Chapter 48
Baby Dinosaur Rex (3)
Lilith the Dream Demon.
Among the dream demons, she was considered one of the stronger ones. Of course, because of the inherent limitations of her kind, the other demons still refused to acknowledge her.
Dream demons mostly operated in worlds that had already been destroyed!
Their method was to infiltrate ruined worlds and tempt souls whose wills had already been broken. If it had to be summed up in one phrase, they bullied the weak and cowered before the strong.
They were incapable of taking the initiative and bringing down a powerful world themselves, but finishing off a world that had already fallen was precisely their specialty.
Lilith had destroyed countless worlds in this manner, collecting innumerable souls and untold amounts of despair to increase her power. All the while, she dreamed of one day becoming a major demon capable of destroying intact worlds instead of merely preying upon ruined ones!
‘How dare some lowly god who was once human challenge me?’
She might still be looked down upon among the greatest demons, but she was no novice who would lose to a mere lower god. Lower gods were fledgling deities who governed three or four worlds at most.
Lilith even held a personal grudge against Lee Shin.
The humiliation she had suffered in the dwarven world. How deeply had her pride been wounded when a former human—and the lowest of the lower gods at that—stole a soul from her?
She could not even show her face at gatherings of demons anymore.
Ever since then, she had ground her teeth and waited for an opportunity.
She wanted nothing more than to teach him a lesson immediately, but the Lord of Eternity—regarded as one of the gods who must never be provoked throughout the World of Stars—was protecting him.
One step back for two steps forward!
After waiting all this time, the moment had finally arrived for her to restore her wounded pride. Lilith intended to teach that ignorant fool just how unforgiving the World of Stars could be.
However...
「An immensely powerful Heavenly Blessing has been bestowed upon you.」
「From now until the battle against the demons ends, you will possess [The Heavenly Lantern That Dispels the Darkest Darkness].」
The cruelty of the world had simply been applied equally to Lilith the Dream Demon.
At that moment, a message appeared before her eyes.
It came from the world’s messenger—a system that should never have been visible to demons.
「You can’t win.」
At the same time, Lilith felt the presence of a god.
‘This... is a lower god?’
The presence was unnaturally vast and vivid.
It made no sense.
In the World of Stars, lower gods were insignificant beings, no more consequential than specks of dust. A lower god who had yet to establish the solidity of their own existence should have been overwhelmed by a demon of Lilith’s stature.
Yet what was happening now?
‘I... can barely breathe.’
Instead, Lilith was the one being overwhelmed.
When she looked around, she saw that the other dream demons were experiencing the same thing.
Some had already lost the will to fight. Tears streamed down their faces as they begged for their lives, pleading to be spared from complete erasure.
That strange god was looking solely at Lilith.
She froze beneath the inescapable gaze.
Then her consciousness suddenly floated away.
When Lilith opened her eyes again, she found herself inside a dream.
Not a dream she had created, but one made by someone else.
It was an exceedingly strange occurrence.
Dream demons, the masters of dreams, did not dream themselves.
“You did such a wonderful job.”
Those were the first words Rex heard when he opened his eyes.
“There’s nothing Rex can’t do!”
Rex was surrounded by dinosaurs with guileless faces. Every one of them was looking only at him, smiling brightly.
They looked truly happy.
“What... is this...?”
Rex was bewildered.
“Rex! Rex!”
“Make this flower bloom! Hurry!”
Before he could even understand what was happening, more dinosaurs crowded around him, their eyes shining as they asked him for something. Each of them was holding a withered flower.
Although he was still dazed, Rex did as they asked.
It was such an easy thing to do.
“Wow!”
The dead flower regained its vitality the moment Rex touched it. A radiant fragrance drifted from the beautifully blooming flower, and the dinosaurs erupted in admiration once again.
“We really can’t do anything without Rex!”
Their voices might have sounded somewhat contrived.
And yet, despite knowing the praise was artificial, Rex felt the corners of his mouth twitch upward.
“Do you... need more of my help?”
“Of course!”
The dinosaurs took the lead and began walking. Seeing how confidently they strode ahead, Rex found himself following them without realizing it.
He felt none of the lethargy, exhaustion, or helplessness that ordinarily weighed him down. His body felt light, as though he had cast off his shackles.
He felt as if he could walk all day.
No—as if he could even fly.
“Rex, hurry!”
This unfamiliar world was different from Rex’s own. The dinosaurs here possessed no power over nature, and every flower and blade of grass growing in this place was dying.
“Oh my goodness!”
“The forest is coming back to life!”
Nature began to live and breathe again with the slightest touch of Rex’s hand.
In his vast but indolent world, these were things anyone could do naturally...
But not in this world.
That alone made Rex special here.
And the dinosaurs showered him with artificial praise.
‘...Is this a dream?’
The cheers echoing around him belonged to a scene Rex had always imagined.
He would fall into another world where he alone was special, accomplish great deeds, gain everyone’s recognition, and live a life filled with praise.
To be acknowledged.
To be praised.
To hear others say that they needed him...
Was that not what every dinosaur dreamed of?
‘You cannot do anything.’
‘I do not resent you. You were created that way.’
‘That is simply the kind of beings you are.’
‘Beings incapable of doing anything.’
‘Completely useless beings.’
Because every dinosaur shared the same wound.
‘Therefore, there is no need to blame yourselves.’
‘If anyone is at fault, it is I, the one who created you.’
If only they had been condemned instead.
If only they had been reprimanded.
Perhaps they would not have felt so utterly powerless.
If only that had happened...
They might at least have found the will to change.
“...Is this really enough?”
“Of course it is, Rex!”
“If the day ever comes when I have to fight for you, I won’t be any help at all. Even if someone were dying right beside me, all I could do would be to make a single flower bloom. Even then...?”
“That’s enough, Rex!”
That is enough.
That alone is more than enough.
You have value simply because you can do that.
Everyone wants you.
We cannot do without you.
You are special.
They were the words he had always longed to hear but had never spoken aloud.
You have other talents.
You can exist in a different way.
You have another purpose only you can fulfill...
When Rex finally heard those desperate words he had kept buried deep inside himself, he felt an indescribable joy.
Even though he knew this was a dream.
Even though he knew it was an artificial world, somewhat clumsily pieced together, Rex still did not want to awaken from it. A false dream in which everyone wanted him was better than a reality in which no one did.
Didn’t everyone wish for something like that at least once?
To escape a world where they were treated as though they were nothing and fall into another world where they could become the protagonist—where they could be special and accomplish great things.
Rex smiled faintly.
Then he walked into the forest within the dream.
A dream forest that only he could restore.
Just then...
“...Rex?”
Inside the forest, Rex encountered another dinosaur.
He knew instinctively.
This dinosaur was different from the others, who never stopped smiling brightly. Like Rex, he wore a bewildered expression and smiled awkwardly while glancing uneasily at those around him.
He was another dinosaur in the same situation as Rex.
After hesitating briefly, he spoke.
“This... is enough for us.”
“We’ll be happy here.”
Thud. Thud...
With those words, the dinosaur disappeared into the depths of the forest. He, too, seemed unable to suppress the smile creeping across his face.
Yet for some reason, a lingering trace of reluctance remained in his expression.
It was as though he carried something within him that even he could not explain.
Perhaps Rex wore the same expression.
However...
“Rex, hurry!”
“Rex! Rex!”
Even a suspicious dream like this was better than the frightening reality.
At least there were people here who wanted Rex.
This world needed him.
Wasn’t that... enough?
『Is that truly so?』
A faint voice reached Rex’s ears.
『Is this dream truly where your journey ends, my child?』
It was a voice he could not shake off.
『Did you wish to be comforted, or did you wish to prove yourself?』
The reverberating voice continued.
『Did you merely wish for someone to soothe your wounded heart, or did you wish to prove to those who denied and ignored you that you were here—that you were not the worthless being they believed you to be?』
Comfort and proof.
There was an enormous difference between the two.
『No one can take notice of one who hides away.』
『Even if you are afraid, you must continue forward before others will turn to look at you. No one will look at those who cannot bring themselves to face who they truly are.』
What was it that I truly wanted?
Rex, who had been standing there in a daze, raised his head.
His gaze turned toward the sky.
The sky glittered blue.
“That question... is too difficult.”
Rex knew to whom the voice belonged.
God.
“It’s too late... for us to do anything now.”
『......』
“And if I try to do something now... only to fail again... then I think it really will prove that I’m useless. If I don’t do anything, nothing will happen. Then I can at least keep living... the way I am now.”
For the first time, Rex poured out his true feelings.
Words he had never dared to speak because he feared being regarded as pathetic and cast aside.
After finally saying them, Rex silently stared up at the sky.
And then...
『You may fail again.』
“......”
『But I, at least, will never call it a failure.』
God spoke.
『Even if the entire world turns its back on you, I alone will remain by your side. When everyone says that you have reached your end, I alone will cry out that this is not the result, but merely part of the journey.』
『And I will firmly believe that the most radiant outcome awaits you at the end of that journey.』
The voice of a god always carried the resonance of their soul.
It had been the same when their former creator told them, “You are useless,” and when he said, “You are incapable of doing anything.”
A god’s voice contained not even the slightest falsehood. Every thought held within that god was conveyed in its entirety.
After all, every creator and their creations were connected.
That was why Rex could feel it this time as well.
『That is my way.』
This new god truly meant every word.
“We... cannot fight.”
『I know.』
“If you said that after seeing our enormous bodies and our overwhelming strength, you’ll surely be disappointed. We... We’re...”
『It is all right.』
“...Why?”
Rex could feel the sincerity in God’s words, but he could not understand them.
How could God possibly feel that way?
An insignificant dinosaur could not comprehend the will of a god.
That was only natural.
『Simply by being born, you have already fulfilled your purpose. That alone is enough.』
No living being could ever fully understand its god.
That was why gods were regarded as great.
「A connection has been formed between you.」
「Rex has become an official believer.」
「The Immature Believer Who Wandered Through a Warm Winter」
「Name: Rex」
「Path: Druid」
「Believer Rank: Lower」
「Soul Rank: Hero」
「Overall Evaluation: A dragon fashioned by the Lord of Eternity. It contains a fragment of a supreme god who pursues ‘perfection,’ and therefore possesses limitless potential.
Its druid traits make direct combat impossible, but its true worth does not reveal itself through battle.
Those who travel alongside these bountiful dragons will forget the very meaning of hunger. Life and abundance will overflow wherever their feet tread, and milk and honey will surely flow through every land in which they breathe.
The one who has crouched down the longest is destined to soar the highest.
On the day they finally reclaim their wings, the World of Stars will meet the most radiant sovereign of the skies.」