The day of farewell arrived after the mission was decided, and my son stubbornly clung to his reluctance until the end.
I wanted to properly say goodbye, but his sulking was sincere, as if he were refusing to listen to me at all. With a tear-streaked face, he frowned and remained steadfastly in the corner of the room. My wife’s attempts to persuade him also fell on deaf ears.
I felt helpless. I thought about forcibly hugging him, but his resistance was stronger than I anticipated. When did he grow so big? I almost felt an inappropriate surge of emotion.
It’s always been routine for me to leave home for work, yet today he was genuinely upset.
Perhaps he sensed something that I had kept hidden. The fact that this time, I had little hope of coming back. It might be our last goodbye.
“—■■■, it’s okay. I will definitely come back. Then we can play together again.”
Those words lacked conviction. I had no way of knowing if I would actually return. But I couldn’t bear the thought of parting like this while he was crying. I didn’t want my child to regret that he had to say goodbye to his real father like this.
Finally, my son turned to look at me, tears streaming down his face, and with a trembling voice, he spoke.
“—Why does Dad have to go?”
It was a complicated question.
It wasn’t simple. It intertwined the current state of world affairs and my abilities, along with political decisions. It would be difficult to explain all of this, especially for my small child to grasp.
“It’s a very important job. It’s something I have to do. There are bad people out there.”
Saying “bad people” felt frustratingly simplistic. I knew it wasn’t that straightforward. Still, I had to convey it. My wife was quietly crying behind me. I felt like a hopeless father, making everyone cry.
Yet, I still wanted to create a future for them. So I clenched my fists and declared, “Dad is going to beat up the bad guys.”
“『OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO！！！！』”
Haruz hardly remembered anything after that.
He had lost everything. He had completely lost all that he once had.
But when he was struck by that giant of light, he was saved, reclaiming the one wish that had been etched into his soul.
He had to protect that child, and that child’s future.
And that was why he was here now.
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
“What’s… this?”
For the creator, the overwhelming emotion sparked by the suddenly emerged unknown creature was more confusion than surprise. The very existence that had shown itself was so warped, fragile, and out of place.
He couldn’t help but acknowledge that those trying to resist him were each extreme in their own way.
But what now clung to the giant god’s body? What was it? Its very existence was clearly unstable, and soon, without any action from the creator, its very being was about to collapse. Yet, why—
“No matter.”
Understanding was unnecessary. This was not someone worth concerning himself about. He needed to focus on the true adversaries.
“Get lost.”
“『OOOOーーーーーーーー』”
The casual spell cast blasted the formless remnants away in an instant, reducing the debris that had merely clung to its body to nothing.
It was anticlimactic.
The creator immediately shifted his thoughts toward the external enemies. Despite the messy intervention, the situation remained unchanged. The “Genesis” was soon to be completed. At last, everything that had infested the Ark and the Old Humanity outside could be made anew.
Then, finally, this sin would come to an end—
“『G, RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA！！！！』”
But just as the creator’s thoughts reached that point, another roar ran through.
The formless entity he thought he had blown away was again charging forward with a cry. Now covered in debris, it slammed into the giant god’s body and began climbing.
He could no longer dismiss it as irrelevant. It was undeniably peculiar.
Even through the creator’s eyes, little remained of its existence. The core-like substance was on the verge of collapse, and even if a soul happened to reside within, no coherent consciousness would remain. It was doomed to crumble and fall.
Yet, it continued to burn with an extraordinary obsession, driving ever closer.
That evoked a sense of fear within him.
This was something he should not allow to approach. Following that conviction, he began to deploy his magic once again. This time, it was not haphazard like before. He constructed a destructive spell meant to completely erase the core-like remains and immediately released it—
“—!? You shouldn’t be doing something so unrefined, Creator?”
However, just before he could unleash it, something inside him suddenly burst.
The cause was instantly apparent. Like a time bomb, something slightly remaining inside him—no, the intentional remnant of the “Heavenly Fool”—suddenly exploded.
“—Again…!”
“Good thing I had Ur put in a small charge, huh? Well then.”
It wasn’t a large amount. It could be repaired quickly. But it couldn’t be ignored. The self-destruct mechanism designed by the creator himself was attempting to destroy everything.
Thus, his body’s movements stopped uncontrollably, and the black demon laughed and said:
“Take this strike from my comrade.”
“『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA！！！！』”
The blow from the Slime Demon King that had rushed forward struck the giant god’s head.
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
The giant god’s body shook violently.
It stumbled significantly, causing a momentary disruption and delay in the activation of the “Genesis.”
It was but a fleeting moment. Merely a slight pause.
It was nothing more than a physical shock. Such an impact could not hope to disrupt the brilliance of creation, which could cover an entire planet. It was just a small delay. The Slime Demon King, who had accomplished that, finally crumbled into a pile and fell.
“—Thank you. I pay my respects to you, warrior of the demon realm who fought alone.”
But in that brief moment, Rine’s preparations reached completion.
Standing atop the massive Dragon Swallow Uuga’s head, amidst the desperate battles fought by frontline warriors, the results of her preparation came to fruition. A vast array of spells radiated like a halo around Uuga.
“—Now, are you ready, assistants?”
“That’s insane…!”
At Rine’s words, Zero screamed. Being pulled around by Rine, he still worked to enhance her spells, weaving his own magic atop hers. A blazing white light mixed with a brilliant blue hue overlapped.
Surveying the construct anew, Rine deepened her smile.
“—Well done. Now, become the cornerstone of my power.”
“Everything you say and the look on your face screams villain！！！！”
“—I’m not evil. I am a new god.”
“That’s scary!”
Zero cried. Watching that, Five chuckled while gazing at the radiant spell before him, feeling a deep sense of emotion.
“…Who would have thought the descendants of white and the true human children would join forces in this situation?”
“Fate?”
“That’s ridiculous. Just a coincidence.”
Seven tilted his head slightly, while Nine snickered. As Zero continued to cry, Two comforted him, and Eight calmly carried out his tasks. All in all, everyone was pretty much acting as usual.
That’s just how it was. The creator had said this world was for them. I don’t think that wish can be easily dismissed as trivial. Yet, here we are, just as we are.
We’re not much different from the people who have lived in this imperfect world. We are but humans.
That’s why we wish to protect the world all of us have woven together.
“Rayline. We are ready.”
“—Wonderful. Then—shall we give Creator a good scare?”
When I informed Rayline, who was taking charge, she smiled and clutched the shining white staff tightly.
“—White Azure Formation, the Divine God Descends.”
She slammed the staff onto the spell. In that moment, the spells surrounding Uuga became filled with light.
“—God’s Secret/Divine Swallow.”
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
Originally, Dragon Swallow Uuga was meant to be a siege weapon against the Great Sin Metropolitan Country Plaudia—not just a weapon, but a divine weapon.
Utilizing the selfish ambitions of the Carareley clan, Cultist Yogugu created this fearful invasion weapon. A malevolent tool designed to kill the Sage King seated in Plaudia.
To kill a god. A weapon to shatter that abominable Babel.
Of course, even Cultist Yogugu, who designed this, never believed it would succeed. It was impossible. Uuga was merely born out of malice and mischief towards Ark Israilia and the Carareley clan.
The name “Dragon Swallow” was not meant to suggest it could truly consume gods—it was named as a mockery towards the Carareley clan and born of a sense of resignation that one could never truly devour a god.
Or so it was supposed to be.
“『O, OOO, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO……！！』”
But just now, having been imbued with the spells from the descendants of white and the true humans, Dragon Swallow Uuga truly awakened.
Born out of ambition, schemes, and malice, it traversed an extraordinary path to finally grasp a wish that even its creators could never have imagined.
“『G, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA！！！！！』”
Dragon Swallow—now reborn as “God-Swallowing Uuga” unleashed its roar of god-killing with a mighty cry.
