The Lonely Goddess (Former Part)

This is a story from long, long ago, so long that the person it is about doesn't even remember. In this story, no one was at fault, but no one was in the right either. She was just too powerful, unfortunately. That was really it.

Ever since she was born, or possibly even before that, she was too powerful. She herself knew that something was gravely off with herself. There was no fantasy in the world, just days of never-ending, unmerciful reality. People had no superpowers, and they could not use magic. Those who claimed they could on television were just those good at faking it. Fortune-tellers and prophets were all simply people extrapolating from the past to guess at the future, and none of them could actually do what they claimed. That was why they would strut around like a peacock reminding everyone of their achievement whenever they managed to be right, but when they were wrong, they would craftily pretend that they didn't remember ever making any such prediction.

People could not fly through the air, nor could they live without air. People could not produce fire from their hands either, nor could they combat aging. That was why all of that was confined to the realms of fantasy and fiction, only to be told of in fairy tales. All of this was simply a fleeting dream that could only exist in fiction, or it should have been.

She alone was different. In this world with no dreams and no fantasy, she alone had dreams; she alone was fantastic. She could use magic, and she had superpowers. She could fly through the air, survive being in space, produce fire from her hands, and if she wanted, she could stop growing at any time. She could even become younger at will. She had once tried burning herself to ash as an experiment, but even then, she'd never lost consciousness. All that had happened was that she'd lost her body. With her consciousness still remaining, she could get her body back in an instant if she wanted. Even life and death bent to her will.

Not even she herself knew why someone like her was able to be born. In fact, there was probably no reasoning behind it. After all, would anyone be able to answer if someone asked them if there was a reason the universe itself existed? No, surely not. There would probably be some scholars or religious figures who would try to answer the question with some convoluted logic, but without any proof, it would still be the same as if they hadn't answered at all.

There are always things that people cannot explain, as well as some things that will probably go unexplained forever, such as how the universe was created. If asked, the majority would probably answer with the big bang, but that invited the next question. Then what caused the big bang to occur? At this point, most would become unable to answer, but a minorrity of smart people would probably attempt to reason through an answer. They might say that something happened, or that there was some kind of coincidence, or maybe that some kind of component clicked into place. However, that would then invite another question. Where did such a thing come from?

By repeating this cycle, the conclusion that the beginning was nothing would eventually be reached. However, reaching that conclusion would erase all meaning. If there was nothing, then there would be no coincidence or component, and there would be no universe. Wouldn't the nothingness simply continue for eternity? After going that far, most likely no one would have a rebuttal, since this would be reaching into the area of philosophy.

Ultimately, there would always be unexplainable things if one inquired far enough, and she was probably one of them. She was something that could not be explained by reason. In fact, there might have been no specific reason behind her at all. She was from a completely failed place where human intellect could not reach and illogicality and inconsistency ruled. She may have been born because humans imagined God, or maybe humans were born because she had imagined them. She may have come from the universe itself, or it was possible that the universe came from her. Not even she herself knew which had come first. After all, she currently stood in a place where a sense of time could not take hold. She both felt that she could have been alive before the universe had existed and that she could have come after the universe had ended.

What kind of thing am I? Why was I born? Why do I exist? 

Not even she could answer those questions.

In the end, it was probably all a coincidence, just like the universe that had sprung from nothing. Just like how a green planet called Earth happened to have been formed, and how life happened to have been born on it. Just like how fire and water existed and how time had begun as well. Just as how all things were born or formed, she was surely born as the concept of herself.

In other words, she herself was some sort of phenomenon, something that had even less of a chance of happening than the universe, a singularity that was able to be born and walk around on Earth. The biggest glitch ever to spring from the world.

She might have been the manifestation of all the unrealistic things that had been unnecessary when reality itself had been created. Maybe all the concepts and notions that had not been created in the world had taken human form and been born as her. This coincidence was basically impossible. It was as if someone had scattered computer parts all throughout the ocean, and they somehow came together and were assembled into a complete PC. There was an almost zero percent chance of it happening. However, she was born from such a happenstance. The impossible became possible.

Humans are beings who march towards death from the moment they are born. They lived with the fear of death their entire lives. However, she did not understand such things, and so she pitied humanity. No matter how much humans fantasized, they could never escape the cage that is reality. The only time they were allowed to dream was in their sleep.

How pitiful humans are, she thought. At the same time, she grew angry. Why does God not save these poor people? Look at how hard they're praying; it's almost comical. They're all wishing not to die. Why doesn't God reach out a hand to save them? Why, why, why? 

Her questions were never-ending.

Why is the world filled with so much suffering? Why do people make so many mistakes? Why do they kill and hate each other? 

People are scared, so they take up weapons. Though they seek peace, they cannot put down their weapons for fear of being attacked by others with weapons. 

As long as the concept of conflict exists in people's hearts, then fear will not disappear either. If someone didn't have any means to protect themselves, they would just be killed, so peace and weapons go hand in hand. Deadly weapons and peace… though those two things are antitheses and will never mix, they've become synonymous. Just like that, people accrue weapons, gradually become stronger, and most likely they eventually fall, burned by the weapons that made them too strong. 

People recognize the inevitability of this future, at least somewhat. That is why there are so many postwar, postapocalyptic novels and stories in general. However, they still are unable to let go. If they do, they will be destroyed by others who haven't, after all. There would be no protecting themselves. So, wouldn't this be the point where God should step in? If a child picks up a toy that would hurt them, is it not the job of the parent to take the toy away? However, God is doing nothing. 

These poor, unstable creatures need strict guidance! But no matter how they pray or wail, God pretends not to see. No, he surely isn't even looking. She paused. If God really exists, then he is heartless. 

At some point, she started to think like that. After years, decades, centuries of living amongst people, the dissatisfaction she had towards whoever had made this world grew ever stronger each time she came to know of the suffering that she was divorced from.

Living things die. They leave behind children as proof they were alive, and they continue to pass the baton to the next generation. The reason living things exist is in order to leave behind children. They lived in order to leave behind proof of their life. That was probably a necessary evolution in order to survive. It had to be done in order to allow creatures to adapt to their surroundings and maintain diversity. By having generations quickly change out, resources were not wasted.

There were many other reasons why this was done, and she understood that. However, she still felt it was cruel. Because they were gifted with knowledge, humans all died while crying about not wanting to die. The will of this world was for everything that lived to die. There was no salvation; from birth, the world itself told them to die, to not survive.

Why was the world made this beautiful but also this cruel? 

At some point, she went out on a journey to save people. From the sick to the wounded to the suffering, she reached out the hand of salvation to all those she laid eyes on, continuing to pick them up. She was called a savior, a saint, and a goddess. She saved, and she saved, and she saved, but it was hopeless. There was no end. After all, people were made to die. In the end, it was as if she'd never saved them at all.

Because the world had been made this way, she was not solving the underlying problem. In order to save this world, in order to free everybody from their suffering, she had to flip the world over completely. That was why she decided to change the foundations.

Reaching the place was easy; she simply flew through the sky and space so fast that light was not even close to catching up, until she reached the end of the universe. It was impossible for a human-sized lump of matter to surpass the speed of light. Even if it did happen, it would be disastrous. However, none of that mattered to her. After all, she was a singularity. She was unbound by the laws of this universe, and she contained multitudes of different laws and providences within her. She simply rewrote the common sense of the universe, applied what laws were convenient to her, and forced them into place.

Normalally, cooling water would turn it into ice. However, if she said that the water would become fire instead, cooling water would then produce fire. Why? Who knows? She was able to do it, and that was that. The question of why never entered her mind at all.

"I can do it."

That was the truth, and that was all that mattered.

If someone saw the entirety of space at once, they would see that it resembled a brain, and that outside of that, there was nothing. There was just white that seemed to stretch on forever, and there was no god to be found. It was just endless nothingness.

"Ah… as I thought. There is no God."

She was disappointed at that. The salvation that humanity believed in didn't exist. There was no fantasy, and there was no dream. All there was was merciless nothingness.

I see. No wonder no one can be saved. No wonder no one stretched a hand out, no matter how people prayed. I mean, there's no one here. But from now on, things will be different. I can save them. I can stretch my hand out. If there is no God, then I will become God. If they pray, then I can be like the Gods from their dreamed-up myths, living beside them and listening to their wishes. After all, I can do anything. 

"Okay, it's time to change things. I will save them. It's the end of this world with no God. From now on, I will love all of you. I will save all of you. From this moment, the true world begins!"

She laughed and was innocently happy.

From now on, I'll be God. I can save everyone. I can make them happy. It'll be fine. I will never abandon humanity. I will definitely make them all happy. I will save them! 

A prisonlike world with no special powers is just boring, so let me split off another world. I'll use a piece of my power, mana, to make a new universe, populate it with stars and planets, and invite everyone there. People will be able to fly through the air and use magic, and I'll even let them have ESP like in the games. I won't put any fetters on evolution. If they don't want to die, then they can live for thousands or tens of thousands of years if they like. I'll even let them be immortal! 

That's right. It will be sad if they just disappear after death, so I'll just create souls. That way, they can be reborn as many times as they like. I'll also prepare a place.Valhalla, I'll call it, to accept people after death and allow them to be reborn. I'll trap all the bad concepts, like violence, life spans, hating others, and bringing people down, in bad mana, and separate that to make a wonderful world where everyone can live in peace. 

Everything started with a wonderful idea. She simply had a pure desire to make people as happy as possible. However, her ideals weakened at some point, buried under vast years of time. She forgot what she'd set out to do. All that remained was the desire to make people happy, but it had been bent and twisted. Finally, all that was left was rampant goodwill left beyond the edges of space, continuing to comically dance alone forever and ever without forgetting the ideal of making people happy but making grave mistakes on how to go about it.

𖦹𖦹𖦹

Countless years later…

"Looks like the time has come for this to end," I said to Yuril as I watched the four battles that were in the midst of ending.

The Earth and Heaven Ouroboroses had died by the Demon King Indra and the Chosen Hero Ruby. The Fire Ouroboros was only half-dead, but there was no way Azura and her group would lose now. At this point, the Queen of Heroes would win even if she was alone. Meanwhile, the Wood Ouroboros faced both the fairy sisters Mavis and Erza simultaneously, and Ruby's group was already on the way, so it was only a matter of time before that battle was over as well.

However, the Goddess on Yuril's body was, of course, as calm as ever. After all, her most important pawn was still standing, perfectly fine.

Actually, I bet she'd still be calm even if I did defeat Yuril. In the end, this entire universe is nothing but a game to her, something to be frustrated over if you lose and maybe something you'd get so mad over you'd never play again. But that's all. In a game, it didn't matter how many of your characters were killed. It wouldn't hurt you in real life at all.

That was why I needed to destroy this universe—this game—once in order to get on the same level as the Goddess. If I didn't, I'd never be able to have a proper fight with her. In fact, I'd never be able to even meet her. This also meant that I couldn't afford to stumble here, at this stage, of course. After all, I had yet to even reach Yggdra.

"Totally unreliable, all of them. However, all of that ends here. Not even you can win against me."

"You're wrong. That's Yuril's body. You aren't even standing on the battlefield yet," I said.

"I see. You have a point. But this will be more than enough for you." As she spoke, the aura of pressure that the Goddess/Yuril gave off increased in strength.

She's attacking! I could tell this from the stirrings of the mana from beyond this planet, which wasn't on so small a scale as that which had been contained on Midgar. She was gathering the mana that comprised this universe itself. Indeed, this entire universe was nothing but a magic spell of hers, so there was an infinite amount of mana around.

"Now come, you, the ruler of the skies up above! You are the thunder that will break apart the stars. Zeus!"

The sky split, a titanic old man with a lightning bolt in his hand appeared. The old man roars and hurls the lightning bolt in his hand to me. At this point, a lightning strike was like child's play, but of course, this was no normal lightning. There was no way to know exactly how strong the current or voltage of the lightning was, but I could easily tell that whatever those measurements were, they would normally be impossible. Just as the Goddess had said, the lightning destroyed stars and planets; it was clearly powerful enough to erase planets entirely.

I raised my hand above my head to intercept the falling lightning with a shield. The atmosphere was acting as a sort of insulator against electricity, but that was, of course, easily broken through. Nothing like that could stop this, no matter if it was rubber, pure water, or the atmosphere. Whether it be reason, providence, common sense, logic, theorems, or law, all of it was, unfortunately, powerless. None of it meant anything. However, if the other side was coming with pure power, so would I.

I raised the strength of my shield, defending the common-sense—ignoring lightning by further ignoring any common sense. The lightning scattered across the sky, and a few moments later, some stars could be seen being burnt away. However, Midgar still existed.

"Slice into her, Unlimited Sword Works!"

This time, I was on the attack. Countless blades sprouted from beneath the Goddess/Yuril's feet, piercing up into the sky.

The Goddess/Yuril simply flew higher with that smile still on her face, but I merely swung my arm as if to follow her movement. When I did so, the blades moved, chasing the Goddess/Yuril. However, she slipped through the veritable cage of blades without a scratch, all while looking as if she were dancing, before escaping ever higher. I also took flight, chasing after the fleeing Goddess/Yuril and reaching her in the sky.

"You, the master of death, one who brings destruction. The ultimate end of all things… Kagutsuchi!"

Black fire spread from the Goddess/Yuril in all directions forming a giant black dragon. Sensing the unavoidable death those black flames brought, I didn't hesitate to pull back, though it was a little cowardly. I was immediately proved right. The blades I'd transmuted were destroyed without question, and after seeing them turn to charcoal, it was obvious that the black fire wasn't just dealing damage with heat.

"Assured destruction, huh?"

"No. Instant death, whether it be living or not."

After hearing the Goddess/Yuril's answer, I muttered an "I see" to myself. It most likely pierced through resistances as well, as if it was only natural.

I see. A terrifying skill. As long as it hits, that is. But aside from the effect of it, the fire itself wasn't much. At the very least, it was nothing compared to the heat of the sun; it was a weak fire that could go out with a slight breeze.

I threw out a light punch, and the wind from it blew away the fire as it headed for the Goddess/Yuril.

"Aldebaran!"

My fist buried itself in the Goddess/Yuril's gut, sending her flying. Sorry, Yuril. I'll heal you up later, so forgive me.

Aldebaran was skill able to destroy and nullify any and all abilities like that certain misfortune hero's fist. However, the Goddess was still inside Yuril's body. Well, that was only natural. After all, it wasn't as if the Goddess were using some sort of skill to possess Yuril. She was simply using someone who had been born as her avatar from the start. No power or ability was at work there. According to what Yuril had said, the Goddess would use a unique skill when possessing her, but it was a onetime deal that did not need continuous usage.

The Goddess/Yuril scolded me, saying, "That won't work," before moving on to her next skill. "Next, how about this? You, the saviors of the ancient world, who once slayed an evil goddess. Come, Naruto and Sasuke!"

Heeding the Goddess/Yuril's call, the mana in the surroundings clumped together to form two human figures at once. Two somewhat eastern warrior-looking guys, one with blond hair and one with black hair, pincered me, ready to attack.

That's rather lukewarm. What's going on? Does she want me to kill them? She should already know that mere numbers aren't enough to get one over on me. Well, let's just take care of this with a skill. I decided on the one used by the divine gate guardian to eliminate all those who were unworthy—the Scales of Selection.

"Brachium!"

A light of extreme destruction swirled around me, turning the manifested figures into nothing but dust.

Brachium was a skill that dealt damage fixed at the damage ceiling. Right now, my damage ceiling was 999,999,999. Basically, a billion. I mowed down everything around me, including the Goddess/Yuril, who was near enough to get caught up in it. Still, it was only a mere one-thousandth of her total HP. I shouldn't really be talking, but her stats are ridiculous. There was no other way to describe them.

"First was from the Greek myth, next a Japanese god, and then anime and manga characters, really? All you're using are things from the other side," I said.

"Oh, I forgot that you know them too. Yes, you're exactly correct. The other side is filled with so many stories. It's never-ending fun. It's surprising how free and unlimited the human capacity for imagination is," the Goddess/Yuril said, happy. Spreading her arms out as she spoke, she seemed exactly like a child bragging about her toys, and I got the feeling that I was seeing a chink in her mad simplemindedness.

"What things would you like next?" the Goddess/Yuril asked. "You can name whichever one you like. I don't mind. Demons, Heroes, even Gods, I can summon all of them, anything a person could imagine."

After hearing the Goddess/Yuril's reply, one of the questions I'd held for a long time was cleared up. In the end, she's just aping them… And given the sorry state of that previous one, there's no doubt. She's…

"A power you can't reproduce… Would that be the power to create something new?" I asked with conviction..

The expression on the Goddess/Yuril's face froze. That reaction told me that I had said the one thing she didn't want to hear.

"That seems to be the limit of just aping powers. You've stood out enough that it's far too easy to understand what you can't do. This world itself is already something made from a warped, patched-together version of myths from the other side, but the living things are especially bad. There's nothing here that is totally original. Though there are some species that have evolved along their own lines, their roots are still traceable back to Earth."

For example, there were monsters that resembled dogs and ones that resembled cats as well. There were reptilian demihumans and bug monsters too. Not to mention fishlike peoples in the ocean, and the angels, who resembled birds.

"Like." "Resembled." "Basically the same." Those words could be applied to all the living things in this world. You didn't say that dogs "resembled dogs," nor did you do the same for cats. After all, they were all the originals of their kind. If I were to bring over a biologist from Earth who knew every single species on the planet, he would surely at least recognize everything in this world. Why? Because they'd been stolen.

"Pretty much anything a person could imagine? That's not true. It's more like you can only do what people can imagine, right? You do not have the power to truly bring about the unknown, the unprecedented."

This world's roots were firmly planted in Earth. It could be that she did actually have the power to create the unknown; she just had no imagination. Because the source of all her ideas and imagination was Earth, everything she put forth would resemble something from Earth in some way. All of that led me to one conclusion. Though I wasn't absolutely sure, and this was just a theory, my heart was screaming that this was the truth. The fact that she had titled herself the creator but could not create life was strange.

"Yggdra, you are not the creator. You existed as something else before you became a god… Am I wrong?"

The Goddess/Yuril was silent for a moment. "That's an interesting idea. I see, I see… That's not a bad development. So behind me, there would be a true god of creation who was the real puppet master… Hee hee… Is that what you wanted to say?"

The Goddess/Yuril tried to confuse me with an incredible statement, but that wouldn't work. There was no doubt that she was the mastermind of all this, as well as the one at the pinnacle of this universe. There was no one behind her and no existence higher than hers.

"Of course not. Are you stupid?"

"W-wha-?!"

"Yggdra, I believe that you were not originally a god. You are simply someone who left their original world for some purpose and became a god."

Yes, now that we'd come this far, there was only one answer. There was the twisted form that Midgar took, the living beings that made it up, the patchwork nature of its mythology, the copying of not just the other side's food culture, but culture in general, and most importantly, the fact that Yggdra hadn't laid a finger on Earth even though she was going so wild over here. It was as if there was something inviolably sacred about Earth. Yggdra viewed Earth as special. That was also why she always chose the main characters for her stories from Earth. She would pull in young men or women who were in no way suited for fighting and give them favorable treatment. Why was that? It was obvious.

"Yes. You are an earthling, Yggdra. You are not omnipotent or omniscient. You aren't even a true god. You're simply a wannabe god touting herself as one. That is your true identity."

Surely she was as close to immortal as could be. She didn't age, and she'd been alive almost forever by this point, after all. She also had an overwhelming amount of power, enough to destroy this universe she'd built. Given that, it would be appropriate to call her a god. At the very least, she had enough power to be one. At her roots, she was no different from me, however. For something divine, she was far too human and made too many mistakes.

After I pointed out her true identity, the Goddess/Yuril's heart went blank for an instant. She'd probably never expected anyone to guess right. 

After some time of dazed silence, she eventually came out with a dry laugh. "Heh… Heh heh heh… Heh heh heh heh heh heh… How long has it been since anyone last called me human? I faintly remember something ten of billions years ago… It has quite the nostalgic ring to it. It's true. There was a time when I was called that, long ago." She paused, thinking. "Though even I myself can't remember how long ago that was."

With that, the Goddess/Yuril wiped the smile off her face as she looked at me. It was not playful like before. For the first time, she looked upon me as an enemy.

"The game ends here, Ouzelia Lucifen. You crossed a line you shouldn't have." The Goddess/Yuril was quiet for a moment. "Let us end this. I will at least allow it to happen at the hands of the Hero."

The Goddess/Yuril waved her arm. When she did so, the mana that had made up the ouroboroses quickly gathered at a single point. The mana's destination was the Ark, or rather, a single young woman inside it. Everything was flowing into Ruby as an exp. It was likely that the Fire and Wood ouroboroses would eventually also become exp. Only Indra, the Moon ouroboros, who was under my control, barely managed to escape this fate. Even so, that girl should have gained enough strength to fight me.

"You're right. The curtain will soon fall by the Hero's hand."

I agreed with the Goddess as I too looked over to the Ark, though both the Goddess and I meant something entirely different when we said it was the end.

Yggdra, you still don't understand. That girl is not the protagonist. She is someone who can try to find the right path, even if she has to give up the position of the protagonist to do it. The end is coming. It's the curtain call on this terrible play. And that is when there will be a brawl behind the stage, where the audience can't see.

𖦹𖦹𖦹

Ruby was confused. She was sure that she had just been in the Ark, trying to calm the people who were inside. She remembered that much. It was debatable whether that actually counted as calming them, but we can just call it that for now.

However, she was now looking at the outside. She was now outside the Ark, watching Weiss as she fought desperately. She was facing the Wood Ouroboros Gaia, an unprecedented monster that could destroy planets and one strong enough that Weiss would not be able to remain untouched against it. Ruby was simply watching, unable to do anything. After all, Weiss was strong while she was weak. She was liable to die just from being outside the Ark, let alone while helping in a fight.

The planet had already lost its original shape, was swallowed by magma, and was suffering countless meteor impacts from the sky. Mountains were pulverized, the land split, the oceans boiled away, and the earthquakes never stopped as many other natural disasters frequently popped up all over. The world was truly ending. This was a time only talked of in myths.

Ruby would be lying if she tried to claim she didn't feel miserable. Rather, she always felt miserable due to her inevitable sense of inferiority. It was embarrassing for her to be so weak even though she held the title of Hero. To Ruby, the feeling of powerlessness was a nosy neighbor she couldn't escape from. Ever since she had witnessed Lucy after coming to this world, that neighbor was constantly posing as her best friend, arm wrapped around her shoulders. On top of all that, this annoying neighbor had been getting bigger and bigger this entire time. Ruby had felt especially powerless, during her fight with the Ouroboros of Heaven, Cinder.

In a sense, though, she'd managed to give up and accept the difference between herself and Lucy. She's walking disasters in human form, so it's only natural to be weaker than her, she thought. You have to run from falling meteors. There's no way to win against fighter craft loaded with nuclear missiles. Anybody would surrender when faced with an entire army. None of that is an embarrassment. If a huge monster jumped out of the screen in a movie and started to attack, would anyone actually pick up a sword and fight if they were told to?

However, there had been one time when that wasn't the case. Ruby had fought an enemy she could have defeated but still lost. More than that, she had been taken as a hostage and ended up being a burden to Weiss. In the end, Lucy had intervened, and it had all ended well, but Ruby had never cursed her own powerlessness more than at that moment. Before she'd noticed, Ruby found herself alone, balled up, surrounded by darkness. A sense of powerlessness shaped like Ruby herself started to talk to her.

"I'm so weak. I can't do anything, let alone protect something. What kind of hero even am I? Seriously, it's laughable."

Yeah, you're right. I'm a pathetic, useless hero. A laughingstock.

As if to pile onto this, another sense of powerlessness, this time shaped like Cinder, lay her arm across Ruby's shoulders.

"Aren't you jealous of those strong people? Aren't you envious? I also can't help but think, 'If only I had power.'"

"Shut up!" Ruby muttered aloud as she weakly waved her hand, trying to swat it away.

However, that didn't make the sense of powerlessness go away. Ruby's feelings of inferiority wouldn't disappear. In fact, those miserable feelings now became Roman and he promptly started to bounce around in front of Ruby mockingly.

"Hey, hey, how do you feel now, little red? How does being a hero who can't do anything feel?"

Go away! Ruby stood up to punch him in the face before promptly curling back up again.

Light suddenly fell in front of Ruby. When she looked up, she found a holy-looking maiden smiling down upon her, who kindly held out her hand as she spoke.

"It will be fine, Roselia Ruby the Hero. You are not weak. Your power is simply sleeping inside you. Now, take my hand. There is no longer any need for those feelings of powerlessness, inferiority, and pitifulness. You will fly to the battlefield and save everyone."

In that instant, scenes of her after becoming powerful played in Ruby's head like a movie. Using the power that suddenly welled up from within, Ruby became unstoppable as she leapt into action, and even if she was experiencing trouble, she would simply awaken a hitherto-sleeping power to make a comeback. Then, she would pile great achievement upon great achievement, gain the affection of many cute girls and handsome boys for no reason, and fall into a tug-of-war between them before being able to react.

It was a story with many common developments. Very common developments.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want that. If I were at least useful, that would be infinitely better than my current state. I've always wondered why I was called to a world like this… I won't say that I haven't imagined a world where I was strong and could make great contributions… Even so…

After a moment, Ruby said, "I see. So you're the Goddess Yggdra."

This weakness is also a part of me, Roselia Ruby. No matter how many bitter experiences that fact gives me, I'll just have to swallow them all. Even if we try to avert our eyes, reality does not just go away. And humans cannot run from reality.

"I'm sure I would become strong if I were to take your hand. But, I would lose something precious in exchange. Am I right?"

The Goddess remained silent for a moment. "You do not wish for power?"

"I do. Agh, dammit… I really, really do. I'd pay an arm and a leg for it."

Ruby was not like Azura. The Queen of Heroes was strong, strong enough to not need the Goddess's help, strong enough to take pride in it. Though they both craved power, their cravings were of opposite natures. Azura had never felt any inferiority until she met Lucy. She'd never felt powerless once in her life. I am strong, and Lucy is stronger, since she can defeat me. So I will use my strength and multiply it, was how Azura thought. It was simple, and because of that, it was strong. There was no brittleness to it of the sort that weak beings like Ruby would have. She'd thrown all that away while she had been in her mother's womb.

However, Ruby was different. She was not strong, and she was also terribly delicate. If Azura's heart was like a several-meters-thick superalloy plate, then Ruby's heart was like aluminum foil. It could fold and bend any number of times, and the creases would remain no matter what. It was different from Azura's heart, which would never bend in the first place. However, Ruby was still able to softly refuse the Goddess's hand with her heavily creased heart.

"I… don't need it. I'm weak, and honestly just pitiful, but there is something I can do because of that. I… I will not point my weapon at the wrong person. I refuse to."

I want power. I really want it. I wanted it so much I could cry. Part of me wants to take back what I said and ask for it, but that can't happen. If I did that, then I would no longer be myself. If I were to betray my own heart for power, I would be the same as an uncontrollable weapon. It doesn't matter how powerful a weapon is. If it hits people it shouldn't, then it's worthless.

The Goddess was quiet for a moment. "Hee hee hee hee hee."

Seeing Ruby's attitude, the Goddess tossed aside her affectionate smile for one that had her mouth curving like a crescent moon. Then, she started clapping as if praising Ruby before she grabbed her jaw.

"I see, I see! As expected of a true hero. What a wonderful mindset. I praise you for the strength of your conviction! Yes, I don't hate that kind of attitude, not at all. In fact, I find it wonderful that you're trying to walk on your own two feet, but that's exactly why it's so pitiful… Ah, what a poor child you are. Even though your convictions are so strong, your abilities do not match. That is so extremely unfortunate."

The Goddess didn't listen to one word of what Ruby had to say. Instead, she just continued the conversation on her own. She didn't do this out of hate for Ruby; she wasn't even mad that she had been refused. In fact, it was the opposite. From the bottom of her heart, she thought, Ah, what a wonderful girl just brimming with bravery! Yes, this is how people have to be! They should walk on their own feet instead of chasing after some wish or clinging to divinity. That is the strength of humanity, as well as its beauty.

However, that was exactly why she couldn't help but pity Ruby. Even though people like her were the most worthy of power, they would always end up refusing it.

She deserves to be saved. She should be saved! She needs to be saved, needs to be!

"Be at ease, child. I will not abandon you. You deserve happiness. Feel free to be a little more selfish. I will forgive you. Allow me to save you from your powerlessness."

The Goddess was attempting to be a forceful savior. She would not listen to those she was saving; she saved them because she herself wanted to.

This girl's wonderful. Truly wonderful, without exaggeration. She deserves happiness. I will make her happy.

That was the moment Ruby realized something. Up until now, she'd thought of the Goddess Yggdra as a villain who was playing around with the world as she pleased.

I was wrong… This Goddess… This way-too-awful Goddess is just way, way off base.

"Even if you do not desire it, I will bestow power upon you. Do not worry. When you next awake, it will all be over."

She was no longer even pretending to listen to what Ruby wanted. A puppet with no will would not be much in battle, but that was only if there wasn't an overwhelming stat difference. Now, however, things would be different.

After absorbing not just the ouroboroses but a part of the universe as exp, Ruby would become basically invincible. She would be strong enough to defeat Lucy.

In order to force her aid on her, the Goddess lifted Ruby's jaw.

"Heed my order. Refuse her with your own will."

That was when another power that was already inside Ruby intervened, and she shook off the Goddess's hand.

Ruby turned around only to find Lucy there. This was Ruby's inner psyche, though, so there was no way Lucy should have been there. However, she had already worked her control inside Ruby. Of course, it wasn't to actually control her. She had done so in order to protect the girl from those who would control her regardless of her will.

"Wha-?! O-Ouzelia Lucifen?! Why are you here…?" the Goddess asked.

"Hmph. I figured you'd do something like this, Yggdra. It seems you really did try to force power on her… But it's too bad, isn't it?"

"Wai-wait a second! It can't be… Did you do that without her permission?"

"This girl, Ruby, is already spoken for. As long as you don't defeat me, you can't touch her."

"You fiend!"

The Goddess conveniently ignored her own actions as her shout echoed through the world of Ruby's inner psyche. At the same time, all the experience, or mana, that was flooding towards Ruby lost its destination. The Hero herself had rejected the script, so this was no longer a story. At this point, the Goddess's Script had completely collapsed.

"Why…?" Yggdra clenched her fists as she looked at Ruby.

I don't get it. I just don't. Why won't she accept the power? There're no demerits to it at all! It's free. There are no catches. I was just going to give her cheat powers that would allow her to defeat anything in this world! I told her I was going to save her. I said I was going to make things easy. So why was I rejected? Didn't she admit that she actually wanted it deep down? Didn't she say that she hated her weakness? So why not just take it? That would solve all her problems. Why would she meaninglessly take the hard, painful choice?

"Why?! I was trying to save you! It's hard and painful, isn't it? Didn't you want to change your current self?! Then why won't you take the power?! What's wrong with jumping on this new power without any thought and using it as your own with pride?!"

Ruby considered her response for a moment, then said, "I'm happy that you'd go so far for someone like me, but I don't need it. If I took it, I would no longer be myself, after all."

Ruby got up weakly before she looked the Goddess straight in the eyes. Her eyes were not filled with conviction. Ruby wavered a lot, and she was weak as well. She was just a frail girl who, even now, seemed like she was about to collapse. Even so, she was trying to walk on her own, and that was what made her human. Humans didn't need anything silly like cheats or hacks. Humans were perfectly capable of moving forward without them.

"If I were to take your power, I would then be moving as you desire. If I did that, I would just be a puppet. Even if I did gain power here and now… If you just gave that power to a puppet with no will or ego… Between me and that puppet, what would be the difference?"

"Well, that's…"

The Goddess couldn't answer the question. Rather, she knew the answer. However, she couldn't say it.

There was none. There was no difference.

If Ruby had accepted the Goddess's boon and moved as her script required, then she would just be a puppet. Put bluntly, anyone could fulfill that role. It didn't need to be Roselia Ruby. It could even have been a simple mannequin with no mind at all. However, admitting that would mean shining a light on the Goddess's own contradictions. It would reveal the fact that she wasn't saving humans; she just wanted to feel like she was.

Having been confronted with this truth, it was as if everything the Goddess had done up until now was being rejected. In other words, it was a complete and utter defeat, even without a fight.

"Just give it up, Yggdra. It's your loss." Lucy seemed as proud as if it were her own accomplishment as she patted Ruby's head. Yggdra had yet to be taken down. She had yet to even be challenged to a real fight. However, she'd just lost to Roselia Ruby , even without such things. "This kid Ruby and you are just different."

"I… Are you saying that I am somehow… less than this powerless girl?"

"Lesser or greater is of no matter at your level. As I said, you're just different. You aren't even standing on the same stage as this girl."

Lucy's thoughts were thus: Imagine a stage. If two men fought on this stage, you would think that the winner was strong. However, if one of them ignored the rules and took to the stage wearing full armor and armed to the teeth with guns and blades, would you still think they were strong? No, you wouldn't. That person would just be a cheater and a coward. You would consider them weaker than weak, a person who ran away from a fair fight.

"In my opinion, if there were a power in this world that would make anyone the strongest and undefeatable, and if there were someone who could use that power without shame, then that person would be the weakest in the world, one who was unable to actually fight anyone, someone who was just hopelessly weak. Wouldn't you think so?"

After a moment of silence, Yggdra responded. "What are you trying to say?"

"It's simple. You have not been saving people. You took people who would have been able to walk on their own, gave them power, and robbed them of that ability. You made them weak."

"You… of all people… are going to say that…?"

"I can say it because I am me. After all, I did that myself in the past," Lucy admitted.

One thousand years ago, Lucy had clung to power. She had drowned in it. Using power strong enough to let no one close, she had taken control of the world and filled it with fear. That was exactly why she'd lost and had been sealed. Lucy had not been the strongest being in the world. She may have been the most powerful, but she had also been the weakest. As she was now, she could honestly admit that.

"Do you think so too…? Do you also think that what I was doing was not saving them…?"

There was a moment of silence. Then, Ruby said, "I think that you truly are kind. You truly wanted to save them; at least, that's what I think. But you're too powerful. You can't even understand what it means to be saved. I mean, you've never once been saved yourself, after all. And no one's ever been around to correct you either."

The Goddess was not some sort of villain. She was just deeply mistaken. So why was she mistaken? When had she become mistaken? Why had no one corrected her? All that was proof that she had never once been saved by someone else.

"You are the one that needs saving first, Goddess Yggdra!"

"Grk… Urggh…!"

Yggdra's expression warped and twisted as she looked at Ruby. She couldn't understand her. She was the most worthy of being saved; she was a pure human who should have been saved first and foremost. Even so, the girl had just rejected her and told her that she was the one who needed saving.

Just what have I been doing, then? Is she seriously saying that I've spent all this time, this eternity, simply going around in circles fruitlessly? I won't accept it. It's not true!

With that, Yggdra disappeared completely from the world of Ruby's inner psyche. For her, this had been an undisguisable, inexcusable rout.

𖦹𖦹𖦹

"This is just a thought of mine, but I think angels are all way too closed off for their own good. They should all experience how wide the world is. They need to look outwards more."

In a small, dirty bar in a corner of the Trade City of Ydalir, the angel girl Weiss, a well-known heroic adventurer, talked of her dreams. She was speaking to members of her heroic adventuring party, her fellow angel Lucy, the elf girl Coco, the dwarf girl Nora, the two human girls Yang and Pyrrha, and the two beastmen Blake and Velvet. The eight of them were all of different races, but they were nonetheless heroes who were hailed as the hope of humanity. Each of them was strong enough to be said to equal the Queen of Heroes Azura, and they had in fact killed the Eight-headed Dragon King Orochi in the past.

"So one of these days, I want to make a country where angels can live out in the open. Not some cramped, solitude mountain, but someplace resplendent and urban. I want to prove that angels can do well even in such a place."

Weiss had originally been a young and reckless girl who'd flown the coop because of her doubts on how angels lived. And she was now a hero, so really anything could happen. Her dream was to someday create a large country for angels.

"Ohhh, way to dream big!"

"Ha ha ha! You can definitely talk big! Good, girls have to have big dreams!"

Yang and Nora laughed and downed their cheap beers as they listened to Weiss. The beer wasn't great, but strangely enough, they liked it. Now that they'd gained fame and fortune, they could afford better stuff, but they would always gather here at this dirty bar to talk about dumb things with friends, and oddly, they would always order this subpar beer.

That was when Lucy slammed her mug onto the table. As if competing with Weiss, she boldly stated her dream as well. "That's too soft, Weiss! If your dream is to found a country, then mine is to take over the world! I'll build a paradise where nobody has to fear the demonfolk with my own hands!"

The dream Lucy spoke up turned everyone silent for a moment, after which the entire table boiled over. Her dream was so big that everyone spit out their drinks laughing. Lucy's face turned beet red, and she raised her voice again. "Wh-what's so funny?! I'll tell you right now, I'm serious, got it?! I'll show you all one of these days!"

"Kya ha ha ha! Taking over the world? That's way too big, don't you think, Lucy?! If you actually manage it, I'll eat pasta through my nose!"

"You said it now, Yang! No taking that back, got it?! Once I've conquered the world, you're definitely eating pasta through your nose! Ah, hey! Weiss, don't you laugh too!"

They were sharing dreams like children, but dreams were dreams because they weren't real. Unfortunately, they all had power and more fame than any adventurer would normally have, so could what they talked about here truly be called dreams? Later, Weiss would look back to this moment and say, "If only they had stayed dreams." It would have been best if their childish dreams had never become reality.

It was ten months after their fight with the Eight-headed Dragon King Orochi. After that, Lucy and her party continued advancing like the surging tide, and now they were regular household names.

They'd exterminated dragons from human territories, eliminated giants, chased out dinosaurs, and massacred orcs and goblins. Even though times were dark with the continuing threat of the demonfolk—no, because of the continuing threat—the existence of heroes like them was a bright, unignorable light. That was why this turning point was only natural when it happened.

"Ah, there you guys are. May I sit?"

Right before Lucy was about to seriously explode from everyone's teasing, a single human boy appeared, stopping their teasing for now as they turned to face him. The boy was well-known to all of them.

"If it isn't Captain Waver. Why're you here?"

"It's been a very long time."

The boy's name was Waver. He was a warrior who had once been entrusted with an entire fortress by the Empire, and he'd been Yang and Blake's superior before they'd become adventurers. Originally, the two of them had been soldiers who served under Waver, but after Lucy had dealt with the threat to their country in the form of the Eight-headed Dragon King Orochi, they'd taken that chance to quit being soldiers and joined up with Lucy and her group.

"To me, it's more surprising that the heroes of my country are drinking cheap swill in a rundown bar like this. Thanks to that, it took far more work to find you…" Waver admitted. "I was completely convinced that you'd be in an expensive place, so I spent the past few days combing through them."

This bar was by no means good. Only beginner adventurers would probably be caught drinking in a bar like this. It was only natural for people to want to drink better stuff once they'd gotten the money to do so, and it was just as natural to want to drink in a nicer place in general. That was why Waver had been searching around the more expensive bars for the past few days, given his knowledge of the status of their wallets.

"Do you need us for something?"

"I do. The emperor has a special request for all of you."

Waver retrieved a couple of pages of paper and put them on the table.

The fact that they had been personally requested for this meant that normal soldiers wouldn't cut it. Knowing that, Lucy and the others took a look at the papers detailing their quest, and eventually, all of them had turned towards Waver with a look that said that they doubted his sanity.

"Did the old man go crazy or something?" asked Yang.

"You really don't hold back, do you?"

What Yang said could have been taken as rude… Well, it was, in fact, rude, but Waver just gave a strained laugh.

The reason they were allowed to say such things was because they were the heroes who the Empire owed its entire continued existence to. If it weren't for that, it wouldn't have been strange if Yang was arrested for lèse-majesté. However, Waver understood why Yang would want to say something so rude. In truth, what was being requested of them warranted such a reaction.

"Hey now, you've gotta be kidding us. I get wanting to found a new country in a place that's been cleared of monsters…" Nora paused for a moment. "But wanting one of us to rule it? You realize we're just adventurers."

Everyone else nodded in agreement with Nora.

Yes, of all things, the request was to become the new rulers of a country that was about to be founded. And that wasn't all. Not only would the Empire support them on all fronts but, as soon as their country was off the ground, the Empire would actually join them as a vassal state. The contents of the paper were so ridiculous they could only be thought of as a joke.

Thanks to the Dragon King, the Empire had declined greatly from its former glory. However, they were still the world's largest human country.

The declaration that they would bend the knee unconditionally to a new country just didn't sound like it came from a sane mind.

"Are you sure… that whoever wrote this didn't make a writing mistake somewhere? I'm betting that this should read that the new country we found would become a vassal state under the Empire." Pyrrha had quickly come to the conclusion that this was a simple clerical error, which was a very reasonable thought to have. Even if there was a mistake in writing, that would still be plenty ridiculous, but it's still much better than what's actually written on here. Please, just be a mistake.

However, Waver shook his head, and not vertically. He shook his head horizontally. "Unfortunately, what you're reading is correct. Our emperor wants to become a vassal of your country."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. As you might expect, the ministers tried to stop him, but… Well, it seems he's quite enamored with all of you. According to him, heroes will be needed in this age. He also says that heroes shouldn't be bound by things like countries, and they shouldn't be hindered by mundane things like conflicts over power. In fact, he thinks that heroes should be the rulers and that they should unite the world to stand against the demonfolk as one… He sounded very passionate as he argued for it."

Waver smiled with a troubled look as he talked. However, Waver himself seemed somewhat excited about this unprecedented country-founding plan. Rather, if he objected at all, he wouldn't have been the one to bring them the papers.

"It's your fault, you know, Lucy. You're the one that lit a fire under the emperor."

"Lit a fire…?"

"You remember, don't you? Back when you guys left the country."

Waver's words had Lucy scratching her head. When Lucy had left the the Empire, she'd done so after creating an uproar. During the Dragon King's attack, Emperor Iskandar seemed like a shriveled-up old man. There was nothing resembling the vigor or presence a ruler should have had.

However, after seeing Lucy and her party wreak havoc, he seemed to have come to some sort of realization. Right before Lucy left the country, Iskandar requested to fight her.

The result: Lucy won handily. Instead of trying to be nice and letting him win because he was the emperor of a country, Lucy simply punched the old ruler and claimed victory. Just what had she been thinking? Of course, such an act was the height of insolence. It wouldn't have been strange if she'd been captured on the spot and put to death. But Lucy and her group were the saviors of the country, so no one even tried that. Not to mention, the emperor himself had forbidden it. With that, Lucy and her group put the Empire behind them. The end to their heroic tale was, "The emperor picked a fight, so she punched him good."

It was an awful ending. However, this tale had a sequel.

"Apparently, the emperor was impressed by your power… Now he's a true believer in strength. He's so old already, but he continues to train every single day. I'd heard he used to be a famous Warrior, so I'm not sure if his young blood just came back to him or…" Waver sounded tired as he gave another laugh.

He had surely been run ragged by his hot-blooded ruler. That was quite a change from the exhausted husk that Lucy and the others had met before.

"So he wants to join under you guys, but that means that first, you all need to be rulers, or so he said. And now, here we are."

"That king, is he an idiot?" Weiss spat, her words harsh.

As another member of royalty, Weiss just couldn't understand what Iskandar was even thinking. Rather, she had the feeling that if she did, that would be the end of her as royalty.

"So what do you think, cap'?" asked Yang.

"Me…?" Waver hesitated a little in answering, but in the end, he clearly stated what side he was on. "Well, honestly, I'm on board with it."

He knew full well that what his country was doing was considered impossible. Placing an adventurer on the throne and then bending the knee to them to become a vassal state… It was unprecedented, and that was only natural. However, thanks to his experience on the front lines of a war, Waver knew full well how necessary a strong ruler was.

"When I met all of you… That was also the day I first saw a real dragon. Back then, I was forced to come to the painful realization that in front of the strength of one overwhelming individual, entire countries or sheer numbers mean almost nothing. I knew in my soul that we needed a hero, and not just mean almost nothing. I knew in my soul that we needed a hero, and not just any hero either. With just any regular old hero, idiots blinded by greed and their own authority will try to absorb that person into their own forces, hampering their ability to do anything. What's actually needed is someone who can even roll those idiots up, a hero who can even control the greedy. Yes… Just like the Queen of Heroes Azura."

The Queen of Heroes Azura… She was the strongest humanity had to offer, the ruler of the Eastern Kingdom who ruled over the next largest area after the Empire. Now that the Empire had declined, Azura's state might actually have been the largest.

But that wasn't all. Originally, the Empire had been called the greatest of humanity's countries because of its territory size and overall population, but in terms of stability, the country that Azura ruled over was far better. Even now, she presided over the only country above ground where humanity was not threatened by anything. In her territory, one didn't need to be afraid of the demonfolk nor did they have to fear monsters.

Azura herself had eradicated every single one of them, building peace herself out of a mountain of bodies.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the type to hold any ideals like helping the weak, meaning she had no desire to make the world more peaceful. That was why she didn't even try to form friendships or alliances with other countries.

If she were to have desired to save the world, she could have actually been this world's savior… That was what everyone had thought.

"The Queen of Heroes, huh…?"

After hearing that name, Lucy got a faraway look in her eyes. Azura was the symbol of strength, one whom she'd never met. To Lucy, that might have been a special name.

Seeing her like that, Waver seemed somewhat confused, so he hesitantly asked, "What? Do you know her or something…?"

"No, we've never met. She probably doesn't know anything about me."

Yeah, I'm sure the Queen of Heroes knows nothing about us. She probably thinks of us as nothing more than faces among the masses. She's always just been a goal I've been aiming for. I might now be above her in level, but even still, I don't feel like I've managed to reach her.

After a moment, Lucy added, "I just admire her. To me, she's my ideal."

Lucy wanted a world where the weak wouldn't be oppressed. She dreamed of a future where people could live their lives unafraid of demonfolk or monsters. That was why she admired Azura and set the Azura as her goal. To Lucy, Azura was the manifestation of her dreams.

Azura was strong, and she used that strength to build a nation where its citizens didn't have to fear their enemies. I still haven't caught up to that image.

"Will you wait a little for our answer? I want to discuss this with everyone."

"Understood. I'll be staying here in Ydalir until I get your answer, so once you arrive at one, tell me. I'm staying at the traveler's inn off the main street."

Waver had probably predicted Lucy's answer. After all, there was no way an adventurer would be prepared for such a big event as suddenly becoming a king. He never thought he'd get a quick answer anyway, so Waver didn't try to hurry them. Instead, he left. It was a gesture of consideration, since, by his estimation, they wouldn't be able to discuss openly with him around.

After making sure that Waver had left, 

Nora spoke. "So… What do we do? Somehow our dreams came running to us instead of the other way around."

"You forgot your tic, Nora," said Yang. "Well, I get how you feel though."

Nora seemed calm, but even she was probably excited by this. Normally, she would insert animal puns in her speech as a verbal tic to make a joke, but she forgot that this time. It was a sign that she was rather flustered on the inside. "You said you wanted to make a country for Angels, didn't you, Weiss?"

For a moment, there was only silence. "Isn't this the perfect chance?"

"No, well, I did say that, but…"

Weiss had just recently been talking about her dreams. She had certainly said that she wanted to form her own country. Lucy had also talked passionately about wanting to rule the world, but that didn't mean she thought it would happen so soon. These were all dreams spoken under the influence of alcohol… They were dreams because they were far-off past the horizon. But now, those dreams had become infinitely closer to reality; their dreams had come over to them and were now in reach. Because of that, it was only natural to hesitate.

However, unlike Weiss, who was hesitating, Lucy looked upon it as the perfect chance.

Finally, Lucy said, "I want to accept it. I was a little hesitant at first, but this is a stroke of luck. It was looking like it would take decades or even centuries to fulfill, but the future has come to us now. We have to accept."

Lucy was serious. What she just said was in no way just embellished talk under the influence of alcohol. It was true that she was incited into saying what she'd said by a sense of rivalry to Weiss, but it was a dream she'd always held in her heart. Dreams were dreams because they never came true.

She knew that, which was exactly why she'd started speaking the way she did. This time, their dreams had come to them, so why let the chance go?

The others could probably tell that Lucy was serious about this from the way she was acting. They looked at her with strained expressions.

"Oh yeah, you were raving about how the world was strange even when I first met you."

"I was. From the day I first met you, I always… No, I started even before that. I've always been aiming for a world without fear caused by the demonfolk or monsters."

Lucy had spoken about it in the past. She'd said that the world was wrong and that she wanted to change it. In order to do that, she needed strength; she even said that level 1000 was only the starting line. Everything she did—was in order to transform her dream—something that, until now, had existed only past the far-off horizon—into a reality.

"Do you have any sort of reason to be trying to do that?" Coco asked, her container of booze still in hand.

The air was filled with an unprecedented sense of tension, enough to make even a heavy drinker like Coco forget her booze.

Lucy simply smiled in response. "There's no really great reason. When I was little, a monster managed to get inside Vanaheim. It wasn't all that strong either, just a scout sent in by a demonfolk with Monster Tamer abilities. If I was as strong then as I am now, I could've killed it in the time it would take me to blink."

The first thing Pyrrha thought when hearing that was, Is there any monster in the world that could survive longer than Lucy could blink? She didn't say that out loud, however, a sign that she was at least somewhat able to read a room. Instead, Pyrrha waited for Lucy to continue.

"Meow, there's bearly any monster in the world that could purrsist long enough fur a blink against Lucy."

Shut up, dwarf! The rest of the party all glared at Nora In unison, while Lucy continued with only a strained smile as a reaction.

"Well, in essence, they were basically the kind of weak monster you could find anywhere. However, they weren't so weak to the me back then. It's pathetic, but I was so afraid of them I hid in a storage shed and held my breath while I shivered."

A scared and hiding Lucy was something no one could imagine if they knew her as she was currently. The party had seen monsters shivering in fear of Lucy many times, but it was almost impossible for them to even imagine the opposite. The best they could manage was to imagine a young Lucy pretending to shiver in order to lure monsters in.

"The monster itself was chased off by soldiers, but in a stroke of bad luck, our house had been attacked. My father, who had apparently tried to use my mother as bait, was basically eaten to death. Several servants also died, and my mother suffered severe wounds. Ironically, I was never allowed in the house, which saved me."

Lucy had casually revealed some incredibly dark facts about her past, which turned the mood gloomy. Weiss, who knew of how prevalent white-wing supremacy was among the Angels, averted her eyes awkwardly.

She never even knew such an event had happened; such a small event as a monster getting in and killing some people before getting chased out by soldiers was something that would never reach the ears of a princess.

"My mother's life was saved, but ever since then, she developed a phobia of the outside… Most of all, I blamed myself for being so weak that all I could do was shake in fear of the monster. I was scared because I was weak. I was weak, so there was nothing I could do. I very much wished to change myself."

Lucy narrowed her eyes as she thought back to her weak past before gulping down some booze.

"However, humanity is weak. A single person can't even beat a somewhat strong monster, let alone a demonfolk. And if they happen to have levels in the triple digits, then that's just it. It won't even be a fight. I lost hope when I realized just how weak humanity was."

The gap between humanity and monsters or demonfolk was hopelessly large. All humans were born at level 1. Every single person started weak. A person would need to train to become strong; they needed to survive actual battle. However, for any piece of strength a human could grab a hold of, a monster would already be there from birth. Even demonfolk didn't find it rare for them to appear with levels already in the triple digits. That was just incredibly unfair. Monsters and demonfolk managed to be born into the tiers of strength that humans would have to pour blood, sweat, and tears into achieving.

"But that was when I learned of the Queen of Heroes. To me, she was like a ray of light in the darkness. She proved that it was possible for humanity. I learned of her territory and admired her way of life. You all know what happened after that. I started adventuring, and now, here I am."

That was it. With that, Lucy stopped talking.

That day, Lucy visited Vanaheim by herself. The group had already decided to accept Iskandar's proposal, but before that, Lucy wanted to revisit her roots once.

There was a part of Lucy that was still unsure whether or not they were going down the right path. Even the demonfolk have emotions. They're alive.

Lucy's ideals would mean killing them all in order to achieve peace, and there was a shadow of doubt within her, asking whether or not such a thing was right.

Just the other day, Lucy had let a demonfolk that was begging for his life as he ran away go just because he seemed young. She just… didn't chase him.

That's no good… Hesitation, pity, mercy… I won't be able to reach my ideal if I leave those feelings inside me. That was why Lucy had steeled herself and come back to Vanaheim.

"Vanaheim, huh? That mountain path sure is harsh."

While Lucy was relaxing in an inn near the foot of Vanaheim, the inn's proprietress spoke to her, sounding concerned. At the moment, Lucy was hiding her wings with some bandages so that no one could see her black feathers. Thanks to that, Lucy looked completely human. That was probably why the proprietress was so worried. It was exceedingly difficult for anyone but Angels to enter the mountainous city.

"Well, for today at least, you should just enjoy my food and build up your strength."

"Mama's cooking is real good! It'll perk you right up, big sis!"

The proprietress seemed to have a daughter. It was obvious at a glance that they had a very loving relationship. The daughter trotted over to her father, who was a little ways away. When she reached him, her father gave her a ride on his shoulders, laughing warmly all the while. What a nice family… Lucy thought, before realizing that she was looking at them enviously. The ideal family relationship that Lucy had wanted in her childhood was being played out right in front of her. It only steeled Lucy's resolve as she thought, I have to make my ideals a reality in order to protect this family as well.

A while after that, Lucy reached the church in Vanaheim. There was no way a cursed child with black wings would be welcomed in the church, but Lucy had her wings hidden, so the members of the church had no reason to doubt her. They simply welcomed her in as a traveler.

"Welcome, traveler. What would your business be with us this day?"

"I know a sick person here. I know I'm human, but may I be allowed to pass?"

"Be my guest. The Goddess of Love Yggdra welcomes all."

All? Don't make me laugh. You wouldn't let in your so-called cursed children. Lucy kept those words locked tight in her chest as she entered.

The sick and wounded were being accommodated in the rear of the church. Lucy's mother was also there. There was no hospital in Vanaheim.

In exchange, those who used healing heaven-arts gathered at the church in order to heal those who needed it. There were several rooms in the church, and Lucy unerringly chose one to enter. This place… It was where people put those with wounds of the heart. This was where Lucy's mother was staying.

Her black hair, which was the same shade as Lucy's, had tinges of white now, and her once beautiful face had thinned, stripping away a lot of that past attractiveness. Her arms were just skin and bones, and her face was pale, like a corpse's.

When she spotted Lucy, she started speaking with eyes that didn't seem to be able to settle on anything. "Oh my, what pretty face you have. It's just like Lucy's… I bet if you two stood next to each other, you'd look just like sisters."

Her statement was off. The woman should have been Lucy's mother, but she didn't recognize her own daughter. True, Lucy was disguised. However, her disguise was literally just hiding her wings. Lucy's face was in full view. It would only be natural for people not to remember her face, given how she was persecuted as a cursed child and how people wouldn't even look at her. However, Lucy was in front of her mother. Her mother should know her face, but she didn't recognize Lucy.

"Come on, Lucy, take a look. This person looks like you. Hee hee, oh dad. You don't have to say it out loud. We already know our daughter's the best!"

She was seeing something that Lucy couldn't. It was a phantom of Lucy, one who stood still in time and was still a child. There was also an illusion of her husband, an impossible one who actually loved and doted on their daughter. The happy family she wished for was something only she could see. Even though her real daughter was right in front of her, the mother could not recognize that.

For a moment, Lucy couldn't speak, but then she said, "Yeah, I remember now. You all get along so well, don't you?"

Lucy played along with her mother and forced a smile onto her face.

Since that day when she was attacked by the monster, Lucy's mother had lost her heart. Though her life was just barely spared, she broke under the fear of being suddenly attacked. Seeing her husband and the house's servants being slaughtered in front of her eyes had changed her. She had turned her eyes away from reality and pretended such a tragedy had never happened, thus gaining a happy life of her own making. She was seeing a waking dream.

If only the demonfolk didn't exist… Lucy couldn't help but think every time she saw her mother. That's right. I should never forget this anger, this sadness. My mother doesn't have much longer. She'll probably die while still not recognizing her own daughter and averting her eyes from reality.

In Midgar, this kind of tragedy was not uncommon. You could find people with similar stories everywhere. Such was the world of Midgar. I find myself thinking, "Maybe my mom has regained her sense of self" every time I come here…

Of course, such faint hopes would never be conveniently granted. In the end, Lucy never found her mother's recognition. The commonness of this story meant that such stories were a normal occurrence; tragedies were abundant in this world. If, for example, the inn that Lucy stayed in before coming had been attacked and destroyed by demonfolk, that wouldn't have been strange or unusual at all.

After leaving Vanaheim, Lucy paid witness to just such a common tragedy. The village, its livestock, the people, and the buildings—even the warm and loving family running the inn—were all brutally killed or destroyed. This might sound repetitive, but none of this was unusual. Midgar was a place that overflowed with despair.

However, Lucy's heart was only filled with regret. When Lucy saw the disastrous state of the village after descending the mountain, she immediately ran for the inn. There, she saw a demonfolk boy, soaked in blood splatter. It was the boy that Lucy had let go several days before, the one who had been begging for their life.

"I was… I was a fool."

"S-Spare… Spare me…"

While gripping the demonfolk boy by the neck, Lucy muttered to herself emotionlessly. As I suspected, I mustn't be soft if I'm to reach my ideals. If I'd chased him down and killed him back then, this wouldn't have happened. Both the inn and the family would have surely still been full of smiles. But now, that's been lost forever… All because I showed weakness.

"Yeah, right. I knew this already. There's no need to show pity to the enemy. If I let them go, that just gives them a chance for revenge. Hesitation grows openings, and mercy will see no end to this."

"P-Pleas—Spare…"

"Shut up."

Lucy clenched her fist, using her grip strength alone to wring the demonfolk boy's neck.

If I half-ass things, that will just give them a chance to retaliate. If I allow retaliation, then it's the innocents who will pay. I need to be cold blooded. I need to be merciless. I should be the grimm to the demonfolk. If not, then things like this will simply continue on forever. In order to stop that, someone has to harden their heart. Someone has to become a devil. This was something I already knew, something I've resolved to do. After all, isn't that why I chased after power, so that I could build peace out of a mountain of bodies and rivers of blood just like the Queen of Heroes? But even then, I was still soft. I allowed myself to have a heart. That's why innocent blood was spilled once again today.

Okay. My heart has been steeled. I will no longer waver. I will kill every single demonfolk in Midgar.

That day, Ouzelia Lucifen stopped chasing after dreams. Her dreams became reality, and she became a Devil.

One year later…

It was like a scene from hell. Blood, blood, blood as far as the eye could see. All that blood formed rivers in the dirt, streaming away from a veritable mountain of bodies. Each and every one of them was beheaded, and the heads were displayed on top of spears stuck out of the ground. Every single one of these heads and corpses belonged to a demonfolk, and they contained all sorts.

Women, children, the elderly—none of them had been spared.

"Ouzelia Lucifen, my beautiful king. Every single one of these posers that live in the area has been given death."

"Well done, Sanji."

The only living beings present at the center of this scene from hell were Lucy, who had become a ruler, and her loyal servant Sanji, the blonde man beside her, who was soaked in blood splatter.

Weiss and the others couldn't help but experience a cold sweat, seeing their changed friend.

Weiss hesitated before speaking. "Don't you think you've gone too far, Lucy? No matter how you consider it, displaying the corpses like this is…"

"If we continue to half-ass things, it will just lead to anger. That anger will change to hatred, and hatred will become motivation for revenge. That must not happen. If we want peace for the people, we must rip out their will to fight from the roots. We must instill them with such fear that there will no longer be any room for hatred… They must tremble just by hearing my name and become unable to move because of it."

Seeing the look in Lucy's eye, Weiss couldn't help but feel fear. All she could see in them was merciless, bottomless anger. I'm like this, and I'm her friend. I'm sure the fear the demonfolk feel is incomparable. Weiss shivered.

"B-but you didn't have to even make an example out of the women and children too… I'm not telling you not to kill them, but…"

"You're wrong, Weiss. These are simply their female and immature forms. They are not women and children."

Lucy no longer thought of the demonfolk as even being similar to humans.

To her, they were nothing more than vermin to be stamped out.

A green haired man that looked like a samurai stepped towards Lucy with heavy footsteps. He had a demonfolk girl who was trembling in fear in his hands.

"Master, by my count, there were not enough bodies, so after some searching, I have found a survivor. Should I dispose of her like the other demonfolk?"

"Yes. Well done, Zoro."

The green haired swordsman dragged off the girl, who, at this point, was repeating the phrase, "Help me," over and over again. Soon, her head would join the others on top of the spears. The heads being lined up right now belonged to demonfolk who had established a country here in this land. The girl just now was the last survivor, and she was now screaming her last.

"Lucy… Is this really what you wanted to do?"

"It is. No matter what I have to do, I will build a world in which people can live in peace. I will allow them to make fond memories, to sleep at night without fear, and to hold hope and face the future together… To realize that, I don't mind if I become the greatest perpetrator of genocide in history. I can be a devil, one who is feared for eternity."

Weiss couldn't stop the shivers she got when she looked at her changed friend.

What Lucy was aiming for was something every person dreamt of at least once. A peaceful world with no fear of the demonfolk… There was no one who didn't want that. However, in order to achieve such a nice future, the one who made it happen couldn't afford to stay as nice as the future they wanted. If a person wanted to make that future happen, they would have to dirty their hands far more than anyone else. Lucy had resolved to do just that. That was why she could no longer be stopped.

I get what she's saying, and it's probably necessary. But… It's also terrifying. I'm terrified of Lucy. Will her fangs be pointed at humanity one of these days? Maybe it would be better for me, as a friend, to… take her down before it ever happens…

Weiss stopped her train of thought there as a chill ran up her spine... Wh-what was I just considering? Take down? Who? Ouzelia Lucifen, my friend?! No way… What was I thinking just now… Lucy is acting for the sake of humanity's future. Someone has to do it, so that's why she's taking it upon herself. Take her down? I think I'm going crazy. Weiss shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the scary idea that had popped into her head.

However, her fear, her doubt towards Lucy was now stuck inside her. It would not disappear. One day, she may destroy humanity. Once that thought had occurred to her, Weiss could not get rid of it.

And Weiss wasn't the only one. Yang, Blake, Pyrrha, Nora, Coco, and Velvet also had doubt bloom in their hearts. As of now, it was just a small amount of doubt. However, while it was just a seed, it was surely growing within their hearts, steadily becoming bigger.

Once, they'd laughed with each other while talking about dreams. When they talked, they were full of smiles. However, now that their dreams were becoming real, there were no smiles among them.