NOVEL NEXT Chapter 271
Someone once said,
“Revenge is empty.”
“What remains after revenge?”
– The thrill!
– The pleasure!
– The relief that I no longer have to deal with this scoundrel!
Happiness!
Indeed, revenge is undoubtedly hollow.
Especially when one who has lived for vengeance finally achieves it, the emptiness and desolation is beyond words.
However,
Does that mean I can refrain from seeking revenge?
“This is for the audacity of trying to use me as a slave. Zephar.”
The sin of trying to misuse me, the Demon Lord Belphegor.
Not to mention the crime of tormenting my daughter.
Carrying all this, I succeeded in achieving my desperate revenge.
“Ah, it’s exhilarating. Truly.”
“You really seem… pleased.”
“Of course. You have no idea how much I’ve suffered because of this scoundrel. Ugh, let’s not talk about it.”
If I said anything more, I might accidentally reveal my identity.
It’s better to just glide over it casually.
“It feels like all my pain has vanished. Ah, refreshing. I can finally sleep peacefully now.”
“Can you really sleep?”
“With this body, yes.”
I can sleep comfortably.
I no longer have to think about how to kill Zephar or how to seek revenge while sleeping.
Now—
BAM!!
A blue light surged toward me.
“…Pfft.”
I had forgotten about Zephar for a moment, focusing on my impending death from the planetary purification cannon, and when I dismissed it…
Before I knew it, he had mustered enough power to strike at me.
And that attack was effortlessly blocked by Lucius.
“Luciel. How does it feel to fail in your final struggle?”
“I was certainly… careless…”
“No way! I was still mindful of your demise while killing Zephar.”
Both Lucius and I.
“Could it be that we sat around waiting for you to think we believed you were truly dead? So when it was all over, you launched a long-distance attack at your heart from afar? That’s too bad.”
Such an attack wouldn’t work on us.
“Lucius, what did I tell you?”
“Never let your guard down and always remain in a state of readiness. Until the Master says, ‘Now it’s safe.'”
“Exactly. Heh, truly. A wonderful disciple.”
Lucius and I turned toward Luciel, who had lost all her wings.
“How does it feel that your final struggle holds no meaning at all?”
“…Hmph.”
Luciel stumbled as she stood up.
“Is this really the end? No. No way.”
She glared at me with fierce eyes between her disheveled blonde locks.
“While you were humiliating the demon race, I had already completed everything.”
“……That’s troubling.”
I hadn’t known that.
“Master. We need to handle this before something goes wrong…”
“No. It’s too late. There’s no way to stop it now.”
It had already been completed.
“Just like when I teleported with the meteorite, like I moved all the people, like I bombarded from the Sky Island. That scoundrel also prepared a great magic and completed it.”
Just as we hadn’t failed, neither did he.
“In fact, he was waiting. After Zephar’s turn, for his own.”
“…You know, huh?”
“Before becoming Lucifer, even Luciel would know of the ‘Romance.'”
Because she is an Archangel.
Luciel smirked as she brushed her hair back.
“Yes. It’s time for the great magic.”
The sky began to change.
As the darkness and the Divine Power of the Moon Goddess that had covered the heavens dissipated, the true form of the sky began to twinkle.
“Which power are you using? To martyr yourself?”
“It’s the martyrdom of an Archangel. Heh, but as you know, the moment I die, everything will open.”
The sunset glow.
The red sun shining in the faraway sky illuminated the world again, and in the distant sky, a blue crack began to shimmer.
“The Archangel Luciel sacrifices her life to open the dimensional door. Now, there’s no way to block that door.”
“Master. I will stop it.”
“No. That can’t be stopped like that.”
There is only one way to stop it.
“Luciel, you—”
“If I meet the Moon Goddess, please convey this.”
Luciel placed her hand on her chest and smiled brightly.
“I truly love you.”
At the moment Luciel’s skin cracked as if splitting apart.
WHOOSH—!!
A blue light burst from her body, scattering into the sky in an instant.
“…Was she already dead?”
She was probably gathering her will to deliver that last message in one final attack.
Luciel must have received a devastating blow when hit by the planetary purification.
She simply left behind a grand magic trigger linked to her own obliteration.
“Master. What happened?”
“She set it up so that when she died, the dimensional door would open. Long ago.”
Crack.
The fissure grew larger.
Just like how Lucius had torn through the barrier riding the Golden Mount, the blue crack now opened in the heavens began to devour the surrounding space.
Thud.
A massive hand reached out from the fissure.
Though it was just one hand for now, soon it would tear the crack wider and poke its head out.
“There’s only one way to stop that. We have to meet the Moon Goddess in person and talk.”
“…Master?”
“Once you go there, you can’t come back. That place is not the ‘Human World’ but the ‘Celestial Realm.'”
With Luciel’s final resistance, a portal directly connecting to the Celestial Realm opened.
“The Celestials descending from there are not the weakened angels summoned to the Intermediate Realm. They’re those who pass directly through the destroyed ozone layer.”
“…If we use the power of the Holy Sword…”
“That will kill them all. The door isn’t the only one that’s opened. There will be more holes in the future.”
Breaking a dam starts with a small crack.
That crack creates a larger fissure, and ultimately destroys the dam.
The boundary between worlds, too.
“I need to go myself.”
“Master?”
“Lucius. Do you trust me?”
WHOOSH.
The wind blows.
Above the ruined land shaken by the battle, I lightly brushed my fingers across Lucius’s golden cloak covering my body.
Swish.
As the golden light vanished, the coat returned to its original color.
“I will head to the Celestial Realm. After meeting the Moon Goddess, I will tell all angels to return to the Celestial Realm in the name of the Moon Goddess.”
“…….”
“You stay in the Human World.”
WHOOSH.
The wind blows.
My hat flew off my head, and my hair scattered in the breeze.
“While I’m away in the Celestial Realm, you protect the Intermediate Realm. It would also be nice to develop the Intermediate Realm. You understand how stifling it is, having traveled around the world, right?”
Just comparing Belselphia and the Empire is enough to illustrate that.
“Humans need a hero. You must become that hero.”
“…Honestly, I’m not sure what to say.”
Lucius shook his head with a wry smile.
“I’m still lacking in so many ways. I need you, Master.”
“…….”
“But.”
Lucius reached out his fist toward me.
“I believe you will succeed. And someday, I believe you will return.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Of course. Well…”
Lucius glanced briefly upward at the sky.
“…You haven’t taught me a magic yet, nor have you heard my answers to the things you asked.”
“…That’s true.”
We made a promise to each other.
“Lucius. I’ll be back soon, so take care of this.”
I removed the rings holding the Holy Swords from my fingers and handed them to Lucius.
“When the portal to the Celestial Realm closes, the Holy Sword of Light will naturally return to its original color. Take the Holy Sword of Light with you. If it returns to its original form, then I have succeeded.”
“Master.”
“But, I’ll be borrowing this.”
I pointed to the coat I received from Lucius.
“I’m not the kind of person who borrows clothes and doesn’t return them. You know that, right?”
“Of course.”
I bumped my fist against Lucius’s.
“Come to think of it, this is the first time.”
“The first time?”
“That you initiated something like this with me.”
“……Is that so?”
Lucius fiddled with his fist and stepped back.
“I’ll be waiting. I believe in you, Master.”
“Okay. Don’t be surprised when I come back too soon.”
“Yes. And don’t be surprised, Master. When you see me changing the Intermediate Realm.”
“Sure, I look forward to it. And….”
I took a step back from Lucius.
“The happiness of being human. Is it something I really have to teach you?”
It’s a promise after all.
“…Then.”
I soared toward the sky.
“I’ll say goodbye for now, until I fulfill my promise.”
Riding my staff, heading into the sky.
Waving at Lucius, who looked up at me, I gathered my flying hat and soared into the heavens.
Toward the Celestial Realm.
*
“…Hah.”
The witch disappeared into the crack opening in the sky.
Lucius closed his eyes for a moment, gazing at the hand that had just met the witch’s fist.
“…Until we meet again.”
Swish.
The Holy Swords transformed into rings slipped onto Lucius’s fingers.
Covering the joint where he had just touched the Master, Lucius covered each spot with the rings of the Holy Swords and tightly clenched his fist.
“Thank you. Gungnir. Sleipnir. You will now be my eternal partners.”
Flash.
“…Thanks to you, I was able to avoid failure.”
A golden giant appeared behind Lucius.
[Do you think you’re correct?]
“I don’t know.”
Lucius walked toward where Luciel had disappeared, picking up the white glowing rabbit consumed by blue light.
“Now, it all depends on the Master.”
[Your Master—]
“The Witch.”
Lucius looked up at the sky, gripping the Holy Spear.
“If it’s too late, then I will have to strike.”
As the sunset slowly faded, true darkness began to curtain the sky.
In the distance.
The blue moon rising in the sky began to twinkle.
*
“Wow, so many.”
As soon as I arrived, the angels greeted me.
Upon arriving at the Sanctuary, the overwhelming welcome made me chuckle.
“Why is there such a commotion? I just walked in through the open door.”
“Shut it, Godslayer! What are you plotting!!!”
“The Great Celestial Unite.”
I placed my hand on my chest.
“Headquarters detonation.”
WHOOSH.
Six magical energies erupted from my heart as Ether formed into a single appearance.
All of them looked similar to me, mere clones—
“Wow, this is really working.”
“…You’re insane, coming directly into the Celestial Realm to face the Celestials.”
Purple and blue shook their heads.
Having slept for so long, their eyes were hazy, but they began to survey their surroundings and lick their lips.
“If it’s going according to plan, isn’t that good? But one death would mean many would die, which is troublesome.”
“I don’t care. Even if I die numerous times, I’ll come back. As long as the Demon King is alive, we can resurrect and fight them again.”
Green and orange each pulled out their weapons.
Not just pulling out weapons as my clones, but wielding weapons that suited their respective names.
“Ha ha. If it’s for a perfect happy ending. Ah, full of love. Full of happiness…!”
“…It doesn’t even feel like it’s been an hour since this all happened.”
Navy chuckled, while yellow scanned the surroundings with a sheepish face.
“Y-you, it can’t be… Luciel?!”
“Are you kidding… it’s insane. What can seven of us possibly do…?”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s seven or not.”
I lightly clenched my fists and summoned the red magical power—’Magia.’
“Tonight. The Celestial Realm becomes the Demon Realm.”
“T-this sacrilege…!”
“I figured it out as I surveyed the Intermediate Realm. When the Goddess neglects her duties, this is what happens to the world.”
The Intermediate Realm genuinely needs a true god.
Not angels appropriating the name of the Goddess with divine power, but a real god who looks down from the sky and embraces the existence on the ground.
“Let’s not have a proxy battle with the stifled kids of the Intermediate Realm, let’s fight directly. You love this, right? The Great Celestial War?”
“You—”
I unleashed my red magical spear, gleaming with magic and advanced forward.
“Call out the Moon Goddess.”
From this moment.
“If she doesn’t want to be the Goddess, pass that role to me. I need to clean this up quickly and keep my promise.”
Now, this place will become the Demon Realm.
“It’s time for the coup.”
Let’s start.
To become the Goddess.
To become the Demon God.
For the Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm, and the Intermediate Realm.
“I will become the Goddess.”
And.
“I will teach you what happiness is.”
“First, let’s start with a grand fall of the Demon Realm… Shall we make the red moon drop first?”
For the happiness of my family and myself.
The day the sky opened.
As the two floating moons in the sky collided and crashed into each other, the blue crack that covered the world disappeared completely.