In the world of No Game No Life,
"Jibril, why did you have to kill her..." Dola cried, looking at Jibril, whose eyes had lost their focus.
"So it was her... I'm sorry..."
Back then, there were no rules, just endless war, with races steeped in mutual suspicion.
Jibril's long-sealed memories were reopened.
"Jibril, sit!" Sora said unhappily to her.
"Okay, Master~"
....
[In the footage, Riku received a message from a 'ghost' that Shuvi had died. He forced himself to remain calm and went to the place where they often played chess...]
[I thought this time... we could definitely win...]
[Hey... Why can't we win...]
Riku leaned against the chessboard, the piece in his hand trembling uncontrollably.
[I don't know which god created humans...]
Behind Riku sat a figure, blurred and indistinct. He didn't speak, just kept his head lowered...
[But I'm begging you... just once...]
[Could you not let us win just once...]
Riku clenched the chess piece, raised his trembling hand, and slammed it onto the board.
[If that's the case... why did you give me a heart?!]
The blurred figure did not respond.
[Shuvi...]
Riku wept in despair. Looking at the piece in his hand, he seemed to see Shuvi's hand and suddenly remembered her words.
[Riku... must live until after Shuvi dies!]
[Yeah... Shuvi is dead... it's okay now... I'll follow you...]
Riku leaned his body against the chess pieces, all strength leaving him as if released from a burden. He closed his eyes...
["Will-Bearer... Riku!"]
Just as he was about to sink into the abyss of consciousness, Riku heard a voice both strange and familiar. He looked up.
A figure clad in a black robe stood before him.
[Who are you?]
[Why have you come?]
Riku knew it was an Ex Machina, but he remained wary, questioning its purpose.
[I have no name, but everyone calls me Einzig...]
[I am here to fulfill the will entrusted by the 'Will-Carrier' Shuvi...]
Einzig spread out the ring before Riku and simultaneously projected Shuvi's final will.
[Rule Two: No one may die.]
[Rule Six: Violating any of the above means defeat.]
[Therefore... Shuvi's loss... is not included...]
[Checkmate... Riku...]
[From here on... I leave it to you...]
Riku clutched the ring, weeping softly.
Einzig began to explain the plan.
They could offer everything for Riku, help him pierce the planet, destroy the War God's core, and thus make the Suniaster appear.
Right before Riku's eyes!
[We are the Ex Machina... machines without hearts...]
[Merely tools...]
[We only faithfully obey commands... Therefore... Will-Bearer Riku... please revise the plan... issue the command...]
Riku's body trembled incessantly.
[Shuvi... if this is your wish...]
The scene abruptly shifted to the War God's stronghold.
[All fighter units——]
[Pseudo·Tianji (Heaven's Strike)]
[Full Code Open!]
Suddenly, a thousand Tianji attacks appeared above the War God's stronghold. Endless flames enveloped it.
Panic erupted inside the stronghold. No one knew who had launched the attack.
[Aaaaaah, which one of you launched the Tianji!]
Azriel rushed out of the stronghold.
Other races were also attacked, though none were truly hit.
Dwarves:
[Confirmed declaration of war attack from Artosh·Haim!!!]
[Prepare to launch the Marrow Explosion!!!]
Elves:
[Release all formulae for Void Zero Sanctuary!!!]
[Right Wing: Attack Artosh]
[Left Wing: Attack the Dwarf fleet]
Schinku Nilval deployed her magic formulae, her face extremely grim, suspecting the origin of this attack.
[An attack from Artosh·Haim? No... this is...]
Every race believed the Flügel had initiated the attack.
In an instant, the sky was filled with firepower. Viewers outside the video felt their scalps go numb—the scale and power of this war were far more terrifying than anything before!
Azriel, flying out, saw the dense swarm of Ex Machina before her and snarled:
[You underestimate us... scrap metal!]
Just as they prepared to counterattack, the sky turned pitch black. A massive vortex appeared, accompanied by endless lightning.
Space, time—everything trembled!
Oceans evaporated, all life fell into silence....
The War God had descended!
[Lord Artosh...]
The Flügel knelt respectfully before the figure appearing in the sky.
Other races stared dumbfounded at the sky, a scene like the apocalypse. At this moment, they had only one thought.
[What exactly... is a God...]
This was a true God, lofty and aloof, never caring about the survival of ants. Everything was mastered by the Gods.
[I have been waiting... my true enemy...]
War God Artosh never considered other self-proclaimed deities worthy of his attention. He was the strongest God!
[I see... So being pulled from the stage by the weak... is it the common fate of us, the strong...]
[Right... monkey?]
At this moment, the various races still thought he was addressing the Ex Machina. They did not know.
The God's gaze was fixed upon the frail humans!
Riku's cold, emotionless eyes slowly opened. He said calmly:
[Launch Tianji from the rear of Artosh·Haim... it will not harm anyone.]
[The eleven races are moving to their designated positions.]
The War God murmured, commanding the Flügel:
[All units——prepare]
The War God, the strongest deity, was now going all out!
Riku knew how terrifying his opponent would be.
[The opponent is a God... the petty tricks of mere humans are easily seen through... Even so... they will retaliate with full force!]
[Because that is the principle of the strong, the way of the strong!]
The War God's emotionless words swept across the entire world.
[You overestimate yourselves...]
[You are but dust and garbage...]
[Struggle... resist...]
[No matter how you insects resist, you cannot defeat a God... you will only bring about destruction!]
The various races began to unleash the attacks Riku had anticipated.
[Void Zero Sanctuary deployed in all directions!!!]
[Marrow Explosion, fire in all directions!!!]
[——Divine Strike——]
The sky instantly erupted with dazzling white light, gradually forming a small sun. This terrifying concentration of energy was enough to destroy the planet!
[Even the combined attacks of the Elves and Dwarves cannot stop Artosh's Divine Strike...]
[These energies will collide, contract, and transform into a light heralding the apocalypse...]
[And then...]
The passage control systems set up on the ground began to operate.
The small sun in the sky began to descend. The faces of the various races showed despair, but then Schinku noticed the attack was veering off course!
She urgently tracked its direction and saw a place where numerous figures floated in the air, forming a massive wall.
They were the Ex Machina!
Tears streamed from Einzig's eyes as he said calmly:
[We are machines! Tools without hearts!]
[We live without possessing life, and even in death, we live!]
[That is all!]
The entire Ex Machina race responded.....
[Understood!!!]
Our highest salute to the entire Ex Machina race!
At this moment, a small crystal in Riku's hand began to activate.
[11 races, 4807 individual units]
[Report... beginning synchronization]
[Code Open!]
[Now handing over the True Code·Star Killer to you...]
A structure that resembled a small tower appeared in the void, its lower part sharp like a sword.
Riku held the Star Killer and murmured:
[This leaves no pieces to play...]
[A draw.]
[Sorry... Gods...]
A beam of white light shot toward the core.... the core of the War God!
This strike shattered the planet's core and broke the Spirit Corridor.
Moments later, something like light emerged—a polyhedron with a pentagram, a regular dodecahedron.
This was the Suniaster!