Chapter 226 ·Universe (3)

Universe ‍​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍(3)

In the battle between the Great Devil and Louis, in truth, there was neither a winner nor a loser. It was not a matter of one surviving over the other—both sides' only possible result was mutual destruction.

Louis held the upper hand physically. Unlike before, when he had simply wielded the power of the Chaos Dragon, he was now united with the World Tree, having become a complete god.

On the other hand, the Great Devils had once struggled against even a single Chaos Dragon in ages past. Back then, the Chaos Dragon had been threatening, but now that it had been reborn as a complete god, it was only natural that the Great Devils were at a disadvantage. Had the six of them not merged into one, they would have been defeated long ago.

Yet, the problem remained: neither side could settle things definitively. This was because the concept of death did not exist between them.

Thus, for Louis to annihilate the Great Devils, he had to stake his own life, and for the Great Devils to annihilate Louis, they too had to sacrifice their lives.

The fight would only end if both vanished. While there would be no clear victory or defeat, the ending promised a perfectly fair demise. It was a perfectly balanced scale, but now, it was tilting.

"Aaah!"

The Great Devil was startled when a blade was stabbed into his back. He wanted to hurry and shake off those who had stabbed the blade, but Louis clung to his whole body, leaving him unable to move.

Though the Great Devil was pouring all his strength into annihilating Louis, Louis was doing the exact same. Both were on the verge of annihilation. As they had depleted all their strength in the recent battle, the outcome was about to unfold even faster.

"Hurry, this blade..."

Yet, the Great Devil could feel something from the tip of that blade.

"Hurry, pull this blade... out..."

The Bloodline that had stabbed him was suppressing his strength, even if only temporarily. While Louis was squeezing out every ounce of his power to annihilate the Great Devil, he himself couldn't muster his full strength due to the blade's mysterious power.

The Great Devil frantically tried to force the blade out. As he unleashed his power, the surrounding space-time distorted from the backlash.

"Krrgh!"

From the shock, Silia's wrist—who was gripping the blade—fractured. As the crack in her bone widened and pain surged, five members of the special task force lent her their strength.

"Squad leader, your strength alone isn't enough!"

"I think I heard a nasty crack just now."

"Shouldn't you step aside and get treated?"

Victor, Simon, and Rozen voiced their concerns as they added their power.

"I can't! This sword won't activate unless I'm the one holding it."

Resting would have been the sensible choice given her injury, but without Silia's hand, they couldn't weaken the Great Devil's power. While it was impossible to pass the sword to someone else, they could at least lend her strength. However, even their combined support was approaching its limit.

"Wait, maybe this is..."

At that moment, Silia suddenly had an idea.

"Rio, Pram. Lend me your strength."

"Us?"

"How?"

"It's simple."

Silia explained succinctly.

"The power you two possess originates from the Great Devil, right?"

Pram's dark magic had been born from absorbing the corpse of Great Devil Palmon, while Rio's Blood Sword Technique was also derived from the Great Devil's blood.

"With that power, deliver a blow to him."

"But isn't this power originally the Great Devil's? Wouldn't he actually like it if we used it?"

Since they'd be returning power to its original owner, Pram hesitated. She worried it might only serve to strengthen the Great Devil, but Silia smiled and answered,

"Don't worry. I've got a plan for that."

"That's right. Let's trust big sis just this once."

Hearing Silia's and Rio's words, Pram imbued the sword with dark magic, while Rio ran the crimson aura—symbolic of the Blood Sword Technique—through Silia's blade as well.

"Eh?"

The Great Devil was puzzled as the Blood Sword Technique and dark magic flowed into his body. Since those powers originally belonged to him, he figured he could absorb them once again. If he recovered his strength in this way, he might just turn the tables.

"This is perfect!"

What a stroke of luck. Elated, the Great Devil absorbed the power.

"Huh?"

But at that moment, he felt something was off. His expression twisted as if he'd eaten something wrong.

"W-what did you...?"

He spat blood as he looked at Silia and asked,

"What just entered me was definitely the Blood Sword Technique and dark magic. They're powers that originated from you, aren't they?"

Silia responded,

"It's true that those were originally your powers, so they should be able to return to their owner. But if they're transmitted through this sword, it's a different story."

"What...?"

"Didn't you notice anything after being stabbed by this sword?"

The Bloodline sword Silia used interfered with the flow of the Great Devil's power. That was why he was being overpowered by Louis.

"As you probably feel, this sword has the ability to disrupt the flow of your power. It's a technique my ancestor devised solely for beings like you."

A technique created through the combined efforts of Frederick and Mirianne. But it was so precious that only their blood descendants could use it.

The knowledge of a mage once one with the World Tree, and the strength of the continent's greatest swordsman, united into this technique. Of course, this alone could not cut off the Great Devil's lifeline, but it could reinforce the process of doing so.

Normally, both Louis and the Great Devil would be annihilated together. However, thanks to this power, it would now only be the Great Devil who would disappear.

"From the moment you were stabbed by this sword, you couldn't do anything else. Even if it's for a brief time, your energy flow becomes chaotic, so you can't properly absorb your original strength."

"That means...."

Since he couldn't digest what he absorbed as his own, the energy acted only as poison. Above all, Rio and Pram were pouring forth all their strength to annihilate him.

"Ahh..."

The Great Devil felt his power growing dull. Still, he resisted with all his might, warping space-time around him.

"Damn..."

But no matter how much he struggled, the outcome would not improve. He could have wiped out these special task force members with his own power, yet it was impossible because Louis still held onto him.

"I'm going to self-destruct?"

At that moment, Louis spoke.

"I never included 'suicide' in my plan."

While living in this world among humans, the Great Devil had realized something—humans had the ability to grow, but that process always demanded immense sacrifice.

The Great Devil had watched this for centuries, but this situation was a first for him. How could one achieve what they desired without any sacrifice at all?

"What an impossible guy."

Uttering those words, the Great Devil felt his body falling apart. From his hand to his chest, his whole body began to turn to dust and scatter. Could it be that death, which he had thought he would never face, also existed for beings like him?

"Amazing."

"Is that all you'll say?"

At Louis's question, the Great Devil replied,

"Even if I disappear... there's no guarantee this continent will find peace."

"What do you mean by that?"

Silia asked, and the Great Devil curled his lip upward.

"You'll know one day. Humans who defeated me...."

With those final words, the Great Devil's entire body was annihilated. Every part of him turned to dust and vanished into the air.

Ku-gu-gu-gu-gung!!―――

Suddenly, a massive earthquake shook the center where the Great Devil had vanished.

"What the—!"

"Is it not over yet?"

"Why an earthquake all of a sudden?!"

But Louis could sense it.

"It's not an earthquake."

Unlike a normal earthquake which would only shake the land, this shook the entire fabric of space-time. The Great Devil, during his final outburst, had exerted enough force to twist "everything."

Now that he was gone, nothing remained to control that force—it began to rampage.

Kuuuuuuuuung!!―――

Eventually, a rift appeared in the distorted space-time. The light that exploded from the rift swallowed up all the special task force members.

"The power...!"

Even Louis, who until now had possessed divine power, had exhausted it all to annihilate the Great Devil. With no power left to interfere with space-time, he too could not help but be swept up in it.

****

"The monsters... disappeared."

A wounded soldier, who had been bracing for death at the jaws of a monster, watched incredulously as all the ferocious monsters suddenly collapsed or vanished outright.

"Did we do it?"

The Emperor of the Empire, observing the situation from the Imperial Court's Magic Tower, wore a shocked expression. He had already heard the special task force's plan in advance. What was happening now made sense if their plan had succeeded.

"The demonic corruption of the demon realm is drastically weakening! It truly seems the Great Devil has disappeared, Your Majesty!"

At this good news, the mages in the Magic Tower smiled with joyous relief. The source of their suffering—of the entire continent's suffering—was finally gone.

"Wait."

The Emperor suddenly recalled something.

"What's the status of the special task force?"

"Well..."

At the same time, worrying news came to his ears.

"We're unable to detect any response."

****

After being swallowed by the light that burst from the rift, Louis lost consciousness. Due to the distortion of space-time, both he and the special task force members had been swept away to somewhere unknown.

...。

Louis was the first to awaken in that place.

"My body..."

The body that had been the form of the Chaos Dragon moments ago had returned to its human shape. Having exhausted all his strength in the fight against the Great Devil, this was natural. Luckily, failure to control that power did not result in the collapse of a star.

"But... where am I?"

Louis was lying in a pitch-black place. It seemed like a room where the lights had gone out, but his heightened senses still allowed him to see. He could perceive the special task force members lying next to him.

'Did they all get dragged along with me?'

Was it because they were swept up in that explosion(?)? Either way, figuring out where they were was the priority.

...!

At that moment, Louis's entire body convulsed. Perhaps it was his lingering extrasensory perception—he was overwhelmed by the strange scent in this place. Sounds tickled his ears, and the feeling of things around him was distinctly out of the ordinary.

In truth, there was no need to make a fire. Louis, relying on instinct, simply pressed a switch on the wall. Instantly, something mounted on the ceiling lit up and illuminated the room.

"This is..."

At the same time, Louis realized with certainty. The noise from outside the building, the smell of smoke in the air.

Decorations placed throughout the room, the bed and table. And a rectangular structure.

Louis pressed a button at the bottom of that rectangular structure. A display appeared on its surface, and a banner marked "Breaking News" appeared, revealing the date and time.

"Mm... Where are we?"

"Yaaawn..."

At that moment, the sleeping special task force members began to awaken one by one.

"What...?"

The first to wake, Victor, Simon, and Rozen, were perplexed.

"Gasp! Th-the Great Devil!"

"Whoa! Geez! Rio, you startled me!"

Rio and Pram woke up in a panic, too.

"My head... huh?"

Silia opened her eyes and was immediately taken aback.

"Are you all alright?"

"Yes, we're fine."

"But where are we?"

"Is this the Empire?"

"I have no idea."

One after another, the team members awoke and wondered aloud where they were.

"Louis. Do you know where we are?"

"..."

"Louis?"

Silia called out, but Louis gave no response. He already knew exactly where they were. It was the realization that left him in a daze.

"We're back."

Louis murmured.

"Back...?"

Rio asked.

"We're back... we really came back."

But Louis only repeated himself. This wasn't the Empire, nor the West Continent, nor the East Continent. It was a different world—

It was a place called "Earth."

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