Before I possessed divinity.
The six people, including Cartia, who were connected to my soul, did not have any power like they do now.
Talking with friends and showing them what I see was something only I could do.
In fact, I once cut the connection because I was irritated and played around too much.
But that’s not the case now.
As Sirin explained to me before, I’m not sure if it’s because of the connection between my soul and this space, but now I have no power at all.
Therefore, I cannot prevent my friends from seeing the world through my sight.
Of course, under normal circumstances, there’s no need to stop them.
On the contrary, I want to show them more. It’s a world we’ve all protected together. However, I don’t want to show the time only between Rubia and me.
And when I’m showering or going to the bathroom…
It’d be nice if they could just understand and disconnect.
“What will the rules be?”
Looking at their expressions now, it seems like they have no intention of doing that at all.
“How about this: just like before, the last one standing wins?”
Even Sirin, who was nearby stretching her arms, had an expression full of competitive spirit, just like Cartia.
I could trust everyone else, but particularly Sirin and Primavera…
“…I’ll bow out.”
At that moment, Luisar, who had been standing in the back, flapped his wings flap flap and approached me.
Then he whispered.
“I tried to warn you, but it didn’t work. I’m sorry about that.”
After that, Sonia walked over tiptoe.
Then she bent down for a moment, plucked a flower that bloomed in the wide field, and came back to me tiptoe.
“…Me too. I just want to cheer for Rubia while watching Noah. Here, take this Rubia.”
crackle The flower, which had just been full of life, suddenly froze.
Transparent ice crystals reflected sunlight and sparkled beautifully.
“Wow… thank you.”
Rubia accepted it with care and smiled.
Does Rubia like flowers…?
Hmm… I should buy her a ton next time.
“Ugh, hell. I want to bow out too. I’ve learned all I need to know.”
Then Bohyang-Hee… No, Brunhilde approached with a face full of complaints.
“I knew it, but they’re more monstrous than I thought.”
clack clack Brunhilde sauntered over, swaying her tail elegantly, and tickled my chin.
“I’m curious about how strong our kiddo is.”
“Ugh…”
Next was Frey.
“Tsk. I’ll bail before I get dragged in.”
Muttering, Frey dragged his great sword over, looking somewhat disgruntled.
Then he glanced at me and snickered giggle.
“Hang in there?”
The only ones left in front of me were Cartia, Sirin, Primavera, Ser, and Carpen.
I met each of their eyes and opened my mouth.
“…Is no one else bailing out?”
“I just need to face off. I don’t care about authority or anything.”
“The same goes for me. It doesn’t seem like a time to bring up authority anymore.”
“I feel the same. Leaving aside everything else, I’ve never fought alongside Noah. I’m curious about the outcome.”
“Hm, I…”
Among them, Ser, with her arms crossed and head tilted, spoke with a meaningful smile.
“I will stand by Noah.”
“…Huh.”
Then she walked over to me walk walk and locked eyes with me.
“Ah! Then I want to be on Noah’s side too!”
Carpen, who had hurriedly followed Ser, hugged me while wagging his tail excitedly.
“How about a 3 vs 3 match?”
“Wow? What’s wrong with them? Are they scared of getting beaten by Noah?”
Hahaha! “Sure. That doesn’t sound bad!”
*Hehe, yeah. That makes it fair.”
Soon, Ser stood next to me and patted my shoulder pat pat.
“What do you think? I’ll pass the authority to you, Noah.”
Huuuh sigh…
Carpen, hugging me, was sniffing my hair like it didn’t matter whether I had authority or not.
“…Uh… it doesn’t matter, but…”
It doesn’t matter…
But I did want to fight Ser at least once…
That’s a bit disappointing.
“Wow, look at that one talking? They clearly think they’ll win.”
“Isn’t it natural for us to win?”
“Tch.”
Cartia smacked her forehead as if she found it ridiculous smack.
“Right, damn it. Bring it on, you cheeky brats.”
“…I didn’t say anything…”
“Are you not going to bring it on?”
“Uh… I will, but…”
crackle The fierce grin appeared on Cartia’s face as she grasped her weapon’s grip.
“I’m curious, after all. Just how strong you are. And how strong I am.”
“Noah, you already fought against her once, so you should know it’s dangerous to think it’ll be the same as before.”
Similarly, Sirin, who slowly spread her wings from behind, wore a smile full of competitive spirit.
Primavera quietly seized a massive scythe made of Yggdrasil roots thud!.
“Not confident, are you, Noah?”
“…There’s no way that’s true.”
“If Noah can’t bring his full self to this, then all those lovely moments with Rubia will be watched by them. Is that okay?”
There’s no merit in answering.
I immediately turned back and approached Rubia.
“Rubia will be safe as long as you stay in here.”
And with that, I drew a circle in the air with my great sword whoosh whoosh.
“And if by chance… my divine realm breaks, please take care of Rubia for me.”
“Yeah, just trust me, Noah.”
Sonia smiled brightly at my request.
“Um… it’s a little chaotic suddenly, but… be careful, Noah.”
Rubia looked between me and the people behind me, with a slightly flustered expression.
Then she bent down and whispered in my ear.
“Make sure no one sees my body, okay, Noah!”
Her voice was free from worry.
The way she spoke gave off the feeling that it was obvious I would win.
Feeling good about this, I nodded vigorously and unleashed my divine realm.
Whoooosh…
A foreboding sound erupted from the etched mark on the ground, and a crimson light surged up.
“What’s… urgh. Good call on bowing out.”
Brunhilde gulped, capturing my divine realm with her wide eyes.
Luisar looked stiff as he gazed at the divine realm soaring into the sky.
Frey immediately raised his great sword and began striking at my divine realm.
Sonia—
“Wow…”
With sparkling eyes, she gazed at me while wagging her little tail earnestly.
Well, she’s wagging it, but it’s so short it looks like her butt is just shaking.
…Do polar bears wag their tails when they’re happy?
Or is she just following what Carpen does?
I shook my head, clearing my mind, and turned to stand next to Ser and Carpen.
“What do you think will happen?”
“Of course, we’re winning because we have Noah!!! There’s no way Noah would lose to those losers!”
“…Hehe.”
At Carpen’s somewhat intimidating statement, I awkwardly scratched my nose.
“Hm, looking at Noah’s expression, he seems to be confident in victory.”
“…Isn’t that right, Ser?”
When I glanced up to my left, Ser still wore that meaningful smile.
“Of course, while I’m confident we will win if the battle continues, hmm. No, never mind. Noah, you’ll understand later.”
“…Huh…?”
What’s with that tone?
It’s a long-time familiar—extremely annoying tone?
“What’s that…! Just tell me!”
As I tugged on Ser’s sleeve, raising my voice slightly, Ser merely shrugged her shoulders and avoided answering.
Carpen still had his nose buried in my hair as if he didn’t care.
“Come on, advance. Hang in there. If you guys fall, I’ll be done too, so do your part.”
Finally, after taking a step back, Ser pushed us from behind.
“I’ll let you take the lead, so you go!”
At the same time, Cartia, who had stood off to the side, shouted out to us.
“Noah! Then I’ll charge ahead, so you follow—”
Cutting off Carpen’s words, I bent slightly forward.
“…Okay. I’ll go first. Carpen, just defend against Primavera’s attacks.”
“Uh… got it!!”
As Carpen’s hand touched the ground, rough sounds resonated thud-thud, and red blood aura swirled around her body.
The wind began to pick up. Not the wind of spirits, but one made of magic. Following that, a massive flow of magical power began to surge forth from where Ser was standing.
Standing at the very front, I took a light breath.
Huuuh…
And scanned the three standing far away.
First, the one I expected to be the most troublesome: Sirin.
Skilled in close combat and magic, she’ll move freely rather than being fixed like us.
And Primavera.
Though I know that this world is nothing like a game, based on the knowledge and the Nameless One I saw in the game…
Primavera is vulnerable in close combat.
Lastly, Cartia.
I’ve seen her fight many times, but I can’t predict it. Even in my current state, it’s hard to gauge the extent of her power.
So then, with Primavera entrusted to Carpen, the first one I must face is…
thwack BOOM—!
Sirin.
“Haha!”
As my legs moved, I arrived right in front of Sirin and swung my great sword.
However, it seemed Sirin anticipated this and chuckled joyfully while swinging her arms. Thump! The wind stung my skin. At the same time, crack, roots from the ground erupted to bind my limbs.
But it didn’t stop me.
Because Primavera’s attack is—
“GRAAAAH—!!”
CRACKLE!
I left her to Carpen.
“NOAH!”
With Carpen’s cry, I bent down. Over me, swish the pale blue moonlight rushed by. The space distorted. Ignoring it, I twisted my body and lifted my great sword. CLANG! The descending strokes of the sword clashed with my great sword.
It’s heavy.
The blade, infinitely lighter than my great sword, felt heavy.
As expected, Cartia is powerful.
If we’re talking swords, she’s even stronger than I am.
Thinking that, a bright smile spread across my face.
Cartia, facing me, wore a smile as well.
But it was only for a moment.
A deafening sound erupted from the magic circle completed behind Sirin, and I pulled my body back.
A black shadow draped over the sky. Wings fully spread. I couldn’t tell what the ancient magic completed there was, but—
“Don’t panic.”
At Ser’s words, Carpen and I charged forward again.
Whenever I swung my great sword, it would be blocked by her blade. When I twisted my body to punch, it got blocked by Sirin’s wings. If I unleashed my divine power to create space, the roots would spring forth. Carpen’s claws would stop them, and the spirits’ mysteries would crash in. Thus, in the gaps left, magic from Sirin would pour in.
At the same time, Ser’s big magic shielded it.
As if that wasn’t enough, I struck back at them.
I, a dagger within that chaos, swung my great sword once more towards Sirin’s body.
To an outsider, it may seem like we were just exchanging identical patterns, but I, they, we were making optimal judgments and acting every moment.
Knowing each other’s weaknesses and strengths, we couldn’t help but act this way.
So then, to break free from this frame, what must be done?
Destroy it.
How?
When did I ever think about that.
I just need to shatter whatever comes my way.
BOOM—! A massive fire erupted from within me. My arms and legs. My limbs spread out, my divine power bursting from the great sword. The sky turned crimson. It overshadowed the sun. The earth darkened. On top of it, my divine power overlapped.
A gentle sound, echoing waves.
Not water, but pure my divine power.
It began to take shape, swallowing everything within the world Sirin had created.
“What, what is that!”
Carpen, with his tail curled tightly, hid behind me.
Cartia’s eyes widened in surprise.
Sirin laughed joyfully.
Primavera trembled.
Huuuh. My constricted lungs expanded. Strength surged into my hands. CRUNCH—! The torn earth crumbled at the touch of my divine power.
The extended great sword leveled with the earth.
Above it rose a black sun.
The black sun shed crimson light.
Under that, a massive dragon’s shadow loomed over the land. The dragon spread its wings. It opened its mouth wide. Just looking at it felt like my eyeballs were melting from the overwhelming heat gathering.
Amidst that heat, the pale blue moonlight-clad blade was thrust upward toward the black sun. From there, azure light poured down. Illuminating the crimson world, it heralded the path of victory for her.
Spirits. The primordial spirits’ melody echoed. On the crimson earth, flowers bloomed over the sea of pure divine power. Flowers that would wither and die in an instant, flowers that would tear apart, bloomed infinitely as they absorbed my divine power.
In the center, a magic circle appeared. Not one that defied my divine realm, but a circle of magic that intertwined and seeped through. Magic flowed into my divine power like gentle waves. A miracle that no human could ever achieve. A calamity, gathering all of nature that isn’t human’s magical power, coiled together.
And finally.
Eek—!
The great sword swung.
Flames burst from the dragon’s maw.
The light of victory flashed.
Petals scattered.
Magic yawned wide.
At the same time.
Creeeak!
From the massive noise came an alien sound and—
“Oh dear…”
“Hey, you bad girl… ah, ah…?”
An all-too-familiar voice emerged.
CRACK!
“This is insane, Rubia!”
A river of blood flowed beneath our feet.
The area surrounded by the horrors of monsters.
And.
Another black sun rose.
