you live. Who gave this to you? I’m not asking for money; just tell me who gave you this food, and you’re free to go.”
Even if she wanted to say something, she couldn’t.
Out of loyalty to the one who helped her? Hardly.
She had simply gathered food that had, quite literally, ‘sprung up’ from the ground.
With every ounce of her strength, Erin replied, “…There’s no one… it’s true.”
“Are you kidding me…?”
“Ugh… damn it.”
“Boss, what should we do with her? She’s being tight-lipped.”
The man who was addressed as ‘boss’—who had been leading the questioning—seemed to hold some authority among them.
Erin looked at him desperately and spoke again.
“I’ll give you the food! But really, there’s no one who helped me… I found it on the road. Please believe me…”
The man looked down at Erin, who was pleading without a word.
His gaze swept over her body, like a snake.
“…Hey. Karon. When did the boss say we should be back?”
“I think he said to assemble by 5 o’clock.”
“Tsk. It’s a bit of a shame, but we don’t have much time left. Forget it. Let’s kill her.”
“Are we really going to kill her?”
“This girl knows who you are, doesn’t she? You want to keep someone like that alive? Why is this idiot’s head so slow? Or what, do you want to act all nice now?”
“N-No! I’ll kill her.”
“Wa, wait… please…! Don’t, don’t kill me. Please, spare me…!”
Erin’s pleas no longer reached the men.
Was she really going to die like this? Just like her mother, the villagers, her friends…?
Am I… going to die this pointlessly, too?
She had thought maybe a miracle might happen.
Maybe…
Maybe there really was a god.
Was it just a delusion?
Were all the things that happened to her truly just coincidences?
The ‘watching over me’—was it really just an illusion? And the fact that she found food so easily—was that merely coincidence?
If it was all coincidence, then perhaps… I just survived by taking someone else’s food.
Fine.
I’d rather die.
Better to die quickly and cleanly than endure a horrible fate while alive.
So, she let go of her last lingering attachment to life—at least that’s what she thought.
‘No…’
Tears began to flow from her tightly shut eyes.
It was no use lying to herself about her own heart.
She didn’t want to die.
She wanted to live.
The genuine desire hidden deep in her heart burst forth, screaming for freedom.
I don’t want to die.
I want to survive.
No matter what, I want to live…! I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die…!!
Please.
Let there be a miracle this time, too.
If God truly exists…
If what I heard wasn’t just an illusion, then please, hear my plea.
Save me.
Please… save me!
‘Please save me…!!!!!!’
If there is a god, please hear me…!!!!!!!!!!!
“Take care of it.”
“Yes!”
With her eyes open, Erin saw the blade hovering above her head.
That will pierce my body.
Blood will flow, just like the dead I’ve seen.
She shut her eyes tightly, hoping that if she had to die, her breath would be taken quickly.
But—
-?
Realizing that no pain overwhelmed her and that nothing happened for quite some time, she slowly opened her eyes to check the situation.
The man held his sword, ready to strike… but didn’t move.
No, it wasn’t just the man who was still.
It was as if the entire world
had stopped, with nothing happening.
‘What is… this?’
Erin’s thoughts about her unusual situation were fleeting.
<<>>
!!!!
Once again, that voice.
‘G-God…?!’
<<>>
It was a wondrous moment.
Just from hearing the instruction to ‘shout the name of God,’ she somehow knew what that name was.
It was like a revelation from the heavens.
Something claimed by those who received divine visions.
‘God’s name…!!’
Erin took a deep breath, and then, with all her might, shouted the name of God that appeared clearly in her mind.
“Igogodon!!!!!!!!!!!”
At that moment.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!!!
‘The sky… the sky is tearing apart…?’
Yes, it was a sight that could only be described as ‘the sky tearing apart.’
The split sky emitted a blinding, overwhelming light.
The light, like a messenger of God, wrapped around Erin… and suddenly, the men reacted.
“W-What the?!”
“What’s going on—?”
But their final screams were never completed.
A gigantic spear of light from the sky—plunged straight into the chests of every bandit.
It was divine retribution itself.
!!!!
“Ugh—”
With a thud.
The spears that had pierced them vanished entirely and every one of the bandits who had been breathing just moments ago collapsed, their chests bearing enormous, gaping holes.
It was a gruesome sight.
Their entrails, bones, and parts of their human form had turned to ashes and disappeared.
And as Erin, dumbstruck, stared at the scene… the voice of God resounded in her mind once more.
As if to assure her this wasn’t a dream.
‘Igogodon.’
A strange voice reverberated in her head, as if she were listening to someone at a festival, a ritual, or a forbidden magic ceremony.
Long live the One Who Provides!
Long live the One Who Provides!
!!!Long live the One Who Provides!!!
And from behind that voice, she felt herself grasping ‘the domain of the god.’
There exists… a god.
He is ‘Igogodon.’
In that realization… Erin slowly stood up.
Contemplating the meaning of this revelation.
Erin’s gaze held the truth of one who had been enlightened.