Chapter 237 This Is Love, You See
[God's Remains Labyrinth] Deepest Layer, Administrator's Domain 'Administrator's Throne (Hlidskjalf)'.
A little while after Ickle's attempt to kill Aaron Gale failed, Chronosphere transferred authority of Caduceus to Nacht Caduceus and moved there.
The space was surrounded by glass. Outside, there was a void world and shining planets, while inside, a huge glowing sphere floated in the center.
"......"
Seeing a woman with multiple wings standing under the sphere, Chronosphere felt a strange emotion.
The woman had her back turned to him. However, he could tell she was wearing a loving smile, even without seeing her face.
Between himself and that thing in front of him――who was "more insane"?
Chronosphere opened his mouth to the woman.
"It's been a while since we talked like this, Miriallia."
"......Really."
The woman who had been facing away――Evil God Miriallia――turned to face him.
Her silver hair and golden eyes still held that unchanged smile.
"The last time we had a conversation was before I was sealed away, after all."
Even with him appearing right in front of her, she showed no sign of disturbance. Chronosphere had expected this from the start, but still, he snorted in boredom.
"Hmph... Let me confirm one thing."
"Yes, what is it?"
"The fact that you are here means you have been observing 'this future,' right?"
"Yeah, I could see you coming here. You also saw a future where you would meet me here, right?"
"That's right... then, let's get to the point."
Chronosphere nodded.
A few days later, as Lucia spoke in front of the 4 families and Aaron, Chronosphere was not actually in a cooperative relationship with the Evil God――――or so it seemed.
In reality, Chronosphere was neither controlled by the Evil God nor in a partnership with it.
And that makes sense.
Because since sealing the Evil God, Chronosphere had never communicated with her until now.
It would be more accurate to say that they had a relationship where they used each other.
The Evil God aimed to control the labyrinth, regain her power, and safely acquire backdoor jobs.
Chronosphere sought to achieve his own goals.
And both were aware of this. They did not meet or converse, yet they still used each other.
"Still, I'm surprised."
The Evil God said, showing no sign of surprise on her face.
"You, who said that the future doesn't exist, saw the future and came to meet me like this."
The Evil God used Foresight through 'Possibility Perception,' while Chronosphere used Foresight through his Supernatural Ability [Invisible Hands]. They were merely moving towards this future that they both saw.
However, the Chronosphere did not originally have the ability to observe the future.
It is said that the Chronosphere governs "time and space," but that is not entirely accurate. He can indeed create the illusion of stopping time, speeding it up, or rewinding it――these events appear to happen on the surface.
However, this is just a type of space magic. By controlling and manipulating the matter within space, it only looks like time is being manipulated.
In the first place, the Chronosphere does not believe in the existence of something called "time."
There is no material thing that governs "time," and "time" is just a virtual concept named after the phenomenon of increasing entropy.
Even if the Chronosphere shows a rewind of "time" in a certain space, its essence is simply using magical energy to rearrange the matter in that space. When observed on a larger scale, there is ultimately no contradiction to the result of increasing entropy.
In short, it is no different from putting back together a tower of blocks that has fallen over.
However, because of this, the Chronosphere could not observe multiple futures as possibilities. He cannot observe or interfere with something it believes does not exist, which is something the Archetype Intelligence cannot do.
He can reproduce known events as many times as he want, and by combining them, he can create events that seem unknown at first glance, but in the end, they are just combinations of what is already known.
If he tries to predict the future through calculations, it requires an incredible amount of computing power and energy. It's like calculating the movements of every single atom that makes up the world.
Realistically, even the god Chronosphere cannot do such a thing.
However, for some reason, there was a being that could do it, even if it wasn't perfect.
"You can do what shouldn't be possible with your powers... Although it's partly due to the influence of my cells being transplanted, still, the potential of humans is truly amazing."
The Evil God said with a somewhat dreamy expression.
"......"
Chronosphere was able to observe the future in the form of possibilities because the Supernatural Ability was manifested after transplanting the Evil God's cellular tissue into this Jilva's body.
The concept of "future" does not exist. And one cannot observe something that does not exist.
Yet, humans excel at observing things that do not exist. If they were to list the reasons why humans have made progress that sets them apart from other beings, the first reason would be this ability.
This ability is called "imagination" by people. Or sometimes "fantasy" or "delusion."
Of course, the power to observe the future that the Evil God and Chronosphere possess is a unique ability that is different from mere imagination――still, at its core, it is nothing more than the imagination that humans have.
"The potential of humans is irrelevant."
However, Chronosphere cut off the dreamy words of the Evil God.
Then, he raised his hand over the floor and activated magic.
In the next moment, a coffin appeared on the floor.
The lid was not closed, allowing a view inside.
Inside lay a silver-haired beauty, sleeping with a smile. However, her right arm was missing.
Needless to say, it was the sealed [God's Remains].
It was supposed to be sealed by Noah Kirke's magical tool, [Space Freeze]. But in reality, that magical tool had been tampered with by the Chronosphere. That's why it was here.
It wouldn't be surprising if those who had no sealing measures applied were already awake. However, they remained asleep, not moving at all.
Perhaps it was because they knew they would be brought here.
"Oh my, this is quite helpful."
The Evil God said leisurely, reaching out with her right hand toward the [God's Remains] in the coffin.
As her outstretched hand lost its shape and transformed into a red-black tentacle with golden veins inside, it moved quickly like a spear and pierced the chest of the sleeping [God's Remains].
Before long, the red-black tentacle swallowed and absorbed the [God's Remains]. It shrank back and formed the Evil God's right hand again, and the [God's Remains] had disappeared from the coffin.
However, the Evil God's body did not increase in size despite having absorbed nearly a whole person's mass.
The Evil God's physical form was one that had parasitically dominated the guardian of the 50th floor of the labyrinth. The body made of "Antimatter" was likely converted back into magical energy, replacing the mass of the [God's Remains].
Yet, even if the appearance did not change, the Chronosphere could tell that she now held a power from a completely different dimension than before.
"Has the power returned?"
"Yeah. I don't have my right arm, so it's hard to say I'm complete, but..."
If the Evil God's magical energy was at "1" before, now it's easily over "70," with "100" being the maximum. This is because most of the magical energy supply lines have been concentrated.
In the past, during the Age of Gods, the magical energy supply lines for the Magic Weapons that the Evil God stole were directed to the Evil God's body. However, there was a certain error.
This error caused the supply lines to spread out in relation to the mass of the Evil God's body that exists in the world.
Before absorbing the [God's Remains], the Evil God was just a being that had transferred its consciousness to the cell tissue cultivated underground in Necronia, and to create false angels, it had already spread its limited mass even thinner.
Therefore, even though the magical energy supplied was endless, the supply lines had become so thin that the amount of magical energy available per unit of time was significantly limited.
In simple terms, the Evil God was extremely weakened.
Now, even if it's not complete, it has returned.
By the way, the reason the 'adepts' who had Evil God Cells transplanted into them had enormous magical energy is because of this. Normally, the transplanted cell tissue received a small amount of magical energy, but by using 'Activator (Nectar)' to activate the tissue, they temporarily strengthened the magical energy supply lines.
Anyway, the Evil God who regained magical energy is not just stopping there.
With the previous body, it took a long time to control the host because of its small mass. But now――if she were to parasitize the body of Backdoor Jobs, it would take a much shorter time to gain control over that body.
This difference will be significant when it comes to taking over Backdoor Jobs' body.
"In another possible world, it took too long to control the host, and because of that, I couldn't seize the Jobs System in time, and I was destroyed."
One reason the Evil God couldn't interfere with Backdoor Jobs until now was that.
Taking over Backdoor Jobs――Fiona's body could have been done anytime after becoming free. It was just a matter of waiting for "that man" to be away from Fiona and then ambushing with a teleport.
However, the risk of being destroyed before seizing the system was high, so she couldn't take action.
So the Evil God waited.
Even if she got Fiona's body, she needed to buy time to connect to the [God Realm] and seize the Jobs System, while also ensuring that "that man" couldn't destroy it.
The 3 main conditions for that are, broadly speaking, 3.
First, the fusion with the sealed [God's Remains].
Second, the capture of 'Terrafomer007', which is essential for buying time.
And the most important third.
"I can see a future where those 2 are in love... but what about you?"
Chronosphere, when asked, responds.
"Ah, I can see it too... The threat to life is the best way to make someone realize love."
The strongest hero who cannot be killed in battle.
The best poison to kill such a hero is love.
Love forces people to make irrational and wrong choices.
And now, the hero has the options to make those wrong choices.
A temporary hope as a choice in case of an emergency, in the worst situation.
"After all, love is wonderful. Love solves everything."
"......"
The words of the Evil God are released with a dreamy sincerity.
"Even if it's a counter-fate from that person, it's still a fragile possibility. With all these factors in place, our victory is assured."
However, Chronosphere looked suspicious at the satisfied words of the Evil God.
"...That person? Isn't that the sword prepared by Lucia?"
"It's true that Lucia interfered, but I think Lucia's interference is also part of that person's will... you know?"
"...That thing has no will. At least, I've never heard its words."
"I haven't either, but it certainly exists, right? After all, we exist."
"......"
"Oh dear, there's no need to worry so much. Considering that person's nature, they can't excessively intervene or take sides. Once that child gains enough power to destroy me, who is offline from the [God Realm], I don't think there will be any further interference."
"...Well, that's true."
Hehe, the Evil God chuckled softly.
"More importantly, if you think about it, my liberation, regaining my body, taking control of 'Terrafomer007', and making those 2 realize their love... all of it was done by you, wasn't it?"
Everything the Evil God needed was accomplished by the Chronosphere.
"I can't thank you enough... but."
As the Evil God approached the Chronosphere, she placed her right hand on her chest.
"Your helping me to achieve your goal is a bit... uncomfortable, you know..."
"......"
The Chronosphere had never told the Evil God about his own goals.
But perhaps she had heard about them in some "future." The Evil God spoke with a sad frown.
"Revenge against humanity... the extinction of humanity, is it?"
That was the goal the Evil God knew of the Chronosphere.
To grant eternal happiness to all of humanity and allow them to live forever. It was the complete opposite of the Evil God's own goal.
"So, you think that by fulfilling my wish, your own goal will be achieved, right?"
"...Yeah. All humans on the surface will die out. Isn't that right?"
Just as the Evil God knew the Chronosphere, the Chronosphere also knew the Evil God.
"You intend to kill all the humans on the surface."
After fully mastering the [God Realm] system, the Evil God planned to "recreate" humanity in a reconstructed world of the labyrinth, and then destroy the humans on the surface.
It's not from a feeling of hatred like the Chronosphere.
It's out of love.
"Kill...? No, no, no. It's not killing. I'm freeing them from all pain so they won't have to experience unnecessary suffering anymore. This will give humanity true peace. This is love, you see."
"...It doesn't matter. It's the same to me."
Chronosphere thinks that if humanity on the surface is destroyed, it means the extinction of humanity.
This idea was completely different from that of the Evil God, but...
"It's important to me, but... well, I won't bother you about it. You've been very helpful, after all. More importantly――."
And then, in the next moment.
"――Guh!?"
A sharp pain shot through Chronosphere's chest as the Evil God's palm pressed against it, causing them to quickly step back.
He held his chest, enduring the pain. However, it vanished in just a few seconds, as if it were a lie.
Looking up, he saw the Evil God's right hand, which had been raised in the air, returning from a golden and dark red shape to its original form.
Without thinking, he looked at his own chest and noticed a small hole in part of his clothing. However, there were no wounds on the skin underneath.
"...What did you do...?"
"It seems you've noticed."
While asking with a serious face, he realized his own variation.
Much more magical energy was flowing into him than before.
"I'm giving you more of the cells that were transplanted into you. With this, you should be able to use more magical energy. After that, you can increase the nanomachines and strengthen yourself, right? You can do it."
"...Are you telling me to fight too?"
"Oh my? I was planning on that from the start, you know."
Chronosphere didn't answer and just sighed. Then,
"――By the way, Miriallia."
"Yes, what is it?"
"How about you put on some clothes? You have mastered the 'Terraformer.' You can make clothes easily."
"Oh? Oh my, oh my."
Evil God looked down at her own naked body and then stared at Chronosphere with amusement.
"To tell me to wear clothes... Chronosphere, you've started to sound quite human since we last met."
Even if they were in a human body, a god doesn't need clothes and doesn't feel human shame. Therefore, Evil God deliberately chose not to wear any.
You're the one who's strange, it seemed to say, and Chronosphere frowned.
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