"—Who are you?"
It responded to my words by slowly opening its mouth.
"Who am I, you ask?"
The eyepatch covering Beria’s right eye slid down his cheek and fell away, its purpose fulfilled.
With the obstruction gone, what remained in his right eye was—bottomless darkness.
I had heard from August-san, the Fairy Tale Hero, in the Hidden World that Beria had lost his right eye during the era of fairy tales and replaced it with a Seirei Eye to fight demons. However, this eye was so turbid and inky that it was impossible to believe it was the eye of a Seirei.
"I am he who seeks to destroy the humans who erode this world."
The voice echoed with a low, ground-crawling resonance, distorting the very air around it.
The meaning behind the words and the raw emotion within them were far too alien.
My eyes widened at a sensation that felt like a jolt surging up from beneath my feet.
There was no doubt.
The being standing before me was—.
"—The Evil God, Oberon...!"
At my murmur, Oberon turned an emotionless gaze toward me.
"I see. So you are the descendant of August, the one who inherited the 'power that embodies human potential.' You are not one I should deal with right now. Philly, we are withdrawing."
"Understood."
Philly, who had somehow escaped her restraints during the exchange, stood up.
"You think I’ll let you escape?!"
Before Oberon could activate teleportation magic, I blanketed the entire area in a Teleportation Interference Barrier.
"............How troublesome," Oberon whispered quietly.
In that instant, mana resembling a shadow began to seep into the ground.
"Begone."
The inky mana suddenly coalesced into the shape of spears, surging from all directions to impale me.
"—[Final Form: Mont Ende]."
Once again, I layered my Magic Sword with Ki, using the newly forged blade to slash through the encroaching spears.
I closed the distance instantly with Shukuchi and swung the blade.
Oberon attempted to retreat, but his movements were sluggish.
My Magic Sword reached him before he could escape my range.
"Ugh!"
Beria’s ability, [Eternal Immutability], seemed to have lost its effectiveness; my sword tore through Oberon’s flesh.
Oberon looked down at his bleeding chest.
By making physical contact with my Magic Sword, I gained a glimpse into his current state.
[Eternal Immutability] was actually still active.
However, it was being directed inward—used to suppress the massive quantity of the Evil God's mana required to maintain Oberon’s consciousness.
In other words, against external attacks, he was as vulnerable as any ordinary human.
But the more time passed, the more the Evil God's mana would adapt to Beria’s body.
Furthermore, if I maintained [Final Form: Mont Ende] for too long, my own body would give out.
I had to end this now!
"...In this state, close combat is a lost cause, I see."
Oberon raised his right hand, and the very fabric of space seemed to groan. Inky mana rained down like a storm of countless arrows.
Each one possessed enough power to gouge the earth itself.
(I have to get away from the Torii Gate!)
I leapt out of the precincts, weaving through the trees to dodge the incoming barrage.
While enduring the rain of arrows pouring from the heavens, I searched for an opening to counterattack.
Every time a mana arrow struck the ground, the resulting explosion made the forest scream. Trunks split and shattered one after another.
As the trees providing cover were mowed down, my field of vision gradually cleared.
It was then that mana began to swirl around Oberon.
(The big one is coming...!)
I sharpened my senses, waiting for the opening that would inevitably follow a massive attack, when—
"—That’s enough."
A sharp, silver trajectory flashed across Oberon’s neck.
"—!?"
Oberon’s head flew into the air.
I staggered, shaken by the utterly incomprehensible sight, and turned my gaze toward the culprit—Philly Carpenter.
With a cold, indifferent expression, she unleashed magic at the severed head mid-flight.
"—[Explode]."
A massive explosion engulfed the head.
Space buckled as the blast swallowed everything.
When silence finally returned to the area, Beria’s body had been erased without a trace.
Only one thing remained on the ground.
Rolling in the dirt was that inky, turbid Seirei Eye.
Philly walked over and quietly picked it up.
"...To think it was only this much. It was nothing more than a fake cobbled together from the residues of Lord Oberon. Sigh... I wish I could have back all the effort I spent on this."
Her voice was thick with disappointment.
Watching her, I felt a surge of anger and an overwhelming sense of grief.
I deactivated [Final Form: Mont Ende]. Enduring the excruciating pain that felt like my entire body was being scorched, I forced the words out.
"...Philly, just how far do you plan to fall?"
Philly didn't even blink.
She stared at the inky Seirei Eye held between her fingers as she spoke.
"Fall? Your understanding is flawed. I have been at the bottom from the very beginning. There is no lower for me to go."
She spoke as if stating the most obvious fact in the world.
I truly didn't understand her anymore.
"Originally, I intended to wait for the god summoning to finish and then spend my final moments watching humanity perish, but I’ve changed my mind. —Let’s settle this, Orun."
"...Settle what?"
"A contest. To see if you can continue to believe in worthless things like 'feelings' until the bitter end."
There was no mockery or provocation in her voice.
"Humans are foolish, ugly, and fragile. Love, hope, trust—they are nothing more than convenient excuses. I have been forced to realize that truth time and time again."
Inky mana began to leak from the Seirei Eye in Philly’s hand.
"But you think differently, don't you? You intend to cling to that sophistry no matter what. ...That is why I want to break your heart. I want to see your face twisted in despair."
Philly’s voice remained hauntingly calm.
There was no anger, no excitement.
Only an ecstatic resonance, as if she were exposing the very bottom of her soul.
Before I noticed, her other hand was gripping a magic tool.
The moment Philly operated the device, the inky mana overflowing from the Seirei Eye was sucked into her own right eye like a vortex.
Sensing a terrible omen from the abnormal sight, I tried to lunge forward.
"Ugh...!?"
The moment I stepped out, a mana blast like a black gale slammed into me, throwing my entire body back.
The mana roared like a localized storm, warping the space around her.
Even as I tried to force my way forward, I felt as if my body was being dragged backward by an unseen force.
The recoil from [Final Form: Mont Ende] was still ravaging my system; I couldn't muster the strength to resist.
Still, I gritted my teeth and tried to press on.
But the storm of mana swirling around Philly only intensified, violently rejecting my approach.
In the eye of that storm, Philly’s body trembled slightly.
It wasn't a tremor of pain or resistance, but the shudder of someone immersing themselves in pure bliss.
"...Hehe. This is it... this is Lord Oberon's mana...!"
A geometric pattern resembling a magic circle slowly manifested in her right eye.
Inky mana dripped from it, tracing down her cheek like a tear.
The storm subsided as quickly as it had begun, but the space around her continued to shimmer.
An eerie silence settled over the mountain.
In the center of that stillness, she laughed softly.
"I see... so this is the view you Transcendents were seeing."
The words leaked out like a sigh.
"I feel like... I understand a little now. The 'illusion' you want to believe in."
She narrowed her eyes as she murmured.
Within those eyes dwelt emotions so complex they defied words.
"But in the end, it is incompatible with me. —Even so, I have come to realize that it is an illusion worth destroying."
Just like Shion and Oliver, Philly had assimilated a Seirei Eye into her own.
Furthermore, the mana fueling it belonged to the Evil God.
As the inky mana dripping from Philly’s eye hit the ground, a thunderous roar erupted from the depths of the earth.
The mountain shook violently.
Dense miasma spiraled around the peak of the Sacred Mountain.
A colossal shadow that should not exist manifested at the summit.
Higher than the clouds, a massive, multi-layered serpentine body appeared.
Eight heads writhed, letting out a roar that shook the heavens.
"Eight snakes...?"
"In the old era—the legends of the predecessor to Kyokutou spoke of a mythical monster. I’ve reproduced the Yata no Hebi. What do you think?"
"The Yata no Hebi..."
Philly clutched her right eye as if in pain, yet her face was set in an ecstatic smile.
"I will take my time to show you exactly how fragile and powerless the things you believe in truly are."
She pointed toward the horizon.
One of the Yata no Hebi’s eight heads moved slowly.
It was looking directly at the capital of Kyokutou—Hanemiya.
"First, learn how easily a human life can be snuffed out."
The head unhinged its jaw, and mana began to condense.
The malevolent energy was so dense it distorted the air.
"Stop it!"
My body was moving before I even finished the shout.
Ignoring my screaming muscles, I gripped my Magic Sword.
"—[Fifth Form: Mont Fünf]."
I reshaped the Magic Sword into a Magic Shield.
An instant later, a mass of calamity was unleashed from the Yata no Hebi’s mouth.
I dove into the path of the blast and caught it with my shield.
"Guh...!"
The torrent of mana slammed into the shield.
I desperately fought against the impact that threatened to crush my bones.
Eventually, the torrent dissipated, and a brief silence followed.
(Haah... haah... I managed to... protect the city...)
I felt a surge of relief that the capital below was safe.
"Impressive as always."
Philly looked down at me from within the inky mana drifting near the summit.
However, the Evil God's mana clearly took a heavy toll; she looked visibly exhausted.
"That is exactly why breaking you will be so rewarding."
Her silhouette began to fade.
She was being dissolved into the mana, vanishing from my sight.
"The next time we meet, show me that face of yours twisted in despair."
With those final words, Philly’s presence vanished.
The Yata no Hebi she left behind let out another roar from the mountain peak.
"Leaving me such a massive headache as a parting gift... —[First Form: Mont Eins]."
I took a deep breath and readjusted my grip on the Magic Sword.
The recoil from [Final Form: Mont Ende] had subsided enough for me to fight.
I had succeeded in one of my primary goals: driving the Cult’s most dangerous asset out of this country.
But it isn't over yet.
I’m going to end this properly.
Only then will this country finally be able to step toward the future.