The next day.
The three of us—Miu, Alice, and I—were holed up in a certain place since the morning.
This was a space created in the Dimensional Rift, something I had asked Azazel-sensei to make for us. It was modeled after a Rating Game field, making it incredibly sturdy, but it wasn't particularly vast. In terms of size, it was perhaps a little larger than my room before its renovation.
The floor, walls, and ceiling were all pure white. A single pot sat in a corner of the room, but…
That's where the three of us were.
No, I should correct that. In addition to the three of us, Ignis, now materialized, was also here.
Standing before us, Ignis surveyed us and spoke.
"Well met, everyone. Shall we begin then? Today, here, you shall advance to a new dimension."
Her expression was serious, her voice grave.
Just as Ignis said, we were about to open a new door.
As we were now, we couldn't contend with Asem and his followers. Razzle, Vals, Vika, Bel. I had gotten a good understanding of the power of Asem's servants during the previous attack on Auros Academy.
Those guys were strong. Not just their abilities, but simply strong.
If I fought them one-on-one, I'd lose through sheer force.
The thought of fighting as a team crossed my mind, but allies wouldn't always be nearby.
Besides, they seemed to be targeting me specifically.
Regardless of how it was achieved, the EXA form was probably the only power among us that could resist them.
But that couldn't last long.
And so, Ignis had devised a power-up plan for Miu and Alice.
That plan was…
"The 'First Miu-chan & Alice-chan Child-Making Project! Get both of them pregnant simultaneously!☆' is open for business! Yay!"
"Yay! ...No, not 'Yay'! You damn useless goddesssss!"
My retort echoed through the room.
From seemingly nowhere, a large, horizontal banner had appeared, emblazoned with huge letters.
This was… it was just like that 'Fiendish Project' from before.
Thinking that, I continued my tirade.
"It's wrong, isn't it?! This is clearly wrong, isn't it?!"
"Ah, perhaps the 'First' part? No, that's not wrong, is it? Because, well, a 3P 'live' is a first, isn't it?"
"Try to sugarcoat it a little more!"
"Then, 'sowing the seeds'?"
"OUTTTTTTTTTTT! I mean, that's not what I'm trying to say!"
"Issei, you're so difficult. Then, 'inside'—"
"Heeeyyyy! Don't say it!? You absolutely cannot say it!? And besides, it's getting worse every time you 'correct' it!"
I've had enough of this person! There are too many absurdities, I can't handle them all by myself!
Miu and Alice, you guys should join in too!
Looking their way for help, I saw—
"Ignis-san… I want to make babies with big brother!"
"M-me too! …W-well… I kind of already did it the other day, though…"
Ahhh! Both of them have sided with the useless goddess! You guys too!?
Ignis took their hands and declared with a look of pure benevolence.
A dazzling light appeared behind Ignis…!
"I understand your feelings. Leave it to me. I'll bestow upon you the blessing of the strongest big sister. Don't worry, both of your children will be born full of life and energy."
" "Ohhh…" "
Not "Ohhh…"!
Is this the time to be sparkling with bright eyes?! Make a retort!
"To bear healthy children, we must engage in the ultimate act of procreation. Now, follow me. Let us journey together—beyond the Youth Protection and Nurturing Ordinance!"
"Enough already, aren't we?! You've made enough jokes, haven't you?! Let's get to the main topic already! We're not making any progress!"
"Alright? First, Issei will—"
"She's ignoring meeeee! Listen to what I'm sayinggg!"
▽
One hour later.
"Alright, today's main topic! The 'First Miu-chan & Alice-chan Deification Project' is open for business! Don Don Papu Papu~!"
Ignis declared, beating a tambourine that appeared from nowhere.
Regardless of the intro, we finally got to the main point…
What is this exhaustion…? I've been making retorts all by myself… my energy is…
Will I be alright like this…?
Well, let's pull myself together. Ignis's plan to power up Miu and Alice.
That was—to turn them into 'Gods'.
When I first heard the explanation, the proposal was so out-there that I couldn't even grasp what she was talking about.
At first, I thought she was joking, but Ignis was uncharacteristically serious, so I listened more closely.
And so, the specific method for turning them into 'Gods' was…
Ignis began to explain.
"From now on, Miu-chan and Alice-chan will connect with Issei. Oh, just to be clear, not the lower half, okay? Well, connecting the lower half wouldn't be bad… perhaps I should connect too this time♪"
"Yeah, that's fine, but can you please move the conversation forward?"
"Oh my, Issei, you just can't take a joke~"
In her case, it's not a joke! She's seriously planning to connect! With her lower half!
"Connecting means connecting souls—and at the deepest part of the soul, its very core. But this is just the first stage."
"First stage?"
Miu tilted her head.
"Yes, the first stage. After connecting, I'll divide something inside Issei and give it to the two of you."
The 'something' inside me that Ignis referred to.
That was—
"Rosswiese's divine power, which she bestowed upon Issei—the 'Pseudo Divinity'. We'll divide this and transfer it to the two of you. This is the general flow of the ritual we'll be performing this time."
Ignis explained that Pseudo Divinity was something incredibly close to the divinity held by a true god.
Gods are special beings. From attributes like fire, water, and lightning, to destruction and regeneration, each one presides over specific powers and safeguards a certain domain. Therefore, if even one were to disappear, it would have a significant impact on the world.
And divinity can be said to be a god's power, status, and existence itself.
However, Pseudo Divinity is slightly different. It neither presides over anything nor safeguards anything. Even if it disappears, it doesn't affect the world.
It is an existence that possesses the divine aura of a god, yet is different from a god.
When Azazel-sensei and I first met Rosswiese, we judged her to be a 'god' because she emitted a unique divine aura. That aura was generated by the Pseudo Divinity Rosswiese possessed.
"Although that child's Pseudo Divinity was a created object, it possesses a far superior aura than other gods. You would know that, having seen that power, wouldn't you? And in the end, that child entrusted her power to Issei. Most likely, she anticipated that her creator and Issei would fight. Indeed, that's what happened."
She foresaw this happening and entrusted her power to me… So that's what it was about.
When I met Asem, what stirred inside me was Rosswiese's power… or rather, her soul. Her soul raged, emitting intense killing intent. Filled with the resentment of being created as something capable only of destruction.
Ignis placed her hands on my shoulders.
"Ideally, if Issei could unleash that child's power, that would be wonderful… but your body wouldn't be able to handle it. Just the rage of that child's soul made Issei's body scream. That's because Issei's soul couldn't withstand her power. You understand that, right?"
"Yeah."
"The body can be strengthened through training. But the soul isn't so simple. Issei's current soul cannot contain that child's power. The reason for dividing her power is to reduce the burden on each individual when the power is unleashed."
I see.
Even if I couldn't handle it alone, by combining with Miu and Alice, the two of them, we could somehow bear it.
However…
"But that's Rosswiese's power, you know? Can the three of us combined really bear it?"
It was Rosswiese's power, capable of such immense force. Even in my 'Ignis' power-released state, it was a close call. At that time, if it weren't for the cooperation of the people of Ast Arde, the masters, and the gods of the divine realms, we wouldn't have won.
Considering that, combining our powers might feel like a drop in the ocean, but…
"That depends on you three from now on."
"…Meaning?"
When I asked, Ignis pressed her index finger against my chest.
She tapped it lightly as she spoke.
"Issei's soul hasn't yet fully unleashed the power it holds. Various factors that you've encountered on your journey so far lie dormant within you. If you can awaken them, your soul can ascend to an even higher dimension."
Miu seemed to catch on to something and raised her hand.
"The reason we're connecting with big brother, could it be…"
"Yes. Connecting Miu-chan and Alice-chan serves two purposes: to disperse that child's power and to link with Issei, pulling both of their souls to a higher level."
So, this ritual was for the purpose of allowing my soul to link with Miu's and Alice's, and to divide Rosswiese's power into three…
…Ignis, despite everything, seems to have put a lot of thought into this.
As I understood the intent of the ritual and felt impressed, Ignis picked up the pot that had been placed in the corner of the white space.
Alice pointed at the pot and asked.
"I've been wondering… what's that?"
"This, you see, is mercury that I asked Azazel-kun to prepare. …Speaking of which, do you have what I told you to prepare?"
Questioned by Ignis, I reached into my pocket and pulled out something.
They were three glass test tubes, like those used in science class.
All three test tubes were filled with a red liquid and sealed with rubber stoppers. This red liquid was our blood.
Each test tube had a strip of tape with a name written on it, so we could tell whose blood was whose.
Regarding this blood, we had it drawn at Azazel-sensei's laboratory before coming here.
…Well, Miu nearly went berserk again.
The moment she saw the injection needle, her magic power almost went out of control, so I had to knock her out.
Ah, Miu's getting teary-eyed remembering it.
Hmm, I really need to get Miu to overcome her fear of injections… If she goes berserk every time she gets a shot, the doctors will get hurt again…
Ignis nodded and took the test tubes from me.
"Issei's is this one…"
She murmured, opened the stopper of the test tube containing my blood, and poured it into the pot. She stirred the rod inside the pot, mixing my blood with the mercury.
Once mixed, she then added Miu's blood, followed by Alice's blood, mixing them in the same way.
"Alright, that's done. Now, let's draw the magic circle right away."
Saying that, Ignis stood in the center of the space and narrowed her eyes.
She tilted the pot, and a liquid mixed with red and silver spilled onto the floor from its mouth.
She moved her arm swiftly, drawing a magic circle with mechanical precision.
A few minutes later, the magic circle was complete, but… it was a complex and bizarre magic circle unlike anything I had ever seen.
Miu, who was watching beside me, murmured.
"What… is this…? I've never seen anything like it."
Even Miu, who could use the highest level of magic in Ast Arde, reacted this way.
It was only natural that Alice and I had never seen it.
Ignis smiled and said.
"That's only natural. Because I just came up with this magic circle the other day! No one else knows about it but me."
"Ah… so, that's how it is, after all."
"Well, never mind that. There are three circles in the magic circle, right? Can you stand in them?"
In the magic circle Ignis drew, there were circles sized for one person at the vertices of a triangle, and a slightly larger circle in the middle of the triangle.
We followed Ignis's instructions and stood in the circles located at the vertices of the triangle.
Following us, Ignis stood in the slightly larger circle.
"Alright then, let's go—!"
"So casual!?"
This is a pretty serious ritual, isn't it?! Why are you so casual about it?!
Ignoring my retort, Ignis uttered something. Then, she snapped her fingers.
And then—
The magic circle drawn on the floor emitted a rainbow-colored light.
▽
—Warm.
A very warm sensation, as if being enveloped by something. This feeling was the same as when I had dived inside Ignis.
…Is this inside Ignis?
Feeling the pleasant warmth, I slowly opened my eyes.
The usual pure white space—was not there.
My vision was filled with a black expanse. A vast, black world.
But it wasn't complete darkness.
Sparkling things were scattered here and there, and many lights flowed across the sky.
A starry sky… no, it felt like being in space.
Were those flowing lights meteors?
"Huh, Big Brother…?"
"Where… are we?"
Turning towards the voices, I saw Miu and Alice. Both of them looked a little confused, unsure of where we were.
"I don't know either. …I think it's inside Ignis, but… it wasn't like this before."
Just then—
"Hehe, this isn't the usual place. This, you see, is my true world, further beyond that place."
A young woman's voice echoed through this starry night space.
Ignis's voice… but it sounded a little different…
Rainbow-colored particles rained down from the sky.
At the same time, a woman with rainbow-colored hair, just like the particles, appeared before us. She was enveloped in a warm light and looked very mystical.
The woman had the same face as the person we always saw.
"Ignis… is that you?"
Yes, the woman had the same face as Ignis.
But her aura was different, somehow…
The woman smiled gently.
"Yes, I usually go by that name, but right now, I am not 'Ignis' of 'Shin'en'. I am—of—."
I couldn't hear it.
That was probably Ignis's true name. I couldn't hear that part at all. It was as if something had erased it.
Looking at Miu and Alice, they also had puzzled expressions, just like me.
The woman with rainbow-colored hair smiled and said.
"You probably can't hear my name right now. That's understandable. It's not the time yet. So, you can call me Ignis as usual."
"…Then, Ignis. You just said this is your true world… does that mean this represents your true power?"
When I asked, Ignis looked up at the starry sky.
"How does this world feel to Issei and the others?"
"How" she asked…
We looked around and thought about it.
A black space, with countless stars shining within it. Without realizing it, a large star appeared at our feet, emitting a beautiful blue light.
"…A magnificent view, I guess?"
"Yeah… it's like being in space."
"I've never seen anything like it, and it's so beautiful… I can't find any other words to describe it."
Following me, Miu and Alice shared their impressions.
It truly was a breathtaking and beautiful sight, to the extent that no other words came to mind.
"Thank you, I'm glad to hear you say that. …The stars shining in this world, you see, represent the light in various people's hearts."
"Light in their hearts…?"
"Yes. People's thoughts, the radiance of their souls, can be endlessly passionate and endlessly bright. The stronger a person's thoughts, their soul, the brighter their star can shine."
Ignis walked closer to us and took our three hands.
"I want to continue to see the light in your hearts. Your hearts are endlessly beautiful and strong. I want to see that radiance forever and ever—"
Light gathered in Ignis's hand, which was holding ours.
The light gradually grew larger, forming three basketball-sized spheres.
The three spheres of light floated in the air and moved to stand before our chests.
Presumably, this was—
"That is that child's—the power Rosswiese entrusted to Issei. I will divide this among the three of you."
As Ignis said that, the spheres of light entered us.
At that moment, our bodies pulsed strongly with a "thump."
However… after that, no further physical changes occurred, nor did we feel any surge of power.
Miu and Alice also looked at their own bodies with puzzled expressions.
Ignis confirmed this and said.
"Miu-chan and Alice-chan have received it too. With this, both of you have obtained Pseudo Divinity. Whether you can utilize it or not is up to you."
Then, Ignis smiled brightly and embraced the three of us.
"Do your best. I believe that you three will be able to use this power correctly."
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