Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

After my friends and I defeated the Bronze Golem, we returned to our base after two days of exploring the 3rd Floor.

We did not enter the Iron Room where the Iron Golem was supposed to be.

"Heh - so there are three other Bosses on the 5th Floor besides the Dungeon Boss."

"Perhaps, something like that. Probably even the weakest Bronze Golem was quite strong."

"How strong?"

"Ummm... I would say it was slightly weaker than the transformed state of the Demon General Razel."

I judged that the Bronze Golem's two-handed Drill Punch was a threat.

If a rear guard in our party were to receive the attack, we would die instantly.

And the Bronze Golem could fire an endless barrage of it.

It was also very high [Endurance] and, like Demon General Razel, was impervious to most physical and magical attacks.

However, since he had no regeneration based skill like Demon General Razel, we could defeat it relatively easily.

It also didn't have any long-range attacks, so overall, I analyzed that it was slightly weaker than the transformed state of the Demon General Razel.

"Isn't that amazing?"

Rosetta, the Thief, said that it was amazing that we were able to defeat such a strong enemy.

The same was true for the rest of Helmios' party.

"You're getting worked up after defeating a mere Bronze Golem? Hah!"

(Oh? You got it?)

While Helmios' party praised us, Admiral Galara swore over drinks on the sofa that it was no big deal.

"An?"

(And, as always, Dogora reacted.)

Dogora glared at Admiral Galara.

"What!? You don't know anything, do you? Iron Golem comes out in two bodies. You guys who are crying over a Bronze Golem can't handle it, of course. You're really funny when you're wrong! Ha-ha-ha!"

"..."

With that, Admiral Galara laughed so hard that it echoed throughout the spacious living room.

Dogora took a deep, silent breath, then stood up, clenching his fists.

He was about to start a fight.

"Hey, Dogora."

However, I admonished him and stopped the fight from happening.

I had him take his seat again.

(Enough. But then again, the other two Medals are not going to be easy to get. I guess we'll have to spend some time getting Medals on the 5th Floor for some time.)

To fight the Dungeon Boss, we needed to fit 3 Medals on the pedestal.

I expected the Iron Golem to be strong, in a different way than the Bronze Golem, but it seemed that there wouldn't always be just one enemy that we would have to fight.

When I had declared that we were going to the 5th Floor, Admiral Galara had said that we wouldn't be able to fight against the Dungeon Boss.

I understood that these words were advice, from someone who had fought against the Dungeon Bosses.

So, I was treading on the assumption that Admiral Galara would say something again when I would say that we had defeated the Bronze Golem and would challenge the Iron Golem.

And as I had expected, Admiral Galara swore at us, but despite his attitude, I was sure that he was not a bad person on the inside.

I decided that it would be better to have some hints about the next room, so after defeating the Bronze Golem, I did not continue onto the next room.

Buzz

As I was thinking of a plan to defeat two Iron Golems, a Grimoire appeared in front of me.

(Mm?)

The black cover of the Grimoire had a log written in silver letters.

"Summon me."

A very short statement was written in the log.

There is only one person that could do such a thing.

"Is that ok?"

"Ah."

Angel Merus, who had become my summon, could write in the Grimoire log due to his special skill [Angel's Right].

I had granted him that right.

I had given him the right to summon summons, but he couldn't summon himself.

I wondered if there was a firm scope of right in that area.

Merus lied down to occupy one of several sofas all to himself.

He wanted to rummage around on the sofa.

""...""

Both Helmios' and my party watched the scene in silence.

At the base, Merus lived a life of self-indulgence that exceeded that of Admiral Galara.

From what I had heard from Saint Greta of the Helmios party, Merus was known to be quite industrious and served the Creator God Elmea as the First Angel.

The backlash had been severe, and his wish to not want to do anything anymore had come to the forefront.

(He is like a salaryman who was forced to work for a black company for many years and then became a NEET. Not that I mind, since he is very good at fighting.)

A memory of my previous life perfectly fit Merus' situation.

But he was very good as a summon.

And when I asked him about the story of how he came to create the summons, he answered me.

He said that he went through a lot of trouble to create the summons for everything.

From the coordination of power with other Talents to the design of the summons, the Creator God Elmea allowed no compromise.

(Thanks to that, I guess the S-rank summon is a blank slate.)

According to Merus, it took more than a year to determine the capabilities and design of a single rank of summon.

Merus was defeated by the Great Demon General Kyubel without even fully deciding on an A-rank summons, so he had no idea what the S-rank magical beasts were.

I didn't know if it would be a successor Angel or what, but I wanted a summon with a well-defined setting once I reached <Summon> Level 9.

"Isn't it a very critical situation?"

Dogora poured his frustration with Admiral Galara towards Merus's attitude.

It was very hard to believe that the Demon King's army was about to take away the Divine Artifacts and destroy all races from the planet.

Everyone else seemed to have thought of Dogora's impression but did not speak of it, and agreed with his troubled and sad expression.

"Hmm? Critical? If you're talking about the Fire Goddess' Divine Artifact being stolen, that's a threat."

What are you talking about, said Merus.

Regardless of Merus' attitude, the world seemed to be in crisis.

"Does that mean the Divine Realm doesn't care much about people?"

I took the conversation a step further.

"Oh, from my attitude?"

Apparently, Merus realized that his attitude was making everyone uneasy.

I also wanted to know, if possible, what the Divine Realm's stance was.

What do they think?

Do they want people to prosper?

Do they want to save everyone from the Demon King's army at all costs?

""...""

Everyone' eyes were drawn to Merus.

"Why are you so worried? The Gods value harmony."

"Does that mean that they don't care about people?"

I questioned further.

"There's not an exact answer to that question. If saving the people out of their problems leads to harmony, then Gods will save them. By nature, people should prosper on their own. The Gods may preach their teachings, but they do not interfere unnecessarily."

Merus clearly demonstrated the attitude of the Gods towards all races.

"What about the Spirit God, the Beast God, and other Gods that take care of certain races?"

Rosen, the Spirit God of Rosenheim, and Garm, the Beast God of the Albahar Beast Kingdom, were examples.

"There is a sense of gratitude for what God has done for some of the race. The attitude of the Gods as a whole is harmony, but with some bias."

"So you're saying that it doesn't matter even if everyone perishes, as long as there is harmony?

"Oh, hey. Dogora."

Dogora found Merus' answer clearly unsatisfactory.

He didn't like the attitude of Gods not caring much about the people.

Keil, who is a bit of a scaredy-cat, admonished Dogora for his fearless attitude.

His opponent was the former First Angel, Merus, who he had learnt about in the Academy, although Merus had fully committed himself to the sofa.

"Of course. Harmony is important. As long as there is harmony, whether people perish or not is secondary. Life and death are two sides of the same coin. I was angry when I was killed, but I am not in despair, am I?"

"Oh, no."

The words made Saint Greta despair.

"Hm? Do you think, by any chance, that there are no races that have perished, that have been driven out of their land and become nearly exterminated?"

"What? The way you talk, it sounds like there's quite a few of them."

I returned to the conversation with Merus.

"There are. It's been happening for quite a bit in the last tens of thousands of years. If you want the Gods to defeat the Demon King's army for you, then should the Gods have extinguished the human race for the sake of the dwarves, elves, and beastmen who were driven away because of the human race that flourished on the Central Continent. The Gods didn't do that, did they? Do you know why beastmen use only two syallable names?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?""

"After all, the name of the beastman had a meaning."

While Dogora didn't know what it meant, I understood what Merus was implying.

Ur, Sara, Prince Zew, Princess Shea, Prince Bek, and a number of other beastmen over the past six months, all of whom I had met, had two syllable names. {TLN: IN Japanese}

There seemed to be a deeper reason behind it, but I somehow could not ask.

I could somewhat guess the answer to that question.

"On the Central Continent, beastmen were not only slaves of the human race, but were treated as little more than livestock. They were given names of only two syllables, and some of them were called by numbers. The beastmen still remember the hatred they felt back then, so their names still have two syllables. I am sure the human race would do the same thing if they had to go through that."

To remember the hatred, the law of the Beast Kingdom decided that the name of the beastmen could only have two syllables, and about a thousand years had passed.

"But that doesn't mean-"

"I'm talking about the whole story. If the human race as a whole has not done only good deeds. If you study history, you will understand."

"It's a matter for each race, and the Gods are not involved. Does that mean it's the same for the Demons?"

'Yes, it is. The world is one, including the Demons. As long as harmony is not disturbed, the attitude of the Gods is to accept a certain amount of chaos."

(Is that why the Demon King was one of the options?)

I had always wondered why there was a Demon King among the Talent choices when I came to this world.

Apparently, the Gods considered the world as one, including the Demon King and the Demon tribe.

"Is there still harmony in the world right now? A Divine Artifact has been stolen, and soon all races except the Demons will be destroyed."

"No, that's not true. They have disturbed the harmony long ago and are already outside the harmony set by the Gods. Mediator God was sent, but he has not been able to solve the problem. It was also the idea of Master Elmea that I become a summon."

"Mediator God?"

"He is the God who judges those who disturb harmony, those who break the discipline of harmony. He has been given the right and the power to judge, even a God. But it has been more than 50 years and he has not returned."

He told us the story of how a God was sent to sanction the Demon King's army not to disturb harmony.

And also how he hadn't executed the judgment and had not heard from him since.

The Demon King's army had probably captured him.

(Will the Gods allow anything to disturb the harmony? Harmony rather than peace? Is that why the Spirit God was in such a hurry?)

I silently looked at the Spirit God who was looking at Merus.

He looked desperate.

The Gods didn't care if the elves went extinct.

In fact, millions of elves died in last year's invasion of Rosenheim by the Demon King's army.

Knowing so, he might have been trying to save the elves until the very last minute, even if he himself would be judged.

I wondered if that was the reason why every time I tried to touch on the reason of the world, he refused to answer at all.

Understanding the reason of the world also meant considering the means to break the rules.

Perhaps the Spirit God feared that he would be judged.

"So what about me? I've never been told to do anything in particular."

"God does not interfere, and therefore there is harmony. Therefore, I am sure that God has never told you to do anything."

(Right. All I've been told by the Creator God is to enjoy this world.)

Helmios and his party didn't know that I had been reincarnated from another world.

So in that conversation, they just understood that the Gods gave me the Talent <Summoner>.

However, my friends understood the real meaning of the conversation.

I was brought from another world to restore harmony to the world.

And it would mean that I was given the power to fight against the Demon King's army.

"I've heard that some chaos is acceptable as long as harmony can be restored, and that's what the Divine Realm is all about, right?"

My words made Merus raise his upper body and relax his mouth.

"Of course. Don't be shy. It would be strange if the distorted harmony returns without any chaos."

I grinned at those words.

Allen knew what it meant to have come to this world to restore the harmony that even the Mediator God, the God of Judgment, could not restore.