Chapter 59: The Disadvantages of Believing in God

[TL/N: Read my new work - Detective Conan: I'm a Succubus?!] 

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"Ice?"

Shinobu's mind raced.

Was Douma attacking her?

But—

Douma himself frowned.

This wasn't his ice.

His sharp eyes darted around, scanning the battlefield.

And then—

His expression shifted.

He looked up sharply.

"Above!"

In the sky—

A woman descended gracefully, stepping down from a staircase of crystal ice.

Esdeath.

Her piercing blue eyes locked onto Douma, a chilling excitement stirring within her.

"So, this is a demon?" She murmured, intrigued. "A rather fascinating creature."

A sadistic smile curled on her lips.

Ever since she had learned from the chat group that demons were immortal, she had been itching for a fight.

Perhaps—

They could finally satisfy her craving for battle.

"Oh my, my beautiful lady, you're no ordinary human, are you?"

Douma's voice was as smooth as ever, his fan covering the lower half of his face. His golden eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"Might I ask who you are?"

Shinobu tightened her grip on her sword.

Another enemy?

She didn't trust this newcomer.

Blood Demon Art… but not from Douma?

Was this another demon?

She couldn't take any chances.

Before she could react—

A familiar voice called out beside her.

"Relax, she's with us. Her name is Esdeath."

Shinobu stiffened, recognizing the voice.

Nanashi.

Her tense shoulders loosened slightly.

So, it was that battle-obsessed woman from the chat group.

Before Shinobu could fully process the situation—

Two more figures appeared beside them.

A woman with long blue hair draped in flowing azure robes—

And an angel, her golden halo glowing brightly in the dark night.

The presence of Lemuel's divine aura made her impossible to ignore.

Douma's smile didn't waver, but his grip on his fan tightened.

"And who might you all be?" He asked calmly.

His instincts were on high alert.

These people…

Had appeared too suddenly.

And their power—

It didn't feel like that of humans.

"The power of this goddess has returned!"

Aqua suddenly shouted, her voice ringing with excitement.

She closed her eyes, and a brilliant divine light radiated from her body.

At that moment—

She was no longer just an annoying, useless goddess.

She was the true Goddess of Water.

"W-What's happening…?"

The light spread through the night—

And the moment it touched Douma—

His body began to disintegrate.

His smug expression vanished, replaced by genuine shock.

He tried to regenerate—

But it was useless.

A deep confusion filled his fading golden eyes.

Before he could even speak his final words—

He was gone.

Nothing remained but ashes.

"..."

Silence

For a long moment—

No one spoke.

Esdeath, Nanashi, Shinobu, and Lemuel—

All of them simply stared at Aqua.

Feeling their eyes on her, Aqua finally opened hers, blinking in confusion.

"Huh? What's wrong? Do you all wish to convert to my faith?" She asked with a smug smile.

Esdeath's expression darkened.

"You… stole my prey."

"Huh?"

Aqua blinked, finally noticing that Douma was gone.

"Ah… this…!"

She scratched her head awkwardly, sticking out her tongue.

"Ahem… I just wanted to test my divine power… He was technically an undead creature, so my purification worked better than expected."

Esdeath exhaled sharply, her battle-hungry eyes gleaming.

"God, huh? Then fight me."

Nanashi rubbed his forehead, exasperated.

"Fight? Now? Is this really the time for that?"

Esdeath blinked.

This was the first time someone had spoken to her like this.

Her lips curled into a sly smirk—

Interesting.

But before she could respond—

Nanashi turned to Shinobu, his expression softening.

"Shinobu, are you alright?"

Shinobu slowly exhaled, gathering her thoughts.

She wasn't sure what she was feeling.

Was it satisfaction?

Her enemy had been erased in an instant.

Was it regret?

She hadn't avenged her sister with her own hands.

Or was it emptiness?

The burden she had carried for so long was suddenly lifted—

And she didn't know what to do next.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

"Nanashi-kun, I'm fine."

She took a deep breath and composed herself before bowing slightly.

"Thank you… all of you… for your help."

Nanashi shrugged. "I didn't do anything."

Lemuel nodded. "Same here."

Technically, only Esdeath and Aqua had acted.

Even then—

Esdeath had just wanted to fight, and Aqua had only been testing her powers.

Douma had been nothing more than collateral damage.

Shinobu still insisted on expressing her gratitude.

"Even so, I appreciate that you came."

Nanashi sighed in resignation before getting back to business.

"Alright, let's focus. We need to discuss this doomsday mission."

He scanned their faces and asked.

"What's our plan?"

Lemuel spun the rifle in her hands, looking indifferent.

"I'll leave the planning to you. I'm just here to fight."

Esdeath folded her arms, her tone casual yet absolute.

"Simple. We kill every last demon."

Shinobu immediately objected.

"There are far too many demons in the world. Killing them one by one won't solve the problem. Only by eliminating the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, can we truly end this."

Esdeath tilted her head, intrigued.

"Then where is this 'Demon King'?"

Shinobu shook her head.

"We don't know. The Demon Slayer Corps has spent a thousand years searching for him… and we've never found a trace."

If they had found him, they would've already attempted to kill him.

Nanashi fell into deep thought before turning to Aqua.

"Aqua, can your divine sense cover the entire planet and locate Muzan?"

If she could scan the entire world—

This mission would be over in seconds.

Aqua hesitated.

"Well… that's the problem."

She sighed dramatically.

"Since this is a different world, my faith is still connected to my original world. The divine laws from there are restricting me. Right now, I can only use a tiny fraction of my power."

Nanashi raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Wow, what a useless god. This is the flaw of relying on faith."

Aqua pouted, puffing up her cheeks in protest.

"It's not useless! Faith is important! Even if I travel to another world, I still have a responsibility to my believers!"