“……….Phew.”
Back in the usual <White World>, I let out a deep sigh. Although the scenery was as white as the world I was just in, it was naturally not cold here.
Despite returning to this world, my body still hurts. The white something, which I thought would disappear when I crossed worlds, was still rampantly active in my body.
“Eeh, why isn’t this going away…?”
It was supposed to be a rule that everything goes back to normal once you cross worlds, yet, feeling annoyed that a petty exception has popped up here, I unintentionally voiced my frustration.
“？What’s wrong, Ed?”
“Ah, no, it’s just a problem of mine.”
I inadvertently voiced my thoughts, and I casually brushed off Tia’s inquiry. I could talk about it, but it’s not like discussing the constant prickling feeling in my body would resolve anything. If I can’t deal with it in the next world, I’ll consider bringing it up then.
“Mm, well, okay then. Shall we start reading this time, too?”
“That sounds good.”
To be honest, the usual sense of accomplishment was not present within me. Even though all our objectives have been accomplished, I feel like a remnant of a defeated army.
But there’s no point in dragging that feeling along. Probably Tia feels the same, so it would be better to try and act cheerful here.
“Well then, shall we take a look at how Harris-san has spent his days?”
Sitting at the table, I flipped through the {Records Of The Hero’s Story} as usual. At first, it seems no different from other worlds, with Harris growing from a lively child to a spirited young man…
“…The blizzard started here.”
The blizzard brought by the Winter Demon King signaled the end of the world. I’ve heard some stories from Harris himself, but the content written in the book was far more severe.
Harris initially fought monsters as a warrior, not as a hero, but soon his enemies changed to humans. Defeating monsters did not satisfy their hunger much, and to truly satiate their hunger, they had no choice but to steal from those who ate the same food.
Once that happened, saving the world as a hero became irrelevant. Harris, fed up with the daily struggle against his own kind, returned to his birthplace to become a fisherman. He met a woman there, married her, and had a child, but he lost them when their daughter turned 10.
It’s a story I’ve heard from him, but reading about his feelings at the time here the sadness was conveyed more deeply to us.
“Yes. And with this, Harris-san… “
“Yeah. He no longer had the option to go back, or rather, the option was gone. That’s why he could survive all the reckless stuff… and could meet us.”
At that time, Harris was fiercely obsessed with “living”. Even the preserved food that Tia mentioned was not only meat from beasts and fish, but also meat from worms like earthworms that he had dug deep into the ground to get.
He wouldn’t have survived for a decade without going to such lengths, and he was obsessed with living to defeat the Demon King. That wish came true beautifully… and the book moved on to the final chapter.
―― 012th World, {Records Of The Hero’s Story} Final Chapter: The World’s End Point
Thus, the Demon King was defeated, and the hero Harris also met his end. With this, life ended in this world, and the world, filled with the power of the end, truly came to an end.
Henceforth, there was no other future in this world, and no other past existed anymore. The world, destroyed by the wicked power of the Demon King, had lost all possibilities, and no matter how other worlds may repeat their time, this “finished ” world remained unchanged.
In the world engraved with eternal demise, the Demon King who brought about that end must surely be satisfied. As the irreplaceable world was lost, God silently shed tears.
“What the hell is this!? Are you kidding me!?”
As I finished reading the book, I couldn’t help but shout out loud. The selfish arguments of this so-called god were not only anger-inducing but also incredibly absurd.
“The reason that world turned out like this was because of some weird interference from the outside, wasn’t it? If you have a problem, then make sure to send me back in time properly!”
The mechanism for me to travel to another world was created by this supposedly benevolent god. And if it had been functioning properly, sending me back to the initial time, it should have been more than enough to prevent the destruction of that world.
“That’s right. According to Harris-san’s account, there was quite a long time between the blizzard starting and children no longer being born…”
“Yeah, there should have been about twenty years of leeway. With that much time, we could have easily defeated the Demon King!”
I’m not saying it would have been an absolute guarantee, but it’s harder to believe that with that much time available, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat him. Sure, he was a formidable Demon King, but considering the youth, time, resources, and manpower we had, almost everything needed was in place from the start. It should have been a cakewalk, if anything.
“And it’s strange that only this time the Demon King had some weird power. This guy is probably the cause, right? So damn annoying!”
I try shaking my hands, but unfortunately, there’s no sign of that white thing popping out. And Tia was looking at me with a perplexed expression.
“What are you doing, Ed?”
“Well, when I absorbed the power of the Demon King from that world earlier, something strange came along with it. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to get it out.”
“What is it? Are you okay?”
“Well, if we’re talking about the current state, I’m fine, but if you ask me if I’ll be fine forever…”
To be honest, this white thing sounds like nothing but trouble. Actually, the fact that it’s wreaking havoc inside someone’s body was trouble in itself. Ideally, I’d like to physically remove it even if it means cutting off an arm or a leg, but it’s something more conceptual, so it’s not that simple.
“Tch, I’m getting really pissed off! Hey, Tia, I’ve made up my mind!”
“You’ve made up your mind about what?”
“I’m going to give a nice, happy ending to all 100 different worlds! And then, I’ll punch that God-like guy in the face and ask him, ‘Hey, how does that feel?'”
“Huh? Isn’t that a bit too ambitious? Can you really do that? There are worlds that have already passed, you know?”
“Well, for that, I’ll come up with a good plan. Anyway, I’ll do everything I can! I’ll make that scheming, annoying God suffer to the fullest!”
With a firm resolve in my heart, I raised my clenched fist. Specific methods? It doesn’t matter, I’ll figure something out on the spot.
“Fufufu, isn’t that just what you wanted, God? You wanted me to think, ‘Oh, how tragic the power of the Demon King is! I should have just ended myself!’ I never thought that, you idiot! If I had given up just because things seemed hopeless, I would have vanished a long time ago!”
""
It was just one time, witnessing the world’s end right before my eyes. Compared to repeating an unchanging despair billions of times, this is nothing more than a minor setback.
“Oh, I’ll show you! I’ll decide where it ends! The 012th world coming to an end? Ha! My second round.. it’s just getting started!”
I stand up from my chair and pound my fist on the wall where the door used to be. The white wall ripples, and for a moment, I catch a glimpse of a door appearing.
“Wait for us, next world! I don’t know what kind of changes will come our way, but I’ll definitely prepare the best ending for you! Tia, let’s go!”
“Yes, yes. Fufu.. Ed, that’s how it should be!”
As I ignited my spirit, Tia stood up with a wry smile. Hand in hand, unyielding to whatever harsh world awaits beyond the newly opened door, we step into a new world.