I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 211

Chapter 211
A Chance Named Punishment

***

She deliberately ignored the Dark Fantasy World God when he peeked into her world as it crumbled, pretending not to notice his intrusion.

Secretly, she scattered bait to lure the Dark Fantasy World God toward Lian.

The Dark Fantasy World God wasn’t sitting in the position of a god for nothing; he immediately recognized that Lian possessed an extraordinary soul.

Though the Gag God had fed Lian so much blood that it was impossible to fully determine what kind of soul he had, the Dark Fantasy World God wasn’t in a position to be picky.

As if it were a predetermined course of action, the Dark Fantasy World God spirited Lian away to his world. But just as he was about to return to his world with Lian, the Gag God caught him trying to flee and stripped him of his power.

It was an act only possible because the gap between the two gods was vast.

The Dark Fantasy World God instinctively bowed his head to survive, and the Gag God borrowed a portion of the Dark Fantasy World God’s powers.

Thus, Lian awoke in the body she had crafted herself, wrapped in the Power of Gag, at the center of an incident where the bloodlines of heroes converged.

“I thought it would be easier to devour him if I kept him near the heroes.”

She clicked her tongue in disappointment.

To her, the Dark Fantasy World was like a buffet. A buffet prepared for Lian, who needed to elevate his rank to become a god.

The body she had meticulously crafted, combined with a transcendent power, was akin to an endgame weapon set for veteran players in a game.

In comparison, the “Dark Fantasy World” where Lian had temporarily stayed was, at best, a mid-level hunting ground.

Even if the lowly gods, drawn by the scent of power, swarmed like insects to claim Lian’s body, they wouldn’t be able to leave a single proper wound.

Even if the feast was laid out, it would be overwhelming for a baby who had never even held a spoon. So, she attached the Power of Gluttony to the place closest to Lian’s soul to teach him how to “eat.”

As the Outsiders who had burrowed deep into Lian to devour him were one by one consumed by the power, Lian, who possessed the Power of Adaptation, instinctively awakened to the Power of Gluttony and, for the first time, managed to “eat” when he saved Iris, who had been swallowed by an Outsider.

When she realized through the remaining traces of her power in Lian’s body that he had taken his first “meal,” she was overjoyed.

“I was sure of it—”

When she finely sliced an Outsider (a demon) that seemed difficult for Lian to digest, she had been thrilled at the thought of her future “kin” being born.

She had imagined Lian, who possessed a rank between that of a human and a god, perfectly ascending to godhood, but when she turned around, it was already too late.

While her attention was diverted as she crossed dimensions, the Dark Fantasy World God had scurried back to his world like a rat and revived the dying demon.

The Dark Fantasy World God, having stayed close to her, informed the demon that she saw his world as nothing more than a feeding trough. Then, he enticed the demon, who sought to devour Lian and ascend to a higher rank.

The two Outsiders joined forces and struck deep into Lian’s mind, causing him to recall the “previous life” he had long forgotten.

The Power of Adaptation, which she had praised for its infinite potential, began to devour the surrounding realm to protect its master, warping the world into chaos.

Thus, the distorted black-and-white world that the three had witnessed was born.

Was all of this her fault? The answer was ambiguous.

While her complacent handling of the situation was indeed a mistake, the real problem lay elsewhere.

“I never expected that wrapping my power around him would come back to bite me.”

Lian’s power was “Adaptation.”

Like a chameleon blending into its surroundings, this power allowed him to meld seamlessly into any situation. The problem was that when this power activated, he became something that naturally belonged in the world.

A classroom where friends enjoyed their time together, a clean blue sky behind the schoolyard.

The Power of Adaptation turned Lian into such a “background.”

Just as no one questions why the sky doesn’t become friends with humans, Lian didn’t find it strange that he couldn’t form any relationships with others, or that the relationships he did form were unnatural.

It was the perfect image of a “god.”

He couldn’t understand humans, and humans couldn’t understand him, making him all the more “god-like.”

Ironically, it was her Power of Gag that shattered that otherworldly sense.

The Power of Gag, which stood in direct opposition to the Dark Fantasy World, prevented Lian from blending into the world.

He could no longer remain as part of the background.

Dragged forcibly onto the stage, Lian became aware of the “differences” between himself and others.

Not long after, Lian came to “love” those differences.

Just like a normal human.

With the Power of Gag only partially removed, and Lian now aware of the differences and love between himself and others, he became confused.

Had the Power of Adaptation been functioning properly, he might have been fine, but the half-removed Power of Gag suppressed it, rendering it ineffective.

With both powers missing their mark, what remained was just one human who wanted to walk alongside the lovely beings who thought differently from him.

Lian instinctively knew that if he returned to the body crafted by the god and completed the Power of Gag, the human emotions he felt now would scatter like dust.

He wanted to stay with the people he loved, so he rejected the peace that had been planned for him. But that was merely an instinctive choice.

Lian, unaware of the complex and chaotic circumstances, remained trapped in confusion.

That confusion soon broke down the mental barriers, leaving him in the most fragile mental state he had ever experienced in all his lives, including his previous one.

In the midst of this, the attack from the two gods, which felt like it was grinding his mind in a blender, was devastating.

Crack.

A sound that others couldn’t hear rang out clearly in her ears.

Crack.

Her gaze drifted away from the three people and toward the empty void. Instinctively, the three turned their heads. For some reason, the pressure that had been suffocating them had slightly eased.

“…!”

“Oppa!”

“Li…an…!”

Thanks to this, the three were able to spot Lian, whose body was cracked all over as if it might shatter at any moment.

The sound of heels clicking echoed once again, and before they knew it, she was standing by Lian’s side.

As she reached out and embraced Lian, who was dangling limply in the void, his white hair fell heavily against her body.

“You should take care of your own body…”

Unlike the three, who were protected by a powerful force strong enough to shield them from the god’s calamity, Lian had no such protection.

Despite his body being in such a fragile state that even a playful nudge from her could shatter his soul, he still gathered his remaining strength to protect the ones he loved. It was both amusing and endearing.

She sat down on the floor, holding Lian in her arms. Then, she placed his head on her lap and gently stroked his cracked cheek with a soft touch.

As her hand passed over him, his body, which had been riddled with cracks like a statue that had fallen from a great height, quickly began to return to its original form.

Like a loving mother caressing the child she had birthed in pain, she softly stroked Lian’s head.

“I guess there’s no choice.”

Just moments ago, her mind had been filled with thoughts of erasing the three who had dragged Lian down from his status as a god candidate to a mere human.

But seeing Lian, who was willing to sacrifice himself to protect them, her desire to take their lives faded.

“To them, Lian’s pain must be the most terrifying thing.”

Though her anger hadn’t entirely subsided, she decided to give the three a fitting “punishment.”

A god’s punishment, unlike that of humans, could be mercy, disaster, or salvation. Depending on how the three acted, it could either be divine mercy or a catastrophe.

The three, unaware of what was to come, dragged their feet toward Lian, their steps lighter than before.

“Hah, ha… Lian…!”

“Please… sob…”

“Grrr…!”

Their breath, as if it would stop at any moment, scattered meaninglessly into the white space.

Snap.

She flicked her fingers lightly. At the same time, the three were expelled from the white space.

***

“Ugh… Where is this…?”

Noah clutched her stomach, feeling as if it had been turned inside out, and slowly rose from the ground.

“Huh…?”

For some reason, her field of vision had dropped sharply. When she looked down, she saw a flat torso and a large gray shirt that covered her knees. It was so filthy that its original color was indiscernible.

“What is this…?”

She held out her hands and stared at the dirty, small hands of a child.

For some reason, she had become a child.

End of Chapter