Tomorrow

Lilith, after destroying ‘Rubia’s’ [Divine Realm].

Right after destroying the useless things of various worlds.

I was left alone in an unknown place.

A place where various colors were mixed on a gray base.

A place where the sky and the ground were indistinguishable.

A place where the concept of time was vague, and various physiological phenomena did not occur.

There wasn’t a single living being, and only strange octopus heads, tentacles, fog, sheep, chaos, Darkness, doors, and so on were full of them. Such… a place full of beings that I couldn’t explain how they looked even after seeing them with my own eyes.

If I had to give it a name, it would be the [Outside].

I was left alone outside the world.

At first, I was a little impatient.

I had to return to Rubia as soon as possible, but I had fallen into this unknown place.

So, just as I was about to break a part of this place and leave.

A being who called himself [Darkness] suddenly appeared and spoke to me. No, rather than talking to me, he just rambled on and on about what he wanted to say.

The point was.

According to human standards, he said that he would devour the world I live in a week later.

So, I immediately knew where this place was. I also knew what the Outer Gods the Nameless One was talking about were.

I knew what I had to do.

So I did it.

First, I beat up the being called Darkness.

Next, I beat the tentacles that wrapped around my legs.

I beat the fog, I beat the chaos, and I drove away the sheep.

After that, I continued to beat and annihilate the bizarre things that kept coming, continuing the hierarchy arrangement.

I didn’t know how much time had passed here. A week in my perception? A month? Hmm… I can’t guess.

Because I kept swinging the Greatsword without even a moment to close my eyes.

Still, because my body had transcended that of an ordinary human, I was able to continue the battle… no, the hierarchy arrangement without getting tired. It was also fortunate that there were no strong guys among them.

Anyway, at the end of the endlessly continued hierarchy arrangement.

I was able to establish discipline for everyone left in this place.

Their leader was Darkness.

He was the only being who could communicate with me.

So I entrusted him with the position of leader.

I told him to work with the other beings to stop the newly invading Outer Gods while I was away.

But if he couldn’t stop them, then I would come directly.

I didn’t force him to do it. He said he would do it himself.

Yeah. So, I definitely thought we had become friends. I thought of him as a friend and spoke nicely to him.

Where did it all go?

Could it be that he ran away…?

“…Wh, where is this…?”

Charlotte, who had been sobbing sadly until just now, stopped crying and looked around.

“Well, I don’t know the exact name… I just called it ‘[Outside]’…”

“[Outside]…?”

Charlotte, who was constantly looking around, looked at me with trembling eyes.

“Can we… can we go back…?”

…Such a pitiful look.

“O, of course…”

“Then, that’s a relief… Haa, so… Noah, what did you do here?”

Hermilla, who was holding her breath and looking around, also looked at me.

“Umm…”

The plan I had in my head was to bring one of the guys left here and show them getting beaten up…

I didn’t know it would be so empty like this.

Should I scatter some Divinity and see if they pop out?

“When I first came here, th, there were Outer, Outer Gods swarming around…?”

“…Outer Gods?”

Hermilla asked back in a stiff voice.

“Yeah… Similar to the Nameless One… guys.”

They were much stronger than that guy, but anyway.

“Then, Noah… fought with those Outer Gods…?”

“Yes…! I fought them. And I won them all…!”

Hup- Rubia gasped.

I raised my head and looked at Rubia, who was standing behind me. She was covering her mouth with one hand and looking at me with tears welling up in her eyes.

…I won, so why is she crying?

“Noah, was here alone… for a year… fighting…?”

Rubia’s voice, following her eyes, became moist as she grabbed my hand tightly.

“Uh… um…”

At first, I was alone, but later, Darkness or whatever it was helped me, begging me to save him…

Um… no. That guy wasn’t much help, so being alone is right.

“Th, that’s right? Alone…”

“Ah, uh…”

The tears welling up in Rubia’s eyes finally fell. The droplets falling one by one slowly hovered in the air instead of on the ground.

Looking at those teardrops, Hermilla also let out a trembling breath and bit her lip.

Charlotte was also crying like before.

However, if the tears earlier were sad tears, now they are… uh… I don’t know what they are.

I was trying to show something cool, so why is everyone crying…?

Did I come for nothing…?

No? It’s not my fault. It’s all because of that Darkness guy.

If he hadn’t run away, I could have just shown a cool appearance and ended it.

Just you wait until I catch you.

“…Hoo. Noah, then… did you kill all the Outer Gods that were here?”

Hermilla, who had barely calmed her breathing, asked me.

It would be more accurate to say that I annihilated them rather than killed them… um, does it matter?

“Yes… there were some that I killed, and some that I captured here―”

Tingle.

–

An unknown sensation rising up my spine.

Noah, who had stopped speaking, let go of the hand she was holding with Rubia and raised her arm. She clenched it as it was. At the same time, ―Crack! With a huge roar, a sharp awl was caught in Noah’s hand.

The speed was completely reduced. But the wind that swept from the awl scattered Rubia’s hair and scarred her fair cheeks.

Blood flowing down. Red droplets hovering in the air.

Those were seen by eyes as red as blood.

“…Noah, Noah… is your hand okay?”

Rubia’s hand wrapped around Noah’s arm. She unfolded Noah’s hand, avoiding the awl held in her small hand.

There were no wounds. Not even a scratch.

Charlotte, Hermilla, and Rubia’s faces were filled with questions. But that was only for a moment.

The questions disappeared along with the Dark Crimson Aura that was smoldering from Noah’s body.

What remained was an unknown fear.

Hermilla recalled the fear she had felt not long ago, the fear she had felt before Noah appeared at World’s End.

A fear that scraped the bottom of her soul.

A fear that slowly eroded something that was the origin of human beings.

Her body trembled. Cold sweat poured down like crazy. To shake off the fear, her teeth broke in her tightly closed mouth, and her nails dug into her skin in her tightly clenched fist.

Charlotte was the same.

Her face was so pale that it was a relief that she hadn’t fainted. The color had disappeared from her red lips, and blood was dripping from her bitten lips.

Rubia.

“Noah.”

Rubia hugged Noah’s body.

“It’s okay. It’s okay…”

She is trembling. Cold sweat is pouring down.

Her voice is also cracking, and her breathing is unstable as if she has forgotten how to breathe.

Even so, Rubia.

In a calm voice, she whispered Noah’s name and gently embraced her body.

Only then, flashing. Noah, who had come to her senses, shook her head and apologized.

“Uh, uh… I’m, I’m sorry… Th, just a moment.”

Then, in an anxious manner, she swung the Greatsword. A line was drawn around Hermilla and Charlotte, including Rubia. From that line, Dark Crimson power, Noah’s Divinity, soared up and enveloped them.

Divine Realm.

Vitality began to return to the faces of the women who had entered the Divine Realm. The trembling body, the blocked breath, and the chilling fear all subsided and disappeared.

“What should I do… Euh… Ar, are you okay…?”

Then, the surrounding scenery came into view.

Charlotte, who had opened her mouth blankly, turned pale again when she saw the scene unfolding behind Noah.

Hermilla also gaped and pointed behind her.

Rubia called Noah’s name in a voice full of worry. But that voice was drowned out by the sounds emitted by unknown beings.

Noah read Rubia’s lip movements.

So she smiled. She made an innocent smile that didn’t fit this situation at all and slowly uttered each word, one by one.

I’m okay!

Rubia reached out her hand.

Noah turned her back.

She looked at the Outer Gods that filled this place.

An appearance that I can’t even properly explain its appearance even after seeing it with my own eyes.

A look that seems to have gathered all kinds of negativity.

Towards them.

Noah threw the awl in her hand.

Too-Kwaang-!

An earth-shattering roar.

At the same time, a space was created that was blown open among the Outer Gods that filled the scenery.

Next, the Greatsword held in her opposite hand was raised to the side.

The Black Sun rose. The space she had named the Outside of the World shook. The screams of the Outer Gods echoed. Sounds that could not be made into language, sounds that human ears could not understand, were thickly laid out.

What they felt was fear.

A huge being felt fear towards a girl who could be said to be very small among humans.

They screamed and ran away. Some of them rushed in reverse. Noah, facing such things, swung the Greatsword.

From right to left.

The things that were rushing along that trajectory disappeared.

Scattering black hair. Noah, who swept it up with one hand, turned around.

Ferociously sparkling red eyes.

A bright smile. A cute upturned corner of her mouth.

Her dainty lips opened.

Did you see it?

Tilt. A coyly tilted head.

Charlotte and Hermilla’s complexions turned even paler.

Noah, who burst into laughter at the sight, looked forward again.

Tuk. She kicked off the ground. Noah’s Greatsword, which had instantly mixed into the Outer Gods, decorated the sky, leaving behind a Dark Crimson tail. Along that path, thousands and tens of thousands of Outer Gods were torn and shattered.

Finally, when all the beings in this place had disappeared.

The Black Sun set, and the Greatsword stopped.

And, Noah turned her back.

In the terrible scenery where fragments of the Outer Gods’ bodies were fluttering, she was smiling refreshingly.

The office that I came back to again was…

A mess.

The papers that had been neatly arranged on Charlotte’s desk were torn, crumpled, and flying around the office.

One of the legs of the chair that Charlotte was supposed to sit on was broken, and the leather of the sofa we were sitting on was torn to shreds.

In it, Charlotte’s hollow voice was heard.

“…Guys. Didn’t we… stay there for at least 30 minutes?”

“…Yes.”

Hermilla, who was sprawled out on the tattered sofa, replied.

“But, why… hasn’t even 30 seconds passed…?”

“What, are you saying…?”

And again, Hermilla, who hurriedly got up, looked at the clock.

A moment later, she looked at me.

“Noah… was there for a year in this place’s time…”

Charlotte also looked at me.

“Rubia said… it was 394 days…”

Rubia also looked at me.

“For such a long time… alone…”

Tears flowed from Rubia’s eyes.

“…Huh.”

Was I there for that long…?