In just a few minutes of time, Alice's friends who were revived by Αναμνήσεις were overwhelming the Gods.
Chronois is being cornered by the cooperation of Iris and Noel. Life regenerated herself over and over again while being attacked by Adele, who reached an amount of firepower thanks to Leon, stalling time for her.
Even so, there was still power in their eyes. After five minutes, which seemed too short for some while extremely long for others, Alice's comrades seemed to have realized something and retreated, lining up behind Alice.
[...Preparations... Complete.]
[Preparations? What the heck are you planning now....]
Hearing Chronois ask this with a dubious expression on her face, Alice only deeply smiled at her before she gently smiled at those who had been temporarily revived by Αναμνήσεις.
[Everyone, thank you very much. It was great to see you again.]
[Unnn. I'm glad I could help you, Big Sister. Do your best, okay?]
[Yes, Master. If you need our help, please don't hesitate to call us again. My blazing loyalty will always be with you.]
[Now that I think about it, it was a spectacular move to take our bodies into the Ἑκατόγχειρες. It was only because the residue of our souls was still inside the Ἑκατόγχειρες that we were able to help here with our memories from before we died... Well, that aside, I hope that the next time I'll be able to relax when you call me next time, not just in a fight.]
Very happy to hear Alice's words, Noel, Adele and Leon... Alice's comrades replied before disappearing.
After witnessing their disappearance, Iris also returned to Alice's body, while Alice faced the Gods once again.
[...I know about it, you know? That defeating the Gods here will not "unlock this space"... Aren't I right?]
[ [!?] ]
Yes, this space isn't only a battlefield created by Shallow Vernal, but also a prison. Even if the Gods were defeated, they wouldn't be released from this space.
Because they were thinking that there was no way for the Human-Demon Allied Forces from this space... the power did not disappear from their eyes, even when the Gods were pushed to the corner.
If one were to describe it, it would be the Gods' final Joker... but Alice had seen through that.
[...E- Even if you know it, that doesn't mean you can do anything about it! This space was created by Shallow Vernal-sama herself! In other words, this space itself is a world! Destroying this space is...]
[Impossible for me, is it? It's possible for me though.]
[W- What do you mean...]
[I told you, didn't I? This would be a checkmate... My Ἑκατόγχειρες has a certain restriction. It doesn't matter how many bonds I weaved, "I can't use the power of someone who's far stronger than me"... Now then, what did I say again? "I've met all of the requirements now"... is what I said!]
[!? Ah... Ahhhh... That is... impossible... This magic power is...]
As soon as Alice held her hand over the shining sphere... the space was enveloped in darkness, and golden eyes emerged from within a jet-black being. Chronois, Life, and even the rest of the Gods knew about this magic power.
In the battle between the Demon Realm and the God Realm 20,000 years ago... It was the magic power of the monster that once punched Shallow Vernal away.
"You still haven't forgotten about it, right... Kuro-san's power?"
Yes, everything is just a stepping stone for this. She used Ἑκατόγχειρες's Ultimate Battle Form in order to grow to a state where she could use Kuromueina's power... The time following that was a period of adjustment for her to gain control over Kuromueina's immense power.
And now, everything is ready. The being of darkness turned into a fist... and shattered the space.
In front of the Human-Demon Allied Forces that had begun escaping towards the broken space, the Gods slumped down on the ground.
[...What are you doing now? You still want to continue?]
[...No, Shallow Vernal has told us that once you lot have reached that place from the God Realm, it is our defeat and we shouldn't do anything more. It's... our defeat.]
[Is that so... Well then, since you aren't going to do anything anyway, why don't we have all Gods come and witness it together? Watch how this battle ends...]
[We have failed the duties Shallow Vernal-sama assigned to us, and we have no face to show to her anymore... If that's what you, the victor, wants, then I'll go along with it for now. However, can I ask you a question, Phantasmal King?]
[What is it?]
As Chronois accepted defeat, Life also accepted defeat... and began treating the members of Human-Demon Allied Forces who are unable to move due to the repercussions of the Critical Point of Fate.
She acknowledges the victor, the Human-Demon Allied Forces, had the right to advance.
And in the short time it took to finish her treatment to the others, Chronois asked Alice.
[...How much of everything have you predicted?]
[Predicted? Hmmm, that's a bit wrong... It's not that I predicted it, "I just guided Shallow Vernal-sama's thoughts so that the situation would develop this way", you know?]
[...What?]
[Shallow Vernal-sama is an amazing person, but she's not unrivaled in every way. Especially when it comes to the mental side... After all, this would actually have been difficult if she had kept on strengthening the Gods. So, I tried not to let that happen. I had a meeting to assume the extent of reinforcement that the Gods would have, based on the premise that Shallow Vernal-sama was peeping at my mind. In addition to making her think that "I'm preparing for the strengthening that she will do", I also guided her thoughts to a "basis where she would strengthen you Gods". Thinking about stuff like "If the Gods are around this strong, it would be hard" and stuff like that~~]
After pausing for a moment, Alice slowly began telling the whole story.
[Shallow Vernal-sama does not incorporate the mental aspects into her strategies. She doesn't prepare mental strategies, like preparing 200 powerful beings against the 100 of your opponent and making them feel despair, or any of such plans that would overpower her opponent. On top of that, she didn't even take into account uncertainties like growth in battle or anything like that. In Shallow Vernal-sama's eyes, she would be just an outsider in this battle... and being an outsider, she didn't want to accidentally rip apart this chess board she prepared.]
[...…]
[Thus, if I show Shallow Vernal-sama that the basic strength of our side would be 100... she would fight us with 101. If you apply such thought into this battle, the +1 would be the power of Judgment given to the Supreme Gods, and this supposedly inescapable space. Thus, all I had to do was hypothesize what that +1 and prepare the counter-measure for it. In that sense, this was a rather easy fight.]
[...You have surpassed... Shallow Vernal's thoughts huh...]
In front of the dumbfoundedly muttering Chronois, Alice takes a mask out of nowhere and puts it on.
[...Shallow Vernal-sama is a great God. She truly is the Gods of the world. However, I'm the clown who deceives the world. Well, how can a God who is just beginning to understand emotions beat me in a contest of deception... She's still 100,000 years too early to think about defeating me.]
After saying that, Alice turned her gaze to the center of the God Realm... the Sanctuary.
(Though I say that, it's only for this battle outside of her own chessboard. It probably "doesn't matter for Shallow Vernal-sama whether we win or lose in this battle"... The question is whether or not we would be able to intervene in Kaito-san's fight, who is probably doing everything he can on his side... Haahhh... This is tough. There are too many uncertainties here... To some extent, I guess I should prepare to play things as they come huh...)
One of the battles has been settled. However, the chessboard they're fighting in is in a different place... because the real battlefield isn't here...