"Haah… W-where are we?"
Aldric replied, "Welcome, Miss Libby… to the Outside of the World."
We were standing on a floating piece of land in a vast void, and behind it loomed an enormous sphere so massive its beginning and end could not be seen.
"This is our world… isn't it magnificent?" From behind Aldric, thousands of mutated humans appeared.
He continued, "We don't need you, Miss Libby. What we want is the Hero. He'll be our trump card, and with him, Altherion will fall without effort."
"In your dreams—you'll never touch a single strand of the Hero's hair."
[The Abyss… how I've missed this place.]
At my words, every sound halted, even time itself slowed, as if bowing to my transcendence.
The moment eyes turned toward me, I formed a wall between me and Libby's eyes. But for the others, once they laid eyes on me, the mutants began clawing out their own eyes in madness. Aldric's eyes bled red—my very form was beyond comprehension.
Slowly, I stretched my hand toward the darkness of night, pulling it over myself as a cloak to hide my true shape.
Now my form was visible the whiteness of my coat and scarf covering half my body, and above my head, a halo of black—not mere darkness, but something blacker than darkness itself.
This halo was the mark of having reached 100% of the Outer Power.
"W-what are you?" Aldric stammered.
[I am the Hero. Isn't it obvious?]
Libby stared at me, both in awe and fear, as I continued, [Welcome, Sir Aldric Vailhart, to the Abyss—my world, and my home.]
"H-Hero…"
I looked at Libby's frightened face and smiled. [Don't worry. No one can hurt you here… In fact, when I'm here, no one can defeat me—except my father.]
Libby calmed a little, then mocked, "That's exactly what worries me."
[Why worry? We're on the same side.] I turned my attention back to Aldric.
With a slow wave of my hand, every mutated human reverted back to normal. And when I say all, I mean every last one.
Looking through the battlefield within the world, the fights had ceased—where Arkanthia's army once stood, only unconscious innocents remained.
With a gesture of my finger, those unconscious humans vanished—each returning to their homes, as if they had never been here at all.
I couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. [Ah… I'd forgotten this feeling—the feeling of absolute power. It's intoxicating.]
"… You look more like a villain than a hero right now."
[Sorry, but it's hard to suppress these emotions. Do you remember Aldric's arrogance earlier?]
A sly smile appeared on Libby's face. "Now that you mention it… I think he deserves it."
I extended my hand, grabbed Aldric by his collar, and lifted him. [Even though you're just a copy, that won't spare your real body from pain.]
"W-what are you going to do?" he gasped, barely able to breathe.
I began compressing his body into a spherical shape, then bounced him against the ground like a ball.
Libby chuckled lightly. "Hero, pass him to me."
I tossed Aldric, and with every rebound, he groaned in pain—his true body and every clone suffering the same agony.
"He's… rubbery? Is this your doing as well?"
[Of course. I don't want him dead just yet.]
Libby raised her sword and struck Aldric away, reverting him to human shape. I pulled him back toward us. [Libby, have you ever wondered what it would be like if our weights were negative?]
"Negative… weights?"
A panel appeared before us, listing Aldric's physical and mental attributes. His weight was 96 kg, which I lowered to -96.
His body began floating upward, so I created a tether to keep him from drifting away.
[Try pushing him.]
Libby kicked him, but instead of being launched away, Aldric was pulled toward her.
"What just happened?"
[When a body's weight is negative, it always moves opposite to the applied fo—]
Before I could finish, Libby's eyes locked on the panel. "Wait, Hero—there's an option for negative infinity in weight."
Before I could stop her, she pressed it.
"… Nothing happened."
[That's because I'm holding him.]
The moment I let go, Aldric's body shot upward at terrifying speed—but I simply opened a portal above him and caught him once more.
[Welcome back, Aldric… why so silent?]
"…" He didn't answer, his pale face said enough. I tossed him to the ground, resetting his body to normal.
Libby asked, "So… what else can you do?"
[I can do anything—even create any ability I want, so long as it's within the bounds of the impossible.]
"Anything? Then can you create weapons and such?"
Before she even finished, thousands of swords and spears of countless shapes and sizes materialized around us.
Libby was amazed, examining them closely. "Incredible… even one of these could kill King Alexander in a single strike."
Then she turned back to me. "At this level… you can only be compared to the highest Calamities—Om, Ryoma, and Sekaero. But why haven't you used this power before?"
[I can only use it here, in the Abyss. Inside worlds, I can barely access a fraction of the Outer Power.]
"So that's the name of this system of power… the Outer?"
Suddenly, light shone from where I had thrown Aldric. He had pressed the same button that had brought us here—but this time, I manipulated the coordinates from afar, sending him exactly where I wanted.
"He's gone! Did he return to the world?"
[No… he's still here, in the Abyss.]
"Shall we chase him?"
[I'll chase him.]
"What about me? If it's about speed, you can just carry me!"
[If I moved that fast while carrying you, your body would vaporize before we covered a single meter.]
"W-wait—you're not leaving me here alone, right? This place is dark and terrifying!"
I turned, my voice shaking existence itself. [Azathoth.]
From the Abyssal darkness, colossal black eyes opened. Its form revealed itself—a wolf's head, a serpent's tail, eagle wings, bear claws, and jaws large enough to devour a world.
[Hello, little one. I've returned.]
Libby hid behind me in terror. [Don't worry, Libby. This is Azathoth—my pet.]
Azathoth's massive form shrank, morphing into a tiny kitten. "H-huh?! How did its form change like that?"
I picked up Azathoth, placing him into Libby's arms. [We have no fixed shapes—we can manifest as we please. Anyway, I'll chase Aldric. Azathoth, protect Libby.]
*******
Meanwhile…
Aldric stood alone in the void, planning his next move. "This place… it's billions of light-years from my world. No—maybe even farther."
He pressed the device again. "I'll go farther still. I'll live in another world. To hell with my real body—I won't die for you!"
As the teleport ended, he sighed in relief. "No matter what that 'Hero' is… there's no way he can reach me here."
[You're late, Aldric.]
"…!" He turned toward the voice. A mouse facing the plague—that's how it looked.
"H-how did you get here?!"
[It only took two steps. Luckily, you moved exactly where I wanted.]
"Y-you… you led me here?!"
[Who else? Honestly, I didn't want to scare Libby, so I let you escape. Now… I can punish you properly.]
Behind me, thousands of colossal eyes opened, radiating murderous intent. They were of Azathoth's kin—creatures who did not obey out of love, but out of fear.
[Not yet, little ones.]
"W-what do you plan to do?"
[… I wish I could make you relive the lives of everyone you hurt. But that authority isn't mine.]
I placed my hand on his shoulder, reading his past. [Once… you were a young man striving to elevate your kingdom, weren't you?]
"H-how?!"
[Ask yourself—what changed you? Why did you become this pitiful thing? You were the first to oppose human experiments. You were the man people once followed.]
"…" My words dragged out buried memories—childhood dreams corrupted by the cruelty of the world.
[I wanted to guide you back, but you've gone too far. There's no saving you now.]
An idea for punishment struck me. I created a massive bubble containing both Aldric and me, as well as the monsters. Outside, time froze completely.
[Little ones—you may eat. But not all at once.]
The beasts began devouring him—each bite tearing away half his body. Yet his body regenerated instantly, as I rewound his time with each strike, forcing his mind to endure endless agony.
[This will continue until every beast is satisfied. It may take a while.]
I don't know how long it lasted, but Aldric's fragile body required centuries to sate just one of the thousands of beasts. One by one, they left once their hunger was gone.
At last, when all were fed, I stood over Aldric's broken body. [It's done. So—how does the pain you caused others feel, when turned back on you?]
"…" His voice was gone, his eyes hollow.
I touched his forehead with a single finger—lightning burst through his body, and I stepped back, leaving the final bite to the last beast.
And with that, the being known as Aldric Vailhart was devoured into nothingness.
Every form of life carrying his name, face, or blood met the same fate—across all realities, even parallel universes.
Then… I felt something else. Something moving along my timeline.
I reached into the stream of time and pulled it forth—
A girl with fox ears and radiant orange hair, her body covered in wounds, one arm missing. I held her by the scruff, lifting her face toward mine. [Who are you?]
It was obvious she'd fled from battle.
A grin spread across my face as realization struck. [Ah… so my future self must've fed you dirt already.]
Her face went pale, sweat dripping. "No… your future self sent me to help you, I swear—"
I pinched her jaw between two fingers and snapped it with ease.
[Do you think I'm stupid? These wounds—ice among them—prove my companions and I fought you.]
She grabbed her weapon—a set of blades—but before she could blink, her limbs were severed. She collapsed, helpless.
I stared at her broken body for a moment, then turned away, leaving the beasts to finish the cleanup. [I didn't kill them, did I? The beasts did.]
With that excuse, I continued my path back to Libby.