In the darkened sky, a black-haired girl radiated her presence with grace.
Her gaze, showing no intention of hiding that she had stolen Nirva’s light, was firmly directed at the heavens.
“W-What on earth are you doing?”
It seemed no one else cared at all.
She only stared at the sky so intensely; while it was clear she had some purpose, I had no clue what it was.
But the only one curious about this was her childhood friend, Ares, while Paladin Dioner raised his voice loud from his core.
“Knights of Batian!”
He was conservative, with a strong obsession with achievements.
To others, Dioner had clear flaws, but he was by no means incompetent.
His booming voice resonated so strongly that Ares next to him had to cover his ears.
It wasn’t just a loud voice; it echoed off the surrounding walls, reaching the entire city.
“Look at the sky!”
It was a simple command, but Dioner believed his knights and paladins would certainly notice and move immediately.
The citizens were taken aback by his thundering voice, but Dioner spread mana throughout his body and drew his sword.
He leaped over the walls of the Len family.
With a momentary boost of strength, Dioner launched straight toward Rin.
“You who threaten the continent!”
Shouting like some sort of hero, Dioner rushed forward. Rin wasn’t very high up, so he could reach her quickly, but…
CLANG!
He couldn’t touch her.
He was blocked by an invisible wall surrounding her. The sight of him merely swinging his sword and then plummeting was pitiful, yet he used nearby buildings and trees to jump again.
Though falling and then rising again looked ridiculous, Dioner was sincere, and such actions were possible because of his skill.
Yet he couldn’t reach Rin at all.
The invisible barrier around her remained unyielding, as if they were in entirely different spaces, dulling the edge of Dioner’s sword.
“Ares, help me!”
Dioner landed on a nearby building’s rooftop, feeling his insides twist in anger, he yelled at Ares as if to vent his frustration.
Ares gathered mana in his legs and dashed forward, jumping straight toward Rin. Even if he had to take a running start, he reached Rin’s side in an instant.
“Rin! Look at me! Let’s solve this through conversation!”
“……”
“Please! If this continues, we’ll have no choice but to fight! The Saint understands your grievances. So trust me……!”
Rin’s gaze was still fixed high up in the sky. Was she seeing something in the darkness that enveloped the air?
With gritted teeth, Ares swung his sword.
“Damn it! Just listen!”
BOOM!
With one strike, Dioner made Ares’s sword look pathetic.
In an instant, he proved why he was called the strongest paladin of Batian, but unfortunately, the opponent wasn’t favorable.
“……!”
Even Ares was surprised; Rin’s invisible barrier remained unwavering. Ares fell towards the ground, unable to divert his gaze from Rin for even a moment.
“More than I expected.”
Yet, all that filled Ares’s ears was a chilling voice that felt like it could freeze him.
“Doing well?”
*
After the God of Life claimed he would swallow the Spirit Realm.
I, alongside the Goddess of Death, was leading a life that was no different from usual.
Exercise!
I know it may sound sudden, but it was something I really needed. After all, becoming a 10-year-old again, proper training was necessary.
The Goddess handed me a sword from her storage in the Spirit Realm, which helped me focus on training.
“Ugh! Haah!”
So, what was the Goddess doing?
Like a manager, she was helping with my training, but then decided to work out herself.
It felt like watching a once-distant daughter snap to attention upon hearing her house might be blown away due to debts.
“Phew.”
The more I swung the sword, the more disappointed I felt.
As a 10-year-old, my growth was lacking—strength too low, stride too short, and the sword was just too short.
Initially, during training, I struggled because my body had feelings reminiscent of the past.
But now, I had adapted flawlessly. Actually, I was trying to figure out how to use the flexibility and resilience of being a 10-year-old to fight.
“Ah! This is so hard!”
The Goddess doing push-ups flopped down on the floor. Doing strength training wouldn’t help her at all; she should just run to be able to flee efficiently.
“Just run. Doing that isn’t really helpful.”
“B-But! Running is boring!”
“Seriously, what’s not boring?”
I sighed and tried to swing the sword again, but another scream came from the Goddess.
“AAAH!”
“What’s wrong now?”
“M-My leg cramped!”
“How do you get a cramp from doing push-ups?”
Is it some kind of characteristic of goddesses to make me want to smack them in frustration?
Seeing her look so pitiful while clutching her calf, I approached her and kneaded it.
“Hnng!”
“Stop making weird noises.”
“But! Ugh!”
Ah, this is so annoying.
“You! Didn’t I tell you not to make that face? It feels like I’m being disrespected by a 10-year-old!”
“That’s accurate. You are being disrespected, for sure.”
Ever since the God of Life came, I felt we had gotten oddly closer, but whether that was a good sign, I wasn’t sure.
At least I needed us to be friendly enough after sorting things out with the God of Life that it wouldn’t interfere with bringing me back.
“Are we done yet?”
I thought she was done making weird sounds, but the Goddess, staring at me, suddenly wiggled her hands.
“Come here.”
“Why again?”
“Again? When the Goddess calls, you should be thankful and come?”
Is this really the Goddess of Death who had brought ruin to the continent?
With a drink nearby, she looked just like a lazy neighbor sister throwing a fit.
From her sporty look to her vibe, it was perfect.
As I stepped closer, she suddenly spread her arms wide, wrapped them around my head, and pulled me into her embrace.
With the soft fabric violently enclosing my face and her scent piercing my nose, she was still radiating her unique alluring fragrance despite just working out.
“Ugh!”
There wasn’t even time to complain.
Caught off guard, as I squirmed, the Goddess wrapped her legs around my waist to hold me tightly.
What was happening all of a sudden? The Goddess hesitated and asked with a slightly trembling voice.
“Why are you helping me?”
“……?”
I was taken aback by her sudden question.
I was preparing so diligently, and here she was questioning the essence of it all?
But with her being so close, I could tell she was trembling in a strange way, and I thought that trembling was fear.
“When you said you would help me, I didn’t think much of it, but the more I pondered, the weirder it felt.”
“What’s weird?”
“You could just kill me.”
“……”
“Anyway, I have no power and can’t do anything right. Even without me, the Spirit Realm would run just fine, and you’d just be ridding yourself of a burdensome nuisance.”
“Do I come off as that cold-hearted?”
Yet the Goddess shook her head.
“Isn’t it only natural when I think about what I’ve done up until now?”
“……”
I couldn’t refute that.
She was right.
Thinking of what the Goddess of Death had done to Rin and the negative influence on the continent, it was generally impossible for us to be together like this.
I should’ve drawn my sword and pierced her heart right away.
But the reason I didn’t was…
“We don’t know each other well enough.”
“……Huh?”
“That’s what I’m thinking now—I’m considering why such extreme choices were made in the first place.”
Splashing around like a child, suffering through workouts, and being prideful while playing chess.
She accepted the end of the continent as a given, and wanted to create a new continent with her own power.
I wondered whether things could have been different if there had just been one person around.
“Of course, I still can’t easily forgive what you’ve done……”
Still, it was just a glimmer of possibility.
That after I died, the gods would regain their powers and not waste time on trivial things like the end of the world.
“So can you let go of me?”
“Wait a moment.”
“Why?”
“……I just don’t want to show my face right now.”
Huff!
Once again tightening her grip on me, the Goddess started to envelope me within her. Even though I didn’t need to breathe after death, the moment her scent filled my mouth and nose…
“More than I expected.”
A chilling voice, too cold, echoed with an eerie familiarity.
“Doing well?”
