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“Here she comes, the World Eater.”
“She really is here.”

This time, she looked kind of like a crocodile, but that shadow descending from the sky was unmistakably the World-Eater. Same as ever, full of energy, which was probably for the best. After all, she was about to have an all-out brawl with the people of this world. She wouldn’t show up tired for that.

As for why she was here… well, like I said before, it was probably because the world itself was wishing for destruction. Considering the god that created this world had been constantly interfering and wearing down its lifespan, I couldn’t exactly blame it. I didn’t really know how much awareness the world had, but I could understand its feelings.

Now that the World-Eater had appeared, we were just watching. If the people of this world couldn’t handle her, that was when we would step in.

“They’re holding their ground better than I thought.”
“Well, they’ve all united against her, and there are people empowered by the god here, too.”

Up in the distant sky, people were flying toward the World-Eater like missiles. When they got close, they sent out slashes many times their own size or unleashed huge, flashy spells. Attacks that would’ve killed any normal creature dozens of times over. But the World-Eater didn’t seem the least bit fazed.

Maybe it was because she was still managing to eat parts of those attacks, but she appeared to take damage. If they want to actually hurt her, they would have to use something she couldn’t consume. Things she couldn’t eat were divine attacks for one. So, attacks made using power granted directly by a god would be hard for her to swallow.

Also, anything that was purely destructive in nature. Shockwaves, slashes, that sort of destructive energy, were also off the menu. So yes, she was not impossible to fight, but she was the embodiment of an entire world. Her size was something else. A slash several times the size of a human barely scratched her. An impact that could blow a massive crater in the ground might make her go “ow,” but that was about it.

After a while, the people seemed to catch on to her nature and started changing their tactics. But then, the World Eater decided to brute-force it, with the overwhelming mass of a world itself. One by one, the heroes vanished. And that was when I noticed something.

“That hero boy who barged in the other day isn’t here.”
“Oh, that guy? He’s not a hero anymore.”
“I see.”

From what Fumitsuki and Lullus told me, apparently, the hero couldn’t let go of them even after that encounter. He went to plead his case directly to the god, insisting their power was essential to defeating the Demon Lord. After multiple warnings and his continued defiance, the god stripped him of his title.

And once someone lost their hero status in this world, they lost their rights as a person, too. Usually, with the title of hero, the bearer would be excused even of mass killings if they were deemed righteous. But in the end, it was the god that decided whether a person had that title or not. And to oppose that decision was to oppose the god itself.

So in this case, the boy’s stubbornness, combined with this world’s god wanting to avoid conflict with me, probably led to that decision.

“Were you worried about him, Fini?”
“Not exactly. I just thought that he somewhat reminded me of one of the gods.”
“The one you said had a stick up his bottom?”
“That’s the one. He’s the kind who insists every god should directly manage their world’s creation or something. Loud, uptight type. Only met him once, but he really stuck in my memory.”

Ah, yes, the so-called God of Diligence. There were all sorts of gods out there, but that one was in a league of his own. Even though I had only met him once, the divine clerks said he had filed several complaints about me. Eventually, he got so fed up that he came to confront me right before I went to sleep.

“He sounds pretty obstinate.”
“Hmm, maybe not entirely. He accepts that the God of Sloth doesn’t work because that’s their ‘job,’ and that the God of Games just… plays.”
“But the God of Endings sleeping is not allowed?”
“Apparently so.”

Well, not that I cared about that guy anyway. And I cared even less about that ex-hero I would never see again. While we were chatting, a message came through from this world’s god.

“Well then, shall we go stop the World Eater?”
“Can we come too?”
“Of course. I don’t think she’ll target us anyway.”

Fumitsuki tilted her head at that, while Lullus remained silent, as if she understood what I meant. With both of them next to me, we started running toward where the World Eater was.

◇◇◇

Facing the World Eater up close in her full size was… pretty impressive. Intimidating, even. Until a little-girl voice echoed in my head. “Big sis!” Just like that, all that intimidation evaporated. But I couldn’t stop wondering if anyone else had heard that. Hopefully not, but even if they had… it wasn’t really a problem.

“What’s wrong, Big Sis?”
“I’m here to stop you today.”
“Nano?!”
“Seems like the god of this world doesn’t want their world eaten. And, well, I’ve got a job to do.”
“Nanooo…”

She lowered her voice, sounding almost sulky. The World Eater sure made for an easy conversation partner. After all, about 80% of the conversations with her would just consist of the word Nano. Fumitsuki seemed to recognize that speech pattern and tilted her head. “Nano, is that you?”

“Nano! It’s Nano, Fumitsuki! Lullus is here too!”
“So it really is you, Nano. You’ve changed so much, I didn’t recognize you.”
“You’re so mean, Fumitsuki…”
“I knew right away.”
“You’re amazing as always, Lullus, nano!”

And so, right at the brink of a world’s destruction, the culprit and her acquaintances had a cheerful little reunion. It all felt quite surreal. The three people, none of whom were really people, were having a nice, excited chat. It honestly was hard not to yawn while watching them. Once they finished chatting, I asked again.

“So, World Eater, will you withdraw?”
“It can’t be helped, nano. I know I can’t beat Big Sis.”
“That’s a relief. You’re very reasonable.”
“Nano knows her place!”

With that, she waved goodbye and retreated into the sky. Once she was gone, I turned to the others.

“Well then, let’s head home.”
“We’re not staying until the world ends this time?”
“It’ll take quite a while still, and our work here’s done. Besides, sticking around would just cause trouble. Whether they call us heroes or accomplices to the World Eater, neither label’s good news.”
“Yeah, true. Let’s go then.”

Fumitsuki nodded, sensing the countless eyes on us. Lullus didn’t object either. So, we vanished from that world on the spot.

◇◇◇

I returned to my own place and fell asleep. After who knows how long, Lullus woke me up for the next job. Apparently, about 500 years had passed, during which things had been peaceful. No new requests had come in, which was fine by me. Fumitsuki did scold me last time for not mentioning the World Eater before I went to sleep, but peace was peace. Still, I sometimes thought that maybe those long-term assignments, where I slept for around 2,000 years at a time, were closer to my ideal.

While I was lost in thought, I sensed someone approaching in my godly domain. It was neither Lullus nor Fumitsuki, as neither of them could come here.

“Hello, End.”
“Oh, good morning, Chaos.”

The God of Chaos appeared, and I greeted him casually. He was not really someone you would just refer to as Chaos, but I once did it on a whim, thinking, “Well, if he kills me, he kills me,” and he ended up liking it. Unfortunately, he looked like a sketchy older guy, so it was not exactly flattering to be on his good side.

“What brings you here?”
“Nothing in particular. I just thought I’d tell you about that world that drove off my little one.”
“Oh? Has it already vanished?”
“Not long after you left, actually.”
“Really? That seems too fast. I don’t think it was that unstable.”

At the pace it was going, sure, maybe it’d be gone by now, 500 years later, but not in just a century or less. Yet, from Chaos’ tone, it sounded like it had disappeared in fifty years or so.

“After you left, the god there tried a little experiment.”
“An experiment?”
“Well, they didn’t think of it as one. They thought they could do it. They tried channeling Divine Power directly into the world to extend its life, maybe even make it eternal.”
“Wow… that’s just impossible. If that were doable, someone would’ve figured it out by now.”
“Well, gods will be gods.”
“True enough.”

After all, the being in front of me was the one who had created the World Eater by accident. Gods could do a lot, but not everything. And when they failed, they could just create a new world. Rebuilding was a hassle, but it was never fatal.

So I was sure that that god, having failed to extend their world’s life, was now cheerfully sketching plans for the next one.