When Lucoa occasionally came to visit, Sei would hide away. However, she seemed to know Eu as well, though not in a way that allowed for friendly interaction—only mutual acquaintance.
Eu was somewhat surprised, and also more cautious, that Raize could be acquainted with such a heavyweight existence as the Feathered Serpent Goddess. She could tell that this supreme being seemed quite interested in Raize.
Not wanting her current life to be disturbed, and even less willing to allow anything to endanger Raize, Eu sat on the sofa in the living room, expressionless, looking toward the other party as she handed over her notebook.
At the moment, only the two of them were here. After recovering some of her magic power, Haruna had gone out to hunt Megalo, while Sei was hiding away researching the Giant of Light statue.
The Raize at home was merely a shadow clone. His true body had gone somewhere—either to locate a ghoul nest or to train in seclusion deep in the mountains or forests.
(What about Raize makes an existence like you interested? Why are you fixated on him?)
Looking at the words written on the notebook handed over by the silver-haired girl before her, Lucoa's smiling expression did not change, but inwardly she was somewhat surprised.
This solitary necromancer seemed to care deeply about Raize. She was even able to stay in his home for extended periods.
She must have realized that her own power could not affect the destiny line of this special human, which was why she chose to remain here.
"Isn't it the same for you, Hellscythe? Aren't you also interested in him, which is why you stayed?"
Lucoa slightly opened her dazzling, beautiful heterochromatic eyes and looked directly into Eu's gem-blue gaze, her tone carrying an inexplicable meaning.
She did not believe that Eu had failed to notice the mystery and uniqueness surrounding Raize.
(I am not the same as you!)
The words in the notebook gradually became less polite, even though the girl herself still wore that taciturn expression.
Lucoa's guess was only partly correct. The mysterious traits on Raize's body could not be subconsciously affected even by Eu's own vast power.
Moreover, Raize had previously promised her that he would take on her power for a while when he had time, allowing her to relax. Whenever he was free, he would fulfill that promise.
In Eu's vivid memories, that boy had smiled as he gave her his assurance.
"I have a way to resolve the hidden dangers of your power, Eu. Please believe me."
Raize, who claimed he had the ability to relieve her difficulties, very forcefully pulled her into fulfilling that promise. Eu, who had previously not taken it seriously and thought he was merely comforting her, saw for the first time the tip of the iceberg of Raize's mysterious qualities.
Through the magic power conversion machine, he was actually able to withstand her enormous power. It was just that he would usually turn into that adorably irresistible pink ball state.
Because of this promise, Raize also obtained Eu's power of reality warping. This ability required immense magical power to reach its full effect. Without Eu's magic, he could not achieve the level of altering the world and rewriting laws.
And after Raize turned into that pink Kirby-like state, he would often use the power of Reject Phenomena to gradually clear away the hidden dangers of rampage within Eu's vast magical power.
After one day of relaxed time, when the magic was converted back, Eu herself was shocked to discover a strange change in her power.
It had become easier to control than before. The magic that had always been in a surging, turbulent state—suppressed by the Silence of the Ban on her body and by her own will—now showed clear signs of calming down.
Raize did not hide anything from Eu. He told her about the power of Reject Phenomena. By activating this ability, he rejected and denied the instability in her massive magic power, gradually eliminating the risk of rampage.
It was impossible for Eu not to be moved by the fact that Raize took her in, cared for her attentively, and even wanted to help her resolve her own difficulties.
Knowing that Raize could truly help her eliminate the hidden dangers of her magic power, Eu became so emotionally stirred at the time that her magic went out of control once again. It was Raize who stabilized her with that same ability.
Eu had dreamed of resolving the hidden dangers of her magic power. Now, in Raize, she saw immense hope.
Although Raize's special power had previously only resolved a tiny portion of the dangers within her vast magic, even that had once been an unattainable luxury.
Accumulated bit by bit, sooner or later she would be able to smile again and freely express her emotions.
She did not lack time, and Raize did not lack time either.
"Look at that. Someone who can make the 'center of the world' take notice—my curiosity about Raize has deepened even further."
Lucoa did not take Eu's rudeness to heart. She still wore that carefree smile, as if nothing in the world could make her change her expression.
In her long life, there were very few existences that could interest Lucoa. Now that one had appeared, there was little chance she would give it up.
For long-lived beings, if they do not find some amusement over the endless passage of time, something is bound to go terribly wrong.
Eu felt neither fondness nor hatred toward this carefree, smiling, big-chested woman. She liked staying in this warm home and had no interest in the disputes of the outside world.
She only wanted to live a simple routine every day, enjoying Raize's cooking that never repeated itself. Now, she also hoped that Raize could help her resolve the hidden dangers of her magic power.
Anything that might disturb her current peaceful life was something she absolutely did not want to see, and she even less wanted to see anything happen to Raize.
Therefore, the words she wrote next in her notebook held no courtesy at all.
(…I cannot stop you from doing what you want. But if you intend to do anything malicious to Raize, I will go to your world and vent my magic power without restraint.)
A threat—an undisguised threat, and one that no influential existence in the world could afford to ignore.
After finally encountering hope that could resolve her hidden dangers, Eu absolutely did not want to see any detestable individual destroy it.
She could not fight Lucoa directly, so she issued the most severe warning possible. Whoever dared to shatter her hope should not blame her for being merciless.
She hated death and despised killing, but that did not mean she was someone who always retreated. A necromancer was, by nature, accompanied by death.
Eu's warning was blunt and uncompromising: before you do anything bad to those around me, you had better carefully weigh the consequences.
Already regarded by major powers as an unstable bomb, Eu's power—having reached the very source of magic—would truly be capable of destroying worlds if it ran rampant, completely shaking the foundations of reality.
"That really is frightening. But I never had any malicious intent to begin with. After all, Raize is Tohru's good friend and Kanna's lifesaver. I wouldn't do something as ungrateful as repaying kindness with hostility. I'm simply very interested in Raize's uniqueness."
Lucoa glanced at the threatening words on the notebook with slightly opened eyes, her tone unchanged. She understood very well just how terrifying Eu's power was. In her own world, many gods and evil humans had once been greedy and covetous of Eu's power.
To put it plainly, Lucoa's magic reserves were not even thirty percent of Eu's. The combined power of all the gods in her world had once been inferior to Eu's. That did not mean Lucoa was weaker than Eu—her true strength did not lie in mere magical quantity.
Back then, when the dragons tried to prevent those gods from seizing Eu's power, the battles were so fierce it was as if dragon brains were about to be beaten out.
"The one who gains Hellscythe's power can ascend to the supreme." This saying had once spread widely among the gods in Tohru's world. If Eu's power were truly obtained, the balance between the gods and dragons would instantly collapse.
Eu was like the Root of the Fate world, while those other covetous beings were akin to magus who would stop at nothing, even extinguishing their humanity.
Raize, who had personally experienced Eu's power, could sense the terror of her magic, like a swirling vortex of origin. Destroying a world would be no difficult feat.
"It seems I'm not very welcome here. In that case, I'll take my leave for now. Please say goodbye to Raize for me."
Lucoa smiled as she stood up and glanced toward the Raize in the kitchen, who was concentrating on cooking. She could tell that it was only a clone.
After finishing her look, Lucoa turned and left on her own.
The residents here did not particularly welcome her. Her frequent attention toward Raize had also stirred Raize's vigilance. Continuing like this would only sour her friendly relationship with him.
There was plenty of time ahead. Sooner or later, she would see something on that little fellow Raize that interested her.
Eu picked up the teacup on the table, now long since cooled, glanced in the direction Lucoa had departed, then cast a conflicted gaze—tinged with both loss and anticipation—toward the shadow clone in the kitchen.
In the past, Eu had not wanted to trouble Raize. But now, she wanted to resolve her hidden dangers as soon as possible. As Raize helped her bear her power whenever he had time, allowing her to relax, Eu became increasingly enamored with that feeling of ease and freedom in expressing her emotions.
However, it was still her own power. Eu would not let Raize bear it for her indefinitely. Yet she realized she had changed—she had begun to look forward to those moments of ease at Raize's side, to anticipate when Raize would once again help her resolve her difficulties.
Perhaps she could go out again like an ordinary girl and enjoy a playful daily life.
This thought made Eu feel like a bad girl, actually looking forward to casting her own burden onto Raize.
Conflicted emotions clamored noisily within the heart of this beautiful girl whose face showed little expression.
---
Ever since acquiring shadow clones, the number of Raize's clones had never dropped below two hundred. In a single day, he could accomplish many things.
Whether conducting research in the Minecraft world, overseeing game development at the company, or teaching Mashiro at school, Raize now spent his days focused on training and game production at the company.
Dies Irae was nearing completion. Observing the heated online discussions surrounding the Divine Throne of All Phenomena, Raize had already released the relevant game trailer.
Naturally, Suzuna's side would help promote it for the sake of publicity. With joint efforts from Raiden Games and the publisher, over ninety-nine percent of book fans had learned that the story of Divine Throne of All Phenomena • Fourth Heaven: Eternal Recurrence of Mercury was being adapted into a game.
Raize even released news that if the popularity continued to rise, an anime adaptation would only be a matter of time.
A large portion of book fans did not really play games, especially text-heavy story games. They preferred reading at their own pace.
Thus, they did not react strongly to the game adaptation of Dies Irae. Raize was naturally aware of this and had explained it online under his author identity.
The volume of the Fourth Heaven's story was simply too immense. Paired with music and voice acting in a game, it offered an experience that plain text could not compare to.
Moreover, the game trailers released online showcased portions of high-quality music, voice acting, and fleeting glimpses of grand story scenes, all of which deeply captured the fans' attention.
Comparing the book in hand to the content online, it suddenly felt far less appealing.
With the appeal of "Dugo-sensei," the publisher's influence, and the direct promotional efforts of the surging Raiden Gsmes, this wave of popularity was guaranteed.
While focusing on Dies Irae, Raize was not worried about his other new games stealing its spotlight. He released the promotional trailers for God of War and Resident Evil as well.
Even gamers and fans who did not read novels would likely be curious why a galgame was being promoted alongside such titles. It did not seem to match Raiden Games' reputation as the pinnacle of action games.
When gamers first saw a game titled God of War, they were greeted by a bald, heavily muscled man with pale skin and red tattoos. This Western-style image did not draw complaints from Japanese players—after all, when it came to admiring the West, they were masters of it.
Overseas audiences were also highly interested in God of War. When fans around the world opened the trailer, they saw the bald man with chains wrapped around his arms, connected to the Blades of Chaos, slaughtering enemies with brutally styled movements.
Such smooth action could only be produced by Raiden Games.
Set against the backdrop of Greek mythology, the game told the tale of Kratos, a mortal who became the God of War and embarked on a journey of god-slaying.
The game never lacked grand spectacles. Brief flashes of massive boss battles were enough to excite players.
Especially for action game enthusiasts, Raiden Games had never disappointed them from beginning to end.
The other title, Resident Evil, featured a style and plot centered on zombies and other horror elements. It bore slight similarities to Prototype, but instead of allowing you to massacre everything like Alex Mercer, it placed you in the role of an ordinary human facing it all.
Two Western-style games, plus a galgame text-driven story game—a specialty of Japan.
To ensure that the first two games did not overshadow Dies Irae, Raize invested his greatest effort into its promotion, ensuring the trailers were sufficiently compelling.
However, Raiden Games' sudden foray into galgames made some companies specializing in that genre grow wary. Was this unstoppable Raiden Games planning to expand its sights into other game categories?
That was how industry insiders thought. Players thought the same way. Only die-hard action game fans voiced some mild dissatisfaction, hoping Raiden Games would focus on its strengths and firmly establish its benchmark first.
Players with eclectic tastes had no objections to Raiden Games branching out. On the contrary, they found it quite interesting.
And just as they were wondering what this "Dies Irae" even was, Raize's Divine Throne of All Phenomena book fans joined the forum discussions, bringing with them an inexplicable enthusiasm for the game adaptation.
Through mutual exchange, it became clear that this game was adapted from the recently popular novel Divine Throne of All Phenomena.
"Although I still haven't figured out whether Raiden Games plans to enter other game genres, I was completely drawn in by the Dies Irae trailer they released. I've already bought the novel and started reading it. Really looking forward to it!"
"Dugo-sensei fan here, checking in for the game adaptation of Dies Irae. I hope that one day it won't just be adapted into a game—I'm even more excited for the anime version!"
"I'm looking forward to Raiden Games God of War and Resident Evil. As for Dies Irae, this story-focused text game, I'll stay on the sidelines for now."
"I won't criticize Raiden Games. Their efficiency and game quality are beyond reproach—everything is packed with detail and sincerity. I'm actually somewhat interested in this Dies Irae game."
"As an action-game player, I'm not interested. I'm waiting for God of War. Or just hurry up and give me a sequel to Devil May Cry or Prototype!"
"Tsk tsk, it's normal that people who haven't read Dugo-sensei's books aren't interested. As a book fan, I'm thrilled. Once Dies Irae is out, I guarantee I'll buy it. This kind of story experience is what true enjoyment is."
"I've become interested in reading novels and have already started Dugo-sensei's works, but Warhammer completely won me over. I can't stop reading it—strongly recommended to everyone!"
"Fully supporting Raiden Games. I was hooked by the passionate music and trailer of Dies Irae—it reignited my chuunibyou soul."
"When will Raiden Games turn Dugo-sensei's Warhammer into a game? I'll definitely buy it in bulk!"
"I can't wait for the Divine Throne of All Phenomena game. The music and voice acting in the trailer got me fired up!"
"..."
Sitting in the classroom, Raize glanced at the messages on his phone and smiled knowingly. It seemed that everything on the gaming side was already in place. Once this wave of game profits was secured, he would truly have solid footing in this world.
Even if exposing some things about himself attracted the attention of the hidden world, he now possessed considerable strength to back himself up.
Today, none of his clones had come to school. Recently, he had been too focused on training with Laffey. After dispelling his shadow clones and reclaiming the accumulated fatigue, he planned to relax a bit.
In the classroom, Raize was the only one who dared to openly take out his phone and ignore Hiratsuka at the podium.
Hiratsuka was well aware that Raize still had company affairs to handle. He had spoken to her about it before and had even used "company business" as an excuse when requesting leave.
Seeing Raiden Games grow larger and larger, Hiratsuka felt genuinely happy for him and wished him well. This student was already far ahead of most others in school. Even after entering society, there was little reason to worry about him.
She herself was also a fan of Raiden Games' games and knew very well just how strong the Games' money-making power was at its current peak. In the future, even if her other students with ordinary backgrounds worked hard in society, they would still be no match for Raize, who was already a major boss.
Moreover, Raize's academic performance had never slipped. He did not casually take out his phone in class—whenever he did, it was usually for something important. He also showed respect toward Hiratsuka.
After reading the messages, he immediately put his phone away. Hiratsuka turned a blind eye, and students with opinions did not dare to speak up.
When good students take out their phones, it is for studying. When underachievers do so openly in class, it usually means their phones are about to be confiscated.
The students all understood this logic clearly. If they had Raize's academic ability, they too would enjoy certain privileges.