[The enemy is a god from beyond the Solar System. But even if it is only a fragment of her, you know you must go all out.]
[If you follow ordinary methods, then even with nearly infinite magecraft in this land, it is impossible to find a way to win.]
[But unexpectedly, you aren't especially afraid. Your mind is unusually calm.]
[Maybe it's because you know you possess immortality in this land—or maybe, deep down, you understand that fear is meaningless before an enemy like that.]
[Still—even if you brought thousands of soldiers, in the end you cannot avoid fighting alone.]
[In this dark battle, you seem to have forgotten danger. Your mind grows quieter and quieter, and in a trance you feel your body's strength reaching a limit.]
[You don't like fighting, and you dislike facing powerful enemies. But when someone comes knocking at your door, you can't just sit still.]
[Yet before a higher god, you can only grit your teeth and endure. The power of this land barely maintains your existence within the Foreign God's domain—but it's nothing more than a candle trembling in the wind.]
A deep indigo beam tore through heaven and earth, and the final defense around Izaya began to collapse.
It felt as though oxygen had been stripped away, his brain turning blank—his body decomposing into raw information, as if it were about to be completely erased.
But in the next instant—
From the frozen wastes of Tunguska, from the deaths of hundreds of millions of living things, a most primitive hatred roared unwillingly inside him.
It wasn't hatred of gods. It wasn't rebellion.
It was hatred toward "fate" itself—the fate of being arbitrarily wiped away by a higher-dimensional existence.
Izaya's eyes suddenly lit up.
Right…
If he relied on his own strength, it was impossible to fight a Foreign God. But in this land, he wasn't alone.
He stopped resisting that destructive, suffocating magical oppression head-on. Instead, he sank his soul downward and sent a primal call into the earth beneath his feet.
In the next moment, the Foreign God's absolute, icy authority descended—an inhuman, total suppression from beyond the sky.
And then—
The land answered him.
Not a physical earthquake, but a torrent of resentment—compressed from the pain and helpless will of hundreds of millions of beasts before death—erupting like a black volcano.
For the first time, surprise flickered across the Foreign God's indifferent face. She had to divert attention to suppress this "negative emotion" rising from the planet itself.
"Now!"
Izaya rode the dark surge of resentment and lunged at her.
The Foreign God's chest tightened—astonishment, then—
A faint curve at the corner of her lips.
…Interesting.
No, truly interesting.
All this time she had overlooked this world as a "higher existence"—and now a human dared to look at his "predator" as prey?
With almost a glance, she understood what Izaya was doing.
From his nearly perfect "body," he found the unnoticed "weakness," and poured everything into a single strike.
Hundreds of "grievances" condensed into dark swordlight. It detonated at his feet, blooming outward like a rose of death.
In an instant, the swordlight shredded the Foreign God's body. Countless particles of light drifted in the air.
Izaya frowned slightly as he stared at those floating motes.
She… ran?
That attack should have been unavoidable. He hadn't expected she could still dodge under those conditions…
And yet—why did it never feel that simple?
Even a fragment of the Foreign God shouldn't be able to evade so easily.
It felt as if she… had a conscience.
Izaya shook the thought away. He turned, intending to return and discuss today's events with Koyanskaya.
But the moment he raised his head—
He saw her.
The Foreign God's noble, beautiful face was right there.
Eyes like a deity's—watching him with interest.
"Truly surprising… You analyzed my weakness first, then launched a full-power ambush. If it were someone else, you might actually have succeeded."
"And with your caliber—if you had my help—would you truly refuse to even consider my proposal—"
Before she could finish, the countless resentments condensed in the air into razor blades and slashed toward her.
This time she was ready.
A terrifying gravity field exploded around her, crushing the blades into fragments.
"What a pity, Sajyou Izaya. It seems you still have no intention of changing your mind."
She raised her right hand and grabbed toward Izaya.
Instantly, overwhelming gravity seized his body. He lost control and was pulled toward her.
But this time, he didn't resist at all.
He stared at that invincible figure.
From beginning to end, she remained godlike and indifferent, looking down on him with contempt.
"If you are useless to me," she said softly, "then disappear completely."
Gravity tightened around his body. Izaya ground his teeth, barely suppressing the crushing force with raw hatred.
"Is struggling to survive the only thing you can do, Sajyou Izaya?"
Her calm, pleasant voice echoed through space itself. Without him noticing, the sky had become wholly her domain.
In this world of gravity, everyone but her was bound.
Even though this land supplied endless magical energy, Izaya still found himself choking under the pressure.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He understood—if he wanted to defeat her directly…
Too hard. Far too hard.
The Foreign God's power lived up to her name.
But he still had a way to "break" the game.
His earlier hypothesis: even if she was as strong as she seemed, this body still had a weakness.
If he could get close enough—close enough to that weakness—
The gravity squeezed his breathing faster and faster, but he endured.
Three meters…
Two meters…
One meter…
At the moment he came within reach, Izaya suddenly lifted his gaze.
[One Thread of Fate], activate!
The roaring world froze.
The dreadful weight that could crush stars became a silent backdrop.
Time stretched infinitely long. Izaya's awareness peeled away from his body, as if he were looking down from a higher dimension at the "dead end" before him.
The entire gravity field became a net of heaven and earth in his eyes—woven from hundreds of millions of jet-black threads.
Each thread represented a causal chain leading to absolute death.
Perfect. Flawless.
A complete display of divinity's "absoluteness."
…No.
Not perfect.
Within that pure black web, there was a single thread glowing faintly gold.
It didn't point to a "safe zone"—because before the Foreign God, there was no such thing.
But—
The Eye of Disaster had told him: the Foreign God's personality had a weakness.
Without thinking, Izaya entrusted everything to that golden guidance.
In that slowed time, his body moved on instinct.
He reached out—and seized her wrist.
Time seemed to stop.
For the first time, surprise appeared in the Foreign God's beautiful eyes. Her pupils slowly widened.
A mere human…
Dared to touch a god?
She had no time to think or counterattack.
Empathy Magecraft—activated!
Following the method Koyanskaya once taught him, Izaya linked his spirit to the Foreign God's soul.
—BOOM!!
The world vanished.
Izaya felt his consciousness dragged by an irresistible torrent into a different realm—one beyond words.
A blank space, like an unpainted sheet of paper.
[Your Empathy Magecraft successfully invaded the Foreign God's spirit world. However, there is nothing to be seen within her spirit world…]
[No memories. No self. No personality formed.]
Staring at the simulator's text, Izaya's eyes slowly widened, as if he finally understood.
So that's it!
There was no doubt the Foreign God was terrifyingly strong.
But it was 1908—and it had only been three months since the "seedling" of the Foreign God appeared.
Her "personality" existed, but the Foreign God of this era was still a baby—a being of infinite possibility, and also in the weakest phase where she most needed "energy."
On top of that, as an intruder into Earth, she was being suppressed almost every minute by the twin counterforces: Gaia and Alaya.
No wonder she had been holding back from the start—and no wonder she wanted to recruit him as a subordinate…
Izaya's realization sharpened—
BANG!
The spiritual link was brutally severed by the Foreign God.
His consciousness snapped back into his body. He opened his eyes wide.
The Foreign God staggered back several steps, covering her head. Her golden eyes contracted violently as she stared at him.
Her godlike calm was gone—replaced by an ugly mixture of shame, rage, and fear.
Like someone had peeked into her private diary.
[You have discovered the Foreign God's secret. At this very moment, she is filled with murderous intent, eager to devour you alive.]
[However, after realizing she is still "blank," you gradually calm down—and even smile.]
"What are you laughing at?" the Foreign God frowned.
Even as crushing gravity erupted from her, the man remained calm.
Just as she was about to act, Izaya slowly raised his head.
"I can't promise to become your subordinate."
"But…"
"I can work with you."
"… … …"
…