: The Successor of the Gods

"They're in the Pallin Desert within the former Sandora Kingdom's territory...

At the very least there are ten-thousand. It's an invasion force similar to the

number that appeared in Yulong."

"And when can we expect them?"

"I'd say we have less than a day." I was on the phone with Guildmaster

Relisha, quietly concerned about what she was telling me. A large Phrase

invasion was incoming.

The only saving grace of the situation was that they were in the desert. Their

emergence spot was also several hundred kilometers from Draggah, the nearest

town.

Since I liberated the slaves, the region was largely disrupted. Regular farmers

and traders who didn't own slaves weren't really affected all that much. I also

heard that several of the freed slaves who remained in Sandora had gotten

proper employment, as well.

The problem came from the nobles and large-scale merchants that had

subjected the slaves to abuse.

They feared that the freed slaves would want to take revenge, so they ended

up fleeing the region and taking all their assets with them. Even their

guardsmen were slaves, so it wasn't like there were many people available to

help them, either.

As a result of the mass exodus of the elite, those that governed the major

cities and towns were all gone. The people remaining ended up dividing the

territory into city state-like nations.

Among those city-states were even settlements that were founded and built

upon by liberated slaves. It wasn't as if every noble was abusive. There were

some who remained because they had good relationships with their workers to

begin with, even if they were indentured.

Sandora was a dictatorship that didn't interact much with the outside world,

so they had good self-sufficiency when it came to things like food. That hadn't

changed after the country dissolved, so people were still able to eat. Either way,

the nobles had gone and the lower classes were running the place in their own

way.

Sandora was a desert, for the most part, but a lot of the inhabited territory

had so much agricultural boon that it almost seemed impossible. I wondered if

this was the work of nature spirits, contradicting the natural environment.

There were split opinions on what had happened to Sandora. Some viewed it

as a heroic act that freed the slaves, while others viewed it as the work of a

demon that had crushed a country.

I wasn't too surprised to hear stories had grown to that extent, hyperbole was

just another fact of life, after all. But one of the rumors said that I had

destroyed that one city the wicked god ended up consuming...

It was true that I'd burned it to the ground, but that was more a cremation

than anything.

Either way, it wasn't as bad as the Yulong rumors, so I wasn't too irritated. But

there were still people out there who thought I was the source of the Phrase

invasion... I couldn't see why they'd think that. Those things are a pain in the

ass to everyone.

I decided to focus on the current emergency, I needed help from the other

world leaders, pronto. I opened up an app on my smartphone...

By the end of it all, we had four-hundred-and-twelve Frame Gears lined up in

the desert. They belonged to the following nations:

The Kingdom of Belfast

The Refreese Imperium

The Kingdom of Mismede

The Regulus Empire

The Ramissh Theocracy

The Roadmare Union

The Kingdom of Lihnea

The Kingdom of Palouf

The Knight Kingdom of Lestia

The Demon Kingdom of Xenoahs

The Magic Kingdom of Felsen

Each nation had three Knight Barons and twenty-seven Chevaliers, a total of

thirty each.

Brunhild had its nine Valkyries, the three commanding units (Shining Count,

Knight Baron, and Blue Moon), and seventy Chevaliers.

Assuming ten-thousand Phrase appeared, that meant each Frame Gear

needed to kill about twenty-four enemies. I anticipated that the majority of the

creatures would just be small-fry, Lesser Constructs, but I couldn't be sure until

they appeared. We needed to take care not to be swarmed, though.

"This heat really sucks. Only the custom Frame Gears have cooling functions

added... It's fine while the hatch is open, but once we get fighting it'll be a bit of

a pain."

"I hope they appear at night, then."

"If that happens we'll have low visibility." The knight king of Lestia and the

king of Lihnea replied to my complaining. It was probably annoying when we

had to fight at night in the past. I didn't know for sure because I passed out

after killing Gila during the last night battle.

Frame Gears were coated with protective paint that meant they wouldn't get

so hot you could fry an egg on them, but it would still become stuffy and

uncomfortable in the cockpit.

"We've prepared plenty of water, so don't get dehydrated out there. And be

mindful of the terrain, too. There's a possibility of losing your footing, so I'd

recommend you all try to move a bit before the fight starts." There was the

possibility of death if the Frame Gears fell, after all. We did have an emergency

protocol that I'd programmed into the Frame Gears, one that teleported people

away from their mechs after enough damage was sustained...

But if the cockpit itself was crushed too quickly, it wouldn't have enough time

to activate.

The Phrase were targeting human heartbeats, so it stood to reason they

might just directly go for the cockpits.

We'd set up a ramshackle command center in the middle of the desert. It was

built out of several shipping container-like structures, all joined together with a

central tent. The world leaders were all in here, checking over their plans in

conjunction with the map spread across the central table.

We'd used magic to keep the command center nice and cool, but leaving the

safety bubble caused things to get very hot, very fast.

"We'll likely get an Upper Construct, right?"

"Like the one that destroyed Yulong's capital? I'd like to avoid seeing one, if

possible..." The doge of Roadmare and the overlord both murmured to each

other as they watched the live video feeds of the desert outside.

"I don't think we'll see one this time. I think it'll mostly just be Lesser and

Intermediate Constructs. There might be some metal devils, though..."

"You mean the golden ones?"

"Yes. They're only slightly stronger than regular Phrase to start, but they can

feast on their former kin to become even stronger. If we see any, make them

the primary targets." I didn't know for sure if they'd appear, but it was better to

be safe than sorry. I was personally more worried that another Dominant

Construct could appear.

We also had an emergency escape route in place within the command center,

it was a portal we could run through to escape back to Brunhild in a worst-case

scenario.

Lapis came walking through that very portal, bringing a meal for everyone

within the building. It was lunchtime.

The Frame Gear pilots all got rice balls, a flask of fresh water, and some bitesized sandwiches. The world leaders, on the other hand, got some chilled

ramen.

Chilled ramen was a specialty from the Yamagata prefecture. It was much like

regular ramen, but it was cooled down and didn't have as much congealed fat

or oil. The soup and the noodles were entirely cold.

It wasn't sour like chilled Chinese noodles, and it was the kind of thing that

just made you wanna keep eating it. I once visited relatives in Yamagata and

basically became a chilled ramen addict as a result.

The soup was good, it had plenty of soy sauce in it. The noodles were nice and

stretchy, and it had sliced chicken, a boiled egg, menma, narutomaki, and green

onions alongside it. There were lots of peppers, too.

"Ohoho... I've never had this before, but it is rather refreshing."

"Ahh... The meat's so tender... I love it!" The other world leaders seemed to

enjoy it. I made a mental note to pass on their compliments to Crea later on.

Given that the world leaders had spent their lunches eating in Brunhild after

our monthly conferences, they were all accustomed to eating with chopsticks.

The new members from Felsen, Xenoahs, and Palouf were still using forks,

though.

"Oh, that reminds me... Grand Duke. Will you be sharing the Phrasium

fragments with us this time around?" The king of Felsen spoke up as he slurped

his ramen. He was probably thinking about how much purer Phrasium chunks

were than spellstones. It would be a golden chance for Felsen to get their hands

on some. He likely wanted to incorporate them into the magic train

development.

"Yeah, sounds fine. We'll ask for a cut since you're renting the Frame Gears

from us, but everything else you guys can divide up and split." If the Frame

Gears were damaged, I expected them to pay up in raw materials. They'd only

have to pay the material needed to cover the repairs, though. Our Workshop

was fully automated, meaning there were no labor fees... But that was a

national secret.

Yumina and the girls took it in turns coming into the command center to

enjoy some ramen, too. It ended up being quite the hit dish. I ended up giving

the chilled ramen recipe to the other world leaders, so they could enjoy it

themselves.

The heat outside only intensified as the day went on. Monsters that nested in

the desert sands also emerged from time to time. They weren't a match for our

Frame Gears... Unless you counted the Sand Crawlers, they were huge and a

pain in the ass. Either way, we decided not to engage them unless they engaged

us.

I found myself quietly hoping the Phrase would just appear so I could go

home and rest.

I left the tent and looked across the desert. But nothing happened. Typical.

They appear when I don't want them to, and stay away when I want them to

show up.

I took a step into the desert and suddenly saw something flicker in the corner

of my eye.

"...Hm?" I felt a sudden presence about three meters in front of me. I didn't

necessarily feel any hostility, I just felt something was there.

I imbued my eyes with divinity and surveyed the area. It was then that I

noticed the sandy-looking Slime at my feet. It had a single large eye, which

fixated on me once it realized I could see it. It stopped moving.

"...Just what are you, then? Some kind of monster?" It didn't exactly feel

hostile. Even if it was a monster, I didn't plan on killing it if it wasn't going to

attack me. I just wondered what it was. First I thought perhaps it could disguise

itself like a chameleon, but it clearly only became visible once I employed

divinity.

As I kept on staring at it, it slowly began to tremble.

Hmm...?

"Forgive this little one, please..." I suddenly heard the voice of a woman and

turned my gaze away from the Slime.

The sand next to the little Slime began to twist and contort until it took the

form of a woman with long, raven hair. Her skin was a dark tan, and she wore a

simple cloth. There was also a faint light that shone around her body. I know

this feeling...

"...You're a spirit?"

"I am, yes. I am the Sand Spirit that dwells within this desert. This child is one

of my children, and it is so meek that it couldn't possibly pose a threat to you...

That's why I beg you forgive it."

"Forgive it...? It didn't do anything to me, so it's not like I'm doing anything to

it."

"Your gaze is imbued with divine power, so it cannot move an inch. The

power of a god is absolute to spirits and their dependents. I assumed you were

holding it in place as if to pass judgment." Oh... I remember something like that,

god did mention spirits in his sermon... Something about them helping gods by

making the core parts of the world.

I weakened my own divinity until the little Slime could move again. It slowly

scampered behind the spirit, shivering behind her as if terrified. I felt pretty

sorry for it.

"Mochizuki Touya... You've certainly been the subject of many rumors as of

late."

"Really?"

"Indeed. The Wind Spirit. She likes to gossip and spread rumors, so they even

managed to reach this place."

Huh, is the Wind Spirit a woman, then? Or maybe sex isn't really a thing since

they're elemental essences... Guess it's just gender identity.

But man... The Wind Spirit is a gossip, huh? I guess it makes sense, what with

rumors being carried on the wind and all that.

"Is there a reason you're all in the desert today?"

The Sand Spirit gestured toward the Frame Gears.

I figured I owed her an explanation, so I gave her the general gist. She was the

Sand Spirit, which meant that she had dominion over this desert... It wouldn't

be proper for us to cause chaos in her domain.

"You don't need to worry about explaining yourself. I was only a little

curious."

"Thanks, then... I'm sorry for the trouble, we'll be done here after today."

"Worry not. This world belongs to those who dwell above the ground. We

spirits merely watch over things and offer aid when we are needed. Well, not all

spirits act the same... Some take a more active approach, while others don't

really mind at all."

The Sand Spirit was more the latter type. She didn't really seem too

concerned with human affairs, while the Wind Spirit sounded like she was a

little too invested.

The Forest Spirit I'd met some time ago seemed to be the type that watched

over people.

"Well, regardless... I wish you fortune in your coming battle. May we meet

again." The Sand Spirit then melted back into the sand and vanished. The little

Sand Slime bowed, or at least that's what it looked like, before joining its

master in the sand. Huh, that went pretty well. Her personality felt a little dry,

though... Or maybe she's just dry because she's made of sand. Oh, that's right...

I guess that means I can see spirits if I use my divine sight... Wonder if I'll be able

to see the Wind Spirit if I use it.

I looked up toward the sky and saw dozens of fairy-like creatures floating

along the breeze. Huh... Those aren't spirits. Maybe they're the dependents of

the spirit, though. The little dancing fairies didn't seem to notice us from so high

up in the air, but it wouldn't have really mattered if they did or not.

I canceled my divinity and found my eyes were all dried out and

uncomfortable... Augh... they're all dry, ow... I'll have to get Flora to make me

some eyedrops.

"Oh, there you were, Touya."

I turned around to see Moroha and Karina standing nearby.

...Huh. You guys must've come through from Brunhild... But why?

Oh... Don't tell me... Yeah, I already know.

"...You want to join in the fight, right?"

"Ayup."

"Duh."

"Right..." It was useless to resist. The god of swords and the god of the hunt

were both brimming with excitement, after all. It'd be fine so long as they held

back from using their divinity, but if they ended up smashing the Phrase with

ease then it'd defeat the whole point of bringing the Frame Gears out here to

begin with... Either way, I didn't say anything. It wasn't my place.

"I know Moroha fights fine... But what about you, Karina? Are you planning

on using a bow and arrow against them?"

"Don't underestimate me, kiddo. I don't just use bows, you know! I have

spears, daggers, hatchets, and even guns at my disposal! I can use any tool used

for hunting... To an extent. I'm not exactly a match for our dear god here."

Wow, really? Although I guess I remember seeing her spearfishing not too

long ago...

"So give me a good weapon, alright?"

"...You're certainly not the god of subtlety, huh." I sighed as I opened up

[Storage] and took out several Phrasium fragments. I fashioned them into a

large spear. The blade itself was about the length of a regular shortsword's,

attached to a long pole.

I'd reduced its weight a bit, but making it too light would make it awkward to

handle.

Apparently, Karina didn't mind it being heavy, though. She was waving it

around like a madwoman. The heavier it was, the better it was to smash stuff,

so I didn't bother adjusting it anymore.

"It's a little fun to fight, even if we're holding back our divinity. It's not like we

could do much fighting in the Divine Realm."

"It doesn't really look like you're holding back from here..."

"The humans of the world could reach this level given enough time and

effort! It's not my fault they haven't set their minds toward taking advantage of

their natural blessings."

"Is that right..." I didn't know whether to be amazed by her or if I should have

just shook my head at her. I think if a human in this world "set their mind"

toward reaching her kind of strength, they'd cease being human.

As I looked at the two and their ridiculous feats, I realized the slight hypocrisy

in my words... After all, I wasn't exactly a regular human anymore, either.

Just as I thought that, the headquarters siren started blaring and a voice came

over the loudspeakers.

"They've arrived!" I used [Long Sense] to project my sight ahead into the

desert.

I saw a crack in space, shimmering in the desert heat. The crack opened up

wide, splitting the sky down the middle. Phrase began to pour forth from the

hole, endlessly. They were all Lesser and Intermediate Constructs.

"The Phrase have emerged! Mobilize the Frame Gears! Prepare for battle!" I

yelled orders through my smartphone. I then took out two large Phrasium

greatswords from [Storage] and passed them to Moroha. Then I used [Fly] to

get an aerial grasp on the situation.

"Wait...!" I saw another crack in space not far away from the first one. From it

poured several muddy-gold Phrase mutants. The metal devils were here.

There weren't as many of them as there were regular Phrase, but there were

still more than I expected. Of course... Of course these things had to show up,

too...

"This is bad... We don't want these things absorbing the others and getting

out of hand." The mutants would consume the regular ones to increase their

own strength. A Lesser Construct could probably turn itself into an Intermediate

if it ate enough of its peers. I didn't even want to think of the possibility of a

metal devil absorbing enough to become an Upper Construct... We had to

prevent that.

"The mutants are here. All Valkyries roll out. Try to prevent them from getting

near the regular Phrase."

Predicting the Phrase actions was harder now that the metal devils were

involved.

We set up our camp directly between the emergence point and the nearest

human settlement. The Phrase chased after heartbeats, so we figured standing

in front of the nearest source would mean they'd come right to us.

Unfortunately, the presence of the mutants caused the regular ones to move

erratically out of fear. We wouldn't be able to carry out the ambush now.

Luckily we had a strategy in place.

"Formation changing. Prepare for teleportation." Each and every Frame Gear

suddenly materialized out of thin air, surrounding the Phrase in four directions.

The new plan was to box them in and prevent escape.

Still, even with this kind of formation, it was possible that the combat would

be more focused in some areas and quieter in other areas. I had no choice but

to watch over the battlefield from above and give out orders.

The combat had begun in one corner. Elze and the girls began to make their

move toward the mutants.

"The Phrase count is as follows: Ten-thousand-nine-hundred-and-fifty-four

Lesser Constructs. Two-thousand-three-hundred-and-fifty-two Intermediate

Constructs. Three-thousand-and-twenty-one Mutated Constructs." I heard

Cesca's voice from my smartphone. Good intel... Mutated Constructs is a pretty

good designation.

But damn it, there are way more than I thought. There were only around

thirteen thousand during the Yulong situation. But whatever, so long as there

are no Upper Constructs this should still be a cakewalk...

"Master. Detecting massive vibrations in hyperspace readings. An Upper

Construct is emerging."

"Oh come on!" We didn't get any readings indicating that, gimme a break!

This isn't fair, there are too many as it is! I saw space begin to crack open again,

and an enormous crystal monster emerged.

It had a sharp beak, a long neck, two thick legs, and feather-shaped plumes

coming up from its rear. It flapped its mighty wings. This was a bird-shaped

Phrase... But no matter how I looked at it, it was just way too big.

The Phrase unfolded its long wings and shook its rear, unfurling its tail

"feathers" like a paper fan. The sunlight rained down upon the display, causing

it to glimmer.

"It's a goddamn giant peacock?!" I was amused by the fact that it had feathers

that were clearly not feathers, but that wasn't the time to focus on something

like that.

Man, this is really bad... I guess I should send Elze and half of the others to

deal with this while the others mop up the Mutated Constructs.

"Master. I'm detecting another massive vibration. A second Upper Construct

is emerging."

"You what?!" I looked back over to the peacock and then scanned the

battlefield until my eyes fell on another crack on the opposite side of the

battlefield.

The second Upper Construct shattered itself through space in much the same

way as the first.

This one looked pretty disgusting. It looked just like a nautilus. It had a coiled,

ammonite-like shell, and stretched out countless massive feelers.

Several spikes protruded from its coarse crystal shell.

"This is getting ridiculous. Now there are two of them!" I stared down at the

battlefield, unable to figure out our next course of action.

The Nautilus Phrase floated about four meters in the air above the desert

sand. My grandfather told me that nautiluses gathered gas in their shells and

expelled it regularly, causing them to bob up and down as they floated through

the water.

Apparently, this motion reminded the novelist Jules Verne of a submersible

vehicle, which is why he named the submarine in his novel after the creature.

At the very least, the nautiluses on Earth weren't capable of swift

movements, but it wasn't like the same rules would apply here.

"What do we do... I didn't expect to see two come up... Can we even beat two

at the same time? Is that even possible?" I did have my trump card in place. We

had our special cannon, the Brionac, that could fire out drilling bullets. A good

shot from that would be able to take out an Upper Construct with little effort.

But it would still take time to line up a shot, so we couldn't do any hits in

quick succession. Plus we'd need to disassemble it and build it back up before

we could line up the second shot on the other Upper Construct.

Not to mention the fact that vast quantities of magic power, specifically wind

and fire, were required to fire off a shot.

It'd be fine if I did it, but with my newfound divinity, there was a chance I

could overload the machine and blow it up like I did with the Dverg. If that

happened, then Linze and Leen would be in danger since they'd be the ones

holding it. That's why I was hesitant to use it.

I couldn't even use [Slip] since we were fighting in desert terrain. The winds

would just scatter the sand before it could be effective.

"I guess there's nothing else for it... Meteor Rain!" In the sky above the two

Upper Constructs, several softball-sized chunks of Phrasium appeared one after

the other. They began to fall down like shooting stars thanks to the magic

weight enhancement I'd given them.

The peacock raised its head as if noticing the incoming barrage.

Suddenly a high-pitched noise rang out through the battlefield. The peacock

spread its tail feathers and aimed them skyward. There were round patterns on

the tips of the feathers that resembled focused lenses. I saw small lights

gathering on each feather, and I really didn't like where the situation was

headed. In a flash, several lasers fired out of the feather parts. They shot down

the incoming projectiles. Or rather, they simply obliterated them.

What the hell! That's like a scattershot with the power of a railgun! How am I

meant to go up against that?! I looked on in despair as the Peacock Phrase

folded its feathers back, and returned them to their folded position as if

holstering its weapon.

Why'd it do that? Does it need to recharge like the Brionac? Either way, that

scattershot is bad news... We need to take this one out fast! "Monica! Call down

the Brionac from the hangar immediately! Linze, Leen, get ready to fire!" I

yelled into my smartphone.

I had enough ammo in my [Storage] for another Meteor Rain, but only

enough for one more go. It definitely wouldn't be enough to kill the Upper

Construct.

That's why the new plan was to use Meteor Rain as we charge up the Brionac

shot. Then we'd be able to hit it with the Brionac shot after it wastes its next

attack on the projectiles.

The issue was simply holding out until then...

The Brionac Cannon came down from Babylon, and it was then secured by

Grimgerde and Helmwige.

The two Frame Gears linked themselves to Brionac via a cord in their backs,

and then the cannon itself was anchored into the sandy ground.

"Brionac connected! Commencing charge!" Linze's voice was accompanied by

a slow filling meter on the side of the cannon. I checked on it as I sent orders to

the other Valkyries.

"Elze, Yae, Hilde! Distract the Peacock Phrase and keep its attention away

from Leen and Linze! Lu, Yumina, keep the Nautilus Phrase away from the

Peacock! Sakura, Sue, you two defend Leen and Linze. Forget about the

mutants for now!" I was concerned that the Nautilus might have a laser as well.

The Meteor Rain would be rendered useless if that thing ended up firing it off as

well.

The Mutants were a pain, but the Chevaliers were still capable of taking them

out. They were probably gonna go for the regular Phrase before us, anyway.

"Gah... These feathery parts keep getting in the way!" Elze gradually

approached the Peacock Phase, but it kept swiping its tail feathers toward her.

Yae and Hilde were hot on Elze's heels, dashing toward the beast while

avoiding its swipes.

The three of them arrived at its right leg at around the same time, and the

three of them immediately went on the offensive.

"Take thiiis! Crusher!"

"Kokonoe Secret Style: Phoenix Cutter!"

"Lestian Sacred Sword: Iron Slice!" Gerhilde's Pile Bunker, Schwertleite's

katana, and Siegrune's greatsword all struck the leg at the same time.

The Peacock Phrase had much thinner legs than any of the Upper Constructs

we'd seen so far. It was unable to bear the combined strikes and immediately

shattered.

"Woohoo!" The Peacock quickly lost its balance, causing the three Frame

Gears to flee as it fell to the ground.

The impact on the desert sands kicked up a dust storm in the vicinity.

Unfortunately, it regenerated its leg immediately... But we'd still bought a few

precious moments.

Lu's Waltraute was currently equipped with its Booster Unit, running rings

around the Nautilus Phrase as she caught its attention.

It slowly bobbed through the air, launching its tentacles out like spearing

projectiles. Lu's B-Unit allowed insane speed, however, meaning she dodged

each impact with ease.

The Nautilus definitely wasn't as fast as the Peacock. It wasn't even flying, it

was just kind of lazily bobbing up and down in the air.

Either way, we couldn't afford to lower our guards. Even if its body was slow,

its tentacles were moving at quite intense speed. If the Waltraute wasn't

equipped with its B-Unit, Lu probably wouldn't have been able to avoid them so

easily.

I suddenly heard a ringing noise followed by a loud crash, one of the tentacles

fell to the ground. Yumina had managed to snipe one with Brunnhilde's gun.

Or at least that's what I assumed. Brunnhilde was completely cloaked, making

it hard to see. If the stealth mode was deactivated, the sunlight would bounce

right off its silver exterior and blind everyone nearby...

"The cannon's full! We can fire off!" Leen's communication came through,

causing me to look back at the Peacock.

It was starting to stand back up.

It seemed to have noticed the Brionac cannon, which was pointed right at it.

It spread its wings out and started firing surfboard-shaped crystal feather

projectiles toward Leen and Linze.

The feathers fired with intense speed, but Sue appeared out of nowhere in

her Ortlinde. It had activated its Overlord mode and stood tall.

"Stardust Shell!" The great mech held its left hand up and formed a defensive

barrier. All the incoming missiles thudded against it before falling to the ground.

When it came to defense, Ortlinde just couldn't be beaten. Sue was the

youngest, after all, so I made sure her Frame Gear could never get her hurt.

The feathers began to regenerate on the Peacock Phrase, and I saw my

golden opportunity.

"Let's finish this... Meteor Rain!"

This time the projectiles fell down solely toward the Peacock Phrase. It spread

out its tail and began to prepare its interception attack.

Just like before, the lasers scattered out and took care of the incoming attack,

but that's exactly what I was waiting for.

"Do it!" Helmwige and Grimgerde activated the Brionac on my command,

sending out the massive bullet with a mighty roar.

The drill bullet kicked up dust and sand as it flew straight ahead toward its

target.

It impacted the Peacock Phrase's body and began to work its way inside.

Eventually, it drilled its way through the orange core in the middle of the

creature's chest and smashed its way out the back.

The Peacock Phrase stopped moving entirely, and cracks began to course

through its form. In a matter of seconds, it screeched and collapsed into crystal

debris, leaving nothing behind but a mountain of Phrasium.

"That's one down!" I turned to see steam rising from Brionac, Grimgerde, and

Helmwige.

"You two okay?"

"I-I'm okay, yes... No problems."

"I'm quite okay... Somehow. My magic is almost completely spent,

however..." I sighed in relief, knowing that their engagement rings would be

able to replenish their exhausted mana pools at least a little.

Still, the physical fatigue from suddenly draining their reserves wasn't so

easily mitigated. Physical strength was necessary to keep going while you were

running on empty, after all. Firing the Brionac took a lot out of them, so they

still needed their rest.

Helmwige and Grimgerde were also damaged due to the recoil, so they

wouldn't be able to do much going forward.

"I'll have you both warp back to the base immediately. Flora will help you out,

okay?" It wasn't just Rosetta who was standing by at HQ, Flora was also there to

treat the injured combatants who were sent back.

I opened up a [Gate], sending the girls back to base along with Brionac and

their Frame Gears.

Only the Nautilus was left.

"Touya!" I suddenly turned around at Yumina's exclamation. What I saw

shocked me. The Nautilus Phrase was still bobbing up and down in the air, but

several of the metal devils were clinging to its body.

They were gradually wearing away at the creature, as if melding their own

bodies to it, partially melting themselves in the process.

It continued to struggle against them, using its tentacles to swipe them to

bits, but they had the advantage of a swarm.

There were just way too many for it to deal with. The Nautilus Phrase's body

was slowly dyed a muddy gold as more and more of the Mutated Constructs

melded into it, ultimately converting it to their species.

Eventually, it fell to its side, screeching loudly as its tentacles lashed out at

random targets.

...They're not eating it... They're converting it!

"T-Touya-dono, look at that!" Several gnarled spines began to grow from the

Nautilus' shell, and its thin tendrils bulked out and became squid-like tentacles.

Its body was transforming. It had a metallic sheen to it now and was

completely muddy-gold. Its entire body seemed more angular, ominous, and

sharp.

The Nautilus began to move erratically, slowly, and rose up.

It was wrong to even call it a Nautilus at this point. It had taken on a

disturbing new form, like a cross between a squid, an octopus, and a snail.

Its body seemed a lot larger, too. It must have grown in proportion to the

number of Mutated Constructs that invaded its body.

It wasn't done shifting its form, though... Gradually as it contorted, its shell

split down the middle, exposing several sharp, thorn-like protrusions.

It suddenly began firing those protrusions off in several directions, blasting

them like rockets. They exploded in the air like fireworks, resulting in a rain of

small, sharp debris that began to pelt the desert sand.

"[Shield]!" I managed to block the sudden downpour with magic.

The clustered attack reminded me of the fight against the Crocodile Phrase in

Yulong.

The attack was indiscriminate, aiming for friend and foe alike. The debris

rained down on Phrase and Frame Gears both. The Upper Construct had been

converted to the side of the mutants, so it was no longer affiliated with the

regular Phrase.

I looked around the battlefield and saw several Lesser Constructs break apart

as they were impacted, I also saw several Frame Gears lose limbs. The Phrase

would be able to regenerate so long as their cores were intact, but our soldiers

weren't so lucky.

"Rosetta! Give me a damage report!"

"Twenty-nine Frame Gears received considerable damage, sir! Seven were

obliterated, sir! Fortunately, all seven pilots were recovered safely. Two of the

pilots have been critically wounded, however. They won't die, but they will

need serious medical attention!" Shit, they must've been hit in the cockpit... At

least they're not dead.

"Touya! Look out!"

"Huh?!" I turned my head to the sound of Lu's voice and saw the Mutated

Upper Construct prepare another volley.

It launched its spiny missiles again, scattering the crystal debris throughout

the desert. Knock it off, you bastard! Nineteen units were badly damaged, and

eight more were taken out of commission. Three more men were severely

injured, and could no longer take part in the battle. If this kept up, we'd be in

major trouble...

"Touya, you hear me?"

"Doc?" A sudden transmission came from Doctor Babylon. I wondered what

she wanted at a time like this. "It doesn't exactly have all the kinks worked out,

but I don't think you care about that. I'm sending your Frame Gear down

there!"

"What?! It's finished?!"

"More or less... Around ninety percent. You won't be able to use it to its full

potential, but it's ready to be piloted." Particles of light began to form into the

desert before they scattered to reveal my very own Frame Gear.

The body was coated in Phrasium armor, and golden veins ran through its

transparent parts. It was around the same size as a regular Frame Gear. It had

something on its back that looked like folded wings, but they were actually part

of its support equipment.

It had a katana at each waist side, leaving no room for a shield. It was an

offensively-oriented Frame Gear, after all... Two mighty horns protruded from

its head, giving it an intimidating aura.

This was my Frame Gear, the multi-purpose combat mech, Reginleif.

Gleaming in the desert sun, my very own war machine stood tall. Seeing it like

that made me believe it was truly worthy of its secondary title, "The Successor

of the Gods."

I was almost moved to tears by the sight of my long-awaited Frame Gear, but

I had no time to lose.

I flew through the sky and opened up the cockpit. I sat down in the hatch and

closed it, while savoring that new-mecha smell. I placed my smartphone down

on the console in front of me.

A low rumble began to emanate as the various gauges and meters inside

Reginleif began to come alive. The wide monitor turned on, showing me a

broad field of vision. It wasn't a three-sixty degree view, but it was close.

I grabbed the control stick in front of me and began to channel my magic

through it. Reginleif turned its head as if to answer my call. It was completely

synced up with my intentions.

Taking on an Upper Construct alone was no simple feat... But I had faith in my

new ally.

"Alright, let's go then... Fragarach... Activate!"

"Initializing Fragarach System." My smartphone spoke back as the wing-like

structures on Reginleif's back unfolded themselves and broke off until they

orbited my mech. There were now a total of twelve crystal slabs surrounding

the machine.

"Switch to Sphere Mode."

"Recalibrating Fragarach... Sphere Mode activated." The slabs immediately

turned into orbs, floating around Reginleif like satellites. This was thanks to the

power of my [Program] and [Modeling] spells. It could easily shift modes, much

like my Brunhild gun.

Alright, then... This seems good to me.

"Go get him!" The twelve crystal orbs blasted toward the Mutated Upper

Construct. It transformed several of its appendages into blade-like limbs and

tried to cut them down, but the spheres simply smashed right into them and

left them shattered. They then pelted its muddy-gold body.

Each of the Fragarach Spheres was over a meter in diameter, and I'd applied

[Gravity] in order to make them far heavier than they had any right to be. They

weren't as powerful as a shot from the Brionac, but it could easily obliterate

most Phrase structures.

The grotesque mutant floated in the air as it continued to receive a pounding

from all twelve spheres. It was like watching a suspended punching bag being

knocked around by a boxer. Its body was dented and crumpled, kind of like a

car after a bad accident.

"Switch to Blade Mode."

"Recalibrating Fragarach... Blade Mode activated." The crystal spheres

immediately reformed into blades. They began to dance through the air, slicing

freely at the Mutated Upper Construct's limbs.

While it was distracted, I took the opportunity to spear its body with half of

the Fragarachs. They weren't able to reach its core, however. Due to its muddygold body, it was harder to see where the core actually was.

"If that's how you wanna play it, fine!" I called all the Fragarachs back,

converted them into their base forms.

"Switch to Lance Mode!" The twelve crystal slabs all began sliding into each

other until they formed a massive lance.

Reginleif grasped it and leaped into the sky before flying toward the Mutated

Upper Construct. Unlike Linze's Helmwige, Reginleif didn't need to transform to

become airborne. It was capable of using [Fly] as an extension of myself.

"[Accel]!" With a single word, my speed boost caused Reginleif to blast

forward at supersonic speed, driving the lance into my foe. The mech charged

forward faster than a speeding bullet, pushing the lance tip through the

creature fully, impaling it entirely. Its body began to splinter and crack, before

falling to pieces.

I looked at the golden fragments until I finally found its blood-red core.

"Switch to Blade Mode!" The lance in my hand changed into twelve separate

blades, and immediately they ran themselves through the core.

A crack ran through the middle, and the core shattered into pieces.

After a few moments, the metallic shards of the Mutated Upper Construct

melted into goop.

I was already high above the ground at that point, gazing down at the liquid as

it seeped into the sand.

Reginleif was unlike any other Frame Gear I'd ever handled... It moved just

like an extension of my own body.

"What a display... How was it, Touya?"

"Incredible, Doc... Really incredible."

"Wonderful! That's to be expected, though... It has all the features of the

other Valkyries and more. I even included something that'll surprise you."

"...It isn't a self-destruct feature, is it?"

"I'll admit I thought of implementing something like that, but I canceled it. It

would be a waste to destroy my masterpiece." That's your reason? How about

having a little consideration for me?! I'm the pilot!

Either way, the Mutated Upper Construct was finished. All we had to do was

mop up the rest of the battlefield.

I brought up my monitor and had it display the remaining enemies. There

were a lot to the north and east. My sisters were headed eastward... So I

decided to head north.

The Fragarachs changed back into their slab forms and docked back on to

Reginleif's back, giving it its winged appearance once more.

"Yumina... Could you and the other Valkyries take care of the mutants? I'll

handle the Phrase in the northern area."

"Copy that. Please take care."

"Mhm." I had Reginleif give the girls a thumbs-up before taking it through the

air toward the northern part of the desert.

As I got closer, I noticed that the Frame Gears under the control of Lihnea and

Palouf were the ones engaging the Phrase in this area.

The Paloufean knights weren't quite as talented as the Lihnean ones were,

but they were trying their best to support. Still, they were clearly overwhelmed

in terms of numbers.

I saw a prone Paloufean Frame Gear about to be blasted by a laser-firing

Mantis Phrase.

"Switch to Reflector Mode." The twelve crystal slabs quickly slid off Reginleif's

back and immediately formed a wall in front of the fallen Frame Gear.

The laser hit the wall of Fragarachs, bouncing it off at a random angle into the

sky. If the attacker hadn't been a Phrase, I would've just directed the laser right

back at them.

I unsheathed a katana and used it to cleave the Mantis Phrase in half with a

single strike. I didn't even have to aim to take out its core, it was laughable.

"Switch to Dagger Mode." The wall of Fragarachs split back into twelve pieces,

and then each piece split into four. The small pieces then turned into pointed,

dagger-like objects. This mode effectively turned twelve slabs into forty-eight

daggers.

The daggers began to orbit around Reginleif.

Let's do this!

"Gladius!" The forty-eight projectiles immediately broke out of orbit and

descended to the battlefield below, penetrating Phrase cores over and over

again. They glittered in the sunlight as they continued to hunt down their prey.

Gladius was the name I'd given to this attack, one that was ruthless,

omnidirectional, and all at once.

Technically speaking, I have to manipulate the Fragarachs by myself. Even

though there were support systems in place, I'd say my upper control limit

would be about six swords. The more you try to control, the sloppier your

control over them would become. In the worst case scenario, they'd start

hitting each other, or things other than your targets.

However, Reginleif was an extension of myself and thus was subject to the

accelerated mental processes that [Accel] granted me. Thanks to that, I could

freely control all forty-eight blades at a time.

If I lost my focus, however, I could still miss. Originally I planned on using my

smartphone's auto-target function, but I realized that it wouldn't let me change

my motions on the fly, or react to situations effectively in real-time.

It was still cumbersome, though. Forty-eight definitely felt like overkill, too.

Plus I had to take care not to become too focused on the weapons to the point

where my control on the main mech became loose. Fortunately, this mode was

just for big clean-up situations.

Lesser Constructs could easily be destroyed with just a single strike, but

Intermediate Constructs required me to fuse four or so into a larger blade to

pierce its defenses.

Before I even knew it, at least five-hundred Phrase died to my sudden attack.

I recalled the daggers, and they began orbiting Reginleif again like satellites.

"Whew..." I heard celebratory cheers coming from the nearby knights, but I

just slumped back in my chair and let loose a relieved sigh.

Man... That was a little more stressful than I expected.

But it wasn't over, the battle was still raging elsewhere. I needed to support

people in other areas of the Desert, too. I was about to move again when I

heard the systems around me begin to power down. I wondered what the hell

was happening. Even the lights on the dashboard in front of me were going off.

I continued to look around in confusion as my mech began to descend. Even

the little daggers combined back into wings and quickly sat on Reginleif's back.

"What's going on here?!"

"Don't panic, Touya. You've simply gone beyond the Operational Limit."

"The what now?!" I glared in exasperation at my smartphone as Doctor

Babylon spoke through it. I wasn't told about this! Reginleif finished

descending. It took a knee in the desert, so I manually opened the cockpit

hatch. I immediately regretted my decision, as the desert heat was almost

suffocating.

"Reginleif doesn't work like the other Frame Gears. It moves by taking in your

magic directly. However, it can't fully endure the depth of your mana pool,

Touya. That's why we have the Operational Limit in place, to shut it down

before it overloads like the Dverg did... Clearly, the system still needs finetuning."

"Oh come on..." It seemed like I couldn't use it for over ten minutes at a time.

But that was a preferable alternative to having it detonate like the Dverg did... I

definitely didn't want to be responsible for trashing the best Frame Gear we

had.

Hmm... I wonder if we can make it run longer if we have it save some magic in

reserve... But damn, what about the fight? Ah... Whatever, the others should be

able to take it from here. I'm just glad I didn't hit the limit before defeating that

big one.

The limit meant that Reginleif had to be more carefully considered in terms of

timing. It was possible we could end up expecting an Upper Construct only to

deploy Reginleif and have no Upper Construct appear at all.

It was possible that we could have a situation like this battle, where two

appeared without warning... It'd be really bad if there was a long delay between

their emergences, too.

I took my smartphone from the console and hopped out of my cockpit on to

Reginleif's shoulder. The sunlight was only intensifying, and it was

uncomfortable.

"Man... Thank you, Reginleif. I'll be in your care going forward." I looked over

my new partner with a smile on my face. Oh crap, right... I should send the

Paloufean and Lihnean Knights to fight in other areas.

I gently placed Reginleif into [Storage], then sent the waiting knights to

another part of the battlefield.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Well?"

"Their wavelengths have ceased transmission. Both have been terminated."

"Unfortunate. It must have been the same individual that destroyed Gila."

Two people stood talking to each other in the space between worlds. They

didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that their surroundings were naught but

a roaring void.

One was a young man. The other, a young woman. They looked similar to

each other. At a glance, one might take them to be brother and sister. But this

wasn't technically correct. They were, in a sense, clones. Fragments of the same

self.

Even amongst the Dominant Constructs, they were anomalies. Twins that

shared a single heart and origin.

Dominant Constructs are born as cores. After a long gestation period,

accumulating experiences as a mindless entity, they awaken as an individual.

Childhood is not something they really understand. Upon awakening, a

Dominant Construct is merely itself, and that's all it knows.

Now and then, a Dominant Construct may be born with two cores. Ordinarily,

they would continue their evolution and simply awaken as a mature form with

two cores instead of one.

However, these two were a representation of an abnormal circumstance.

During their gestation, the cores split and developed into separate individuals.

They each had long bangs that covered half of their face. The girl's hair

covered her right eye, while the boy's covered his left. That meant that each of

them only had a single, golden eye visible.

Their physical features were largely the same. Well, not entirely. The feminine

one had somewhat of a softer physique, and her chest was a little more

defined.

"Shall we go out to play next time the barrier rips, Leto?"

"I think not, Luto. It isn't our turn yet, after all. Yula will cause quite the ruckus

if we leave." Though they were born at exactly the same time, the feminine one

often treated the masculine one as a younger brother. Amusingly, the boy felt

as though the girl was the younger one.

The girl was known as Leto, while the boy was known as Luto. They were

clearly Dominant Constructs, but even at a glance, you could tell they were

different.

Parts of their crystal bodies were dyed a muddy gold, after all. That mark was

the evidence they had evolved to a level beyond that of a standard Dominant.

"Just how long must we wait here?" Luto turned around, facing the enormous

egg-like cocoon behind them. Occasionally a beating sound would resonate

from the throbbing sac, much like a pumping heart.

The two of them flinched slightly as they felt an oscillation in space.

"Oh? We have a visitor." Leto spoke into the dark void before him. Another

Dominant Construct emerged from the black.

She had long, crystal hair, and deep crimson eyes. Her form was slender and

tall. It was the creature known as Ney.

She was the leader of the faction that sought to recover the Sovereign.

She stared at the twins with fury blazing in her eyes.

"You little shits... Why did you send the Gilded out into that battle?!"

"I don't believe we owe you any explanation or notice, Ney. We're no longer

allies, are we?" Leto giggled softly as if to mock the intruder. Luto smirked a

little, as well.

"Unlike you, we no longer care about matters as trivial as the Sovereign Core.

We can become strong without it, after all."

"I told you I'm not after the Sovereign's power, didn't I?!"

"Then why do you continue to cross worlds like this? Even if the new

Sovereign was weak, they were still the leader, right? You should have stayed

back on Phrasia and supported them."

"No!" Ney was unable to come up with a response. To Ney, there was no

Sovereign other than the woman she knew. Accepting a new Sovereign would

mean throwing away all her memories of the person she revered. She couldn't

possibly do such a thing.

That's why she listened to Yula and crossed worlds using the method he'd

created. It required the power of multiple Dominant Constructs to even

attempt to travel from world to world, which is why even though they butted

heads, none of them had attacked each other.

She knew that Yula and Gila were after the Sovereign Core, but she had to

rely on their strength to keep chasing after it. The situation caused her to grit

her teeth in frustration more than once or twice.

She was trying to bring the Sovereign back home, while Yula aimed to take

the Sovereign's strength for himself. It was obvious that once they found the

Sovereign Core, their alliance would turn into open hostility.

But then, out of nowhere, Yula suddenly began acting strangely. He'd

obtained a strange new power and began creating new Phrase using it. The

bizarre, gilded monsters that came out, as a result, could hardly be called kin to

beings like Ney.

Yula's goal was now no longer focused on the Sovereign at all. By all accounts,

this should've been something for Ney to celebrate, but she found a pit in her

stomach as she saw her fellow Phrase eroded and converted into what she

referred to as the Gilded.

"Well, whatever you wish to do with the Sovereign, it matters not to us. Yula

doesn't really care either. But I do wonder... Will the golden cocoon hatch faster

if we feed the Sovereign to it?"

"You bastard!"

Luto giggled like a madman, which made Ney storm toward him and throw a

punch his way. Her hand was caught by Leto. The little one began to squeeze it

hard.

"If I might be honest, Ney... I was rather irritated by your constant spiel about

how great the Sovereign is. We're no longer allies... So it's fine if I do what I

want to you, right? Would it be fine if Luto and I devoured you?" Leto grinned

as she began to wear away at the woman's arm. Ney looked on in horror as she

saw her own hand sink into Leto's body, it was already gone down to the wrist.

She'd lost all feeling in her hand, and could no longer move it.

A filthy golden color began to crawl up Ney's arm. She quickly morphed her

free hand into a blade and chopped it off before it could spread to her body any

further.

She then jumped backward, attempting to put some distance between her

and the others.

"Oh dear. Seems I missed my opportunity to eat all of you." Leto grinned

broadly as she absorbed what remained of the severed arm. It melted into the

younger Dominant Construct's body and vanished without a trace.

"Guh..." Ney regenerated her shattered arm and turned around, fleeing into

the darkness of the void.

The power that Leto exhibited was one granted to her and her brother by

Yula. It was known as Absolute Corrosion. The disgusting ability allowed them

to take other Phrase into their bodies and absorb their power.

Not even Dominant Constructs were free from this power. One suffering from

the affliction needed to sever the affected body parts immediately. If it reached

their Core, everything would be over.

Even the thought of that Corrosion reaching her core was a borderline

traumatic experience for Ney.

Luto attempted to give chase, but was stopped in his tracks by his sister.

"Leave her be. She has no power here. We simply need to remain and watch

over the cocoon, as we were told."

"Tsk. How annoying. I'm bored here... I wonder if that fellow we encountered

the other day will come here again." Luto sighed quietly and lay down on his

back.

"Are you referring to Endymion?"

"Yes. We certainly managed to kill a lot of time by playing with him. Though...

Given the state he was in by the end of it, I don't even know if he's alive

anymore." Luto grinned as if recalling a fond memory. Even though he had said

he didn't know, Leto was aware that Luto believed the badly beaten, half-dead

man was still alive. There were no secrets between the two, for they were part

of an originally intended whole.

They enjoyed the brief interaction with Ney, but nothing more seemed to be

happening that day.

The two of them shrugged and sat next to each other, whiling away the hours,

planning out how many Gilded Phrase to send to the other side next time a rip

opened.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Hmm... This could be trouble..." In the Divine Realm, in a certain little room,

the god of worlds groaned to himself as he watched the scene play out on his

television set.

"I told you, pops! Isn't it already going a little too far? We need to pull the

trigger on this situation before it spreads to even more worlds. Hell, you know

what I'd do! I'd pull the plug on the whole situation!" The loud man leaned his

elbow on the table behind the God Almighty, while loudly munching some

cookies.

He was around sixty years and had a massive bulky body. His face was

unshaven, his eyes were jet black, and his shaggy hair was equally raven. He

took a sip from his tea and shoveled more cookies into his mouth.

"When you say pull the plug... You mean to destroy the world, do you not?"

"That's totally what I mean, pops! I'm the god of destruction, ain't I?" The

man, or rather the god, laughed as he spoke without reservation.

There were various worlds maintained by various gods. Every now and then, a

world might leave the protection of a god, and in that case, it's up to the god of

destruction to obliterate that world entirely.

Typically, divine powers were not used in mortal realms. Often at best they

were used by lower-tier gods with limited power, or by dependents of gods that

were granted some form of abilities. The god of destruction was another matter

entirely. He used his divinity to wipe worlds from existence.

But unless there were serious circumstances at play, it was unusual for a

world to lose its divine protection. That meant the god of destruction rarely got

to do much at all.

The fact that he was even visiting the god of worlds meant that there were

indeed serious circumstances at play.

"If this keeps up, this world is totally gonna be out of your control, pops. I

don't really get to decide if that's an issue... But things should be easier if I end

that world before it becomes a problem, right?"

"I understand what you are saying, but... I left Touya in charge of that

world..."

"Touya? Oh, you mean that little kid you put under your protection? You sure

something like this is okay for him? It's pretty out of his depth, I think." The god

of destruction frowned a bit. The events going on in that world were about to

become highly unstable. He felt it unfair to entrust something so erratic to a

mere fledgling god, much less some complete newbie without any formal title.

"I believe it will be fine. If all goes well, I think there will be no need for you to

use your powers... Even if that world ends up falling out of my control, it may

well be okay."

"Seems like you trust that kid a lot, huh. Well, that's fine if you say so... But

are you sure those two worlds are gonna be okay?" The god of destruction

gestured toward the TV screen. There were two planets lined up on either side,

like a mirror image. The line between them, however, seemed oddly distorted.

"There's a wicked god there, right?"

"You are correct. It consumed a servile god, this case is most unusual. Nothing

like this has ever happened before, after all."

"A god eater, huh?" The god of destruction picked up a rice cracker and

chomped down.

"This would usually be the time in which we create a Sacred Treasure, or send

an Angel down there... But given it is the world I happened to send Touya to? I

think he can handle it." The god of worlds sat down gently on his cushion.

"Seems like he's got quite the entourage, though. They didn't seem to mind

descending down there."

"Probably because it is the first opportunity they've had for a vacation in tens

of thousands of years. Even I enjoyed my trip down there."

"Oh, you did? Sounds like fun. Should I head down there, then?"

"Perish the thought. You and I both know that if you descended, the world

would end." That wasn't a metaphor, either. If the god of destruction set foot

down there, it would be a catastrophe.

"So that's it, then? You're gonna leave this problem to that Touya kid?"

"I am, yes. I will give up on it if he refuses to handle it, of course. He is much

too unreliable as an actual god right now... But I think after two or three

thousand years, he will turn out quite well."

"Well, hopefully he can handle that mess. I don't exactly relish killing all those

people." The distortion between the two worlds was about to bring on unusual,

potentially disastrous effects. The god of destruction firmly believed that

obliterating both planets and establishing a hard reset was the best way to go

about fixing it.

"Fine then, I'll wait before asking to destroy them again. But you should

probably explain the situation to that kid."

"You are quite right... I will speak to him at some point, I promise. But I would

like to keep an eye on the situation for the time being. It is still possible this

distortion will vanish without our intervention."

"Are you sure about that?" They both knew that the chances of that

happening were low. The god of destruction was fine for the time being, but he

still believed forcing a hard reset was the optimal solution.

But he decided to trust God Almighty's intuition. Even though he was

humanized, Touya was still one of the divine. He was around the level of an

apprentice god. If he could focus himself, then things would be okay.

It wasn't uncommon for a god in human form to strike down wicked gods or

evil Dragons, after all.

"How long's it been since a human became a god, anyway?"

"Hmm... Let me think... I don't quite recall. There are many humans and

circumstances out there, after all. The chance to become a god is rather slim, as

well."

"Heh... I've also never heard of anyone becoming a god by mistake... If you

really did kill him by mistake, I mean..."

"That is quite enough speculation out of you, young man." God Almighty

frowned at the god of destruction's nefarious grin.

It was certainly an unusual mistake, one he didn't quite understand making.

But perhaps this too was the work of destiny, something beyond even a force as

great as him. Either way, to the god of worlds, Mochizuki Touya was like a

wonderful young grandson.

"Come to think of it, it's been a while since I saw the god of battle. You seen

him?"

"If I remember correctly, he said something about having found a worthy

apprentice..." The two gods continued their small talk around the table. On the

TV screen in front of them, the distortion slowly began to transform into a

whirlpool, as if something were close to emerging from the space between both

worlds.