Letting out a light breath, Souta finally found a moment to disperse the excess moisture from both himself and the girl on the bed, wet part of the clothes into vapor that melted into the air.
A high-level drying technique, essentially.
At the same time, he healed her external wounds, corrected dislocated bones, mended broken ribs... a whole pile of injuries.
Considering she'd been repeatedly blown up and smashed into the ground, it wasn't exactly surprising.
If anything, the weird part was that she was still alive at all.
Souta even replenished the blood she'd lost, so much that she'd been flirting with death's edge.
Thinking about it now... the fact that Inori managed to escape the Void Genome base and run all the way to the bridge... her willpower was seriously on another level.
"She's healed. Even the water she drank has been drawn out. She should be fine now."
Souta looked at the person he'd just saved—a stunning girl who looked like she'd been rendered in CG appeared before his eyes.
Her body was still youthful and not fully developed, but the curves were already perfect. Her face had a level of refinement that transcended human norms. It felt more appropriate to describe her as a work of art than just a beautiful girl.
Her soft, pale-pink hair bloomed like cherry blossoms, tied into twin tails with a cute red hairclip adorning the left side.
Souta quietly admired her.
The outfit she wore was extremely revealing. From just below her collarbone to her abdomen, everything was exposed—you could even glimpse the sides of her breasts.
It was the kind of costume you'd only ever see at an anime convention.
Since she hadn't woken up yet, Souta figured it wouldn't hurt to look a little longer. No one was watching, anyway. So he shamelessly drank in the sight.
It wasn't out of lust, really. Just nostalgia.
"This was the series that brought me into the otaku world..."
He finally whispered the words after a while.
There was a deep and complicated emotion in his tone.
After all, Inori had once been his goddess.
Even now that he'd literally become a god himself, that didn't erase the remnants of the admiration he used to feel.
Of course, it was just a trace. Nothing overpowering. It didn't interfere with his code of conduct.
After enjoying her looks for a bit, Souta's attention shifted to the spiritual aura that coiled around the girl.
He'd already noticed it while scanning her earlier.
But saving her took priority, so he hadn't looked deeper.
Now that he had time, it was worth a closer look.
The faith wrapped around Inori... it's the same kind of diluted belief I get from the people of the Date A Live world. About ten times weaker, but still recognizable.
And even so, I can still see it. That means the quality of the belief is incredibly high.
Thoughts flickered through Souta's mind.
He wasn't limited to seeing only the belief directed at him.
Under certain conditions, he could also perceive the faith directed toward others.
So it wasn't strange for Inori to have some residual belief clinging to her.
She was, after all, a massively popular singer. Her angelic voice had captured countless hearts.
What was strange, though, was that this kind of faith was usually too faint to detect with the naked eye. Unless it was aimed directly at him, he wouldn't normally see it without expending divine energy to boost his senses.
Unless... the belief was of exceptional quality.
"Could it be that humans in this world or those infected by the virus are especially suited to becoming believers?"
A guess formed in his mind. He quickly thought back to the Apocalypse Virus from the Guilty Crown world.
If the Apocalypse were completed, all life on this planet would crystallize—living forever as memory, consciousness, or soul within that crystal paradise—the ideal utopia envisioned by the virus.
Humanity would gain eternal life... in a very unconventional form.
Of course, from Souta's point of view, that kind of existence was unacceptable. Like something out of The Matrix or Expelled from Paradise.
But that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate one benefit of the virus: it seemed to strengthen the human spirit, their very soul.
"Now that I think about it, people infected by the virus could manifest their spirit as a Void—then have it extracted by the 'Power of Kings' to use as a weapon, capable of producing miraculous effects in the physical world..."
Souta's eyes glimmered with thought.
"Spiritual interference with the material world... even if it's indirect, if their soul can do that much, the faith they can offer must be on another level. No wonder, no wonder..."
Now he understood why the belief lingering around Inori was so vivid, it was simply that pure and potent.
If that's the case... then the Re:Creators world must be even more terrifying.
Souta's mind buzzed with ideas.
This world... it was a gold mine.
If he'd known, he would've used a dimension-travel card to come to the Guilty Crown world earlier and start developing a religion.
In a chaotic, almost apocalyptic setting , spreading a faith and reaping belief was child's play.
Even in real-life Japan—where there's no supernatural power at all—shady, ahem, countless religions still popped up.
"Damn it... Akame ga Kill was such a waste! Total trash!"
Souta suddenly felt a sharp pang of regret. Why hadn't he come here sooner?
If he'd spent the past six months here instead of in that garbage world, he might've already halfway completed a second divine kingdom.
"Oh well... better late than never."
He sighed. Regret wouldn't help.
Even once a divine kingdom is created, faith can't be ignored.
That's because when followers use divine miracles developed through your divine kingdom—like ones that can manipulate the physical world—you gain source power directly.
Just like how the Goddess of Magic gains power when someone casts a spell.
If he could combine believer-supplied source power, his own harvested energy, and the power of faith... his divinity would skyrocket.
And with greater divine power, it'd be much easier to nurture more divine offices.
Once he had control over time and space—alongside the mass and energy of matter—he could combine them into a "World Domain" divine kingdom. At that point, he could kick back and live easy.
By his estimate, a "World Domain" divine kingdom would be the kind where he could just lie down and passively absorb massive amounts of power.
"This world needs a proper church established. And that 'Birdcage' project in Altair's world—can't overlook that either."
Souta made his decision.
No need to rush. He had all the time he needed.
Just as he was planning out how to grow his new religion, a faint rustling sound reached his ears.
He looked over to see the doll-like girl slowly sit up, her eyes fluttering open and glancing around.
In the next moment, their eyes met.
Whoosh! The girl flipped off the bed and darted at him. In a blur, her hand chopped toward his neck.
Her voice was a little childish, but also quite cute.
"..." Souta's expression was complicated.
His divine shield blocked all physical harm, so he was fine.
But if it had been a normal person, they'd definitely be unconscious right now.
So, young lady... you knock someone out first, then ask who they are?