[Node No.13: Goblin Slayer]
[Teleportation Ready]
Whoosh—
A flash of white light.
Setsuna arrived in the world of Goblin Slayer, accompanied by Nyarlathotep, Shabuko, and Kuuko—the three Outer God girls—as well as a group of shipgirls and ordinary onlookers.
"Whoa... kind of nostalgic..."
He looked around at the familiar surroundings.
They landed outside the Water Town, one of the major cities in the Goblin Slayer world.
It had been a long time since he last visited personally. The scenery, whether within the city or beyond its walls, looked exactly as he remembered it.
Scattered townsfolk filled the streets, adventurers moved in groups, and monsters lurked across the wilderness...
The entire world seemed unchanged after so many years.
"The gods here maintain the world's dynamic balance," Kanae said. To avoid attracting divine attention, they continued to use aura-suppression magic to conceal themselves.
"Every few days, we come here to clear out some monsters—both to train and to collect loot."
"But every time we kill a batch, the gods just drop another wave down, like an endlessly refreshing dungeon. Sometimes, if they think the monsters die too fast, they send stronger ones."
"When we went on the RE:Zero expedition, we didn't visit for a while, and the gods spawned demons so powerful they nearly wiped out humanity."
"But then, somehow, a ridiculously strong adventurer party suddenly appeared and took the demon down within a few blows."
"How amusing..."
Setsuna and the Outer God girls nodded.
The Goblin Slayer world existed in a state of divine dynamic balance. The gods would never allow humanity to be completely destroyed—otherwise, there'd be no fun for them.
But they also wouldn't allow humanity to wipe out all monsters and build a unified, peaceful empire—because that, too, would be boring.
They wanted this world to exist forever in this delicate balance, deciding everyone's fate through the roll of dice.
"And those adventurers who defeated the Demon King? They should've been strong, right?" Nyarlathotep asked curiously.
"Probably their god rolled a few low dice in a row afterward. Later in their adventures, they were killed by monsters much weaker than themselves."
Kanae shrugged.
"..."
A world where gods determine everyone's fate with dice—such was its absurdity.
Roll three sixes, and even with a rusty sword you could slay a demon. Roll three ones, and even in divine gear you'd be one-shot.
"Ahem, anyway, these bored and meddling gods—their rule over this world ends today."
"From now on, we'll take full control of this..." Setsuna cleared his throat, "...this chaotic and glitchy world."
"Everyone else, maintain aura suppression and stay alert. If anything abnormal happens, retreat immediately. I'm not sure what happens when gods fight gods."
"Nyarlathotep, Shabuko, you're with me. Kuuko, you stay here."
"We're going to meet this world's gods."
Shhh—
Shabuko stretched out her hand, tearing open the space before them. A portal leading to higher-dimensional space formed.
"Eh, why do these weird gods always like to stay in such creepy places? Isn't the human world way more fun?"
The Outer God girls, who adored otaku culture, couldn't understand the point of acting all lofty and detached like those so-called gods.
Even Azathoth, the Supreme God of the Cosmic Union, still worked overtime and occasionally went to the Starsea Entertainment Center for fun. What made these guys think they were better?
"Phew, good luck. I'll just stay here and watch."
Tohru smacked her lips.
As a half-god, she knew she was a bit out of her depth against true Outer Gods, so she chose to stay on the planet and spectate.
"...Wait, back then the Emperor of Demise thought the Commander and the Starsea Empire were weak... When he comes home next time, he's going to freak out, huh...?!"
...
In the unseen, imperceptible higher-dimensional space...
Several formless gods were playing their usual dice game upon the cosmic board.
Clack—
The God of Reality rolled several high numbers.
On the planet below, an adventuring party exploring a Demon Lord's castle suddenly received divine favor—slicing through monsters like butter, slaying the boss, and showering the floor with orange-tier loot.
Then the God of Fantasy rolled his dice—also high.
Some beast out in the wilderness suddenly received divine enlightenment and evolved into a creature rivaling a demon god. With two slaps, it flattened a group of so-called heroes into minced meat.
They played these twisted games day after day, endlessly entertained.
The only problem? Every so often, the board would glitch.
Every now and then, an extermination squad from the Starsea Empire would sweep through—clearing every monster and demon clean off the map, returning home laden with resources and loot.
Thanks to their aura-suppression skills, neither the God of Reality nor the God of Fantasy could sense anything unusual.
They merely noticed, with growing confusion, that every demon, demon lord, and goblin they spawned kept dying mysteriously.
They even accused each other of cheating, arguing for several rounds.
But after several investigations, they found nothing. As long as no one caused planet-scale destruction or directly appeared before a god, the system's stealth parameters made discovery impossible.
So the Gods of Reality and Fantasy reluctantly accepted it—chalked it up as a "world bug."
It wasn't unplayable, after all. If the monsters died, they could just spawn another batch.
If they tried to forcibly fix it, who knew what bigger problems might appear?
"Huh? But it's been a long time since the last bug occurred, hasn't it?"
The God of Reality cast his gaze upon the board.
This time, the interval between glitches was unusually long. The monsters they had dropped ages ago still hadn't been wiped out.
The gods were having a great time.
"You spawned too many demon gods last time! At this rate, that western kingdom's going to collapse!"
The God of Fantasy protested angrily.
"I figured the bug would eat them anyway, so I threw in some extras. How about you awaken a few heroes to balance it out? Don't let the humans get wiped out for real."
The God of Reality urged him on.
"..."
As they continued their dice-rolling rounds—
Vmmm—
The entire board shuddered faintly, as though something powerful had entered their world.
"What? Who dropped a Demon King down there? I told you, this world's frame can't handle that kind of load—don't spawn overpowered mobs..."
Soon, the gods realized something was wrong.
Someone—not of this world—had entered their "board."
"Adventurers? Who made them? Why can't I see their stats?"
The God of Fantasy focused his gaze, locking onto Setsuna and the Outer God girls.
They weren't his creations. He couldn't sense anything about them—not a trace of data or origin.
And yet, he could faintly tell—those girls' power levels were grotesquely beyond this world's limits.
"No idea, maybe they just... grew out of the ground?"
The other gods didn't care much.
The God of Reality casually picked up his dice.
"Looks like new adventurers. Let's decide their fate for the next quest!"
"Will they triumph gloriously over the Demon King—or die in humiliation to a goblin...?"
Bang—
The dice shattered the moment they were cast, bursting apart in a cascade of sparks.
"???"
The gods were stunned.
The dice... couldn't determine their fate?
"Impossible! Who are they?! Why isn't this working?!"
"Did someone bless them?! That's cheating!!"
The God of Reality roared, convinced some rival deity had granted those intruders extra power.
"No!!"
"They're not of this world!!"
"Wait—what's that?!—"
The next instant—
Whoosh—
They saw the "chess pieces" open a glowing portal.
Space around them ruptured violently.
An overwhelming pressure swept through the heavens.
An indescribable, horrifying presence descended right beside them.
"?"
The Goblin Slayer world's gods were dumbfounded.
What the hell— the chess pieces just jumped off the board to punch us?!
Whoosh—
In the higher-dimensional space.
With the sound of space fracturing, Setsuna descended with the two Cthulhu girls into a realm of utter void.
"Hm?"
Everything before his eyes was in a state of eerie chaos.
Not far ahead, several vague energy entities floated, their forms hazy and shifting. They roughly resembled humanoid silhouettes—but without distinct features, their limbs blurred and undefined, strange and grotesque.
The high-dimensional gods of the Goblin Slayer world rarely took on clear human or beast forms. Only occasionally would they project a small portion of themselves into the human world.
Aside from those, there were a few weaker divine entities—those who merely granted blessings or performed miracles for their followers.
Compared to the God of Reality and the God of Fantasy, they were a tier lower.
Yet all of them exuded powerful divine pressure.
"Heh."
Setsuna chuckled slightly. After being surrounded by cute goddess-like beings for so long, seeing such bizarre and formless deities again felt oddly refreshing.
"???"
"Who are you?!"
The gods were alarmed.
In an instant, as the aura-suppression skill lifted, they immediately discerned the intruders' foreign nature.
"Beings from another world? Interesting, very interesting!"
"There's another world beyond our perception—outside our control?! Where is it? Tell us!"
The gods, eager for amusement, wanted to find this other world to expand their game board.
"You. Come here."
The God of Reality extended his hand toward Setsuna, intent on grabbing the strange visitor to examine him closely.
Unlike determining mortals' fates with a mere toss of dice, when a god acted personally, a single gesture could reshape the very world.
However—
"!!!"
The moment his hand touched the black mist surrounding Setsuna, the god recoiled instinctively.
It was as though he had brushed against something infinitely terrifying.
"Invaders!!"
The gods were shaken. They could feel the horrifying power emanating from these uninvited guests.
A pawn had broken free from the game board—and appeared before them.
No matter how they looked at it, this could not mean anything good.
Whoosh—
Energy tides rippled violently throughout the higher-dimensional void.
The gods of the Goblin Slayer world gathered around, their divine power surging from all directions, intent on erasing the intruders.
—To the gods, a toy that no longer obeyed was no longer fun.
Destroy it, and make a new one.
BOOM!!—
Divine power surged, intertwined with the laws of control, shaking the surrounding void.
For anyone below the level of godhood, that blast alone would have meant instant annihilation.
Yet Setsuna and Nyarlathotep stood unmoving.
"Ah, how weak. I overestimated you. Gods who only manage a single planet aren't that impressive after all."
Setsuna sneered.
The gods of the Goblin Slayer world might hold high positions, but most of their strength was spent toying with the lower realm.
In a real fight, their actual combat ability was... questionable.
At least, they were nothing compared to the Three Pillars of Cthulhu.
"What...?"
BOOM!!—
As the gods froze in disbelief, the space around them trembled.
The Outer Gods began to reveal their true forms.
Within the higher-dimensional void, the heavens and earth turned pitch black.
From beyond time and comprehension came a deep, maddening sound.
A vast shadow descended before them.
Her size was so immense that even the realm where the gods resided could barely contain her—only a fraction of her divine body could be seen.
Nyarlathotep's figure was shrouded in black mist, ever-shifting, ever-changing. Twisting limbs and tentacles intertwined, with countless tendrils writhing through the air.
An indescribable fear enveloped all the gods.
They forgot even to flee.
No—in the presence of an Outer God of higher order, escape was meaningless.
Beside Nyarlathotep stood another equally terrifying entity—Shub-Niggurath.
Like a black storm cloud, she loomed over the entire world.
When the gods looked up, they saw layers upon layers of grotesque, gelatinous forms filling the sky—each one covered in blood-red eyes, lined with rows of sharp, beaked maws.
The Dark Mother of Fertility continued spawning her grotesque minions, unleashing them in every direction to hunt down the so-called gods.
The weaker deities were instantly overwhelmed—torn apart and devoured alive by swarms of Outer God spawn.
On the planet below, the Goblin Slayer world itself began to twist.
Just like when Nyarlathotep once summoned her avatar, wails, cries, and indescribable horrors erupted from the heavens above.
"Waaaaahhhh!!!"
"The Demon Gods have descended—!!!"
The natives of the world, along with several girls who had never seen an Outer God's true form, trembled in terror.
"Ah, that's just Nyarlathotep and Shabuko's residual energy. No need to panic," Kuuko said casually, unfazed, trying to calm the others.
"...Nyarlathotep?!"
Kanae suddenly recalled the wild party Setsuna and Nyarlathotep had thrown aboard the Eternal Snowfall not long ago, her respect for the Commander soaring to new heights.
She silently swore that next time there was a celebration, she'd never party with Nyarlathotep again.
Her mortal body simply couldn't compete with an Outer God's... endurance.
"!!!"
"Ah?!"
Meanwhile, the gods of the Goblin Slayer world were completely petrified.
What kind of indescribable horror was this?!
How could gods look like that?!
Where did they come from?!
The Gods of Reality and Fantasy had a thousand questions—but with danger right in front of them, they had no time to ask. They had to fight back with everything they had.
Whoosh—
They unleashed their full divine power, charging straight toward Setsuna.
The black humanoid machine before them looked strange, but at least it had a form—it must have been some kind of construct, not as utterly incomprehensible as the Outer Gods.
And he seemed to be their leader.
"Heh."
Setsuna prepared to counterattack—
—but suddenly—
SLAP!!!—
A colossal, indescribable Outer God lashed out with a massive, mist-covered tentacle, smacking the two gods senseless in a single swing.
"?!"
The God of Reality nearly disintegrated on impact.
Ordinary physical attacks meant nothing against divine bodies—but Nyarlathotep was no ordinary being.
BOOM!!—
The remaining gods threw everything they had into the battle, unleashing every spell, divine technique, and cosmic law they possessed.
The space itself erupted in chaotic turbulence, time and dimension twisting in their wake.
Yet before the storm of divine power, the two Outer Gods stood utterly still—immovable as mountains.
Not a single attack could even scratch them. Every blast simply vanished into the endless black mist surrounding their forms.
"Ah~ Commander, they're really weak. Honestly, Kuuko, Atko, and Luhy could've handled this. Calling us over was overkill," came Shabuko's teasing voice from above.
Whoosh—
Together with Nyarlathotep, she extended several tendrils, wrapping up the panicked gods and pulling them into the swirling darkness.
"Ahhhhhh—!!!"
Their shrieks echoed through the void—then silence.
Completely swallowed by the boundless, indescribable existence.
Whoosh—
The black mist rapidly contracted, and in an instant, transformed back into two adorable girls landing beside Setsuna.
Hic—
Nyarlathotep let out a small hiccup, her ahoge bobbing slightly.
"Tastes weird. Better than Apostles, though."
"..."
Setsuna was speechless. The Outer Gods' way of fighting was simple and brutally efficient.
"I was planning to spar with them myself using the EVA, but before I could even make a move, you two wiped them out."
"Well, they were planning to grab you first, so they deserved it~"
Nyarlathotep nuzzled affectionately against his chest, looking nothing like the terrifying god-eater she had been moments ago.
"Commander, you can leave enemies like that to me! Oh, do you want to learn my ultimate technique—Chaos Annihilation? I could teach you!"
"...?"
...
A few minutes later.
Setsuna and the others left the now-empty, chaotic divine realm.
The place had been utterly cleansed by the Outer Gods. The Goblin Slayer world's deities were completely erased, their divine essence diffusing into the planet below, causing brief disturbances.
"Phew, done and dusted—"
"From now on, no more sadistic gods or endless goblins in this world."
Setsuna yawned.
Beside him, Eris, Regina, and El—the goddesses of Heaven—were already standing by.
"From here on, you'll take over this world and establish a new heaven here," Setsuna said.
"Understood," the goddesses replied eagerly.
As a classic fantasy world, it was the perfect place for them to guide civilization's progress using their divine authority.
Of course, unlike the insane gods that once ruled here, the celestial goddesses had no interest in tormenting mortals for amusement.
They'd create dungeons for adventurers to train and grow stronger, but no more chaotic monster spawns.
With the Goblin Slayer world's gods destroyed, the Starsea Empire's complete dominion over this realm was officially established.
"Let's return. We've got some unfinished business to take care of back home, hmm."
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven