In continuation from the previous episode, the gods judged there was no way to save them and simply left to create another world.
And now, only one god—Mantaiser—descended to the earth in human form to save them.
When humans saw Mantaiser emerging from a pillar of light, they said:
“A m-messenger of the god!!
If we kill him and dissect his brain, we’ll learn the wisdom of the divine!”
They tried to kill him, but Mantaiser attempted to save them with capable words:
“The brain is mere meat—divine wisdom cannot dwell within.
The gods have already departed.
I, the god’s messenger, testify to this.
So then, aren’t we already free?”
At those words, the people stood with their eyes lost, as if they could see air—yet what they saw clearly was Mantaiser.
The citizens murmured,
“Already… free?”
But they were people who already sought power, not freedom.
As they rushed to kill the divine messenger, Mantaiser tried to use his power—
But, unfortunately, the other gods had secretly shattered his authority when he descended to the mortal world, making him no different from a normal human.
Mantaiser had his arm severed, one eye stabbed, and fled.
He was hidden in someone’s house—Pastral’s house.
Pastral said:
“If you truly are the god’s messenger…
then you should never have come here!
The world!”
The messenger, recognizing that his divine power had diminished to the point where even a snakebite could kill him, simply accepted it in quiet despair.
Pastral saw this not as humility, but senseless purity, and said:
“So you accept it now?
Even after losing all your power?
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Instead of acknowledging those rotting, greedy pigs,
wouldn’t it be better to destroy the world itself?
You’re trying to act like a good god,
but this world only rewards pure fools now.
Then why not become a frightening fool instead?
Messenger—no, god!”
At Pastral’s words, Mantaiser clenched his remaining hand—
a mix of frustration and sorrow surged within.
Frustration at being abandoned by the gods,
and the question: why?
He shared a thought that came to him:
“Make five human corpses and a snake’s body into a feast for seagulls.
Then, the one who does it will gain power.
I… need that power now. Please…”
Pastral agreed and tried to carry it out immediately—
but outside, the search was still ongoing.
It felt exactly like how society operates.
If the Absolute does not descend to the mortal world, no one searches.
But once it descends, and then tries to leave—
society never lets it go.
Seeing the search outside continuing, Pastral looked at Mantaiser and pondered.
“This man… even if I spoke calmly, he’s truly the god’s… mentor?
What madness is this?
It’s like watching a fish suddenly see a shark being raised by a human!”
While agonizing, Pastral whispered something to Mantaiser—
and Mantaiser was horrified by the plan.
He was already exhausted by pain, but had no choice but to accept the pact.
Pastral was satisfied and began executing the plan.
The plan… was horrific:
To avoid detection by those searching outside,
they would strip off Mantaiser’s entire skin—a brutal plan that would expose nothing.
Mantaiser had no strength to scream,
nor even the will to attempt it.
His eyelids stung, tears flowed,
and the skinless pain made him rub with hands that also ached—
pure agony.
His flesh twitched like the walls of hell,
bleeding little by little.
It’s unclear whether it was just his skin being removed—
or if even his insides were peeled away.
When the citizens saw the skinless Mantaiser,
they muttered, “Is that… a demon?”
Pastral declared himself a priest, saying he would go alone to “deal with the demon.”
Mantaiser didn’t even understand why he had to be skinned.
After all, he was once one of the Absolute Ones—
the Father of this world.
Pastral watched over Mantaiser for a while,
then claimed that the “demon” would only die if five humans were sacrificed,
and brought victims.
“Oi! It’s my first time hunting demons, y’know! I’ve no idea about witches—”
Thud!
Even with his aging body, now in his 50s,
Pastral struck them down with metal pipes.
“Hah… I never even imagined this would happen.
My apologies!
But beside one claiming to kill a demon—
there is always another demon.”
To catch the snake, he went to the forest.
The poison-thorns from the leaves were like hellfire
to skinless Mantaiser—
no, it was torture.
The Absolute who tried to understand humans
was now walking through hell itself.
After killing the snake and luring seagulls to eat the corpses,
Pastral said the ritual would now begin.
Mantaiser muttered:
“… (his lips tearing as he speaks)
You… when someone’s skin is ripped off,
do you still see it as just a superficial wound?
Can this really… have meaning?
This pain… it’s unbearable.
Let me reclaim my power quickly…”
Knowing he could return soon,
Mantaiser felt slightly more alive.
As he began the ritual,
seagulls tried to eat his skin again—
but Pastral waved his hands to drive them off:
“Back off, you corpse-eaters!”
Just as Mantaiser was about to finish the ritual and reclaim his power—
Pastral set him on fire, killing him, and said:
“Hah… hah… I’m sorry.
My greed isn’t kind enough to allow this.
But you chose to descend into a world of such greed..
In hell… may skinlessness become the norm, god bless yourself!
Because Mantaiser died during the ritual,
its power ran wild.
Trees entangled and twisted together,
clouds fell from the sky,
the ground cracked,
and people collapsed from the tremors.
For a moment, Pastral was stunned.
Then, he leapt into the center of a spiral-shaped blue dimension—
curling his body mid-air.
The surrounding dimensions shattered,
and he was flung into a new world—
one of the “alternate realities” created by the other gods.
In that world, at least, humans still had some morality.
The gods of plurality, others named as the multi-gods.
had declared that civilizations evolve with random good and evil.”
