Chapter 162: Final Chapter – 2

Chapter 162: Final Chapter – 2

*…Are you awake?*

“……I feel spaced out.”

*You were briefly sucked into the will of the world and came back.*

“The world…?”

*The world is also a creature with its own self-awareness, you know? It mostly hides that self-awareness for its own survival, but… occasionally, it manifests its will like this.*

I got up. The surroundings were a mess.

It was as if something massive had passed through.

…For some reason, I felt a slightly pleasant sensation of floating.

“……It’s not a feeling, I think I’m actually floating? No… not ‘think,’ I’m actually floating, aren’t I?”

*That’s because the world temporarily granted you divinity.*

“Divinity?”

*An entity without divinity cannot defeat an entity with divinity, even if it can resist it.

The reason this world’s god can’t do anything to us is simply because we are beings from another world, plus the system also possesses divinity.*

“So… it’s like what people commonly call a difference in class?”

*That would be an easy way to understand it. Those who have learned your divine arts can defend against the god’s attacks, but they can’t inflict fatal damage on the god.

You were originally like that too, but… now the will of the world has granted you divinity, hasn’t it?*

“In short, it means I’m in an environment where I can properly fight, right?”

*You’re good at summarizing, you are.*

The asymmetrical positions of god and creature.

Thanks to the system’s advice and my efforts… that position was finally made equal.

You could say I’d become a truly threatening adversary, not just the futile struggle of a lowly, insignificant creature.

“But what’s the exact reason the world granted me divinity? No matter how great you guys are… isn’t it too much to call it just a potion effect?”

*Among the beings that constitute this world, there are those who hold particularly important roles.*

“You mean the protagonists, right?”

*Their branch points were events that tested whether you changed their destiny, or failed or gave up.*

“So, because I changed the destinies of all those who play particularly important roles in the construction of this world, the world responded?”

*Correct. If you had missed even one branch point, it would have been a bad ending, wouldn’t it? …Well, if that were the case, it probably wouldn’t have been this future of confronting the god in the first place.*

I recalled what was said within the will of the world.

The branch point potions symbolizing each protagonist, and the declarations made.

Those paired words seemed to be a confirmation of my successful completion of all branch points so far.

“……Then, I guess I should go. To the god… to wage the Holy War.”

*Yes, let’s go! Everything is up to you now, as even we can’t provide any additional help anymore.*

The final chapter begins.

***

The Cathedral was always sacred…… but not today.

The shouts of those condemning the god and preaching the truth of the world in various places suited blasphemy more than holiness.

The number of agitated people grew. Some witnessed the truth of the world and despaired, but most denied the situation and loudly demanded an explanation from the Pope.

…The Holy Sword, the Hero, the Saintess, highly respected Archbishops, most priests, Knight Commanders from other nations, renowned mercenaries, and so on… one by one, individuals of high repute exposed the god’s truth.

The Pope remained silent.

It was all too obvious which way people’s hearts would lean.

Flames erupted in various places.

Some radical individuals, upon learning the truth, committed arson and acts of destruction in the Cathedral, demanding an explanation.

But…… there was still only silence in the Cathedral.

The crowd grew, and the procession of the Holy War, waged by creatures against the god, grew even longer.

The Hero, Holy Sword, and Saintess at the forefront did not stop, continuing their revelations.

The only difference was… that while the people raged at the Cathedral’s silence, they were tense.

They couldn’t help it, knowing what that silence was for.

Soon, the god would descend. Damage was inevitable, but the recently joined Prophet’s private army, ordinary priests, and believers would help with evacuation and recovery as much as possible.

And they themselves…… would have to face the god and fight.

As a faint tension hung among those who initiated the Holy War, people grew increasingly radical.

The Holy War, which began near the Cathedral, gradually spread throughout the Holy Kingdom.

Undeniable evidence, the credibility of those speaking, and the Pope and Cardinals who remained silent.

When all these combined, some radicals and those with shallow or no faith began to destroy and set fire to facilities and objects related to the god.

The Holy Kingdom and the Cathedral, always burning with faith… were truly burning today.

Then…… suddenly, the middle of the crowd began to part.

Some shouted that the god had appeared, some watched something, overwhelmed, and some tried to identify the being that had suddenly appeared in the center of the crowd.

A subtly floating body, a difference in class felt just by getting close, and an appearance befitting a god.

As the being, in the form of a slightly small girl, walked forward, people naturally made way.

It was less of a conscious act and more…… an unconscious action, as if imprinted on living beings.

Thus, the girl, shining like a god, slowly but surely cut through the crowd.

“Is that, that being… the god?”

“No… something’s different. From the being we once prayed to…”

“Who… is that, exactly?”

While ordinary believers stared at the being in a daze, the Bishops and Archbishops, though not the god, tried to discern the identity of that infinitely divine being.

It didn’t seem to intend harm to anyone present, unlike a divine messenger, and there were clear differences from the god itself.

In the past, when they didn’t know the truth, they used to pray to the god every day, so they couldn’t possibly be unaware of the god’s aura, and their questions grew.

But… the being, as if uninterested in such things, slowly but steadily cut through the crowd.

“……Is that, is that real…?”

“…I have no words other than ‘amazing’.”

*Has she embraced the class felt from the god…? Huh…*

And, finally, when the being came into the sight of those leading the Holy War, those at the forefront of the Holy War each expressed their astonishment.

Looking at them, the being smiled slightly and continued forward.

Until the crowd ended and it reached their side at the forefront.

Then…… it drew out a greatsword, shining with white light.

It looked like an ordinary greatsword, seemingly without any magical treatment…… but the next moment, as the being raised the greatsword towards the Cathedral, a change erupted.

Brilliance dwelled within the pure white greatsword.

At the same time, the divinity felt from the Holy Sword also dwelled within it.

It was an awe-inspiring sight, as if this was the scene if a god were to create a Holy Sword.

Thus… seeing the being raising the greatsword, which had bloomed into a Holy Sword, towards the Cathedral, people cried out.

That it was clearly a savior who had appeared for the salvation of humans, of creatures.

A brilliance that could blind… but at the same time, a brilliance that surely dispelled pitch-black darkness and future.

That being… the girl, was brilliance, a savior, and a guide.

“…To all creatures, victory and existence.”

At that single, softly spoken word, the Cathedral vibrated.

And… something incomprehensible erupted.

A strange something that looked like light, yet also like darkness.

Within it… an overwhelming presence and aura, clearly similar to the girl from earlier but by no means the same, was felt.

And people realized. That was the god.

“……A single loach has muddied the waters.”

“Well… it’s a bit, no, a lot too dangerous to treat me like a loach now, don’t you think?”

A brief exchange, and immediately after, brilliance erupted from the girl again.

At that sight, a brief but definite look of bewilderment flashed in the god’s eyes.

Like someone who saw something they thought absolutely impossible in reality.

“Divin…ity? You?”

However, in place of an answer, something fell from the sky.

It was a bolt of lightning, in a form people would commonly call divine punishment.

The god tried to scatter the lightning as if it were trivial… but the lightning ignored the god’s gesture and stubbornly reached the god’s directly descended body, leaving a scratch.

Cheers and shouts erupted from the crowd who clearly witnessed that sight.

“I told you. It would be quite dangerous.”

“……Yes, indeed it is.”

With those words, the Cathedral completely collapsed.

And the god’s form, which had only been vaguely visible as a streak of light, solidified into the appearance of an adult male.

Yet, with an undiminished sense of intimidation and presence, the crowd gasped and faltered.

At their hesitation, the priests next to them signaled to begin evacuation.

In the collapsed Cathedral and the gradually distorting Cathedral square, people began to evacuate.

And, even as people retreated…… there were those who advanced.

Those at the forefront of the Holy War, beside the savior, the girl with the raised greatsword, drew their respective weapons and faced the god.

Through their respective divine arts, they manifested the divine power of the savior, not the god’s.

At that sight, the god also raised its hand and softly commanded this world.

To erase them.

With the flash and roar that echoed the next moment, the Holy War of creatures finally began.