Hikigaya's God Slayer Story

Chapter 32: The Godslayer and the Goddess's Manifestation

"Go ahead and speak." Hikigaya rubbed the face that had just been mercilessly squished, and looked indifferently at Athena.

As for Komachi, who stood frozen in place, he wasn't worried.

This time-freeze-like state was caused by the goddess halting their thoughts.

Of course, this didn't cause any physical harm to them. It was somewhat like that ability used by the old professor in X-Men.

The difference was that for gods, this power over ordinary humans was innate. They didn't need to exert it intentionally—humans naturally entered this state from merely the god's will.

"There's no need to treat me so hostilely," Athena said. "Since you've learned everything about me, you should know that I've also learned everything about you. I must say, you've surprised me."

Athena smiled. It was no longer a hostile smile, but one of curiosity.

"But before that, there's something I need to confirm."

Then, this goddess made a move that stunned Hikigaya.

She extended her fair hand and gently slapped her own tender cheek.

"Hikigaya Hachiman, hit me."

"…"

Faced with this bizarre scene, Hikigaya fell into contemplation…

Something felt off here.

Was the goddess of war and wisdom… a masochist?

No, no—most likely, this was just some kind of provocation, right?

In that case...

"Ah-da!" Hikigaya shouted strangely as he launched a kick at her.

Don't hit the face? Nonsense. She's not even human—of course I'll go for the face! I'll kick that smug smile off her face!

Serves her right for turning me into a Snow White-less dwarf!

Closer! Closer still!

As his foot was just about to land square on Athena's infuriating face, Hikigaya was filled with excitement.

And then… everything went still.

All his power vanished.

Even though his body had shrunk, his strength had remained. But the moment his body touched Athena, all power—be it supernatural or governed by the laws of nature—vanished completely.

Hikigaya didn't even leave a single footprint on her face.

With nothing to support him, he fell. He had to adjust his posture mid-air to land properly.

His heart, however, was anything but stable.

"You see, Hikigaya Hachiman, you can no longer harm me."

The goddess continued smiling. But in the next moment, she lifted her palm, thunder crackling within, and aimed it at Hikigaya's head.

Just as he landed and had no time to dodge, the palm struck—

But nothing happened to him.

Athena's power vanished the moment it touched him.

"That's how it is, Hikigaya Hachiman," Athena said calmly, retracting her hand. "You and I can no longer hurt each other. Now, can we have a proper conversation?"

Hikigaya didn't speak for a long moment.

Eventually, he reached up and touched his head.

"Why go to such lengths?" he asked.

"A good question," Athena finally dropped her even tone. "It was for victory. There's no denying your power rivals mine. You even put me in a dangerous situation. In order to prevent you from usurping my power, the wisdom of the heavens told me this was the only way to turn defeat into victory."

"So you think you've won?" Hikigaya asked with a cold smile.

"Do you think I've lost?" Athena returned to a serene expression, which made Hikigaya even more frustrated.

"Well... it kind of makes sense," he sighed. "But what about my current condition? Do I have to grow up all over again?"

"What does it matter? If you trust me, I can alter the perceptions of those around you. You won't be inconvenienced."

Take that back—this woman still doesn't speak like a normal person...

A dwarf godslayer? What kind of joke is that!? Living under the same roof with a moronic little sister is seriously dangerous!

"This is a huge problem! I don't want to be anyone's little brother!" Hikigaya suddenly got even more riled up than when he tried to kick Athena earlier. "You idiot! Change me back immediately!"

"Oh? But I actually quite like you this way," Athena looked at him with a strangely satisfied and affectionate expression.

But seeing the "I'll bite you!" expression on Hikigaya's face, she continued in a slightly regretful tone, "Don't worry. When I was born, I displayed my divine might before the gods, but I also eventually revealed my civil and orderly side. You'll return to normal soon. This is merely your form as my manifested incarnation."

"Manifested incarnation?" Hikigaya frowned. "I'm a godslayer. There's no way I can become your manifestation."

"The witch could make you a godslayer—why can't I make you my manifestation?" Athena's form began to blur. "There's no need to keep testing me. I told you—when you came to know me, I also came to know you."

"Fine. So where are you planning to go next?" Hikigaya didn't agree nor object. He also didn't try to stop her from leaving.

After all, once she dragged him back into the mortal realm in this way, their battle was already over.

"I don't know. I've retrieved the 'snake,' but I don't wish to return just yet." As she spoke, Athena's form completely disappeared. "The Kaimai people I borrowed—I've returned them to you. You can also begin to experience your power as my manifestation. I believe we'll meet again very soon."

With that, her presence completely vanished.

At the same time, Hikigaya felt his body begin to change.

Looking in the mirror, he saw arcs of electricity dance across his form. In a split second, amidst the crackling, he returned to his original appearance.

In mythology, Athena was born through Zeus's reversal—absorbing her mother Metis's wisdom.

Upon birth, as Zeus's manifested incarnation, she received his thunder and shield as her weapons.

Now Hikigaya, having undergone something similar from Athena, wasn't even sure if he had gained or lost.

He hadn't slain a god, yet he obtained divine power.

But now he was entangled in a mess of a relationship with Athena—one that couldn't easily be cut.

Still, Hikigaya didn't plan on figuring all this out in his bedroom.

Because now that the goddess's presence had completely vanished, a chain of changes began to ripple through the room.

"Reality" had begun to return.

Chapter 33: Return to Reality

So-called "reality" is truly something hard to define.

After all, the great world is unique in everyone's eyes.

Even if distorted by Athena, the fact that it exists makes it reasonable—who's to say it's false?

But in the end, Athena had done at least one good deed.

When she left, Komachi collapsed to the ground.

As Hachiman picked her up, he was both amused and exasperated to find the girl sleeping soundly, breathing evenly...

This little sister may have a flat chest, but her heart sure is big…

He glanced around his room again. It was an utter mess.

Half the books were gone, the bed had vanished, and only a layer of ash remained.

If every woman gave birth like that, hospitals would go bankrupt.

Just as he was worrying about the cleanup, a gasp came from behind him.

"Oww..."

Hachiman turned and saw the bearded man who had called himself Mahamud grimacing as he tried to get up from the floor.

The guy was seriously injured.

If Athena had inflicted psychological damage, Hachiman had given him very real physical trauma.

"Hey, Beard, do you know some kind of magic that can fix broken stuff?"

Still holding Komachi, Hachiman walked over a few steps, then stopped.

The smell was unbearable...

He took a few steps back instead.

"Ah? Master, I don't," said the bearded Mahamud, his face pale, though it looked like he was no longer spitting blood.

"Aren't you a magician?" "No, I'm a sorcerer," Mahamud corrected proudly. "I'm from Egypt, and my people and I serve the Cult of Horus, great master."

Hachiman tilted his head, pretending to think, then—

"Come on, after all that, you're still just a magician. You're weak as hell, can't even do anything."

That remark sent Mahamud into a fit of coughing, almost coughing up blood again.

After a long while, he finally caught his breath.

"Master, you misunderstand," Mahamud said, his face now flushed. "Our Egyptian magic is aimed at the study of life energy. Just like the powers of Osiris and Set, which you have usurped, the earliest magic was modeled after the powers of the gods."

"Oh, that makes sense," Hachiman nodded. "But still useless. Especially now. You smashed my cabinet and my wall. And my bed. You're not denying that, are you?"

Not waiting for a response, he turned toward the door. "I know you magicians are loaded, so fix up my room, replace all the books, or I'll go to your place and dig up Pi-Ramesses to sell."

Pi-Ramesses, the famous capital city built by Pharaoh Ramesses II and named after himself, was once the largest and most prosperous city in the world.

It was the Egyptian version of Venice, located in the Qantir region.

About 150 years after Ramesses' death, it was abandoned due to the disappearance of the Nile's Pelusiac branch.

The successors of Ramesses dismantled the city's monuments and sculptures, transporting them to a new water source to build a new city.

The original site was buried under Qantir, which three thousand years later became one of Egypt's most fertile lands, now heavily cultivated.

Given Qantir's current state, even with modern technology, excavating the ancient city would take over a century.

But Hachiman—this god-slayer—could easily upheave the land with his powers and resurrect the ancient city. The consequences, of course, would be unimaginable.

That threat alone turned Mahamud's face green, but before he could speak, Hachiman kicked the door open with flair and walked out.

All Mahamud could do was stand there dumbfounded, then grit his teeth and accept it—he'd just have to add more debt...

Better to owe money to anyone else than a god-slayer—even a single coin!

Leaving Mahamud to wallow in self-pity, Hachiman placed Komachi on her bed and went downstairs for a drink.

Damn, all that divine stuff may look good, but none of it's edible—his mouth was as bland as boiled water.

Then he saw a middle-aged man with glasses chatting on the sofa with several foreigners dressed just like Mahamud. In the kitchen, a beautiful woman seemed to be cooking.

"Seemed to" because both husband and wife looked completely bewildered.

"How strange," the middle-aged man muttered as he looked around at the foreigners who were now all giving him "Aren't you gonna keep BS'ing?" expressions. "Wasn't I just explaining something to my wife? Who are you guys?"

Almost simultaneously, the beautiful woman in the kitchen stopped stir-frying and muttered, "Hm? I feel like I was supposed to be doing something for my dear... Wait, why am I making so much food?"

Well then. Looks like these two had returned to their "reality" too. But...

Why were they back?

"Huh? Son, what are you doing upstairs?" the glasses-wearing man looked surprised to see Hachiman coming down the stairs. "Weren't you in Kyoto?"

Kyoto?

Hachiman tilted his head.

Wasn't that during spring break? That vacation had long ended—how old was this news?

Apparently, Komachi had once again employed her philosophy of "Just say anything to fool the dumb dad."

Yep—this comically unreliable couple were Hachiman's so-called parents in this world.

They were constantly off on trips. Since arriving in this world, Hachiman had only seen them once.

Especially this useless dad—Hachiman once thought that even if he hadn't been reincarnated, his original family might still have birthed a god-slayer.

Compared to this guy, even that Italian idiot-swordsman might seem competent…

"Yeah, I'm back," Hachiman replied as he descended the stairs, giving a scrutinizing look at the standing foreigners in the living room.

"Wait—Hachiman? When did you get back?" his mother turned from the kitchen, then noticed the room full of foreigners. "Honey, are these your friends?"

Ma'am, are your eyes broken? Do these guys look like friends…?

"No, these are my friends, Mom," Hachiman smoothly copied Komachi's method and used it on his adoptive mother. "Didn't you just say you had something to talk to Dad about?"

He had heard both of them muttering earlier—only a good son would set his dad up like this.

"Oh, right..." reminded by Hachiman, the beautiful woman entered a contemplative pose.

The next moment, her elegant face took on a murderous look.

"Keitaro! I remember now! Don't you run!"

What followed was domestic violence, not worth narrating in detail.

In a flash, the loving couple charged out of the house in a chase, leaving Hachiman standing there, hands folded in a satisfied, blessing-filled pose.

That left him free to deal with the Egyptians.

Ignoring the chaos, Hachiman walked into the living room. Every Egyptian bowed and stepped aside in terror as he passed.