Tales of the Gods 14 The Death God, Alogoros, and the Underworld Goddess, Asava

* * *

This is an extra side story.

On a night a few days after the tumultuous Dawn Day

Under a cloudy sky, not a single star visible

A figure in a black robe was rustling through the grass on Mihabyushira Hill, searching for something.

With no starlight and only a faint glow from the magic lamps in the royal capital spread out below

That figure didnt seem to be hindered in their search and continued to rustle through the grass.

They seem to be looking for something.

Haaaah

After searching for over six hours

The figure finally seemed to have given up, plopped down on the meadow, and sighed.

It was a mans voice.

And then, he stretched.

Looking up at the sky.

And as he did, the hood of his black robe fell back, revealing his face, which had been hidden in the shadows.

Its fortunate that no citizen of the royal capital witnessed that scene.

Because that mans face

Was a skull with no flesh or skin.

In this world of Ardyst, undead dont exist, with very few exceptions.

And yet, this man is clearly a moving skeleton.

What is going on?

Just who is this man?

The answer

<<<Hey! Death God Alogoros! What are you slacking off for!?>>>

Was immediately revealed by a womans voice that suddenly echoed around the skeletal man.

H-Hey!? Im not slacking off, Underworld Goddess Asava-sama!

The skeletal man hurriedly jumped to his feet and stood at attention!

<<<Listen, Alogoros Im always watching you no, thats wrong! Im supervising you! Dont even think about slacking off!>>>

Hiee You dont trust me

<<<Hmph You, who was holed up in your room, sleeping, without even submitting a vacation request, dare speak of trust?>>>

Uu I have nothing to say

<<<Th-Thats right! I have a great idea! Ill allow you to live in my room! That way, I can be with you all the time I mean, as your superior, I can properly supervise you>>>

Hiiih!? Ill work, Ill work, Ill do my job! So please spare me from thaaat!

Yes, the name of this skeletal man who hurriedly started rustling through the grass again is the Death God, Alogoros.

Hes one of the lower-ranking gods, under the Underworld Goddess, Asava, responsible for collecting the souls of the dead in this world of Ardyst.

This suspicious-looking skeletal figure is a temporary vessel for him to operate in the mortal realm, and his true form is that of an ordinary man in his 30s.

And his current job is to manage and operate the Soul Recovery System.

In the Divine Realm these days, even the collection of souls is fully automated.

The job of a Death God has changed quite a bit.

You have to work for souls is a saying from the distant past Now, a Death Gods job is more like a systems engineer, not a salesman.

Now, the reason why Alogoros, whos essentially in a technical position, came down to the mortal realm, even with his superiors supervision

Is

Oh?

Because of a fragment of blood-red metal that he finally found.

<<<You finally found a trace!? Where is he!?>>>

Hes already gone. Only a remnant can be felt. He escaped or rather, this feeling its more likely that hes been annihilated.

<<<What!? Nuu, likely annihilated?>>>

The Death God, Alogoros was searching for the Great Evil Spirit, Engee Albitt.

* * *

A few days ago, an abnormality was detected in the Soul Recovery System.

For a short period of time, the system stopped functioning properly around the Ashgo Kingdoms royal capital.

Asava, the Underworld Goddess, noticing that, kicked Alogoros, who was sleeping in his room, awake, and they hurried to understand the situation and investigate the cause.

And what they discovered was the revival of the Great Evil Spirit, Engee Albitt.

This Great Evil Spirit, although not very well-known among humans, is a calamity that has been plaguing the gods for many years.

His intent to harm the world and the gods is clear, and although hes not that powerful, hes cunning, and despite being pursued by the Sealing God and the Punishment God for many years, they havent been able to catch him, a troublesome fellow.

Half the reason Asava and Alogoros created the Soul Recovery System was to capture Engee.

That Engee Albitt revived, and then immediately disappeared.

Because evil spirits are transformed souls of the dead, their search falls under Asava and the others jurisdiction.

Thats why Alogoros pulled out his dusty vessel from the back of his closet and came down to the mortal realm himself.

After all, due to various circumstances, he had already lost his apostle.

Anyway, to conclude for now

Alogoros, rolling the red metal fragment a fragment of Soul Devourer on his leather glove, said.

It doesnt seem like there are any more traces here. If we want to investigate further, it would be more efficient to do it magically from the Divine Realm Speaking of which, didnt the patron deity of this country see what happened that day? What was he doing?

<<<It seems he was drunk and asleep.>>>

Haaaah well, I was sleeping in my room too. I cant complain.

Alogoros sighed, scratching his skull.

So, Asava-sama, Id like to return This country feels prickly, somehow Im getting a strong sense of being unwelcome

<<<Well, Death Gods tend to be disliked. I apologize for making you do such an unpleasant job.>>>

No, its not that Its not the usual kind of being disliked It feels like Im being intensely hated. Its like Im being hated on the level of a terrorist who tried to commit mass murder. So please let me go home its creepy.

<<<Hmm>>>

Asava was about to scold her subordinate for his cowardly remark, but she also agreed that further investigation on site was unnecessary.

<<<Well, alright, Ill allow you to return. Compile a report on the investigation and submit it later.>>>

So she gave him those instructions after thinking for a while.

Understood.

<<<One last confirmation We cant definitively say that hes been annihilated right?>>>

Yes, we shouldnt let our guard down. We should continue to be vigilant. Hes a genius. And incredibly persistent. Just like he was when he was alive

Alogoros was once human.

He lived in the same era as Engee Albitt and was even a fairly well-known engineer.

Well-known enough for that arrogant Engee to remember his name.

He was caught up in the mass recruitment that accompanied the Day of Ruin, caught the eye of the Underworld Goddess, Asava, and became a Death God.

One a Death God, the other a Great Evil Spirit.

Alogoros and Engee their positions have changed quite a bit.

<<<Then, return Ah, but when you get back to the Divine Realm, come to my room first.>>>

Hiee Please spare me from another lecture. Ive already reflected enough on my sleeping in

<<<N-No, thats not it. It was a sudden dispatch to the mortal realm, so I thought Id treat you to a meal Th-That I tried making stew.>>>

Ah, dont worry about it I want to get the report done right away

<<<B-But I also have wine!? Dont be shy! Its 10,000 years old!?>>>

Is it even drinkable anymore?

While saying such things

The skeletal Alogoros crumbled into dust.

And, blown away by the night wind, he vanished from the mortal realm.

New arc begins in the !