After the Outer Gods chose this world as the stage for their Apocalypse Calamity.
They forcibly widened the boundary between life and death, this world and the afterlife, and created a new space in that gap.
That artificial space is this place, the spirit realm.
And the Outer Gods began to interfere with our world through the spirit realm.
They planted the trees of the races they chose — guardian trees — allowing those races to use magic, and thus began to spread their influence throughout the entire world.
“The spirit realm is the channel through which Outer Gods interfere with this world. In other words…”
I explained, looking around.
“If we ‘close’ the spirit realm, the Outer Gods will no longer be able to play with this world.”
To expel the Outer Gods, we must inevitably close this spirit realm.
“And to completely close the spirit realm, we must eliminate the trees of each race rooted between the spirit realm and the mortal world — the ‘guardian trees’.”The guardian trees have their roots in the spirit realm and their trunks in the mortal world. Because they have a structure that draws up otherworldly power from the spirit realm to the mortal world.
And above all, because they root between the mortal world and the afterlife, widening the gap between life and death, and also perform the role of a ‘wedge’ maintaining that separation.
Only by eliminating these guardian trees first can the connection between the spirit realm and the mortal world be severed, and the spirit realm can be completely closed.
‘That was a long explanation, but to sum it up!’
To drive out the Outer Gods, we must first eliminate all these trees!
That’s when the Emperor, who had been listening, spoke up.
“If we burn and uproot the guardian trees, all magic, all mystery, all authority will disappear from our world.”
Even though this had already been decided at the World Guardian Front meeting.
The Emperor deliberately asked me once more. As if to confirm whether my resolve was firm.
“All the laws that have sustained our world for the past thousand years will collapse. Civilization will decline, and the royal authority of all countries ruled by magic will weaken. You are no exception.”
“…”
“Are you truly saying that you will give up everything that makes you special… of your own volition?”
“I am an ordinary human.”
The value of a human is not determined by what power they possess.
“If there is a moment when I, an ordinary person, become special, it would be when I risk everything to take on a challenge. Just like now.”
I believe that the value of a human is determined by how much they do not avoid the challenges they choose for themselves.
I am not a special or great human. However.
I intend not to run away from the challenge I now face.
The Emperor smiled, showing his molars.
“Do as you please.”
Bowing my head once, I continued my explanation to the suicide squad.
“As I said, the roots of the guardian trees are also wedges maintaining the spirit realm. The Outer Gods won’t leave us alone as we try to eliminate them.”
I glanced upwards.
“So the ‘Great Monster Invasion’ in the mortal world… the World Guardian Front facing the monsters needs to draw as much attention as possible.”
Currently, the Outer Gods’ attention is focused on the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’ invading the mortal world. They are focused on the destruction of this world, the greatest tragedy, that she brings.
We will take this opportunity to carry out the operation to destroy the guardian trees in the spirit realm.
“While the mortal world holds out, we will finish our preparations and burn all the trees at once.”
When the guardian trees disappear, the supply of magical power from the spirit realm to the mortal world will immediately stop.
Then my heroes currently fighting on the front lines will immediately struggle with magical power supply. They will have to fight squeezing out only the remaining magical power, without any further supply.
But this applies to the monsters as well.
Monsters are beings revived by refining nightmares. Their very origin stems from magic. They will take a hit to their very existence.
Moreover, since the connection of the Outer Gods will be immediately disrupted.
The ‘Sleepless Lake Princess’, who is being directly controlled by the Outer Gods, will also be weakened.
“And after that?”
The Demon King asked coldly.
“The Outer Gods will immediately notice your attempt at rebellion. And even if we eliminate all the guardian trees, it will take time for the spirit realm to close completely.”
“…”
“The Outer Gods will try to forcibly open the spirit realm by extending their power directly here. In the process, they will try to slaughter us as well.”
The Demon King folded his arms and tilted his head back.
“Of course, the Outer Gods face several constraints when trying to extend their power directly to this world. Even if they use their power, it will be in a considerably weakened state.”
“Right. That’s why they exerted influence on this world through intermediaries — constellations who jumped down directly, like you.”
You could say the levels of existence are different. Or to put it differently, their frequencies don’t match.
The Outer Gods are powerful but distant beings. Being in the far-off outer realm, it’s difficult for them to exert full influence on our world. That’s why they’ve intervened through intermediaries like the Demon King or White Night all this time.
They can use their power without going through such intermediaries, but its effects don’t properly reach this world. It diminishes and gets cut down.
In other words, it’s sufficiently endurable.
“On the other hand, you seem to have raised your level of existence through various methods, so you should be able to face the Outer Gods even if they attack directly for a while. But…”
“It won’t last long.”
I nodded.
No matter how much their power can’t be fully exerted without an intermediary, no matter how much it diminishes and gets cut down, the difference in power is fundamental. Those Outer Gods are vast and infinite.
While I am a small and finite being.
I can hold out for a while, but in the end, I’ll be crushed.
“This is where the ‘one shot’ prepared by Aider comes in.”
The original player of this Apocalypse Calamity. Aider.
When the name of the previous hero who entrusted me with this task came up, the Demon King’s eyes narrowed.
“That stupid fool of a Director, who staked his long life to create… a card that can only be used once. It’s being prepared in the mortal world.”
“…”
“If we use this card, we can definitely deal a blow to the Outer Gods.”
If the mortal world takes the baton again and delivers one shot,
“In the gap when the Outer Gods are hit and retreat, we completely close the spirit realm.”
Taking the baton once more in the spirit realm, and finishing it.
I looked straight at the Demon King.
“This final closure, Demon King, you must do it.”
After a moment of silence.
“Since I originally selected this world as the stage for the game as an intermediary, and opened the door to the spirit realm.”
The Demon King slowly nodded.
“I can close it as well.”
And when the spirit realm is completely closed, the intervention of the Outer Gods will also be completely cut off…
All magic, mystery, and authority will disappear from the world.
The monsters, having lost the driving force of nightmares, will also disappear, and thus.
Our war will end.
“Now, this is the rough outline of the ‘Spirit Realm Showdown’.”
I summarized, looking around at the suicide squad.
I’ll give detailed instructions for the operation separately, but this is how the big picture will unfold.
The final battles in the mortal world and spirit realm must help and complement each other, interlocking as one.
“…One can say anything in words, but.”
The Demon King exhaled a low sigh.
“At least, it’s a theoretically possible operation.”
“That’s why you’ve come this far with me, right?”
As I grinned at him, the Demon King was silent for a moment, then.
“Before we start. I want to confirm something.”
His voice trembled faintly.
“Whether she is really here.”
I nodded.
“Follow me.”
The operation began.
The four great gods all moved to where their respective guardian trees were planted, and the Emperor and Glory Knights boarded La Mancha and flew into the air again.
Meanwhile, the Demon King and I headed towards the space under Everblack’s roots.
“…”
As we stepped onto the white sand beach, heading towards the roots of Everblack.
For some reason, the Demon King seemed a bit tense.
And we entered the narrow space under the roots.
“Ash!”
There, as always.
Was a woman burning, her entire body bound to the thorn tree.
“What’s going on? It seems a bit noisy outside.”
The Goddess, who had been asking kindly, widened her eyes as she saw the being behind me.
“You…?!”
“…”
The Demon King entered this space under the roots following me, maintaining silence.
“How is it, Demon King.”
I asked him as he silently looked around.
“Can you see her?”
“…”
The Demon King, who had been staring intently at the space where the Goddess was, finally answered slowly.
“…No.”
He shook his head slightly.
“I can’t see her.”
The Goddess bit her lip tightly.
The Demon King continued.
“But, there is a complete void here that I’m facing for the first time. Such a complete absence is here.”
“…”
“And somehow, this void is warm. As if trying to warm this tree, this world.”
The Demon King slowly looked straight up at the space that, to his eyes, was just empty air.
The place where the Goddess was.
“That’s how I can tell. You are here.”
“…”
“You’ve burned even your own existence completely, and are here alone.”
Paradoxically, because there is a complete absence there.
Because pain, emptiness, loss — are unmistakable evidence that something existed there.
“You really are here…”
The Demon King brushed with his fingertips the empty space beside the cheek of the burning Goddess, which to his own eyes was just empty space.
“You foolish person.”
“…”
“You who lived only for others, not for yourself.”
In the Demon King’s voice, as he took a deep breath, all delusion disappeared.
“A thousand years repeated infinitely is already enough.”
He turned around and left the space under the roots.
“Let’s end it now.”
After the Demon King disappeared outside.
The Goddess, who had been breathing heavily, looked at me.
“Ash. What… what are you trying to do?”
I smiled at her.
“Ah, I’m really sorry about this, Goddess…”
Deliberately, a little more than usual.
Like a mischievous child.
With a grin.
“You’ll have to fall.”
“…Huh?”
“To the very end. Completely. Without a trace.”
The Goddess, who had been blinking in confusion, muttered in shock.
“What?!”
I grinned once more, then turned around and followed the Demon King out.
‘This world was built wrong from the start.’
Like a Jenga puzzle shaking from the bottom, full of gaps.
It was a world wrong from its foundation.
Without power accepted from the outside, one had to live as a slave, and in such a world, a being who tried to save her people volunteered for sacrifice for eons of time.
The laws of the world injected from the outside.
Salvation secured by someone’s sacrifice.
All of it, was wrong from the beginning.
So-
‘I’ll break it.’
I’ll shatter it to pieces.
I’ll eliminate everything, collapse everything, and smash it all.
And, on those ruins…
‘I’ll start over from the beginning.’
No longer a world where someone depends on someone else,
But a world where we can walk looking at each other equally, at the same eye level.
Because I want to create that.
So-
‘I’ll challenge it.’
Towards this huge wall standing in my way.
From now on, I challenge it.
As I stepped outside, the Demon King was waiting for me, standing on the white sand beach.
I met his gaze.
There was no need for conversation between us anymore. We understood each other’s intentions just by looking.
Of course.
We were sworn enemies who had exchanged moves with each other to the point of tedium.
“From here…”
I stretched out my right hand to the side.
Then a huge pillar of light fell into my right hand, and I caught it.
The pillar of light soon changed form into a huge flag of light.
“I declare rebellion — against the entire universe!”
I planted my flag in the white sand beach with all my might.
Then,
Flash-!
Along with a dazzling burst of light, a brightly shining ash-colored fortress began to rise from beneath the beach.
–TL Notes–
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