Ch.197Collapse – 4

“What is it?”

—…You’re not surprised.

“Somehow, I had a feeling it would be like this.”

—Well, that’s fortunate.

The Evil God’s voice became slightly sulky.

That she “had a feeling” meant she had somewhat predicted this situation where problems would arise, which also implied she didn’t fully trust his abilities.

“I’m joking. Clearly, with people who should be elsewhere all gathering here, something was bound to happen. And just now, there was something unsettling about the flow of time as well.”

—So the effects have already spread to the outside… The situation is deteriorating much faster than expected.

“If it’s deteriorating, then we need to fix it. So, what exactly is the situation?”

Though they didn’t know the full context, everyone fell silent and tensed up when they noticed both the Goddess’s tone and content were alarming.

Leona in particular turned deathly pale, perhaps thinking the current situation was caused by her maximizing the holy sword’s output earlier.

That didn’t seem likely though. If using a holy sword was going to cause problems, something would have happened long ago.

—The damage is too severe. It’s far beyond what we can repair with our power. We’ve merely bought some time.

—Recovery isn’t impossible, but… in the end, what I mentioned before has become necessary.

“You mean the sacrifice?”

—…Yes.

“That’s fine then. At least it’s not completely irreparable.”

As long as recovery wasn’t entirely impossible, it wasn’t as serious as I thought. It just meant we needed to use the contingency plan we’d discussed.

“Wait just a moment! What’s this about a sacrifice? Who is sacrificing what?”

But that was only between the Goddess, the Evil God, and myself. The others, who hadn’t heard anything, all wore shocked expressions.

Laura urgently grabbed my collar and asked.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. To perfectly repair time, we need a medium to hold it in place, but right now that medium is also damaged. We need a replacement.”

“If a replacement is needed—”

“Someone has to fill the role with their body, what else?”

“That’s…!”

It was literal. Instead of the damaged medium, someone would directly anchor time to make it flow normally again.

They would endlessly feel every moment that time passes through, and even if the pain reached unbearable limits, there would be no option to faint or have their mind break. That’s what it meant to be buried in time.

“It’s not just one person going in. The Goddess and Evil God will be going in too. They’ll transfer their divinity and then vanish, so effectively it’s like one person anyway.”

—It’s a necessary measure, as the entire concept of time couldn’t possibly be anchored by a mere human body alone.

—We are the gods of this world, and we must rightfully take responsibility. We are prepared.

Of course, vanishing doesn’t mean they’ll completely die. They said they could be revived when their divinity is restored, but it’s uncertain whether their current personalities and memories would remain intact.

In other words, it’s called revival, but it’s essentially the same as the current Evil God and Goddess dying and new gods being born. So there was no reason to belittle their resolve.

—Crack!

While everyone was silent, time swirling in the sky split open with a chilling and ominous sound. Fragments of the past literally began pouring down from inside.

—We must hurry before it becomes irreversible. I’m truly sorry to put you in this position, special human…

“It can’t be helped, can it? It’s not your fault.”

“…?”

Sensing something strange in our conversation, all eyes that had been preparing for battle turned toward me. Leona in particular looked shocked, as if her eyes might pop out.

“Hey, wait. Mira, what was that answer? Why did you respond like that?”

“You’re not thinking of sacrificing yourself, are you? Right…?”

Rosaria and Priscilla urgently asked. When I didn’t answer, their eyes lit up. The two approached with determined steps. The others seemed to have caught on to the situation and surrounded me.

“Hey! Are you crazy?! Why would you go in there?!”

“No! Absolutely not! If you’re going, I’m going too! Or kill me before you go!”

“My dear, have you finally lost your mind? Why would you—”

“Do you even understand what you’re trying to do?”

“Master. Let me do it instead. I should be able to do it too, right?”

“Child, do you understand what this means?!”

“I never expected you to act like this here too, Miss Mira.”

Criticism poured in simultaneously from all directions as they surrounded me. Priscilla in particular clung to my thigh, physically trying to hold me back, while the Chairman looked ready to bury me in her chest.

“Mira, you… were planning this…”

Leona was literally frozen. She seemed to have realized why I hadn’t given a clear answer when the word “sacrifice” was mentioned and had instead glossed over it.

—Crack! Crackle!

The sound of something being gnawed echoed again. Chunks of flesh poured down like a waterfall from the much larger crack, pounding against the barrier.

It wouldn’t hold much longer. This had nothing to do with the barrier’s durability. It had to block not just fragments of the past but time itself. It was a miracle it had held up this long.

“Are you going to sacrifice yourself again, Savior?”

The word “savior” sprang from Latina’s lips. I shook my head.

“This is different from before. Back then, I had no choice, and I had to cling to a thin shred of duty to comfort myself while endlessly suffering. But now it’s different. This is my choice. The path I’ve chosen. I’m just doing what needs to be done. Protecting the people who are precious to me.”

I instinctively knew that opening a dimensional gate to return to the original world in this situation wouldn’t work properly. Time was so distorted that it was affecting space as well.

It would be fortunate if it simply didn’t work, but with coordinates being disrupted in real-time, there was a high chance of being torn to pieces if we entered carelessly.

“But to do this so suddenly…!”

“‘Suddenly’ isn’t quite right. I’ve always been like this. Don’t you remember?”

It wasn’t like some spirit of sacrifice had suddenly activated.

When I bit off and cut my own fingers to manipulate the situation, when I killed Mahbat and burned myself, melting and regenerating endlessly—I’ve always been this way.

I’m just acting as I always have.

The difference is that now I have a clear reason—to protect the people I care about—rather than simply doing it because I must. It was a very satisfying difference.

“Besides, none of you could do it anyway. You’d just die pointlessly rather than becoming a sacrifice.”

“Why?!”

“Because your souls aren’t high enough caliber. In other words, you can’t withstand time.”

Soul caliber, as the Goddess explained, was a measure of how much power a soul could endure.

The souls of everyone except me couldn’t withstand time. The moment they touched it, they would be torn apart and disappear rather than supporting the world. It means they would simply die.

“…”

Once it became clear that only I could do this, the atmosphere rapidly deteriorated. Priscilla in particular was on the verge of tears.

“Well, they said that once enough divinity accumulates and the two of them reappear, they’ll find a way to create a medium to replace me, so I won’t be stuck there forever. I’ll be able to come out someday.”

“You call that comforting?! ‘Someday’ is just a word!”

Leona shouted angrily. I had nothing to say since it was true. It might take a hundred years or a thousand years for that “someday” to arrive. Or it might never come.

In the worst case, the personalities of the revived Goddess and Evil God might be completely different from now, and they might not even think of saving me.

I looked down at Priscilla, who was clinging to my leg as if her life depended on it. The others also seemed determined to hold me back somehow. The Goddess and Evil God watched us anxiously.

“…I’ll do it.”

Through the clamorous atmosphere, one quiet voice rang out clearly.

It was Latina—Aria—with her blue eyes.

“…Aria, you?”

“Yes. Me.”

Aria stepped forward with a resolute face. As if no one had expected this turn of events, they all made way for her with blank expressions. Even Priscilla’s grip loosened slightly.

“I can do it. My soul once accepted Mira’s power. I even tried to recreate the world. I can endure it. Or even if I can’t, I’ll make it work.”

—It’s not impossible. You would have to endure much greater pain than him, though.

—As you say, your soul has been considerably strengthened. Thanks to having received his power. It’s risky, but it seems possible.

“See? I told you I could do it.”

Aria became even more confident. Now it was our turn to be confused.

“…Why so suddenly?”

“This all started because of me. It happened because of my greed. It’s also a result of what I created. So, let me finish it with my own hands.”

Her blue eyes scanned Priscilla, Rosaria, Laura, and Elysier in turn.

“I said I wouldn’t ask for forgiveness, remember? That hasn’t changed. You don’t have to forgive me. Remember me as the bad woman forever. This might not count as proper atonement, but…”

With a deep bow, Aria lowered her head.

“Once again, I’m truly sorry.”

When she slowly raised her head, her eyes had already returned to gray. Latina sighed.

“I read her emotions. She’s sincere. There’s no use trying to stop her. Well… except for you, Mira, but I don’t think anyone else would try to stop her anyway.”

“…Really?”

“Have you ever seen me lie about someone’s life?”

“No.”

I shook my head. Then, looking at Latina, a thought suddenly occurred to me and I urgently asked.

“Wait. If Aria sacrifices herself, what about you, Latina? What happens to you?”

“I’ve already made arrangements, so please calm down, Mira. We’ll create a temporary body with divine power to transfer Aria’s soul, and my soul will fully settle in this body. Since the soul is what matters, a temporary body should be sufficient until then. Any questions?”

Latina stated matter-of-factly.

“Since there don’t seem to be any, I’ll proceed.”