Evil Gods Don’t Save People

Fors was nervously sitting at the long bronze table, both anxious and in awe as she tried to reassure herself that it wouldn't matter even if she died here.

Meanwhile, the Fool stared back at her, not really knowing how to start the conversation (nor if he had any desire to).

Help: what should I do if I'm an evil god stuck alone with an unknown lady I just saved from losing control?

He'd have to compile all his questions about modern social interactions and get them answered one day. Could it be used as the price for an equal exchange in the future? Miss Justice would probably be the most fitted for it…

After an extended period of time, Fors finally broke the silence, unknowingly snapping the evil god out of his thoughts in the process.

Although she didn't have any intention of speaking up at first, the fact that she had accepted her death pushed her into breaking the stalemate. Being unaware of her fate while nothing happened for the past few minutes was just too awkward.

She cleared her throat.

"Thank you for saving me, Mr. Fool. What do you want in exchange?"

What did he want?

He seemed to hear this question a lot recently. Or at least more than he had ever heard it in the past thousands of years.

'I want a peaceful life, yet you are here…'

Unable to tell her his true thoughts, the Fool stared at her, seemingly considering using Blind Fool to erase the last few seconds from the lady's memory.

Leaning back into His chair, He then shrugged His shoulders, the gesture meant to seem the most casual possible and conceal His imposing presence, imitating humans.

Maybe, for a moment, He would be able to return to being human once again. He only needed to act the part.

The Fool tried as much as He could to erase the gestures of authority He naturally displayed during the Tarot gathering, replacing His body language and superiority in status with the mannerisms of the Tarot Club members He had observed and not intimidate the lady.

He attempted to seem more approchable, more alive, and more human rather than His stiff, unmoving, mysterious and unreadable divine self.

After establishing this invisible 'equal status' between the two of them, the evil god shifted the flow of the conversation.

What did he want?

Maybe there was indeed something he wanted.

Maybe it was also the reason why he still held the Tarot Club and talked to these Low-Sequence Beyonders when he could have stopped these gatherings at any moment.

"I only wish to talk. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Maybe he just wanted to be human for a few more seconds.

Fors was surprised but complied.

After all, talking about her life seemed relatively harmless and shouldn't bring any bad consequences (though she would avoid speaking of Xio).

Fors started to tell him her name, how she was an author, the bestseller she had written, all the while the Fool listened, seeing it as a good exercise to train his attention span.

"—Er, Mr. Fool, are you listening?"

Now more at ease than before, Fors watched in bewilderment as the Fool got lost in his thoughts.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I often get distracted, so don't hesitate to snap me out of it if you notice that I am not paying attention."

The situation seemed quite unreal, but Fors rapidly accepted the fact that she was speaking to a secret existence and that the said existence had a brief attention span.

Maybe that flaw made him seem more human.

Fors shook her head and continued, repeatedly bringing him back to his senses when he stopped listening and getting used to it.

Now, she wasn't scared anymore to receive divine punishment after noticing that her actions could be considered blasphemous since even Mr. Fool had approved of it.

She then told him how she discovered his honorific name, and why she was losing control and decided to recite it.

"I hear ravings every full moon. Do you perhaps know the origin of those ravings?"

The Fool nodded.

"Bethel Abraham."

Fors had also noticed how the Fool wasn't that good at conversation, his replies often too polite, too old-fashioned or too brief, but she didn't bring it up.

After all, maybe it made sense for a hidden existence living away from the world to not have that many conversational partners—the lazy author imagined such a scene.

Startled to really receive an answer, Fors was excited and hurriedly let out all the questions she had been holding back until now.

"Who is this Bethel Abraham? Do you why they are trying to harm me? Do you know how to solve this problem once and for all?"

Had she finally found a way to escape from these ravings?

The Fool looked at the woman and decided to explain the situation, skipping over the part where Bethel Abraham was actually asking others to save Him and to not save Him at the same time.

"Bethel Abraham is an ancestor of the Abraham family. His ravings are heard by members of the Abraham family, and you can seek shelter from me at every Full Moon and Blood Moon to escape from it."

As for the current state of the Abraham family now, it wasn't the Fool's problem.

Relieved, Fors then frowned and inquired, "I am not a member of the Abraham family, so how is it possible for me to hear it?"

The Fool thought about it.

"Have you used a Beyonder item belonging to the… Apprentice Pathway before?"

Fors pondered over it before recalling the bracelet with teleportation stones and nodded, telling the Fool about it.

"Then it should be the reason."

Curious, Fors asked again, "But why would the Abraham family's ancestor harm his own descendants?"

The Fool shook his head.

"He isn't trying to harm them, it's just that the difference in their lives' natural order and His is too great."

'The difference in our life's natural order is too great…' Fors was stunned from what she heard. After quite some time, she forced a smile and said, "This reminds me of a saying. You may not look directly at God…"

The Fool nodded. However, Fors didn't notice it, lost in thought.

'Could it be that those terrifying ravings really come from an existence who's nearly a god? Mr. Fool can help me eliminate that person's influence, and all this time, he's been talking about it in a rather bland tone… Does this mean that he and that existence's life's natural order are at the same level?' The more she thought about it, the more shocked she became, reminding her of her current situation.

She tensed up again as she remembered that, no matter how friendly the existence in front of her seemed, he may still have the power to end her life at any moment.

However, it was also their previous 'relaxed' conversation that let her gather the courage to voice out her doubts.

"T-then, are you a god?"

The Fool didn't pause, didn't hesitate, didn't make a divination, but calmly gave an honest answer.

"Yes, I'm an evil god."

The deception was over, He could have never truly been human.

Fors's body couldn't stop trembling, but the Fool didn't look in her direction.

"How long does it last every full moon?"

Fors stiffly put on a smile, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Three to five minutes. If it's the night of the Blood Moon, it will exceed seven minutes."

Although her guess that she was dealing with an evil god was confirmed, at least she wouldn't lose control from those ravings.

Fors hesitated for a moment before saying, "Whenever I encounter the full moon, can I recite your name? I-I will be your devout believer!"

The Fool was indifferent.

"Do what you want."

"Thank you so much!"

After confirming this matter, she relaxed a lot. Noticing that there were still many seats around the long bronze table, she asked probingly, "Mr. Fool, it seems there are others who come here frequently?"

"I hold a gathering with Low-Sequence Beyonders at three in the afternoon on Mondays."

Fors didn't remark on His attitude that suddenly seemed much colder than when they were conversing and continued, interested, "…Mr. Fool, can I join this gathering?"

The god nodded.

Then, he pointed at the cards that suddenly appeared on the surface of the long bronze table. "Choose your code name."

Fors nodded her head, shuffling the cards and cutting them with great interest while mumbling, "Let fate arrange my title…"

Soon, she pulled out a card and looked at it, "The Magician!"

Then, she was engulfed by a tide of crimson and sent back to the real world, as if everything had been a dream.

Now alone above the gray fog, the Fool turned his head and blankly stared at the spot where the lady previously was.

What am I doing?