“He” said.
The Spear of Annihilation destroys everything, but it can also annihilate itself.
It’s akin to the Sacred Transformation, which burns oneself to unleash extreme power—only use it if in perfect condition.
Despite the countless warnings about that perilous technique, I used it time and again.
If I must give a reason…
“It’s because I can’t win without using it.”
The opponents are monsters that shatter mountains and overturn seas.
Surviving against such beings and eventually claiming victory is an unavoidable choice.
Every time I use the technique, I collapse more often, but this level of risk is something I can bear.
This time is no different.
Even using just one would cause serious strain on a Celestial, yet I wielded both Sacred Transformation and the Spear of Annihilation simultaneously.
An unavoidable choice to supplement my insufficient power.
To prevent the disaster that threatens to engulf the world in sea, this is the only way.
‘Really? Is that what you think?’
Indeed.
This is the only method I have, and delaying won’t yield any better results.
The seal of the Kraken has already been lifted.
‘But you know, the octopus monster became abnormally strong because of the raccoons’ mistake. It would have sorted itself out without you stepping in.’
I cannot leave everything to uncertainty.
The Empire’s handling of demon subjugation is also unreliable, so it’s right to choose a 100% foolproof method even if it means enduring some hardship.
Moreover…
‘So that you won’t die?’
I am sturdy.
I’m not just talking about my body; my soul is resilient too.
I won’t die from a mere blow.
‘But if you encounter an even stronger being, you will die. The Master said that—’
“I have no master.”
I opened my eyes.
The place where I had been lying was greeting me with a Golden Wave and a sky filled with crimson energy.
In the distance, pure white ice is arranged like a playground, and on the opposite side, purple tentacles are writhing.
Space of Despair.
A space connected to my soul, where the souls of Ancient Beasts are bound.
“…It’s time.”
I naturally adjusted my attire and rose.
Having finished logging out, I couldn’t withstand the malaise, staggered into the Bathroom, washed up roughly, and collapsed onto the bed.
Using the Spear of Annihilation and Sacred Transformation had truly drained my stamina.
As soon as I closed my eyes, the same memories came flooding back with nonsensical chatter, and when I opened them again, I was here.
With the same memory from earlier, nonsensical sounds buzzed in, and when I opened my eyes again, here I was.
Swish…
I scoop up water gently spread across the floor.
It’s a dream, but not just a mere illusion.
My mind is usually protected, so mental erosion is not allowed.
However, there are moments when that mental protection falters, especially when I’m exhausted from using all my strength like just now.
At those times, my mind isn’t properly guarded, giving a chance for the countless thoughts within me to run wild.
And those thoughts are the very entities I’ve been trying to avoid.
Sitting on the waves are two people.
The blue-haired girl, turned away, playfully splashes the calm water with her small hand.
Next to her, the brown-haired village girl is fiddling with a teddy bear, which is a doppelganger resembling Tia from the dungeon and DCK finals.
Tia stares at me intently before hiding behind the blue-haired girl.
“Don’t be scared. ‘I’ am kinder than I seem.”
“I don’t have a master.”
“Still, you don’t resent me, right?”
“……”
Swish.
The girl turns around.
The blue eyes meet the blue eyes.
Let me correct that.
“Welcome.”
Lily turns around.
“Lily Elbrite.”
[I.]
■
Lily Elbrite.
The saintess treated as a princess of an ordinary little village, a hybrid of the celestial race and human.
Long ago, I possessed the body of ‘Lily Elbrite’ and lived for over several decades before returning to Earth.
‘Still in the body of Lily Elbrite.’
Then, the question arises.
‘Where exactly did the original Lily Elbrite go?’
Is she dead?
Or since I’ve possessed Lily’s body, did Lily possess my original body?
If not, did she vanish into an unknown space?
In the early days of possession, I pondered such things seriously, but there were no answers.
Above all, the world has changed so drastically that life wasn’t smooth enough for leisurely thoughts.
I simply grew accustomed to Lily Elbrite’s body and figured out how to continue living as ‘Lily.’
The long journey has made me forget my doubts about ‘me,’ and my past self no longer exists.
‘I am Lily Elbrite.’
That was the answer I came to a long time ago.
“Are you finally thinking of meeting me…”
“I came to see you.”
“Eh? You came to see me?”
“Yes.”
And the existence before me is the ‘another answer’ I had set aside.
“This is weird…”
A little saintess of the village, barely 10 years old.
‘Lily.’
“Lily.”
She was within me.
For quite a long time, too.
“You’ve been avoiding me. Acting like I’m a nobody.”
“I didn’t know. To be precise, I was made to not know.”
Young Lily realized this much earlier than expected.
She had already sensed the existence of the little girl nestled within me before I arrived at my ‘answer.’
But I was already in the process of completing that answer, and upon discovering another solution, I sealed it without hesitation.
“I had to keep it locked away, even if it meant erasing memories.”
“Why? Because you were scared of me?”
“Because I thought you would give up.”
In the midst of this tragic situation, falling right into the battlefield.
Training every day with the resolve to die, battling god-like monsters in life-and-death struggles.
“I thought you’d just push it all onto a mere ten-year-old child and hide deep in your unconscious.”
“……”
“And so, I erased it.”
After all, the Lily before me was the original owner of this body.
Young Lily lowers her head.
What is she thinking?
The Space of Despair is my realm, but Young Lily existed with me long before this place came into being.
Understanding this child has always been a challenge, both now and before.
“…Don’t blame the Master too much. It was an unavoidable situation.”
“There’s nothing unavoidable.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course.”
There’s no such thing as an ‘inevitable circumstance’ in this world.
Anyone can turn the impossible into reality, and anyone can make the possible impossible.
This world is a bizarre one where nothing is strange, and there must have been another way.
“Surely.”
Young Lily shakes her head with a bitter expression.
“The Master will think of you the same way. Please, take care of yourself. A shattered mind won’t come back.”
“……”
“Even if you’re not dead, you rush headfirst into countless monsters. Even if your soul is torn by hundreds of demons, you leap into action. Daily, you traverse planets to save humans suffering at the hands of beasts.”
“…That’s.”
“Lily Elbrite.”
Splash.
“Both you and the Master are equally foolish.”
“…It was necessary.”
“Even the Master—”
“That.”
Swoosh!
I summon Kraken’s Spear.
From afar, its writhing tentacles emit a strange voice, but it hasn’t regained its senses yet.
“To me, it’s merely ‘that.’ So it’s best not to attach unnecessary titles.”
“Lily is a tsundere.”
“If you keep talking nonsense, I won’t look at you kindly.”
Splash!
Young Lily rises.
Tia, who’s still staring at me, sticks close and moves along.
Lily’s little hand approached and grabbed mine.
It’s a strange feeling.
I had seen someone my age in the Sea Dungeon before.
At that time, that Lily was simply my appearance, but the Lily in front of me is the real Lily.
And it’s the Lily from before I possessed her.
Fidget. Fidget.
The little hand plays with my hand.
“The great Lily Elbrite. A being who challenged the gods of the world with her small, delicate body. After countless years of hardship, she ultimately returned, having ended everything.”
The savior of the world, Lily Elbrite.
As a young saint of the small village, this was a truly impossible path.
“I respect you as Lily, and also as a human.”
“Even if you gild it…”
“It’s fine; I don’t care. Even if it’s not anyone else, ‘Lily Elbrite’ can be great.”
Hehe.
Young Lily chuckles softly.
An all-too-familiar laugh I’ve experienced many times.
As I pat young Lily’s head, her giggles grow.
“What are you curious about that brought you here?”
“This.”
“This?”
The Kraken’s Spear in my hand.
“I think we need to chat a bit. I’m going to faint for a while, so wake me up for a chat, okay?”
“Okay.”
“And this too.”
She hands me a red hammer, freshly repaired.
Kraken’s lackey… no, the crab monster Karabus.
It’s the first ancient beast I obtained in Deoen and the very first evidence that Deoen was a connection to the past world.
“Please wake him up too.”
“Karabus… we’re finally waking him up.”
“The timing is perfect now.”
“I’ll definitely wake him up.”
Young Lily nods, clutching the hammer tightly.
Just as I was about to escape from the Space of Despair, she grabbed me again.
“…Can I ask you one thing?”
“Sure.”
“In the later years, I was in a fainted state. As you know, there was ‘that battle.’”
“That’s right.”
That battle… it was so horrific and fierce that I don’t want to recall it.
So I won’t.
“Then how did you return? The System said they reconciled, but I can’t believe it. That they would reconcile.”
“Another Lily asked that too. Don’t you know the answer?”
“You’re lying, right?”
“It’s true.”
They really reconciled.
And that’s what killed me inside.
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