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Atop the highest floor of the «Blue Divine Tower», situated in the central sanctuary region of Faximile, the capital of the Holy Kingdom Aeon.

“It flew away…”

The ‘Azure God’, seated on an armchair, snorted as he figuratively digested the information relayed by his familiar bird, which had just flown in through the window.

“I had envisioned a touching reunion with my dear Hiyuki… no matter, the longer the wait, the sweeter the eventual meeting will be.”

As the ‘Azure God’ mused aloud, a sharp-eyed young man dressed in a turban, a sailor uniform, and a red waistcoat responded nonchalantly, his face marked by a sour expression. Silver tattoos adorned his dark brown skin.

“It was quite a close call earlier, but… wouldn’t it have been catastrophic if the Sky Garden had actually crashed down… or perhaps not?”

“Hmm, yes. The entire holy city and its surrounding regions, except for this place, would have been decimated… perhaps even the entirety of Aeon might have ceased to exist.”

Azure God replied with a dismissive tone, as if to say ‘if it happens, so be it.’

“I… see.”

The young man seemed to have asked merely for confirmation, as he gave a slight nod while his expression remained unchanged.

“Hmm, right. Since you’re here, you might as well take care of the trash too.”

“…Trash?” The young man’s brows furrowed elegantly in response to Azure God’s command.

“I’ve imprisoned Achako in the dungeon on the deepest floor. The fool attempted to incite the Grand Pope to attack my Hiyuki, but fortunately, her plan failed.”

Finally, even the young man couldn’t maintain his composure; his façade crumbled upon hearing Azure God’s words.

“What, that happened? Then Miss Achako is now…”
“It appears she hasn’t died yet.”

Azure God glanced at the life orb on the wall—a palm-sized crystal ball with a flickering green flame inside—and spoke from his chair in a disinterested tone.

“Well, it’s only a matter of time. She’s been with a group of enhanced Ogres for five days now, with nothing but her bare body… if she’s still alive, just put an end to her.”

“Are you sure? I believe she still holds some value…”

The young man clearly disagreed with the idea, his query lacking the usual formalities.

Of the eight life orbs adorning the wall, only four—’Silver,’ ‘Purple,’ ‘Red,’ and ‘Green’—remained illuminated.

Azure God ignored the remark and scoffed in derision.

“I don’t care. I’ve grown bored of that matter as well. It was merely a substitute, and once I obtain the real thing, it would only be a hindrance.”

The young man stared at Azure God for a moment, his face expressionless, then turned and walked away without a word.

“Ah, yes. The explosion earlier must have been heard throughout the Holy City. Have the Grand Pope quell the resulting unrest. I would have disposed of that troublesome youth and fed him to the swines, but useful pawns like him are rare. For now, I’ll keep him under my command a while longer.”

The young man exited the room, taking in Azure God’s words as he left.

A short while later, the green fire inside the life orb flickered out weakly. Azure God snorted with satisfaction upon seeing this.

◆◇◆◇

“I need to make something clear beforehand, Hiyuki.” Lubbock spoke in a subdued tone, readying his sword and assuming his stance. “First, it’s likely impossible to completely eliminate Shimamura since his revival point is set. Once we kill him, he’ll just incur the death penalty and revive at that point, putting us back at square one.”

—An infinite loop, then? What kind of cheat is that!?

Ugh, I feel like I’ve lost some of my motivation even before the battle has begun.

However, this explains the doubts I’ve had. I’ve been puzzled by Shima’s seemingly reckless actions, akin to those of a suicide bomber. Such tactics surely offer him some advantage. Isn’t he treating his own life too cavalierly?

—It’s ironic, coming from me, someone who can use resurrection magic without the death penalty’s side effects. Still, a point is a point.

“So our priority should be to seal him, rather than kill him. You received the «Sealing Cross» from the Grand Pope, right? It’s a one-time use item, so please save it until I give the signal.”

“—Ah, right, the seal. Yes, I have the Sealing Cross.”

…Err, what should I say? I possess the genuine artifact, which can be used infinitely, unlike the one-time use cross. Explaining this would broaden our options, but it would mean breaking my promise to Kagerou.

As I hesitated, unable to make up my mind, Jotun—controlled by Shima—stepped forward.

“Sheesh… whatever, there’s no use crying over spilled milk. I should have stuck with my original plan, leveled up Nidhogg, and followed the land route to cut that b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲’s neck instead of getting distracted by other pursuits. I bet my dear Nidhogg could have even taken down a lousy god by devouring 400 to 500 million souls.”

“You’ve always been like this, always pulling stunts, whether in battle or anything else, and doing things half-heartedly.”

Lubbock decisively dismissed Shima’s grumbling lamentations about ‘what he should have done.’

Right, right. He does have these bad habits. He once turned his guild house into a store hoping to strike it rich, but ultimately, no one showed up, likely due to his dubious fashion sense. After that debacle, he even poached our Master Craftsman, a top-ranked fashion designer (who, by the way, designed my clothes). Another time, during a group hunt, he bailed at the last minute, dismissing it as ‘so boring’ when it seemed it might take a while… Darn it. Now, recalling his antics is just irritating me all over again.

“…Well, what’s past is past. I just need to start over. First off, I should crush some foes. Hmph, not even you can revive them, Hiyuki, if they lose more than 50% of their body parts.”

The battlefield was suspended in midair, effectively a no-exit scenario, set within a literal monster house, and he faced a stronger player.

At least he seemed to grasp his predicament, recognizing the impossibility of escaping alive. Preparing for the expected death—not that he would truly die, only face the death penalty—Jotun readied himself for action.

“—Get ready! I’m joining Lubbock on the frontline. Kokuyou, shield Tamegoro. Mikoto, stay focused on healing. Utsuho, distract the enemy until Tamegoro is ready to unleash her strongest move!”

The moment I issued my command, Jotun lowered his stance, kicked off the ground, and charged at us with incredible speed, raising his fist—fashioned into knuckles by Shima—and aiming it directly at us.