"I have no obligation to tell you."
"Why not? You're going to kill me, right? Besides, you already know everything about my magic."
"If I tell you, will you leave me alone after that?"
"I don't think that's possible."
"Then I won't say."
"Aah jeez, you aren't cute at all. Something to know about us humans, we're all the same, every last one of us. What some see as logical is actually guided by emotions. Humans can't make truly logical decisions because whether it is for religion, family, children, or even power, all of us are slaves to something. So I wouldn't really call a logical choice the right one just on the grounds of being a logical choice. What that choice actually entails varies greatly. Maybe, it'd be fine for you to put up your solitary airs and achieve your grand ambition alone. Or you enter it and die by yourself. But I've decided. Since I'm arrogant, be it as a friend, as a comrade, or a student, or whether it is simply because I want to see that high and mighty angry face of yours again, I want to return you back to normal. For nothing but these unreasonable selfish reasons. I don't care about your consent. At any rate, you're ambition is probably an unconventional motivation that transcends the boundaries of ordinary narratives, right? I shall make you tell me your troubles."
"You really are a moron."
"Not as moronic as you. Have you ever wondered why I chose the magical name Ollerus?"
"What the heck are you talking about?"
"Precisely. Sorry Othinus but I'll be trampling over your dream."
"Let's see you try it, human. If you managed to survive this."
.
.
.
"..."
Kamijou Touma's eyelids listlessly fluttered open.
"...Mmm..."
In contrast to his body which was fully awake, his mind was half-asleep.
"Ah, Aaah..."
The establishment of his consciousness told him it was nighttime. And sorted out some more, his thoughts made him aware what he felt against his flesh was the rough gravel of asphalt.
Nevertheless, without fail, the area he appeared in was deserted.
Not a single person was there.
From the bodies of both Tsuchimikado and Himegami to the abrupt appearance of Othinus.
Only he alone was left lying in this wide-open street.
At a glimpse, it seemed he was lying on his stomach. So by turning over on his back with his head up, Kamijou's mind was able to convey to him his exact location――
"...W-What?"
A feeling of tension ran through his muscles as he intimately recognized this place.
Multiple wind Turbines.
Drum like cleaning robots.
Airships that could broadcast the time and weather.
――He was in the middle of Academy City.
"!"
Kamijou had honestly not expected to be back here.
He was formulating in his head what proposals would return him. However, a single fact dominated his entire body and halted the functions of his mind once he became aware.
"No one is here."
There was no need to verbalize it.
There were no sounds or signs from the city. No zooming of cars or the clamors of people walking the streets.
It is reality that he is in a completely empty Academy City.
"――hk!"
He couldn't say any more than that. He was already on his feet.
Kamijou didn't even know how long he had been away from here. If he were to believe his memories he should have only been gone for two days and a couple of hours.
"It's dark out and the moon could be clearly seen."
So that should be a correct assessment.
There was no reason why he should have thought otherwise, but――
…
…
…
By the time Kamijou reached his destination and opened the door, he regretted not thinking otherwise,
"…Ah"
Kamijou was at the brink of losing what remained of his unconsciousness.
Right before his eyes, was a petite girl whose height was 148 cm. She had thigh-length silver hair and wore a white modified nun's habit with golden highlights.
Kamijou knew the name of that girl.
"...Index..."
He called out to her softly.
But.
What brought on this overwhelming wave of weakness and worthlessness was not just the mere presence of the girls but her almond-shaped green eyes which both left and right, flickered red with a complex magic circle in their center.
"…Index?"
She was like a puppet hanging from the invisible strings of the devil how stiffly she hovered in his apartment.
"Index…?"
There was an emotionless expression endowing her countenance.
"..."
Even more so than before her face was empty, vacant, lonely, and sad.
"Hey, Index."
"..."
Her beautiful face was smeared with blood. The blood probably belonged to her as her neck, thighs, and arms were all covered in nasty wounds.
"Index."
"..."
Her habit and boots were in tatters and covered in both dried dirt and blood.
—*zzz*... *zzz*...
――"Chapter 3, Verse 8: Area scan complete."
Kamijou had no idea what was happening.
—*zzz*... *zzz*...
――"John's Pen mode will now exterminate the enemy."
Even so, his every instinct was screaming from the bottom of his heart to not let this continue.
—*zzz*... *zzz*...
The crimson magical circles in her eyes grew and exploded.
Following that—Kamijou reached out his right hand.
And...…
—*zzz*... *zzz*...
"GHHAGHK―――!?"
In the next instant, the entirety of the room flashed crimson.
Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh!
Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh!
Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh! Kssshhh!
The scenery of the cityscape flowed past him in a blur.
No sooner had Kamijou realized that—
"—"
—he crashed into the wall of a five-story building adjacent to a convenience store.
"Au―rgh"
Then collided with the store's rooftop edge, an outside dumpster, and finally the ground.
"... Ugh... Uh Ugh..."
The air inside of his lungs had been forcefully knocked out of him, leaving behind nothing but guttural gasps to escape his lips.
"... Ugh... Ah..."
Kamijou's mind could barely get a grasp on the situation.
He was short of breath and clearly bleeding heavily from the head and side.
*siii*!
"Hn."
A thin layer of red clouded his right eye like a foggy mist. He felt burning pain mixed between the inhalations and exhalations of his breathing. And whether it was blinking or groaning, it felt like a splash of corrosive acid was borrowing a trail through his sensitive organs.
But nevertheless, Kamijou stood up.
He dragged on his aching body and willed it to take a step forward, again and again and again.
His destination—the Hospital in School District 7.
If he could reach there, he could perhaps shelter himself from Index for a while and even treat his injuries.
The sound of his footsteps could be clearly heard reverberating through the dark road at night.
Having entered into the building of the hospital Kamijou took the elevator up to the ninth floor. The nurse's station was located there which meant access to the storeroom keys inside the key cabinet. The storage box was mounted on the wall behind the nurse's desk. The box was already opened so all Kamijou had to do was sieve through the 72 hooked-up keys for the one whose number plate had the appropriate initials.
From there Kamijou simply grabbed it and then took the elevator straight down to the basement. When the mechanical doors opened he stepped out and walked beneath the lights illuminating the basement hallways where his silhouette eventually ended up in front of the hospital's storeroom door.
The first thing that leaped out from beyond those heavy double doors was the overwhelming scent of disinfectant. Even more so than that inside the ICU and Surgical ward. Then came that nauseating bright white light that covered almost every inch of that classroom-sized space.
Contrary to the size provided however, medical facilities all around Academy City stockpile their massive quantities of supplies, from medications and surgical kits to diagnostic tools, linens, protective equipment, and personal care supplies using mobile shelving storage such as compact shelves for smart storage that condenses the highest amount of supplies into the smallest space available.
So every displayed shelves were packed narrow and completely filled tightly with thick stacks of medications and medical equipment.
The high-density storage system in the room meant that the mobile archive shelving compressed two rows of storage into one deeper space. So each subsequent shelf would need to move in order to gain access to the shelves behind.
Thankfully there was an alphabetical system to the compact archive, so Kamijou needed only to hunt for all the supplies he required by turning the massive handles positioned on the side of the mobile shelve rack.
"... "
With that said, Kamijou stopped turning the handle and stared blankly at his right hand. Or to be more precise the digits of the index and ring fingers which were bent unnaturally at an angle.
One could almost see where his thought process was headed. And in actual fact, his heart was hit by a pang of uneasiness but not the slightest amount of attention was given to feigned composure.
Just as expected, a long line of medicines and equipment bearing the categorized alphabet were shelved in each column. Kamijou grabbed all the supplies he needed, interchanging between the letters; A. C, G, P, and S, anything that could help control the internal bleeding, patched his fingers, and cleaned his external wounds.
Kamijou wasn't particularly knowledgeable about first aid. Generally speaking, the students in Academy City were taught the basics, but Kamijou was more or less absent for the majority of those sessions. So his treatment was just that, patchwork.
Still, it was more serviceable than nothing.
While thinking that, Kamijou's feet gave out on him without waning. He fell to his knees, motionless, and the upper half of his body leaned against one of the open mobile shelves.
And.
"— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — "
And.
"— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — "
And.
"… Othinus."
He reached his limit.
Kamijou had tried desperately to avoid the topic.
He had been holding off by sheer force of will alone, but right now his emotional meter was maxed out.
"Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus! Othinus!"
Perhaps it was caused by rage.
Perhaps it was caused by helplessness
Perhaps it was caused by uselessness.
Perhaps it was caused by defenseless.
Or maybe, perhaps it was caused by powerless.
But his attempts were gradually becoming weaker. And his mind could not choose a single reason why.
But.
This was not because of a simple power struggle between the mind and heart. Rather, it was due to the scenery Kamijou sees whenever he closes his eyes—His mind could not help but feel a distorted sense of guilt intensify in the heart whenever he remembered that emotionless face.
"OTHINUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"There was no one besides Kamijou in that room.
This was certainly no trick or gimmick.
He should have been alone.
That was no lie.
And yet,
"Your screeching is really irritating."
A monster who could be considered the apex of the magic side was perched right next to him. As if her individual presence was not known to the entire visual world.
"Seriously,"
Magic God Othinus. The girl who stood in the territory of a god suddenly appeared sitting atop a mobile shelve.
And so.
"—Shut it."
The pointy-haired boy spoke. It took nearly all of his strength not to yell in a fervent voice.
"The hell did you do...?"
Kamijou just needed an answer.
"What the hell did you do to Index!?"
The answer to the only burning question currently eating away at him.
"You seem to be a very forgetful creature. Everyone you fought up to this point had wishes they wanted to be granted, no? The Index Librorum Prohibitorum is no different."
That confirmed it.
"...I'll kill you. I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll FUCKING kill you! I don't know what kind of a hold you have on Index but I won't let it stand!"
"—Wrong. She chose this of her own accord,"
Kamijou's mind froze.
"... What, did you just say?"
There is no fool who would believe the words said by such a despicable god.
... what the heck am I doing?
Kamijou understood that, but he couldn't digest it.
In the first place...
"Did you forget why that redhead magician wanted to kill you?"
"Hrm!"
"Somewhere out there, someone is yelling. Somewhere out there, someone is crying. Somewhere out there, someone is also shouting. How long do you think you've been away? One to two day's maybe. Three at most. Well? Truth be told, one month has passed."
Othinus words were laced with venom.
If one month had really passed like what she said, then Kamijou could not claim that he did not know what Index was feeling or neither her situation—After all, that girl's life was always just short of getting snuffed out.
That god's merciless words continued.
"If there's one thing that's horrible about you humans, it's that they won't get hurt if things happen within their expectations. If they set their expectations to take into account that things won't always go well and that the worst could happen, then they won't get hurt. Thus, when you have hope and if that hope is betrayed, well, you not only get hurt but also fall into despair."
At that moment.
"–––!"
"..."
A violent tremor shook the entirety of the Hospital.
"Time's up, I suppose." Othinus took her gaze away from Kamijou and faced in the direction of the ceiling.
"I'll be taking me leave." She muttered and with a snap of her fingers—
"Oi—"
— She disappeared in an instant.
"Shit! "
Why had he felt like a burden had been lifted off his chest?
"Shit, shit, shit! Screw you, bitch—! Fuck you! Fuck this, give me a fucking break! Damn it!"
Kamijou wanted to know why that was.
"...No, there's no point in wondering about that now."
Everything would be answered once he talks to that god again.
That's right.
For now, he needed only to focus on escaping.
Screech—!
A blinding red beam of light gorged through everything just to the left of Kamijou.
*Dripp* *Drippp*
Something of a wet sticky noise squeal through the air.
The instant that Kamijou realized what it was—
"Owwwweeeeeeeeggghhhhhhhhhhhh!"
His body had already slammed into a glass cabinet due to the accompanying thunderous explosion.
But there was no time to rest.
'Then hurry up and move damn it!'
Forget about the loss of the left arm and the glass shard in your stomach!
Forget about the extreme depths of burning heat!
Forget even the very concept of pain!
And RUN!
Crrrrreeeeeaaaaaak!
Carrying all of his anger, hatred, and sorrow, within the fleeting scream of his bones, Kamijou steadied himself to his feet.
But still...
Just that was not enough.
So he took out the autoinjector of adrenaline he had tucked away and administered it straight into the neck vein.
"...Hnnrgh!"
He got a response.
An immediate one at that.
—A throbbing high took over his body and the pain got dulled to a passing ache.
The distance of a couple of meters was covered in less than several seconds.
Though...perhaps not as well as one could have hoped.
"!"
Every passing second the hospital building would shake and reverberate with roars of explosions and shockwaves. The entire thing was on the verge of collapse; as the ceiling, walls, and floors were being contagiously blown away due to Index's persistent pursuit.
"Shit—"
There was a shriek of metal and tearing of concrete coming from above Kamijou.
And—a red bolt of light impaled through the ceiling and collapsed in the flight of stairs descending two feet ahead of him.
"Kyaaaaa."
Once again Kamijou's body was thrown aside and crashed into the ground.
If he had calculated the probability, it was possible he could have seen this outcome. But the floor underneath him gave way.
*Slag*
Then,
Without even realizing it, his body crashed into something, accompanied by a hail of concrete.
Even so, Kamijou managed to avoid his flesh and bone from being smashed to pieces when he rolled off the ambulance and fell onto the ground.
All that occurred in only a few seconds.
"Huff... Huff...Owah"
When his vision cleared, Kamijou noticed that he reached his goal—the underground parking garage.
The exit could already be seen.
Kamijou was still anxious.
But...
"Ah, guhahhhh...! Aagaaaghhhhhh!"
There was no doubt in his mind that he would die if he stopped running.
Two seconds later the relentless onslaught continued.
'How the hell is she tracking me?!'
Kamijou was an inexperienced boy with superficial knowledge of magic.
But he knew there had to be some kind of trick or gimmick involved as Index was nowhere to be seen.
So he ran and ran and ran. Even though he escaped from the hospital, and even though Index no longer spammed that red blast attack.
Kamijou did not stop running.
His left eardrum was busted because of the first explosion, so the sounds of his surroundings from that side were muted.
Still,
"—Warning: Chapter 29, Verse 33. Activation of the Scarlet Stone of Pexjarva."
He heard those cold monotonic words.
'Fu—!?'
Kamijou's eyes widened in shock as, without any time to react, the nerves within the lower half of his body screeched horribly as they were forcibly stretched apart.
"Uuuuuuuuhhhhhh!"
Kamijou used Imagine Breaker to negate the spell.
But it was already too late.
"Warning: Chapter 35, Verse 18. Five seconds until complete activation of Sulfur Rain will Scorch the Earth."
A couple hundred meters above him.
"Kh!"
Higher than the buildings and higher than the clouds.
The scenery of Hell was spread out before his eyes.
An arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light. Another arrow of light.
There were countless arrows of light—everywhere.
And they all struck down like guillotines, piercing and burning through everything.
"I'm not done yet!"
Having said that, Kamijou stretched out his right hand.
The arrows dissipated into tiny sparks which set off the others upon impact with Imagine Breaker.
However,
'No good!'
In the end, the biggest problem to deal with was the shockwave rather than any flying debris.
The road crumbled underneath itself.
And with that, he fell.
But not for long.
Kamijou's vision spun wildly around.
He was tumbling.
If he had slammed into the ground, his body wouldn't have had this much momentum. The realization took some time, but It was painfully obvious— bloody Kamijou was rolling atop a passing train.
Although, that was just only for a moment.
Kamijou didn't have enough information but somewhere along the line, he had been tossed off the passing train.
How far off was not known.
"...Aaarrgahhh..."
A cold, frothy swell of blood rolled up from the frantic gasps of air that fought through his lips.
"Do you want to know her wish?"
Amid his vague sense of reality and the passage of time, Kamijou heard a girl speak.
"In order to understand the path she chose."
It was Magic God Othinus.
The blonde-haired, eyepatch-wearing girl.
"Cough, cough!"
He wanted to shut close his eyes. Drowsiness was already enveloping him. And his sense of balance was also out of whack.
"Pant, pant! Gasp!"
In their last conversation, he had said that he would have that god explain everything.
But he could not just stop to listen.
"..."
His knees wobbled with every step he took.
"In contrast to the other's; where one wanted power to protect the person dearest to them, where one wanted to bring back to life their loved ones, where one wanted to heal the person they love, one wanted the capability for revenge and where one wanted to rewrite their life to exclude something they were born with. Her's was toErase her very own existence."
His throat closed as he tried to open his lungs amid the petrifying shock.
It was true that magic could make the impossible into a reality—but even so, this was much too extraordinary.
For things to end up this way.
"The betrayal of hope results in despair. The fear of it all became all too real for that girl. But fear, as you find in times like those, is a very potent fuel for the nerves. I've learned humans prefer emotions over logic, that is just the core irrationalism of humanity; beings who would destroy that which they do not value for for the sake of that which they value while also harming that which they value for the very reason that they value it."
Kamijou had been thinking about it all wrong.
Where was it he last left her when he was here?
Where was it he found her when he had returned?
And...
Why was it she was still there?
"Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shhuuuuuuuuut uuuuuuup! You could have helped her!"
The world was dark.
Miracles did not happen in this world.
Most of the time, that is...
"There was nothing to criticize her about. For someone who lived in the darkness, it was not an uncommon story. Even if she made a wish similar to all the others it wouldn't make her any less unhappy. What is self-preservation but instinct and the fear of death. To someone born in that darkness, raised in that darkness, and yet, searching for a light somewhere, it wasn't really an uncommon story. Thus there existed only one conclusion in her mind—she should perish from here."
He had judged this wrong.
Index expression showed that she never wished for this situation. She was simply accepting it since there was nothing she could do. She had probably already given up on searching for that light. That was the kind of face she had. That was the kind of girl, with a plastered smile on her face, she was.
Everything was an act; a fake beauty.
But yet,
(She had been waiting for me.)
(She even got hurt while doing so.)
Everyone was allotted one wish.
(Why did I get so close to her?)
If she had wished to do things back over, Kamijou felt like it still wouldn't make her WANT to live this wretched life.
It was all because of a single promise.
The only question left was whether Kamijou would dare to embrace the role of the villain.
— Will he kill her?
Or.
— Will he save her?
Either way, it would result in that girl's death.
(What was the correct thing to do? How can I protect everyone?)
But just as before —
"Chapter 15, Verse 4. Cutting off the enemy's escape route and carrying out the disposal of the enemy."
— He heard that familiar monotonic voice.
And in that next instant— Right before his eyes, the passageway ahead of him collapsed.
The entire underground tunnel shook. And as if a wave of water was rushing in, the wall of air threw him violently backward.
There was hardly any distance separating him and Index now.
He wasn't facing that gentle image of that purely white nun.
She was bloody and wounded all over.
And.
And.
And.
Her two emerald-colored eyes glowed red with two complicated magic circles.
"Chapter 17, Verse 33. Now activating the sword of the harvest god."
Three white lights of pure heat reared their ugly faces behind Index.
Then—
"Aah, scary scary," Othinus said lethargically.
—glinted through the air towards Kamijou.
"Tch!"
The three 'swords' of lights took different trajectories in their path.
Kamijou let out a cry as he operated the muscles in his feet to run towards Othinus.
What he was doing was quite simple.
The objective was to touch her body.
Since he was being attacked with weapons whose natures he did not understand, he might as well seal any more casting of spells.
The rays of light had no other choice but to change their course of trajectory.
One of the rays of light grazed his cheeks and impaled itself into the wall to the left of him due to the change in distance. One flew past above his head and had to change its path to start chasing from behind his back but failed. While the last was swatted away even though it moved like a screwdriver flying straight forward.
That meant Index had time to chant another spell.
So this was no time for him to stop.
If he took several more steps forward, the space between them would vanish instantly.
And yet…
His feet wouldn't allow him to move. It was not due to strength leaving his legs that he could not continue on. No. More like he could not find it in himself to end this flight.
■ ■, ■ ... ■ ■, ■ ■ ■ , ... ■ ... ■ ■
Countless voices layered over each other, creating a cacophonous tune.
This was because of Index's use of high-speed incantation.
— Blood-like wings appeared from behind her back.
— Vein-like corruption spread admits the floor like spiderwebs.
— A pillar of pure white light shot out from the expanded magical circles over her eyes
— And three rays of eerily light floated around her.
"Gah…!?"
Kamijou had lost track of the timing of it all as the flap of those blood-like wings had sent him flying and caused him to strike the wall of rubble that was blocking off the passageway.
But all the same, Kamijou thrust out his battered right hand.
Even though it was useless.
Even though either his neck or heart will get sliced apart.
Regardless of all those facts, he needed to at least do something.
"Ohhhhhhhhhh!"
Because that wish was not one that could be forgiven.
"Urgh!"
The pillar of light made contact with imagine breaker with an intense blast but failed in being negated.
"GRRKKK!"
The joints between his bones were forcibly stretched apart from the vein-like webs coming up from the floor.
And—The pursuit of the three 'swords' grew closer by the moment.
However, his life did not flash before his eyes. The work he had yet to do, the accumulation of regrets, the time he spent with his parents and friends. Nothing.
There was only the wait for the grotesque sound of his death.
He could not move imagine breaker. He could not move his body. And the three 'swords' of heat had been given extra speed by the flaps of those blood-red wings.
Kamijous was truly not in any state where he could deal with these attacks.
That only left one option...
Immediately, he gulped down the accumulated saliva. Focused his scattered consciousness and,
"OTHINUSSSSSS!"
spoke that evil goddess's name.
Time seemed to have slowed down
Time seemed as if it had frozen.
No. In actuality, it had really frozen.
"How can I help."
And the liability for it was this god who held a finely decorated golden spear.
"I need to make one thing clear here. I shall not kiss the ground nor let myself be wielded as a tool. I am damned, but I will remake this world in my own image."
"That is fine with me."
A World without him was indeed, in no shape or form, perfect.
But what place is?
Even if by design as it was, should he just roll over and let this carnage rampage on?
This is a situation where the casualties speak for themselves. Many of lives were lost in that god's sole pursuit to crush him.
"You gods are ugly creatures. Despite everyone these days trying to force messages of "only look out for yourself", and "no one else cares, so you shouldn't" down our throats, such a blanket response just is not true of the real world. Are there selfish people, yes, obviously, I'm not an idiot. But everyone acts like it's the "true nature of humanity" or some nonsense. It's not. It's just another choice of how one lives their life. And where there is a choice, there is always at least a 2nd path. Some people don't care, but some actually do. It's always a choice made. I've seen some terrible people justify terrible acts with the line of thinking: "No one else cares, so why should I". But there is altruism in this world, I have seen it. It is not dead, not yet at least. With the firefighter that rushes into an inferno to save those trapped; in the reassuring words of a cop staying beside a victim scared stiff; in the warmth of a jacket given on a cold winter day to one without a roof for the night; even in the friend, who just says, "you've got this". These acts, big or small, do not benefit the helper in a single way. They risk time, talent, limb, and even life. In many cases, without reward, only cost. But they still do it, not because they're looking out for themself, but because it's right because it's decent. And above all, it's kind... just kind."
This was now a separate world, where the rules ran unchecked.
"A fine lecture. So your decision has been decided then? Will you abandon your old world for this new one?"
He had been holding off by sheer force of will alone but now his attempts were gradually becoming weaker.
He shed lots of blood and sweat. And held his ground with these badly battered slender legs. Was it because of his sense of duty as a human being or due to his pride as a person that must've spurred on his determination to succeed?
"Yes. I shall do it. I'll do it. I'll do it. I'll do it! I won't die! I'll do my best! I shall show the world who I am!"
"I see. Find solace in the echoes of your journey, for it is within those reverberations that motivation takes a unique and intense form. Each step into the abyss is a declaration that you are the orchestrator of your own fate. For it is here that strength, resilience, and an indomitable will are forged."
In the tapestry of life, that strength. The audacity to challenge the world
"Therefore, I want you to tell me if you have the capability to protect it. If you can't protect it, I suggest that you destroy it now."
When put up against the existence of this god, makes one a villain.
Kill or be killed. That was the name of the game.
.
.
.
.
She was condemning this boy to a great deal of pain and suffering.
But it was something that had to be done. It needed to be done
The things you want to protect with your very own life oftentimes have a habit of crumbling away.
Othinus understood that saying better than anyone in existence.
But, no—
I'm not going to pretend and try making up excuses to help justify my actions.
Think of it me as you will, I do not care.
This is for no ones else happiness but my own. Through my actions, I act for myself and only myself.
I won't waver and I won't look back because doing what we like as we like—that is the core concept of a god.
What she wished to achieve wasn't reliant on whether her actions or convictions were right or wrong.
To begin with, that god shouldn't have been here in the first place. It was a mistake splitting herself in two. And above all, it was a mistake not overanalyzing everything once she had ascended to godhood.
Even putting aside the idiotic naivety she came into both worlds with, Othinus was already doomed to face the inevitable end of isolation and desolation once she became a magic god.
But it was not because of that that Touma Kamijou's torture was a necessary evil.
For her goal it was important, not to rewrite an outcome or even to change a single decision, but instead to correct one great fatal consequence.
You're free to think of me however you like—A complete heartless God. Yes, that is the most fitting description.
One who is willing to trample a single human boy in order to bring back the many residences of her own phase.
Although, even if Kamijou does or does not reciprocate; he was at least given the opportunity to enter another world, unlike her. But the only way he could ever achieve it is if he comes to terms with his guilt. Only then would he be able to enter the world that was something akin to heaven.
A world where everything is perfect
So closes the final chapter. Othinus won the battle but not the war. I know some people will disagree with it but I found this was the best ending to rap up this thing. Her decision from here after isn't going to lead to a happily ever after and in this specific scenario canon Ollerus wanted to avoid that. And, similar to the actual volume, subconsciously Othinus started projecting onto Kamijou, but in this case it was more so to display her morality or a reflection of the route to her psyche. Though I failed at showing it well each one of the people Touma fought all said something about Othinus, and so too does each chapter title. I know this is something I should just let people find out on their own but I have low self esteem so cut me some slack.