It was impossible to completely destroy the one seated upon the throne. He merely rose to his feet and wiped away the trace of blood from his outline.
Then—Boom!
The dragon wings formed from concentrated magical energy burst apart, fragments dancing through the air as the spear and sword both embedded themselves in the blue ground.
"Nov—"
"I'm fine. I can still go on."
A hoarse voice rang out. Novia raised his bloodied hand and pressed it against the spear. He tried to push himself up, but his broken left arm could no longer do so. He could not lift it again.
"Go back. I forgive what you have done. No matter how many times, I forgive you. I forgive everything about you."
Yahweh grasped Novia's right hand, raised it, and threw him toward the blue place that, from their perspective, lay below them. Then He tossed down the spear and sword as well.
One day in the first century AD, Novia was falling from high above the planet. Falling without end—his consciousness falling along with him.
The silent sound of tearing through the air continuously filled his ears. He used all his strength to seize the spear and sword falling alongside him. That caused his shattered ribs to pierce his lungs, worsening the coughing and suffocation within his chest.
"Sorry, Melusine..." the man murmured. "You're the strongest. I was too weak..."
At that moment, Novia's consciousness sank into a sea of blood—the place where the Beast of Sodom was being born.
Splash. The sound of water stirring came from nearby. Novia came back to himself and realized he was standing beside the sea of blood, with Melusine beside him looking utterly devastated. Then he heard a voice from the center of the crimson sea—
"...But even though I don't know why I'm alive, when I'm about to disappear, it still hurts. Why is that? Tell me, Teacher."
It was Nero's voice. She had the childish appearance she wore when they first met, and her voice trembled like she was crying. She looked pitiful, so Novia spoke to her.
"Perhaps there are still important things within it. Though it hurts, there must still be beautiful memories. If you throw all of that away, wouldn't you feel lonely too?"
"Beautiful memories... I have them. Of course I do. But because of my mistake, Teacher, you ended up like this. It's only right for you to hate me..."
"I did so much because I care deeply about you. Do you understand, Nero?"
Novia pulled the dazed Melusine into the sea of blood with him. His hand seemed to touch something. The man turned toward it in the cold, dark blood sea. It seemed to be a white stone, like a tiny ball of light. After putting it away, he continued swimming toward the center where Nero was, took her hand, and placed all three of their hands upon that stone.
"I will not hate you. From the beginning until now, I have never felt even the slightest hatred. I'm sorry that I made you suffer so much all this time. If only I had known sooner. I'm sorry."
"...Novia, Novia, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was too weak. I'm sorry..."
"It's all right. It's all right. Everything has already passed..."
Melusine suddenly came to her senses and immediately burst into loud sobs, desperately rubbing herself against Novia. Novia could only pat her gently and soothe her slowly. Perhaps because she was too exhausted and had suffered such severe magical energy depletion, she soon fell asleep. Then he placed her hand in Nero's.
"Nero, live your own life well, for your own sake."
"...What does that mean?"
"Find the things you like and dislike. Stand on your own feet and live for yourself. That's all."
"The things I like... Can I choose happiness?"
The blonde girl asked without reservation, like an innocent child.
"You absolutely can," Novia answered without hesitation. "Happiness."
"Somewhere deep in my heart, I've always wanted to grow old with you, Teacher. To stay together until death, together until the very end."
Tears once again fell one by one from Nero's eyes, beautiful like stars shining in the night sky.
"I see. Please, both of you, live happily forever. Even if I'm no longer here..."
The man seemed to have made some kind of decision before saying those words.
"I don't want that. I don't want forever. I only want now. I want more than just the past and present—I want what comes next too. Not only the past, but the future as well, because I'll give my entire future to Teacher too..."
At that moment, the sea surrounding the three of them was no longer a sea of blood. It had become a sea filled with transparent blue light.
Novia smiled and said, "I see," before speaking again.
"Please don't be afraid. When you're lonely, call my name. I will definitely return."
Novia softly said, "And everything will soon pass. I like you, Nero."
Nero wanted to say something more, but in the next instant, she discovered that the teacher who had just been so close had vanished. His figure, his presence—it was as though they had only been a dream, disappearing in an instant.
She slowly opened her eyes. This new light was dazzling beyond measure to her.
The first thing that entered her sight was gentle, swaying waves. Yet those waves did not belong to the sea. They were made of roses.
Flowers the same color as the sea of blood, yet possessing an entirely different aura. It was a sea of flowers that filled her entire vision, countless roses blooming within it.
They swayed slowly in the wind, making Nero feel for an instant as though this place might be paradise.
But it was not. This was the sinful land of her desires, and the one who had told the girl this—
Was the person she loved most, the one from just moments ago. Joy, love, countless emotions overflowed from her heart, impossible to describe with words.
So she gathered all those feelings into a smile that appeared upon her face.
"I love you a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times more than you love me, Teacher... Novia..."
Novia's consciousness left the sea of blood. In that instant, light emerged from the key upon his chest.
Before him, the phantom of God appeared once more, looking down at him.
"What a headache... Have you decided so easily, Novia?" He asked. "Are you truly going to discard it? Are you going to sacrifice your key to Heaven for this? This is a miracle limited to you alone. If you discard it and lose this glory, you will never again ascend to Heaven. You will never again reach the station of spirit."
"If this miracle was born from what I did, then what meaning would it have if it were only for me?"
Novia smiled and said to Him:
"What I did was never achieved through my efforts alone. I used others, more or less. If we are speaking of sin and evil, then I should be the greatest sinner. So isn't it obvious what must be done?"
"Give the key I received to them. Besides, it never belonged to me in the first place," Novia said. "If, as the Book of Revelation says, as You say, this key is necessary for me to go to Heaven, and only I can ascend there, then I will discard it. I will not go. I cannot go. Everyone must have that right."
Just as with that poor child he had met long ago, before entering Rome, there would surely be someone who would extend a helping hand to them.
More importantly, everything that happened in this world, everything that began because of me, should be borne by me. That is only natural.
He smiled and closed his eyes. With his final strength—not Albion's, not Nero's Beast power, but his own final strength—he spoke his last wish to all people in the world.
In an instant, light and shadow reversed. Everyone in the world witnessed that sight. Thus, in the Book of Revelation passed down to later generations, this was one of the few illusions recorded within it.
First, light spreading from a distant place dyed the red sky and black earth white, erasing the boundary between heaven and earth.
The light that appeared again warmed their bodies. The desolate mountains, which had been utterly destroyed, seemed to undergo a miraculous reversal of time, restoring themselves to what they ought to have been.
At the same time, those looking up at the sky widened their eyes. Every scene symbolizing the arrival of disaster vanished as though it had all been a joke.
Before that sight beyond all reason, every creature born after the Age of Gods could only stare in incomprehension.
Yet though countless creatures could not sense what had truly happened, they still became convinced. Though they did not know why, they knew the coming of death had ended here. That certainty filled the people of the present world with countless emotions, and from the depths of their hearts, they laughed because they were alive.
Then, in the next moment, compassionate and tranquil words echoed beside every person's ears and within every heart.
"...I am here. I do not know what circumstances you are in right now. Perhaps you are joyful, perhaps lost in confusion, or perhaps... about to enter bewilderment."
"But I have something to say to all of you. Please live. Simply live. Please continue living in this world. This is merely my wish."
"If anyone acknowledges my voice, as long as someone acknowledges it—even if they do not know that they acknowledge it, or will only acknowledge it much later—at that instant, a connection will be formed between you and me. No matter who you are, you will possess a key."
"This is what I think: we have always been one 'group.' All those in the world who suffer, who are unfortunate, who are lost over the future—as long as one lives, living is lonely. I think that is why we need others to offer even the smallest kindness, because we are all alike."
Beneath the vault of heaven, specks of starlight rose from the ground in this world that had just endured the Book of Revelation.
"This is something incomparably precious. Please do not forget it."
"I am going to ascend to the Lord's kingdom. You will surely arrive there too, and you will surely find it. So until then, please live with kindness toward the world. I do not wish for there to be a world where kindness is considered weakness."
At that moment, Novia softly said:
"...That's right. No matter when, I will surely be by your side, in the name of Novia."
An endless source of magical energy rose from the earth. After this fleeting punishment of judgment, the history of this planet was truly engraved with this magic foundation—the Greatest Magic Foundation in Human History.
The Bible Foundation silently resided within the many people who held faith. No one could describe that moment, as magical energy flowed smoothly and unhindered into the earth.
"Looks like there's no need to open it after all."
Before Hell's Gate, Moses shrugged.
"Let's go, Forefather," he said. "This is my first time seeing the process of transforming into a Beast successfully stopped. It was supposed to be irreversible."
Noah nodded. "Bright star, son of the morning, flame burned to ashes. Though he did not become the star he once was, his message was delivered. That is enough."
Behind them, Hell's Gate closed and Heaven's Gate opened. In the end, the two men and the two objects all turned into phantoms and disappeared.
At last—
Only one person stood along the Mediterranean coast, looking at the man who had returned to normal before her.
"Novia."
The silver-haired man turned toward the owner of the voice.
Looking levelly at the man who was weak beyond measure, Shiyali, who had not yet become the Atlas Institute Director, wore the same calm expression she had possessed when they first met. Because of this sudden situation, she had hurried here after privately consulting Trismegistus Hermes.
"You are going to die. I brought you a contract issued only by the Director. Use it quickly."
"So it can be obtained without paying any price."
"You haven't changed. You were the same before. But this is only my personal exception. There will be no next time. The flame of your life is going out. Your body will die. Here, your life will end. Now, use it quickly. This can still save your mind and soul."
Shiyali narrowed her eyes as though declaring her resolve.
"I see. Then can she enter the Inner Sea of Stars?"
"...Your bodily functions as a human are about to vanish. Therefore, the possibility of reaching the Reverse Side is absolutely not zero. I understand. The Atlas Institute will certainly do everything in its power—"
The "Inner Sea of Stars" was where bodiless Phantasmal Species had relocated after the end of the Age of Gods. Yet in truth, theoretically speaking, anything that had lost its body could possibly enter it.
"No, you misunderstand, Shiyali. I wasn't talking about myself."
Novia smiled happily and gently stroked the spear beside him, which had grown exceedingly dim.
"In that case, send her remains back as far as possible, through the place it is about to open."
The silver-haired man spoke with feeling, as though exhaling bubbles of memory from beneath the azure sea.
"Thank you for helping me so much, Melusine."
Send the body of Albion's dragon back—
The dying man who had distributed the "keys" throughout the world used his own exception to fulfill the promise he had once made to what had passed away.
The purple-haired girl could only respond with a silent nod.
"All right, let me rest alone for a while now. It has been so long since I wanted to sleep this badly. Come to think of it, I really liked your gift. Though it was only a stone, it must contain your precious feelings. Thank you, truly..."
Smiling happily, even in his final moments, the man still deeply and quietly did what he believed he should do.
The man whose body was riddled with wounds staggered into the sea, and entering the ocean with him—
Was that the manifestation of some mystery dwelling in the Mediterranean?
Or was it the reappearance of a miracle, a servant sent down in person to take him to the Inner Sea of Stars?
"You couldn't use it, so you couldn't hear it... What a... dazzling... light... Novia..."
Or perhaps it was the scattered brilliance that radiated from him as he slightly closed his eyes.
This was the final sight of that man witnessed by the woman who would soon become the Atlas Institute Director in the first century AD.
Where did this man ultimately go?
Even the pseudo-spiritron computational device, Trismegistus Hermes, could not know the answer.
It would only display this line, written by someone unknown—
I knew there would someday be someone searching for me. Just as I thought, I'm so happy. Anyway, thank you for knowing my name. Good luck.
Well then, see you next time.
One who could not betray meaningless promises, one who could not bring himself to serve selfish desires.
One whose ambitions went unfulfilled before his death, one who could not have his wish granted.
The decayed, the ignorant, the old-fashioned.
One who struggled desperately, who would sacrifice everything to bring about change, and who willingly accepted his end—
The Holy One, Novia, first Pope of the Holy Church, hailed as the most important person in the entire history of the Church apart from Jesus Christ.
According to legend, he went to Heaven—after that, there were no further records.
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