This is not the date I wanted.

——What’s wrong, Maria?

——Can you hold my hand? I’m a little scared.

--Um.

……

The cycle of the four seasons - the rising and setting of the sun - the law of the jungle -

There is no right or wrong, no good or bad. These rules exist in this world as if they were natural.

However, one day, when the first creature with a "heart" appeared, the world changed.

It is like a ruler that distinguishes right from wrong, good from bad, strong from weak. It even goes a step further and defines the standards of justice and evil.

But let us ask ourselves, will goodness not commit evil?

--no.

Another question: Can evil be turned into good?

--no.

That is merely the subjective standard of the "heart", but not the essence of the world. The positive and the negative are originally one.

and so--

Ah! Ah——! My dear master, Takamiya Mio!

Please forgive me for my self-assertion. In order to abide by the inviolable contract and to praise the courage and love of those two tiny things as life, I will raise the flag of rebellion against you.

In the next one hundred and eighty-seven seconds, I will not only be the Angel of Law Ain Sof (Paradise of Reincarnation) who maintains order and modifies the laws, but also the Demon of Law who dominates order and destroys the rules.

Its name is——

……

"Belial."

In this constantly shaking world of black and white, Liang Yi Meng Yue announced in a low voice the true name of the Demon King that emerged in her mind.

PS: I completely let myself go.

18 Injury is Death

==============================

The moment Meng Yue finished speaking, this world made up of black and white squares began to change.

Just like a flipped black and white chess piece, some of the pure white squares are dyed pure black, and the originally evenly symmetrical chessboard becomes like a piece of white paper scribbled with ink, messy and chaotic.

And the giant tree behind Mio that supported the heaven and earth was now also contaminated by some impurities, and the crystal clear trunk was dyed into a turbid grayish white.

After noticing the changes in "Samsara Paradise", Mio couldn't help but narrow her eyes.

"Belial...?"

That is the angel who controls the laws of the world, another real name of "Paradise of Reincarnation".

Unlike the reversal of the spirits, Mio, as the original spirit, does not have the original concept of "reversal".

"Paradise of Samsara" and "Eternal Miasma" are just two different names for the same existence. There is no difference in the way of activation, authority, or power.

However, with the birth of primates like humans into this world, the world has gained a new standard called "good and evil."

The good done by the law is called "Ein Soph (Paradise of Reincarnation)"; the evil done by the law is called "Belial (Eternal Hell)".

The birth of this concept also allowed two people to control the original sole power.

At this time, Liang Yi Meng Yue temporarily seized the control of this world of laws from Mio through the name of "Eternal Miasma".

"Is this the spirit spell that Westcott developed when he summoned me thirty years ago? I'm surprised you know this magic. Unfortunately, the function of this spell is only to condense the spirit veins and it is not aggressive. Otherwise, I would have lost by now."

Mio said calmly.

If this elf ritual is improved, not only the "Paradise of Samsara", but also the "Holy Temple of All Things" and her spiritual power will flow to Mengyue uncontrollably.

"...Humph. I told you, this is enough."

Meng Yue replied through gritted teeth.

——It hurts so much. Meng Yue felt a sharp pain in her heart.

The moment she shouted "Eternal Miasma", it was as if something important slipped away from her hands, and no matter how Meng Yue tried to keep it, she was powerless.

The hole in my heart unconsciously widened a little, and endless sadness and regret filled my entire brain.

It was just like when he lost Shidou and Tohka.

If possible, Mengyue really wanted to just drop her weapon and cry, giving up the battle, even if she would be killed by Mio.

But even though she was wounded, she had to keep fighting.

"Edict..."

Slowly loosening her clenched teeth, Mengyue imitated Lingyin's previous tone and declared softly.

At the same time, the demon king representing the "Eternal Miasma" shook slightly, as if waiting for the order of this temporary master.

In this short moment, all the information about the Demon King gathered in his mind, and Meng Yue's thoughts were working rapidly.

Just as Mio said, she only temporarily took away the control of this world from Mio. One hundred and eighty-seven seconds after Mengyue gave the order, "Eternal Miasma" would turn back into "Paradise of Samsara" and return to Mio's hands.

Moreover, during these 187 seconds, she could not manipulate the branches of the "Eternal Miasma" like Mio, nor could she modify the laws of this world at will like Mio.

The content of this initial order determines the success or failure of the battle.

In the battle just now, Mio showed signs of using "Paradise of Samsara" several times, but the laws did not change. In other words, the power to modify the laws is not absolute and may fail under certain circumstances.

And in the final analysis, even if control is taken away, it is still Mio's power.

Orders that are too greedy or too ambiguous won't work. If you give an order like "make sure you win", you might waste this opportunity.

What we should pursue is not "partiality" but "fairness".

It cannot be "strengthening herself" or "weakening Mio", the object of the law she wants to change must be the "environment".

A fair environment that could ignore the unbridgeable gap between her and Mio.

"From now on, getting hurt means death."

The moment Meng Yue finished speaking, the darkness of "Eternal Miasma" swallowed up the light of the entire world.

The next second, the darkness faded away, and Mio regained her vision with a solemn look on her face.

As the owner of "Paradise of Reincarnation", she naturally knew that "Eternal Miasma" had carried out Meng Yue's orders.

To be wounded is to die.

Now, no matter in this area, just a slight scratch, even just a skin break, will result in immediate death.

The people to whom this rule applies also include Takamiya Mio.

At this time, Mengyue had already disappeared from the spot and came silently behind Mio.

Rapheap (Hurricane Rider) – EI Kanaph (Sky Speeder).

At a distance of less than one meter from Mio, the crossbow arrow with the strongest penetrating power exploded from the bowstring.

At the moment when "Hurricane Knight" was unleashed, Mio, who was a step slower, also reacted. She ignored Mengyue's attack, but instead directed the light band of her spiritual outfit to attack Mengyue.

Fueled by the storm, arrows bombarded Mio's spirit suit, trying to penetrate her defense.

A few seconds passed, and there was no trace of damage on Mio's spiritual outfit. Instead, the arrow of Hurricane Knight lost its power and fell to the ground.

The attack was ineffective, but Meng Yue did not hesitate at all. She retreated and nimbly dodged the attack of the light band.

Methratton (Angel of Extinction) – Artelif (Crown).

Above Mio, countless wings of light gathered into a huge cannon muzzle, and dropped the light of judgment that destroyed everything onto the ground.

"Forehead--"

Mio couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Although she was absolutely confident in the defensive power of her spiritual outfit, facing Meng Yue's relentless attack, she still showed a hint of weakness and tried to dodge the light cannon of the "Angel of Extinction".

However, something strange happened. Although she felt that she had escaped from the attack range of the "Angel of Extinction", when she came to her senses, the torrent of spiritual power still hit her body from top to bottom.

"what happened?!"

"Is it necessary to be so surprised? Is this the rule you modified yourself?"

Mengyue came to Mio again, pointed the muzzle of the "Scorching Demon Killer" at her face, and explained calmly.

"The gravity is now 267.4g, the oxygen concentration in the air has increased by 60%, the temperature is minus 150 degrees Celsius, the air pressure is 650 mmHg lower than the standard atmospheric pressure, the spatial coordinates are offset by 121 meters, the left and right directions are reversed, etc. Even without the 'Universal Cathedral', if an ordinary person stepped into this realm, he would explode into a pool of frozen ketchup in less than two seconds."

Even though the control of "Eternal Miasma" is now in Mengyue's hands, the rules modified by "Paradise of Reincarnation" can still exert this effect.

Now, the laws that were tampered with in order to defeat Mengyue have turned this empty world into a maze that restricts Mio's actions.

Cameal (Scorching Devil)——Megiddo (Cannon)!

The next second, scorching hot rays gushed out towards Mio's face.

"..."

Although the attack was still easily resolved by the spiritual outfit, Mio's expression, which had always been at ease, finally revealed a hint of anxiety.

"Ain Soph Aur (The Holy Temple of All Things) - Bud Cannon."

Mio stretched her hands forward, and palm-sized flower buds appeared from thin air.

That was a deadly bud. The moment it bloomed, it shot out a deadly light of death towards Meng Yue.

Zadkiel (Ice Golem).

Of course, Meng Yue naturally couldn't be kind enough to provide information to the enemy. She used "Ice Puppet" and "Burning Demon Killer" to generate a large amount of fog and escaped from Mio's sight.

Just like that, the artillery fire from the "Cathedral of All Things" rushed into the fog, but Mio knew without even thinking that it had missed the target.

"……whispering sound."

Mio couldn't help but click her tongue in annoyance.

Even though the situation was such that even the slightest scratch would result in immediate death, Meng Yue moved without the slightest hesitation or fear, and used "Future Prediction" to dodge with great calmness.

In fact, it is not surprising. For Meng Yue, who has been shrouded by the "Holy Temple of All Things" from the beginning, the rule of "injury means death" is completely dispensable.

It was not until this moment that she had to admit that she had underestimated Liang Yi Meng Yue.

The "Holy Temple of All Things" that bestows death on all things, the "Paradise of Reincarnation" that tampers with the rules of the world, and spiritual equipment that can be immune to any attack.

Because she possessed these foul powers, Mio was aware that Mengyue had made some secret preparations, but she didn't take it seriously.

The result was that she stepped into the trap carefully set by Meng Yue step by step without realizing it. Although she did not show any signs of defeat, it did cause Mio considerable mental pressure.

(Calm down…Calm down…)

Mio kept reminding herself in her heart.

Although she suffered a setback, her victory is still unshakable at the moment.

Injury means death. Although this rule sounds terrible, in fact, Mio's spiritual outfit is the strongest defense representing the root of the world. If the attack does not contain Mio's spiritual power, or if it is a power of the same level, it is impossible to cause damage.

In the realm of "Eternal Miasma", it is difficult for him to hit Mengyue who possesses the "future prediction" ability, but with Mengyue's power output, he cannot break through Mio's defense.

Moreover, the time limit of "Eternal Miasma" must have put considerable pressure on Meng Yue, otherwise she would not have launched such a life-threatening attack.

(No, my opponent is Meng Yue. He has set up the situation to this extent. It is impossible for him to be unprepared at the most critical point. Those few attacks just now were probably feints to lure me in.)

Putting aside her unnecessary self-conceit, Mio tensed up and focused her attention on watching Meng Yue's movements.

Time passed quickly, one hundred and forty-one seconds had passed, and when there were only forty-seven seconds left in the time limit of "Eternal Miasma", Mengyue rushed in front of Mio again.

However, this time she used not the Hurricane Knight or the Angel of Extinction, but her own Sage of Dawn.

"Ratziel (Dawn Sage) - Greatsword Mode!"

"——!?"

Under Mio's surprised gaze, the bow arms of the mechanical bow in Mengyue's hand folded forward and merged into one, turning into a huge two-handed sword.

That appearance is very similar to Tohka's Aosakou.

Just like that, Meng Yue swung the giant sword that was as tall as himself and slashed towards Mio with great momentum.

However, facing Meng Yue's attack, Mio did not use her spiritual outfit to block it as she did before, but instead moved slightly to the side and avoided the heavy blow by a millimeter.