“Form the formation! Don’t rely on your eyes—sense it, and react on instinct!”
“But Captain, even if I shut my eyes⋯⋯!”
A succubus’s allure was, at its core, the transmission of malicious information. Just as Crazy Wizard had once concocted pheromones that affected only specific targets, Yuri Lanster radiated an irresistible sensuality—one that seeped through even closed eyelids.
“How could you possibly look away from me, especially when you chase pleasure and indulgence instead of virtue?”
They weren’t even true Paladins, and yet.
It built up gradually. Emotions that weren’t there before start rippling and rising in their hearts.
Though it couldn’t compare to the Succubus Queen’s overwhelming power—who had enslaved entire Extermination Squads just by showing herself—this was more than enough.
Yuri Lanster snapped her fingers.
“『Black(黑) : True Desire Incineration(本望燒散)』.”
“Keuk—Keuaaaack?!”“W-What’s happening?! Is this some kind of Metamorphosis ability?!”
BOOOM──!!
Those with weak mental defenses, accumulated emotions too quickly and screamed in agony as their bodies suddenly erupted from within. Thick black smoke billowed from their nostrils and mouths.
If they didn’t have powerful mental barriers like Crazy Wizard, they would eventually explode. She could wipe out the Paladins just by standing still.
It was as if invisible time bombs had been strapped to their necks. Realizing this, the Paladins made their decision.
They attacked.
A force of thirty charged at a single woman.
“If we hesitate, we’ll explode! We have to kill her before that happens!”
“That was not quite the right decision. What Mima was worried about wasn’t that I’d be defeated by you⋯⋯ but that some of you might escape.”
Hands and feet.
Rather than wielding her innate Succubus powers, she chose the simplest form of combat—primal martial arts that was about striking enemies down by moving her limbs. Even though she was using the gifts of her species, her training remained.
Swish, smack!
She deflected a swinging sword with the back of her hand, countering with a precise blow to the jaw.
Dipping low, she swept an opponent’s legs from beneath them before springing up with a spinning roundhouse kick to the attacker’s head. Twisting midair, she dodged a thrusting spear.
Chiiiiink──!
In mere moments, she had wrapped a chain around one Paladin, securing him tightly, then used his body as a shield to block an oncoming greatsword.
The Paladins couldn’t even graze her. Yet in that short time, three had already fallen.
Yuri Lanster whispered.
“⋯⋯This means I could easily win thirty consecutive battles like this, so long as you focus on me.”
Boom, boooom──!!
“Keueueuck⋯⋯!”
Their emotions kept rising. And then—they exploded. One after another, the Paladins collapsed. Their only hope was to end the battle quickly by capturing the Succubus, but⋯⋯.
“Come.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
They hesitated.
They no longer believed they could bring this wild beast to heel.
From the moment the battle began, the Paladins had already sensed their defeat.
===============================================================
“⋯⋯So that’s the Holy Sword?”
“I-It’s surging like crazy! The Divine Power is unstable!”
The Holy Sword was embedded deep within a stone, crackling with ominous lightning. The area surrounding it was in ruins, the ground charred black from repeated 『Divine Punishment』 strikes.
Yet, despite the devastation, the rock cradling the sword remained unscathed—perhaps it was an extension of the Holy Sword itself. Maybe it served as something like a storage vault.
Crackle—Zap!
The blade pulsed violently, as if warning that anyone who dared touch it would be reduced to Holy Fried Chicken.
So, I had to make contact with that thing⋯⋯.
“Evil God-chan.”
“What.”
“I need to pluck some of your feathers. Grow some scales.”
“You think I’m a chicken⋯⋯?”
Though Evil God-chan shot me a look like I was an idiot, she understood the gravity of the situation and obediently provided a few dragon scales. I embedded these scale fragments into the foreheads of Duke Red Flavor’s puppets.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Now, they were organic lightning rods.
If things took a turn for the worse, I’d sacrifice them to draw the Goddess’s aggro.
『Three Dogs That Protects the Goddess』
“『⋯⋯⋯⋯』.”
Tara and Niolle had finished their preparations as well. Golden shields unfolded above like vast umbrellas, their surfaces coated with a dark membrane.
And Yuna—
“From beyond the boundary, where human dreams have touched and shaped the Idea, I reach out, seeking that which I desire from the infinite beyond. I ask the mirror surface, again and again—are you there? Are you truly there?”
Amidst the raging storm of mana, she was casting an incantation unlike any I had ever heard before.
Even the way mana circulated and aligned within her body was unfamiliar. Could this be a new school of magic I didn’t know about?
Perhaps… this was the lost half of the Purple Magic Tower—the Summoning School.
Bennett unsheathed 『Guardian’s Dream』 and readied himself.
As I approached the Holy Sword, one last concern crossed my mind.
“Everyone, hold out for as long as you can, then fall back. Don’t let Divine Power fry you just because of stubbornness. Life is valuable. Except for Red Flavor’s.”
“⋯⋯We are counting on you, Wizard.”
Sensing the tension, I decided to lighten the mood with an exaggerated swagger.
“After I save the city, you all better print and hang up a huge portrait of me. Give me the proper hero’s welcome—gold, silver, and a big feast sounds good too.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Bennett shot me a deeply unimpressed look.
Yeah, this was better than being unnecessarily solemn.
Taking a deep breath, I reached for the Holy Sword—
And grasped it.
────.
I came to my senses.
Have you ever been under general anesthesia? This felt exactly like that. My consciousness had vanished without me even realizing it.
How much time had passed?
Checking my Time-Check Module , I found I had been out for just over one second. My Emergency-Consciousness-Reboot Module had kicked in, reawakening me. Meanwhile, Divine Power was actively infiltrating my body.
How intense.
The Goddess was reverse-hacking me. Divine Power, raw and crackling like lightning, surged through me, scanning every inch of my form. My body below the neck had already been breached, and the invasive current was climbing higher.
So this was what happened to those who tried to draw the Holy Sword? No wonder the Cardinal Faction’s Hero candidate had been roasted alive. With this kind of inspection, Evil God-chan’s dragon scales would have naturally been discovered.
I couldn’t end up the same way.
I left my defense to my modules, placing my trust in the craftiness of my Mental Barrier—not that I had any other choice. If I tried to resist with brute force, I’d be overpowered instantly.
The only way to survive… was to finish hacking before the Goddess could complete her scan.
“If you are there, look at me. As I gaze beyond the mirror, you too must meet my eyes. For the moment when our hands overlap… and we finally pull each other free.”
Using the Magic Tower Master’s soft incantation as background noise, I focused.
Creaaak.
My grip on the Holy Sword tightened until my knuckles turned white.
I sensed it—a broad passage stretching into the distant sky. As expected, the Holy Sword was indeed the Goddess’s terminal.
Let’s hack it.
I sharpened my will and threw in some information.
With the path so open and inviting, I only needed a small amount of mana to advance effortlessly. In moments, I had already reached the Goddess’s ‘surface.’
Compared to backtracking from 『Divine Punishment』, this was like the difference between navigating a cramped alleyway and speeding down a highway.
I burrowed into the surface, spreading outward like a plant’s roots—thin, delicate, yet reaching in every direction.
I needed to search broadly.
Because somewhere in this vast network of the Goddess, I had to find the system controlling the ‘Administrator Purification Phase.’
At that moment—
My hair stood on end, and a piercing sensation crawled across my skin. From deep within the Goddess, I heard the sound of trumpets echoing.
[Warning : Unverified access detected from external source.]
[Warning : Initiating Phase 1 Interception.]
Click click click.
“⋯⋯It’s coming!”
KUAAAAAAH──!!
A waterfall of light poured down over my head like a baptism. The downpour was intercepted by Tara and Niolle’s shields, splitting apart like a river diverted by stone. I stood within a shimmering curtain of light.
A poetic image—but just thinking about the sheer energy contained in that beautiful light made my head spin.
Some of the streams from 『Divine Punishment』 were diverted to Duke Red Flavor’s puppets, helping to distribute the impact. Good thing I brought her along.
Cruuunch.
An ominous sound echoed from the shield covering my head. It wouldn’t hold much longer—just seconds, at best.
No. I couldn’t let doubt take root.
Believe.
Believe they would hold the line from outside.
Just then, I heard Tara’s voice beyond the light, her teeth grinding audibly.
“If this is 『Divine Punishment』… then the Goddess really is capable of this much fury⋯⋯?”
The same Goddess who had remained silent when her parents were taken from her—now, raining down 『Divine Punishment』 in this moment. It was clear she found it detestable.
A flickering shadow passed beyond the curtain of light.
A figure that seemed to be Tara—wielding what looked like a Demonic Sword.
And then—
Stab──!
A blade suddenly pierced through the curtain of light, stopping just thirty centimeters from my face. I barely held back a scream.
Thorny vines from 『Thorns of Lament』 sprouted from the Demonic Sword.
“If you’re going to be reckless, then be reckless to the bitter end──!!”
Tara began absorbing the Goddess’s 『Divine Punishment』, instantly converting the stolen Divine Power into Divine Magic to reinforce the shield.
A delicate balance was struck. The ominous creaking hadn’t stopped, but now—the shield was recovering faster than it was breaking.
I returned my focus to hacking⋯⋯.
Hundreds of years of Church records? Skip. Irrelevant information.
Map data detailing the locations of spirit herbs and medicinal plants scattered across the world? Tempting, but I had no time. Skip.
Physical data modeling of past Saintesses? No—let’s not get distracted. Really. No matter how scandalously revealing past Saintess outfits were⋯⋯!
[Warning : Initiating Phase 2 Interception.]
Crunch.
The center of the shield suddenly caved inward. The pillar of light hadn’t widened, but its density had tripled. The sheer radiance became nearly blinding.
Even the thorny vines of 『Thorns of Lament』 were burning away, unable to keep up with the absorption rate.
At that moment, Bennett stepped forward.
“I wanted to protect. That feeling hasn’t changed⋯⋯ and now, I finally understand what I must do.”
A shift occurred in 『Guardian’s Dream』, the sword that would never break so long as the wielder’s heart endured.
A soft light pulsed from its blade—its indestructible nature bleeding into both the shield and Tara’s Metamorphosis.
The Holy Shield, battered and dented, somehow didn’t shatter.
Bennett’s heart was becoming its durability.
“Even if you’re a God── you won’t be able to break my will!”
Good. Reliable.
How did he turn out so well? I felt oddly proud.
I continued hacking⋯⋯.
The Goddess resisted. When she raised a shield, I went around it. When she hid, I hunted her down like a cunning predator, launching a barrage of unrelenting attacks.
The origins of Crownhall and the Imperial Family’s bloodline? Give it up. Irrelevant.
Active countermeasures against beings who gain power through recognition? Regrettable. Skip.
The enemy whose name cannot be spoken? …Damn. Not now. I’ll deal with this later.
Then—I finally reached it.
The Goddess’s 『Judgement Device』.
Immediately, there was a response.
[Warning : Initiating Phase 3 Interception.]
The light briefly receded.
Then—
A sun rose.
There shouldn’t have been a sun in this artificial daylight.
But now, there was.
It seemed like she was planning to strike me down with that.
Just a little more—just a little⋯⋯!
“They say that beyond the mirror, a mythical, turtle-like beast guards the North. From the realm of fantasy—『Black Turtle-Snake(玄武)』, come forth.”
⋯⋯Yuna’s incantation was done!
Craaack. Riip.
A tear opened in the air.
A colossal turtle, large enough to dwarf buildings, stepped forward. With each step, the earth trembled.
…Yuna could summon things like this?!
Though she called it Black Turtle-Snake, its appearance was weird. Its features were a mismatched blend—some parts resembling an eagle, others a hippopotamus.
It was like a chef trying to recreate a cheeseburger with the wrong ingredients but still making something vaguely recognizable with whatever they had at their disposal.
Yuna, unbothered, continued her chant.
“Sublimation of Sacrifice(燔祭昇華) - 『Illusionary Boundary(幻想界) : Opening Gate(開門)』.”
Riiiiip──!
The sky split apart again.
A cross-shaped rift now hovered behind the Purple Magic Tower Master, distorting space itself. The boundary between illusion and reality blurred.
The ambiguous Black Turtle-Snake—finally, its form shifted into the legendary beast from the stories of my homeland.
The sun fell.
As if it had been waiting for this exact moment.
The battle between the Purple Magic Tower Master and the Goddess—
I never saw how it began.
Because right before that moment—
I broke through the Goddess’s 『Judgement Device』.
And then—
My consciousness was sucked into the Goddess’s core.
===============================================================
It was an indescribable space.
Green lines pulsed and rippled through an endless abyss, like an aquarium where fragments of information drifted aimlessly. It felt like outer space and the inside of a closet simultaneously.
Then, the Goddess’s will transmitted directly into my mind.
[Judgment: Though similar to ‘the entity whose name cannot be revealed,’ clear distinctions have been detected. According to the human personality classification chart, categorized as follows:]
[Output : ‘Chaotic Good’.]
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Did she acknowledge that I was different? Or⋯⋯.
Was it simply because I had never been manipulated by ‘That’ to drive someone to destruction? With no prior convictions or criminal acts, perhaps she didn’t punish me?
At the very least, she wasn’t hostile. That was good enough.
“Your name?”
[Response: This device is designated as the World Stabilization System.]
We could communicate.
It wasn’t quite what I expected… but it was an opportunity. An opening to change the Goddess’s mind.
I asked why she was trying to erase the city.
She explained her reasoning in detail.
She was a device built to make the world a better place, designed so that ‘God’ could evolve alongside civilization.
But with all three Administrators failing to fulfill their duties—
[Record : Damaged records caused by the Evil Dragon.]
The Goddess’s greatest adversary. The entity she considered the most dangerous.
Because traces of ‘That’ had been detected, she deemed it a security risk—one that could exploit vulnerabilities to distort the very nature of the Goddess herself.
Her solution? Total erasure.
I chose my words carefully.
“Isn’t that too extreme? I think your statistics are flawed, or the weightings might be off. If you wipe out an entire city⋯⋯ countless innocent people will die too.”
[Response : No potential for improvement was visible. The Church is corrupt. The people are accustomed to its corruption. If deterioration is projected to continue, complete removal is the safest course of action.]
“Institutions that fail to self-correct do rot. But look—the 『Reformist Faction』 has emerged. Bennett is fighting on the ground. The Church was already in the process of improving. The chaos you’re seeing? It’s just⋯⋯ growing pains.”
[Response : Information confirmed. However, risk factors remain.]
So from context, it seemed like Evil Dragon and ‘That’ were the same, apparently.
What exactly did ‘That’ do to make even a machine-Goddess fear it this much?
It was seriously making my life harder.
Still, even this colossal Goddess had ‘desires’.
If that was the case, I could persuade her.
She was a system designed to watch over humanity—which meant she cared.
“You have too many errors. You’re partially broken.”
[Response : Acknowledged.]
“But your core values remain intact, right? You want humans to move forward. And as it happens⋯⋯ I have data. Stories from another world—one without Gods or magic.”
[-]
Information about the dramatic history that unfolded on Earth. A world without divine intervention. A world where people, despite their flaws, fought to build something better through sheer will and intellect.
Wouldn’t that be useful to her?
Wouldn’t that help her better oversee humanity in the future?
I proposed a deal.
[Question : What are your requirements?]
“Lower the level of punishment. Don’t wipe out the innocent—punish only the ones who deserve it. Strip the corrupt bastards of their Divine Power, and give us time to clean up the Church ourselves.”
[Error: This system must adhere to Regulations. The request conflicts with 337 governing protocols.]
Of course.
She had chosen to function as a machine for the sake of humanity, which meant she couldn’t override her fundamental principles.
Even if those rules were arbitrary laws stacked up by generations of corrupt Cardinals, she couldn’t simply discard them at will.
[Therefore.]
The Goddess offered a workaround—one that wouldn’t violate her core principles
[1. All ‘Hero Candidates’ who participated in the Hero Selection Tournament will be banished to random coordinates across the continent. This includes some who were indirectly involved.]
[2. The Holy City, Trumpethall, will remain in isolation for a set period.]
She would purge all troublemakers, then wait for what humans called ‘self-purification’ to occur.
I understood immediately.
And I sealed the deal.
Because of Article 1.
Bennett.
The Grand Duke of the North’s Champion.
Cicel.
All of them would be scattered across the continent.
And since ‘indirect involvement’ was being counted—
That meant me.
That meant Duke Red Flavor.
That meant those scheming old Cardinal geezers.
We were all getting expelled.
However.
Those who had no ties to the tournament at all—or whose involvement was too minor and ambiguous for the Goddess to recognize—would remain in the city.
For example—Yuna and Yuri.
And the 『Reformist Faction』 members who had gotten a free ride while I was busy orchestrating the Hero Selection Tournament.
All of our enemies would be driven out, while our core faction remained untouched.
With the opposition gone, taking control of the Church and establishing ourselves as the center of power wouldn’t be just a dream anymore.
[Response : The promise has been made.]
Good. Somehow⋯⋯ it worked out this time too.
[Warning: 『Forced Exile』 will now be executed for the following individuals: Cicel Yurensto, Anfir, Bennett Hilton, Sol Renus, Ulbane…]
Random coordinate ejection, huh.
This was fine too. I was confident I could survive even if I landed in some remote mountain wilderness. After all, who was I? I was the great Illusion Wizard who could even go head-on against Metamorphosis and win.
This was just a brief taste of what Evil God-chan went through.
Honestly, it felt like an unexpected vacation. Wherever I ended up, I’d simply make my way to the nearest Magic Tower and send Yuna a quick “I’m doing well” message.
Then, I just needed to leisurely return to the Academy. By then, the 『Reformist Faction』 would have devoured the entire Church, chosen a new Saintess and Hero, and be living the high life.
[Warning : Karen, Awl, Kay of Battōjutsu, Monshell, Old Swordsman Soion⋯⋯]
“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”
Wait a minute.
Those were all me too.
===============================================================
Blink.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying with my head on Yuna’s lap.
“⋯⋯Y-you’re awak—.”
“Emergency-!!”
“Eueee⋯⋯?!”
There was no time for this.
That outdated, garbage-tier, empty-trashcan AI of a Goddess had counted all my disguised identities separately.
A chill ran down my spine and my throat went dry.
『Forced Exile』target designation⋯⋯.
If the system targeted one person multiple times, then—
The hopeful scenario was this:
I’d be teleported thirty-something times in rapid succession. Then it would end with just severe motion sickness and feeling like absolute hell for a ouple of days.
But the worst scenario was:
“⋯⋯Heuaaaaaa!!”
“What? Why?! What is it?! S-suddenly, euhet?! Y-you—your body is glowing in pieces⋯⋯!!”
Right.
I was about to be ripped apart and scattered across the entire continent.
Should I be impressed that I even managed to fool the Goddess? Or should I blame her incompetence for only realizing it now—and trying to tear me into thirty separate pieces⋯⋯?
Everything was going so well.
Why did it have to go wrong at the very end?!
I scanned the area frantically.
Yuna’s Sublimation was still active.
This was it.
This could save me.
“Here, listen carefully. Magic Tower Master—no, Yuna!”
“Eu, eueung!”
“I’m about to be torn into dozens of pieces and scattered across the continent, so don’t freak out⋯⋯.”
“How am I supposed to not freak out after hearing that?!”
Yuna turned pale at the shocking news.
I stroked her cheeks, half to comfort her, half to comfort myself.
“I’m not dying. So please, find me! Gather all the mini-Crazy Wizards and put me back together! I believe in you, Magic Tower Master!”
“W- what exactly happened to you?! What are you trying to do?!”
“Species Change!”
Yes.
There was a way to survive even if I got torn into dozens of pieces.
I had to turn my body into information. To become an information-based lifeform, just like the Succubi, and aim for survival⋯⋯!
Because Yuna’s Sublimation blurred the boundary between illusion and reality, this was possible. I could do it. I urgently began converting the components of my body into data.
Flash, flash──!
The glowing light radiating from my body intensified—as if warning that『Forced Exiled』 was about to activate. Glancing around, I saw Bennett and others falling over in surprise too.
I shouted rapidly.
“Heroes—exiled! Cardinal Faction—gone! Random teleportation across the continent! Holy City—up for grabs! Take over with the 『Reformist Faction』!”
“What the hell is happening?!”
“I’m really not dying, so don’t worry! Also, unlike with Evil God-chan, please actually come find me! I love you both, Yuna And Yuri! See you later!”
“Heeck⋯⋯!!”
With Yuna’s expression as my last sight, she seemed unsure whether this was a death flag or literal statement, struggling between feeling happy or fainting.
And then—
I scattered across the entire continent.
As dozens of pieces of a Crazy Wizard.
===============================================================
What on earth happened?
After the mass disappearance incident, Crazy Wizard had split into dozens of lights, scattering across the sky in all directions.
Yuna stood there, frozen, with a completely shocked expression.
She wasn’t worried that he might be dead. If he were actually about to die, his last words would have been far more pathetic. Since he said he wouldn’t die—then he must still be alive.
She had a rough idea of what he had done. Having seen the conversion of his body into pure data with her own eyes, she understood: if she really had to gather and reassemble his scattered fragments, then theoretically, she should be able to put him back together.
But that wasn’t the problem.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
At the exact spot where he had vanished—
There now sat a tiny, half-sized boy—looking exactly like Mima.
His black hair, his red eyes, his overall features—all remained the same.
And yet—
Somehow, his red eyes no longer felt ominous. There was no trace of gloominess either. Instead, they radiated a strange, serene calmness—so much so that even just looking at them felt oddly comforting.
Yuna carefully asked.
“⋯⋯Who, who are you?”
“My name is 『Promise』. You and I are old acquaintances, but I might be new to you⋯⋯ Nice to meet you. As for your question, I think it’ll be easier to explain it like this.”
He paused before continuing.
“I am one of his 『Modules』. You can think of me as his clone.”
===============================================================
North—Grand Duke Julius’s family mansion.
“⋯⋯How did you get in here?”
“Ahaha, eueum⋯⋯ Let’s just say I found a way. I’m 『Heart』. Would you, by any chance, need a servant?”
The Mental Care and Counseling Module.
Self-proclaimed 『Heart』.
-----------------------
Somewhere in the Great Forest.
“Was I blown away by the Goddess? What happened, Crazy Wizard? And… what’s with that appearance?”
“Keuk keuk⋯⋯ who knows. I find it quite interesting too, Bennett. It would take time to explain. And I dislike making uncertain speculations, you see.”
“⋯⋯You have become three times more suspicious. Have you actually gone mad?”
The Suspicion and Directing Module.
-----------------------
Imperial Capital Crownhall, famous dessert cafe.
“Am I seeing things right now, or⋯⋯ Kim Ruru, can you see—“’
“Munggae!!”
“Uh, eum⋯⋯ N- nice to see you mong! Have you been well, mong?!”
The Security and Arrest Module.
Known as Munggae.
-----------------------
And—on a rural road.
“⋯⋯Where’s the nearest Magic Tower from here?”
“It’s Red Toweryu.”
“Could I get a ride? I’m actually a great wizard, but my condition’s a bit off today, so my magic isn’t casting properly⋯⋯?”
The main body whose specs had fallen significantly after being split into thirty fragments, with his clones scattered across the continent.
Had crash-landed near the Red Tower.
***
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