(Rudeus POV)
"Hello?... Anybody?... Hitogami, are you dead?... help... please."
I was still stuck under a boulder for what felt like maybe hours, unable to die because I was already dead, nor could I see what all the commotion was about. I could call out for help.
Being involuntarily stuck in a space is quite the opposite of the fort I was housed in in my previous world. I don't even get something to kill time with.
But, man. Hitogami wasn't kidding. My soul really did toughen. If only it were as much metaphorically.
It sounded like Hitogami was fending it off. And from what I could hear, he was struggling a lot. I mean, his opponent was laughing either from insanity or mockery.
Laughing… It can't be, can it? Did the premonition actually come true?
It sounded like Hitogami had concluded something before the mountain came down.
The manifestations of the curse have taken control of the body, unleashing the chaos depicted in that vision. All that power… I can't believe this is what I would have been capable of.
*Boom*
One of the attackers destroyed the mountain, with me under it, high off the ground, leaping me off to a field of dust, rubble, and lakes.
I have no hands to even try balancing myself, nor the ability to cast Magic even if I had hands, nor the acrobatic ability to prevent my cartoonish crash with the ground I just ended up doing.
As always, the pain only lasted a second; only my pride took another toll on it.
"No! No! Get away from me! Get away from m-"
*Shank*
"Urrr… rrr… rrrrrr..."
*Splat*
Unsettling sounds now replaced the laughter and screaming, and an unidentifiable noise caught my spiritual ears.
Thanks to the tilted platform, I could lift myself quite easily.
And once I opened my eyes, my field of vision was filled with utter and pure chaos.
Chunks and chunks of earth and stone were scattered throughout the entire field wherever you looked.
What I presume could only be the ocean was pouring down like the waterfall at Niagara Falls.
There were still pieces falling from above, and the distant cracking and crashing were still ongoing.
And that distant laughter continued, coming from where a different commotion was happening—that seriously creepy laughter. But it was more muffled, and I'm afraid to find out why.
Scurrying around this now uneven and boulder-laden place, I wondered if it is considered the world's underworld—sort of like a place that was once inhabited by a long-gone civilization.
Traversing this uneven terrain was harder without hands to balance properly. It took me five minutes to reach what could only be the battlefield.
There were specs of white fire everywhere. And by everywhere, I do mean everywhere. Even regions of the air were on fire.
Most notably, there was some gold substance I couldn't identify. It looked like a chemical fluid, but since I wasn't in a physical form, I couldn't tell if it released an odor of the sort.
Then, a new noise that replaced the laughter caught my attention.
It sounded like ripping and crunching. And it was eerily audible even though the sky was still falling apart.
Even though I would break the most important rule of any horror film scenario, I followed the sound.
Soon after, I came across… IT. I don't know what else to call it besides a person turned monster.
I came across it when its back turned on me, crouching.
It had two pairs of wings, the top pair bigger than the bottom pair. A black tail with a spinal cord along its back flailed around like a cat's. Between its messy, gold-stained silver hair sprouted crocked grey horns, which sparkled a little and reflected the light.
The crunching suddenly ended, and the sound of closed-mouth chewing replaced it.
Once it began turning, its limbs started cracking like a dug-out mummy coming back to life with its old bones.
It turned to me, showing its scale-covered four arms—one pair partially transparent—black eyes with glowing red veins inside them but no iris or pupil, three pairs of horns sticking out of its forehead, and a god-awful smile that literally went from ear to ear, and the gold substance staining its serrated teeth and lips.
It would have been difficult to identify it had I, one, not known about the premonition Luke received, and two, there was a gaping hole in its chest, covered with crude multicolored crystals around the edges.
It was really Rudeus Greyrat who destroyed the world, which confirms my suspicions. The curse's manifestations caused this destruction, just as Hitogami mumbled.
But in return, it also means that the inability to get me straight came with the cost of the world.
Everyone, maybe even Zenith... is dead.
That realization just kicked in as I looked directly at the monstrosity's empty and mindless eyes.
"From shut-in NEET to the destroyer of the isekai world he reincarnated into."
That is what I am and what I've always been. Just when I was looking forward to the future, the one in which I was about to take the first step toward ith Sara, I messed up a—And big time, that is.
The monster that used to be the shell I used to inhabit during my second life started approaching me, growling and gritting its teeth, when suddenly, an eyeball fell out of its mouth.
It was Hitogami's eye, and this gold substance appears to be his blood (at least, that is what I think it is).
"Heh. In the end, you were the cause of your own demise. Honestly… it serves you right after playing god for so long."
It's kind of ironic that his world-ending premonition ended up resulting from his initiative to prevent it in the first place. What a classic plot to witness.
And yet, it doesn't change the fact that the world is done for. Everyone's gone. Everything...
When I thought the monster would attack me, it merely turned its head left and right and, after a second, turned back to munching on whatever was left of the deceased wannabe god.
"Not even worth being noticed for, huh," I weakly mumbled.
Hitogami must've used some special power to see and hear me in spirit form, which the monster before me doesn't have.
This is how I spend my days until my spirit fades: roaming and observing the world collapse while this entity, no longer resembling a person, consumes the harbinger of this apocalypse.
With that thought in mind, I looked up at what was left of the world I once walked in, thinking about-
"Is that a crystal castle falling?"
I must be really tripping right now to start seeing something even crazier than the end of the world. I would have anticipated something like magma raining, desert sand sprinkling, some oceanic creature's carcass, or even people's corpses... but this? Not on the list of things.
"Hey, monster Rudeus, you might want to take two or five steps to the left."
Judging from the trajectory, one of the towers was about to hit it directly.
It didn't listen to me and just stared at the structure heading towards it.
Meanwhile, I was the one of the two of us who didn't want to stand around and find out his defensive limits, so I ran off—again.
I didn't see the tower crash into the monster, but I'm sure he took it without any consequences if it kept regenerating itself from Hitogami's attacks.
I put on a good amount of distance behind, but there is no telling if that thing would… follow… me…
"Wait, why am I running?" I wondered out loud.
The only thing I should be afraid of is getting stuck below another mountain. Heck, is there even something that could destroy my soul? And there is no telling how long my decomposing will take. For all I know, it might not even-
"Oh. Talk about weird timing."
I'm not sure if this is quite it, but my soul started letting off sparkles of small lights.
Okay, never mind what I said about the whole wandering soul thing. Seems my time has come.
*Clank* *Bonk* *Clank* *Boom*
"Hm?"
Something was going on back there. It sounded like metal was clashing together in a fight.
Could it be that there was a survivor out there fighting the monstrosity? But who besides Hitogami could match it in the first place? Orsted?
Preferably to go down knowing who this mysterious fighter might be, I decided to return to the battlefield.
The sparkling coming from my body continued, neither intensifying nor decreasing as time passed, meaning I had little time left.
The catastrophic terrain didn't help either, what with all this rubble from above.
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank* *Clank* *Clank* *Clank*
Attacks that had less than a second of time in between resounded from the battle.
I have this nagging feeling that I heard this kind of clashing once before, but I don't recall when.
Suddenly, a wave of white flames came my way, hitting me and-
"OW! Owowowow, ow, ow! That hurts! That hurts A LOT!!"
Wailing from the intensely painful burning of my soul, I flailed on the ground. I think I'm seeing the sparkles emitting from my body intensify. Is the fire speeding up the decomposing?
"This is even worse than getting kicked, strangled, or hit by a mountain!" I screamed out loud.
Why? Why am I getting into so much pain? And someone, please tell me what the deal is with this weird fire?!
"DIE ALREADY!! RAAAAAA!!!"
*BOOM*
A war cry paired with another explosion snapped me back to the events that were near me.
I turned my head and caught sight of the person who battled the monster Rudeus nearby.
Clad in charcoal black armor decorated with red gems all over it, the person held some sort of silver spear.
His expression reminded me of when I first met Ruijerd, a lone warrior who had experienced betrayal. His hair was also emerald green, and a red gem was on his forehead.
If that wasn't enough, there was also his eyes—golden iris's with slit pupils.
Either I'm hallucinating, or this guy is an actual Superd Dragon hybrid.
"Damn beast. Perish already!"
As the Superd warrior yelled in frustration, he leaped forward with incredible speed. The tip of his spear (which I now noticed was a trident) aimed at monster Rudeus's head, but it was dodged in a split second.
Suddenly, the Superd warrior's left elbow let out some sort of condensed fire like a jet engine, propelling his spear thrust to get back against the monster.
*Clank*
Because of the detour, the thrust lost its initial force, leaving no damage behind the monster's Touki and tough scales.
But the Superd quickly flipped his spear and swung to execute a barrage of clashes against the monster.
He didn't just randomly strike any spots. I could notice from the sparks igniting in the air that he deliberately struck against vital points like joints, eyes, throat, and the crystal against the chest.
Once the monster swung his upper arm to strike, the Superd dodged it and hit its elbow by rotating the trident between his hands, managing to cut it off.
No blood escaped from the wound, and instead, white fire erupted, hitting me with another wave of painful torture. WHY?!
After monster Rudeus regenerated his arm back, the fight continued, staying in the Superd warrior's favor.
No matter how much each tried, the flow of the battle stayed the same.
What I came to realize was that the armor of the Superd was actually rocket-powered. Parts of his back and limbs would ignite in red fire and propel him perfectly for exceptional maneuvering.
Although his technique was less flawless than Ruijerd's, the jets compensated for the great redirection he professionally utilized.
"So cool," I mustered to say, working against the pain.
Even though it was incredible to witness, they quickly moved away from me, their battle continuing out of my sight.
With the remainder of my strength, I got on my knees and waited for the end of this life; the specs of light were getting more intense, with the white fire speeding things up.
At the very least, I was witnessing something great.
A Superd survivor, and a powerful one to boot.
"I pray for your victory, whoever you are."
Instinctively, I noticed I was at my last minute here. My mind got mellow, and I felt the sensation of fading away sprout inside me. Even my sight became cloudy.
I can't say I feel ready to leave this world, but there is nothing left for me to live here.
A last thought came to mind—one that wasn't mature at all but of personal importance to me, especially since I had more opportunities to do it than last time.
'Oh shit… I'm dying a virgin again.'
And with that, emptiness swallowed my mind into the abyss.
***
(Third POV)
Outside the realm of time and space, where anything can be observed for those who inhabit it, a faceless child sat on the non-existent ground, curled up and hugging its knees tightly to her chest.
One could say she was an observer to the people she brought to that world, but her personal prison merely held her consciousness captive.
She could always try to interfere further with the course of history, but the consequences of her actions, which led to the destruction of the world, made her hesitant to try anymore.
All the pain, all the bloodshed, and all the lives that have been taken. All of it was far from what she actually wanted when she helped the one person she believed could help her with her wish.
Ultimately, her selfish desire inflicted significant suffering on an innocent individual.
She could only wail at the thought of giving up and letting history resume its original course once the time had come for the world to reset again.
But an unexpected visitor brought a halt to her grieving sorrow.
Unlike her, the person didn't hold any form other than that of a black orb engulfed in a white flame.
The spirit was no stranger to her. She entrusted this entity to guide her summoned ones and fulfill her wishes. But recent developments have made her regret that decision.
From the orb covered in flames sprouted an arm, reaching out its hand to the other entity.
Knowing what that gesture implied, the girl felt reluctant, but she figured her friend might have planned this outcome from the beginning.
Reaching her hand out, she placed it on the palm of the orb's arm, and a mysterious energy started flowing through the girl's body into the orb's core.
Soon, the mana within the Void World shifted, gathering the remnants of mana from the uninhabited worlds on the other sides of the six-faced world and using it to restore the recently destroyed side by turning back time.
This action was perilous, as the six-faced world risked collapsing due to all its alterations.
This is especially risky since Hitogami's modifications on the Human World using the Creation God's powers and the time loops from Orsted have damaged the world and its overall stability.
But the entity that was the black orb had other plans.
For the moment, it left the restored world at a standstill in time, intending to let it resume once it felt it was appropriate.
The orb entity wanted to use this opportunity to strengthen its friend's warrior and improve her chances of achieving her goal.
It would be nothing more than a game to improve for a better future that has yet to be prepared for.
One that would take place in a separate world that was identical to this one.
For a future where the name Rudeus Greyrat would be remembered as the one who transcended to a realm of godhood.
///
(Next chapter: Identical world, different storyline)