Chapter 46

EP.46 Brain Deity Extermination (4)

It felt as if I were lingering in a cozy cocoon.

The intense pain that had enveloped my body had been diluted. My blurry vision cleared up after blinking a few times.

And my eyes widened.

A bright world. That was the only way to describe it.

A sun that didn’t dazzle but gave a gentle sensation hung in the sky.

Around me, trees that emitted a light yellow glow lined up, and beyond the horizon, it was filled with an alien light.

“What is this…?”

I had been invited to a world I couldn’t identify. It was similar to the [Fictitious Hell] used by the Servant Vela.

However, unlike [Fictitious Hell], this bright world was something I had never seen in *The Mage Knight of Merchen*. It was a completely unknown realm.

Trying to grasp the situation despite the confusion in my head,

[Surprised?]

“……!!”

A deep voice echoed in my mind. I quickly turned my head toward the direction of the voice.

A giant black brain deity stood there with its wings folded, looking down at me. It was ‘Galia’.

My heart sank for a moment, but I relaxed when I realized it wasn’t in a combat stance.

“What’s going on?”

[This seems to be the ‘Middle Heaven World’. It appears that my former master invited us here.]

Middle Heaven World. A place where souls who were close to death or who had died but couldn’t move on to the afterlife were invited to sort out their feelings.

It was also a place where souls in the afterlife who were deeply longing for each other could be connected, allowing them to spend an eternal time together.

This was content from *The Mage Knight of Merchen*’s setting book. I knew it was a setting prepared for characters who had tragically died.

However, in the game’s story, Ian was never supposed to come to this world. The game ended with him becoming a renowned mage knight and living happily with the main heroine.

‘So, I ended up here….’

As far as I knew, the Middle Heaven World was located at the boundary between the living world and the afterlife. Time here was infinite, and no time passed in the real world.

There was nothing I could do here. Not even magic worked.

The one who invited me to this world seemed to be the former owner of the brain deity, the ‘Great Witch of Heaven’s Center’. She was a tragic witch who had been wrongly accused and accepted her death in Luce’s past.

“Where is your former owner?”

The brain deity raised its head and pointed at the sun with its beak, which was emitting a gentle light.

[The scent of longing comes from that direction.]

Was that sun the Great Witch of Heaven’s Center?

I had a rough understanding of the situation, but my mind was still in turmoil.

After a while, the demons began to pour out their stories, laughing or crying.

I nodded and stroked their heads or patted their backs.

How much time had passed?

On the horizon, where vast light stretched, human figures began to appear one by one. Their numbers quickly grew to dozens.

These people were looking at us, as if they had come to greet us.

Although they emitted light, making it hard to see their exact features, the demons seemed to recognize who they were.

[……?]

The demons froze, their expressions filled with surprise. Hakil also opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

This place relayed souls from the afterlife. It was obvious who the Middle Heaven World had brought.

Soon, tears began to well up in the demons’ eyes.

They started running or flying toward the people.

With a thud.

The demons were embraced by their owners and choked back tears. They poured out how much they had missed and how sad they had been to their owners.

Their owners, who hadn’t seen their demons in a long time, hugged them tightly and stroked their heads.

[Long time no see, Dike.]

Hakil greeted his owner, a muscular man.

The man chuckled and extended his fist, making Hakil flinch.

[…….]

Hakil met the man’s fist. He seemed lost in deep reflection, recalling a moment with his owner.

Soon, the demons and their owners began walking together into the vast afterlife.

The demons turned to me and loudly bid farewell.

[Thank you! Really, thank you!]

[Thanks, human!]

[I won’t forget this favor!]

[Atadabubu!]

[Really, really grateful!]

[Kuooo! This Flame Mark! I will remember you forever!]

[This humble body will cherish your favor in the afterlife…!]

[Take care! Thank you! Thank you! Really, really, thank you…!]

A bright light enveloped the demons as they returned to their owners’ embrace.

Excitedly, they disappeared beyond the horizon.

I watched the scene in silence, feeling an indescribable emotion.

Now, they would spend an eternal time together, enough to forget even their past pain.

They would embark on new adventures that they couldn’t complete in the living world.

The demons’ figures disappeared from my sight.

I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them, quietly composing my emotions.

[I can feel it.]

The brain deity’s voice echoed in my mind.

[My former owner seems to be grateful to you.]

To me, the sun was just emitting a warm and gentle light, but it seemed different to the brain deity.

[Even when I lost my sanity, I could still feel Gretel’s heart. I knew you had become her friend. I wanted to thank you, child. My former owner also seems to be grateful to you for the same reason.]

“…….”

Gretel. Luce’s former name.

My thoughts deepened. I lifted my head calmly and gazed at the Great Witch of Heaven’s Center, who was observing the world between the living and the afterlife.

*The Mage Knight of Merchen* “Act 3, Chapter 4, Brain Deity Extermination.” Now, there was one last thing I had to do.

Catching Luce, who would soon fall helplessly after losing all her magic power. That was all that was left to complete this journey.

But after realizing why I was in the Middle Heaven World,

I needed some time to sort out my emotions.

“…Am I about to die? You too, right?”

I turned to the brain deity and asked.

The brain deity bowed its head.

[It seemed like she was trying to hide her identity, but there’s no need to keep it a secret.]

An indirect answer. It wasn’t hard to understand what she meant.

Ha, I knew it. How could I have survived a battle with a level 175 brain deity, Galia, without a scratch?

It was a futile ending. I had gone through all that trouble to prevent a bad ending….

But there was no emotional turmoil. No fleeting memories.

Remaining calm in the face of death was surely due to the effect of [Ice Emperor].

Someone once said that even if the world were to end tomorrow, they would plant an apple tree today. That’s exactly how I felt.

“Send me back.”

Since it had come to this, I might as well do what I had to do last.

“Luce is about to fall. There’s no one else to catch her besides me.”

If I was going to die anyway, I might as well save someone I cared about.

I cared for Luce. Now that *The Mage Knight of Merchen* had become my reality, I couldn’t bear to see her hurt.

So, I wanted to save Luce at least before I died.

──Then.

[The Great Witch of Heaven’s Center expresses her gratitude!]

[She has looked into your fate and offers you a gift that she believes you need the most!]

A new system window appeared.

“Guh!”

Suddenly, a burning pain shot through my left wrist.

I was startled and examined my wrist. A black rune in the shape of a magic circle was being etched into it.

The pain ceased instantly once the rune was fully etched.

“What is this…?”

[Congratulations! You have obtained the [8-star Demon Contract Rune]!]

I was speechless.

Demons from 1-star to 4-star could be summoned using a demon summoning circle and could form a contract if both parties agreed.

From 5-star to 7-star, they couldn’t be summoned using a demon summoning circle, but a contract could be formed if both parties agreed.

However, 8-star demons couldn’t form a contract just by meeting and agreeing, no matter how well they connected. A special rune was needed. The ‘8-star Demon Contract Rune’ could only be obtained in the late stages of *The Mage Knight of Merchen*.

The Great Witch of Heaven’s Center had given it to me.

What kind of fate did she see for someone who was about to die?

Just as I was about to ask the Great Witch of Heaven’s Center, I lost my voice.

The light she emitted began to envelop my entire body.

─ To Gretel.

Suddenly, a young girl in a faded brown dress appeared before my eyes. Her rose-gold hair was particularly beautiful.

She was smiling at an old, hooked-nose witch wearing a black witch’s hat.

A curious 10-year-old girl. She held the witch’s hand and set off on an adventure.

Time passed, and the girl, now in a school uniform, smiled brightly at the witch during the academy graduation ceremony.

Time passed, and the woman, now a mage, boasted about her achievements to the witch.

Time passed, and the lady, now the head of a magic tower, held the witch’s hand and set off on a new adventure.

The smile on her face was no different from the pure smile of the 10-year-old girl. The witch was so satisfied with this sight that she smiled happily.

The Great Witch of Heaven’s Center. If she hadn’t died tragically, this is what would have happened.

The future memories and fragments of memories that the Great Witch of Heaven’s Center had seen in my fate but never realized.

─ Always, I love you.

With that scene as the last thing I saw, I quietly closed my eyes.