Fraudulent Gods

The pain was excruciating, as though her arm was being seared with a red-hot iron for an eternity. She recoiled from the fray, desperately trying to cast healing spells while retreating from Tanya's relentless assault. But there was no respite. Tanya continued to strafe her with the SIG MKMS—the very weapon she had stolen from her family, from her father…

Mary: "Lord, you must make this demon pay. Please, give me strength—I can't do this alone…"

Tears streaked her bloodied face as memories of her father flooded her mind. Her magic shield flickered and failed. The onslaught continued. Bullets tore into her flesh, each one a fresh agony. Pain surged through her limbs, unbearable. This was the end…

Then, suddenly, a blinding warmth enveloped her. A radiant light consumed her vision, and the voice of the Lord resonated in her head.

Being X: "Go, my child. I have granted you the power for a grand finale. It is time to fulfill your destiny—to cleanse this world of its infernal plague."

Tanya kept firing, her expression one of utter disdain. How could anyone be so consumed by blind devotion? She couldn't fathom it, nor did she care. The battle was nearly over.

Then, an immense surge of magic erupted from Mary's broken body.

Tanya's eyes widened in disbelief. Never in all her years had she witnessed such raw, overwhelming energy.

Mary's golden eyes blazed with divine fury. She no longer shielded herself. She no longer flinched. She had become something monstrous—a berserker incarnate. And in a heartbeat, she lunged at Tanya, latching onto her like a vengeful spirit. The energy within her was swelling, reaching a catastrophic crescendo.

Tanya's stomach twisted as realization dawned—Mary intended to take them both to hell.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU DERANGED FANATIC!" Tanya screamed, her voice laced with raw desperation as she plunged her knife into Mary's side.

Mary: "Dad… I avenged you…"

Tanya: "NOOOOO!"

The Compute Jewel embedded in Mary's chest cracked and disintegrated. Tanya squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for oblivion.

But nothing happened.

Time itself had frozen.

The battlefield fell eerily silent—no more artillery fire, no more screams of the dying. Only a deafening stillness. The world stood still, except for Mary's lifeless body, crumbling away like ashes in the wind.

"Checkmate," Being X's voice echoed through the void. "You failed to honor your pledge to die a natural death. When time resumes, you will be cast into nothingness—erased from existence. That is the fate of those who reject their creator."

"A SETUP! A SCAM! A DECEPTION!" Tanya roared. "You meddled in my fate, sabotaging me at every turn! You feared the truth—that humanity thrives without some pathetic, self-proclaimed deity! Your interference only proves my point!"

Being X chuckled darkly. "And yet, none of it matters. You will be forgotten. Nothing can defy my divine will."

"Go to hell!" Tanya spat.

Being X: "Farewell."

"A moment," interrupted an almost melodic female voice.

Being X froze. "S-Supreme Goddess…? To what do I owe this holy visit?"

"Nothing can defy your will?" the voice repeated, dripping with amusement. "Are you certain of that?"

Tanya's eyes darted around, searching for the new presence, but saw nothing. Only the sound of her voice betrayed her existence.

Being X's demeanor shifted from arrogance to submission. "You… You are beyond me, Supreme Goddess. I would never dare defy your sacred decrees."

Tanya smirked. "So Being X is just some second-rate lackey? How pathetic."

"Silence!" Being X snapped, his composure slipping. "Your judgment is at hand!" He snapped his fingers—yet nothing happened.

Panic flickered across his face.

"What…? What's happening?"

"Things will not unfold as you planned," the Supreme Goddess intoned. A blinding halo of light materialized beside them. "It is YOU who will be cast into nothingness."

"Surely you jest, Supreme Goddess? You mean the demon, don't you?" Being X stammered.

"No. You heard me correctly." Her voice was cold, unyielding. "You knowingly violated my laws. You interfered in the mortal realm despite my explicit command. And now you will face the consequences."

"But—but I did this for YOU! I sought to punish this blasphemer who dares deny divinity! She—" He never finished his sentence.

Mary's body disintegrated completely. Erased.

"Good riddance," Tanya muttered. Finally, she was free of that lunatic stalker.

The Supreme Goddess turned to Tanya. "Wait. Jyavi may have overstepped, but he was right about one thing. We created you, granted you sentience, free will. The existence of beings like you—who deny our power—is… unsettling. His battle against you was justified, even if his methods were not. I cannot allow faith in the divine to wither."

Tanya narrowed her eyes. "I've already explained why—"

"Silence!" The Supreme Goddess's voice boomed, a force more oppressive than Being X's ever was.

"You will fight this battle again. Without divine intervention. Without interference. But be warned—should you fall a second time, you will be erased. Not sent to hell. Not reincarnated. It will be as though you never existed. Farewell."

The light vanished.

Tanya had no time to protest. Time in the mortal world resumed. And inevitably, what was meant to happen… happened.

The human bomb that clung to her detonated.

Then… nothing.

No sound. No light. No pain. Only absolute darkness.

Panic clawed at Tanya's throat. "I WAS SCAMMED! HOW IS THIS FAIR?! YOU'RE ALL THE SAME!" she cursed into the void.