He was a genius, sociable, and loved peace.
Despite his exceptional intellect and abilities, he never acted arrogantly. He was truly an emissary of salvation. However, it was not enough to stop the flood of human folly.
When his family was murdered by that malice, his love for humanity hit rock bottom.
He chose to abandon the world and save only his companions. It was a choice that put him at odds with the entire world, a choice that could only be described as madness. Yet, he succeeded. That is how exceptional the miracle brought about by the [Starstone] and his own intellect were.
However, it took time to accomplish everything.
During that time, he was wounded, aged, and distorted. Wounds and aging can become strength if faced correctly, but he could not even do that. Unease, disgust, and distrust of humans—the man who once looked to the future with lively, shining eyes was submerged in dim darkness.
Of course, there were those who tried to stop him. His companions tried to bring back the man he once was. Many of his companions were well-intentioned individuals who saw the possibility of planetary salvation in the [Starstone]. While their personalities were somewhat sharp, they couldn’t stand to see him so far removed from his former self.
They tried countless times to correct him, to heal him. They were frantic.
But it was no use. They failed.
His wounds were far more severe than they had imagined.
If that was the case, they resolved to at least stop his rampage by any means necessary.
And even that failed. The reason was painfully simple.
No one could win.
Even with all their efforts, they couldn’t defeat him, despite his age and wounds. He was a genius capable of saving stars, and ordinary geniuses were no match for him.
Thus, for decades after the Ark’s transfer, hell unfolded within the Ark.
A struggle between an unstoppable monster, a tyrant, and his former companions who fought to stop him. The aftermath of that conflict would later fracture the Ark into several factions, create nations, foster discrimination, and bring about chaos.
Fortunately, he had grown old, wounded, and ill.
The disease had progressed to a point of no return, even with all-powerful magic.
As a result, the battle concluded. The victor, by his own will, withdrew.
Few people know of this battle. It was a dark period, unrecorded and undeniably a black history. No one felt inclined to record the rampage of a savior who had lost his mind and the bloody internal conflict of his former companions who tried to stop him.
Therefore, only the involved parties bore the truth. Even now—
***
True Babel, The Deepest Layer
“Speaking of which, that’s right.”
Gronzon’s eyes widened at the shock that ran through him with those short words.
“Lightning…!!”
He knew it was the power of lightning from the shock and intense pain. He had heard the general progression of events from Greyre. If that humanoid was born from the Sun God and Moon God, he could infer that such phenomena could occur.
But the power was far more immense than he had anticipated. Naturally, it was more powerful than when he confronted the dragon. He could only brace himself to protect Sua behind him.
“Spirit of the Earth!!”
He protected himself with the Spirit’s Blessing. Even so, absolute, unwavering protection was not enough. The lightning pierced through, continuing to burn Gronzon’s skin.
Does it also possess dragon-like qualities…?
“M-mm…?”
Sua seemed to understand this, frowning. He wouldn’t last long. Understanding this, Gronzon immediately shouted.
“Greyre! What should I do?!”
He called out to Greyre, who likely understood the situation best at that moment. They had joined forces midway, and the battle had begun without adequate information sharing. He needed knowledge, and Greyre undoubtedly possessed it.
“—”
However, Greyre did not respond to Gronzon’s words. His gaze was fixed on the strange humanoid figure that was transforming as it furiously unleashed lightning. He wore an expression that was somehow nostalgic, perhaps even sad, uncharacteristic of him.
“Greyre!!”
“Ah, my apologies.”
But he couldn’t afford to be stunned right now. When called again, Greyre seemed to snap back to reality, shook his head, and raised his voice.
“What we need to do is simple: just destroy that being who calls himself a god.”
Greyre replied while deploying several lightning rod-like magic circles to deflect the lightning itself. Relieved that he was taking fewer hits, Gronzon asked further.
“Is that alright?! Isn’t that the Sun God and the Moon God!?”
“It simply separates into seven parts. Then the soul it contains will lose its vessel. The problem is—”
He paused for a moment after saying that, then continued.
“Don’t expect mercy.”
“…Mercy?”
It was a strange phrasing. The situation dictated that they were enemies. The idea of expecting mercy from an enemy simply wouldn’t occur to him. It was odd for Greyre, of all people, to utter such a thing.
“It will act human, but its mental structure is no longer human at all. All the more so if it’s a pseudo-personality. Don’t expect anything.”
“…Are you scared?”
Sua, looking puzzled, asked Greyre as he repeated himself. Greyre’s eyes widened for a moment, and then, uncharacteristically, he smiled bashfully.
“You saw through me? No, was I too obvious?”
He said that, covering his mouth with his palm as if to hide it. But his hand was still trembling slightly. Gronzon’s tension inevitably increased. The fear of a man who, from the day Gronzon met him until today, had only ever viewed even life-threatening battles as fuel for his curiosity, made it clear just how formidable the present difficulty was.
“Please be prepared, Lady Sua, our cherished child, the new King.”
Greyre spoke calmly, without taking his eyes off the grotesque humanoid figure.
“It pursued everything, and explored wisdom as its curiosity dictated.”
As he spoke, the humanoid figure continued to change. It was no longer the strange form merely mimicking a human that they had glimpsed for a moment earlier. It continued to transform into a truly异形, something that was human yet not human.
And then,
“But even after a thousand years, I could never catch up to Master.”
The异形 changed. With fingertips reaching for the heavens, a word was softly chanted.
《Magic Formula: Lightning》
At that moment, the density of the lightning surged.
The countless lightning rods Greyre had created were incinerated in an instant. Gronzon and Sua, who were protected by spirits, were forcibly moved aside. Or rather, they were flung away.
“M-mm!?”
“Lady Sua!”
While protecting Sua, Gronzon observed the enemy’s attack. His ability to immediately observe rather than be overwhelmed by the chaos was due to him being a superior warrior.
However, the attack by the “異形” he witnessed was beyond Gronzon’s capacity to comprehend.
The extremely vast underground space of Babel’s deepest layer, “everything in it was filled with lightning.” No, Gronzon had experience with attacks of that magnitude. Monsters like dragons had used such things. That was fine.
But this attack was “continuous.”
This scale and power sustained endlessly…!?
“What is this!?”
He couldn’t help but shout. Such a ridiculous attack couldn’t be defended against by merely enduring it. He had to find a countermeasure quickly, or he would be crushed!
And to that question, Greyre replied with a nonchalant expression.
“It’s just magic!”
***
Greyre explained calmly.
“Magic…!?”
“It’s likely a repurposing of [Sky Devil], but it’s not using divine power. It’s just magic. And because of that, it has no limits.”
Divine power has limitations. It must be a power that has gained faith, “recognition,” from people. Whether it’s negative emotions like hostility and murderous intent, or positive emotions like respect and affection, it’s necessary, and this is a form of limitation. It’s a restriction to prevent people from carelessly wielding the tool of a god.
Therefore, magic would have far greater freedom—of course, that’s not the case. It’s an absurd line of reasoning bordering on mere theory. Gods are exceedingly superior tools. To surpass a god without using such a tool would be like humans competing with a car on two legs and trying to win.
Yes, it’s normally impossible.
“Magic is an imitation of spirits, spirits are imitations of gods, and gods are imitations of Israelia.”
But he could do it.
“Beyond the [End], the [Divine Mystery]. Truly, geniuses are troublesome.”
“You have the nerve to call others geniuses…!”
“Compared to him, I am but a commoner. Truly, it’s unbearable.”
Greyre had aimed for him. He tried to push beyond the limits possible without relying on spirits. To him, [Sky Devil] was merely a tool. He thought he had researched for hundreds of years, but even now, he wasn’t confident he’d reached his level.
But even so, he had to do what needed to be done. Greyre shouted, his voice amplified to be heard over the destructive roar of the lightning.
“Worst-case scenario, part one: Control of the Purification Device has been prevented!”
The Ark’s monitoring device, the “Purification Device,” an unfortunate addition to Noah, was destroyed by Zain. If it had been utilized, it would have led to the crisis of “eyes” appearing throughout the Ark, but that was somehow avoided.
“But part two: If [Starstone] is directly absorbed, that’s also the worst! The plan won’t be able to operate! Don’t let it be taken—”
“Steal, steal from whom? Greyre.”
Suddenly, a voice echoed from directly behind him.
He had lost sight of it amidst the furious lightning storm. Unbeknownst to him, Israelia had teleported behind him. Greyre gasped.
“[Magic—!!”
“That has been mine from the beginning. I have no memory of giving it to anyone.”
He was grabbed by the neck and lifted.
The divine form had changed again. The innocent, childlike face had altered. It was an extremely cold, emotionless face, the face of a ruler who commanded absolute subservience. It was the god that Greyre remembered as most familiar, the worst god.
“Transferred memories from his prime and his worst, twisted period! This is hell!”
If it had been him in his waning, aged years, there might have been room for persuasion, but it seemed he had imprinted his prime self’s soul onto the god. Frankly, it was the worst possible outcome.
No one—not Greyre, nor any human—had ever defeated him back then.
“Strange, you had that much sense of justice?”
“H-haha, what? I, uh, changed my mind, Master!”
“Nnngh!!”
While they were conversing, Gronzon punched, trying to save him. But it was blocked by an invisible barrier. A simple magic barrier, one that even a common magician could use. Except for its precision, which was so high that even the dragon’s power couldn’t destroy it.
Truly, it was unbearable. With that thought, Greyre smiled at his former master.
“Saving the star you abandoned must feel good—”
“Is that so.”
Greyre fell with the sound of his neck snapping. As his body hit the ground, countless magic circles activated, beginning to heal his damaged flesh. Israelia watched, narrowing his eyes.
“Resurrection. Still as clumsy as ever.”
And without hesitation, he raised one hand. A sword radiating the brilliance of the night sky appeared from his palm, and with no hesitation, its tip was swung down—
“Magic Sever.”
A black slash cut through it.
Israelia remained unfazed by the result. He simply shifted his gaze to the side. Staring at the old man in black, he sighed with boredom.
“Zain, you’ve grown quite old.”
“It’s you who has changed so drastically during this time. Pathetic.”
Zain dismissed his words and pointed the sword at Israelia.
“I will fulfill my promise to you, Israelia.”
