4 - A Perfect Ending?

Akuto knew exactly where Boichiro was going: the Suhara shrine. It was near the Koga village, so if you weren’t flying, it was a long way away.

“Sorry I couldn’t teleport us,” Peterhausen said. He sounded apologetic, which was rare for him.

“I can’t afford to push you too hard,” Akuto said.

“Anyway, this might be the last chance we get. Can you tell me what you know?” Akuto said, a little sad.

“Yes, I suppose it’s time. The being known as the Demon King is human, but not human. It’s created by altering the mana within the body.”

“I see... So do I have parents, then?”

“You have parents who gave birth to you. You may rejoice in that. Of course, they were forced to abandon you shortly after, for which you have my sympathies.”

“Well, thanks. In other words, someone... The group known as black mages made me, and you?”

“That’s right... in a sense. And wrong in a sense, as well. The reason the gods gained minds of their own is still not well understood. But it’s possible to make guesses. In a sufficiently complex network of connections, the connections themselves can form a mind. Life born in that fashion — that is, a god — has no self, and thus no lifespan. This means it’s constantly seeking to die. Humanity has never noticed this, and so many, many years ago, a certain man created the system known as the Demon King. The Demon King is capable of killing the gods and sending them to heaven.”

“Heaven?” Akuto wasn’t certain how to interpret that.

“At least, that is the language you would use. They will be given ‘selves’ and their minds will vanish from this world. It’s a complicated concept. But if I were to tell you that even computers can have spirits, it would make things easier to understand, given the story of your world. It is the Law of Identity that gives them this ‘self.’ She is the counterpart to the Demon King.”

“You mean Keena?”

“Correct. But both the Law of Identity and the Demon King are born again and again. If things don’t seem to be going well, they are killed, and the gods wait another century or so. They’ve done this many times.”

“Humans are selfish, but so are the gods, huh?”

“Don’t be so harsh on them. As for me, I was created to maintain the system after the death of the gods. I have a self, a mind, of my own. The Liradan girl must have told you, right? A self is something that gradually settles in after one is given a body and a position. If gods with ‘selves’ ruled, the world would be filled with war like it used to be. But it also would be much more human. That is what the one who created me wanted.”

Peterhausen seemed to be remembering the past as he spoke.

“Is that why you like fighting?”

“That’s how a valiant king should be. You can kill the gods and become a king. That path is still open to you.”

“Is that what you want?”

“If possible, yes. But, my master, you are free to do as you wish. I’ve had plenty of fun. This has been one of the greatest battles in history. Thanks to the wild card that was Boichiro, we didn’t quite get our full-scale war, but you were the first to win.”

“I see.” Akuto sighed sadly. And then he continued, “I’m going to apologize before we begin. I’m sorry.”

“Yes, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but there’s no need to say that before we begin. I saw it coming.” Peterhausen gave his wings another big flap.

“Now, we’ve got two powerful foes waiting for us. We need to enjoy this!”

○

He was waiting alone in an empty sky.

Brave had crossed his arms, and was waiting, as bravely as his named implied, for the Demon King.

The two of them faced off some distance apart. It was Hiroshi who first opened his mouth, as if unable to take the silence.

“I’ll ask again. Why are you doing this?”

“I’m tired of answering. I’m putting an end to my story. If that changes the world, then what’s wrong with that?”

“And what happens to the people who don’t want that change?” Hiroshi shouted angrily.

Akuto glanced down below. A huge forest spread out below them, but he could see someone in a clearing.

“If you’re talking about that girl, I think I can do something to help her,” Akuto said.

Hiroshi had asked Yuko to wait below. When he saw that Akuto had found her, he shook his head, displeased.

“You’re always like this! You solve everything yourself, without ever talking to anybody!”

“I tell you, and you don’t understand me. Enough. Get out of my way.”

“You’re so selfish!” Hiroshi suddenly accelerated.

Akuto tensed up, ready to fight, as Peterhausen asked him a question.

“How are you going to win this? He’s using his anti-Demon King mana-canceler from the start. That’s going to make this tough.”

“I’m going to charge in. That’s how we win. We end it in one strike.” Akuto said, as if this was nothing special at all.

Peterhausen was surprised.

“Oh? I’m glad to hear that. Do you have plan?”

“Nope. My plan is to have no plan, I guess.”

“...Whatever works. I’m counting on you.” Peterhausen grinned. And then he accelerated as well.

Two strangely-colored comets clashed in the sky. There was a flash of light, for just a single instant.

“No...!” Hiroshi couldn’t believe it. The high-frequency blade on his right arm was digging into Akuto’s left arm. And the shielded high-temperature plasma ball in his left hand was pressed up against Akuto’s right arm.

Akuto really had charged in without any plan at all. He’d just spread out his arms and let Hiroshi hit him.

“Gaaah!”

But Akuto screamed. The mana canceler had made his body no different than that of an ordinary human’s. His left arm had been almost severed, and it hung limply as fresh blood spurt from the wound. The part of his right arm that had been touched by the plasma ball had instantly burned away. If he’d pressed his arm any further forward, it would simply disappear.

It must have been indescribably painful. But still, Akuto moved forward, as if to embrace Hiroshi.

“Boss, stop!” Hiroshi let out a pained scream. He shut down the high-frequency blade and tried to get rid of the plasma. But the computer in his visor wouldn’t let him.

“A foreign object has entered the shield, and the plasma cannot be eliminated. Please dispel the shield.”

“No...” Hiroshi tried to drop the plasma ball. But before he could, Akuto pressed his arm into it.

“S-Stop it, boss!” Hiroshi panicked and released the ball.

A huge blast of wind and heat engulfed everything in the area, including Akuto, Peterhausen, and Hiroshi.

“Uwah!” Brave’s suit had deployed a shield around his body. Even without mana, Peterhausen was resistant to heat — but Akuto was just a normal man.

“Boss!” Hiroshi screamed.

But Akuto was right in front of Hiroshi’s eyes. He forced his body inside of Brave’s shield.

“Load on shield has increased. Low battery warning. Switching to life support mode. Please wait 30 seconds for charging to complete, and normal mode to become available,” the voice said.

Akuto grinned.

Hiroshi realized that he’d given up most of his arms, and the half of his body that had been melted by the plasma explosion, to make this happen.

“N-No!” Hiroshi dropped down into the forest, holding Akuto in his arms.

“I knew you weren’t the kind of person who could do something cruel. If I cruelly injured my own body, it would make you hesitate. And if I pushed you hard enough, it would drain your battery. That’s how your system works, and I knew that.”

Akuto’s body regenerated as they fell. He could absorb mana again.

“That’s terrible... that’s terrible, boss!” Hiroshi started to cry. “Why are you such an asshole... You really are the Demon King...”

“I know I’m an asshole. If I don’t come back, tell future generations what an asshole I was.”

“If you don’t come back?”

“Killing the gods means the end of me as well. That’s how it works.”

Akuto put his hand on Hiroshi’s head. And then with a hard squeeze, he shattered the brave suit’s helmet.

“Uwah...!” Hiroshi screamed. His face was exposed.

“I think I understand why you believe what you’re doing is right,” Akuto said.

The two of them collided into the ground.

“Ugh...” Hiroshi moaned. Without his suit to help him, he should have slammed into the ground full force, but Akuto had protected him.

Akuto landed firmly on the ground, standing upright, and holding Hiroshi in his arms, before setting him down.

Yuko ran up to them. When she saw Akuto, she let out a small scream.

“Don’t worry. He’s alive,” Akuto said to her.

Hiroshi sat up and turned his face towards Yuko. It looked like he’d made a decision.

“Huh...?” Yuko looked surprised.

“Um... I didn’t mean to hide it from you. It was just a coincidence. But I didn’t really have any reason to tell you, either...” Hiroshi stammered.

Yuko started to laugh.

“You’re so silly,” she said. “No matter who you were on the inside, you were really cool.”

Akuto watched them for a moment, and then began to walk off. But when she saw him move, Yuko’s body went stiff.

“I know. When I’m here, it stops you from being normal.” Akuto raised a hand to summon Peterhausen.

“Wait!” Hiroshi yelled.

When Akuto turned around, he spoke.

“Why don’t you remove the Demon Beast’s mana from her body?”

“Because that mana is being controlled by the god Suhara. If I try to alter it, it could hurt her.”

“But then if the god dies...!”

“I… no, he, will take over for it.” Akuto pointed to Peterhausen.

“Then that was your plan from the beginning...? But then, that means that the Demon King will rule the world. Wh-What will you do after that, boss?” Hiroshi quickly raised his voice, as a horrible thought struck him.

But Akuto didn’t answer, not directly. Instead he just whispered.

“If that has to happen, then it has to happen. Someone has to do it.”

○

Boichiro entered the temple of Suhara. The unconscious guardians lying on the path behind him testified to the fact that he hadn’t been welcomed. In what was once the quiet place where Keizo Teruya did his work, Boichiro was now standing, carrying Keena.

“She is the Law of Identity.”

“And you have come here with her to make the Contract of One. What is it you desire?”

He heard two voices. Two priestesses stepped out from behind the divine tree.

They were the Liradans who were tasked with being the aides of the god Suhara. They were wearing the clothes of a shrine priestess, but now they were holding weapons. One had a naginata, and the other a bow.

Boichiro laughed.

“You already know the answer to that. I want to control the gods. There is no need for gods with wills of their own.”

When the priestesses heard his answer, they both leapt towards either side of him.

“Then we will-”

“-stop you.”

“But it’s too late.”

Boichiro gently tossed Keena up into the air, and then waved his hand quickly from left to right. The priestesses both stopped moving. When Keena came back down he caught her softly, and began to walk forward.

“Wait.”

“The Law of Identity exists to take our wills and fulfill the rebirth of the universe,” the priestesses said, but all they could do was move their mouths. Their bodies had been sliced in half at the waist, and were lying on the ground.

“Whether you’re doing that to evolve into another dimension, or prevent an invasion from another dimension into this one, what good are you without humanity? The path the gods desire would exterminate humanity from this world.”

The priestesses answered,

“No, human data would remain.”

“The quantum network that stores the information crosses over the dimensions.”

“But where is humanity in that?” Boichiro asked, clearly annoyed. He waved his right hand to silence one of the Liradans.

“The gods take the deceased to a distant land. A fundamental tenet of the religious worldview. Humanity has longed for this for many, many years. We know this.”

The other was still talking.

Boichiro shook his head.

“I have no objections to maintaining that story, but that’s all the more reason the will of the gods is unneeded.”

He stood before the divine tree, and softly put Keena down. Keena was unconscious, but she rested quietly against his knees.

“Come. I’m aware that the gods cannot resist the Law of Identity. Prepare a place for the Contract of One.”

When Boichiro spoke, the divine tree began to split down the center. Inside, he could see a space. The best way he could think of to describe what he saw was a vast series of interlocking wooden buildings that seemed to stretch on forever. It was probably some type of spatial generation technology that used mana transfers. It probably wasn’t truly infinite, but the wooden corridors, painted in crimson, connected with stairs made from white wood to form what looked like a huge labyrinth. It also looked, he thought, like a complex network.

Keena woke up and looked at the corridor.

“Oh... we’re here!” Her voice was strange, a mixture of excitement and despair. Boichiro looked down at her with crossed arms. “Hey, please! Stop it! There’s still time!”

Boichiro smiled like he didn’t know what to say.

“Listen to me. If we don’t do this, humanity will disappear from this world.”

“No! That’s wrong! Your plan can’t escape from the Bonds of Irreproducibility!”

“Wha...?” For the first time, Boichiro was too shocked to speak.

“Come on, imagine it! Let’s say you do get rid of the gods’ wills, and then time flows to the era you were in. It may go a different direction, but the result will be the same. Someone will come to defeat you... yes, you, Boichiro. A human will, by humanity’s will, become the Demon King, and come to kill you once you’ve become a god. And nothing else will change,” Keena said.

Boichiro felt something cold run down his spine. It was sweat. He knew exactly what Keena’s words meant. And as he came to understand, he began to shake as he realized how foolish he’d been.

“You were humanity’s last survivor. You carried its hopes, and tried to correct its mistakes. From the position you found yourself in, this wasn’t arrogance. You’re a true hero. But no matter how many times you try to start over, you’ll only meet the same end result.” Keena looked back up at Boichiro.

The expression on her face was the same as his former lover, and the last Law of Identity, Rimu Sudo.

“Why... why isn’t it me?!” Boichiro screamed.

“Don’t cry. You’re...”

Keena started to say something, but Boichiro cut her off. He wrapped an arm around Keena’s hips and tried to drag her into the divine tree.

“No!”

“If it will all be the same anyway, then at least...”

Boichiro tried to overcome her resistance, but then suddenly stopped. He saw someone else in the shrine.

Keena turned around and looked as well. And her face brightened as she shouted.

“Ackie!”

“Normally I’d say ‘I’m supposed to make a cool entrance,’ but in a way, I’m like you. So I do understand how you can end up looking pathetic, sometimes. I won’t say anything at all.” Akuto began to walk forward.

Boichiro let go of Keena. There was a look of complete resignation, and of relief, on his face.

“My whole life I’ve had to deal with Demon Kings... but I’ve never met one like you.”

“It’s sad, isn’t it?” Akuto replied. “In the end, we’re just cleaning up after a system made by mankind. Maybe that’s true of any job, though.”

“It’s ironic. I’ve lived for centuries, and only now am I finding someone who understands me.”

“Both of us want something similar, after all. But what’s the difference between us, really?”

“I know what it is,” Boichiro said, laughing. “Our luck with women.”

Akuto looked shocked.

“Yeah, I’ve got terrible luck with women,” he finally said.

“Haha... In that respect, you really are different from me. Now, I finally feel like I can hate you. The winner between the two of us shall get his way.” Boichiro stretched out a hand, and pulled his giant sword from the void.

“I guess that’s the only way,” Akuto said as he tried to step forward, but Boichiro attacked without warning. His sword howled as it flew out to the side.

“Ooh!” Akuto jumped backwards to dodge, but Boichiro struck again and again before he had a chance to recover.

There was a “boom” sound as the air was ripped apart, and part of Akuto’s clothes and body were torn away. Akuto managed to avoid a fatal blow, but his arms and other parts he couldn’t completely defend were damaged.

“You’ve learned to dodge, have you?”

The first time they’d fought, Akuto hadn’t been able to defend himself, but now he was able to use his arms to deflect the blade. Because of that, he’d managed to avoid being blown backwards, but he still couldn’t counterattack.

“But you’re still far too wide open!” Boichiro said as he swung the sword across Akuto’s legs.

“Agh!” Akuto hadn’t expected this and he failed to block. He was forced to his knees.

“Ackie!”

Keena yelled out and tried to run towards him. But the look in Akuto’s eyes told her to stay put.

“Ah...” Keena froze and gulped.

Akuto couldn’t move at all — the joints in his legs were broken. He was regenerating them, but Boichiro showed no sign of giving him time to finish.

“Looks like you learned something from the way the principal fought...” Boichiro said, and then he raised his sword to deliver the killing blow.

“I did, but it looks like I didn’t learn his Hua Jin right,” Akuto said, shaking his head as if he’d given up.

“You’re a funny man, to tell jokes as you’re about to die. But I’ll let those be your last words!” Boichiro brought the sword down.

The blade pierced right through Akuto’s head.

Even with Akuto’s regenerative abilities, and even with his tough body, there was no way to survive an attack like that.

The sword split him clean in two.

...Or at least, it should have.

“!”

Boichiro was astonished to find that the sensation wasn’t what he’d expected.

The sword was stuck into the floor of the temple. But the sword was also pierced through Akuto’s body.

“Tch...!” Boichiro immediately threw the sword aside and jumped backwards.

Akuto was right in front of him. But the sword had done no damage to him, as if he was a hologram.

“Impossible...!” Boichiro yelled.

Then, he realized that the real Akuto was right behind him.

“Haah!”

Just as he turned around, Akuto landed a hard punch directly into his stomach. The blast wave traveled all the way through his body as he bent forward.

“Th-This can’t be...” Boichiro moaned, barely able to breathe.

“This little magic trick, however, I was able to master.” Akuto said. The false Akuto on the floor blurred and vanished. “You create a mana screen and then project an image onto it. It’s just a magic trick, and there’s literally nothing more to it. You can only use it once in a hand-to-hand battle. If the battle’s at range, you can use it until the enemy figures it out. That’s what the principal said.”

“I-I fell for such a stupid trick...?”

“I don’t like falling for stupid tricks, either. I know how you feel,” Akuto said, but he immediately landed another punch on Boichiro.

This time, Boichiro’s body twisted as he didn’t say a thing. Akuto kept punching. There was no rage or hatred on his face. He was only punching to make the enemy stop moving. If anything, there was a kind of sadness.

Eventually Boichiro passed out, unconscious. Akuto shook his head, as if to say that something was wrong. And then he heard a calm voice echo throughout the room.

“Demon King, now is the hour to make the Contract of One with the Law of Identity.” One of the fallen priestesses was looking at him.

Akuto silently walked over to Keena.

“Ackie...” Keena stared at him. He took her hand.

“This has gotten really crazy, huh?”

“Yeah. But it’s only going to get worse...”

They looked at each other, and perhaps they understood each other without needing to say a word, because they both nodded at the same time and turned to the priestess.

“We won’t make the contract.”

“We can do it whenever we want to.”

The priestess responded in a voice full of emotion, uncharacteristic for a Liradan.

“I...Impossible! But then why...”

“We’re going to kill a god so that everyone understands! We’ll destroy this place, and shut down the god’s ability to act as a network terminal!” Akuto said as he reached out a hand to the sky.

“Th-That’s meaningless... Even if the terminal dies, the god’s true body is the will within the network. Only the functions of the god Suhara, and a portion of the stored data, will be lost. All it will do is cause chaos...”

“I know that.” Akuto cut off her explanation. “But even so, doing it will wake some people up.”

Mana began to gather around him as he spoke. He was going to cause a pure mana explosion, just like he’d done when he’d first awakened, and hadn’t been able to control his mana.

“You might disappear as well. Is that what you want? What is the point of this? Nothing will change if you do...” the priestess said.

“No, things will change. If nothing else, the story of the Demon King’s rebellion will end. Only then will humanity be able to stand face-to-face with the gods, who are creatures with will, but not a self.”

“We understand your will. Before we allow you to do this, we will have both you and the Law of Identity disappear. And then we shall apply what we’ve learned from you to the next Demon King...” the priestess said, and the whole temple began to rumble. It wasn’t because of the mana waves Akuto had created. “I have activated the defense system. The divine tree that functions as the terminal shall be moved as a unit.”

The center of the divine tree closed itself once more. And then, the whole huge tree began to shine with a mana light as it floated off the ground.

The temple began to collapse. The roof fell in around the tree, and then the floor began to collapse from underneath Akuto and Keena’s feet.

“Kyah!” Keena screamed as she clung to Akuto.

The space below the floor wasn’t that big, but if they were caught in the collapse, it was clear they’d be crushed by the falling rubble.

“Ackie...!” As Akuto was about to leap upwards, Keena pointed behind him. Boichiro was lying on the floor.

“...Fine.”

Akuto grabbed his hand. Perhaps that woke him up, because Boichiro looked upwards. He seemed surprised, but Akuto just nodded.

“Let’s go.”

And then Akuto jumped. He leapt off the crumbling rubble, and landed on the roof.

“Humanity still needs the gods. And the gods still need mankind. You cannot be allowed to interfere with the moment when those two intersect...”

He could hear the eerie voice of the priestess below. Akuto looked down just in time to see the doll-like head on her severed body fall beneath the crumbling floor.

“Tch...” Akuto looked away, and then up at the sky. The floating tree was already a good distance away.

“Peterhausen!” Akuto called out. His dragon swept down from above in answer.

“This is my last job, isn’t it?” he shouted.

“Yes. This is the last job I’ll ask you to do as a friend.”

Akuto left Keena and Boichiro behind as he got on Peterhausen’s back.

“Wait. Are you really willing to risk your life to do this?” Boichiro pointed to the tree, but Akuto wasn’t looking at him.

“I am. I was born with a ridiculous goal. If I can choose my last actions in life with my own will, that’s enough for me,” he said, still not looking back.

“But you may still not change anything. Maybe it will be as I was told, that nothing will change and humanity is doomed. What makes you so certain that what you’re doing is right?” Boichiro asked.

Akuto ordered Peterhausen to take off.

“I realized that you’re stronger if you can sympathize with the people in your daily life, as opposed to belief or stories that are far removed from you. If the system is destroyed, humanity will be able to truly look at one another.” And then he turned back to Keena. “Just like Keena said, if we all ate rice together, the world might be at peace.”

And then he had Peterhausen fly up into the air, but...

“Rice!” Keena suddenly yelled out happily.

“Huh?”

Akuto was unsure of what to make of this sudden change in Keena, but Peterhausen was already high in the sky. The slow-moving tree was already right in front of them. But surprisingly, Keena flew up in the sky and chased after him.

“Ackie, no! Don’t go ‘bon!’”

“Wh-What? Don’t tell me she has a different mind than when she’s the Law of Identity?” Akuto said, but Keena wasn’t listening at all.

“Ackie, tell me exactly what you’re going to do now!” she said sternly.

“Um, well... I’m going to ram into that tree and transfer its functions over to Peterhausen. And then I’m going to destroy it.” Akuto said. Keena shook her head.

“Don’t do that. If you do, you’ll die, right?”

Akuto didn’t know what to say.

“No, we don’t know that for sure. But it’s definitely dangerous, and once I kill a god, I’ll lose the place I call home. So...”

“No! You dummy! Dummy! I won’t let you!” Keena shook her head violently.

But then they heard what sounded like a scream from Peterhausen.

“Master, it’s too late! I’m ramming the tree!”

“Fine... Keena, out of the way!”

Akuto pushed her away. She was now a distance away from Peterhausen, but she still didn’t seem to give up. As she flew, she began to strip off her clothes, and then disappear.

Now even Akuto didn’t know where she was.

“...Let’s go!” But Akuto couldn’t back out now.

Peterhausen fired a metal stake from his mouth into the tree, opening a huge hole in it. And then he went inside the hole.

“The space inside this is a pseudospace, but we still have our physical bodies. We might be attacked.” Peterhausen warned.

Inside was the labyrinth that Boichiro had seen when he opened the tree. Everywhere Akuto looked, he saw corridors made from crimson pillars and white trees.

“Take over its functions,” Akuto said. Peterhausen stretched out cables from his torso in all directions. One after another, they attached themselves to the connector ports in the corridors.

“When the takeover is complete, people like Yuko Hattori will be freed from their god. But it will take a little time. Until I’m done...” Peterhausen suddenly stopped.

Akuto looked around and saw why.

Liradans in shrine priestess clothing were peeking out everywhere from within the infinite corridors. All of them were looking at Akuto and Peterhausen with doll-like eyes.

“Those are physical beings... aren’t they.” Akuto said softly. Peterhausen nodded.

“The corridors seem infinite, but they’re not. Of course, there’s not an infinite number of Liradans, either.”

But they were still at a horrible disadvantage. Peterhausen couldn’t move, and Akuto had to protect him. If even a single cable was cut, the takeover would fail, and Yuko and the other Suhara worshipers would be in lethal danger.

Of course, right now the gods and the Demon King weren’t on the same side. Akuto and Peterhausen were simply foreign invaders that the gods would be happy to kill.

“Damn it... After all this, am I going to die without being able to do anything?!” Akuto yelled. But Peterhausen just laughed.

“It’s not over yet. Just because I can’t move doesn’t mean I can’t fight. Let’s give ’em hell. You said you’d have no place to belong to, but we can just keep fighting until all the gods’ terminals are destroyed!”

“Hmm... I suppose that’s fine.” Akuto whispered. As if that was the sign they were waiting for, countless shrine priestesses attacked Peterhausen — all at once.

They clung to his body like violent ants trying to swarm their prey. Akuto tried to rip them off, but more and more kept coming, and it was all he could do to deal with them. There was no mercy in their attacks. Whether he liked it or not, it was clear to Akuto that these Liradans were a different type of being, one that couldn’t communicate with humans on a fundamental level.

“I can’t believe something that would fight like this would want to lead humanity!” Akuto said angrily. The mana expanded and began to swirl around him.

But—

“Gaaaaah!” Peterhausen screamed.

“What’s wrong?” Akuto turned to him.

The part of Peterhausen’s body that had been injured in the collision with the carrier was glowing.

“No...”

Akuto realized the reason Peterhausen was in pain. The takeover of Suhara’s functions, the battle, and Akuto’s mana control — all three of these simultaneously had overloaded Peterhausen’s abilities.

“The processing is almost complete! Just keep going!” Peterhausen’s voice was filled with pain, but still raging and strong.

“But...!”

“We both came here prepared to die! We were prepared to sacrifice ourselves to save others. Only a fool would take the safe option now! My master, I’m going to remove your mana limiter. Then you can use your power without worrying about me! In exchange...”

“You can’t guarantee I’ll survive, huh? Sounds nice and fair!”

Akuto began to concentrate mana within his body once more. When his body reached the stage where it began to glow, the bodies of the priestesses around him began to get blasted away.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

Akuto was aware that the mana he was concentrating was now out of his control. No matter how he tried to stop it, the torrent of power and emotions was outside his control.

He used the power to blast the priestesses away from Peterhausen. Now free, Peterhausen let loose a roar of glee.

“I’ve taken control of Suhara’s functions! I’m going to start releasing humanity from its control! Now we can blow them away without worrying about a thing!”

But Akuto didn’t answer. His body was giving off a terrible heat. He’d fallen to his knees, and the floor beneath him was melting as he sank into it. The sheer amount of energy he’d produced was melting the pseudospace itself.

“Wait... master! Master! Tch... I can’t get his power back under control!” The uncertainty in Peterhausen’s voice, which was rare enough for him to begin with, quickly turned to fear. “They’re starting to close the pseudospace to keep us from absorbing it!”

The corridors were beginning to flatten into one another, as if they were being folded up. The priestesses were caught up within them without mercy, being crushed along with the pseudospace. There was nothing left of them, only the void.

The collapsing space was approaching Akuto at terrible speed.

“You need to release your power! Let it explode! If you do that you can annihilate the whole divine tree’s pseudospace!” Peterhausen yelled, but Akuto still couldn’t move a finger.

The dragon shook his head.

“...Is it going to be difficult, then?”

“Hey, why is it difficult?”

“Mana is controlled by emotions. My master fears releasing his power.” Only after Peterhausen spoke did he realize he didn’t know who he was talking to. But then he got his answer.

“But he kept saying he was going to do it, though!”

Peterhausen realized that Keena was nearby him, invisible.

“His will to change the world is strong. But it bothers him that he can’t take responsibility for what comes next. He has none of the abilities required to create a new world... But that doesn’t matter. You need to run. You’ll be caught up in this if you don’t.”

“But then why don’t you run, Petey?”

“I have a duty to try and control my master’s mana to the very end, and help the explosion occur. That is what will save his life.”

“Then are you going to die, Petey?” Keena said, surprised.

“That’s correct, yes. Another dragon with my capabilities may be created in the future, but it won’t have the same history or the same self as me. Only I have that.”

“But I don’t want that! That isn’t how I want this to end! That’s just how boys like things to end!” Keena shouted.

Peterhausen laughed gently.

“Then tell my master that he’s wrong. And tell him what he can create when the story of the gods is over.”

“Petey...” Keena turned visible and patted Peterhausen on the head.

“Take this. I’m sorry it’s not much.” Peterhausen removed a single fang, and lowered it into Keena’s hand.

Keena looked at it and nodded, and then held it tightly as she ran towards Akuto. Akuto was giving off an incredible light, but Keena entered the light and heat without trouble.

As he suffered, she held him gently in her naked arms. And then she whispered to him.

“It’s okay. I’m going to do my best with a lot of things, for your sake, and so that everyone can be friends.”

Akuto opened his eyes.

And then a god died.

○

“Why did all of this happen?” Keena asked. She didn’t seem to be asking anyone in particular, but she was answered.

“That’s a difficult question. Truly difficult.”

Keena’s eyes were closed. She was passed out, so she wasn’t speaking aloud. She was practically dreaming, so how could she get an answer?

“Who are you?”

“I am myself. Another person within you,” the Law of Identity said.

“A me, within me?”

“That’s right. I am the eternal me, who lives on forever, even after you die. I am the proof that I am myself. It’s hard to understand, but that’s how it works. That’s why somebody wanted to kill you. They wanted me, so they wanted to kill you, hoping I would enter the body of someone they could use for their purposes.”

“I see. It’s rough for us both, huh?”

“Yes. It really is.”

They both laughed.

“So, what can you do?”

“A lot of things. But maybe nothing at all.”

“Which is it?”

“Who can say? I don’t know. But I know a little about what you want to do.”

“Yeah. Then can you do that?”

“Yeah. I think I can. You want to grant the wishes of the two boys who fell in love with us, right?”

“Yup!” Keena nodded cheerfully.

“Let’s bring rest to the time traveler’s soul, in the true sense.”

“What does that mean?”

“His true wish is that the person I once was is happy in the future. Let’s guarantee that for him. That’s why he tried to take control of the gods.”

“Then what will happen to Boichiro himself?”

“That’s up to him to decide. Perhaps he’ll settle in some different time... or perhaps he’ll cause something else to happen in a future era.”

“That’s not what I meant. How will Boichiro know that somebody in the future is happy?”

“He’ll just have to believe us. Yes, Boichiro will just have to believe in the child who was chosen to be the Demon King.”

“You mean Ackie?”

“He did what he did because he was trying to change the future, and struggle against a fate that’s already been decided. We’ll just have to ask him to believe. That’s why it’s actually Akuto who’s going to truly guarantee the peace of his soul.”

“But Ackie...”

“Yes. At this rate, he’ll remain an enemy of humanity. That’s something that he doesn’t want, either. So I’m going to change everyone’s memories, just a little. Really, just a little.”

“Change everyone’s memories?”

“Yes. I’m going to make them think it was another Demon King, not him, who did all this. If I change that, and nothing else, he can go back to the life he had.”

“Will that make Ackie happy?”

“I don’t know. He’ll go back to his old life, but that means he’ll have to keep fighting. And he’s got an even more painful destiny waiting for him!”

“Knowing Ackie, he’ll be fine,” Keena said confidently.

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ve watched over the world for so long, but even I was hesitant to give life to the gods. Hey, don’t you think the flow of human history is such a wonderful and beautiful thing?”

And then the conversation between Keena and the Law of Identity ended.

○

Fortunately, the airship’s equipment was undamaged. Junko borrowed it and used it to follow Akuto. But it took long enough to find him that she ended up losing a lot of time.

And while she flew, she was astonished to see the divine tree that everyone recognized floating in the air. Of course, this in and of itself was shocking enough.

But what she saw next was even more shocking: the divine tree exploded from within.

The blast was big enough that you could probably see it for dozens of kilometers around. The tree turned into a huge pillar of fire, stretching all the way down to the ground.

Junko couldn’t speak.

There was no better way to make it clear that the god was dead. A black dragon made of smoke spread its wings around the pillar of fire, as if laughing at everything around it. Junko knew Peterhausen, so she knew that it was his silhouette, but if someone didn’t, there would be no more nightmarish scene imaginable.

The shockwave from the blast traveled through the whole empire’s territory in an instant, and the noise reached all the way into the clouds.

“Oh no!”

Junko dodged past the shockwave and headed for the ground, but as she got near it she could hear the sound of the trees in the forest creaking in the wind. As soon as she landed, she jammed the Sohaya no Tsurugi into the earth to support herself. If she hadn’t, she would have been blown away.

But the wind from the blast subsided in a few seconds. Junko looked up to see what had happened.

And then, she saw something strange. Something was rising up towards the heavens from the center of the blast. It was a pillar of tiny particles of light. The light turned into a thin cloud, and seemed to spread out to cover the whole world.

“...What really happened up there?” Junko found herself whispering. She ran towards the center of the blast crater, where she saw Akuto and Keena.

“Are you two okay...?” she said as she ran up to them.

Akuto was lying on top of Keena’s body, as if to protect her.

“Wake up. Are you okay? There’s so much I want to ask you. What did you do? And who was that... Boichiro... guy...”

Junko suddenly fell silent.

“Oh, it’s Junko!” Keena said innocently as she squirmed out from under Akuto’s body. She smiled and waved hello.

“Huh...?” Akuto sat up too. He looked at Junko.

“Y-You dummy...!” Junko’s face turned red as she began to flail her hands about.

It was only then Akuto realized that Keena was totally naked.

“Uwah... Wait...”

“Nooo!” Keena grabbed onto Akuto to hide herself.

“You dummy! What are you doing?! That’s indecent!” Junko took off her jacket and threw it at Akuto and Keena. And then she looked away. “What are you doing? Do you know what just happened? A god... the divine tree that housed the god just exploded!”

“Well, you know that was what I was trying to make happen.” Akuto sighed. Junko turned around in surprise.

“Th-Then this...”

“That’s right. The god Suhara is gone now. All that’s happened is that the data disappeared, but now everybody will be forced to think about the fact that the gods are just systems. If that makes the world change...” Akuto suddenly trailed off. Then he continued, “...But I guess this means you and I are enemies. I know what I said, and I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

Junko’s face went red.

“W-Well, you know... Maybe you don’t need to um... worry about it? I-I mean, I was feeling a little weird myself when I said that stuff...”

“It’s not that easy. I’m a traitor now. And you need to support the Hattori clan. Forget about me, and...”

Before Akuto could continue, Junko grabbed his hand. She was still looking at her feet, but her grip was firm.

“D-Don’t say that. I actually told everyone in the clan I was giving it up for you. So... so...”

She raised her head and looked Akuto in the eyes. Even Akuto was smart enough to figure out what this meant, and he gulped.

But...

“You mean you agree with my beliefs, right? I’m going to treasure that. Yes, I’ll try to take your opinion into account as much as I can, and make sure you don’t lose your social position...”

Before he could finish, the flat side of the Sohaya no Tsurugi slammed into his stomach.

“I guess it didn’t work out after all, huh sis?” called a voice from behind her. Yuko and Hiroshi were walking towards her. Yuko looked happy, and Hiroshi looked embarrassed.

“Wh-What are you talking about, Yuko? It’s not like... Wait, are you alright?”

Junko’s expression suddenly changed. Yuko held up both hands for her to see.

“I’m doing just fine. Better than before, if anything.” Yuko walked up to Akuto and poked him in the ribs with her elbow. “I don’t care about the clan either, so do something about my sister, would you mister?”

She had a mischievous grin on her face, but both Akuto and Junko were surprised.

“H-Hey, is it okay for you to touch him?” Junko said, her eyes wide with surprise. Yuko seemed confused.

“What do you mean? He came to our house. And then he turned down your marriage offer, and you got mad at him.”

“M-Mad... Well, maybe, but he’s the Demon King...”

Even if the demon beast mana was gone from her body, that didn’t mean the psychological trauma had healed. She might not hate Akuto anymore, but it still didn’t seem like she should be willing to touch him so soon.

But Yuko’s next words were even more shocking.

“Demon King? Oh, yeah, he probably died in that explosion. Akuto fought him, right? Because he’s on the disciplinary committee. He helped beat the Demon King. He was so cool, right? If you don’t want him, maybe I’ll take him,” Yuko said, speaking loudly so that both Junko and Hiroshi could hear, and then she spun around and laughed. But both Junko and Hiroshi were too stunned to say anything.

“Wait, do you mean...” Akuto gasped and looked at Keena. But Keena, now wearing Junko’s jacket, just looked up at him and grinned.

○

“Akuto! Oh, you’re alive! And now we’ve taken our first step towards world conquest!”

Fujiko’s reaction was no different than before. Akuto had quietly gone back inside the Academy, and he was standing in front of the now-empty altar in the basement as Fujiko draped herself over his body.

“F-Fujiko... Get off me, please. I don’t know about world conquest, but something weird is going on,” Akuto protested.

“Something weird?”

Akuto told her that everyone’s memories had been changed. As a scientist, even she couldn’t help but be interested. She was still clinging to Akuto’s arm, but she began to look for information on a mana screen.

“...This is fascinating. Everyone’s saying the battle was caused by another Demon King, who died during the fight. None of these comments show anyone thinking that you’re the Demon King...”

“Then I’m...” Akuto’s expression suddenly brightened. Fujiko pouted unhappily.

“I would prefer you not feel happy about this! We were so close, so close to the world being changed, and the Demon King at the center of it has vanished from everyone’s memories!”

“The world’s going to change, whether or not I’m at its center.”

Akuto was smiling with joy. He was free. And people’s opinions were starting to change, just as he’d hoped they would. They were realizing that the gods were a system, and that worshiping them as a religion opened them up to abuse by the powerful.

“No! Now is the time to rise up! You haven’t lost your power, right? Don’t worry, I’ll make a man out of you! And I know just what I need to make you rise up...”

She suddenly knocked him over.

“Uwah! Fujiko, I don’t think...”

“No, don’t hold back. No matter what people say, we have a responsibility towards the world that comes after the revolution! And I think part of that responsibility means giving you an heir...”

“Th-That’s crazy...!”

“Hahahaha! Come on, you know you want it! Come on! Come on!”

Fujiko began to rub Akuto’s body, but she was quickly interrupted.

“Hey.”

Suddenly she was whacked from behind with a fist. There was no sign of anybody around them, and there was only one person who could hit someone from a distance like that.

“This is still part of the school grounds. No public displays of affection,” Lily said as she entered the room, a moment after her stretched-out arm had done so.

“President...” Akuto looked up at her.

Lily had a sarcastic smile on her face.

“Looks like you got the best of me again. But what kind of magic trick did you use to change people’s memories?”

“I don’t know, myself. There must be some... some great power moving that I don’t know about.”

“Hmph. Well, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change my job. For a while, I’m going to be busy rebuilding the school...” She turned to leave, but then she looked at the altar. “Hey, I don’t see that pot.”

Fujiko suddenly got a look of panic on her face. She winced a little as she told them what had happened.

“Th-That... That got taken by that rubber monster.”

“Is that true?” Lily looked panicked, herself.

Akuto didn’t seem to understand.

“A pot? What was in it?”

“It was an attempt to cultivate your cells. I hope they don’t use it for anything bad... but I suppose that’s too much to hope for.” Lily sighed.