Chapter 10
Believer Santiago (3)
「TIP: The residents of the [Small but Deadly World], the dwarves descended from the ancient dwarf race, were once an iron-blooded people who had never suffered defeat in war.」
「TIP: The blessing of flame and steel engraved into the souls of the dwarves granted them an overwhelming advantage in every war.」
「TIP: Of course, once legions of monsters that did not rely on weapons began pouring out of the rifts, they could no longer cope. But at least during the age when civilization still existed, the dwarves stood at the pinnacle of this world.」
Every vehicle belonging to the enemies who had charged forward so confidently had overturned.
Lee Shin watched in admiration as the enemy vanguard was neutralized in an instant.
They’re ridiculously strong.
They possessed enough technology to build things resembling automobiles from Earth, as well as modern firearms like assault rifles.
On top of that, they had the ability to command flame and steel, giving them a constant advantage on the battlefield.
Lee Shin felt as though he had finally discovered the secret behind the name of Earth 444—the Small but Deadly World.
The dwarves, each smaller than a two-liter water bottle, weren’t merely small beings.
They were small, but deadly.
“Damn it, what the hell is this?!”
“The guns are completely useless!”
“What the hell were those workshop bastards doing?!”
Figures in black uniforms crawled out of the smoking vehicles while grumbling.
Just like the bikers who had attacked Eve last time, they were tiny dwarves as well.
“For now, retreat—”
“Says who?”
The fishing line in Santiago’s hand danced through the air and tightly wrapped around the bodies of those who had climbed out of the vehicles.
The enemies, bound from head to toe in an instant, screamed and rolled across the ground.
“You think I’m going to let traitors who sold out their own people walk away?”
“...S-Santiago?”
“No way. I heard Santiago fell for the temptations of Lilith the Succubus and left this world...”
The enemies recognized Santiago.
A great deal of time had passed, but he had once been one of the finest monster hunters in the [Small but Deadly World].
It was only natural they knew who he was.
“Dreams may be sweet, but sooner or later, one must wake from them. Humans are born to live in reality, not in dreams.”
When Santiago looked down at them with contempt, one of the enemies shouted back.
“You stupid old fool! Escaping from the succubus’s dream is impressive, sure, but after returning to reality, the first thing you do is side with those runaways? You should’ve just stayed asleep forever and died of old age in your dream!”
“We’ll soon see who the stupid one is.”
Santiago picked up a gun that had fallen beside one of the vehicles, aimed it at the sky, and pulled the trigger.
Only empty clicking sounds rang out.
“Why do you think this isn’t working?”
“Those workshop slaves! They must’ve sabotaged them on purpose to screw us over! They wanted us to be helpless when it mattered most!”
“You youngsters really don’t know us dwarves at all.”
Santiago looked at them coldly.
“Kid, dwarves are the kind of people who would stay up all night pouring their hearts into making something even if it were meant for the murderer of their parents. The moment a dwarf starts crafting something, he forgets every bit of rage and resentment in the world and devotes himself entirely to the task at hand.”
Santiago turned his head and looked toward Eve, who stood proudly atop the barricade.
Then he grinned.
“The priests of the dwarves have regained their power. The blessing of flame and steel that protected our glorious age for more than a thousand years is protecting us once again.”
“A priest... Declaration of Peace? No, that can’t be.”
“The Smallest God... should have abandoned us... How could a priest wield divine authority in a forsaken world...?”
“That’s simple enough.”
Santiago put a cigarette between his lips.
Fsssh.
As pale smoke curled upward, he said,
“A new God has come.”
“For us.”
The eyes of the tightly bound enemies trembled.
God had returned?
Impossible.
No divine being dwelling among the stars would take in a ruined world that had already been abandoned.
Most of them assumed Santiago had finally gone senile or was simply bluffing.
Because if neither were true, then they would have to face the consequences of everything they had done until now.
“...Doesn’t matter.”
Amid the silence, someone muttered.
“Whether a new god has come or not... Whether the priests of the small folk have regained their power or not...”
“...Your city is going to disappear today anyway.”
BOOM—!
A tremendous roar shook the entire area.
At the same time, Santiago frowned and spun around.
“They’re coming!!”
A deep shadow soon spread over the battlefield.
The residents of the Red City, Gepetto, swallowed nervously and began trembling.
And Lee Shin finally understood why the status window had warned him that the current situation could not be resolved through the [World Interference] action tab.
“The Governor’s army! The invaders from another world are coming!!”
The beings who had invaded the [Small but Deadly World].
Figures roughly Lee Shin’s size, or perhaps slightly larger, were walking toward them from beyond the horizon.
In a world where the average dwarf stood less than fifteen centimeters tall, invaders towering at around 180 centimeters were terrifying giants.
“DWAAARVES—!”
Just as Lee Shin’s voice sounded like thunder in this world, the enemies’ voices boomed across the battlefield like thunder as well.
Several residents behind the barricades clutched their ears and sobbed in terror.
The threats continued.
“IF—YOU—DON’T—WANT—TO—GET—STOMPED—TO—DEATH—COME—OUT—!”
WAHAHAHAHAHA!
Their monstrous laughter rolled across the battlefield.
Most of the residents of the Red City, Gepetto, were escaped slaves from the workshops.
As memories of their old terror resurfaced, several residents collapsed to the ground and began crying like children, begging for their lives.
Panic spread in an instant.
Even Eve was trembling all over, apparently reminded of her own past.
But then Eve squeezed her eyes shut and screamed at the top of her lungs.
“BLASPHEMYYYYY—!!”
A roar burst from her tiny body.
The frightened residents all turned toward Eve.
And every one of them saw the shining halo atop the highest point.
“No one will ever trample the dwarves again!! We are no longer abandoned lambs wandering without a shepherd!! Do not be afraid!! Those people are sinners, while we are the true living beings of this land, watched over by God!! We are no longer—”
“ALONE!!”
Eve’s halo became so bright that it nearly blinded everyone looking at her.
Her eyes widened until the veins around them looked ready to burst.
“SINNERS!! BOW YOUR HEADS AND WORSHIP! PROSTRATE YOURSELVES BEFORE THE GOD OF THE SMALLEST!! IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, GET DOWN AND WORSHIP HIMMMMM!!”
Her bold, thunderous declaration slowly brought the residents of the Red City, Gepetto, back to their senses.
The invaders were still clutching their stomachs and laughing as though they were watching some amusing performance.
But their mocking laughter didn’t last long.
The residents of Gepetto, now thinking clearly again, remembered their roles.
They remembered the plan.
And then an enormous ballista protruded through a gap in the barricade.
The invaders, who remembered only the helpless dwarves they had trampled in the past, seemed to have forgotten that this world was called the [Small but Deadly World].
The price of that forgetfulness was horrific.
Thunk!
A long iron stake shot through the air.
One invader’s head snapped violently backward.
The stake smashed through his skull and burst out from the back of his head.
The light disappeared from the invader’s eyes as he stood there with his mouth hanging open.
A moment later—
THUD—!
His body hit the ground.
And no one was laughing anymore.
“YOU—DARE—!!”
Growling, the invaders pulled massive clubs from their waists.
The clubs were so enormous that simply throwing one toward the barricade would probably hit with the force of artillery.
But the battle was already essentially over.
Eve drawing their attention from atop the barricade.
Launching the iron stake once all their gazes had gathered on her.
Provoking them into rage so their judgment would become clouded.
None of it had been improvised.
It had all been planned in advance.
The panic among Gepetto’s residents had nearly thrown things off course, but Eve had resolved that problem by performing splendidly as the Saintess of the Church of Lee Shin.
Now there was only one person left to take the baton.
「The bait has been taken.」
「The bait has been taken.」
「The bait has been taken.」
While all attention was focused on the barricade, Santiago had already sprinted all the way to the feet of the enormous invaders.
Whirrrrr!
His fishing line wrapped around their entire bodies.
Santiago gritted his teeth and yanked the line with all his strength.
「Low-Grade Believer Santiago activates [Landing a Big Catch].」
「The larger the target, the greater the skill’s power!」
WHOOSH—!
Their bodies lifted into the air.
The invaders saw an old dwarf roaring as he charged toward them.
And at that moment, they remembered the warning the traitorous dwarves had given them.
Watch out for one old man?
Yes. Santiago is dangerous...?
But remembering it now was far too late.
「Those who have been hauled out of the water cannot resist the fisherman!」
「Those who have been hauled out of the water cannot resist the fisherman!」
The toppled invaders were dismantled beneath the hands of the 17.2-centimeter-tall old dwarf, as though they were fish hauled onto a ship and butchered by fishermen.
Flesh separated from bone.
It took exactly 51.2 seconds for all seven invaders to be cleanly dismantled.
“R-Retreat!”
At the sight of their comrades’ gruesome corpses, the enemy reinforcements abandoned any thought of fighting and fled.
Their faces had gone deathly pale.
Eyes squeezed shut, they repeated the same words over and over in terrified voices.
“The dwarves... G-God has returned to the dwarves. The God of the smallest has returned...!”
Having watched the battle from beginning to end, Lee Shin smiled with satisfaction.
It had been a decisive victory.
But more than anything else, he was delighted that not a single one of his precious little friends had been injured or killed.
「The party is victorious.」
「MVP: Santiago」
「Through this battle, the Governor of the [Small but Deadly World] will learn that God has returned to the dwarves.」
「The Governor dispatched by the otherworldly invaders is a cunning and cruel human. The next army that arrives will be stronger and far more organized.」
「The Governor will not give the dwarves who have regained their God enough time to build the strength to resist. He will attempt to drive away the dwarves’ new God by bringing them devastating ruin.」
「Unless they prepare thoroughly, the dwarves will once again be dragged back to the workshops and live as slaves for the invaders until the day they die.」
But a single victory wouldn’t be the end of it.
According to the status window’s warning, even more difficult and powerful enemies would come next.
Then what were they supposed to do?
「TIP: Tomorrow is the Sabbath, the day when Divine Power is collected.」
「TIP: Try using Creation by spending 100 Divine Power!」
Fortunately, there was a way.