Chapter 211 Closing The God Realm
The worst-case scenario had occurred: [Evil God] had acquired the top-level administrative authority over the entire system in [God Realm]. This was identical to the original Miriallia's authority, with overlapping permissions.
Using this power, [Evil God] took control of the Magic Weapons scattered throughout the world, shutting down their functions. Then, she rewrote the magical energy supply lines connected to the Magic Weapons, redirecting them to itself. This meant that [Evil God] had effectively gained access to an infinite amount of magical energy.
With this power, [Evil God] could freely manipulate all magic and skills, grasping the authority to control [God Realm]'s system, and possessing an endless supply of magical energy. It had become a monster.
If [Evil God] had wanted to destroy humanity, she could have done so easily. But humanity was not destroyed by [Evil God].
That's only natural. [Evil God]'s goal was not to destroy humanity.
Instead, humanity began to counterattack against [Evil God], which was trying not to harm them unnecessarily.
Even if they lost the Magic Weapons, humanity didn't become completely powerless. At first, they were thrown into chaos by the great incident of the replicated Miriallia's rampage, and they were caught off guard. However, from then on, [Evil God] didn't get to freely exercise all system authorities unilaterally. They were able to resist [Evil God]'s authority seizure through the original Miriallia.
However, as it would later become clear, at this point in time, humanity had grasped another function that [Evil God] would absolutely not use, aside from the management authority of Magic Weapons.
――In any case.
Humanity mobilized the numerous soldiers created by the "Jobs System" and the human weapons led by the Aron series, and continued to corner [Evil God].
And during this battle, [Evil God] would suffer massive damage to her body, including her head, multiple times. For [Evil God], which could restore her brain, memories, and personality, this was a trivial matter. But for Lucia Aron, it was different. At this point, it could be said that the original Lucia had died.
However, Lucia's memories and personality have been inherited until now. Why? Because [Evil God] had copied and saved Lucia's self-information in the same way as her own.
For [Evil God], Lucia was a subject worth saving, after all.
However, due to this troublesome revival, humanity was able to corner [Evil God] multiple times, but they couldn't completely destroy her.
If it's Magic Weapons, it's possible to evaporate her entire body without leaving a single cell behind, even before the [Evil God] can restore herself. However, the management rights of Magic Weapons are in the grasp of the [Evil God].
Then――humanity thought of a plan.
As it is, the [Evil God] can't be defeated. So, let's seal her away once, and after that, reclaim the management rights of the Magic Weapons group. Then, they can erase the [Evil God], and that's it.
That's why they set a trap.
The [Evil God] repeated battles and fled all over the world. But humanity understood that she wasn't fleeing in vain. The [Evil God] was aiming to steal the "certain thing" necessary to achieve her goal.
That "certain thing" was the "Terraformer" series, built in a total of 13 units.
The "Terraformer" series was the only Magical Machine that could generate a massive subspace capable of relocating humanity and reproducing numerous humans.
The [Evil God] possessed the highest management rights of the "Terraformer" series, but the "Terraformer" series, which occupied most of humanity's shared magical energy, was not designed to be remote-controlled.
To operate the "Terraformer" series, one must head to the administrative domain, "Hlidskjalf (Administrator's Throne)", and connect to the administrative AI, Hlidskjalf (Administrator's Throne). Alternatively, one can directly connect an information terminal to the main device of the "Terraformer". This was designed as a security measure, and it proved to be effective.
Humans had built a robust defense network around the "Terraformer" series to prevent it from falling into the hands of the [Evil God]. As long as they could keep it away from the [Evil God], humans could avoid defeat.
However, that's exactly why they decided to use it as a trap.
――They built the [Seal Temple] to turn the entire labyrinth into a massive prison.
Humans intentionally created a hole in the defense network of "Terrafomer007" and lured the [Evil God] into the sub-space. After that, they activated the currently unused function of the [Seal Temple] and "spatially sealed" the sub-space itself.
Space magic――[World Severance]
This magic requires an enormous amount of magical energy to activate, but once the world is sealed, there's no escape, no matter what kind of space magic you possess.
And so, the lid of the prison was closed, and the [Evil God] was trapped inside the labyrinth.
The [Evil God], having lost her escape route, was finally sealed away by the numerous heroes gathered for the final battle.
The "Terrafomer007" constructed a sub-Space, the Spirit Temple, and connected it to the Seal Temple, activating the "Absolute Stop" magic within the Seal Coffin. This achieved a complete seal.
However, just before being sealed, the Evil God, who had regained control over the Magic Weapons and realized her own impending demise, decided to take her last resort.
――Closing The [God Realm].
By doing so, humanity would lose all infrastructure controlled by the Psycho Network, including communication infrastructure. Furthermore, the vast amount of knowledge and technology stored in the God Realm would also be lost. The managed magic creatures, monsters, would be released, and the diverse range of humans, including those with mixed ancestry, would inevitably split apart.
And since humans could no longer connect to the God Realm, it would be impossible for them to regain control over the Magic Weapons.
However, for the Evil God who loved humanity, this Selection, which would result in the deaths of many humans, was a means to finally make a choice, weighing her own demise against the scales.
Moreover, there was another significant problem.
This was a double-edged sword for the Evil God as well.
[Evil God] may be a god, but it's an existence confined to Lucia's physical body. If she closes the network, she'll become a completely independent existence separate from the [God Realm]. In other words, since she can't connect to the [God Realm] herself, she can't undo the closed state.
The only one who can undo the closed state is the original Miriallia in the [God Realm], but aside from maintaining and managing the [God Realm], the [God] won't take any actions on its own.
In other words, the method to undo the closed state will be lost forever for both [Evil God] and humanity....
But [Evil God] wouldn't do something like that.
It's unclear how far into the future [Evil God] foresaw with her "Possibility Perception", but considering her nature of being unable to actively attack humanity, she must have been certain that she would be cornered eventually.
So, while escaping from humanity, she was developing...
A struggle for authority with the original Miriallia. Using that as a decoy, she quietly made changes to the "Jobs System". She set up special Jobs that only appear for those with specific qualities, and created a backdoor to connect to the [God Realm] through them.
Special Jobs———————'Sword Dance Maiden'
Even in a closed state, they're the only one who can connect to the [God Realm] using "God's Descent". However, without a device that serves as an information terminal, they can't perform any operations other than "God's Descent", so Fiona can't do anything special to the [God Realm]. Moreover, even if she had the device, she wouldn't have the authority, so it would be pointless.
But if the [Evil God] gets the 'Sword Dance Maiden' Jobs, she can use their authority to release the closed state. Or, she can use the [God Realm]'s functions to their fullest extent without releasing the closed state.
For the [Evil God]'s human salvation, the [God Realm]'s functions are essential. That's why humans didn't think that the [God Realm] would be closed. And at the time of the replicated Miriallia's rampage, they didn't even realize that the functions had been seized.
The [Evil God] had been aiming for this all along.
To completely take away humanity's means of resistance by closing the [God Realm] and using the backdoor Jobs.
If the [Evil God] had obtained the 'Sword Dance Maiden' Jobs before being sealed, humanity's defeat would have been decided.
But after the 'Sword Dance Maiden' Jobs were completed, an unexpected problem arose for the [Evil God].
Due to the repeated body modifications and optimizations using nanomachines, the [Evil God]'s body had lost the ability of "God's Descent".
The "Possibility Perception" ability emerged due to a special brain structure, and it was still intact. However, "God's Descent" was different.
"God's Descent" didn't rely on the brain, but rather the composition of the physical body. This was something nobody realized until the [Evil God] lost the ability of "God's Descent".
And Lucia's clone, Ickle, didn't manifest either ability because she was born from edited genetic information in a cell clone. The edited genetic information didn't allow for the brain structure necessary for "Possibility Perception" to emerge.
――But explaining this to Aaron and the others would be pointless, so Lucia chose not to.
Anyway.
The [Evil God], who unexpectedly failed to obtain the 'Sword Dance Maiden' Jobs, was quickly trapped by humanity before she could get a replacement body.
But just before being sealed away, she put up a last-ditch resistance by closing the [God Realm] and allowing herself to be sealed.
――No, it would be more accurate to say she accepted the seal with open arms.
The [Evil God] didn't worry in the least.
Because if humanity didn't have the means to destroy her, she knew this seal would eventually be lifted. And even if she failed to obtain the 'Sword Dance Maiden' Jobs, she planned to take it from someone else who might manifest it, along with their physical body.
It didn't matter if it took a thousand years or ten thousand years. The problem would eventually resolve itself.
[Evil God] doesn't have a concept of lifespan, so she can revive her physical body as many times as she wants, and even her memories, which are limited by the brain's capacity, can be supplemented with external memory devices. [Evil God] doesn't have any sense of unease about this.
* * *
"――And so, [Evil God] was sealed, [God Realm] was closed, and humanity went on to decline. However, [Evil God] didn't want humanity to be destroyed. That's why she left behind some of [God Realm]'s functions, like the 'Jobs System' and 'Level-Up System', as a means for humanity to counter monsters and demi-humans. ...Or maybe she just didn't have the leisure to shut them down even if she could block communication. ...Anyway, this is what happened at the end of the Age of Gods."
"""......"""
The room fell silent.
I glanced sideways and saw Fiona's pale face frozen in shock. It was unlike her usual self.
We'd had a lot of difficult conversations, but the important parts were still understandable. It was easier to comprehend when it was something close to home.
But...this is weird.
I didn't want to hear this kind of story. I wanted to know the truth that the 4 houses were hiding.
This conversation has become extremely...unpleasant.
I didn't like the way the 4 houses were looking at Fiona, either. I could tell what they were thinking just by looking at their faces. They saw Fiona as a threat. And...
...depending on how the conversation goes from now on, it's likely that I'll end up becoming a full-fledged enemy of the 4 houses.
"Aaron."
"――Huh?"
The moment she spoke, the people from the Four Houses stiffened up. However, Lucia, who I was staring at directly, looked back at me with a straight face. I was reminded once again that she wasn't just a kid.
"Keep a lid on your killing intent. I'm not trying to make Fiona unhappy with this conversation."
"......"
"I... am Fiona's mom."
"......"
I couldn't help but look at Fiona.
Fiona, who was stunned by Lucia's words, shook her head vigorously, looking at me.
"No way, that's not it!!"
"Ah, yeah..."
Fiona's mom is Mrs. Alisa.
I looked at Lucia, wondering what kind of intention was behind her words.
"Hey, save your jokes for the right time and place."
"Geez... you're right, but when Aaron says it, it's somehow infuriating..."
Lucia muttered something rude, then answered.
"I'm treating Fiona like a mom would... that's all I meant to say."
"Huh? ...I don't really get it. What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what I said. I know Fiona better than anyone else."
"Huh?"
What is this guy who I just met today talking about?
"There's a special connection between Fiona and me."
Lucia began to talk again, leaving Fiona and us bewildered.
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