Judgement Day

As soon as the battle started, Ria and everyone else realized that this God was a mass of energy.

So, becoming light, he knocked Ars' Machine God and dragon-form Ria about.

(This is… a war of attrition?)

The body of the Machine God that Ars was operating and God's body were about the same size. Even if he used much wide area attack magic, it wouldn't deal much damage.

Carla and the three Black Cats tried to clear the surrounding small fry. Although those two wouldn't be damaged by the small fry's attacks, they still wanted to allow them to concentrate on the enemy before them.

[Ruin.]

Ars' magic pierced into God's existence. However, it didn't prove to be a fatal blow.

The light shot off by God burned the Earth. Let alone the Devils, it even caused the angels—those that were on its side—to disappear in that light.

[Looks like it's how the saying goes, God said let there be light. Guess his attacks would be like that.]

Although Ars fought while analyzing, this former god's body boosted by a magic core didn't appear to be losing out against this sole God.

Ria's darkness breath scattered the light.

(It has… a body?)

Beyond its defensive light, she could definitely feel the signs of a body.

Was it necessary for gods to have bodies to manifest in the world?

In that case, there was a more effective way to attack than using her breath.

[Raaaaah!]

Together with a roar, Ria bit into God's body.

Its armor of light burned Ria's scales. However, her fangs truly did reach God's flesh.

[I see, so darkness contrasts his light? Or maybe…]

A gargantuan fluctuation of mana could be felt coming from the Machine God. Ria let go of God's flesh and quickly separated from him.

[ — Genesis — ]

In his right hand, sparkles that looked like a galaxy appeared.

[ — Void — ]

In his left hand, a darkness that inhaled all appeared.

"Run!"

Whether or not Shifaka's shout reached everyone, the magic was completed at that moment.

[Collapse.]

Between the space of his two hands, something able to destroy creation itself was birthed.

It swallowed not only God, but the Machine God as well.

This was Ars' last resort.

Producing both genesis magic and void magic, then combining them.

What had swallowed even the strongest dragon, Golden Dragon Clarice, his final trump card.

Be it Machine God, God, or Dragon God, this was the ultimate destruction magic.

Carried to the extreme, this was magic that existed at the height of the cosmos' creation and could devour all.

However, even so, God remained.

Even with Ars pouring all of his and the Machine God's mana into it, it still wasn't enough to defeat God.

However, it certainly did deal a great amount of damage to him. They just have to give him another blow.

Ria undid her transformation and put the most mana she ever had into Gallach.

She looked at the remaining portion of God's body.

She could see it.

A bundle of light within the partially destroyed body.

Ria aimed for it.

"Together!"

Carla, Shifaka, Alvis, thor. All of the remaining members sent Ria their mana.

"Super Acceleration."

Using the power of the magic core that Serge had left her, Ria broke through her limits and reached her opponent.

Coming this far, at the end of the end, she felt like the pieces of the puzzle all fit together.

"Eyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

Struck by the blow that split heaven in two and divided the ground in half, God's heart was broken in half.

Genesis light spread out, swallowing Ria and Ars. Nay, it tried to.

Ars' half-broken Machine God protected Ria.

"What—…!"

[I leave… the rest, to you.]

Ars transmitted his final will. It was beyond feeble.

He would die, right here?

He came to fight so that he could die?

Were the words he spoke to Ria actually the truth?

"Ah, we can't have that happening. Here we go."

The one to appear before Ria was God Dragon Ohma.

Dragging Ars out from inside the Machine God, she retreated from inside the light. Terrew had also appeared next to Ria at some point and took hold of her.

Also grabbing Carla and the Black Cats' members on the way, they escaped from Earth's atmosphere.

Lanna and Valis were holding back at the boundary between worlds.

"Dying on your own like that, how irresponsible."

Taking Ria from Terrew, Valis turned her view to the Earth.

When Ria turned back to look, she saw the land upheaving, the seas evaporated. The entire Earth looked like it was reddening.

"Riana, we're going."

Lead by Valis, Ria once again returned to the Earth's domain.

"What…"

"You are my successor."

Valis took her true form—a dark dragon, larger than even a mountain.

Erecting a barrier around them, Valis reached the Earth's core.

In that bright and hot area, Ria naturally switched into her dragon form.

Valis' figure, her mana became a ball.

A ball that then began to swallow everything around them. From the Earth's core to its crust, it swallowed everything.

Darkness filled Ria's surroundings.

[Behold, Riana.]

Following Valis' voice, a single… tree-looking thing appeared in Ria's eyes.

When she looked closely at it, it was a collection of green grains of light. These grains of light were… stars? No, larger than that…

[This is the visible universe.]

[This is…?]

[Right there is our world.]

The planet with the Dragon Bone Continent on it appeared close up within Ria's mind.

[And even that existence which you all call Earth, there are innumerably many.]

Here and there all around this magnified tree of the universe, there were many appearances the same as Earth.

[This is the universe…]

Information that could not be mastered by humans flowed through Ria's mind. Nevertheless, her dragon brain, her body, they absorbed it all.

Eventually, she fell asleep.

It was a necessary sleep to organize that vast amount of information.

Returning Ria to where she should be, Valis corrected everything.

Adjusting the position of the planet that just became the solar system's third planet, she made it move regularly.

"So this is the end…"

Whether it was a comrade or themselves, dragons didn't lament death.

Therefore, the only thing within Valis' mind now was the sense of accomplishment for doing what needed to be done.

Not even this would happen for a normal dragon. However, Valis had been much too involved with mankind.

"Is that enough?"

She smiled sarcastically at her own question.

Thus was how Dark Dragon Valis' soul was shaved away, disappearing forever into the horizon of space and time.

 

*

 

"Ria."

Called for tenderly, Ria opened her eyes.

"Carla…?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Carla's hair waved in the breeze. The two of them were still high up in the sky.

Which cause Ria to realize something. Right now, she was being carried by Carla like a princess.

She started to protest, but realized that it's fine as is.

"It's over…"

"Yeah…"

There was much more that would happen in the future. But Ria understood that, at least for now, it was over.

"That Ars, he went with haphazardly saving me at the end."

"He did."

"Serves him right."

Ria wasn't able to decide if what happened was a good thing. He saved a person that he'd pushed difficult things on to.

It was Ria's victory. Even though the God Dragons came to save them.

"I'll be taking over a lot of annoying things."

"?"

"We'll talk about it later. For now, I just want to go home and take a bath."

She looked to the sky. There was no longer the surface of another planet covering it.

The Earth had disappeared. However, there were other Earths just minutely different. Countless amounts of them.

Perhaps there were countless other worlds similar to this one, as well.

"Making everything go as planned was hard."

"It went exactly as you thought it would, didn't it?"

She'd spoken to someone who was also flying in the air with them, Ars.

"Well, guess I'll try doing my best for the next thousand years. I was told not to do irresponsible things, after all."

Only saying that, Ars returned to the place he belonged.

Although this was the last time Ria and Ars would meet, neither of them knew it.

"Shall we head back? To Manesh."

"Yeah."

"By the way, Carla. How long are you going to be carrying me like this?"

"Isn't it good, once in a while?"

Ria firmly protested that.

 

~ End of Part One ~