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My body hadn't moved properly since the pitch-black void had morphed into a grotesque world of pulsing red. It felt as if my entire frame were weighted down by lead. I fought desperately to knock back the rats—servants of the God of the Outer World—with my shield, struggling to keep them from closing in, but I was slowly losing ground. Sally’s purification magic was barely having any effect anymore. While Tort’s other companions were blowing enemies away with powerful spells, an increasing number of them were managing to slip through the barrage.
"Dammit—"
"Rei!"
I had carelessly allowed a Silver Rat to get within striking distance. Mil stepped in to cover me just before it could pounce, so I escaped unscathed, but it had been a close call. Those things were parasites; they lived to infect humans. Halfa had already been taken. Since Tort was personally attending to her, I believed things would work out somehow... but honestly, the situation felt hopeless.
"Thanks, Mil."
"Don't worry about it! There are more coming!"
"I see them."
The God of the Outer World was far more powerful than I had ever imagined. We had a boy and a cat who both claimed to be gods on our side, yet this entity easily eclipsed their power. The only one capable of standing against it as an equal was Tort. That was why I had exhausted my strength trying to support him... but I was reaching my limit. Mil and I were struggling, and Sally was at her breaking point. Her mana was likely nearing total depletion; she stood with her head bowed, her breathing heavy and ragged.
In contrast, Shiroru and Tort’s other companions still seemed to have some energy left. Even so, they weren't quite managing to neutralize the offensive. We were being pushed back, inch by inch. The cause was undoubtedly that power that had rewritten the very space around us. The divine boy had called it a distortion of the Principles.
This was an extraordinary, divine power. If even the gods of this world couldn't resist it, what could we possibly hope to achieve? No matter how many of its servant rats we cut down, we would eventually be overwhelmed. What was the point of struggling here? Such defeatist thoughts began to cloud my mind.
But even so, I couldn't stop fighting. The divine boy had said it himself: the outcome of this battle would decide the fate of the entire world. I never imagined I would stand on such a grand stage after retiring as an adventurer... but it didn't feel entirely unwelcome. As the second son of the Viscount Dravan Family and the Acting Governor of Cygnil, I had a duty to protect this land. More than that, I felt a deep sense of pride in fighting as a companion to that mysterious boy, Tort.
To begin with, I simply couldn't envision Tort losing. Whenever he faced a problem, he would look slightly troubled for a moment before solving it with ease. I had thought he was incredible back when we were in the same party, but he had clearly grown even more powerful since then. Now, they said he possessed the power of a god. I was certain he would find a way to handle this, likely through some means I couldn't even guess at.
Ah, I see. Was that why we could keep going? Perhaps the reason I hadn't broken under the weight of this despair was that I subconsciously believed Tort would make everything right. It felt a bit pathetic to claim I wanted to help him while relying on him so completely in the end.
And as expected, Tort delivered. Halfa, who had been suffering so terribly, now wore a peaceful expression. She seemed to have lost consciousness, but I had heard the two of them speaking briefly before she drifted off. She was safe.
Tort stood up, still cradling Halfa in his arms. His presence was nothing short of majestic.
Divine Aura. The physical manifestation of a god’s power. It was a supernatural force that couldn't be seen with the eyes, yet could be felt with absolute certainty. Tort was now cloaked in that divine presence. At first, it had been a mere flicker. Now, Tort’s Divine Aura was undeniably surging. Attempting to measure a god’s power with a human heart was the height of blasphemy... but I couldn't help but feel that Tort’s power now far surpassed that of the divine boy.
"『Rebuild』"
A word of authority fell from Tort’s lips. Divine Aura erupted from his outstretched hand, sinking into the pulsing red floor.
"What—this is!?"
"Cygnil Plaza...?"
The change was instantaneous. The eerie floor beneath our feet blurred and vanished, replaced by a sight I knew by heart. Though there were no people to be seen, Mil was right; it was the exact likeness of the Cygnil Plaza.
It wasn't just the scenery that had changed. Ever since the space had transformed, I had been plagued by a constant, sickening discomfort that felt like it was eating away at me. Now, that feeling had finally begun to lift.
As a mere mortal, I could only guess at the mechanics, but Tort had clearly done something monumental. He had seized the Principles of this world back from the God of the Outer World.
—Absurd! What is this power!?
—I will not permit it... I will not permit this!
The God of the Outer World roared in fury. The piercing, grating voice felt like it was gouging into my very eardrums.
It seemed to be trying to reclaim control. The remaining red sections of the floor began to bleed back toward the plaza.
But that resistance lasted only a second. With a wave of Tort’s hand, the space shifted further. Surrounding the plaza, various other scenes began to overwrite the red. A Clover Field, an interior that looked like a casino, and a workshop of some kind. It was a chaotic mix, yet it felt strangely harmonious. Every time a new piece of the world was rewritten, the oppressive feeling vanished further. Now, I felt as if my entire body were overflowing with strength. Like this, I wouldn't lose to any Silver Servants.
Tort had rewritten nearly the entire surrounding area. We were revitalized, while conversely, the movements of the Silver Servants had become visibly sluggish. The tables had been turned.
It was Tort through and through. A sheer display of raw power to forcibly crush the God of the Outer World's dominion. At this rate, victory seemed within our grasp.
And yet...
A being with power that eclipsed even a god from another world... what could such a thing be called, if not a god? Would Tort even be allowed to remain human after this?
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Every time Ruto swept his hand, the red void was overwritten. The unsettling landscape, which felt like the inside of some living creature, shifted back into the sights of a warm town. Ruto was reclaiming control over the space that had once been stolen from them.
『What is this... what is happening?』
Garnalava sat back on her haunches, looking bewildered. It seemed she had already given up on trying to interfere with the Principles. I was in the same boat. There was no longer any need for us to intervene. Ruto was overwhelmingly superior in this struggle for dominance.
『What is that power? It is... it is as if Father himself has returned.』
Garnalava looked at me with imploring eyes, perhaps searching for an answer I didn't have. I had never actually met the being she called Father.
The Creation God. The Progenitor God who was the father of all gods except for myself and Ruto. He was the Supreme Being who had birthed this world. Naturally, his power would be more immense than any other deity's.
On the other hand, Ruto was a fledgling god who had only just begun to manifest his Divine Aura. Even if they shared the same Authority of Creation, their levels of power should have been worlds apart. And yet, Ruto was trading blows with the God of the Outer World—something neither I nor Garnalava had been able to do.
"You've noticed, haven't you? Ruto's power is growing stronger by the second."
『So it is not my imagination. But to reach such heights in such a short time... it is unnatural.』
"It is."
Doubling one's power in such a short window isn't easy, even for a god. But in Ruto's case, "doubling" didn't even begin to describe the scale of his growth. The reason behind it was likely...
"Hey. Don't you think power is flowing into him from the other side?"
『The other side...? You mean the Outer World?』
Garnalava looked up at me with a skeptical tilt of her head. It was impressive how much expression she could convey despite being in the form of a cat.
『Why would that be? I do not know what the Outer World is like, but I cannot imagine there is anything there that would bolster the Power of Creation. It is a world that originally had no tie to our own.』
Garnalava's point was logical. Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be anything in that world to empower Ruto.
But looking at the timing, I was certain the trigger had been the moment the worlds were connected. When we first arrived, Ruto's power hadn't been this extreme. It had only reached this level in the short time since the bridge was formed. He was likely inheriting power that was bleeding over from the Outer World.
"It’s not entirely unrelated. At the very least, there was one being from our world who crossed over to the other side. You were the one who told me, Garnalava."
『I did...? Wait—Father!』
Precisely. Long ago, before I had even become a god, the Creation God had realized the threat of an invasion from the Outer World. He had crossed over alone to stop it. I had heard that even with his Power of Creation, he was defeated and destroyed, but I wondered if that was the whole truth. While it was clear he had lost, it didn't mean his power had simply vanished. If the Creation God had realized he couldn't win and had instead left his power behind for a future successor... then Ruto, who possessed that same spark of creation, would be the only one capable of claiming it.
『I see. Then that truly is Father's power.』
Garnalava turned a mournful gaze toward Ruto. Perhaps she was grieving for the Creation God all over again.
The battle between Ruto and the God of the Outer World was effectively over. Ruto held total control over this space. The enemy god was still struggling, but there was no way it could overturn the situation now. Ruto’s power was simply on a different plane.
In terms of saving the world, this was exactly what we needed... but I couldn't bring myself to celebrate. That level of Divine Aura was impossible to suppress. It meant that Ruto could no longer live in the world of men. He possessed a divinity so potent that ordinary people would feel compelled to prostrate themselves before him. Everyone he met would end up worshipping him. That wasn't the kind of life Ruto wanted. Even if he stayed in the human world, he would be forced into a life of isolation just to avoid the crowds.
Ruto had been sickly in his previous life, spending so much of it confined to hospital beds. That was why I wanted him to live with absolute freedom in this life. But my wish... and Ruto's wish... likely wouldn't be granted.
I could only wonder: once the God of the Outer World was finally defeated, what choice would Ruto make?
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