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Second part of today's session
Having explained the current status of the reincarnated, the matter appears not to conclude.
Rather, it seems Oni-kun has another matter at hand.
I decided to wait until Oni-kun brought up the main point.
Something about a conversation with the Demon Lord, assigning the Eighth Army to Oni-kun, and so on—unstable developments are unfolding.
Yes, there's nothing I can do about that. Good luck, Oni-kun.
The Demon Lord, smiling pleasantly, asks Vampire Child: Would you like to lead a legion too?
Vampire Child, smiling just as pleasantly, refuses sharply.
Though both are smiling, sparks seem to fly between them.
Regrettably, Vampire Child intends to be forcibly transferred to the Tenth Army immediately after graduation. She cannot be handed over to anyone else.
For now, I'll observe and refrain from joining the fray.
"Shiro. There's something I need to confirm."
Amidst the invisible sparks flying between the Vampire Child and the Demon King, Oni-kun finally opened his mouth to address the matter at hand.
The resolve in his expression is clear. Easy to read.
Well then. This atmosphere demands I respond with equal seriousness.
A solemn demeanor. Though, from Oni-kun's perspective, it likely appears no different than usual. A nod.
"I want you to reveal what you've been hiding."
A rather vague statement.
But I understand what he means.
In fact, I expected this.
From Oni-kun's previous behavior, I've known he's been wary of me.
And from how effortlessly he seems to read my intentions—so well that it's almost as if he's psychic—given how few words I speak, he likely understands the meaning behind my silence quite thoroughly.
From that point, it was clear he suspected I was concealing something—evident from his demeanor during the first meeting with the Divine Word Church.
Oni-kun, during the dialogue with the Divine Word Church, was attempting to extract information from me as well.
Oni-kun noticed.
That I was hiding something.
Perhaps he did not know the nature of it.
If he did, he would be a true psychic—so even Oni-kun, despite his sharpness, must not know.
But he likely suspects it is not something favorable.
Otherwise, he would not have displayed such overt caution, nor have prepared himself to confront me directly.
And his suspicion was correct.
What to do now.
Speaking of this is a gamble.
The choice he makes after learning it.
I cannot predict.
Whether he will support me and become an ally, oppose me and become an enemy, or remain neutral and act as a third party.
No matter which path he chooses, I will not hold it against him.
But if you interfere, I will not spare you.
I told the Demon King not to touch reincarnated beings—yet that is contradictory, isn’t it?
By the time I realized it, my eyes were open.
Not through透视, but directly seeing Oni-kun’s face with these eyes.
His expression was absolute seriousness.
Oni-kun, with his sharp perception, must understand how significant this question is.
He knows. He came here knowing.
This is not half-hearted resolve.
Because it means he is prepared to confront me—worst case.
To expose what I have concealed.
Possibly earning my displeasure in the process.
He is not unaware of that.
And to confront me means his death.
He understands that. Still, he asked.
I should decide, too.
Swallow everyone present here into another dimension.
Without letting the Black hear.
What comes after this cannot yet be told to the Black.
I brought the Vampire Child and the Demon King along as well—because if I was going to tell Oni-kun, I might as well tell both at once.
Especially the Demon King—something needed to be said soon.
Oni-kun and the others, suddenly thrust into another dimension, are flustered and deeply tense.
Apologies for the confusion, but let’s begin without delay.
“The world is sustained by a system. But that system is nearing its end.”
As he speaks, a rift opens in the alternate dimension, revealing a bird’s-eye view of this planet.
The planet, seen from space.
Its reverse side.
The Vampire Child and Oni-kun both inhale sharply.
Half the planet lay barren—a desiccated sea, cracked earth stretching endlessly.
The human domain and the demon domain each possessed sufficient resources for life to persist.
Yet this applied only within those boundaries.
Beyond them, the planet held nothing but barren land.
Past the sea, no sea remained.
The ocean had dried. Cracked earth stretched endlessly.
That earth fractured further, forming vast chasms.
These were fissures born of the star’s entry.
The shattered form of a planet.
Regions capable of sustaining life existed only as isolated instances maintained by the system.
This planet existed in a state of near death, artificially sustained by the system alone.
"Energy gathered by the system should be used to regenerate the planet—this was the system’s original function. Yet currently, the system only recovers enough energy to remain operational. It does not reach the stage of regeneration."
The planet’s regeneration halted due to most of its energy being consumed in attacking D.
The Vampire Child and Oni-kun stared in silence at the sight, though this was actually a significant recovery.
From the system’s history, which they had stolen a glance at, the planet had once been shattered—literally—down to half its original form.
On the verge of complete fragmentation.
From that state, it had recovered to merely fissured.
Without massive energy consumption, full recovery through direct methods would have been possible.
Even so, many souls would have detached due to inability to endure.
That was unavoidable.
Repeated reincarnation with the same soul inevitably caused wear.
D must have anticipated this.
The system had been pre-programmed with a protective function to activate when a soul reached its limit.
I have activated it—protecting the souls of those murdered by Oni-kun.
The protected souls will rest for a period, then be reincarnated into this world once more.
However, recovery for damaged souls requires considerable time. Practically, they will be lost.
Energy consumption is now excessive. Full recovery through conventional means is no longer feasible.
Not impossible, but at minimum, one-quarter of the current population will be lost before reaching that state.
At minimum. Total extinction remains a possibility in the worst case.
Above all, the goddess’s soul, which serves as the system’s core, cannot endure.
Even now, the goddess’s soul is significantly worn.
As the Church of the Divine Word understands, the goddess’s lifespan is not long.
She is currently sacrificing her own being to sustain the system.
When the goddess’s lifespan ends, the successor will be Black.
And if my prediction holds, Black will rapidly consume itself—offering all of its being to enact the star’s regeneration.
For Black, this world exists solely to be protected by the goddess.
It will not survive in a world without the goddess.
It will die to save the world the goddess sought to protect.
To Black, dying in the same manner as the goddess is the ultimate form of suicide.
By sacrificing the two deities, this world will be saved.
Imposing a death of soul disappearance—absolute, irreversible, no reincarnation possible.
With the system I proposed, collapsing it to harness its energy for world regeneration, the goddess can be saved without sacrifice.
However, the goddess is already beyond sustaining Life, so only a return to the cycle of reincarnation is possible.
That death is unavoidable.
Yet, complete annihilation can still be avoided.
However, this requires sacrifice at the time of system collapse.
Bios with numerous skills will die upon the shock of having those skills extracted.
Worst case, soul disintegration is possible.
Since the system is collapsing, system-based soul protection will fail.
In other words, my proposed method entails sacrificing many to save the goddess.
If that is unacceptable, then the goddess and the Black must be sacrificed.
Ultimately, there is only one choice.
I explained this without concealment.