บท 208: Turning Point ω
Being W laughed. Not just a chuckle, but a full-blown, doubled-over hearty laugh. He wiped a tear from his eyes and said, "My. I've thought about countless ways this meeting could go, but calling me Whitey..." He laughed again and said, "Well! I guess if it looks the part, right?" He grinned and then said, "Mister Demon Lord?"
"I'd prefer being called a Demon Emperor." I smiled and said, "I ranked up, you know?"
"Is that so?" Being W smiled as well. "Great. Great! Then... I should give you a gift, right?" He rubbed his chin. "Now... what would be good for you... Oh!" He snapped his fingers. "I know!"
It was an instantaneous attack.
I couldn't react in time to block it if I wanted to.
Another continent-sized beam of pure white light fell upon Arcadia.
But I wasn't fazed.
The moment that beam got close, it scattered golden light and dissolved.
Being W's smile faded from his face.
I chuckled and then lowered my sword. "What's the matter, Whitey? Surprised?"
Being W turned to look at me and said, "A bit. You sure prepared some sturdy defenses."
I nodded. "Obviously. I had to prep for a sneaky guy like you, Whitey."
Being W's eye twitched. But then he looked at Pierre and said, "You've made a lot of tricky cards too. Dragon God Laplace, huh? Looks like you somehow got your memories... but it looks like you're missing your magic. Did you exchange your demon half for your full identity?"
Pierre set Perugius off on the side. After that, he held out his left hand, conjuring his crimson sword from thin air. After that, he looked at Being W and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Being W nodded. "I would indeed, since you're a cheating bastard who keeps screwing with my plans. But whatever." He sighed. "Since we've reached this, how about we just wrap things up, hm?"
I tensed.
It would be over in an instant if I lost focus.
Being W looked at me and smirked. "You've fucked up a lot of my plans and screwed me over more times than I can count... but it's over now."
Pierre's eyes widened and he swung his sword.
Being W laughed and flicked his wrist, warping him and Perugius away somewhere. "Now, now. The climax shouldn't have minor characters hanging around. Don't you think so, Rudy?"
I laughed and said, "Then it's time you exit left, isn't it, Whitey?"
Being W laughed. "The NERVE you have... it's amazing, really. But..." His expression turned blank and he said, "Come on then. It's time to finish it for good."
Seeing that he was waiting for me, I conjured my golden wings and flew up there to stand in front of him.
Being W stared at me and said, "A Human playing at a Demon Lord, appearing like a Dragon, shining like an Angel, and daring to fight against God. Really, just how did someone like you come to be?"
I stopped in front of Being W and said, "Well. You should look in a mirror."
Being W laughed. "Yes, yes. I suppose you're right. I did this to myself, after all. Couldn't have just left well enough alone, right?"
A casual laughter and light words.
But I could sense that Being W was anything but as carefree as he seemed.
In fact-
A sudden twisting in the fabric of reality.
My eyes widened and I instinctively reached out with my mana to stop it.
Being W clicked his tongue. "So it wasn't a mistake. The first time was in a dream, so I could see how you did it. But this..." He tilted his head and said, "How did a mere human become a god? And without a Divine Spark?"
I smiled and said, "I'm no god. But even if I'm not, it's not hard to kill one, you know?"
Three charges.
The old Rudeus had told me I had that many left when he wrenched me back from the future where I was in a coma.
I'd created magic with a similar effect in recent years. But if there was any time to use them for real...
*crack*
Something deep inside me burned up.
And I could feel that I had 'two' left.
*tick*
Time came to an absolute halt.
The flow of time itself froze.
...No. It wasn't that time froze, but that I'd stepped out of time.
And in that sidestepped time, I moved, slashing with my godslayer sword to end Being W.
But he moved.
*crack*
The charge I spent was gone, and time resumed.
At the same time, Being W reappeared ten meters away, a surprised look on his face. "Stopping time itself... You really are something else." He laughed and said, "No wonder my future selves said to not make you an enemy. But..." He held up his hand, a blue disk slowly appearing his palm. "...I might not be able to beat you easily, but I can make you regret fighting."
I could sense it.
Whatever he was doing would immediately destroy the world when he finished.
And while I would be fine, everyone else...
It was iffy.
<Zenithia> and Arcadia was made to be able to persist world-ending events, but I'd rather not test them.
Being W let out a feral grin and moved to crush his open hand. "Say goodbye-"
A simple and pure slash, cutting out of the blue.
With it, golden blood splashed and the blue disk vanished as Being W jerked his hand back, clutching at a giant gash.
I flicked my wrist and made a quick landing pad out of a magic barrier.
The moment I did, Dad, Pierre, and Orsted appeared, landing all around me.
Dad flicked his glassy sword, cleaning it of Being W's golden blood. After that, he let out a cheeky smile and said, "This the guy who's been a pain in our ass? Doesn't seem so tough."
Pierre ran his right hand through his hair, his crimson sword in his left hand. Unlike before, his appearance was back to his usual look. "Even gods can be taken off guard. Don't think it will be that easy again, Paul."
Orsted stood there, staring at Being W a complicated expression. A gleaming white katana was held in his right hand.
I looked at everyone and said, "You know I could handle this myself, right?"
Dad laughed and held his sword over his shoulder. "Yeah. But your wives were saying either we came, or they did."
"Ah." I nodded. "Then thanks."
I definitely wouldn't be able to concentrate if they were out here with me.
Being W looked at us all and then laughed. "How cute. You brought your Dad along to die along with your friends, huh? And..." He looked at Orsted and said, "The son of the First Dragon God. So that's what you looked like, huh?"
Orsted stared at Being W for a long while. But then he eventually said, "Do you intend to destroy the world? Or rule it?"
Being W laughed. "Isn't it obvious? I'd LOVE to just continue ruling it like I did. But SOMEONE is making that impossible."
I laughed as well and said, "Funny how that works. SOMEONE is making it impossible for me to live a peaceful life as well."
We laughed together for a while.
I saw Dad give me a weird look.
But I ignored him.
After a bit, Being W shook his head and said, "Hah... I'm going to miss this later." He paused. "Actually, I lied. I'd be pissed if it lasted any longer. But anyway!" He looked back at Orsted and said, "This is my world, so I can do what I want with it. Break it, rebuild it, destroy it... Of course, if I destroy it, I die. And if I die, I destroy it. But you know what?" He threw out his hands and said, "At this point, I don't care!"
I focused.
Five crystals flashed from within Being W's chest. After that, he pointed at me and said, "I don't care anymore! As long as I can fuck your life up, it'll be worth it! So..."
The crystals started to crack.
Pierre's eyes widened and he jumped forward, slashing at Being W's neck.
Being W laughed as golden blood sprayed. And he laughed more as one crystal shattered.
Dad ran forward and slashed twice.
More golden blood sprayed and two more crystals shattered.
But at that point, we all felt it.
The world was crumbling.
I could see it. The distant edges of the sea were shrinking, rapidly closing in on the edges of the continent.
Orsted ran forward to swing his sword as well.
I called out to him. "Wait, Orsted!"
Hearing me, Orsted hesitated.
But then Being W swung his arm.
Space shattered as a slash shot towards Orsted.
He quickly raised his sword to block, but failed to stop it, causing a slash mark to appear on his face, along with a spray of blood.
Pierre glared at Being W and said, "You're going to destroy everything!"
Being W cackled. "That's the point!" After that, he looked at me and said, "So, Genius! What're you gonna-"
Before he could finish talking, I acted.
*crack*
Another charge spent.
Only one left.
In the frozen time, I reached Being W and grabbed him, warping back into space like I did with Perugius.
*crack*
Time resumed as we arrived in the black void of outer space.
Being W looked around, surprised. Golden blood streamed down his body as the sole remaining crystal shone.
I stood there, observing Being W, and then the world below.
...It was crumbling.
Although just around the edges, if this continued, the entire world would disappear.
Of course, Being W would disappear too, but so would everything else.
So I needed a solution.
Being W laughed. Somehow, his voice carried even in the void of space. Staring at me, he said, "That was surprising. But you know Rudy, even if I don't rule over this entire plane of existence, I won't be affected by a simple void." He grinned and said, "And also... if I die now, everything you love will disappear, you know? That world will only exist if a Human God is there to sustain it."
I nodded. "I'm aware. But it was worth a try... Besides. I've always wanted to dabble in creation."
"...You're just absolutely insufferable, aren't you." Being W glared at me and said, "So proud, so vain... Do you really think you can beat me? That all of this won't be in vain in the end?"
"Of course." I nodded and held out my hand towards Being W.
Golden light shot towards him.
Being W flinched. But then he looked confused when his wounds started healing. Especially when the cracked crystal began restoring itself. After both the wounds and the crystal were fully restored though, Being W narrowed his eyes and said, "Choosing to heal me? I can end it anytime, you know?"
"Sure." I nodded and grabbed my pocket space, flinging it open behind me.
Various tools, artifacts, and weapons that Akito and I prepared floated in the air behind me.
After that, I smiled and said, "But if you're anywhere near as pissed at me as I am with you, you don't want it to end just like that, do you?"
Being W stared at me, his expression blank. And then he laughed. "Right. I guess we're at least similar in that regard. Then..." He let out a feral grin and swung out his hand. "Die."
A white star suddenly formed and shot towards me.
I reached behind me and pulled out a small white shield with a green jewel in its center. That in hand, I stepped forward and swung with the shield.
An explosion of rainbow light and sparks filled the void.
My shield broke, but it did its job.
Lowering my hand, I stood there and stared at Being W, smiling.
He clicked his tongue and said, "You're annoyingly overpowered."
"Yep." I nodded and said, "And all because of you. Ever heard of self-fulling prophecies?"
Being W scowled and then slammed his hands together. The moment he did, a pair of asteroids appeared out of the blue, rushing to crush me.
I reached behind me and grabbed another weapon.
A drill-like sword with three sections and crimson lines.
The moment I grabbed it, a howling crimson wind surrounded me, grinding the asteroids to dust. The particles slowly began to orbit me, creating a small galaxy.
And then I thrust my weapon at Being W.
A howling wind that could sunder a star rushed towards Being W.
He was surprised and crossed his arms to block.
Golden blood sprayed and his white flesh was damaged.
But then my weapon broke and the attack ended, leaving Being W just wounded.
"Tch." I reached for another weapon and said, "You're awfully sturdy."
Being W lowered his arms and said, "I should be saying that to you, Bastard." He eyed the collection of items behind me and said, "How the hell did you prepare so many trump cards anyway?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
A crimson barbed spear cursed to reverse causality.
The moment it was in hand, I chucked it.
The black void lit up with infinite crimson stars, all aiming to pierce Being W and prevent his escape.
But he just snapped his fingers and they vanished.
My spear vanished as well.
I clicked my tongue and said, "Guess that'd be too easy."
Being W jabbed the air with a clawed hand and then clenched it. The moment he did, gravity distorted around me as space started to collapse.
I could tell immediately what he was doing.
The 'ultimate attack' that I showed him in our first skirmish.
A black hole.
I mean, if asteroids and a literal star didn't work, that definitely should, right?
But unfortunately for him...
I grabbed a seemingly innocuous drill bit. One with a golden drill and a silver base, with a loop that you could thread a necklace through.
A crushing gravitational force that seemed to distort everything in existence attempted to envelop me.
And in response, an emerald light spiraled in opposition before piercing through and shattering the black hole.
Being W's eyes widened. "What in the world-"
"Take this, Whitey!" I charged out from the shattered black hole with an emerald drill in hand. "This is the drill that will create the heavens!"
"Interesting!" Being W's eyes lit up and then said, "Fine! Then..." He held out his left hand, forming a crimson drill. "This will be the drill that destroys the heavens!"
A sudden impact.
The drills collided and waves of energy erupted, making it look like galaxies were forming and collapsing in an instant.
And then both drills dispersed and I was rushing towards Being W.
He laughed and swung a fist at me.
And I responded by snapping my fingers.
A flicker in the fabric of reality.
The black void vanished, replaced by pure white.
But it wasn't the Void Realm.
Being W froze and looked around. "What?"
I smiled and said, "My son-in-law came up with a pretty useful theory."
Being W turned to look at me, horror in his eyes. "What did you do? Where IS this?!"
I smiled. "<Heaven>. Well, for you, it might as well be <Hell.>"
A place where souls came to rest. One that would be formed by prayers, beliefs, hopes, and dreams.
At this moment, it was just a blank slate.
Although Cliff had paved the way and claimed the land, it had yet to grow into a realm of its own.
But it was enough.
Being W swung his arms, thrashing. Trying to cut through and break free.
But nothing happened.
...Of course.
After all. This was a place for 'Humans' and not 'Gods.'
Especially not the god that tried to crush them all beneath his feet.
While Being W thrashed, I held up my right hand. As I did, I said, "You know, I've been thinking about how to kill a god for a while. You in particular. My previous ideas and tests clearly didn't pan out... but there was one thing I never really tried."
Being W spun around to glare at me. "You think this is enough to stop me? You might have trapped me here for now... But you're far from strong enough to defeat me!" He immediately held out his hands, pressed together like he was trying to use a k*meh*m*ha.
And immediately, a white beam shot towards me.
But it froze.
Being W's eyes widened. "Impossible!"
I smiled. "Nothing's impossible, Whitey."
A thin red line, slowly tracing out a shape.
Geometric lines bouncing between a slowly spiraling form to create an infinitely repeating fractal.
Mana, serving not as fuel, but as the framework.
The beam of light collided with the crimson pattern and vanished, sucked into its depths.
Being W froze and tried to stop the attack.
But he couldn't move.
And then he realized what I was doing. "No. NO! You bastard! You can't do this!"
I smiled. "You're right, Whitey. Our world can't survive without a <Human God>. But it never had to be you."
Being W strained to break free. Golden blood spilled as he tried to move and escape. But he couldn't.
And then he stopped, realizing that it was futile.
Staring at me, he said, "Why?"
I tilted my head. "Why what?"
"Why couldn't you just leave me alone? Why couldn't you just live a normal life and be happy?!"
I blinked. "...Are you being serious?"
"YES!" Being W screamed. "Why does every version of you want me dead!? If you just left me alone, I wouldn't have done anything!"
Faint crimson threads wrapped around Being W, seeping into his very being.
Seeing that, he cut a sorry figure.
...But he did raise a good point.
For him, it must have seemed completely random.
I was born, and then suddenly his future vanished.
But...
"Like I said, Whitey."
The crimson threads stopped, forming a perfect Archimedes spiral over Being W's body.
"Self-fulfilling prophecy."
Had he not been worried and tried to separate my family. Had he stopped there and didn't try to kill Norn. Had he not caused the space-time distortion to try and kill Stella.
There were plenty of chances for him to end this animosity.
But he didn't.
And now...
"Tough luck, Whitey. You lived your life in vain."
"RU-!"
"<Laplace Transform>."
Two words that formed a single truth.
Mana described function, imagination expanded reality into a complex realm beyond time, and then will mapped it all into another form.
...Or in simpler terms, a spell that converted anything into anything else and integrated it a form I could use.
The result of that was a single iridescent crystal floating in the white void.
When I grabbed it, I could feel the entire world.
Every life, every hope, every wish, every fear...
Existence itself in the palm of my hand.
But I didn't need it.
Leaving the crystal in the air, I spun on my heel.
"Smell ya later, Being W. And..."
I crossed the threshold between this realm and reality.
As I did, I focused my gaze on another place.
It was a similar plane of existence, filled with an endless white void.
And there was another white figure standing there, looking over a miniature world.
For a brief moment, he looked my way.
I vanished before he could see me and muttered, "...See you soon, Hitogami."
It was the end of a story.
But it wasn't the end of 'ours.'
Still, it was enough for now. At least for a bit, we had time to relax and celebrate.
Now... what could I cook up that would make my wives and sisters not want to strangle me out of frustration...?
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