As Ariel’s Holy Sword pierced Lucifer’s heart, Ian slowly closed his eyes.
They had defeated the Demon God, and Ariel, the world’s Hero, hadn’t died.
In that case, he had fulfilled his role as a supporter.
What that meant was simple.
‘There’s no longer a need to regress.’
The reason to return to a past filled with pain and ruin had disappeared.
Now that he had obtained the freedom he had longed for, Ian had nothing to fear.
Thus, he closed his eyes comfortably and took a rest.
‘When I open my eyes, I’ll see a beautiful world.’
The scenery of Volkanov territory, which had regained its glory through his own power, along with companions like Eri, Lia, and Celia.
Ian pondered what to say when he awoke after envisioning those scenes in his mind.
But he had forgotten one thing.
“What did you just say?”
That the world doesn’t flow as one wishes.
Ian opened his eyes and looked at the woman smiling in front of him.
She, with a pleasant smile, slowly opened her mouth.
“I said, I am Eris, the Goddess of Peace, Ian Volkanov.”
“Huh… What on earth is going on…”
In this utterly strange situation, Ian couldn’t understand anything.
Why was he seeing Eris, one of the gods who support the world, as soon as he opened his eyes?
Why was she smiling at him?
Questions began to surge wildly. However, what Ian really couldn’t understand was something else.
“Why do I remember you?”
That he recognized Eris’s existence at once.
That was something Ian simply couldn’t comprehend.
Because he had used up all his memories to inflict a fatal wound on Lucifer.
‘If I used all my attacks except for this final iteration… Shouldn’t I not know about Eris’s existence now?’
How was he able to recall her, who only existed in past memories? And why was he able to recognize her instantly?
To find answers to these questions, Ian racked his brain.
“You’re curious, aren’t you? You must have consumed your memories, so how are you able to remember me?”
As if proving she was a goddess with extraordinary power, Eris instantly grasped Ian’s thoughts.
As Ian slightly nodded at her mocking words, Eris unhesitatingly revealed everything.
“It is true that your memories are disappearing. But before they completely vanish, I thought it would be right to give you a thank-you for all your hardships.”
“A thank-you?”
“Yes. While I’m at it, I also wanted to say a final goodbye. So I called you out like this.”
“A final goodbye…”
“Unfortunately, I have almost no divinity left now. So communicating through status windows or revelations like before will be impossible.”
Eris calmly conveyed the fact that her limits were imminent.
Ian accepted it calmly as well.
In fact, he had somewhat predicted it.
‘I heard it before. The reason I was created was because there was no divinity left to appoint a new hero.’
She had used up the little remaining divinity to create a helper.
However, since she hadn’t predicted that the man appointed as a supporter would regress 1,083 times, her already scarce divinity had been depleted for a long time.
That’s also why failing the quest meant he had no choice but to face eternal death.
‘It means she had so little divinity left that she couldn’t make me regress anymore.’
To support the world, Eris must retain a certain amount of divinity.
Since this is an unchanging truth, she would probably fall into a long sleep to recover her consumed divinity.
If she called him to express her gratitude one last time before falling into deep sleep… He could somewhat understand her words.
Most of his questions were resolved. But there were still some remaining.
“Then, what happens if Gaia faces another threat? If the demons rise up again… Do we have to endure without your revelations?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. There is only one case where chaos arises in Gaia: when either the Demon God or I fail to show the will to protect the world.”
“Then… You mean you’ve already prepared countermeasures.”
“Yes. Belphegor has agreed to take over as the next Demon God. He is in a cooperative relationship with me and has a favorable view towards humans, so it’s perfect. The remaining demons cannot refuse his orders, so there will be nothing to worry about.”
Indeed, if Belphegor took over as Demon God, there wouldn’t be any problems.
With the world’s safety assured, the only thing left was to exchange final farewells.
“Then, is it over after receiving your thanks? Hurry up. You must be tired.”
“Hehe. There’s no need to be so hasty; you don’t have to be impatient. Well, if you dislike me… there’s nothing I can do. But could you at least allow me to give you one last gift?”
“A gift?”
As Ian asked back as if he had misheard, she instead showed a puzzled expression.
Surely, it wouldn’t be right not to repay him for all the hardships he had endured.
Not only had he defeated Lucifer and prevented chaos in the world, but Ian had also suffered countless hardships after transmigrating from Earth, which had nothing to do with Gaia in the first place.
Ending things without a word wouldn’t be proper manners for a human—or a god.
“Please tell me anything you desire. I’ll do whatever I can within my power. If you wish for the position of a god, I will pass on my place to you after you finish your life as a human.”
She would grant his wish if he voiced it. If someone else had said this, he might have thought it a joke, but since the other party was a god, he couldn’t dismiss it lightly.
Although she had almost exhausted her divinity now, she was still one of the great pillars supporting the world.
Her offer to make him a god was probably sincere.
‘Become a god…?’
An incredibly tempting offer. It meant he could become an existence beyond the norm.
For a man who had scraped by day after day on construction sites, becoming a god would be an unparalleled leap.
However, that wasn’t what Ian wanted.
“A god… Don’t they live a long time?”
“That’s right. Unless something special happens, you’d live an almost eternal life.”
“Then forget it. After living about twenty thousand years, I’m tired of long lives.”
“Hehe, how amusing. Then do you wish for something else?”
“There is something I want… Could you grant it?”
“Feel free to tell me. What is it?”
“What I want is…”
After that, a brief answer followed. Eris, who had been listening quietly, burst into laughter as if she couldn’t hold it back.
“Indeed, humans are unfathomable beings. Very well. I will make that wish come true.”
After releasing a breath she had been holding, Eris bowed her head slightly in farewell.
“Thank you truly for everything until now, Ian Volkanov. I, Eris, the Goddess of Peace, bless your future.”
With those words, Ian felt his vision blur once again.
***
The moment he opened his eyes once more, he saw the faces of those he loved so dearly.
Whoosh!
“An all-too-familiar ceiling.”
Seeing the ceiling he had grown tired of, along with the cool air coming in through the slightly open window, made the corners of his mouth lift naturally.
For a moment, he wondered if he had regressed once again, but such negative thoughts quickly vanished.
‘My feet reach the end of the bed, and the face in the mirror looks well over twenty no matter how you look at it. And above all, the conversation I had with Eris remains in my memory.’
Although the memories of previous iterations had vanished and were blurry, he vividly remembered the conversation he had with her in that mysterious space.
He was certain.
“Looks like the regressions are over.”
As he murmured quietly, a sense of relief filled his heart.
It was at that moment, still feeling the lingering emotions within him.
Click!
“Why is there noise coming from the room…? Ian?”
“Eri?”
At the moment when the face of the woman who was more precious than anything to Ian came into view, their eyes met instantly.
It felt as if time had stopped, and silence surrounded them as if the entire house was submerged underwater.
There were many things they wanted to say, but there was no need to voice them.
“…”
“…”
Just by looking into each other’s eyes, they could read each other’s thoughts.
With that, there was no need to speak.
Fwoop!
Eri jumped lightly onto the bed, gently stroked Ian’s face, and murmured softly.
“You’ve worked hard, Ian.”
“You’ve worked hard too, Eri.”
It was the moment when the arduous path that Ian Volkanov had walked finally came to an end.
