"Don't screw with me! We were just living! What right do you have to destroy us devils?!"
"A joke? If that's a joke, it's not funny. If you're serious, it's downright hilarious!"
Samael, in Millicas's form, laughs raucously, creating a jarring dissonance.
"As if I had no hand in keeping devils from extinction until today? You seriously think your survival was your own achievement?"
"What do you—"
"What? Exactly what I said. Frankly, it was a pain. Putting out the sparks of war you lot ignited without being noticed? If it was just devils or the biblical faction getting wiped out, I'd have let it burn, but no such luck. And you call this peace? Apologize to every peace organization and my stomach!"
As Samael rants, something crashes behind him, kicking up a cloud of dust.
When it clears, a delicate silver-haired girl stands there. Sirzechs recognizes the expression on her beautiful face—it's like the one Cruzelei Asmodeus wore in Kyoto.
The expression of Solomon, who knows only rage.
"Ouch… That bastard Trihexa hit me for real. I wanna see his parents' faces."
"Need a mirror?"
"Ugh, of all places, I got sent flying in the same direction as this snake coward! Worst day ever! I wanna die!"
"Even I'd be hurt by that, Solomon."
The voice is different, but the tone and expression are identical. Samael's calling of the name confirms it.
"What's going on… Are there still rings left?!"
"Huh? That? Still on about that? The ring you destroyed in Kyoto with Cruzelei was a fake. Once I take a body, the ring's not needed anymore. Obviously, I don't have the real one on me."
"Then spill its location and die already."
A pure-white boy with six wings appears, radiating intense anger directed solely at Solomon, his miasma carelessly spreading around.
"Trihexa…!"
Sirzechs, aware of its identity from the summit, mutters its name in a groan.
"That's Trihexa?"
"What a monster…"
Serafall and Ajuka, who only heard brief mentions before teleporting to the Underworld, are stunned. Its overwhelming presence is daunting. Even all four Satans together might not take a single limb.
But Trihexa's eyes don't even register the Satans.
"Sorry, but the ring's with someone absolutely safe."
"Who'd you trick this time?"
"No, no. What do you take my father for? He's fully aware and actively protecting it."
"Huh?"
Trihexa's annoyed voice shifts as it finally notices Sirzechs and the others.
"Oh, the fake Satans. Showing up late, huh? That world you wanted to protect? It just got wiped out."
"Not yet! We're still here!"
"Inaccurate. It's not that you remain—it's that you're all that's left. Every life in the Underworld was incinerated. Infants, youths, elders—even Satan Falbium Asmodeus is dead."
Another intruder cuts off Sirzechs's defiant shout. Following Samael in Millicas's body, Solomon in the mysterious girl, and Trihexa, this is the fourth and final threat.
The moment he appears, the three Satans understand instinctively, abandoning reason and logic.
This man is the one who reduced the Underworld to this state.
"First introductions, I suppose. And the last. I'll give my name."
He looks human. Long golden hair reaches his feet. His mage-like attire exudes regal authority, with overwhelming magical power surpassing even chief gods.
"My name is Goetia."
Sirzechs knows the name. Shiva mentioned it—the king of the Demon God Pillars.
"So you're… the Solomon from another world!"
Not entirely wrong. Goetia is Solomon's remorse incarnate, a beast born from his corpse.
But Sirzechs likely sees it differently. Perhaps he thinks there was no Solomon in F, only Goetia, or that Solomon's full name is Solomon Goetia.
No—Raum said, "Our Solomon didn't come to this world," suggesting Solomon ≠ the king of the 72 pillars.
"…Yes, that's right, last Satan. I am what you call the King of Magecraft Solomon of another world—F. Well done reaching that truth! I am the king of kings! Thus, praise me as such—Incineration Ritual of the Bible, King of Men Goetia!"
Goetia neither points out nor corrects the truth.
"Did you do this to the Underworld?"
"Let's be clear: the snake using your son's body and the King of Magecraft with a taste for young girls are my enemies. Trihexa is a temporary ally. And to be explicit—this Underworld was burned by my will. I, the king, and the 72 Demon Gods chose, decided, and executed it. We destroyed you devils."
"Don't misunderstand. I wasn't swayed by this world's King of Magecraft or God's malice. This was my choice," Goetia declares, enraging Sirzechs.
"Why?! Why do this?! What do you feel about this act? Don't you feel anything after such cruelty?! What are lives to you?! Is wiping out a species—countless lives—so fun?!"
Enduring Samael's damage, Sirzechs unleashes his power, becoming a colossal humanoid aura of destruction. Ten times stronger than the former Lucifer, an avatar of violence among the world's top ten, an incarnation of ruin shaking the world itself.
Goetia looks up at him.
"…Hoh. An unexpected reaction, Satan. Fun, you ask? Whether destroying devils and fallen angels is fun for me?"
The question is too obvious.
"Of course, of course, of course—it's utterly, utterly boring! If it was fun, I'd have killed you and your world outright!"
Who'd willingly redo a failed plan?
Who'd willingly take on pest control like you?
It's obviously reluctant work.
You think you're worth that much?
Your presence here is like forgetting to sweep up dust.
"We are displeased. Your deaths are ugly. Even putting an end to you is tedious. Your screams are grating! But that's your ultimate salvation. Because only we can make full use of every last one of you—!"
The three Satans are consumed by rage at his words.
Yet, a calm part wonders: what does make use mean? Raum said they were harmful, obstacles, and necessary. After such thorough destruction, how could devils, fallen angels, and all Underworld life be used?
"Well, goodbye. Bad timing. Your history ends today."
Two Servants appear behind the King of Men.
"We'll postpone the cure, but let's crush the infection source here."
"Giving me, who failed to destroy the Satans' peerages, another chance? I'll repay that generosity."
Somewhere untouched by the Red Dragon's cries, the White Dragon's aurora, God's malicious laughter, or the heat of the Underworld's incineration, a Heroic Spirit is summoned.
"Servant, Sita. I have come in response to the summons—"
The summoned Heroic Spirit is Sita, a delicate red-haired girl from the Indian epic Ramayana, wife of the protagonist Rama.
As a Heroic Spirit, Sita shares a Spirit Origin with Rama. If Rama is summoned in a Holy Grail War, Sita cannot manifest, and vice versa, due to a curse from Rama's surprise attack: "Even if you reclaim your queen, you will never share joy together"—the skill Curse of Separation.
Thus, Sita is stunned to see the figure before her.
"Lord… Rama?"
Her beloved, a boy with hair the same color as hers.
"Yes, Sita. It's me—I."
Even Rama finds the situation surreal. Despite the promise, despite expectations, there was fear it might not happen.
The Holy Grail prepared by Solomon for Rama and Fionn lacks wish-granting power, merely a magical tool to summon specific Servants from F. Fionn already succeeded in summoning his first wife, Sadhbh, and they're absent together.
Before Rama stands his beloved wife, Sita, as she was when they lived in exile. Seeing her red hair doesn't blind him.
"Lord Rama."
"Sita."
Embracing her, he feels Sita's warmth.
"Lord Rama…"
"Sita…"
Her trembling voice weaves his name. His voice must be trembling too.
"Rama!"
"Sita!"
Even the cold tears on her cheeks are dear. She's truly here, and so is he. He wants to savor this miracle forever.
"It's really you…"
Thus, before entering the Underworld, Solomon entrusted Rama with the ring—the final key to unravel the curse of Truth he placed on all humanity—right after possessing a devil's body born from Lilith.
"I love you… Truly, truly, I love you."
Rama cannot destroy it. He could never.
"…I missed you, I missed you. I really, really missed you. As long as I have you, that's enough…!"
At least until his sobs stop, until he's ready to let go of this miracle, he cannot destroy it.
"I'm Randolph Carter, Savior's ally. From your perspective, think of me as from C."
"Hello! I'm Abigail Williams. Call me Abby if you like!"
"She's originally from F. But a Raum different from the Demon God Raum you know… Well, that involves a pruned phenomenon, so it's long. Let's skip it. Should Savior explain Beast X instead?"
In a hidden human-world base, the Hero Faction takes a fleeting rest, listening to Savior, their parallel-world junior, recount his world's events.
"The complete Beast X—the God of the Bible, the original fallen angel, the Morning Star, and the King of Magecraft combined into the ultimate Evil of Humanity. The consciousness was dominated by that bastard Solomon."
"That's odd, isn't it? The core should be the God of the Bible, right?"
"No matter how great a mage or perfect a king, even with elements of an Evil of Humanity, he's still human. His soul's caliber and existence's phase are different."
"But if Solomon orchestrated the fusion, that changes things."
"Yup, he mixed in to take control. What a bastard!"
"Yes. The God of the Bible, Samael, and the original Lucifer were outsmarted by Solomon. That jerk, a former human, pushing humanity's destruction? He's the root of it all. The source of all evil."
"That's a bit much. I get the sentiment, but the God of the Bible started it."
"Or God's malice, Samael."
"And who incited them? None other than Solomon. We figured out the mechanics of the fusion spell."
"You did? So what's the mystery?"
"In short, energy."
"Energy, huh?"
"Silencing the God of the Bible, not to mention top-tier beings like Lucifer and Samael, requires immense energy."
"Even after reviving with the ring, it's not something you can just collect."
"Our researchers found that gathering that energy requires a world-scale spell like Truth, taking at least a millennium."
"A thousand years ago… Around the time of the three-way war when the God of the Bible fell?"
"Yup. So, we think his collaborator did something amid the chaos of God's death and the war's end…"
"No proof, no answers."
"Embarrassingly, yes."
"No worries. We're talking about Solomon, the outrageous King of Magecraft who once conned every god and demon."
"That's kind of you to say. Our world doesn't have much resources for that investigation, but we can't ignore it."
"Right. An unknown truth makes you worry about hidden trump cards."
"Exactly. Now, to the main topic."
"That was just a preamble?"
"A grand preamble."
"Can't imagine a heavier topic."
"…You guys know what 'exaggeration' means, right?"
Taking a deep breath, Savior asks with utmost seriousness.
"Why am I tied to a bed?"
"That's the wrong question. It's 'why are we' tied, right?"
"No amount of cool phrasing changes reality, Cao Cao-san."
"Give up, junior-kun."
"Who're you? Fried-san, Rint-san's brother, judging by looks. The one who took down Rizevim, right?"
"Fried's bro took out Ririn? Big win!"
"Rint-san seems lively here too."
"Oh, I'm the only one left from our side. Awkward."
Asia, wearing sterilized gloves, stands over the three bound to beds and declares,
"Let's begin treatment."
"Eek! Help! I'm gonna be eaten!"
"I'm not eating you. Just healing."
"You say that, but you're gonna eat me!"
"Are you… enjoying this?"
"No, well, not really?"
Savior's expression screams otherwise. The Hero Faction members nearby look awkward, sweating as Cao Cao buys time.
"Hey, Asia. I get me and Fried, but why Savior?"
Cao Cao's injured from fighting Doumon Genbu at the summit and Archer earlier. Fried's exhausted from being a Demon God Pillar terminal. But Savior shows no signs of injury or combat.
"He's the most critical here."
Asia's statement stuns them.
"Huh?"
"What's that mean, Asia-chan?"
Not just Cao Cao and Fried—many present tilt their heads, while a few freeze, understanding. Savior stares at the ceiling, silent.
"You're Savior, right? A few questions. Answer honestly. When was your last sleep?"
"Don't remember. Haven't slept much in two years. Modified my body with Beast Creation to not need sleep, so don't worry."
If that were all, it'd just be a use of Beast Creation. Like Cao Cao's parallel-world counterpart, Savior's coffin holds various Sacred Gears and legendary weapons. Whether Leonardo did the same is unclear, but it should end there.
But it's never that simple.
"Next question. How many years were you diagnosed to live?"
"Five, last I checked six months ago. Might be less now."
Everyone's expressions freeze.
Savior looks barely twenty. Only five years left? What has he sacrificed?
"Final question. What's your diet been like, especially the past six months?"
"…No comment—guh, aaaaaah?!"
"Which is more honest, your mouth or your pain?"
"Scary!"
"Bit late for that."
Many look away from what Asia does.
"Fine, just junk food!"
"You understood the dangers of junk food's toxins and still consumed it excessively?"
"But, but, my world doesn't have that stuff anymore! In a civilized world, let me eat civilized food!"
"Junk food isn't civilized! Civilized food is nutritionally balanced, based on dietary science!"
"No health food! I don't want to eat junk all the time! I want additive-laden ice cream pancakes all day!"
"Are you a shut-in or something?"
"Shut-ins are for Amaterasu-ōmikami! …Amaterasu-sama?"
A faint click seems to come from Savior.
"Amaterasu-sama, there's no Solomon, so come out! With Truth broken, if you hide, an eclipse happens! The mythology's messed up, causing eclipses worldwide, not just Japan! Stop it, no more sake parties, don't make more work, you useless gods! Make it rain on farms, you freeloaders! My stomach's gonna get another hole, my head's in danger—no, I'm not ready for Ereshkigal-sama or Hel-sama, thanks for your concern! No, it's not cheating, please don't hate me! I haven't forgotten Amaterasu-sama, just—come out, you useless goddess!"
Savior spills events likely from his parallel world, his face flushed with excitement.
"Gods are no good!"
For some reason, a teddy bear seems to nod meaningfully.
"Gods, humans—all rotten! Was saving the world even worth it?! …It was, damn it! But I don't wanna go back! A mountain of work and trouble's waiting…"
"Lots of physical issues, but mentally unstable too. He needs treatment."
Seeing the pathetic savior, the Hero Faction thinks, "We must never let him become him in this world," and "We need to survive for those left behind."
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL