The man’s job was body-guard duty.
It was a simple profession, yet an incredibly difficult one.
He was guarding Israelia Granstar, the savior who would shake the world.
While he was a researcher capable of saving the world, he also garnered many enemies. The technologies he devised held powers far surpassing existing ones. He was constantly targeted by those who sought to destroy the old ways, and many others wished to monopolize his power. No matter where he went, he was surrounded by enemies.
Why did he take on such a dangerous job?
At first, it was for the money.
One needed money to survive. If he succeeded, he could earn enough to live a life of leisure.
That was all. It wasn’t that he had lofty ideals and stood by his side.
He simply happened to possess the ability to achieve such a feat.
However, their relationship went beyond that of a bodyguard and client; he and Israelia became close. Aside from his extraordinary genius, Israelia was an exceptionally kind man. He was also quite talkative. Israelia was simply a person he found likable. The people around him were a peculiar bunch, but they treated him with familiarity despite being far more intelligent than him. At least, they didn’t flaunt their intellect and look down on him.
Even when the world fell into chaos and payments were delayed, he didn’t leave Israelia’s side. He thought he might as well protect him from the nonsensical threats. A friendship had blossomed between him, Israelia, and his companions.
He had the power to protect them. The technologies they created further enhanced his already exceptional abilities, granting him the power of a comic book hero, capable of facing armies single-handedly.
But even so…
“…Is it, perhaps, enough?”
When he saw his parents, who had gathered to celebrate his birthday, albeit several months late, murdered before his eyes, and witnessed Israelia whisper those words with a darkened expression, Zain Gloslow truly understood his own powerlessness.
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Pushing away his weariness, Ul sat up and noticed the familiar old man in black, standing protectively beside Yuri, as well as Yuri herself.
“Zain.”
“You’re awake. Well done.”
Without once looking at Ul, Zain offered a gruff accolade. Yet, it didn’t feel cold. Gruffness was typical of him, and his praise was heartfelt. He rarely offered compliments.
However, seeing the scene before him made it difficult to accept such praise.
“It looks like hell, considering that, doesn’t it?”
A bizarre, intensely black mass was emitting a tremendous radiance, its form shifting into something else. It was obvious that something terrible was happening. He felt an anomaly escalating.
“It’s not your fault, nor your sin. Drink.”
Zain stated it concisely and tossed a canteen towards Ul. Ul caught it, then his brow furrowed slightly.
“…Divine Medicine?”
“It’s tea.”
“Oh…”
Ul’s face twitched. Of course, he was grateful, but he knew he couldn’t afford to be picky. Still, he wished for some Divine Medicine.
Seeing Ul’s pained expression, Yuri, who apparently knew its taste, narrowed her eyes and chuckled, seemingly amused.
“My condolences for your suffering. ‘There’s some for you too’…”
As if to punish her laughter, Zain continued after Yuri. She froze and silently shook her head.
“We still have some leeway. I’ve already had one dose of Divine Medicine. I don’t need it.”
“Drink it. Its effects differ from Divine Medicine.”
“I don’t need-”
“Drink it.”
“……”
And she relented, falling silent. It seemed that even she could not overcome Zain. With a grimace that spoke of extreme bitterness, she picked up the canteen and looked at Ul. Her face conveyed a feeling of ‘we sink or swim together.’ Ul resigned himself and took a sip.
“Gu, uguuu… Gyiiaaa!!!?”
Not wanting to suffer for long, he drank it all down in one gulp. As the substance settled in his stomach, it radiated an unusual warmth from within, as if generating heat. His depleted stamina and magic power were recovering at an astonishing rate. However, the taste delivered a despair-inducing blow that made any sense of comfort, the crisis facing humanity, or the unfathomable black monster before him utterly irrelevant.
This was an attack, or perhaps torture. It had to be.
“…!”…!?”
Looking at Yuri, she was rolling on the ground, scratching it while weeping. Tears streamed down her face. It was worse than when she nearly died fighting Greed. But it wasn’t humorous at all. In fact, it was astonishing that she wasn’t screaming. Ul respected her.
“Good.”
“N-no, it’s no-”
Zain nodded with satisfaction as he watched Ul convulse and writhe. Ul tried to speak up, but his tongue wouldn’t cooperate. Yuri recovered soon after, but her knees were trembling uncontrollably.
“Why is it even more disgusting now…!”
“It’s the final battle. I’ve revised the formulation.”
“There are other areas that need revising, you know!!!”
Yuri screamed as she haphazardly sliced off all the tentacles extending from the black monster, as if taking out her frustration. Ul joined her, deflecting the enemy’s attacks with his lust for power. Annoyingly, his physical condition had genuinely recovered.
“So, what is that thing, anyway?”
“A god.”
“The Sun God and the Moon God?”
Zeuradia and Sizlunarika. Ul could understand that the shining entity within the black mass was a god. However, he couldn’t comprehend why this entity, which should logically be a mere tool, was targeting them, the two heroes.
Zain nodded once at Ul’s question and added,
“A broken god.”
As he spoke, the black mass cracked and shattered. The “mixture of gods” within reshaped itself. Though its form was difficult to grasp due to the intense light, it was undeniably—
“…Human?”
〈aaaaaah, aaaaaaa……!!!!〉
—It was humanoid. It opened its hollow mouth and emitted a sound. At first, it sounded like a strange scraping metal, but it gradually morphed into a clear, human-like voice.
〈—No.〉
Then, it undeniably spoke. Its head began to change shape. The smooth, statue-like head rapidly formed human body parts.
〈No, no, no, Guin, Gayler, Kegrit, Lee, Shiro—〉
The humanoid continued to mutter. Ul couldn’t move. Nor could Yuri. It wasn’t that they were willingly watching. The shattered black egg was swirling, rotating as if to keep them at bay.
Although it looked like mere fragments, upon approaching, Ul saw that they were composed of blades that seemed capable of slicing through anything with a mere touch. He had to be wary of blades similar to those wielded by the Kin Dragon that had once blown off Ul and Yuri’s arms.
〈Kuraran, Greyre, Zain…!!〉
“……Huh?”
Amidst this, an unbelievable name was spoken.
As Ul frowned, the humanoid swayed and stood up. Compared to when it first emerged, it was now clearly closer to a human form. It wore strange clothing, similar to that worn by humans in the Demon Realm. From a distance, it appeared human, but it was a colossal giant about three meters tall, which created an unsettling disharmony.
〈Huh?〉
As soon as the giant saw Zain drawing his sword, its eyes widened. Its voice and expression changed from the anguished tone it had just exhibited to a bright one, as if it had found a friend. Its childlike face, adorned with what seemed to be glasses, made it appear young.
〈Zain? Is that really Zain! What happened to your face, it’s so wrinkled!〉
“—It’s been a while, Israelia.”
Zain replied. His tone of voice remained unchanged. However, Ul noticed the grip on his sword tighten. Zain looked somewhat bitter and sighed.
“As expected, you retained your personality. Necromancy is no easy feat.”
〈Personality?〉
The giant tilted its head in confusion, as if it didn’t understand Zain’s words. For a moment, it froze as if time had stopped. The giant moved in ways that were distinctly inhuman, despite its human form, which was unsettling.
〈Hey, more importantly, listen to me, Zain! I’ve made an amazing discovery! With this, the planet regeneration plan might actually be executed sooner than I thought—〉
“—That’s the plan you abandoned, teacher.”
However, a voice echoed from another direction, as if to deny his words.
Greyre, the Sky Devil, appeared from somewhere. He gazed at the strange giant with narrowed eyes, a hint of nostalgia in his gaze. The giant turned towards Greyre, tilting its head in confusion.
〈Greye…re?〉
“You’re the one who ended it, teacher. That star, you abandoned it.”
He continued. Then, the giant clasped its head with both hands,
〈Ah, ah, ah〉
It began to tremble as if in pain. It could be called convulsions. With unnatural, jerky movements, the giant let out a bone-chilling scream.
〈Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!〉
“Attack!!”
At that moment, Greyre shouted. In response to his voice, the True Persons who had deployed around them, as well as Gronzon and Sua who appeared from behind Greyre, all launched their attacks simultaneously. Ul and Yuri followed suit.
But Zain was faster than anyone.
“Magic Severance.”
Faster even than Yuri, he reached the kneeling giant’s neck in an instant, releasing a black slash without hesitation—
〈Ah.〉
—Before it could reach his neck,
〈Come to think of it, that’s right.〉
Lightning was unleashed.
