The different lights that brightened the sky disappeared, but the cheers of victory did not fade away.
Instead, they grew louder than before.
As if cheering for those who went to the end of the world, Hermila bitterly smiled in the midst of the escalating cheers.
“I didn’t expect it to end so emptily.”
Delia, standing next to her, also smiled bitterly as she looked around.
The remains of Brunhilde’s minions turned to ashes.
The site of Cartia, now devoid of any traces.
The bodies of the liberation army sprawled on the ground.
“If I had been a little faster… could I have saved them all?”
“If you start thinking like that, there’s no end to it. So, for now, it’s okay to smile.”
“That’s… true.”
Hermila gently patted Delia’s head, who had grown somber.
Even though there had been many serious injuries and a few deaths, this could still be deemed an overwhelmingly great victory.
Thanks to Delia, who traversed the fierce battlefield to protect the wounded, and Ser and Rubia, who provided support from above.
And thanks to Noah, who faced Brunhilde alone.
The battle between Noah and Brunhilde was overwhelmingly thrilling, even to the eyes of a transcendent being.
Moreover, that attack they had witnessed at first.
There was no future where that attack could be dodged.
The moment the arrow was shot, all that appeared was the image of their own body bursting apart, the sight of comrades dying around them.
Yet, despite facing such an incoming attack, Noah charged forward.
They tried to protect their comrades.
In the end, they thwarted the disaster.
An arrow that seemed to contain all calamities was deflected by a great sword.
An achievement that no one present could accomplish.
No, it was such a feat that one could confidently say no human living in the past or future could ever achieve.
If they had performed Reverse Heaven, could they have blocked that attack?
Painting countless pictures in their mind, they pulled out potentials for success.
The result that came was a mere two out of ten.
The probability of sacrificing their life to save their comrades was only two out of ten.
“Ha… Anyway, I’m glad. You did well, Delia.”
Hermila forced down the sense of powerlessness rising within her and comforted Delia.
“Hehe… yeah. Hermila, you did well too.”
As Delia being patted looked around, she began to seek something.
Seeing that, Hermila, donning her usual demeanor, mischievously whispered to Delia.
“Are you looking for Heinzel?”
“W-What?! No! Why would I look for that bald guy?!”
“Is that so? Well, never mind.”
“…Yeah, really, really not. Oh dear…”
Her ears turned beet red as Delia kicked the ground playfully and glanced at Hermila.
“Actually, I need to collect some money from that bald guy. Like… I promised to get it after everything ended, so now I’m thinking of going to ask where he is, but it’s nothing weird! I’m really just asking for money, so don’t misunderstand!”
“Ah, I see.”
“Really!! I really am!!!”
“Haha, I understand. If it’s Heinzel, he should be over there talking to some lady.”
“Wha…? A woman…? Why is that bald guy with a woman?!”
“I dunno? From what I saw earlier, it looked like he saved her, so maybe he’s just thanking her?”
“R-Really?”
At Hermila’s words, Delia, seized by anxiety, bit her lower lip and sent out a tiny current toward the direction Hermila pointed.
“I-It’s true…”
At that moment, Delia’s face turned pale.
“…Her chest is really big…?”
“Yeah. The atmosphere seems unusual… Given the state of the world, maybe they’re trying to express their feelings? Heinzel has been involved with her quite often, so I thought maybe… something might have blossomed there—”
“You bastard… you bastard, you bastard!”
Shaking and trembling, Delia dashed towards the direction of Heinzel before Hermila could finish.
Watching Delia sprint away, bursting with magical power, Hermila chuckled lightly and closed her eyes to glimpse the future to come.
What she saw was.
A land stained with blood.
A black sun floating in a red sky.
Ancient beasts she had only heard about consuming the corpses of her comrades.
And herself, watching that sight, all limbs severed.
“What in the world…?”
At that moment.
The sound of a horn, as if opening the sky, echoed.
Not just one, but hundreds.
A frenzied horn resonated from countless directions, drawing all beasts in the vicinity of Cartia towards it.
Hermila’s face, filled with despair, looked up at the sky.
There, a black sun was scattering an even darker shadow than before.
It was painting the blue sky red.
*
“…This indeed seems to be a place that would be called the end of the world.”
The tiny sound of breathing was overwhelmed by an eerie silence, and the horizon dividing the sky and ground had disappeared in the void.
Countless stars stretched out, adorning the sky.
The vast land that couldn’t be entirely drawn, even in the present, reflected the view of the Milky Way above.
It was like an ethereal blend of salt desert imagery seen only on the internet.
“This is not something I should be saying right now, but… it’s incredibly beautiful.”
“…Y-Yeah.”
Feeling the landscapes drawn in their minds, I responded to Rubia’s words, and both Ser and Rubia turned their gazes toward me.
“…Can you see this through your senses?”
“Yup… I was surprised too… The sparkling things are depicted so beautifully.”
Splash- I stepped on the starlight reflected on the transparent ground.
The tiny ripples created spread out broadly, undulating the ground.
It wasn’t water, nor was it soil… just what was it?
Splash- splash- splash-
As I hopped around the floating starlight, Rubia, chuckling, bent down to wipe the sparkles off my legs.
“Remember the forest where we decided to camp while heading to Loholan…?”
“Ummm…? Yeah, of course, I remember…”
“I joked back then that the ground was soft like it is now. Do you remember that? Hehe…”
“Oh… did I… say that?”
I think I might have…?
“I had so many thoughts back then. Looking back now… It seems like such trivial matters.”
After shaking off everything on her legs and tidying her clothes, Rubia stood up.
“Thank you, Noah.”
“…W-What for?”
“Just… for everything, really.”
“I also have many things to be grateful for towards you, Rubia.”
Rubia’s breath drew closer.
I too lifted my gaze, rising on my tiptoes—
“Stop the mushy stuff and let’s go look for Laila. We can’t let that weird phenomenon continue, right?”
Ser’s voice, filled with annoyance, froze our actions.
“Uh… Yeah, that’s true.”
“Um, yes. As Ser said… finding Laila is the priority.”
Suddenly feeling awkward, both Rubia and I exchanged shy smiles, opting for hand-holding instead of kissing.
“Tsk. Let’s set off.”
The spirits floating in the air, appearing more cheerful than usual, spread out around us, giggling.
In tune with that, we began to move our feet.
Splash- splash-
Every step created ripples.
The waves spread endlessly, maintaining their speed without losing their power.
“The spirits couldn’t find anything. Noah, can you not see anything with your senses?”
“Um… yeah. I’ve been spreading wide since earlier… and there’s nothing!”
I expanded my senses even further than the spirits had gone but could not find anything.
The only things present were our printed footprints and the traces left by Frey being dragged.
And the waves spreading endlessly beyond the senses.
Splash- splash-
After some time.
Rubia shivered and halted in place.
“Rubia…?”
“Did you feel something just now…?”
“I didn’t feel anything.”
“Neither did I.”
Rubia, with a puzzled expression, tilted her head as she activated her divine power.
“I clearly felt… something…”
However, when she couldn’t find anything, she collected the divine power flowing out with a sigh.
“I guess I was just tense… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I understand since I’m tense too and really need to pee.”
“…Huh? I-I feel the same.”
“Ugh, it was just a joke. Noah, you really need to go, huh? Well, if you close your eyes, go handle that. There’s nothing more embarrassing than soiling yourself in the middle of a battle.”
“Ha… what?”
“Ah, I mean, I was joking too?!”
“Hmph, I’ll take your word for it.”
“Ugh…!”
With a light chuckle, Ser’s gaze locked onto me.
“By the way, prepare yourselves soon.”
“Y-Yeah…? For what?”
“For battle preparation.”
In that instant.
Thousands of spirits gathered behind Ser began to emit tremendous power.
“Ser? What’s happening all of a sudden… oh?”
Surprised, as Rubia looked at Ser who began to search for something.
KAAAAA-!
Vehement divine power erupted forth.
While they were still dazed, Ser opened their mouth looking directly at me.
“Noah. What maintains your thirst?”
“My thirst…? Umm… regularly absorbing blood from foes or allies… Oh? Huh?”
“Exactly. We’ve been walking for over an hour now. Yet, Noah’s thirst remains unchanged. What that means is…”
SPLAT- CRACK- The sky splits open. The ground cracks. The starlight shining upon us starts to flicker and fall down.
“This place is not reality.”
Then, new skies began to draw themselves through the cracks. New lands began to be formed.
Even more beautiful than before.
The starlight, plated in resplendence, begins to illuminate the sky.
A land that completely captures it takes shape.
At the heart of this beautiful world stood.
A single tree.
A magnificent tree that seemed to connect the sky and the land.
Just like the World Tree Ser had shown in the past.
The World Tree Yggdrasil, surrounded by delicate elves.
Began revealing itself.
