“Kuuwung”
Lilith.
The Goddess of Desire among the Three Evil Gods of ‘Chaos.’
It was truly unexpected that she corrupted Cronia.
Well, no matter how much she might hold a grudge against me, she’s not the kind of woman who’d try to kill a student.
Her gallant sacrifice for the students in [Deus Ex Machina] is still fresh in my mind; there’s no way she could do that.
As Lilith mentioned earlier, it must be that Saula has undergone a transformation.
I can’t believe that the snowball effect of my actions has led to this mess.
Still, it was fortunate that I managed to subdue the rampaging Cronia and encounter Lilith while inside her inner world.
If Cronia had targeted me and gone on a rampage within the Academy, the damage would have been uncontrollable.
And because it was in her inner world, I was able to catch the formidable enemy known as Lilith.
Thinking about what Lilith did in Part 2 of [Deus Ex Machina]… ouch.
This isn’t misfortune; it’s a stroke of incredible luck.
I can’t destroy Lilith.
Right now, what exists in this inner world is merely Lilith’s spirit; her true body, her physical form, is somewhere within the realm of ‘Chaos.’
If her spirit is destroyed here, her body will also perish, causing the other two evil gods to immediately notice and seek out her whereabouts.
And if that happens, they’ll find me, and I would have to face ‘Chaos’ without any proper preparation.
Thus, I cannot destroy Lilith right now.
But I can’t just let her go either.
So I sealed her.
This is also possible here, in the inner world, thanks to the End Spec Die.
This seal containing Lilith’s spirit must be well preserved.
And later, when the time comes, I’ll hold Cronia accountable for what she did…
But right now, the priority is not Lilith.
It’s Cronia, who has been corrupted and turned to ruins because of her.
I can’t just let Cronia die here either.
Moreover, it’s purely because of me that she became a target of ‘Chaos’ and ended up like this.
It’s my responsibility.
I examined her state, having taken her down from the cross that bound her.
What I faced now was Cronia’s spirit.
Despite being merely a spirit, her body was melting away in various places.
She must be suffering from the erosion and squeezing of ‘Chaos.’
Her physical form out in the world has also taken catastrophic damage, but it’s something that can be restored with an elixir or a ‘Gift.’
However, if her spirit doesn’t recover, she won’t be able to awaken again.
Therefore, the most urgent task is to restore her spirit.
I examined her spirit thoroughly. I found that the core, the nucleus that constituted her spirit, was shattered.
Lilith… you really outdid yourself.
Her magical knowledge inherited from Dia can help reverse Cronia’s spirit.
However, given that her core is destroyed, I must embed my own ‘recognition’ of her into it.
But then, what I know and think about her would be absorbed into her, meaning Cronia would be aware of it…
It’s not a method I particularly want to adopt.
The problem is that no matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with any other approach.
Sigh. Is this really the only way?
It’s a method I’ve never actually tried before.
It’s something based on Dia’s magical knowledge.
There’s no certainty that it will succeed.
Please, come back.
I can’t lose here either.
For such ridiculous reasons.
Please.
And Cronia’s spirit was restored.
Having confirmed her spirit’s integrity, I exited the inner world and restored her physical body.
Upon coming out and examining her body, it was so ghastly that I wondered if it could even be healed with an elixir.
So, I activated the ‘Gift’ infused with my wishes, and fortunately, a localized miracle of healing occurred, restoring Cronia’s body as well.
“Uuung… Huh?”
At last, Cronia opened her eyes.
“Are you back to your senses, Professor Cronia?”
“…Luke.”
“Yeah, it’s Luke Pulsreino. Do you remember what happened?”
I hope she doesn’t.
My memories of Cronia must have flowed into her… so the memories related to [Deus Ex Machina] might have gotten in there too.
That’s a bit…
“Luke… my Luke. Luke!”
Suddenly, she leapt into my arms.
“Wah! W-what are you doing, Cronia!”
“Luke! My Luke!”
Wha… what’s going on with her?
Did the healing process mess with her intelligence a bit?
Rustle.
At that moment, I sensed a presence behind me.
Dia!
Oh right, I had completely forgotten about Dia.
Cronia had been gnawed by ‘Chaos’ earlier.
I wondered if she was okay now?
Thinking that, I turned my head and saw Dia looking at me with a shocked expression.
“Luke… No, who are you… Are you, are you Deus?”
…?
Blink, blink.
What on earth is she talking about?
*
The appearance of ‘the Son of Deus’ in the Nova Empire.
The entire Academy, no, all the Christos were buzzing with excitement.
Through a subtle acknowledgment within the church, it became almost certain that he was the one we had been waiting for, and many Christos were looking forward to news of the ‘Son of Deus’ more than of the war with the Holy Kingdom.
Then news spread throughout the Academy.
‘The Son of Deus’ has sky blue hair.
Sky blue hair!
A characteristic of Luke’s family, Pulsreino.
Only they could have sky blue hair.
If that’s the case… does that mean Luke has some connection to ‘the Son of Deus’?
Maybe he’s a relative or something!
So, I hurriedly sought Luke to ask him, and early in the morning, after getting Amy’s permission, I headed to the gym to meet him.
But Luke said he knew nothing at all.
But they said he had sky blue hair.
That was a trait only belonging to Luke’s family…
As I was getting more confused…
When we arrived at the gym with Luke, all hell broke loose.
“Everything is for Lady Lilith!”
Whoooosh!
Professor Cronia had strangely transformed.
“Dia, stand back! I don’t know what happened, but Cronia has fallen. She’s an enemy trying to kill us.”
Fallen?
Professor… fallen?
“Rise, Sarik!”
Facing the professor who genuinely attacked us with the intent to harm, I unleashed my powers.
But as expected of the professor.
All my attacks ended up blocked, and I burned through all my mana.
Then, Luke stepped in front of me.
And he shouted.
“Ignis!”
As he shouted, tremendous flames erupted from the air.
The flames gathered and formed a humanoid figure.
“Luke. You called for me.”
Can it even talk?
Is it some sort of summon from Luke?
The flaming woman pushed away Professor Cronia’s golems with overwhelming firepower.
The largest golem of Professor Cronia collided with the flames, causing a catastrophic explosion.
And as the smoke cleared, only the flaming woman and Luke remained, standing before the shattered golem.
“What the hell? A woman made of flames?”
I couldn’t grasp the situation at all.
What’s happening here?
“Dia! Can you see this?”
Luke asked me, surprised.
And then.
“Luke.”
“Sorry, Ignis. I mean…”
“No. It’s not over yet.”
Whuuuuuuh!
Professor Cronia, who could hardly be considered human with her form and size.
Seeing the transformed Professor Cronia made my body feel strange.
“Luke. I… my body…”
Gradually, my vision blurred and consciousness faded.
“Lu, Luke…”
If I collapse like this…
Only Luke would be left…
It’s dangerous for Luke…
And then I opened my eyes.
I was in a completely different space.
A strange, disgusting liquid filled with blackness surrounded me.
Am I dead?
Have I come to the afterlife?
I thought I had lived my life quite diligently… why am I in a hell like this?
“Luke Pulsreino. The adversary who took Saula from ‘us.’”
Then, I heard a voice from afar.
“Well, knowing ‘our’ existence must mean you’ve caused Saula to become like that. I’ve been hearing a lot about the name ‘Deus’ lately.”
I flew toward the voice in hopes of identifying who it was.
“When we previously sought to take over this continent, we were nearly successful. If it hadn’t been for that detestable ‘Deus’!”
I saw Luke facing off with someone.
“However, there exists a being known as ‘the Son of Deus.’ In this academy, there’s a human with an identical face.”
The Son of Deus?
“Thanks to that, I was able to gain this conviction, heh heh. I finally know who has been obstructing ‘us.’”
Could it be that they’re talking about Luke?
“No.”
And then the world came to a complete stop.
“What! The world… froze? Time stopped… No matter how I think about it, even in this inner world, it’s impossible. I’ve never heard of any deity being able to do such a thing. What kind of trick has Luke Pulsreino pulled off! Has he cast an illusion on me?”
The world where everything faded into silence.
The black liquid in the air and the mysterious woman facing off against Luke froze in mid-air.
I, who had been rushing toward Luke, too.
I could only recognize that time had stopped, leaving me frozen in place.
“No… no! This isn’t an illusion… Time has stopped… Such a feat is impossible… What the hell are you!”
“I? You said it just now.”
And Luke spoke.
“I am the Son of Deus. The savior of this world. The Messiah who will drive out ‘Chaos.’”
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