A little before the Demon God appeared,
“Creation”
Light filled the space.
Faced with that overwhelming and merciless purification light, Shizuku couldn’t resist. But somewhere in her heart, she felt a faint sense of relief.
It’s ending, it’s really ending this time.
Her heart was still in pain. She had been pulled back from the brink of drowning, yet she still didn’t know what to do next, her mind adrift. She clung desperately to Ul, her only refuge. The difficulty in breathing remained unchanged.
She needed rest and treatment. Her heart was utterly broken.
And now, the merciless light was about to erase everything. No one had the means to resist. They would be burned away, disappear, and be gone. All the wounds and pain within her would vanish. Shizuku felt a sense of relief at this—or so she should have.
But it didn’t end. It seemed she had merely lost consciousness. Her awareness began to surface.
As she sat up, she found herself lying on several floating pieces of armor. She wondered why she was still alive. When she looked up, there—
“—!!!”
“Huh?”
A dragon, the Silver Kin Dragon, the child of her soul she had created, unfurled its wings to protect her.
“Why?”
“I caught them myself!!!”
At the same time, Echel shouted from beside the Silver Dragon. She was powerlessly wielding her strength. Before her stood countless Angels.
Their appearance was utterly bizarre. The Creator seated at the center was repeating strange movements and spasms, from which Angels were being born one after another. Something was undoubtedly wrong on the Creator’s side as well.
But even so, their situation was still dire.
“Ngh, ugh…!!”
“—!!”
Echel scraped away at the Angels with her darkness, and the Silver Dragon roared, burning them away.
Yet, even so, the number of Angels did not decrease at all. The number appearing was far too great. The number of those increasing was greater than the number being diminished.
Each time the Angels’ eyes sparkled, a light and heat like a dragon’s roar was emitted. Each time, the Silver Dragon shielded Shizuku with its body. The Silver Dragon, possessing the power of the source of mirrors, could also steal the power directed at itself, but there were limits.
The Silver Dragon created by Shizuku did not possess power equal to a god. Moreover, Shizuku, the source of that power, was in her current state.
“Ghk, ah, ahhh…!!”
—!!!
Unable to bear it, the spilled power wounded both of their vessels. Blood gushed out, and cracks appeared. Hearing their writhing screams of pain, Shizuku grimaced as if she herself had been wounded.
“Please stop. Already—”
“Shut up!!!”
—!!!
Before she could say anything, they both hurled insults at her. The Silver Dragon’s words were not in language, but its opinion was likely exactly the same as Echel’s. Since Shizuku had given the order, they should have been killing each other in Uuga, but strangely, they were in sync.
“Shizuku, what do you want to do?!”
“I, already—”
“Lies!!!”
Echel screamed. At the same time, the night deepened. Her passion, all her emotions, her desires, became power, deepening the night and strengthening the moon’s radiance. Shizuku’s eyes widened. It was filled with a living energy so strong it could draw in even Shizuku’s wounded and weakened heart.
“There definitely, definitely, definitely IS SOMETHING!!!”
Echel shouted clearly, her voice powerful enough to shake Shizuku’s soul, without a hint of fear in the face of the Creator’s overwhelming power.
“As long as you are alive, your wishes—should exist!!!”
—Shizuku
As if responding to that voice, a voice echoed from within.
***
“Shizuku.”
Akane was before her. Inside her soul, Akane, who had chosen to wander from Diz to Shizuku to watch over her, was there. She was not in her usual form as a small Fairy, but as a girl of about her own age.
This was her true form. In that form, Akane gently asked Shizuku,
“What do you want to do?”
“Me…”
When asked, she still couldn’t find her words. It was difficult. The wounds she had sustained, the pain, were too deep. However, as the Moon God, the pain was much more manageable than when she had to destroy the Ark.
Ul and the others had saved her. They had gradually taken on the curse of resentment.
They had healed the wound that was like a fatal blow to her heart, and in doing so, had restored her own “self” that had been sealed deep within her heart.
“I…”
She slowly, gently brought it forth.
At the edge of life and death, she had to find it precisely because of that.
“To Master Ul.”
“You don’t need ‘Master’.”
“Is that so?”
“No, no. Big bro is so very stupid.”
“…—Ul… to you.”
“You’re not used to it? Well, that’s fine. And then?”
“I want to apologize.”
“Mm.”
“I want to say thank you.”
“Mm.”
“I want to be… with you.”
“Mm.”
They were wishes like those of a very young child. But they were her own wishes, born into distortion, burdened with duty, carrying sin, and not allowed to express them. They were her own wishes, unlike when she was captured by sin and begged for punishment.
“I like that person.”
Akane gently embraced Shizuku, who said this with a tremor. She affirmed her own ego, which had fought so hard with the will to die. Then, her gentle expression suddenly broke, and she grinned mischievously.
“Hmm, Dizz and Shizuku, your tastes are awful, aren’t they? Big bro is super crazy, you know?”
Shizuku couldn’t help but be drawn in by the playful words. Tears streamed down her face as she covered her mouth and laughed.
“That’s true.”
“But, well, it’s okay.”
Seeing Shizuku cry and laugh, Akane nodded with satisfaction. Then she spread her arms wide and declared with strength and clarity,
“If you truly desire it, you are allowed to choose it.”
Even if it was something good, she might fail.
If it was something evil, she might be denied by others.
Wishes are not an absolute guarantee.
They are not to be praised.
They are not an affirmation of righteousness.
They are not a license for wickedness.
Wishes are merely ego.
Nevertheless, wishing is the right of all living beings.
If it is a wish earnestly faced and grasped from within one’s heart, then one is allowed to desire it. No matter how unmerited, no matter how impossible to fulfill, one is allowed to wish.
Akane affirmed Shizuku’s weak yet certain wish in this way.
Seeing Akane’s figure, Shizuku narrowed her eyes.
“Akane, you really are Ul’s sister, aren’t you?”
“Hmm, don’t flatter me.”
Pouting, she looked her age. Shizuku smiled again, then nodded slightly.
“I’ll try.”
“Mm.”
Akane nodded.
“I’ll try to do what I want to do.”
“Mm, go for it, go for it!”
Akane nodded, hugged Shizuku again, and laughed.
“You’ve been holding back for so long, haven’t you? And you’ve done things you didn’t want to do, haven’t you? Go for it with all your might!”
“…Will it be a bother?”
At the end, Shizuku asked anxiously, but Akane gave a thumbs-up and smiled brightly.
“Well, it’s okay! Big bro is tough!!!”
She threw everything at her brother.
“That’s good.”
Shizuku felt relieved.
***
Her consciousness returned.
Hell was still before her. The monstrous, distorted Angels were swarming, intent on killing them. But Shizuku no longer felt relief or urgency about it. Though her body and mind were exhausted, her heart was strangely calm and settled.
It was light, just like when she was in that white sanctuary.
What she wanted to do, what she had to do, was clear.
“Silver Dragon, Echel.”
“—!!”
“Wh-what…!? What’s wrong!!”
She spoke to them.
The Silver Dragon and Echel, who were protecting her, had no time to look back. While desperately trying to protect her, they still responded to her voice. Shizuku, grateful for this, stated softly, but clearly,
“Please, help me.”
“—”
“—”
In response to Shizuku’s words, a moment of silence occurred.
“—Yeah…! Leave it to me…!!”
But the next instant, with a voice on the verge of tears, the darkness of the night became far more intense and stronger than before, instantly devouring the surrounding Angels.
“—!!”
The Kin Dragons responded with voices of utmost joy. They shone brightly and clung to Shizuku’s body like armor, protecting her. It was unstable and not fully formed compared to what she had manifested as the Moon God. They compensated for this with ash flames, stabilizing their form.
It was unsightly. But it didn’t matter.
“【Sing, Moon, Convegh Silver Thread!】”
“【O Twilight, Conceal the Moon!】”
Silver threads shot out. At the same time, they dissolved and disappeared into the night Echel had conjured. Simultaneously, countless points of darkness were created in the surrounding space. Echel’s conjured night spread through the space, and the hidden silver threads crisscrossed throughout it.
In an instant, a barrier of silver threads enveloped the area.
“【O Ash Flame! Play with the Scarlet End!!】”
Shizuku moved her fingertips without hesitation, reeling in the silver threads. At the same time, scarlet radiance mixed with the countless threads. The two threads intertwined, bound together, and formed a dragon, opening its great maw. The dragon’s heads, inside and outside the barrier, in all directions, opened their jaws.
Ash flames and scarlet end light, two lights that kill gods, were unleashed indiscriminately, burning away the Angels. However, the deficits of the Angels were immediately replenished by new Angels rushing in. Their sheer numbers were truly overwhelming.
But Shizuku did not panic. She already knew the total number of enemies. She understood. There was no surprise.
“【Echo】”
Shizuku pulled her finger. At the same time, the spread silver threads glowed. They caught the roar of the dragon that was unleashed. The roar that spilled from it was also caught by the darkness poised deeper within. All the power unleashed was received and returned without fail.
“【【【Crescent Moon Roar】】】”
Absorption, echo, reflection.
Shizuku, like a conductor, manipulated and reeled in the silver threads, continuing to destroy the Angels. Her innate talent, wounded and weakened, was beginning to shine once more.
But still—
The number of Angels seemed endless.
No matter how efficiently Shizuku and the others reused and manipulated their power, the enemy numbers were practically infinite. With their current forces, there was nothing they could do. She understood this.
“Still…!”
But even so, there were things she still wanted to do.
She wanted to talk to him properly again. She wanted to tell him about their journey so far, convey her hidden feelings. She wanted to think about the future. Even though she had desired death so much, wanted it to end, surprisingly, her desires overflowed without end.
It was selfish, sinful, and truly self-centered.
But even so,
“I want to be… with you.”
Burning that ego as power, Shizuku mustered all her strength.
And, as if responding to Shizuku’s wish, a voice echoed. Echel, who reacted to the voice first, shouted with immense joy.
“Rine!!!”
***
“I’m glad the perfect situation has been prepared. There are plenty of test subjects.”
In the midst of the chaotic situation, the raging Creator, the overwhelming power overflowing, and the countless Angels.
Even in this situation, Ul let out a sigh that was both astonished and relieved, seeing Rine’s figure who had teleported in without a shred of wavering, and asked,
“Was your research finished in time?”
“Of course, did you expect otherwise?”
“You’d expect me to, wouldn’t you?”
“That your research might be completed at the last moment?”
“Naturally.”
Ul answered immediately, and with his battered body, he managed to stand up and squarely face the floating Rine. Then he said clearly,
“From the moment we met, you’ve never failed to exceed my expectations.”
“—”
“You are the greatest Magician, Rine.”
He stated it clearly. Rine’s eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked down before bursting into loud laughter. Tears welled up in her eyes as she trembled with joy and laughed. Then,
“Then you are the greatest King!!! Ul!!!”
Her expression changed from joy to a fierce, challenging smile. She removed her cloak, and her prosthetic arm twitched. Coincidentally, it had six arms, like the Giant God, each operating independently and beginning to construct spell formations. At the same time, Rine struck a staff into the air with her own arm.
The moment she did, an immense number of spell formations began to deploy at tremendous speed, originating from her.
“You are the only one who gives me the chance to surpass a god!!!”
Magic Circles expanded three-dimensionally. Beautiful like a craftsman’s creation, precise like the parts of a meticulously assembled machine, obsessively precise, a dazzling white light spread.
“【I, who inherit the blood of Rayline and the will of White】”
She chanted along with the spell formations she had assembled. However, this was not a magic incantation.
“【The Witch of Annihilation who creates gods and surpasses them】”
Facing the Giant God, the Creator before her, she declared without a flicker of hesitation. This was a declaration of war. A clear declaration of war against the God of Creation, the origin of their world.
The announcer of the “Calamity of the End / Creator of the White God,” who would bring the beginning to an end.
“【Open Gate – White God Array】”
At the same time, she deployed and expanded the spell formation. The light reached not only Ul, who was present, but even all the way to Uuga, enveloping everything with power.
“—Thinking back, isn’t that woman cheating?”
“She is.”
Faced with that sight, Ul replied to Black’s words, which seemed to briefly bring him back to reality.
