I dream.
It’s not easy to recognize something as a dream, but this must be one.
The sky opens, and countless pillars of light sparkle as they descend one by one to the ground.
The beings taking form are humanoid figures with white wings.
“Oh, Angels! Saviors sent by the Goddess!”
The priests of the Church applaud.
As if their prayers had finally been answered before the spear of Satan, they praise these beings as their salvation.
“Oh, Angels, please, strike down those wicked demon spawns—huh?”
Squelch.
Without realizing the true nature of these so-called Angels…
[Perish, you lowly creatures.]
Their voices are as beautiful as polished pearls, but the words they speak are nothing short of terrifying.
No one would believe that such words could come from an Angel, nor would they even think to question it.
“Why…?”
Because they are already dead.
The priest, pierced through the heart by the spear of light, dies without even realizing why the Angel had struck him down.
“Ah, ahh… I see, I have already fallen into the hands of the demons…!”
Some blame themselves and deny reality.
Despite clearly hearing what the Angels said to them, they twist and distort the meaning, interpreting it however they please.
“This… this is salvation…! A divine punishment from the Goddess upon those who have harbored the seed of evil in their hearts…!”
Even as he dies, the priest clasps his hands in prayer toward the heavens, unaware…
Unaware that behind him, more priests are being struck down by the Angels’ spears of light.
The throwing of spears.
The Angels create spears with their divine power, and with each throw, they pierce through the chests of the priests.
A spear that inflicts physical damage.
If this were a game, it would be a simple skill description. And that is exactly what this is—one of the Angels’ most basic abilities.
The spears of divine power hurled at humans have a simple function. Their power depends only on how much divine energy is infused into them.
But power is irrelevant.
These spears are not ordinary magic spears. They are forged from divine power itself.
For beings of the earth, they are nearly impossible to block.
“S-Save me—guh!”
Even those with considerable magical power are unable to stop the thrown spears and are impaled instantly.
Those who erect protective barriers find their shields and bodies pierced alike.
Those who attempt to counter with their own magical spears have their attacks split into four and their foreheads pierced by the divine light.
“This… is an Angel…?”
Despair fills the eyes of the people.
One by one, they fall to their knees before the overwhelming might of the Angels, believing the divine punishment delivered upon them to be the judgment of the Goddess.
[I shall punish your original sin.]
The Angels declare with arrogant voices as they cast their spears upon humanity.
At first, it sounds as though they are referring to some inherent sin that all humans carry from birth.
But the only “original sin” these beings recognize is one thing.
“They think anyone who isn’t a virgin is a sinner.”
[!!]
I intervene in the dream.
Stepping forward, I unleash my mana.
“To you, every human is a sinner. Only those pure, chaste virgins whom you leash and raise under your control are deemed innocent. And under the pretense of divine punishment, you wield extraterrestrial power against the rest.”
Once again, I remind myself—this is a dream.
It has no effect on reality.
Here, I simply wield my weapon against the so-called Angels.
“You p*rverts, possessing female bodies just to enjoy your twisted yuri roleplay.”
[Blasphemy!!]
The Angels turn their spears toward me.
Their spears, imbued with ‘absolute attribute resistance,’ hold a dominant advantage over earthly magic.
It would take more than a hundred times my own mana just to counter them.
Of course, that only applies… if I actually had divine energy to oppose them with.
Snap.
The spear touches my body.
From the sharp edge, something dark spreads like lightning, racing across my skin, reacting instantly.
A moment so brief that no human perception could ever register it.
The divine power infused within the spear searches my body, seeking traces of divine energy within me.
The Angels’ power reacting to the divine.
Its purpose is simple—to destabilize human mana in an instant.
If the corruption takes hold from within, one’s magical circuits will be ruined beyond repair.
If divine energy exists within the target, that is.
[W-What?!]
The spear of light does nothing to me.
It simply glances off my body like raindrops, and I step forward, igniting my mana.
[Do not panic! He is merely one who has awakened ancient magic!]
Ancient magic.
Magic from an era before divine energy existed.
A power inherent to humans before their mana was tainted by celestial influence.
Pure, untainted mana.
If this is merely a contest of raw strength, I need only generate mana on the same level as their divine power.
“Did you think that would be enough?”
But I am different.
Whoosh.
Flames ignite.
Of the seven types of mana that compose me, I align six into a circular formation and set fire to the grand crucible that governs them all.
[That flame—!]
The Angels falter.
A fire they never expected to see on earth.
A fire that should never appear here.
[The cursed flame of demons!!]
Blue flames. Certainly, such flames have a sinister reputation.
But this one is different.
Mana that burns even mana itself.
A power endowed with the absolute right to erase all magic—
A force born when the Demon King forged this world.
The Azure Flame.
Enveloped in its light, I extend my hand forward.
“Begone from this land, you extraterrestrial p*rverts who disguise your male souls in the bodies of young maidens just to indulge in yuri fantasies.”
[N-No…! If we are consumed by that flame, our existence itself will be erased…!]
The Angels tremble in fear.
As beings woven from mana, their bodies and minds may be destroyed, but the moment they are consumed by these flames is akin to the denial of their very existence.
[I’m being corrupted into a female!!]
Yes.
For them, being struck by the Azure Flame is not akin to an ideal TS-reincarnated beautiful girl indulging in innocent yuri moments in a lily garden.
Rather, it is akin to a depraved scenario in an R-18 gender-bender eroge—where they are transformed into women and become playthings for men.
“Hah.”
That’s what they are.
“Of course, they try to invade dreams just to implant angelic power into people. Damn lunatics.”
Intervening with terrestrial life through dreams.
Once such intervention reaches a certain threshold, people end up like those in the first semester—possessed by Angels.
“I have no use for a dream like this.”
I ignited flames beneath me.
“A dream where Angels, deeming humans as inferior, slaughter them without hesitation—yet when faced with a weeping, innocent girl, they lick away her tears, embrace her instead of killing her, and attempt to steal her body—such a dream is even more repulsive.”
Humans cannot perceive dreams.
Most dreams that people recognize occur just before waking, but deep sleep infused with mana prevents them from noticing dreams at all.
The Angels ensure they remain unnoticed.
Inside those dreams, they present an idyllic vision of the earthly world, subtly manipulating unconscious minds to yearn for the paradise they construct.
Its name—The Garden of Lilies.
(TLN: I think previously I had translated it to Rose Garden, in retrospect this translation makes a lot more sense, but I didn’t have context.)
A paradise where males and non-virgins cannot exist, a sanctuary for pure maidens.
This is the true desire of the Angels.
They understand that humanity must reproduce to survive.
Yet, they reject even the act of reproduction itself, seeing it as tainted by male hands.
These so-called “virgin extremists” who deny and resist it—
They are the ones who call themselves Angels in this world.
“I’ll have to kill them all.”
Fwoosh.
The land burns blue.
I lifted my gaze toward the sky.
The night sky.
The moon floating above.
Upon that moon, the Goddess resides.
“If I kill her… Will I be able to return home?”
If I slay the divine.
Will I finally escape this endless dream and return to my original world?
“..”
One thing is certain—
Killing the Goddess is an inevitability.
Whether I return home or not afterward is another matter.
But the Goddess must die, no matter what.
For myself.
For this world.
“And for her.”
For the one who, even in this hellish reality,
gave me a reason to live and a purpose to fight.
“At first, you wanted to throw everything away, didn’t you? Whether it was selling off your family or letting them fall into ruin, you were ready to let fate take its course.”
“…”
A quiet whisper reaches me from behind,
a gentle yet piercing voice, as a hand rests on my shoulder.
“Do you still feel that way?”
“…No.”
No, I do not.
“Things are different now.”
In the darkness behind my closed eyes, figures emerge.
Not too many, but each of them leaves a lasting impression.
And at the end of that procession—she appears.
“Then, are you ready to soar once more?”
A demon clad in azure flames extends her hand to me.
“Like a phoenix that rises anew from the ashes, even in death.”
“Of course.”
I take her hand and open my eyes.
“Where will you fly?”
“Where I belong, obviously.”
Out of this dream—
“To reality.”
I unfurled wings of fire and ascended into the sky, as the world was engulfed in blue flames.
* * *
“…”
Dawn. Morning.
“…That was one hell of a dream.”
With the wake-up call announcing the start of the second semester,
I sat up in bed—
Squish.
“…”
Bed.
Me.
Naked.
And a woman.
“Mmm….”
“…”
Two of us.
“…Just another ordinary day, huh?”
Even with the start of the second semester, life in the Old School Building remains unchanged.
