272. Epilogue: After the Battle

≪——Experience points acquired.≫

≪Kazuto Kudo’s LV has risen to 30.≫

≪Evolution is now possible.≫

Announcements heralded the acquisition of massive experience points. It seems the law that experience is gained by killing applies to otherworlders as well. Furthermore, since the opponent was the pinnacle of the other world, my level jumped straight to the point where evolution is possible. The fact that the experience announcement played was proof, more than anything else, that the battle had been settled.

“……It’s over, then.”

“Yes, it’s over. Good work, Kazuto.”

Libera-san placed a hand on my shoulder as my strength drained away.

『……Honestly, you kept me on the edge of my seat. Well, I’m glad it worked out.』

“Arrogance……”

Despite his light tone, Arrogance’s body was in tatters. Well, I’m in no position to talk. The effect of “Heroic Hymn” is still active, but once the time limit hits, a horrific backlash will surely strike. I have to do what I can before then.

“—My, my, to think you’d actually win…… Otherworlders really are something.”

I heard an unfamiliar male voice. Looking over, I saw a tall man with blue hair. Based on the description, this must be—

“……Gashmash. You’re still alive, I see.”

The “Ice Emperor” Gashmash. The opponent Libera-san said she least wanted to fight.

“Don’t give me that murderous look. I’ve got no intention of fighting. I’ve already made a deal with Shuram-san. Me, Master Rialdo, and Sword Saint Boa have resigned from the Vanguard. There’s no reason to be enemies anymore.”

“……Hard to believe. Then where is Rialdo?”

“Ah—…… well, he’s still fighting. Inside that barrier over there, against a variant Orc.”

“Hah?”

Libera-san let out a bewildered, disbelieving sound at Gashmash, who looked extremely awkward. She silently readied her staff and pointed it at him.

“『Holy——”

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait! I seriously don’t intend to fight! Once Master Rialdo gets fired up, he just doesn’t stop. And while the girl over there is one thing, the Orc is fighting back like it’s exactly what he wanted. It was out of my hands……”

The Orc he mentioned is probably the High Orc. Rikka-chan rushed to help, and I wondered why that guy hadn’t shown up—turns out he was just still fighting. What the hell.

『——Libera, what he says is true.』

The Sea King’s telepathic message arrived.

『He made a deal with me. He will not harm the residents of this world. The self-destruct devices have already been neutralized.』

“……I see.”

As Libera-san lowered her staff, Gashmash let out a sigh of relief.

“Finally, you believe me. Now, about that—I’d like to have a talk regarding the future. Could you set up a meeting? Of course, with those guys over there included.”

Gashmash looked at me.

“So you’re Kazuto Kudo. The only native of this world Randall was wary of besides Libera-san. ……I see. I certainly wouldn’t want to fight you either. It feels like I couldn’t win no matter what I did.”

“……I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is a compliment. I could win against Libera-san or Shuram-san, but I can’t win against you. I guess it’s just a matter of ‘compatibility’.”

“……”

I’d heard about his ability from Libera-san. It’s true his power is a good match against her. But even so, I don’t feel like I could win……?

“Well, there’s no need to fight anymore, so ‘what-ifs’ are unnecessary. Master Rialdo will probably come over once he gets bored. Though Sword Saint Boa won’t be back for a while.”

“Why not?”

“She got a message. She said she was going to crush Randall’s ‘insurance’ along with the Sword Saint of this world. Apparently, if we were wiped out, he planned to unleash a legendary magic beast that was sealed in the other world onto this world.”

“Ts…… That piece of shit. He was still plotting something like that?”

“We weren’t told about it either. The Sword Saint of this world is incredible, though. Apparently, she looked it up with a skill called ‘Wisdom.’ It’s thanks to that skill that she knew about us.”

“……What is that skill? I’ve never heard of it.”

“She said it was the first ‘evolved skill’ in this world. Like the skill itself has a will. Well, you can hear the details from her later. The guy over there seems to have been given her contact info.”

Gashmash’s gaze turned toward Nishino-kun. ……Come to think of it, Aya-nee contacted Nishino-kun and Rikka-chan instead of me. Nishino-kun told me via email why she couldn’t contact me directly. She said she’d come to see me once everything was settled, but…… I feel Ichinose-san’s gaze on me.

“I heard. Ayame-san is Kudo-san’s cousin, isn’t she? ……Kudo-san, you had such a beautiful cousin?”

“Eh? Ah, yeah. We hadn’t been in touch for a long time, but I’m glad she’s alive.”

“Hmph, I see, I see…… a cousin, is it? A cousin. Hmm……”

“……Ichinose-san, why do you have such a blank, Noh-mask expression?”

Her eyes look like something out of an Egyptian mural.

“It’s nothing at all.”

……Then why the grumpy face?

“……Waon.” “……Kyuu.” “……(shake shake).”

And why are all of you looking at me with such exasperation?

“By the way, Arrogance, the effect of ‘Demon King’s Praise’ is still holding, right?”

『Yes, it should expire at the same time as his ‘Heroic Hymn,’ so it is still active.』

“Good. Then let’s collect Orion while we can.”

“That’s the Vanguard member who was restraining you, right?”

Holy Ark Orion. The member chosen specifically to restrain and seal Libera-san. Apparently, he’s currently stuck between Peony’s mass and the barrier.

“To be honest, he isn’t very strong aside from his barrier abilities, but we should restrain him just in case—ts.”

Suddenly, Libera-san’s expression stiffened.

“……Libera-san? Is something wrong?”

“No…… I thought I heard a strange sound just now?”

“A sound?”

——Paki. (Crack.)

“……Hm?”

I heard a sound like something cracking. Thinking maybe a piece of equipment had broken, I looked at the weapon in my hand, and then I noticed ‘it’.

“——Eh?”

Is this……? No, what is this? What’s happening?

——There were cracks in my hand.

Looking at Libera-san, I saw cracks in her hands as well.

“……I see. So that’s it……”

“Li-Libera-san? What on earth is this……?”

“It seems Randall wasn’t the only one hit by the system’s backlash.”

“……What?”

“Randall, who was directly intervening; me, who held the Spare Key; and Kazuto, who used the Administrator Privilege, even if only once. Three people in total…… damn it.”

“Eh, no, but……”

The white girl said it would be okay just once. No, wait. Indeed, using it once was fine. But at the moment I delivered the finishing blow to Randall, I used the remaining power of the system. If that was counted as a ‘second time’……?

“——You’ve got to be kidding me……”

My mind went blank. This had to be a sick joke. As if to deny my hopes, the cracks in my hand spread, already covering my entire left arm. Libera-san was in worse shape. Cracks covered her whole body. The backlash was likely stronger for her than for me.

“What…… what’s going to happen to us?”

“……I don’t know. But I don’t think we’ll turn into a mass of bugs like Randall did.”

“I see. That’s…… a relief.”

I suppose it’s a small mercy that I won’t turn into a monster like that black infant and attack Ichinose-san and the others.

“……I’m sorry. I never thought it would end like this.”

“Please, don’t apologize.”

“But this is…… this is just too much. You guys won. You won this unreasonable war, and just when things were finally about to start. Why does the one who deserves to be rewarded most have to……”

Libera-san was crying. Her body was starting to crumble, bit by bit.

『『LIBERA!』』

The Sea King and Flamme-san cried out simultaneously.

『SHURAM! Can’t you do something with your skills?!』

『I’ve been trying! But…… it’s no use. My skills can’t touch this……』

『No……』

Seeing the two in a panic, Libera-san’s expression brightened slightly.

“……What’s with those faces? You’ve put up with my selfishness long enough; you should be relieved, right? Sorry for all the trouble.”

『It was no trouble! Don’t…… don’t say that! I won’t allow you to say such things at a time like this!』

『That’s right! Because of you, we were able to take interest in humans! We were able to form friendships! It was because you were there! For you to…… to meet such an end, it’s unacceptable!』

“You’re right. It’s not like me. Honestly…… I’m leaving the rest to you two.”

Even a small movement would cause her to shatter. In that state, she closed her eyes and pressed her palms together.

“……Master, please. I don’t care what happens to me. So please, at least save him, save Kazuto. We are the ones at fault. We are the ones who used the power you left behind in the wrong direction. So please, at least him…… please……”

She could only pray now. That was a sign that the situation was beyond help. With a sharp crack, a particularly large fissure ran through her, and Libera-san’s entire body collapsed.

“——……ah.”

As if she had never been there in the first place, her body turned to dust and vanished.

『LIBERAAAAA! LIBERAAAAAAAAAA!』

The lamentations of the Sea King and Flamme echoed. Despite their constant bickering, their bond was real. That fact made me a little happy.

“K-Kudo, san……”

Ichinose-san’s face was deathly pale.

“Ichinose-san……”

“It’s…… it’s a joke, right? This, haha…… it has to be a joke, right……?”

She didn’t want to believe it. They had fought so hard, survived so much, and finally grasped victory.

“Yeah…… I wish it were a joke more than anything.”

As I watched my own body crack, the events of the past few months flashed before my eyes like a kaleidoscope.

Ah, so many things really did happen.

It all started that day on my way home from work, when I hit a Shadow Wolf with my car. I obtained skills and survived countless battles against High Orcs, Schwarz, Titan, Alpa, Peony, and Arrogance. I was able to survive this long only because I had comrades I could trust from the bottom of my heart, like Ichinose-san, Momo, Aka, Kiki, Sora, and Shiro.

“……Come to think of it, I’ve said this before, haven’t I?”

“S-said what……?”

“Ichinose…… Natsu-san, I am truly proud to have met you, to have become your ally, and to have fought alongside you.”

“W-wait, please, Kudo-san. Don’t…… you can’t say stuff like that…… It’s not right. Wait—”

“Wan wan! ……Kyuun?”

Momo and Ichinose-san stared at me with faces on the verge of tears.

“Momo, thank you for everything.”

“……Kyuun.”

I gently stroked Momo’s head.

“Haha, your fur really is soothing……”

——The sensation in my hands was already gone. But I’ll always remember the feeling of stroking Momo. I won’t forget it just because my senses are gone.

“Kudo-san……”

“Big Brother……”

Nishino-kun, Rikka-chan, Igarashi-san, Fujita-san—everyone was looking at me. My whole body was covered in cracks. I had been so tired, but now I felt no fatigue, not even pain. It really seemed to be the end.

“……”

Ah, no. Don’t cry. Put on the best smile you can. I smiled and held out my hand to everyone.

“……Everyone, thank you for everything. I’ll leave the rest…… to you.”

“Wait! Kudo-san, don’t——”

“—Goodbye.”

With those words, my body shattered into pieces.

End of 272