Rumble-

With a faint tremor, the two lights staining the sky scattered like a mirage to reveal the state of the land.

Black holes everywhere, gnawed open by the light of the baleful star, and a giant crack stretching across the sky that showed a kaleidoscopic of colors. Staring up at that sky, looking so precariously unstable that it wouldn’t have been strange if it were to collapse at any moment, the Seeker slowly lowered her gaze to Se-Hoon after a long pause.

“...I lost.”

She, who had tried to win even if it meant destroying everything, versus Se-Hoon, who had tried to win while protecting everything. And the result at the end of it all was that Se-Hoon claimed a genuine victory. He had protected everything—himself, his friends, and even the Seeker’s world.

“I really thought I’d win this time... sighhhh.”

Mulling over her defeat, the Seeker brushed the orange terminal that had been severed by Se-Hoon.

Crack-

Just the slightest touch of her fingertips made the terminal crumble into dust. Se-Hoon’s final strike had completely severed her connection to the Akashic, meaning she could no longer use the power of Omniscience.

I guess I can’t respond to his regressions anymore. And reviving in another body... is even more impossible now.

Unable to find a single card left to play, the Seeker deeply sighed once more before looking at Se-Hoon.

“So? How did you do it?”

“...What?”

“How did you cut the connection between me and the Golden Ring? A Perfect One is part of the world itself—so how could you have separated me like this? Don’t tell me you actually erased the power I created. If that’s really the case, you would really be too much of a monster.”

“...?”

The Seeker’s complaint-laced question made Se-Hoon make an odd expression. He had expected her to either gracefully accept her defeat or lash out in denial. Curiosity about the method that had brought her down? He had never imagined that was the first thing she’d ask about.

“Even if it is a part of the world, it doesn’t serve as the root. As long as I can sever it completely before the Golden Ring can interfere, then there’s no reason it can’t be separated.”

“Ah. So that’s why I was able to become a demon. Now I get it.”

Connecting the dots, the Seeker was able to clear up a vague point she had glossed over until now. That made her quite satisfied.

“Next, Terra... ah, no, that’s not right. Was it Lee Se-Ha? How did you wake her up? Did you hide her soul away beforehand with your unique skill?”

“I didn’t hide it away. I simply handed her what we had exchanged between us and used that to awaken her. As a bonus, it also created an opening to sever her connection to the power.”

“In other words, you disguised it as internal interference rather than external interference, thus delaying the Golden Ring’s response. Wow... I overlooked the fact that you were the one who made her independent. I should’ve been more wary.”

Like that, the Seeker continued asking questions and letting out sighs of amazement each time. Like an athlete reviewing their final match, she endlessly pursued knowledge and retraced her own mistakes with that new information.

“Hmm. I think that covers what I was curious about regarding you...”

Crack-

“Now, there’s something I want to ask you,” the Seeker’s voice echoed through the air as one of her two orange horns crumbled away completely.

The air was silent, then, from the Seeker’s own mouth, a familiar voice came out instead of hers.

“...What is it?”

Lee Se-Ha, having regained her own body, spoke once more.

“Why is your name Lee Se-Ha?”

“...”

“The first two syllables look like they were taken from Se-Hoon, but where did the last one come from... hm, is it Ryu Eun-Ha? Don’t tell me you were planning to become their adopted daughter once those two got married—”

“I took them from people I respect, so quit spouting nonsense!”

It was such absurd slander that Lee Se-Ha’s voice was filled with fury.

Yet the Seeker finished her thought all the same. “Still, no matter how I look at it, it really feels like there’s some other motive there—ah, wait! Sorry! I apologize! I’ll stop talking nonsense, so please don’t smash it! AH!”

Stopping herself from destroying the remaining horn at that genuine plea, Se-Ha let out a sigh.

“Is that all you wanted to ask?”

The idea of the Seeker admitting her sins or apologizing at this point wasn’t even entertained by Se-Ha’s mind. After all, if she had been that kind of person, she wouldn’t have prepared such an insane plan in the first place. Or, at the very least, she would have changed her mind after seeing what Se-Hoon had done.

“That’s all. What, did you think I’d repent or something?”

“...”

“I killed monsters for humanity, and now I’m dying after losing to monsters. There’s nothing more to add to that story, and nothing to take away from it.”

Se-Ha unconsciously bit down hard on her lip. Despite not entertaining the idea... she, who shared a body and memories with the Seeker, had hope—if only a little—that the Seeker might regret what she had done.

Phewwwww, why am I like this?

The Seeker created her as a mere pawn, stole her body, and used it to harm the people precious to her. It would only be right to shatter that horn as soon as possible and wipe her out completely... so why? Why were such useless thoughts continuing to surface?

Se-Ha clenched her fist tightly, caught in emotions she herself could not explain—

“Whew...” The Seeker sighed in exasperation. “Listen, the reason you’re feeling pity right now is because, until just a moment ago, you were under my influence from beneath your consciousness. In other words, you’re feeling a form of self-pity.”

“Pity?”

“You saw the memories of a pathetic and foolish human who was blinded by a twisted wish, killing countless people, yet refused to acknowledge and even tried to erase her mistakes.... There’s no way you wouldn’t be affected.”

Se-Ha’s eyes widened. If her feelings had truly come from the memories of the human Natalia Kanayeva, then that meant she had already—

“But that’s a feeling born from being human. I won’t—ever—regret anything. I have not the slightest intention of repenting or of making excuses.”

“...”

“So don’t worry about it. Study me thoroughly instead; criticize me. The most rational use of research about a failure is as a cautionary example.”

The monster, who insisted she wasn’t human, faintly smiled.

“You and I are different, aren’t we?”

Having once spoken as if the two were one, the Seeker now drew a distinct line to declare them as separate beings. Her stubborn refusal to bend her will to the very end was mixed with acknowledgement that Lee Se-Ha was not a monster like herself but a human.

Understanding the deep feelings in those words laced with two distinct meanings, Se-Ha fell silent.

“Of course. Don’t compare me to a criminal like you.”

When she spoke again, her resolve was much firmer than before.

“Haha. You arrogant little thing...”

Letting out a small laugh, the Seeker checked just how little of the horn remained.

“Well. I think I’ve talked enough, so I should probably start heading to hell—”

Rumble-

Just as the Seeker was about to leave behind some final, refreshing last words, the world—which had only barely been holding together—suddenly quaked violently. Naturally, everyone’s gazes turned toward a single direction: the horizon where a giant was rising to its feet.

RUMBLE-

The ominous-looking giant, its entire body made of black mud, was large enough to crush the sun in one hand. It rose and looked straight at Se-Hoon.

Fall.

The giant’s will resounded throughout the entire world, triggering Se-Hoon’s heart to beat strangely.

What the...

The sensation was unpleasant, and it stirred up a strange thirst within him.

“Tsk. Looks like it split off because it woke up too clumsily.”

“By split off... you mean the Abyss of Demons?”

Ignoring the feeling for now, Se-Hoon turned to the nodding Seeker for information.

“If it had been some other Demon Realm, it wouldn’t have mattered much even if it split apart. The Abyss of Demons, however, had a caretaker like the Black Sea did. Looks like that bastard awakened as a Harbinger of Destruction.”

A caretaker created by the Abyss of Demons for itself...? Figuring out the individual easily, Se-Hoon looked toward the giant on the horizon.

“The Elder Lord.”

The first demon to exist; the unidentified leader of the Ten Evils. The true identity of the demon—something not uncovered even in the first timeline—was a being created from a Harbinger Shard, like the White Whale of the Black Sea.

That means that thing is the Destroyer of Laws...

Observing the first Harbinger to be eliminated by Ludwig and Baek-Yeon back then, Se-Hoon knew exactly why it had fallen so hollowly in the previous timeline without much thought. Unlike the other Harbingers, who had firmly established their own forms of destruction, the Destroyer of Laws possessed only a simple will to expand the Abyss of Demons and corrupt other beings.

It’s weaker than what the Seeker created... but I still can’t ignore it.

No matter how weak the Destroyer of Laws was, now that it had awakened with a Harbinger Shard, the Golden Ring would grant it enough power to destroy the world. If it broke what remained of the Seeker’s world and went outside, it would undoubtedly bring about a great disaster.

“Looks like we’ll have to fight one more time.”

Honing her golden sword aura, Aria gazed toward the Destroyer of Laws. Similarly, Eun-Ha began compressing scarlet flames in her hand as she turned to Se-Hoon.

“What will you do?”

The Seeker’s world was now so fragile that it could literally collapse at any moment. That meant, to minimize the damage the Destroyer of Laws could cause, they needed to erase it without leaving even a trace—with a single stroke.

I probably can’t use Genesis Break right away... which leaves only the Aeon Sphere.

With only that option, the best plan was for Aria and Eun-Ha to weaken the Destroyer of Laws as much as possible. Only then would he use the Void sealed inside the Aeon Sphere to pierce a hole in the Golden Ring and banish both it and the Abyss of Demons. It was a really barbaric method, yet it was the best one if he wanted to eliminate the Destroyer of Laws and the Abyss cleanly in one go.

Thus, Se-Hoon finished up his calculations and moved to take out the Aeon Sphere—

Tap.

Se-Ha’s hand grabbed his arm.

“Hm? What is it?”

“Ah, not me, it’s...”

“You were about to punch another hole using the Void again, weren’t you? Are you actually insane?!”

Using what little control she had left to move Se-Ha’s body, the Seeker looked at him in utter disbelief.

“The Golden Ring isn’t some kind of wrapping paper. If you keep tearing holes in it like that, the world might really collapse on itself. You went through all that trouble to protect it, and now you’re planning to destroy it with your own hand???”

“But—”

“Hey. Even if it aims to destroy the world, it’s still just a creation made by the Golden Ring.” Cutting Se-Hoon off, the Seeker grinned. “So wouldn’t it be cleaner if the creator took care of it?”

Hearing those words, one possible method surfaced in Se-Hoon’s mind, but.... He looked at her with a strange expression.

“You’re going to help?”

“Like I said. If I’m going to lose anyway, I want to lose cleanly.”

There was now a hint of respect in Se-Hoon’s eyes as he looked at her, making the Seeker let out a faint twinkle of laughter.

“Don’t you think I should at least clean up after myself before I go?”

The Seeker gripped what remained of her horn with her left hand, and right as she prepared to act, she felt her right hand slowly come toward it before layering over it. Clearly, it was Se-Ha’s touch.

Hesitating because of that, the Seeker paused before soon making a bitter smile and clenching her left hand tightly.

Crack!

The little nub of horn she had left shattered, spilling sunset-colored light through the gaps in her fingers that illuminated the surroundings. Opening her left hand, she then extended it toward Se-Hoon as a softly gleaming orange ring appeared above her palm.

WOONG!

The final spell of the Seeker—reaching out to accept it, Se-Hoon saw notification windows appear before his eyes.

[Extracting bond from subject ‘Natalia Kanayeva’]

[The bond with the host is Lv. ―]

Woong-

The bond transmitted through the orange ring handed over a certain authorization to Se-Hoon, which expanded the power of Omniscience to granting him complete command over the Akashic. But to exercise that authority, one first had to activate the Omniform Sacred Armament. And now, the Seeker made it so that Se-Hoon could.

“You’re leaving behind something ridiculously grand...” Se-Hoon panted, trying to steady his breathing against the dizzying sensation of the world’s entire knowledge base converging upon him.

RUMBLE-

However, the Destroyer of Laws, which had been standing beyond the horizon, did not wait for him to recover and moved for the first time.

Stretching out its hand to seize Se-Hoon, its enormous hand blocked out the sky and was about to swallow everything in the world—

Akashic, True Form: Silver River of Myriad Forms

A blue galaxy pouring down from the heavens swept everything away.

Swoosh-

The tidal wave devoured the Destroyer of Laws’ body and engulfed the Abyss of Demons, dragging both beneath its surface. Everything was swept away by the twinkling wave—created by borrowing the Golden Ring’s power—including the Seeker’s world in its entirety, which scattered like foam and returned the four to reality.

Swoosh-

Blue skies, waves crashing against ice. A white expanse.

“...”

Standing with the others, looking at the scenery of Antarctica that they had only ever seen in photographs, the realization dawned on them all.

“It’s all over.”

The long war, which Se-Hoon had experienced in two lifetimes, finally arrived at its end.