Gazing at the energy blast, so dazzling that it would shine brilliantly even beyond the sky, even in outer space, the powerful beings around the world silently reached the same conclusion about this battle. Some had known their limits and never stepped forward to stop it. Others had tried to interfere in this world-ending war, only to be casually swatted to the ground.
"It seems the will of heaven has been decided…"
In the Hall of Asgard in Northern Europe, God-King Odin, a burly one-eyed old man wearing a tattered hat, gazed at that blazing sun with his all-seeing eye. It was as if he were seeing the Ragnarok that Örlög had brought upon Norse Mythology, an unchangeable, irresistible, fated twilight of the gods.
"Ah, I hope that defeated fellow can reform and turn over a new leaf, just like this old Sun did…"
On the East, a monkey draped in a monk's robe, his golden fur gleaming and his face covered in wrinkles, watched the energy blast with a nostalgic, awed smile. What he saw was himself just after breaking out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace, having forged his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, ready to throw the Heavenly Court into chaos. Back then, however, he had acted only for his own selfish desires. He could hardly compare to this Genki Dama, which carried the power of all living beings.
"It really is an unpleasant feeling. Though I suppose this is the first time I've watched it happen to someone else…"
Within the majestic Mount Sumeru, the Heavenly Emperor, wearing a string of prayer beads, felt that familiar fate descend. Known as the God of War, he wore an irritated expression, as though he were watching an Asura who had just received a blessing from the Trimurti and was coming to overthrow his rule. The only good news was that this time, he was not the one about to be beaten.
"How is this possible!"
Disbelieving roars burst from the mouths of those powerful beings who had already been certain of the outcome. Whether their earlier feelings had been complicated, relieved, wistful, or nostalgic, every one of them now stared wide-eyed in the same direction, as if they had seen a ghost.
They watched as the brilliant sun hanging high in the sky, slowly descending, was pushed upward by pitch-black Magical Power and gradually rose into space. Any sufficiently powerful being could feel it. In the void, the threads of fate that had drawn upon the world's power were tightening.
It was like Sun Wukong emerging from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, only to be pinned beneath Five Elements Mountain by a single palm from the Buddha before he could wreak havoc in Heaven. It was like the blessed Asuras being stripped of their blessings by the Trimurti exploiting a loophole before they could defeat the Heavenly Emperor. It was like Ragnarok beginning, only for Örlög to realize the time had not yet come and go back to sleep.
"Even a swarm of ants cannot match a single lion!"
A cold male voice echoed across the world. Black Magical Power slowly pushed the energy sphere upward against the world's power, sending it into space. Then a thin layer of pitch-black Magical Power spread from a single point, wrapping around the energy sphere formed from the power of all living beings. After that, the threads of fate snapped completely.
"Hum…"
A roar beyond the range of human hearing rang out as the energy sphere vanished. Darkness, like a black hole even in the depths of the universe, instantly swallowed the light of this galaxy. The entire world trembled before that all-destroying power.
Only after more than ten seconds did the light from the stars in the sky reach the planet again. Warm sunlight shone over the land, illuminating the people who had only just realized that the crisis of the planet breaking apart had passed. It also lit up the dark figure falling rapidly from the sky before finally crashing into the snow.
"Thud!"
Spiderweb-like cracks spread from the crater smashed open by the falling shadow. Cid walked slowly to the edge of the pit and looked down at Sonki, who had revealed his true form.
"Powerful. Truly powerful. I apologize for calling you a nobody earlier. You and I put on a spectacular battle. I really did come within a hair of losing."
With a soft chuckle, Cid lightly clapped his hands and nodded, a hint of joy in his eyes. After a few seconds of silence, he turned, took Sherry and Eta, whom he had already brought with him, and slowly walked forward as he spoke.
"I really do like you, the other one... no, I love you, Son Goki."
"Hmm, since you're already dead, let's change your name for now. Personally, I think Son Goki suits you perfectly."
"So, goodbye."
He said it with a smile and walked away step by step. Cid did, in fact, want to deliver one final blow. But how to put it? Just now, aside from taking the power needed to form that Qi blast from most people in the world, Sonki had also taken one tiny, insignificant thing from inside most of them.
Now that Son Goki's emotional body was dispersing on its own, those things would return by themselves. No one would notice that Son Goki had taken that along with the power he borrowed, and it would not have much of an impact on the world either. A win-win-win situation!
Of course, that was not the only reason. There was another one.
"Tap!"
"Hehe!"
Cid stopped and smiled as he watched the ice and snow on the ground around him move without wind.
…
Inside a high-rise building scorched by fire and left in ruins, now teetering on the verge of collapse after the disaster that had nearly destroyed the world, footsteps echoed one after another.
A scruffy middle-aged man with silver hair walked up to the unconscious Yuuto Kiba, raised one finger, and gathered purple Magical Power. Then he fired, piercing Yuuto Kiba's body.
"Ah!"
The intense pain instantly jolted Yuuto Kiba awake. His body convulsed and he screamed, but the sound cut off the moment he opened his eyes and recognized the person before him. Trembling, he spoke.
"Livan-sama... have you come to deal with me... the traitor?"
"That's right, Knight of the House of Gremory. I came here specifically to deal with you. Do you have any idea what kind of disaster you've caused?"
Hearing Yuuto Kiba's voice, Rizevim chuckled and nodded.
"I understand. I accept full responsibility for the attack on the Church. But I would like to ask Livan-sama to help me save someone. She is inside this building."
"Sure. But swordsman of the House of Gremory, what can you offer in exchange?"
"I..."
Seeing Yuuto Kiba freeze,Rizevim curled his lips into a faint smile, took out a pill, and placed it in front of him.
"After committing a crime like this, you should have some idea what will happen to you once you return to the Underworld.
"How about this? Personally, I'm very interested in the power of the Holy Demon. Give me an ultimate Holy Demonic Sword forged from all your heart and strength, and I'll help you rescue that person. What do you say?"
"Remember, it has to be a genuine Holy Demonic Sword."
Looking at the pill before him, Yuuto Kiba hesitated for a moment before picking it up and swallowing it.
In an instant, Yuuto Kiba's aura surged back to its peak. But after only a few seconds, he collapsed to the ground, and the sword he had obtained by using the pill to overdraw his body stabbed into the floor.
"So this is the legendary miracle, the True Holy Demonic Sword? It really is beautiful."
Rizevim paid no attention to Yuuto Kiba lying on the ground. He simply picked up the Holy Demonic Sword, half darkness and half light, the true form of Sword Birth, the Sacred Gear inside Yuuto Kiba's body, a sword he could only create once in his life, and admired it so much he could hardly put it down.
"Livan-sama, the Holy Demonic Sword is ready. As for that girl…"
Listening to Yuuto Kiba's weak, labored breathing beside him, Rizevim waved impatiently.
"I know, I know. We've already taken that girl away."
"I see. That's good."
Rizevim studied the Holy Demonic Sword for a while before seeming to remember something. He turned to Yuuto Kiba.
"Oh, about the House of Gremory's responsibility in this matter…"
"It was all my doing. I lost my mind and colluded with the Fallen Angels to destroy Excalibur. I betrayed the Underworld, and the attack on the Church had absolutely nothing to do with my former master, Rias Gremory…"
Instead of looking satisfied, Rizevim shook his head.
"No. This matter involves both the House of Gremory and the House of Sitri. Serafall and Sirzechs, two of the Four Great Satans, wanted to weaken the Church and start a war, so they sent you to collude with the Fallen Angels and plan this attack.
Oh, and one more thing. Head to this place yourself later. Try not to die on the way."
"…!!!"
Yuuto Kiba sprang up, trying to take back the Holy Demonic Sword, but Rizevim kicked him away. Wearing a vicious grin, he walked up to Yuuto Kiba, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him off the ground.
"If you don't say anything, and I don't say anything, then combined with everything that happened earlier, everyone will assume this was caused by Fallen Angels and Devils working together."
"W-why…!"
"Why? Because I'm an undercover agent! Hahaha…"
Only when Yuuto Kiba was about to suffocate did Rizevim release his throat and let him drop to the ground.
"Cough, cough… I'll never listen to you."
"No. You will, unless you don't care what happens to her."
Yuuto Kiba stared at the strand of hair that had fallen in front of him. His pupils trembled, and the resolve in his heart to die rather than yield began to waver beyond his control.
"Why reject me? You've already betrayed that idiotic woman from the House of Gremory for her sake and dragged the Underworld into a public scandal. Do you really think you can still go back?"
"No… no…"
"Think about it. Your comrade gave up his own chance at reincarnation for her sake, all so you could become stronger and protect her. Can you really face your comrade after this?"
"…"
"You can't go back anymore. If you don't want to lose everything in the end, your only choice is to obey me."
Watching Yuuto Kiba lie motionless on the ground, Rizevim gave a cold laugh. He knew the man before him had already been convinced. Only the final step remained.
"I admire you, Yuuto Kiba. So when I go back, if I don't see you there, I'll assume you died. And if you die, then she has no value anymore. I'll have no choice but to let her die with you."
With that, Rizevim ignored Yuuto Kiba and turned to leave, walking off in a certain direction.
Even a swarm of ants cannot compare to a single lion, huh? That line suits my tastes perfectly. Shadow, you really are nothing like that foolish Infinite Dragon God. You were born evil! Hahaha…
Thinking of the line that had echoed from the sky earlier, Rizevim held the Holy Demonic Sword and walked for a while before stopping in front of an enormous circular machine.
"Hmm, let me see. So this is the machine they said can disrupt the world's light and darkness? Let me try it out."
He opened the central hatch, and the Holy Demonic Sword in Rizevim's hand flew inside. Light and darkness surfaced across the sphere, and waves of destruction gathered, only to stop right before they could fire.
"Tch. Cid really was right. Scientists like this just love hiding things. Good thing I came here myself and prepared in advance. Otherwise, wouldn't such a huge investment have been wasted?"
It was just as he had expected. Rizevim wore an unsurprised expression as he took out a device and attached it to the machine.
"Let me see just how many places that crazy woman has hidden things… Over a dozen? Not bad. Then I'll test them one by one. Hahaha…"
Looking at the red dots on the device's screen, Rizevim laughed loudly as he manipulated his Magical Power and began testing.
...
Back again, huh.
Gazing at the darkness around her, the pitch-black figure lay in the void and sighed. Even after obtaining the power of every world, receiving fate's help, and grasping a new realm, she had still been defeated by Shadow with ease.
Now, all she could probably do was wait quietly for her consciousness to fade, as if she had never been born at all.
But… she still felt a little unwilling. As a consciousness that possessed the same memories, yet had been born from a heap of negative emotions that could only be called garbage, she was filled with resentment toward Cid. Those negative emotions tormented her every moment. Even facing her own true nature did not change that, because it could not change the fact that those feelings and desires were garbage discarded by Shadow.
Looking at her clenched fist, feeling those negative emotions, pain, and desire, she wanted more and more to punch that inhuman freak in the face and snap him awake.
Someone who lived only in his own world, utterly self-centered, really was annoying. She wanted him to properly enjoy the beautiful feelings and wonderful things in this world. What was the point of walking a path to the very end all alone?
She knew she should not think that way, but she truly could not understand Cid's thoughts. The things that had appeared together with her consciousness were all things Cid possessed, so Cid could understand her. But the parts of Cid she could not understand were precisely the parts Cid did not want to abandon.
[Strong. Truly strong. I apologize for calling you small fry earlier. You and I put on a wonderful battle. I was only a little away from losing…]
A gentle male voice came from the void, and the black figure curled her lips in disdain. Though their paths were different, the idea that the winner was king was something they both shared.
"Ha, that's enough. I love you…"
"Hmph!"
She let out a scoff. With the same memories, there was no way she would be frightened by a simple "I love you." That so-called love was probably just his love for the battle they had just fought, for the pleasure of pushing it to the limit.
[I really do like you, other me… no, I love you, Son Goki.
Hmm. Since you're already dead, I'll change your name for now. Personally, I think the name Son Goki suits you perfectly.]
Don't just change my name on your own. Though Son Goki does sound pretty good and suits my tastes perfectly. But I'm about to die… Right. I'm about to die, so why am I thinking so much? I'll take the name. It sounds nice.
Thinking that, the black figure waited for a while. When no more voice came from the void, she turned over out of boredom, only to bump into a black half-sphere of light.
Is this… the shell that guy left behind when he ran away?
The black figure barely managed to stand. After thinking for a moment, she finally remembered where the shell had come from. It could not be helped. Less than an hour after being born, she had faced Shadow, then super-evolved to confront her own essence, all while absorbing memories and grasping a new realm. Expecting her to remember some guy who did not even dare to jump out was asking a bit much.
Come to think of it, I remember it saying that I actually had a chance of defeating Shadow.
Suddenly recalling that, the black figure stared at the incomplete sphere of light with doubt. Since she had dismantled half of it to grasp a new realm, only half remained now.
Although she did not think there was any real chance of victory against that inhuman freak, she had nothing else to do. Rather than reminisce over a life that was mostly filled with Shadow's memories, she might as well dismantle the rest of it.
With that thought, the black figure placed one hand on the incomplete sphere of light…
At some point in that space of consciousness, the incomplete sphere of light vanished entirely. The black figure raised the hand she had placed on the sphere to her own face, and her body began shaking violently.
"What the hell? That's way too funny."
A clear laugh echoed through the air. As if she had seen something hilarious, the black figure clutched her stomach and burst into wild laughter.
"So that's all it takes to defeat Shadow? This is really, truly too funny."
Laughing until her consciousness nearly collapsed, the black figure wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and looked toward the direction where the sphere of light had disappeared.
"Thank you for your help. In return, I won't tell Shadow about you. Personally, I don't think you can harm Shadow, but I'll still wish you luck. Try to die a little later.
Whew. Then next is you, my instinct…"
She breathed out and turned around. A door appeared in front of the black figure.
"What is the difference between a King and a Mount?"
The black figure shouted as she opened the door. Inside was the true instinct she believed would hinder her in battle.
"It's instinct!
A King fights with reason. A Mount fights with instinct!
Am I the King who rides the Mount, or the Mount ridden by the King? Let's find out!
If Shadow can control you, then I can do the same. I am absolutely no worse than Shadow!"
She pressed one hand against her own instinct. Even in this space of consciousness, the black figure's body was urging her to get away from the door at once and close it immediately.
[So, farewell.]
A regretful male voice sounded in the void, causing the black figure's instinctive movement away from the door to stop.
"We'll meet again, because I love you too, Shadow-sama. I love you so much I want to punch you hard in the face.
Your life isn't only about your dream. It also has the feelings and daily life brought to you by your friends and family. So that boring dream of becoming an Eminence in Shadow will be corrected by me personally!"
She leaped through the door. In the next second, the entire dark space shattered like boiling water.
...
I knew you had potential. I knew you could keep bursting past your limits!
Cid stopped in his tracks and gazed at that beautiful figure, excitement surging through him.