§ 30. Realm Gate

With a glare at the abyss of the light, I used my right hand to yank out what was lurking inside. The light split vertically, an even brighter light flowing out from within, revealing the hidden object inside.

Cogs of lights turning with an eerie creak, fitting together to form a body with limbs and a head. This was the assembled body born through Gijerica, consisting of the cogs that Graham had gathered from gods through the altered Selection Trial.

“We finally meet, Equis. I didn’t think you’d literally be made of cogs,” I said.

“I told you, contaminant of the world,” Equis said, a static voice emanating from the turning cogs of their rattling mouth. “The door will open soon—the door of despair. The time has come for you to pay the price of your peace.”

“Really now?” I asked. Eerie Magic Eyes made of cogs glinted as they dangled from the grip I had around their neck. “Who do you think stands before you?”

My right hand stained black with Vebzud. I clenched my hand and the cogs of their neck creaked in protest—but the next moment my hand was empty. They were standing behind me like nothing had happened.

“Hmm. I’m sure I had a grip on you,” I said, staring at Equis with mauve-stained Eyes. “That was the power of the God of Frenzy, Aganzon, wasn’t it?”

An event had been altered, disturbing reality itself. With this, it seemed safe to assume that the power of every god who had perished after the Selection Trial now belonged to Equis—along with the ability to freely control them.

“Our fight—the fight between world and contaminant—ended before you ever came here.”

Equis stood with their feet straight. They stretched their arms out to the side, shaping their body into a cross.

“The cogs are constantly turning. A tiny, trivial cog can turn a larger cog with ease. That larger cog can turn an even larger cog. The countless cogs of fate turn, one after another, until the large wheel of despair itself begins to turn. And as it turns, all life on earth will be crushed.”

Creak, creak. Equis’s cogs turned as they spoke.

“You are the contaminant that stops the cogs. But even you are too small to have any effect on despair.” Static crackled. “Look at the earth. At your kingdom. At Midhaze, that stands at its center.”

Light appeared behind Equis, followed by a giant cog. The Limnet magic cast on the cog showed Dilhade as it currently stood, at a location south of Midhaze. What should have been unending greenery was wilted into desert. And it was no normal desert; sparks of fire flew through the air, and white flames rose from the sand. I had seen this sight before.

“The Withered Desert,” I said.

“The realm gate has opened, connecting the Divine Realm to this world. The Four Principles have perished, assimilating into the will of the world itself.”

Countless cogs appeared in the Withered Desert, forming a humanoid figure much like Equis, creaking and turning as it refined into a specific shape.

It was the form of a god with a turban and cape—the God of Demise, Anahem. If the power of perished gods gathered to Equis for them to control, then this clockwork form in front of me no longer possessed Anahem’s will. He was now a puppet of the cogs—a literal clockwork doll.

Behind Anahem, the army of gods appeared, Pelpedro leading them.

“Go. Bring the demons their demise,” Anahem ordered.

“Roger that,” Pelpedro replied.

The God of War led his army of gods into a charge. Though they were large in number, their group alone wouldn’t be enough to take over Midhaze. Which could only mean...

“Indeed, there is more than one gate,” Equis said, seeing through my thoughts.

Another Limnet cog appeared beside the existing one, this time showing the east side of Midhaze, where a pyramid-shaped door stood. One side looked just like the sturdy gate in the pyramid-shaped temple. The specific location was a grassland, but now a dense forest sprawled over it, repainting the grass scene entirely. Just like in Nature’s Keep, the green leaves of the forest formed a spiral. And the cogs that appeared took the humanoid shape of Dilfred, the God of Depth. A door of god opened before him, and another contingent of the army of gods rushed out into the forest.

“Annihilate all. Obey order and light the fire of war,” Dilfred said.

Another cog appeared behind Equis, turning with the others. This time, the Limnet showed the west of Midhaze, where another pyramid-shaped gate appeared followed by a great, massive tree, steadily growing. The more the great tree grew, the more the dirt around it changed to water, grass to coral, and animals to fish—just like an ocean.

It was the divine realm of the Mother Sea. Once again, cogs appeared to form a humanoid shape, this time turning into Wenzel, the Goddess of Birth. As she rose from the bottom of the sea divine forces rose with her.

“Let us go, my beloved children. Drown the world in war and bring an end to all demons,” Wenzel said.

Finally, a fourth cog appeared behind Equis, the Limnet showing the sky above Midhaze. The pyramid-shaped door appeared, with countless branches spreading from it, covering the entire sky with leaves.

The sky of change—the Celestial Canopy. As expected, the cogs that appeared there took the shape of Gaetenaros, the God of Change. More soldiers poured out of the door of god, riding on a green wind.

“Aha ha! Let’s sing, let’s dance. Let’s bring the song of war to the demons!” Gaetenaros sang.

The army of gods, now quadrupled in size, surrounded Midhaze and commenced their march. The Demon King’s army stationed at the city were skilled fighters, but they wouldn’t be enough to take on all four of the Four Principles. The army of gods was larger than before, and now there were four Pelpedros serving as commanders of each contingent summoned to fight.

It was clear now; from the beginning, Equis hadn’t been planning on using the Solar Eclipse of the End to destroy the earth. For even if the Solar Eclipse of the End had failed to annihilate the earth, it was enough to use the threat of its power to lure Lay, Misa, and the other demons from two thousand years ago from their posts in the city, leaving Midhaze vulnerable to attack.

“Bwa ha ha! And so the Demon King of Tyranny nets a rare loss!” Eldmed said through the magic link. “I’d love nothing more than to return to Midhaze in its time of crisis, but it seems Gatom and Fless have been sealed.”

The orders of the Celestial Canopy and Nature’s Keep sealed certain spells. This probably affected the entirety of Dilhade—even if the strength of these orders were to wane so far from the divine domain, it wasn’t possible to teleport directly to Midhaze.

“And Leaks too. I can only make my words reach you through the magic link. Seeing how I can’t even contact the Hero Academy right now, it appears quite a large area has been disrupted,” Eldmed said.

Leaks being sealed was probably the work of the Mother Sea’s order. If the ocean covered the path of Leaks, it could isolate everyone within its range. The Withered Desert, by this logic, was probably preventing the use of healing magic. Spells would only work temporarily at most.

The demons, dispatched all across Dilhade, could not return in time to defend Midhaze from the army of gods. This must have been the situation Equis wanted. The Four Principles couldn’t move from the Firmament of the Gods, making me believe their divine domains couldn’t move either.

“The Guardians have completed construction of the Demon King Castle!” a demon soldier shouted. “Lord Melheis, please give your next command!”

“Very well,” Melheis replied.

Sensing the enemy’s advance, the Demon King’s army immediately deployed their forces to the south, where the army of gods were the closest. The forces included Melheis, Ivis, Gaios, and Ydol of the Seven Demon Elders, as well as Demon Lord Elio and his Midhaze army.

The turning cogs continued to creak. Among the white sand of the Withered Desert, I sensed a familiar magic power, and a frisson of unease swept over me.

“Enemy forces to the front! W-Wait, that’s—!” a demon with far-sight in Elio’s army yelled.

“What’s wrong? Report immediately!” Elio demanded.

“I-It’s Lord Nigitt! Lord Nigitt, Lord Devidra, and Lady Rouche are all leading a demon army—headed this way!”

“What?! It can’t be!”

The God of Demise spoke, his voice now crackled with static. “Nothing changes in the Withered Desert. Perished corpses become my servants—puppets of the dead.”

Nigitt, Devidra, Rouche, and their subordinates were wrapped in white sparks of fire. Just before the light of the end had destroyed them, they had used Syrica on themselves to reincarnate. But Anahem had used his power to block that, forcing their sources to remain in a state of demise and effectively turning them instead into puppets unable to be reborn.

“Before me, the God of Demise, the will of demons is smaller than a single grain of sand. Now march, soldiers of the dead. Bring down the country that you gave your lives to protect.”

Nigitt and the demons advanced towards Midhaze. As demons over two thousand years old, they were more than fast; in the blink of an eye, they had made contact with the Midhaze forces.

“Lord Melheis! Your orders!” one of Melheis’s soldiers shouted.

“They are already dead. Putting them to rest is the least we can do,” Melheis said, staring into the abyss of the dead puppets. He could tell they were no longer of this world. “Ivis, Gaios, and Ydol will move with me. We will suppress Nigitt, Devidra, and Rouche. The Midhaze army will handle the rest of the puppets and army of gods. There is no need to defeat them—just buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive from across Dilhade.”

“Roger that!”

Elio also raised his voice to rouse his subordinates. “We will create a defensive line here! Do not let a single enemy pass. This is Midhaze—the symbol of peace sought by our ancestors!”

Iris activated, creating Demon King Castles everywhere. As soon as the army got into formation, they fired a barrage of Jio Graze, thus signaling the start of war. The spells struck the incoming enemies, creating loud and flashy explosions.

But that wasn’t enough to silence them. Nigitt sliced the jet-black suns headed towards him while approaching the Midhaze army unimpeded, Rouche and Devidra right on his heels.

“Riga Shreyd.”

A fierce bladelike gale blew through the sand, aimed to slash apart the Midhaze army’s Demon King Castles. But the wind was sucked into another dimension before it made contact and vanished—the spell Azesith. Rouche paused in her march, casting a cautious gaze to her surroundings.

“It was your sacrifice that protected Dilhade,” a voice called out. “Your regrets, your rage—all of it is painfully clear. What was done to you was without regard for your pride. Such an act is unforgivable.”

A white-bearded old man appeared before Rouche, blocking her way—Melheis, who had moved through the dimension created by Azesith. A large man with a greatsword and a long-haired man with a sword in each hand—Gaios and Ydol, respectively—stood before Nigitt. Devidra was facing Ivis, who had an undead skeleton body of his own.

“Please rest assured, Lady Rouche. You will find peace here without ever setting foot in Midhaze.”

§ 31. The Demon King, Alone in a Stolen World

Explosions and clashing swords rang out over and over again. As their frequency increased, so did their volume.

A battle was well underway between the Seven Demon Elders and the dead demon leaders, and overall between the Midhaze army and the demons from two thousand years ago. Swords and magic came from both sides. The Midhaze army had the advantage in numbers, with the Demon King Castles built with Iris giving them the additional advantage in terrain, increasing their abilities. Melheis had also activated Gyze, allowing him to split his magic among his soldiers and power everyone up.

On the other hand, Nigitt’s side was full of elite warriors. Each individual demon could hold their own against an entire army, and they used that strength to charge past the Midhaze army and attack the Demon King Castles.

“Riga—”

Particles of magic swirled in a fierce tornado, released from swords and staves at the same time.

“—Shreyd!”

Two gales blew, one from the left and the other from the right, colliding with each other and slashing apart the surrounding air. Their clash created a zone of raging winds that could shred the flesh of anyone who stepped within. They had been cast by Rouche, the demon hailed as the carrier of wind, and Melheis Boran, the strongest of the Seven Demon Elders.

“An impressive Riga Shreyd to cast with Gyze active. Fitting of a Demon Elder created by the Demon King,” Rouche said, pointing the tip of her sword at Melheis.

“Puppets of the dead, was it? An attempt to damage our morale by stealing the faces of our former comrades, no doubt,” Melheis said, holding up his scepter. “How unoriginal. Did you forget what happened when Avos Dilhevia tried to pull the same trick?”

Black lightning gathered at the tip of his scepter, crackling intensely before Melheis used Jirasd to unleash it.

“Sheria!”

A magic wall of wind appeared before Rouche, creating flowing air that diverted Melheis’s black lightning and forced it to miss its target. Rouche then ran, closing the distance to Melheis in a single leap before bringing her demon sword down. Melheis blocked the blow with his scepter.

“Big words for the one Avos Dilhevia controlled back then,” Rouche sneered.

“You still hold your memories. How pitiful.”

“Silence!”

Melheis was not only physically weaker than Rouche, but was additionally weakened by being the King class of Gyze. The disadvantage had forced him back, but he was able to regain his balance and remain standing.

“It was because I was once controlled that I can understand your position now. Turning your sword on your liege is an unbearable act, one that not even your life can serve as repentance for. Yet the Demon King is one who would laugh and forgive you without question—making it all the more difficult for you to forgive yourself,” Melheis said, staring into Rouche’s abyss sharply. “Deep down, all you wish is to perish, as soon as you possibly can.”

He drew a magic circle with his scepter and fired multiple Jio Graze at Rouche in succession.

Rouche either slashed them apart or evaded them as she closed the distance between them once more.

“Riga Shreyd.”

“Azesith.”

Rouche’s blade of wind was swallowed by Melheis’s dimensional prison.

“Allow me to return this to you,” Melheis said.

A magic gate opened and Rouche’s Riga Shreyd shot back out of it. Azesith continued to spread, as though to trap her. Normal space mixed with an alternate space—one that was constantly moving. Anything the alternate dimension passed through was swallowed, stored, and spewed up. Melheis’s magic control had grown far more precise since the Demon Sword Tournament.

“Tch!”

Rouche’s anti-magic was slashed apart, causing her to bleed from her whole body. But she charged forward without a care, leaping into the center of the swirling Riga Shreyd and running through it. Melheis pointed his scepter at the trapped demon.

“Jirasd,” he said.

Rouche stabbed her demon sword at the jet-black lightning Melheis released, using Sheria to fend off the spell. Jirasd was redirected to the swirling Riga Shreyd instead, causing the two spells to cancel each other out with a crackling roar.

“Huh?!”

The flash of lightning from the spells had caused Melheis to lose sight of Rouche for a brief moment. She had leaped through the air, faster than the wind—and stabbed her demon sword into his body.

“Gwuh...”

Blood oozed swiftly from the gouge made by her sword.

“It’s over,” Rouche said, pushing her sword deeper into Melheis.

His scepter fell to the ground as he coughed up more blood. “Yes, this is the end...”

A magic gate appeared behind Rouche. A black aurora emerged from it, wrapping around her.

“For you, Lady Rouche!” he yelled, gathering his strength to do so.

“You cannot seal me!”

Rouche thrust her sword at the jet-black aurora. But the moment it made contact, her magic-shrouded blade shattered into pieces.

“What?! This... Don’t tell me this is...” She stared into the abyss of the magic in shock.

“Yes. This is the Beno Ievun I stored from two thousand years ago, along with Lord Anos’s magic power that I was bestowed with during the Demon Sword Tournament.”

The black aurora shrank in on itself, crushing Rouche. Her anti-magic wards and barriers shattered just like her demon sword, her body, too, crumpling under the force of the aurora. The Beno Ievun—that could block even the order of the gods—began to neutralize the hold Anahem’s puppetry had over Rouche.

“Curse you! No... No, that’s not right...” she said in confusion. “Mel...heis?”

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

“Please... Destroy me... Protect this city...” she pleaded in a hoarse whisper.

Melheis nodded solemnly. “Understood. I will use our liege’s power to put you to your final sleep—”

Just as Melheis was about to deal the final blow, he fell to the ground, his source suddenly slashed apart. Behind him was the culprit.

“Nigitt...”

Nigitt stood, staring down at Melheis. In the distance, Gaios and Ydol were similarly on the ground with their sources slashed apart. Ivis was on his knees, cornered by Devidra.

A massive boom echoed through the air. One of the Demon King Castles created by the Midhaze army had fallen.

“Lord Elio has been wounded! Requesting assistance now!” a demon soldier cried out.

“It’s no good!” said another. “Healing magic has no effect! At this rate—!”

“Calm down! Faltering here is exactly what the enemy wants!”

Midhaze’s army had yet to lose their will to fight. But with Melheis, Gaios, Ydol, Ivis, and Demon Lord Elio wounded, their chain of command had collapsed. The enemy now had an overwhelming advantage. On top of the army of gods, Anahem was still at full strength. The other three of the Four Principles were also marching closer, so there were no other troops that could be redirected here.

Without Fless and Gatom, external reinforcements wouldn’t arrive anytime soon. Even if they hurried at full speed, they would still arrive far too late. Midhaze would be swallowed by the flames of war first. Which meant the highest priority was—

“Your conclusion is correct,” the god of cogs said.

The four cogs behind Equis turned, showing the situation across Midhaze. I watched the situation through my link with Eleonore and Ennessone while glaring at the cogs before me.

“The Round Garden of Principles has descended to earth through the four realm gates that surround Midhaze. Closing the gates would indeed save Dilhade from war.”

In the first place, the Four Principles couldn’t move from the Da Qu Kadarte. If the gates closed, they would be unable to remain on earth.

“And you, contaminant of the world, possess the means to close those gates from here,” Equis said as though they could see through my hand. “Right this moment you’re carving the spell formula that once split the world into four onto the earth.”

There was no point in being surprised. Any god would be able to detect that much, so there was no way an amalgamation of multiple gods would fail to notice. And the fact they noticed was most likely the whole reason why the gods were attacking Midhaze in the first place; they attacked the place where the magic circle to activate the spell was located. They attacked, in other words, to break the last bit of hope we had to stop them.

“Misha. Sasha,” I called through Leaks. Cogs turned with a creak.

Stop, don’t destroy any more than this...

Sasha’s despair resounded back.

I created this. This world destined for ruin. I...

Misha’s grief flowed through the link.

“Hmm. Still fighting, it seems.”

Creak, creak. Cogs turned with a dull sound as Equis’s static voice spoke.

“Placing your hope in them is futile. They cannot defy the will of the world. No one is on your side, misfit. The wheels of despair have already started turning.”

Equis’s Divine Eyes glinted ominously.

“Two thousand years ago, it took the Goddess of Creation, the Great Spirit Reno, Hero Kanon, the Goddess of Destruction in the form of Delsgade, and the Sword of Three Races to gather enough magic power to create that wall. And you still paid for it with your life.”

Misha, Reno, Lay, Sasha. Equis listed all my allies as though to cross them out one by one.

“What about it?” I asked.

“None of them are with you now. Unlike two thousand years ago, now you only have your own magic at your disposal.”

Equis raised their hands in a casual shrug.

“It’s enough to destroy you,” I replied.

“If you think destroying me is enough to save the world, then go ahead and do it.”

Cogs turned and creaked as Equis undid their own anti-magic wards.

“Can’t do it?” they taunted, “Of course you can’t. You know the answer yourself—as the collective body of countless gods, my destruction would cause the world to fall apart in an instant. You may wish to save the world. But the world you wish to save is me.”

“I will save the world. You will perish.”

“Dilhade shall perish first.” Static noise spilled from their words. “That is how this world is, Demon King of Tyranny. Everyone shall lose what is most important to them. No one is exempt. Not Militia, whose wish for a kind world was stolen, nor Abernyu, who wanted to see a smiling world and had her Divine Eyes stolen. Nor you, misfit.”

The face of cogs looked like they were sneering.

“Despite having the power to destroy everything, you, the Demon King of Tyranny, wish for a gentle peace. And so the more you wield your power, the further that peace flees from you. You cannot protect what you truly wish to protect—for that is my will, and my will is the will of the world.”

Something in the distance crumbled. Another Demon King Castle shown in the Limnet cogs had collapsed.

“Go on, use your Beno Ievun. Unlike two thousand years ago, you have no allies here. But if you use the power from your future lives, you can seal the realm gates—isn’t that right?”

I stared at Equis silently.

“Two thousand years ago, your memories were stolen. This time, it is your power that will be stolen. In two or three thousand years’ time, when you are reborn, it won’t be peace that awaits you, but pandemonium. In that future you will be powerless, helpless but to suffer. Next time, you will fail to reach me at all.”

Equis’s cogs turned with an eerie sound.

“Slowly, little by little, you will lose everything.”

A loud crash echoed through the air as a third Demon King Castle went down to the south of Midhaze.

“W-We can’t hold on any longer!” a demon soldier shouted.

“Lord Elio, give the order to retreat!” pleaded another.

“Where do we retreat to?!” shouted Lord Elio. “There are no reinforcements. We are what remains between the enemy and innocent civilians. The Demon King entrusted Midhaze to me. If I run and save myself now, how could I ever face him again?!”

The Midhaze army was being backed further into a corner. Those who perished turned into puppets of the dead, attacking their former comrades. It was like a picture straight out of hell.

It was a war of attrition, and the enemy was one-sidedly gaining power. I had hoped Shin and Eldmed could make a difference, but it seemed they wouldn’t get there in time. Any more than this and innocent civilians would come to harm. And for innocent people who only knew peace to suffer...I couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Hmm. There’s no helping it. I’ll go with your plan,” I said to the god of cogs. “I’ll give you this life and the next. However...”

Vebzud stained my right hand black. It was a simple task—at the same time I pierced my source, I’d use the power of my destruction to activate the spell circle in Midhaze and deploy Beno Ievun. The wall that once split the world into four would shut the realm gates. And with the Four Principles severed from the Divine Realm, they would vanish.

“I will not give you peace. You will be the one to see hell, Equis—”

Just as I was about to stab my fingers into my own body...

“Rararaaah...”

An idiotic voice could be heard in the distance.

“Raaaaaaaaah!”

Hmm. What is that?

It seemed to be coming from the Limnet, but what was it?

The Demon King Castles formed a defensive line around the city. And out of nowhere, from above, a blast of holy water fell from the sky—eighteen blasts, to be precise. A barrier formed where they landed, protecting the Midhaze army and their Demon King Castles.

It was the long-ranged barrier magic, Leiacanetts. But that wasn’t all. As the drizzle and water spray within the barrier cleared up, a large castle came into view—the castle of Arclanisca. Standing before the castle gate were the students of the Hero Academy, dressed in their crimson uniforms. They had used Leiacanetts to move where Fless and Gatom couldn’t go.

“Ack. We’ve done it now. This was meant to be a supersecret move, but we ended up using it to save Dilhade. The higher-ups are gonna be so mad,” Raos said. He hoisted Garriford, Sword of Holy Inferno, up on his shoulder.

“We’d be lucky if they were just mad at us. By my estimate, we’ll be charged as criminals for this,” Ledriano said. He touched the side of his glasses as he held Bailamente, Sword of Holy Harbor, at the ready.

“Are you sure we’ll even get home alive?” Heine asked. He had Zere, Sword of Sacred Land, in one hand and Zeleo, Sword of Sacred Earth, in another, glaring at the puppet in front of him.

Despite their frivolous chatter, they looked raring to go at the enemy.

“Midhaze army,” Ledriano announced in a loud voice. “We are the Hero Academy Arclanisca. In order to repay our debt to our teacher, Emilia Ludwell, and the Demon King of Tyranny, Anos Voldigoad—we have come to assist you!”

§ 32. The Cog Covering the Sky

Holy fire rose from Raos’s entire body as he lifted his holy sword into the air.

“Let’s do it, Ledriano!” he shouted.

“Yes,” Ledriano replied.

Holy water rained down on Arclanisca in a light drizzle. Ledriano removed his glasses and raised Bailamente up high.

“The Midhaze army should stay back,” he said. “The barrier is harmful to demons.”

Heine’s holy swords tore apart the ground and drew a magic circle of dirt. Raos drew a similar one using fire, and Ledriano with water. The missing wind circle was drawn by the remaining students of the Hero Academy. The earth, water, fire, and wind circles together deployed a four-element barrier to imprison the army of dead demons.

“De Ijeliment!”

The barrier had the same effect as De Ijelia, the spell once used in the inter-academy exam—it decreased the strength of demons and weakened their magic. But this one had a more complicated spell formula than when Eleonore had cast it.

The inside of De Ijeliment could render the average demon completely helpless. Ledriano was most likely right; the Hero Assembly would be enraged by the reveal of this technique to the demon army. There was no doubt this was a spell they had developed in the event they ever had to go to war with demons. Since Dilhade’s forces outnumbered Azesion’s significantly, it was no wonder they had prepared such a defense. Displaying power, after all, was an effective deterrent to conflict. Hopefully they didn’t intend on actually using it. The Hero Academy students weren’t the concern, but there was no telling what their higher-ups were thinking.

“Pardon us for outnumbering you,” Ledriano said, standing before Nigitt. Beside him, Heine and Raos held their holy swords at the ready. “But you demons from two thousand years ago are all monsters, so we’ll use whatever means we can to win.”

The other former students of Jerga-Kanon went to assist Ivis against Devidra. Nigitt pointed his demon sword at Ledriano, his Magic Eyes glinting. He was probably measuring the total power of the three heroes before him, the castle of Arclanisca, and the remaining students of the Hero Academy. While Nigitt stared them down an owl familiar landed on Ledriano’s shoulder.

“Heroes of Arclanisca, we appreciate your assistance,” Demon Lord Elio said through Leaks. He was connected to the owl through a magic link. “But the situation is incredibly poor. Even if the puppets are defeated, the army of gods remains. And the god in command of them is far more powerful than Lord Nigitt.”

“Yes, we are aware,” Ledriano replied. “Unfortunately, our combined forces don’t even have a one in a million chance of winning. However, we do have one option that could lead to victory.”

“What would that be?” Elio asked.

“Leiacanetts is connected to Gairadite through the link of holy water. This link was formed originally as a means of protecting ourselves across the vast lands of Azesion. If we can get Aske to reach us from our homeland, we’d be able to cast an even more effective barrier.”

“Can you destroy the gods with that?”

“No. Even if every human were squeezed of every emotion they held, we still wouldn’t last more than a second against the gods. But in that single second, it should be possible to make a small hole in the barrier blocking Gatom.”

Elio hummed in comprehension. “If we could use Gatom once, more reinforcements can reach Dilhade. But to convey that through Leaks in a single second...”

“No, they will come,” Ledriano declared firmly. “They’re his subordinates. They’ll definitely come. One second may seem short to us, but to them, it’s more than enough time to defy the gods.”

Silence fell for a brief moment. The first to make a decision was Nigitt.

“All troops attack the castle. That is the enemy’s keystone,” he said.

The puppet soldiers charged at Arclanisca, seemingly unaffected by De Ijeliment. The heroes layered on more De Ijelia barriers across smaller areas to seal them, but the puppets were able to break out of them with their magic.

Ledriano’s eyes widened. In the brief moment he had been distracted, Nigitt had appeared before him. And in that moment, it was not Ledriano who reacted to Nigitt’s lightning-like move, but his sword, Bailamente. In response to Ledriano’s courage, it formed a water barrier, blocking the slash before anyone could process what had happened. One beat later, Ledriano himself blocked Nigitt’s sword with his own.

“We will support the Hero Academy with all our power. Deploy your barriers!” Elio sent through Leaks.

“Got it!” Raos and Heine replied in unison, moving to attack Nigitt from two sides, the flame-covered Garriford and earthshaking Zeleo and Zere swung down at the same time.

“Gah!”

“Y-You...!”

Ledriano, Raos, and Heine all had their bodies slashed at once. It was three against one, within De Ijeliment, and with the protection of their holy swords—and still Nigitt came out on top by a clear margin.

Did you think a miracle would happen?

A voice mixed with static noise asked, echoing through the sky.

“Tch... Damn it! How many monsters are there in Dilhade?!” Raos yelled. The holy flames he released at Nigitt were easily cut down, while Heine’s attack from behind was blocked without Nigitt even turning to look. Nigitt thrust his demon sword through Ledriano’s barrier, stabbing into his abdomen.

“We knew we had no chance to begin with... We just had to buy a little more time...”

Did you think there was hope?

Creak, creak. The cogs turned.

“Hurry up... Emilia! At this rate, Arclanisca will—!” Heine shouted. His words traveled through the magic link of Leiacanetts to reach Gairadite.

But there was still no response.

Behold. I am the world, and I have no need for hope.

The next moment, there was a giant explosion of glittering black flames. The fire not only swallowed the Hero Academy students, but the Limnet cog that showed them as well.

“Hmm.”

The pyramid-shaped temple was below. Buried in the rubble of its caved-in outer wall was the assembled god of cogs—Equis. Even though I had sent them flying while I spoke with those on earth, they hadn’t ceased speaking. They had barely even flinched.

“Well, I figured as much.”

The draconids had believed that all gods were the hands of the Almighty Radiance, and Equis had ended up being exactly that. The Four Principles they sent to Dilhade and the voice I kept hearing were their limbs, connected by invisible cogs. Beating them up a little wouldn’t have any effect on the world. To really stop them, I would have to stop the cogs in their body, but...

“Do you want to try it? The world will cease to turn if you do,” Equis said. They had teleported away from the rubble to float in the air behind me.

I had layered Vebzud, Jirasd, and Aviasten Ziara together when they lowered their anti-magic wards and I attacked, yet there wasn’t a scratch on their divine body. I never thought Equis wouldn’t survive being thrown against the pyramid temple gate, but if they were this tough when they were completely defenseless, I would have to make a serious effort for my attacks to have any effect.

“Zola e Dypt.”

Black flames formed chains of hellfire that tangled around Equis’s clockwork body.

“Beno Ievun.”

A black aurora further wrapped around them, sealing their order.

“Rivide.”

The origin spell borrowed from all the gods that I knew, exerting their power against Equis’s origin and freezing their time. I then used mauve-stained Magic Eyes to glare at them intensely.

“Why do you still struggle?” Equis asked.

The cogs in Equis’s body creaked once, snapping the chains and dispelling Beno Ievun in a single instant. Equis hadn’t used any magic or their authority as a god to do so. They had dispelled Zola e Dypt, Beno Ievun, Rivide, and the Magic Eyes of Mauve with only a single turn of a cog.

“You cannot restrain the world nor seal it. That’s why you decided to part with your life and power. Has hope clouded your Eyes?” Equis asked, questioning me directly.

My right hand, that I had layered spell after spell upon, wretched towards me instead, and the moment I caught it with my left hand, I was sent flying. It was Aganzon’s power. The God of Frenzy’s order altered events so that I struck myself multiple times before slamming into the ground. I managed to land safely, righting myself and glaring at Equis.

“Place your hope in the humans and you will only have your insignificance thrust upon you again,” Equis said.

Equis’s cog turned once, with flames swirling in a fiery roar right in front of me. Another divine order, it seemed. The flames grew with a blinding light, forming into a cannon.

The raging flames of god fired a column of searing light at me. I glared at it with the Magic Eyes of Mauve and weakened it with the Magic Eyes of Destruction, then grabbed it with Aviasten Ziara and crushed it into ashes. But it was as if Equis’s magic was endless; rows of flame cannons continued to line the sky, pointing thousands of raging flames at the ground.

“Beno Ievun.”

I deployed a wide-ranged Beno Ievun, suppressing the divine flames in their entirety. The bottom of Firmament of the Gods’ abyss wasn’t very sturdy. With all the stolen holo, the Da Qu Kadarte was on the verge of destruction already—if we fought too wildly, the divine domain would break, damaging the order.

It wouldn’t have any effect on Equis, who was order themself, but it would be a fatal wound to the world that had nearly crumbled under Ein Aer Naverva.

“Ravia Gieg Gaverizd.”

Ten connected magic circles appeared, purple lightning sparking and condensing inside them before being released. Their overwhelming destructive power canceled out the raining flames.

Equis was trying to force me to go on the defensive. If I destroyed Equis, the world would end. If the bottom of the Firmament broke, order would break and many would die. If Dilhade were invaded, the land and its people would be ravaged.

As long as I tried to protect them all, destroying Equis would be nearly impossible.

“Behold, contaminant of the world. A new despair is about to begin turning.”

Equis’s divine body drew a cross as they continued to fire divine flames. A fifth cog appeared behind them. The Limnet showed the Round Table Assembly Hall of Gairadite, where currently, Emilia and the Hero Assembly were gathered.

All of them were looking up, gazing through a window to observe the sky, where the Sun of Destruction was halfway from a total eclipse.

Then suddenly a huge face—a clockwork face—appeared in the sky, the Sun of Destruction serving as its right eye.

Then, more giant cogs appeared. No, it would be more accurate to say the sky itself had transformed, a torso made of cogs appearing that was large enough to cover the entire world.

The cog face opened its mouth.

“To the insignificant humans in charge of Azesion. I am the will of this world.”

§ 33. Blood Contract

Creak, creak...

The cogs turned with an eerie creak. As the members of the Hero Assembly stared at the giant cog monster in the sky, they paled in sudden and overwhelming fear.

“By sending Hero Kanon to me, you have defied the order of this world.”

Equis’s voice shook the atmosphere, echoing throughout the entirety of Azesion. The Hero Assembly members trembled as if their voice shook them too.

“Behold, your crumbling land. This is the result of your brutality.”

An intense earthquake shook the building. The assembly members clung to any furniture they could reach. The light of the end split the land of the world into four, with the occasional earthquake slowly causing the land to drift apart.

“From the light of a single blink of my eye, Hero Kanon was burned instantly, falling from the sky. He is no longer of this world. The cross carved in the land will continue to spread. Eventually, the world will break part into four, and perish.”

Their voice seemed to tear through the air, resounding across all of Azesion.

“This is your punishment for siding with the enemy of the world, the Demon King of Tyranny.”

The voice morphed into a fierce gale that shook every building across the land. Most of the Hero Assembly were already cowering in fear. Even if they still couldn’t feel the magic power of the Sun of Destruction, they had just witnessed the light of the end that split the world with their own eyes. Earthquakes were still happening in short intervals to shake Azesion, with no sign of the destruction easing. And although they couldn’t look into the abyss, they could see how powerful their enemy was with their own eyes.

“Residents of this world. Do you wish to live?”

Static noise mixed with the voice.

“Your friends, family, lovers. Do you wish to save them?”

As though they were offering salvation.

“Long ago, your ancestor challenged the Demon King of Tyranny in the name of justice. Back in the Mythical Age, humanity was on the side of the world—the right side of order.”

As though Equis was offering them their very last chance.

“If you repent for your sins, you shall be forgiven. Obey the will of the world once again, insignificant humans. Pray through Aske. Use your love and kindness to destroy the evil nation that defies me and slay the foolish misfit, the Demon King of Tyranny. If you choose the right path, humanity may be spared.”

In a crumbling world, Equis’s enticing words were beyond tempting. Choose the right path and be saved. As long as one acted with justice, the way would be clear, no matter the danger. In any era, that is what people prayed for—what they believed in.

The people of Gairadite were staring up at the sky in a daze. Their thoughts had yet to catch up with the situation.

“Decide, members of the helpless assembly that govern Azesion. This is Zognacht—a contract between the world and your race that will pass down to your descendants, to be upheld and unbroken for eternity.”

In the sky appeared a giant magic circle. The spell formula forced the contract magic to apply to all future descendants of humanity. Signing it would enslave the human race, forcing them to cast Aske against demonkind forever.

“You have one lap of the clock to make your decision. Sign the Zognacht through prayer and save all of humankind. Become heroes and demonstrate your justice.”

A clock appeared over the Zognacht magic circle with a single moving hand. At the speed it was moving, one lap would take only a few minutes—far too little time to decide the fate of an entire nation.

“If we pray...” one assembly member muttered.

“...we’ll be saved?” another continued.

“Love and kindness will save us—”

A pair of hands slammed thunderously against a table, shocking the assembly members out of their stupor. They turned to look at Emilia.

“Love and prayer in a time of war?” she snapped angrily. “Look at the situation. That is your enemy. Why are you listening to their threats? The Hero Academy is fighting the army of gods in Dilhade right now. What we should be doing is informing the citizens of the situation so that their Aske will reach the heroes!”

“But the enemy...” Lloyd said, glancing out the window, where an existence impossible to ignore loomed over them all. They hadn’t been able to detect the staggering magic of what they were up against, but seeing the sheer size of what they were facing was overwhelming. Finally, at the worst possible moment, they had come to realize they picked a fight with something far beyond their level.

“Do you seriously think that’s the will of the world?” Emilia asked. “You’ll just let that thing tell you Dilhade is evil? Don’t be stupid!”

“You have a point... But at the very least, that thing is definitely capable of destroying the world,” one assembly member—Sival, the King of Legrand—said.

“So you’ll give up just like that?”

“It’s not giving up,” Enrique, the King of Portos, replied. “We must protect the nation at any cost. And against something that can split our entire world into four...”

“An existence that can cut up our world? That’s not right, is it? It’s not even a threat. You saw it yourself. That thing shot at us with the intention of annihilating us all. And who was it that stopped it?” Emilia said, pressing them with questions. “Hero Kanon and Dilhade! They protected the earth. They protected Azesion. They were the ones protecting us, and now, just because a monster said a word or two, you want to destroy the people protecting you? I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous!”

Enrique fell silent. Instead, Katnes, the King of Nebrahile, opened his mouth.

“Empathy and honor are indeed important virtues. It pains me as well. But there are times we must align ourselves with the stronger party. Even if it means accepting their demands.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Emilia snapped curtly. “The magic attack that came from that sun—if it had been fired by the Demon King of Tyranny, this world would have long perished. No one in this world could have stopped it. Not even that cog monster.”

Katnes flinched at the magic power being emitted from Emilia’s entire body. She glared at the assembly members with her Magic Eyes.

“The stronger party—the side with the most terrifying power in this world—is the Demon King of Tyranny, Anos Voldigoad. That cog monster is threatening us to try to use our strength for them because it can’t defeat the Demon King by itself. The Demon King could have destroyed Azesion two thousand years ago if he so wanted. We wouldn’t be standing here debating things now.”

She spoke firmly and clearly, as though to press her point.

“The man who chose not to destroy, and the cogs that weren’t able to destroy. The man who sought peace for nothing in return, or the monster who calls him evil and demands we destroy him. Who is the evil here? Who should be feared? Do you not have brains to think with?”

Sival, Katnes, Enrique, and Lloyd. Emilia looked at all of their faces—and at the rest of the assembly members—while reasoning with them.

“He could have ruled over us all, but he didn’t; he negotiated. Why would he choose such a difficult path when he holds so much more power than any of us? Are you really incapable of understanding his ideals even a little?”

The assembly members couldn’t answer.

The clock hand of Zognacht continued to move. Over half the lap was done.

“Two thousand years ago, he created walls in the world to separate demons from humans and lay the foundations for peace. If our different races never interacted, there would be no war between us. But that wasn’t true peace.”

Emilia chose her words carefully and earnestly.

“Against his wishes, the former Great Hero Jerga planted the seeds of hostility in the Hero Academy, and the last war between Dilhade and Azesion occurred as a result. That was the deepest darkness that swallowed the people of Azesion. But despite that, he always believed that reconciliation with the humans was possible.”

All the assembly members looked torn.

“That...may be true...” Katnes eventually said slowly. “But Headmaster Emilia, would you be able to shoot your demon brethren for the sake of Azesion?”

Without waiting for her answer, he continued.

“You have demon blood in you. Being fully human, most of us cannot put our trust in the Demon of Tyranny to that extent. Entrusting the fate of this country to your judgment is— Huh?”

Katnes’s eyes widened. Out of nowhere, fresh red blood had appeared before him.

“Headmaster Emilia!” Lloyd cried out.

“S-Someone! Stop the bleeding!” Sival said.

Having slashed open her own hand with a knife, Emilia let her blood drip onto the round table.

“How much blood do I have to take out to cease being a demon?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Katnes asked. “Doing that won’t...”

“It won’t change anything, yes. Even if I drained my blood, died, and reincarnated into a human, I will still be a demon. Being a demon has nothing to do with blood.”

She stained the round table bright red.

“It’s the same for humans, isn’t it?” she asked.

Katnes closed his mouth. He stared at Emilia without saying anything—unable to say anything.

“It’s ridiculous. What does blood have to do with anything? My blood doesn’t control my heart or my will. Being demon or human doesn’t matter, because it decides nothing. Nothing!”

As her blood flowed away on the table, the last of her woes flowed with it. Gone were the days when she believed her royal blood to be more precious than others’. Gone was the misery she’d experienced in the aftermath of being forced to reincarnate as a hybrid. Her new life in a new land, too, where she was treated as human while mistreated for not being human enough—all of it had led to the reality thrust before her now.

“Then...” Katnes finally said quietly. “What is it decided by?”

“There’s only one thing I know for sure...”

Now pale from significant blood loss, Emilia drew a magic circle. It was the circle for Limnet, and it showed the citizens of Gairadite.

They were praying.

“Go... Send our feelings to them...”

“Take our prayer to everyone...”

“Take it, Hero Academy students!”

“We’ll be waiting for you!”

“Come back alive!”

“Hey! That won’t be enough! This isn’t the time to be afraid of that monster! Spread the word to as many people as you can!”

“But word of mouth has its limits... If only we could use the magicast!”

“Idiot! Now isn’t the time for whining! Ledriano and the others may be strong, but they’re still children! We have to make sure our voices reach them!”

“That’s right! Then we’ll be saved! Headmaster Emilia and the Hero Academy are all doing their best for us!”

A number of Gairadite citizens in the know rushed through the city, informing others of how the Hero Academy students had gone to war.

Little by little, the light of Aske spread throughout Gairadite.

“Can you see them?” Emilia pressed. “Can you hear them, King of Nebrahile? Their voices have always been there, you know. Since before the Hero Assembly was even formed.”

Katnes swallowed his breath as Emilia continued.

“It has always been the people of Azesion that have supported those willing to stand against the darkness.”

From the bottom of her heart, Emilia prayed, and the light of Aske gathered around her, converting her emotions to magic power.

“Only humans can send our sincere hearts through Aske. Isn’t that right, Katnes?”

She sent her magic power through the blood on the round table. The blood formed the shape of a magic circle, activating Zecht.

“Please believe me. If Dilhade were to ever invade Azesion, I will use my body as a shield and my heart as a sword, even if it means facing the Demon King of Tyranny himself,” she said, her words exactly as written in the Zecht. “For the sake of the Hero Academy students, for the people of Gairadite, and for this country—for Azesion. For this land that I love. Let this be proof.”

She reached for the magic contract with bloodstained fingers. But a hand reached out from the side and stopped her from making her seal of blood. It was Sival, the King of Legrand.

“If you make a contract like that,” he said, “you will never step foot in your homeland again.”

“I am aware.”

There was no hesitation or reluctance in Emilia’s eyes, only determination.

Perhaps that had been the final push Sival needed. He quietly shook his head.

“I know what it’s like to love your homeland. If I let you sign this, I will have failed as a human being. I could not forsake Legrand for the sake of Azesion myself.”

The light of Aske gathered around Sival’s body, as though agreeing with Emilia’s heart.

He turned to the assembly members.

“Ladies and gentlemen. We established the Hero Assembly because we were fed up with the rotten politics of Gairadite. At first, nothing went according to plan. Perhaps our ways were too outdated for our ideals. Looking back upon it now, we were always putting ourselves first.”

He glanced out the window. The light of Aske was spreading across Gairadite.

“What cowards we have been.”

Sival turned back to the assembly members and clenched his fists. He raised his voice to rouse his fellow assembly members.

“If we don’t fight here, we will have changed nothing! Were we not the ones who stood up for the sake of the people? The citizens of this city believe in the heroes and are praying for their victory! Even if the monster in the sky is truly the will of the world, if we surrender to it now we will be no different from Jerga and the King of Gairadite!”

Sival then drew a dagger and sliced the palm of his hand. He used his blood to press his handprint onto the round table.

“The people of Gairadite wished for Dilhade’s salvation. They wished for Arclanisca’s victory. As the Hero Assembly, we must act on their behalf. Am I wrong?”

The King of Portos, Enrique, also cut his palm with a dagger before pressing it onto the round circle. “I am in agreement.”

The mood in the room changed.

“As am I.”

“We should fight.”

One after another, the assembly members spoke up in agreement, cutting their hands and placing them on the round table. There was no magic power in their actions, but each time they signed the blood contract with no binding power, the light of Aske rose from their hearts.

With President Lloyd’s blood signature, the only member left was Katnes. The assembly members tried to press him, but Emilia raised a hand to stop them.

She turned to him and spoke. “Katnes. I know you refuse to accept me. If you have a personal problem with me, then I—”

“I apologize for my behavior until now, Headmaster Emilia,” Katnes said, before Emilia could finish. He promptly took out a dagger to cut his wrist exactly as Emilia had done to herself. Blood poured over the round table. “Please allow me to fight alongside you—as a fellow human.”

Emilia nodded firmly. “We will win this!”

“President Lloyd! The magicast preparations are complete!” one soldier reported.

Emilia immediately used Leaks. Her voice was transmitted through the magic artifact, reaching across Azesion.

“Dear people of Azesion. I am Emilia, Headmaster of the Hero Academy. Azesion is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. But we have the heroes on our side. They have marched to the battlefield, ready to risk their lives. Please, send them your support. Give them the courage to get through this alive. Give them the courage to win against the enemy!”

The light of Aske started glowing from not only Gairadite, but all of Azesion. The light traveled through the waterways connecting Gairadite to the rest of the land, ultimately gathering at the holy lake. During the era of peace, the population of Azesion had increased dramatically, and with their hearts as one, the light of Aske was far brighter than the heavy hopes Hero Kanon had to bear alone two thousand years ago.

The clock hand of Zognacht returned to its original position.

“So-called will of the world,” Lloyd declared on behalf of the Hero Assembly, boldly and dauntlessly. “Here is our answer. Humankind will not make the same mistake twice. The Azesion army will march to protect our friends in Dilhade!”

§ 34. With Dilhade

Nigitt’s body accelerated with all the speed of a lightning bolt. Raos, Ledriano, and Heine were unable to track him with their Eyes. Even Bailamente failed to react before his sword.

“Gah...”

The three heroes fell to their knees. Their hearts had been stabbed through in a single thrust. De Ijeliment was meant to apply a continuous healing effect on the heroes inside the barrier, but their wounds showed no signs of healing. In the Withered Desert, everything moved towards demise. That order was what blocked the barrier’s healing, leading them to their end.

Sensing that they were thoroughly incapacitated, Nigitt turned his gaze towards Arclanisca. He had deemed the castle connected to Gairadite to be the higher priority to bring down.

“All troops prepare to cast Jio Graze. I will open a hole in the barrier with my sword. Fire after me.” Nigitt filled his demon sword with immense magic power.

“Don’t let them have their way! Prepare to fire Jio Graze back!” Elio ordered.

All the Demon King Castles had been erected as a defensive line behind Arclanisca began to draw magic circles. Jet-black suns emerged into the air.

They took aim at Nigitt, Devidra, and Rouche’s troops.

“Fire—”

Just as Elio gave the bombardment order, the Demon King Castle sank into the ground. The entire area had turned into quicksand, swallowing the castle foundations and causing the castles to collapse.

“What is this?! Report! What is happening?!” Elio demanded.

“The desert has spread, turning the entire foundation into quicksand! We’re being swallowed!” one soldier replied.

“Extend the stakes using Iris! There has to be solid ground somewhere!”

“G-Got it!”

Under Elio’s instructions, his subordinates created stakes with Iris that extended into the sandy hell. But the next moment, those stakes were snapped in two.

“You struggle in vain,” a voice said. It came from the bottom of the quicksand.

A god in a turban stood beside the stake, using the press of a single finger to shatter it.

“Before me, you are all minuscule grains of sand.”

“E-Enemy god!” a soldier yelled. “Based on Eldmed’s intel, it’s most likely Anahem, the God of Demise! He’s made contact with us!”

Anahem started running across the sand. He shot forward like an arrow, piercing the row of Demon King Castles through the middle one after another, destroying them in no time at all.

“The castles have fallen!”

“He broke through the line of defense single-handedly... What a monster!” one soldier yelled in horror.

“H-He’s headed back this way!” shouted another.

“What?!”

Anahem ran back along the sand to his original position, this time punching the remains of the Demon King Castles to knock them flying into their neighbors. The castles fell like a row of dominoes, causing the line of defense to completely cave in.

“The army of gods is approaching— No, we’re already surrounded... By roughly eight thousand enemies...”

“Is this the end?”

“Enemy fire confirmed! It’s no good, Arclanisca is—?!”

Nigitt’s squad fired their Jio Graze, setting the Hero Academy Arclanisca alight with black flames. A hole had opened in the barrier, just as Nigitt desired, exposing the castle to their attacks. Under the continuous blasts of Jio Graze, the outer wall of Arclanisca peeled and crumbled.

“Second round. All troops prepare Jio Graze—”

Nigitt was shot with a blast of light mid-order, but the blast failed to pierce his anti-magic, leaving him unharmed. He turned to look at the three heroes that had staggered to their feet using their holy swords for support.

“What? We’re not done yet...” Raos said. The emotions of the Hero Academy students gathered by Aske surrounded the three of them, allowing them to move their bodies when they had been on the verge of death moments before.

“I only need one second. Can you stop his movements, Heine? I’m going to use that,” Ledriano said through Leaks. “Raos, you head inside the castle.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Raos replied. “I’m not running away after coming this far.”

“Who’s being stupid here? If none of us survive, the feelings from Gairadite can’t reach through Aske,” Heine said. He stabbed Zeleo, Sword of Sacred Earth, into the sand. “Just go already!”

The magic power of the holy sword spread through the ground, hardening the sand and turning the area back to solid ground once more. Nigitt stiffened and strained his Magic Eyes, but in the next moment, the ground under him cracked and snapped up, throwing him into the air. It was important to note that the Celestial Canopy’s effect on Fless applied to everyone, including the enemy.

Next, Heine thrust his second holy sword into the ground. The two blades extended into the earth and duplicated into forty-four swords that shot back out of the ground towards Nigitt. If he were pierced by them, he would be afflicted with stigmata; the move was extra effective against demons.

But even suspended in the air with no footing, Nigitt was able to deal with Zere’s and Zeleo’s blades with no difficulty, cutting them apart. Ledriano and Raos used the last of their strength to run. Raos ran towards Arclanisca, while Ledriano charged at Nigitt.

“Bestret!”

A magic barrier surrounded Ledriano.

“Rega Indrea!”

Another barrier layered over him.

“Liad Anzemra!”

Finally, a holy curse that blocked all evil layered on top. Having shattered all forty-four of Heine’s blades, Nigitt landed on the ground unharmed. But Ledriano had aimed for that precise moment, and thrust Bailamente forward.

“Too slow,” Nigitt said.

Nigitt tilted his head to evade the thrust and immediately stabbed his sword deep into Ledriano’s stomach. But Ledriano merely laughed.

“Defend us, Bailamente...” Ledriano said. “Sword of Holy Harbor... Protect life as you have since ancient times... Show us your power and will!”

He released the full power of the holy sword, amplifying the magic barrier by several tenfolds. The barrier surrounded not only himself, but Nigitt as well. A magic circle appeared over the left side of Ledriano’s chest.

“Raos, Heine. You two were the most hopeless partners in crime...”

Nigitt sliced off Ledriano’s right hand. But Bailamente responded to Ledriano’s courage and moved of its own accord, pointing at his heart.

“And the best.”

Bailamente stabbed into the center of the magic circle. Blinding light flooded out of Ledriano’s body—the magic power of his source now and for all future generations of his existence was being released at once.

“Gavuel.”

The source explosion swelled within the barrier—and vanished. Ledriano collapsed forward, having exhausted all his strength.

But his source hadn’t vanished. Gavuel had failed to activate.

“Why...?” he muttered.

“Nice try. In the Withered Desert, all ends are governed by the God of Demise. You may will for your own destruction, but even that is not your choice.”

Nigitt swung his sword, slashing apart the barrier. He ignored Ledriano and chased after the fleeing Raos.

“Did you think you could get aw—” Heine stood before Nigitt with Teo Triath gathered around his right hand, but was cut down before he could fire it. “Damn it...”

Heine collapsed.

“Damn it all!” Raos cursed.

There was no chance they could win. Without even looking at Raos, Nigitt ran towards Arclanisca at full speed. He passed Raos for one brief second.

“Farewell, hero,” Nigitt said.

His demon sword swung down on Raos’s shoulder, sending fresh blood spraying. Raos’s feet sank into the ground from the blow, but he held his position. There was no way he could normally withstand the blow of one of the strongest demons from two thousand years ago—especially with a body that was so close to death already.

But he could hear them—the people of Gairadite. Their voices spoke directly into his ears.

“Do your best!”

“You can do it, Hero Academy!”

No, the people of Azesion.

“Don’t give up! Raos! Heine! Ledriano!”

They traveled down the magic link connected by Leiacanetts, reaching the three heroes.

“Save the world!”

“Our heroes!”

The light of Aske gathered around Raos. The emotions of every human across Azesion became one, converting into a tremendous power.

“I knew it’d come...!” Raos yelled.

Nigitt drew his sword back and aimed a thrust at Raos’s heart. The stab moved like a swift gale, but Raos used the Aske condensed around his left hand to grab the blade. More blood poured from his body, but the light staunched the bleeding.

“Stop struggling. No amount of magic power can bring you victory,” Nigitt said.

“True—if I was fighting against you, that is.”

Nigitt’s brow twitched silently.

“I can tell... You feel the same way, don’t you?” Raos asked.

Light flowed from Nigitt’s body, converting into Raos’s magic power. Their hearts had been firmly connected through Aske.

“See? I knew it was strange... A demon from two thousand years ago should be able to eliminate us in an instant, no? But you’re fighting with us,” Raos said. “We’re not enemies. Show me how you really feel—lend us your strength!”

Raos shoved the demon sword back with all his might. And in that moment, the strength in Nigitt’s arm weakened just a bit.

“Do it...now!” Nigitt yelled. His body wasn’t moving—no, he was stopping it from moving. “Protect Dilhade, heroes!”

The light of Aske gathered in the holy sword Garriford, and Raos thrust it forward.

“Teo Triath!”

A flood of light swallowed Nigitt’s body, erasing it from existence. But just before he perished, he had a peaceful smile on his face.

“Hah... Hah... Urk...”

Raos fell to his knees, panting for breath. Although he had been supplied with magic power, his body was still in critical condition, and he barely had any stamina left.

“It’s not over yet...”

He weakly crawled towards Arclanisca and touched it with his hand. He sent his magic into the three-dimensional circle and activated it, pouring the magic gathered from Azesion into the castle.

A pillar of light rose from the castle, connecting the land to the sky. Raos gritted his teeth to stay conscious and cast his final spell.

“Teo Arclanisca.”

An umbrella of light spread from the castle, covering the entirety of Midhaze in a sparkling sacred barrier. Soldiers within the sanctuary had their wounds healed. The love and kindness of Aske overpowered the order of the Withered Desert.

However, that was only for a brief moment. As Ledriano predicted, Azesion’s feelings could only maintain the barrier for a single second. Teo Arclanisca gradually shrank before vanishing completely.

Raos still had magic power left, but it was his first time controlling such a powerful Aske. And it was too powerful for him to handle—as soon as Teo Arclanisca had activated, Raos had fallen unconscious, his energy completely gone.

“Struggle as you may, no life can escape their demise,” Anahem said. He was standing before Demon Lord Elio, having destroyed all the Demon King Castles.

Elio’s retainers stood with their demon swords raised, ready to act as Elio’s shield.

“Lord Elio, please retreat first.”

“The Hero Academy’s barrier succeeded. Help will definitely—”

Anahem’s hand thrust into the heart of the demon soldier who had been speaking.

“Help will not arrive. Look around you. The will of this world has wished for Dilhade’s destruction and the misfit’s demise, and has used the Solar Eclipse of the End to crack the world into four. Every nation has received this message, and no one is foolish enough to fight against the world itself.”

Anahem defeated the demon soldiers one after another, throwing their lifeless bodies at Elio.

“Your only hope of salvation lay with foolish humans who were ignorant of their limits.” The God of Demise drew Guzelami from its sheath. “Do it, Pelpedro.”

He held the Withered Blade high in the air. The army of gods surrounding Midhaze systematically shifted to an offensive formation. Magician Gods drew magic circles and Bowman Gods nocked their arrows. Swordsman Gods and Spearman Gods prepared to charge. The current Midhaze army didn’t stand a chance against eight thousand divine soldiers attacking at once.

“This is your end. Isolated from the world, the demons of Dilhade will sink in demise,” Anahem declared.

Elio aimed an attack spell at Anahem, but Anahem closed their distance before he could even fire it. Elio was helpless to do anything but watch the blade swing, face pale. The Withered Blade that could destroy all sources swung down mercilessly towards him, and the army of gods, as though seeing it as their signal, released their magic power.

Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the area.

Magician Gods and Bowman Gods went flying through the air as though they had been blown away. An enormous tree, tall enough to pierce the sky, stood among the gods as though to open a hole in their formation. Nestled in the trunk of the great tree was a door, as though the tree was also a building.

There was a rumor of such a tree like this. It said that an ancient tree grew in the Great Spirit Forest, large enough to penetrate the clouds. With a will of its own, it served as a school, teaching all sorts of things to those willing to enter. A tree like an old man with no art sense, who easily lost their temper. This tree was called Ennunien, the Great Tree of Learning.

“They’re not isolated,” a voice said, kind and loving. “It’s not the end.”

Fog gathered around Ennunien. From fog appeared Lignon, the eight-headed water dragon; the titi, the mischievous fairies; Gennul, the Wolf of Hiding that couldn’t be seen; Gigadeith, the Spirit of Thunder and Wind who wielded a tiny hammer; the cenetello, the healing fireflies—and many, many more spirits born from rumors and legends.

Leading them was a woman in a jade-colored dress. She had six crystal-like wings on her back, hair as serene as a lake, and sparkling amber eyes.

“Titi, Lignon, Gigadeith, cenetello, Gennul—everyone. Let’s go.”

She was the mother of all spirits, the Great Spirit Reno. At her order, the spirits all charged at the army of gods.

“Aharthern is with Dilhade,” she said. “This is the nation of the Demon King who saved me and my daughter—the nation where my beloved was born and raised. I won’t let you hurt it.”

The spirits activated their strange powers one after another, using them to toy with the gods. The gods possessed the order of domination through numbers, but that had no effect on the large number of spirits, who were born from rumors and legends. Every single spirit of Aharthern had gathered for the sake of Dilhade.

“Petty tricks...” Anahem muttered, furrowing his brow at the spirit reinforcements—and the figure in front of him. His right arm, wielding Guzelami in mid-swing, had been cut off and sent flying with his sword.

Before him was the right-hand man of the Demon King, Shin Reglia, wielding the Ruinflow Sword Altocorasta.

“Lord Shin...” Elio said weakly.

“My apologies for the delay. I will take over from here.” Shin glared at Anahem without any change of expression—only a murderous glint in his Eyes. “The God of Demise, Anahem—no, the one controlling your body right now is Equis, isn’t it?”

Shin took a careful step towards him. Sensing an immeasurable amount of power, Anahem leaped to the side and retrieved Guzelami from the ground with his left hand.

“A mere will of the world, thinking they can step into my liege’s territory uninvited?” Shin said. “I will make you regret that thought with your entire being.”

§ 35. Paving the Future

There was a fierce wind in the skies above Midhaze, and at the center of it was the God of Change, Gaetenaros, whose flute controlled the winds with every song he played. As he slowly gained power, he played an eerie song through his flute, and watched the battle unfurling below him.

The horde of spirits had collided with the army of gods and were easily overpowering them. Against the Great Spirit Reno, the God of War had no chance of victory, and in no time at all the fantastical phenomena created by the spirits’ magic tore apart the divine forces.

Their lead fighter, Anahem, had locked gazes with Shin and was unable to move. Demon Lord Elio was able to use that time to reorganize his army, constructing multiple new Demon King Castles in the rear line.

“Aha ha! How long are you going to spend on one man, Anahem? If you don’t hurry it up, I’ll steal all your kills! I’m getting bored of this song,” Gaetenaros said teasingly, perched on the wind while playing his divine flute. “Let’s change, let’s shift, let’s transform. Like the night sky, like the autumn sky.”

A tune like thunder began playing from Idydroend, Flute of Change. The tornado swirling around Gaetenaros transformed into green lightning, as though to condense and release all his saved magic power at once.

And then blue lightning struck the army of gods stationed in the sky around Gaetenaros, electrifying them and catalysing their transformation: Their divine bodies became lightning itself, crackling while discharging excess lightning into their surroundings. The army of gods couldn’t fly in the Celestial Canopy using their own power, and so Gaetenaros had turned them into servants of his order.

“See? Ready, my lightning puppets? Those who cannot fly are helpless against aerial attacks. Our target is the misfit’s parents—they’re both powerless humans, so the sooner we kill them, the quicker he’ll give up and use Beno Ievun to close the realm gate.”

The gods that had been transformed into lightning—the lightning puppets—glared down at Midhaze. The magic dolls that had been enhanced by the God of Change’s authority had lost their original order, but in return gained significantly more magic power than they had in their soldier form. As they were now, they’d be able to break through Midhaze’s magic barriers and destroy the city easily.

“Go on. Be like the thunderclaps of the blue sky. Show them despair.” Gaetenaros brought Idydroend to his mouth and played another thunderous tune. Green lightning flashed, and moved to strike Midhaze.

“Dragon art—”

White figures—two winged dragons—soared through the air, dancing freely in the Celestial Canopy where Fless should have been forbidden.

“Geddeolver!”

“Dustderte!”

Two swords moved—one blade moving in the way of a giant dragon as mighty and unshakable as a sacred mountain, while the other moved with the swiftness of a dragon spreading its wings. Together, they crashed into the lightning puppets and sliced them apart. Following them, several more dragons rose from Midhaze into the sky—the Knights of Agatha. They all rode on white variant dragons, using their large wings to break through Gaetenaros’s strong winds.

Leading the Knights of Agatha were the two Dragon Knights, Nate and Sylvia. Behind them were their adjutants, Sylvia’s father Ricardo and Gordo, as well as...

“In-cum, in-cum, incoming...” a baritone voice sang.

The voice came from a man riding on an especially large variant dragon, who flew while thrusting his right arm out in time with the song he sang. A Nojiaz the shape of a dragon jaw glittered dark gray before swallowing half of all the lightning puppets in the sky in its maw.

“Wha—?!” Gaetenaros spluttered.

“In-cum, in-cum, incoming, woo-ooh!”

Another powerful Nojiaz fist tried to snap at the God of Change himself.

“You!”

Gaetenaros played another tune with Idydroend, and a raging wind blew away the Nojiaz. With the attack temporarily delayed, he glared at the draconid that had dared to invade his divine domain.

“Heh. Your song isn’t bad, you know,” said the rider upon the large variant dragon, a large man in a crimson suit of armor. He wore his hair long, kept a well-trimmed beard, and had the serene air about him of a man who had already lived for an eternity.

The man grinned broadly. “But the Demon King Hymn? Now that’s a tune I just can’t get enough of!”

“I don’t know who you are... But if you get in my way, I won’t hold back.”

“Hold your horses, God of Change. Don’t you think it a bit crude for us to fight without even knowing each other’s names or ambitions? Allow me to introduce myself first,” the man said, ignoring Gaetenaros’s surprise. “I’m Diedrich Kreizen Agatha, Sword Emperor of Agatha. And these are the Knights of Agatha, the strongest warriors of my kingdom and of the underground world.”

The Knights of Agatha held the swords before their hearts in a salute.

Gaetenaros snorted. “Agatha? Pfft. You mean you are those folks underground, the ones who survive on the mercy of the gods alone? You think you can defy us?”

“Oh, you should listen to Golroana’s speech about that. But for Agatha, our god is always here,” Diedrich said, tapping his chest with his fist. “The radiance of our lives is the light of god. Thus, we do not falter before the divine. We simply do what we must, with all of our might.”

With their Sword Emperor’s bold declaration, the Knights of Agatha readied their swords.

“Tell this to Equis, God of Change,” Diedrich said in a loud voice that carried across the whole of the Celestial Canopy. “The order of god may have brought us blessing and grace, but the one who overthrew Agatha’s prophecy and paved our path to the future was a visitor from above—the Demon King Anos Voldigoad.”

He clenched his fists, magic particles rising from his entire body. A faint phosphorescence shimmered around him as he expressed his unshakable will.

“By our honor, Agatha stands with Dilhade in its fate. Whether this means making an enemy of the will of the world or charging towards our own destruction, we will pave our future with one life, one sword, one wish.”

Nate, Sylvia, Ricardo, Gordo, and all the other Knights of Agatha had the same looks on their faces as Diedrich—a look without fear. Their resolution was firm.

“For the Demon King who offered his hand when doomsday was upon us, we come now to pay our debts. Isn’t that right, everyone?” the Sword Emperor asked.

In response, Nate, the commander of the Knights of Agatha, released his magic power. The Gaddez unique to the dragonborn took the form of a dragon like a sacred mountain on his back.

“Prepare for dragonfire!” Nate yelled.

“Yes sir!” cried the Knights of Agatha.

The white dragons opened their mouths. Bright red flames flowed out of them.

“Fire!”

At Nate’s order, the dragons exhaled their scorching dragonbreath. And while the lightning puppets scattered to avoid the blow, several were burned in the process.

“The Knights of Agatha will protect this airspace to the death. Don’t let a single enemy into Midhaze!” Nate ordered.

“Roger!”

Gaetenaros’s thunderous song resumed, and the lightning puppets charged at the knights. The puppets attacked from every direction, seemingly at the speed of light, but the knights were able to respond using a formation that focused on the dragonborn—Nate and Sylvia. Sylvia’s sword moved faster than lightning as she slashed at their enemies, while Nate moved his blade with the force that could gouge valleys in mountains, smashing through the enemy’s ranks.

“What an unintelligent answer. Do the draconids of Agatha have no eyes? Just what do you think that is?” the God of Change said, pointing at the vast ground below them.

The land had been split by Ein Aer Naverva, the resulting rift so deep it reached all the way to the underground world. And the rift was still expanding at that very moment—if they left it alone, the world would eventually fall apart, and the world both above and below would be destroyed.

“What you have faced so far are merely faint rays of light emitted by the Almighty Radiance. Yet the world is already in such a state. What do you think will happen if we fight for real?” Gaetenaros asked.

“Oh, we won’t know the answer to that until we try. In the first place, the Demon King was able to hold up the dome all by himself. That leaves us in a bit of a pickle, you see,” Diedrich said. “Since it’d take a world-ending event for us to properly repay him!”

The white dragon he was riding flapped its wings before diving at the God of Change.

“Sky as fickle as the heart.”

Green wind blew gently, shifting the air currents of the sky. The moment dragon and rider touched the gentle wind, the white dragon lost its speed. Gaetenaros flew over it easily.

“Did you think wings granted you the freedom to fly? In this sky of change, the only one who can move without restraint is me.”

The divine flute played another song, this time with an eerie melody.

“Let’s sing. Let’s chant. Yes, let us recite! Like the wind, like the dancing leaves. Flute of Change, Idydroend.”

The white dragon Diedrich rode could no longer support itself in the air. No matter how much it flapped its wings, it began to fall towards Midhaze anyway—almost as though the air currents and magic field had turned into weights on its body. The same applied to the rest of the dragons the knights were riding, and they all fell together.

“Aha ha! I wonder what will happen to Midhaze if a bunch of dragons fall on it from this height,” Gaetenaros barked, and continued to triumphantly play his song. The draconids fell even faster, getting closer and closer to Midhaze. “It’s too bad. Seems that you weren’t able to pave the future after all.”

Just then, something passed Gaetenaros’s Divine Eyes—a sparkling fragment of a crystal. More and more fragments appeared, covering the entire sky of change like a sandstorm. Two orders struggled for dominance as another divine domain suddenly manifested in the Celestial Canopy.

“As if we’d fall. Fly! Fly now!” Sylvia roared, spreading her wings of Gaddez to drag the Knights of Agatha back up into the sky. The knights were now all wielding identical swords of Kandaquizorte that had appeared out of nowhere.

“What’s that? The Goddess of the Future’s sublime world?” Gaetenaros asked with a skeptical look, then immediately shook his head. “No, that’s impossible. Her power is to make a single possible future into reality. But the possibility of flying doesn’t exist here in the Celestial Canopy.”

“I, Naphta, reject that statement.”

A section of the sky distorted, revealing a girl in a blue-green robe. She had indigo hair that reached her shoulders, Diedrich’s crimson Dragon Eye in her right eye, and her own glittering blue Divine Eye in her left.

“Nothing in the future is fixed,” Naphta said. “Just like Naphta’s love, the possibilities of the future are endless, and as I reach for a better future, I carry the hopes of the people in my heart. Knights of Agatha, you have nothing to fear.”

The Goddess of the Future’s tranquil voice echoed through the Celestial Canopy.

“As long as your hope shines through, I, Naphta, will make that future a reality. Let us reach for it—the future of Agatha—together.”

A crystal clock tower appeared at Naphta’s feet, with a total of twelve clock towers eventually appearing in the airspace. Crystal bridges formed between clocks, creating a foundation for Naphta to stand on.

“I sentence you to the court of an ideal world.”

§ 36. Doctrine of the Almighty

East of Midhaze, Nature’s Keep.

Divine soldiers were systematically marching through the overgrown spiral forest, while the Midhaze army had constructed their Demon King Castles in defense. They used group magic to cast Jio Graze, but the Magician Gods made barriers that turned the spell into stones, and continued marching unimpeded.

“Lord Zoro! Lord Eldora!” a Midhaze soldier cried out. “The enemy gods are rushing at us from the front! Approximately five hundred approaching!”

Commanding the Midhaze army to the east was Zoro Angart and Eldora Zaia of the Seven Demon Elders. Both of them kept their Magic Eyes on the battlefield, analyzing the situation in real time while receiving additional reports from their subordinates.

“Charging right into the middle of our forces with a mere five hundred. What do you think, Eldora?” Zoro asked.

“Reconnaissance wouldn’t move so openly. It must be a diversion,” Eldora answered. He drew a magic circle that projected a map of their enemies and allies. “Send two thousand soldiers and have them squash their troops without mercy. Make them think we fell for the decoy and create an opening in our north formation. Once their main forces appear there, Garuze’s squad will annihilate them.”

Garuze was a demon from two thousand years ago. His combat strength was greater than both Zoro and Eldora, but since he lacked a mind for leadership, his role was instead on the front lines, where he was tasked to defeat their enemies in combat.

“Agreed. Attention all troops!” Zoro said, immediately sending a Leaks to the troops in the east. The five-hundred-strong army of gods was formed of Garmrgund and Schnelde, charging straight forward with their swords and spears respectively. Although the Midhaze army was still disadvantaged by Pelpedro’s order, which favored the divine army, they were fully prepared for the attack, and were not so easy to break through.

“Go now! Encircle them!” Zoro ordered.

When the army of gods approached the Demon King Castles before them, demon soldiers immediately emerged from the surrounding castles. They outnumbered the gods with their soldiers four to one, and as such four demons teamed up to take on each god. The captains of each team were elites trained by Nigitt and the other demons from two thousand years ago, so they would be effective in buying time for the Midhaze army.

The demons moved as Zoro and Eldora had ordered, drawing the attention of the gods trying to break through the center while purposefully leaving the north less defended.

“Now come. We’ll eliminate you all in one go,” Zoro muttered.

“I have a question for you, members of the Seven Demon Elders.”

Zoro’s and Eldora’s faces stiffened. The God of Depth had spoken to them through Leaks. The order of the Mother Sea should have prevented the use of Leaks without a magic link, but it seemed Dilfred was unaffected by such limitations.

“The spiral is for depth. The forest is for order. Visitors of the spiral forest come to stop and rest in the midst of their travels. Which do they choose? To move forward, to retreat, or to stay?”

Eldora frowned at the incomprehensible question. He exchanged a look with Zoro, who replied, “If they’re taking a break, then they’re staying. Are you trying to unsettle us, God of Depth?”

“Nay. If they stay, depth will only become more distant. In the spiral forest, moving forward is the only way of resting in place,” Dilfred answered.

The next moment, the scenery before Zoro and the Demon King Castles changed. The army of gods and Midhaze army had all vanished.

“What the—?!”

Zoro and Eldora immediately left the throne room from within the Demon King Castle they were stationed in to look outside with their own eyes. Somehow, they were in an overgrown forest. Their line of defense had been set right before Midhaze, but in a single instant they had been transported elsewhere.

“This is Castle Three! The enemy suddenly has us surrounded!”

“Castle Four, confirming the same. Enemies number approximately two thousand! Requesting reinforcements!”

“Castle Eleven! We’ve lost contact with our allies!”

“Squad Two here. We’ve been teleported against our will! This forest is connected to another dimension!”

“Castle Seven, location unknown! We’re in the middle of a forest!”

Leaks arrived from the troops connected to their magic link.

“We made sure to set our line of defense outside the range of the divine domain...” Zoro muttered in horror.

“Which means...the forest is expanding,” Eldora said.

“Squads in the back line, respond! What happened to the army of gods?!” Zoro asked through Leaks. But there was no reply.

“Don’t tell me...” Eldora muttered.

Zoro and Eldora sent magic power into their legs and leaped up to the trees to look in the direction of Midhaze. The spot where the Demon King Castles had formed a line of defense was empty, not a single soldier to be seen. Zoro looked through the Magic Eyes of the familiar he had stationed on Midhaze’s outer walls to see the army of gods now marching without a single obstacle in their way.

“They had planned on breaking through with those five hundred soldiers from the very beginning!” Eldora yelled.

“All troops, return to the line of defense immediately! The divine army is about to invade Midhaze!” Zoro said.

The Celestial Canopy covered the sky, preventing them from using Fless. Zoro spread his bat wings and flew at a low altitude. As long as he flew low to the ground, the Celestial Canopy wouldn’t have as much of an effect. But tree leaves shifted to block his vision, and in the next moment, he landed back on the ground.

His Demon King Castle was in front of him, and Eldora was beside him. Though he had flown away, he had been returned to his original position.

“Wayfarer of the spiral forest.”

The God of Depth’s voice echoed from the abyss of the overgrown forest. Zoro and Eldora ran—elsewhere, all throughout the forest, their forces were also running, leaping from tree to tree to get back and protect their city.

“Leaves of profound confusion and shallow understanding. Unknown and unlimited, your depth is still boundless.”

But they were too far away. Though they weren’t far from Midhaze physically, the changing dimensions inside the forest made them move without ever reaching their destination.

“Sink into your thoughts, traveler, and navigate the labyrinth without an end.”

Like a lost traveler, they were unable to find a way out of the spiral labyrinth Dilfred had trapped them in. No matter how much they ran, they could only run around in circles.

“It’s no good!” Zoro cried out. “At this rate...”

“Does he mean to say we won’t even be able to fight?!” Eldora shouted.

As the demons panicked, five hundred divine soldiers had made it to Midhaze’s outer wall. As they came ever closer, they accelerated their charge, their increased momentum another gambit they employed to smash through the closed gate.

Divine swords swung down on the gate, while divine spears thrust forward. If they broke through here, the magic barrier and anti-magic wards covering Midhaze’s walls would lose most of their effect. Divine arrows flew through the air, piercing holes in the gate. Under the onslaught of the divine army, the magic barrier audibly creaked, while the anti-magic began to crackle.

“Wrench it open,” the God of War ordered.

The army of gods moved accordingly, making a formation the shape of an arrowhead. At the tip of the arrowhead was Pelpedro, the God of War in rust-colored armor, who wielded a divine sword the same color as his armor.

“Litzernest.”

Five hundred soldiers started glowing with divine light. Their magic power swelled and moved to gather in Pelpedro’s divine sword. This was a spell that used their formation to focus the strength of all their soldiers at a single point—it was designed specifically for breaking through castles and fortresses.

“The time has come. The hometown of the misfit shall be engulfed in the flames of war!”

The army of gods began moving as one, like a giant arrow being fired. Pelpedro’s divine sword roared as it pierced Midhaze’s gate. The sturdy barrier crumbled under the attack of five hundred divine soldiers, the shock wave of the impact blowing apart the nearby walls.

“March on! The soldiers of god will take over the castle! The foolish demons who defy order will learn the correct way of the world—”

A faint booming sound in the distance interrupted Pelpedro’s speech. Singing voices reached the ears of the gods. Voices of not one or two, but of tens of thousands. They sang in perfect pitch and rhythm, creating a phonetic magic circle at the feet of the divine army at the gate of Midhaze.

“At that moment, god said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor. Thou shalt love thy neighbor’s neighbor. Love shall carry faith, and faith shall carry love. Book of Renewal, First Movement: ‘Lanrez.’”

At the call of the singing voice flames of purification rose from the ground—it was the songfire that had once come from the capital of the underground world and been fired at Dilhade. The songfire that had once melted the dome and pierced a hole in the barrier protecting the underside of Midhaze now burned five hundred gods, reducing them to ashes.

“This... This can’t be,” Pelpedro muttered in shock as he burned in the flames. “This gospel... This songfire! Why?!”

Pelpedro and his army had directed their entire strength into Litzernest, leaving them defenseless against the surprise attack of songfire. They burned away, helpless to defend themselves.

“Why has Jiordal...the followers of god...defied Equis?”

Pelpedro fell to the ground, burning away, his rust-colored armor and all reduced to nothing. From the hole in the ground opened by the songfire then came dozens of giant dragons, disciples of the Jiordal Church on their backs.

The number of people that rose from the ground could fill several battalions. At the head of the group was a man in majestic priest robes, who turned his androgynous and beautiful face to look at Midhaze’s outer wall. A single owl, tucked away to spy on the battlefield, flew over and perched on the man’s arm.

“Demon Elder of Midhaze,” Golroana said to the master connected to the familiar via magic link. “I am Golroana Delo Jiordal, Pope of Jiordal. In the name of god, our church has come to return the tenderness once bestowed upon us by the Demon King of Tyranny.”

“I am Zoro Angart of the Seven Demon Elders, and I thank you for the reinforcements from Jiordal. Our enemy is Dilfred, the God of Depth. Be careful. This divine domain has connected with another dimension, turning it into a maze—”

Zoro’s Leaks suddenly cut off.

“I have a question for you, Pope of Jiordal,” Dilfred’s voice said, intruding on their magic connection. “You have heard the voice of the Almighty Radiance before.”

Golroana listened silently.

“Why have you tricked your believers into opposing the very god that they pray to?”

Dilfred’s Leaks echoed across the entire forest. The Jiordal Church were disciples of god, who now marched on a holy war powered by their beliefs. If the pope failed to answer this question properly, they would lose the will to fight and swiftly turn powerless.

With his Divine Eyes that could see into the abyss, Dilfred had determined that this question could shake Jiordal at its core and potentially collapse their forces.

Golroana closed his eyes quietly to answer—as though he was not at battle, and was instead preaching a sermon.

“A man once asked this: If someone claiming to be god stood in the path of us disciples one day, what should be done? To this, the heavens answered: Move them out of the way. If they are a fool proclaiming to be god, as a disciple of god you may inflict divine punishment. And if they are, truly, god, they will forgive what you do, for gods shall always forgive those who make mistakes. It is the duty of us disciples to earn that forgiveness.”

The followers kneeled to listen to Golroana’s sermon, their eyes closed in supplication. The song of their beliefs echoed even farther, constructing a phonetic magic circle.

“God of Depth, I ask you this in return. If you truly are the Almighty Radiance as you claim, why have you taken actions that oppose us? Why have you done something to warrant our suspicion?” Golroana asked Dilfred, preaching the path of a disciple. “Why would Equis go out of their way to declare themself Equis? There is no need for such an act. If Equis were to truly show themself before us, we would understand it at once, deep in our hearts, and accept without skepticism.”

He folded his hands in prayer.

“If you truly are as almighty as you claim, please put an end to this tragedy. Turn this war engulfing our beloved neighbors into something to smile about.”

“Within the order of god is the revelation of Dilhade’s destruction,” Dilfred said.

Golroana shook his head slowly. “How could someone who has yet to destroy a mere nation be almighty? Equis needs not desire, or prayer, or even threats, for Equis can at once make their decisions reality. What god must bargain with their followers? God does not take. God only gives.”

The followers all hung their heads reverently, praying as they listened to him. Golroana quietly opened his eyes and concluded his sermon with carefully chosen words.

“Thou shalt not speak in the name of the almighty.”

§ 37. Those Who Detest the Gods

West of Midhaze, Mother Sea.

The plains had sunk into an ocean, and its raging waves were now surging towards Midhaze.

“The first drop makes the pond. The pond becomes the Mother Sea. Rise, my kind children—Life Birthing Shield, Avrohelian,” the Goddess of Birth said, bringing life to the Mother Sea. Divine soldiers rose from the bottom of the ocean and rode its waves towards the shore where the Midhaze army had created a line of defense. As the soldiers crested the waves, they fired a tremendous number of divine arrows and magic bullets on the Midhaze army’s defenses.

The Bowman God Amysius and Magician God Dolzork formed squads that relied on quantity to break the barriers from afar. The row of Demon King Castles were barely able to withstand the concentrated fire, but the number of enemies being carried over by the tsunami of the Mother Sea was only increasing. The barriers and wards started creaking in protest, as though they were on the verge of breaking.

Inside the Demon King Castle, subordinates of the Demon Elder Medoin Garsa were yelling in a panic.

“Magic barrier damage at forty-seven percent!”

“Resupply of magic power cannot keep up at this rate!”

Medoin’s brows furrowed.

“Lord Medoin, there is no chance of victory if we stay and allow ourselves to be besieged,” a man with a sharp face said, walking up to Medoin. His skin was dark, with long hair that he swept back and kept tied, and he had gold Magic Eyes to match the sharpness of his face. The man was Zeke Ozma, a former officer of the Conflagration King, and had once defeated Demon Elder Melheis before losing against me in a test of knowledge. He had spent much time reincarnated as an owl, but after Eldmed became my subordinate, I returned him to normal.

“We should make the first move,” Zeke said.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Leave it to us.”

A squad of demons appeared behind Zeke. The demon with a black ponytail was Linka Theorness, the Steadfast Sword. She was one of the Netherworld King’s subordinates who fought Misha and Sasha in the incident with Avos Dilhevia. The other demon with her was Zaburo Gaez, the Scarlet Stele King’s adjutant who had been defeated by Eleonore in the same incident.

The entire squad was made of demons from two thousand years ago, with the subordinates of the Four Evil Kings at the core. They were the biggest wildcard of the otherwise well-ordered Midhaze army. In normal times, they lived freely without much interest in their job—mostly because they had been explicitly told to behave.

“Hee hee. Gods would make great research material,” Zaburo said with a snicker. “Why don’t we seal their order in stone monuments? It would be a piece of cake for the Scarlet Stele King.”

Linka drew her demon sword in the blink of an eye. The Freeform Sword Garmest had a blade that could change shape as she willed—and she extended it to point at Zaburo’s throat. “Our country is in crisis. If at any moment you let your obsession with your repulsive magic research get in the way, I will not hesitate to cut you down on the spot.”

“Hee hee hee! A dog of the Netherworld King, killing me? And where is that master of yours right now, hmm? Has the coward already fled for the hills?” Zaburo taunted.

Linka glared at him sharply. “You take that back. My liege would never flee.”

“Then why, if Dilhade is in such crisis, has he yet to show himself?”

“Because he has greater plans. Unlike yours, the literal dog of the Conflagration King.”

Zaburo returned her glare bitterly. “He was merely caught off guard by that craven wretch. The Scarlet Stele King is indomitable. He will shine no matter the dirt that covers him. He is the king of dirt! And one day, he will return from the dregs.”

“I wasn’t aware a senile old fool like you could be so loyal. Especially to a master in that state. Did your similar intelligence levels bring you together?”

Zaburo cackled with a childish giggle. Their murderous gazes collided with each other, and the next moment, Garmest had slashed Zaburo’s cheek while simultaneously a boulder had been fired out of a magic circle straight at Linka’s face. She caught the stone with her right hand.

The two glared at each other again when the Demon King Castle suddenly shook intensely. The magic attacks of the gods had broken through another layer of the barrier.

“Good grief. It’s so noisy, we can’t even fight in peace,” Zaburo said.

“You can say that again,” Linka agreed.

Zaburo erased his magic circle and Linka sheathed her sword. The two turned on their heels at the same time.

“Just watch,” Zaburo said. “The moment I’m done with those gods, it’ll be your turn next.”

“Don’t chicken out on me,” Linka replied.

“Brat. Watch who you’re talking to.”

The two led their respective troops out of the Demon King Castle.

“Will they be all right?” Medoin asked with a skeptical look.

“They’re just messing about,” Zeke answered, completely calm. “While they may not get along, they understand that this isn’t the time for infighting. They won’t shoot their own allies in the back.”

Medoin was silent for a few seconds before giving up with a sigh. “Very well. I’ll leave them to you. We have no choice but to rely on your experience during the Great War.”

“Understood.”

Zeke turned around and headed out of the Demon King Castle with his own troops. On the outside of the barrier were surging waves of divine soldiers. As long as the Goddess of Birth’s domain remained, their enemies would be born without end. On top of that, each one was born with the order that gave the majority power over the minority. The more time passed, the more disadvantaged the Midhaze army would be.

“There they are. Hordes of gods, each with a terrifying amount of magic power,” Zaburo said, drawing a multilayered magic circle with both hands. He raised the circle over his head, and it expanded to fill the sky.

A giant stone stele appeared from the circle, surrounded by thousands of smaller stone monuments.

“Gyze.”

Zeke drew a magic circle to connect every demon outside the castle with a Gyze link. It was the only way to give his commands in the Mother Sea where Leaks was sealed.

“Prepare to depart. Zaburo, Linka, your strategy will be our cornerstone. Don’t mess it up,” he said.

“We know,” Linka said curtly. She left to lead the advance.

“Who do you think you’re talking to, kid?” Zaburo said to Zeke. “Hurry up and send your magic power.”

Zaburo took the magic power Zeke sent him through Gyze and immediately poured it into his magic circle. “Cursed gods. Let this teach them a lesson.”

Scarlet stone steles began raining down from above. The stones weren’t aimed at the army of gods, but the ocean itself. Water shot up in huge sprays as the stones fell, stabbing into both the depths and shallows of the sea.

“Let the battle commence!” Linka yelled, running into the shallows with her soldiers. The Freeform Sword in her hand had been turned invisible and concealed with Najira, making it impossible for Divine Eyes to track. The rest of the demons followed Zeke’s commands and moved in orderly fashion to face the army of gods in equal numbers.

“I’ve got you now!”

Garmest easily sliced off the head of a Swordsman God. As one would expect of a demon from two thousand years ago, Linka had improved significantly since she fought Misha and Sasha. It seemed she was making full use of her new, reincarnated body that had inherited the blood of the Demon King of Tyranny.

“Next!”

With each swing of Linka’s sword, a god fell.

“Another!”

While her power was impressive, Zeke, who was commanding the troops, was skillful as well. He had lured the overwhelming number of enemies into localized groups that could be intercepted with equal numbers of demons, and allowed Linka to have her fights one-on-one. With every god Linka defeated, her squad gained an advantage in numbers. The more time passed in this way, the more the enemy numbers steadily decreased. Zeke hadn’t been the officer of the Conflagration King for nothing.

But it still wasn’t enough. There was a limit to their physical and magical power, and they couldn’t continue fighting forever. It was clear the demons would exhaust themselves before the gods stopped being born—but Zeke had accounted for that too.

“Hee hee. It’s about time,” Zaburo said. “You know the puppets of the dead in the Withered Desert? Such interesting magic at work, but it’s still something we can return right back to them.”

The thousands of stone monuments stabbed into the Mother Sea started glowing with purple light that extended towards each other. Stone connected with stone, drawing a huge magic circle in the Mother Sea.

“Goa Grum.”

As soon as Zaburo activated his magic circle, several divine bodies got to their feet simultaneously. The Garmrgund, Schnelde, and Dolzork that Linka had defeated slowly stood up. But they had changed; their armor was decayed, their eyes glowed an ominous red, and each one had two eerie horns protruding from their heads. Above all, they had even more magic power than they did when they were gods.

“Guuuh...”

“Grrrraaah...”

“Gwaaah!”

The gods-turned-ghouls groaned as they attacked their former comrades. Every god the ghouls defeated had their anti-magic weakened and then turned into ghouls themselves, joining their fellow ghouls into following Zaburo’s commands like loyal magic dolls.

“Hee hee hee! I’ll create as many as it takes! The more I make, the stronger my army will be!” Zaburo cackled.

The ghouls would fight until their sources completely rotted apart. And the more they defeated the more their own number would multiply, swarming the army of gods with their own forces like rats swarming food. Even though the Mother Sea could endlessly birth gods, there was a limit to how fast it could do so.

If left unchecked, there would be so many ghouls on the battlefield that the divine soldiers would be turned into ghouls faster than they could be born. At that point, it would be victory for Zeke and the other demons.

“Advance! Take down the god creating this domain!” Zeke ordered.

Now that the situation had been reversed, Linka led the demons and ghouls into the water. Using Koko, they swam faster than fish, eventually arriving at the great tree in the center of the sea to surround the Goddess of Birth.

Linka pointed Garmest at her warily. “You’re Wenzel, right?”

Wenzel held her shield up. The Life Birthing Shield glowed with blinding light, and newly born divine soldiers leaped out of the tree at the same time.

The demons followed Zeke’s commands without showing any surprise, defeating them together with the ghouls.

“Prepare yourself!” Linka yelled, slashing at Wenzel with her elongated and invisible Freeform Sword.

The Goddess of Birth effortlessly blocked the blade with her shield, but the Freeform Sword was also capable of duplicating itself. Another Garmest had simultaneously swung in the opposite direction to avoid notice and sliced at Wenzel’s defenseless torso. The Goddess of Birth stared at Linka, blood flowing from her wound.

No, she was staring behind Linka. But there was nothing there.

“It’s over.”

Linka poured her magic into an Adesin spell, increasing the power of the Freeform Sword as she slashed the Goddess of Birth again. Her target was the Avrohelian in Wenzel’s hand. If she could get Wenzel to release the Life Birthing Shield, they’d be able to send the ghouls in for a massive self-destructive attack. This was the plan Zeke had devised after learning that the Four Principles couldn’t be destroyed easily.

As planned, Linka swung with all her might and struck Wenzel’s right hand. The azure shield fell from her fingertips.

“Now—”

Linka was about to yell for her comrades when her Eyes widened. In less than a second, Wenzel’s body had turned transparent and vanished. Faint light gathered where she had been staring mere moments ago—at the empty spot behind Linka.

Linka then sensed a murderous presence and turned around. Order had inverted, and a woman clad in red fabric appeared at the spot Wenzel had stared at. It was a woman with dark red hair, tied back and swaying like an ocean. In other words, Wenzel had turned into Andeluc, the Goddess of Termination.

Red thread appeared and at once drew a magic circle, where a giant pair of fabric scissors in the shape of a two-headed snake emerged in the center.

“Zaburo!”

“I know!”

The divine soldiers that had been turned into ghouls all charged at Andeluc.

“Unwanted babes shall be consumed by the fangs of the snake,” Andeluc snarled coldly. A metallic snipping sound rang through the air. “Egliahonne.”

“What?!” Zaburo’s Magic Eyes widened. The bodies of the ghouls were crumbling apart, making them all perish at once. “How is this possible?! My ghouls!”

“As the torn fetus drowns, the water of the mother stains red.”

Red blood flowed from the crumbling ghouls, staining the Mother Sea crimson red.

“I won’t let you!” Linka yelled, swinging the Freeform Sword with all her might. But the Goddess of Termination melted into the red water, and the demon sword slashed through nothing.

“Zeke!”

Zeke turned around at her scream. The Snake Forceps of Termination were right behind him, their blades opened.

“Terminate, Egliahonne!”

Zeke leaped to the side to evade the divine scissors. But Andeluc hadn’t been aiming for him; Egliahonne had snipped the magic link that connected the demon soldiers with Gyze. Suddenly, as though a condition had been fulfilled, the ocean turned a deeper crimson.

“What? I can’t use Koko...”

“This is...”

“Our magic has been canceled... And that’s not all... We cannot swim...”

The demons then sank into the crimson ocean. The presence of the Goddess of Termination had changed the order of the Mother Sea. Like fetuses whose umbilical cords had been cut while still in their mother’s waters, the demons were now drowning.

Andeluc giggled. “This is my sea now. All magic is terminated, and no one can swim. You are all fragile babes who cannot hope to win against me.”

From within the sea, Andeluc glared at the row of Demon King Castles protecting Midhaze.

“Perish.”

The surface of the sea rippled violently, pushing a crimson tidal wave towards the Demon King Castles. The barriers and wards protecting the castles were terminated easily upon impact, and the tidal wave approached quickly without any interruption. The castles, created with magic, were helpless against the order of termination.

But just as the surging waves were about to make contact, they froze.

The Goddess of Termination’s eyebrow twitched. “What?”

The water had frozen over. The tidal waves that should have terminated all magic was freezing from some kind of power—a divine power.

“Snow piles up; light falls.”

In the blink of an eye, the entire area turned into a snowscape. Snow fell across the Mother Sea, silver crystals freezing the surface of the raging water and sealing the tidal waves within. A single lunar snowdrop fluttered down through the air, transforming into an ethereal girl with silver hair and gold Divine Eyes.

“Goddess of Termination,” the girl said. “My name is Arcana, little sister of the Demon King and blasphemous god of Gadeciola. As the former Goddess of Absurdity, one who once bore the hatred of those betrayed by the gods, I will fight for the demons of Midhaze.”

She kneeled, solemn, and raised her arms. Forbidden soldiers assimilated with ice dragons descended from the sky, snow falling in their wake.

“In Gadeciola, the gods are detested, and though all our forbidden soldiers carry hatred in their hearts, we are a nonaggressive people. But if you try to take anything else from us, we will not forgive you.”

§ 38. The Six Flowers of Absurdity

Arcana took a quiet step forward, extending her hand.

“Sea freezes; ice melts.”

The frozen water of the Mother Sea shattered like thin ice. A round hole opened.

“Save the demon soldiers first, my forbidden soldiers,” she said, before diving into the crimson Mother Sea.

“As our blasphemous god wishes.”

“Do not let the gods have their way!”

The forbidden soldiers were all former draconids that had betrayed the gods and the faith of the underground world. Their hatred of the gods consumed them, trapping them in an all-consuming prison just like the humans and demons had once been trapped by their mutual enmity.

Arcana was once one of those prisoners. Exploited by both gods and faith, her daily life was filled with betrayal. But that was why she had returned to Gadeciola as the Goddess of Absurdity—she wanted to bear their hatred with them. It was no surprise that when the divine army had attacked the draconids, Arcana immediately gathered the forbidden soldiers to protect Gadeciola.

One after another, the forbidden soldiers, with wings of ice having grown on their backs, leaped into the crimson Mother Sea to rescue Zeke and the others from the water’s depths.

“Hee hee hee!”

A shadow crossed Arcana’s sight underwater. The Goddess of Termination had appeared in the crimson red depths.

“Like summer insects flying into a flame, the Mother Sea is not a place you can move freely,” Andeluc said. Red magic released from her body as red threads sliced through the water to wrap around the forbidden soldiers. The fish, once swimming in the waters of the Mother Sea, fell limp and sank to the bottom of the sea. Just like how no one could fly in the sky of change, no one could swim in the sea of termination.

“Sink to your termination!”

With Veaflare gone, there was no Supreme Dragon nesting inside the forbidden soldiers. Instead, they received their power from Arcana—from the divine powers of the lunar snowdrops. The flowers created dragon wings, claws, tails, and scales on the forbidden soldiers, and even generated oxygen directly inside their lungs. But even though they were not being powered by magic that Andeluc could terminate, they were still unable to swim through the red sea. The waters of termination tangled around them, stealing their freedom and forcing them to sink to the depths of the sea.

“No one can win against me in the Mother Sea. The God of Change is the order of the Celestial Canopy, the God of Depth is the order of Nature’s Keep, and the God of Demise is the order of the Withered Desert. Your incomplete divine powers do not stand a chance against us.”

Arcana opened her mouth. As she exhaled her breath, lunar snowdrops emerged as well, creating a voice that echoed through the water. “Are they really incomplete?”

Andeluc smirked, snakelike.

“Pope Golroana only has the Book of Traces left behind by the God of Traces. The Goddess of the Future transferred her future-seeing Divine Eyes to the Sword Emperor and became defective. The God of Demonic Blade has lowered himself into being the property of one of the Demon King’s subordinates. None of you can even create a proper divine domain! All you incomplete gods will obey or perish!”

“The Round Garden of Principles is a large divine domain formed by four smaller domains,” Arcana said quietly as she sank into the sea. “Magic power cycles through these four domains, giving you tremendous power. Just like the other Four Principles.”

“What about it?”

“If a single domain disappears from the Round Garden of Principles, the other domains will weaken as well.”

Andeluc cackled. “You are a mere proxy that covers lost order. Can you not see that?”

Andeluc looked upwards. Above the misty red Mother Sea was the Solar Eclipse of the End, a sinister glitter in the sky. Though the Sword of Three Races had rewound its progress, the solar eclipse was progressing once again. Now that Evansmana had left Lay’s hands, there was no one left on earth who could stop the eclipse.

“With the Goddess of Creation revived, there is no need for a proxy anymore. Your greatest authority was the Moon of Creation, but now that it’s been combined with the Sun of Destruction it’s no longer yours to command. Your power as the Goddess of Absurdity is worthless.”

Andeluc closed her Snake Forceps of Termination with a sharp snap and pointed them at Arcana.

“How much order is left with you right now? Is freezing the sea of termination with some snowflakes the best you can do?”

Arcana stared at the Goddess of Termination, silent, showing no signs of movement or intent to attack. She stared at the red ocean with her Magic Eyes, then gasped. The snake pattern on Egliahonne had disappeared.

“Did you finally notice?” Andeluc asked with a smug grin.

The next moment, Arcana’s calm expression twisted in agony. While they had been speaking, the two-headed snake had snuck up on her through the murky waters and attached itself to her navel. The other end of the snake was attached to Andeluc—an umbilical cord created for the sole use of terminating Arcana.

“Now return! Unwanted life, come back to me.”

The magic sent along the umbilical cord from the Goddess of Termination returned Arcana to a fetus. Lunar snowdrops wrapped around her body, using the power of creation to prevent her body from transforming.

“It’s futile! Unwanted fetuses shall be culled by the scissors of god—”

The Snake Forceps of Termination opened, like a snake baring its fangs. Sharp blades touched the divine umbilical cord.

“Terminate, Egliahonne.”

The scissors snapped shut, closing like jaws around helpless prey.

“Wait... What?” Andeluc muttered in shock. The umbilical cord was still intact, while the blades of the Snake Forceps of Terminations had rusted over and were now crumbling apart.

“What is this...?”

“You’ve been deceived, Goddess of Termination—no, will of this world.”

Arcana stared at Andeluc and quietly closed her eyes. The next time she opened them, the arc of the Sun of Destruction and the crescent moon of Altiertonoa appeared in her Magic Eyes. Together they formed a circle—the true power of the Magic Eyes of Absurdity.

“The child of nihility distorted the Selection Trial. Right now, the balance of order is in complete disarray. Even though the Goddesses of Destruction and Creation have revived, my power as a proxy remains intact. In fact, I’m even stronger than before. He must have really wanted to laugh upon this world.”

Dancing flowers of ice appeared in her palms. Arcana slowly raised her hands, returning them to the skies.

“Snow falls in the spring sun; six flowers melt the world.”

Shining like the sun but with the cold radiance of the moon, the frozen flowers burned. More and more of these flowers gathered at Arcana’s back, creating something that resembled the sun and moon, yet wasn’t.

“Springtime Hexabloom.”

“What? Is this...order?” Andeluc murmured in confusion, staring at the object that was creating the Springtime Hexabloom. They were six petals, burning and freezing at the same time. It emitted divine authority, and in its presence was the order of a god. “This can’t be possible... This—!”

Her Divine Eyes widened and she shook her head. As one of the Four Principles, the foundation of all order, she couldn’t believe the divine power before her eyes.

“This has to be a mistake! Such an order couldn’t possibly exist!”

“Moon rises not; sun falls. Spring illuminates the godless world,” Arcana recited in a tranquil voice. “Levihelorta.”

The burning flowers of ice released cold air and hot steam simultaneously. The flowers possessed two elements coexisting with each other when they should have been in conflict, and it was the power of that contradiction—the power to both freeze and burn the sea of termination—that disturbed the order of the Mother Sea. The forbidden soldiers that had sunk helplessly into the ocean were now illuminated by Levihelorta, allowing them to move once again and resume rescuing their demon allies, one after another.

“How? How are you swimming in my ocean? Unwanted babes shall be terminated! Terminated!” Andeluc yelled, swinging the Snake Forceps of Termination. Magic power surged, creating countless red threads in the Mother Sea, but instead of wrapping around their targets they began tangling around the master of the divine domain instead.

“Gyah! Wh-What?!”

“The area illuminated by Levihelorta is the domain of absurdity. Here, everything disobeys order.”

Andeluc’s Divine Eyes widened as she yelled. “Impossible! My termination cannot be disobeyed! Gods are order. Are you saying it’s possible to defy myself?!”

Andeluc’s divine body transformed into unravelling red threads in an attempt to escape her restraints. She vanished and reappeared behind Arcana.

“Unwanted babes shall be consumed by the fangs of the snake—”

A metallic snap resounded.

“Egliahonne.”

The scissor closed around Arcana’s neck, but in the next instant, had bent back the opposite way.

“What?!” Andeluc shrieked with rounded Eyes.

“Sword of Absurdity, Leviangilma.”

Springtime Hexabloom gathered in Arcana’s hand, forming the sword that, back when both Arcana’s memories and authority as a proxy had been sealed, Ahid had once called the Sword of the Almighty. It once required the Abolisher of Reason to be used, but not anymore.

Arcana had regained her memories and powers as a proxy, and the divine sword was returned to her. Thanks to this, all the pieces of the distorted Selection Trial were gathered together, and Arcana was able to show her true worth as the Goddess of Absurdity.

“This divine body has become eternal.”

“Die, you monster!”

Andeluc transformed her right arm into a snake of red threads that immediately tried to bite at Arcana. But the snake’s attack failed to touch her eternal divine body and the snake was erased.

“Order has no effect on me.”

Arcana quietly drew Leviangilma from its sheath, the silver blade shining beautifully as it was revealed. Though the Sword of the Almighty was meant to destroy whoever drew its blade, Arcana was unaffected. The Levihelorta had also distorted the order of the sword.

“Absurdity distorts order. I am the blasphemous god that rises against the heavens,” Arcana said, cutting the umbilical cord connecting her to Andeluc.

“Gyaaah! Urgh...”

The Goddess of Termination swayed as she lost all strength and collapsed, sinking into the sea of termination.

“Impossible... I cannot...be terminated...” Andeluc murmured, her voice fading as she vanished into the depths of the red Mother Sea. Absurdity had reversed Andeluc’s and Arcana’s fates, with Andeluc having been terminated by her own order.

It was a fearsome power, worthy of the Goddess of Absurdity’s title. Perhaps Graham had even played a part in its formation—had even devised this method to defeat Equis after the altered Selection Trial set up the possibility of Equis’s birth. After all, Arcana’s powers as the Goddess of Absurdity had awakened just as Equis manifested and the Goddesses of Destruction and Creation were revived. It was hard to imagine that it was only a coincidence. If Levihelorta turned order into absurdity, then it should be able to render Equis, a collective body of order, powerless. All of Equis’s power would become the Goddess of Absurdity’s.

However...

“Moon rises; sun falls. Winter arrives in the godless world.”

Arcana sheathed the Sword of Absurdity. Levihelorta faded with a burst of petals.

She then floated on the ocean, entirely drained of strength. She had used so much power that her body was drained of all magic. Despite her flawless victory, her source was exhausted—Arcana was battered and could fight no more.

Considering the events at Gadeciola, did Graham intend for me to be the proxy with Arcana’s powers? Or had he wanted to obtain those powers for himself? Either way, the powers of absurdity were probably the only thing that could defeat Equis. If Levihelorta was active, then Equis’s powers wouldn’t affect the world the way they wanted it to. Whatever destruction they wanted to wreck wouldn’t affect the earth.

“You want to protect this world, don’t you?” Arcana murmured softly.

Weak and feeble, she faced the sky. The solar eclipse was still in motion.

“This time, I will protect what’s precious to you, big brother.”

§ 39. The Prophecy of That Day Has Passed

Above Midhaze, Celestial Canopy.

Lightning puppets scattered like bolts of electricity as Kandaquizorte slashed them apart. Changed by Gaetenaros’s order, each transformed Swordsman God and Magician God had more power individually than they did before. Their numbers surpassed the Knights of Agatha by twentyfold, and, unlike the knights, they could move freely throughout the Celestial Canopy. But they were being easily overpowered by Sylvia’s and Nate’s dragon arts. These two were dragonborn, possessing far more power than the average draconid. The last time Lay and Misa had visited Agatha, Sylvia and Nate had proven an even match to them.

The weather itself was also one of Gaetenaros’s weapons, shifting constantly to attack the knights. The sky of change was an unstable environment that responded to Gaetenaros’s whims, but there was stable footing available to the knights still: the twelve clock towers formed by Naphta, piercing through the clouds. Crystal bridges connected them all, forming Naphta’s ideal world. Under this divine domain in which all ideals were realized, the Knights of Agatha wielded their Kandaquizorte swords and slaughtered the lightning puppets.

Gaetenaros spoke. “At times, it can be a raging fire. Flute of Change, Idydroend.” The melody from the divine flute changed to a fiery tune, with flames gathering around Gaetenaros. “Behold! The power of Voldovaizen, the God of Blaze: the Cannon of Burning, Valdogotze.”

Blinding light gathered in the flames, forming the shape of a large cannon. Flames roared from the cannon, aiming at Diedrich and launching divine cannonfire.

“I, Naphta, declare a restriction,” Naphta said.

The dull phosphorescence around Diedrich’s fist started to glow.

“Raaaaaah!”

The Sword Emperor thrust his fist straight at the divine cannonfire. The flames were split in two, and the massive wind pressure created by Diedrich’s fist landed a scratch on Gaetenaros’s cheek. Diedrich leaped from crystal bridge to crystal bridge, aiming punches at the God of Change.

But while in the air, Gaetenaros had the advantage, and he nimbly flipped and moved to evade Diedrich’s attacks. Although the ideal world was in effect, Diedrich could only use Fless for short periods of time, and only at low speeds. Leaping with his own feet was faster, but it was extremely difficult to catch up to Gaetenaros, who was far less inhibited.

“Fire was your specialty, right? Well, how about this! The power of Freuzaten, the God of Frost: the Snowclouds of Frost, Annettathon,” Gaetenaros said in a singsong voice.

The sky changed, clouds of ice filling the area. Hail fell from the sky, striking heavy blows against Diedrich’s body. For every sixteen pieces of hail that fell, a magic circle was formed which froze Diedrich’s and Naphta’s bodies. There were too many pieces of hail for him to break with his fists.

“I can’t get enough of this!”

The muscles in Diedrich’s entire body throbbed, the ice covering his body starting to crack open. Behind him, particles of magic surged upwards. His Gaddez took the shape of a dragon with sharp, swordlike wings that flung away the ice. Now free, Diedrich looked up at the cloudy sky above and, with one mighty kick against Naphta’s ice bridge, launched into the air like an arrow shot at the sky.

“Aha ha ha! Clouds drift, clouds change.”

At the sound of the flute, the Snowclouds of Frost rose at the same speed as Diedrich’s jump. There was no chance of him catching up to them with Fless, and he couldn’t accelerate any further.

“I, Naphta, declare a restriction.”

Naphta appeared immediately beside Diedrich, as though she had read the future and moved ahead of him.

“Here you are.”

“Thanks.”

Diedrich stepped on the hands Naphta held out before him and used her boost to leap farther into the air. He accelerated like a bullet of light up to the Annettathon and thrust his fists forward with Nojiaz, humming all the while.

“Hah!”

The Snowclouds of Frost shattered, their magic sucked into the Sword Emperor’s fists. Diedrich turned around and kicked the clouds down before rushing at Gaetenaros to attack him directly.

“Aha ha ha! Just try it.”

The divine flute changed tunes once again, playing a sad melody reminiscent of demise. A hundred Withered Blades appeared before Gaetenaros.

“You have no means of dodging in midair.”

Guzelami shot straight at Diedrich. Faced with the deadly blades that sliced only the source of things, he clenched his fists in resolve.

“Struggle all you want,” Gaetenaros said. “You’re no more than a grain of sand.”

“I, Naphta, declare a restriction.”

Dull phosphorescence gathered around Diedrich’s swordlike dragon wings. He then thrust his fists out while using both Gaddez and Nojiaz.

“Raaaaaah! Waaaaaah!”

The moment the Withered Blades touched Diedrich, they were sucked into his fists and vanished.

“What?!”

Gaetenaros’s eyes widened—he hadn’t expected all one hundred blades to vanish from his eyes. The next moment, the Sword Emperor’s fists came in contact with his face, and the God of Change was sent flying.

“Guwaaah!”

The God of Change crashed into a crystal clock tower.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s fire, ice, or swords, God of Change. I will consume everything.”

Through the effects of Naphta’s divine domain, Diedrich’s Nojiaz had reached his ideal form. While things may have been different against the real Guzelami, the swords thrown at Diedrich were all created from Gaetenaros’s magic power. As one would expect from an imitation, their power and order were far inferior to the real thing—if one stared into their abyss, they would only see the God of Change’s magic. And since his magic was something Diedrich could consume, technically nothing Gaetenaros used against him would be effective; it would only make Diedrich stronger.

“Now let’s put an end to this,” Diedrich said, clenching his fists once more. “I don’t have the time to play with you forever. We need to stop that solar eclipse and prevent the destruction of the world.”

Diedrich ran along the bridge, closing the distance to the God of Change in a single leap and thrusting Nojiaz forward.

Gaetenaros brought Idydroend to his mouth and played a new song.

“That won’t work.”

The Sword Emperor slammed his fist into Gaetenaros’s abdomen without any hesitation, prepared to crush and consume anything that came his way, be it fire, water, or lightning. And with a clamorous crash, the clock tower behind Gaetenaros was blown apart by the force of his punch. A direct hit should have done significant damage to the god, but Diedrich’s frown only deepened by what he saw.

“Your fists might be able to consume everything, but only if your blows actually land.”

Gaetenaros floated up and away from Diedrich with ease. A song reminiscent of a ticking clock played, and with this song, forty-six copies of the Future World Crystal, Kandaquizorte, appeared in front of the God of Change.

“I found your weakness!” Gaetenaros exclaimed. “It’s the Goddess of the Future’s authority. If it weren’t for Naphta losing her Divine Eye, the Kandaquizorte could see the complete future.”

Two of the Kandaquizorte copies were then sucked into Gaetenaros’s eyes. With his new eyes, powered by the Goddess of the Future, he looked down at Diedrich.

“Oh, how unfortunate! These Divine Eyes can see your defeat.”

“That order is too much for you to handle.”

One of the floating Future World Crystals transformed into a spear and shot down straight at Diedrich. He thrust his fist out with Nojiaz, but the future was at once restricted to a future where the spear landed its hit, so it pierced through him unimpeded.

“Guh!”

“I sentence you to a skewering! Just kidding. The future’s exactly as I saw it. What part of that is too much for me?”

Despite having the future restricted and his source heavily wounded, Diedrich laughed heartily. “If you rejoice simply at seeing the future you saw coming true, then you’ve still got a long way to go.”

“Hmm? Why is an insignificant draconid still talking down to me? Take that!”

The forty-four remaining Future World Crystals before the God of Change transformed into spears, each one pointed at Diedrich.

“Azept: Naphta,” Diedrich immediately said.

Naphta held up her Kandaquizorte sword and saluted it over her chest. She then left the sword behind and shattered into pieces of crystal.

“Aha ha ha! I saw this future too.”

A large crystal orb appeared out of nowhere, trapping Naphta’s scattered fragments. Gaetenaros’s Kandaquizorte had moved ahead of Diedrich’s and Naphta’s future moves.

With the future restricted, Naphta returned to her divine body. With the Azept possession failing to activate, she was trapped in the crystal orb.

“Shouldn’t you know that’s futile, Naphta? All this talk about ideals won’t make up for the fact that you can no longer see the future. And you dare to suggest an uncertain future is one of hope? I’ve never heard of anything so foolish!”

Diedrich leaped from the crystal bridge towards where the God of Change floated in midair. But from the moment he had sealed Azept, Gaetenaros had seen with his Divine Eyes what Diedrich would do. Forty-four spears of Kandaquizorte promptly rained on Diedrich in response.

“Gwaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!”

Gaddez manifested denser than ever, forming a single broadsword in addition to the two swordlike dragon wings on his back. Nojiaz gathered around the sword as well, making it sparkle a dark gray.

“You won’t know this since you’re no longer a prophet, so I’ll make the prophecy for you,” the God of Change said. “It is this: You will all perish here, and the light of the end will burn the world to nothing. That is the future. That is what has been decided.”

The spears of Kandaquizorte passed through Diedrich’s fist, all forty-four spears sinking into his body. Blood spilled from each of Diedrich’s wounds, and his magic scattered into the sky.

“No, God of Change,” Naphta said. Her sword of Kandaquizorte had stabbed through the crystal orb from within. “As long as Diedrich and I can see hope with our Eyes, the future has not been decided.”

The blade that should have been restricted struck, shattering the Future World Crystal.

“This is the future of Agatha that the Demon King taught us—the future of this world.”

Gaetenaros’s Divine Eyes widened in shock. This was a future that the Divine Eyes—the Eyes that could see all futures—had missed. It was an impossibility Naphta had experienced once before.

Naphta shattered in crystal fragments. The Goddess of the Future then gathered around Diedrich, sparkling as she possessed him. The Gaddez behind Diedrich turned gold, and a greatsword resembling a dragon appeared in his hands. Despite the many spears of Kandaquizorte struck through his body, Diedrich still accelerated towards Gaetenaros.

“There is no meaning in a fixed future, God of Change!”

The Future World Greatsword slashed Gaetenaros’s Divine Eyes.

“Gaaah! Breaking these two makes no difference... I can always make more—!”

The God of Change pressed his hands to his smashed Eyes and fled in a whirlwind. But in the next moment, a greatsword swung down on his head.

“Gah... Hah...”

“Didn’t you know that the more correct a prophecy is, the more worthless it actually becomes?” Diedrich said.

And with a final slash of his greatsword the God of Change was split in half, so damaged his form reverted to cogs and broke into pieces.

Diedrich laughed heartily. “Prophecies are only fun when you get them wrong.”

The cogs perished and scattered into the sky. Diedrich used his Divine Eyes to observe his surroundings—the Celestial Canopy showed no sign of fading.

“It must be the effect of the pyramid gate...” he said. “We have to seal it.”

“The conflict in the Mother Sea has also been settled. The Goddess of Absurdity has exhausted her magic and wounded her source. She won’t be able to move for a while. I will head over,” Naphta said.

Crystal fragments flowed out of Diedrich’s body and transformed back into Naphta.

“Be careful,” Diedrich warned. “If the enemy could be defeated this easily the Demon King would have had no need for reinforcements.”

Naphta smiled faintly.

“What are you smiling at, Naphta?”

“Your words.”

Naphta rose into the air, preparing to fly to the Mother Sea. But before she left, she turned back and gave Diedrich an affectionate smile.

“They weren’t nearly so warm when we could see all futures.”

§ 40. A World Without Bounds

A hymn echoed through an overgrown forest, a collective of solemn voices whose pitch and rhythm constructed a phonetic magic circle.

“Book of Renewal, First Movement, ‘Lanrez.’”

The holy flames released by the Jiordal Church burned through thousands of trees and attacked the army of gods. But unlike the first wave of flames that caught the divine army off guard, this one was stopped by the barrier of the Dolzork and changed into stone.

“Your answer is correct,” Dilfred’s voice said. “Which is why you need to look deeper, Pope Golroana and the Jiordal Church. Facing me in this spiral forest means you are competing to look deeper into the abyss.”

Golroana watched his surroundings with a cautious eye. From the other side of the burning forest he could see the army of gods continue their march. If he counted their magic traces with his Magic Eyes, he’d estimate there were roughly six thousand gods—a massive army, appearing out of nowhere to surround the Jiordal Church.

Multiple sections of the spiral forest were connected to separate dimensions, and their entrances constantly shifted and changed. No anti-magic could prevent the forest from forcefully teleporting anyone between dimensions. Only the God of Depth, who could see the abyss of the forest, was able to position soldiers freely.

“Swordsman Gods, advance. The Jiordal Church is weak at close range.”

The Swordsman Gods Garmrgund ran forward with their divine swords out. Among the Jiordal Church there were holy knights with swords and spears that could face them, but compared to the Knights of Agatha or Gadeciola’s forbidden soldiers, they were far less skilled. Their forte was in phonetic magic circles using hymns. Dilfred was correct in saying close combat was their weakness. However...

“Hah!”

The disciples thrust their fists out in unison to meet the divine swords. The eight in the front row were the Eight Song Sages, experts in hymns and gospels. Their fists shattered the divine swords, forcing back the Swordsman Gods with pure physical strength.

“The Sojourner’s Psalm—a new song brought to us by the winds of foreign lands,” said one of the eight sages. “Song of war, war of songs.”

“We needed a stronger body to dance the choreography of their song,” said another.

“Indeed, for their songs were songs that hailed the Demon King, and the Demon King’s choreography must be swift and powerful,” said a third.

Their navy vestments were bulging with muscles that hadn’t been there in the past.

“Thus, we trained ourselves to dance it!” all eight sages shouted in unison.

The Eight Song Sages and the Jiordal Choir moved towards the army of gods like they were dancing.

“Yes, we have felt the breeze of a new wind,” said Golroana. “And with our new neighbors we shall dance and dance. That joy will be our strength—that love will be our power. Book of Renewal, Second Movement: ‘Byham.’”

The phonetic magic circle spread, covering the Eight Song Sages in sacred fire. Their bodies, refined by Byham, were strengthened even further, and they moved in the powerful elegance of dancing flames.

“Hah!”

Now outnumbering the army of gods, the followers of the Jiordal church and the Eight Song Sages singing Byham and thrusting their fists caused the divine army to be swallowed in a dance of fire. The sages had originally learned this song for the sake of dancing to the verses of the Demon King Hymn. When Pope Golroana became a believer of the Demon King’s Choir, the choir then became the idols of the underground world. And with all of Jiordal giving the choir their enthusiastic support, their power emerged as a result.

“Wayfarer of the spiral forest...”

The God of Depth’s voice echoed from deep within Nature’s Keep. To the shock of the remaining disciples, the Eight Song Sages and Jiordal Choir suddenly vanished. They had been teleported into Nature’s Keep.

“Leaves of profound confusion and shallow understanding. Unknown and unlimited, your depth is still boundless.”

Each time Dilfred’s voice spoke, more of the Jiordal Church was teleported throughout the vast forest. Neither the phonetic magic circles, songfire, nor anti-magic could interrupt the order of the forest.

“Sink into your thoughts, traveler, and navigate the labyrinth without an end.”

More and more of the disciples of Jiordal were sent away, until eventually, Pope Golroana was the only one standing before Midhaze’s gate. In his hand was the Book of Traces, left behind by Revalschned, whose traces maintained the past and therefore protected him from being teleported against his will.

“Your opponent is several thousand gods. Behind you is your ally’s capital city. Which would be wiser, Pope Golroana: to fight, or to flee?”

Several thousand gods appeared before Golroana, their march a rumbling stampede under his feet. If he moved, they would invade Midhaze.

“I do not possess Magic Eyes that can see into the abyss, God of Depth,” Goloroana said. “But no matter how intricate your labyrinth is, we will never be lost.”

A song began somewhere in the forest, quietly and growing in volume until the solemn hymn filled the air of the entire spiral forest with its tranquil, high-pitched melody.

“This song is our signpost. When our Magic Eyes are closed, we rely on the voices of our fellow disciples of god to find the path of our faith.”

The scattered church closed the distance between them through song. No matter where they were or where they had been teleported to, they sang their hymn perfectly, forming the phonetic magic circle before the Midhaze gate.

“Thou shalt not fear the absence of god. The gospel resonates in each and every one of us. They are all priceless, for they are all hands offered to us by god. Even if we cannot see our god, our song exists within us. Book of Renewal, Third Movement: ‘Rozeth.’”

At the feet of the divine soldiers, roaring songfire blazed to life, and one by one, the soldiers before Golroana were burned by the flames of Rozeth. As the song only applied to each individual soldier, the barriers erected by the Magician Gods failed to protect the Garmrgund from the phonetic magic circle or the songfire. In fact, the Dolzork could not even see or hear what the choir was doing.

The army of gods had to face Rozeth as individuals—that was how the spell formula was designed. Thus, the magic was terribly effective at turning them into ashes.

“Thorns of the abyss, drill a spiral,” Dilfred’s voice said quietly.

Small thorns flew out of the forest. A phonetic magic circle for Lanrez had created a wall of songfire, but the Abyssal Thorns pierced through the flames and into the vital point of the magic circle, easily canceling the spell. Golroana jumped to avoid their path, but another Abyssal Thorn stabbed him in the back.

“Ugh... Gah...”

The thorns traveling towards Golroana had used the alternate dimensions of Nature’s Keep to teleport behind him. Dilfred must have predicted it by looking into the abyss.

“The first thorn breaks apart magic power, while the second thorn breaks apart life. The third thorn breaks apart the source, but with the effect of the Withered Desert in place, your demise will come with the second thorn. You have no means of evasion. You cannot reach me due to your inability to see into the abyss. You cannot defeat me before I send the next thorns.”

Like Dilfred said, the Abyssal Thorn deep in Golroana’s source had completely cut off the flow of his magic power.

“I ask you once more, Pope of Jiordal. Will you stay, or will you flee?”

“I do not need magic power to sing my song,” Golroana replied. “I am not a god, but a disciple that passes on god’s teachings. My lone absence will not affect our faith.”

“Nay. If the Pope falls, Jiordal will collapse with you. The god your church believes in is an illusion. It is by your prayer alone that your god appears to exist.”

Golroana took one staggering step forward.

“Sing, devout disciples of Jiordal. Sing the song of the Divine Dragon that once echoed through our nation.”

In response to the Pope’s words, voices rang out in song at once, singing a tune that created a phonetic magic circle large enough to cover the entirety of Nature’s Keep.

“You may have stood a chance if you had any magic power left from your fifteen hundred years of prayer—but alas, an improvised Beherom cannot reach the abyss of Nature’s Keep.”

A sharp, refined magic power could be seen from the depths of the abyss.

“Your answer is wrong, pope who prays to an imaginary god.”

Abyssal Thorns flew through the air faster than the eye could follow. There were tens of thousands of them—no, it was a single thorn flying so fast through the different dimensions of the domain that it left tens of thousands of afterimages in its wake. The tiny thorn moved in incomprehensible ways, taking a path in every direction and making it impossible to evade, until it finally pierced the unmoving Golroana through the chest.

His life began to fade. The Book of Traces fell out of his hands to the ground, its dwindling power the only thing keeping him alive.

“At that time, the man said: Before removing the dome over your head, try removing the limits in your mind.”

Golroana fell to his knees, but his hands were locked together in prayer.

“As long as the pope does nothing but pray, the power of god remains nothing but a trace of the past. One cannot surpass the answers accumulated by one’s ancestors and arrive at a better solution beyond them.”

He closed his eyes, listened with his ears, and prayed with all his heart.

“How can one preach about an equal world while refusing to acknowledge mistakes and correct them? Can one’s thoughts and ideals truly have no borders after fifteen hundred years of prayer?”

The pope gasped for breath as he repented out loud.

“The pope answered this: It’s too late.”

Golroana shook his head slowly.

“But that answer was a mistake, and was what led to the final gospel—the beginning of salvation. A true world without boundaries begins here. Book of Renewal, Fourth Movement: ‘Beherom.’”

The Book of Traces opened, filling Nature’s Keep with white light.

The domain turned into a completely blank world of pure white. In the middle of that nothingness was Golroana and Dilfred, the latter wide-eyed at their surroundings. The two were surrounded by many disciples.

“Was Nature’s Keep...consumed?” Dilfred asked.

“No. This is a world without bounds. The Divine Dragon conceived only our hearts, granting us this place to communicate. This is the new form of Beherom.” Golroana rose to his feet to face Dilfred. Though his life was almost over, his heart was not yet dead. “In this world, there are no boundaries between us. All control is repelled, and all duty is abdicated. You may speak with your own heart freely.”

Golroana reached towards Dilfred. “Allow me to reveal your heart and free you from Equis, the false god.”

His slender fingertips touched Dilfred. “Is it war that you desire, God of Depth?”

“Nay. I...”

Light surrounded Dilfred, blurring his outline.

“I am not...the God of Depth...”

Alongside his heartbeat was the faint sound of a flute. Light wrapped around him as a green wind emerged from his divine body.

The God of Depth’s body distorted, slowly transforming until the shape of a familiar god appeared before Golroana—the guardian god of Jiordal, the God of Traces.

“My deity... Revalschned...” Golroana kneeled, bringing his hands together in prayer. “Did you transform through the power of the God of Change?”

“Aye. I used my authority over traces as well.”

The power to re-create past traces, and the power to transform into other orders. The two of them together had created a god identical to the God of Depth.

“Pope Golroana. I am merely an order that carves traces.”

The light around the divine body scattered. The God of Traces was already fading.

“But long, long ago...in a distant, distant past,” Revalschned said slowly, as though he was recalling something as he spoke. In this world, there were no cogs in his body to control or change him. He stared into the distance. “Before I began carving traces into my body... Before I became a god, I may have had a heart. This space almost brings back those memories...”

Revalschned’s stern face softened into a gentle smile. Perhaps that was what he originally looked like.

“It’s strange. I’m meant to be an order with no heart... Yet, as I stand here in this world, the result of fifteen hundred years of prayer from the people of Jiordal, I feel a sense of pride.”

Just then, the pure white world shattered. Beherom ended, and Golroana returned to Nature’s Keep.

“Farewell, the last pope who prayed to me. You did well seeing through me. You did well in keeping your faith. Equis is a false god. You are a true disciple. The answer is always in your faith.”

The power of the God of Traces—the Book of Traces—began to glow, and the Abyssal Thorn was slowly removed from Golroana’s source. As soon as the thorn was fully out, a powerful magic power vanished from the abyss of Nature’s Keep. Freed from Equis’s control through Beherom, Revalschned had erased himself before he could be controlled again.

“Guh... Urk...”

The thorn was gone, but the block on healing magic restricted Golroana’s movements greatly. Still injured, he crawled across the ground, eyes on Midhaze.

An explosion rang through the air as flames rose from the city.

“Someone...go to the city... That was a diversion...” Golroana muttered weakly. But his voice was too weak to reach any of the disciples scattered through the forest.

Revalschned had been disguised as the God of Depth—and so the real Dilfred was already inside Midhaze.

§ 41. Resolve

The roads of Midhaze were filled with chaos. Starting with the first explosion in the shopping district, screams, yells, clashing swords, and explosive blasts filled the city, creating a massive panic. Flocks of owl familiars flew around Midhaze, reporting the damages to their masters.

Eldmed connected the view of those owls to Ennessone in Azesion through their Gyze link. Thanks to that, I was able to see what was happening in and around Midhaze with my own Eyes.

One owl stopped at Wind of the Sun, the appraisal shop and blacksmith. It peeked through the window to look inside, watching mom and dad huddled in the corner of the shop on the first floor, holding their breath. The commotion outside showed no sign of settling down—if anything, it was only getting worse.

Netherworld King Aeges stood before the entrance of the store, protecting them. With his single eye he stared past the door, stern frown on his face. His ability to send his demon spear through dimensions also allowed him to see what was happening in Midhaze.

“The gods have entered the city after all,” Aeges muttered.

“D-Don’t worry about it!” dad stuttered behind him. “The Demon King’s Army is in Midhaze, and this house is surrounded by Anos’s barriers!”

“That’s right... Things will surely settle down soon,” mom said. “More importantly...do you think Anos is okay right now?”

Aeges’s single eye widened slightly. And it was no wonder why—Midhaze was under invasion, yet here was someone worrying about the Demon King of Tyranny himself.

“Rest assured, ma’am,” Aeges said. “Even if this entire world were to perish, your son alone would survive.”

“But...”

“Is there something that troubles you?”

Mom nodded with a gloomy face. “Anos is a kind boy. He wouldn’t stand around and just let the world perish. He’d sacrifice himself first.”

Aeges fell silent for a brief moment.

“Allow me to rephrase,” he said gently. “The Demon King would never act in a way that would make you sad. He will protect the world and himself, and then come home like it’s just another day.” He softened his next words to mom to be even more reassuring. “The only thing you need to worry about is your own survival.”

“You’re right,” mom replied, gathering herself. “Anos is doing his best out there, so I have to be ready to welcome him home with a smile.”

The Netherworld King nodded and looked back out the door with his Magic Eye.

“It’s strange how the low-rank soldiers are the ones making such a flashy uproar. The way these gods are acting... Are they targeting Midhaze Castle? No—the Demon King Academy?” Aeges muttered to himself.

A replica of the stolen Delsgade was currently standing on the grounds of the Demon King Academy. Below that castle was the spell formula that could activate the massive Beno Ievun that once split the world into four.

“Does that mean Anos’s school friends are in danger?” mom asked.

“No, not necessarily. But they may be caught in the conflict,” the Netherworld King stated solemnly. If it was the God of Depth heading towards them, the students and teachers had no chance of winning.

Aeges turned to look out the window at the sky. The Eclipse of the End was three-quarters of the way complete. There was no telling what Equis would do the second time the total eclipse arrived.

“I have an idea, master,” Aeges said.

Dad turned around.

“There is an underground city that the Demon King created. We could evacuate there.”

Aeges drew a magic circle at his feet. The floor turned transparent, revealing a staircase down to the underground city.

“G-Good idea. Let’s take the townspeople with us. I’ll run around town and tell them.”

The Netherworld King shook his head. “You two are most likely targets as well. It would be best for you to stay hidden.”

Mom looked at him in surprise. “Why would we be targets?”

“The Demon King is currently in the Divine Realm, fighting the leader of our enemies. If you two are taken as hostages, the Demon King will be forced to agree with their demands,” Aeges said.

My parents listened to him with serious faces.

“So if we get caught, we’ll be dragging him down,” dad said.

Aeges nodded. “Which is why you should evacuate first.”

“All right.”

Dad turned around to look at mom, who nodded firmly in agreement. Due to the effect of Nature’s Keep, Gatom was still barred from use. Aeges could cross dimensions using his spear, but his magic wasn’t designed solely for transport. There was a chance mom’s and dad’s bodies wouldn’t be able to withstand his magic.

Mom took one step down the staircase. The next moment, Aeges’s single eye narrowed.

“Ma’am!”

From seemingly nowhere a divine arrow glinted through the air. A Bowman God had fired its divine bow straight at mom’s heart.

Aeges immediately stepped before her and shielded her with his body. The divine arrow pierced through the right side of his chest. From the bottom of the staircase countless more arrows flew up at the Netherworld King.

“Ridiculous!” Aeges spat.

He yanked the arrow out of his chest. Blood poured from the wound and transformed into a crimson spear—the Crimson Blood Spear, Dehiddatem. He twirled the spear to knock all the other arrows out of the air.

“Crimson Blood Spear, first hidden art,” Aeges murmured quietly, thrusting his spear forward through the ground, most likely drilling holes straight through whatever gods that were lurking in the underground city.

“Dimension Drive.”

Dehiddatem released its magic. At the end of Aeges’s field of view, the Amysius and Dolzork were sucked into the holes in their divine bodies and vanished.

“There’s no point in using concealment magic if you just end up making a ruckus.”

The divine army had gotten this close by hiding their magic and presence with Lynel and Najira, but they hadn’t been able to fool the Phantom Knight Aeges.

“Are you injured?” Aeges asked.

“N-No, I’m fine...” mom stammered. “You were the one shot by an arrow...”

“Do not worry yourself. This is hardly a wound. In fact, a little blood flow actually improves my condition.”

Aeges had merely chosen to take the arrow with his body so he could use Dehiddatem. He wouldn’t be hindered by the wound—the bigger problem was the underground city.

“It seems the underground city has fallen to the enemy. In which case, it would be safest to remain here and wait.”

“R-Right... Okay...”

With no means of combat, dad had no choice but to nod.

“Master, please be at ease,” Aeges said. “There was no opportunity to tell you this earlier, but I am actually the Netherworld King, one of the Four Evil Kings that fought the Demon King of Tyranny two thousand years ago. Though I am far inferior to you in blacksmithing, you may have much more confidence in my skills with a spear.”

Mom gasped in realization. “Come to think of it, weren’t you chatting with Anos about the past before? Something about two-thousand-year-old mushrooms...”

Aeges nodded. “I will protect you both until he comes home.”

Just then, a large sound could be heard outside the house—a sound like a massive barrier breaking and a building collapsing. Aeges’s grim gaze turned to the direction of the Demon King Academy. His expression was faintly conflicted.

He had to protect mom and dad. But would Midhaze survive without his help? His mind was probably filled with doubts. The main forces were focused on fending off the enemies outside the walls, so internal defense within the city was poor. And there was the possibility that his indecision itself was part of Equis’s plot, to keep him tied here protecting mom and dad instead of assisting elsewhere.

There was always the possibility of the Demon King’s parents having no effect as hostages. Equis may have just pretended to target them in order to remove the Netherworld King from the front lines and suppress the city.

“Aeges.”

The Netherworld King turned back to dad, who looked at him with a serious expression.

“Go.”

“What?”

He frowned at the unexpected statement.

“It hasn’t been for long, but I am your master. I get it. If you were part of the Four Evil Kings, then you must have three comrades out there. You want to go save them, right?”

Aeges was silent. Dad was so confident, it must have been hard to correct him.

“Even if they’re killed, those three won’t stay dead,” Aeges said after a moment. “And they may not even be in the city right now.”

“But you want to fight and protect the city, don’t you?”

Aeges stared back at dad. “How?”

“I can tell by the look on your face. You’ve been worried about the outside this entire time. Like you’re holding yourself back.”

Aeges fell silent, as though dad had hit the nail on the head.

Dad continued. “I heard that two thousand years ago, the world was in constant war. You fought alongside Anos and won a peaceful world for us. There’s just no way you can sit back and watch as someone tries to ruin that.”

Aeges was the last surviving member of the Phantom Knights. They fought for the sake of peace during an era of war—in complete secrecy, until the very end. He really couldn’t just overlook this.

“We’ll be fine. After all, I have the sword Anos gave me!” Dad took out the Sword of a Thousand Bolts and showed it to Aeges.

Mom walked up to the two of them and smiled gently. “Besides, Anos’s Midhaze is in such a predicament right now. With your abilities, you’d be able to save lots of people, right?”

“But if the two of you are taken hostage...”

“Listen up, Aeges. I may not have the power to fight,” dad said cheerfully, “but I’m still Anos’s father. From the moment he became Demon King, I’ve been prepared.”

He clenched the Sword of a Thousand Bolts in his hand firmly.

“I will not drag my own son down! Protect Anos’s city. If it comes down to it, I’ll show you how an honorable man meets a glorious end! Ha ha!” dad said in his usual jesting tone. He laughed like he always did, prepared for the worst—to end his own life if it meant he could not be used as a bargaining chip against his son.

Mom nodded in agreement. “Go on. We might not have strength, but we’ll fight too. Let’s protect this city together, then greet Anos with a smile when he gets home!”

Aeges gulped, once, as though swallowing whatever words, whatever feelings, their words sparked in him.

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry! I’ll have you know I was once the Isith of the Phantom Knights: the King of the Oblivion Sword, Gardelahypt!” dad said jokingly, slapping the Netherworld King on the back.

“Yes, that’s right...”

Aeges walked over to the door. The tip of Dehiddatem vanished, and he swung the remaining spear with a flash.

It was the fourth hidden art of the Crimson Blood Spear, Blood World Gate. Aeges’s flowing blood formed four gates of blood that covered the house. The door slowly opened. Anyone who stepped into the shop would be sent far into another dimension.

“You are the Isith of the Phantom Knights. Even if you’re no longer strong, your pride will always be more noble than anyone else’s.”

Aeges stepped outside through the door. He turned to look back at mom and dad, who were watching him in return.

“The average god cannot enter the Blood World Gate. It will also protect you from arrows and magic. Please do not step outside.”

Mom and dad nodded.

“I’ll teach you my secret techniques when you get back,” dad said.

“Are you sure? They won’t be secret anymore...”

Dad wagged a finger while tsking. “I can always gain more!”

“I’ll make lots of your favorite tomato juice for your return,” mom added.

Aeges nodded with a small smile, then kneeled on the spot. “Isith, ma’am. I will go and protect this city.”

With his spear in hand, he turned and ran, gallantly plunging into the chaos, while behind him mom and dad shouted their encouragement. He left with confidence.

§ 42. Strength and Weakness

The demon soldiers stationed inside Midhaze were engaged with the invading army of gods. There weren’t many gods around, but they were using Lynel and Najira to hide themselves and isolate demons, taking them out one by one. Each demon soldier that was killed turned into one of Anahem’s puppets of the dead, which the invisible gods would then use to attack other demons.

To defend against the attack, Azesion soldiers from Gairadite sent through Leiacanetts would use Aske gathered from across their nation to deploy barriers around each house, which would detect and identify divine soldiers upon contact. Civilians with no power were prioritized first, but the demons were struggling to keep up with the invading gods.

From Aharthern, Poporon, the Spirit of Games, was also there to assist. It was a spirit that liked to play games like tag, rock-paper-scissors, and house. There was a rumor that one couldn’t cheat while playing against them, which meant that any gods that were roped into hide-and-seek with Poporon would have their Lynel and Najira canceled. Thanks to the assistance from Aharthern and Azesion, the Midhaze soldiers were just barely able to protect the civilians from serious harm. But there was one individual among the invading army that they couldn’t do anything about.

“Thorns of the abyss, drill a spiral.”

And that was Dilfred, the God of Depth. Every time he released his minuscule thorns, demons fell helplessly. The Abyssal Thorns stabbed deep into their sources, cutting off their body’s supply of magic power. If they were stabbed three times, their sources would break apart completely. But even a single thorn was enough to spread wounds and take lives.

Dilfred had already broken through the barrier of the Demon King Academy and walked through its gate. He was surrounded by fallen teachers, students, and soldiers who had come running to stop him.

The God of Depth cast his Divine Eyes across the grounds. With his ability to see deep into the abyss, he could probably see the Beno Ievun magic circle carved beneath the castle. In order for anyone other than the original caster to reach it, the castle had to be destroyed first.

“Stop right there!” a voice shouted.

Dilfred paused in his steps. Standing in front of the main building of the school was a demon woman with long ears—the teacher in charge of the third-year students, Meno Historia.

“I won’t let you go any further,” she said.

“Nay. It is impossible for you to stop me.”

Dilfred tilted the Staff of Depth. Its tip wasn’t pointed at Meno, but the main building of the Demon King Academy.

“This school will fall in three thorns.”

Bostum drew a magic circle and fired an Abyssal Thorn. The thorn shot through the castle, destroying a section of it with a loud crash.

“Demond!”

Meno swiftly drew a magic circle and filled it with her power. Magic lightning struck Dilfred with a rumble, but he looked completely unaffected by it. Meno’s magic couldn’t even scratch his anti-magic wards.

“Peer into the abyss, traveler. Your only option is to flee.”

He released another thorn from his Staff of Depth. Meno deployed her anti-magic, but it easily pierced through the ward and destroyed another section of the building.

“Your tiny hands cannot reach me in the abyss.”

Another minuscule thorn released from Bostum. The third thorn would destroy the entire building. With no means of stopping that Abyssal Thorn, Meno chose to use her body—her source—as a shield.

“Agh... Urk!”

Although it had been aimed at the building, an Abyssal Thorn in the source was almost fatal. Meno fell to her knees weakly.

“I ask you, wayfarer of the spiral,” Dilfred said to her without releasing the next thorn immediately. “To fight me means destruction. Fleeing would have meant salvation, the only path to deepening. Why do you still resist?”

“You came straight here,” Meno said.

Dilfred nodded to confirm her statement. “Aye.”

“That means the cog monster’s goal is here. This is the Demon King’s castle, after all. You’re after something Anos left behind here.”

“Aye. Your Eyes may be inferior, but you have a clear head on your shoulders, traveler. Beneath this castle is the magic circle of Beno Ievun, the spell the misfit used to split the world into four.”

Meno glared at Dilfred. His easy admittance to his target made her quite suspicious.

“I will peer into the abyss of that circle and rewrite a section. By adding my authority to it, the Beno Ievun that once brought peace to the world will instead deepen into a wall of despair that attacks you all.”

So they wanted to use the wall that split the world into four—the global-scaled Beno Ievun. If that wall turned on people, there would be nowhere in the world to run.

“What... What is your goal?” Meno asked, trying to buy as much time as she could.

“The removal of all existences that defy the will of the world, including the contaminant who is trying to stop the cogs of the world from turning. The misfit may have an indestructible source, but he has one weakness.”

Meno fell silent in thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t believe that.”

“Nay. The misfit has a weak heart. Even if his source cannot perish, his heart can still be hurt. If he sees the people of the world perishing by his own spell, he may still bleed, even if he is unharmed.”

Dilfred used his spiral staff to draw a magic circle.

“That is the misfit’s weakness.”

Meno stared at him with fierce eyes. “You’re wrong. That’s his strength. Feeling the pain of others as your own is not something the weak can do.”

“Deepening is a mysterious and complex spiral. In which case, he can be both strong and weak at once.”

Dilfred released an Abyssal Thorn with his words. Meno tried to stop him, but the thorn already stuck in her source didn’t allow her to. Her body no longer moved how she wanted it to. The Abyssal Thorn shot past her.

“I won’t let youuu— Gah!”

A black-uniform student landed in front of the thorn and used his source as a shield. He immediately lost his magic and consciousness and collapsed to the ground. Dilfred drew another magic circle with his spiral staff.

“Too bad for you!” another student yelled.

More demons jumped out of the window of the school building. Students in white and black uniforms stood in Dilfred’s way, all speaking to him.

“You’ll have to defeat all of us before you can destroy the building!”

“Those thorns are after this place, aren’t they?”

“We may be weak, but even we can use our sources to block something flying straight at us.”

Having witnessed Dilfred’s overwhelming power, most of the students in the school had already evacuated. The only ones left were the first-year students of class two. Now that Dilfred’s target was clear, they deployed themselves to protect the school building.

“I ask you, travelers.”

Dilfred fired more Abyssal Thorns from his spiral staff. The difference in strength was enormous. The students took thorns in their sources, collapsing to the ground one after another.

“Do you not fear destruction?”

“Dumbass! The Demon King is a trillion times scarier!”

Shot by a thorn, the one who had yelled—Ramon—fell to the ground. With each passing second, another student fell. It was only a matter of time before everyone there was defeated. It was a hopeless situation, yet none of them had lost the light in their Eyes. They clearly had a plan—and Dilfred had caught on to it.

“It seems one of you has no intention of becoming a shield,” he said. He pointed Bostum away from the building for the first time and aimed it at a certain female student with a pledge jewel ring on her finger—Naya. “You, summoner girl. What will you summon?”

Dilfred fired an Abyssal Thorn at Naya as he spoke. The students who had distanced themselves from Naya to avoid drawing attention to her were unable to react in time. The thorn flew towards her without any obstacles.

Just then, a trilling chirp could be heard. Cannibal materialized from its sound dragon form to a physical dragon and appeared before Naya. The Abyssal Thorn sank into the small dragon, and its body started burning with scorching flames. Consuming the Sorcerer King Bomiras had allowed Cannibal access to his power.

The dragon growled low before yelping. The Abyss Thorn had pierced through its flame body and stabbed into its source, making it fall to the ground.

Naya opened her mouth. “Azept...”

She drew four magic circles in her pledge jewel. She must have planned on calling four gods to possess her at once. If she summoned them one by one, there was a chance Dilfred would see through her spell and break it first. She had prepared her magic power in advance for this.

“Garagina!”

The Keeper of Restoration, Nutra Do Hiana.

The Keeper of Sky, Reize Na Ile.

The Keeper of Protection, Zeo La Opt.

The Keeper of Death, Atro Ze Sistava.

Naya offered her body as a vessel for the four gods and mixed them together like water. The resulting god that manifested was what the Conflagration King named the God of Fusion, Garagina.

“Thorns of the abyss, drill a spiral,” the God of Depth said, firing an Abyssal Thorn.

Naya pointed her Staff of Knowledge back at him. “Beid.”

Space distorted, creating a vacuum-like vortex. The Abyssal Thorn was swallowed inside and crushed.

“A vortex of gravity... It resembles the authority of the God of Weight, but Galom’s weight cannot create vortexes.” Dilfred stared into Naya’s abyss with the Divine Eyes of Depth. “God of Fusion, Garagina. If anything, your power is similar to Equis.”

Dilfred fired another thorn at the school building. Naya swiftly used Beid to crush it.

“Thus, you must be erased here.”

“I won’t let you!”

Naya cast a huge Beid on Dilfred’s body. The distortion of space was accompanied by a weight that attempted to crush his divine body. But Dilfred didn’t flinch as he thrust his spiral staff forward. Its tip pierced the vital point of the spell, forcing the gravitational vortex to scatter.

“All magic breaks apart when drilled through its vital point.”

The Staff of Depth transformed into a long needle. Dilfred charged forward with it pointed at Naya. Naya trembled with the Staff of Knowledge clutched in her hands. The skull at the end of the staff started rattling with words.

“Here he comes, here he comes. Latch on to him with everything you’ve got.”

“Your Azept is magic. Thus, it must have a vital point.”

The students of the Demon King Academy were unable to react to Dilfred. The most they could do was watch out for Abyssal Thorns that could fly at the school at any moment. Thanks to the God of Fusion possessing her, Naya was the only one who could keep up with the God of Depth.

She took one step forward towards him and swung her staff to fire Beid at him with all her might.

“Hiyah!”

Each spell was easily repelled by Dilfred. She continued casting a second and third Beid with her staff, but each swing put her in a worse position. Like a game of chess with staves, Naya inevitably ran out of options. The Staff of Knowledge fell from her hands, with the Staff of Depth stabbing into her body.

“With your Eyes, victory is impossible,” Dilfred said.

A rattling noise drowned out his voice. The skull of the Staff of Knowledge was shaking as though it was laughing. Pierced by the staff, Naya’s Azept began breaking down.

“Azept: Cannibal!” she yelled.

The small dragon on the ground was surrounded by light before it was sucked into Naya. She took a step forward to push the staff further into herself and grabbed the God of Depth by the shoulders. She opened her mouth, revealing razor-sharp dragon fangs.

“The caster possessed by Garagina becomes equal to god. In other words...”

The Staff of Knowledge cackled.

“Cannibal! It’s time to feast! Bwa ha ha ha!”

“Yes, Mr. Staff of Knowledge!”

Naya sank her fangs into the God of Depth’s neck.

§ 43. The Conflagration King’s Student

The God of Depth’s neck was dripping with blood. Naya, possessed by Cannibal, had bit Dilfred’s neck and absorbed his order and magic.

“You and your dragon summon are deeply intriguing,” Dilfred said, calmly staring in Naya’s abyss as his divine power was stolen. “The power to consume gods and their order. Did this small dragon eat the Supreme Dragon?”

It was the skull in the Staff of Knowledge that replied, the staff rattling against the ground as it spoke. “That’s right. Rumor has it that someone—her class teacher, if you would believe—just so happened to have traveled to Gadeciola. And as a souvenir for Cannibal, he brought back a piece of the Supreme Dragon!”

Cannibal was a dragon that ate other dragons and absorbed their power, and had eaten dragons that regularly consumed both draconids and demons. Cannibal had gained their powers, and because of that, it was even able to eat a demon like Bomiras. And by eating him, it had most likely become able to eat the Supreme Dragon as well.

Eldmed must have learned of Cannibal’s abilities and secretly fed it a piece of the Supreme Dragon so that, much like the Supreme Dragon itself, Cannibal now had the power to consume gods.

“I see. A toy of Eldmed the usurper, is it?” Dilfred quietly drew his Staff of Depth back before thrusting it forward again. It stabbed through Naya, spilling her blood onto the ground. “How pitiful.”

He aimed straight for the Azept circle’s spell formula, drawing the Staff of Depth back and thrusting it forward again, stabbing Naya once more. Blood gushed out of the wound in her stomach, but her fangs remained lodged in the God of Depth’s neck.

She spoke to him through Leaks. “That staff of yours is just a sharp thorn... It’s your Divine Eyes that grant you the power to see the vital points of spell formulas, buildings, and sources. And right now, I can see through those Eyes too.”

One of Naya’s Eyes was glittering a deep indigo; consuming Dilfred’s order allowed a faint Divine Eye of Depth to manifest in her body. Dilfred’s Eyes could see into the abyss of all things and aim straight for their vital point. But right now, Naya was able to see where Dilfred was aiming—and avoid the Staff of Depth just a little.

“Aye. Thus, you should be able to observe the abyss.” Dilfred shoved Bostum further into Naya’s body. “Though your vessel is indeed tremendous, even you do not have enough space to fit a god of the Four Principles.”

Despite Dilfred having stabbed her in the stomach multiple times, Naya clung to him, simultaneously mobilizing the powers of Garagina, Cannibal, and even Dilfred himself within her so she couldn’t be torn away from his neck so easily. If she lost her grip on him for even a moment, the battle would be over.

“This isn’t even a fight. If you continue to consume me, you will eventually be destroyed from the inside out. But if you stop in your consumption, your death is imminent,” Dilfred said with a serious look. “So I ask you, lost traveler. What did you observe through my Divine Eye?”

Naya answered after a pause. “I do not understand difficult things... I cannot do anything grand...”

In contrast to how calm Dilfred looked, Naya was desperate.

“I just want to protect my school! I want to protect the teachers and the students for as long as I can! This is the place where I gained confidence in myself for the first time in my life, and I want to keep it safe!”

“So you’re just buying time,” the God of Depth concluded from her words. “You’re waiting for that usurper. The Conflagration King, Eldmed.”

Naya didn’t respond, but Dilfred continued speaking.

“Aspirations can sometimes mislead the Eyes. That applies to the Divine Eyes of Depth as well,” he murmured in realization. Despite being controlled by Equis, it seemed there was a part of his foundation that still remained his.

“Lost traveler, the one you wait for will not arrive. He will not save you. The usurper’s goal is to give the Demon King of Tyranny the greatest trial of his existence. And right now, the Demon King is occupied with fighting the will of the world. It is the perfect chance for the usurper’s wish to come true.”

Naya continued consuming Dilfred, and didn’t respond.

“Do you still fail to understand, traveler?” Dilfred asked. “The war between Dilhade and the gods is currently between equal powers. If the usurper were to vanish from the scales, balance would tilt in favor of the gods. He would betray you all happily to make that scenario come true.”

“Mr. Conflagration King would never!”

“Nay.” Dilfred immediately dismissed her rebuttal. “Your view of the Conflagration King is mistaken. He does not have thoughts of kindness, mercy, or love like you believe. He has only madness and elation. His behavior may seem rational, but it is how a clown performs his routine.”

Anger filled Naya’s odd Eyes as she glared at the god.

“Don’t insult Mr. Conflagration King...”

“Your admiration has blinded you from seeing truly. Even with my Divine Eye, you fail to achieve any depth with your thoughts. You are still far from the abyss.”

Dilfred withdrew his staff from Naya and stabbed it into the floor—as though he was abandoning the fight altogether. Naya, surprised, kept her attention on him as he continued to speak.

“What will break you is not blades, but words. At times, they can transform into the sharpest thorns of all.”

He had discarded his weapon, creating an opening for Naya to take advantage of. For as long as she waited, help would inevitably arrive—as long as she bought him time, the Conflagration King would come save her. Victory had never been her goal; all she wanted was to keep the God of Depth occupied for as long as possible.

But now she seemed ill at ease.

“The Conflagration King will not come here. And waiting will change nothing,” Dilfred said. “Thus, I cast aside my staff. You, too, believe this, deep down.”

“No... I...”

“Nay. Until now, you have averted your eyes from the Conflagration King’s true form. He sees you only as an amusing plaything. All these words and actions until now confirm this, if you only look deeper. All this time, you have pretended ignorance of it by purposefully misinterpreting the Conflagration King as an admirable teacher.”

With each thorny word Dilfred spoke Naya’s heart ached in pain.

“You misinterpreted him in a defensive instinct to protect yourself. If you don’t gain power, you will be discarded. If he gets bored of you, he’ll abandon you. Anyone with a heart would spend many sleepless nights worrying themselves in this way. And so you closed your eyes to reality and fooled yourself into believing the opposite. You told yourself he was the ideal teacher. You told yourself he was kind.”

Dilfred continued speaking in a serene, matter-of-fact tone, ignoring Naya’s silence entirely.

“You forced your ideals onto the strong and looked away from the truth. You are weak. So weak you cannot even embark as a traveler in the labyrinth. This is where you will resign to your fate. Even if you saved the world today, the teacher who gave you your salvation will never look upon you again—for he never intended on doing so in the first place.”

“Mr. Eldmed...will definitely come...”

“If that were the case he would already be here. You know that. There’s no way you cannot see it for yourself. There’s no way you haven’t thought of it. You are merely turning your Eyes away.”

There was no way Dilfred would overlook even the smallest of weak points in Naya’s heart. Her hand slackened slightly.

“He is a madman, one who only seeks enemies for the Demon King. The image you see of him as a teacher is merely a distorted illusion.”

“He speaks the truth! So much truth!” the Staff of Knowledge cackled with laughter.

Naya flinched at the staff’s sudden laughter.

“The Conflagration King will not come. He will betray his contract with the Demon King and, in doing so, die a ruthless death.”

“That’s a lie! He wouldn’t—!”

The skull of the staff rattled wildly.

“And that is fine! That is how things should be, yes! With his homeland overrun by merciless destruction, the Demon King of Tyranny will be forced to evolve like never before! Bwa ha ha! Bwaaa ha ha ha ha!”

The Staff of Knowledge roared with crazed laughter. A shadow fell over Naya’s face.

“God of Depth—and the will of the world, Equis. You are all about to witness something horrifying: The rage of the Demon King who failed to protect what he wanted to protect! What terrors could possibly await us?” the staff asked gleefully. “It will be an awakening! An awakening fueled by pure fury!”

“Lord Anos doesn’t need to awaken! And why do you have to be sacrificed for it, Mr—”

Naya weakened her bite on the God of Depth to yell at the staff. It was the smallest of movements, but Dilfred used it to immediately grab Naya’s face and wrench her away from his neck. Naya grabbed his arm in response.

“Nay. It is no sacrifice. You yelled because you understood—in other words, you resigned to your fate.”

The last bit of strength in Naya’s fingers faded, fatally stabbed by the thorns of his words.

“What you see of your teacher is only the shallows. What I have concluded is from seeing the depths. Even with my Eyes, your heart is too fragile to see into the abyss.”

The fighting spirit in Naya’s face melted into sadness and resignation. Her arms fell and hung loosely at her sides.

“All you wanted was your teacher’s praise. It took only a single thorn through that vital point to break your spirit.” Dilfred released Naya’s head. She fell to her knees instantly, making no attempt to oppose him. “Continue your journey, weak one. The bottom of the spiral is still far away.”

Dilfred walked past Naya. The remaining students of the Demon King Academy rushed to block his way.

“Help will not come,” he said to them.

“Shut up...” one black-uniform student muttered. Now that Naya’s spirit had been broken, they had absolutely no chance of victory—but the student yelled anyway. “Everything you say is too complicated! What are you actually saying? Is Mr. Eldmed insane?”

The student then collapsed to the ground. Dilfred had drawn a magic circle with his finger and fired an Abyssal Thorn at him while he spoke. But another student in black uniform yelled over him.

“Well, we already knew that! In the first place—”

That student was felled by a single thorn, and each subsequent student that yelled was taken out by a thorn, reducing their numbers one by one.

“Your reasoning is irrational! You’d never be able to understand our crazy teacher with that kind of logic!”

They all yelled desperately, as though their cries could help remove the thorn stabbed deep into Naya’s heart.

“Hey! Naya! Don’t give up yet!” one more student said. “He probably found something interesting in the middle of all this and decided to take a detour. He’s just that kind of guy, remember?!”

“Resign yourselves to your fates, lost travelers,” Dilfred said, releasing another thorn. That student fell to the ground, but the remaining students were still determined to talk back.

“Resign? Ha! As if we’d do that!”

“Unfortunately for you, we’re stupid! Wanna know how stupid? Stupid enough to treat our reincarnated founder as a fake!”

“So we’ll make you put up with us too! We’ll only give up when we see the truth with our own eyes! Dilhade is ruined when we see it’s ruined!”

Every student who yelled in valiant defiance was stabbed by an Abyssal Thorn and defeated. And yet, not a single student lost their faith in themselves.

“You might be strong and smart, but there’s nothing noble about you!”

“We’re royalty descended from the Demon King of Tyranny, Anos Voldigoad, himself! No matter how powerful you are, we’ll never bend to such lowly gods like you!”

Even as their magic collapsed and their bodies hit the ground, every student continued yelling to their last breath. As descendants of the Demon King of Tyranny and royals themselves, their pride demanded they keep calling out to their fellow classmate, Naya.

But eventually, the last voice fell quiet without ever reaching her heart.

“Your teacher has not come. He has been pretending to be your teacher this whole time.”

“Teachers aren’t perfect either,” a voice said weakly. It was Meno, who was no longer able to stand up after taking the thorn to her source. She could only muster enough strength to speak. “We’re lacking in many ways, and we can’t always meet our students’ expectations. But Naya, we can grow as well. We can learn from our students and grow alongside them. So there has to be something he gained from teaching you—”

Dilfred shot another Abyssal Thorn into her. Meno fell unconscious at once.

“Hope can sometimes be cruel,” the God of Depth said, turning back to Naya. He had seen her move from the corner of his eye. “Why do you stand again, lost traveler?”

“That’s right... Lord Anos told us to follow him with everything we have... That if we felt indebted to him at all, we could repay him with our growth...” Naya muttered, as though she had been possessed by something. “That’s why...I just have to grow...”

She grabbed Bostum, the Staff of Depth that Dilfred had left stabbed into the ground. She then sank her fangs into the mass of authority and consumed it. The God of Depth’s order fluctuated wildly, tearing Naya’s vessel apart from within.

“If I can prove I’m stronger...Mr. Eldmed will come back!” Naya said through her teeth. “I just need to be strong enough to oppose the Demon King... I just need to be stronger! Then Mr. Conflagration King will see that being an earnest teacher is the quickest way to his goal!”

“Has the usurper’s influence driven you to madness already?” Dilfred asked, Divine Eyes widening in surprise.

Naya opened her mouth and swallowed the staff whole. “I will repay him... Mr. Eldmed wasn’t born in a peaceful era. That’s why he just doesn’t know... He doesn’t know that teaching is the perfect job for him! I have to tell him that!”

“Nay. Your vessel cannot withstand the Staff of Depth’s order. You will be destroyed.”

Cuts appeared along Naya’s body, like she was being split from within. The magic power swelling within her from Dilfred’s staff was trying to shred her into pieces.

“It’s okay... I can do it. It’ll be fine, I’m a student of Mr. Conflagration King. If he were here, he would just say...” She forced Bostum into submission and yelled. “If the stomach can expand to fit dessert, so can the vessel!”

Their surroundings were splattered by blood and magic power. Countless thorns shot out of Naya’s body, gathering in one place and returning to its original form of a spiral-shaped staff: the Staff of Depth.

“I... Mr. Eldmed...”

Naya reached out for Bostum once again, but her hand only grasped the air. With no energy to keep the spell active Azept canceled itself and Naya fell forward. She didn’t even have enough energy left to stand up.

“This is the answer,” Dilfred said.

The God of Depth picked up Bostum and pointed it at the school building. He then drew a magic circle and fired an Abyssal Thorn. It pierced through walls, pillars, and fixed magic circles—anything that formed the vital points of the structure. As the third thorn fired at the school, it should have caused the entire castle to break. Yet it hadn’t.

Dilfred gazed upon the school building with his Divine Eyes. A man emerged from the nearly collapsed building, walking towards him and cackling with gleeful laughter. In his hand was an Abyssal Thorn, and as he flicked it into the air the thorn transformed into a dove. The dove flew at once, but after reaching a certain height, the Celestial Canopy’s effect caused it to fall right back down at the man’s feet, where it transformed again into a cloud of smoke.

Naya emerged from the cloud, while the dove had fallen where Naya had been just moments ago.

“Goodness, goodness me! What a masterpiece!” the man said with a grin, clapping his hands enthusiastically. “If the stomach can expand to fit dessert, so can the vessel?”

Laughter bubbled up from the bottom of his stomach as he repeated himself.

“If the stomach can expand to fit dessert, so can the vessel?”

He burst into hearty laughter as he withdrew his cane from a magic circle.

“If the stomach can expand to fit dessert, so can the vessel?!”

The man in the top hat repeated the words a third time, then shook his head in amusement.

“No, I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say that at all, Bookworm. I would never be able to come up with something so peculiar!” The Conflagration King tapped his cane on the ground, amused grin plastered all over his face. “If only I had thought of it myself! How fascinating. We must test it—how far can your stomach stretch? What a brilliant idea!”

“Did you give up on your betrayal, usurper? How fickle of you,” the God of Depth said.

Eldmed just shrugged at Dilfred’s question, emanating pure cluelessness. “Did you honestly think an enemy like Equis would be worth my betrayal? I was merely delayed by my chronic hyperventilation. Bwa ha ha!”

“Mr. Eldmed,” Naya mumbled weakly, touching the Conflagration King’s foot. “You came to save us...”

“Now, what is one normally meant to say at a time like this? I’m sure the Demon King could come up with a clever line or two on the spot, but unfortunately, I’m just a madman with no teaching qualifications. But at any rate!”

The Conflagration King pointed his cane at Dilfred and smiled in his usual arrogant way.

“Listen up, Bookworm. Today’s lesson will be on defeating gods.”

§ 44. Those Worthy of Being Called Kings

With his deep indigo Divine Eyes, Dilfred stared silently at the Conflagration King. He intently fixed his gaze on Eldmed’s abyss, hoping to expose the depths of a man whose speciality was outscheming and outsmarting his enemies.

The Conflagration King moved only to lean on his cane, watching the God of Depth with his own arrogant Magic Eyes.

“I ask you, usurper,” the God of Depth said calmly. “With my Divine Eyes and staff, I can remove the contract the Demon King has forced upon you. Will you act as a true enemy of the Demon King once more and betray Dilhade?”

“Bwa ha ha! Are you telling me to side with Equis instead?”

“Aye. You are more capable of manipulating the authority of the Almighty Father than even Nosgalia. Side with Equis and the Demon King’s greatest enemy will be born. Is that not what you desire?”

Eldmed tapped his cane against the ground as he laughed again. “Headhunting at a time like this? The will of the world sure has guts! Do you really think a coward like me would dare sacrifice my beloved students and homeland just to make an enemy of the Demon King? The very thought makes me gasp for air!”

He shook his head dramatically and pretended to struggle for breath, hands scrabbling against his throat.

“Then I shall change my question. How would you define a purist of the world?”

Eldmed froze in the middle of his act. He lowered his hands and answered, “I wouldn’t know. I don’t have enough information to answer something like that. If the Demon King of Tyranny is a misfit that defies order, then a purist adheres strictly to order. However...”

The Conflagration King pointed his cane at Dilfred. “That would make them no different from you gods.”

“If you become an enemy of the Demon King, you will ascend and become a purist, Conflagration King.”

The corners of Eldmed’s mouth curled up.

“As the usurper of the Heavenly Father’s power, you are qualified,” Dilfred added.

“Bwa ha ha! And is that what Equis wants?”

“Aye.”

“How enthralling!”

The God of Depth lifted his spiral staff and drew a magic circle directed at Eldmed. “Is that an agreement?”

If Eldmed nodded, Dilfred would fire an Abyssal Thorn into the Zecht on him and break down the magic contract. Expressing any direct intent to betray would destroy Eldmed immediately, but the God of Depth seemed to have a means of preventing that.

“Hold your horses. I have one concern,” the Conflagration King said, holding up one finger with a grin.

“Let’s hear it.”

“Having me side with Equis isn’t a bad idea. It isn’t a bad idea, but that’s all it is. Don’t you think it’s missing a clincher?”

“What do you desire?”

The Conflagration King looked at him innocently. “How about Equis becoming my manservant?”

Dilfred’s serious expression froze for a brief moment. “So the deal is off?”

“Bwa ha ha! Am I the type to make such a roundabout rejection?” the Conflagration King said nonchalantly.

Dilfred narrowed his Eyes in suspicion.

“Just think about it,” Eldmed continued. “Made of cogs called order and the collective body of multiple gods—Equis is indeed powerful. But obeying order means eventually one reaches a limit. I, the Conflagration King, could step beyond this limit and grant even more power, no?”

“Aye—yet nay. By following your idea, Equis would no longer be the will of the world, but an existence outside the framework of order.”

“Exactly! Yes! Exactly my point! And where’s the problem in that? In order to be an enemy of a misfit, you need an even more powerful misfit!”

“Only a fool would create a misfit to erase a misfit.”

Eldmed burst into gleeful laughter. “And yet only a fool makes an enemy of the Demon King! Don’t you know? Using logic to face that aberrant existence is worthless! Madness and lunacy are the only things one can use to oppose him. So embrace disorder! Cast aside your boring order right now! Your only chance of reaching him is if the will of the world discards that same will...”

Eldmed then took a running leap and landed with his arms raised in the air. His floating top hat made a raucous commotion, spraying confetti and streamers everywhere with a flash of bright light.

“For that is what it truly means to go against Anos Voldigoad, the Demon King of Tyranny!”

Dilfred watched the Conflagration King, mouth pressed shut in a thin line. Eldmed’s top hat floated down to land jauntily on his head.

“Let us join hands, Equis. Out of a lukewarm creature like you, I will make a true monster,” Eldmed declared dramatically.

“It seems my Eyes were mistaken,” Dilfred said after a moment. “It was pointless to try to reason with a crazed heart.”

Eldmed gave him a sharp look. “Your Eyes were mistaken? Bwa ha ha! Can they be mistaken, God of Depth? You stare into the abyss more than any other god, yet your ability to see into hearts is inflexible. Wasn’t this all within your expectations regardless?”

A puddle of water had formed beside Eldmed at some point in their conversation. A spear shot out of the puddle, water splashing upwards as it did so, and the Conflagration King dodged the arrow-like spear by twisting his body.

“After all,” Eldmed said mid-dodge, “this question-and-answer was just for you to wait for reinforcements.”

Dilfred pointed the Staff of Depth at the Conflagration King’s source. The moment Eldmed’s attention was drawn by the thorn, the spear of water bent and made a sharp turn, piercing Eldmed through the back.

“Kah!”

Eldmed grabbed the tip of the spear sticking out of his bleeding chest.

“Fool who spits on the heavens. Thou wilt face thy punishment for defying order. Behold the true form of a god.”

From Eldmed’s mouth came the words to invoke a divine miracle. His body was wrapped in light as he instantly transformed. His hair turned a radiant gold, while his Magic Eyes burned a fiery red. Magic particles gathered at his back, forming wings of light.

“Show thyself, Water Burial God. The Divine Sword Roduier shall pass your judgment.”

Golden flames burst from the Conflagration King’s hand, turning into a divine sword. He thrust Roduier forward and stabbed the puddle. Water burst upwards like a fountain, with a figure appearing from within. The figure of water coalesced into Afrasiata, the Water Burial God, the androgynous warrior god that had once exchanged a pact with the Netherworld King, Aeges. The spear in Eldmed’s hand melted back into liquid and returned to the Water Burial God’s hands. Afrasiata pointed the spear at him.

“Hmm. No openings here!” Eldmed said brightly, taking his top hat into his hands. “Frag Mentes!”

A cloud of smoke appeared, Eldmed disappearing within it. The remaining floating top hat hovered in the air, spinning while moving from side to side until eventually multiplying in the manner of a magician’s party trick. The top hat split into nine copies, then released another cloud of smoke as they transformed into nine copies of the Conflagration King.

“Indeed, there are no tricks here!” the nine Conflagration Kings said. “There are just eight fakes and one original. Can you guess the correct one with those Eyes of yours, God of Depth?”

Each copy released golden flames that turned into the Divine Sword Roduier.

“By the way, I’m the strongest,” one Eldmed said.

Dilfred peered into the abyss of the one that spoke. He could indeed feel the magic of the Heavenly Father and the source of the Conflagration King within, but they were only at half their regular strength. Dilfred quickly glanced at the next Eldmed. The power of the Heavenly Father could also be detected there, but it was at a much weaker level than the previous. Eldmed’s source was present as well, but it was only one twentieth of a normal source.

The God of Depth frowned sternly. If he were to make a rational deduction, he would assume they were all fragments of the real Conflagration King. Increasing in number meant each individual copy was weaker and was ultimately meaningless. Having nine of him to deal with would require a little more effort on Dilfred’s part, but even so, he wouldn’t be a threat to the God of Depth in this state. And the extra targets made it easier for Dilfred to aim at him.

But the Conflagration King was the kind of man who liked to catch his enemies by surprise. Thus, the God of Depth thought deeply once more. What if Eldmed had anticipated this too? What if he was making it seem meaningless, while it was actually meaningless?

The God of Depth’s ability to look into the abyss sent him into a spiral of thoughts, one that went round and round in endless circles.

“Delightful, delightful!” an Eldmed crowed. “Your Eyes can see deep, but your view is narrow. So let’s compete in something wide and shallow!”

Before Dilfred could look into the abyss of all nine of the Eldmeds, they moved. One was skewered by Afrasiata’s water spear, but he merely turned into a cloud of smoke that then covered the god.

From within the Pon Polopo smoke screen, one duck and one dove emerged. The spell was just a bluff with no real defensive ability, but it was capable of making it look like Eldmed had been attacked. The Water Burial God pursued the duck and dove while stabbing another Eldmed—but that one, too, turned into a duck and dove through Pon Polopo.

Yet the damage was still effective. Though the Conflagration King was outnumbered two to one, the God of Depth was getting further and further lost in his thoughts, his Divine Eyes glinting with each mental turn.

“Bwa ha ha! You can stare into the abyss all you want, but you won’t find the bottom. It’s just a shallow, vain spell. Even a child can see through Frag Mentes and Pon Polopo. Feel tickled yet?”

Afrasiata thrust their spear forward, and another two Eldmeds turned into a duck and dove. Dilfred, meanwhile, kept his Eyes on the Eldmed that had half a source within him. If there were any tricks left up his sleeve, he had reasoned, it would be in the copy that had the most magic left. But out of nowhere, that same Conflagration King used Frag Mentes again, splitting his half of a source even further.

“Like I said, there’s no trick to it,” more Eldmeds said in unison.

Smoke, doves, ducks, and clones. Magic so shallow it didn’t even have an abyss was thrust before the God of Depth.

“By the way, I’m the strongest,” an Eldmed said.

“You are an illusion made to mislead me,” Dilfred replied. “In other words, you are nothing.”

An invisible cloth suddenly wrapped around Eldmed. It spread like a spider’s web, entangling all the ducks, doves, and clones around him too. Light glowed brightly from the cloth, and countless tiny cogs appeared, forming the shape of a person—a naked woman wrapped in cloth. She was the Barrier God, Linorolos.

“So your goal was to tire my Eyes by making me mistake shallows for depth,” Dilfred said. “However...”

Light glowed again, and more tiny cogs appeared behind Dilfred. This time, they transformed into a giant stone eye—the God of Magic Sight, Janeldefok.

“The God of Magic Sight can see widely. Your magic appears to be shallow, and truly is shallow,” the God of Depth said, pointing his staff at the Eldmed with the greatest portion of his source left.

“Bwa ha ha! But couldn’t something surprisingly deep lie within the shadows?”

“Nay. I can see all of you, shallow and wide.”

He drew a magic circle with Bostum.

“You can split yourself endlessly, but there will only ever be one vital point. Pierce it and everything will come crashing down.”

An Abyssal Thorn was fired from the divine staff.

“Lose yourself in the spiral, usurper.”

The Eldmeds that were wrapped in Linorolos’s barrier cloth had divided their sources, becoming too weak to break free. The Abyssal Thorn stabbed straight into Eldmed, a fatal amount of blood gushing from the wound. But Eldmed merely laughed.

A new voice emerged. “Crimson Blood Spear, third hidden art—”

The pouring blood turned into a crimson spear. Over ten Crimson Blood Spears extended from the Conflagration King’s body and pierced Dilfred through the shoulder, Linorolos through the chest, and Janeldefok through the eye.

“Fang From Within.”

The raging spears tore the barrier to shreds, freeing Eldmed.

“I see you haven’t changed your gambling ways. Dilhade is in crisis, and still, you risk it all.”

Appearing from a dimensional tear with his spear in hand was Aeges, the one-eyed Netherworld King. Just before the Abyssal Thorn stabbed into the Conflagration King’s body, Aeges had sent it into another dimension using the Crimson Blood Spear.

“You were betting on your comrades to arrive?” Dilfred asked.

Eldmed cackled. “Like I said, there’s no trick to it. You were overthinking what was just me simply buying time.”

With a comical poof, the Eldmed copies changed back to smoke. A top hat flew through the air, raining confetti and streamers everywhere. The God of Magic Sight’s Eye glinted, while Linorolos extended her barrier cloth.

The moment the Netherworld King’s spear slashed through the fabric of the barrier cloth, the Water Burial God’s spear thrust forward. The Crimson Blood Spear deflected the weapon, but Aeges’s hands were then sealed by Afrasiata’s attack.

“Thorns of the abyss, drill a spiral.”

Waiting for the moment Eldmed returned to a single body, Dilfred precisely shot a divine thorn, aiming for Eldmed’s source. But a black mist drifted through the air, blocking the way.

“Grrr... Gyaaah!”

Taking the thorn in place of Eldmed was a six-horned man—the Cursed King, Kaihilam.

“You... You made me your scapegoat, Conflagration King,” Kaihilam exclaimed. “How many times has it been since the Great War? I’m going to curse you this time...”

“Bwa ha ha! You chose to step in front of it yourself, and you blame me? Did you find a new fetish to go with your masochism, Cursed King?”

The Conflagration King successfully canceled Frag Mentes and turned back into his normal form. He drew his cane from a magic circle. “Come, dog!”

He tapped the cane against the ground, and a gelatinous dog came running with a howl.

“Bwa ha ha! Since your homeland is in crisis, just for today, you may return to your original form!”

Eldmed snapped his fingers and a large cloth appeared. The cloth covered the dog, then pulled away to reveal a faceless man with a large hat and flashy robes. The Scarlet Stele King, Grysilis, immediately glared at the God of Depth before him.

“The God of Depth, Dilfred, was it?” Grysilis asked. “Your presumptive ownership in how you speak of the abyss is disgusting.”

The God of Depth stared back at the Four Evil Kings without replying.

“Equis is a collective body of gods. The Solar Eclipse of the End blinks in the sky, ready to erase the entire world. There is no time left, and the Demon King is absent,” he said to them. “I ask you, travelers. For what reason do you resist the gods?”

Eldmed burst into laughter. Aeges pointed his demon spear at the ready, while Kaihilam took his magic bow into hand. Grysilis drew a giant magic circle.

“Who’s resisting who, exactly?” Grysilis sneered.

“Such attitude. I’ll curse you,” Kaihilam muttered.

“Stupid question,” Aeges dismissed bluntly.

“Bwa ha ha! Alas, this was to be expected. After all, we Four Evil Kings have never won against the Demon King. Time and again, he trounced us completely, and so to his enemies, we must look like failures, pawns, low-status underlings. It’s no wonder they look down on us.” Eldmed leaned on his cane with a grin. “But correct me if I’m wrong—and I very well could be, since my memory isn’t the most reliable, you see—”

The Conflagration King leaned his face forward, one brow raised tauntingly. The Netherworld King, the Cursed King, and the Scarlet Stele King all glared sharply at the four gods before them.

“Have we ever lost against you slaves of order? Hmm?”

§ 45. Merged Domain

The Four Evil Kings all moved at once.

“The God of Depth Dilfred or the Scarlet Stele King Grysilis Derro—let’s see which one of us is closer to the abyss,” Grysilis said, his gelatinous face distorting as he rushed straight towards Dilfred. Magic surged through his body, drawing a circle around him. “Order magic, Jioroia!”

The spell manipulated the order of Jiosselia, the God of Brilliance, allowing him to move towards Dilfred at the speed of light. But Dilfred was able to read through the spell formula before it activated and thrust his spiral staff forward in defense.

But running at the speed of light also meant that Dilfred’s staff would close in at the speed of light. The speed Grysilis had summoned was too much for him to actually handle; he had no means of avoiding Dilfred’s staff, which to him had appeared out of nowhere. He charged straight into it.

“Gabwuuuh!”

The spiral staff stabbed into his gelatinous face and caused his head to burst. But the God of Depth kept careful watch with his Divine Eyes.

“Heh heh...”

Grysilis leaped to the side at the last moment and barely avoided being stabbed in his source. He changed course and started running circles around Dilfred. Unlike the last time he used Jioroia against Shin, his movements were extremely smooth. Seems like he had worked to master its use.

“The logic is simple. Though I may be the literal dog of the Conflagration King, I value sustenance over pride. My days of disgrace have become my fuel, bringing me ever closer to the abyss.”

Grysilis morphed into the dog form he had been in earlier.

“When it comes to running, four legs is better than two!”

He ran like a savage dog, quick and nimble, baring his fangs at Dilfred’s throat.

“Arf arf— Gyah!”

As Grysilis ran past Afrasiata, the god—mid-bout with Aeges—used their spear to slap Grysilis out of the air.

“You dare allow a dog to distract you while I stand before you?” Aeges said. He thrust his spear forward faster than light, slipping past the Water Burial God’s spear and drilling a hole in Afrasiata’s chest. “Crimson Blood Spear, first hidden art—”

With a low mutter, the hole made by Aeges’s spear started to fill with magic.

“Dimension Drive.”

Afrasiata’s divine body was slowly sucked into the hole. But Afrasiata’s body was made of water, and no matter how much water was being consumed by the hole their body still remained. Before long, the hole itself filled up.

“Thorns of the abyss,” Dilfred said, “drill a spiral.”

Dilfred drew a magic circle with the spiral staff, pointing an Abyssal Thorn at Grysilis, who was still rolling on the ground from Afrasiata’s hit. Immediately after, he spun his staff and released the thorn behind himself. At the same time, Grysilis leaped back to his feet, as though he had gained a second wind, and started to run fiercely to avoid Dilfred’s thorn. But his lightspeed movement brought him right behind Dilfred—where the thorn was flying.

“Heh heh heh.”

Believing he had completely evaded the attack, the thorn caught Grysilis by surprise. The divine thorn was just about to sink into the gel-like dog when, at the last moment, it changed course and veered away from him.

“No way you can hit me like that. Is that all you’ve got, so-called God of Depth?”

But Grysilis hadn’t done anything to change the course of the Abyssal Thorn—he hadn’t even noticed one had been launched at him. The Abyssal Thorn had been launched and at once had been drawn towards Kaihilam, the Cursed King.

“Gah! Aaagh!”

The thorn cleanly pierced through Kaihilam. The resulting wound transformed into black mist.

“You wounded me, God of Depth,” he muttered. His words carried the curse magic Degded, a verbal curse. By using a magic-inflicted wound as catalyst, he could curse the caster and pull all their spells towards himself.

Abyssal Thorns were powerful when they pierced vital points, but when hitting any other spot the chance for a lethal hit was low. Degded was able to affect where the spell was meant to target, making it the perfect counterattack. But this specific method required someone of the Cursed King’s level to be able to use that magic on a god’s authority.

“Now it’s my turn,” Grysilis said.

He swiftly transformed back into a person and cast the order magic Jiosselom from all ten of his fingers. The bullets of light were aimed at the God of Depth, but they were immediately blocked by the cloth of the Barrier God, which spread around the Four Evil Kings like a spider web. The transparent cloth twisted and undulated around them, as if trying to entangle its chosen prey.

“Crimson Blood Spear, second hidden art—Dimension Burst.”

Aeges’s red spear flashed, slashing the spider web into pieces and sending it to another dimension. Afrasiata’s water spear approached him while his back was turned, but Kaihilam’s demon arrow cursed it out of the air.

Cursed arrowheads interrupted the water spear’s thrusts once, twice, then three times with perfect accuracy, creating a rally between arrow and spear. The Netherworld King jumped back to regroup, addressing Eldmed, who was standing still behind him.

“If you have something up your sleeve, use it,” Aeges said to Eldmed, who had not made his own move yet. “We’re up against gods—these four may not be our only opponents.”

“Bwa ha ha! I’m not just standing around on purpose, you know? It’s just that those Eyes are a little troublesome,” Eldmed said, using his cane to point at the God of Magic Sight. Its giant stone eye was glowing white. “According to the Heavenly Father’s order, that’s the Magic Eyes of Rampage. It can see far and wide and through all kinds of petty tricks. I’ve tried about nine so far, but—”

Eldmed snapped his fingers. Smoke rose around him and nine top hats appeared, but they exploded the moment Janeldefok’s gaze fell upon them. The spell formula had rampaged out of control and self-destructed through the power of the Magic Eyes.

“As you can see, it’s nothing like it used to be. Probably because its former master was that dog running around over there!”

Grysilis had returned to his dog form and was desperately running from Afrasiata’s spear and Linorolos’s cloth, while Kaihilam fired arrows in support.

“The God of Depth is different from the rest. In addition to those Divine Eyes that can see into the abyss, the God of Magic Sight prevents me from creating any new keepers!” Eldmed said.

“Then crush the Eye,” Aeges replied.

The Netherworld King held up his spear and glared at Janeldefok. At that moment Linorolos’s cloth successfully tangled around Grysilis, holding him while water spears stabbed into him.

“Arf! Aaargh!”

Stabbed through the source, Grysilis used Agronemt to resurrect himself. While the Withered Desert was still in effect, its hold over their current location wasn’t complete, and so even if normal demons wouldn’t be able to use healing magic, the Four Evil Kings could do so. However, the magic was still hampered; Grysilis could revive himself, but was still wounded. The barrier cloth was still wrapped around him too.

“You... Are you not ashamed of forcing me to do all the fighting?” Grysilis snapped.

“Staying alive after being killed is your speciality,” Aeges said. “Be a good dog and buy more time, Scarlet Stele King.”

Aeges thrust his spear forward. The tip pierced the God of Magic Sight, then opened a hole inside the god’s Eye with Dimension Drive. An explosion ruptured the eye, wounding it slightly, but the Dimension Drive had completely vanished.

“Exploding the hidden art of a demon spear? Not bad,” Aeges said, continuing to thrust his spear without concern and casting Dimension Drive again. He used so many consecutive Dimension Drives that it looked like the tip of his spear had multiplied. Janeldefok was swallowed up by the explosions. Although the Magic Eye of Rampage could make the Dimension Drives self-destruct, the God of Magic Sight itself wasn’t able to escape from it unharmed. Aeges intended on using his speed and a barrage of attacks to force his victory.

The crimson attacks increased in speed until a hundred holes were being bored into the giant Magic Eye at once. The God of Magic Sight had gradually fallen apart until just one more Dimension Drive was needed to send it to another dimension. It appeared success was only a matter of time.

“Water burial preparations are complete,” Dilfred announced.

Three water spears were stabbed into Grysilis’s body. His source was unharmed, but his body was dead. He was trying to resurrect through Ingall, but each time he revived he immediately died again.

“I walk the spiral forest,” Dilfred said in a solemn voice. A vast amount of magic power was emitting from his divine body. “Three gods follow my steps. Led by the closed path, we reach the depths, the center of the spiral.”

The Divine Eyes of Depth glowed indigo as he stared into the abyss of his comrades.

“Spiral Followers of Nature’s Grove.”

With Bostum, he drew a spiral magic circle around the Barrier God and the Water Burial God. Kaihilam’s Degded tried to draw the magic towards him, but the magic circle in his body shattered, canceling the curse.

“My curse...”

The Abyssal Thorn he had taken earlier wedged itself in the Degded circle as it activated, causing the magic to break down. In other words, it had been Dilfred’s plan all along for his Abyssal Thorn to be diverted by Degded.

“Burial at Sea.”

Radiant light shone down upon the Demon King Academy as an emerging scenery began to overlap their surroundings—a divine domain in the shape of a clear lake. As the lake materialized, the Demon King Academy faded away. Once the domain was completely manifested, the Four Evil Kings were instantly moved to it.

The clear water was about knee deep, but at the bottom of the lake were scattered an immense collection of skeletons.

“Barrier of Cloth.”

Another divine domain began to materialize. Strips of fabric—transparent barriers—fell from the sky, surrounding the water burial lake. One strip came between Aeges’s spear and the God of Magic Sight, preventing him from dealing the finishing blow.

“Tch,” Aeges muttered.

Having escaped the flurry of spear attacks, Janeldefok drew a spiral magic circle as well.

“Overseer’s View.”

Countless stone Eyes appeared on the divine fabric dangling from the sky, staring at the Four Evil Kings without blinking.

With one spell, Dilfred had manifested a merged domain fused from the domains of the Water Burial God, the Barrier God, and the God of Magic Sight. Thanks to his power, Spiral Followers of Nature’s Grove, their orders could coexist smoothly. The three gods had deepened to their limit, allowing their domains to reach a level they wouldn’t be able to achieve alone. But while the merged domain would definitely be a pain to deal with, there was also a bigger problem at hand: Dilfred had vanished.

The Netherworld King, the Cursed King, and the Conflagration King all cast their Magic Eyes around the area, but he simply wasn’t in the domain—he had gone to destroy the Demon King’s castle while the other three gods stayed to buy him time. Without anyone to protect it, the building wouldn’t last ten seconds.

“Fly! Aeges! Eldmed!” Kaihilam shouted, immediately running towards Afrasiata.

In response, the Water Burial God stabbed the tip of their spear into the lake. Water splashed high into a fountain. All the water of the lake turned into spears that surrounded Kaihilam like a cage, attempting to seal his ability to curse whoever wounded him, but the Cursed King was able to draw a magic circle and transform into a black mist.

“Igdull,” he said.

“Heh heh heh. How unfortunate,” another voice echoed.

The black mist cleared to reveal Grysilis, fully revived. The Water Burial God glanced over at the three water spears to find Kaihilam in his place, dead from the spears in his body. Igdull was a spell that took on the death of others, reviving them and having the caster die in their stead. Under normal circumstances, the spell didn’t have much use, but when wielded by the Cursed King, whose power was in cursing whoever attacked him, it had endless potential.

“You’ve killed me, Water Burial God.”

You’ve killed me. You’ve killed me. Me. You’ve killed me, Water Burial God. Me.

Eerie voices of resentment echoed these words repeatedly, layering upon each other. From Kaihilam’s corpse and source a cursed magic power began to flow.

“Giagi Gigior Gigiga.”

Finally, a sinister, sludge-like curse spilled out of Kaihilam’s corpse, contaminating the clear water of the burial lake. It spread to Linorolos’s barrier, turning the cloth into cursed sludge in no time at all.

Half the Magic Eyes in the overseer field stared into the spell formula of the cursed sludge and blew it up. But staring directly into the curse caused another curse to be activated, and those stone eyes crumbled away, one after another.

Unforgivable. Destroying this nation is unforgivable. This is my homeland. Unforgivable. Die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die!

All the new cursed sludge rushed towards the Water Burial God. Afrasiata evaded by leaping to the side, using the water jail that had imprisoned Grysilis as a shield. But the sludge kept moving, sweeping the prison away—Grysilis and all.

“Waaaaaah! You dare to curse me as well, Kaihilam?! What kind of useless magic can’t differentiate between enemy and ally?!” he yelled.

Afrasiata intercepted the onslaught of cursed sludge by changing most of the water in the burial lake into spears. But even then, those spears became contaminated by the sludge and melted away, increasing the volume of cursed sludge until there was enough to form a castle.

“Netherworld King,” Eldmed said.

The Conflagration King, who had managed to avoid the sludge by jumping high, used his cane to point at the divine domain, where a crack had formed in the space from curse overload.

“Got it,” Aeges said.

Aeges pointed his spear at the weak point of the divine domain and readied the second hidden art of the Crimson Blood Spear.

“Dimension Burst!”

A crimson spear slashed through space, opening a black hole. The sludge of Giagi Gigior Gigiga flowed into the hole like a tidal wave, spreading the curse throughout the merged domain and melting it to nothing.

§ 46. Gods Don’t Roll Dice

In the flood of cursed sludge, Eldmed and the other Four Evil Kings had escaped from the merged domain. As soon as they did, they heard the deafening sound of something collapsing—the replica of Delsgade had just fallen to Dilfred’s Abyssal Thorns. Beneath the rubble of the main building was the magic circle that had once split the world into four, Beno Ievun. Without the protection of the castle, the God of Depth was easily able to rewrite the formula. He pointed his spiral staff at the Beno Ievun circle and began to cast a spell.

“Hmph!” grunted Aeges.

The tip of Dehiddatem vanished, crossing dimensions to strike Bostum. Water spears rained from overhead, but Aeges leaped out of the way. Afrasiata landed on the ground beside the water spears, followed by Janeldefok and Linorolos, who had also returned from the divine realm. The three gods surrounded the Netherworld King and the Conflagration King along with the God of Depth, who had turned around to face them.

“Even the sturdiest structure has a weak point. And the weak point of the Four Evil Kings is the Scarlet Stele King. If that point collapses, the rest of you will go down as well.”

“Really now?” Eldmed asked, sticking his cane into the cursed sludge at his feet with a smirk. Giagi Gigior Gigiga was forming a sludge castle behind him. “None of the Four Evil Kings are stronger than the other. Though it may appear that we abandoned him back in the domain as he lies covered in sludge, he’s actually right here with us. Look closer into the abyss with those Eyes of yours and you might find out that there’s one thing that dog excels at over the Cursed King, the Netherworld King, and even me, the Conflagration King.”

Eldmed sent magic into his cane, scattering the cursed sludge around him. “He can die like a dog better than anyone!”

The gods leaped out of the way of the sludge. Linorolos used a cloth barrier to protect themselves, while Dilfred stared into Aeges’s abyss with his Divine Eyes. Janeldefok kept watch over Eldmed.

Blue and red sparks burst and fizzled in the air as Afrasiata and Aeges crossed spears.

“Bwa ha ha. Where are you looking, God of Depth? That dead, sludgy dog might still be alive somewhere, you know? Shouldn’t you be searching for what I’m plotting instead?” Eldmed asked, juggling gold flames between his fingers to produce dozens of Divine Swords in the air. But each time a Roduier was formed, the God of Magic Sight used its Magic Eyes of Rampage to make it explode. While the weapons made from the Heavenly Father’s power couldn’t actually be broken, they could be blown out of the air and scattered on the ground.

“The cursed sludge of Giagi Gigior Gigiga is a mass of curses that the Cursed King Kaihilam summoned in exchange for his life,” Dilfred explained, Divine Eyes glinting. “It’s impossible for him to revive himself in such a state, which is why the sludge can curse everything it touches. Anyone who stares into its abyss will have their Eyes corrupted and cursed.”

The God of Depth fired an Abyssal Thorn into the cursed sludge surrounding them. The thorn was perfectly aimed at where the Cursed King’s corpse was within the sludge, but Aeges’s Crimson Blood Spear soon sent the thorn to another dimension.

“Bwa ha ha! You say that, yet you’re looking at it anyway!” Eldmed said.

Afrasiata caught Aeges off guard and sent a spear past him, aimed at Eldmed. The moment the Conflagration King was about to deflect it with Roduier, the water made a sudden change in direction. The tip of the spear split into ten, nine of which stabbed into the ground around the Conflagration King.

With nowhere to run, Eldmed prepared to intercept the last falling spear with his divine sword—but the sword, targeted by the Magic Eyes of Rampage, exploded in his hands and fell to the ground. He was made defenseless in an instant, allowing for the water spear to pierce straight through his head, pinning the Conflagration King where he stood so he could no longer move.

“Aye. I will indeed look into the abyss of the curse.”

Eldmed grinned, his head still impaled by the spear. “In other words, the God of Magic Sight cannot look into the cursed sludge. Will your narrow vision be able to catch my tricks?”

He pointed his cane at Janeldefok.

Destroy. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy that Magic Eye.

Kaihilam’s curse dramatically increased the volume of sludge attacking the God of Magic Sight. Linorolos’s barrier cloth was unable to hold it back, so Janeldefok had to cast Demond and blow up the magic lightning to keep the sludge away. But since the God of Magic Sight couldn’t look directly at Giagi Gigior Gigiga, it was unable to use its gaze to completely erase it. The cursed sludge that had been scattered all throughout the area continued rushing towards the god, but the only thing Janeldefok could do was cast Demond to try to blow it away.

“You hope to make us believe the Scarlet Stele King’s death was a bluff, so that you can seal Janeldefok’s Magic Eyes,” Dilfred said calmly.

“Or the bluff could be that he’s actually alive somewhere!” Eldmed pointed out.

“Aye. But if I sacrifice the God of Sight to confirm that, it will be my defeat for falling for your tricks either way.” Dilfred pointed his spiral staff at the cursed sludge. A magic circle appeared along with an Abyssal Thorn. “When going up against you, one must discard all presumptions and doubts, for they will be the greatest enemy. The solution is to use a frontal attack.”

Dilfred fired the divine thorn.

“Fourth hidden art,” the Conflagration King said in return. The Netherworld King immediately moved forward and released the hidden art from his spear. “Blood World Gate.”

Aeges’s body was slashed apart. Blood splattered everywhere, forming two gates facing Dilfred and Afrasiata. The gates of blood quietly opened to a dimensional barrier that transported whoever stepped within the gate. Without pausing in its trajectory, the Abyssal Thorn that Dilfred fired entered the gate and was teleported behind Afrasiata, who twisted to avoid it.

“What is the easiest way to seal Eyes that see so well and a mind that can think so clearly?” Eldmed asked.

Dilfred and Afrasiata ran for the Blood World Gate without any hesitation.

“Tell me,” Dilfred said.

“Gambling.”

Eldmed swung his cane, confetti and streamers scattering through the air. Streamers wrapped around the Crimson Blood Spear and pulled it towards the Conflagration King, who caught it in his hands.

“Eldmedrun.”

Despite having a water spear still skewered through his head, Eldmed spread his arms wide with a gleeful smirk, letting go of the Crimson Blood Spear as it began floating in the air. The Heavenly Father’s magic began to fill the spear, causing it to rotate.

Dilfred’s and Afrasiata’s gazes turned sharp. Just as they stiffened in realization, with a comical puff, the Blood World Gate before Dilfred turned into countless fruits—apples, pears, bananas, strawberries, and kiwifruits were all drawn towards Eldmed and hovered in the air.

“Each one of these fruits is a Blood World Gate. I will now proceed to throw all of them into the castle of cursed sludge. When a fruit rots, its Blood World Gate will decay and expel whatever’s inside it into the unknown. Depending on the level of decay, the dimensional barrier will distort and change the point of exit.” The Conflagration King grabbed one fruit out of the air and bit down on it. “In other words, there’s no telling where the sludge will fly!”

He threw the fruit he had bitten aside, and the rest of the floating fruits all dived into the sludge castle at once, where in no time at all they were swallowed by Giagi Gigior Gigiga.

“I, the Conflagration King Eldmed, declare this through the order of the Heavenly Father,” he said with a gleeful grin. “The games of the gods are absolute.”

A large volume of cursed sludge immediately teleported away from the castle, grazing Dilfred as it passed him. The Blood World Gate teleported without warning, and so it was extremely difficult to evade even after seeing it move.

“Bwa ha ha! That was quite close. Oh well. Next!”

The rest of the Blood World Gate fruits swallowed by the castle teleported haphazardly across the field.

“Gods don’t roll dice,” the God of Depth said solemnly. “You gamble because you do not possess Divine Eyes that can see into the depths. Challenging the Divine Eyes of Depth in a gamble was a shallow idea.”

Dilfred paid no attention to the sludge nor the fruits, staring straight at Eldmed with his indigo Divine Eyes. Two seconds later, he leaped to the side. The spot where he had just stood was immediately overrun by curses—as though he knew the sludge would appear before it moved.

“The spell formula of Eldmedrun is tied to the decay of countless fruits, constantly transforming. That transformation is complex, rich in variety, and rapid, making it look totally random. But if I stare into the abyss of the formula, I can clearly see where they will fly next.” Dilfred released magic from his spiral staff, drawing a circle seven meters to the left. “This is where they will appear next.”

Cursed sludge teleported there, proving his words.

“Bwa ha ha! As expected of the Divine Eyes of Depth. How about this?”

Eldmed threw his top hat up with a cloud of smoke, casting Frag Mentes. He cloned himself into dozens of bodies, which included the Eldmedrun spell formula within him.

The order of the Heavenly Father kept the spell transforming constantly, turning dozens of formulas into one result. Dilfred’s Eyes could only see narrowly, so he couldn’t look at all of them at once.

“Simple,” Dilfred replied.

Eldmed exploded with a yelp.

Janeldefok’s Magic Eyes of Rampage blew up the dozens of Eldmeds, returning him to one body. It had destroyed the Frag Mentes spell formula instantly. But even as blood poured from the new wounds on his body, Eldmed just laughed.

“You just released me,” he pointed out.

The explosion had blown away the water spear stabbed through his head, freeing him from its hold. Eldmed took a few dancing steps before leaping through the air. “How about this, then?”

He soared through the air, falling towards the castle of cursed sludge, throwing himself into Giagi Gigior Gigiga. His divine body sank into the sludge, disappearing just like Grysilis. Although it was Kaihilam’s curse, a curse was still a curse. It spread regardless of friend or foe, and touching it was enough to corrupt or kill.

“Even in the cursed sludge, my Divine Eyes will stare into your abyss.”

The God of Depth’s gaze pierced the sludge, but his Eyes immediately narrowed.

“Frag Mentes.”

Eldmed had duplicated his source within the sludge.

“Bwa ha ha!” Eldmed cackled from within the sludge. “Can you see now, Dilfred? Can those Divine Eyes of Depth see into the sludge, where the Eldmedrun spell formula has been spread thin through Frag Mentes? Surely your narrow vision will miss at least one spell!”

With a stiff expression, Dilfred’s Divine Eyes turned a deeper indigo. “Even with the Heavenly Father’s divine body, the chance of you surviving is a fifty-fifty split.”

“Exactly. That’s why I’ve split into fifty!”

The magic circle of Frag Mentes glowed within the sludge, duplicating the Conflagration King again.

“Now, it’s only a matter of time before I perish from the curse! But your Divine Eyes cannot see the spell formula that has split into fifty, and the moment Janeldefok looks at the curse, it will be cursed in return.” Cackling laughter echoed from the sludge, multiplied by fifty. “It’s all or nothing, win or lose. The real gamble begins now!”

Cursed sludge teleported everywhere. Not even Dilfred could predict the locations of Giagi Gigior Gigiga under the current circumstances. He glanced over at the students who had collapsed on the school grounds. Until now, not a single one had been struck by the cursed sludge. He considered the possibility of the Conflagration King risking their lives in his gamble. It was possible the Conflagration King was prepared to send cursed sludge there the moment Dilfred decided to treat the area as a safe zone.

Thus, he chose the action that lowered his chance of being hit as much as possible. He moved to a completely unremarkable place, gathered the other three gods, and had a barrier cast around all of them. Some cursed sludge reached them, but it would take more than one hit from Giagi Gigior Gigiga to break through this particular barrier.

This barrier could withstand ten hits, at the very least. The chance of sludge flying to the same spot eleven times was near zero. Meanwhile, the Conflagration King had to keep his body exposed to the cursed sludge to avoid Janeldefok’s Eyes. When it came to a gamble between random projectiles hitting the gods before the cursed sludge damaged Eldmed beyond repair, the Conflagration King was at an overwhelming disadvantage.

“Bwa ha ha! Shall we see all the results at once, then?”

From within the sludge, the Conflagration King’s magic glowed, and all the curses teleported at once. Cursed sludge sprayed throughout the area. Linorolos’s cloth barrier was directly struck twice, exactly as predicted—which was why Dilfred made his move.

“Destroy that cursed sludge!” he shouted.

Abyssal Thorns, water spears, cloth barriers, and Magic Eyes of Rampage released their magic at the same time. Eldmed emerged from the sludge and took every attack with his divine body, falling to his knees.

“Well done, God of Depth. Now I have an even better view of your defeat!” Eldmed cried, spreading his arms dramatically as all the sludge started glowing. The order magic Jiosselom activated, drawing runes of light over the sludge scattered around the gods. While Eldmed had been in the sludge, he had repeatedly cast Agronemt to save Grysilis and thinly spread his gel-like body across the cursed sludge, so that when the sludge teleported, so did a part of Grysilis.

If Dilfred gathered the gods in a single unremarkable point and put up a barrier, there was basically no chance of him losing. But by gathering the gods in one place to protect themselves, he had allowed the Scarlet Stele King to surround him without realizing it. The Frag Mentes Eldmed cast had also cloned Grysilis’s body, allowing him to use his Magic Eyes while lurking in the sludge and write runes he wasn’t able to write alone. They were the runes of a terribly redundant magic that was time-consuming to cast, which was the real reason why all this time he had remained hidden in the sludge.

“Do it, dog,” Eldmed commanded.

Empelum Dydeya was cast, a spell of servility magic strong enough to bind the order of a god. With no other choice, Janeldefok was forced to turn its Magic Eyes of Rampage towards the cursed sludge. The God of Magic Sight exploded Empelum Dydeya but was cursed and finally crumbled apart, turning into additional cursed sludge that spread nearby to Linorolos’s cloth barrier.

The Water Burial God ran forward to save Linorolos, but stepped in a puddle of blood in the process. A gate appeared in front of them.

“Blood World Gate,” said Aeges. Another gate appeared behind him, shutting the two of them within the dimension.

“Crimson Blood Spear, seventh hidden art—”

Afrasiata thrust a water spear at the Blood World Gate, but Aeges knocked it away with his demon spear. His single eye glinted sharply.

“Blood Pool Burial.”

Afrasiata’s body of water sank into the pool of Aeges’s blood. The blood pouring out of Aeges’s source swallowed everything and sent the Water Burial God flying into another dimension.

Dilfred avoided the cursed sludge attacking him, using his staff to pierce its vital point. The sludge broke apart, revealing Eldmed, wielding Roduier, within.

“The curse has rendered all of your clones immobile,” Dilfred pointed out.

“Bwa ha ha. Then let us have one final match! I’ve left a hundred Roduiers within the sludge. The bullets are different here, but the conditions are the same. I, the Conflagration King Eldmed, declare this through the order of the Heavenly Father: Let the games of god begin!”

Eldmedrun activated, and the God of Depth stared into the abyss of the formula. He took one step forward, and a single Roduier teleported to where he had been standing.

He thrust the spiral staff forward at the Conflagration King. Although his source was split over his clones, there was still only one vital point. If Dilfred could find and pierce it, the Conflagration King would break apart. The clones created by Frag Mentes looked energetic and in good shape, but in reality Eldmed was in critical condition from prolonged exposure to Kaihilam’s curses. If Dilfred attacked, he wouldn’t have the strength to block him.

“Unfortunately, you missed,” Eldmed said.

“Gah!”

Three Roduiers teleported into Dilfred, stabbing his body. Weakened by Frag Mentes, the divine swords normally wouldn’t be enough to pierce the God of Depth’s magic wards, but these ones were covered in cursed sludge. More Roduiers teleported one after another. Dilfred reflexively looked into the abyss of the spell formula to avoid them, but—

“Argh... Gwah!”

Over ninety divine swords stabbed into Dilfred, making the Staff of Depth fall from his hands. Each bit of cursed sludge coating each sword invaded his source.

“Impossible... I definitely saw the abyss of the spell...”

“I purposefully shuffled my cards where you could see them. The spell formula was completely reconstructed from what you know. Word of advice: You should have cut the deck before sitting at the table.”

Eldmed snapped his fingers. Smoke rose from the rubble of the building in a series of comical puffs. An Eldmed made from Frag Mentes emerged.

“I see... The Eldmedrun just now was cast by two of you, not one...”

He had sent a clone of himself into the rubble as soon as the God of Magic Sight was defeated. Then, he had made Dilfred believe there was only one spell formula when there were actually two.

“I used one formula to direct which way you would evade, and another to send divine swords there. It’s a very common way of cheating—and the result is as you can see!”

Once Eldmed dispelled Frag Mentes with a cloud of smoke, he reached down to pick up the fallen Staff of Depth. He leaned down, bringing his face close to the God of Depth, who now lay weaponless and skewered in place by nearly one hundred divine swords.

The Conflagration King grinned. “A god that’s never rolled a dice before is just begging the house to win, don’t you think?”

§ 47. Wall of Despair

Dilfred fell to his knees, the cursed sludge coating the divine swords he was impaled with forcing his body into decay, until he collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

“And now the burning flames of love will put you to rest,” Eldmed said. His eyes sparkled red, and the God of Depth began to burn. The pale flames were a curse that in a minute would utterly destroy his source, and Dilfred no longer had the strength to escape a curse by the Heavenly Father. “Oh, that’s right. Before I forget, Netherworld King—if we don’t cancel the Cursed King’s Giagi Gigior Gigiga soon, we’ll lose our dog for good.”

“I know. I’ve already started the process,” Aeges replied in a low voice.

Eldmed looked over to see four Blood World Gates set up around the cursed sludge, swallowing it with Blood Pool Burial. Only the sludge was sinking to the bottom, filtering the mixture of sludge and gel to allow only the pieces of gel to come to the surface.

Eldmed pointed his cane at the pieces of gel, and at once they began to wriggle, all the pieces slowly gathering into one spot. He took a handkerchief out of his top hat and shook it once, doubling it in size, then shook it again to double it once more. Once the handkerchief was large enough, he used it to cover the pieces of gel.

“No trick to it,” he said, pulling away the handkerchief to reveal the Scarlet Stele King Grysilis back in one piece.

“Perhaps you would think differently if you were the one that had to go along with your tricks,” Grysilis muttered.

“Just hurry it up already,” Eldmed replied, “or at this rate even a masochist like Kaihilam will end up in heaven.”

Unable to defy the command, Grysilis used the order magic Jiosselom to carve runes into the surrounding area. It was a time-consuming spell that broke easily if disrupted, but outside of battle it was easy enough to cast.

“Empelum Dydeya.”

They were using servility magic to deal with Giagi Gigior Gigiga. Controlling the spell wasn’t that helpful when the caster himself couldn’t stop the curse, but it could at least limit the movement of the sludge.

“Hmph!”

Aeges thrust his demon spear forward. The tip crossed dimensions, piercing deep into the depths of the sludge to stab Kaihilam himself.

“Hyah!”

Aeges yanked his spear back and Kaihilam’s corpse came with it, emerging fully from the cursed sludge.

“Ingall.”

The three kings resurrected him, and with that removed the condition required to activate the curse. The Conflagration King, the Netherworld King, and the Scarlet Stele King all drew a magic circle over Kaihilam at the same time.

“Laeluente.”

They poured their magic into the spell, releasing the curse. It took three of the Four Evil Kings to finally calm the Giagi Gigior Gigiga enough for the cursed sludge to slowly return to Kaihilam’s body.

“I, Eldmed, the Conflagration King, order you in the name of the Heavenly Father: Arise, ten keepers of reason.”

Eldmed threw his top hat into the air, multiplying it by ten in a rain of confetti and streamers. Long-haired girls wielding two staves appeared. They were Nutra Do Hiana, the Keepers of Restoration. One pointed their staves at the Four Evil Kings and poured healing light over them. The rest went over to the students and teachers in critical condition, carrying them away to treat them elsewhere.

From the corner of Eldmed’s eye, he saw fluttering black particles. On the ground, the skull of the Staff of Knowledge gave a loud rattle.

“Fishy, fishy. How very fishy.”

Eldmed and Aeges whirled around at the same time. Black particles were rising en masse from the rubble of the main building—Beno Ievun was activating right then and there.

“Bwa ha ha! What’s the meaning of this, Netherworld King?” Eldmed pointed his cane at the students and teachers being treated. A smoke wrapped around them and carried them behind him.

“If I knew, I would have moved already,” Aeges snapped.

The God of Depth’s body had already faded. There wasn’t even a speck of him left.

“How strange, how mysterious, how utterly baffling. As we all saw, the God of Depth perished in the flames of love— Oh!” Eldmed gasped, then grinned in realization. “I see. Demise overcomes depth, was it?”

“Aye,” the God of Depth’s voice said.

The pile of rubble blew away to reveal Dilfred beside a rising black aurora. White sparks of flame swirled around his divine body, and the magic of the God of Demise dwelled in the abyss of his source. He was in the same undead state Nigitt had been in.

“Dear me! I didn’t think gods could turn into puppets of the dead as well, but I guess you’re the exception, huh?” Eldmed asked.

According to the order of the Round Garden of Principles, demise overcame depth, meaning the God of Demise’s ability was extra effective against the God of Depth. Thanks to that, the moment he had approached destruction he had turned into a puppet of the dead instead of vanishing.

“Two thousand years ago, a wall rose and brought peace to a war-torn land. Now it will bring despair.” Dilfred drew a magic circle for an Abyssal Thorn. He pointed the thorn at his own body and pierced his source with it. “Beno Ievun.”

The black aurora began spreading.

Stop releasing the curse. Stop it. Stop it stop it stop it. Stop it now!

Kaihilam’s cursed voice echoed, prompting the other three demons to cancel the casting of Laeluente. Kaihilam’s remaining cursed sludge immediately spread towards Beno Ievun and covered it.

“I won’t let you!” Aeges shouted at Dilfred, grabbing his spear and closing the Blood World Gate he had summoned to swallow Kaihilam’s cursed sludge. He then aimed his demon spear at the black aurora, blood pouring from his body and pooling at his feet. “Crimson Blood Spear, seventh hidden art—Blood Pool Burial!”

The rising aurora wall was instantly swallowed by the pool of blood.

“Empelum Dydeya!”

The Scarlet Stele King drew runes with Jiosselom to control Beno Ievun, but the God of Depth immediately fired a divine thorn to break the spell and erase the runes. Grysilis ignored him and continued recasting Jiosselom to write the runes—in doing so, he could at least occupy the God of Depth and prevent him from doing anything else.

But in spite of Aeges’s Blood Pool Burial and Kaihilam’s cursed sludge, the black aurora kept rising.

“Burn in the flames of love.” The Conflagration King’s Eyes turned red, cursing the black aurora to burn.

“The wall of destruction that once split the world into four was powered by Hero Kanon, the Great Spirit Reno, the Goddess of Creation Militia, Evansmana, and Delsgade, and still needed the Demon King of Tyranny to sacrifice his life to activate,” Dilfred said as he faced the Four Evil Kings. “It takes the light of a dying flame to overcome the darkness itself. As a puppet of the dead, I can now reach heights that I couldn’t with the order of depth.”

Blinding light surrounded Dilfred’s body. The source he had pierced was swiftly approaching destruction, releasing a vast amount of magic power in the process. The place where depth and demise overlapped was the bottom of the abyss, the same place where firedew was being stolen—the same place the God of Depth hadn’t been able to see with his own Eyes due to its affiliation. But now that place was being reflected in his Divine Eyes of Depth.

As a foundation of order, the Four Principles released a tremendous amount of magic as they perished—enough to activate the spell formula to split the world. Like a dying star, Dilfred’s source blinked intensely, so intensely it was clear he had no intention of reincarnating. He was prepared to exchange his ruin for Beno Ievun to cover the world with despair.

Not even the Four Evil Kings could seal him forever. Barriers weren’t their specialty to begin with, and Kaihilam was already at his limit. The other three had also exhausted most of their magic.

As soon as the Giagi Gigior Gigiga holding Beno Ievun back vanished, the divine enemy and the army of gods would have an overwhelming advantage. The black aurora would swell enough to cover the entirety of Midhaze, creating a chain reaction that would activate the spell formula carved across the earth. The rewritten Beno Ievun would, as Dilfred had said, become a wall of despair that attacked the people instead of keeping them safe.

But Dilfred furrowed his brow in confusion. Not a single one of the Four Evil Kings was taking any other action. Neither the Conflagration King, the Cursed King, the Scarlet Stele King, nor the Netherworld King showed any signs of fleeing. All their focus was devoted to sealing the Beno Ievun before them.

“I ask you, kings among demons. You have little magic and life left. Even if you buy time here, no reinforcements will arrive. The wall will cover the world wherever you run. Yet your hearts show no sign of resignation. Why do you continue to challenge total despair?”

“The fact you’re asking at all means you’ve already lost,” the Netherworld King said.

The Scarlet Stele King chuckled smugly. “A puppet of the dead, was it? All authority will stop moving the moment the caster perishes. I won’t have to lift a finger.”

Dilfred’s Divine Eyes narrowed into a stern glare. He could understand what the Four Evil Kings were aiming for—but he couldn’t comprehend it.

“All gods that perish end up in the Withered Desert. As its master, upon perishing the God of Demise will merely return to his domain. Each time he meets his demise he grows stronger. Simply sealing his divine body won’t stop the puppets.”

Eldmed burst into cackling laughter. “Seal? Bwa ha ha! Bwa ha ha! After hurting his beloved daughter and terrorizing the Demon King’s people, you think that man will let you off with a mere sealing? It doesn’t matter how powerful his opponent is, or how immortal they are. The answer of the right-hand man of the Demon King will be the same—”

He threw his arms up in the air and sent golden fire up to the skies. The flames transformed into countless divine swords that then rained down on them from above. Roduier connected to Roduier, drawing a giant magic circle. Eldmed activated the barrier to buy them time.

“Slash, slice, and slay!” he yelled.

§ 48. Abyss of Immortality

South Midhaze, Withered Desert.

The mischief-loving titi flew around the desert, spreading mist.

“Reno! Reno!”

“Big trouble!”

“More demons got beat up!”

“Lots and lots, inside the city!”

Reno smiled at the panicked titi and petted the wolf sitting at her feet. “Go on, Gennul. We’ll be fine here.”

The Wolf of Hiding vanished from his spot, making his way to Midhaze. As the spirit of hiding, Gennul’s rumors and legends made him capable of trapping puppets of the dead in an alternate dimension. As long as the Withered Desert still existed here, no one could cast healing magic, and casualties would only increase. And with the puppets of the dead around, simply defeating the army of gods wouldn’t change the total number of enemies.

“Lignon! Gigadeith!”

A raging, eight-headed water dragon made rain pour down from the skies, creating tidal waves across the white sand. The palm-sized fairy Gigadeith swung its hammer down, with a bow and arrows of lightning appearing in Reno’s hand.

The mother of all spirits then drew the bow, pouring magic power into her weapon. She fired a single arrow, fierce thunder rumbling throughout the desert. The arrow became a giant lightning bolt, shooting through the gods that were unable to withstand Lignon’s waves. Any that were able to avoid being washed away were caught by the electricity traveling through the waves instead. It didn’t take long for them to be wiped out—Arnest had been completely ineffective.

Spirits were born from a countless number of rumors and legends—each wondrous phenomenon was made from the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people. And so even though a spirit’s body only had one source, they were far more than just their individual form. The divine army’s order of majority gave them no advantage against spirits.

“Shin!”

After wiping out the army of gods before her, Reno hurried over to the large hole that had opened in the desert—the withered sand hell. Sand flowed into the pit like a waterfall, and Shin stood at the bottom of it with his demon sword raised.

“Sink in demise!” Anahem slashed at Shin from behind using Guzelami.

Reno immediately drew a magic circle. “Alha Alfrem!”

The six wings on her back glowed faintly. Green light wrapped around the titi and Gigadeith, who had gathered around Reno. Guzelami stabbed Shin in the back—but his body immediately turned to mist.

“What?!”

Both Anahem and his Withered Blade passed right through the mist. Thanks to the power of the titi, Shin was able to escape the sand hell and smoothly step behind the God of Demise.

“Ruinflow Sword, first hidden art—”

The murmur of a stream could be heard. A mirror of thin water appeared behind Anahem. A single drop fell onto the mirror, creating a ripple across the reflection of Anahem’s divine body.

“Ripple.”

The Ruinflow Sword Altocorasta slashed through the ripple of the water mirror.

“Gah... Gwaaaaaaaaah!”

Cracks spread across Anahem’s body before it shattered completely, shards flying like a mirror being smashed to pieces. His source crumbled and he perished on the spot, but Shin remained alert as he scanned the area.

“Let’s cast Alha Alfrem together, Shin,” Reno said, assuming a green magic body before descending to the sand hell where Shin was.

“No need,” Shin said without looking at her, holding the Ruinflow Sword ready. “Go and close the boundary gate to Nature’s Keep first. The domains of the Four Principles remain even after their god perishes. The best way of reducing harm to Dilhade is to erase the Round Garden of Principles as soon as possible.”

Even Naphta and Diedrich were struggling to close the boundary gate they were dealing with. Even with Alha Alfrem, the magic that controlled the power of the spirits, it wouldn’t be an easy task. Shin knew this, and that was what probably motivated his suggestion.

“But...” Reno mumbled, worriedly looking at Shin’s left arm, where a wound Anahem had left was bleeding heavily. Shin’s abdomen had also been slashed open, and his clothes were practically drenched in blood. On top of that, his legs had been wounded as well, preventing him from running at full speed. In the state he was in he just wouldn’t be able to move freely.

“If the Round Garden of Principles disappears, magic will cease to flow to the Withered Desert. When the order weakens, healing magic will regain its effect, and Anahem will cease to be immortal,” Shin replied.

Reno gasped in realization and nodded. “Okay! I’ll go right away, so don’t you die before then! Got it?!”

“Okay.”

Reno leaped up, spread her six wings, and began flying through the Withered Desert at a low altitude. “Everyone, lend me your power! We’re going to close the boundary gate to Nature’s Keep. If we combine all our rumors and legends, we should be able to do it!”

One after another, spirits turned themselves into green bodies of magic and gathered around Reno, all of them flying at full speed to Nature’s Keep.

“Ten deaths and seven demises. Have you finally noticed?” White sand gathered to form the shape of a person. The sand transformed into cogs for a brief moment before the God of Demise Anahem stood before Shin once more. “A mere sword cannot cut demise.”

Anahem reached down to pick up the fallen Withered Blade. “It’s too late to send the spirits to Nature’s Keep now.”

Magic power swirled around the God of Demise like a blustering sandstorm. Power, far greater than he had ever been able to wield in the Divine Realm, was currently being released from his body.

“On the first demise, I snapped your sword. On the second, your fingers. The third, I tore your arm. On the fourth, I gouged your stomach, and on the fifth, I took your legs. On the sixth demise, you would have fallen to the sand hell if that spirit hadn’t saved you. Now, on the seventh demise, will you survive until the boundary gate closes?” Anahem asked.

“Yes,” Shin replied immediately. Anahem glared at him. “That’s what I told her. She tends to be unreasonable, so she wouldn’t have accepted any less.”

Shin moved forward. In one smooth motion, he closed the distance to Anahem and slashed at his divine body with Altocorasta. Anahem leaned back at the last moment to avoid the attack, but his chest was still slashed open, blood gushing out.

“It’s you who won’t survive when the gate closes,” Shin said.

“Arrogant demon.”

Anahem’s white cape fluttered outward, obstructing Shin’s vision. He slashed it apart, but Anahem had already vanished.

“Too slow!”

He had moved behind Shin, emerging from the sand and swinging Guzelami at his back. Shin turned around, drawing the Demon Sword Izinia with his bloodstained left hand. Swords crossed with a flash, but the Withered Blade passed straight through Izinia. Anahem smiled triumphantly—when his blade was suddenly knocked back.

“What?!”

The demon sword shattered in Shin’s hand. The Withered Blade could only cut sources, so Shin had sacrificed Izinia’s source to knock it away. But the source of a demon sword was fixed and couldn’t be shifted. Shin had to move so that the rapidly approaching Guzelami would strike that single point. It was as if Shin were trying to thread a needle in one try, while both the thread and needle were moving at light speed.

The source of a demon sword was helpless before Guzelami—it could only be sliced apart. However, the moment it was being sliced apart was also the moment it could interact with the Withered Blade. Thus, in that single moment, the demon sword could resist Guzelami and slash back. It was a pure bout of sword against sword, and Shin had succeeded in repelling it. All in all, a truly wondrous feat.

“The same trick won’t work twice, you fool!” Anahem yelled, swinging Guzelami down as Shin pulled out another demon sword. He thought Guzelami would strike its mark this time, but the second demon sword shattered as it repelled Guzelami once again. “Stop struggling—”

“There won’t be a third time,” Shin said quietly.

Anahem’s position shifted slightly off-balance. It was an opening he could neutralize with his excess speed and strength—but against an opponent like Shin, it was a fatal mistake.

Cold light glinted in his Magic Eyes. Sensing the danger, Anahem immediately tried to turn into sand, but the sound of a bell rang through the air. Wind blew. A ripple-like pattern spread across the sand Anahem had transformed into.

“Ruinflow Sword, second hidden art—”

Anahem had sunk into the desert, but Shin’s sword was faster.

“Windsweep.”

The Ruinflow Sword swung like it was slicing the wind, slashing apart the ripple pattern on Anahem’s sand body. A large crack opened in Anahem’s body and source.

“Struggle all you want... You are a mere grain of sand!” Anahem stopped in place, returning to his original form after having his source slashed by Altocorasta’s hidden art. But he hadn’t perished. “That demon sword can no longer destroy me!”

He swung Guzelami with brute force, knocking away the new demon sword Shin drew. One, three, seven, fourteen. Each time Guzelami accelerated, another demon sword shattered, until a total of fourteen had been slashed apart. Even the Thousand Sword Shin would run out of swords at this rate. The bleeding from his left arm was also getting worse—he couldn’t keep this up forever.

“Everything you have is built upon sand.”

Guzelami roared as Shin’s demon swords shattered one after another. Guzelami’s cry reverberated across the desert, creating a sandstorm around Shin. Towers of sand erupted, trapping him within its bounds. A giant castle of sand appeared in the white desert.

“Guzelami’s one cry will cause everything to collapse and wither.”

The Withered Blade swept to the side. When it let out an eerie cry, Shin’s body slowly started turning into sand. With limited demon swords and limited time, Shin’s destruction was now inevitable—in order to escape, Anahem had to be the one to perish first. And that was Anahem’s goal. If Shin panicked and switched to the offensive, Guzelami would finish him in a single swing.

“The castle built on sand collapses as Guzelami’s cry heralds the coming demise,” Anahem recited as he swung his sword at Shin.

Over a hundred demon swords had already shattered. Shin adjusted his grip on the Ruinflow Sword and stared at him coldly.

“And without the slightest scratch of resistance, the curtains will fall,” Anahem said. Another eerie cry rang out, and the castle of sand shook heavily. The outer walls and towers turned back into regular sand and collapsed. “Withered Burial—Endblade Guzelami.”

“God Slasher, fourth hidden art—”

The 147th demon sword he drew with his left hand was the God Slasher Gneodoros. In their exchange of blows until now, Shin had been subtly adjusting Anahem’s position and posture to how he wanted it to be. But this time, he evaded Guzelami’s thrust without knocking it back.

He stepped up and thrust God Slasher, the demon sword that could slay gods, into Anahem’s source.

“Void.”

“Urk!”

Anahem’s source was slain in a single move. But instead of collapsing, the God Slasher remained embedded in his body. The hidden art was maintaining the divine body after the source had perished. The order of the Withered Desert returned Anahem’s source back to his body.

“You dare— Gah!”

Gneodoros immediately destroyed him again. The repeated use of the third hidden art Hell and fourth hidden art Void kept him in an endless loop of demise.

“You... Gah! Gwaaaaaaaaah! I, Anahem, will not— Urgh! Gaaah!”

Anahem perished over and over. But the God of Demise was immortal, and his magic power continued to rise each time he was destroyed. The look of rage on his face increased each time he perished.

“You... You fool!”

Eventually, amid the endless rounds of destruction, Anahem was able to move. He grabbed the God Slasher, as though to tell Shin that even this would not cause the God of Demise to perish, then swung the Withered Blade with an underhand grip.

Shin released Gneodoros and drew a new demon sword. He crossed swords with the tip of Guzelami using incredible precision, but his blade was still one-sidedly destroyed. Anahem had finally fallen to demise enough times that his power surpassed Shin’s skill.

“Die. It is you, the right-hand man of the Demon King, that will be the one to sink.”

Guzelami sank into Shin’s shoulder, slicing apart his source—but Shin calmly continued to swing his own sword in response.

“Ruinflow Sword, fifth hidden art—”

Three sword emblems appeared at Shin’s feet, as wide as the distance between their blades.

“Brand.”

The Ruinflow Sword Altocorasta flashed, and Anahem’s body was split into two. The God of Demise smirked. “Your life is a grain of sand before demise. Nothing in this world can escape their end.”

“I completely agree.”

Anahem stared down at Shin in complete triumph. The castle of sand completely collapsed. But amid the heavily raging sandstorm, the God of Demise caught sight of something.

“What...”

The cloud of sand slowly cleared. Where Anahem’s Divine Eyes were looking was where a puppet of the dead had fallen. No, it wasn’t just one—all the puppets the spirits had been fighting in the Withered Desert were here, fallen. Anahem’s Eyes widened in shock.

“What is that? What’s happening?” The two halves of Anahem’s split body burned in a white fire, disintegrating into sand. “What exactly is this... What did you do?!”

“You don’t recognize this?”

Anahem’s body tilted and fell to the ground. Shin yanked Guzelami out of his own body and took a step forward. Against the Withered Blade that could destroy sources with a single scratch, Shin had purposefully allowed himself to be pierced—but just enough so that his source would overcome the destruction, drawing out his magic power.

“It’s destruction.”

“Impossible... I, Anahem, cannot perish. In the Withered Desert, I am immortal... All demise is within my control!”

Shin observed Anahem with a cold stare. “I allowed my source to take the blow from your Guzelami, and slew your source with a source headed for ruin.”

Anahem’s body crumbled into pieces. It was clearly different from all the other times he had perished.

“Why...is it dark? How could my Divine Eyes fail me? That’s impossible... From a single hit like that? How could I, Anahem, fall to that mere blow? Impossible. What did you do? There’s no way I could perish! What did you do?!”

The God of Demise was now facing a conundrum utterly unimaginable to him. In his confusion, he wailed, a wild, miserable noise. His source crumbled further and faded. The unfamiliar sensation filled his face with fear.

“All it is is that there’s a place in the midst of demise that you don’t control. Ask Equis for the details. I merely looked into the abyss of the sword and saw a chance to cut you,” Shin said.

There was a place between Nature’s Keep and the Withered Desert where the firedew was being stolen—the place where depth overlapped with demise. It was an area that Anahem’s control couldn’t reach, the place where the light of a dying flame could overcome the darkness itself.

Leading one’s source there was the only way of leading the God of Demise to an unknown demise. Shin’s incredible feat of swordsmanship with the Ruinflow Sword had allowed that to happen. Altocorasta was a sword that could slash an enemy’s source to the brink of destruction and force it to overcome its ruin. Against a normal enemy, it would only cause the enemy’s magic power to increase, but to the God of Demise, it was the only way to truly destroy him.

The fourth hidden art of the God Slasher Gneodoros had allowed Shin to observe the abyss of Anahem’s source as it perished multiple times and eventually discover that vulnerability. Even though he had never set foot in Da Qu Kadarte itself, through one battle with the immortal God of Demise, he was able to identify Anahem’s only weakness. He was as sharp of a sword as always.

“Now, there’s no time left,” Shin said coldly, the Ruinflow Sword glinting as he raised it in the air. “I shall slay you swiftly.”

“Wai—”

Without a moment of mercy, Shin swung his sword, cutting the God of Demise into fragments. The fragments scattered and dispersed into nothingness.

In the span of one breath, Shin unleashed countless slashes, leaving behind only a single grain of sand.

§ 49. Born to Fight

The Demon King Academy grounds.

The momentum of the Beno Ievun threatening to spill from the barrier slowed faintly. The scales of war tipped from one direction to the other, and the black aurora was swiftly swallowed by Aeges’s Blood Pool Burial and corrupted by Kaihilam’s curse. The white sparks surrounding the God of Depth faded, turning into smoke. The puppets of the dead were meeting their demise, and Dilfred’s divine body was crumbling with them.

“Bwa ha ha. Any last words, God of Depth?” Eldmed asked.

Dilfred opened his mouth solemnly. “You have just destroyed Beno Ievun’s activation circle. The Sword of Three Races is no longer in the hands of the hero, and the Goddess of Absurdity is unconscious. Yet Sarjieldenav’s total solar eclipse is almost upon you.”

Up high, covering the sky, was the cog monster. The Sun of Destruction, positioned where the eye of the face would be, was glowing with a sinister light. The Solar Eclipse of the End was over ninety percent complete.

“This is the final question I shall ask you, usurper. Ein Aer Naverva will be released upon everyone, humans, demons, spirits, and draconids alike. Will you obey, or will you be destroyed?”

“As a parting gift, I, the Conflagration King, shall grant you that answer.” Eldmed made a dramatic leap, landing with a twirling step and his arms raised into the air. The next moment, a light rain began falling upon them—it was the spell Fuska. With the rain came fog that gradually filled the area, and from one moment to the next two of the raindrops transformed into people: Lay and Misa.

Eldmed grinned smugly. “I’ll leave all that to someone else!”

“Shallow...cowardly...and vain ’til the end...”

Dilfred’s divine body began to disintegrate. The wind carried across his last words.

“Perhaps in that nameless space, shallow and thin, there was depth. In another time, with another chance, I would have liked to discuss that empty space with you...”

And then Dilfred completely vanished without a trace. The Conflagration King stared at the spot where the God of Depth had been with a straight, blank face, but soon whirled around. “Well aren’t you late!”

Eldmed used a Keeper of Restoration to resurrect Kaihilam’s corpse, then cast Laeluente alongside Aeges and Grysilis.

“Ein Aer Naverva was tougher to deal with than you’d think. I couldn’t cancel it out completely with Evansmana, so I barely have any magic left,” Lay said with a grimace.

“I won’t be able to use my true form again for a while either,” Misa added. There was still an Abyssal Thorn stuck deep in her source. It had weakened her spirit power to the point where she couldn’t turn into her fake Demon King form—one wrong move, and it could do irreversible damage to her source. That was why she had to hide until the Four Principles were defeated.

“But you weren’t quietly twiddling your thumbs, were you?” Eldmed asked.

Lay nodded. “Anos previously created the pillars that support the underground dome.”

“La Sencia, yes.”

“We’ve passed the message to Pope Golroana, Sword Emperor Diedrich, and the forbidden soldiers of Gadeciola already. Naphta will soon close the gate to the Mother Sea. Leaks will be able to reach across the world again.”

“In other words, you plan on dealing with Ein Aer Naverva head-on. With pure destruction. Hmm. Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better to wake up the Goddess of Absurdity and make her use her authority instead?”

“This is what Anos would do.”

The Conflagration King looked intrigued. “What makes you say that?”

Lay looked up at the Sun of Destruction. “Anos would surely want to tell them—those two up there—that the hearts of the people are far stronger than the order of destruction.”

“Bwa ha ha! Well, in the first place, there’s no knowing if the Goddess of Absurdity will even recover in time. I’ve left it to you, so it’s your decision now!”

Lay looked at Misa. She nodded and used Leaks. It traveled through their magic link, crossing Dilhade’s borders into Azesion, northeast of Gairadite, where Ennessone and the Demon King’s Choir were stationed with the Azesion army.

A large stage had been built in preparation for a music performance. Ellen and the other Fan Union girls were on this stage, dressed in formal black robes.

“It’s almost time, everyone,” Misa said to them.

Ellen nodded. “We’re ready whenever!”

The eight members of the Demon King’s Choir held hands and formed a circle.

“Listen up, everyone!” Ellen said. “Lord Anos is currently somewhere far, far away. Really, really far away. He’s fighting in the Divine Realm. You know what that means, right?”

“We have to make our song reach him!” said the Fan Unions girls in unison.

Ellen nodded. “And to do that, we have to sing with everyone else in the world and chase that cog monster away from here!”

“Everyone will sing with us, right?” Jessica asked.

“Don’t worry!” Ellen said. “We’ve performed lots of times until now! In Dilhade, Azesion, Jiordal, Agatha, and Gadeciola. Every place we’ve performed, we had everyone humming along to our song. They should know it by now!”

“Besides, the most important thing is the feelings behind it!” piped up another Fan Union girl.

To foster friendly relations between different nations, the Demon King’s Choir had spread the Demon King Hymn across the world. The number of people whose hearts were touched was innumerable—at this point, it was far rarer to find someone who didn’t know the Demon King Hymn.

Different nations had different values, and a person had an infinite number of doctrines by which they could live their lives. But between hearts that loved the world, there was no distinction. As we had learned from the underground world, the best way to unite the feelings of people from different cultures was through song.

But the scale this time was much larger. The unification of the entire world would rest on this one performance.

“Let’s put our feelings into this song of peace,” Ellen said. “We’ll let Lord Anos know that no one will obey that so-called will of the world, so that he can fight without any reservations!”

They cast Synial and the instrumental for their song began playing. Immediately after, however, an explosion shook the air.

“What happened?!” Ellen yelled.

Flames rose before them. Jio Graze was striking the Azesion army protecting the Demon King’s Choir.

“E-Enemy attack!” cried a human soldier. “The army of gods are charging from the north!”

“All troops, repel them!” said the Azesion commander. “The fate of the world rests on this song! Don’t let them take a single step towards the stage!”

The Azesion army had approximately three thousand soldiers. They used their numbers to cast Aske and create a barrier against the army of gods.

“Enemy reinforcements from the north spotted. Roughly three thousand!”

The army of gods appeared in the distance and commenced their magic barrage. Several soldiers reported in as the situation developed.

“More reinforcements spotted northeast. Roughly five thousand!”

“What?!”

“Northwest too! Numbering five thousand—a total of fifteen thousand!”

“What?! Five times our army?! They sent this many soldiers here instead of Dilhade... Did they know our plan?”

“This is the art of war, foolish humans.” A Leaks reached the Azesion army from the God of War Pelpedro. “Dominate them, my divine soldiers. They’ve focused their forces on Dilhade, leaving the defenses here weak. If we suppress them, order will win.”

“R-Repel them! We just have to hold on until the song ends!”

A divine army of fifteen thousand marched towards the Azesion army, now outnumbered five to one. The two sides crossed in a chaotic battle. Each individual god could already overpower a human soldier easily. When there were five times as many gods, it was barely a match. Thanks to Eleonore’s Jinalena they just barely managed to hold a line of defense.

But one by one, the two hundred girls gradually stopped moving.

“Eleonore?!” Ennessone cried worriedly. She had been in the back of the stage, watching the battle with the Demon King’s Choir.

Eleonore had used Ennessone-Eleonore too much. Her source had been maintaining the link between the Divine Realm and earth this entire time—and it had long surpassed its limit.

“It’s okay... Enne, can you get as close to the front line as the magic link will allow?” Eleonore said from the Divine Realm through Leaks.

“What will you do?”

“It’s getting harder to see into the distance... Get closer so I can send out another one thousand Jinalena.”

“No! If you do that... You can’t even control the Jinalena here anymore! You’ll die!”

“Don’t worry. I’m the Demon King’s magic. And we’re the only ones who can protect this place, you know?” Eleonore said. Her voice had gradually become hoarser and more beleaguered with pain, and she was breathing heavily. Even using Leaks was a burden on her. “Please, Enne.”

Ennessone’s wings folded against her head in resignation. “Okay...”

She pulled the magic link with her and went as close to the front line of the battle as she could. Then, she extended her wings. Feathers and runes fell with blinding light. Several bubbles of holy water were formed, with little girls appearing within them.

“Go, Jinalena—”

“Eleonore?”

“Guh!”

Eleonore groaned.

“The same trick won’t work on us twice,” Pelpedro’s voice echoed. The shadow at his feet was the wrong shape—it was the shadow of an oversized voodoo doll. “The wounds of a magic doll will be reflected on the caster.”

The God of War slashed the Jinalena with his divine sword.

“Aaaaaaaaah!” Eleonore screamed.

“This is the authority of the Voodoo God Dubora. Be cursed by a god and perish from your wounds, magic of the misfit.”

It seemed the oddly shaped shadow was the Voodoo Doll. The shadow increased in size, spreading its curse to cover all the Jinalena.

“Eleonore! Cancel the Jinalena spell! Your body can’t withstand it!” Ennessone shouted in a panic.

“I can’t... If the Jinalena disappear, everyone will die...”

The divine soldiers all raised their weapons, targeting the immobile Jinalena. The commander of the Azesion army immediately shouted, “All troops protect the Jinalena!”

“Fools.”

Seeing the opening in the Azesion army’s formation, the God of War suddenly charged forward.

“S-Stop him! Someone stop him now!”

Pelpedro’s charge was so fast and powerful that the chaotically scrambled formation of the Azesion army had no means of stopping him. Dozens of people went flying.

“Ah...” Ennessone muttered. The God of War stood before her, lifting his rusty red divine sword up mercilessly.

“It’s over.”

As Pelpedro swung his sword down, hundreds of divine swords, divine spears, and divine arrows attacked the Jinalena. High-pitched metallic sounds layered on top of each other, creating a screeching ruckus.

But Ennessone was unharmed. The Jinalena too. All the attacks had been blocked by a single glowing sword of Aske.

“What?” Pelpedro muttered in shock.

A faint mist drifted past him. From the mist emerged a girl with indigo hair. She was emitting holy magic power, and a small titi was perched on her shoulder.

“Don’t...bully mama...” she said in a faltering speech.

“This place is home...” said a second girl.

“Unforgivable...” said another.

“Zeshia came...to help.”

The girls who spoke in childish words all had the same faces.

“Big sis...Zeshia?” Ennessone asked, confused. Mist flowed from behind her, filling the area. Emerging from that mist were the ten thousand Zeshias that had been entrusted to Aharthern’s Great Tree of Learning Ennunien.

“Zeshia studied hard...”

“To learn words...”

“Can you see, mama...?”

“Zeshia will help...”

“Zeshia will fight too...”

Magic circles of earth, water, fire, and wind were constructed across the battlefield. They formed the barrier magic De Ijelia, strengthening the humans inside and healing them.

“Teo Ingall.”

The Aske of ten thousand Zeshias revived all the dead soldiers on the field. The Azesion army instantly gained a second wind.

“It’s futile. The world will be engulfed in the flames of war. This is order.” Pelpedro swung his divine sword down, only to be repelled by Zeshia’s Aske sword. “Gah!”

A Zeshia with a ponytail stabbed the God of War in the back.

“You pesky little—”

A Zeshia with shoulder-length hair slashed his right arm.

“Gwaaah!”

While a Zeshia with a chignon stabbed him in the legs.

“Aaaaaagh!”

A Zeshia with a high bun pierced his chest from the front.

“It’s not over yet...”

From overhead, a Zeshia with a ribbon in her hair sliced off Pelpedro’s head, and the six Zeshias all chanted at once. “Teo Triath.”

One explosion of light later, Pelpedro’s source was annihilated. Detached from a body, the shadow of the Voodoo God faded at the same time. Although their speech was clumsy, the Zeshias had combat abilities far above the average human. On top of that, their identical emotions allowed them to maintain a powerful Aske ten thousand hearts strong. The average god had no chance against them.

Once Pelpedro perished, the order that gave the majority power vanished from the army of gods. They were nothing but mere rabble before the Zeshias.

“Zeshia was born...to fight...”

“Mama was crying...”

“So Zeshia thought...”

“Zeshia has the power...to help mama.”

The girls demonstrated their newly learned words as they cut down their enemies with no hesitation. It was almost like they had rehearsed their words in advance, despite being in the middle of a battlefield.

“Thank you, mama...”

“Zeshia is happy now...”

Eleonore connected to the girls through Ennessone and Asura.

“D-Don’t let your guard down on the battlefield, girls!” Her words had turned as clumsy as the Zeshias. But it wasn’t because of her source reaching its limit; she was desperately holding back the tears threatening to fall. “If you get even a single scratch on your adorable faces, I won’t forgive those gods!”

The Zeshias smiled faintly as they swung their swords.

“Yes, mama...!”

§ 50. Despair Within Hope, Hope Within Despair

In a pitch-black sky void of light—a place shut in complete darkness—there existed two divine sisters. The black sky was an imagined landscape; the abyss of their hearts.

Any words spoken were swallowed by the darkness, vanishing without a sound. I called out to them repeatedly, but my words failed to reach them. The two sisters stood still in the black sky, in the deep abyss of their gloomy hearts—hearts that were being trampled under a wheel called despair, creaking with a muffled sound as it turned.

What was reflected in their Magic Eyes—in their Divine Eyes—was the flickering light of a dying world.

“I’m sorry,” Misha murmured deliriously. The pillager’s cogs dug into her heart, forcibly turning inside her with eerie creaks and destroying something as they did. “I couldn’t create a kind world.”

Emotions spilled out of her—the wishes of the Goddess of Creation.

In this world, there are no bad people.

People who do bad things weren’t always bad from the beginning.

What changes people? What changed them?

The answer to these questions—where evil begins—is what’s most important.

War, betrayal, despair, loss, oppression, abuse... There’s too many to list, so I named it all the same thing: tragedy.

But no one is bad from the beginning.

“No one...”

Even if someone is bad, what gives me the right to judge them?

A man was called the devil for killing two hundred thousand people. That man was once a boy betrayed by his closest friend. That friend was abused by his wicked parents and could not trust a single soul. And that friend’s parents had their own reasons for their abuse.

The chain of evil continues endlessly, constantly pointing the world to destruction.

But are people to blame for this evil? No. There had to be a beginning somewhere.

I searched for the answer, for the origins of sin.

I stared at the world for a long, long time. I looked back, and back, and back some more.

And finally, I found it. I found the beginning of evil.

I created it.

I created this unkind world. Evil began when I created the world.

The root of irreversible sin—the answer to the origin of all evil—was me.

How could I judge others when I was the one who made them that way?

The world has always been at war. Everyone falling to ruin, screaming as they burned. And those flames were bright and savage with sadness, anger, and hatred.

Who killed that baby? Who separated those lovers? Who tore the parents away from their children?

The answer was always the same.

Me.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

No matter how much I apologized in my heart, as the creator, my words always vanished into the darkness.

Who would forgive the root of all evil?

I inherited my mother’s wishes and prayed from the bottom of my heart. So why is the world so evil? Is it because of the cogs of order?

No. It can’t be.

I was the one who made it, so...

“Is there a small seed of evil somewhere in my heart?”

The light of the end flickers cruelly.

The Solar Eclipse of the End.

All along, there was such vast evil inside me—

“If only I were pure white.”

If I had a pure heart, such tragedies wouldn’t have happened.

I was too weak to notice the cogs of order.

If I had noticed earlier—if I had noticed while I was creating the world—I would have been able to create a kinder world.

No. Even if I hadn’t noticed, if I had just prayed harder for a kind world, no one would have lost to the cogs.

“I’m sorry, Sasha.”

I’m sorry.

“You just wanted to see the world. I couldn’t grant you your wish.”

Because...

“The world is filled with such evil and sadness.” Misha turned towards Sasha. She was drifting in the black sky with her knees clutched to her chest and her Eyes closed, as though she was sleeping. “It’s not enough.”

The Goddess of Creation’s Divine Eyes could see the earth through the Solar Eclipse of the End. Little by little, light was gathering—the emotions of people all over the world were forming the light of La Sencia.

“Destruction outnumbers creation. Evil and hatred overpower love and kindness. That’s how it’s always been.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “La Sencia cannot stop Ein Aer Naverva. That is the order of the world.”

Just then, Sasha slowly opened her Eyes.

“Misha...” She reached her hand out and wiped Misha’s tears. “Don’t cry.”

“Okay...”

“I just had a dream,” Sasha said, slowly sitting up.

“What kind of dream?”

“A strange dream. A dream where I smash fate apart. A dream that would need a miracle to ever come true.” Sasha chuckled at herself. “A dream where I, the Goddess of Destruction, save the earth. Even though that’s impossible. How weird...”

The Divine Eye of the End appeared in Sasha’s left Eye as she stared into Misha’s Divine Eyes of Origin.

“Lend me your strength, Militia,” she said firmly. “I’ve had enough of despair. Everyone’s fighting down there. While I was here crying, not a single person gave up—not Lay, not Misa, not Mr. Eldmed, no one. They’d just laugh at me if I kept crying like this.”

In response to her growing determination, magic began to gather in her Divine Eyes.

“If it takes a miracle to smash fate, then I’ll make that miracle happen myself.” The Goddess of Destruction took Misha’s hand in hers. “If the world isn’t smiling, we’ll make it smile. So please, Militia.”

Misha stared into Sasha’s determined face and smiled weakly.

“Fight with me,” said Sasha. “The order of the world may have produced the same results until now, but today might be different. We don’t know—and there’s no guarantee of things changing—but I just have a feeling it might.”

“Abernyu.” Misha entangled her fingers with Sasha’s and squeezed. “Thank you. I won’t give up either.”

“We’re going to stop that eclipse!” Sasha declared. “Let’s go back to what we were, Militia. If we don’t exist at the same time, the Solar Eclipse of the End can’t happen. It may not vanish immediately, but if we can weaken it a little, Lay and the others can finish it off with La Sencia.”

Misha blinked twice and nodded. They stood back-to-back and linked hands. In reality, the both of them were being restrained by the cogs, but this was an imagined landscape where they could move as they liked. Misha was about to exert her magic power when she suddenly looked up.

She had heard something.

“Calling out to them is futile. Your voice will no longer reach them.”

My field of vision had been obscured by explosive flames. I glared at the divine flames before me, erasing them with my Magic Eyes of Mauve while a static voice spoke.

We were in the Firmament of the Gods, at the bottom of its abyss. Beside the rows of fire cannons currently aimed towards me was Equis, floating in the air.

“Misha.”

I blocked the falling divine fire with Beno Ievun as I stared into the abyss of Misha’s and Sasha’s hearts with my Eyes, calling out to them through Leaks.

“When will you finally understand, contaminant of the world?” Equis said. “The Goddesses of Destruction and Creation cannot recognize you while my cogs are buried in them.”

The barrage of divine flames ceased. Equis moved, raising their arms and shifting their legs in the shape of a crucifix, the cogs of their body creaking loudly. That action alone increased their magic power tremendously. The cogs being used for Limnet rearranged themselves vertically in the shape of a blade, and pointed at me.

“It is impossible to wake them,” they said.

“Bwa ha ha. That bluff won’t work on me, Equis. You should’ve oiled the cogs in your head—they’ve rusted to the point that you can’t think straight.”

They pointed their fingers at me and with an eerie sound, fired a large cog. I drew a magic circle in response.

“Sasha’s a bit of a grump in the mornings, you see. She always hates waking up,” I replied. “And since Misha gets along with her older sister so well, she’s probably just following her lead.”

The cog spun through the air towards me. It tore apart my Jio Graze and Jirasd and dug deep into my body.

“All this is no different from a regular schoolday morning.”

My source was sliced apart, sending blood of the Demon King pouring out of my body. I slammed Aviasten Ziara against the single point of the cog embedded in me that had already started to rot and released Ravia Gieg Gaverizd into my body.

Enormous purple lightning turned the cog into ashes.

“Besides, it doesn’t seem like they’re feeling as much despair as you claim.”

“You don’t get it. The cogs have already begun turning. Within hope there exists despair.”

A second, third, and fourth cog was fired towards the ground. All three cogs rattled ominously as they carved out the bottom of the abyss. Firedew, buried in the ground, rose to wrap around the cogs and increase their magic power. The more firedew that was stolen, the more lives that would be robbed of their reincarnation. I couldn’t allow them to go any further.

“Just try and protect them all, contaminant of the world. You are the son of Ceris Voldigoad. What was he able to save? What could a man who chose to watch his wife die be able to protect?”

I charged towards the cogs wrecking the ground and let them wound my source, using the corrupted blood to cast Aviasten Ziara and Ravia Gieg Gaverizd to destroy them.

“He protected me, and he protected peace,” I said. “With his noble will, he protected everything he set out to protect. He’s doing it right now.”

“That is wrong. He was unable to protect anything.” Light shined from behind Equis, revealing two more giant cogs. “And this is the result.”

Limnet magic circles were drawn on the cogs, showing the scene at the Wind of the Sun in Midhaze.

“No one is left to protect them. What will you do, mis—”

Equis swallowed their breath. I had leaped up towards them with purple lightning wrapped around my fists. The bolts spilling from my left and right hands drew a total of twenty magic circles, overlapping to form two large magic circles.

“Ravia Gieg Gaverizd.”

The double-layered magic of destruction struck Equis’s barrier of purple lightning. Purple lightning collided with purple lightning, creating utter destruction within. The raging bolts bathed the entire area around us purple.

“You’ve got it wrong, Equis. Within despair there is hope.”

Thunder roared. The purple light eventually faded, but Equis emerged unharmed, not a single wound visible on their divine body of cogs.

“See for yourself then—this is the moment despair turns.”

Cogs turned with a creak. The appraisal shop and blacksmith in the Limnet was consumed by raging flames.

§ 51. The Final Spell

Throughout the city of Midhaze played a familiar song. Demon civilians hiding in their houses looked up and listened carefully to the melody. The song—a hymn hailing their one and only king—was one they all knew by heart. And they knew, suddenly, upon hearing this song, that the battle was soon coming to an end. Their nervous expressions relaxed.

“I, Naphta, declare the boundary gate closure complete. The Mother Sea has been eliminated and Leaks can now function normally.”

Over at the Demon King Academy, Lay replied to Naphta’s announcement. “Got it. Let’s begin.”

The Conflagration King, the Netherworld King, and the Scarlet Stele King drew magic circles for Leaks and sent updates on the war situation to other troops. Gradually, more Leaks were drawn all across Midhaze, the magic spreading until it was clearly visible to the Eyes.

Dilhade, Azesion, and Aharthern aboveground, along with Jiordal, Agatha, and Gadeciola belowground—the magic of the elites from six nations gathered in Midhaze, connecting to their countries using Leaks.

“Can everyone hear me? This is Ellen of the Demon King’s Choir.”

The voice of Ellen in Azesion spread across the world through Leaks. Everyone listened to her speak with rapt attention.

“Right now, there’s a cog monster called Equis floating above our homeland of Dilhade and attacking us. They want to use the Solar Eclipse of the End to burn our country—and the rest of the world too.”

Limnet was used to show the sky above the earth and the Demon King’s Choir.

“The self-proclaimed Almighty Radiance Equis has called themselves order. Two thousand years ago, the Demon King of Dilhade ended the longstanding Great War. Because of the Demon King, people no longer died from the fighting, and the world was at peace,” Ellen said over the gentle hymn playing in the background. “Equis claims that the current war is reparations for ending the Great War. That destruction and creation should be equal, but the world should always be leaning towards destruction. That all the humans, demons, draconids, and spirits who have evaded their destruction for the past two thousand years must perish today...”

Her voice trembled. Each word held the weight of her suppressed emotions.

“Equis says we must continue fighting forever. Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? So unfair?”

Ennessone must have told Ellen what had happened in the Firmament of the Gods. Now, Ellen was the one telling the rest of the world.

“Many nations and cities have been swallowed by the flames of war. Now the army of gods has invaded the earth both above and underground.”

Her next words were quieter, and more sad.

“Loved ones were hurt, and friends were defeated. So many lives were lost. Yet that monster claims that this is the way the world is, and that this needs to continue forever.”

She took a deep breath, staring straight in front of her.

“Our Demon King is fighting Equis in the Divine Realm right now. The Demon King of Tyranny knows that what Equis claims is the order of this world—the absurdity—is what should be destroyed, and he won’t back down until it’s done.”

Lay drew a magic circle—the spell formula for La Sencia—around himself.

“The Demon King has always protected everyone. Two thousand years ago, he established peace, and in this Magical Age he reincarnated and stopped the war between Azesion and Dilhade, saving both nations. He saved the Great Spirit Reno and her daughter, protecting Aharthern. And in the underground world, he stopped the fighting between the three kingdoms and protected the draconids from the falling dome.”

Through Leaks, even Ellen’s breathing was being transmitted. Her feelings were covering the entire world.

“Right now, the Demon King they all label a tyrant is still fighting to protect the world. The Solar Eclipse of the End is trying to burn us all. If the Demon King uses the wall he used to separate the world into four two thousand years ago, he may be able to protect us from the light of the end.”

Ellen continued to address the world, earnestly and frantically.

“The invasion of the gods destroyed that spell formula, but the Demon King can repair it. Just like two thousand years ago, he can sacrifice his life, but this time save even more people...”

Determination hardened her features, with every word after sincere word from her mouth touching the hearts of everyone listening.

“But I think it’s our turn to do the protecting! If we gather our emotions with La Sencia, we’ll be able to stop that solar eclipse. And with our song, we can show the Demon King something very important.”

Her next words were soft and affectionate.

“That the world he protected is a wonderful place.”

Light gathered quietly. First from Dilhade, then Azesion. Then more gathered from Aharthern, Jiordal, Agatha, Gadeciola, and the rest of the world, turning into radiant white magic particles that surrounded Lay.

“Demon King Hymn No. Nine—”

Just as Ellen was about to announce the song title, a screeching static noise disrupted the instrumental. Misa clutched her head, staggering for balance. Lay caught her around the waist and cast anti-magic on her.

“Spell interference,” Aeges muttered. His single eye glinted. The song playing through the Leaks was now corrupted, gnawing away at the bodies of anyone who heard it. An enemy god was still lurking somewhere.

Just then, a fierce pillar of fire rose from the city.

“That’s—!” Aeges paled and immediately started running. Lay was right on his heels, as was Eldmed, riding on the back of a dog-shaped Grysilis.

The townscape flew past them. The closer they got to the fire, the louder the static noise became. The sound itself was filled with magic that corroded their bodies like a curse. In no time at all, Aeges arrived at the base of the fire—the Wind of the Sun.

The appraisal shop and blacksmith was burning with an audible ringing sound, coming from Doldread, the invisible God of Gospel.

“Crimson Blood Spear, second hidden art—Dimension Burst.”

With a red flash of a spear, the songfire was slashed apart and sent far into another dimension. The shop had already burned so severely it was moments from total collapse, but the dimensional barrier created by Blood World Gate managed to barely hold it up. The Netherworld King pointed his demon spear at Doldread.

Immediately after, his single eye narrowed. Runes were being written on the four Blood World Gates protecting the shop. Beside the shop, a young boy in tattered clothes—Aganzon, the God of Frenzy—had suddenly appeared and was using a quill to write runes of the same magic wavelength. His authority to alter reality made the four gates twist unnaturally, distorting the dimensional barrier.

On the other side of the battered barrier came a ferocious snarl. A jet-black beast far larger than the house appeared with its mouth gaping wide open.

“The Gluttony God Galvadorion!” Aeges yelled.

Aeges thrust his demon spear forward, using Dimension Drive to open ten holes in the black beast. But when Aganzon flicked his quill, those holes teleported before Aeges and threatened to suck him in instead.

Divine swords flew over and sealed the Dimension Drive. Ten Roduiers were sucked into the ten holes, resolving the matter without incident—when another clamorous sound pierced the air. The shop was being eaten. Galvadorion had opened its large mouth wide enough to carve into the ground and swallow the Wind of the Sun whole.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Hold on tight, Luna!”

Mom’s and dad’s voices yelled from within. But their cries suddenly cut off; the Gluttony God had swallowed them whole.

Eldmed and Lay, who had both arrived just one beat too late, faced the three gods. The Gluttony God consumed the hymn, while the God of Gospel replaced the tune with dissonant noise, and the God of Frenzy altered reality to send the eerie song through Leaks.

La Sencia could not be cast until these three gods were defeated. There was still a chance mom and dad were alive in the stomach of Galvadorion, but inside the god, they were unable to attack at full power.

“Everything.” Cogs creaked and turned in Azesion’s sky, while a static voice spoke and its words echoed all across the world. “Everything turns according to the cogs of order. With this, you have lost all means of defending against the Solar Eclipse of the End. Sixty seconds remain. For the fools who sided with the contaminant of the world, all that is left for you is to be crushed by despair.”

The Solar Eclipse of the End progressed with every passing moment. As the world was steadily enclosed in darkness Lay, Aeges, and Eldmed moved. Roduier flew through the air while Dehiddatem’s hidden arts roared. Lay used the last of his depleted magic power to cast Lovul Aske, and charged forward.

But they wouldn’t make it in time. Doldread had authority over sound, Aganzon could alter phenomena, and Galvadorion could consume everything. With the three gods working in tandem, it was pretty much impossible for them to be defeated in a mere minute. On top of that, the Conflagration King, the Netherworld King, and Lay were all exhausted already. As the hands of the clock relentlessly ticked onward without mercy, the three of them began to panic.

“Are you watching, Anos?” a voice suddenly said.

Ten thin bolts of purple lightning shot towards the sky, followed by ear-piercing thunder. Enough purple lightning to smother the Gluttony God Galvadorion appeared out of nowhere. The sky rumbled, the ground shook, and in a single strike of lighting the jet-black beast was separated into tiny pieces.

Out of the ruins of Galvadorion’s stomach fell out a run-down house, crumpling to the ground below. Another bolt of purple lightning struck the god, turning it to ashes.

All that remained was the Sword of a Thousand Bolts. Purple lightning struck the blade of the demon sword, electrifying it into a pillar holding up the heavens. At the end of the sword was dad, with his other arm wrapped around mom. Though dad still looked of this era, the magic coming from him was from his last life—the magic of Ceris Voldigoad.

“Are you watching, Anos? I’m sending this spell from two thousand years ago.” Dad took a step forward. “The final Veneziara of my lifetime.”

Back then, when Ceris was defeated by Graham—

My father had used the last of his magic to cast Veneziara. He was beheaded by Graham immediately after, and the spell seemed to have no effect. But that wasn’t the case. Veneziara had activated. Ceris had turned into a possibility, and used Veneziara once more. Ceris, now only a possibility, had cast Veneziara again, and again, and again.

As long as Ceris kept casting Veneziara, he would continue to be a possibility. Of course, in this form, he wouldn’t be able to interact with the physical world. He would just exist as a possibility. That was all.

But my father had connected possibility to possibility, all the way to today. He had become a literal ghost of the dead, living as a spell for two thousand years. If he ever swung the sword of possibilities, he would vanish soon after. But he didn’t, and he had left behind this one spell—this once chance—for the moment he could use it for his son.

The Netherworld King immediately moved. “Hmph!”

The Crimson Blood Spear was thrust forward. The first hidden art, Dimension Drive, bored holes into Aganzon and Doldread. Aganzon attempted to alter the event and Doldread tried to evade it by turning into sound, but Ceris’s mauve Magic Eyes blocked their movements. The two gods were sucked into a dimensional hole, and thrown into the sky above.

“Well done, Jeph,” Ceris said. “Ravia Neold Galvarizen.”

A giant sword of purple lightning swung down on Aganzon and Doldread. Thunder loud enough to tear the sky in half shot all the way to the horizon, raining total destruction on the gods. The sky over Dilhade turned purple as the God of Frenzy and God of Gospel turned into ash.

As purple lightning destroyed our enemies, Ceris Voldigoad spoke. “Two thousand years ago, I watched as your mother died. But this time, I protected her. I protected them.”

Ceris tightened the arm he held around mom, holding her close. Gradually, less and less lightning flashed across the sky. The magic was fading; Veneziara was coming to an end.

In seconds, the sky returned to normal. Aganzon and Doldread were gone—perished. My father stabbed the Sword of a Thousand Bolts into the ground.

“Your mother and father,” he murmured. He tipped forward. “I protected them...”

His strength gone, he fell, mom falling with him. Aeges caught both of them before they hit the ground.

“Are you watching...Anos?” Ceris asked weakly.

One last Veneziara ripped through the sky. My father’s voice quieted further, becoming barely more than a whisper.

“My son... You won’t lose to the will of the world...”

With the last of his remaining possibilities, Ceris used his free hand to pat Aeges on the back. “I’ll be waiting for you here, Anos...at home...”

His head drooped, and he lost consciousness. With that, the voice from two thousand years ago spoke its final words, never to be heard again.

It had only lasted an instant. But in his final moments, with blinding purple lightning that had transcended time, my father had protected what was irreplaceable to me.

§ 52. Building Emotions, Bundling Power

Sound returned.

The God of Gospel, God of Frenzy, and Gluttony God’s disruptions disappeared, and the gentle sound of the Demon King Hymn resumed playing through Leaks. It traveled from Azesion to Midhaze, then from Midhaze to Aharthern, Jiordal, Agatha, and Gadeciola. The song spread more and more until it echoed across the world.

Light gathered. Countless particles of blinding light traveled through Leaks and flowed around Lay.

“It’s our victory, Equis,” he said. He looked up, glaring at both the giant cog monster and the solar eclipse floating in the sky over Azesion. “No matter where in the world you release the light of the end, our countless wishes for peace will stop it.”

Darkness covered the sky. Though Sarjieldenav’s total solar eclipse covered the world in darkness, Dilhade had yet to lose its light. The same applied to Azesion, Aharthern, Jiordal, Agatha, and Gadeciola. The feelings of the people transformed into magic power, illuminating the world with hope.

“You think feelings can outrival order?” Cogs creaked eerily. “You think the world can be saved with love and kindness alone?”

“It can,” Lay said simply. “It will.”

“The world you’re trying to ‘save’ is me. I am the world, and I desire destruction. The destruction of every last one of you. That is the order I have decided, and it can never be overturned.”

Darkness covered the sky, and light filled the land. The world and the people—darkness and light—struggled for dominance. The two sides clashed from across the horizon.

“Fighting the world to save it is a contradiction that will kill you. The wheel of despair will run over those feelings and crush them utterly.”

Ebony light condensed in the Solar Eclipse of the End floating in the sky. The dark, sinister, and divine power—the Goddess of Destruction’s authority over destruction—was about to bare its fangs at the world.

“It’s time.” In the skies above Azesion, the cog monster glared down at Midhaze. The light of the end flickered vividly. “The light of the end will now burn the earth.”

The light that was released this time was far greater than before and it surged upon Dilhade in an instant, painting the earth ebony black. But it was immediately intercepted by a pillar of pure white light that shot up at the sky.

A white holy sword—the condensed embodiment of everyone’s emotions—had appeared in Lay’s hand. Clenching his new sword tight, Lay leaped high, straight at the light of the end. Additional white light propelled his body further upwards, allowing him to dive straight into the destruction.

Without the blessing of the Sword of Three Races, no miracles would happen to him. If Lay lost the struggle for power, he would perish for real this time. But instead of a blessing, and perhaps just as powerful, Lay now had something to prove; he had to show everyone watching that the feelings of the people would never lose to order. He was afraid too—there was no way he wouldn’t be. Yet Lay mustered all his courage to thrust the holy sword of emotions at the ebony light. And the sight of him leaping without a moment’s hesitation gave the people on earth confidence, strengthening their emotions even more.

“La Senciaaaaaaaaa!”

The light of the end and La Sencia collided head-on. Each side struggled for dominance, and a swirl of ebony and white light shook the air. The aftershock alone was enough to split the ground. Wrapped in white light, Lay’s body burned under the overwhelming power of destruction. His holy sword began to crack under the pressure.

“You may believe that you’ve maintained hope by helping each other. That you’ve crushed the will of the world and repelled the gods in Dilhade,” the voice of static noise said, intending to demolish their spirits. “But even now you obey order. Each time you stand against destruction, you lose another hope. Evansmana, the Sword of Three Races. The Goddess of Absurdity prepared by Misfit Graham. The last Veneziara of Ceris Voldigoad. You’ve lost it all.”

Creak, creak. The cogs turned and more ebony light was fired, widening the crack on Lay’s holy sword.

“Cogs turn, the world revolves, and thus despair circulates endlessly ever more. The moment you lost your one and only means of severing fate, of overthrowing destiny, was the moment you lost, foolish hero.”

The light of La Sencia and Lay’s body were engulfed by the darkness and pushed back. His source was already heavily wounded from the first time he faced the light of the end—it was a wonder he was still able to move this much at all. His body was being supported by the emotions of the people, but still, he was already at his limit.

“I am the world, and I am neither kind nor smiling.”

The light of the end flickered greater than ever, when out of nowhere, someone leaped up from the ground with a flash. He used his hands against Lay’s back to support him against the light.

“Pathetic. Is that all you can do?” Shin Reglia asked. He poured his magic into the Ruinflow Sword Altocorasta as he supported Lay, then thrust it at the ebony light. “A man who can’t even save the world is in no way worthy of my daughter.”

“That...would be a problem...”

Lay clenched his teeth and wrung the last of his magic from his battered body.

“One life, one sword, one wish!” Diedrich, Nathan, and Sylvia shouted together as they leaped up from the earth in a flash. “Hyaaaaaaaaah!”

They thrust their Kandaquizorte swords into the light of the end, and the ideal world created by Naphta struggled for dominance against destruction meant to destroy the earth.

“Go, dog!” Eldmed called. He had leaped up from the ground with the Netherworld King Aeges. They thrust both their weapons, the Divine Sword Roduier and the Crimson Blood Spear Dehiddatem, at the same time right at the light of the end.

Also at the same exact time did Grysilis, the Scarlet Stele King, dive into the ebony light while still in his dog form. He yelped in pain as the light destroyed him instantly, but he repeatedly cast Agronemt to revive himself and simultaneously exhaust the light of the end.

“Bwa ha ha. Be careful, everyone! Land in the wrong spot and you’ll perish alongside Agronemt’s spell formula!” Eldmed warned.

“Here we go, everyone!” Reno cried out, joining the fight. “Alha Alfrem!”

Accompanied by an army of green glowing spirits, the Great Spirit Reno flew over on her six flapping wings. The collective power of countless spirits gathered in her palm, which she held out towards the ebony light to hold it back.

The white magic field created by La Sencia, combined with the powers of the demons, draconids, and spirits, was just barely able to hold the ebony light back. The collision of the two powers created a raging area of wind and sparks, sending black and white particles scattering all over the field.

“Well we’ve managed to stop it for now, but what next? The light of the end will remain for the duration of Sarjieldenav’s total eclipse,” the Conflagration King said.

This precarious stalemate was only possible due to everyone’s combined efforts, but it would only hold for less than a minute at most. It was only a matter of time before they were swallowed by the end.

“Kanon, it’s time to use that! Just like when we fought together two thousand years ago!” Reno yelled.

The Conflagration King nodded. “A splendid idea! The only path forward is to slash apart the Sun of Destruction. Take our power, Great Hero of Azesion.”

“In the futures I could once see, there were a few occasions where we joined hands. We will lend you our sword as well!” Diedrich roared.

Lay nodded. With Shin supporting his back, he mustered the last of his strength to draw a magic circle: Asura, the military magic that gathered the power of an army into a single hero. If everyone present joined forces, they would amass far more power than when Lay had led the humans to war two thousand years ago.

“With this sword, I’ll carry everyone’s feelings and magic forward,” Lay said. Light burst from his body, instantly regenerating the six sources he had lost. A water mirror, ripples spreading across the surface in soft murmurs, appeared between Lay and the light of the end.

“There’s its weak point,” Shin said, using the Ruinflow Sword’s hidden art as he supported Lay’s back. “Consider the light as a sword, and its attack a single swing. Ein Aer Naverva is a haphazard swing full of openings; the point where it deals the most damage is simultaneously the greatest opening for its own destruction. In other words, Ein Aer Naverva can be cut.”

Lay nodded in reply. Shin pushed his back with all his might, sending him magic power.

“And if there is a means,” Shin said, “then there’s no way you’ll fail!”

Shin retreated as the vast power of Asura wrapped around Lay’s body. Lay then gathered La Sencia into a single sword.

“Even without the Sword of Three Races, if our destiny is to perish—”

Pure white light arced through the air, slashing the ebony light of the end. The power of the Solar Eclipse of the End was greater the closer Lay got to it, and the ebony light was attacking him relentlessly. Condensed destruction chipped away at the La Sencia sword, dyeing the world black-and-white.

“—then I will cut that destiny, no matter how many cuts it takes!”

Lay closed in on the Solar Eclipse of the End and in a burst of light, thrust the blinding La Sencia sword forward.

“La Sencia Traloth!”

The monochrome sky shook in an explosion of light that covered the world.

§ 53. This World

The light of the end flickered. Inside the pyramid-shaped temple, the Sun of Destruction and Moon of Creation overlapped, forming the Solar Eclipse of the End. Nearby, the Goddesses of Destruction and Creation were being restrained by magic; blades were stabbed through their chests and pinning their bodies to large cogs.

“We won’t be able to meet anymore,” Sasha murmured.

If the two of them returned to being divine sisters of two sides, the Goddess of Creation would no longer be able to exist at the same time as the Goddess of Destruction, and the Solar Eclipse would end. But that also meant that they would be separated.

“We finally met...and finally remembered...” she said sadly.

Misha nodded. “It’ll be lonely.”

“Say, Militia.” Sasha looked at her. “I’ve always hated fate. It’s cruel and merciless. Even though I’m a god, it was my fate to just watch as things broke down without being able to create a single miracle to stop it.”

Misha quietly gestured for her to continue.

“The order of destruction was forced upon me. Anything my Divine Eyes looked at was instantly destroyed. It was all I could do.” She stared straight ahead as though her tragedy was in front of her. “That’s why I won’t look away from this fate. If the only thing I can do is destroy, then I’ll glare and glare at this stupid fate until it breaks down!”

The Goddess of Destruction raised her voice in defiance to her fate.

Misha replied, “The world I created was cold and cruel.”

She looked off into the distance, a deep sadness in her Eyes.

“Love and kindness always lost to hatred and malice. Every day, without fail, there was fighting. And on the one day peace finally arrived, the will of the world demanded ruin.”

Sasha quietly nodded.

“But I want to believe that the world isn’t like that.” Misha looked forward, in the same direction Sasha was looking, and said gently, “If there’s even a little bit of kindness in this world, I want to believe that it’ll grant our wish.”

A faint light covered the two sisters, their magic power starting to sparkle.

“Abernyu,” Misha called out softly. “Just this once, I want to let love and kindness win. As the Goddess of Creation, I want to reward everyone who believed. Against the light of the end the people of this world united their feelings and stood up, and I don’t want this world to be a place where that leads to a sad ending.”

Sasha nodded firmly. “Let’s make a miracle, Militia! Nothing’s impossible for the two of us!”

Misha smiled. “I’ll always be with you.”

“And I will always be with you!”

“I am you.”

“And you are me.”

Lunar snowdrops fell around their sparkling figures.

“We will always be together—”

With Misha’s words, silver light covered their bodies. The Goddess of Creation’s power re-created the two goddesses into one—the divine sisters of two sides. Their Divine Eyes looked at the La Sencia about to collide with the light of the end.

At Diedrich, Sylvia, and Nate.

At Eldmed, Aeges, and Grysilis.

At Shin, Reno, and Lay.

At how they all were standing against the light of the end, believing in their emotions.

Bring them a miracle.

There has to be some kindness left in this unkind world.

Even if the cogs of order are turning a wheel of despair, the world I created, the world I wished for—the world full of hope—will put a stop to it.

That is what I believe.

If this world doesn’t have enough kindness to make that true, then I will make up the rest.

So please.

Please, just this once.

May the world turn with love.

It wasn’t enough. Still pinned in place to the cogs, Sasha and Misha desperately reached out for each other. Against agonizing pain, the two sisters leaned as far as they could towards each other, fresh blood staining their chests as they opened up their wounds. Their fingers touched.

“Dino Jixes.”

They each drew half a magic circle and joined it together. Militia’s and Abernyu’s divine bodies overlapped and began to return to their original form. Using the Goddess of Creation’s authority and the Necron family’s fusion magic, the two were about to become the divine sisters of two sides once more.

Their illuminated silhouettes blurred, about to merge together—when a cog of light suddenly appeared in their hearts. The order that had been implanted in all the gods crushed their will, preventing Dino Jixes from activating.

“I won’t lose... Not this time!” Sasha yelled.

“Everyone is fighting to protect Dilhade. And I will too,” Misha added.

They continued to resist the influence of the cogs, faces twisting in pain as they reached for each other. As the cogs in their hearts turned, the blades pinning them in place dug deeper into their flesh, tearing it anew. But they were determined to connect.

I want to see them smiling.

I don’t need anything more. As long as everyone in the world gets to smile in the end, I don’t mind being hurt, and I don’t mind being sad.

This is the peace everyone did their best to obtain, and I don’t want to be the one to destroy that.

So I’ll break fate instead. I’ll break order. Even if I never get to smile again.

So please.

Please. Just this once.

May the world turn on a smile.

“Disappear!” Sasha’s five fingers reached Misha.

Overhead, the Solar Eclipse of the End blinked.

“Disappear!” Misha echoed.

The two mustered all of their magic power. It flowed through their bodies, blending together. But the solar eclipse still didn’t disappear.

In the sky down on earth, Lay was thrusting the La Sencia sword into the ebony light, yelling frantically.

They were out of time.

“Please!” Sasha yelled at the same time Lay cried out. “Please, just for today! I just need today! Is all the order of destruction good for breaking things?! I’m sick of it! Creating to be destroyed, destroying because of creation—I’m sick of it all! I’ll tear apart this cog and protect the world with everyone!”

Misha spoke as well, her voice rising as she did.

“Let me dream...just for today. Let me believe it’s not too late. I know I failed at creating the world, but please give me one more chance. This time, I will create you with a pure white heart full of love and kindness. Please, don’t end yet!”

Cracks appeared in the cogs in their hearts. The cracks grew, spreading until the cogs shattered into pieces, and the two sisters were able to firmly clasp hands. They stared into each other’s Divine Eyes.

“Just this once, we’ll show you—”

“—what a god’s miracle looks like!”

The magic circle of Dino Jixes glowed brighter than ever before, blurring their outlines.

Just then, the creaking sound of turning cogs could be heard. An eerie voice mixed with static noise echoed throughout the world.

“Ein Aer Naverva.”

Ebony light glimmered. Down on earth, the world’s population watched as an explosion big enough to cover the entire sky bloomed over their heads. The light of Dino Jixes slowly faded.

The blinding light filling the temple vanished, revealing two girls still tied to cog magic circles. They had failed to return to their original form.

“Why...”

Before Sasha, the Solar Eclipse of the End glittered with ebony light.

“Why didn’t it work...?” she murmured, tears falling.

I see. This world is as cruel as the order that controls it...

Miracles don’t happen...

We failed.

“I’m sorry,” Misha apologized sadly, Divine Eyes full of tears.

Everyone did their best to save this world, yet...

“The world isn’t kind...”

Destruction is always stronger than creation. Hatred and malice will always erase love and kindness.

People die. Hope fades.

“I created this...”

In the end, I was the one who made the first mistake.

Somewhere in my heart, there was a small seed of pure evil.

“Don’t be silly.”

The two girls flinched at the echoing voice. They looked shocked, as though they hadn’t expected a voice to reach them here—as though they hadn’t expected anyone to talk to them.

“The world you created, full of sadness and evil and nothing else?”

The two gods listened with rounded, bewildered Eyes.

“Open your Eyes wider and listen. What do you hear?”

Misha opened her mouth as though to ask something, then stopped. Someone had started to sing—sing a kind and gentle song.

To the one who made this world, I say, “Thank you.”

Life turns on ups and downs, but always circles around a great hope.

Open your eyes. Listen carefully.

And see the people sing together.

Laugh together. Help each other.

Yes, a pure heart must have made this world.

For it smiles so lovingly upon you.

“Bwa ha ha. What a funny face. What are you crying over, Sasha? Nothing will perish. This world isn’t so frail that one glare from you will break it.”

Sasha listened carefully with bated breath.

“And what are you apologizing for, Misha? Saying that destruction is stronger than creation? That hatred is stronger than love? You better take a closer look with those Divine Eyes of yours.”

Pure white light shone brightly. A sword slashed across the Solar Eclipse of the End, cutting through Sarjieldenav’s dark surface.

“Ah...”

Through the opening slashed into the Solar Eclipse of the End appeared a single hero, wielding a sword crystallized by emotion—the one who had leaped from earth and sliced through despair to reach them.

“Lay...”

“Love and kindness is strong.”

A firm voice spoke, words reverberating with its strength—as though to shake their souls awake.

“It’s not that you failed to return—you chose not to. Your hearts remembered the promise I made you: That I would save everything, including you. You believed the song of the people would erase the light of the end.”

With the momentum of his great leap from earth, Lay crashed through the wall of the temple. The girls had a full view of the giant hole he made through the temple walls.

“There is no seed of evil in your heart.”

And through that hole in the wall, they could finally see the back of the one person they couldn’t recognize—until now.

I turned around and looked at them. Equis’s cogs immediately attacked my open back, but Lay extended the sword of La Sencia to cut them down.

“This is the world you created,” I said. “The world you bestowed us. Listen to the song they’re sending you, Misha.”

A crack ran along the cog magic circles restraining them.

“The world is overflowing with so much kindness.”

Oh, I remember now.

“Look at the earth, Sasha. The world you wanted is smiling so brightly.”

That’s right.

That’s right!

We may never get a miracle.

But we have the invincible Demon King on our side!

“Misha, Sasha,” I said. “How much longer will the two of you keep sleeping? It’s almost dawn. If you don’t clean up this mess soon, you’ll be late for school.”

Just then, Lay yelled, “Anos!”

One of the many cogs that were fired had slipped past Lay’s holy sword and was rapidly closing in on me from behind. But I ignored it in favor of facing Misha and Sasha and spreading my arms wide open.

Come back to me.

The cog magic circle restraining them shattered. They shot forward using Fless, flying right my way.

“Don’t you dare touch my Demon King!” Sasha shouted.

Divine Eyes of the End glared at the cog, tearing it to shreds.

Divine Eyes of Origin blinked. “Ice world.”

An ice world formed, the small glass orb swallowing the cogs into its freezing depths.

And the two sisters leaped right into my arms.

“Hmm. You two sure take your time getting up,” I said.

Tears welled in their eyes, but they replied to me with smiles.

“I can’t help it...” Sasha grumbled.

“I slept in too,” Misha added.

Lay flew over to cover my back, pointing the La Sencia sword at Equis.

“Now,” I said, slowly turning to glare at the collective body of cogs. “I’ve protected what needed to be protected. You’ve had your fun.”

Black magic power released from my entire body.

“It’s my turn now. I’ll crush you to my heart’s content.”

§ 54. When Destruction Approaches

The four giant cogs aiming at me returned to Equis, forming a four-sided shield.

“Did you think,” Equis’s voice of static noise said, “that you’ve won with this? Four puny contaminants cannot stop these cogs. You’ve only briefly delayed the inevitable.”

“Big talk for someone who just lost the divine power they gathered!” Sasha snapped, glaring at the collective body of cogs with her Magic Eyes of Destruction.

“The gods you sent to earth have perished,” Misha added flatly. “The distorted Selection Trial turned them into your pawns. Even if they perish, their order will not be lost as long as you’re alive. And though you can regenerate more pawns at will, your lost authority still hasn’t returned to you.”

She stared into Equis’s abyss with her Divine Eyes.

“It’s not that they haven’t returned. You can’t get them back,” Sasha pointed out.

“They’re all fighting. The moment they perished, the gods refused to continue being cogs of the world,” Misha said. Her tranquil voice echoed through the bottom of the Divine Realm. She set a serene, but powerful gaze upon Equis, and firmly declared, “You’re not the will of the world. The thoughts of the people who won against Ein Aer Naverva, and the thoughts of the gods who refused to remain under your control—that is the true will of the world.”

“It’s over, Equis,” Lay said, pointing his pure white holy sword at Equis. “This fight was between whether you could corner us first or if Anos could protect us all.”

Magic particles rose from Misha, Sasha, and Lay.

“And he did. He protected us all. You have no chance.”

“Protected it all?” Equis repeated, gears turning with an eerie sound. “That is not what I, the world, see.”

Equis spread their arms wide, making the surrounding cogs turn even faster. Sasha glared at them sharply, releasing an immense magic power from the circles in her Eyes. Her reincarnated demon body had Magic Eyes of Destruction that were different from the Eyes she originally had. When her source entered its new vessel, the Magic Eyes of Destruction in my bloodline triggered hers to awaken.

Of course, Abernyu’s divine body also had her own Magic Eyes of Destruction. The Magic Eyes of Destruction were originally created by splitting the Divine Eyes of the End into two. Now that Abernyu’s divine body and Sasha’s demon body were fused, the two different Magic Eyes of Destruction were superimposed. In other words, even if I didn’t return my Eyes to her, she would be able to use a near-perfect version of the Divine Eyes of the End—just like when she protected me from the cog just now.

“I don’t like these cogs,” Sasha muttered. The circles of two Eyes overlapped, turning into suns of darkness. Black rays of sunlight traced her gaze, burning Equis and the cogs around them. “Disappear!”

Sasha’s gaze pierced the cogs, eliminating them with burning light. But Equis charged forward, not even flinching under the power of the Divine Eyes of the End as they reached for Sasha with creaking cogs. Lay blocked the attack with the holy sword of feelings.

“I won’t let you,” he said.

“The missing divine power will not stop the cogs from turning.” Equis grabbed the La Sencia sword with their cog fingers. They swung the sword—and Lay—around with incredible strength before turning back. “You will come to realize that, contaminant of the world.”

Equis threw Lay’s body at me, interrupting my approach from behind them. Unaffected by the attack, I thrust my Aviasten Ziara fingertips forward. Glittering black flames were just about to pierce through Lay when he let go of the holy sword and slipped past me.

Aviasten Ziara made a direct strike on Equis’s abdomen. But the attack didn’t cause them any pain. Equis proceeded to swing the stolen La Sencia sword at me, but the pure white sword immediately vanished, and their hand swept through empty air.

“The world is not on your side, Equis!” Lay yelled. He had complete control over La Sencia and was able to make it appear and disappear freely. He transformed the feelings of the world back into a holy sword and thrust it up at Equis from below.

An intense creaking sound roared as the cogs of Equis’s body turned. The La Sencia sword sank into the cogs with a dull creak—and snapped.

Just then, the sky turned into a snowscape.

“Ice light.”

Misha blinked twice, and the lunar snowdrops fluttering about the air released freezing light, freezing Equis’s cogs. But they still couldn’t be stopped.

“Abysm.”

Equis drew magic circles in every direction, firing small, chipped cogs all around them. Lay, Misha, and Sasha flew around the sky to avoid getting hit.

I used the Magic Eyes of Destruction and Beno Ievun to stop the Abysm cogs headed towards me. They pierced through the black aurora, but stopped when I grabbed them with my Aviasten Ziara hand. I clenched my fist around the cogs, but they maintained their form without burning up in the flames.

“At this moment, the world is controlled by order,” Equis said. The creaking cogs on their chest parted to reveal a cavity, where an old wooden wheel had been kept hidden. Equis reached inside themselves and pulled it out. “Quietly, and steadily.”

With a burst of light, nine large cog magic circles appeared, combining together with the old wooden wheel. Magic links extended from Equis to the intricate magic circles. The nine connected cogs and wheel started turning, releasing a divine magic power.

It was illogical; the largest cog turned the smallest cog, with the smallest cog connected to the old wooden wheel, and though the smallest cog was turning faster than the eye could see, the old wheel wasn’t moving in the slightest. It clearly needed far more power to be turned.

“The contaminant shall be crushed gently as you all face despair.”

The old wheel started to turn. It turned slowly, releasing a bronze magic power as it did, and accelerated gradually until the magic it released made the wheel appear far larger than its actual size. At a glance, the power seemed bottomless.

“Boros Hetheus.”

In contrast to the intense magic power being scattered with its many turns, the wheel was fired forward rather gently. It fell straight towards the ground.

“You— Did you think we’d let you?!” Sasha leaped in front of Boros Hetheus and glared at it with her Divine Eyes of the End.

At the same time, I finally saw into the abyss of the spell and yelled, “Evade it!”

Sasha’s Divine Eyes widened. Boros Hetheus had cut through the rays of black sunlight. The moment that grabbed her attention, an Abysm cog flew at her from another direction, carving straight into her body.

“Ah!”

Boros Hetheus slowly drew near Sasha, who could no longer move.

“I won’t let you.”

A shield of ice created from Iris appeared before Sasha. Boros Hetheus ran through it, but Misha continued making more.

“Haaah!”

Lay, who had flown through the sky in a circle, slashed at the old wheel with his La Sencia sword. But the wheel couldn’t be cut. The sword of feelings bounced off the Boros Hetheus, which dug into Lay’s body.

“Gah!”

One of Lay’s sources was crushed with each creaking turn of the wheel. Just as the fifth one went out, I stepped forward to shield him, reaching for the wheel with my hands. But my Aviasten Ziara hands were easily knocked away, allowing the wheel to sink into my body next. I continued reaching my black flame-covered hands out, pushing the wheel back by force. Fierce sparks flew between the spinning wheel and my arms.

“Get away,” I said. The wheel was pushing my body down towards the ground. A rain of Abysm cogs started falling in pursuit. “It seems this wheel is far from normal.”

The Boros Hetheus tore into my source and flesh, fresh blood gushing from my wounds. At once, the blood of the Demon King started to rot, and from my new wound, the power of destruction rampaged. I released that force back at the wheel.

“Veneziara.”

I slammed an Aviasten Ziara of possibilities into the wheel. The wheel alone was easy to evade, but if the wheel sank into the land, the Divine Realm wouldn’t be able to withstand it. I let the wheel stay caught in my body, and the force of it thrust my body through the pyramid temple, my feet sinking into the ground. It took four sets of Veneziara arms for the Boros Hetheus to finally come to a stop.

“Hmm. Since you haven’t gone ahead and cast a second,” I said, “it seems like one Boros Hetheus is your limit.”

Or was it because there was only one of those ancient wheels?

“What is that cog made of? The Divine Eyes of the End couldn’t hurt it at all,” Sasha grumbled, descending to where I was with Misha and Lay following her.

“Equis is the world itself. Whether or not that’s true, we will need a power capable of destroying the world to destroy them,” Misha said.

“Something on par with Ein Aer Naverva, you mean?” Sasha asked. “We might be able to come up with something similar, but if we did, the world would end even if we defeat Equis...”

“Do you understand now?” The voice of static noise echoed. We turned to see Equis standing a dozen meters away. “If you stop despair, the world will stop too. You contaminants can either destroy the cogs together with the world, or buy time and merely delay your demise.”

Equis straightened their feet and held their arms out like a cross. They began to spin, just like the old wheel, turning the cogs with their own body. A magic circle appeared before them, releasing a mass of broken cogs.

“Nothing has changed. Destruction is still on its course. This is how it has always been, from the very beginning, from the moment you chose to face the world. Your fate is decided, and the only thing that can be changed is the path you take to despair.”

“Oh? Maybe you should think again. Perhaps these puny contaminants might actually be giant,” I said. I took a step forward and crushed the wooden wheel in my palm, then glanced at Misha. She nodded.

“Abysm.”

Broken cogs shot forward. I slipped past them and moved forward using a combination of my Magic Eyes of Destruction, Beno Ievun, and Aviasten Ziara.

“Lay, Sasha. Support Anos so he can fight freely,” Misha said.

They immediately responded, one after the other.

“We’ll be on the defense. Leave it to us!” Sasha replied.

“Don’t worry about the bottom of the Divine Realm, Anos—”

I moved forward, drawing a hundred magic circles. “It’s in your hands. Don’t let any stray projectiles hit it.”

I layered Jio Graze and Jirasd into a spell and fired it at Equis. The jet-black sun soared like a meteor, leaving a trail of black lightning behind it as it struck Equis. Their cogs turned and deployed a ward that deflected the spell far into the distance.

The single spell packed enough strength to gouge a hole into the bottom of the Divine Realm, but Sasha glared at it with the Divine Eyes of the End to weaken its power, and Lay used La Sencia to form a barrier over the bottom of the Divine Realm to stop the rest. Anything that escaped them and wounded the Divine Realm, Misha immediately re-created.

“Veneziara.”

With my right hand of possibilities, I used Jio Graze and Aviasten Ziara, layering them seven times before thrusting them into Equis’s abdomen. Cogs scraped against each other with an ear-piercing screech as their body dented under the force of my blow.

“You cannot reach the source of the world,” they said.

“Not even the world can withstand this forever.”

Equis spun their cog arm like a blade. I ducked low to evade it and layered another Aviasten Ziara seven times before thrusting it forward. The glittering black flames stabbed into the exact same spot I hit previously.

“It’s futile.”

Equis made a huge leap, casting healing magic on themself. I delayed their magic with my Eyes, while they cast countless Abysm cogs at me again.

“I won’t let you win,” I said, drawing ten magic circles with my right hand of condensed purple lightning. The broken cogs were intercepted by Ravia Gieg Gaverizd.

Enough purple lightning to destroy the world illuminated the air, shaking the Divine Realm itself. I took a single leap towards Equis, who was creating another nine giant magic circles made of cogs. The wooden wheel I had crushed earlier was grasped in their cog hand.

“Aviasten Ziara.”

I hit another seven-layered Aviasten Ziara on the nearly healed wound in Equis’s abdomen. Their body folded in half.

“Despair will turn. Quietly, steadily,” they said. In no time at all, the old piece of wood in their hand had been restored into a wheel. It fit into the nine magic circles they conjured and began turning again. “And faster than you can pierce the world.”

“You think so?”

With my palm covered in Aviasten Ziara still against their abdomen, I used pure strength to lift Equis over my head. I then drew a layered magic circle, stacking them one on top of the other, and formed a cannon with black particles of magic gathered at its mouth. Equis’s body creaked and shrieked, as though they were screaming.

“The next one will be bigger. Make sure you catch it.”

Sasha’s Divine Eyes widened. “You’re kidding me...”

The magic being emitted was enough to create fissures along the bottom of the Divine Realm and crack the sky.

“Egil Grone Angdroa.”

Apocalyptic fire was released from the cannon of magic circles. Unlike the time I’d used it on Graham, Equis’s source hadn’t been pierced through. Thus, the force of the magic couldn’t be contained within Equis alone. Destruction slowly set their cog body ablaze and slowly lifted it into the sky.

“I figured that was the only choice,” Lay said lightly. He had positioned himself high in the sky, ready to face Egil Grone Angdroa. The holy sword of feelings blinked intensely and swelled to an immense size. Lay’s expression had been so confident when he leaped into the light of the end earlier, yet before this destruction, he looked grimly determined.

But when cornered, the man once called the Great Hero only shone more brightly. He clenched the pure white holy sword in his hands and mustered all his emotions. Then, he released his magic power and yelled, “La Sencia Triath!”

Vast particles of light were released from the holy sword, swallowing Equis and colliding with Egil Grone Angdroa. Everything turned white. The feelings that triumphed over Ein Aer Naverva crashed into the seven-layered spiral of black flames, sending black and white flashes of light through the air. On their own each of these powers were strong enough to destroy the world, but when they clashed the two powers canceled the other out, thus minimizing their impact on the outside world.

La Sencia Triath and Egil Grone Angdroa collided precisely where Equis’s divine body was raised high by apocalyptic flames. In order to survive the combined force of these two powers, Equis would need to be able to endure enough force to destroy the world several times over. Set ablaze by apocalyptic flames and now shot by the white light of La Sencia Triath, their divine body of cogs began crumbling to ash.

“Guh!” Lay grunted, gritting his teeth.

But even Lay wasn’t strong enough to cancel the power of my spell completely; Egil Grone Angdroa was stronger than La Sencia Triath. At this rate, my apocalyptic flames would overpower him and destroy the Divine Realm. And if that happened, the earth would be affected too.

“You call this collateral damage? What do you want us to do about this?! Ugh!” Sasha glared at Egil Grone Angdroa with the Divine Eyes of the End. The power of destruction from her gaze supported Lay in canceling the apocalyptic flames.

But even then, the destruction didn’t stop. Raging sparks of fire that couldn’t be suppressed even by the Divine Eyes of the End or La Sencia Triath scattered across the bottom of the Divine Realm.

“Ice light.”

Falling lunar snowdrops released a light that froze the apocalyptic flames and repaired the parts of the Divine Realm damaged by the flames with creation magic. Misha, Sasha, and Lay combined, using all of their magic power, were barely able to hold Egil Grone Angdroa at bay.

“Hey, Anos, isn’t this enough already? Go a little easier on us! That thing has to be dead by now!”

“Sorry,” I apologized to Sasha.

A look of disbelief crossed her face. Lay clenched his teeth.

“My source is too damaged,” he said. “This is the most I can suppress.”

Egil Grone Angdroa pushed back La Sencia Triath even further, and as it did, the bottom of the Divine Realm started crumbling to ash faster than Misha’s power could repair.

“The most? You’re kidding me... At this rate...” Sasha muttered.

“I’m at my limit too,” Lay said.

“The destruction’s faster,” Misha mumbled.

With every moment that passed, the three of them grew more and more desperate.

“Misha,” I said. “You once said you wanted to repay me. That you wanted to help me, but since I could do everything on my own, you weren’t sure how.”

Misha nodded. “I remember.”

“I need your help now, Misha. Use your creation magic to protect the world.”

And with that, I gave her my earnest wish.

“It’s something I cannot do.”

She blinked twice. “Leave it to me.”

She mustered all her emotions, and then stared at the Divine Realm with her Divine Eyes of Creation. In no time at all, the cracks in the realm filled in, one by one, under her gentle gaze.

“Lay,” I said, turning to him next. “In his last moments, Graham said that no one could ever reach where I am. That even if I could be surrounded by my followers, I’d still be alone. Still a lonely monster.”

I suppressed my rampaging source and held down Egil Grone Angdroa with all my might. “Don’t leave me alone. I need you to stop me, friend.”

Despite his pained expression, Lay smiled at me gently. “I know, Anos.”

Pure white light glowed brighter. White cosmos petals fluttered alongside the La Sencia Triath—he had layered Lovul Aske on top of the spell, pouring his personal feelings into it.

“Sasha.”

The girl desperately trying to stop the destruction in the sky met my eyes.

“Don’t let me destroy the world.”

Sasha’s jaw dropped, before she closed it with a snap. “Of course I will! A half-hearted spell like this is nothing in the face of my destruction!”

She glared at the apocalyptic flames with the Divine Eyes of the End. Her intense feelings caused her black rays to increase dramatically in volume, voraciously devouring the incoming destruction in black flames.

Thus, all three pushed themselves to draw out both their magic and their feelings to their total limit.

I believed in them.

They would stop this power of destruction and protect the world.

Without fail.

In the next moment, black flames covered the Divine Realm.

§ 55. Three-Sided World

All the countless temples that lined the bottom of the Divine Realm were on fire. The sky was ablaze with dark flames, and the ground was scorched black. Apocalyptic flames with the power to turn everything into black ash were raging all across the realm. If the bottom of the Divine Realm burned away, the destruction would spread to the Round Garden of Principles and affect the rest of the world.

But while the bottom of the Divine Realm was burning, it wasn’t burning away. Everything that should have crumbled to ash somehow maintained its shape. Most of Egil Grone Angdroa’s force had been canceled out in the earlier collision.

“Take this!” Sasha yelled, glaring at the bottom of the Divine Realm. “Disappear!”

Divine Eyes of the End stared at the land and sky, making eye contact with all the destructive fires ravaging the realm and compelling it to meet its end. The apocalyptic flames slowly started dying out.

Lay pointed his sword of La Sencia at the land that had split apart. Pure white particles filled the gouges in the land, supplementing the lost magic power of the Divine Realm.

Misha’s lunar snowdrops fluttered through the air, falling on the pyramid-shaped temples. The tracks of her glittering flowers released an icy light that re-created the land, sky, and temples.

“Jeez,” Sasha grumbled, shoulders slumping in exhaustion. She slowly descended to the ground.

“How could friendly fire be harder to stop than an entire solar eclipse intended to destroy the world?” Lay said as he descended beside her, a tired smile on his face. “I thought I was going to die.”

“I’m never doing this again,” Sasha replied.

Lay nodded in agreement. He looked around at the Divine Realm, which looked almost back to normal. “In the end, Equis made an enemy out of the one person they never should have laid their hands on. Even if those cogs were truly the will of the world, against the Demon King who could destroy this world in one move, they were practically the same as a mortal.”

He cast his gaze around the area.

“Something wrong?” Sasha asked curiously.

“This isn’t over. Equis is a collective body of many gods. If they perish, the world would collapse from the lack of order. That’s why Anos went easy on his Egil Grone Angdroa.”

“The lack of order?” Sasha looked doubtful. She was probably thinking about how the world would have been destroyed by a stronger spell. “Never mind that. Do you mean that thing is really still alive? After an attack like that?”

Lay chuckled at her rounded eyes. “I’d sure hope so. What were you thinking when you sent your black rays at Equis?”

“I-I was hoping to break it to pieces...” she muttered awkwardly.

Lay’s smile froze on his face. He shot Sasha a disappointed look.

“I-I figured Anos would do something about it! That’s how it always goes!” Sasha said defensively, making Lay chuckle again.

“Well, you’re not wrong. All that’s left now is to find a way to destroy Equis without destroying the world. I’m sure Anos has an idea already—”

Static noise interrupted them. “I told you.”

Lay turned towards the voice.

“As long as you try to protect the world, you cannot destroy me—for I am the world. Your premise was contradictory from the start.”

From the ground countless Abysms fired at Lay and Sasha, with both of them leaping away from each other to dodge the attack. Out of the black ash rose Equis, floating into the air. With a screech of cogs they accelerated to their max speed, appearing right before Lay in an instant.

Before his white holy sword could swing down, an Abysm fired at point-blank range tore Lay’s body to shreds.

“No way,” Sasha muttered, glaring at Equis with her Divine Eyes. “How are you only mildly charred after all that?!”

Black rays of sunlight burned Equis, but their body of cogs turned rapidly to tear apart the gaze of the end.

“If the shape of the world remains, I remain. There is simply no way to destroy me without destroying the world.”

Sasha used Fless to evade the Abysm cogs sent after her, but in doing so, she allowed Equis to approach.

“You—”

“This is order.”

Fingers made of cogs stabbed her in the chest.

“Gwah!”

As blood poured out of the wound in her divine body Sasha grimaced in agony, but she kept her Divine Eyes on Equis to burn their body.

“This time I will implant a stronger cog in you,” they said, drawing a three-layered cog magic circle over the left side of her chest. The cogs began turning with a creak, tearing her heart—both the organ and her mind—apart.

Sasha screamed. The three cogs Equis had just buried in her contained vast magic power.

“You will be a cog of the world once again, Abernyu.”

“Hmm. Bold of you to take your Eyes off me.” I grabbed the head of cogs with seven layers of Aviasten Ziara on my hands and tore their arm away from Sasha. “I should crush you in my hand.”

Cogs shrieked and groaned under the pressure of my grip. At the same time, I used the Magic Eyes of Mauve to glare at the cogs in Sasha’s heart. Unlike order, which couldn’t be seen with the Eyes, these powerful cogs couldn’t be hidden. I could destroy as many of them as needed.

“Did you really think you spent two thousand years obtaining peace, contaminant of the world?” Equis asked. They pierced my abdomen with their fingertips and dug into my source with turning cogs. “That was merely a result of turning cogs. Alone, you could have fought the will of the world, but as you are, the need to uphold peace burdens you. And do you think yourself fortunate? Weighed down by the fruit of your efforts? You’re wrong. The cogs of order did this so that a dangerous misfit like you wouldn’t feel tempted to destroy the world.”

Using Fless, Equis lifted themselves up while simultaneously pushing me towards the ground. I kept my hold on their head, putting more strength into my grip. At the same time, I kept my glare focused on Sasha—I had to stop the cog planted in her.

“Contaminant of the world, you carry peace in your hands—a peace so fragile and delicate, a dream finer than glass. Clench your fist to destroy me, and you will shatter that peace too.”

Equis then released a ridiculous amount of magic power, pushing me further towards the ground. Blinding light left a trail through the sky.

Below me were nine cog magic circles and an ancient wheel. Staring into their abyss revealed a clear magical link between them and Equis. The wheel moved in a fierce turn, orienting itself towards my falling body. The magic power being released made the small wooden wheel larger by several orders of magnitude.

“Perish with the fleeting peace I granted you,” Equis said, firing Boros Hetheus.

It would be difficult to intercept the attack while still so close to Equis. Sasha was also positioned in the line of fire, and she couldn’t move yet. If I evaded, the wheel would strike her instead. Equis was forcing me to choose, which I did so without any hesitation: I destroyed the cog in Sasha with my Magic Eyes of Mauve. The Boros Hetheus ran into my back, tearing apart flesh, bone, and source as it turned.

Equis grabbed my body and shoved me back against the wheel. Magic particles went flying, and fresh blood of the Demon King sprayed and splattered into the air. The source of destruction within me began to rampage out of my control and flow out into the world.

I clenched my teeth against the pain, putting everything I had into trying to contain the source of destruction.

“What’s wrong, misfit?” Equis asked. “If you release your power, you can easily send Boros Hetheus flying away.”

“Along with the rest of the world.”

Equis’s cogs turned with a mocking creak. “Keep protecting what you know cannot be protected. The world, your comrades, this peace. Contaminant of the world, you have made the wrong choice. You should have come here alone, and left peace behind you.”

The wheel kept its rapid spin as it ground against my source, black fireworks sparking as it carved a gouge into me. At any moment, the power of destruction threatened to leak from my body and irreparably wound the world. I used my own body and source to shoulder the damage, worsening my own condition. One drop of the sinister blood slipped from my control and fell onto the ground. The ground instantly rotted, crumbling into black ash.

“Turn, turn,” Equis said. The wheel of Boros Hetheus turned rapidly. “Turn, world—”

“Unfortunately,” Sasha interrupted, “we’ll be the ones to protect the world and uphold the peace. You will be destroyed by Anos.”

She had managed to pull out the cog in her chest with her right hand and glared down from above with the Divine Eyes of the End. Through Leaks she connected to Misha as her Eyes scanned the ground of the Divine Realm.

“I’ll show you the true power of my Demon King!” she shouted.

Black sunlight twinkled, burning a pyramid temple to reveal Misha and the Solar Eclipse of the End. A magic circle of lunar snowdrops had been drawn around the solar eclipse.

“Sasha’s right,” Misha said, reaching a hand towards the Solar Eclipse of the End. “It’s time for me to make that, Anos.”

The solar eclipse of deep darkness inverted, turning into a silver-red light. Misha blinked twice, and the moon in her eyes turned silver-red.

“A world where you can play with all your might—a world that won’t break under the strain of your full power.”

Sarjieldenav’s total solar eclipse had transformed into Altiertonoa’s total lunar eclipse. The silver-red light of creation shone upon me and Equis.

“Ar Ent Ertonoa.”

The world around us transformed: The sky seemed endlessly higher, both Sarjieldenav and Altiertonoa floating side by side, while the land below seemed to stretch in every direction, dotted with silver ice forests, grasslands, mountains, and towns.

No one was here besides Equis and me. This was a divine domain created by Militia, the Goddess of Creation—

“The three-sided world, Demon King Garden,” Misha said.

As soon as the Demon King Garden fully manifested, the Boros Hetheus in my source crumbled away into black ashes. Jet-black particles overflowing from my source drew a seven-layered spiral around my body.

“Guh... Gah!”

I snapped off the arm Equis had buried in my abdomen and sank my fingers into their skull. The cogs in their head broke as they tried to leap away from me—but my fist moved faster and shot through their face.

They crashed into the trees of ice with a resounding boom, the impact smashing a crater in the ground as they landed. With a quick flick of my wrist, a cannon made of a seven-layered spiral magic circle appeared.

Egil Grone Angdroa.

Apocalyptic flames struck Equis’s body, and the world went up in black fire. For a brief moment, it looked like the divine domain had turned into a field of black ash, but the sky and ground were fine. The land of ice was still spread before us.

The Demon King Garden was a three-sided world created with the combined authority of Militia and Abernyu, and was illuminated by the Sun of Destruction. The moment a fatal amount of damage was applied to the domain, Sarjieldenav’s power would cancel it out. If any damage still slipped past and wounded the domain, the Moon of Creation Altiertonoa would re-create whatever had been destroyed.

This world contained three layers. If a force surpassing Sarjieldenav’s destructive counter and Altiertonoa’s regeneration were to destroy the world, the second layer of the world would merely be revealed instead.

And as that second layer was revealed, the first world would be re-created. The strategy here was clear—if my destruction couldn’t be stopped, then new worlds just had to be created. I could release enough power to destroy thousands of worlds, but here, each world would just be created again. It was indeed a garden created just for the Demon King.

“Hmm. Not a bad world, Misha.”

I landed on the ground and snapped my fingers. Magic pouring from my source drew a sinister spiral around me.

Divine Eyes made of cogs turned to me with a creak.

“How long are you going to lie there for? Bring out your cogs of despair already,” I said, slowly walking towards Equis. “I’ll show that rusted head of yours what despair really is.”

§ 56. Contradiction

Cogs slowly turned with an eerie creak. Divine light gathered around Equis before they sat up as though nothing had happened.

“You don’t know anything,” they said.

There was a battered piece of wood in their hand. A magic circle appeared over it, regenerating the old wooden wheel.

“Oh?”

“What it means to disturb order. What a world with no order truly is. Your puny brain will never understand how precise, vast, and extensive these cogs are.”

The cogs on Equis’s chest creaked as they parted. They returned the old wooden wheel to the cavity, and the cogs closed again.

“The world seeks a purist. Yet here you are, a contaminant of the world. You exist against the world’s framework. Thus, you must be crushed by cogs and discarded by this world’s order. Your trivial existence means nothing in the grand scheme of things.”

With two dull thunks, the wooden wheel fit into the rest of the cogs in their body.

“Before I destroy you, I have one question,” I said, casually drawing a seven-layered spiral of black particles. “What did you do with the stolen firedew?”

Equis’s Eyes glinted, but they said nothing as the cogs of their body continued to turn against each other, fitting themselves together.

“For the seven billion years of Militia’s world, all the years of her mother Elenesia’s world, all the years of her mother’s mother’s world before that, and all the generations of creation gods who re-created the world before that—all that time you’ve been stealing firedew. There should be far more of it than what’s stored at the bottom of the Divine Realm.”

“Foolish contaminant of the world. Do you think restoring the firedew will revive all those that have been lost?”

“I’m not sure. But what I do know is that while you were stealing firedew, my follower and all of her ancestors were wishing for peace. So I won’t let you lay your hands on it anymore. I will take everything back and return it to the mother world.”

Cogs creaked in mocking laughter.

“I told you already—I am the world.” Equis spread their arms wide. Cogs suddenly started rotating, sending sparks flying into the air. “Turn, turn in despair—”

The wheel in their chest turned slowly. All the other cogs turned with it.

“Turn.”

The ancient wheel glowed with bronze light, spreading across Equis’s divine body.

Misha’s Demon King Garden trembled with a loud rumble. The space behind Equis began to glow, and a bronze cog appeared. It released a brown sheen before multiplying across the sky in infinite numbers. Each bronze cog fit into place with its neighbor, forming a sphere—almost like a sun of cogs.

“Behold, contaminant of the world,” Equis said. “This is the stolen firedew. See before you the true form of those swallowed by the cogs, from the beginning of the world until this day.”

Static noise filled their voice as they lifted their arms dramatically.

“Beltexfenblem. The Cogs of Fate.”

Countless cogs turned with a creak. Equis’s magic power shot up dramatically, instantly repairing their broken limbs and charred body. The divine light being emitted was enough to whittle away the surface of the first layer of the Demon King Garden, shaking the trees and mountains of ice.

“When the great Cogs of Fate turn, you shall be trampled by the wheel of despair.”

“Try it.”

Our gazes collided. Silence fell.

“Egil Grone Angdroa.”

The magic circle cannon fired apocalyptic flames. Equis raised an arm and drew a cog magic circle. The countless cogs within the magic circle turned, and a bronze wheel appeared, connected to the cogs. It turned as the cogs turned.

“Boros Hethero Avis.”

The brown glowing wheel expanded before my eyes, creating a rapidly spinning vortex of magic power. The vortex shot towards the apocalyptic flames in a traveling spin, shooting a straight line from left to right as the two forces collided. The whole world went up in flames, creating endless cracks. If it weren’t for the three-sided world, the world would have already ended several times over. Egil Grone Angdroa turned the divine wheel into ashes, while Boros Hethero Avis ran over and smothered the apocalyptic flames.

“Did you think you were the only one to ever stand up against the will of the world?” Equis asked over the howling commotion of magic clashing with magic. “Because you are not. There were misfits in Elenesia’s world, and all the worlds before. Tiny contaminants, like you, that have been swallowed by the Cogs of Fate time and again. Those misfits are now part of the order they opposed—these cogs here.”

Equis spun their own cogs, covering themselves in a divine magic power. Bronze and jet-black sparks flew, dyeing the three-sided world in a mix of sinister and divine colors.

“The world will perish if you release your full power. And I am the same,” Equis said, looking down upon me as they fully canceled out Egil Grone Angdroa.

“Bwa ha ha!”

Equis’s Divine Eyes widened in shock. The second blast of Egil Grone Angdroa was already upon him.

“Good. It’d be boring otherwise,” I said.

Black apocalyptic flames roared, covering their divine body.

“Come on, we rarely get a playground like this.” With a flick of my fingers, I leisurely drew a magic circle—another Egil Grone Angdroa. “Let’s go all out.”

More apocalyptic flames fired, one blast after another, all aimed at Equis’s body. They took one look at the seven-layered destruction magic before disappearing.

“I decide the order of this world. Perish under the turning cogs of your fellow misfits,” a static noise voice echoed. “The cogs of time will turn. Just like how the past and future can never cross paths, I will leave you in the past, and move into the future.”

Equis evaded Egil Grone Angdroa at a speed that seemed to surpass even time, flying behind me and raising their right arm, the cogs inside it spinning rapidly as they wrenched it back to land a blow. I grabbed it with my own left hand and let the cogs dig into my flesh, forcing the spinning cogs to a stop.

Equis screeched.

“Did you think your future could reach my past?” I asked.

Beltexfenblem turned, increasing Equis’s magic power again. Each turn of the cog enhanced their physical strength until they were able to push my hand back.

“Cogs at the upper limit turn again, raising the maximum output until you and I exist on separate dimensions of power.”

Equis tried to flatten me with physical strength so powerful that it surpassed the limits of order. There must have been a past misfit with that ability, and here Equis was flaunting how they had defeated that misfit and turned their power into a cog of order. But even then, my left hand didn’t budge.

“What’s wrong? You surpassed the world’s limit and this is all you’ve got?” I asked.

“The cogs of the upper limit will run you over—”

Equis’s wheel turned with momentum, the Cogs of Fate giving them more power. They leaped with all their might, sinking their feet into the ground, the spinning cogs in their heels gouging holes in the ground as they charged forward.

“—and you will be crushed by the weight of the world.”

As they charged, I could sense Equis’s body becoming heavier and heavier, until they were charging at me with the weight of the world in their comparatively small body.

“The world you speak of is too light to crush me,” I said, stopping their mighty charge with a single pinky finger. “It’s a hollow world, empty of the weight of life.”

My pinky pierced Equis’s right hand.

“How long are you going to keep fooling around for? Turn your cogs properly,” I said, closing my fist and tearing their arm off.

Equis let out a high-pitched screech.

“Sounds kind of rusty, if you ask me.”

My Vebzud-covered fingers pierced through their face and tore apart the cogs of their chest, revealing the large cog inside, which was connected to the cog controlling the order of upper limits.

“If you’re struggling to turn it, I’d be happy to lend a hand.”

I gave the cog a strong spin, and Equis’s entire body began turning with it. The power limit on the left hand grabbing me was surpassed even further, but I simply locked hands with them and pushed them back.

“Bwa ha ha. Now that’s more like it. Go on, you can still turn more.”

I turned Equis’s cog again, giving them even more physical strength. Cogs close to the one I turned—cogs forced to spin above their limit—creaked and creaked in protest, then cracked.

“Cogs of immortality turn, separating me from death as the order of immortality fills this divine body,” Equis said. The power bestowed by the Cogs of Fate prevented the breaking cogs from being completely destroyed.

“Oh? There seems to be a contradiction in the order of the world,” I said as I grabbed them by the throat.

“There are no contradictions in the world. Everything turns according to the cogs of order,” they replied.

“I disagree.” I drew a hundred magic circles around Equis. “Jio Graze.”

My fingers broke through Equis’s throat as the jet-black suns zoomed towards Equis. The flames entered their body from the open hole in their throat, burning their source.

“Jirasd.”

Black lightning struck through Equis, sending electricity through their source.

“Aviasten Ziara.”

Glittering black flames covered my hand as I pierced through their source.

“Beno Ievun.”

A black aurora formed a sphere that covered the collective body of cogs.

“Egil Grone Angdroa.”

Apocalyptic flames slammed into the middle of the source, engulfing Equis in destruction. The spell rampaged as though to tear them apart from within, and, unable to withstand the force, Equis burst apart. Pieces of their divine body rolled around on the icy ground and burned in the flames of destruction, turning to black ash.

Beltexfenblem turned with a creak, halting their destruction. In the blink of an eye, Equis regenerated the cogs. They sat up and mockingly spread their arms, as if to show me how little harm my magic had wrought.

“You use every spell in your arsenal and still can’t finish me off, contaminant of the world. You have no means of destroying me left.”

“I see. So rolling on the ground in a jumble of cogs is what you consider order. I can’t say I expected that.”

Cogs turned with an eerie creak. Equis’s face seemed to be trembling in irritation.

“You will regret such arrogance, you insignificant contaminant. Your power is simply an illusion sprung from this three-sided world. You could never attack with your full power in the real world.”

“Bwa ha ha. Are we complaining now? If you want to leave because you’re so powerless here, all you have to do is say so. Bow until your head touches the floor and I’ll consider it.”

“Do you really think you have the upper hand here? Your power is unstable, and easily affected by the surrounding environment. That means it’s being controlled by order. And I am the one that controls order.”

Magic power gathered around Equis.

“I will steal the order that’s giving you power in this Demon King Garden,” they said, sneering.

The collective body of cogs glowed bronze.

“Behold, contaminant of the world. The Cogs of Fate are already turning. No one can escape this fate. Beltexfenblem will force destiny upon you.”

The Cogs of Fate spread brown light through the area.

“This is your defeat.”

Bronze cogs implanted themselves across every surface of the three-sided world. Cogs of Fate turned in the land and skies, ice towns and forests, and across entire mountains.

“Make a single move and the Demon King Garden will shatter along with the order of creation. That is the fate Beltexfenblem has just decided. A destiny that cannot be fled or overturned, no matter what.”

An abnormal order had surrounded me. There was an eerie sound as the Cogs of Fate turned. Equis raised their arms high into the air.

“Verd Raze Fenblem.”

Bronze cogs creaked loudly, forcibly trying to distort the order of the three-sided world Misha had created.

“Be crushed by the Cogs of Fate, contaminant of the world.”

A cog magic circle was drawn, which connected with the bronze wheel and started to turn. The wheel expanded to gargantuan proportions, crushing the ground below it.

“Boros Hethero Avis.”

The bronze wheel shattered the ice with an eerie sound as it slowly made its way to me. With each rotation of the wheel brown sparks flew, dying the Demon King Garden a deep dreadful bronze. When the divine wheel made impact with my body it immediately tried to grind into my flesh, but I grabbed it with both hands.

“Now,” Equis declared, so sure of their victory, “it’s time for this transient world to perish under the Cogs of Fate.”

I slammed the Boros Hethero Avis down to the ground and stomped on it. The resulting sound shook the entire land—but the Demon King Garden was untouched.

“Wha...”

I took a step towards the flabbergasted Equis.

“How?” Equis muttered dumbly. “How are you walking...with Verd Raze Fenblem in effect?”

“It turns out that in the Demon King Garden, I can open these Magic Eyes a little.”

I walked straight towards them. My left Eye was dyed mauve with a cross of darkness deep within its abyss—it was one of the Magic Eyes of Mayhem. I had used it to destroy the order of Verd Raze Fenblem.

“Everything before these Eyes will perish. Be it order, reason, or you, Equis.”

“No such order should exist,” they said with dumbfounded confusion. “There are no Magic Eyes you can use that can affect destiny. Verd Raze Fenblem should have activated before that and destroyed the Demon King Garden!”

“You’re not getting it. I’m saying I destroyed the reason of Verd Raze Fenblem itself.”

“That’s impossible. Fate has already been determined. It was only a matter of it happening sooner or later. Even if time could be rewound to before the creation of the Demon King’s Garden, the Cogs of Fate would have still destroyed it.”

“Bwa ha ha. Instead of blindly believing in order, why don’t you believe in what just happened before you? Aren’t the holes in those cogs Divine Eyes? Use them to look closer into the abyss.”

I came to a stop before them. “You decided fate, and I destroyed reason. These two powers contradict each other. Thus, it’s my win.”

I lifted my foot and stomped on the ground. The bronze cogs buried in the surface all shattered at once.

“After all, contradiction and chaos are my forte.”

Between the Magic Eyes of Mayhem and a contradictory logic for its destruction, I was the one with an overwhelming advantage. The reasoning was simple: Against the power of a single fated event, the Magic Eyes of Mayhem merely had to prevent it from happening. The contradiction of preventing a predetermined incident then fueled the power of the Magic Eyes.

I took another step forward as a cog of time rotated before Equis.

“Boros Hethero—”

Equis tried to cast destruction magic at point-blank range, but my Vebzud fingertips bored into their abdomen first.

“G-Gieeeeee!” they screeched.

“Did you really think that an inflexible cog that jams with one simple contradiction could decide my fate for me?”

§ 57. The Demon King’s March, Dedicated to His Followers

Equis grabbed my shoulders with their arms, the cogs shrieking and spinning as they turned.

They braced their legs against the ground and spouted out more bronze magic power. Sparks flew as the cog of time and the cog of limits turned, lifting my body up into the air.

“Oh? You still have strength left,” I said.

“I’ll acknowledge it, contaminant of the world. You’re far stronger than the other misfits that have been swallowed until now...”

Cogs turned fast enough for cracks to appear in their divine body. Equis succeeded in lifting me completely off the ground.

“But your weak point is still here.”

Cog legs started to run. The cog of upper limits accelerated the cog of time, allowing Equis to ram both of us into the sphere of Beltexfenblem. “The Cogs of Fate are your despair. If it swallows us both, the world will be torn apart.”

“I see. If I let you go you’ll throw yourself into that cog. And once you’re torn apart, order will vanish, destroying the world.”

I cast Beno Ievun over Equis’s body. They smirked smugly.

“That’s right. The ending will be the same regardless: You must protect the world, and I am the world. So protect me and be crushed by the cogs of despair, trivial misfit!”

And then the two of us crashed into Beltexfenblem. A shrill metallic screech roared in our ears as magic particles scattered everywhere.

“Greeeh! Gya ha ha!” Equis screeched a rusty laugh. Because I had covered for their safety, I was the only one swallowed by the Cogs of Fate. Countless cog teeth dug into my body.

“Do you get it, Anos Voldigoad?” they asked. “The world has been turning correctly this whole time, in tandem with despair. You are nothing but a contaminant to the cogs.”

“So it seems,” I agreed.

Cogs creaked in a mocking sound. “Verd Raze Fenblem.”

Equis turned their own cogs, spinning the Cogs of Fate digging into my body. The immense power of the cogs pressed upon me—before suddenly, something audibly snapped. The tremendous power had been crushing me vanished instantly.

“That...can’t be...”

Several of the Cogs of Fate dug into me crumbled to dust, as though overwhelmed by some contaminating force.

“Impossible... How...? Those cogs are destined to turn despair!”

“It does turn well, doesn’t it?” I grabbed the giant cog near me and stopped it. “Your despair, that is.”

The power that had nowhere to go creaked loudly, causing an echo to ring out across the entire Beltexfenblem sphere. Each cog connected let out an eerie sound as one by one they also came to a stop.

“Do you know what is in your hand, contaminant of the world?” Equis asked.

“You mean this toy cog?” I turned the cog in my hand in the opposite direction.

“Stop! Release it now, you fool! Beltexfenblem turns the world’s fate. Destroy that and your beloved world will be destroyed too!”

“Have you noticed your own contradiction yet, Equis?” I asked instead. Equis was trembling from head to toe at the shuddering creaks of Beltexfenblem. I stared straight at them. “You claim that the order of the world bends towards destruction. That destruction is its fate. So why does the world’s destruction scare you so much?”

Cracks ran along the giant sphere of cogs.

“Stop...”

“If the Cogs of Fate turn, the world will eventually be ruined, right? It’s just a matter of sooner or later, no?”

Power that could not turn—power that had nowhere to go—applied a force on each cog of the system. Despair attacked the Beltexfenblem.

“Stop it!”

“Don’t move.” I put strength into my arm, making Equis freeze before they could lunge at me. “There are plenty of better ways to go about destruction. Why did you bother doing something as troublesome as stealing firedew?”

“An insignificant contaminant like you would never understand. The world is just a result of order turning as intended.”

“What does order exist for? Why was such an order decided upon in the first place? For what purpose?”

More cracks ran across the cogs. Beltexfenblem began to rattle with an eerie sound.

“Did you really need that much firedew to make something like this?” I said, staring at them while making a vague gesture towards Beltexfenblem. “You could make a toy like this with one arm. I don’t think everything you stole is here.”

“You will not get the answer you want. The firedew was consumed to maintain the Cogs of Fate. I’ve told you already—the world desires a purist. The slow oncoming of destruction and despair is a part of that desire.”

“What is a purist?”

“Proof of evolution. Only when a world has suffered enough ruin will it welcome a purist, and then evolve.”

“And what will happen when it evolves?”

“Can an ape comprehend human speech? I haven’t evolved yet.”

Divine Eyes made of cogs glared my way.

“If you speak honestly, I’ll let go,” I said, sending a Zecht with my words.

Equis signed it with their own words. “You doubt my words because you are a mortal. The world is simply the way it is. It seeks evolution because it seeks evolution. Asking why is futile. Understand, minuscule contaminant, that everything is decided by order.”

“Hm. Got it.” A cross of darkness appeared in my left Eye. I activated the Magic Eye of Mayhem while placing more strength into my hand still grasping the cog. “You really are nothing but a cog.”

I gave the wheel a mighty spin in the opposite direction. The sudden boost of reverse force on the nearby cogs fitted to the wheel caused them to shatter.

“What?! Ah... Aaah!” Equis yelled, unable to form words in their shock. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I let go, as promised. You keep saying that the wheel spins in the direction of despair, right? So I figured the other way would make it hope.”

“What... What ignorant, stupid reasoning... That is not how order works—”

Equis’s Divine Eyes stared at the cogs and widened. With a deafening rattle, some of the Cogs of Fate began turning in the opposite direction. Of course, since such a strong force had been applied to them, most had shattered or crumbled into pieces and fell.

“Bwa ha ha. Looks like that first turn took out half of them. Let’s give it one more spin.” I leaped up and grabbed the remaining cogs.

Equis followed me in a panic. “Do you know what you’re doing, contaminant of the world?!” They turned their own cogs at limit-breaking speed, collecting sparking bronze magic power around their hand.

“Yup. Perfectly,” I said, evading the fist they thrust out and grabbing it. “Help me spin them.”

“Stop—”

I added my magic power to Equis’s and used their fist to reach for the Cogs of Fate. They began spinning in the opposite direction, the unexpected force straining nearby cogs and causing them to break.

“As I expected, turning cogs seems to be your specialty, Equis.”

“Foolish contaminant! The Magic Eyes of Mayhem cannot turn despair into hope! Your existence can only destroy! What can you save like that?! If the Cogs of Fate disappear, the world will perish!”

I kicked Equis away and used that force to spin the cogs out in the distance. I could see more cracks run along the cogs as they started to spin in reverse, with some of them breaking entirely.

When the Cogs of Fate recoiled back, I grabbed Equis’s head to block the blow. The Beltexfenblem were so battered that the resulting cogs digging into Equis did no harm.

“Fool... Be rational... If you destroy the cogs, the world will stop turning too...”

“Many have risked their lives to create peace in the world. Do you know how many people have perished up to this point?” My fingers sank into the cogs on their head, snapping them apart. “We thought war was inevitable. That hatred called upon only more hatred, forcing us to kill each other. While tragedy unfurled everywhere and for everyone, all anyone really wanted was peace. And we sought to understand each other by first believing that there was no one truly at fault for the way the world was.”

I wrapped Beno Ievun around Equis’s body and lifted their head with one hand.

“But you were the culprit all along. You and your worthless toy cogs played with the fates of my people, my followers, my parents—robbing them of their lives and mocking them all the while. Many of them perished, never to return. And those who returned were merely thrust back in the tragedy of senseless war.”

I clenched my right hand into a fist.

“Your Eyes may not be able to see it, but they did their best to live. And those who perished entrusted the future to me. I will avenge them. I cannot leave this alone. And if fate truly cannot become hope, then it’s better off destroyed. Along with everything.”

I threw Equis at the Cogs of Fate. They flew like a bolt of light, rebounding several times as the cogs and knocking them into spinning in reverse. More and more of the Beltexfenblem cogs crumbled away.

If only I had moved faster.

If only I had come here sooner—

So many more people could have survived to stand with me now, and smile.

“Forgive me,” I said to them. “All of you were sacrificed for such a worthless thing.”

I used Ygg Neas on my hand and grabbed multiple cogs at once, forcing them all to turn in reverse. An ear-piercing tearing sound screeched as the cogs broke into fragments.

“Stop it!” Equis yelled, spreading their battered arms. Their limbs were merged with seven barely intact cogs of Beltexfenblem. “A misfit like you has no right to lay your hands on the Cogs of Fate. Beltexfenblem is the foundation of this world—in comparison the lives of millions of demons are nothing. All of you will become nourishment for this world, for you all exist to keep the world going.”

“A mere cog has no right to speak for my followers.”

I approached Equis and slammed my right fist into their divine body. Fragments went flying as their body soared through the air and slammed on the ground, rolling.

Equis staggered to their feet with an audible creak and glared up at me. They seemed to decide there was enough distance between us, as a light began glowing behind them—a door to a pyramid-shaped temple had appeared.

“Your petty carelessness,” they said. The door opened with a creak. Divine light poured out from within, illuminating the ground. “Your petty carelessness will bring despair. Cease this arrogance. Once we leave this place, the world will continue turning as normal. Yes, quietly and steadily—”

I gave the door one glare with my Eyes and it slammed shut.

“That...can’t be...”

I slowly descended to the ground, keeping the door in my sight. I approached Equis, watching as they turned their back on me to bang against the door, as though to demand it to open.

“Open!” they roared. The cogs of their hand turned, drawing a magic circle. “Open, door of order. Turn, cogs of destiny!”

The door didn’t open.

“Turn! Turn, cogs of the world!” Equis spun the Beltexfenblem cogs connected to their body, using all of their cogs in desperation. “Turn!”

The door began to open again with a creak. Equis smirked and moved to take a step forward—when the door went up in black flames.

“Ah... Huh?” They completely froze in their tracks.

“How does it feel to finally taste despair, Equis?” I asked, grabbing their shoulder gently from behind. “The absurdity my followers faced was far worse than this.”

I proceeded to lift Equis up and throw them with all my might. Their body went headfirst into the mountain of Beltexfenblem pieces that had accumulated from my multiple attacks, sending fragments of cogs everywhere.

“That will be your grave,” I said, pursuing them.

“Fine,” a voice mixed with static noise said. A huge magic circle formed over the Beltexfenblem fragments. “Fine. You give me no choice but to distort order!”

Equis’s magic circle regenerated the broken Cogs of Fate, shaping them into a huge longsword with wheels as its blade and cogs as its source of power.

“Do you understand? The Cogs of Fate were never meant for combat, and now have been forcibly reshaped into a weapon. All this time, your assault has been focused on cogs that haven’t even been fighting back!”

The Cogs of Fate turned, the wheel of despair turning with them.

“Wheel Sword Beltexfenblem!”

Equis swung the Wheel Sword sideways at me as I approached. I caught it with my left arm, the wheels digging into my flesh and gouging at bone.

“The Cogs of Fate turn, slashing you with despair. This is the will of the world, foolish contaminant!” they shouted, declaring their victory.

I paid them no heed as I moved forward. “Gilieriam Naviem.”

The moment the spell activated, a sinister magic power swirled around me, and the Wheel Sword instantly disintegrated into black ashes.

“What?! The sword of the world’s fate...turned to ashes?”

Gilieriam Naviem was a spell that, with every step I took, released the condensed destruction in my source and instantaneously raised my power. I took another step towards Equis.

“Without fate, Lay and I wouldn’t have had to fight to the death two thousand years ago, over and over.”

I cast Fless to leap up, then used that momentum to strike the Cogs of Fate embedded in Equis’s divine body. They easily shattered apart.

“What?! With just the momentum of Fless?!”

I took another step.

“Without order, Eleonore wouldn’t have had to watch so many of her children march to their deaths.”

I swiped my finger downwards with Kurst at my fingertips. The places I touched had their growth accelerated and rotted away. Equis’s divine body also split down the middle, snapping one of the Cogs of Fate.

“The world...is decaying from growth?!”

Another step.

“Without your cogs, Shin and Reno wouldn’t have been forced to separate once before.”

I used Gijel to bind one of the two halves of Equis. The chains of magic restrained the will of the world, crushing the Cogs of Fate trying to turn.

“I can’t move... How dare you bind the world in chains!”

A fourth step.

“Without a certain foolish god, Misa wouldn’t have had to betray her beliefs and play a fake Demon King.”

I held a hand over their ear and cast Synial. The sound of destruction played, shaking Equis’s entire body and breaking another Cog of Fate.

“Impossible... With just sound alone? I...”

A fifth.

“Without the will of the world, Arcana could have been just a normal girl.”

I cast Dee and unlocked Equis’s chest, forcing it open. Another Cog of Fate shattered, revealing the ancient wooden wheel.

“Why is it opening? How are you making it open? Stop, stop it... Anything but that...”

A sixth step.

“Without despair, Sasha would never have had such a burdensome duty. She never would have cried. Misha could have watched the world gently, as she always wanted to.”

I cast the fire magic Grega at the old wooden wheel. With a burst of radiant light, red fire blazed, melting Equis with the heat of destruction.

“My power is melting... The fate of the world is in flames...”

And a seventh.

“Without you, no one would have been forced to suffer such meaningless injustice.”

I stopped before the only cog remaining, now lying on the ground—the cog skull.

As expected of the Demon King Garden.

I canceled Gilieriam Naviem and quietly landed back on the ground. The flames of Grega spread through the area, completely melting the rest of the broken cogs in the area. Equis stared up at me with vacant Eyes.

“Beg for your life. If you can’t say something that’ll move me to tears, then repent for your sins. Choose your words carefully. What happens next depends upon your performance.”

“Do you understand...what will happen...if a contaminant like you destroys me...the world you wish to protect...will perish...”

I crushed the skull under my foot. “Zero points.”

§ Epilogue: Dawn of a New World

“Anos!” Sasha’s voice called from above. I looked up and saw moonlight shining from the Moon of Creation. Sasha, Misha, and Lay were floating in front of it.

“The Divine Realm can’t last any longer!” Sasha yelled. “Order disappeared when Equis perished, so it’s just a matter of time before it all breaks apart! Do something!”

“Don’t panic. They’re still alive.”

I lifted my foot to reveal the remains of shattered cogs.

“How so?!”

“Look closer into the abyss.”

Sasha stared into the source of the remains. Just then, a weak voice groaned.

“Ugh... Ah... Ah...”

“They’re at death’s door,” I said.

“Can you heal them?”

“It’s too late for that. They took my destruction straight to the face. They’ll be gone soon.”

“So we’re doomed after all!” Sasha screeched in frustration.

“The earth is being affected too,” Misha said. “The land has completely separated into four. It’ll fall apart in minutes.”

“So there’s still time. What about La Sencia?” I asked Lay.

“The magic link is still connected,” he replied.

Sasha glanced between us worriedly. “What do we do?”

“There’s only one way to stop a dying world: Re-create it with the Lunar Eclipse of Origin,” I said.

“But...” Sasha turned to Misha. “Is that possible?”

“The Lunar Eclipse of Origin is meant to be the final creation of my life. I was only able to create the Demon King Garden due to the Solar Eclipse of the End,” Misha explained.

“In other words, the Lunar Eclipse of Origin can only be used when a destruction of equal power is active. Since Militia only possessed the order of creation, she could only use it at the moment of her destruction.”

The Moon of Creation’s magic power increased the closer it came to its own destruction. At the point of its ruin, it held as much power as the Sun of Destruction. The Goddesses of Creation and Destruction were originally two sides of the same coin. In other words, when both came to the point of ruin, there was no distinction between the two.

“So...” Sasha said slowly.

I nodded. “Now that you can both exist simultaneously, Misha can use the Lunar Eclipse of Origin without perishing. You just have to lay your destruction over her creation.”

“That won’t be enough,” Misha said.

“That’s true. Simply having destruction and creation overlap will create the Lunar Eclipse of Origin, but without the immense magic that would’ve come from the Goddess of Creation’s destruction.”

It could make something focused on sturdiness like the Demon King Garden, but this wasn’t a place for people to live.

“What if you lent her your power through Gyze?” Sasha suggested.

“While that would work for regular spells, in this case, it would lean too far towards destruction,” I said. “The Lunar Eclipse of Origin is an authority that can only be used when order is balanced. Borrowing magic from others could result in failure—especially if you receive power you cannot handle yourself.”

Sasha clutched her head in thought. “But even if Misha and I add our power, it won’t be enough to re-create this dying world.”

Misha blinked. “What if we increased the material?”

“I see. We could use La Sencia,” Lay said.

In the underground world, La Sencia had been able to turn into a pillar to hold up the dome. If the power of emotions had been re-created by the Goddess of Creation, the underground world would have been able to oppose the order of destruction.

And so, it should be enough to serve as building material for a new world. La Sencia could become the earth, sky, forests, mountains, and the new order. The only problem left was the scale.

“The world has split into four, and order has almost completely vanished,” I said. “The Lunar Eclipse of Origin can’t be re-created because the world is almost completely dead, with very little magic remaining—so we just have to increase the world’s magic power. Even if order has decided the world is to perish, love and kindness can overthrow such a fate.”

Lay nodded. “I’ll let everyone know right away,” he said, turning away to use Leaks on the whole world.

“Add this to your building materials too, Misha,” I said, making the wreckage of cogs under my foot float up with magic.

“What...are you doing, contaminant...?”

“Oh? So you can still speak. I’ve heard your begging and decided your outcome. And since you can talk, I’ll let you choose what you’ll be reincarnated into.”

“Reincarnate?”

“Since the world is being remade, it makes sense for the cogs to be remade too.”

I used Iris on the melted Cogs of Fate and molded them into shape. Beside a flowing river, the cogs were morphed to construct several water mills. A short distance away, I built several windmills on a hill.

“Now, which do you prefer, Equis?”

I touched the remains of the cogs and shared my vision.

“What...are you plotting?”

“Bwa ha ha. Dull fool. Your cogs have the power to turn fate—even if that fate was mostly despair. It was what controlled the gods, manipulated order, and kept wars ongoing. But if you can influence despair, you can also resist despair. Keeping that in mind, if we remodel you into a turbine, you can become something that can literally turn through despair. And the stronger the despair, the better your wheel of hope can turn against it.”

Equis fell speechless, gulping in shock.

“When water of despair flows down the river, a waterwheel can catch it and turn it into power. When winds of despair blow on the hills, a windmill can catch it and turn that into power too. And this power can oppose despair.”

“Don’t tell me... You plan to turn me, the will of the world...into hope?”

“The will of the world? What are you talking about?”

I picked up their broken remains and drew a magic circle.

“That’s not who you are; you’re just a cog. And as a cog it’s only right to change you into a turbine that serves the people. Oh, what about a furnace? You can be the waterwheel and millstone that turns wheat grown with love and kindness into flour, and bake the bread of hope.”

“Stop... Do not force hope onto me...onto the world...”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it in no time at all. Peace is a wonderful thing, you know? An idyllic life as a water mill or windmill, dealing only with love and kindness. Working for the sake of people, rather than the Cogs of Fate. Soon enough you’ll see smiles everywhere.”

“Ridiculous... Just destroy me, contaminant.”

“Isn’t this more your style? Think of it as a slow destruction instead of a sudden one. But don’t worry—I’ll let you free once you milled as much hope as you’ve turned despair up until now. Now choose which one you want to be: A water mill, or a windmill?” I asked once again.

“...me...”

“Hm?” I smiled at the broken remains in my hand. “If you have something to say, you should say it clearly.”

After a few hesitant seconds, Equis spoke. “Kill me. I am the will of the world... If my only choice is to be a cog that serves the people, I’d rather perish.”

I stared at them in silence and clenched my hand into a fist.

“Stop—”

“Have you listened to a single prayer from even a single person?” I used Iris to change Equis’s remains into a water mill. “Stop whining and start churning.”

Misha stared at the water mill and tilted her head curiously. “So a water mill is fine?”

“Well, I suppose we need a windmill too. And a furnace. It wouldn’t hurt to add more. We have plenty of cogs to go around. My creation magic can only change their outer appearance, but you should be able to remake them into a turbine that’s actually useful for the world.”

Misha nodded. “I’ll make a few.”

“But isn’t this cog made of stolen firedew?” Sasha asked.

“That can be removed, so it’ll be fine,” I said.

“We’ll free them,” Misha said, holding her hand out to Sasha. The two linked hands.

Altiertonoa appeared in Misha’s Divine Eyes, while Sarjieldenav appeared in Sasha’s. Sun and moon stared at each other, and in the sky of the Demon King Garden the Moon of Creation overlapped with the Sun of Destruction. The lunar eclipse moved rapidly.

Eventually, the total lunar eclipse of Altiertonoa arrived, with the Lunar Eclipse of Origin releasing a reddish-silver light, gently illuminating the Demon King Garden.

“Three-sided world, the Celestial Globe of Creation.”

The ice world began to disappear. The towns, forests, and land vanished, and finally, the Lunar Eclipse of Origin in the sky disappeared too.

The world transformed into a white space, with no distinction between up, down, left, or right. In this new, strange world of endless white, it wasn’t even clear if we were standing or floating.

“Are we...” Sasha began to ask.

Misha nodded. “We’re inside the Lunar Eclipse of Origin. The Celestial Globe overlooks the world.”

The white world at our feet melted like snow, soft and gentle. Eventually, the dying world split into four, and the Divine Realm—now on the brink of collapse—came into view.

The Lunar Eclipse of Origin was currently in the sky of both the Divine Realm and the earth. We were overlooking both from within.

“Anos,” Misha said. “What kind of world do you want?”

I thought for a second, but decided against answering. “I’ll leave it to you.”

Misha blinked, Divine Eyes wide.

“The world should be how you want it.”

She smiled happily and nodded. She had spent seven hundred million years mourning her world for being unkind. The Goddess of Creation, the one who thought and worried over the world more than any other living being, would surely be able to create a world overflowing with kindness and hope. At this point, there was no need for me to say anything further.

“Oh, but I have one request,” I said.

Misha tilted her head in question.

“I’d like an enjoyable playground.”

“He’s being absurd again,” Sasha muttered under her breath. Her unimpressed gaze pierced me.

“I’ll do my best,” Misha said.

Red-silver light filled the world.

“Anos, a word for everyone?” Lay said, lifting his pure white holy sword.

I drew my own La Sencia and connected to his magic link. In my hand, a white holy sword much like Lay’s appeared, and I grasped it.

“Can you hear me, people of the world?” I said, looking down from the Celestial Globe of Creation to see people with their heads craned up, looking at me. “I am the Demon King, Anos Voldigoad. The god that once claimed to be the will of the world has fallen to my hands.”

A flood of voices immediately roared in my ears through the La Sencia link. Cries of triumph, joy, and relief—emotions of all kinds, mixed together, much of them through tears. Although the earth was dying, everyone was waving their arms exuberantly, smiling.

“For a long time, Equis has controlled this world,” I continued. “By turning the Cogs of Fate, they governed order and forced us to live in constant strife and despair. The nature of the world tilted towards destruction. Many injustices throughout time—although not all of them—were caused by them. The current war, the war two thousand years ago, and many other conflicts occurred in the name of the order they controlled.”

Those without power would never have realized such a thing; the cogs had been hidden so well that even the Eyes of Militia, Dilfred, Ceris, and even myself had been unable to see them.

All along the fatal flow of the world had been tucked into the bottom of the Firmament of the Gods, left to secretly dictate the arc of the world. Peace was always a fleeting thing that crumbled easily, and it was because the Cogs of Fate had secretly thrown off the balance of the world in favor of endless war.

“But the people of this world never lost. Even as the wheels of despair turned, running over the land, the light of hope was always here—and in abundance.”

The world fell silent, illuminated by reddish-silver light.

“Hero Assembly of Azesion, and heroes of the Hero Academy,” I called.

In Midhaze, Ledriano and the others came to attention, while in Gairadite Emilia and the rest of the Hero Assembly did the same.

“Well done. You all stood up against Equis. Without your courage, the reinforcements to Midhaze wouldn’t have made it in time. Two thousand years ago, Azesion had no choice but to fight. The fact that the same Azesion this time around accepted Emilia as a member of the Hero Assembly and stood up for Dilhade fills me with an emotion I cannot describe in words. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“We’re the ones who should thank you, Demon King Anos,” Ledriano said.

“It’s thanks to you that losers like us were able to do something heroic for once,” Raos continued.

“All we did was make a ruckus and steal the spotlight,” Heine dismissed.

Their replying quips were probably their way of hiding their embarrassment. All of them looked proud.

“We should do another interacademy competition sometime,” I said.

The Hero Academy students laughed dryly. “We’ll pass.”

“Emilia,” I called next.

Emilia, who had been gazing out of the window of the Round Table Assembly Hall, kneeled according to Dilhade’s etiquette. She had a nonchalant expression, as though to say she was just doing her duty.

“I’m proud of you.”

Her shoulders flinched slightly.

“I will never forget the Zecht you carved into the Round Table Assembly Hall. You did what no one else could have done. I commend you.”

“I’m honored,” Emilia answered rather stiffly, seemingly nervous about the rest of the world listening in on a personal conversation. A single tear rolled down her otherwise straight face. She blinked in surprise.

“Mother of Aharthern Reno, and the countless fairies of various rumors and legends.”

Back in Midhaze, Reno stood beside Shin—who had kneeled the moment I addressed the world—and waved her hand cheerfully at the sky. There were numerous spirits behind her, among which included Misa.

“Sorry that the peace-loving peoples of Aharthern had no choice but to join the battle. The support of the spirits saved my followers from their crisis. Thank you.”

“This nation is the homeland of my husband and daughter,” Reno said simply, face bright. “And besides, us spirits wouldn’t exist without the rumors and legends of people. In a crisis, we’ll always come running.”

I then called my second-in-command. “Shin.”

“At your command.”

Shin remained kneeling.

“Good job protecting them all. Thank you for pushing Lay’s back. Your loyalty has always saved me.”

“That is more praise than I deserve, my liege,” Shin said, bowing his head deeply.

“Sword Emperor Diedrich and Queen Consort Naphta of Agatha. Elites of the Knights of Agatha,” I said next.

The knights looking up at the Lunar Eclipse of Origin in Midhaze held their swords before their chests in Agathan salute.

“Without the Knights of Agatha, the skies of Midhaze would still be shrouded in darkness. Your swords carved Dilhade’s future.”

“No, Demon King Anos,” Naphta replied with a smile. “This is the future you showed me. Ever since the day you saved our kingdom, this ideal was inevitable—surely,” she said, ending her reply on a slightly ambiguous note.

“Demon King. Let us drink together again,” Diedrich said.

“With a Demon King Hymn as an appetizer,” I agreed.

He laughed heartily. “I can’t wait!”

“Pope Golroana of Jiordal and the disciples of the Jiordal Church,” I called next.

They were all kneeling, with their hands folded in prayer.

“As believers of god, your declaration of Equis as a false idol eased the fears of the draconids. So many of you helped fight aboveground without hesitation. I profess my utmost respect to your god and your faith.”

Golroana slowly raised his head and looked up at the moon with clear eyes.

“Demon King Anos, I know you will never believe in god. But your words have given me a revelation: God will sometimes borrow the mouth of mortals to speak their will. For there have been moments when you have spoken words that are as if they could be god’s true will.”

“Bwa ha ha. You jest. I don’t say anything nearly that high caliber.”

“As long as you say that, I will continue being a lost follower,” Golroana joked with a smile, closing his eyes in prayer.

“Gadeciola’s Goddess of Absurdity, my little sister Arcana, and the forbidden soldiers who fought along us,” I said, addressing Arcana. She had regained consciousness, but continued to lie face-up on the ground, gazing up at the Lunar Eclipse of Origin. She was surrounded by the forbidden soldiers of Gadeciola. “Thank you for returning in Dilhade’s time of crisis. If you hadn’t made it there when you did, no one would have been able to use Leaks. The feelings of everyone in the world would have remained separated.”

“Was I useful to you?” Arcana asked.

“You fought splendidly. I’m proud to call you my sister.”

Arcana smiled. “I’m happy to hear that, I think.”

“The Four Evil Kings,” I said next. “Eldmed, Aeges, Kaihilam, Grysilis.”

They each looked up from the grounds of the Demon King Academy.

“We don’t get along in many ways, but even so, I knew you would help in Dilhade’s time of need. Good job breaking through Equis’s schemes. I am grateful to you, my comrades from two thousand years ago.”

“You have no reason to thank— Woof!”

As soon as Grysilis opened his mouth, the Conflagration King turned him into a dog. He yapped while wagging his tail happily.

“Yes, yes, no need to thank me either. Answer me this instead,” Eldmed said, leaning on his cane with both hands. “Did you think my heart would be moved by Bookworm’s words? Or did you have a backup plan?”

“I simply had faith in your patriotism.”

Eldmed blinked in surprise before grinning gleefully. “I see, I see! So that’s how it is. To think I was actually such a patriot! Good grief, I didn’t even realize it myself.”

“Spare the world from your farce of a show,” Aeges said. “We just happened to share goals this time too.”

“I merely protected my homeland,” Kaihilam agreed, standing beside him. Their replies were very typical of them.

“Eleonore,” I said next.

She was in the Firmament of the Gods, gazing up at the lunar eclipse with Zeshia.

“Without you, the link between the Divine Realm and the earth would have been cut off, and no one could have reached the other. It was your sacrifice and devotion that kept our lifeline connected.”

Eleonore held up an index finger and giggled. “Anything for my Demon King.”

Zeshia stared up at the sky with her. “Any praise...for Zeshia?”

“Good job protecting your mother. You and your sisters on earth fought valiantly. You were all great.”

Zeshia beamed from ear to ear, kneeling with her back straightened proudly. Her sisters on the earth also gathered together and kneeled to express their happiness.

“Demon King’s Choir,” I said to the girls kneeling on the stage in the outskirts of Gairadite. “Ellen, Jessica, Maia, Nono, Xia, Himca, Catha, and Shelia.”

Each time I called a name, the corresponding girl flinched.

“Your song helped Misha and Sasha defeat the cogs of order buried within them. Once again, you’ve outdone yourselves with another wonderful song.”

“Thank you for the praise, Lord Anos,” they all said in unison.

“And above all, to those of you living in this world,” I said with the greatest gratitude. “Although you have not been able to individually shake off your despair, you still joined hands, linked hearts, and stood up against a great injustice. It is your emotions that negated the light of the end, and are the hope of this world. It’s not Equis’s cogs that form the will of the world, but each and every one of you.”

The people of the world gazed up at the reddish silver lunar eclipse, and in each face there was pride, kindness, and an almost overflowing love.

“Now we’re on to the finishing touches. The Lunar Eclipse of Origin will create a new world. A world where the Cogs of Fate are no longer needed. We’ve had enough despair and injustice. In the next world, everyone living here will be reborn with love and kindness, and their lives will revolve around hope. The world will be released from Equis’s control and be shaped by the feelings of every one of you.”

The ground rumbled. Gently and warmly, reaching endlessly in all directions—the fetal movement of the world.

“Now sing. It’s the dawn of a new world.”

Music began playing. Gentle voices emerged in song as pure white light rose from the earth. The light spread to connect the four quadrants of the earth as if linking them with bridges, then wrapped around the whole world.

Red and silver light shone gently. Altiertonoa’s moonlight mixed with La Sencia, re-creating everything with love and kindness. The firedew that was regained glowed like fireflies in the night. The white light of La Sencia wrapped around them all softly. They would become the new order.

The first lives to be reborn were the Four Principles: the Goddess of Birth Wenzel, the God of Depth Dilfred, the God of Demise Anahem, and the God of Change Gaetenaros. They were surrounded by blinding light, joining the countless gods that were reborn and returned to the new world.

“This time, the world will be kinder,” Misha said.

“This time, the world will smile more,” Sasha said.

Lay and I exchanged smiles and laid our white holy swords over each other. La Sencia’s light blinked brighter than ever as everything was reborn through the light of creation.

The world was reincarnating. The land was overflowing with green, and the sea was a brilliant blue. The sun rose, signaling daybreak.

A song could be heard. A song representing the peace of our new world.

Love is stronger than hate.

We entrusted hope to the future, believing we’d understand each other.

We took up our swords to protect. Holding lives in our bloodstained hands.

Crushed by a harsh world.

Praying and praying through growing sadness.

The feelings of two thousand years will surely remake this world.

That’s what we believed.

We waited for two thousand years. To smile with you.

We waited for two thousand years. To join hands with you.

The dawn is nearly here.

The Demon King wakes from his lonely slumber.

Please, please fulfill this one wish.

Show me a blinding sunrise.

Please, please fulfill this one wish.

To make a world filled with love.

The End

Afterword

I’ve said this many times now, but as always, this volume was filled with tons of episodes that I wanted to write. I wanted to depict the moment when the paths each character took until now reached their destination point, resulting in what you saw in chapters 33 and 51, among others.

Like I said in Act 1, I wanted to make this arc a culmination of the series, so I wanted to show the people Anos has met until now and how they had changed after meeting him. There are some who’ve done a complete one-eighty since meeting him, while there are others taking it one step at a time, and still others who are about to change.

What they all have in common is they’ve faced a large injustice at least once in their lives. How will they react when an unprecedented crisis threatens the earth? Those with power, those without—everyone tries to protect what’s important to them. Now that I look back on it, I probably wanted to write the answer each person living in this world would give in such a situation. I could ask for nothing more if you all enjoyed seeing it play out as much as I did.

I know this volume reads like a conclusion to the series, but the story will continue in the next volume. The next arc will be about the words a certain man left behind, so please look forward to it.

The beautiful illustrations for this volume were once again drawn by Shizumayoshinori. The covers of Act 1 and 2 combine to create a single illustration, and it really turned out wonderfully. Thank you very much.

And as always, I’m also greatly indebted to Editor Yoshioka. Thank you very much.

Finally, to the readers who have read this far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The next arc will be about Anos and the gang diving into the great deep. I hope you’ll all be there for the journey!

SHU

4 August 2021