Final Battle ㉓

Second part of today's session

Zee, zee.

Ah, that was close!

I never thought the main body would be destroyed!

I underestimated Yamada-kun's divine protection! Seriously!

You think I'd expect to be taken down by something as trivial as threading a needle through a pinhole?!

It's impossible to warn about something like that!

But unfortunate for you!

Even if the main body is destroyed, my second and third forms will appear eventually!

No, yeah.

It's not that I'm indestructible—it's just that as long as a fragment exists, the main body being destroyed doesn't matter.

I call them main body and fragments, but the difference is only which one I'm currently controlling and the distribution of energy—there's no real distinction, since they're all part of me.

As long as my soul remains intact, it doesn't matter which body I inhabit—it's still me.

Therefore, to kill me, you must either destroy my soul itself, or reduce the main body and every fragment to an irreparable state.

Destroying a soul is the exclusive privilege of deities, except in cases of external attacks or Abyss Magic. Even reducing a body to splinters requires far more than mediocre force.

A single limb severed can be instantly regenerated.

So I believed my victory was assured once Black was defeated...

I never expected to be blown away by a Hero's Sword.

An oversight.

As a result, my main body was destroyed.

...This hurts.

The energy contained within my main body was completely dispersed.

Frankly, no further combat actions are possible.

However, the fragmented remnants preserved in the system core managed to knock Yamada-kun and Oshima-kun unconscious through a surprise attack.

They are unconscious, but not dead.

If those two had killed the Demon King, they would have finished it regardless of energy reserves. But since they were spared, I spared them in return.

That is the proper courtesy.

Demon King, you know.

You’re pushing too hard.

You’re not fit to fight anymore. There’s no need to force yourself to stand before Yamada-kun and Oshima-kun.

I couldn’t move immediately after the main body was destroyed. If Yamada-kun and Oshima-kun had finished you off right there, I wouldn’t have made it in time.

I nearly panicked.

Yamada-kun and Oshima-kun were thrown out of the system core and out beyond the door when I knocked them down.

I walked slowly to the door and shut it firmly.

Then, I secured it with thread.

Like taping gaps with duct tape before a typhoon.

This should buy enough time to prevent anyone from opening it.

No one will be able to enter for a while.

Well then, well then, well then.

Let’s move quickly.

A series of unforeseen events have drained my energy considerably.

Going further like this would be dangerous.

Crossing a precarious bridge is unavoidable, but sitting idle would lead to the same outcome.

Then, there’s no choice.

By the way.

I drove the thread into the head of the goddess Syriel.

‘Experience points—gah, gah, gah!’

The goddess Syriel’s voice distorted, crackling with noise.

At the same time, her remaining upper body arched backward.

Her eyes widened, her expression clearly showing pain.

Ah, this scene shouldn’t be seen by the Demon King.

Good thing I closed the door.

What I’m doing now is system hacking.

Direct interference with the system, using the goddess Syriel as a conduit.

Previously, I’ve minimized her burden by gradually attacking from the outside.

But if I do it that way, it will take time.

More time means a safer collapse of the system, but then Yamada-kun might surpass my predictions again.

I’ll settle this before any unexpected variables arise.

What?

The cost will be a little mental distortion—goddess Syriel will be utterly overwhelmed!

Huh? Aren’t you all trying hard to save goddess Syriel?

That’s true, but that’s beside the point. I don’t like this one.

Just wait—she’ll be properly saved in the end.

The Demon King will accept that.

Besides, the Demon King can hide this kind of thing indefinitely.

As long as it isn’t discovered, that’s all that matters.

Direct interference with the system via goddess Syriel.

The system—a vast magical construct.

Disassemble part of it. Redirect its energy toward stellar regeneration.

And that part—status and skills, the soul-enhancing elements bestowed upon living beings of this world.

A mechanism that strengthens the souls of living beings through these elements, then recovers surplus energy beyond what is necessary for survival.

Cut away entirely the portion not involved in stellar regeneration.

Convert it into energy.

At that moment, the souls of living beings linked to it—along with their associated status and skills—are also recovered as energy.

Since these are intrinsically bound to the soul, the process inflicts significant shock.

Like forcibly pulling apart something glued together with adhesive, without using solvent.

And so, the souls of people in this world, long subjected to distorted reincarnation cycles, could no longer endure the shock.

Approximately half will die from the shock.

That is why the Black and Yamada-kun fought us—to prevent this.

If I proceed with this task now, roughly half of humanity will be sacrificed, and energy for the star’s regeneration will be secured.

……but.

"Gagaga!"

The hand of the goddess Syriel grasps me, scattering noise across the system.

Simultaneously, magical interference attempts to block system manipulation.

……yes, I knew this would happen!

Of course the goddess Syriel would interfere!

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

I understand—just stay still!

Before triggering system collapse, I deploy pre-allocated energy to integrate a new spell formula.

The goddess Syriel’s resistance ceases, as if she has understood its purpose.

Ah.

So it comes to this.

Well, I expected this outcome, but still.

That’s precisely why I conserved my energy.

Thanks to that, my energy reserves are completely depleted!

To be honest, the main body being destroyed has left me slightly short!

But there’s no alternative!

Destroy the system.

The spell I added—nothing more than a soul protection enchantment.

Pre-emptively, I’ve applied a spell to those close to me and to reincarnated individuals, ensuring their energy cannot be forcibly extracted.

This is different. It’s a simple spell designed to prevent shock death when energy is forcibly extracted.

However, applying this to every human being in this world would consume an enormous amount of energy due to sheer scale.

I’ve gathered energy specifically for this purpose.

I refrained from using it during the conflict with Black, which is why I was on the defensive at first.

Well, if I hadn’t thought I could still win, I’d have used this energy for sure. But I managed to turn things around somehow.

Honestly, I didn’t want to use this energy if I could avoid it.

If Goddess Sarriel hadn’t resisted, I could’ve sacrificed half of humanity and collapsed the system outright.

But still, the story’s ending should be a happy one, shouldn’t it?

No regrets.

I poured all of it—this energy, and even the Life required to sustain my own existence—into the final act.

In fading consciousness, I raised my hand in a thumbs-up toward the Demon King.

My hand was a scythe now, so it just looked like I was lifting it straight up. And since the Demon King wasn’t present, only Goddess Sarriel could have seen it.

Still, I finished it. Demon King.

Epilogue updates at 00:00.