Chapter 85

"In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there."

The evil god said nonchalantly, "Hmph, your phase has risen. So... which one are you? From this world? Or from a parallel world?"

He didn't even know how to distinguish between us. What a real pain in the neck.

As my vision was distorted by the droplets of water, I remembered Yumiera 2's words: "When I die, I've decided to take a real pain in the neck with me."

Ah, taking a pain in the neck with me. I think it's a bad thing, but what else can I do in a situation like this? She must have jumped into the black hole after thinking this through.

Wiping the water from my cheeks, I cursed her in my heart. Yumiera 2 is really a pain in the neck. I hate you.

Even as I shed tears, the situation changed.

The evil god, without a hint of boredom, chanted the code, and Patrick tried to interfere but was too late. He seemed to have been distracted by the disappearance of 2.

"Admin code activation—halt the target in the current space."

Our movements stopped. Not even a single joint could move.

Patrick and I couldn't move. The same probably applied to Remun and Sannon, who were a little further away. All beings in this place were halted.

But Yumiera 2, who wasn't here, should be able to move. She is inside me, so I can move.

"Pathetic. You are at my mercy with just a word from me."

"You struggled quite a bit to say that one word, didn't you?"

"What!? ...So, you synchronized with a parallel world counterpart to remove the restrictions. Where did you learn such advanced techniques?"

"Huh? Can you explain it logically? I thought I was just spouting nonsense."

I just hyped myself up by inheriting 2's power, and I thought I could move by using muscle strength. Is that not the case?

"No. The counterpart has already been eliminated. ...Could it be that you have recreated everything artificially!?! Even creating a part of a simulated world is a feat that even I find challenging!?"

"...That's right. I am logical, or rather, intellectual, or something like that."

I don't understand a single thing the evil god is saying!

I tried to act like I understood, but I couldn't comprehend anything seriously. It's enough that I can move.

"I seem to have underestimated you."

The evil god said this and lightly waved his arm.

I instinctively picked up the sword I had dropped and swung it horizontally.

"Another invisible attack!?"

"Why can you block it!?"

The sensation of deflecting something with my sword. I blocked it by instinct, even though I couldn't see it. I'm amazing.

When I checked the direction I had swung the sword, the scenery had shifted. ...Yeah, it's like the landscape was cut and moved. The space was severed.

It feels like a spatial discontinuity. I don't know the additional effects, but it's a common sight. I know a lot about it.

It's not good to let the evil god do as he pleases. I ran down from the edge of the crater to the center.

Just as I was about to reach the bottom of the large hole, the misty humanoid figure flew up into the air.

"He can fly!?"

How many abilities is he hiding? He says he's getting serious, but I think he's been holding back too much. Didn't they teach in school that gradually deploying forces is a bad move? If he had been serious from the start, we would have definitely lost.

He looked down at me from the air and extended both hands toward me.

I braced myself, expecting something to come. The pressure from above almost crushed me.

Gravity has increased. I almost fell to my knees. How many Gs is this?

I firmly planted my feet and kicked off the ground, which was sinking, with all my might.

This time, my weak build helped. But generally, being heavy and large is stronger, so I still haven't given up on my dream of weighing three tons.

"Why!? I fixed the irreversible force field!"

What's that? That means, it's like a relative of gravity, right? Mr. Kugelshreiber, are you intentionally making it sound difficult?

I jumped straight up to the evil god floating in the sky.

However, the load from above remained. I gradually lost speed and wouldn't reach the evil god.

Starting over from the ground would be tough. I can feel the reason why combat races use gravity rooms for training.

At that moment, I heard a voice from outside my consciousness. It was Patrick, who was supposed to be immobilized.

"Yumiera! Create a foothold!"

The earth rose like a tower and reached my feet.

I had already started to fall, so I landed on the top of the tower.

I thought it would take me to the evil god, but the tower started to collapse. It couldn't bear my weight, which was several or even hundreds of times heavier.

I had no choice but to jump again, crushing the soil at my feet.

"Reach it!"

I managed to reach it. The evil god, now at the same height, was about to use a different technique, but it was too late.

Kugelshreiber, the evil god, was the strongest enemy I've ever faced.

We won because of not only me but also Patrick, the gods of light and darkness, and Yumiera 2.

"Why, why do you have such power...?"

"That's it, it's over!"

The dark sword I had held onto all this time. I swung the pruning sword... and it slipped through.

"...Huh?"

Eh, isn't this the flow where I win? I thought that by unlocking the level cap, my attacks would start hitting the evil god.

No matter how strong I get, I can't defy gravity. I jumped up desperately, but I only passed the sword through the mist and fell.

I tried to hit him with a black hole as a parting gift while falling, but it didn't work. Ah, the attack resistance is still there. What should I do now?

I hit the ground. I landed on both feet and one hand. Since one hand was free, I could still hold the sword.

I see, this is the advantage of a three-point landing. I used to do it because it looked cool like a superhero, but it's bad for my knees.

I planned to make the ground sink with the impact like a hero, but I landed without making much noise. It seems the gravity increase debuff has been removed.

"Ah, my body feels light."

"Being unable to attack from here is tough."

Patrick spoke from the side. I was a bit surprised.

"Thanks earlier. When did you become able to move?"

"When Yumiera ran down the hole and the evil god floated in the air. Probably because he redirected his power elsewhere. It wasn't by my own strength."

The evil god didn't seem to notice anyone but me. Because he underestimated Patrick, I was able to jump up to the sky. But it doesn't matter if my attacks are nullified.

What should I do? As I was thinking, the evil god descended from the sky and approached us.

When I braced myself, he raised both hands and said,

"Wait, wait, you can't harm me anyway. I want to talk a little."

"What do you want now?"

"You are too strong."

"Ah, not really, I don't think so?"

I was unexpectedly praised. It's nice, even if he's an enemy.

I noticed Patrick was looking at me coldly. Yes, I'll be serious.

The evil god, who didn't just flatter, continued,

"You were at level 99 or below until just now, bound by the constraints of a single world."

"Well, I was at level 99."

"And the constraints were removed. But you only surpassed level 99. Even if you absorbed the magic power of your parallel world counterpart, it's not much. What is the source of your boundless power? Where did you get the magic power and experience points? It would be useful information, and I want to know."

According to the evil god, I am much stronger than 2.

I have no idea... Ah, could it be?

"Ah, what happens if you keep defeating monsters after reaching level 99? The limit is still there."

"...The magic power that has nowhere to go should temporarily go to a virtual space to prevent a contradiction in the laws."

"What happens after the level cap is unlocked?"

"The contradiction disappears. The magic power returns to where it should be, to the person... Could it be you!?"

Ah, that's it. I wish I didn't know.

I spent about ten years of my childhood leveling up. At first, I got stronger quickly, but I stopped feeling growth around... seven years old?

Seeing Patrick's growth rate, I had a bad feeling...

Just now, I became certain. I had been overflowing with a huge amount of experience points. Maybe enough to level up from 1 to 99 ten times or more.

My younger self did a great job! It's ridiculous, but the reason I can stand up to the evil god now is thanks to that ridiculous effort.

There's no disadvantage in him knowing. I'll be honest with the evil god.

"That's it. I'm strong because I've been overflowing with experience points since level 99."

"Why?"

"Huh? I just said it."

"Why were you doing such a ridiculous thing?"

"...To prepare for this situation."

Well, I was a perfect fool. I tried to put on a brave face, but the psychological damage is significant.

I can't afford to be depressed. I need to pull myself together.

I understand why I was so strengthened, but the fact that my attacks don't hit the evil god hasn't changed. There's no other way but to use it.

"Patrick, stay back. I'm going to use it."

"Did she tell you? Wait, it's definitely a trap."

I held the pruning sword with both hands.

The black sword that absorbs light. Its true name is the key to unleashing its true power.

The evil god was trying to make me say the name. He also taught the name to 2. There's definitely a trap.

But there's nothing left. It's her last words, so even if it's a trap, I won't regret it.

I won't forget Yumiera 2's last words. The name of the pruning sword, which is not suitable for cutting the world, is—

"—Ikitemina."

The evil god didn't miss my whispered words. He laughed and said,

"Haha, you fell for it, fool. The pruning sword is a sword that completes by consuming the people of this world! You are human. Be consumed by the power of the pruning sword, your last hope!"

The sword has a bad omen. But there's no sign of me being consumed.

The surroundings just got dark. It's like dusk. Looking around, the sun isn't hidden by clouds, and I can't figure out the cause of the dimness.

Then, a scream came from behind. Turning around, I saw Sannon floating and shouting. She was grabbing Remun's hair to avoid being blown away.

"What are you doing!?"

"Does this look like I'm playing!?"

"It hurts, why are you grabbing my hair! ...Miss! This sword converts light into darkness to gain energy!"

Converting light into darkness. That's why it got dark. Sannon is being sucked into the sword.

I thought it was dangerous because it got dark, but it seems to be working properly. I was surprised. The evil god seems even more surprised.

"Why? The property of consuming humans hasn't changed. You know the key words, and you are not a human of this world, meaning only I can use it."

It was a double lock with a password and biometric authentication. It wouldn't activate with just biometric authentication, and it would consume you with just the password.

Ah, calling it biometric authentication isn't quite right. The soul isn't a biological part.

"I meet both conditions, don't I?"

"Lie! You are human!?"

"Didn't you say it? Only those not from this world can use it."

"You, could it be, that soul is—"

The evil god floated into the air. His mosaic-like form was irregularly shaking, reflecting his anger.

Fleeing into the sky is proof that he fears the pruning sword.

I have the weapon. Let's finish this.

"Patrick!"

"Ah."

Just calling his name was enough. The ground rose with his magic.

This time, it didn't collapse. A solid foothold was formed.

I caught up with the evil god who fled into the sky in a perfect stance.

I held the pruning sword Ikitemina in a low stance. The surroundings got darker again.

"Pruning sword!"

"Indeed, it's there! The higher world!"

I gripped Ikitemina tightly. In response, a vast amount of magic power overflowed.

"Iki..."

"Enjoying the view from above, weren't you! I will conquer it no matter what! No matter what—"

A powerful upward slash from a low stance. A forceful swing without any sword technique.

"...Tamina!"

The moment the sword struck, the world was enveloped in darkness.

A true darkness that I couldn't see even with my vision. The only thing I could feel was the overflowing magic power of the pruning sword Ikitemina.

When the darkness cleared, no one was there.

Tomorrow: "25 - Enveloping the World"

The day after tomorrow: "26 - Epilogue"

Chapter 3 is not about defeating the evil god but about saving her.

I received my first review! Thank you.

I also like the chapters after Chapter 2. I hope to continue writing in this style.

Thank you for your comments and for pointing out typos!

Recently, I haven't been able to reply to comments, but I read them all (I noticed I have over 100 unread replies and have given up on replying).