I, Den-O, the Contract Urban Legend

"Can you explain why you chose me?"

In response to Inoue Ueya's question, Zeus recalled a memory that had emerged from his mind not long ago.

If the world is likened to a program, the god who controls the laws of causality, time and space is the most important code. If Zeus dies before finding a successor, the world will "stop functioning".

In the original history, Zeus expended a lot of power to host the game, but before the "game" was over and his successor was born, the world began to collapse as his lifespan was nearing its end.

At that time, Inoue Ueya, who was just a junior high school student at the time, ran into the Cathedral of Karma by unknown means and scolded the dying Zeus.

That’s right, he didn’t ask about the situation. It was as if he knew what happened. Inoue Ue also scolded Zeus severely for his actions.

Then, Inoue Ueya created a series of time and space distortions, causing drastic changes in the law of causality. The past of more than ten people participating in the "Future Diary" project seemed to have been interfered with to a certain extent, similar to the methods he used in the Tenjin Elementary School incident. The only difference was that Zeus remembered that Inoue Ueya was not using the current time train at the time, but a robot that could travel through time. He directly erased their motivation to participate in this cruel game by going back to the past to change history. The ongoing "Future Diary" project had to be terminated due to Inoue Ueya's intervention.

In contrast, due to historical changes, Zeus, who did not hold the "game", retained some power, and the collapse of the world naturally did not happen. He was still alive and well until the divergence point of the "past" was developed by the future Kato Megumi and Yukinoshita Yukino.

Until the divergence point with Kuin and the Book of Shadows was born, the "future" was completely changed. The current Zeus has gained the original memory of the "future", which is why he took the initiative to meet with Inoue Ueya and let him inherit the throne of God.

The back of the junior high school student who appeared at the time of the world's collapse was deeply imprinted in the mind of the dying Zeus. Although according to the "present" history, two girls from another future replaced Inoue Ueya to prevent the appearance of "Future Diary", he, who inherited the memory, knew clearly who the real culprit was.

When everyone was waiting for death because of the collapse of the world, when the participants of the "game" were still fighting each other, that young man stepped forward decisively. He clearly had the means to escape from the collapsed world, but he chose not to run away.

Inoue Ueya, whether in the current changed time and space or the original time and space, he is not a stranger to Zeus who has been observing him. It’s just that Zeus, who has obtained the memory of the "future", has finally made up his mind to choose Inoue Ueya as his successor.

"...Because I believe you are the most suitable candidate to inherit the power. Is this acceptable to you?"

Hearing this, Inoue Ue frowned unconsciously.

——Something is wrong, this god must be cheating!

Putting aside the issue of inheritance, Zeus’s strength is also questionable.

Although this guy is very powerful in the story setting, his performance is a bit unsightly. Not to mention, although his power can travel through the past and predict the future, the actual principle is to let people who go back to the past enter another timeline. He originally just wanted to hold a game to find the heir, but he was calculated by others and directly plunged the world into destruction.

It may be a bit rude to say this, but this guy is just an unreliable god, right?

A trace of disdain flashed across Inoue Ueya's eyes, and he sighed, "I have a question. Since you are the god who controls time and space, is there a way to resurrect the dead?"

"No, you've already said that I'm the god of time and space, not the god of death. It's impossible for me to be resurrected." Zeus shook his head decisively.

"You should be able to use the power of time reversal on an individual to restore him to the state before his death, right?" asked Inoue Ueya.

"Time travel?"

Zeus was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and fell into deep thought. He murmured softly, "If that's the case, it seems like it might work."

"Well, Mr. Inoue has pretty much gotten used to the fact that the gods of this world aren't godlike. It's just like the King of Time being stopped in time. It doesn't really matter anymore. But Mr. Inoue doesn't intend to become a weak god like that..."

Inoue Ueya was halfway through his speech when he realized what Zeus had said. He didn't expect that after traveling through time, he would hear such a shocking answer.

But this is also reasonable. I finally feel like the God of Time and Space...

"You don't understand. The rest of my life is only slightly better than a candle in the wind. If the God of Time and Space dies, the world will be destroyed with him. You know this, right? So I need to find a successor before that!" Zeus said helplessly.

"No, you can use time reversal. If you revert your body to its past state, can't you extend your life?"

"Huh, is there such a thing?" Zeus said with sudden enlightenment.

???

It has been confirmed that this guy is a completely unreliable god, and Yuno Agatsuma’s yandere role is really in vain.

Zeus thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "No, as a god, I cannot violate the law of causality again..."

Are you kidding? The last "Future Diary" project he came up with almost destroyed the world. Will he take the risk and use his ability to go back in time to prolong his life this time?

"If I'm not careful, I might revert to my infant state. And that idiot Murumuru doesn't look like someone who knows how to take care of a child..."

Murumuru, she is the black-skinned loli who appeared in front of Inoue Ueya together with Zeus. She is Zeus's familiar, a kind of assistant. Although she always messes things up, and she is a stay-at-home girl who has been staying in the Cathedral of Karma, she is actually a mascot...

"Hey, you're the Kamen Rider the master was talking about, right? Can you really transform?"

Zeus looked down and saw that the scumbag assistant had unknowingly walked in front of Inoue Ueya.

Chapter 186: Do you know what kind of pain the gods have been enduring?

"Transformation and so on, yes, it's possible, but..."

Inoue Ueya sighed and looked up at Zeus. "To be honest, Mr. Inoue still doesn't understand the current situation. You said this is the Velvet Room, and it's fine, but a Cathedral of Causality appeared out of nowhere, and they even want me to be the heir. No matter how you put it, this development is really outrageous, isn't it?"

Hearing this, Zeus thought for a moment and responded, "The Velvet Room? Do you wish to synthesize a new Persona? Or do you need the power to infiltrate someone's palace?"

In fact, the Velvet Room, this special space, is not unfamiliar to Zeus, who is responsible for dealing with the law of cause and effect. Although he has never come into contact with it personally, it is not a strange existence.

"No, I was just saying it casually, don't take it seriously."

Inoue Ueya waved his hand and told Zeus not to think too much about it. This guy was the instigator of the "Future Diary" incident. It would be bad if he made a casual remark and let him do something strange.

"Don't underestimate the power of the God of Time and Space. I can do synthesis and so on!"

Zeus pointed at himself. Although he was a god who would soon die, the power of the God of Time and Space was still at the level of creation!

"Although my remaining lifespan will be reduced a bit, to around four hundred years, I can still live for another thousand years..."

"No, since you can still live for such a long time, is it really necessary to hold that Future Diary game? It shouldn't be difficult to find a qualified successor during this time?" Inoue Ueya couldn't help but complain.

Hearing this, Zeus's emotions seemed to be stimulated by something. The whole god suddenly became excited and shouted: "You don't understand anything! I have to deal with and adjust the law of cause and effect every day. Occasionally, one or two psychopaths will appear and create distortions in time and space, forcing me to work overtime to adjust. Do you think this is easy? Do you know the pain that gods have been enduring? I finally found a successor, and I will be free soon-"

As if realizing his own slip of the tongue, Zeus suddenly stopped and coughed dryly a few times, "Hmm... That's not the point. You should have your own reasons for choosing to inherit this power, right, Inoue Ueya?"

"No, did you just say something outrageous?" Inoue Ueya asked doubtfully.

Ignoring Inoue Ueya's question, Zeus continued, "That's 'lifespan'! Don't forget that you're just an ordinary human after all. Compared to the monsters you've contracted with, human lifespans are far too short. Don't you want to live longer?"

Zeus stared at Inoue Ueya, as if trying to read his inner thoughts. "Time must be a very precious thing to you humans, right? Although lifespans after becoming a god still have an end, ten thousand years is just enough time for a newborn god to sleep."

Inoue Ue also fell silent. Although it sounded reasonable, he always had a feeling that "this is a trap". If he could live longer and live with the weirdos in the Inoue family, it seemed like it would be a good thing. But he was not even an adult now?

Moreover, in the conversation just now, this guy mentioned things like repairing the law of cause and effect and getting liberation. Combining the content of the previous conversation, Inoue Ue also found that he had guessed the truth about inheriting the throne of God.

Being the "God of Time and Space" is actually a super troublesome job. Is this the real reason why he is unwilling to use his abilities to prolong his life?

Well, he's a god after all...

Watching Iwanaga Kotoko going out to carry out commissions every day, Inoue Ue had a vague feeling that the so-called gods seemed to have a harder time than he had imagined.

However, Zeus did not notice Inoue Ueya's abnormality and asked, "After saying so much, what is your intention? Do you want to inherit my power and become a god? Or -"

"Although the power of God is somewhat attractive, let's forget it. At least I don't have such plans now..."

Inoue Ueya scratched his head and rejected Zeus' invitation with a wry smile.

He never thought that he could become a god like Iwanaga Kotoko. Compared to this troublesome job, Inoue Ueya still prefers his current stable and ordinary daily life.

"Eh, why? If you inherit my throne as God, Murmur will become your familiar, you know?"

Inoue Ueya looked puzzled. Is this really okay?

Although Inoue Ueya, who has read the original work, knows that after Zeus's death, Murumuru will take the initiative to follow the successor, but when he heard Zeus himself say this, Inoue Ueya still found it difficult to understand Zeus's thoughts. Just to find an heir, is it necessary to sell even his own familiar?

I always feel that this god is a bit despicable, no wonder he was pitted in the original work...

Unconsciously, Zeus's train of thought once again refreshed Inoue Ueya's understanding of gods.

"That's even more impossible. Do you think Mr. Inoue is the kind of guy who gets distracted when he sees a cute girl?" Inoue Ueya said dissatisfiedly.

"No, haven't you been contracting women's weirdness all this time? I thought you-" Zeus tried to defend himself.

"That's enough!" Inoue Ueya interrupted Zeus and said confidently, "You can say I'm unlucky, but you must not insult the gentlemanly spirit passed down from generation to generation in my Inoue family!"

……

"Stupid Ueya, it's time to get up!"

Time passed by unknowingly and it was morning. The conversation ended with Miss Sadako's call. In the end, Zeus still failed to persuade Inoue Ueya to become the heir.

"So this operation can be considered a failure?" asked Mulumuru.

"Well, this is to be expected. No matter who they are, they can't possibly be completely vigilant against such a sudden good thing."

Recalling Inoue Ueya's answer, Zeus couldn't help but sigh.

"A peaceful and tranquil life? It's so good to be young..."

With the changes in history, the current Inoue Ueya has contracted a total of four urban legends, a witch and a personality mask, indirectly changing their fate drastically.

"Just recently, Sadako, who has been under the longest contract, has begun to transform."

"Sadako", the monster that originally only lived in the "cursed videotape", had its limitations on existence completely broken from the moment it signed a contract with Inoue Ueya. It no longer needed to rely on "fear" to survive and was no longer restricted by the strange "settings".

Over the past few years, Sadako has continued to grow and become stronger, evolving step by step into a powerful being who can connect to the Internet with her physical body. Now she has finally reached a critical point.

"It's a little unbelievable, but I vaguely see the prototype of an 'Information Integrated Thought Body' in her..."

Chapter 187 Let’s celebrate!

Inoue Ueya was running wildly on the dark street with Iwanaga Kotoko on his back, and a one-horned red demon several meters tall holding a giant mace was following closely behind them.

"How about this? If you're willing to inherit the power of the God of Time and Space, you can take out demons of this level with just one punch." Zeus' voice echoed in my mind.

[Shut up, is this the time to talk about this?]

Several days have passed since the first meeting with Zeus. The unreliable god did not give up because of Inoue Ueya's rejection, but repeatedly asked him to become his successor, especially in the current situation when Inoue Ueya helped Iwanaga Kotoko deal with exorcism commissions.

If it was Inoue Ueya in his transformed state, he would have no problem dealing with this mad red demon, but the opponent's movements were too fast, and he could not find any opportunity to transform. Just running away with Iwanaga Kotoko on his back was already his limit.

Unfortunately, Hanako and the others did not come out with Inoue Ueya today, and the Arsene in their bodies did not have the effect of strengthening the body like Hanako and Yashakuyuki's possessed state. Although Inoue Ueya had used the spiritual link of the contract to ask for help from the girls at home, the pause at the moment of possession was still a fatal flaw. After all, this was not a transformation, and there was no so-called invincible time. If he was unlucky, he might get hit hard in the body. Anyway, Inoue Ueya did not think that his small body could withstand a punch from the several-meter-tall, muscular monster behind him.

But speaking of transformation speed, the latest weekly quest seems to have released a pretty good reward...

【Weekly Task: Licking your elbow】

[Reward: Kadoya's unique transformation technique]

[Please note that this reward is a special skill, including but not limited to catwalk, Xiaoming shake, and partial transformation. After learning this skill, the host can transform without any preparation.]

It's rare that the system refreshes with good rewards again, but the content of this mission is really a bit too difficult. Although Inoue Ueya has been constantly challenging this mission in the past few days, he has not succeeded yet.

"Strange, this isn't the first time I've encountered a monster like the Red Oni. They shouldn't be this gigantic, and they should be humanoid monsters with intelligence. What on earth is this guy..."

Kotoko Iwanaga was a little confused about the red ghost in front of her. This guy was very different from the red ghost she knew. Rather than saying it was a red ghost, it would be better to say that it was the kind of red ghost described in the legends of the human world that did not exist at all.

"Ueya-kun, go to the alley on the left!"

"Ah, I know!"

Following the instructions of Iwanaga Kotoko on his back, Inoue Ueya sped up and ran towards the alley. What came into his sight was a narrow path, which Akagi probably could not fit into based on his body size.

The result was just as expected. The mad red ghost tried desperately to squeeze into the alley to chase the two men, but because of his large body size, he couldn't get in at all. He could only stand outside and roar meaninglessly at the two men.

Driven by impotent rage, the Red Ghost raised his mace and smashed it hard at the buildings on both sides of the alley, trying to destroy any obstacles that blocked his way. The Red Ghost's power was even greater than imagined. The buildings on both sides began to crack under its attack, and it seemed that collapse was only a matter of time, but...

"The opportunity to transform has appeared!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a ball of black gas appeared out of thin air and merged into Inoue Ueya's body.

A moment later, the possessed "Inoue Ueya" opened his brown eyes. There was a gray scarf around his neck. He looked up at the mad red demon in front of him, his eyes full of curiosity.

"Hmm, is this the legendary 'ghost'? The existence of monsters is really amazing..."

[Hey, Kuin? Why are you here? ]

"Hehe, since I won the rock-paper-scissors game, it's my turn to fight this time!" "Inoue Ueya" said eagerly.

Inoue Ue had never expected that the supporter this time would be Kuin, but is it really okay for her to take action?

After thinking about it carefully, apart from the last time when she was attacked by the Sleeve God in the hospital, I don't think I have seen Kuin take action. However, judging by her strength, defeating the red ghost in front of her should not be a problem, probably...

Rather than the issue of chances of winning, Inoue Ue was a little worried about Iwanaga Kotoko's safety. Kuin didn't seem to care much about the issue of power control. Sadako, who had diarrhea for a long time before, was an example.

"Are you really okay? Don't forget that while fighting, you also need to protect Kotoko's safety. Don't be reckless, okay?"

"No problem, please watch carefully, my transformation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a low electronic music came from the belt that appeared out of thin air on "Inoue Ueya". It was originally the transformation music of the holy sword form, but after being lowered in pitch, it sounded particularly eerie.

Although there was something wrong with the transformation music, Kuin didn't care about such a small matter.

In fact, Kuin is now almost unable to suppress the excitement in her heart. Ever since she read the story of Kamen Rider, she has been looking forward to such a development for a long time.