The goblin race within Military Affairs Department Subordinate Trial World No. 5 (Goblin Slayer) is undoubtedly special. They are not a species born of natural evolution, but rather creations of the world's transcendent lifeforms...
To put it another way—they are the creations of "gods."
Because they felt it was too boring, the "gods" created goblins, wishing to add a different kind of sound and color to the world, using them for amusement.
A trivial comfort for their incomparably empty hearts.
Absurd, isn't it? Yet that is exactly what they did. They needed no reason—because they were "gods." Their caprice could make the entire world pay the price.
"Boring gods. Tedious affairs." This was Selene's evaluation. Your spiritual wealth is truly impoverished and lowly.
As a transcendent being likewise revered by countless intelligent lifeforms with divine titles, Selene felt only insulted. She no longer even deigned to despise them. Comparing herself to them would only make her seem cheap as well.
Indeed, by making use of Herrscher authority, Selene could also create vast numbers of grotesque monstrosities—Honkai constructs, biological abominations, or hybrids of the two—to wreak havoc upon the mortal world for amusement.
But that did not align with Selene's values, nor with her ambitions.
How could my enterprise prosper if I were to share tastes with these vermin?
I, Selene, aspire to greatness!
Similar—yet utterly different.
Perhaps, under Selene's personal desires and expansionist will, the number of lifeforms purged beneath the iron hooves of the Holy Selene Empire's Great Crusade had already exceeded the total human population of Trial World No. 5 by tens of thousands of times.
Was that not so? With a single Exterminatus decree upon a xenos world, even the mildest version would utterly annihilate an entire planetary ecosystem. Over ninety-eight percent of its species would vanish.
Yes, she was a bastard—hypocritical, self-righteous, autocratic, abusive in punishment, cruel and merciless, exterminating entire bloodlines at a whim, destroying homelands. A tyrant whose crimes were too many to record.
But she was still a wise ruler...
Well, at least not a foolish one.
Compared to the lower limits of depravity displayed by those "gods," Selene's own lower limit seemed rather high.
Though in terms of "quantity" Selene claimed overwhelming victory, in terms of "quality" she willingly admitted defeat. She simply did not play as extravagantly as they did.
At the very least, she would never torment what lay within her own basket. On the contrary, though she always claimed everything was for herself and for her own benefit, it was an ironclad fact that more and more of her people were living better lives under her rule.
"Kill them all..."
As she spoke, Selene drew a single record sheet from the report file upon her desk. After merely glancing at it, she separated the portion concerning mythology, ignited it, and let it burn.
For an instant, flame reflected in her slightly somber gaze. The next moment, the paper drifted from her fingertips and was reduced to ashes.
The report had been submitted by a senior Imperial Inquisitor responsible for discovering this world. While observing and recording intelligence within it, he had also introduced Honkai energy into the realm.
By the time the gods discovered this and reacted, it was already too late. The secondary consciousness avatar Selene had established within the trans-spatial webway had torn open the world's barrier, devoured and assimilated its autonomous origin, and imprisoned the gods.
Afterward, the subsequent Imperial Army exploration force carefully examined this world. Following discussion among several senior Inquisitors, auxiliary generals, and administrative officials, a unanimous conclusion was reached: there was no need for direct governance over the primary inhabited planet of this world.
However, two other peculiar planets—one red, one green—possessed extremely high extraction value. They were virtually devoid of life, their surfaces entirely exposed, making them exceptionally easy to mine.
Thus, the Imperial Forge stationed itself upon the two resource planets, while the blue planet was selected by the Imperial Recruit Training Camp. This world was formally designated: Military Affairs Department Sequence Trial World No. 5.
Because only the world's gods had been imprisoned and removed, the artificially altered and fixed laws of the world they had once tampered with remained unchanged. The world itself underwent no major transformation.
Of course, without that group of "thrill-seekers," the various grotesque distortions caused by their interference would no longer continue to appear.
Bzzzz!
Selene then extended her hand, and an exquisite chessboard manifested.
It was a board composed of three marbles—the blue planet, the red planet, and the green planet—arranged in a triangle. Around them stretched a vast lattice of starlit lines forming the board's perimeter.
At this moment, with the central triangular marbles as the core and dividing line, the board was split into two sides. One radiated pure, sacred brilliance. The other emanated ashen, destructive black light.
"Light... darkness. No real difference. Birds of a feather."
The two sides respectively symbolized the gods of the Order faction and the evil gods of the Chaos faction from the original Trial World No. 5.
And this chessboard was the game through which they determined the world's fate—the casting of dice.
Millennia of warfare had severely depleted their power, and the laws of the world restricted them from personally intervening. Thus, they could only use this chessboard—born from the world's origin—to pass the time.
Whether creating new races or manipulating mortal destinies... all could be accomplished through the board.
As for how several six-sided dice could possess so many "playstyles," perhaps only they themselves knew. In any case, Selene had no interest in understanding.
"...Keeping it is an eyesore."
Murmuring with faint amusement, Selene connected her consciousness to the depths of Imaginary Space, peeled back layer upon layer of sealed prison, and slowly rose from her office chair.
Under the awestruck gaze of the attendants serving nearby.
She stepped forward.
Whoosh!
Her field of vision instantly broadened—continuing to broaden. First came the profound and dazzling starry sky, then the three differently colored planets, and finally a hazy expanse.
And at that very moment, with Selene's arrival, this place—once murky and impossible to discern—
At some unknown point, had shifted from illusion to reality, gradually becoming incomparably clear!
This was the chessboard of the gods.
Though now it was merely an imprisoned one.
The gods on both sides still gazed upward at the mysterious dice suspended in the sky, as if time itself had frozen. Not only did the dice seem to have malfunctioned—no longer falling as they once did—even the gods themselves stood motionless.
"They do look decent..." Especially the Order gods of the light faction, who were mostly humanoid. Unlike the Chaos gods, many of whom were grotesque beyond form—each one practically an act of psychological assault.
Divine radiance suffused their forms—male and female, tall and short, fat and thin, masculine and effeminate, sinister and holy, beautiful and ugly... varied in every way.
Some remained in unconscious postures of indulgence. Some seemed to sense danger and were in the midst of rising. Others looked about in alarm, already drawing weapons and assuming attack stances...
"Time to depart."
With Selene's words, the imprisoned space seemed, at last, to begin flowing once more...
This was not a time-based ability. The authority Selene possessed did not include the power to reverse time. Within the symbiotic system of the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta, one might sever a segment of a timeline and generate a new world bubble from it—but reversing time itself was absolutely forbidden.
Unless Selene could transcend.
Even in a fantasy world that originally possessed time magic, once it was devoured by Selene, the erosion of Honkai energy would assimilate it. Bound by the fundamental restrictions of the Imaginary framework, time magic would be rendered completely obsolete.
If she chose not to devour and assimilate it—could it still be used?
The answer was yes.
Selene herself could use it as well—but she would have to enter that world, learn time magic from the beginning, and during that entire process she could not use even the slightest trace of Honkai energy.
Because the moment she did, the Honkai energy inherent to her existence would begin eroding outward. The more she used it, the stronger its suppression of time magic would become.
And even after mastering time magic, it could only be used within a single world that permitted temporal manipulation. The targets would also have to be indigenous inhabitants of that world who had never come into contact with Honkai energy.
Thus, even if she learned it, it would remain little more than a chicken rib to Selene—tasteless to eat, a pity to discard.
One could say that, setting aside scale, Selene was like a sparrow—small yet complete in every organ. Compared to true gods, what she lacked most was the authority to manipulate time.
"Run!"
Among the gods, the most powerful were the first to break free from control. No one knew who shouted it first, but with shrill cries they transformed into streaks of light and exploded outward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
They did not even spare their own comrades. Several weaker gods who had yet to react and stood in their path were struck aside instantly, their bodies bursting into countless sprays of divine blood and flesh.
At the same time, they deliberately made as much commotion as possible, hoping to rouse the others...
As for their purpose, it was self-evident.
Better a dead friend than a dead self. In that moment, what friendship among gods?
The remaining gods soon awakened one after another. Instinctively, they looked toward the leaders of their respective pantheons...
Unfortunately, the leaders were gone.
They had fled with absolute decisiveness. Only the fading "taillights" of their escape remained before even those vanished, leaving the others bewildered.
A sense of foreboding flooded their hearts. Where was this place? Had they not just been deciding to cast the dice to test some interesting variable?
"You will never cast the dice again, vermin."
In the next instant, an incomparably cold and arrogant female voice resounded as though from the depths of their souls. Premonition became reality. An indescribable terror descended.
It came without reason—impossible to describe, impossible to define, impossible to measure with any knowledge they possessed.
It transcended the concept of a single world. They could not define it, nor could they describe it in their language. This was an existence they had never encountered before...
"Just who are you—"
Snap.
The pure white God-Empress merely flicked her fingers.
An irresistible, invisible force was simultaneously imposed upon them.
Their movements were forcibly sealed. Their open mouths and tongues could not move, like stupefied toads frozen in place.
"Not one of you will escape. Die."
It could not even be called an attack. Her voice seemed to carry a peculiar magic. Merely by speaking the thought, everything about them was seized by overwhelming dread.
They suddenly discovered that the superhuman cells composing their divine bodies were bypassing their consciousness and disintegrating of their own accord. An immeasurable terror pressed upon every inch of their awareness.
It was the crushing of a will beyond measure—far beyond the limits of their imagination.
No! No! I don't want to die!
Rumble—!
Their bodies began collapsing and disintegrating from the very root of their origin. This dissolution was beyond their control. It occurred without any physical or energetic attack being inflicted upon them.
Though their conscious minds refused death, their bodies desired it. And so they committed suicide...
Or rather, were made to commit suicide.
Most crucially, this "suicide" was continuous. Slow. And Selene did not deprive them of the sensation of pain.
The pantheon lords who glimpsed this from the corners of their vision fled even faster.
Unfortunately, this was the depths of Imaginary Space—Selene's domain.
Escape?
One by one, Selene immobilized them. Like peeling the shell from an egg, flesh imbued with divinity splattered outward, stripped layer by layer from the inside out, shattered and dissolved...
In an instant, the prison became a living hell. Heart-rending screams echoed without end.
Those who heard it would grieve. Those who saw it would weep.
The specific scene needs no further description.
Tragedy. Calamity. No better words suffice.
...
Trial World No. 5, Blue Planet.
It was dawn upon the wilderness. Night had only just retreated, and daylight steadily strengthened.
Golden sunlight pierced through the thick clouds. Yet the lingering aftermath of the night's cold front remained. Biting chill still swept across the land, drawing involuntary shivers.
Upon the mountain path dampened by night dew, a lone dark figure advanced. His footsteps upon the soil were faint.
By build, he appeared to be a man.
Metal armor, smeared with grime. Clear scars marked its surface. A small shield was strapped to his left arm, and a sword of moderate length hung at his side.
He looked utterly ordinary. Though fully armed, the quality of his armor was not high. Perhaps by deliberate treatment from its owner, it appeared weathered and worn.
The most eye-catching feature upon him was likely the badge upon his chest, reflecting a golden-silver luster.
Those in the know would recognize it immediately. It was proof of Silver rank—the third tier of the Adventurer's Guild.
His footsteps halted unconsciously. He raised his head to look at the sky.
Why did I make such an irrational decision?
Goblins would attack the farm. And aside from him, the only ones there were his childhood friend and her uncle.
Three people facing more than a hundred goblins. On an open plain with no defensive advantage. Two of them ordinary civilians.
Even he knew clearly—it was impossible.
Obviously, he could have fled to the town.
Or he could have knocked her unconscious, tied her up, and sent her somewhere else.
Why did I choose this?
"A boy has to protect a girl... right?" Because he never wanted to see her cry again.
He looked toward the sky. The two planets still stood there.
Yet one year ago, after the incident of the "Purple Sun," he had clearly glimpsed that world-covering shadow—something descending from above.
Something had taken root upon those planets.
And afterward, everything returned to normal. But he knew that day had not been an illusion. Something tremendous had truly occurred.
Then why conceal it?
"Gods? Do they truly exist? If they do... if I pray to them, could I make a vow as well..."
—To eradicate all goblins.
Shaking his head, he forced away the impractical fantasy. Right now, the most important thing was to protect the farm. To protect her.
And at the very moment he took a step forward—
"Hey! Sir, please wait a moment. May I ask which way to the nearest town?"
He heard it.
A lively female voice.