Chapter Twenty Five: Divine

“Hooo!!”
After I got home that day, I immediately went in for a long soak in the bath. It had been a while since I last did that. Being a god—or close enough to one—sometimes makes you forget the simple things.
I can choose whether or not to feel heat.I can choose whether or not to get dirty.I can even choose whether or not to breathe.
But there is one thing I can’t choose to live without. Eating.
Zinertia devours energy. And because my body is still bound in human form, it’s only natural that I cannot skip food.
So there I was, soaking in the warmth of the water, when suddenly—
The bathtub vanished beneath me.
Splash!
My powers had grown so strong it was almost difficult to control them. Clothes, chairs, even walls sometimes disappeared the moment I lost focus. Zinertia ate away at anything I touched.
“Let’s be friends?”
The words of that purple-haired guy from the city echoed in my head.
Here’s what happened after that…

---
“You want to become… my friend?”
The amount of people who begged for my friendship numbered in the millions. But this man stood before me, trembling yet firm.
“Yes. I know I don’t come close to your greatness, but I’ve always looked up to you. Won’t you please consider the possibility?”
“…Sure.”
And just like that, I agreed to his request.
Since middle school, I’d only ever had one true friend—Hinata. It was during our seventh year, after I swore never to lose again, that I met him. His grades were so terrible he was about to be expelled. In desperation, he sought me out. He had heard rumors that there was a student who knew everything there was to know about the world.
He begged me for help.
I refused him at first. Again and again, I turned him away. But no matter how many times I rejected him, he never backed down. For a month, he persisted. Finally, I accepted him as my friend.
If I had to explain why… it was because I was still lost after losing my parents. My human side craved companionship.
“Really!!?? You don’t know how happy that makes me!” The man’s voice shook with desperation as he grabbed my hand, shaking it fiercely. “Becoming friends with the greatest being ever will definitely make me great as well. I promise you won’t regret this!”
His eyes blazed with hope.
The world was ending, or at least that’s how people saw it. Some had already given up, while others tried to cling to a happy ending with what time remained.
I wouldn’t allow it.
Before, everything I did was for myself. I fought the gods for the sole purpose of becoming number one. But this time… it was different.
Losing my parents had opened my eyes.
I’m human after all.
And for that reason, with humanity at my back, I swore: I’ll put an end to the gods’ destruction and claim my place as the greatest!
“My name is Mint,” the man declared proudly. “I’m one year ahead of you in Academia, though as you can see, I’m a little older than that. Thank you very much for accepting my friendship… I can’t wait to tell the world about it.”
And then, without warning, he ran off in the direction he came.
“…Tell the world about it?”
The world was in no mood for such things right now.
I lifted my gaze to the red barrier hanging in the sky. It had grown weaker as my strength increased, but its color had deepened, glowing blood-red from the innocent lives it consumed.
Mitreanreax… I’ll get you for this. I promise.
“Infinity… I-I’m done shopping.”
Her voice pulled me back. Lami stood before the mall, her frail frame burdened with bags.
With both my arms overflowing and four bags dangling from her tiny hands, it looked as though she had bought out the entire store. She even wore new clothes now—a soft pink shirt and black shorts that gave her a faint glow of youth.
She was too delicate to be carrying so much.
RE-SUMMON.
All the bags vanished from our hands, sent back to the castle in an instant.
There had been no one at the counter to pay. But I do not steal from humans. I wired the money directly to the shop’s account with nothing but a thought.
More and more, I was becoming like a god. Almost nothing was impossible for me now. Yet…
I felt a strong presence nearby.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t sensed Mint when he approached me earlier. Was I too deep in thought?
I brushed the feeling aside. Gently lifting Lami into my arms, I carried her back home. She didn’t flinch. She showed no reaction to my powers at all.

---
Later, after my first bath vanished beneath me, I wrapped a towel around my waist and headed down to the castle’s massive bathing chambers. The wide pool-like bath steamed before me.
I sank into the water.
ZZZZZZHHHHH!!!
The instant my body touched the pool, Zinertia burst out of me. The water hissed, evaporating as the walls cracked under my power.
“KYAAAAAH!!!”
A scream split the chamber.
I turned sharply.
Amira stood there—completely naked.
She tried to cover herself, but it was too late. My eyes were already fixed on her chest.
And then—Zinertia calmed.
“Breasts?” I whispered. I had always known girls had something there, but never cared—until LV made me touch her once.
Amira’s face turned scarlet. With a shriek, she bolted from the bath, dripping water everywhere.
GZZZZIIIIIIINGGG!!!
As soon as she was gone, Zinertia exploded from me again.
Strange. When I saw her body, my power stilled. Now that she was gone, it raged.
I had to confirm this theory.
I left the bath at once and went straight to Amira’s room. Without knocking, I barged in.
Hinata and Lami were inside too, but I ignored them. My eyes locked on Amira. I strode up and gripped her shoulder.
“Amira, let me… see your chest again.”
“EEEH!!?”
Her voice cracked, face white with shock. She stumbled back.
“Why are you moving away? I just want to see… your breasts.”
“I-Infinity!! D-Do you know what you’re saying!?”
Hinata jumped up, stepping between us.
“Of course I do. I just want to confirm something.”
“B-But you can’t do that! It’s wrong!”
Wrong? It was just her chest.
I slipped around Hinata and grabbed Amira again.
“Come on… it’s just for experiment.”
“B-b-bu…” Her voice faltered, trapped between fear and confusion.
Growing impatient, I ripped her shirt apart with one swift motion.
“KYAAAAAAH!!!!”
SLAP!
My cheek burned.
She slapped me.
Stunned, I staggered back toward the door, clutching my face. She wouldn’t look at me.
I had turned off my defense in the bath. Now, even a human’s strike hurt.
For the first time in my life, a human had struck me.
All I wanted was to see her chest again. Yet she… slapped me.
I understood why. But part of me couldn’t accept it. To me, it was only flesh.

---
“What did you get yourself into?”
LV’s voice echoed when I retreated to my room. She was lying in my bed, her face blank as she stared at the ceiling.
“Wait… you’re a girl too, right?”
“That’s what it looks like. But I’m not going to let you touch my chest.”
“Why? You made me do it back then, remember?”
“It was different then. Why did you bring those girls here? They’re not your responsibility. And after all the trouble I went through choosing you as the partner I’ll make history with…”
“Are you… angry at me?”
She said nothing. Silence filled the room.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m just trying to see if it works. Let me see… your breasts!”
Without waiting, I lunged toward her.
“GWAAAHH!!!”
She vanished from my path and drove a brutal kick into my stomach. My body blasted out of the castle like a meteor.
Blood spewed from my mouth as I crashed into the earth miles away.
Damn it… I’ll never turn off my defense again.
I healed my body and flew back, summoning the broken pieces of the roof as I returned.
LV stood waiting, eyes sharp, her aura flaring.
“I don’t want you in this room. Get out!” she commanded, pointing at the door like a final boss.
“You can’t be serious… kicking me out of my own room?”
GZZZIIIIIIINNGGG!!!
Her Zinertia exploded, shaking the walls.
I backed away. Best not to push this. For now.

---
Having been exiled from my own room, I went to Hinata’s. He was seated at his desk, studying, when I entered.
“I-Infinity, how are you feeling?” he asked nervously.
“Feeling? Do I look sick to you?”
“Amira isn’t at fault for hitting you. You shouldn’t do those things to a girl.”
“Hmm… but I’m a god.”
“Even so,” he whispered, fiddling with his fingers. “You have to be ready… for those kinds of things.”
“I see.”
“But still… I’m happy.” He finally turned toward me, a fragile smile forming.
“Happy? About what?”
“You’ve been acting like a normal human these past weeks.”
“Oh?”
I always thought of myself as a god. But after meeting the true gods, the truth had begun to sink in. I was only human.
And for that reason, I had to fight. To surpass the gods, I must be human first.
“Y-you k-k…” Hinata stammered, fumbling his words.
What was he trying to say? If he couldn’t speak it, I would just read his mind.
“Infinity… y-y… I-I… I’m also a g-g-g…”
His thoughts were a jumble, too messy to understand. Finally, he inhaled sharply and shouted—
“You can touch my breasts if you want!”
“…But you don’t have any.”
I answered instantly. Perhaps I was supposed to scream in shock, deny him, call him crazy. But my response was simple, direct.
His face twisted with rage. “How rude! I’m a girl too, you know!!”
“…” I stared at him blankly.
“What did you just say?” I asked at last.
“I said I’m a girl. Just like the rest of them.” His voice softened, calm and steady.
“She,” to be precise.
The truth hit me like a hammer.
“…Traitor!!”
My voice erupted, raw with betrayal, as I bolted from the room and out of the castle.
I’m so stupid!!

---
Five hundred meters away, I slumped on a rock, glaring up at the blazing sun.
I’d always heard others call Hinata a girl, but I thought it was only because he looked like one. I never cared enough to ask. And with my new powers, curiosity was something I had abandoned.
Now… I felt deceived.
To calm myself, I shifted into the city. Ever since Mitreanreax’s attack, I knew something had to change. I refuse to stay idle. I had to remain vigilant, alert.
That was when the wind shifted.
My instincts screamed.
They are coming.