The Origin—no, to be frank, I cannot tell if it was the Root itself, an embodiment of the Swirl, or something far beyond my perception. Regardless, that entity, in exchange for my resurrection, took something derived from the Origin away from me.
…Fine. Even so, I can still fight for now.
According to the words of the Root, I should have returned to my original vessel on Earth. Yet, for some reason, I remained atop the terraformed Moon. The Crimson Moon stared down at me, looking quite surprised.
As I picked myself up from the ground and met her gaze, the shock faded from her face, replaced by a solemn intensity. She spoke.
"So, you intend to see this through to the end?"
"Talking about the 'end' to someone who's already been there and back is a bit ridiculous, don't you think, you damned monster…?"
"Haha! You truly are a clown that never ceases to entertain. How did you return from death? I crushed your physical form and severed every flow between the Moon and the Earth so that you couldn't even return to your original body… Yes, it was an undeniable, perfect death. And yet, here you are, standing alive and looking at me…"
She observed me with a profound gaze for a long moment before speaking as if the situation were amusing.
"And so, what do you plan to do now? There are no Magicians here to aid you, nor are there any of those connected to the Root to stand by your side. All you possess are those paltry eyes and your bare fists. Do you still intend to resist?"
"…Yes."
"You are a remarkable one, indeed. You remind me of that crow…"
After appearing to reminisce about the past for a brief moment, she spoke curtly.
"I intended to destroy this world myself before the King of Demon Gods could, but… turning you into something like that crow might not be a bad idea either."
"…You want to drink my blood? Plan on making me a Dead Apostle?"
"Exactly."
"Don't make me laugh!"
"Little clown, you have no right to choose. Do you think experiencing death once has made you special? Once you have tasted an eternity of agony and admitted your defeat, you will gladly offer your throat to me."
She did not throw meteors or manipulate forests as she had before.
She simply overwhelmed me with her sheer presence, crushing me under a torrential downpour of high-density Ether.
Her immense Magical Energy gave birth to Phantasmal Beasts of the Age of Gods right in the middle of this terraformed lunar landscape. However, even they were crushed by the overwhelming pressure of the Crimson Moon's spirit, dissipating into prana only to be born again in a continuous, agonizing cycle.
She wasn't playing around or treating this as a pastime anymore. Her singular, serious focus on making me submit was absolute terror incarnate.
If my Preta Path's Seal Absorption was a tiny hand, the volume of magical energy she poured out was like a massive dam bursting. The charismatic aura she had emitted like a king earlier was now concentrated solely on me, dissecting and shredding my very being. My right arm, which I primarily used for Shinra Tensei and the Preta Path, was necrotic and blackened to the point it felt ready to drop off. My body, which had been restored by the trip to the Root, felt as though it would creak and collapse at any moment.
"…You endure well."
The moment she spoke, I quickly aimed my crumbling right arm at her.
The immense quantity of atmospheric mana and my Magic Circuits, which were already overheated to the point of exploding—all conditions were met.
[Tsar Bomba - Царь-бомба]
A thunderous roar and a grotesque shriek of rending air followed as that colossal destructive power engulfed the Crimson Moon. I used the opening to leap backward.
It was the most powerful weapon in human history, an armament reaching the limit of science.
For the Asura Path, which cannot manifest weapons imbued with Mysteries like the Black Barrel, this was effectively the ultimate armament. Since it required sacrificing a portion of my own flesh as a price, it was a trump card I truly didn't want to use unless absolutely necessary. But in this situation, I had to use it, if only as a feint.
"I see. That last one was quite useful. It makes me want you even more… human."
The scale of her Marble Phantasm covers the entire Earth; naturally, a bomb with a limited range within that domain wouldn't work. Yes, this was within my expectations.
But the Crimson Moon does not know.
The personification of the Root took its price and returned me from the Swirl of the Origin to this reality.
From my perspective, that price could be seen as large or small, but she wouldn't understand—she, whose role is to capture those connected to the Root as an agent of Gaia's Counter Force.
She doesn't know that those who reach the Root ultimately obtain 'something,' regardless of what their end might be.
"It said it. A single space that is the start of all things and the cause of all causes, where all results are derived. The beginning and end of all things… and my final destination. That means all life and death are recorded in that place."
Whether Lord Brishisan and Kishua Zelretch foresaw this situation and handed it to me, I cannot say.
Perhaps they peeked at the future and pressed it into my hand as a 'reward,' or perhaps it was mere coincidence.
However, since I received 'this' as the price for reaching the Root, it must be viewed as destiny rather than luck, at least in this moment.
"What do you intend to do?"
Everything… has been satisfied.
He is already dead, his soul registered on the Throne of Heroes—a sort of afterlife. While his genetic information and corpse are being used as a puppet by another in Imaginary Number Space… his existence is recorded, if only slightly, in the object Lord Brishisan gave me.
And finally, a living human—or something with a soul and self-awareness similar to a human.
"Originally, only the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique existed, but that's impossible to use due to the Counter Force. Even here, in your Millennium Castle on the Moon, the Alaya and Gaia Counter Forces would affect me… But this technique… at least here, where Alaya's influence is minimized, it can be used."
"Chattering away incessantly… if you have nothing left, then die!"
She once again formed a massive field of magical energy to crush me.
"It doesn't matter. All conditions have been met."
Perhaps the only ability in the world that can invert the divergence of life and death.
I lost something upon reaching the Root, but I gained the ability that is most needed at this very moment.
There is no telling what ripples using this technique will cause in the future.
But there was no other time to use this power, and there likely never would be again.
The final ring of Solomon given to me by Lord Brishisan and the genetic factor recorded within it.
The ancient life forms of the primordial Earth acting as sacrifices.
And… the secret art that was imprinted on me when the Root took its price.
"Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei). King of Mages, Solomon."
*
Dark skin like chocolate or copper, red eyes like Arcueid Brunestud, white hair that looked bleached… and a lethargic expression that seemed to feel no emotion whatsoever.
The skin across his body was cracked as if brittle, and his eyes were black with red irises—sclera darkened like a demon's. Yet, the sheer weight of his soul's rank made him seem not the least bit inferior to the Crimson Moon standing before him.
The King of Mages, Solomon, surveyed his surroundings with a languid, mechanical expression before his eyes settled on me. He spoke.
"First… I shall ask. Is it you who called for me?"
"Yeah, well. I suppose I should answer that. Yes, I summoned you."
"Is that so… I never thought I would be summoned from the Throne of Heroes in such a manner. But I can understand."
In that instant, a colossal shadow began to form above my head.
A moon far larger and more imposing than the one that had been dropped on me before began rushing toward Solomon and me. This was the Crimson Moon's full power… Likely on the same scale as the 'Meteor' she used when fighting Kishua long ago.
"…I lack a suitable way to address you. What should I call you?"
"Well… other magi might prefer the title 'Master,' but I believe names are important. With affection… I'd like you to call me Karma, Mr. King of Mages."
"Very well. Then, is there something you desire?"
"Yeah. Break that thing."
And then, I saw it.
The Magic Square—the Infinite Ether Cannon—that Kishua Zelretch Schweinorg was said to have used against the Crimson Moon in the distant past.
Without a massive thaumaturgical circle or any complex process, a simple wave of his hand accompanied by Divine Words in Hebrew shattered the enormous 'Moon' falling from the sky in its entirety.
As the meteor created by Marble Phantasm crumbled, I looked at the Crimson Moon—who was staring at me in complete disbelief—with an equally stunned expression. Solomon blinked slowly at the two of us before speaking.
"Is there… not a second request?"