The moment my consciousness returned, I was sure it was a dream.
The earth ablaze, generals fallen in battle.
And gods crumbling to ruin.
There I was, on my knees, using a mineral tree as a staff, embracing Suella, who had already breathed her last, the only survivor.
What is this, I thought.
I instinctively denied it in my heart, saying I didn’t know such a scene, but the cry didn’t leave my lips.
All I heard was not cheers of victory, but the mournful wails of those lost.
I called Suella’s name over and over again.
Even though she lost her left side to the god’s flames, her face of death somehow held a look of satisfaction, her beauty still intact.
What kind of nightmare is this?
I screamed for it to wake me up if it was going to, but there was no sign of waking.
It was as if it was telling me to engrave this scene firmly in my memory, not to wake from this nightmare.
Gradually, my perspective shifted, from my own viewpoint to a detached, panoramic view.
What appeared was hell.
The Dragon King, Pascal, who, despite losing his lower body, still stretched his long neck and bit into the god’s throat.
The Tree King, Lunaria, who surely protected her friends behind her until the very end, continuing to create trees in this world of flames even after her limbs were burned, only to be consumed.
The Giant King, Warlock, whose massive body was clad in corresponding armor and weapons, all shattered, but who died with a colossal battle axe, likely his last, embedded in the god’s body.
The Oni King, whose form was no longer recognizable, but whose presence was understood. He stood in his final moments, fist raised defiantly, having died an honorable death.
Those powerful beings, the elite, all annihilated.
A joke that wasn’t funny. What kind of dream am I having when I’m supposed to fight a god?
A dream?
Could it be.
“Valce.”
“Haaai, you’ve finally realized it.”
This phenomenon, the same as this scene, a precognitive dream.
It was a scene Valse showed me when I contracted with her and fought a god for the first time.
Back then, my daughter was nearly kidnapped.
Is this time a similar crisis?
My sleepy mind awakened. If this were reality, I would wake up from the dream now. But I was speaking normally with Valse and beginning to grasp the current situation.
“Haa, this… did this happen as a result of the plan going as expected?”
I let out a big sigh within the dream.
No, I don’t feel like I’m breathing, so I’m probably sighing in reality.
“Yes, it’s highly likely to turn out this way. The enemy is a god. In fact, if you proceed as is, you will achieve a perfect victory, the best possible outcome in terms of winning.”
But I can’t afford to just sigh.
Valse assured me we could win.
Regarding the outcome, I didn’t want to accept or understand it, but even so, it was a victory for the Demon Lord’s Army.
Then why did she show me this?
“It feels like there’s a hidden meaning in what you’re saying.”
I asked, floating and questioning the scene of the world frozen before me.
My subjective sense of time must be incredibly stretched, so it should be fine to talk leisurely.
Rather, cutting the conversation short and returning to reality would be a severe loss due to the lack of information.
Therefore, this time, instead of sighing, I took a deep breath and tried to calm my heart, to forget Suella’s face.
“Of course, there would be a hidden meaning. The only good thing is the fact that we defeated the god. What awaits us afterward is hell.”
“Hell?”
“Yes. All the Demon Lord’s executives are annihilated, leading to internal strife among the remaining forces. You, as a proper fighting force in the Demon Lord’s Army, will be dispatched to suppress the rebellion, but during that time, the weakened Demon Lord will be killed by a weapon named Hero. And you, with the emotional void left by losing a beloved woman like Suella, will be assassinated. What follows is a free-for-all dominated by ambitious individuals seeking to conquer the world called Earth. Isal’s spoils will spread to Earth, and the Demon Lord will become a symbol of evil even on Earth.”
But, as if to disturb the peace I had just settled, Valse calmly and concisely described the post-war outcome.
If we fight as is, the Demon Lord’s Army will suffer a massive loss of forces.
No ambitious person would fail to exploit that.
Hearing that, I understood the reason she showed me this world.
“You don’t want your efforts to be unrewarded, do you?”
“Ah, I don’t.”
Even if we win, it’s meaningless if the end isn’t a happy one.
If the future Valse describes is true, then for Yukiera, Sachiera, and the child in Evia’s womb, I must change this future.
The problem is…
“The fact that this is considered ‘perfect’ is the issue.”
A hard-won victory, a victory against the god achieved by the skin of our teeth, and yet this is considered near perfection, the best possible outcome.
We’ve deployed all our available generals.
Instructor Fushio and Amili cannot participate, but even so, we’ve deployed all our forces for a full-scale assault.
If at all possible, all the generals must return alive.
To defeat the god while minimizing losses.
It’s… a nightmare.
I intended to fight with that in mind, but the result of tackling it with that mindset has led to the current scene.
“My head hurts.”
“It’s better that you can think that way.”
“We’re annihilated, but we can take them down with us. Does that mean our military strength is equal?”
It’s a scene that truly gives me a headache.
After paying such a price, even if we achieve our objective, hell awaits.
This cruel world should learn the meaning of moderation.
“No, in terms of military strength, you have merely acquired forces capable of killing them if you play your cards right. In terms of power dynamics, you are at a disadvantage. In fact, only after you are added do we even see a possibility.”
“Me?”
“Yes, it’s because you were added. Your talent for “cutting” phenomena is so rare that even I have never seen anything like it. Your growth rate is also extraordinary. Normally, achieving the act of cutting concepts is something that even long-lived races would dedicate their lives to, and still might not achieve.”
It seems I was the one who managed to navigate through this cruel world, and she let out a big sigh as if exasperated!
I knew I was abnormal, but I thought there might be others who could do it if I looked hard enough. But it turns out I was one of a kind…
This is strange. In Japanese manga, there are guys who can do this much… Thinking about it calmly, there aren’t many who can cut the uncuttable, are there?
Considering that I’m in a dimension where such ridiculous things are possible, it’s understandable that she would be exasperated.
“By that logic, I become the key, then…”
An abnormality occurred, and normalcy was disrupted.
If that applies here, it means that originally we couldn’t defeat the god, but by adding me, the “joker,” we were able to achieve a narrow victory.
“That’s how it is. But how you change it is up to you. Even I can’t show you the world after it’s changed? Because I’ve shown you the future like this. It has gone beyond my observational range.”
Even if I wanted to put that logic into practice, I can’t even figure out how to fight, so I can’t even decide what to do.
The option of not fighting crossed my mind for a moment, but that would be a foolish strategy.
We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance with the curse’s debuff. If we miss it, we’ll never have another opportunity to win.
Therefore, I have to rack my brain and think of a way to change the future with what I can do.
Unfortunately, when it comes to fighting, I’m a man with no skills other than slashing.
I can use magic, to some extent, but it’s basically enhancement magic for my slashes.
Other types of magic probably wouldn’t work against a god.
So then…
I glanced at the elder floating leisurely beside me, seeking their opinion, but they shook their head curtly, indicating it was impossible.
“It’s the same as back then. Unless you do something, it can’t be changed.”
“But back then, we powered up through the contract.”
Complaining about it won’t change the outcome.
She insists I have to figure it out on my own.
Figure it out… Looking at the situation, it doesn’t seem like I can just cut through it.
So I have to think of another way…
“Ah.”
I suddenly remembered something.
Perhaps it’s because I have time to think here that I remembered it.
“Did you think of something?”
“No, I wonder if this is even possible?”
Despite coming up with it through intuition, it feels like a conviction-level idea.
Valse also prefers not to have the world in chaos from this battle.
That’s probably why she wanted to increase our chances of winning, even if only slightly.
But if it’s possible, we’ll gain an unprecedented combat power.
“If you’ve thought of something, act on it. It’s not a matter of whether you can or cannot.”
Despite coming up with it through intuition, Valse somehow gave it her seal of approval, and I felt the dream, which had shown no sign of ending, starting to fade.
“Jiro-san!”
“Suella?”
And then, I realized Suella was looking down at me with a worried expression, and I instinctively embraced her.
“Kya!?”
I held her tightly, feeling her warmth, confirming she was alive.
After having such a nightmare, I couldn’t help but feel this way.
I sensed her bewilderment.
But then, she gently wrapped her arms around my back, patting it softly as if to reassure me.
“Thank you.”
“No, did you… see something?”
I was truly impressed by her ability to understand what I meant.
With a wry smile, I gently pulled away, and her serious eyes met mine.
“Ah, a bit. No, quite a troublesome dream.”
Through Valse’s power, I can see the future.
It’s used only in limited situations, and more precisely, it only activates in the direst of straits.
Still, it’s a kind feature that she shows me these things in critical moments.
“Please contact Keiri. Also, you should be able to contact Evia using the emergency code.”
I glanced at my watch to check the time, and there was more time than I expected.
But I need to confirm it multiple times before I can execute this.
“Understood.”
It seems Suella is contacting Kaido through telepathic call.
Meanwhile, I frantically moved my mind, wondering if I had overlooked anything.
Is there anything else I can do? As I silently pondered this, my available options didn’t readily increase.
“I’ve heard from Kaido-san that an emergency line can be opened. He said to come up to the bridge, and they will establish contact.”
“Understood. Well then, we don’t have much time, so let’s do this quickly.”
The time I could rest was shorter than I expected and passed by quicker than I had imagined.
Considering what I have to do now, I probably won’t have any more time to rest.
“… Is something wrong?”
But, instead of standing up and heading to the bridge, I found myself staring at Suella.
The reality that Suella would die in that battle.
That reality unintentionally fostered a desire for her not to fight, and I found myself believing that was the right thing to do, personally.
However, from a societal perspective, I couldn’t exclude Suella’s combat potential.
“No, I just felt like seeing Suella’s face.”
In the end, I can only deceive myself by carrying my anxieties.
I don’t think this is the right way.
But I have to do this.
I have to consider such a dilemma. It’s truly not easy to see the future.
“What is it now?”
But for the sake of protecting her smile, perhaps such struggles are necessary.
Today’s word:
Holidays pass quickly.
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