Amidst a scene that looked like the climax of a final battle, a coin tumbled from high above.
The Platinum Coin struck the ground and, strangely, did not bounce even once. It came to a complete standstill—showing "heads."
"……Ugh."
"The matter is settled."
The result signaled Shiro-san’s victory, and Eden-san’s expression twisted in frustration. After a brief silence, Eden-san let the tension leave her shoulders.
"……I won’t claim to be satisfied, but a result is a result. I have no objections. I shall withdraw quietly this time."
"Then, let us formalize a contract regarding this matter."
"……Understood."
I stood by in bewilderment, having no idea what was actually happening, let alone the details of their dispute. As I watched the events unfold, Alice appeared beside me—or rather, one of her Split Bodies, as her Main Body was still occupied maintaining the Cylindrical Barrier.
"……Phew. That was truly exhausting."
"Um, good work? I have absolutely no idea what was actually going on... but I gathered it was a pretty dire situation."
"Well, to put it simply, those two Gods were using their full power to manipulate the outcome until the very moment the coin landed. However, the result of Shallow Vernal-sama winning with heads and the result of Eden-san winning with tails cannot exist simultaneously. At the Intersection of Force Fields, this created a Maximal Event Paradox, causing laws and concepts to warp and—"
"I-I see... I don't get it at all."
"Putting it as simply as possible: their power was so overwhelming that the world was on the verge of breaking under the strain, so the three of us were essentially holding it together."
"……Then thank you, truly, for your hard work."
I didn't understand the mechanics, but it was clear that the world had been in jeopardy. Kuro, Alice, and Fate-san were quite literally the heroes who had just saved the world.
As I was thinking that, Shiro-san lightly waved her hand—presumably because the contract was finalized—and the Cylindrical Barrier vanished.
"Wait! What are you doing, Shallow Vernal-sama!? Even if you stabilized the space, that Platinum Coin still has a ridiculous amount of energy built up—it's going to burst!?"
"!?"
Immediately after Alice cried out, the Platinum Coin on the ground bounced into the air and emitted a blinding light. Then... it simply fell back to the earth as if nothing had happened.
I tilted my head in confusion. Despite Alice’s panicked warning, nothing had occurred. I turned to Alice, who had moved in front of me to shield me before I had even realized it.
"A-Alice!? Are you okay?"
"……Eh? Yes, I'm fine. I was just a little startled. It's safe now, so don't worry."
"I-Is that so?"
"Yes, no problem at all. Things seem to have settled down here, so you can get back to your Greeting Rounds, Kaito-san. Come on, let's go!"
"Wait... I still want to know why things turned out like that..."
"I'll check on the details myself later. Look, look, you're losing time!"
I wondered what was going on. I felt a slight sense of incongruity in Alice's behavior, but judging from her tone, it seemed best not to pry further.
Alice always told me the things I needed to know, and above all, I trusted her. I decided to follow her lead for now. Shaking off my lingering doubts, I obeyed Alice and resumed my rounds.
Once Kaito had left the area, Shallow Vernal and Eden vanished as well, leaving only Kuromueina and Fate behind. Alice’s Split Body remained with them.
The faces of the three were pale, their expressions suggesting they had just witnessed something incomprehensible.
"……I knew it would be something incredible if even Eden-san spoke of it that way, but... it was beyond anything I imagined. Was that Shallow Vernal-sama’s ultimate power... the Epilogue?"
"Yeah, I'm stunned too," Kuro murmured. "It’s completely different from when I held that authority... To think such a power truly exists."
"N-No, Shaltan, Underworld King, you both look like you know what's going on... but what was that!? What actually happened?"
The three were discussing Shallow Vernal’s power—the force that had just "ended" the specific phenomenon of the Platinum Coin exploding due to the paradox of concentrated divine power.
"That is Shallow Vernal-sama's true nature... the power to bring an end to all things."
"……What did you think, Shaltier?" Kuro asked.
"……To be honest, I am relieved from the bottom of my soul that Shallow Vernal-sama is on Kaito-san's side."
Alice paused, falling into a brief silence before speaking again.
"……I'll be blunt. I have the confidence to win even against an Omniscient and Omnipotent God. By stripping away their Authority and grinding them down, it would take a massive amount of time... but I believe a path to victory exists. But that? That is impossible. Until I saw it with my own eyes, I held a tiny sliver of hope that there might be some way to counter it, but..."
"I agree," Kuro said softly. "Even though I saw it happen right in front of me, I didn't understand a thing. I couldn't tell when it was activated or what kind of force was applied. Without any warning or realization, by the time I noticed, everything was already 'finished'."
"……I always assumed the Epilogue was a more blunt instrument, like ending the entire world at once. But she can trigger it by narrowing the scope to a single specific phenomenon. Good grief, I’m truly glad Shallow Vernal-sama isn't Kaito-san's enemy."
Needless to say, Alice and Kuromueina were individuals of overwhelming strength. Their total capabilities were not inferior even to a God of World Creation.
Yet, even for them, it was impossible to even perceive Shallow Vernal's Epilogue. To put it plainly, they hadn't actually seen the Epilogue occur. They had simply observed the result and deduced that she must have used it.
"Shallow Vernal-sama really is amazing. To have a power like that... though I’m not sure 'power' is even the right word for something so absurd."
"You're right. She's completely outside the scales... an outrageous God."
Serious-senpai: "I only understood that it was some kind of terrifying power. So, in the end, what were those two fighting about?"
???: "The answer to that will be revealed in the next part. Oh, by the way, the party is over now. All the major events have concluded."
Serious-senpai: "And then a serious new chapter begins?"
???: "……Do you honestly believe that's going to start?"
Serious-senpai: "……I don't."