An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

The vibrations became more and more intense, and the pure white space became covered with countless cracks and holes, and began to break apart.

However, the two were completely unable to move. They hadn't expected that after killing the god, they would face the real crisis, and they could only smile bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Yue... I was planning to wait a while after killing Esid... to recover my strength, and then use the particles... or in the worst-case scenario, use my bones... to create a key to the space gate..."

"...Hmm. Looks like we don't have the time."

Even now, they couldn't use the "Contract of Unity." The metal particles and the iron in their blood, unable to withstand the strain of continuous use, had lost their effectiveness. Furthermore, their souls were extremely exhausted. Even if they had the magic power, they couldn't immediately cast Age of Gods magic. They would definitely lose consciousness.

After all, no matter how careful you are or how perfectly you prepare, you are still not omniscient and omnipotent.

What he needed most now was "time to recover his strength", but there was no way to buy it.

Seeing the world collapsing faster and faster, Hajime's face became not only solemn, but even painful. Even so, he did not despair.

"I've finally made it this far... I can't just give up like this. I won't give in. I'm going to crawl back, even if I have to."

"……Um."

Hajime and Yue held each other's shoulders and, as Hajime had said, crawled forward bit by bit in the pure white world.

The destination is the corner of the pure white space where the ground scene appears.

The two of them dodged the cracks in space that looked like cracks in the ground, skirted the large pit, and even though they were moving slowly, they continued forward without stopping, just as they had been all along the way.

Then, the two came to the edge of the crumbling ground.

The space below was like a raging sea, seemingly threatening to deny the existence of any living thing. Instinct warned him that if he jumped in, he would definitely not be able to escape unscathed.

Although we can clearly see the surviving coalition forces on the ground from here, we cannot go down.

Kaori and her friends must be there.

But it feels so far away.

If he waited here for a response, until the space was about to completely collapse, he might be able to use some protective artifacts or magic. The anxiety and tension of not knowing whether he had enough time to deal with it tormented Hajime's mind.

But reality is unforgiving. There's no escape now. The disintegration is accelerating, becoming more intense, and a pitch-black void is gradually approaching.

"……moon."

"……Um?"

"I love you."

"Yeah, I…I love you too."

It seems like it's too late after all. In that case, I'll just have to be mentally prepared.

Even the ground beneath their feet was beginning to crack. Yet, the two remained calm, smiling at each other and kissing.

Then, they decided to take a gamble and were about to jump into the space distortion that revealed the scene on the ground.

"Here they come! Appearing at the perfect moment, the unprecedented and unparalleled genius beautiful magician—Milody Lazen ☆is here♪ It's you who called me, right? Right?"

Suddenly something strange appeared.

“…”

Hajime and Yue were both stunned. It was as if a clown had jumped out of a coffin during a solemn funeral.

Ignoring the two people's reactions, the intruder continued to talk to himself with an unflattering excitement.

"What the hell! What the hell! I, Meredith, finally came here to save you! Why aren't you reacting at all?! At least greet me with clapping and cheering! Is Meredith really going to cry? Should I cry while sneaking glances at you guys!?"

“…How annoying.”

"...Well, this is undoubtedly Meredith."

That incredibly irritating attitude proved the newcomer's identity more than any other evidence. Seeing the golem in front of them, wearing a smiling mask, holding a victory sign and winking playfully, they finally decided that this was reality.

Then, they found that the collapse of space stopped within a limited range.

"Is this... you responsible?"

"Hehe, that's right! I'm Miss Meredith, the leader of the Liberator! To me, this is nothing! Feel free to praise me! But, really, I can only hold out for a few minutes."

"...Is there a way to escape?"

"Of course! I've already thrown the bunnies to the ground! It's just you two left! As expected of me! Excellent and capable women! Come on, give me a round of applause!"

Somehow, the smile mask could actually make her look cheerful and cheerful. Although Meredith's words and actions were annoying, Hajime and Yue sincerely admired and appreciated her... albeit reluctantly.

However, what she said next made the two people who were laughing dryly with their mouths half open completely stop smiling.

"Here, this is for you. This is the 'Degraded World-Transcending Arrow', the last one. It needs to function in such an unstable space, but it should be enough for you to escape. And I'll kindly give you some recovery potion. Now you should have the strength to activate the arrow's power, right? Alright, both of you, swallow the potion and get going! Go! I'll take care of the rest♪"

"...What about you? Aren't you going out with us?"

Hajime asked Meredith this question while glancing at Yue as she caught the "Degraded World-Leaping Arrow" thrown by Meredith. Meredith's words just now made it seem as if she would be left alone in this disintegrating space.

His speculation was absolutely correct.

"Yes, I'm staying. This messy space needs to be cleaned up somehow. Otherwise, the world above will definitely be affected. I'll take care of it."

“…You say that… as if you’re planning to die here…”

Thanks to the healing potion, Hajime's magic power was restored to a level sufficient to activate the divine weapon, and he could speak much more fluently than before.

Meredith answered his question nonchalantly.

"That's right. I'll stop here. Miss Meredith will cast her final, most powerful spell, compressing and destroying the divine realm. It'll vanish with a bang! This place shouldn't exist in the first place. I've been planning this from the beginning."

This was originally the final means that Meredi was going to use to deal with God, together with the "Divine Realm" to destroy God, in simple terms, it was self-destruction.

However, if the gods were still alive, it would be difficult to succeed. Therefore, Meredith's tone revealed gratitude towards Hajime and Yue.

"You want to sacrifice yourself? Come on, this doesn't suit you. It's better to—"

Hajime was dissatisfied with the way Meredith treated her death as a settled fact, and he subconsciously wanted to refute her. Just as he was about to speak,

The figure of a blonde, blue-eyed girl, about fourteen or fifteen, appeared, covering the body of the young man, Rem. It was a projection of a ghostly body.

That was what Meredith looked like when she was still human. Even though her tone was still casual, her expression was filled with contentment, and so gentle that it made one's chest tighten. She stared at Hajime and Yue—

"This is for my own satisfaction. I simply want to fulfill the promise I made to my friends and the people important to me—'Defeat the evil god and save the world!' This promise, as absurd as a legend, is a serious one for us. I simply want to fulfill it."

Meredith's gaze shot up into the empty sky. Her sky-blue eyes, filled with regret and a spine-trembling determination, gazed upon the distant past.

"Back then, I couldn't save the world and everyone else. I could only place my hopes on someone in the future... This is the moment I've always longed for. Now, at this time, in this place, I will devote all my energy to the people—this is the reason I've lived until now."

Meredy poured out her heart like a monologue. Hajime and Yue just listened quietly.

Because they understood. What Meredith needed to do now was not to indulge in the superficial joy of self-sacrifice. She had long cherished a wish in her heart that they could not imagine, and now it was finally fulfilled.

Seeing the two people's reactions, Miledi's eyes narrowed even more gently.

"Thank you, Nagumo Hajime, Yue. Thank you for fulfilling our wishes and using our magic correctly."

These words of gratitude filled Hajime and Yue's hearts with incredible emotion. They no longer wanted to stop Meredith, and they even felt relieved that they had the honor of witnessing the end of her journey.

So, they both naturally responded to her with smiles.

"...Miledi, thank you. Your magic is most useful. Now, I am the successor of Miledi Lessen."

"...Hehe, great! You've earned my approval, Meredith!"

"...'Just live your life as you wish. Your choice is definitely the best for the world'—I still remember you saying that to me. So what do you think? Is my choice the best?"

"Of course! That bastard was blasted to the other side of another world, but I'm still here. My life, which was like a slag, was able to be used by everyone, and I didn't break my oath. This is all thanks to you... Now, I can finally leave with peace of mind and see everyone."

Meredith's tone was filled with emotion. If she had a body right now, tears would have welled up in her eyes.

"Alright, you guys go. I'm almost unable to stop the collapse. It's time to go back to the people who are waiting for you. I'm leaving too, to meet the people who are waiting for me."

The originally stagnant space vibration began again.

Although Hajime and Yue were still unsteady, they were able to stand thanks to the effects of the recovery potion. They activated Yue's "Degraded World-Leaping Arrow" while staring intently at Meredi.

Then, give her words from the heart.

"Miledy Lessen. I salute you. Your unwavering resolve, undiminished through countless years, is undoubtedly unmatched."

Oscar Orcus.

Nez Grun.

Mel Melkini.

Ros Byrne.

Lutiris Hartrina.

Bandhu Shoni.

Hajime recited the names of the creators of the Great Labyrinth, the great liberators who were as famous as Meredith, one by one, and placed one hand on his heart, bowing deeply in respect.

"I will never forget you and the people you care about."

Yue also expressed the greatest respect to Meredith.

"...The traces left by your fierce resistance will not be in vain. I will pass them on to future generations."

The reactions of the two left Miledi speechless.

Her expression was as if she had unexpectedly obtained a treasure she had always wanted.

“Uh, ah… w-what! What are you doing?! W-I’m speechless now!? You actually said something like that to me… Okay, I really can’t hold it back anymore! Go back now, go back!”

Meredith seemed ashamed of her own overwhelming emotion, and turned her face away awkwardly, waving her hands and feet in panic.

The cracks under my feet grew larger and the space began to collapse again.

Seeing that Meredith refused to look directly at them, Hajime and Yue exchanged a smile, then turned their backs to her. After confirming that the distorted space was showing the ground, they nodded to each other.

"Then, let's go, protector of the world."

"...Goodbye, Guardian of the World."

The two of them had not agreed on anything beforehand, but they naturally said goodbye to Meredith using the same name and then jumped to the ground.

Mireidi, who stayed at the scene, stared at the place where the two had just been, and said shyly:

"Guardian of the world, huh? That's quite embarrassing. Saying something like that at the last minute is really unfair... This really makes me feel completely rewarded."

After saying that, he smiled shyly.

Then, a vast amount of sky-colored magic erupted. Cracks appeared on the mask, and the metal body began to disintegrate from the end and dissipate.

The little brother Rem, created by the seven liberators with all their strength for their leader, erupted with a spectacular and powerful magic flash, creating a disaster star like a black vortex out of thin air.

At this moment, Mireidi suddenly felt someone's presence and she raised her head.

"Ah──" I couldn't help but let out a sound.

What she saw were the figures of the people she cared about, figures that hadn't faded at all, no matter how many years had passed.

"Everyone……"

The people in front of her didn't respond; everyone just smiled at her quietly, as if praising her performance or feeling proud of her.

Is this a revolving lantern before death, or just an illusion?

Whatever the reason was, it didn't matter anymore.

"You guys came to pick me up? Hehehe, well, let me tell you. I'm finally, finally saying those words!"

The expanding star of disaster gradually swallowed up everything around it, including the pure white space, numerous alien worlds, and the space that seemed like nothingness, swallowing up everything like a black hole.

The golem itself vanished without a trace. With an innocent smile, Meredith's soul uttered the words she had longed to say, bringing her long, lonely journey to an end.

"Everyone! I'm back~~!!"

The next moment, the pure white space disappeared completely without a sound.

A world inverted appeared in the sky, as if the black and red world had been turned upside down. People looked up at the various otherworldly scenes appearing above them, watching as those worlds gradually collapsed as space twisted.

The atmosphere continued to shake, and with thunderous roars, cracks appeared in space, and the scope became larger and larger, extending not only to the sky, but also to the east, west, south, north and the ground.

The world is gradually being destroyed.

Therefore, even when the previously rampaging apostle army fell like a shower of silver light, no one cheered. They could only hold their breath, look up at the sky, and pray in their hearts.

“Ahh, God…”

I don’t know who is whispering like that.

Not many people know the truth about God, and probably no one among ordinary soldiers knows it.