Chapter 843: Number of Gods Slain: 16

The Wasteland.

Somewhere.

A massive figure collapsed into the ashes.

[God Serial Number - B-30 - Troll God]

The Troll God.

Its body had returned to its normal state.

It raised its ugly head, looking around in confusion.

What... just happened?

A human suddenly appeared, and then... and then...

Wait!

"Blasphemy Card! Here, this is the Wasteland! Altos!? That person is Altos! That card, the card that can instantly kill all gods! Ah! No, don't! It wasn't my choice to come to the Wasteland! I want to leave, I want to leave!"

It abandoned its armor and weapons, willing to cast aside everything.

But.

It was useless.

From the moment it was banished to the Wasteland.

Fate... had already been sealed.

Hum!

The earth trembled, the sky raged.

Crimson light screens materialized out of thin air, one after another.

The train system's utterly emotionless voice flooded into the Troll God's mind from every direction!

["God Serial Number - B-30 - Troll God"]

["Protocol violation! Entered the Wasteland world!"]

["Punishment imminent!"]

["Sin Assessment!"]

["Rampage, slaughter, cannibalism..."]

["The great crime committed: Claiming to be a god!"]

["Assessment confirmed. Sentencing - Extermination!"]

An eyeball quietly appeared in the sky above the Troll God's head.

Violet-gray patterns of light seemed ready to take it away.

However...

["External interference detected?!"]

["Interfering entity: The Void"]

["Ruling! Interference invalid!"]

["Trigger Void Protocol?"]

["Denied! No such clause exists within the Void Protocol"]

["Continue negotiation? Refused!"]

He glanced at the Troll God. Though it was merely an eyeball, it somehow conveyed a sense of speechless exasperation.

"Oh dear~ It truly is the Golden Age... The train system's level of control over the Wasteland... has already reached this degree, has it? How... troublesome."

The eyeball vanished, leaving behind only that slightly mocking remark.

The Troll God's "hope" was severed.

Its powerful divine body, mighty enough to shake an entire world, silently crumbled to nothing as a gentle breeze swept past.

Everything it was turned to ash, drifting with the wind, merging into the Wasteland...

————

[RUN Company Headquarters World]

[Ding-dong!]

[False God slain, God Serial Number - B-30 - Troll God]

[God Slaying Contribution: 70%]

[Current God Slaying Count: 16]

[Your passive title: Blasphemer Against the Gods - God-Targeting damage multiplier increased to 750%]

[Divine Core Coordinator triggered]

[Race: Troll will forever be barred from the path of False Gods]

[Race: Troll will gain other possibilities]

[Divine Core Coordinator - Unified Record - Troll]

[You may release the Troll concept, temporarily gaining the authority of False God: Troll]

[Train Conductor ID: Z-9-12-Stacia has chosen to forfeit her contribution]

[Please select the God Slaying reward converted from this divinity]

[Divine Core / Item / Equipment]

"She gave it up..."

"Fine, I'll choose the Divine Core."

Ye Qiyan, surrounded by blasphemous light, had just recalled the Anchor into the Void Card Repository. Listening to the long string of system notifications playing for him, he looked up at the magical girl descending from the crown of the Elemental Tree.

"Meh~ I didn't really contribute much anyway, splitting thirty percent with me wouldn't mean anything. Better to just give it all to you, that way the Divine Core or whatever you get will be stronger. After all, it's a mid-to-upper-tier B-grade God monster, hehe.

But you can handle the remaining monsters, right? Bro Ye?"

Stacia deactivated her transformation, and the Elemental Tree vanished along with her Element Cards being put away.

At this moment, with the Troll God banished to the Wasteland by Ye Qiyan and meeting its end there.

This group of trolls had fallen into the Race's Grief.

That was the confusion a race experienced upon the death of the god they worshipped.

And after the confusion, they would sink into madness and despair.

The believers would begin reckless vengeance upon the death of their patron god.

But these things could only be considered a minor nuisance anyway.

Ye Qiyan had already planned to let Gluttony enjoy a proper feast, so he didn't refuse.

While the trolls were still in their dazed state, he released all the demons and machines, using this point as ground zero to expand the battlefield outward.

"Oh my~ I didn't expect your Blasphemy Card to be so powerful, Bro Ye. You instantly annihilated a B-grade God just like that."

Stacia didn't leave. After deactivating her Magical Girl mode, she circled around Ye Qiyan, inspecting him.

Under Lisette and Eve's wary gazes, she couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"It's really hard to imagine that just a year ago you were still a rookie. The Golden Age, huh... Although there are still some impressive newcomers, they're simply incomparable to you."

"Senior Stacia, aren't you supposed to be performing? Is it really okay for you to stay here?"

Stacia blew a bubble with her gum and casually handed a piece to Ye Qiyan.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Listen, isn't that big superstar Alice still singing? Even if I did something today, it wouldn't mean anything. Might as well just rest properly."

The sounds of battle rumbled incessantly outside, but near his train, it was quite peaceful.

Under the protective Cloud Pattern Barrier of The Hunt, those chaotic noises couldn't reach here either.

Ye Qiyan wasn't in a hurry either. He simply had Lisette prepare dinner.

"Wow~ That's awesome, Bro Ye. Your maid is so impressive. Unlike my manager, completely useless."

Stacia wove a chair out of grass element, lounging comfortably on it. She ate the stew Lisette had prepared while complaining about the crew members on her train.

The two chatted idly about this and that as time passed.

The moon rose.

The war outside was already far from here, but Alice's singing still hadn't stopped.

Stacia fell silent. After a long while, she spoke up.

"Zhu Xingshu once said that you're very good at making choices. Can you... help me with something?"

Ye Qiyan, drinking his ice-cold beer, refused without hesitation.

"Not helping. Want a drink?"

"Magical Girls can't drink."

Stacia pouted and simply closed her eyes, saying nothing more.

But after a while, she spoke again.

"It seems like I can never compare to Alice no matter what... Her singing is beautiful and useful. As for me, sometimes I even feel like I'm a clown. Most of the people who like me aren't Train Conductors, but ordinary people who never became Train Conductors.

And what they like, more often than not, isn't really me. It's the adventures I have across various worlds in my identity as a Magical Girl.

I love adventure, but... if I'm forced to go on adventures just to make others like me... then I... kind of hate it..."

Ye Qiyan tossed a bottle of beer toward Stacia.

After she caught it,

"People live for themselves. Why bother worrying about others? As long as you're happy, that's what matters. If you're adventuring for someone else's sake, what's the point? Conquering stations, pushing forward endlessly - I've always done it for my own desires, nothing more."

Stacia opened the beer and quietly took a sip. An intense spiciness exploded in her mouth.

"Cough! C-cough! What... what kind of beer is this?"

In an instant, Stacia's melancholy vanished.

"Oh, Death Missile Chili Beer. Bought it in a city before. Given how strongly you reacted, I guess I won't drink it."

Ye Qiyan smirked with great amusement. Clearly, he had done it on purpose.