Hikigaya's God Slayer Story

Chapter 30: Returning to the Real World

Divinity is truly mysterious.

This is a world that clearly has boundaries but cannot be touched.

It seems to contain everything, yet also nothing at all.

Here lies the grandeur of divine power, and the infinite potential of human thought.

The forces of man and god intertwine in this realm, presenting an unprecedented closeness and intimacy, where the line between reality and illusion becomes blurred and indistinguishable.

It manifests everything related to Athena based on Hikigaya's thoughts.

Sometimes it's a single object, sometimes many, or even the entire form of this world may change accordingly—at times resembling living beings.

The only constant is that none of it lasts.

No matter what appears, it transforms or disappears as Hikigaya's thoughts shift.

Yet it is indeed a fascinating place, and Hikigaya played around for a long time—though exactly how long is unclear. There is no day-night cycle, nor any point of reference to measure time.

Most importantly, no matter how fun something is, it can't be played with forever.

Once Hikigaya managed to somewhat suppress his wandering thoughts, the entire world quieted down, returning to a state of "nothingness."

During this process, Hikigaya's ability to control his own thoughts improved greatly.

Whether this would be useful outside was unknown, but in this place, it was very useful—especially if he wanted to move around without being overwhelmed by the dizzying transformations.

That skill was essential.

However, he still couldn't find a way out.

Hikigaya now sat on a jagged, uneven rocky surface that shimmered with silvery light.

To put it plainly, he had controlled his thoughts to turn his surroundings into the surface of the moon...

Unwilling as he was to admit it, this was already the most "friendly" environment he could find.

The monotonous scenery helped suppress the impulse to let his mind wander. Because of its simplicity, no unexpected and potentially hostile beings related to Athena's mythology suddenly popped up.

Still, the main issue remained—he couldn't get out...

Hikigaya had once tried to forcefully imagine a great rift or door opening in this space, leading to the outside world, but it was useless.

Anything that didn't align with Athena's traits couldn't appear here, no matter how strongly he imagined it.

Of course, Hikigaya also tried breaking out using his own power, but unfortunately, he couldn't even determine what the "target" for destruction would be.

For instance, he could unleash a tremendous force—but it wouldn't shake anything.

He tried summoning the sun—yet there was nothing to burn.

This space was absurdly tolerant; it contained everything.

Sitting on the silver-glowing ground, Hikigaya reached out and grabbed a handful of pebbles.

Just like the ground, these stones emitted a soft, hazy light. Some glowed on their own; others absorbed the light from the ground.

Hikigaya closed his hand around them tightly and then opened his palm—nothing remained.

It wasn't that they couldn't be destroyed—they simply didn't truly exist.

Everything that vanished from his vision ceased to exist, as long as it originated from this world.

Thankfully, he didn't have to rely on natural food to sustain himself, or he might have starved here.

"Damn it, thank goodness there's light here, or I'd be screwed."

Muttering, Hikigaya looked helplessly at the silvery ground.

This completely unexpected "trip" had taught him a lot—but if he couldn't get out, it was all meaningless.

After a while, bored, he casually released a shockwave of power toward the pitch-black "sky."

The invisible, immensely destructive force shot out from his fist into the boundless darkness—but there wasn't even a sound.

Had it happened in the real world, this punch could've obliterated an entire city block.

Like a bored person idly disturbing the surface of a lake, Hikigaya repeatedly unleashed shockwaves into the void.

He hated to admit it—but if he stayed here much longer, he'd probably turn into some kind of "still" martial artist.

This place really trained one's patience.

Once you got used to it, you got used to the silence and learned to enjoy the quiet.

The restless, impulsive tendencies were slowly carved away.

But this time, his actions seemed to provoke a different kind of response.

It was a sound—like something being torn. Very faint, but in this quiet place, still audible.

Startled, Hikigaya stood up—and the ground beneath him vanished, plunging him into darkness.

But in the dark, he could hear the sound even more clearly.

The sound was growing louder.

Suddenly, with no warning, a massive rift appeared just above his head!

Light burst from it, illuminating Hikigaya's body.

"What the hell... What is this?" Hikigaya stared dumbfounded at the scene.

What did he just see?

The rift was huge. On the other side, a bearded man was swinging an axe at something? Was that... Pangu?

Impossible—Pangu didn't have a foreign face! That made no sense!

And wasn't Pangu supposed to split the world open from the inside out?

Utterly baffled, Hikigaya soon realized that he was being pulled toward the rift.

As he got closer, the crack grew wider—and then he saw it: this fake "Pangu" seemed to be inside his own room?

He didn't have time to think any further—he was already being sucked into the rift.

In an instant, half his body crossed into another world.

Everything in this world was so familiar.

Sunlight. Air. Tangible and real—part of the real world.

On both sides of him were things—on one side, strips of soft, silvery... something.

And the bearded man—now fully visible—wasn't that big after all. But the surroundings... this really was his room! Though he himself seemed to have shrunk a bit!

The bearded man didn't seem fully conscious, because Hikigaya saw the guy raise his axe again—this time aiming straight at him...

Without thinking, purely on reflex, Hikigaya slapped him.

And immediately regretted it—because he watched the man go flying, smashing through his bookshelf and the wall beyond!

"Damn it! My books!"

Hikigaya howled in pain—not from injury, but heartache.

In that moment, he didn't care how weird this whole situation was.

Planting his hands on either side and giving his waist a strong push, he yanked himself out completely.

Chapter 31 – "I Saw You as a Little Sister, But You Actually Want to Make Me Your..."

Hikigaya was heartbroken over his books. He had always thought of books as his best buddies.

But that bearded guy had taken out half of his bookshelf.

Just from the way pages fluttered in the air, it was obvious his neatly arranged little friends had met a terrible end.

The shock snapped him right back to alertness.

However, the moment he pulled himself up, he noticed something was off.

The proportions felt wrong, and he was clearly wearing casual clothes earlier—so why was he suddenly in a huge robe?

Actually, he had noticed this problem earlier but forgot about it in the heat of the moment. Remembering it now wasn't too late.

Of course, it was also a problem that the entire setting had suddenly turned into his bedroom.

There were too many issues. He'd have to handle them one at a time.

"What's going on?"

Hikigaya almost stumbled as he stepped on the floor, staring at the long sleeves of his robe in confusion.

Also, had he shrunk? The nearby chair was taller than him. This wasn't just a short problem—he was tiny!

Though his dream had always been to find a taller girlfriend, this was going too far—no way this was okay!

Dragging his now oversized pants, Hikigaya ran to the mirror.

Sure enough, staring back at him was a little boy in a comically large outfit.

Wait a second, how had he even gotten out?

The mirror gave him the answer: he saw a figure standing right behind him.

His face instantly turned green as realization hit. He quickly reached a hand down his pants—then let out a relieved sigh. His expression went from green to just black.

Phew! The "brother" was still there!

Still, he never imagined the other party would pull a stunt like this!

Now that the most important issue was resolved, Hikigaya finally turned to look behind him.

"What the hell did you do to me!?" he demanded, grinding his teeth. "And why are you in my house? Who the hell are these foreigners? Where's my family?"

"Hikigaya Hachiman, who do you think I am?" The goddess, standing in a cloud of dust, looked displeased. "Even if your bravery failed to win my recognition, I would not harm mere mortals!"

"And those black guys? Your boy toys?"

Knowing his family was safe was a relief, but Hikigaya kept ranting on instinct.

Even if Athena didn't turn into a guy like in some myths, turning him into a child was absolutely unacceptable.

He couldn't stop unless he vented.

"Hikigaya Hachiman, are you trying to anger me? Those people are simply your and my servants."

"I don't have any servants!"

Hikigaya snorted—but before he could continue roasting her, that big bearded man from earlier climbed out of the wall, dazedly looking at the two of them.

Hikigaya was stunned.

What!? That guy was still alive? He'd subconsciously used a bit of his shock power just now.

Logically speaking, no matter how tough he was, he should've been either a bloody mist or dead on the spot from internal destruction.

The power of a divine authority was undeniable—even a trace should be lethal. This piqued Hikigaya's curiosity.

"Who are you?" Hikigaya asked.

"Oh great master, I am your loyal servant, Mahamud."

The bearded man, blood pouring from his mouth, crawled tremblingly toward the now child-sized Hikigaya, prostrating before him.

The scene was more than a little bizarre.

"Whoa, calm down, man—I haven't even figured out what's going on yet… uh, you really stink!"

Hikigaya stepped back, pinching his nose.

Had this guy ever bathed? What the heck did he mean by 'servant'!?

And the information overload—Zaimozuka! He wanted a script!

Whatever. The script could wait. First, he needed to check on his family in this world.

Everything about this was weird.

Athena's divine-level mental dominance had warped reality itself—but her divine pride wouldn't let her lie directly to him.

Still, seeing things with his own eyes brought reassurance.

With that in mind, he carefully stepped over the bearded man and headed to the door.

And the door opened.

"What's going on! What's going on! What's going on!"

A girl burst in with a rapid-fire voice, a fox tucked under her arm.

Komachi, you dirty little thing, could you at least let that youkai keep a bit of dignity?

But there was no time for that snark, because—

"Waaah! What a cute little kid!" Komachi's eyes lit up the moment she saw Hikigaya, but what she said next nearly gave him a stroke: "Sister Pallas! Is this the child you had with my brother!?"

Since when do I have a kid with Athena!?

Hikigaya was absolutely stunned, mouth ready to shoot off a denial—but before he could speak, his little sister leapt at him like a lioness and crushed him into a hug.

In the process, she casually dropped the fox from her armpit.

"Waaah! So cute! Be my little brother too!"

What the hell… I saw you as my little sister, and now you want to make me your little brother!?

Also, can we use some logic here!? Does a newborn baby look like this!?

Hikigaya wanted to say all that, but he couldn't—because his idiotic sister's flat chest had smothered his entire face.

Dammit, this stupid girl! My face hurts! If you don't have boobs, don't try pulling off the boob-hug!

"All right, Komachi, let him go. He's just been born—he's fragile."

For the first time, Hikigaya felt like Athena was actually speaking human language, even if it was disgustingly sweet.

"Okaaay…" Komachi let out a long sigh full of disappointment and reluctance, finally letting go of him very slowly.

Free from his dumb sister's clutches, Hikigaya quickly backed away several steps—only to spot that stupid fox by the door throwing him a mocking look like "You got what you deserved."

I swear! I'm nothing like you, you lion-dog-haired fox!

Silently fuming, Hikigaya glared at Athena.

He no longer had to worry about his family. From Komachi's behavior, he clearly understood their current condition.

Aside from mentally disconnecting from reality, they were otherwise fine.

Once the goddess left, they'd return to normal—and likely wouldn't remember any of this.

That might sound heartless, but it was reality. Hikigaya didn't plan to dwell on it.

Although the real reason he was being so chill about it… was something else.

And that reason was soon spoken aloud by Athena.

"All right, Hikigaya Hachiman," she said softly. "We need to properly discuss our relationship."

As soon as she spoke, Komachi and the bearded man both froze in place, as if someone had hit a pause button on them.