"Outer God"

(Bai Ziye)

The gathering darkness formed a circular cocoon in the center of the stage.

But the undulating surface makes it look rather irregular.

But this shape...

It's as if it's saying, "Quickly, lock me up in a bubble."

So Ceruno waved her wand and trapped the thing inside the bubble.

After finishing, he asked in surprise, "Did they turn themselves in?"

"It's hard to say, it feels more like something's brewing..."

SpiCa's brow remained furrowed even as she answered; her concerns were understandable.

After all, there are no witches or Dark Energy at the moment.

But the "Witch's Domain" still hasn't returned to reality.

Furthermore, based on personal experience, when Monster transforms into an egg or cocoon, it's generally a precursor to a new phase...

"Achernar, what exactly is this 'will' you keep talking about? Does it even have a name?"

Continuing from the previous topic, I asked Shark Girl a question.

"To explain it using your concepts, that will should be called 'God.' God has no name, nor does He need one, and terms like 'great' and 'supreme' belong only to Him, so no one will get it wrong... God is the absolute."

She looked at the wriggling black cocoon with a hint of awe in her eyes.

"Whether Monster or witches, our power all comes from His grace."

"Then why do your gods want to invade this world?"

I posed a core and pointed question.

The Shark Princess Witch shrugged.

"Even in your world, military expansion doesn't need a reason, does it? Besides, we are merely tools to fulfill our will. Would you explain to the gun in your hand why you kill people?"

This only earned him a sarcastic remark from SpiCa: "But your god doesn't seem to have the power to decide your life or death, or even ensure your loyalty. He even needs another tool to deal with the means of defection... That god isn't all that great after all."

"It's not that we can't do it, but that it's unnecessary. My affairs, or even the current crisis, are all trivial matters to Him. The Supreme Will is still asleep, and we are merely spontaneously planning and acting based on the vague revelations in His dreams..."

Sleeping?

Revelation?

I don't understand.

The nature of the Other Side boss is beyond imagination based on the description given by the Shark Princess Witch.

But...

"Hey, now's not the time to chat. Looks like it's ready too."

The Wings of Light were folded away, Sirius descended before us all.

The black cocoon, formed from condensed Dark Energy, finally began to move.

It continued to shrink inside Ceruno's bubble, and then transformed into a human shape... The outline still resembled that of a young girl.

But it's only an outline.

Like the previous Shadow Soldiers, it had no facial features and its body was devoid of any color other than black.

Its jet-black exterior does resemble that of the previous Oil Monster.

But compared to the Oil Monster, her features appeared even more defined.

"Is this the 'god' you speak of?"

"I don't know, but I've heard that the existence of that will is invisible, without a physical form... so it shouldn't be some kind of girl."

If she is not a god from 'the Other Side,' then whose silhouette does this girl represent?

"We'll talk about that later! She's coming!"

The Shadow Girl tried several times but failed to tear the Bubble Membrane that was encasing her, but Ceruno's Bubble Membrane also failed to restrict her movements.

She tilted her head, examined her hands, glanced at us, and finally fixed her gaze on Ceruno, who was standing at the very back.

Although it has no eyes, it can still sense sight.

Sirius raised his hand and unleashed a net-like cutting beam. The Shadow Girl abandoned her human form, twisting Past a line as she passed through the beams. Upon landing, she crouched down like a cheetah, poised to pounce.

Although her appearance is similar to the Shadow Soldiers from before, their speeds are on completely different levels. After all, those soldiers only possessed Dark Energy the size of a ping-pong ball, while she was a massive collection of Dark Energy from the entire "Witch Domain," making her incomparable in both quality and quantity.

She moved.

It charged forward like a cannonball, its target clearly defined.

She came specifically for Ceruno!

"Aww--!"

Ryu, who was standing in front of Ceruno, roared and threw a punch at the Shadow Girl, but he was the one who was knocked away and sent flying, as if he had been hit head-on by a truck weighing nearly a hundred tons. He lay on the edge of the stage, unable to get up for a while.

Although she's a speed-type warrior, her strength is quite formidable; it's just that the enemy's strength far surpasses hers...

Or are there special "rules"?

"SpiCa! Stop her!"

The Cry of Sirius.

Countless White Silk wrapped around the Shadow Girl from behind, but passed Past through her body...

Indeed, she is, after all, an invisible energy entity.

Ceruno didn't intend to sit idly by and wait for her death. She created a bubble defense for herself, Shadow Girl crashed headfirst into the solidified bubble.

Although it didn't shatter completely, the bubble that was supposed to subdue the Dark Energy developed cracks due to this attack.

"Even if we can stop this Dark Energy from passing through the bubble, we still can't withstand such a high-intensity impact!!"

Just how powerful was the impact?

And isn't this an energy body?

What on earth happened?! The impact force must have exceeded that of a typical large-caliber artillery shell!

What does she want to do to Ceruno?

"This is even more troublesome than a witch! Why hasn't it been dispelled even though there's no Dark Energy involved?!"

No one can control this high-speed energy projectile.

I am the last line of defense in front of Ceruno.

"Miluno? Please don't push yourself!"

"Don't be afraid, I will protect you."

On the third impact, the solidified Bubble Membrane was shattered by the Shadow Girl.

A pitch-black, terrifying sense of oppression...

This guy is far more terrifying than Halley when Witchification.

It was even more terrifying than Fomalhaut.

However, I am not necessarily without a chance of winning.

In terms of speed alone, I have the advantage;

As for strength, even with the acceleration, I might not lose;

Although my right foot was slightly injured...

But I still have my left foot!

--Time-Freeze!--

Everything around me began to stand still; the Shadow Girl's movements, though swift, still appeared so slow to me.

The sight of Liu being thrown back by immense force made me wary.

I tentatively threw a short sword.

The moment the short sword touched the Shadow Girl, it was repelled by an unknown, powerful force.

But SpiCa's White Silk wasn't deflected; instead, it squeezed Past her body...

The underlying principle is unclear.

Could it be that it depends on the magnitude of the force?

Holding the second short sword, he thrust it in slowly.

This time, however, it was not bounced off.

The sword tip pierced her interior smoothly.

But that couldn't stop her from "slowly" getting closer to Ceruno.

"What exactly do we need to do to stop this thing?"

No, wait a little longer.

Perhaps this Shadow Girl is the embodiment of the domain itself;

She approached Ceruno not to kill Ceruno;

Or was it to create a new witch?

This kind of speculation makes a lot of things make sense.

After all, it was the domain that made the witch;

It was the Dark Energy that chose Halley;

Not the other way around.

Since Halley is not up to the task, it is understandable to replace her with another witch.

As for why Ceruno was chosen...

Um...

That remains to be seen.

But Halley just said that this Dark Energy amplifies emotional fluctuations.

If that's the case, perhaps it's more appropriate for the more rational me to bear this curse than for the overly sentimental Ceruno?