The house had been in a state of chaos for the past few days. Ever since the lady of the house was struck with an illness a week ago, there had been a terrible lack of hands. The acting leader barely ever acted his part.
It was a week ago when suddenly the lady's presence greatly weakened. Her brother, Lord Ereny claimed that she had been cursed by the Tyrant faction's Necromancer and contracted a deadly illness. Visiting the lady was forbidden.
Our house was the neutral faction and we barely had enough members to be considered an official faction within the realm of gods. With Lord Ereny claiming the role of the acting leader, the neutral faction lost most of its power within the realm.
I had my suspicions for long. The very reason an individual faction with lesser gods like ours survived was due to the presence of a great goddess, the goddess of justice. Something like a mere curse would never work on her even if it was a curse by the Necromancer.
I decided to pay a secret visit to the Tyrant faction's house. I sent them a message in advance for an appointment with the leader of the faction. I thought I wouldn't have to worry about Lord Ereny suspecting me of snooping around since he mostly never left the lady's side.
That night, I prepared to leave. When I was about to open the door to leave my room, I heard footsteps. I created a small vine outside the door. I shared all senses with the vine. Despite the vine not possessing any sensory organs, It was capable of all senses.
I took a look at the owner of the footsteps. It was that man of all people. It was rare for him to not stay in his room or by the lady. It seemed he was returning to his room after having dinner.
He suddenly received a call. He had an annoyed expression when looking at his phone.
"What is it? Make it quick!" the man grumbled. "Huh? Now of all times? Ask them to come on another day! Wait what? Those pigs... Tell him to wait. I will be there in a few minutes."
He hurried downstairs after hanging up. It was a rare opportunity. My appointment with the Tyrant faction was important. But if I missed the chance, I might never be able to visit the lady.
The usage of a god's title was forbidden within the house. So I couldn't use my vines to check on the goddess (using the vine to spy on the outside a moment ago was forbidden as well). I confirmed whether that man had left the floor and proceeded to move upstairs.
There weren't any rooms on the third floor except for the lady's and Lord Ereny's rooms. Since that man left a while ago, I could check on the lady.
I quietly opened the door to the lady's room. The lady was lying on the bed, asleep. I guessed I was worrying too much. However, something still felt strange. The lady's presence didn't get any stronger despite me being just outside the room.
I slowly entered the room. No change. The lady's presence was reduced to that of an insignificant human. I doubted such a powerful curse existed, even for the Necromancer. I moved closer to the lady to inspect her condition.
I started panicking. It wasn't the presence of the lady that had been reduced. Her body... it showed no signs of life. It shouldn't be possible. I was sure there were only two other gods alive that could ever stand up against her, the leaders of the other two factions, Fos of the Light and Asmodeus of the Tyrant. Neither had any hostility with the lady.
It was no time to think. I had to report this. Now that the lady was no more, the faction can die for all I care. Something bad was going on behind the scenes. I decided to quickly escape before that man returned. Yes, I raised a flag.
"What do you think you are doing in my sister's room, Miss Siren?"
I didn't need to turn back to identify who it was. I couldn't reply. I opened my mouth, but no voice came out. Was it fear? If so, it was the second time I ever felt it in my life. The first time was when in a meeting with Lord Fos.
"Why do you want to disturb my sister's peaceful sleep?" he continued.
I realized that I must react. Despite the man being the lady's brother, the difference in their power was huge. I decided that I must retaliate. I calmed myself down.
"What happened to the lady, Lord Ereny?" I asked in a deep voice.
"What happened? Can't you see? She is asleep. In an eternal slumber, that is." saying so, he began to frantically laugh.
"You killed her?"
"That's right! It was me! I killed her with my own hands!"
"Stop kidding me. Someone like you could never hope to defeat her!" saying so, I turned back and created vines from my hands. Nothing happened. I couldn't feel my hand.
A severed hand rolled down on the floor. I couldn't think of anything. My mind went blank. How? He was a pathetic weakling that couldn't even master his own title.
"You seriously thought you could beat me? Did you think I was the same Ereny that lost even against interns? Someone who had to spar with mere angels for training?"
I summoned vines from beneath his feet. If anything, I wanted to survive. They snapped like waffles.
"That's right. You were her loyal dog after all. I should have killed you when I killed her." his right arm was deformed. It looked demonic. It was them after all.
"The... T-Tyrant faction..."
"Hah? Do you really think I would be their dog? The Tyrant and the Light factions, screw them both! I am on the verge of achieving power that no god can stand against!"
Saying so, he took an object from his pocket. It was a small smooth crystal.
"A soul..."
"That's right! Not just any soul, this one is worth a quintillion souls! My stupid sister did her own investigation and found out my peaceful little soul farm. She was stupid enough to lower her guard just because I was her brother."
I clogged my bleeding with my vines. The pain was severe, but what I was seeing before me made me forget the pain.
I had to do something. More vines. More. More! I summoned a hundred more vines all directed at his chest.
"Petty tricks." the vines didn't even faze him.
Something pierced my chest. It hurt. But I couldn't feel it. There was blood. I stood no chance against him. I was naive. I got what I deserved.
But...
Was I going to die?
When a goddess dies, will they get reincarnated like humans?
I was afraid of dying.
Was despair and death all I had in the end?
"It was your mistake." his eyes were cold.
I didn't want to die.
"Goodbye."
A severed head rolled on the floor. The head of a goddess who was praised as the incarnation of beauty.
"The incarnation of beauty. All that awaited you was such an ugly end."