The Boss Wants to Die - Chapter 77

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The boss wants to die.
Episode 77
This time, Aerial seemed to have heard the mysterious voice as well.
Stiffened as though struck by lightning, Aerial spun around sharply toward the source.
In the direction he was staring, there was…….
‘Nothing at all.’
Only the sea.
A deep, dark sea where light scarcely penetrated, shrouded in shadow.
The only difference was that fish refused to swim in the exact space where Aerial’s gaze fell.
The void carved out of seawater, by remaining empty, instead revealed a formidable presence.
— Demon God. It seems my form escapes your sight.
“Your Excellency, the Water Deity……!”
Aerial, having discerned the entity’s identity, immediately bowed with reverence.
I tilted my head in confusion.
“What are you talking about? I don’t see anything.”
“You don’t see……?”
Aerial’s eyes darted nervously, his body trembling with fear.
“Don’t say such absurd things. Though my fins blend with the seawater and appear ocean-like, they’re still an undeniable mass……!”
“No, I’m telling you, I really don’t see anything.”
— A Demon God who cannot perceive divinity.
The Water Deity drew out the words with piqued interest.
— This has never occurred before. What dares veil the eyes of a god?
Though nothing was visible, I could sense the tremor reverberating through the seawater.
The Water Deity seemed profoundly displeased.
A faint vibration reached even the ground beneath my feet.
‘What if another tidal wave strikes the Water Ruins?’
Directly above, on land, Aktr lay unconscious and defenseless.
The Water Deity, divining my concern with sharp insight, continued.
— There will be no such occurrence. Since you granted me even a brief respite from my nightmare, why would I wish to torment the innocent ones of the land?
“…….”
— However, if my form remains unseen, your focus keeps scattering. I must take measures for this.
I narrowed my eyes and stared directly ahead.
As the vibrating seawater struck the sunlight, its outline flickered between semi-transparent visibility and disappearance.
From the briefly glimpsed silhouette, it resembled a blue dragon.
Not a Western dragon, but the kind described in the East—with an elongated body, manes running along the head and spine.
Yet it vanished too quickly for certainty.
I strained my eyes, then narrowed them, but it scarcely helped.
It was as futile as trying to distinguish a water-formed shape within the water itself.
— Still invisible, even with this?
“I can see just a little. It’s so transparent I can barely make it out.”
Aerial, standing beside me in a relaxed posture, jabbed my ribs.
A finger that had pierced through the oxygen bubble and emerged dripped seawater insistently, hinting at my rudeness.
“You should speak respectfully to the Water Deity. Shouldn’t you?”
I furrowed my brow with displeasure.
“Respectfully? Why should I?”
— Your words are correct.
The Water Deity, who had been listening to our exchange, concurred.
— Gods do not defer to one another with formality. And you, child, are told that the Demon God ranks higher than I.
Aerial glanced between the Water Deity and me in disbelief.
His expression was so insolent that I clenched my fist and made a threatening gesture.
“Want to die?”
Aerial did not cower, but he held his tongue and merely bowed his head in frustration.
It seemed he desperately wanted to refute the claim that I was the higher god.
I crossed my arms and glared at the seawater where I presumed the Water Deity to be.
— But you are unstable. How long have you been awake?
I furrowed my brow and fell into thought.
The question did not seem to be asking what time I woke this morning, but something far more fundamental.
‘Is he asking how long I’ve been awake as a Demon God? Is that what he means?’
Yet I did not know the answer precisely myself.
Since the Demon God returned to the Demon Palace and I began to stir and move, I have no way of knowing how long I wandered through that demonic realm before then.
It could have been just a single day before arriving at the Demon Palace, or perhaps several more years had passed.
“It’s not exact, but my memories only go back six years. There’s probably more before that.”
— You’re saying you have no memory of what came before?
“That’s right.”
— That’s quite serious.
“Why?”
The Water Deity fell silent for a moment, peering into my clear eyes, then murmured in a somber tone.
— You know nothing. This cannot stand.
“You’ve been speaking in riddles since earlier…….”
— What’s that around your neck?
A small whirlpool of water spun slowly before my face, then lifted the Divine Chain hanging around my neck.
Clatter…….
The magical chain, usually invisible, revealed its sacred silver form and rang out with a clear tone.
The Water Deity studied the pink tattoo carved into my neck and the chain for a long moment without speaking.
When I could no longer bear the oppressive silence and began to grow irritable, the Water Deity finally released a strangled sound.
— ……Binding…….
A bestial growl that rumbled from deep in the core of the Water Deity’s being flowed through its throat.
Aerial, sensing something amiss in the atmosphere, had retreated to a distance and was watching the Water Deity warily.
“Well, of course this collar was put on to restrain me. What else would it be?”
I swatted away the water whirlpool grasping the chain with one hand, suppressing my anger.
Splash—!
The seawater, losing its form, spun through the air before crashing to the ground.
“You say I know nothing—explain what you mean by that.”
— …….
“If you keep your mouth shut, you’ll regret it. I’m admittedly uncertain in these depths, but when I lose my reason, I become quite savage.”
When the Demon God’s body faces danger, instinct grows stronger.
Lose reason in such a state, and honestly, I have no confidence I wouldn’t bring a catastrophe down upon this place.
Though conversely, it wouldn’t be unwelcome if the Water Deity overpowered me either.
‘If I simply died here, it would be clean and convenient.’
— If I could speak freely, I would gladly do so.
“Then what’s the problem?”
— This is a matter I dare not touch.
“At least make an effort, won’t you? As repayment for waking me from that nightmare.”
The Water Deity drew a deep breath.
— I suppose it would be acceptable, so long as I don’t touch upon your binding itself…….
‘Excellent!’
I exulted inwardly.
— Ask your questions. I will answer within what is permitted.
“First, what did you mean when you said I know nothing? What does that mean?”
— You do not know your own power.
The Water Deity spoke quietly.
— You know so very little.
“I know how strong I am.”
A scoff escaped me.
What have I been doing for the past six years?
Imprinting the Demon God’s power onto flies, that was my work.
I pressed my temples as I continued.
“I haven’t explored every corner of my skill window, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know my own strength.”
— You are a god.
The Water Deity replied.
— A god’s strength is Divine Authority. What is your Divine Authority?
“My skill is…….”
— A skill is not Divine Authority.
The Water Deity cut me off firmly.
— It is merely a trick that Divine Authority can perform. Do you have another question?
I felt indignant, then confused, then somewhat bewildered as I pressed my forehead with my hand.
‘Divine Authority? I’ve never heard of it before.’
Demon God Helord.
An evil deity, the source of all wickedness and deceit, the god of monsters.
That was all I knew.
Truth be told, I didn’t have much sense of being a god at all.
All I’d been conscious of was that I was the game world’s strongest boss monster.
‘But then suddenly Divine Authority and all that… Wasn’t I just the strongest monster?’
Apparently I’d been taking this game’s lore far too lightly.
The worldbuilding was surprisingly intricate.
‘Does the Demon God have powers beyond Skills?’
I couldn’t imagine what forces might exist outside of Skills.
Was it something like racial traits, the way Aerial had them?
Actually, there had been strange phrasing in the Quest itself—the one asking me to turn Michael and Aerial into worshippers.
[As the Demon God, you must increase those who worship you. Gather allies and uncover the truth of the Demon God.]
That line right there.
Uncover the truth of the Demon God.
I’d read it every time I checked the Quest log, but I’d never paid it close attention.
Maybe that was the problem.
‘Wait.’
Only once so far, but when I’d filled Michael’s Favorability meter, the story that unfolded was the Demon God’s past.
There I’d witnessed the Demon God before Awakening, pitying some small child.
The game wouldn’t have shown me that scene for no reason.
Which meant…
‘If I learn the truth of the Demon God, can I get closer to the ending?’
I stood slack-jawed, bewildered.
‘Does uncovering the Demon God’s truth mean finding the key to the ending itself?’
Then the key is me.
And I’ve been obsessing over the game world this whole time!
‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’
I felt hollowed out, deflated.
I’d thought the Demon God’s past was only one ‘part’ of the answer…
But it wasn’t?
─ Is there anything else you wish to know?
“Wait a moment.”
I squeezed my mind hard before asking.
“What is the Demon God’s Divine Authority?”
─ You must discover it yourself. Only the god who possesses that power—you alone—can define what Divine Authority is. Right now you are mistaking it for a Skill. That is foolish.
I nodded to show I understood.
‘It seems they’re telling me to test a power beyond Skills, but they won’t explain how.’
I stared out at the dark seawater where nothing was visible.
‘I have no choice but to figure it out myself…’
“Is there anything else you know about me?”
─ No.
“You can’t speak, or you won’t?”
The Water Deity fell silent.
I pulled my mouth into a grin.
“This Collar. You mentioned restraint and confinement while I was fidgeting with it. Is that what’s causing this?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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