51st Move | God and Science

AN: I really dislike the quote that Webnovel gave me at the starting point of this fanfic, so instead I'm going to make my own:

"Intelligence is the greatest gift a Creator can gift to a Creation."

This chapter is a doozy to write, as evident by how long it took me.

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*Clap*

The sound of someone clapping tore me out of my trance. Facing the source, I noticed how the room has returned to its original size with all of the damage from the battle between me, Milim, the two Primordials, and Clayman wiped away so cleanly that the only evidence of it ever happening was in memories.

Not even Clayman's body or the bloodstain from that fox remained.

Guy Crimson had an amused smile on his face as he continued to clap.

"Although it was a foregone conclusion, I still think it was an excellent fight that got my cold dead heart racing in excitement. From this day forth, you have acquired my recognition as a Demon Lord. Though I should assume you already know about the truce we all have? The non-aggression treaty?"

That must be a seriously flimsy non-aggression treaty if Clayman— wait a minute, did Guy use me to punish Clayman?

Seeing my wordless response, the Red Primordial explained, "It is a truce where we Demon Lords will not militarily attack another Demon Lord's domain. Made in the aftermath of the Civil War because our Demon Lord numbers were drastically reduced. As always, there are limitations to this truce, with the prime example being extending one's influence is allowed."

"I see," I simply stated, "Though if I am to officially join the Ten Great Demon Lords, I request that— mff!"

A pink blur filled my vision as Milim enveloped me in a bear hug. "Oh for so long I haven't tasted your cooking Scientia! I can't wait to taste it again, things like pancakes, ice cream sandwiches, and more!"

I ignored her. Until Milim began to drool saliva onto my hair. Alarmed, I took control of the four fundamental forces around me and forcible turned her drool into vapor.

An odd thing about spiritual lifeforms, trying to clone them using the DNA from saliva will result in a weak body without intelligence, without the soul that's integral to the original's strength.

I found this out when I harvested a bit of Milim's saliva from a teapot that she drank from during our first meeting. Using that genetic sample, I cloned an entire army of Milims.

Pushing the Dragonoid off me, she pouted like a child that's just been denied their favorite toy before flying away, finally out of my hair.

I'll deal with Milim later. Though she behaves like a child, she's older than written history and thus, should know the consequences of her actions.

"Now, as I was saying..." I moved toward my seat, the Mathematic reformed itself from looking like armor into appearing as a dress, "My one request is that you must change my title."

As I sat down on my seat and crossed my legs, the table reappeared without the damage brought about by Asimov. I almost regret voicing my request when I saw how the Lord of Darkness appeared almost offended at my dislike of the given title.

"Why."

It wasn't a question. It was an attempt at discouraging me from further pursuing this avenue.

"Being called 'Error of the World' makes it sound like whatever my dream and aspiration is can't be good."

"Hrnnn..." Guy Crimson thought about my reasons before snapping his fingers, "Fine, you can have a new title so long as you answer one of my questions."

Warily, I immediately recalled the numerous examples of questions that shouldn't be asked.

"What's your question?"

"Tell me, what is Magicules?"

"..."

"Ehhh? Are you really asking such a stupid question, Rouge? Magicules make up magic." Jeanne said, drawing everyone's eyeballs to her.

*Whack*

"—Guh!"

A single slap from Diablo caused Jeanne to falter, almost fall, before catching her balance.

"Diablo!"

Just as she was about to retaliate, I made a gesture of 'down, boy' as if talking to a dog with my left hand and subsequently increased the gravity surrounding the Yellow Primordial by a factor of several thousand.

"Ow!"

This time it did force Jeanne into the floor. Rather, it would be more accurate to say she smashed into the floor having been unprepared for such a sudden increase in gravity.

I let it continue for several more seconds before ceasing. Since Jeanne was trying to get up throughout the whole increase in the gravitational constant, the moment everything returned to baseline, the Primordial threw herself into the ceiling.

"Apologies for my subordinate's action. But to answer your question, Guy..."

As I was speaking, Jeanne pushed herself out of the ceiling and landed with a 'thump' on the floor. This time, she did nothing other than sulk and subtly glare at Milim.

You know, I just noticed now how Jeanne glared at Milim when she encompassed me in a bear hug a few minutes ago. I wasn't really paying attention to Jeanne during the start of Walpurgis, but I could easily imagine her being hostile to the Dragonoid during that time as well.

Is there something between the two?

"I assume you what to know what magicules are on a more fundamental level?"

"Yes."

"..." I tilted my head forward and stared at Guy. Internally, I debated on whether or not I should share this information in exchange for a new title.

Using technologies so advanced they are almost nigh-indistinguishable from actual magic, I was able to discover a lot more about the true nature of magicules. This in turn resulted in a further deterioration of my models of how everything worked.

It forced me to create a whole new theory. The Spirit Theory. It's still in its infancy though.

Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Supercausality, Interdimensionality, and now Spirit Theory. These five are the current pillars holding up my attempts at creating an all-encompassing Theory of Everything— the holy grail of science. The Final Theory.

It will explain everything. It would be the singular framework of physics to link together every aspect of reality from the smallest to the largest. It will resolve all unsolved issues like the incompatibility between the Material and Immaterial World.

"Magicules... They— from observation alone, they behave very similarly to Virtual Particles; transitory particles whose existence is governed by the Uncertainty Principle. Only, instead of being governed by uncertainty, they can be observed having a tangible effect on Realspace, matter, and even the physical constants themselves when enough magicules are present. They appear to be governed solely by the will of the user instead of any iron-clad laws. It's maddening. It suggests there's more to consciousness and 'will' than it first appeared."

I took a brief pause as Vert placed a refreshment in front of me; a simple glass of a red liquid. A scan of the liquid told me it contained around 7% alcohol alongside plenty of other organic chemicals like fructose that are commonly found in grapes.

It's wine.

Taking a quick sip, I found the wine rather tasteless. It was more like drinking water than an actual glass of wine.

"Now where was I? Ah, yes. This issue came to a head when I was resurrecting someone. During that resurrection, I had a first-hand look at the organs of the soul; spiritrons. It reminded me that spiritrons are what allow someone to draw upon magicules. Every soul or spirit passively emits some amount of spiritrons like radioactive elements. Of course, monsters radiate more spiritrons, and, based on what my instruments can tell, your purely spiritual lifeforms are composed solely of spiritrons. It's why Spirits and Demons are so skilled in the use of magic: if they're not, it'll be like a fish struggling to swim."

I took another sip of the not-wine to wet my throat.

"It was then that it hit me: Magicules. They don't act like Virtual Particles because they aren't Virtual Particles at all. They're Dimensionless. They are 'particles' in only the strictest sense of the word. They come from another dimension entirely." I now have the attention of almost every single Demon Lord, all of who are probably intrigued by my interpretation of magicules, "In other words, Spiritrons are like tiny 'beacons' for these otherworldly particles to crossover into Realspace from their more... Metaphysical Plane. Or as you all might call it; the Spirit World—"

"Wait wait wait!" Ramiris called out as she hovered above her seat, "Are you saying magicules are a form of matter from the Spirit World and Spiritrons are like portals which these particles could pass through?"

Turning to look at the tiny fairy, I nodded to confirm her question.

"Indeed. Though it's not your usual 'portal' per se, not like the portals you'd find through advanced space magic. The Magicule transport themselves into the Material World, drawn by the Spiritrons being force carriers. And as they're doing this they become tainted by the caster's will. Since Magicules don't belong in Realspace— the Material World— the Universe will try its hardest to try and eject them from reality, which means a weakening of the local constants, and thus, the desired phenomenon is manifested into reality."

It's not... completely accurate. But that's the best way I can explain it without becoming too technical and using terms they may be completely unfamiliar with.

I could fill whole textbooks solely comprised of how Magicules superposition themselves into reality.

My eyes returned back to the Red Primordial, "Does that satisfy your question, Guy Crimson? I admit, it's not perfect since I have no idea the inner workings behind Skills but I think it's a start, no?"

Rouge looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze before sighing. The Demon closed his eyes shut as if to contemplate something before opening them up again.

"I am content with that answer. You passed, and so, what do you want your title to be?"

His fingertips came to touch each other in front of him in a business-like fashion with his body leaning back as though to get comfortable.

"I wish my title to be the Futurist."

Guy's arms went off to the sides in a spreading motion, palm facing up toward the ceiling with a mysterious smile, "Very well then. Your title is hereby changed from 'Error of the World' into 'Futurist', any objections?"

Looking around, the Red Primordial found no one speaking up— until his eyes landed on one of Frey's attendants.

"What about you, Carrion? Do you object?"

The griffin demihuman stepped forward and grabbed the sides of his head. With a single forceful push, he removed the head to reveal that it was nothing more than a mask.

Carrion stared back at everyone.

"I should've known even beforehand that you wouldn't have been fooled by my disguise. I was rather proud of it, but did you really have to make it so obvious, Guy?"

Guy then snapped his fingers, conjuring up another chair right beside Frey for Carrion to sit in. Then, the Primordial's right hand moved in such a way to suggest he was plucking feathers from a bird.

A glass of pink liquid now appeared in Guy's right hand.

"I was expecting you to reveal yourself during the battle with Clayman and our new Demon Lord. I expected you to take Scientia's side, given the diplomatic plays you made with her. Only, you didn't, so I got impatient."

Lowering the edge of the glass to his lips, Guy sipped on the drink.

Based on the current dynamics between Carrion and Guy, and how the latter talked the most, it's obvious to even a blind person that the Red Primordial must be the leader— or unofficial leader— of the Demon Lords.

Not to mention how it was his subordinates that are responsible for ferrying people into this pocket dimension.

Out of curiosity, I ran a Path.

'[Path to defeating Guy Crimson]'

[19,673 Steps— Error! Ultimate Skill [Lucifer] detected, recalibrating calculations...]

My brows furrowed as an intense headache coming from [Contessa] rocked my brain. Squeezing my eyes shut as if to stop feelings of dizziness, I can't help but wonder why it's so hard to accurately create a Path for Ultimate Skill users.

Gently massaging my forehead so as to not draw too much attention, I lament the fact that the pain from [Contessa]'s failed Path isn't a physical one. If it was, I can just inject painkillers into my bloodstream.

[1 Step]

It took the combination of [Acting] and [Aristocratic Dignity] for me to not act out in shock at how easy it would be to defeat the unofficial leader of the Demon Lords.

[Step 1: Say the words 'You failed in your task, the one given to you by God, and now the World is breaking down, why do you deserve to live while He is buried underground?']

"..."

What the hell? What the actual hell?!

Without moving my head, my eyes glanced at the joyful expression on Guy's face as he sipped more of his drinks. His maids are already moving around either to give or refill refreshments for each Demon Lord. Something with a chemical composition similar to mead for Dagruel, human blood for Valentin, wine for Leon, a sleeping Dino, Carrion, while tea is then served to me, Milim, and Frey.

Is his mental state so fragile that a single sentence can shatter it?

I then started to analyze the sentence down to the last detail. 'Task', Guy was given a task by God? Who is this 'God'? And the World breaking down?

So many questions came rushing forth from that one answer. A single solution that resulted in many more problems.

Personally, the more prevalent out of that sentence wasn't that the World was breaking down, but rather this... God.

I felt a chill run down my back despite the hot tea currently going down my throat. The fact that there exists someone powerful enough to give someone like Guy tasks, and is called 'God'.

My mind quickly made the connection with the Angels. Is this 'God' the leader of the Angels? So He is an Evil God who wishes for humans to be stagnant for what? Faith? Is He like a parasite that feeds off of the faith of mortals?

So why isn't there an official religion of this 'God'? Or, could He be God Luminous?

No... that doesn't make sense. Most secular scholars show Luminism goes only as far back as after Veldora was sealed. For the first 20 years of its existence, it was prosecuted much like Christianity of my old World and was seen as a threat to the waning dominant religion at the time; a Faith that originated from the old Thelium Kingdom.

Truthfully, the Thelium Kingdom has been so thoroughly erased by Relentless that nowadays, most historians don't even know much about the extinct kingdom other than from third, or even fourth-handed sources. A notable example of this cultural genocide is probably how no one could even collectively agree upon the name of the Thelium Kingdom's religion.

What scant few facts were known were that the Thelium Religion was the most dominant faith in the West before Luminism.

I then took another glance at Milim. The faith worshipping her has about give or take 100,000 individuals.

So then, this 'God' is probably not the god from any of the current faiths.

As I placed the half-empty teacup back onto the table, Guy spoke up once more, "Now that the primary topic brought up by Clayman has been dealt with, do any present here have other subjects that need to be addressed?"

Silence reigned supreme in the room. I was half tempted to ask Guy who this 'God' is but I have the distinct feeling that it wouldn't end well for me. So, best not to ask directly.

Just when it seemed like Guy was about to maybe conclude this Walpurgis, Carrion raised a hand like a student answering a teacher's question.

"I wish to pledge my services to Lady Scientia."

"—?"

What.

My head turned to face Carrion with such speed when I stopped I was a bit disorientated.

There was an incredulous and disbelieving look on my face before I took control of my facade.

"That came out of nowhere," I said.

"What equally came out of nowhere is how it was you who made Milim that gravity lance weapon. You were her personal chef."

Lance? Oh yeah, that weapon.

"You mean Rhongomyniad?"

I wasn't really going to give that miniature Starbreaker Engine any special names, but since it was meant to be a gift, I decided to go with the spear used by King Arthur. Kinda ironic since in the myth Rhongomyniad had no apparent magical properties and is simply just a normal spear.

"If you're talking about that black jousting lance littered with red crystals that Milim used to destroy my capital, then yes. It was a sight that inspired terror. A single flash of light and the jewel of Eurazania is gone. I had originally planned to pledge my services to Milim except, how am I worthy to be her subordinate if her chef can create a weapon much more powerful than anything I've ever seen?"

Carrion then picked up the glass of wine and raised it high as if to prepare a toast, "I wish to step down as a Demon Lord and instead join Scientia's camp. Though before I do that," Carrion's gaze swept across the whole table, "I ask you all to join me in one last toast as a Demon Lord, and at the same time to honor Scientia's formal entrance into the Ten Great Demon Lords."

Out of politeness, I joined the toast alongside Milim, Guy, Frey, and Ramiris.

"""To Scientia!""" Carrion, Milim, Frey, Guy, and Ramiris all cheered while the others watched on.

It was a strange toast, as I had tea instead of the usual wine. As I brought the teacup closer to my lips, I half-mindedly noticed how it refilled itself when I finished drinking it before.

Feeling the sweet tea roll down my throat, I couldn't help but see that while on the surface this might be a sweet gesture, the truth is far different.

Carrion has a hidden motive.

The destruction of his capital probably fully enforced Carrion of just how weak he is. It showed him how previously, he was the largest fish in the small pond of Eurazania, completely unaware of the leviathans out in the ocean of the world.

Beyond the sudden awareness of how vulnerable his position was, Milim's attack also irradiated much of Eurazania's farmland, polluting what was once arguably the most fertile soil in the world into unusability. Being an agrarian society, Eurazania lives or dies by the food produced by its productive farmlands, and now farms are rendered inoperable thanks to nuclear fallout.

If Carrion went his merry way and didn't pledge his allegiance to me, the inevitable famine coming to Eurazania will cause so much death as to dwarf Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward. Being the breadbasket of the Southern Coast also means the famine will spread beyond Eurazania's borders.

Instability is ahead. Some human nations will definitely fall to revolutions.

[Statistics] gave a preliminary estimate of somewhere north of 100 million deaths in Eurazania at the lower end, with an unknown global death toll.

1/3 of Eurazania's population will be killed by the future famine. Governments have been overthrown for much, much less.

However, all these problems will be avoided if he became my subordinate.

With one single action, Carrion will gain all the riches and technological marvels of the Jura Tempest Republic. With one single action, Carrion will force my hands into cleaning up the fallout covering Eurazania since technically, Eurazania belongs to me now by proxy as the higher-up of Carrion. With one single action, every single one of his problems is fixed since otherwise, I'll look really bad to everyone else if I abandoned my subordinate.

I can't even reject Carrion's pledge since not only do I need more allies, but adding a potential 300 million individuals into the working population of Tempest will drastically boost our economic growth into the stratosphere. Even beyond such things, Carrion's also leveraging Eurazania's position as the breadbasket of the Southern Coast of the continent.

Gaining control of the breadbasket and preventing a potential famine gives Tempest enormous influence, maybe enough to supplant the Western Holy Church in certain areas.

It was a brilliant strategic move. Especially one coming from a Demon Lord whose edge has dulled over the centuries.

Putting down the teacup, I gave Carrion a single clap.

"Fine then, I accept you as my subordinate."

Carrion bowed reverently, "Thank you, Lady Scientia."

He then moved and stood next to the Primordials, now no longer sitting down as one of the Demon Lords.

"I would also like to step down as Demon Lord," Frey stood up, "and I wish to serve Milim."

Milim sounded like she was choking on something when Frey's words registered inside her mind, "Wait! FREY! I never agreed to anything nor have even heard a whisper of your decision!"

That's going to be a very awkward border situation. Eurazania sits between Milim and Frey's domains.

"I have my own reasons for choosing things the way I did. In truth, I've always doubted whether or not I was worthy to be called a Demon Lord. After seeing how quickly and how easily Scientia, a new Demon Lord, slew Clayman, it became clear to me that I need to grow stronger before I could properly proclaim myself as a true Demon Lord." Frey simply stated, making me see her in a new light, a new, more dangerous, and cunning light.

She lied. Frey lied about the Demon Lord part. [Psychology] told me how even before she became a Demon Lord, Frey already knew she was the weakest of the Ten Great Demon Lords. Thusly, having such a precarious position is undesirable for anyone, so she sought to ingrain herself with one the most powerful Demon Lords in existence, and it just so happens that Demon Lord is very childish. Over the course of decades, even centuries, Frey became close to Milim.

What a long con, what a dangerous prospect. Frey, you are perhaps more dangerous and manipulative than Clayman.

In the coming days, I'll need to watch out for her that's for sure. Frey's a pragmatist with a healthy dose of sociopathy. She's willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive and in power, and it just so happens those two align for now.

I don't think I would've accepted Frey as a subordinate. The moment our interest becomes mutually exclusive, the moment ANYTHING becomes mutually exclusive with her interest, Frey will not hesitate to throw me under the bus.

Frey knows this. That's why she's asking to be Milim's subordinate.

Had she become mine, I would have to always place a sword next to her throat at all times, just as she too, will have a dagger pointed at my jugular.

Unknowingly, I smiled. I'm not disappointed in these Demon Lords. It seems I'll fit right in just fine among these politicians.

Just as silence blanketed the room, Milim was like a scissor as she cut through that silence.

"Wait!" Pointing at each of us, the Dragonoid started counting, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. We can't call ourselves the Ten Great Demon Lords anymore now that there are only eight of us! What are we going to call ourselves?"

Everyone beside me groaned in frustration, including Guy of all people, diverging from his usual 'mysterious leader' persona.

"Why don't we just call ourselves the Eight Great Demon Lords?" I offered, only for Ramiris to object.

"Noooo! That's lame!"

"Yeah! That's boring, boooo!" Milim called out.

"..."

I felt immense embarrassment at the fact I'd been shut down so summarily.

To mask this, I took a large sip of the tea. The cup itself blocked much of my face, which thankfully made it so no other Demon Lords saw that my cheeks were heating up.

Very soon, the others began to bicker among themselves about what was the best name for the eight Demon Lords.

Actually, what IS a good name for eight Demon Lords? Ars Goetia, the name of the book of magical practices and rituals focusing on the evocation of 72 demons?

No, that would make more sense if we were all demons.

Triskelion? Though its representation of progress, balance, unity, and protection is useful, the simple fact exists the triskelion fits more if there were only three Demon Lords.

So, what about the Octogram?

While it would perfectly incorporate the number 'eight', I personally find it a bit bland. Still, I placed it on the mental equivalent of a Post-it note.

Searching the depth of the Noosphere for an answer, I activated the most dormant Star Computer-01 and almost immediately, the matrioshka brain gave me a single perfect answer:

"How about Qliphoth?"

As soon as I said that, the damn maid of Roy Valentin is glaring at me again with such intensity as if I was the single most disgusting, vile creature in the world.

"Ehmm," Milim placed a finger on her chin, "I mean most people wouldn't know what a Qliphoth is but I don't think it matters! I'm all for it."

I gave Milim a deadpan look. How the hell would anyone know a concept from Kabbalah here? Does the influence of Jewish mysticism reach here as well?! Or maybe it was the opposite?

No, seriously, how the hell do people in this world know so much about something as fringe as Kabbalah? Was it transported here by a summoned Otherworlder?

Is that ethnoreligious group founded by an Otherworlder? Is the messiah of Christianity an Otherworlder? Because his feats can easily be replicated with magic from this world.

If so, that begs the question, how much cross-cultural contamination is there between different Worlds?

"Yeah, Qliphoth is fine," Ramiris accepting my proposal finally got the snowball rolling, each and every one of the other Demon Lords accepted it except for Leon and Roy, but due to it being a majority vote, we officially changed our name from Ten Great Demon Lords to Qliphoth.

The maid of Guy Crimson then redeclared the names and titles of everyone, this time my title was that of 'Futurist', making me happy.

What destroyed that happiness, was what came next.

"Now all the superfluous details are out of the way, I think it's finally time for us to come to why I myself agreed to this Walpurgis." Guy declared, stopping the happy mood of the room.

He then turned to face me, his left hand flipped to gesture at me, "You are the reason, Scientia."

[Silenced Emotion: 50%]

I gave him a stare. Bringing my right hand up, I opened and closed my hand.

"Would you mind elaborating on that?" [Acting] taking full control and forming a mask of stillness.

"I have no problem elaborating. For you see, your Perfect Homunculus is proof that the System Veldanava implemented is dying."

Guy revealed a world-shattering truth with the same tone I might use to tell Arcueid what's for breakfast.

"You are the crystallization of the cumulative errors found within the World System after so long of zero maintenance by Veldanava. The World, the very System upon which our reincarnation and Skills come from, is tearing itself apart with the number of glitches it's racking up."

Deathly silence descended upon the room like a heavy curtain. The silence this time wasn't like any before, for this silence is the same one present when a prince points a sword at his father in an attempted coup. No one could speak because something impossible just happened.

An outside context problem just appeared, chasing away the cheery atmosphere from before so thoroughly it appeared more like a dream.

"Normally, a being as perfect as you should not exist. In fact, you should have never existed, yet you still do."

Guy leaned forward, his face a mask of seriousness, "That is why you are an error of the World. Like a machine that hasn't been properly taken care of for a very long time, your very existence originated from the 'rust' of that 'machine', a machine long abandoned as its creator passed away without telling its childrens how to repair it.

"..."

My jaw dropped from the information released by Guy. In a tone as cold as dry ice, I asked, "Please. Please tell me you're joking."

Guy smiled, amused by my desire for ignorance.

"Haven't you once wondered why there were so many mistakes present during your ascension into Demon Lord?" That one sentence killed any possible objections I could supply. Diablo, Jeanne, and [Contessa] all said that there were a lot of problems during my ascension into a Demon Lord right after I named them. I dismissed their concerns, preferring to deal with the current problems before dealing with whatever metaphysical system was in place to ascend me into a Demon Lord.

"Those errors appeared because the World itself was confused by your existence. Do you want more proof? An Ultimate Skill grants the wielder ultimate power over the very laws of nature, its authority is so absolute that it trumps all magic. The only way to counter an Ultimate Skill is with another Ultimate Skill. That is the irrefutable law of the World on par with the immortality of a True Dragon."

Ultimate Skill grants the user immunity against lower Skills and Magic, but it seems to only resist attacks based on scientific principles. I should know, I tested it on myself.

"Now, my Ultimate Skill [Lucifer] is the strongest Ultimate Skill, being able to copy any Skill from Common to Ultimate I see being used. In addition, as a side effect of that copying ability, I can sense the presence of any Skills within a person's soul. For example, I know for a fact that Dino—" He pointed at the Fallen, "—has Ultimate Skill [Belphegor, Lord of Sloth], specialized in hypnosis. Your maid—" He then used his other hand to point at Roy, "—has [Asmodeus, Lord of Lust] which specializes in necromancy, and Milim—" Guy faced Milim, "—has [Satanael], which specializes in berserk."

The Red Primordial then offhandedly remarked quietly, "Very similar to Relentless."

Dropping so many bombshells, though I doubt the veracity of Guy claiming he had the strongest Ultimate Skill, what's less doubtful is the Ultimate Skills of other Demon Lords.

Guy turned to me, "You, however? [Lucifer] is telling me that you have no Skill at all as if you were an inanimate pebble. Absolutely zero Skills which should be impossible since even human newborns have at least one Common Skill. A useful Skill if they're lucky. An Extra Skill if Fate smiles upon them."

Time slowed down for me. Things became still, micro-expressions that are usually too subtle or too fast, or even both for the normal eye to catch appear frozen in place.

I began to think of a counter-argument.

So Guy is accusing me of being responsible for the breakdown of the System? Well, certainly sounds like he's implying that. I'll just deny that then. [Politics] already came up with a way to subvert Guy's implication.

Time returned to normal. Just as I was about to utter my counter-argument, Guy said the one thing that sent a serious chill down my back, like that feeling you get when your parachute fails during skydiving and you continue to fall:

"Haven't you ever wondered why is it that you were able to summon that alien? What was its name again? The one that has the appearance of a blonde human with red eyes? Arcueid Brunestud— she is an otherworldly existence even more alien than Otherworlders, for she exists outside of the System and thus, shouldn't have even appeared here. After all, a Primordial Spirit? Such a thing is impossible. Your little guest's appearance here is the final nail in the metaphorical coffin, the last proof anyone needs to convince themselves the System itself is falling apart, with holes that other beings can pass through."

After Guy was done, it took half a minute for someone else to speak. It took another moment for me to realize that it was me who was speaking.

"What's the point in all this? What's the point in revealing all of this information targeting me?"

Guy, infuriatingly, only shrugged, as if the information he gave wasn't at all important.

In a casual tone, an alcoholic might use to regard another can of beer, he said as he looked down at the near-empty glass of wine, "Honestly? I thought I'll just release the information now that you've returned. I gave up trying to kill the last Perfect Homunculus since the breaking down of the World System is unstoppable, the Angels have been trying to maintain the system and failing, so I'm just enjoying life before it ends."

"Would the complete breakdown of the System result in the End of the World?" Leon asked what probably most concerned the rest of the Demon Lords other than me.

Guy shrugged once more, "I honestly don't know, you gotta ask Veldanava for that and he's long dead, killed by the System for loving a human woman, which is really ironic if you think about it. Neh, Jaune?"

Jeanne stayed quiet.

Veldanava... "I assume Veldanava is the creator god?"

"Yep, he's the first True Dragon and the creator of the multiverse."

"Why are you so casual about this?"

I couldn't help but blurt out.

Guy spread his arms in such a fashion that screamed he just doesn't care anymore, "I told you, I stopped caring ever since we banished Relentless 400 years ago. As far as I'm aware, the World is ending and I'm going to party 'til the end."

Damn it he's in the last stage of grief: acceptance, and by releasing such information, he's unintentionally isolating me! By insinuating that I'm responsible for the destruction of the system, he's pretty much placing a huge target on my head.

Shit, shit, shit, shit! 'How do I turn this around and make all the Demon Lords not see me as a threat?'

[No Path found, defeat unavoidable]

Shit, Guy checkmate me! My hands clenched hard in frustration as my poker face almost breaks. Of course now when I needed a path to victory the most [Contessa] fails me!

I had gone into complete damage control mode, desperate enough to let my old experience in a Corporate PR Course take control.

It may not be as good as a [Path to Victory] but it'll at least mitigate SOME damage.

"You said I'm the materialization of the cumulative error of the World System, yes? Not directly responsible?" I pointed out the holes in his statement.

Guy nodded, which made me sigh in relief, "Would the destruction of the System results in the destruction of the multiverse we reside in?"

His posture changed into one that reflected deep thought. This question would determine the level of hostility others would treat me with.

Cupping his chin and rubbing it, Guy spoke again, "Well, based on what I know from my eons of research, Veldanava created the current System to isolate a portion of the Multiverse from the horror of the Beyond. Do you see the names of these Ultimate Skills? [Lucifer], [Asmodeus], [Yog-Sothoth]— Veldanava named these Ultimate Skills such because they exist as actual entities outside of the protective System, living within the Great Beyond. These entities were so powerful and alien that Veldanava felt threatened, so he used most of his power to create a tiny island of logic, of things that made sense to him in an endless sea of chaos that is the Greater Multiverse."

"..."

"Your guest came from the Great Beyond. Needless to say, such a thing shouldn't even be remotely possible, but since she's here..." Guy trailed off, letting the other Demon Lords connect the dots inside their mind.

Lovecraftian horrors exist, huh? And the creator god sought to protect us from those horrors.

I felt the silent stare of everyone, all of them judging me. My throat felt extra dry as my fingers interweaved with each other, I rested my nose on my hands as I try to make my face as unreadable as possible.

In this brief moment, I started to reflect on everything that happened. I was particularly shocked at how quickly everything had gone south. The victory was well within sight, yet that rug was pulled right out from underneath me by Guy's information, and what's worse is that I can't even stop him since doing that would only confirm others' suspicion and further break off any chance at diplomacy.

This victory turned to ash in my mouth, I should've known better than to join anything involving one of the most enigmatic Demon Lords out there.

Add on the fact that I discovered God truly does exist— Guy really has no reason to lie...

For minutes, no one spoke a single word, after all, how can you? I don't know about others but discovering you are the equivalent of the byproducts of glitches in a computer system?

It is a world-shattering reveal.

Fuck.

Raising my hand, "Can we take a small recess?" I proposed, "People will need time to come to terms with these things if they are to make a rational decision based upon logic instead of emotion."

The Primordial's hands clapped before pointing at me, in a cheery tone completely in contrast to the atmosphere, "Good idea, let's take a one-hour dinner break before we continue Walpurgis, shall we?"

The dinner began, and no one spoke a single word. The maids walked out of those teleportation gates clinging onto the walls like doors, bringing fancy dishes and placing them in front of each Demon Lord.

The dish in front of me was a juicy slab of rain beef cooked to perfection and seared to a caramelized crust on the outside, according to [Cookery]. It was surrounded by a collection of seasoned vegetables all blanketed with a savory aroma that seems to cause anyone to suddenly feel hungry.

Bringing the knife up and cutting it into the meat, I found it to be very tender. The slab's center was a shade of red, showing it was cooked to a medium rare.

Despite being so fancy, the events of today caused the dish to taste like nothing in my mouth, as though I were chomping down on juicy cardboard than actual, edible food. My mind was also too busy strategizing to properly savor this dish.

And it seems like all the other Demon Lords are doing the same thing. Eating while telepathically communicating with their subordinates using something like the [Soul Corridor].

'Jeanne, Diablo, what do you guys think of what Guy said, how much of it is correct?'

'My Lady,' Diablo was the first to reply, 'I know Rouge isn't one to lie about things like these, he may have given up on his responsibility given to him by Veldanava he still isn't someone who would lie, not even for smaller things.'

His formal tone felt like a small break from the insanity that was the past hour, overturning everything I thought I knew.

Am I having an existential crisis?

[Affirmation]

I don't need confirmation damn it!

Jeanne spoke up next, probably sensing the sadness through the connection and trying to cheer me up, 'Well, then again we haven't seen Rouge for centuries so he may have changed! Like a lot. Which means that yes he may have lied.'

Despite what many people in my old life liked to believe, Science and Religion are fundamentally incompatible with one another. They are a mutually exclusive existence, though there's irony in that. Science... during the Dark Ages, the Church was actually one of the largest contributors to scientific advancement since they saw it as an attempt to reach the Truth. In their eyes, since God made the World, then by knowing more about the World, one may get closer to God. Slowly, over the Enlightenment, Science diverged from that holy purpose into what it is today: empiricism, the drive to know everything, to open closed doors, and improve our understanding of the universe, thereby advancing our lives into modern society.

But if there exists irrefutable proof that God exists... then all one would need is Faith— the opposite of empiricism— faith in a higher power, faith that tomorrow will be better than today. Instead of actually working towards a better life, faith makes it so your standard of living is tied directly with the strength of your faith in a God.

It gets rid of any meaningful drive to succeed, drive to improve, drive to explore.

Fuck!

My hands shook as I wondered if all my work up until this point has been for naught. My chewing slowed down, and despite having [Silenced Emotion] up to 50%, I still feel very depressed.

What is the point of discovering more about the World, what is the point of science, what is the point of a Theory of Everything, if that same everything can be just answered with 'God'?

My utensils fell out of my shaking hands, causing a loud crash as they fell onto the floor.

It took a few seconds for [Acting] to take control, the maids of Guy Crimson quickly replaced the metal knife and fork as I try to clear my mind.

Now is not the time to be depressed, especially not in front of world leaders that would pounce on any perceived weakness.

Gripping the utensils light enough to not deform them, I finished eating the food (more like forcing the food down my gullet) despite not having an appetite at all.

With the dinner complete, the room felt more somber, like in the aftermath of a funeral. No one knew what o say. Even the normally energetic Milim was being uncharacteristically silent, so much of a far cry from before that it looked like Milim had a more depressed identical sister.

"I've known you for millennias Guy. We both have met the Star Dragon Veldanava, hell we both sparred against each other under his supervision since otherwise the whole planet might be rendered inhospitable, there must be a way to repair the System."

It was Dagruel who spoke up.

Guy gave a sad shake of his head.

"The destruction of the system is irreversible. The only reason it still exists was due to the effort of this one Hero but even then, the System is coming to an end. It is inevitable."

The Giant's eyes narrowed in response, "When then? You aren't the type to just declare the end of the Voice of the World for nothing."

"Heh, well that part's soonish, I think. Personally, the end of the System can be as early as next year or as late as the next 300. It honestly depends on how much looping that Hero has done."

'That Hero'? Who? Which Hero?

As I pondered the identity of that 'Hero', several loud gasps echoed through the room as Roy Valentin slammed his fist onto the table, "Guy Crimson! I would think it most prudent that you shared this information sooner than merely one year before the earliest deadline!"

"Normally I wouldn't agree on anything with Valentin based on pure principle but just for this time... I concur." Leon added, "It would've been best had you told us much sooner."

The Guy shrugged that annoying shrug of his, deflecting away any criticism. With a casual tone as though it didn't matter, "What's done is done."

No one spoke another word.

No one could've prepared for how this Walpurgis could've progressed. Who the hell other than the most paranoid and conspiratorial nutjob could've predicted that the System was ending?

"So what do we do now?" Ramiris, for the first time, being the sensible one within this room.

The room erupted into bickering and arguing, with the occasional solutions that seemed promising popping up before Guy shot it down by saying he's already tried that.

System... I thought the word. Am I living inside a simulation? The Simulation Hypothesis is almost guaranteed to be real since my Matrioshka Brain can simulate millions of different universes, so does that mean I'm most likely a fictional character? As the chance of me being in the 'real' world is so infinitesimally small it's not even funny.

I felt like I'm slipping down a smooth slope, my hands trying to grapple onto anything outlining rocks but the spotless surface of the slope prevents that.

I'm falling. I'm falling. I'm falling—

It took a jolt of electricity from Mathematics for me to snap out of a panic attack. Once again, the fact that I may be inside a simulation makes me question if my quest to advance the world is worth it or not.

I massaged my forehead and mentally asked myself why does everything have to be so bloody complicated. The room around me that's steadily growing louder and louder as Demon Lords continued to bicker was not helping this migraine of mine at all.

[Philosophy] is telling me I'm experiencing a case of nihilism.

"Enough!" Roy called out as he stood up from his seat, silencing everyone while the Red Primordial watches on, merely content with observing, "We are Demon Lords, we should not be bickering around like unruly childrens!" He raised a fist to emphasize his point, "The Demon Lords are the strongest beings in the world short of the True Dragons, thus it is paramount we solve this issue as quickly and as efficiently as possible. In a manner that would not embarrass us at all."

He then pointed at me, "However, most importantly for right now, I feel the Error of the World should not be a part of this discussion, being the by-product of the 'rust' and all. Who knows if the 'rust' of the system is sentient and if it is then it could listen through her."

I felt my eye twitch at the baseless accusations, prompting me to wonder if this was what racism was like.

In an annoyed tone, I asked, "Do you have any kind of proof other than your own prejudice against my species talking?"

The fact that I'm a Perfect Homunculus is coming back to bite me so fucking hard it's not even funny.

"We don't, but that means we can't be sure if it is listening in."

I let out a laugh.

"That is so fucking ridiculous it's not even funny anymore. Valentin, are you even hearing yourself when you speak? Or are your ears so clogged up with prejudice that you can't even think straight? We are discussing something that could end the world here! Do not let your hate cloud your judgment," My voice grew louder until I'm literally yelling at me, "Besides, are you truly the Demon Lord here or are you just a mere stand-in for the maid?"

Roy was taken aback by my accusation, with a face that screamed him taking offense, "Why you—!"

"Enough, Roy, she's long figured out, hasn't she? There's no point anymore." The Maid stepped forward and placed a hand on Roy's shoulder.

With a single flash of light, the maid's outfit changed into a frilly dress fit more for indoor activity than anything heavy-duty. It was the picturesque clothing fit for a princess.

Roy quickly got up and bowed as the ex-maid sat down, taking his seat.

"True Ancestor, the Queen of Nightmares, Luminous Valentine."

I raised an eyebrow at the introduction, more specifically the part with Valentine's species and her first name.

"Done glaring at me from the sidelines?" I goaded with a small smirk on my face.

Her eyes narrowed when they fell upon mine. Whereupon my smirk changed into a polite smile.

"I propose we kick Scientia Tempest off Qliphoth."

That polite smile vanished quicker than steam from a pot of boiling water. Before I could voice my objections, Dagruel cut in, "We just accepted Scientia Tempest into Qliphoth. It would be terribly rude to just kick her out in the same meeting."

At least someone is adhering to rationality and diplomacy.

Valentine looked like she wanted to interject, only to relent to the Giant's logic.

"Still, Guy, would be killing Relentless, or rather, Scientia solve the issue with the breakdown of the system?"

"Excuse me?!?!" I yelled out, appalled with my eyes as wide as saucers as I reviewed the past few seconds to ascertain if they really did happen.

Sorry, did I say at least someone adhering to logic and diplomacy? Clearly, Dagruel has a different more irrational line of thinking if he's still suggesting that.

Leon backed up Dagruel, "She is the manifestation of the error in the World correct?"

Guy nodded, I felt like a pit had formed in my stomach. I tried to interject, "Now just hold on—"

"Then that means if we kill the Perfect Homunculus, we kill the 'rust'."

"That makes no sense—"

"Hrmm, that may work, but how would you succeed where others failed?"

... They're actually contemplating how to kill me.

My right hand traced my left forearm in a comforting gesture. It was scary how the situation was really getting out of hand.

In a final attempt at reasserting control, I placed all five of today's unused charges of [Inspired Inventor] into [System Repair]. Instead of giving me anything that can repair the World System made by this 'God', all I got was how to repair everything from alien computer systems to reducing corruption and inefficiencies in governmental systems.

God fucking damn it! Either the issue is too broad and I'm not specific enough or [Inspired Inventor] is part of that 'System', and like a character in a story trying to fight against the burning of the book they reside in, it's pointless.

FUCK! If it's the latter then it confirms I'm in a simulation, I grit my teeth, and the sinking feeling intensified. Maybe [Inspired Inventor] is an error of the System.

"Wait wait wait! Dagruel! You can't just kill my chef! I won't let you!" Milim shouted. She was like an anchor that stabilized me in this chaotic, uncontrollable sea. Then, her childish persona seemingly was replaced by a more mature one, "Besides, Scientia is a BY-PRODUCT, not the literal error! That's like trying to treat a disease only by attacking the symptoms."

"The Error of the World is what allows a Perfect Homunculus to actualize, thus it is logical to think that if the actualized error is dead, then the Errors would go along with it, as none can live without the other." Valentine simply stated. "The two are, after all, intrinsically connected."

"Are you stupid?" Ramiris asked Valentine, who looked offended, "That logic makes no sense at all! If anything—"

This bickering was completely out of my hand and continued for the rest of Walpurgis. It was only by the will of Guy Crimson and his two Primordial maids that it violence didn't occur. Insults were certainly exchanged, but at least no one was hurt.

By the end, Qliphoth was split into two factions.

First, the larger of the factions, which I decided to call the Kill Faction, is led by Valentine. Comprising Leon, Dagruel, and Dino, wants to kill me to stop the glitches in the System.

The second, and smaller faction, which I decided to call the Life Faction, is led by Milim of all people and is supported by Ramiris.

Then there's just Guy Crimson who's been oddly quiet all this time, staying neutral.

I didn't count myself in any of the factions because, let's be real, I'm definitely going to be on the Life Faction.

And so, Walpurgis ended. There were no resolutions. What originally appeared to be good omens for the future now became threats of war fueled by desperation. However, right before the first of us left, I had to decide how I'm going to deal with the extra lands now open to me and Milim.

Once again, I restated the Jura Forest as my domain, as are Jistav and Eurazania. I plan to merge the Republic with Jistav to form a new superstate while Eurazania got the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region treatment.

Thinking of Hong Kong, I recalled how there was a protest going on since I died in the middle of 2019. I wonder how'd that end?

Following my example, Milim tried to merge her domain with Fulbrosia into a new nation yet to be named. Personally, I think the idea of a unified state between the pink-haired Demon Lord and Frey will simply fail because the former becomes bored with the whole thing and cancels it.

The teleportation gates dropped me right outside of the Citadel, right where I had left. Looking around me, I was particularly perplexed by the sight of Arcueid leaning on the monochromatic walls of the Citadel, the sky above the two of us alongside Jeanne and Diablo was lit with a dim shade of blue as the sun barely rose above the horizon.

Carrion didn't come with me and instead went back to his own kingdom to tell everyone the news.

I felt unbelievably exhausted. Even when Walpurgis lasted only a few hours.

Strutting forward, I said no words, and yet Arcueid appeared to understand me as she embraced me in a hug.

I leaned fully into her chest, her body effortlessly carrying my weight.

To be honest, I doubt she could if I turned off all the anti-gravity tech that's keeping me from falling into the center of this planet.

"You've had a tiring day, haven't you?"

Arcueid's sweet voice was like a soothing balm that made me temporarily forget everything I learned from Walpurgis. I can pretend that everything is alright.

I felt Arcueid reaching underneath me. Without much protest, Arcueid brought me into a princess carry.

Normally I would try and get out at all costs, but I was really tired so my resistance was next to none. Leaning into her body, I felt myself get taken back to my old World, when I was young, no more than eight years old. I was out camping, and after a scary event with my sister, my mother carried me like this to try and chase away the nightmares.

I could stay like this forever. This feeling of safety, where I can be as vulnerable as I want.

Arcueid started humming a cheerful tune.

I let out a soft moan. I want to disappear into this sea of tranquility.

I felt Arcueid moving before there was that familiar transition using Doormaker.

"Alright, Tia, you don't want others to see you like this, do you?"

Arcueid's words were like a knife that surfaced through the tranquility of my mind, disturbing the smooth surface.

I let out a sigh.

I... man I fell hard for Arcueid. Truthfully, I never knew I even had such great capacity for such love, given that the most I've had in my past life is a few flings here and there.

Getting out of her carry, I stretched my limbs a bit before looking around and finding myself standing beside a closed door and a hallway.

From a glance, I can tell we're near the top of one of the arcologies. Because some of the arcologies are so high up that water boils at a mere 92 Celcius near the top floors, getting enough breathable air to the higher levels becomes a necessary consideration in the event of a long-term stay.

As such, every arcology is outfitted with very sophisticated air ventilation and filtration systems that are constantly monitored by the designated Manager-Class Subsapient Narrow AI typically housed on the basement floors. Since these ventilation systems are rather bulky and ugly-looking, they're hidden between walls.

Just like CCTV cameras, if one knows where to look, these vents can be spotted easily.

Pushing the door open—

"AND FOR THE PERSON OF THE HOUR! Scientia Tempest!"

A voice screamed out my name the moment I entered.

The room was large, obviously usually reserved for charity events or weddings. Near the edge of this room were long tables covered in plates of food.

Huh, so this is a celebration meant to welcome my success? Since Rimuru's standing on the stage behind a podium, I'm guessing he's successful when it came to the assault on Jistav.

In all honesty, I wasn't in the mood for celebration, not so soon after Walpurgis. How can anyone be in the mood for a celebration knowing that everything is ending?

Had this been my old life, I think I would've ignored everyone and just sealed myself inside the Citadel, on the lookout for a way to survive this oncoming catastrophe of the likes which I've never even seen before.

But in the interest of being polite, I had [Acting] take over my motor functions and facial muscles as I just drone on over the party, my mouth moving without my command whenever I talked.

I think Arcueid and Rimuru suspect something's wrong, but I'm not sure.

The party lasted well into the midday before I decided that enough was enough and retire into my quarters, Arcueid tried to follow me, only to be rebuked by [Acting] with a kiss. I would've been more chaste but in my tired state, I couldn't think of anything other than just drone on.

Through the Doormaker, I teleported into the Citadel's Workshop. More specifically, I appeared right beside one of the huge computers. Over a dozen monitor screens and a smooth glass keyboard spanning the size of a dinner table encompasses the desktop, the fact that my technology has advanced to such a state where this setup can be confused for the Batcomputer is lost on me.

Cracking my neck, I pressed and held the power button for five seconds. The moment the five seconds was up, the glass surface lit up and was filled with hundreds of letter keys as well as plenty of other buttons that might confuse someone from my old World.

One 32-digit password later and I'm finally in. It's been a while since I last used this computer for anything other than linking it up with the Star Computer up in space.

The Walpurgis Banquet left a seriously bitter taste in my mouth. [Mathematic] combined with [Psychology] gave me a chance of Valentine's faction attacking me in an attempt to kill me to be near-absolute, as desperate times call for desperate measures.

What's more likely than not is them using everything to try and kill me. Even if it takes millions of lives, so long as I no longer exist and the System continues, it'll all be worth it.

In fact, future generations might venerate those who died.

Thumbing the bridge of my nose and sighing deeply, I realized I need to create a contingency plan in the event of my death— and perhaps put the completion of Encyclopedia Universalis on hold. Or rather, modify the Encyclopedia Universalis.

God damn it! I smash my fist into the glass keyboard cracking it. The touchscreen doesn't stay cracked for long as nanites started to fill those cracks up before using nanoscopic lasers to reattach the shattered pieces, making everything whole again.

In the span of fewer than 10 seconds, the touchscreen looked new, as if it was freshly out of the packaging.

This feels like that time when I wrote a will in my past life.

Using [Mekhane] and connecting to the Noosphere, I created a new Project.

>Project _______

'Mobius, Project Mobius.'

>Project Mobius.

Before I can continue anymore, my eyelids felt as if they were made out of tungsten as my head crashed into the table, all I knew from that point on was darkness. Fortunately, I had enough self-awareness right before I collapsed to know that I'm blacking out from the sheer stress of everything from Guy's reveal to over half of the Ten— correction, Qliphoth against me.

It wouldn't be until late in the next day's afternoon that I would wake up to find that I'm lying in bed. Going over last night's footage, I saw that Arcueid princess carry me to my bedroom and gave me a good night's kiss.

_____________________________________________

Ruberios, right after Walpurgis.

Passing through her own teleportation gate, Luminous found herself in the middle of a garden courtyard; the same place where she entered that room from. The building that surrounded her were of Gothic architectural design, with detailed stone and marble arches and more. On the tall, slanted roof of the building, tall spires surrounded by gargoyles as if it was something precious.

Well, Luminous did commission an Otherworlder for the design of her palace. An odd and eccentric Otherworlder that's for sure, odder than most people she had ever met.

The centerpiece of this rectangular garden was a single fountain in the middle, where a gold statue of a man was placed. There wasn't any water in it but rather was filled with a strangely red liquid. By itself, the garden was split into four quadrants, with each quadrant covered in vibrant flowers that are doesn't exist anywhere other than from here.

These flowers were a gift from that Hero.

The butler bowed and left as Luminous gently passed her hand through these flowers, feeling their petals gracing her fingers.

To Luminous, this was a form of meditation. Seeing Relentless Reborn caused the vampire to once again recall how her kin were slaughtered effortlessly, their bodies being transmuted into statues of metals or gas.

Luminous turned and stared at that statue of gold on top of the fountain.

Muted sorrow filled her mind. Even after centuries, losing the closest you have to a family member still hurts.

Silently, she walked into the building with Roy close in tow.

Stopping right in front of a nondescript door within the structure, Luminous looked around. Upon sensing no unauthorized intelligent life using [Asmodeus] nor any other form of observation magic, pushed the door open to reveal a black void, air rushing inside as if the vampire had just opened a door to the vacuums of space.

All of this is in fact an illusion as when Luminous walked through the doorway, she is then spatially displaced into the Palace on top of the Holy Mountain, in a special room covered with elaborately designed walls with Hinata already kneeling to greet her.

"Welcome back, God Luminous." She then presented the sheathed Hero Chronoa's blade to the Demon Lord.

Luminous frowned as she stared at her Right Hand.

"Hinata..." She trailed off as if sensing something is wrong.

Taking the scabbard and pulling out the blade, Luminous examined the thing with a careful eye. Then, the vampire traced a single finger of the hand carrying the scabbard over the beautiful sword as if she was touching something fragile, something precious.

Returning the sword to the scabbard with a click, she handed it to Roy.

Luminous then placed a hand above Hinata's forehead—

"[Asmodeus | All Death]"

—Instantly, Hinata tried to get away, but just before she could move any more than a few muscles, a nightmarish metamorphosis took place. Her limbs twisted and contorted, bones snapping with sickening cracks as the Saint's body fell backward due to the inertia of Hinata's attempt at escaping.

Akin to a puppet with its strings severed, Hinata now lay as a grotesque and lifeless heap on the floor.

Grisly horror enveloped her body as she started to bleed from every pore. Light yellow skin turned into a shade of bright red. It was as if Hinata's very essence was overflowing and came tumbling out of its container. Her current stage reflected the hues of a surreal sunset, a reflection of her currently rapidly disintegrating state.

The macabre display of total cellular degeneration unfolded right in front of Luminous' eyes. The edge between muscles, organs, and bones blurred, and mixed, before dissolving entirely in a process not too dissimilar to a piece of meat being put through an industrial blender hundreds of times.

Hinata's inside was now a scarlet soup that dyed the pristine carpet under her. Liquified tissue flowed out of every hole on her body, primarily from her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, anus, and vagina, pooling all around the now-dead Virasite host.

She was like a leaking water balloon, her skin left untouched. But personally, Luminous would sooner liken her to an ice sculpture melting.

[All Death] is an ability of [Asmodeus]. Luminous considers it the better version of [Absolute End], the most powerful instant death spell within the school of Necromancy. Similar to [Absolute End], [All Death] forces death upon every part of the victim's body by literally causing every one of the target's cells to simply disintegrate— to lose coherency— and turn everything into a liquid.

Though, in her own experience, it'll take a bit for the skin to dissolve into a liquid.

Usually, the moment right before the nerve cells are rendered useless by [All Death], the target experiences enough pain to break the ego itself.

But that's not where [All Death] ends. Arguably the most insidious aspect of [All Death] is that it acts like a virus that travels through all the [Soul Corridor] the target possesses and kills everyone close to them. This means that all over Ruberios, the tens of thousands of humans who were infected by the Virasite all collectively experienced a fate similar to Hinata.

The collective consciousness of the Virasite turned in on itself as each of the infected cells die off, finally letting the souls pass on to the afterlife.

<<For murdering 23144 Infected Humans, you have gained the Unique Skill [Coup De Grace]>>

Even without turning around, Luminous sensed uneasiness from Roy. Tilting her head upward and looking at Roy, Luminous spoke with an emotionless tone, "I know. It's painful. It is very painful to lose Hinata. But she was infected with something made by that damn Monster when it captured her. She's no longer Hinata."

Though Hinata's death was already forecasted by Her, that cold-hearted woman still somehow wormed herself into Luminous' inner circle as a valuable friend. The emotionless tone the vampire took was actually an attempt at sounding strong.

In reality, Luminous wanted to mourn Hinata's death right now.

"You are dismissed, Roy." Luminous declared as she clutched Chronoa's sheathed sword.

Seeing Roy's form disappear through a door, Luminous then proceeded to push a certain section of the elaborately designed wall.

The sound of stone rubbing against stone echoed throughout the room, revealing a set of stairs going down toward an abyss of darkness.

Step, step, Luminous' heels clicked against the steps of the stairs. Being a True Ancestor of this World, a step above a normal vampire, Luminous can see even when there's no light at all. Thus, while a normal human might easily tumble down in this darkness, Luminous had no issue.

Once she reaches the bottom of the stairs, the vampire is greeted with the sight of a large vault door with a strange keyhole on it.

Chronoa's blade singed as Luminous pulled it out. Aiming the blade against the keyhole, Luminous slowly inserted it in and kept on pushing until the crossguard of the sword hits the vault door.

Stepping away, veins of ethereal blue light crawl up the length of the blade, akin to vines on an old house. More and more, the veins of light eventually became so numerous that every single inch of the blade was covered by it. It was like a shell of light.

Luminous took a heavy breath in at the astounding sight. With another click, the vault door split open in two...

"—!"

The coffin that should be resting on top of the central altar was hovering. It was wrapped in chains connected to the walls of this vault and it was glowing a hauntingly greenish light as though it was radioactive.

Luminous looked stunned. Her full attention was on the figure right in front of the coffin.

"It is that time... isn't it?"

Because of her position in relation to the figure and the only light source in the room, all Luminous could see was the figure's shadow... alongside two orbs of ocean blue.

Oh, those twin cerulean abyss. Those two portals to raw blueness. Luminous almost forgot the feeling she got from staring at those two blue eyes.

Remembering who she was talking to, Luminous dropped to one knee and lowered her head.

"Indeed, it is as you have foretold. Everything went according to your script with not a single word, not a single action, not a single atom out of place, Chronoa..."

Luminous' lifted her head just enough so she could see the tiny figure.

"...or do you still prefer Chloe Aubert now that your memories have returned, your Authority?"

Chloe turned her body enough that her left side are illuminated by the light coming from the coffin while the other basks in darkness. "Do whatever you like. I've lived too long to care about something as trivial and transitory as 'names'. Though do tell me how is our preparation coming along?"

"The Holy Empire of Ruberios is ready to switch to Total War at a moment's notice. Sarion has agreed to our demands, and all the leaders of the Council of the West whom we have contacted have agreed to the alliance. Even if a friendly relationship has been established between Tempest and Ingrassia, the King is old enough that no one will raise an eyebrow should he die tomorrow. The Eastern Empire, as you have foreseen, agreed to the alliance as well. Dwargon will likely side with Scientia no matter what. King Gazel is too honorable for his own good."

Chloe then placed her left hand on the coffin. Akin to a dog recognizing its owner, the chains retreated, unbinding itself from the [Holy Ark].

[Holy Ark] is considered one of the peaks of what's possible with Holy Magic. If Luminous touches that coffin, her hand will be seared like a human touching a hot pan.

After the last chain was removed, the coffin still hovered there, floating mid-air without any visible assistance from other machines or magic.

Taking her hand off of the coffin, Chloe turned to look at Luminous who had tears coming down her cheeks.

Using her two hands, Chloe embraced Luminous. Despite the difference in height between the two, the fact that the Vampire is kneeling helped immensely in Chloe being able to give her a proper hug.

"Hinata died, didn't she?"

That was when Luminous broke down fully. Stroking her head, Luminous nudged into Chloe's hand like a dog wanting more head scratches.

"Do not worry, my dear Luminous," The True Ancestor's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that, "Everything is coming to a head. Eons of planning, countless numbers of loops— All of it! The endgame is now, and I can assure you, the Monster— the Error of the World will not live past the next six months. Not even Heaven stands in our way. In fact, they've decided to join us and our alliance..."

A frightening grin appeared on Chloe's face. It was the grin of someone who knew they had just won. It was the grin of someone who finally succeeded after failing so many times. It was the grin of someone whose determination brought about what should've been impossible to achieve. It was the grin of someone who possess a will to shatter the stars and beyond.

It was a grin that signifies the culmination of Chronoa's journey through time.

"...our alliance against God's Blindspot."

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Final Arc | World War

Scientia vs The World

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AN: 12k words, longest chapter on record, it's 2 usual chapters' worth in one!

Yeah, if it ain't obvious already, we're going WAY off the rails into AU territory. I'm going to take a few months' breaks after this chapter goes live in order to stave off this burnout and think of how I'm going to do the Final Arc justice. (I'll also need to read the LN to plan for the Final Arc)

The earliest time I'll be back is probably in March, the latest is probably May, don't quote me on the last part.

So to summarize what Guy said: Veldanava created a System that isolated a branch of the Greater Multiverse like a Fortress against the 'Great Beyond'. Now, after his death, the System is no longer being maintained, so throughout the eons of its operation, the System gathered a series of evergrowing errors that lead to the birth of the first Perfect Homunculus, a being so perfect that it should not exist in the System that Veldanava created. Now, that system is threatening to destroy itself with the number of errors it accrued, which will lead to the total collapse of the Voice of the World as they are essentially the same thing.

I hinted at Scientia's true nature throughout the entire story up till this point, everything from how alien Scientia looks to the fact that she punched a hole in a 'wall' in order to get Arcueid, all the way to how Ramiris thinks Scientia is the second coming of Veldanava, all of it is the result of something more.

Even with how Arcueid saw Scientia as this abyss that Gaia and Alaya would team up and kill, all of it combine to make this twist.

And now it's finally bearing fruit, you guys have no idea how much I've planned for this big reveal.

Yes, that is inspired by the Central Finite Curve of Rick and Morty.

To describe Scientia's mental state this chapter: (AN: Play The Young Dads - Existential Crisis)

Now almost everyone of importance has appeared or at least have been mentioned, it is time for the Endgame of the story.

Here are the stats after this chapter.

Scientia Tempest

EP: 2,930,112 (+72,900,000 w/ Block-Form Singularity Mathematic, +7,153,000 w/ Asimov, +982,917,750 w/ Noosphere)

Species: Perfection Ascertained- Perfect Homunculus

Divine Protection: Storm's blessing

Title: the Error of the World, Futurist, Relentless (Leon Cromwell), Monster (by Luminous), Commander (by those in the military), Lady (by those under Scientia), Mistress (Diablo), Director (by normal people)

Magic: Unlimited Alchemy

Ultimate Skill: Victory King Contessa (Path to Victory, All of Existence, Timeline Simulation, Passive Assessment, Destruction Driven), Machine God Mekhane (System Sense, Machine Control, Technopathy, Omnifabrication, Chemistry Manipulation, Fundamental Force Manipulation)

Unique Skill: Inspired Inventor.

Resistance: Void Resistance.