Chapter 115

The entrance to the Grand Temple was far from the Room of Worlds, but with the steps of the three who had entered the realm of the superhuman, it didn’t take long to reach the Room of Worlds.

In the Room of Worlds, paladins and priests had gathered, praying towards the statue of Kanadiel.

“Since we may get caught up in the adjustment, send them outside.”

At those words, Alia nodded and instructed the high priest to survey the surroundings.

Those who were overcoming their fear with faith in the new god were filled with discontent, but did not refuse the words of the chancellor and the high elf-like beings.

“This barrier must solely fixate on rejecting Terato.”

“Hold on a moment.”

Alia said with a pale expression.

“The enemies are not just Terato. There are still hundreds of Titans outside…!”

“We have Araya’s kin and the elves under her command here.”

“…I acknowledge the strength of the elves, but the number of giants on the other side is overwhelming. There are giants that will breach the city wall as well!”

“We cannot set several exceptions in such a short time. Above all, the barrier has already been much twisted by Terato’s power. If we include Titans in the conditions of the rejection, we won’t be able to completely block Terato. And if that happens, this power will ultimately belong to Terato.”

“…But.”

“I do not need your permission to come to a decision. However, the reason I’m saying this to you is that this was originally created by Araya and you, and while I go again to block Terato, I need someone to control it.”

The eyes of the Gal Dragon flickered towards the flinching Saraswati.

“Even if you are uncooperative, I have already prepared other options.”

Alia bit her lip.

“This is a battle that will decide the fate of Terato’s retainers and everything else. Do not act carelessly, bat girl. Even for the sake of the human man you desire.”

“…Ugh.”

At the Gal Dragon’s blunt words, Alia’s face turned red, but the Gal Dragon paid no mind and extended a hand towards the statue of Ul Kanadiel.

From Ul Kanadiel’s statue, an object shining in black light appeared.

The object that approached seemed as if it contained the cosmos within a crafted diamond.

The core of Ul Kanadiel, the Elder Roa, and the unparalleled output of the supreme magical tool, Deus Ex Machina.

“It seems to be excessively stabilized, just like last time.”

“…Because of your words, I couldn’t handle it recklessly.”

Alia recalled when she had come to check on Deus Ex Machina at the request of Saraswati before the Gal Dragon departed.

“Well, as I mentioned back then, the essence of this is not something you all can handle at the moment. Rather than awkwardly mishandling it and causing a catastrophe, it would be wiser to use it as the last line of defense protecting the one you love.”

“But how will you inscribe the new conditions? The mana needed to inscribe them will scatter before it even reaches. Not to mention, is there a spell that rejects only one existence?”

Saraswati interjected, revealing her curiosity in the conversation.

“Do not compare me to you. Controlling that much is not difficult. And as for the spell that only rejects one existence…”

The Gal Dragon tapped its body.

“Here it is.”

“Huh?”

“The spell that Terato cast upon me. I have yet to unravel it, but I understand the principle.”

“You understood the principle, right? If you reverse-engineer it, won’t that suffice? Why can’t you unravel it?”

“Terato’s spell is one that rejects everything about me. That means it cannot be unraveled by a method originating from my own power. It is a difference in order.”

“…Does that mean it must be unraveled by someone else?”

“Of course, to undo this, they would need to be quite a spellcaster. But it does not need to be unraveled.”

“Why!?”

Saraswati exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with the hope that the principle of Terato’s spell might be revealed to her.

“One of either Terato or I will die after this battle.”

The Gal Dragon’s calm words about death silenced her.

“The story has been long. I will ask one last time. Do you have any objections? Bat girl.”

“…I have no choice.”

Alia sighed at the Gal Dragon’s words.

That is right.

It was naive to think that only Pohelrn would be safe while a battle that seemed like the world was ending raged outside.

Though Araya, our top force, seemed to be safe, what had ultimately led to Araya’s state was that Pohelrn’s combat barrier could not withstand Terato’s power.

Even if Araya regains consciousness, if the barrier cannot hold, the same situation will occur again.

And ultimately, if Araya falls, Terato would indeed break the barrier and walk in here.

“I have been foolish. No, it was greed.”

‘I have become too soft.’

Having been influenced by Priegoss and grown fond of humans, she seemed to have forgotten about the time she had gambled the lives of the succubi under her with nearly impossible odds to cross the seas.

This nature. This world does not give everything satisfactorily.

It makes you stand at a crossroads of choice when it is crucial, which she had forgotten.

This time spent with Priegoss, though only a fraction of her long life of hundreds of years, had grown too significant within her.

She feared the despair Priegoss would feel at losing Pohelrn and the humans because of her actions.

“But that, too, is deceiving Priegoss.”

Priegoss did not wish for humans to become pets protected and raised by superior races like succubi or elves.

He hoped that humans, as humans, as thinking intelligent beings, could stand proudly and live on this earth without servility.

Thus, before Araya departed to the Elven Road, Priegoss had said he wouldn’t act as a coward who would hand off burdens to others due to fear of death, instead fighting for the path he had chosen.

It was a belief not to make a pathetic choice merely to prolong one’s life.

“Honestly, many humans will die now.”

Unable to properly repel the twenty giants, over ten human villages and a city had vanished.

Eighty forest guardian elves.

The soldiers of Pohelrn had dwindled to hundreds due to the expedition.

Moreover, there were thousands of unruly southern deserter prisoners who had been captured under Mutuk.

Without the protection of the barrier, no matter how competent the elves were, it wouldn’t be easy to stop the 300 Titans, including Einherjar.

No, it would be nearly impossible.

If the giants who could not be stopped began to rampage within the city walls, she couldn’t imagine what would happen.

“…Lord Priegoss would rather wish for this.”

At Saraswati’s words of concern, Alia shook her head.

“He would not want himself to remain a powerless bystander while elves shed blood for them.”

“Ah-!”

“Crack-crack-!”

“Ahh-!”

In response, Saraswati smacked Alia’s back as if satisfied.

“That is a satisfactory answer. Well, actually, we are just doing our jobs, but if those who bleed to protect us were no different from livestock, it would have been disappointing.”

It was a compliment, but its underlying meaning was chilling.

If they held no dignity, at least in the mind of Saraswati, a high elf, humans would be remembered as little more than livestock.

“Then, I will proceed, assuming that you have agreed.”

Listening to the conversation between Saraswati and Alia, the Gal Dragon reached out toward the core of Deus Ex Machina.

“O-oh!”

The Gal Dragon’s control power unbound the tightly wrapped energy around the depths.

Since stabilization, the essence that neither Saraswati, a high elf, nor Alia, the queen of succubi, had been able to reach, was touched by the Gal Dragon’s energy, causing its pupils to stretch vertically.

Along with that, the Gal Dragon’s language began to produce a strange sound, undetectable by the speed at which its lips could hardly be seen, not a scream but a peculiar utterance.

『■■■■■ㅡ■■ㅡ■■■ㅡㅡㅡ■■■■■』

“O-! Um! Um-!!”

Saraswati gazed in wonder at the phenomena created by the Gal Dragon, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

The core, which resembled the abyss of the cosmos, flashed with an immense light as if about to explode, filling the Room of Worlds.

And as the Gal Dragon closed its mouth, it slowly stabilized, eventually returning to the form of a stone that contained the original cosmos.

“The operation is complete.”

“Oooh-!”

Saraswati inspected the core with an excited expression.

“For now, I intentionally twisted the stabilization state.”

“…You’ve made it so that we can intervene in a possible situation.”

The Gal Dragon nodded.

“I must now go to help El Prigion. We need to buy time until Araya recovers. You all must readjust this item that has become unstable again here.”

“Understood. And… could you also give a word to Lord Priegoss?”

“What about?”

“That we must defend this Grand Temple against the other giants, excluding Terato.”

“I understand. Then I will take my leave.”

With that, the Gal Dragon quickly exited the Room of Worlds, transforming into a dragon and breaking through the ceiling as it soared up!

“What is happening?!”

The gathered priests and paladins, alerted by the massive roar, gazed blankly at the vast stone ceiling that had been struck down by the giant, and the enormous golden beast that shot towards the sky through the huge hole.

“From this moment, some of the priests and paladins will assess the external situation, and the remaining personnel will defend this place.”

“Ooh-oooh!”

Even as Alia prepared to give orders, she suppressed a headache while watching Saraswati, who was being overly dramatic, and spoke with dignity.

“…From this moment, this place shall never be breached. According to the will of our father God, who watches over us from the heavens, and our mother God, who embraces us with grace from the earth, all of you shall become the last bastion of this sanctum that determines the fate of humanity.”