Chapter 605
"Create memories of chasing the sunset with your companions, and experience the lively and warm atmosphere around the dining table..."
"Go and Protection those seemingly ordinary, everyday moments."
"If you don't know, then you'll see for yourselves."
Novia's voice was very soft.
The absolutely "unchanging" Root that we had been hoping for was now laid bare before Sangyangsha.
It was neither a grand ambition nor a profound philosophy.
That was simply a human dream—to believe that those simple and small acts of happiness are the most precious and worthy of Protection in the world.
This almost youthful innocence forms an absurd yet harmonious unity with his absolute power that is capable of deciding everything.
That's only natural.
"Humans will eventually grow old. But this is not the end."
"As long as they inherit that unchanging light, no matter how many mistakes they make, no matter how many times they fall, they can always pick themselves up and keep moving forward."
Novia's gaze refocused on Sangyangsha.
For the first time, there was a hint of encouragement and motivation in his eyes.
"So, I understand your anxiety."
A simple sentence sent a jolt through Sangyangsha.
An age-old confusion, a millennium of searching, an endless self-questioning...
At that moment, it seemed as if everything had been answered.
The mistake wasn't in "executing justice."
Instead, it lies in treating oneself as a "prop" and abandoning the thinking of the "heart".
God is not denying their actions, but lamenting that they equated themselves with emotionless instruments.
True "Order" is built upon an understanding of the preciousness of every "heart".
"So..." Novia's voice returned to its calm tone, "You'll have to figure out the rest of the way for yourselves."
After saying that, he turned around.
There were no further words, nor did he glance at anyone else... though he did wink at Draco.
His figure vanished without a trace, just as he had appeared.
The Pandemonium fell silent once more.
But this time, it was no longer deathly silent.
Sangyangsha slowly rose from his Throne and looked up at the place where Novia had disappeared.
"To become... a person?"
"Use your own heart... to think?"
He repeated it in a low voice.
Then, he laughed.
A beam of light seemed to be shining in from a crack in the dome of the Pandemonium.
The light was warm and gentle, much like the sunlight on the banks of the Nile on a distant afternoon in my memory.
Another world.
It belongs to the Chaldea world.
Reality is being swallowed up by the band of light.
The Human Order Incineration Formula —the great undertaking of the Demon God King Goetia —has reached its final stage.
The Planet's energy is gathered here, awaiting only the final strike to reverse time, return to the origin, and create an eternal paradise without the concept of "death."
A desolate paradise without flaws, and therefore without "life".
Standing before her was the last Master Chaldea, Ritsuka Fujimaru.
Covered in wounds, his entire body had been burned away.
But she remained standing.
In his eyes was the resolve of a "human being" honed through witnessing seven Singularity together with his reliable junior, Mash, behind him.
Perish together.
This was the only way Ritsuka could think of to stop this "evil" before her.
With my insignificant mortal body, I dare to shake the divine achievements accumulated over three thousand years.
How utterly presumptuous of them!
How magnificent!
Just as Ritsuka Fujimaru resolved to take that final step—
A figure blocked his way.
A familiar figure, always wearing a slightly lazy and helpless smile, in white.
"That's enough, Ritsuka Fujimaru."
"Next comes the adults' work."
Romani Archimonio.
The Acting Commander of Chaldea, a doctor who is always troubled by trivial matters and obsessed with Internet Idol.
At this moment, his usual nonchalant expression was gone.
Instead, there was a strange, regal majesty and... Sorrow.
For the first time Demon God King Goetia, the Monster formed from the combined consciousness of Seventy-Two Demon Gods, uttered a voice that wavered.
"... Who are you..."
"Ah, that's exactly right."
Romani, no, he should be called Solomon now, raised his left hand.
On her Nameless, a simple Ring radiated a light that shared the same origin as, yet was completely opposite to, the nine Rings of Goetia.
The tenth Ring.
That proof that should have been lost long ago, belonging to the human being "Romani Archim."
"I am Solomon, Goetia. Let me teach you the final Magecraft."
At the moment when the Demon God King's nine Rings, those "Holy Relic" belonging to the Omniscience and Omnipotence, and Romani's Ring, that "Holy Relic" belonging to an ordinary person, coexisted, the conditions for activation were met.
"--No, you can't do it. How could Coward make such a choice!" Goetia shouted Wrath, "Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop...! This Ring, the Throne of Omnipotence, doesn't belong to you alone!"
"The Three Jewels Phantasm: The Time of Its Birth Has Arrived; With This, I Will Cultivate All Things."
King Solomon raised his hand.
"The Second Noble Phantasm: The Time to Crown Has Arrived, Let This Inspire All Things."
Light emanated from him.
"And—God, I return to you the divine grace you have bestowed upon me... Omnipotence is too far removed from humanity; my work will remain confined to the realm of humankind. First Noble Phantasm, Reenactment."
That was a warm, radiant light belonging to human history.
He activated his First Noble Phantasm.
It was also the only miracle he ever performed, solely for himself.
"The time for farewell has come; with this I forsake the world (Ars Nova)."
This is the moment when the legend will be repeated.
In the distant past, Solomon, the King of Israel, after accomplishing all the great deeds of his life, returned all the blessings bestowed upon him by God to God for his great work.
That is not abandoning life.
Instead, it was a complete relinquishment of everything that "Solomon" possessed.
Noble Phantasm activated.
There was no explosion, no impact.
A more Root "phenomenon" has emerged.
Everything that King Solomon created and possessed began to lose its "value."
His achievements and great accomplishments as the King of Magecraft.
The countless Magecraft theories he wove.
The seventy-two Familiar he created—
"Ooooooooo--!?"
Goetia let out a painful roar.
The very foundation upon which his existence is built is being stripped away.
Everything that originated from "King Solomon," that immense Od that drove Human Order Incineration Formula, vanished in that instant.
The price was Romani Archiman, or rather, Solomon himself.
His body, his life, his achievements, everything about him.
Even his very existence as a "Heroic Spirit" is itself.
They will all vanish completely in this light, forever erased from the Throne of Heroes.
To reach that place, a place even death itself cannot touch, a place never before reached by humankind—
"None".
The light faded.
The Demon God King Goetia, as an independent entity, began to slowly collapse. And the doctor named Romani Archman vanished forever.
The space of "nothingness".
There is no up, down, left, or right here; no passage of time; no matter; and not even the concept of "emptiness."
It is absolute, pure "nothingness".
Everything that exists here will be assimilated by "nothingness".
"Ugh... Seriously, what's going on?"
A lazy voice broke the absolute silence.
Romani Archimonio is floating in this void.
He scratched his messy hair, his face full of distress.
"So it still came to this. Although it was my long-cherished wish, I still feel bad about leaving all this mess to those children... Ritsuka, Mash, and Da Vinci... They'll be alright, won't they? No, they definitely will. After all, they are remarkable humans who have transcended Future I can't even foresee."
He kept talking incessantly, as if he were trying to encourage himself.
I've said a lot—about the Future of Chaldea, about the Future of humanity, about that radiance that I was unable to witness firsthand.
Finally, Romani let out a long, long sigh.
"However... speaking of which..."
A hint of regret appeared on Romani's face.
"It seems... I haven't had a chance to properly say goodbye to Consultant Novia yet."
That mysterious Consultant, yet someone you always got along with.
In a sense, I owe my success to the subtle but significant guidance from Consultant Novia.
"Yo."