The overflowing flames transformed into a lion that enveloped Ares and howled ferociously. The enormous lion bared its teeth and glared at us.
It was a night sky with heavy snowfall, yet the violent heat caused the surrounding area to melt even as the snow fell from above.
“Are you really not going to allow me to stop time and approach you?”
“Clever, I must admit.”
If I stopped time right now and stabbed Ares with a dagger, the situation would end. Thanks to the meteor defense team doing an excellent job of blocking meteors, I could engage in close combat without worry.
Of course, the one chosen with me to prevent the ‘Following Apocalypse’ was Kurika. He held greatswords in both hands and took an unusually tidy stance.
“I’ll pierce through the flames. You dig in and finish it.”
“How honorable of the Emperor to open the way for us.”
“It is a noble path. Walk it savoringly.”
Kurika smiled and accepted the jest.
If it had been ordinary flames, they wouldn’t even be able to scorch Kurika’s skin, so we could simply ignore them and break through.
However, the flames swirling around the Following Apocalypse seemed to possess a consciousness, surrounding its master and radiating high heat.
Even from a distance, the heat pressed against my whole body.
It was a good thing that I had pushed aside the surroundings in advance to create a wide open space; if the flames had begun to spread to the trees or buildings, it would have resulted in a dreadful calamity.
“Right, so you’re the apocalypse, huh?”
The abilities and terror of the Earliest Apocalypse were clearly imprinted on my skin.
Moving through the darkness, resurrecting the dead to command as his army. The insane mobility to contain them all in darkness essentially made him a one-man legion.
If that’s the case, then the Following Apocalypse is a blazing inferno consuming the continent.
Once the fire starts to spread, the conscious flames will continue to spread until they turn the entire continent to ash without halting their advance.
Both the Earliest Apocalypse and the Following Apocalypse have a weakness: just before awakening. I need to end it decisively before they fully gain their power.
If I fail to suppress it early on, the swollen apocalypse will not be stopped by anyone in the continent.
“Right, so humanity’s answer is you two, huh?”
Ares’s self seemed to have fallen asleep, for his voice sounded different.
His voice resonated like a god’s, and his golden hair and eyes stretched like flames, radiating a burning red light.
“Excellent. For successfully holding back my sun, you deserve praise.”
He slowly looked up at the sky, a faint smile on his face as he watched his meteor fragments fall.
“I can’t help but acknowledge your splendid resistance. You are truly mysterious.”
“Mysterious?”
Kurika, preparing to swing his greatsword, asked in confusion, while the god unemotionally kept his gaze on the night sky.
“Yes, the old pure and beautiful forms have disappeared. The continent has become dirty and ugly, and we can only display our disgust toward you.”
The god grinned brightly, spreading his arms wide.
“Why, at the very end of all things, do you show me such a beautiful sight? The prepared apocalypse to annihilate you has instead become a reason to save you.”
“Then…”
“Then show me.”
Cutting off Kurika’s words, the smile of the apocalypse turned provocative.
“Struggle even more beautifully. Draw out our mercy.”
He spoke in an endlessly condescending tone.
Some might say hope has been sparked, but Kurika merely conveyed a sense of resolve, tightening his limbs.
Thud, thud.
Veins bulged on his neatly groomed fur.
The ground supporting Kurika was deeply pressed down.
How much strength he had exerted! The cracking sound made it appear almost like the continent struggled to bear the weight of Kurika the Emperor.
“What an excellent provocation!”
Kurika’s response to the infinitely arrogant god was a heavy slash that sliced through the flames.
The shape of the lion vanished as the flames swung back like a crescent moon and were pushed back.
A path of flames created along the trajectory of the sword.
I pushed forward toward the sight I had been waiting for.
“You are our peak. Show that greatness to the god.”
Kurika grinned, showing his teeth. I nodded in his direction and charged.
The ferocious flames, seemingly returning to guard their master, were trying to return, but I was already deep inside.
I drew another sealed dagger from my arms.
That makes two.
Upon seeing that, the god questioned me.
“Are you truly sure about this?”
“Shut your mouth.”
I was poised to stop time, but the god grimaced.
“Is this really something you can decide so easily? No, it certainly cannot be. Deep and careful consideration is required. Even if you feel you’ve thought it through, you still need to ponder once more.”
Time wouldn’t stop.
The rapidly spinning flames had formed a circle, enveloping the area. It felt like a space created for the secret rendezvous between me and the god.
“This is my domain. The only place on the continent where the authority of time does not reach.”
“… You lured me here on purpose.”
“Even if I had given my all, you would still have reached this point with the same outcome.”
It seemed the space of flames was unstable and could not sustain itself for long.
“It doesn’t matter.”
The authority of time, just a means to block potential variables.
Boom!
My sword was hurled straight at the god. The one who hastily created a fiery sword raised his hands in a hurry, yet his posture wobbled, pushing him back.
“Gah!”
“I’ve hated you for a long time. Darkness, flames, time… Such trivial tricks.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A torrent of blades rained down.
Flames shot from behind the wall of fire, yet I gracefully dodged them, continuing to wield my sword.
“Yes, now I see why time was willing to grant you the position of demigod. Your sword is already…!”
“Shut up.”
Everything about him was infuriating.
As the end drew near, my emotions boiled, yet my sword was colder than ever as it sliced through his flames.
Boom!
In the end, the fiery sword couldn’t withstand the impact and vanished.
The sphere of flames encompassing us flickered and scattered as if it had exhausted all its strength.
The edge of my blade was right in front of the god’s neck.
As the wall of flames dissipated, the surroundings came into view.
Kuri and Elise were celebrating my victory with excitement, and Arni Duratan was crying for Ares. Meanwhile, Shakallim and Eris, who had struggled in the meteor defense team, were recovering from the chaos.
The atmosphere naturally moved toward celebrating my victory, but the god and I were still locked in our unwavering gazes.
“I surrender. Ordinarily, I would burn all of you and create a new continent atop my flames.”
“…”
“Truly splendidly, you showcased your beauty to me.”
His smile was profoundly displeasing.
He spoke as if he was benevolently giving us a concession, yet in truth, he didn’t concede at all.
“I will follow the will of time. You are worth preserving.”
Crack.
As blood dripped from my clenched lips, a metallic taste spread across my tongue.
“Self, hurry and stab me with that dagger. Thus, you will forever preserve the beauty you just showed me.”
“…”
“Hurry up. I’m worried about it fading even slightly with the passage of time.”
My hand clutching the dagger trembled.
The members around me were becoming restless, witnessing my hesitation with the dagger.
After glancing at everyone momentarily, I steeled my resolve and approached the god.
“We will not lose to you.”
“You’re ignorant. We are not opposing you, so we cannot pass judgment on victory or defeat. We merely observe and act.”
In simple terms, he was saying we do not even reach the level of fighting gods. The sealing dagger I had raised high stabbed into Ares’s chest.
Just like when I pierced Rin, the sealing dagger began to change color and started to swallow the flames.
“Don’t be foolish and cry after getting bitten while looking only upward.”
Despite this threat, the god stared unemotionally and spoke just before disappearing.
“Is the last consideration you prepared really just an elf guarding a dead tree?”
“…!”
It didn’t even reach the level of a scoff.
With true disgust in his eyes, he twisted his expression in mockery.
“You’re foolish to the degree of a mere role. Don’t dare claim to have overcome us with such tricks.”
Crunch!
The sealing dagger disintegrated into powder after fulfilling its purpose of absorbing everything, and Ares’s body slumped down like a puppet with its strings cut.
Arni rushed forward.
She confirmed Ares’s condition right away.
“He’s breathing! He’s alive! He’s alive!”
She cried out with joy.
The waiting emergency team quickly gathered around Ares and began healing spells and treatments. Despite the severe burns covering his whole body, as long as he survived, healing was certainly possible.
It was all over, then.
Finally, as everyone began to celebrate our victory, a momentary gray light wrapped around me from the sky.
The symbol of the goddess engraved on my chest was speaking to me.
It was now time.
So, fulfill your role as the apocalypse.
Unlike Rin of the Earliest Apocalypse, I didn’t lose my mind and rampage.
Unlike Ares of the Following Apocalypse, I didn’t lose myself to the god dwelling within.
– You’re the one who’s being saved. You must see all the sights with your own eyes.
The voice of the goddess rang out.
– Self, grant your salvation and the apocalypse to this beautiful world!
Crack, crack!
The gray surface emerging from my toes rapidly spread outwards. Those touched by it lost their color, and time halted.
A moment so fleeting I couldn’t even grasp it properly.
The continent stood still.
“I’m sorry.”
And within it,
I, Daniel McLean, living alone, shed tears of apology to everyone.
As if I had closed a book after leaving the last page unread.
The world turned gray during the moment they were about to celebrate the continent’s victory.
And a small girl with silver hair whose heels softly touched the ground approached gracefully, lingering among the frozen people.
“How about it? You ended up saving the world, didn’t you?”
The time goddess, beaming brightly, came before me and leaned forward.
“Look at everyone rejoicing. Now, they can be happy forever!”
“…”
“Is there ever such a perfect happy ending? I’ve made transient emotions like happiness eternal!”
“Not yet…”
I glared at the goddess, who was raising her hands in joy, and firmly declared.
“It’s not over.”
The goddess claimed this was the conclusion.
In book terms, the epilogue; in theater terms, the closing act; viewed as an orchestral movement, the finale.
But it’s different.
This time is merely the final page before the true conclusion.
“The pages are still turning.”
It may take an eternity, but the world was undoubtedly moving toward the next chapter.
With a perfectly flawless happy ending.
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