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The moment I slipped through the trees, the view opened up.
Deep within the sacred mountain where twisted trunks writhed like living things, this single spot stood unnaturally still, as if it belonged to another world.
—The torii gate of the Tenrei Shrine.
The vermilion pillars had been exposed to rain and wind, with patches of paint peeling away, yet they still radiated an eerie presence.
Before coming to Kyokuto, I had thought that standing here would naturally fill me with a sense of solemn reverence.
But reality was different.
I knew exactly why.
From the ground beneath the shrine, a massive amount of pitch-black magical energy was gushing out, completely shattering the majestic atmosphere of the Tenrei Shrine.
After passing through the torii and stepping onto the grounds, the atmosphere shifted again.
Next to the main shrine building, a wooden scaffolding had been erected, and from the earth beside it, dark magical energy swirled and erupted in a vortex.
Standing right beside it was a woman with fresh green hair—Filly Carpenter.
I wanted to restrain her immediately and stop the outflow of magical energy, but that did not seem easy.
A large number of magic spells had been set up across the entire area.
Deciphering them would take time… but they were probably original spells on the level of special-grade magic.
"You're here, Orun Dura."
Filly spoke first, sounding somewhat amused.
"As you can probably tell, please don't move any further. I've prepared quite a few things around here."
The torii gate of the Tenrei Shrine was the only path connecting to the principles of this world's magic. It could not be destroyed.
Even if I used [Time Regression] to restore it afterward, there was no guarantee the path to the principles would return to normal.
For now, the best option was to buy time through conversation and neutralize the spells.
"I know. …Still, we've had several near misses before, but this is the first time we've actually spoken, Filly Carpenter."
"Yes, that's right. If possible, I wanted to avoid any direct contact with you indefinitely."
Filly shrugged her shoulders and let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I don't have a single thing I want to talk about with you."
"…I figured as much."
I answered calmly while probing the structure of the spell formulas that had been set up.
"But well, since we've met, there's nothing we can do about it. Why don't we have a little chat? I dislike pointless conflict. I was planning to leave this country soon anyway, so if possible, I'd like to settle this peacefully."
I swallowed back the words 'Who the hell are you to talk about peace?' just before they left my throat.
There was no way Filly Carpenter truly wished for anything peaceful.
Still, if it bought me time, it was a welcome development.
"In that case, tell me. What is your goal?"
"Let's see. If I had to put it in one word, I suppose it would be 'I want to make the world pure.'"
She began speaking in the casual tone of someone making small talk.
"Order, laws, morals, goodwill. Humans who live cramped lives bound by such things look ridiculous to me."
Filly's lips formed a gentle smile.
"Humans are far uglier and more selfish creatures, aren't they? Getting angry, feeling fear, betraying and deceiving one another, devouring each other… Don't you think that kind of existence is far more honest and natural?"
She continued speaking with evident enjoyment.
"That's why I want to return everything to that natural state."
"…You do realize that if such a world arrived, order would collapse even more than it already has, right?"
My words did not break her smile.
"Of course I do. But the sound of order crumbling is wonderful. Especially when it comes with someone's screams."
Then, narrowing her eyes slightly, she dropped a venomous line.
"That said, that's only the process. In the end—I think it would be best if not a single human remained."
At those words, I felt my body grow cold.
"If that happens, no one will feel despair and no one will suffer. See? A beautiful ending, isn't it?"
"Where exactly is that beautiful?"
I exhaled quietly and replied.
"Before your desired ending arrives, just how many people will fall into despair and suffer? Are you going to ignore that?"
Filly's smile remained unchanged.
But I continued without stopping.
"It's true that the world is overflowing with unfairness. Good people aren't rewarded, malice runs rampant, and effort often goes unrewarded. I've been made painfully aware of that many times."
Humans being selfish is certainly true.
They get swept up in desire, succumb to fear, and sometimes sacrifice others.
"—Even so."
I paused for a moment.
The past I had built up.
The things I had lost.
The feelings that had been entrusted to me.
—All of it still weighed heavily on my back.
"Even so, people have kept moving forward. While getting hurt and regretting, they have piled up their pasts. That is exactly why the 'present' exists."
I stared straight ahead and clenched my fist.
"What you're trying to destroy is the 'feelings of everyone' that were built so desperately."
"'Feelings of everyone'…? Do you actually believe in something like that? It gives me chills."
Filly spat the words out.
"There was once a child who believed in such things. No matter how many times she was trampled, she kept believing, enduring, and clinging to hope. In the end, she disappeared without anyone knowing, as if she had never existed in the first place."
Her tone carried a faint trace of hatred.
"Feelings are nothing but illusions."
Filly directed a gaze mixed with contempt at me.
"…At this rate, you would probably say that even a life that was unloved, misunderstood, and simply crushed had 'meaning.' —It goes beyond ridiculous. It makes me sick."
The final words were soaked with an emotion she could no longer hide.
"Yeah, I'll say it. No matter who denies it, I will still declare that 'it had meaning.'"
I met her gaze head-on without flinching.
"If no one says it, then that life truly becomes meaningless."
Then, without looking away, I hurled my words at her.
"The world is overflowing with unfairness, but even so, I reach out. I inherit feelings and connect them to the future. —That is the way of life I have chosen."
Filly lowered her eyes and let out a small breath, as if taking a deep inhale.
When she looked back at me, there was no emotion left in her eyes.
"…I understand well enough. It seems we can't get along."
As if responding to her words, the magical energy around us began to move.
"So it seems. —[Annihilation]."
I had finished analyzing all the spells set up during our conversation.
I canceled them before they could activate.
"Tch!"
Filly clicked her tongue as she realized her spells had failed.
"—[Bind]."
I cast the spell, and jet-black chains burst from empty space to restrain Filly.
I then moved in front of the eruption point.
To learn how to stop the torrent of magical energy, I observed it carefully.
[Magic Convergence] would be counterproductive.
[Spirit Domination] would not let me control it.
[Spirit Manipulation] might work somehow, but I had not yet seen Nagisa Asagiri use it, so I could not replicate it.
No choice. Time for brute force!
"—[Magic Sword Unity Alteration][Final Form: Mont Ende]!"
I absorbed the magic sword Schwarzhause and combined it with my own ki.
Using the newly forged power, I created a magic sword and
"—Demon-Breaking Heavenly Flash!"
I released the strike carrying the power to erase the evil god's magical energy.
The evil god's magical energy gushing from the eruption point vanished completely.
I released [Final Form: Mont Ende], returned to a normal magic sword, and turned my gaze toward Filly, who lay on the ground.
"I don't know what you were trying to do, but this is checkmate, Filly."
"Checkmate…? Fufufu…"
Filly let out a laugh.
"…What's so funny?"
"What's funny is that you think you've crushed my plan. Unfortunately, by the time you arrived, it was already over."
Right after she spoke, I sensed a horrifying presence behind me.
"—!?"
The instant I tried to turn around, my vision shifted sideways.
Before I knew it, my body was sent flying through the air.
A violent impact slammed into my back, forcing all the air out of my lungs.
I somehow managed to land and dropped to one knee.
"Guh…!"
Breathing heavily, I looked up.
"Well done, Filly. I'll praise you for that."
"…Thank you."
Standing in my line of sight was Beria Sans, the former Grand Master of the Explorers Guild, who had been publicly declared dead.
"Why are you here…? No, that's not right—"
The figure was certainly Beria.
But it was wrong.
Fundamentally, decisively, something was different.
"—Who the hell are you?"