NOVEL NEXT Chapter 207 – Conclusion (1)
Perhaps I was confused myself about what I truly wanted, what I truly was. In fact, there was no need to be confused.
I am the Demon King.
I act as I please. I possess all things with my overwhelming power. That is what it means to be a Demon King.
[Stop it!]
[It’s already too late. You and I are done here.]
Michael was flustered, but I did not stop. I wrapped his body with tentacles and lifted him into the sky. Higher than the white clouds and blue sky.
To fight in a place suitable for us.
[Why!? Why would the Demon King protect a human? Forget about that nonsense called Magical Girls! You are the Demon King!]
[You’re right. I am the Demon King, so no one can force me to act, idiot. Even if it’s the sky. But now you are just a mere monster, not even a messenger of the sky.]
Michael’s countless eyeballs blinked, showing genuine bewilderment.
He seemed unable to fathom that I would choose to stop him.
[How dare you!!]
At this point, it was no time for conversation. Instinctively unleashing our powers, we clashed in this cosmic space.
Countless beams of light shot from his eyeballs. I used my tentacles to block them and countered with my own.
It hurt. His flames were strong enough to burn my body.
After all, I was merely 100 years old. Compared to the Celestial Beings, I was insignificant, but I could stand against him because Michael had weakened significantly.
He had become a monster able to unleash his power freely on Earth as a price for his corruption, but in return, he had lost the power of divinity.
The absence of this power, which was in direct opposition to the Demon King, was enough.
[At this rate, you will burn to death. Yet, you still want to see the end?! You, who rule over the Demon Realm, would sacrifice yourself for just that one world!]
Michael shouted in horror as I tightened my grip on him, engulfed in his hellfire.
It was undeniably absurd in a logical sense. To me, Earth was just another world.
[How many times must I say it? I do what I want. No one can stop me.]
But I had my reasons. Hearing the reason, Michael thrashed in disbelief, but I ignored him and continued to press my tentacles against his massive, fiery body.
[Hmph, then it’s worth dying, you foolish Demon King. You and I both. This is all your doing!]
Michael, refusing to back down, summoned even more power. It was clear that, by his nature, he wouldn’t make a self-destructive choice.
[Ugh.]
I didn’t back down. It would be nonsensical not to punish an arrogant challenger who dared to defy me.
[Ahhh!]
His body began to crack and crumble. His screams were the horrific cries of one whose existence was vanishing under the relentless assault of another transcendent being.
And that was the case for me as well.
My body, no longer able to hold up, began to split apart and fade.
‘This is insane.’
At the same time, entirely different scenes unfolded before my eyes. Brief but intense moments from my memories.
Moments spent in the Demon Realm. Even the days long ago when I lived as an ordinary human before being reincarnated.
I didn’t know why such memories were surfacing. This made me hesitate in punishing my challenger.
[Now, disappear, you arrogant challenger who dared to defy the pinnacle of the Demon King.]
As my consciousness faded, I broke through Michael’s defenses with my last ounce of strength and smirked.
My consciousness was also fading. I wanted to finish it, but I lacked the power.
That was my last memory. In that moment, my world came to a halt.
*
“…”
In the empty cosmic space. It was literally void. The Sun shone dimly far away, with Earth visible beneath my feet.
Even an existence that had transcended all limits was but dust compared to this universe.
“How intriguing.”
In such a space, someone appeared. The figure that emerged from the void was an astonishingly beautiful woman with long black hair reaching her waist.
Her opalescent eyes sparkled with a myriad of colors, filled with curiosity.
“I merely followed the injured Magical Girls’ energy.”
Yggdrasil walked as if traversing solid ground, extending her hand. In her white grasp were two ‘fragments.’
If one could descend without restriction, these were the traces of transcendent beings who annihilated each other—capable of destroying a world single-handedly.
The beautiful blue planet saved at the cost of that mutual destruction… now quietly existed in front of Yggdrasil as if nothing had happened.
“I can’t help but acknowledge this. Now, rise.”
[W-whoa!]
Yggdrasil glanced at Earth with a smirk, then shook one of the fragments in her hand. Astonishingly, the fragment trembled, and a voice emerged from within.
[What the heck just happened?!]
“Do you think that a Magical Girl’s contract can be easily voided, Takilas? Compared to you, I may be inexperienced, but I still possess this level of trickery.”
[Yggdrasil… but this level of trickery?]
Takilas sighed in disbelief. She well understood that holding onto a being that should have been extinguished was far from being ‘this level’ of ability.
[What are you doing? Why did you bring me back?]
“Strictly speaking, I didn’t bring you back. Right now, you are in a state lesser than a mere creature. However, if given time, it’s possible to restore you to your former state. The reason I am making this proposal to you, the Demon King… is because I recognize your accomplishments.”
With a sly smile, Yggdrasil held up Takilas and pointed to Earth.
“How many Magical Girls and humans live there? You saved them. Like a true Magical Girl. As the World Tree overseeing Magical Girls, I couldn’t ignore that achievement.”
[…Is that all?]
Yggdrasil seemed genuinely touched, exclaiming fervently, but Takilas scoffed.
While it was true that Magical Girls were important, what truly mattered to Yggdrasil, who saw them as merely a process, was her nourishment.
[You are Yggdrasil, who feeds on the energy of evil. Stop pretending to be holy and virtuous. You are an inevitable existence that cannot survive without evil.]
“Indeed. If Michael had taken over the world as he intended, then the ‘evil’ I desire would have vanished as well.”
With a twisted smile, Yggdrasil grasped Michael’s fragment in her opposite hand. For the World Tree that thrives on human-made malice, a Celestial being trying to dominate the world was nothing but an invasive species ruining the farm.
“Isn’t it better this way? Takilas, I will repay you. While it may be impossible to restore you as the Demon King, I can return you as a ‘Magical Girl.’”
Yggdrasil made a lethal proposal. A proposition Takilas could not refuse.
[You treacherous woman.]
“Let’s call it a compliment.”
Of course, considering who would ultimately benefit from Takilas returning to her role as a Magical Girl, Yggdrasil could very well profit from her act of kindness.
Takilas sighed as she saw through that intent, but Yggdrasil only smiled.
[I have no reason to refuse.]
“Very well. Now rest well and return as a Magical Girl once more.”
Takilas accepted the proposal. Immediately, Yggdrasil moved to another location.
It wouldn’t be a quick process. Restoring her body and strength would take time.
“Such a cute child.”
Back in Yggdrasil’s stronghold. Here, she inserted Takilas’ essence into her towering form extending towards the cosmos.
Simultaneously, this immense Cosmic Tree began to grow a single fruit. This fruit was a massive red orb created by investing the vast nourishment Yggdrasil had painstakingly accumulated.
Inside it, two naked girls, one with light pink hair and the other with dark black hair, were beginning to grow rapidly, as if developing like a fetus.
Both girls peacefully slumbered, continuously growing.
Time passed, and it continued to pass.
The space they occupied spun more than once around the Sun.
“Have you regained your senses? It took a bit longer than expected.”
One day, Yggdrasil noticed Takilas, who opened her eyes wide within the fruit, and chuckled softly.
Her eyes were filled with questions about why she and Michael were together like twins.
“I had no other choice. The two entities collided and got intertwined. To completely regenerate you, I had to revive Michael as well. But worry not. I have not forgiven him.”
Yggdrasil reassured Takilas. How much time had passed, one could wonder.
Finally, the fruit containing the Magical Girls matured and fell to the Earth.