"Do your best—"
I waved goodbye to Hitogami.
At the same time, I bid farewell to my entire life.
…
I was content with this life.
No matter what came next—no matter how terrible—I had the courage to keep living.
…
…
…
Time lost all meaning.
My memories began to blur; everything faded.
Is this what true death feels like?
So light… no pain at all.
I simply waited for my soul to scatter—
Yet, for some reason, the process felt unusually slow.
Probably just my imagination.
…
…
——————
『???』
…
…
[Searching…]
Locating possible world-lines that avoid the intersection of
Subject: Rudeus Greyrat
and
『Protocol: Obscure』.
…
Locking on to candidates for erasure—three individuals with sufficient destiny weight.
(Excluded non-erasable personnel.)
List:
• Rudeus Greyrat
• Outer-Rudeus Greyrat
• Lara Greyrat
Destiny magnitude… insufficient.
Cannot overwrite the "Final Future."
Commencing mandatory reinforcement.
Method: 『Protocol: Obscure』
[Protocol One] approved.
…
[Administrative Access: ON]
…
[Soul Magic]
…
[Administrative Access: OFF]
…
Warning!
Among the two erasable destiny nodes—
Composite-Rudeus Greyrat
Lara Greyrat
—Composite-Rudeus Greyrat has reached the upper balance threshold of destiny density.
Extremely dangerous.
…
Calling Subject: Lara Greyrat
to impose activity constraints on Composite-Rudeus Greyrat.
Warning: insufficient destiny power; constraint failed.
Additional call—Subject: Gino Britz
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: Kishirika Kishirisu
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: Sin-Love Demon Lord
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: Lily Greyrat
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: Nanahoshi Shizuka
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: Orsted
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: Primordial Hitogami
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: Deanna Laria
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: Sage Plum
Error: interference too strong.
Call—Subject: Demon Laplace & Dragon Laplace
Warning: insufficient.
Call—Subject: God-Hitogami
Constraint balance achieved.
…
Before the birth of Subject: Sage Capricorn,
all names listed above shall serve as counterweights,
with the primary destiny of limiting the growth of Composite-Rudeus Greyrat.
Priority supersedes Advanced Recursive World-Line Confidentiality Protocol.
…
[Real-time Observation: ACTIVE]
…
——————
…
Northern Demon Continent.
…
The metallic scent of blood was buried beneath drifting snow—only biting cold remained.
Scarlet patches on the white field stung the eyes.
A gust of razor-sharp wind—
My consciousness stirred from its haze.
…
Cold…
Pain…
Numbness…
Sensations flooded my body, forcing me awake.
…
The first thing I felt wasn't pain, but marrow-deep chill.
My body might as well have been an ice sculpture.
Am I even alive?
I couldn't open my eyes; my eyelids seemed frozen shut.
Right—healing magic.
Have to cast it or I'll die.
…
I tried to invoke silent healing magic, but…
What was the spell level again?
My memory was foggy.
Never mind—survival first.
It didn't activate.
Did I forget the formula?
…
No, I definitely learned it—under someone's guidance.
Who?
A teacher?
I had a teacher?
Who was it?
And… who am I?
…
No time to dwell.
Priority one: stay alive.
If healing won't work, what about fire?
I attempted to cast.
Warmth blossomed—good, still alive.
I kept the temperature low, spreading the flames in a loose circle; no sense burning myself.
Minutes passed…
I felt meltwater trickling across my skin.
I forced my eyes open—agonizing, as if every muscle had forgotten how.
White. Endless snow.
"…"
I tried to speak—nothing.
Vocal cords damaged?
That rules out chanted healing.
…
Lying in an open snowfield is bad news.
My legs wouldn't obey; in fact, aside from blinking, I couldn't move at all.
Even shifting my gaze was a battle.
The snow around me had melted, revealing shocking crimson.
Blood.
My blood.
I couldn't pinpoint the wounds—everything hurt and froze at once.
My left arm was stiff—frozen solid.
I spent ages thawing it with fire magic.
When the ice finally melted, the arm dropped limply to my side.
…
No response.
Necrosis?
Great.
Lady Luck really hates me today.
…
I tried thawing the rest of my frozen body, but after the ice melted, the limbs still refused to listen.
I couldn't control them.
Not good—!
…
Breathe.
Think.
Magic circle.
I can draw a healing array.
…
Even if my arm is dead, I can still channel mana—so I can still draw.
But I have no pen.
Use fire to trace on snow?
Earth magic to raise glyphs?
Gravity magic to guide objects?
No—gravity costs too much mana; running dry equals death.
So cold.
Consciousness flickered.
No more hesitation.
I used fire to etch the array in the snow.
Unable to move, I had to control the flames like a cursor—imagine playing a shooter without a mouse.
…
Half an hour later—success.
An intermediate healing array glowed beside me.
Under death's pressure, I hadn't made a single mistake.
…
I fed mana into the array.
Please, let it work—at least restore my voice.
Light flared; healing magic flowed.
A sliver of vitality returned.
"Nn…"
Yes! I can speak.
Then—
A familiar exhaustion hit.
Mana depletion.
Huh?
Why is my mana pool so small?
I almost succeeded at time-reversal magic before…
Wait—
Who taught me those spells and experiences?
…
As strength left me, I blacked out.
…
——————
Northern Demon Continent — Later
"Eh?"
"Woof?"
…
"No, I'm okay…"
A girl with aqua-blue hair opened her eyes, fatigue written on her face.
…
After a long pause, she spoke again.
"There's a coordinate… I can't see it clearly—like a massive fate-current is covering it…"
She frowned; clearly bad news.
"Sorry, Leo. Looks like our trip home is delayed again."
"Whine~"
She patted the white hound's head in comfort.
"A fate that huge—could Laplace be awakening early? No, Sky Castle and Orsted report nothing. …A Hero? Timing's close, a few years' margin is acceptable, though the location's off… Either way, it's not good—"
"Bark!"
"Hey, don't wag your tail just because you heard his name. He already…"
She didn't finish.
…
Moments later, she lifted her gaze.
"Whatever it is, we have to investigate. We're nearing the final phase—no room for error."
Though exhaustion shadowed her blue eyes, her voice remained resolute.