In the J District of the Demon Realm.
The forbidden creatures, overflowing like a tsunami, attacked.
They were about to rush into the [Dome] when, suddenly, their movements stopped.
“W-what is this…?”
“They’re not moving…?”
Although called forbidden creatures, they do not move like living beings. They only think of attacking, devouring, and killing humanity. Therefore, it was impossible for them to suddenly stop moving.
Moreover, those that stopped moving began to crumble away slowly. The black swarm that had advanced like a tsunami vanished without a trace, easily and effortlessly.
“Ah, I’m tired. What a relief…”
While everyone was stunned, Guren, an outsider who had defeated the largest number of forbidden creatures on the front lines, collapsed onto the ground flippantly. As the other warriors stood bewildered and dumbfounded, he alone seemed to understand the situation.
“H-hey, are you okay?”
“Better than you guys… This is so annoying.”
He said so, but his condition was far from okay. To the warriors, it seemed as if he possessed the power of an overwhelming monster, yet the sheer number he faced alone was immense. His body was battered, and his prosthetic arm was damaged and shattered.
He had truly fought with his entire being to protect them.
Even though they were supposed to be his enemies.
“……Thank you. Thanks to you, we—”
“I don’t care. Besides, I’m sleepy. Stop making so much noise.”
As they attempted to express their gratitude, he brushed them off too carelessly. Without giving them a chance to say anything more, he closed his eyes and turned away. It seemed he was serious about sleeping.
They wanted to ask if he was sane in such a situation, but indeed, there were no signs of new forbidden creatures approaching—
“—Hey, look.”
“The Ark…”
As they spoke, a voice was heard from among the warriors. They pointed towards the giant floating continent [Ark Israilia] that had appeared above ground. Something was changing about it, the terrifying entity that should be a threat to all of humanity. It was—
“A tree…?”
Even though the Ark was incredibly far away, a tree-like structure, so large it was visible, was seen extending. It was a radiant great tree that made one feel warm just by looking at it. It was seen growing rapidly.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it…”
“Yeah… what is that?”
Terrifying, hateful, and monstrous. The [tree] born from the Ark, the object of all their fears, somehow appeared beautiful. It had a warmth that seemed to heal the curses and wounds that had accumulated in the hearts of the warriors who had been fighting for so long.
“It’s descending, slowly…”
At the same time, the Ark, which had been mysteriously visible from anywhere, began to disappear. This indicated that the Ark, which had been temporarily separated from the world, was now truly, slowly, returning to this world.
The changes continued. This time, more clearly and dramatically.
The completely black sea, devoid of any life, and the unnervingly colored sky began to transform. Like a single drop of paint falling, the murkiness was cleared from the sea. The strange sky regained its original blue.
“The sky…”
“…Is that… the sun?”
“I’ve never seen it…”
The true sun, hidden for so many years, peeked out from the sky.
“It’s dazzling…”
The blue sky and the sun—these were things that most of the warriors present had never seen before. Seeing them for the first time, things they had only known through images, videos, and knowledge, they were stunned rather than moved.
“W-whoa!!”
Furthermore, the dramatic changes continued.
The desolate land, where not even a weed grew, shed its dark, contaminated layer. Simultaneously, seeds of plants that had been sealed and preserved deep within the earth by the Ark’s cursed mud all sprouted at once. They rapidly grew, absorbing the surrounding magic power.
Although it looked beautiful at first glance, the speed of growth was relentless. It engulfed tanks, weapons, and all other military equipment, yet continued to grow with incredible momentum.
“Retreat! Retreat! We’ll be swallowed!”
“W-what?! This guy’s seriously sleeping!”
“Wake up! Whoooa aaah!?”
“Carry him! Carry him! Let’s get back to the Dome!!!”
The soldiers began to withdraw. With the land transforming into a forest within mere seconds, the soldiers retreated in a panic.
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
In Dragon Swallow Uuga.
“The Great Tree of Light…!!”
“Retreat! Retreat!!”
Almost simultaneously with the great commotion that occurred outside the Ark, Uuga was also caught up in the major upheaval. After a fierce battle, the Giant God was shattered, and Creator Israilia was defeated, they had no time to celebrate their victory before being engulfed by the rapidly growing giant tree.
The warriors fighting to protect Uuga began to evacuate inside.
“All warriors who were fighting on the outer defenses, return inside! If you can’t move, lend us a hand!”
“Hurry!! Uuga will withdraw for now!”
“Discard your equipment if you must! Just get inside first!”
“Gaza! What are you doing!! Hurry!”
While this was happening, Rei, a former member of Black Flame Purge, frowned at Gaza, who was commanding as a platoon leader. For some reason, he had forgotten to flee and was staring fixedly at the “tree.” Only when yelled at did Gaza turn around. Then, for some reason, he smirked, making Rei even more suspicious.
Gaza walked straight towards Rei, put his arm around his shoulder, and shouted loudly.
“Ur won, didn’t he!!”
In the midst of the chaos, he seemed convinced that their commander, Ur, had won. Rei was dumbfounded.
“…You’re too carefree without even confirming.”
“No, he won!!”
“What’s your basis?”
“None!!”
He stated it with absolute certainty. Words to mock him welled up endlessly. Rei opened his mouth to say them all but—
“He did win.”
For some reason, Gaza’s reinforcements had arrived. Eckstein, a man with a fanatical devotion to Ur and somewhat looked down upon by others, nodded in agreement with Gaza, his face filled with conviction.
“See?! I knew it!”
“There’s no doubt about it.”
The fools had doubled. This meant the insults needed to be doubled as well. Rei worried about what to do, but he had no time to ponder. Warriors who were fleeing gathered one after another and began to nod in agreement with Gaza and Eckstein’s words.
“Well, he probably won…”
Silver Rank Adventurer Begud said with a wry smile.
“Indeed, he has accomplished it splendidly…!”
The Priest of the Flame followed suit.
“Let’s have a feast!”
“No, first let me punch that guy!”
Various others, including Knights and former colleagues, started to bustle. Despite their differing races, positions, and occupations, their words were the same. They were all convinced they had won.
“Only idiots… But, well.”
Giving up on retorting, Rei sighed. Then he looked at the place where he had been fighting.
However, he realized that for some strange reason, he couldn’t imagine that he had lost at all.
“Perhaps so.”
He thought that today, it might be okay to be carefree.
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
“I thought I was going to die…!”
Among the warriors hastily fleeing into Uuga was Gruffin, who had rampaged as the Giant of Light. He was gasping for breath, but his legs moved powerfully, guiding the other warriors who were unfamiliar with Uuga’s layout.
“You were cool.”
Fuu encouraged him, smiling from the sky. He had experienced a brief moment of panic when his wind spirit abilities became unusable, but he had regained them and was now flying freely.
He had heard that spirit abilities would become unstable during this battle.
Something about the mechanism that stabilized the connection with spirits being gone. He wanted Gruffin, and especially Fuu, to be careful. But she flew around freely without any apparent trouble. Gruffin was quite nervous, wondering if she might fall by accident.
But that was another matter—
“I’m really, really tired…! I’ll never do it again!!”
He thought from the bottom of his heart. No more danger!
He had used up all his courage! He couldn’t do it again even if asked! He had heard that spirit abilities might become unusable, but that would be even better! It might be inconvenient if he couldn’t use his powers for food production, but he had had enough of fighting!
“We won’t have to fight anymore, will we!? It’s going to be alright, right!”
“Huh? What a waste. Aren’t you going to become a giant again?”
As Gruffin muttered, Davine, the genius blacksmith, suddenly spoke to him. Carrying a large amount of weaponry he had created, he looked at him and grinned.
“Seeing you as a giant sparked my creative urge! I was thinking of making you a fitting weapon!!”
“I told you I won’t fight anymore! Besides, aren’t there any opponents left?”
“Is that so? Look.”
Saying so, Davine pointed outside the outer defenses. From the exterior of the flying Uuga, the Demon Realm—no, the polluted land and sea outside were seen being rapidly regenerated along with the light of the radiant tree. The rebirth of all living things was occurring.
“I heard from Ur. The world will be swallowed by nature. If that happens, won’t even more tremendous monsters appear?”
“Whoa…”
“Looks like you’ll have a part to play! Giant of Light! Bahaha!!”
“Just because of that, why do I have to fight! And why are you so gleeful!”
He couldn’t understand why this man was so happy despite the signs of an explosive increase in trouble. But Davine grinned as if to say, “What are you talking about?”
“Of course!! If even the dying Demon Realm produced so many interesting things? Now that it’s reborn, it’s bound to spark my creativity!!!”
“That’s fine, but at least go get some sleep. Honestly…”
Beside him, his older brother, Fraytan, said with exasperation, but Davine didn’t seem to hear him. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he gazed at the outside world, his expression truly childlike.
“I don’t understand!”
“But Lord Gruffin, it seems like many new ingredients will appear, won’t they?”
“D-damn…!”
And Gruffin, at Fuu’s words, couldn’t help but groan.
“Oh, that’s right! Even the food brought by the warriors of the Demon Realm surprised you tremendously!”
“Ah, if that’s the case, my snacks’ recipes might expand?”
Perii, who was helping Davine carry weapons and armor, agreed.
“B-but…!”
“Don’t worry! With my ultimate weapon, I can cleave dragons and gods with a single blow!!”
“I told you I won’t fight!!”
Gruffin shouted, and Fuu laughed merrily at his reaction. Then, everyone wearily retreated into Uuga.
