Chapter 165: Final Chapter – Complete + Afterword

Chapter 165: Final Chapter – Complete + Afterword

“…It’s over.”

*’Indeed…… It’s finally over.’*

The fallen god gradually turns to dust and disappears.

The shattered world is restored once again.

Although it has become a ruin…… the world is returning to normal.

“Lucia!”

“……Christie.”

“Are you okay?”

“I think so. I’m a little dazed, though.”

The clouds clear from the darkly stained sky, and light streams in.

At the same time… cheers echo from everywhere.

The crowd, which had gathered at some point, is cheering for the main characters and me.

It’s a little embarrassing, but…… it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.

And so, amidst everyone’s congratulations, shouts, and cheers, the Holy War came to an end.

……Until the recovering world suddenly stopped.

Everyone except me stopped, a sudden, unknown phenomenon.

“W-what the…?”

“You don’t need to panic. It’s… an inevitable event.”

“Ria? Why are you in your true form again?”

“……Now, it’s time for you to make your final decision.”

At the same time… the appearance of another world is seen behind the world’s facade.

……It’s a familiar, yet somehow unfamiliar, world.

The appearance of where I originally was…

Was this what the “final decision” meant?

“The System guarantees and grants the right to return to anyone who has completed all stories.”

“…Don’t you already know my answer without hearing it?”

“……That’s right. But…, there’s something we didn’t account for, so if you want to stay in this world, there’s something you need to do.”

“What now? I even dealt with a god, what more do I have to do here?”

“That’s precisely the problem. While there are worlds where it’s not the case, the god of this world exerted quite a close influence on it… so if a god doesn’t exist, it will slowly crumble.”

……Indeed, there’s a religious order that specializes in handling divine power, and in the first place, even monsters were being created by the god, so it might be natural.

But to abandon the world I barely protected, the bonds I barely kept? Or to accept a world that slowly crumbles?

It was something I couldn’t understand, nor could I accept.

“…What else do I have to do?”

“It’s simple. If the problem arises because there’s no god…… then it’s solved if there’s a god, right?”

“……No way.”

“That’s right. You just need to fully embrace divinity and become the god of this world.

An ordinary person couldn’t do it… but you’ve already embraced the world’s divinity once, haven’t you? So, you should be able to do it.”

It was ridiculous.

I had just killed a god, and now I was about to become one.

But…… well……

“Even if I become a god, I don’t necessarily have to be like that rotten predecessor, right?”

“Right? Conversely, you don’t have to interfere much… you can just live mixed among people like you are now.”

“Then, why not? I have to accept it.”

“…Ah, while you’re at it, if you could also remember to take care of our System……”

“I’ll see about that later.”

At the same time, the world’s time began to flow again.

People cheered again, and the main characters…… no, the bonds I had made, gathered around me, laughing and chatting.

I returned their laughter with my own. And amidst the cheers…… a small anomaly occurred.

Faintly, but clearly, divinity began to dwell in my body.

“Lu, Lucia…? You……?”

“……It just happened. I didn’t wish for it.”

*’Indeed… If a god suddenly disappears, problems arise in the world, so the will of the world chose you, perhaps?’*

“Nothing will really change, though. I… like how things are now, and I want to enjoy this everyday life.”

The Saintess, and the Holy Sword, seemed to have clearly understood the situation, and some Archbishops also seemed to have noticed.

But… the fact that I was a god was not revealed there and then.

For a while, at least until these bonds I shared died…… I would remain Lucia, the potion seller.

The world? Adjustment? I could just dump that on the System.

Well, seeing as they said they could do more if a god helped, it was obvious they’d jump at the chance if I asked for help.

“Let’s go back. Everyone. …For each of our lives.”

Amidst cheers and fervor, the Holy War thus concluded.

***

The Cathedral, shining with holiness.

It was always full of people and holiness here… but today, it was a festive atmosphere.

“…Saintess-nim, it’s time for prayer.”

“Time has already flown by. I’ll go right away.”

A bustling square. At the same time, fireworks erupting everywhere.

It didn’t quite suit the atmosphere of the Cathedral, but…… well, the god seemed to prefer it that way.

“Were you conversing with that person again today?”

“Indeed. Christina Melini and the others must have ascended to heaven, but she still seems bored.”

“…I always feel this, but the god seems quite mischievous.”

“Well…… that’s just how she is.”

Saying so, the Saintess surveyed the Cathedral square.

Perhaps because it was the 100th anniversary of the Holy War, the crowd was enormous.

…100 years had passed since the Holy War. For a while, only a few Archbishops, the Holy Sword, and I knew about Lucia, who had ascended to the position of god, but

As time passed, Lucia revealed herself to be a god, rebuilt the religious order, and went through other events, so now no one is unaware of her.

The savior who led the Holy War, who punished the previous god who viewed creatures as tools, and who ushered in the era of creatures as a god.

That was the assessment of Lucia.

……At the same time, there was also the assessment that she was an ungodly god, but well, Lucia herself brought that upon herself.

The other adversaries, Lucia, and I enjoyed pleasant days after the Holy War.

There were disputes and incidents in between, but…… nevertheless, even those were enjoyable times.

Perhaps because we could wield Lucia’s divinity, we also did not age.

Our lifespans were set, but……

“Lifespan? Just come up to heaven. Stay with me forever.”

At those words, the ascension to heaven for all the adversaries was decided.

They were about to say something, but everyone was conquered by Lucia’s gaze, which seemed to ask, “You’re not going to do it for me, are you…?”

I’m not sure why she became a god but gained no dignity, only an abundance of aegyo and cuteness.

Well, and… we also liked being with Lucia.

The exception was me, who voluntarily chose to remain in the world a little longer for the religious order.

Thanks to that, Lucia talks to me every time I pray.

“It’s certainly the god answering prayers, but the content is all small talk, so it feels strange.”

“…The god does have a bit of that side to her, doesn’t she?”

Anyway, the world continued to run smoothly without changing.

Relations with monsters also recovered, led by the Demon King.

People also learned the truth about the previous god.

Oh, if there was one thing that changed……

“That’s too much. Aren’t you looking down on me too much, even so?”

“…That’s why. Were you listening again?”

“It’s a Holy War anniversary event anyway, so I have to be here, right? Just think of it as me coming a little early.”

“……Please understand. We, who have been trading for 100 years, are now used to it.”

Perhaps it was the fact that the god openly walked around?

Even if one wondered if a god could be so relaxed, she was apparently making the world run smoothly through a deal with the angel-like being next to her.

When I first saw it, I wondered if it was a real angel, but judging by Lucia’s appearance, who immediately flicked its forehead as if she had been waiting, they seemed to have known each other since before she became a god.

“Come on, let’s go quickly. We’ll miss the fireworks.”

“You always love watching fireworks. Can’t you just create them with your authority?”

“Then it wouldn’t have the same flavor, that’s the problem.”

Talking about such trivial things, we headed to the Cathedral square.

It might seem like a boring daily life…… but nevertheless, it was a precious daily life.

There were also incidents and accidents in between, such as gods from other worlds invading, but that’s another story.

The doors of the Cathedral open. The square is visible, and people cheer.

“What are you doing? Is the Saintess going to come out later than the god? Come on!”

“Pfft… Yes, that’s right.”

Huge fireworks emblazon the sky.

At the same time, the adversaries who had ascended to heaven briefly reappear in the square.

Just as they had gathered to defy the god on the day of the Holy War.

Amidst the cheers of the people, we all stand together again.

In front of us… is our happy-looking god.

“Now, then…… for each of our lives!”

“”For our lives!!!””

With the god’s joyful shout, cheers echo, and the festival begins.

********

– Afterword –

It was truly… a tumultuous work with many events, but… it finally succeeded in reaching its conclusion.

There were crises and difficult times in between, but thanks to the readers who read it to the end, it finally concluded.

Even though I was a bad writer whose serialization schedule kept changing, I am so grateful to the readers who read it to the end!

I had a lot I wanted to say… but when I actually tried to write it, nothing much came out except apologies for being a bad writer and thanks for reading it to the end…

Oh, and for the side stories, I plan to cover the daily lives of Lucia and the other main characters that were skipped in the main story, but the serialization will probably happen when this author has a little more free time.

It will likely have a calm, slice-of-life atmosphere rather than crises or accidents.

It feels refreshing as if a huge task has ended… yet, it also feels a bit sad to conclude Lucia’s story like this, a strange feeling.

Actually, I have a lot more I want to say about the work… but I will post that later in the form of an author’s postscript, including behind-the-scenes settings, rather than writing it here.

Then… with the usual words, I will conclude.

Thank you always for reading!!!!!

– From Re:Story27 –