[Kyaaaah! Something’s falling from the sky!?]
[Graaagh! Run!]
“Hey! Both of you, don’t move and keep fighting!”
[…]
The moment the sky turned dark, and the hands of the evil gods came raining down—
Dirt-Dirt and Water-Water, who were about to flee in a panic, froze under Julia’s spirit command.
[Kyaaaah! Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish!?]
“That’s not it! I believe in Aslan and the others! They’ll handle that somehow, so all we can do here is give it our all and stop the monsters!”
[Graaaagh! If we fail, we all die!]
“If we run, we die anyway! But what if we succeed? What happens then? We stop the evil gods, but you two ran away and people got seriously hurt. What do you think Aslan and Charlotte will say when they find out?”
[…!?]
At Julia’s words, Dirt-Dirt and Water-Water felt a chill down their non-existent spines.
What if they succeeded?
What if the world didn’t end and everything turned out okay?
Then they’d be branded as traitors, never again allowed to enjoy delicious snacks.
[Kyaaaah! I don’t want that!]
[Graaagh! I—I wasn’t thinking of running away at all!]
With that, Dirt-Dirt and Water-Water turned back and began to fight off the flood of monsters.
But still, the number of monsters climbing over the fortress walls kept increasing.
The undead army and Reinhardt were throwing themselves in the way to stop them, but they were starting to be overwhelmed.
It really was becoming hopeless.
Just as Julia’s mind went blank—
A brilliant white light flashed in the distance.
The light stretched outward in a stream, sweeping in all directions.
“Aura!?”
It was unmistakably Aura.
A massive aura, just like Charlotte’s.
When it swept across the entire fortress city like a great blade skimming the ground, Julia reflexively squeezed her eyes shut in fright.
“…Huh?”
But nothing happened.
The massive aura had clearly passed over the entire fortress wall.
Yet nothing had broken.
But the change was undeniable.
The deafening sound of monster footsteps stopped.
The howls of wyvern monsters pouring from the sky ceased.
No more monsters were coming over the walls.
With trembling legs, Julia stepped up to the top of the wall.
When she looked down—
What she saw were countless corpses piled on the ground—not monsters, but animals.
Not grotesquely mutated creatures, but animals returned to their original forms, lying in eternal sleep.
“Woooow…”
And when Julia raised her head just a bit, she couldn’t hold back her gasp.
A vast plain.
Not a barren wasteland of death, but a land filled with planted greenery and teeming with life, stretched to the edge of the horizon.
It was the most beautiful landscape she had ever seen.
.
.
.
‘Hahh… My sore back’s all better now.’
Looking around, I let out a dry laugh.
A single strike.
Yuri had swung her aura in a 360-degree sweep just once—and the entire world had changed.
But it wasn’t just the landscape of the Demon Realm that had changed.
The back pain I’d gotten from Sylvia carrying me around had completely vanished.
Everyone who’d been injured was now fine, wearing stunned expressions.
“Yuri.”
“Huh? Ah? Y-Yes?”
Of course, the most bewildered of all was Yuri herself.
She had no idea what had just happened, despite being the one who caused it.
“You did great. You overcame that immense burden and handled it well.”
“N-No… I honestly don’t know what I even did…”
“You must have awakened your power as a Saint. What else could it be?”
“E-Ehh!? A Saint!? D-Does that mean I have to wear white robes and live in the Vatican now!?”
“I’m kidding.”
[Main character ‘Yuri’ has awakened as Saint (Lv.MAX).]
If the system status window says “Saint,” then I guess she really is one.
Though that’s just a game class title, and probably has no relation to the religious role of a saint in this world.
So whether or not she becomes a real saint is up to her.
“I wasn’t planning to go this over the top…”
“Still, isn’t it great? You saved the world.”
“What about me!? What about meee!?”
At that moment—
Dragging herself across the grass, Charlotte let out a hoarse wail.
I rushed over and helped her to her feet.
“Of course you did great too, Charlotte. You’re the one who actually neutralized the tin can. Just like someone’s prophecy, you’ll be remembered as the hero who defeated the enemy.”
“Really!? Ehehehe!”
Charlotte perked up instantly, feeling proud.
Wasn’t she on the verge of passing out from mana exhaustion just moments ago?
Like a newborn calf, her legs trembled, yet she managed to stay standing on her own two feet.
‘I should give Julia lots of head pats later too for her hard work.’
Everyone showed incredible courage in the face of death.
I might not have been in danger, since I spent the entire fight in Sylvia’s arms—
But the fighters risked their lives with every clash against that tin can.
Not a single person backed down.
It was thanks to that trust and unity that we achieved this precious victory.
“Your Majesty. I believe it’s better to risk some danger and clear the inside than leave the ruins unattended. What will you do?”
“No need to dirty your hands. I’ll have Reinhardt kill everyone inside, regardless of age or gender.”
“Please allow me to handle it. If they’re human and not machines, I can take them out most safely.”
“…Very well, do as you wish.”
Reluctantly, Empress Vanessa gave me permission to finish the job.
Since the opponent this time was an electrically powered machine, my Black Magic couldn’t neutralize it.
But if the enemy is human, that’s a different story.
No protective suit or armor can block Anti-Mana, meaning I can squeeze the mana out of anyone and kill them in an instant.
I don’t particularly like killing people, no matter the reason.
But I can’t afford to gamble with the entire world at stake.
Killing them all without hesitation was the right thing to do.
“Opening the ruins.”
Not long after excavation resumed, the entire massive cube-shaped ruin was raised to the surface.
When I pulled something that looked like a switch, the walls opened in all directions, revealing the interior.
I was tense, ready to cast Black Magic at any moment—
“Is that the appearance of the Ancients…?”
“No. They’ve long been dead, their bodies dried up and shriveled.”
Soon, I realized it wasn’t necessary.
All the people lying in cryo-pods were completely mummified, their bodies withered away.
There was no need for me to lift a finger.
“Bastard…”
So this damn tin can caused all this chaos trying to wake up a bunch of already-dead Ancients?
I felt a surge of anger, but then it just fizzled out in disbelief.
Always acting superior and intelligent—
Yet he’d gone and done the stupidest thing imaginable.
***
The mayhem that unfolded in the Demon Realm, surprisingly, ended without a single casualty.
There were several who had sustained serious injuries during the battle, of course—
But thanks to Yuri’s recovery beam, everyone was completely healed in the end.
So technically, zero casualties.
And so, the battle against the previous generation, who had attempted to destroy the current era, ended in a resounding victory for us.
The interior of the ruin had also been cleared out, leaving no loose ends.
But there was one unexpected gain.
“They really do look like hard drives…”
Inside the ruin, we found a ton of what looked like storage devices.
Of course, we didn’t actually confirm they were storage devices.
But from my modern-day perspective, they could only be interpreted as such.
Most likely, they contained the technological culmination of the past civilization.
We had no means of accessing the data inside right now—
But if we could eventually decrypt them through research, it could lead to a massive leap forward for this world.
‘So the Demon Realm is officially the Northern Archduke’s land now… He really did it… I’m so jealous I could die…’
Suddenly, I felt a pang of envy.
By law, the entire Demon Realm was now designated as the territory of the Northern Archduke.
The whole lush and green land that had once been a cursed wasteland was now his.
Who could’ve imagined that hellhole would turn into this?
Maybe I could sneak in a spoon when development starts.
With luck, I might get a mining concession or a road construction contract.
I was deep in thought about all this when—
‘Why is Kali so quiet?’
Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard Kali’s voice at all.
Not a word since the dimensional gate opened and closed.
That loudmouth who always got overly emotional and nosy whenever the kids were involved—why was she silent now?
“…The connection to Kali’s been cut?”
My heart sank.
Could it be that the connection was severed while she was blocking the evil gods who tried to cross the dimensional gate?
I used to think Kali’s presence didn’t really matter—
But judging from how I was feeling now, I must’ve grown more attached than I realized.
Still, I would never forget her.
I might’ve been the only one who ever saw her,
But as long as I keep remembering Kali, she’d be happy too.
I was lost in those silly, sentimental thoughts when—
“Hey, Mister! There’s a weird lady standing outside!”
[Ahem!]
“…?”
It was a voice I was sure I was hearing for the first time—
And yet, it felt strangely familiar.
