He has a pure white body and a third eye on the forehead. His middle-aged man look earlier has changed to a beautiful young man in his twenties, and his eyes are so cold. It was so chilling that I cannot see any emotion at all. Furthermore, it is no longer possible to sense his presence, as he was a being neither man nor god.
His long silver hair emitted particles of light, and his arms, legs and torso were covered in golden shells that seemed to be part of his body. His feather robe was floating softly on his shoulders. There was something different from before, I could tell intuitively, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Erna!”
“Ugh!”
Gohma pulled the greatsword from her chest and I instantly teleported to catch and take Erna into my arms.
Calm down, don’t panic. She won’t die like this. It should regenerate quickly, and the wound will heal soon.
—However, there is no sign of the wound closing up.
“W-what’s going on? Why can’t the wound be closed!? Why won’t it regenerate!?”
“Ku, kuku, kuhahaha! Have you forgetten it, Shinichi Tanaka? My blow will interfere with regeneration. For some reason, it didn’t work for you, but it doesn’t seem to be the same for the others.”
Naoki’s last appearance crossed my mind. No. This is bad. I must stop the bleeding immediately. I took out a cloth and press it to the wound on her chest.
“That’s no use. It’s too late. When I pierced her heart, she has no choice but to die.”
“Shut up!!”
The white cloth is now dyed bright red. The bleeding showed no signs of stopping at all, and soon, the blood started to overflow from the cloth.
Stop. Please stop bleeding. Don’t die. Are you going to leave me too?
“Cough, Shi-nichi……”
“Erna!”
That’s right! She has a soul. If she dies, she can be resurrected.
“How dare you do that to Erna!”
“Stop it, Liz!!”
Liz slashes at Gohma with dark matter. But in an instant, the darkness dissipated, and he easily grabbed Liz’s sword with his left hand with a grin on his face, he said,
“Vanish.”
“!?”
Liz turned into a particle of light and loses her shape. When Gohma opened his left hand, there was nothing there.
Ahh……ahhhhhh…..Liiiiiiz!!!!
“How dare you!”
“I won’t forgive you Gohmaaaa!”
Pero and Freya simultaneously went on an attack, but Gohma simply pointed his left hand at them and made them disappear.
S-stop it…… My family …….
“The New World has no need for you, just disappear.”
Suketarou, Kurohime, and the Sword of Glory members vanished as particles of light just like that as well. All that’s left is me and Erna.
“Shinichi…… li…..ve…..”
“No! You’re going to live, too!”
“I’m…al…ready…..”
Her right hand caressed my cheek. Shortly afterwards, Erna turned into particles of light and disappeared.
“Don’t have useless illusions like they can resurrect. I can now destroy even souls. I have created real destruction you see.”
“…………”
“Yes, that’s correct. I have come out of the restrictions of the world. It’s like looking into a small tank from the outside. I can see everything in this world.”
Something thick spreads in my head. A killing intent that I had never felt before stiffened my limbs and my hands naturally trembled. My teeth shattered as I clenched it. My blood vessels burst out and blood flows from my eyes. My rage was so intense that it made me lose my sense of self, burning my nerves in the process.
“Uooooooooh!!!!”
Waves of destruction are emitted from my body, engulfing everything. Stars, mechanical angels, and even the star system. The surroundings changed to a mottled pattern of black and purple.
“You have finally awakened to the true power of the God of Destruction, but it’s too late. I am already beyond the reach of the power of destruction.”
“My…… family….…”
“It’s good that they died without pain. You should be glad.”
“You bastaaaaard!!!”
My slash was easily blocked by the greatsword he held in one hand. I continued to strike over and over again.
“Kuhahaha, you’re finally breaking down!”
“You! Because of you bastaaard!”
A powerful kick landed in my side. I vomited blood in my armor, but I did not care and continued to attack. Without me even touching his clothes, he went on the attack. I dodged his attack at the last minute but my left arm was severed. But for some reason, it doesn’t regenerate.
“Now my power finally worked. Perhaps you’re not just an upstart god of destruction.”
I attacked with only my right arm.
Who cares if my left arm was gone? Even if it’s only my head left, I’ll rip off his throat!
The waves of destruction around me disappeared, and a gaping empty space appeared.
“It’s time, I’m going to show you the power of the Transcendent God.”
He instantly teleported behind me and raises his left hand. What appeared was a crimson divine spear.
“This is a divine artifact that goes beyond the divine weapon, a spear that reverses cause and effect, creating results first. It’s a spear that will surely hit.”
The spear pierced my right thigh. I couldn’t see how I got stuck at all.
“There’s always more to come.”
One after another, spears mercilessly pierced my body. I pulled it out and threw it at him, but the spear just disappeared like a phantom.
“Sounds fun, right? Here’s the next one.”
Three black dogs appeared out of nowhere. The dogs disappeared, then they slide back in from a sharp angle and bit me.
“I’ll kill you! I’m going to kill youuu!”
“Go ahead and try if you can.”
I destroyed the dogs and the spear with wave of destruction and then I madly charged towards Gohma. He’s right there. Just a stone’s throw away.
“Aghh!”
An invisible wall prevented me from doing so. Then, a spear instantly pierced my body and I vomited blood. Dozens of chains wrapped around me from the hole that emerged in the space and I couldn’t move.
Ugh….These chains are taking away my divine qi.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn iiiiiit!!”
“Hahahaha, this is a good pastime. I find your hatred extremely endearing. Oh, I see, the reason this place is like this is because they love watching the struggle of the weak. Mmm, yes, I have obtained the truth.”
Gohma thrusts his greatsword into my stomach.
“This time, it’s the end.”
“Gohmaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Disappear like your beloved ones.”
My body begins to disappear as particles of light.
Nooo!!! I don’t want to!. I don’t want to disappear!
Let me avenge Erna, Liz, Pero, Freya and the others.
That’s all I want.
Please…… Someone?
“Hahahaha! Farewell, Shinichi Tanaka!”
Glaring at the smiling Goma. My consciousness sank into darkness.
.
.
.
.
――Where is this?
I am drifting in the depths of darkness. It’s like a deep-sea world where there is no light.
Gaaaaan! Shan! Shan! Shan!
The sound of bells and tin cane being struck can be heard.
『My brethren. Your duty will soon come to an end. Your long journey through reincarnation has been truly arduous. 』
A ray of golden light shone through and enveloped my whole body.
Yes, it was……
I finally remember all of it. I recalled who I was and what was my purpose. I had been given a mission.
『An enemy has entered one of our worlds, and as one of the guardians of this plane, you will return to samsara and find out where the enemy is. 』
For this reason, I was reborn many times, and eventually, I ended as Shinichi Tanaka. Thirty-three thousand three hundred and fifty-six years were spent. It was a story of finding the enemy, but the whole flow was predetermined. All I had to do was leave it to fate. The enemy who has been exposed will be defeated by my brethren after this.
『Brother, we await your return. At last, you can return to your real home. 』
Home?
Oh right, there was such a thing. I had completely forgotten about it. I can’t help but grin.
『Are you glad to be back, for it has been a long and arduous journey? 』
“No. I am just happy that I still had a chance to win.”
『What are you talking about? Your role is already—』
“Home? I don’t need that anymore. I’m now Shinichi Tanaka of Homeless.”
The testimony of the God of Destruction and the testimony of the God of Creator emerged from my chest. They rotated and merged into one, forming a golden orb.
『Jizō! Stop it!』
I embraced the golden orb and evolved. Having surpassed the limit, I crossed more barriers and overcome the restrictions. My hands are there to grab and pick up everything. It picks up and saves even myself. If a thousand hands are not enough, let us bring light to the world with ten thousand hands. My threads bind evil spirits, my eyes reveal darkness, and my sword cuts through all things.
『That appearance…… Are you planning to go against us?』
“I don’t intend to do that. But if that’s what you want, I’ll take you on. I’ll take this world.”
『Then I’ll report that to him.』
“I don’t care.”
Shan. Shan. Shan.
The sound of the tin cane recedes into the distance and the light fades away.
I guess it’s time for me to leave here too.
I stretched my consciousness downward and looked for Gohma. He was laughing as he looked at my floating sword. I slid my body from the higher dimension to the lower dimension.
◆◆◆
-Gohma’s POV-
I was more joyful than ever. I gained power and completely erased anyone who stood in my way. All that’s left is to recreate the universe and create the new world I want. Then I’ll rebel against the true rulers.
It was just a coincidence that I found out about their existence. It happened when I witnessed the Creator God having a conversation with someone. The other party shone golden, and his eyes were frighteningly deep enough to see everything. I knew intuitively that he was a being higher than God.
After that, everything seemed like a lie. There is a realm that even the god who is supposed to control everything cannot touch, that the universe is unconsciously managed, and that our world is ugly and full of conflict. Hatred overflowed in me. We are kept alive on imitations. Above all, from the moment I saw that being, an uncontrollable urge to destroy grow within me.
That guy should be destroyed. Something in me was telling me so. Gradually, I had an ideal. An ideal world in which all gods have escaped from their control, a world without conflict. I waited a long time. And the time has come.
I killed the Creator God and took control of the heavens. I killed the gods who did not obey my rule and my heart was filled with joy. Yes, a world full of deception should be destroyed.
But my plan goes awry. It’s all because of goddess Aphrodia and her son Naoki Tanaka. They took the proof of the Creator God that had been kept in the treasury and fled.
I was furious. In addition, Shinichi Tanaka appeared and he tried to prevent me as much as possible. Still, I managed to get the proof and became a creator god. However, my true power as a creator god had not yet been awakened. Just being accepted by the proof is not enough to say that I am a creator God. I did not possess the power to create the universe yet. I knew that in advance, so I took action.
I had absorbed tens of thousands of humans with their souls and gained the path to evolution. Evolution is a terrifying system. It can easily reverse the balance of power and create a huge reversal. Fortunately, even before I questioned the world, I was looking for a way for God to obtain evolution. In this way, I have become a transcendent God who surpass the Creator God.
It’s not impossible for me to beat them now. If I take more time, I’m sure I’ll be able to fight on equal terms or better.
“Kukukuku, it’s time for re-creation.”
I condensed the power of destruction and creation in my right hand. A small sphere of light was formed. It’s the seed of the universe.
I raised my right hand and begin to re-create.
“――?”
But for some reason, nothing happens. When I lowered my right hand, the seed of the universe was gone.
“I erased that.”
“!?”
I turned around and covered my eyes with my arms due to the dazzling golden glow. The being before me emits a halo, has white swirling hair on his forehead, and his eyes are half-closed, as if staring into the void. A thin piece of cloth fluttered around his body.
When I realized who it was,
“I-impossible! I should have even annihilated your soul!”
“The soul you’re talking about is a part of someone greater. No matter how much you try to erase it, it will not disappear entirely.”
Don’t tell me…. this guy hid his real identity until now?
How foolish of me to not realize that he was one of that guy’s allies! In an instant, I recreated my greatsword and then I created a divine artifact that can kill him.
—However, the greatsword stopped just before it could kill him. He’s not making a move at all. Suddenly, his right hand moves and he flicks the greatsword with his fingers.
My greatsword shattered like a thin piece of ice.
“Let’s save your heart from being taken over by evil spirit.”
“Aghhh!”
Something black popped out of my mouth. He tied it up with a golden thread.
Buzz- buzz- buzz- buzz-.
I heard an unpleasant feather sound. It was a giant fly.
“Is this it? I now accomplished Lord’s mission huh.” Then he added, “Destruction.”
The giant fly burst and scattered as particles. I was stunned. I felt a sense of loss, as if something important had been missing from my heart. It’s probably called Greed.
“You have tens of thousands of souls fused together inside you so you must perform tens of thousands of reincarnations as a human. Then we’ll see each other again.”
My body shrinks and transforms into a young man, a toddler, and then I became a baby. Even as I became a soul, I still barely maintained a vague consciousness.
Thinking of the many years I need to spend in the future….. No, just imagining it gives me chills. Even I, who have lived more than 100 million years as a god, have never seen a single soul who come to an end and break free from samsara.
I was screaming when I was thrown into samsara.
And then, even that vague consciousness was lost.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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