Chapter 137 : Boundary Line (1)

After the white flash passed.

Erebos, barely maintaining an opaque form, and the goddess of [Death] appeared.

Black fragments gathering again under the pointed halo.

A faint remnant like mist faintly glowing in the dark night.

Erebos, born with a fate of endlessly dividing and multiplying her very existence, had almost completely annihilated but was rapidly regenerating. The avatar left behind by the goddess of [Death] was wavering like mist, leaving only a feeble presence, perhaps due to the influence of unstable descent.

What was certain was that they had barely managed to maintain their forms by mobilizing all their transcendent powers against my attack, which was close to a surprise attack, and that they had expended no small amount of power doing so.

“Kugh…?!”

[Huu…]

Erebos kicked off the stairs and charged at me. The black starlight flowing from her entire body like tentacles, with the help of golden energy, tried to absorb the white starlight surrounding my body.

Gooooo—!!

Black and white repeatedly pulling and pushing.

We faced each other below the stairs made of fake miracles below the throne of nothingness.

Me and Erebos.

The brightest colored starlight and the darkest colored starlight met, creating a clear boundary like the darkness just before dawn. The black and white starlight absorbed and repelled each other, completely separating a space of several hundred meters in radius.

Faaaash—!!

Rather than dealing with the avatar left behind by the goddess of [Death], who was struggling just to exist due to unstable descent, Erebos was emitting the power of [Greed] to directly usurp me, the most threatening divinity interfering with all her plans.

[Greed] Magical Girl’s Unique Skill

Great Greed is Unrighteous

The power of the world that allows one to usurp even the gods who distorted oneself.

Her unique skill imbued with golden energy was clearly taking away divinity little by little.

But what she was overlooking was:

‘My starlight shines infinitely, bound by everyone’s hopes.’

Is this what someone who connects a pump to seawater and smiles maliciously looks like?

‘If it wasn’t me she was facing, she probably would have stolen even divinity and become the strongest magical girl.’

I didn’t feel very pleased by the appearance of this heretic who had shaken me with the most intense temptation before the fight, and was completely twisting the fate of the gods and the world as she pleased.

Perhaps because it was similar to my own appearance, arbitrarily manipulating the fate of this world that should have originally been destroyed. And because the fragments of selfishness she held were not entirely incomprehensible.

Because I might sympathize with the wish residing in that ugly appearance.

Because I could understand how that ugly appearance came to be.

I wanted to cut it off more resolutely.

Because now, countless people’s dreams and futures depend on the path I’ve taken.

Because that path, which looks like a shortcut, has become a path of running away from everything and fleeing even further than before.

I declared to Erebos, who was still trying to absorb infinite starlight:

“It’s useless.”

“Do you know what I’m trying to do?”

“A pointless act.”

While repelling the usurpation of souls that Erebos was endlessly trying to invade and steal, I slowly created a white sickle. Erebos, daunted by the infinite starlight that could not be dominated no matter how much she tried to steal it with the power of [Greed], quickly retreated back again.

In one raised hand was contained the will representing the hundreds of millions of souls still dividing even now.

A command towards all armies endlessly flowing from within the rift, from chaos.

Erebos’ massive halo shone.

“Army of [Greed]!! Usurp the throne of nothingness where the bodies of the three goddesses reside!!”

[Aah…!! The power of the goddesses!! Who played with us…!!]

[The goddesses who tore apart our fate as they pleased!!]

[Let’s take everything away!!]

-Hikari-chan!! Be careful!! They’re all suddenly climbing up!!

-Leader!! I’ll come help soon!! Wait!!

The magical girls of [Plague] who had been endlessly pouring out from below the rift, facing the yellow meteors, green giant, golden saw blade, and lavender violets.

The armies of [Greed] that had imitated the starlight held by the magical girls of the destroyed world.

Armies that steal surrounding starlight just by existing.

A massive black wave of starlight, numbering tens of thousands, perhaps even over hundreds of thousands, rose up from the rift and battlefield, charging towards the stairs leading to the throne of nothingness. Their advance looked like a huge black wave crashing over the red sky.

Wooooong—

The words uttered by countless black magical girls became a massive resonance of over millions of noises, making the skin tingle.

-Notice from each small rift! The magical girls of [Plague] that appeared at each rift are returning into the rifts!!

-Notice from Elysion Observatory!! Over millions of magical girls of [Plague] are pouring out from within the trial rift!!

Concentration of all forces.

“…”

What had looked like a massive black wave gradually approached until it was close enough for everyone’s expressions to be visible. I heard Yuki and Hecate behind me casting magic to protect themselves.

-Hikari-chan!!

-Hikari-san!!

I could feel golden, yellow, green, and lavender starlight struggling to approach while protecting themselves from far away.

The crowd of magical girls covering the vast Siberian coniferous forest like clouds.

The advance of cursed magical girls who use the ability to steal starlight as easily as breathing, trying to steal not just starlight and fate, but even the world itself.

A number so immense that it could not all be dealt with just by my white shooting star or the magical girls’ unique skills.

[Our new fate!!]

[We’ll take back this world!!]

[Revenge on the goddesses…!]

[We yearn!!]

[We yearn for tomorrow!!]

Tatatatatatata—!!!

[Uwaaa!! Give it back!!! Give everything back!!!]

Machine gun fire came flying from somewhere, approaching while emitting black starlight. A fake Li Na who had come up, avoiding Himari who was desperately trying to prevent the escape of fake 2-star magical girls below.

The fiercely distorted face of the fake Li Na.

The face of the fake magical girl imitating Li Na.

Perhaps the face of the ‘original’ Li Na.

-Boss, living together with Nanami, Kohane, and Kaede isn’t bad. I still haven’t found Dad, and the kids haven’t found their families either, but… tomorrow could be better, right?

I recalled Li Na’s face when she apologized for what happened in Kabukicho, revealing that she had actually been secretly sending the salary she received from Sumire anonymously as repair costs for the shops in Kabukicho.

To protect the life of Li Na living in the current world, for the tomorrow of the girl who tried to move forward despite being full of mistakes.

I cut down the approaching fake Li Na with the white sickle.

The scar drawn by the white trajectory was so sharp that it cut through the delusions of the girl completely broken in the fate distorted by the gods in one swift stroke without pain.

Shaaaash—!!

[Kuaah…?!]

And behind her came another Sumire, Natalia, and Chen Lihua advancing while deploying their unique skills.

Unique skills contaminated by black starlight.

Navy ship

Lavender blade

Murky lightning

“Successor, I will help you focus.”

Hecate fired a silver-white bow to check the three advancing magical girls. She shot hundreds of branching silver-white arrows and briefly looked back.

A faint smile on her lips.

“Thank you, for choosing this world once again.”

“…It’s nothing.”

To give peace to all the delusions of magical girls rushing from the destroyed world, and to prevent Erebos’ selfishness from devouring this world. I aimed the white bow at Erebos once again.

What was rushing towards us was a massive wave of magical girls.

Infinite starlight.

A world created by human dreams different from the will of stars.

To put an end to their division and multiplication all at once with that enormous power.

‘With all my might… with all my power. Peace to you all.’

And behind me, warm white flames blazed, supporting my choice. Yuki, who had firmly believed I would not choose to leave for another universe even amidst Erebos’ temptation.

The girl wrapped in white flames warmer than red brought forth huge flame lotuses in both hands.

As the gathered flower buds slowly bloomed, they blossomed into flowers of light as gentle as the girl’s hot and warm love.

The lotus petals that had been palm-sized grew larger with each petal opening, warmly embracing everything.

Both hands,

The whole body,

And the two of us,

It advanced, becoming a massive white flame flower shielding all the world we wish to protect.

[Love] Magical Girl’s Unique Skill

Love-Dyed White Fire

The massive lotus of love warmly enveloped and protected the two of us from the millions of advancing magical girls. Hundreds of petals fluttered chaotically, wrapping around us to allow a moment’s respite from the massive army rushing in with malice.

Erebos, controlling [Plague] and [Greed], hid herself in the massive wave made of black magical girls, and that huge wave was rushing to break down the dimensional wall hiding the throne of nothingness.

I aimed my arrow, sensing Erebos’ starlight hidden within.

It wasn’t certain because she was hidden among so many magical girls.

Even so, thanks to the opening Yuki created, I could calmly aim at Erebos again.

“Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you.”

Yuki grasped both my hands from behind me.

Two hands warmly overlapping.

The warmth felt within them.

No longer showing any of the hesitation displayed by the weak girl I had seen in the novel.

What we are living in is not the world of the novel, but the reality after that.

Faaaash—!!

Gentle white flame starlight is added on top of the slowly gathered white starlight.

“Leader!!”

Ichika, who had approached at some point, roughly grabbed my shoulder, and green starlight seeped in and was engraved on the arrow.

Ichika who trusts me.

“Hikari-chan!!”

Yellow starlight approached from Hana’s small palm that embraced my waist with a dazzling flash.

My friend Hana.

“Hikari-san!”

Lavender starlight settled from the kimono sleeve extended by Sumire, who approached with a resolute voice.

Sumire who took responsibility for the world I opened up.

[Trust]

[Friendship]

[Responsibility]

‘Ah.’

The world we have created has certainly surpassed the original fate.

To the extent that even the gap we surpassed has become a new fate.

I understand.

The second alias is probably:

‘Those who surpassed the original fate because of me. Those who pioneered a new fate.’

Hana

Ichika

Sumire

This world has now changed because of me, and I have also changed because of this world.

A fate different from Dorim and Himari who newly bloomed in the changed world.

A testament showing we have gone much further than the previous world.

A testament showing we have completely parted ways with the fate of destruction.

‘I have definitely changed the fate of this world.’

I was no longer a stranger to this world.

Realizing this, I fired a massive miraculous arrow towards the millions of greed approaching us.