"[Will you ever get tired of challenging me?]"

"[Never! Not until I win!]"

"[You know that between us there is no winning or losing. You can't hit me and I can't kill you.]"

"[That won't stop me from trying! Now stop talking and fight!]"

"[Hey you two, I prepared some] ignerem."

"[Yay!]"

"[Ah, wait!]"

I sigh and undo my combat transformation before scratching my head. Looking at the defenseless back of Tahiri, I can't help to feel that it's an opportunity to hit her. But at the same time, I know that I wouldn't be satisfied with the outcome, if I'm able to do it only because Ruiha distracted her.

"[Ruiha, what does-]" I begin to ask, but notice a tray on which slices of melon with yellow flesh stand upright, waiting for us in the living room. I guess that's what ignerem means.

"[Rangi, you found yourself a good woman!]" Tahiri calls out to the man sitting at the fireplace. He shows an embarrassed grin and turns to said wife with a tender gaze.

"[How did it go today?]" Awhina comes out of the kitchen and looks me up and down, checking for any wounds. She won't find any, since this body is too convenient for that. "[No good?]"

"[It's the same as always.]" Shrugging, I sit down in front of the tray and she takes her place beside me.

Indeed, I've been in a deadlock with Tahiri for about a year now - or longer. Yes, I haven't been able to lay a hand on her even once in so long, but she hasn't been able to kill me, either. Because of that, we've both been sticking around this village all this time, to fulfill the conditions of the challenge I so unwittingly issued that day on the platform in the Ototawa village, when she came down to partake in a feast of gratitude for her.

That part being honoring the challenger's bravery with a glorious death in combat. Of course, that precludes that the God of Storm, Tahiri, is an invincible existence that no man could ever hope to match. Yet, the fact that a whole ritual exists around people challenging her means that it's seen as an immense honor to be granted death at her hands. After all, apparently most people go all their lives without ever seeing her.

In this one year I was able to learn the language with the help of Uten and Saten. Since I don't feel like I can leave this place without at least landing a single hit on Tahiri, I've practically settled down here.

"[Next time I'll get you.]" I point at the blue-haired woman with a half-eaten piece of melon.

"[You're a hundred years too early for that, little girl.]" She responds with a grin and tosses aside a cleanly gnawed peel of melon.

I can't really refute that. Her height might be about the same as mine, but she has an air of wisdom that belies her young appearance. She must have years and years of experience over me, and it's obvious seeing how she fights. While I'm constantly improving - or so I'd like to believe - she doesn't have to change a thing about her actions when facing me; she dodges my every move like a leaf on the wind.

"[Don't give up, Chaos.]" Awhina encourages me, wholly unafraid of expressing her support for my victory in front of the God of Storm, whom she used to be quite reserved with. "[You'll beat her eventually!]"

"[Rangi, your daughter seems to grow more and more disrespectful every day.]" Turning to the big man with a mischievous expression, Tahiri tries to scare him. However, since he's a land god, he's wholly unafraid of the power of storms, and scratches his chin with a smile.

"[It seems she's picked her side, doesn't it? What can a father do about that, Tahiri?]" There's a hint of resignation in his voice. Does that mean he sanctions my developing relationship with Awhina? I mean, we haven't done anything yet, but it's clear that she's not only not averse to the idea, but also making advances of her own. Relationships among these people are quite easygoing, and there's no such thing as sanctity of marriage only between a man and a woman. Well, there's not really marriage at all, for that matter.

"[Your daughter is going to get taken away by a strange being from who knows where! Don't you worry at all?]" It's obvious that Tahiri is just messing around at this point, and everyone's having a good laugh.

Per the definition of gods in this village, I'm one of them. Since I can transform however I like and take on various forms, I'm being considered a goddess of nature, just like my two children. I guess it's one way to interpret a Crawling Chaos' mighty convenient body. I don't care what they call me, I know what - or who - I am, and that's all that matters.

"[Mama, how did it go?]" Speaking of Crawling Chaos, my two cute children have arrived. Uten and Saten peek their heads through the doorway, their blond hair and blue eyes in stark contrast with their tan skin. It's their charm point, so I won't tell them to ever change it, though.

"[The same as always...]" I want to look good in front of them, but I can't help it. Tahiri is just so slippery.

How I'm unable to hit Tahiri? I've tried expanding, becoming gigantic, creating countless spikes and tentacles, and even shooting with large scale magic. But she has been able to somehow dodge everything, and it's like trying to catch a piece of paper drifting in water with your hands. Yes, that comparison should tell you just how hard it is. And I haven't succeeded to even graze her so far. She's like a player in a bullet hell game going for a perfect score!

How Tahiri is unable to kill me? She basically has the same move-set as Zenlith, as far as I've seen. Or somewhat less, since she can't use air pressure or anything. But she's mostly limited to using wind and lightning, which I'm practically immune against. When she tries to cut me with air blades, I simply increase my density or cover myself in dragon carapace - or mend the cuts immediately after. When she zaps me with lightning, it's just ineffective, as this body seems to have gotten used to being electrocuted and is able to shrug it off completely.

In other words, we're both at an impasse in regards to this battle to the death.

"[Don't worry, you'll succeed eventually, mama~]" Ahh, such good kids!

"[Come here, you two.]" I pat my thighs, signaling them that they should sit there. Even if they're in their male forms, their overall appearances are very girly, so it's like having two cute girls in my lap.

Ever since Uten and Saten gained Hestia's template, they fly a lot every day, enjoying the freedom and the ability to discover the landscape around us. I went hunting with them so that they could gain enough mass to grow out proper wings, but made sure to tell them that they should keep their bodies small. Why? Because it's my preference, of course! And I wouldn't want two Hestia clones running around, when I can't meet the real deal for the foreseeable future.

Why I haven't just up and left yet? As I said before, I don't want to leave without having hit Tahiri even once. I know that it's a dumb obsession, since she doesn't seem to care about it as much as I do anymore, but it feels like a huge blemish on my record. It's not like I have a great track record to begin with, what with never having laid a hand on Thorvadis and Zenlith even when I seriously tried to kill them with all I got. So having a third one would look really bad...

"[Do you have a plan for next time?]" Awhina asks me, not trying to hush her voice at all. "[Want me to help you from the shadows?]"

Stolen novel; please report.

"[Ruiha, your daughter is plotting against me!]" Tahiri obviously overhears her and complains to her mother in a jesting tone.

"[Because you beat Chaos up one-sidedly every time.]" Thank you for pointing that out, Awhina. That hurts, you know? "[It's time she gets at least a hit in.]" Damn, that wasn't even my actual win condition! It was meant to be a battle to the death, so the victor should be the sole survivor. But at this point, just hitting her would be a huge achievement in my book. And it's sad when pointed out so blatantly like that.

Awhina sure knows how to put her finger on the wound. I wasn't aware at first, when I couldn't understand what she said, but once I learned the language, I realized that she has a really sharp tongue sometimes. But the fact that she doesn't even change her expression when saying those things makes it seem that she's either an airhead who doesn't know the effect of her words, or a pretty evil girl who thinks nothing of kicking someone who's down.

"[Not my fault that she can never hit me.]" Shrugging, the God of Storm kicks me while I'm down, too.

I keep quiet and eat the melon. There's no point trying to argue it, when I really have nothing to show.

It's been a long time now that I've swallowed things into my body directly; it'd be a waste to do that with the food these villagers cook - not just Ruiha and Awhina, but also the others. They revere me as a god on the level of Tahiri - after all, we fought to a standstill - so they come visit me from time to time to bring offerings in the form of fully prepared meals or freshly picked fruits. Wait... doesn't that just mean they think I'm a glutton? I can't deny it, though.

"[Rangi, come quick!]" Kauri's voice shouting from outside the house tears me from my thoughts. He sounds alarmed, causing the merry atmosphere in the room to turn cold in an instant.

"[What happened?]" Rangi quickly walks to the door and opens it, to reveal Kauri, who looks distraught.

"[There is a man here who claims to be an envoy to some God King of Adanak, and he wants to speak to you.]" It's strange that he would seem so shaken when a human comes into the village and not bat an eye at seeing gods. But really, this looks interesting, so I'll go with him.

"[I'll have to see this.]" Lifting Uten and Saten from my lap, I stand up effortlessly even with their weight, and set them down on their feet. "[Are you coming?]" It's a question directed at nobody in particular.

"[Bring me to him.]" With this, Rangi goes ahead and leaves the house. I quickly follow him, not waiting for an answer to my question. I'm expecting that at least my children will be coming along, but I'm sure Awhina won't miss this opportunity to see someone from outside this village. And Tahiri is a curious soul, so she'll most likely come to watch as well.

Really though, God King of Adanak?

In the center of the village, where a large totemic wooden statue dedicated to the local patron god - who happens to be Rangi - stands, a man sitting on a horse is looking around impatiently. He has tan skin like the villagers, but the fine robes covering his silver scale armor show that he's from a different social class. Unlike the people living around here, he has a beard, which makes him stand out even more. And a curved sword rests in a sheath strapped to his saddle.

"[My name is Rangi. What do you seek from our small village?]" Even atop his horse, the man looks small compared to Rangi, even though he should be a little above my height.

"[I am Arongi, envoy of the God King of Adanak. All the land under the heavens now belong to His Greatness, and as such, you are required to pay tribute to the crown.]" The man on the horse speaks in a dialect I can barely understand. But considering the contents of his announcement, I have to assume he's from a large city, and the language spoken in this village here is actually a regional dialect.

And here I thought this place was free from politics and other such worldly problems. Now, out of the blue, someone calling himself a God King appears and sends his people to demand tribute from villagers who didn't even know he existed so far. But wait, he said "all the land under the heavens now belong to His Greatness", which implies that it didn't before. Does it mean there was a war or something, and it's been concluded recently, freeing up the king's resources to survey the land and find this remote isolated village?

"[What is it you want from us?]" Rangi asks in a neutral tone, but his attitude seems to irk the envoy.

"[Show some respect, peasant! You speak to the envoy of the God King!]" Pointing at the village chief from atop his horse, Arongi says angrily. "[You should all be kneeling before me!]" He directs this at everyone present.

Uwah, that guy's so obviously a small fry that it almost hurts to watch this. And he doesn't know that Rangi is considered a local god, who actually has the power to back up that title. Furthermore, his daughter has inherited some of his powers as well, and there's also Tahiri, who's good friends with him. And of course, Uten and Saten, as well as yours truly are here, too.

I think you came to the wrong neighborhood to talk out of your ass like that, mister envoy~

"[You should watch your mouth! Rangi is our god!]" However, unexpectedly it's Kauri who points that out. "[Turn around and see.]"

"[What?]" Arongi turns his head to peer up at the statue, which looks nothing like Rangi, and then compares it to the real deal. I don't see any resemblance, since aside from the tribal tattoos its design is overly stylized. But apparently that was enough for this man to make the connection. "[You say this man is a god?]" He suddenly draws his sword and the tension in the surrounding people becomes almost tangible. Bad move... "[His Greatness is the only god under the heavens. The God King's decree calls for the removal of all other heathen deities!]"

With this declaration, he swings the sword and cuts through the solid block of wood in a single motion. Wow, I have to admit, he has a strong sword arm, and his blade must be really high quality. However, that was the worst thing he could have done here, with the god whose statue he just defaced standing right in front of him. Rangi may seem like a gentle giant, but I have seen enough indicators for this people's ferocity in their rituals and traditions, to know that such an action will have dire consequences.

"[How dare you-]" Kauri shouts at the man with the clear intention of jumping at him, but Rangi signals for him to stop.

"[If you disrespect me any further, I will have every single person in this village lose their head!]" He just keeps digging deeper and deeper...

Rangi suddenly steps forward and the horse bucks at the sensation of impending doom, causing Arongi to fall to the ground.

"[Shhh.]" Petting the horse with his giant hand, Rangi calms it down. Then he quickly rips off the bridle and saddle, before slapping it on its behind, causing it to speed off. Guess that means Arongi won't be needing it anymore.

"[What are you doing?!]" The man in question quickly gets up and stands before the land god he just insulted, realizing that he has to tilt his head all the way back to look into Rangi's eyes. At this moment it dawns on him that he might be in deep trouble. "[Y-you dare to attack an envoy of the God King?]"

"[... you come to my village, destroy its symbol and threaten my people.]" Rangi's voice is a low rumbling, like a building earthquake.

"[This is madness! The God King-mblph?!]" Before Arongi can ramble on about a self-proclaimed god king any more than he already has, the real god grabs his head with a single hand and lifts him off the ground. He swings his sword, but it bounces off the arm without doing any harm. This causes him to struggle and kick his legs, but Rangi remains unfazed.

"[Your king is not my king.]" With these words, the giant presses hard and a crunching noise emerges from his palm. Arongi's body convulses and twitches violently several times, before ceasing all motions and dropping the sword from his loosened grip.

Letting go of the corpse, it falls into the dirt and I get a good look at the crushed skull. There's nothing of his face left, only a bloody mess of ruptured skin, bone shards and brain matter. I wonder what that brain was good for, if he didn't use it when it was most called for. In what world could someone walk into a village alone and make such demands, disrespect a god, and think that he was going to walk out again?

Hm, but this is giving me a feeling of déjà vu. It's like I've seen something similar happen to an envoy of a self-proclaimed god king before, and the result was some massive war. But seeing as this village has less than a hundred inhabitants, I don't think that's going to happen... right? Well, if it is, I'd certainly side with them rather than the troops of someone so deluded to believe himself to be a god.

Oh wait, gods are a thing in this culture. Maybe it's actually one who's acting like a human and trying his hand at politics? Sounds like something the sorcerers would do.

Whatever the case, I now know that this village isn't just some isolated settlement out in the middle of nowhere... actually, it's still that. But at least now I know that it's considered to be within the territories of a kingdom. And a kingdom means there's bound to be a capital city, which should have merchants from other countries. This means I'll be able to find a map and get back to the Demon Continent eventually!

"[Are you sure that was a good idea, Rangi?]" Tahiri comes up to him and asks while scratching her head casually. She's clearly not too worried, considering she's literally a force of nature that even I can't hit - another force of nature, in a sense. "[More will come.]"

Lifting the saddle cloth from the ground, the land god wipes his bloody hand on it and tosses it on top of the corpse to cover it up, then turns to Tahiri with his usual expression, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.

No, not completely the same as always. There's a hint of boiling anger underneath it all, most definitely due to the destruction of the statue and the insult he and his people suffered here.

"[Let them come.]"