Part 1 epilogue: A(n) (un)godly offer

-About a day ago, somewhere in God's Realm-

*BANG BANG!*

“TANYA!” she heard her name shouted from behind the door. The voice carrying it was loud, but also rather clear. “OPEN UP!” the woman’s voice sounded for the nth time already. Its melodic tone was untainted with anything that could suggest its owner was getting bored of the activity.

‘Damn it, when will she give up?’ Tanya thought, slowly uncovering herself from beneath her blanket. She was lying on the floor of her home, pillow next to her head as she was leisurely reading a book, trying her best to ignore the damnable woman’s voice.

How long has it been since she came by her door? An hour? Two, perhaps? She didn’t even know anymore. Slowly realizing that she was unable to focus on reading anymore, Tanya sighed as she pushed herself against the plank floor, rising to a sitting position. Within seconds, she was starting to get up, intent on going to a different room, where hopefully the voice calling out her name wouldn’t reach (although she knew it was impossible. Her senses were impossibly acute. She'd hear this woman from the other side of a mountain).

She was a beautiful woman, with no trace of a blemish on her fair, silky smooth skin of graceful pinkish color. Overall, she was very tall, whooping 220 or even 225 cm in height, undeniably far taller than any woman, and even towering over all men. Her body had little fat, but it didn’t have much muscle, either. Under her large hoodie and baggy pants, she had a slightly toned bottom and graceful stomach beneath about apple-sized breasts (from her perspective, in reality, they were more cantaloupe-sized), perky and held by a tight sports bra.

“I know you’re there! Open up will you?!"

Tanya shook her head ever so slightly, causing her elbow-long hair of black color to sway before she got hold of them and tied them into a ponytail. As she was about to step out of the room, she looked at the door with her hazelnut eyes. Her modest lips were guarded by a pugnacious nose, her barely defined cheekbones giving her face a sleek, yet dangerous look.

‘…She’s not going to go away, is she?’ Tanya thought, weighing her options. There was no doubt that eventually, one of two would have to give: her patience, or that woman’s persistence. The question was: how much patience did Tanya have left? She wasn’t sure, but she already felt quite a bit annoyed, so she could only guess that she was going to be nearing her limit soon. On the other hand, that red-haired woman’s persistence was known to be legendary. Wasn’t it her who won with a giant crab over a pearl as she held onto the item for an entire day? At least, that was what Tanya had heard from Redion once. ‘But what does she want?’

With heavy eyelids, she got up from her position. After about ten seconds, she got hold of the door handle and pressed it, opening it partially until the chain in the lock stopped them. She looked at Beatrice, standing in one spot, most of her upper body covered with a blue, fleeting cloak.

"Look at this, she answers the door. Only took an hour and a half," the red-haired woman said, a bit of a sarcastic undertone in her voice. Her expression seemed neutral, but Tanya could not help but sense something more behind her bronze eyes. What exactly it was remained unknown.

“…what do you want?” Tanya asked slowly, with both visible and hearable annoyance.

“Sheesh, if that gaze could kill..." Beatrice made a short snort whilst rolling her eyes. "Isn't it a gesture of courtesy to invite the guest in?"

Tanya squinted her eyes a bit, and suddenly slammed the door in Beatrice’s face.

“…!” Rulebreaker made a surprised expression as she didn’t hear the lock unlocking from the other side. Taking a short moment to listen in, she could only hear Tanya’s steps on the wooden surface getting further away by the second. “It’s about the Competition!”

Tanya flinched before she reached the stairs inside her home. ‘The Competition?’ she turned her head toward the door and then toward the window not far from it, on the same wall. Looking into her garden, she pondered for a moment. Why would this damnable woman use this word...?

“You have nothing to lose by hearing me out, Tanya,” she heard Beatrice’s voice again. "I think you might even gain something."

“…what about it?” she asked loudly, enough so that she could be certain about Rulebreaker hearing her words.

"Let me in first," came a demand. "I'll tell you once you do."

Goddess of Hunts still hesitated. Rulebreaker wasn't a liar, but she was very well known to be a manipulator. Just what could she have in mind by coming here?

Tanya shook her head. No point pondering. Beatrice was just a mortal, after all. Manipulator or not, Tanya was beyond her level of trickery. Maybe giving her a moment to speak was not such a bad idea. So long she’d leave her alone afterward, that is.

Within a few seconds, she was opening the door again, this time after having unlocked the blockade on them. As she opened them in full, Beatrice took a hasty step inside and eyed Tanya momentarily.

“I see at least someone didn't skip their meals," she made a remark. "Or is it the half-giant genes?" she snickered.

“Talk,” Tanya commanded, closing the door.

“Long story short: Redion told me about the current Competition, I reported loopholes in the rules to Yberion and Regan, and they agreed to let me oversee the rules and become a referee. Following so far?”

"A referee?" the tall woman's face expressed immense surprise. "They allowed you of all people to become a referee?"

"Difficult to find someone better at finding loopholes," Beatrice shrugged, half a smirk appearing on her face. Her brown eyes glistened with anticipation.

Tanya glanced to her side for a moment, parting her mouth in a sigh, "That much is true," she conceded, focusing her hazelnut points on the tiny woman. "But what of it?"

"We reformed the rules for the Competition. I decided you might want a heads-up. One part I know will interest you is that gods will be allowed to give their Apostle an item that has nothing to do with accessing the skill tree. If you’re asking why, just look at what you gave yours."

“…you mean ‘System’?” Tanya's eyebrow rose slightly.

“Mhm,” Rulebreaker nodded lightly. “Technically, it's not an item, so to keep things simple it’s treated as a way to access the skill tree, and an item for Apostle is a thing that’s going to be treated separately.”

"..." Tanya closed her eyes momentarily. "You wouldn't have come here just to tell me that. Why are you here, then?"

"I have an offer for you."

"An offer?" Tanya's eyebrow twitched. "Why would I listen to you?" her eyes appeared to suddenly emit some kind of a threatening aura as she leaned in forward a little, completely towering over Beatrice. "After what you've done to Pier?"

"After what I have done to him?" the red-haired woman took half a step back, her tone bearing a tiny bit of surprise. Her expression, previously somewhat relaxed, was now stone-cold. Intangible pressure emanated from her, causing the goddess to back off slightly. “I wasn't the one who attacked him at his home when he was just reuniting with his family. And I sure don't remember killing everyone he knew,” Beatrice clenched her fist momentarily before she relaxed it, hiding it under her coat. “…so step off my back.”

Tanya felt a shiver travel down her spine. The amount of pressure this tiny woman could exhibit... it was not something to be treated lightly. Slowly, her mouth parted, “…this much I admit," she sighed with resignation. She could not recall the last time she saw Rulebreaker so out of her high spirits.

“Anyway,” Beatrice shook her head ever so slightly, relaxing her expression. “You see, Redion told me a lot about you. And knowing you the way he does, I’m pretty sure you don’t know what to give your Apostle, right?”

Tanya didn’t reply, but her eyes wandered to the room for a moment before going back to Beatrice.

“That expression says everything. It's not like you don't have anything, but what will even work? A bow? A trap? You already gave her the best thing you could."

“…”

“Well, wonder no more. Here,” Beatrice took a hand from under her coat and threw a small object toward Tanya.

With quick reflexes, Goddess of Hunts held the object firmly yet cautiously, unsure how much pressure she could exert before the thing would break. It was a small item of beige color, about the size of her fingernail. Its shape was as if a small cylinder was sanded severely from both ends, bringing its circular shapes to semi-spherical ones. It looked, in fact, a lot like a medicinal pill.

“A pill?”

“I’m sure you can feel what it is underneath that,” Rulebreaker continued her thought, looking at the slightly pondering expression on the goddess’s face.

“…what?” Tanya felt her heart skip a beat as she expelled some mana, trying to gauge exactly what the item was with her great sight. However… was she feeling that correctly? “…that’s… h-how is this--“

“Possible?” Beatrice finished Tanya's question and shrugged. “You guys really don't understand the boundaries of your own universe, do you?" she asked, her tone riddled with faint ridicule. "All it took was a bit of learning and tinkering. Without Wolqa's and Freya's help, it would've been difficult to make it on time, though."

“…but… it’s…” Tanya raised the pill, expelling even more mana, attempting to pierce the very essence of the item, trying to feel everything she could about it. “…incomplete. How…?” she focused her hazelnut eyes on Rulebreaker.

“Do you really want to listen to an explanation, or would you rather listen to my deal?”

“…go on,” she nodded lightly.

“Redion can’t give this thing to his Apostle as a whole, so I had to split it. That means I had to give it to someone who would deliver it.”

“So… you want my Apostle to deliver it to Redion’s?” Tanya’s expression returned back to her neutral facade with a glint of annoyance as she eyed Rulebreaker with a bit of reserve.

Was this too much to ask of her? Absolutely so. What Beatrice was asking was no different from forfeiting Tanya’s (soon-to-be) right to give her Apostle an item in favor of another’s. Still, Rulebreaker wasn’t going to give up easily. No, her plan has already been in motion for days. Failing here would be no different from abandoning the entirety of it, and she wouldn’t ever allow for that. But she wasn’t worried about her success much. After all, she knew well what Tanya could want in exchange, and she had just that.

“Don’t give me that look,” she riposted the goddess’ question. “It’s a deal we both can benefit from.”

“…how so?”

“With this,” ‘She’s interested. Good.’ Beatrice thought as she raised her hand.

A small, finger-long rectangle appeared in her hand. It was very thin, no more than 0.4 cm in total, with a length of about 7 and a width of roughly 1. Black in color, on one end it was connected to a smaller, silvery rectangle with complicated insides. What Rulebreaker was holding was a flash drive.

“What I got here is a copy of RALS, version 1.1.72, a release on which I worked with Redion yesterday. Has a lot of bugfixes and improvements over version 1.0 you’re (probably) still using. A few extra functionalities, too. For example, one you’ll definitely love is, you don’t have to drag your Apostle here anymore. You can communicate with her through a chat system.”

Tanya’s eyebrow twitched as she was visibly tempted.

“Other than that, Redion wanted to propose a deal of cooperation between his Apostle and yours. Of course, it's a part of this deal.”

“…?”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if your Apostles also got along well, at least until they absolutely had to fight?” Beatrice raised an eyebrow with a tiny smirk, seeing that Tanya was, in fact, deeply considering her proposition.

“…”

“Anyway, take your time. When you’ll decide, you’ll come and find me.” She said, and within a second or so she took her steps toward the door.

“…wait!” Tanya raised her voice a little, seeing Beatrice’s hand on the door handle.

“…?” ‘Seriously, so easy to manipulate. Already preparing to make a decision.’ Beatrice thought but didn’t show as she quickly formed a questioning expression. “What is it?”

“Where’s the hook in this?”

“A hook? There is none,” Rulebreaker shrugged a little.

Goddess of Hunts squinted her eyes a little. “You know very well why you’re called ‘Rulebreaker’. I want proof this isn’t a fraud.”

Beatrice shook her head with a chuckle. She got some hair off her face and asked, “Which part of ‘I’m a referee now’ don’t you get?”

“…”

“I made the rules you’ll be playing by from tomorrow on, Tanya. I specifically made sure there are no loopholes, and Yberion with Regan can attest to that. I can promise you that there is no such a thing as ‘hook’ here.”

“…”

“So?”

Tanya didn’t respond, not initially at least. Instead, she took a look around the room. A large armchair where she’d sometimes sit, watching some TV from another dimension or playing on a console if she felt like it. A large bow hanging on a wall, much like a trophy, unused in at least a few decades as she didn’t feel like practicing shooting in a long time. A small sofa (for her size, at least, it was pretty much a large one for others) on which she sometimes leaned whilst reading a new interesting book she got from Redion on occasions. In another room, she knew she had a pack with different traps she’d developed over the years, ready to be used whenever.

But… Beatrice was kind of right from the very start. No matter what Tanya looked at, nothing looked decent enough to give to her Apostle. The bow was just a mundane piece of wood with an age-old string. The traps she made were already archaic by Casali’s standards. Out of all the things she could give, the best thing she already did. The vast knowledge about hunting and dungeons was neatly packed into respective skills in the System. There was nothing she could give to her Apostle beyond that. On the other hand, Beatrice’s offer wasn’t half bad. A promise of cooperation was very sweet. It was something that would’ve tempted her even if Beatrice hadn’t proposed to give her an update.

However…

“How can I trust your words?” Tanya asked. Saying a thing was one thing, but how about proving it?

“Well, this should do,” Beatrice said, revealing a bit of her coat. Quickly getting her left hand into view, she unrolled the short sleeve of a green shirt she was wearing, showing the half-giant a black mark etched into her shoulder skin. It was three circles connecting each other in points, with a triangle surrounding all three of them. “I literally can’t lie. It was a requirement for me to become a referee.”

“…Oath of Truth?” Tanya’s voice sounded, albeit for only a short second.

There was no mistaking. This was undeniably Yberion’s magic used on Beatrice's shoulder, Oath of Truth. It was similar to the 'Orb of Truth' that mortals down on Casali knew. With this oath in place, it was literally impossible to tell a lie, nor was it possible to twist the truth. Should one try to break the oath, it would cause substantial pain, one that not even the God of Vengeance wouldn’t be able to resist. Tanya traced back memories of her talk with Beatrice just now and failed to notice Beatrice even grimacing, let alone writhing in pain. There was no way she was lying.

“Yup,” Beatrice nodded. “You’re not the only one with trust issues,” she smirked again, hiding her hand back under her coat. “So, do you believe me now?”

“…are you sure Redion’s Apostle will listen?”

“I’m pretty sure cooperation is not out of question. If it’s a deal made between gods, there’s no reason not to listen, right?”

“…fine. I accept,” She closed her eyes for a short moment, looking slightly as if she was already having second thoughts.

“Are you sure? If you really don’t feel like it, just don’t accept. Better not to regret it later, right?”

“…don’t test my patience, Rulebreaker,” Tanya sighed after a short moment.

“So be it,” Beatrice shrugged and reached out with a hand. “Then, a handshake to seal the deal?”

“…”

“Come on, it’s a classic.”

Tanya hesitated for a moment but reached out with her hand and accepted Rulebreaker’s handshake.

“See? Didn’t hurt, did it?” the tiny woman asked.

“…just get out,” Tanya commanded, pushing Beatrice toward the door a bit.

“Anyway, I’ll be going. Don’t forget your part,” she turned to the woman before stepping out of the frame. Throwing the flash drive toward her, she made a long step back, allowing the Goddess of Hunts to close the door.

‘Finally.’ Tanya thought, locking the door anew. A sigh escaped her mouth as she made her way to the sofa and sat down, content as the silence of the room filled her ears. ‘A deal, huh?’ her thoughts traced back to what just transpired as she weighed the two things in her hands.

The copy of the newest update of RALS was a pleasant gift to both her and her Apostle, and there was still time to look the changes over. While Tanya had mixed feelings over receiving it from Beatrice rather than Redion, with the Oath of Truth there was no way the woman had lied to her. It was undeniably a thing that Redion would’ve given her, had she asked for it before the Competition.

However, hazelnut points in her head turned to the item in the other hand.

It was… just a pill to an untrained eye. But, having pierced it through with her mana, she was starting to truly grasp what this thing truly was. It was an item, and yet… it kind of… wasn’t. Its ambiguous nature caused a shiver to travel down Tanya’s spine. This thing was… honestly, it was straight-up unnatural. Something that seemed more like an accident than an intended result, a thing that she’d never felt before. What was that feeling that was unveiled in her stomach…?

Dread. Tanya shuddered when she realized what she felt. This item was giving her the chills from just existing. It induced some phobia deep within her mind. Her hand shook as she dropped the thing on her sofa. No, if she could help it, she’d rather not hold it with her hands. Such an uncanny thing should not even be. But… she agreed to the deal. She couldn’t just dispose of it. Though… if everything worked out as Beatrice said, by tomorrow she’d have a way of ridding herself of it.