Zeroy believed that power itself had no moral attribute; whether it was evil depended on the person using it.
Clearly, she had not set out to destroy the world, but merely because the power she used—or rather, the way she displayed it—looked terrifying, people labeled her a world‑destroying evil god. She refused to accept that.
Of course, if the power itself possessed some special property—for example, if it could ensnare hearts or inevitably corrupt its user—that would be another matter.
Don't bother whether the power I use is black or white, a mountain of corpses or a flowerbed; in any case, I am indeed punishing evil and promoting good.
Still, other people's views had to be taken into account to some extent.
She originally came to save the world, yet those across from her were frightened by the force she displayed, leading to mutual misunderstanding—Zeroy disliked that.
She was never a person without empathy, nor some aloof being untouched by the world; she could understand the various emotions and thoughts in people's hearts.
For example, she could understand that under an apocalypse, some people were not inherently bad—they were driven to become bad by the environment.
Or take a group who, driven by excessive fear, cruelly murdered an innocent little girl and released the virus within her body, thereby wiping out humanity.
Zeroy could understand the fear inside those people; it was fear and hatred that robbed them of reason.
Understanding did not mean she would hesitate when it came to action.
She would even scorch them with karmic fire, and when she had more means to torture she would certainly use them; the suffering they inflicted on others must be returned to them twofold.
Whatever the reason, unleashing malice on the innocent was unacceptable—after all, the innocent had done nothing wrong; why should they pay the price for others?
Who would understand the victims if one only empathized with the perpetrators?
From intention, action, and consequence, these people would almost always be judged evil.
In short, she could understand how ordinary people might form misunderstandings based on superficial appearances.
If possible, she wanted to avoid such misconceptions.
"What should I do, Patchy?"
Zeroy instantly shed the Kaina outfit and leapt toward Patchouli.
The movement had nothing to do with speed or force, so in principle, even a very frail Patchouli could easily dodge.
Yet, she did not dodge.
Instead, she wore an expression of mild annoyance as Zeroy hugged her—perhaps... out of habit?
"Patchy! Use your万能 magic and wisdom—help me!"
"I'm not万能, idiot—also, haven't your embrace techniques become a little too practiced?"
"Don't mind such details. Think of a way quickly—I don't want a misunderstanding to delay the rescue. If it's urgent, then I..."
Zeroy's voice fell.
"Then I'll have no choice except to deal with those innocent people who block me out of misunderstanding."
After all, by stopping her from saving others, they were, in effect, accomplices to evil; whatever their justification, by hindering her, they were letting more suffering continue.
"My magic isn't omnipotent. In front of ordinary people, I can use magic to disguise you; however, against powerful beings, my charms might not work—only the one who tied the knot can untie it."
"You mean... I have to figure it out myself?"
Zeroy blinked her innocent, big eyes.
"...Not exactly."
Patchouli averted her gaze.
"Two suggestions. First, restrain your own behavior—stop making things so bizarre, and mind your image."
"..."
Zeroy frowned and thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"No, I don't want to change that either; the environment requires it."
Just as she wasn't personally interested in corpse mountains, she had still built many wonders because the setting demanded them.
Those spectacles served to discipline people's behavior.
"As for image... fine, I'll be a bit more careful."
Zeroy remembered when she first arrived in this world, she'd always looked drenched in blood.
Mainly because she had been busy beheading people and was too lazy to use the cleansing module to remove the blood.
"But I don't think my image is that bad, right? Golden hair, a slender, cute girl—I'd swoon just seeing myself."
"When fear arises, even a girl like me will be regarded as an indescribable evil."
"Like my Hamp—I think he's cool, and my online friends would definitely think he's cool too, but to pests, Hamp can be terrifying. Still, you can't do without Hamp to scare them; maintaining awe keeps them obedient."
"So basically, you want the bizarre?"
Patchouli said with deadpan eyes.
"Yes!"
"Ha... then the second suggestion: at least establish something that convinces people you are benevolent—something that appears beautiful. Like in that other world, people felt the fear you brought; that said, they also felt the warmth you transmitted in their dreams."
"Thus, combined with the blessings you give, people will believe you're not an evil god but a stern father—oh, a stern mother."
"I get what you mean."
Zeroy nodded in agreement.
"I hope the Prime Deity will grant me some titles related to salvation; I want to use them for this purpose."
"As long as you understand."
"That said, the Prime Deity never gives me those titles... Looks like I'll have to come up with a way myself—how to more easily, intuitively, and quickly win people's favor. I don't have any ideas yet..."
"..."
Patchouli said nothing; she wanted to see what Zeroy would think of her own accord.
"If I could be like a succubus and directly touch people's hearts, even project an emotion into them..."
Zeroy suddenly looked up, her emerald eyes gleaming, "Of course not to arouse desire, but to provoke trust, kindness, and goodwill—positive emotions."
"You mean directly stirring or even manipulating others' emotions?"
"Yes."
"What a rotten idea," Patchouli frowned, "and you still claim you're not an evil god?"
"But it's so convenient."
Zeroy shrugged helplessly.
"Too sinister."
Patchoul
i's tone was adamant.
"But it's convenient," Zeroy repeated offhandedly, "as long as the power isn't abused, what's the problem?"
"..." Patchouli fell silent for a moment, watching Zeroy's earnest expression with a flash of worry in her eyes.
"How will you ensure this power won't be abused? How will you make sure you yourself won't be corrupted by such a dangerous force?"
"The ability to manipulate hearts is always a double‑edged sword; a slight misstep will twist the user's true self."
"When you begin to weave emotional webs, how can you be certain you won't become the monster trapped within them?"
...
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