Chapter 125

“So, you done yet?” “Yeah,” I replied. “It’s finished. It’s over.” After Alicia’s fabricated world faded away, I stood in the craters of a barren land, defaced by battle. The only ones there were me and the woman who had been watching my year-long revenge from start to finish, Towako Kuroi. Alicia’s body lay on the floor like a doll, an empty husk devoid of life. “Nice work. With a divine vessel like this, we should be able to restore Luna’s power. I’ve got Leone’s crew working to help her take back this world for herself, too.” “Back to work, eh? You could at least savor the moment with me a little.” “You’ve had a whole year to do that. Why don’t you spare a thought for the lady who’s had to sit here all that time?” “…Touché.” “But I can’t do anything without you. You’re the one with the key. Come on, there’s no time to waste. I helped you with your vengeance; now it’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain.” “Yeah, I get it. Besides, you’re not the only one who wants to see this next one dead.” “Right, then hold still. Let me have that key you’ve been hiding all this time.” I turned to Towako and nodded. “Go ahead,” I said. “After all, every story needs an epilogue.” Meanwhile… “Ah, what a good story.” In a place so utterly white, as though nothing other than white was permitted to exist, I let out a sigh, a mix of bittersweet sadness as if reaching the end of the last volume of a beloved series. “Now,” I said, “this world will end. It is a rather clichéd end, but I must take back the authorization rights to this realm, drain it of its resources, and leave in search of the next one.” The hero had taken a year to write this world’s ending. In doing so, he’d emptied the position of this world’s god, leaving only their power behind. To be honest, I thought a year was overdoing it somewhat, but I’d allowed him to indulge as a sign of my gratitude for bringing this long game to a much-awaited conclusion. “Now, then.” I stood up to close the cover on this tale. The boy had finished his tale of revenge, it seemed, and so I went to manifest in the vicinity of the key I’d placed in him. However… “Hmm? Hmmm?” As soon as I reached for the door to the mortal realm, my hand froze. Cracks were beginning to appear in my realm. Who could possibly intrude into heaven’s domain like this? “Who’s there?!” I cried, but I received my answer sooner than I ever could have expected, for before I could react, my visitor manifested, and a hand reached for me. “Grh?!” “We meet at last,” they said. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long, long time.” Then, the barrier between our realms shattered, and the one I had just been observing appeared before me. “It’s you… The hero…” “Allow us to introduce ourselves,” he said. “I am Towako Kuroi, and this is…” “Kaito Ukei.” The person with their fingers tightening around my neck was the man who had only just completed his vengeance, the final hero. However, two voices issued from his lips. Two different people occupying the same skin. “Sorry about this shoddy meeting,” “I used Greed’s power to fuse us both together.” ““Let’s get on with this and finish what we came for, Goddess of Earth.”” “Grh?! What’s…?” Suddenly, my body began crystallizing. “Nice, looks like this technique works on her just fine.” “Of course it does. I devised it precisely to be effective against divine targets. There’s nothing she can do to prevent it.” The spell was so meticulous, so precise, that it was like a work of god. Perhaps if I had known to anticipate it, I could have stopped it, but by now it was too late. All I could understand was that it was a sealing spell of some sort. “We’re going to kill you,” the girl said. “We’re going to steal your power and turn it all back into mana.” “You’re going to…what?!” “We’re going to take you apart, bit by bit, no matter how many years it takes. We’re going to erase your existence and use it to revitalize this world you brought to ruin.” “Hee-hee! Hee-hee! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Very well! Go ahead! Let us commence the most exciting game of all! Well? Will you be able to handle it? There’s a lot of power in a god, you know!” After hearing their explanation of what they were planning, I understood the technique they had used a little bit more. It was designed to siphon power out of me and restore it to the surrounding world. “Do you think this spell will contain me?” I was surprised to see that the spell could even affect me, secluded in my realm as I was. It was truly a work of art. “It will,” the boy replied. “After all, we’re not alone.” Alongside him stood the souls of former heroes, from the first to the last, every one of them transformed into sin. They were joined by all the souls the hero had collected through many months and years. “Hee-hee-hee. It won’t only take a year this time, you know. We’ll be stuck here for decades, centuries, or even millennia!” “That’s fine,” the boy answered. “We can go for eternity if you want, because I’m an avenger.” “I see. Then let the game commence! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” I continued laughing until the last of me was converted to crystal. Then, I crossed the rift and began hurtling toward the ground. The long, long story finally came to a close. A story of many endings, with no winner. At last, the final ending had come.