What exactly are gods?
Let’s just throw out all that trivial nonsense about omnipotent beings or creators of the world. I mean, there’s no one more skilled than me around here, so “omnipotent” is just a joke.
The kind of gods I’m talking about are those born from human belief – gods that arise from humanity’s desire to answer their questions.
These aren’t self-sufficient entities. They don’t have their own physical forms. Instead, they create bodies using the faith offered by others and depend on believers to prove their very existence. Pathetic creatures that are closer to illusions sustained only through belief.
Of course, gods like me and my children who have separate main bodies are exceptions.
Even if they create physical forms through faith, without continuous input of faith, they can’t maintain these bodies. Once the faith fades, their created forms will inevitably face annihilation.
Anyway, you could call them a type of mental parasite that survives by leeching off human faith.
So how does one bring about the d*ath of such a god? Take Baal for example – it would require shattering his divine body with an immense shock until it vanishes. Though… realistically speaking, that’s almost impossible without dragon-level power.
The impact when Baal’s body was destroyed was tremendous – enough to make continents rise from the ocean depths. During the war, only dragons could have produced that level of destruction. In other words, only something as powerful as a dragon could destroy a god’s physical form.
But even if you destroy their bodies… if the faith in that god persists, it’s merely temporary. They’ll just create a new body and return before long.
Ah, Baal’s case is different since he’s refusing to regenerate his body despite still having believers. We’ll count that as an exception.
Hmm… If we could directly strike at a god’s soul or spirit, that might work… but it’s hard to judge. I only learned gods even have souls through Baal’s case.
Let’s put aside killing gods through physical force for now and move on…
Another way to k*ll a god: cutting off the faith directed toward them.
Didn’t some famous shonen manga say that being forgotten by everyone leads to d*ath?
For gods reliant on faith, that must hit especially hard.
They gain faith from believers, use that faith to increase their followers, and grow stronger through the cycle.
Therefore, the most effective way to eliminate a god would be completely severing all faith directed toward them. It’s like cutting off their supply lines.
The simplest method would be exterminating all who believe in that god… but that’s just meaningless slaughter, so let’s discard that option.
Converting believers to worship another god could work… but that’s quite ambiguous and difficult to control since every individual’s faith is different.
If there are people who value their faith more than life itself… well, better not to think about that.
Then there’s the approach of tarnishing the god’s authority to make people lose faith. That seems like the most practical option.
Like Ragnarok in Norse mythology or Gigantomachy in Greek mythology – events that marked the end of entire pantheons.
By mimicking these apocalyptic scenarios, we could conveniently reduce the excessive number of gods. Not just Olympus and Aesir, but all factions. Demoting them from godhood and reincarnating them as humans would bring their numbers to a manageable level.
Since one of my names is Gaia, I might be suitable for initiating a Gigantomachy. Though creating new giants would be annoying, dragons should be able to hold their own against gods. Maybe we could also use golems – not just rock ones like Talos, but giants made from magma or icebergs too.
While coordinating with the dragons and creating golems, perhaps I should also encourage discord among the gods themselves? Watching them fight each other would weaken their authority nicely.
That’s what I’ll do. Sounds good, right?
After all, those who toppled my appointed king of gods, Baal, need to pay the price.
“So what’s your intention in telling me this story?”
“Hmm… Just advising you to mentally prepare yourself, I suppose?”
“Mentally prepare…?”
I chuckled softly while watching Ifrit’s bewildered expression.
“While some gods do act arrogantly… wouldn’t eliminating them all at once cause problems?”
“Problems…”
“Yes. Though they do cause issues, they also play significant roles in maintaining the world’s balance. Wouldn’t their sudden disappearance create chaos?”
Hmph. So Ifrit believes gods are necessary for balance, huh?
When did balance become such a concern? The world exists whether gods are present or not.
Perhaps this difference in perspective comes from my memories of a godless world versus Ifrit’s experience of managing the world since gaining self-awareness.
“The world is tougher than you think. It won’t collapse so easily.”
“But… it seems quite precarious to me.”
Ifrit looks straight at me while saying this. Hmm… Is the world truly in such a fragile state? Perhaps there are dangers I haven’t noticed.
“Anyway, Mother doesn’t like the other gods, does she?”
“Hmm? Why do you ask?”
“Well, it’s obvious from your attitude when talking about them. You may not say it directly, but…”
Hmm… Do I dislike the gods then?
It’s hard to categorize as simply like or dislike… but leaning more toward dislike, perhaps.
From my perspective as the caretaker of this model garden world, where I planted the seed of life and guided its evolution… why should I look favorably upon parasites that feed off other lives’ faith and wield it recklessly? Gods who are weaker than me, can do less than me, yet act superior and disregard other lives… what reason do I have to view them positively?
Eventually, when life evolves and gains knowledge, understanding the laws of the world… these gods will naturally fade away. Why should I regard them kindly?
Baal was acceptable since he showed responsibility and effort…
Still… observing them squabbling amongst themselves can be amusing. Their immaturity makes for entertaining drama, as long as it doesn’t harm other lives.
“Not all gods are disliked, right? Us, Baal, Sirius, Nyx…”
“True… Speaking of Nyx, how is she doing lately?”
“She’s trying to fill the void left by Baal, managing his temples and items. There were many gods coveting those.”
“Hmm…”
Now that I think about it, I haven’t been paying attention to what happened to Baal’s possessions. Those items must be quite desirable to other gods.
Perhaps I should visit the Divine Hall and check on things…
