Copy Skills with Affinity!

Chapter 187

Preemptive Strike

“……So, what exactly did you do?”

“It means you’re currently being used as a vessel of a god.”

“…….”

At the explanation the Mountain God gave, Cretin stared at her with a blank expression.

“You accepted the remnants of a dead god, and that energy is now self-generating inside your body. If you think of your younger sibling who accepted Urgan’s power, it’ll be easier to understand.”

“……Th-then, does that mean I can use the power of a god too?” 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“No. I said they were the remnants of a ‘dead’ god. You did accept a part of a god within you, but that god isn’t alive to begin with, so using its power is impossible.”

Although her face was filled with irritation from having repeated the same explanation more than ten times already, the fact that she still answered every one of Cretin’s questions showed a stark difference from how she had treated her before.

“Then… isn’t that basically no different from before?”

“For now, yes.”

“……Then what exactly are we relying on to go fight the Harvester?”

“As I said earlier, that’s only ‘for now.’”

“Pardon?”

“That guy seems to believe that if he placed the remnants of a dead god inside you, he can revive it.”

As she said that, the Mountain God glared at the back of Aiden Kellermain’s head.

The gaze she used to look at him had clearly changed compared to before.

Previously, it had been one of slight displeasure, but now it was filled with suspicion, as if wondering just what kind of being he really was.

The most important point was that things were progressing in a way that made the revival of the god she once served seem genuinely possible, just as Aiden had promised before.

‘……So it really is possible.’

Thinking that, she looked at Aiden with a renewed sense of astonishment.

Of course, since he had brought a priestess along, she had already guessed that containing the remnants of a god might be possible.

What truly surprised her was how ‘alive’ those remnants still were, writhing inside Cretin’s body even now.

A god that had been dead for so long—one that had lost both its faith and its name.

It was regaining vitality as if it were ‘resonating’ with someone and gradually reclaiming the form it had in life.

And that wasn’t the priestess’s ability.

‘……It’s that bastard’s power.’

A man loved by all the gods in the Pantheon.

That was the defining trait of the human named Aiden Kellermain as the Mountain God perceived him.

However, she still hadn’t figured out the ‘reason’ why he was so loved.

Yet, watching what he was doing now, she felt like she could vaguely approach the source of it.

‘……It’s like he can designate incarnations under his own name.’

It was as if the women entangled with him, in one way or another, all turned into beings with special constitutions.

That theory seemed the most plausible approach.

If that was the case, it also became easier to roughly infer what kind of power the Outsider granting him strength possessed.

‘……The opposite of Wornil.’

An Outsider often placed as the counterpart to the God of Devouring who consumes everything.

What was its name again…

“We’ve arrived.”

As she was lost in thought, Aiden, who was driving the carriage at the front, spoke up.

The place they had arrived at was where Aiden had previously confronted Urgan. The place where the altar had been set and the ritual prepared.

“…….”

Since it was also where Rania had collapsed, Cretin frowned deeply as if recalling that moment.

It was the very place where the Harvester had appeared.

Stepping down casually in front of it, Aiden loosened up his body, swinging his arms back and forth as he slowly approached the barrier that separated the Void Zone from the outside.

“Good. Shall we call it out then?”

“Call what?”

“The Harvester. You should be able to provoke it and draw it out somehow.”

“…….”

“Let’s call it out and fight it right away.”

“……What?”

The Mountain God shot back in disbelief.

Even though the remnants of the god were contained within Cretin’s body in such a lively state, it was still impossible for her to use any kind of power in her current condition.

She had assumed that no matter what he planned, he would at least prepare more thoroughly—but to suddenly suggest calling it out and fighting like this… that was nothing short of suicide.

“That’s exactly why we’re doing it.”

“………Explain.”

“From what I can tell, there are a few elements needed to revive a god. Right now, the most important one is……”

Aiden paused for a moment, as if organizing his theory into the most appropriate explanation.

The words that followed were directed at both Cretin and the Mountain God alike.

“We need to throw her into a situation where she’s in mortal danger at least once.”

“……What?”

“Since we’ve already succeeded in containing it within her, the second step is to trigger an awakening by applying an extremely intense stimulus to the vessel.”

Whether it was Noel or Katya, he remembered that they had been used as something close to ‘incarnations’ under extreme threats.

So this time would follow the same process.

“It means that once things get extremely dangerous, it’ll awaken on its own inside your body.”

“…….”

“I’ll take care of creating an extremely dangerous situation, so please do your best, Priestess.”

“……What exactly am I supposed to do?”

“I’ve never been used as a vessel of a god before, so how would I know?”

“…….”

Listening to him speak so smoothly without a single hitch from start to finish, it almost created the illusion that even this nonsense sounded logical.

Cretin tried to argue back, but with nothing she could really say, she could only open and close her mouth repeatedly. Aiden clenched his fist in front of her and seriously patted her shoulder.

“I believe in you, Priestess.”

“……No, how can you say you believe in someone doing something they’ve never even tried before—”

“If you fail, we might all die, so please take that pressure and somehow make it work. There’s no other way anyway.”

“…….”

“I’ll be cheering for you.”

You crazy bastard.

You crazy bastard……

That lament swelled up in Cretin’s mind.

▣

“-But how exactly are you planning to deal with that?”

That question came from the Mountain God.

Of course, since Aiden had kept his promise to her, she intended to cooperate with him somehow, but no matter what, facing a proxy of a god within human limits was clearly impossible.

It wasn’t a matter of whether Aiden was strong or weak—this was simply something that couldn’t be done. It was as futile as an ant trying to defeat a human.

“If it’s that, there’s someone who’ll help us, so it should work out somehow.”

“……Someone who’ll help?”

Since Rania collapsed, Aiden had come straight here from Mount Demon Sealing without a single break. There hadn’t been any moment where he contacted anyone or asked for help.

Recalling that, the Mountain God tilted her head, but instead of explaining further, Aiden simply walked toward Cretin.

Well, the person who would help him wasn’t exactly someone he needed to contact.

……They were the kind of people who followed his every move so obsessively that it was almost frightening.

“First, if we do this, it’ll help tremendously.”

“……?”

Looking at the puzzled Cretin, Aiden once again organized his thoughts.

As had already been explained on the way here, she was still incomplete. It was a state that fell one step short of being a true resurrection of a god.

And in order to cross that stage, a ‘stepping stone’ was absolutely necessary.

In other words, they needed someone who could buy them time.

Fortunately, Aiden had already thought of a way to make up for that.

“Miss Cretin. Could you come a bit closer?”

“……Why?”

“Just come here quickly.”

Though Cretin looked at him with suspicion after being subjected to all kinds of his bizarre behavior in such a short time, she still followed his words for now.

And the moment she stepped close—

Aiden grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her face toward him.

Their lips met immediately.

“…….”

Because she had the fixed notion that a kiss was something romantic, done with eyes closed and in the right mood like a proper young lady, it took Cretin some time to even process what was happening.

The moment she fully realized it, her entire body struggled violently.

Her face flushed red as if it would burst, and she flailed helplessly, but Aiden remained wide-eyed, carefully scanning the surroundings.

Considering the nature of the God of Love and Intercourse, this alone would cause some reaction from the divinity sleeping inside Cretin’s body—but that wasn’t the main point.

Now then, surely the one watching this—

“……Mr. Aiden, what exactly are you doing right now?”

—if someone spoke in a tone that sounded like they could tear a person apart with just words, then it was safe to say his plan had worked to some extent.

As he slowly pulled his face away from Cretin, whose entire body had stiffened even while still kissing him, Noel’s icy voice spoke again from behind him.

“……I asked what you are doing.”

From Noel’s body, that familiar golden aura was flowing out in streams.

Meanwhile, Cretin’s face was turning darker in contrast as she watched.

“H-Hey, hurry and make some kind of excuse……!”

“What kind of excuse is there for kissing another woman in front of your fiancée?”

“…….”

“Do you think that’s something you can explain away?”

……Knowing that and still doing it, the sight of him acting as if he were mocking her was enough to make anyone furious.

Cretin spoke in disbelief, stammering.

“Then why did you do something like that so casually?”

“I told you. We needed someone to buy us time.”

It was something he had confirmed once in the Holy Crown Kingdom, and something he had seen again when sparring with the Mountain God before.

When Noel got worked up over something related to him, her combat power increased at a terrifying rate.

That was exactly what he was aiming for.

“……That means her combat power goes up because she’s pissed at you, right?”

Even if their current opponent was someone whose head could be blown off, considering the consequences afterward, this wasn’t something to do lightly.

That was the implication behind her words, but Aiden’s attitude remained completely unchanged.

“Well, her combat power still went up, didn’t it?”

Dealing with the aftermath was something to think about later.

For now, they could buy time, so it was fine.

With that kind of attitude, Aiden shrugged and continued.

“Isn’t that enough?”

……What a lunatic.

With that thought naturally appearing on her face, Cretin rubbed her face.