It was a place transparent, clear, and filled with prismatic colors. Having left the Divine Realm and returned once more to this spot, Maria swallowed hard.
‘What exactly is this space…’
“Are you curious about this place? It’s a ‘path’ that leads anywhere. That’s what I would have told you.”
“If we can really go anywhere, how is it different from teleportation magic?”
“It’s different. How can the mere act of moving compare to omnipotent authority?”
“Are you calling yourself omnipotent right now? The only omnipotent one is the Lord.”
“Pfft. What a laugh.”
Canos let out a sneering chuckle. Realizing he had read her thoughts, Maria shuddered faintly.
“Saintess, your destination is here.”
With a flick of his hand, Canos gestured in the air. A transparent circle hung suspended in midair—a ring of white mist rising like smoke.
“The Gate of Life. All souls enter bodies through here.”
“This is… the realm of life and death. Why are you, Demon King, involved in this?”
“I don’t see why I must answer that.”
“…”
A formless force enveloped Maria. Though her legs remained still, she moved involuntarily toward the Gate of Life.
‘Soon… the cycle of karma will end. How bittersweet.’
‘From now on, every day will be busy. I’ll have to take care of matters for Master Joker… most importantly, because I need to stop you, Demon King.’
‘Why does someone as powerful as the Demon King want to use that power for destruction? And first of all, why do you even want to experience stimulation?’
As Maria reached the edge of the Gate of Life, she summoned divine power to resist Canos’ mental grip. Pausing momentarily, she asked a question.
“There is something I must ask.”
“How rude.”
“Why does the Demon King wish to destroy the continent?”
“There’s no reason not to.”
“The continent is home to countless lives. It’s where so many dreams and hopes bloom. Do you find joy in trampling on their dreams?”
“Huh… You’re such a bother.”
Canos ran his fingers through his hair irritably, revealing his tall forehead beneath his long hair.
“Do you think cutting firewood with an axe is akin to taking a life?”
“…What?”
“To me, you humans are the same. Whether you live or die, I feel nothing. Joy? The answer is no. Who in their right mind feels joy chopping wood? Useless trash gets thrown in the garbage. To me, the continent is just that.”
“That means… feeling no emotion when harming life signifies a loss of empathy.”
“So you’ve figured it out now? I lack empathy. I’ve never felt emotions. My world is a dull gray, without light or darkness.”
“And even wearing sunglasses hoping to see some darkness doesn’t help. And don’t try to understand me. If you could understand me, or if I could understand you, I’d be a hero, not a Demon King.”
“All I want is to experience stimulation. Even omnipotence has its limits; miracles are impossible. But who knows? Maybe the miracle-worker Joker will bring me a miracle. A fight for my life… Perhaps then I might feel something. That’s all I think about.”
“Is it even possible for such beings to exist in this world?”
“You’re looking for reasons in worldly affairs again. How foolish.”
Canos raised a finger and pointed at Maria’s ample chest.
“You don’t even understand why you fell in love with Joker five hundred years ago, do you?”
“That’s because I felt love for Master Joker.”
“Love? Then why did you feel it? Joker is evil. Are you saying Saintesses have a thing for wicked men?”
“You’re playing word games…”
“Yes, word games. When you try to find reasons for feelings, they become meaningless jokes. Sometimes a female falls for a male completely opposite her preferences. The world is full of inexplicable things.”
Once again, an intangible force pushed Maria from behind. Unable to resist the much stronger power, she was inexorably drawn into the Gate of Life.
As Maria disappeared toward <Rebirth>, Canos casually muttered,
“Good luck. Save the continent, win your love… even if I can’t empathize, there’s no greater success than that. Who cares about this little game of love…”
Swoooosh…
Maria was enveloped in a translucent stream of light.
*****
After sending off Saintess Maria to the continent, Demon King Canos was left alone.
He briefly gazed at where the Gate of Life had faded, then turned his head and entered a new gate.
An expansive darkness enveloped Canos. Still, in his vision, there was only ash-gray, neither light nor dark.
The Spirit World.
Completely distinct from the Divine Realm where gods reside, the Demon Realm where demons dwell, the Celestial Realm above, and the mortal lands of the Continent.
‘The greatest prison.’
Originally, the Spirit World is a prison. For imprisoning someone.
A bottomless, endless, neither round nor concave strange world. Those trapped within drift endlessly through the Spirit World forever. There was a crucifix planted there, though it was the only structure in the entire Spirit World.
Approaching the crucifix where Maria had been pinned, Canos floated gracefully toward it. On the front side, where Maria had been nailed, there was no one now. Only the nail marks where her wrists had been pierced remained.
However…
The situation on the
On the back of the crucifix, an unreachable place unless one stretched their neck impossibly long, there was an old man pinned in a posture similar to Maria’s. His body was so shriveled that any trace of vitality had vanished, his face resembling a mummy.
“Your extinction is near.”
“…Canos…”
The dry lips, like earthworms after the rain, quivered. The cracked voice of someone who had endured a drought spoke Canos’ name.
“The Supreme God.”
*****
Praying to the rosary, trying telepathic spells—now there’s only silence. Maria isn’t on the other side of the rosary anymore.
Also, this means Maria has been reborn on the continent.
Maria told me to come to Eden Academy in the year 701 of the Empire calendar. Now it’s 683. I’ll enter Eden Academy in eighteen years.
But now, I’m free to move. Since the Saintess has been born, history that shouldn’t change no longer exists.
Right now, I have two tasks. First, raising my pet goblin Meta into a god. With all the vessels I’ve prepared until now and Meta’s innate talent, this life will surely succeed.
Second, participating in Maria’s baptism and sprinkling holy water on her myself… but I won’t do that.
Even though I really want to. Why am I giving it up? Because I want to prove that I’ve changed.
Maria wants to meet me at the academy. She doesn’t want me to see her as a baby. Honestly, I agree.
In the past, I would’ve ignored others’ feelings, barged in, disguised as a priest, and sprinkled holy water without hesitation. But that’s clearly disregarding Maria’s feelings.
Yeah, this is another kind of “growth.” Restraining my desires for others’ sake—something I couldn’t have imagined doing before. Seeing myself hesitating without a second thought fills me with goosebumps and pride.
Maria and I will meet in eighteen years, when her identity is fully formed. This is “consideration,” “altruism,” “good deeds”! The Lord Himself would surely approve.
“Lord Oscar, where are we going now?”
Meta, walking beside me, asked curiously. Smiling slyly, I replied,
“I’ll tell you when we get there.”
“Yes… um, aren’t the others coming too? Beatrix-sama, Yohan-sama… Uriel-sama… Why just me and Aru-sama?”
“Them? No way. One wrong move and we’ll get interfered with.”
“Master, are we heading somewhere important…?”
Meta looked startled, fear of the unknown future evident on his face.
You’ve worked hard so far, kid. Now it’s time for you to become a god.
Creating a new deity is a monumental event that completely alters history. I couldn’t do it before the Saintess was born.
But now there’s nothing holding me back. So I’m going to execute the <God Creation Project> immediately. Why? Because I’ll have to enter Eden Academy soon.
Gods aren’t made overnight. They require an astronomical amount of faith, which naturally takes time. Last life, it took three years.
“Grrr! Grrrr! Young demon! Why just us?! Where are the others?!”
“Aru, shut up! What’s with the racket, wolf?!”
“Grrr… Where are you going?! Grrrr!”
This wolf brat has gotten attached to the others already? Why’s he reacting so strongly?
The reason I brought only Meta and Aru is simple. No matter how much my existing companions trust and follow me, creating a god is a whole different level. They wouldn’t just stand by and watch.
Except for the Supreme God who created the world, all gods are made purely from faith. What is faith? Isn’t it the collective, fanatical belief of a group?
Everything follows causality. In other words, equivalent exchange. Putting something in produces something in return. This applies even to spiritual matters.
For example, imagine person A passionately loving person B. The intensity of A’s love affects B and those around them. That’s the result of spiritual causality.
But faith has no object. It’s belief with nowhere to go, floating aimlessly in the world.
If too many people share the same faith, the lost energy accumulates until it creates a god, like the Olympian or Asgardian pantheons.
And obviously, humans shouldn’t interfere with gods. Occasionally, lunatics like Taeseuethes appear, but if a human harms a god, they face severe condemnation.
Attempting to create a god… hahaha. To me, it’s fantastical, and to the empire’s emperor, it’s a weapon. But to regular folks, I’d be a crazy lunatic. Just thinking about it gets me condemned to a religious trial and burned at the stake.
Emperor Yohan is my comrade, but fundamentally, he’s Saintess Irolwel’s apostle. Beatrix Constantinople was once a devout Holy Knight. Uriel dreams of becoming an archangel. Especially Uriel is the biggest problem.
Ultimately, the only one left is Aru, who lacks any common sense whatsoever. He’ll be the guardian overseeing Meta’s ascension. Besides, collecting faith requires extreme focus, and having too many people around would be distracting. You never know when someone might screw up, making me nervous.
Hmm, realizing all this, I noticed I almost made a huge mistake. If Aru messes up while guarding me during this process, I could end up like a martial artist losing control during meditation.
Calmly lowering my hand meant to slap Aru’s head, I gave him an infinitely gentle smile instead. Aru, who had been arguing with me, tilted his head in confusion.
“Wha? Why are you being nice all of a sudden?”
“There’s a reason. Just don’t worry about the others. We’ll meet them in due time.”
“When’s that gonna be?”
“Just sleep for ten nights.”
Technically thousands of nights, but I said “sleep.” Aru will be busy guarding Meta and me, so it’s not a lie.
“Ten nights… that’s short! We’ll see them soon!”
“Yeahyeah, good boy Aru. I’ll give you meat when we get back?”
“Grrr! Meat! Grrr!”
Typical dog behavior. Promising meat makes his eyes light up. Completely forgetting about the others.
“Ugh… this big task makes me nervous… wheeze…”
Meta makes a goblin sound after a long time. Immediately realizing it, he clamps his own mouth shut. I chuckled.
If he can control himself to this extent, all preparations are complete.
“No need to worry. Just mentally prepare yourself a bit. I’ll handle the rest.”
Placing my hands on Meta and Aru’s heads, I reassured them.
Beatrix, Emperor Yohan, and Uriel—I snuck away without them, but I didn’t leave them unprepared. I left letters detailing their tasks.
My steps feel light. The future where I flip the bird to the gods can’t come soon enough.
*****
“Our Lord has disappeared. Leaving only an anonymous letter.”
Oscar’s loyal knight, Beatrix, dramatically waved the letter.
“Our leader? Somehow… I haven’t seen him since this morning…”
“We must find him! Comrades should never be abandoned!”
The human king Yohan and the angel Uriel reacted differently. While Uriel seemed unsurprised, Yohan looked genuinely shocked.
Beatrix calmly stopped him, reading the first line of her letter.
“No, our Lord specifically instructed us not to look for him. And… he has given us tasks to accomplish in his absence.”
“Tasks? What kind?”
When Yohan widened his eyes and asked, Beatrix lowered her brown gaze. Suddenly, her eyes widened.
“To create a fictitious noble family with a verified background within the continent’s empire… and…”
“And?”
“To become a teacher… at Eden Academy? What does this mean…?”
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
