AntiGod: The Odyssey Of God

“Why so speechless? Oh right, I suppose you’re looking for these two.”

*Clap

One instance, I was standing in the middle of a hallway littered with the corpse of a monster and in the next instance, I was in the middle of a semi destroyed room. Nothing was broken, but the place was definitely broken down. I’d go as far as to say, it had been completely abandoned.

While analyzing my surroundings, I spotted two pillars in the very center of the room.

“!”

Chained to the pillars were the unconscious bodies of Emily and Allen. Their hands were both severed just like I suspected. What was strange to me was the fact that the skin just below their wound was pulsing and corroding to a dark green color. Just like the thing that attacked me.

(Are they... turning into zombies?! But how?!)

“I imagine you're asking yourself how this has transpired to be, no? But before that I shall tell you about myself. My name is-”

“Soldiers.”

“Ehh?”

“Your outfit is like that zombie guy I killed earlier, and your demeanor makes me think you're a commander or something. So, I'm gonna go with you can turn people into your soldiers... or I guess zombies".

“...Fu-Fu-ha-FUHAHAHAHAHA!!! YES, THAT IS CORRECT! I HAVE THE ABILITY TO TURN ANYONE INTO A ZOMBIE SOLDIER!!”

“So, what's your weakness?”

“Ehh?”

“Well, I’m not a zombie despite you having plenty of chances to make me one. So, what's the limit?”

“...Why would I tell you something like that?”

“Ahh- Cause that’s what the villain does in anime?!”

(There goes my poor bucket list), I thought in a sobbing tone.

The mysterious man began chuckling.

“Fascinating. YOU ARE FASCINATING! Alright I will play with you. My Tamashi: Empower only works on those I or my soldiers have wounded. Of course, as you can see with your friends, I am able to slow down that process.”

“So why not wound me along with them?”

(I don't know what the hell he’s talking about, but I'll act like I do. I mean what the hell even is an “empower”? Wait. Isn't that the thing Rin mentioned that one time... Crap I should've paid more attention.)

“I wanted to play a little game with you.”

“Ga-?"

“Pick!”

Not only did he interrupt Akuma yet again, but his tone also suddenly shifted, creating a serious atmosphere.

Around this time the other two who were tied down began waking up.

“I, Halter, shall give you a choice... You will pick only one to save and the other one? Will die.”

He said his words loudly and clearly. Even the two tied down had heard them.

“Wai-Wha-Huh-Why?”

He still hadn’t processed the situation, so his words were hard to come out.

“Why, you ask? Fu-fu. Well to put it in your terms. I am the villain and that is what they do, no?”

(I guess he has a point… I guess it’s time I warned him.)

“You must’ve forgotten something..."

"Ehh?"

Despite my dire situation, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

(This guy really doesn’t know, huh?)

“…I have plot armor.”

"..."

"..."

“…What?”

“Fu-Fu. About the two... I pick the third option and choose to save them both.”

(Oh my god, I always wanted to say that!)

{Following those words Akuma rushed the man to deliver a straight punch to his face. His eyes were brimming with confidence. This was his moment, his big chance to finally be just like a Isekai Mc.

Unfortunately, his attempt was stopped short as the man pulled out a large knife and thrusted it downward. The blade caught Akuma’s right hand and latched it into the floor.}

“*GEAHHH! What the hell are you doing! You aren’t supposed to counter that. What kind of anime are you watching?!”

The man crouched to the floor as he glared down at me, and with a cold and soulless tone he said:

“You seem to think this is a game. I really will kill you… Now decide.”

“!”

(Crap. It's just like the time at the restaurant. Except, this guy is on another level.)

“Are you one of the five catastrophes?” I asked him as the memory of Rin trembling flashed through my mind.

Halter's smile curled up to eyes as he answered:

“Heavens no. More than anything, I despise the gods. Honestly, I’d kill myself if I were one of them. I am one of the seven Asuras.”

(…Crap. If Rin can’t take this guy, then what chance in hell do I have?! I gotta stall until I think of something...)

“What's an endgame boss like you even doing here? I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THE CHANCE TO BECOME O.P. YET!!”

“O…p? You know you say the most fascinating things…”

The man then stood up, walked between Emily and Allen and while saluting like a madman he issued:

“Now. Pick.”

(Dammit… Is there really no way to save them? I'm starting to feel like my plot armor isn't coming.)

“I’ll give you 10 seconds, after that… I will kill them both.” He declared while laughing hysterically.

(Here we go with the cliche villain stuff. Aw hell. I don't even care anymore. I guess I’ll just pick one at random.)

“W-Wait!” Allen yelled out. “I-I’m sorry about what I said at the table so please. Just pick me. W-We’re friends, aren’t we?”

(Huh?! Is this guy actually serious right now!?)

“!”

Unlike Allen who was desperate for Akuma’s pick, Emily simply smiled while tears poured down her cheeks uncontrollably.

Before I realized it, my left index finger was pointed towards Allen.

As he gazed at my finger, his eyes widened like a dead fish. In a frenzy he yelled:

“O-OF COURSE YOU’D PICK ME! EVEN THOUGH I’VE DONE NOTHING BUT GOOD TO YOU!?! I SHOULD’VE KNOWN YOU’D PICK THE DAMN WOMEN TO SAVE!! YOU DAMN LOSER. WHO GOES AROUND CALLING HIMSELF GOD. YOU’RE NO GOD, YOUR JUST A FUCKING LOSER WITH NO FRIENDS.”

He panicked. And as anyone does in this state, he scorned me. I bet the only thought in his mind is concern for what would happen next.

There’s a simple answer to that.

*POW!!

A bullet shot right to the dome.

*POW!! *POW!!

“Heavens. His voice was starting to give me a headache.”

“…I-I Picked.”

“Hmm? Speak up I can’t hear you.”

“I SAID I PICKED! SO, HURRY AND UNTIE EMILY!”

“Oh. Hmm… No.”

“Hu-?”

*POW!!

As I laid there with a knife jabbed through my right palm, I was left speechless from the sight before me.

The way her head bobbed to the left from the sudden impact. The way her hair swayed as it followed that motion. And the blood -a crimson even deeper than my eyes- that spewed out from both sides and simply poured out from both ends after the motion. Even the way -no. Especially the way, that through it all, she was still wearing that smile.

I was left speechless by it all.

“…Why…”

“Hmm? Speak up, I really can’t hear you.”

“I ASKED YOU WHY!! WHY DID YOU KILL HER TOO!! YOU SAID YOU’D ONLY KILL ONE!!”

“Huh… I suppose I did say that… Fu-fuha-FUH HAHAHAHAHAHA!! YESS!! I DID, DIDN’T I!!”

This was the moment that I truly realized how dire my situation really was.

(I was a fool. I thought this was some anime and that I was the main character. It’s almost laughable really.)

“…W-Why?”

“Come again?”

“Why not me? Why didn't you just kill me? Why put me through this?”

“Oh I was just having a little fun. You see… I hate the gods. And you reek of divinity.”

(Divinity? Nothing this guy says makes sense!)

“I suppose the fun is over. You will die now.”

The man aimed his handgun at my head. In the spur of the moment, I tried to buy time.

“I-I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Halter sank one brow, Intrigued by my sudden outburst.

“Didn’t you know? Y-You can’t kill the main character. Yeah. HAHA. I have plot armor so there's no use in even try-”

Interrupting my desperate spill, he shot anyway.

The bullet seemingly traveled at a sluggish pace, as if it was barely even moving. But despite that, I couldn’t move an inch to dodge it.

(…I just hope Alice is safe.)

I braced myself for certain death. Unlike the last situation, there was just nothing I could do. I was like a wild animal who found themselves stumbling upon a pack of starving lions. There was truly nothing I could do. To escape such a fate was simply impossible.

“What kind of God are you if you can’t do the impossible?”

“!”

The voice came from the back of my mind. There was no face to attach the voice to and yet I knew exactly who said those words to me. It was me. A me from a long time ago. A me I’d forgot.

Without realizing it, the bullet of red starlites had collided with a strange gray barrier. And moments later a circle suddenly appeared just beneath me.

(The hell? What is th-!)

That’s when it dawned on me. This. This was it. The thing I was waiting for this whole time!

In the moment I even yelled:

“IT’S FINALLY HERE!”

The strange circle below me started to glow and reversed my gravity.

“W-What is this?” Halter asked.

“*HWACK- TUHH!”

*Splat

{That was the sound of spit charging within Akuma's mouth, hurling through his lips and landing right on top of Halter's forehead.

And to seal the deal he flicked him off with his middle finger.}

“All hail that, baldie!”

(Hooooly shiiiit! I really thought I was gonna die there!)

*SWORP!

***

You’d normally expect to wake up in some killer hideout after being teleported, wouldn’t you? Yeah… me too…

So, can anyone explain why I’m surrounded by red snow?

“Such hospitality. Couldn’t you have taken me to a warm bed, treated my wounds and given me a nice kiss on the forehead as I went back to sleep? Actually, who even teleported me here! *Sigh. Who am I even talking to...”

(Damn it’s cold! Crap. And my head’s killing me again.)

“Oh? You're awake? That was quicker than I expected.”

The sudden voice jolted me which only worsened my already nasty headache.

“W-Where did you come from?”

“Hmm? Y’know I’m the one who teleported you right. Since you’re awake could you help me carry these? My old bones are a bit exhausted you see.”

“Other…tw-?”

To my left was Tenshi who was bloodied and unconscious and to my right was Rin in the same condition. Maybe even worse. Hell, now that I’m getting a good look at him, Finral didn’t seem to be in good condition either.

“What happened to them?!”

“These two? Oh, they’ll be fine. I expected you to be in the same condition. I’m surprised you’re just… fine. Actually, how are you fine?”

“Gah?! Are you disappointed that I’m safe? The hell kinda sensei are you?”

“...Wait…”

“What is it?”

“You really think I’m your sensei?” he asked while sniffling and sobbing. “That makes me so happy.”

“Gah! I-I take it back!”

“You’re trembling quite a bit there. I believe Rin should’ve taught you a trick for that.”

“Hm-?"

(Oh yeah that meditation thing…)

Just like before -on that pile of snow- I closed my eyes and concentrated on a feeling swelling from my gut. And when I imagined that feeling coursing through my circulatory system, I slowly started to regain the feeling in my palms. Eventually my body wasn’t even numb anymore.

I’m not sure if this trick is supposed to work this great or if I’m just a genius. Both maybe?

“So, what happened to you guys?” I questioned as I stood up and dusted snow off myself.

“Hehe. Little ol’ me?”

(Well, I really meant the other two…)

“It seems that Lucifer has started making his move” Finral said in a sudden serious tone. “Carry Rin and follow me. I’ll explain as we walk.”

“What about Ten-”

Before I got the chance to finish that, a blue aura wrapped around Tenshi’s almost lifeless body, causing him to float.

(That’s uhh… It gets the job done I guess?)

“So, about the injuries-”

“Lucifer has begun making his move." Finral interrupted.

(I'm starting to think he just wants to sound cool...)

“He’s sent three of the Asuras to invade earth and one other to invade the spirit realm. Halter, Cain, Jack the Ripper and… and…”

I gulped in suspension.

(And?)

“…What was the other one's name again?”

“HOW THE HELL WOULD I KNOW?!”

“Hahaha! Well, that doesn’t matter right now. The good news is, teaming up isn’t really their style. Bad news is, we’re still fucked!”

(Yep. This guy’s pissing me off.)

“What-do-you-mean?” I asked in irritation while gritting my teeth.

“There’s no clear way to say this so I’ll just come out with it. As we speak about 90% of humanity are either dead or zombies”

“...? What-Huh-what?”

“Lol. You said what twice.”

“WELL YEAH, I'M CONFUSED. THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 90% OF HUMANITY DIED!!- Wait…”

{Just then, the gears in Akuma’s started shifting. He realized something. Something of deep importance.}

“…If the population is about 7 billion and 90% is gone. Then that's only like 700 million left. I mean that’s a lot of people but the odds of still being alive are actually really, really low…”

{He muttered like this for quite some time, so I’ll summarize what he was yapping about.

Alice. The love of his life, the girl of his dreams, sometimes even his reason for waking up. Was she alive? And if she was, was she in a position where she’d stay alive?}

Finral listened to the boy as he cranked the calculations out loud. You could almost see dots appear just above his head.

“As I was saying,” continued Finral. “Thanks to Halter’s overpowered ability, 90% of humanity has either turned into zombies or died…”

(Is he even listening?)

{I’m sorry to say Finral, but he is definitely not listening.}

“Umm, Aku-”

“The chances may be less than ideal, but she’s still alive, okay!”

“...Yeah… Sure…”

“Akuma my boy. There’s no way to ask this question nicely so I’ll just flat out ask... How are you alive?”

“Fu-Fu. Well. Since you’re sooo curious… I’m the main character.” I answered while pointing my thumb to my face in accomplishment.

“…”

“…”

*Swoosh

“Main whaaa?”

“You know? Main character? Like from manga?”

“…Riiight…”

(He’s playing with me; I can see it in his eyes.)

“*Ehem. To actually answer your question, I almost died a couple times, but I manage to escape them thanks to some strange visions.”

Finral glanced over in curiosity and interrogated:

“Random visions you say? Elaborate.”

“It was the craziest thing. I was fine in the morning, but around noon my head started killing me and I could see the future. No, that's not right. It was like re-experiencing what would happen in the future. I stopped feeling it around the time I was sent here.”

“!”

(If what this boy’s saying is true, then that would mean he wasn’t affected by my power! But that would mean... he has enlightenment! Could it really be?)

“Was it you?”

“Hmm?”

“Well, I mean you strike me as the op old man type, but when I woke up you were wounded head to toe. I assumed you must’ve fought a real monster of a guy. That Asura you pretended to forget maybe? Did you have to rewind time to escape?”

(He got all that from that. My, this boy is quite the sharp one. No, this goes beyond sharp. What led him to the conclusion that time was at play? Though I am glad he sees me as the op, old sensei type.)

“So, was I right?”

“You read too many manga boy.”

“SO, YOU DO READ MANGA!!”

“…Ahh… Oh dear heavens, my back! It’s in sooo much pain!”

“Yeah right, liar!”