This Isn't an E*otic Game?-Chapter 87: The Third Revelation

A Dark Night

A woman was running down the road under the cover of darkness.

She ran and ran, until her breath was caught in her throat. Finally reaching her limit, she staggered to a nearby tree and collapsed beside it.

[You cannot stop yet. They will be coming after you.]

"I'm too tired," the woman whimpered.

She looked down at her own body.

Her limbs were nothing but dry, shriveled twigs. Her skin, grotesquely twisted and contorted.

And the hunch on her back, bulging grotesquely under the night sky.

It was almost a blessing that the night was so dark—at least she didn’t have to see just how monstrous she had become.

"Why... why is my body still like this? Why hasn’t it returned to normal?"

[My power is insufficient. I managed to break the binding spell that enslaved your body and soul, but that was my limit. The power to heal you is not yet mine to wield.]

"It hurts, Goddess. I can’t run properly. I’m too exhausted."

The woman collapsed completely, sobbing.

[You must keep moving, child. You cannot fall here.]

"Why... why me? I didn’t do anything wrong..."

The being called a goddess fell silent for a moment.

The silence carried with it an unmistakable sorrow.

[I am sorry. I am so sorry, Kanya. I have burdened you with a weight you should never have had to bear. But unlike before—when there was no hope—now, hope exists. There is a way to heal your body. There is a way to restore my divinity. There are still those who believe in me.]

The woman—Kanya—froze, her tears halting.

"Really...?"

[On the Rock Mountain of Talhaim, there remains an altar I secretly built three hundred years ago. Within it, I sealed a fragment of my divine essence. I was a warrior of the heavens, always at the front lines of battle, and I knew there was a chance my divinity would be shattered and that I would fall to the earth as I have now. That altar was my safeguard, Kanya.]

"If you regain your divinity... will you be able to heal me?"

[To be honest, my power does not exist for healing. It exists to destroy evil. Because of that, undoing the twenty years of dark magic and curses that have twisted your body will not be easy.]

Despair flickered across Kanya’s face. But before it could take root, the goddess spoke again.

[But I swear upon my very existence—I will never forget the suffering you and your ancestors endured because of me. I will repay the sacrifices you have made over the last three hundred years, suffering at the hands of hell itself. Kanya, if necessary, I will plead with other gods. I will find a way to heal you. I will bless you and your family.]

Kanya began crying again.

"Then... can I... can I become beautiful?"

[You will be more beautiful than anyone.]

The goddess's voice was warm and reassuring, and Kanya's tears began to flow even more freely.

She covered her face with her withered hands.

The goddess comforted her once more.

[Just a little more, Kanya. You only need to reach the Rock Mountain of Talhaim. Once I recover my divinity, everything will change. It will be a painful and arduous journey, but once we reach that place, I swear upon my very being—I will make it right.]

Kanya wiped her tears.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to stand.

With her broken, twisted legs, she stumbled forward.

"Shouldn’t we ask the Pantheon for help? If we seek aid from the other gods, wouldn’t it be easier to reach Talhaim’s Rock Mountain?"

[You would be destroyed, Kanya. Look at the sigil engraved on your abdomen.]

At the goddess's words, Kanya wordlessly lifted her tattered clothing, running her fingers over the magic circle carved into her flesh.

Though the goddess had broken the enslavement spell placed on her body and soul by the Demon King, it was not the only dark magic coursing through her.

[If any being of divine power approaches you, the dark magic will activate and erase both your body and soul. Forever. And the fragment of my divinity that remains bound to your soul would vanish along with you. The Pantheon’s help is not an option.]

"Then... what about the Mage Tower? Or another faction—anyone else who could help us...?"

[Have you forgotten what the Demon Lord of Sloth is capable of?]

Kanya shuddered involuntarily.

[Any ordinary person—whether mage or knight—who lacks divine protection will become nothing more than a toy for Belphegor. Paradoxically, you are safest when you are alone.]

"Then... you're saying I have to make it all the way to Talhaim’s Rock Mountain in this body? While avoiding pursuit from the Demon Lords?"

[Yes. That is the only way.]

Kanya felt the world around her darken.

If she had been in a healthy body, perhaps she could have managed.

But after twenty years of torment, her body had been twisted beyond recognition. How was she supposed to make such a journey?

It was hopeless.

This was a journey with nothing good waiting for her. No safety, no allies—only pain and suffering.

But despite all of that, Kanya clenched her fists.

She wiped away her tears, then reached for a fallen branch on the ground.

Turning it into a makeshift staff, she leaned on it and forced herself to stand.

"Crying won’t change anything. But at least now... there’s hope, no matter how small. That’s more than we had before, isn’t it? Shouldn’t I be grateful for that? Isn’t this a hundred times better than the days when there was nothing but suffering? Don’t you think so... Goddess?"

As Kanya spoke, her voice swollen from tears, the goddess’s laughter echoed gently in her mind.

[Yes, Kanya. There is hope now. Let us go. My child, I will walk with you. I will suffer with you. I will rejoice with you. We will go together.]

Kanya gripped her staff and began to move.

Fear. Despair.

And an overwhelming terror loomed in her eyes.

But beyond that, a desperate will to survive burned even brighter.

****

An Unexpected Companion

An ally I never expected.

In fact, an ally I never even wanted.

But to my surprise, the unicorn and I got along quite well.

[Hey, human. What's your name?]

"Amayel. Jericho Amayel. What about you?"

[Among my kind, the stallions despised me, while the mares I mated with adored me. The former called me <Shining Mane Long as Fuck> with disgust, and the latter whispered my name as <That Horny Fucking Unicorn>. Right before I died, humans just called me <That Goddamn Breeding Maniac>. Pick whichever suits you best!!]

"One's too long, the other’s too crude. You’re a unicorn, so I’ll just shorten it to ‘Kon’."

[Your naming sense is absolute dogshit.]

"What? It’s simple and easy to call. Kon."

[Tch. Fine, whatever, fuck it.]

I hadn’t expected to have any meaningful conversations with a creature of a different species—one that wasn’t even alive, to begin with.

But after exchanging names, I realized something surprising.

I actually got along pretty damn well with this bastard.

[I've got two questions. First, where the hell are we going?]

"To a place called Talhaim’s Rock Mountain. It’s considered the harshest terrain in the Empire—no one goes there, and no one lives there either."

[Why the fuck would you go to some desolate wasteland with no kin, no people, nothing?]

"To ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ live in isolation. So no one can find me."

[Not even with a mate?]

"No. No mate."

[Are you fucking insane?! You're telling me you're not out searching for some human virgin to fuck?!]

"I’m not. I’ve had enough of that. The three women I was with are more than enough for me."

[I don’t get it—why in the hell would you fuck non-virgins? That’s the pinnacle of unsanitary behavior! But whatever, I’ll let it slide since we’re different species. Second question: is time frozen around us right now? I’ve been so used to everything being motionless that I only just noticed.]

"Yeah. It’s stopped."

[Wait. You froze time?]

"Yeah. I did."

Kon let out a hollow laugh, as if struggling to comprehend what I just said.

[No, seriously—what the fuck are you?! How the hell do you freeze time across the entire goddamn world?!]

"It’s complicated. One day, I just... could. That’s the best explanation I have."

[This is... this is fucking ridiculous.]

For the first time, I had revealed my power to someone else.

I wondered how he’d react.

Would he be horrified? Would he fear me?

[So you’re telling me... you have the ability to fuck unlimited mares, with zero resistance? Holy shit, this is the most broken ability in existence!!]

...And that was how I learned that Kon was nothing but a sex-crazed unicorn.

[This is incredible!! I can think of dozens of scenarios just off the top of my head! Goddamn, how many women have you fucked with this power?! Hundreds?! Thousands?!]

"...Just those three you saw."

[You mean those three non-virgins in your bed?!]

"Yeah."

[Are you out of your fucking mind?! This ability was MADE for mating!! You could screw any female you wanted and disappear right after! And you’ve only used it on three secondhand women?! What kind of fucked-up intelligence and standards do you have?! I could NEVER do that!! Do you even realize how many ways you could use this power?!]

Kon then launched into an impassioned, borderline insane rant about all the possible ways I could be using my time-stopping ability.

And honestly...

His way of talking was fucking hilarious.

[Picture this! Four mares in a stable, completely frozen. You unfreeze only their—]

I had to stop listening.

If this guy had been born in Korea, he would’ve made a killing as a live-streamer.

He somehow managed to exist in that perfect middle ground between grotesque degeneracy and peak comedic timing.

Listening to him go on and on about my "misuse" of my ability, I found myself briefly forgetting about Asmodeus, the Celestial War, and all my other problems.

This bastard...

He could talk his ass off.

Moving through a frozen world, I leaped over ten meters with every step, my physical enhancements making my movements almost indistinguishable from a martial artist’s light-step technique.

And the whole time, thanks to Kon, I wasn’t bored for even a second.

[Let me guess—you’re borrowing my psychic power to sustain your ability, right?]

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"Yeah. Nailed it."

[You’re smarter than you look. Listen—don’t just use my psychic energy to maintain the duration of your ability. Try investing it into precision and control. You’ll be able to use it in a lot more ways.]

"Like how?"

[Surround your body with frozen time—it’d act as armor. Or shape the stopped time into a sword—you’d have an indestructible weapon that never dulls. Or freeze a specific space and then launch it at high speed, turning it into a projectile weapon.]

"...That’s all combat-related."

[And? I can make you a damn good fighter! You think I’m just some horny degenerate? I’ve survived countless battles against monsters and human hunting parties! I’m a seasoned veteran! When it comes to fighting, I know my shit!]

"That’s great and all, but I have no reason to fight. I just want to live peacefully, away from people. Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll ever need to use time-stopping combat techniques."

Thanks to Kon’s psychic amplification, my energy expenditure was much more efficient, allowing me to maintain time-stop for much longer.

But I’d been keeping it up all day.

I was starting to get tired.

It was late at night.

I needed some sleep.

Far beyond the capital city of Mars, on a quiet, rural road.

Time was still frozen across the entire world, meaning that not much had passed since I’d left Iomene, Almene, and Erfa in bed.

I spotted a lone tree standing like a painting in the middle of an open field.

I walked over and lay down beneath it, using a rock as my pillow.

I had altered my appearance with body modification, so no one would recognize me.

I’d sleep until my mental energy recovered, then head straight for Talhaim’s Rock Mountain.

[Hey, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you so obsessed with being alone? Aren’t humans supposed to be social creatures?]

"If I stay with people, I’ll just make them all miserable. That’s why. Now shut up, Kon. See you tomorrow. You should get some rest too."

[The hell am I supposed to rest? I’m just a soul—I don’t even have a body! But fine. Sleep. I’ll stand guard. If anything shady shows up, I’ll wake you.]

I chuckled dryly.

Yeah.

I planned on being alone from now on.

But having a talkative companion like him made it feel a little less lonely.

I closed my eyes.

I tried to clear my mind, to stop myself from overthinking.

Overthinking led to anxiety.

Anxiety led to worry.

And worry led to sleepless nights.

Maybe that’s why...

As I listened to the gentle rustling of the grass and the chirping of insects, I managed to drift off.

And then, sometime later...

I awoke.

No.

I wasn’t waking up.

A chilling sensation crept across my skin.

The world was burning.

A vision.

The Third Revelation was unfolding before my eyes.