We struck camp and headed for the Great Temple.
And yet, here I was—right before an important battle—right in the middle of a full-blown embarrassment parade.
Ugh... I never imagined I'd actually cry yesterday.
On top of that, I never expected to be comforted.
Well, you know. There were... various things. Stuff I'd been bottling up.
Especially Knife. No, honestly, Knife stabbed deeper into my heart than I ever would have imagined.
And while it's not like I can just spit everything out easily, that didn't stop me from doing it anyway... and looking like that.
I showed Pakira such a disgraceful sight. I can't even look her in the face properly now.
"Phew..."
"Hey. You alright?"
"Y-yeah."
"Wof. Did you actually get any sleep?"
"Honestly, not really."
There was no way I could sleep.
Rel pushed her glasses up with a flick.
"Sleep is important. But don't end up like my ninth sister."
"What did she do, that sister of yours?"
"She just sleeps all the time."
"......"
"Nothing I can really say about that."
Talking about Rel's sister had lightened my mood a little.
Along the way, I ran into puppets and mobile mimics and took them down.
I also spotted other monsters here and there.
"This is Edda's sanctuary."
The one primarily taking them out was Megadia.
Even if this was the deepest part of the dungeon.
She apparently couldn't tolerate monsters roaming through Edda's sanctuary.
She must have had her own feelings about it as an Edda.
She spawned multiple black spheres and used them to attack.
The way they erased whatever they touched reminded me of [Banish].
Relic [Sunspot].
That was probably the origin of "Black-Devouring Megadia."
However, the way she remotely controlled multiple ones reminded me of [Phantasmagoria].
Was it because she was an Edda?
Making steady progress like that, we arrived at the front of the grand temple.
The enormous door before us was shut.
"Whoa, that's incredible!"
"Doesn't look like something human strength could open."
"Hmm... Lupinus, do you think you could...?"
"What do you take me for? That's out of the question."
"...I'll stay here. I think I'll just wait around in this area after all."
Mineha hopped up onto the broken pillar without any energy.
She was completely traumatized. Seeing that, Megadia spoke up.
"There's no need for all of us to fight anymore. We just have to settle this. But Wof, you're being drafted — sorry about that, even though it's harsh."
I can see Crowne's Banish.
That's what caused the whole argument. Dragging a child who wasn't even a delver into a fight wasn't right.
Naturally.
In the end, the danger the enemy posed outweighed everything, and I ended up joining the fight.
"Well then, here's the plan. I'm gonna go set up a return teleportation circle in an empty room in the grand temple right now. Only thing is, I'll be completely defenseless while I'm setting it up, so I'd appreciate it if someone could escort me."
"Then allow me to volunteer."
The first one to speak up was Lupinus.
"Lupinus... you!?"
"Guarding is my specialty. Besides, this also serves as an apology."
"An apology, you say?"
"Yes. So please rest assured — I will absolutely protect Lord Alexander."
I guess she was apologizing for suspecting him of being a fellow monster and trying to condemn him.
Come to think of it, things kind of got swept under the rug after Alexander came back.
We had way bigger things to worry about at the time, so he has no idea about any of it.
"I'll stay too. Been listenin', and that Crowne fella just rubs me wrong, I tell ya. Besides, I'm the one who cooks up the victory meal for everybody."
"I'll stay too. But Axe — you're joining the team. Keep Wof safe."
"Got it."
"Hmm... Riv's staying too."
"What did she just say?"
"Come again?"
The members of Torquetam were stunned.
Riv murmured in a low voice.
"...Crowne... not Riv's type..."
"Then come help us instead."
"Mm... got it... Pakira... leaving it to you."
"Can't be helped, I suppose."
"So that's everyone staying behind."
The ones staying were: Mineha, Alexander, Lupinus, Riv.
And Rel, Hoss.
That meant the battle team was: Megadia, me, Pakira, Bid, Axe.
"This grand door reacts to Edda," Megadia said.
Megadia placed her hand on the enormous door.
Was I imagining it, or were her purple eyes glowing?
"<Rochea>"
The moment she spoke the incantation, the great door responded and began to open.
"It... it really opened."
"It only reacts to Edda, huh?"
"That's right. The door itself is legendary."
"Then why did it open yesterday, I wonder?"
"Maybe some kind of malfunction happened?"
"That shouldn't be possible, though."
"Ugh, seriously. There's no tension at all, is there."
"Coming from you, that feels a bit off."
"Lupinus! What's supposed to mean?!"
Everyone laughed. I laughed too.
We were about to head into a decisive battle, yet there was truly no tension.
But somehow, that felt right. For us, this was enough.
The massive double doors swung fully open.
"Well then, we'll go set it up."
"Yes, I'll see you off."
"Mm... I'm heading out."
"We'll go stock up on food in the Temple District."
"I'll whip up a feast and wait for you. Hoss."
"Rel, you help too."
"Be careful out there, Wof."
"Yes. Mineha."
"<Logito>"
As Megadia chanted the incantation, the massive doors slowly began to close.
Megadia went in first.
Then Bid. Pakira, and lastly me.
The enormous double doors shut with a heavy thud.
And just like that, we were separated from the waiting group.
Stained glass glittering across the entire ceiling. A vast prayer hall.
"W-what's with this pressure...?"
"What in the world. This intimidation...?"
"This is brutal..."
"You can feel it a little, huh."
So even Megadia feels it somewhat.
I don't feel anything.
And in the back, a statue of a girl—a second coming of generosity. Directly beneath it, a flashy yet tacky throne?
Someone was collapsed beside it. Crown. Rolling around on the ground, groaning in pain.
According to Danger Discernment, Crown was flagged in red.
"What the heck? Is even he being overwhelmed by the pressure?"
Axe stood with his sword still drawn, looking confused.
"Can't really blame him, given this kind of pressure..."
"What a dimwit."
"Well, now..."
Right, what even is this... hmm.
Come to think of it, Alexander had told us something.
The Crown was a monster that runs.
So it had fled in here, the door shut behind it, and it couldn't get back out.
Pretty dim, but I guess that's fitting for a clown.
Or so we'd thought.
We each readied our weapons and advanced toward the Crown.
In that instant, I saw it.
"—!"
Above us. Something huge and pitch-black was crashing down.
Pitch-black.
"Wof, watch out!"
Someone shoved me hard — bam.
Right after, a tremendous vibration and roar echoed into the distance.
"Ahahahahahahahahaha—"
Laughter.
"Aaaahahahahahahaha—"
A cackling, mindless laugh.
What... my body won't... move right... it hurts... what happened...?
My arms work. My legs... no good, huh.
Then... I reach into my pouch. I touch the egg at the back.
I grab it and pull it out. Open it somehow... and get it into my mouth.
Come to think of it, I'd never actually had an elixir before.
What the... My body, my strength, my consciousness — I could feel them all surging back at once.
I stood up. I could actually stand. The pain was gone too.
And then I saw it.
A massive black something had torn through the great temple's prayer hall.
The statue of Generous had been shattered too. No, that didn't matter.
Is everyone okay... huh.
Words failed me.
"...—Huh."
Megadia had collapsed in a corner of the black mass. Was I imagining it?
It looked like her neck was bent at a strange angle.
Bid was nowhere to be seen.
Right — it was Bid who pushed me back then.
Where did she go — then I noticed her shortbow lying on the ground.
And then... from beneath the massive black thing, a small arm.
That leather gauntlet.
No… that… that can't be true… Axe!?
I panicked, looked around, and spotted it right away.
A-Axe's… only his sword was there…
Where's Axe!? Where did Axe go!?
She has to be right here, she has to be!
"W-Wof…"
"P-Pakira!"
I rushed over to Pakira, who was staggering and drenched in blood.
A terrible wound. But she was alive. That was all that mattered.
"Wh-what exactly…"
"…That was… the corpse of the giant land catfish we defeated…"
"So the dungeon's anomaly…"
So it really was that enormous. Bigger than a whale.
"That corpse was…"
It was dropped. From above.
How? A teleportation. A Relic — Teleportation.
Then the teleportation that happened during the earthquake… whose doing was that?
The Crown.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
On top of the corpse, the Crown was rolling around, slapping it and laughing hysterically.
So that thing was the real culprit behind all of it.
I handed the sacred egg of the elixir to Pakira.
"Heal everyone's wounds with this. I'm counting on you."
"Y-You... this is... don't tell me!?"
"I'm going to go defeat that thing now."
"Wait, hold on."
I used [Still One] to immediately shift into [Generous].
My hair turned purple, and violet bled into my blue eyes.
My heart grew still. Right now, there was no hesitation, no nothing.
"...I'm off."
"—You come back now, you hear?"
Pakira smiled gently.
I vaulted onto the massive corpse of the land catfish in a single leap.
The Crown was waiting for me atop the titanic body — pitch-black, like a stretch of scorched earth.
Megadia was... Bid was dead. She'd thrown herself in front of me as a shield and been crushed.
Axe was probably the same... crushed beneath that giant land catfish, dead.
And the others. Hoss. Rel. Mineha.
Alexander. Riv. Lupinus.
I didn't know if any of them were safe.
No, more than that — this thing, this Crown, had already claimed far too many victims.
I'll never forget the tragedy of the mimic in the Junkyard. Even if
this
had
nev
er
hap
pen
ed,
not
one
single
piece
of
it.
I'll settle every last bit of it.
I bring out [Phantasmagoria] and, on my left arm,
[
Cosmic
Arm
].
And with my right hand, I drew the elixir knife.
The silencer announces it. Four minutes of activity remaining.
That's plenty.
There's still, still a way to take it all back.
That thing. The thing I was granted when I stood before the statue of the girl—the reincarnation of Generous.
Restrictive Relic [Banishment Line] ———
Both the activation conditions and the effects—I learned everything back then.
This relic will change the world. It will change it completely.
That's why I should never use it.
Most of all, the final piece of the conditions was missing. Nobody had any idea where it was.
But that, too, was found in yesterday's fight against the Crown.
The OOPArt compatible with Banish. The [Banish Knife].
And after talking with Megadia yesterday, I realized it once more.
This is something humans must not use.
Humans must not become gods.
But I will use it.
I'll use it. I'm going to use it.
For everyone's sake, I will use it.
'AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA'
The Crown laughs. A thunderous laugh.
What's so funny, always and always.
"I don't know what you are. Whether you're just the Fool or not. Whether you're a variant. Whether you really are a dungeon anomaly. Or something else entirely. I have absolutely no idea, and honestly, I'm not even interested. I have no reason to fight you. Well, no—that's not true. I do have a reason. But I don't resent you, and I never had any grand notion of defeating you or anything like that. That's not my role. That's Agaro's and Megadia's job. But now… none of that matters anymore. It doesn't matter. I want to save everyone… save the two of them. So I'll do what I can. For that, I'm willing to throw everything away, give up anything. With that resolve, I'm going to erase your existence completely. Not defeat. Not kill. Erase you from past to future. Do you understand what that means? Crown."
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA"
The Crown put on a show, pulling out four Banish orbs and juggling them.
My Phantasmagoria overwhelmed the Crown.
I charged in at the same time. The Crown had stopped time.
Phantasmagoria… countless Banish orbs freeze in midair.
Time stop. But it doesn't work on me. The Crown probably knew that.
That's why the Crown drew the cross knife.
A cross-shaped knife whose edge guard had also become a blade.
An OOPArt adapted to Banish—it erases whatever it cuts.
The Banish Knife.
The Crown came straight at me, laughing, sweeping and thrusting.
Quick and practiced. But I'm no slouch with a knife either.
I dodged, retreated, surged forward, deflected with Banish, evaded—there!
A small metallic ring.
The Banish Knife clashed against the Elixir Knife. But that lasted only an instant.
Like melting butter, the blade of the Elixir Knife was diagonally erased.
The Crown sneered. But I smiled too. Remaining activity time: three minutes.
[
Cosmos
of
the Arm
]grabs the [Banish Knife] blade and all.
This arm connects to the cosmos and absorbs any attack.
Then by striking with that power, I can redirect it at my opponent.
I [
Cosmos
of
the Arm
] punched the Crown.
The Crown laughed as it backed away, and I seized the [Banish Knife].
The spot I'd punched wasn't disappearing.
As I figured—the Crown's [Banish] really is weak.
I gripped the [Banish Knife] with the [
Cosmos
of
the Arm
].
This was the one thing I absolutely had to have. And now, finally, I had it.
—I'm taking it back. All of it. In exchange for your very existence!
This Constraint Relic had six conditions.
[Banish]
[Still One]
[Generous]
[Phantasmagoria]
[
Arm
of the
Cosmos
]
[Banish OOPArt]
Come to think of it, this might have been [Generous]'s six eyes.
No—I didn't know. But they were all here.
"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Crown laughed. Laughed uproariously. This guy was always laughing.
Was it because he was a dungeon monster, an undead, The Fool, and a clown?
Or did he just want to laugh? I couldn't tell. Two minutes of activity time remaining.
I stayed [Still One], became [Generous], and [Banish Knife]—
Cosmic
arm
, holding [Fantasmagoria]
and layering all of it together.
——By the deductive gods. Constraint Relic [Banishment Line]—!
It was a line of the cosmos.
My right arm became the very line of the cosmos.
That was [Banishment Line].
Crown laughed, [Banish], [Time Stop], [Teleport]—and fled.
Futile. There is no time or distance in this.
Even fleeing to the edge of this universe would mean nothing.
You're already in the palm of my hand.
Without hesitation, I cut Crown with [Banishment Line].
'Ahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...—Fuh... God.'
Crown was 'erased.'
Not from this place. Its existence was erased from the entire universe—past and future.
Constraint Relic [Banishment Line]
Completely erases any existence from the universe, past and future included.
All events that existence was involved in are converged through induction.
Conditions: [Banish], [Still One], [Generous], [Fantasmagoria]
[
The Arm of the Universe
Universe
of
Arm
Banish OOPArt
Cooldown: 5.67 billion years.
The Banishment Line dissolves.
At the same time, the Banish Knife can't hold on — it crumbles to pieces and disappears.
I pushed it way too hard. I'm sorry. Thank you.
"And... Crown. I'm not a god."
Active time: 0 minutes.
"I'm just Wof, 13 years old."
Now, let's go home.
To everyone. To where everyone is.
Pakira is waiting.