The chat group members had been busy with their own situations.
Kazuma's business venture was simultaneously hilarious and disturbing.
He'd started an enterprise in the Belzerg Kingdom selling what he diplomatically described as "magical recreational devices for couples seeking enhanced intimacy." He made a killing from lonely and unsatisfied women.
I still remember how the chat group had collectively lost its mind when he first announced it.
"KAZUMA WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL" - Ritsuka
"I mean... I can respect the entrepreneurial spirit" - Klein
"I'm blocking you and never speaking to you again" - Robin
"This explains SO MUCH about your character" - Yoruichi
"Why are you like this" - Jin-Woo
But apparently, it was wildly successful. He'd become somewhat famous in adventurer circles, though probably not in the way he'd originally hoped when he came to that world.
He'd message me privately sometimes, trying to sound casual and failing completely.
"Hey Kokabiel, has Grayfia mentioned me lately?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
"No reason! Just wondering. Totally casual wondering. Not like I think about her or anything."
"Kazuma."
"IT'S NOTHING. FORGET I ASKED."
I'd asked Grayfia about it once out of curiosity.
She looked up from her paperwork with complete blankness. "About what?"
"Kazuma Satou. The boy from Konosuba who helped you during the mission."
Her expression didn't change. "Oh. The disaster-prone lecherous one who required constant supervision to avoid dying in embarrassing ways." She went back to her documents. "I haven't thought about him. At all. Why?"
"No particular reason."
Yeah, not getting myself involved in their tsundere love-hate relationship.
Jin-Woo's situation was concerning.
He'd apparently participated in some kind of special raid on a place called Jeju Island. When he returned to the chat, he was... different.
He would get spooked out of nowhere when seeing ants, react too much to sudden touch. Even that hunter girl named Cha Hae In who he had a crush on tried to talk to him, and thank him, but she failed to have a proper conversation.
Something had happened there that shook him deeply.
We tried asking about it.
"Hello Jin-Woo san, how was the raid?" - Ritsuka tried to ask cheerfully as always.
"I don't wanna talk about it." - Jin-Woo
"That bad?" - Klein attempted to find out more.
"Please don't ask" - Jin-Woo
" Ara ara, you don't look too good Jin woo. Want me to visit your world to cheer you up?" - Youruichi giggled and teased him.
" Please don't. My mind can only process this much trauma!" Jin Woo replied with the most emotional tone visible out of all his replies.
"Did you finally get rejected so badly you realized how pitiful you are. " - Kazuma tested the waters. But even that wasn't enough.
"Please just die." - Jin Woo.
"We're worried about you. You can talk to us." - Robin played the concerned friend role.
"I'll be fine. I just need time. Please, Kokabiel, don't use your omniscience to look into it. I'm begging you." - Jin-Woo
Something about his desperation, the rawness of it, made me agree .
"Alright. Take whatever time you need. We're here when you're ready." - I replied nonchalantly.
"Thank you" - Jin-Woo
Whatever had happened on that island had genuinely traumatized him. It's not bad or life threatening, more like mentally scarring. I could respect his need to process it privately.
Yoruichi was having the time of her life, which usually meant someone else was having a terrible time.
With her Bankai fully mastered, she'd become the fastest Shinigami in Soul Society's history by a significant margin. This would be fine if she weren't also the most mischievous person I'd ever met.
She'd been posting regular updates about her victims:
"Moved all of Byakuya's tea canisters one inch to the left every day for a month. He finally noticed yesterday and I swear I saw his eye twitch. PROGRESS." - Yoruichi
"Convinced Soi Fon that I'd developed a new training regimen. She followed me around for six hours before realizing I was just making her do my regular errands. She's somehow even more obsessed now. Help." - Yoruichi
"Isshin challenged me to a race. I lapped him three times before he realized I'd started. The look on his face was PRICELESS." - Yoruichi
She'd also made a trip to Robin's world recently.
Some remaining Cipher Pol agents had cornered Robin during an intelligence-gathering mission. Yoruichi had shown up, dealt with them in approximately thirty seconds, then stayed for tea.
"The World Government is a complete mess," she'd reported. "It's actually kind of impressive how thoroughly you broke their system."
The situation in Robin's world was complicated.
After our intervention, the Marines had essentially broken away from World Government control. Aokiji, as the new Fleet Admiral, had refused to serve the Celestial Dragons' increasingly deranged demands.
This led to budget cuts.
Which led to the Marines "mysteriously losing" Heavenly Tribute shipments.
Which led to the World Government slashing their funding entirely and deploying Pacifistas and Seraphims instead. Revolutionaries are looking for Vegapunk to stop them from mass producing those robots.
The entire world order was in chaos.
I wondered occasionally why Imu hadn't intervened more directly. Probably because the damage I did was too extensive to quickly repair.
Sometimes breaking something thoroughly enough meant it stayed broken.
Robin was still training with the Revolutionary Army and had apparently discovered fragments of Void Century knowledge.
Yoruichi had stuck around to help for a bit, got bored, and left.
But not before dropping a bomb in the chat.
"BTW, Klein and Robin have been talking A LOT in private messages. Just saying 👀" - Yoruichi
The group exploded.
"WHAT" - Ritsuka
"DETAILS. NOW." - Kazuma
"I KNEW IT" - Jin-Woo
"Yoruichi! why would you say something like this" - Robin
"Because I'm helpful like that 😊" - Yoruichi
Both Klein and Robin immediately went offline and didn't respond for three days straight.
I was honestly just relieved people had moved on from obsessing over my relationship situation.
Ritsuka was busy in magical research.
She'd been studying the DxD world magic books I'd given her, trying to understand how to incorporate different systems into her Chaldea mystic codes.
"This is fascinating," she'd messaged me one evening. "Your world's Devil magic is almost algorithmic in structure. It's like programming but with mana instead of code."
"Ajuka Beelzebub systematized most of it. He's brilliant but intense about magical theory."
"I'm intense about magical theory!"
"Then you two would either become best friends or drive each other insane. Possibly both."
"Could I meet him properly someday?"
"Perhaps. Fair warning though, he once spent forty-eight hours straight explaining the mathematical principles behind luck based magic. Without sleeping. Or eating. Or stopping."
"...That's amazing! He must teach me! Maybe I can finally escape the curse of this stupid gacha!"
"You're both insane. Got it."
She'd also purchased a power compatibility card with her mission rewards and was learning to weave holy magic into her fighting style.
Klein was the most elusive member lately.
He'd gotten significantly closer to locating Ince Zangwill, partly due to subtle assistance from Katie. His preparations for advancing to Sequence 4 were nearly complete.
His progress was unusually fast. I suspected the Lord of Mysteries world will was keeping its end of the bargain, accelerating certain timelines to ensure Katie could leave within the promised ten years.
Then there was Katie herself.
My self-proclaimed lover called every single day without fail.
The conversations had settled into a comfortable pattern. She'd ask about my day, I'd ask about hers. She'd share stories about managing her church and dealing with her followers' various antics. I'd tell her about whatever chaos Heaven was currently experiencing.
Then we'd drift into easier conversations. The kind couples have.
"What did you have for dinner?" she asked one evening.
"I don't technically need to eat."
"That's not what I asked. Did you eat anything?"
"...Gabriel made me try her new pastry recipe. She's been practicing."
"And?"
"It was good. Very sweet. She's improving."
"You should bring me some next time you visit."
"I'll bring you an entire bakery's worth if you want."
She laughed, the sound warm through the crystal. "Just a few pastries will be fine, Arthur. I don't need you to conquer a bakery for me."
"Yet," she added, and I could hear her smile.
She didn't push hard on defining our relationship, but she made her claim clear. In her mind, I was hers, and she wasn't subtle about it.
The fact that I'd become her co-deity meant I received countless prayers daily. Katie handled most of them, but the statues in her churches...
The statues were bold. Like greek style bold.
Klein had shared a picture in the group chat without warning.
I'd opened it while reviewing reports and immediately choked on my tea.
The statue depicted Katie and me in what could generously be called an "risque embrace in questionable position."
We were fully clothed, thankfully, but the implications were clear enough to make heat creep up my neck.
"KLEIN, do you wanna have a bad time?" I typed immediately.
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger! I just thought you should know what your girlfriend is putting in public places of worship! There's even talk about some fertility festival where the believers get blessed with children by you two" - Klein didn't hold back.
"SHE'S WHAT" - Ritsuka was definitely blushing furiously.
"Oh this is AMAZING. I need more pictures. All the pictures." - Yoruichi was like a cat who found a bird.
"I'm saving these for future blackmail purposes" - Kazuma didn't push too much. Probably hoping I would put in a good word for him.
I called Katie immediately.
"What's the deal with the statues!" I said without preamble.
"Oh! Do you like them?" Her voice was bright, pleased. "I worked very hard on the artistic composition. The symbolism represents our divine union and—"
"They're very... detailed. Almost graphic. "
"Thank you! I've been using my art skills to create paintings of us together in my spare time. They are based on those. It's quite therapeutic."
"Paintings. Plural."
"Mmhmm. I've done quite a few actually. Some are tasteful representations of our partnership. Others are more... expressive of my feelings."
I needed to sit down. "How many paintings, Katie?"
"Oh, dozens at least. Maybe hundreds? I've been doing them for months now. I lose track because I often work on multiple pieces simultaneously."
"Katie."
"Yes, my love?"
"Those paintings. The more expressive ones. Where are they?"
"Various places! Some are in the churches vaults, some in my private chambers, some in the castle galleries for visitors to appreciate—"
"Katie, please tell me you'll lock the particularly expressive ones somewhere private."
She laughed. "If you insist. Though I think they're beautiful representations of our connection and there's no shame in displaying them. Maybe we can recreate them soon?"
"They're beautiful. They're also going to give me a heart attack if more show up in public spaces. Wait, recreate?"
"You're so adorable when you're flustered dear. Of course we have to try them out. It's what couples do you know."
"I'm a cosmic entity. I don't get flustered. I am just figuring the proper response to whatever this is."
"You're getting flustered right now. I can hear it in your voice."
" I'm gonna fo to sleep now ."
" Hehehe, you are so cute when you become shy. Good night Arthur, dream some interesting dreams about us. I know I will! "
****
All in all, saying these past months had been hectic would be an understatement.
But there was something warm about it. A rhythm to the chaos that felt almost... comfortable.
Eventually, I needed a break.
I made my way to Heaven's old workshop, the place I'd spent countless hours in when Yahweh was still alive. We'd created the Sacred Gears together here, debating designs and arguing about cool powers until dawn.
The door was exactly as I'd left it centuries ago, sealed with wards that recognized only my energy signature.
I placed my hand on the lock and felt it click open.
Inside, everything was frozen in time.
Dust covered every surface in thick, undisturbed layers. Scattered components of Sacred Gears lay abandoned on workbenches exactly where we'd left them.
Half-finished prototypes sat in various states of decay. Scraps of materials littered the floor.
I stood in the doorway and felt the weight of memory.
"What if we made it grow with the user?" Yahweh's voice echoed in my mind. "Unlimited potential."
"That's dangerous. Some humans would never reach their full potential."
"Then we make sure those who truly need it receive it. We trust in human determination."
I'd argued against it. Yahweh had won, as he usually did.
With a snap of my fingers, I activated a comprehensive cleaning enchantment.
The effect was immediate and dramatic. Dust vanished as if it had never existed. Light flooded the space as enchanted crystals activated, responding to my presence after centuries of dormancy.
The scattered chaos organized itself. components sorting onto shelves, materials flowing into proper containers, unusable scraps breaking down into base elements.
Within moments, the workshop looked exactly as it had during our most productive days.
I began sorting through the inventory properly, checking what remained useful after all this time.
Most prototypes were outdated. The Sacred Gear system had evolved significantly. But some pieces held historical value—the first successful synchronization matrix, early stabilization cores, Yahweh's handwritten design notes.
I stored those carefully.
Then I found something interesting.
Buried under crystallized divine energy matrices was an unfinished prototype I'd forgotten existed. A silvery bluish orb with blades sticking out of it.
I lifted it carefully, brushing away residual dust. The design was familiar. This was the prototype for Blade Blacksmith and the mother of other forging-type Sacred Gears.
Yahweh had been planning an enhanced variation. Something more versatile and powerful. But he'd died before completing it.
I turned the prototype over in my hands, examining the incomplete work.
Currently, there were over one thousand Sacred Gears in active circulation, not counting the 14 Longinus-class ones.
Among them, I personally created Genesis Sword, based on the Sumerian weapon wielded by Gilgamesh , which ranked as the second strongest Sacred Gear and didn't exist in the original timeline.
I reworked the true Longinus to give it free will to choose it's wielder. Annihilation Maker, Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing were more like pissed at me, as I killed their original forms. Typhon, Ddraig and Albion had no love for me. Atleast they were not foolish enough to guide their users for revenge.
I have modified numerous standard Sacred Gears to ensure even the weakest provided adequate self-defense capabilities for humanity.
But this prototype... this had potential that had never been realized.
Why not finish it?
I could complete what Yahweh started. Give humans another tool to defend themselves and build their futures.
With the decision made, I cleared the largest workbench and began tinkering.
The work consumed me.
I started by analyzing the existing structure, understanding Yahweh's original vision. The base concept was solid. A forging-type Sacred Gear that could replicate items. But his notes indicated he'd wanted something more.
I began layering in enhancements.
First, I expanded the scanning parameters. The original design could only analyze simple weapons. I modified it to handle complex enchanted items, armor systems, even other Sacred Gears.
Then I addressed the replication similarity. The base model achieved roughly seventy- eighty percent accuracy. I redesigned the manifestation matrices to push that to 99.99%.
The limitation on simultaneous creations was next. The prototype could only forge one item at a time. I restructured the entire power distribution system to allow for parallel processing, theoretically up to one hundred items at once based on user's mental fortitude.
Duration presented interesting challenges. Replicated items typically lasted hours before degrading. I wove in stabilization enchantments that extended that to multiple days, even a week.
Days blurred together. I barely noticed time passing.
I tested configurations, discarded flawed approaches, refined successful ones. I didn't use my powers to just make it, I put actual effort in it, like Yahweh taught me.
The Sacred Gear took shape gradually, concept crystallizing into reality.
When I finally stepped back to examine the completed work, I felt genuine satisfaction.
I have created something extraordinary.
I held it up to the light, watching divine energy swirl within its core in complex, beautiful patterns.
Divine Forge.
The name felt just right.
Its capabilities were straightforward but devastating:
Scan any weapon, armor, or object to create a perfect schematic.
Forge identical copies maintaining 99.99% fidelity to the original.
Manifest up to one hundred items simultaneously.
Creations lasting days unless catastrophically damaged.
And, this was the truly broken part, it could in theory replicate other Sacred Gears. But that would take alot of power and the balance breaker.
Any competent blacksmith with this could revolutionize warfare. Copy legendary weapons and distribute them to entire armies. Create perfect replicas of magical artifacts. In theory, someone could scan Excalibur and forge a hundred copies.
In the wrong hands, it would be catastrophic.
In the right hands, it could save countless lives.
I'd been about to integrate it into the Sacred Gear system when a better idea occurred.
Why leave this to random chance?
I could personally select the wielder. Have my followers identify pure-hearted humans with genuine potential and good character. Review candidates myself and make an informed choice.
This Sacred Gear was too powerful to entrust to the system's automatic selection.
I nodded and carefully stored Divine Forge in my personal pocket dimension.
Standing up, I stretched properly for the first time in days and deactivated the workshop's enhanced lighting.
Time to return to reality.
When I stepped out, Grayfia was standing there waiting.
I smiled. "How long have you been here?"
"Approximately four hours, Kokabiel-sama."
"You could have come inside."
"You appeared deeply focused. I didn't wish to disturb important work."
The hallways were unusually quiet. No angels rushing about, no sounds of activity.
I raised an eyebrow. "Where is everyone?"
"Preparations, my lord. Lady Celeste's birthday is tomorrow, and it's considered especially significant as she'll officially awaken her divinity. Everyone is busy with the celebration."
Right. I'd completely forgotten.
"I see." I considered for a moment. "I'll need a few more hours then, Grayfia."
She tilted her head slightly. "May I ask why, my lord?"
"Because I need to prepare a proper birthday present for our youngest sister."
A gift for her divine awakening.
This required thought.