Part 9 of 9
“Abyss Magic, Hell Gate!”
The darkness of the abyss opens up all around D.
It converges on her, consuming everything.
Invoking Abyss Magic certainly is hard at this point…
The darkness soon evaporates, yet D still stands there alive and well.
One young man dashes toward her.
Why?! He’s barely even strong enough to be a part of this battle!
What in the world is he thinking?!
Administrator D turns her blades toward the boy.
“Brother!”
The boy’s sister deflects one of the blades.
But the other yet closes in on the boy’s throat.
“Stupefaction!”
As Natsume shouts out, D freezes in place.
Natsume?! Isn’t that your other special skill?!
Just using one is too great a burden to bear, and now you’re using two at the same time?!
Are you that determined to die?!
“Sword of the Hero!”
But in the opening Natsume created at risk of his life, he bought enough time for an attack from the boy—Schlain the Hero—to reach its mark.
Dazzling light fills the entire area.
The Sword of the Hero is a weapon that can invoke enough power to kill a god, though it can only be used once.
And he hit D directly with that power.
…We’ve won.
“Very impressive.”
Just as our victory seems certain, Administrator D’s voice echoes.
“But I’m afraid that still isn’t enough.”
Then Schlain the Hero collapses in a pool of blood.
“Giving it everything you’ve got is only the bare minimum. You’ll have to find a way to surpass that limit, or I’m afraid I can’t possibly grant you the bonus of saving the world.”
There stands Administrator D, without a single scratch on her.
Pontiff Dustin, who no one was paying any attention to, since he was the weakest person here—or more accurately, since he fainted right at the beginning of the fight—just changed the entire course of the battle.
His attack-nullifying skill created an opening for Reise to successfully land an attack, followed by a chain of even more attacks.
I wasn’t expecting Natsume to be so reckless as to use two special skills in a row, and then Sophia and Wrath took that as a cue to reveal their own special skills for the first time.
On top of that, Yamada used the Sword of the Hero.
He’d been working on the back lines as a combat medic, so I wasn’t expecting him to suddenly jump into the fray like that.
We basically hit D with all our trump cards.
And yet she’s still standing there…perfectly unharmed.
That doesn’t mean we didn’t do any damage.
It’s just that her wounds were healed instantaneously.
But I guess that’s a minor difference, since it leads to the same result in the end.
D being unscathed after that all-out barrage of attacks is more than enough to break everyone’s hearts.
D really is holding back for all she’s worth.
There’s no doubt about that.
If she wasn’t, we would’ve all been killed on the spot no matter what we did.
But even when she’s holding back, I don’t see any way we can win.
Knowing D, there probably is some specific set of conditions we can meet to achieve victory.
I’m sure she wouldn’t just set it up so her wounds heal indefinitely.
Most likely, there’s a specific amount of damage that would count as defeating her.
It’s not her fault we weren’t able to reach that amount.
We had to give it everything we’ve got, of course.
Only by surpassing that limit and mustering up even more strength would we stand any chance of defeating D.
I’m sure she thinks that’s the least we could do if we’re trying to get her to save the world.
It would be way too easy if she just agreed to do it for free.
At this point, I have to wonder if the line she drew was actually one we could possibly have achieved or not.
If D truly values fairness, she wouldn’t save the world for such a cheap price.
Where does she get off calling this a “bonus stage”?
It’s more of a “boss stage,” isn’t it?
Ugh…
“At this rate, I won’t get the chance to say thank you…”
I said before that I would thank White again properly once it was all over.
But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
“Ael, Sael, Riel, Fiel…thanks for everything. After I die, I want you to keep living strong for me, okay?”
I give my thanks to the puppet taratects instead, not that it makes up for not being able to say it to White.
The puppet taratects shake their heads furiously and cling to my legs.
Are they telling me not to go?
I appreciate the thought, but I have no choice.
As it stands, I only had a year left to live at the most.
So I won’t have any regrets about laying it all down here and now.
Well, except my regrets about not getting to say thank you to White, I guess.
I stand up from my chair again.
Oof, that made me dizzy…
Summoning two queen taratects was pretty rough on my body in its weakened state.
That’s why even though I was able to stand up at first, I sat right back down after summoning them and slouched in my chair, watching the battle.
Still, I think that was probably the right call, since it’s not like I could’ve contributed anything to the front lines the way I am now.
I would’ve liked to keep sitting, to be honest, but I guess that’s not an option.
Instead, I wait for the dizziness to fade and for my vision to stop flickering before I begin to walk.
The battlefield has clearly been busy while I was recovering from my dizzy spell: The hero’s little sister is going after D in a wild rage with the Sword of the Hero, while Ms. Oka and Hasebe are healing the bloodied Yamada some distance away.
Lying next to Yamada is Ronandt, who’s missing an arm.
He probably used Short-Range Teleport to retrieve Yamada, and lost an arm in the process.
Still, it’s impressive he was able to rescue Yamada from that situation at all.
…Ah, Dustin’s bleeding all over his body.
He must have used Harmony a second time.
Maybe he timed it to match Ronandt’s retrieval of Yamada?
No wonder they were able to save him from that obviously hopeless-looking situation.
Both of those old men pushed themselves way too hard.
So did Natsume, for that matter.
He’s bleeding all over, just like Dustin.
Neither of them can use their special skills anymore, I bet.
If they do, they’ll die.
Yamada is down for the count, too.
Which means we can’t depend on him to revive anyone.
Ms. Oka and Hasebe are too busy helping him to heal anyone else, either.
And Ooshima has to stay put to protect the two healers.
Hyrince and Shinohara are out, mostly because they’re not strong enough to contribute.
And Balto…is still unconscious. Yeah, fair enough.
That leaves our side with Sophia, Wrath, Byaku, and the Sword of the Hero–wielding little sister, Reise, Hyuvan, Nia, and the two queens.
Also, Merazophis has technically been throwing in long-distance attacks this whole time, not that he stands out much.
With his stats, I don’t think his attacks make any real difference, either.
“You guys stay here. You’ve gotta survive and thank White for me.”
I stop the puppet taratects from following me.
They would be valuable allies on the battlefield, too.
But for some reason, I don’t want to let them join this fight.
I want them to survive.
“All right. Guess I’ll give it a go.”
I raise my arms in a stretch.
D is the first to notice that I’m approaching.
“Are you done observing already?”
D easily fends off the little sister’s bellowing attack as she looks at me.
“Yeah, I think so. Doesn’t look like they can win this without me.”
“You realize you’re definitely going to die if you join in, right? In fact, your soul will probably be destroyed. You really want to fight anyway?”
“Yeah, why not? I wasn’t long for this world anyway.”
“I see.”
D puts a hand to her forehead in an exaggerated thinking pose.
“YAAAAAAAH!”
The little sister ignores our conversation and keeps charging at D, who basically ignores her.
Now that its power has been used, the Sword of the Hero is just an ordinary sword, albeit a particularly solid one.
Well, I guess the fact that it won’t break is still a strength in itself, theoretically speaking.
“Miss Ariel?”
In the meantime, the other fighters besides the hero’s sister gather around me.
Wrath, who speaks up first, has painful-looking burns on his skin.
That must be the backlash from using his special skill.
Sophia looks kind of emaciated, too, and is leaning on Merazophis for support.
The ancient dragon chief trio of Reise, Hyuvan, and Nia all look exhausted, visibly panting.
“You guys are a mess.”
“Forgive us.”
Wrath looks ashamed as he responds, while Sophia silently bites her lip.
“Can you hang in there for one more push?”
“Of course.”
“Certainly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.”
Wrath, Sophia, and Merazophis are still up for a fight.
The problem is the ancient dragons.
“What’s up, Reise? Don’t tell me you’ve lost heart?”
“…PERHAPS SO.”
“Don’t be such a wimp. We get to die in this incredible battle. You could at least have the guts to give it your all till the very end and go out with a smile on your face, you know?”
“…YOU’RE RIGHT, OF COURSE. I WAS GOING TO DIE HERE ANYWAY. LET IT BE A GLORIOUS DEATH.”
“Whoo! Now that’s rock-and-roll, baby! Let’s go out in a blaze of glory!”
“…I would really prefer not to, personally.”
One of those responses sounded less than enthused, but I’m just going to ignore it.
As far as I’m concerned, our hearts are united as one!
“Let’s go down fighting, then.”
If I use the Humility skill again, I’m probably going to die.
But I won’t have any regrets as long as I’ve tried everything I could possibly have done.
I’ll burn up everything I’ve got left and give D one last run for her money.
“You never did manage to become a god, in the end. But I must say, your soul shone more valiantly and with more worth than any lesser god.”
“Thanks, I’m honored!”
Now, let’s finish this!
…Wait, what?
Is it me, or are there a bunch of tiny white spiders around D’s feet?
The moment I notice the tiny spiders, space suddenly fractures around them.
And a white silhouette comes flying out of the crack formed in midair.
The bright shadow swoops directly at D…
And then a tremendous impact shakes the entire battlefield.
About halfway through my battle with Black, the advantage was beginning to shift to one side.
Nearly half of the world Black created had been overtaken by white spiders.
At that point, it was only a matter of time before the tide turned in my favor.
Black was weaker than I expected, to be honest.
Or I guess I should say he was weakened.
He seems to have used up a lot of energy before the battle even started.
I’m guessing he shoved all of it into the system.
Which means while I was whining about how scary and impossible and stressful this fight was, he was practically running on fumes the whole time.
Yikes, talk about embarrassing!
Sure, Black is a more powerful god than I am, but obviously I can still beat him if he’s got barely any energy left in the tank!
In fact, he must not have been taking me very seriously if he thought he could fight me in that condition, huh?
Bwa-ha-ha! You’ll pay for that insult with your LIFE!
But just as I was getting all excited by my imminent victory, I noticed some changes back on the ground.
See, before I got tossed into this parallel dimension, I left myself a bit of a backup plan.
Namely, the clone I used to teleport Yamada to the love nest (LOL).
I stuck that little spider to Yamada so I could eavesdrop and sneak peeks on everything he heard and saw.
And what do you know, things got real weird real fast.
First of all, Yamada somehow escaped the love nest (LMAO) lickety-split.
I mean, using a familiar contract connection to teleport to someone? That’s not a thing.
Why was the old geezer able to pull off something so insane?
Is that weird or what?
Seriously, it’s just plain wrong.
And then Yamada starts in on this stupid, melodramatic “I’ll never give up!” nonsense?
I mean, sure, good for you?
Like, yeah, go right ahead! Whatever!
Then he marches right into the Word of God church and meets with the pontiff, and somehow gets some of the ancient dragons on his side.
Um, why?
Then they start wandering around with no real plan in mind, only to conveniently bump into Ms. Oka and the crew, and then you get this whole “The evil god was really D all along!” “Say whaaat?!”
Seriously, whaaat…?
Look, I’m just as surprised as you are.
So that’s when I decided to propose a truce with Black.
And so on and so forth.
I’m not a great speaker, you know!
Seriously, it took a long time just to get him to understand that I was saying we should stop fighting!
And then it took even longer to explain WHY!
In the meantime, Yamada and pals had a whole telepathic conference, met up in the Great Elroe Labyrinth, went to the system core, and managed to make their way to D!
Slow down! This is happening too fast!
Have a little consideration for my total inability to explain myself, please!
Especially when I have to do it in the middle of a big epic battle?!
This is waaay too hard!
Are you trying to make me cry?
Not to mention, you realize I put a ton of work into preparing for this fight, right?
Do you have any idea how it feels to have to drop all that and announce a truce when I barely even know what’s going on?
For real, do you want me to cry?
Especially when I was all pumped up ’cause I was just about to win?
I could cry! You wanna see me cry? ’Cause I’m gonna cry!
Which is why I’m gonna take all of that rage out on D now.
Seems like justified retaliation to me.
So yeah, hello again, time to die!
I teleport right in front of D’s face and hit her with the giant scythe, BAM!
Oh, I managed to summon my scythe right before I came here.
If I’d gotten it a little sooner, that would’ve made my fight with Black a whole lot easier…
But I guess we’ll call it even, since I was able to summon it in time to lay the smackdown on D.
I would’ve liked to wait for the perfect moment to show up all cool-like and save everybody’s butt at the last second, except it kinda looked like the Demon Lord was gonna use Humility if I waited any longer.
So I’m just gonna use my super-speed to go BING, BANG, BOOM!
Sorry, Ms. D, you don’t even get to talk anymore.
Your body regenerates super fast?
Then I’ll just have to keep going BAM! until you can’t regenerate anymore, period!
Hiyah! The BAM! won’t stop till I see you cry! Got it?!
This scythe is my ultimate weapon, you know!
A single hit would probably be enough to deal some serious damage even to Black, and I’m smacking her with it over and over like it’s nothing at all!
Hell, even I would probably die without being able to regenerate or anything under this onslaught, but I’m not letting up.
I doubt it’ll be enough to finish off that darn D!
So I’m gonna keep it up anyway just in case it works, camping her body and destroying it again every time she tries to regenerate!
Mwa-ha-ha!
Hope you like getting spawnkilled, ’cause I’m keeping this up until the end of the world!
“I’d really rather you didn’t take it that far, hmm?”
A voice speaks up behind me.
Okay, let’s put a hold on the BAM! for now!
D’s body somehow disappeared while I was repeatedly turning her into mincemeat.
Dammit, she’s good…
Well, I guess this is D’s dimension, right?
It’s probably not hard to teleport herself around in it.
It’s still kinda crazy that she pulled it off without me even noticing, though.
Also, is she casually reading my mind again or what?
“Oh, honestly. I wasn’t expecting you to make it all the way here. This place is technically quite far away from that world, you know.”
Ah, that makes sense. It was kinda hard to teleport here.
But I was able to use the little clone I stuck on Yamada as a guide to make my way here anyway.
At least you’re good for something, Yamada.
I’m still mad at you for messing up my big once-in-a-lifetime battle, though.
Hey, how was that geezer able to teleport all the way to this dimension anyway?
“Why, I made it easier to get here from the system core, of course.”
So you ARE reading my mind?!
“Oh well. I suppose this means you’ve cleared the bonus stage. I received the minimum amount of damage required, after all. And I didn’t specify who had to defeat me, so even an intruder like you gets the right to win the bonus. Congratulations.”
Looking less than amused, D produces a chair from out of nowhere and sits down.
Wait a minute, that’s a gaming chair…
“Umm…what? Okaaaay…”
The Demon Lord is standing there awkwardly, like someone whose target disappeared while her fist was still raised in the air.
I guess that is basically what happened.
But look, you were totally dead set on dying if I didn’t show up, weren’t you?
I can’t be having that, missy.
Be a good girl and live out the rest of your life span, thank you very much.
Look, your daughters are even hanging off your legs like “please don’t die, mom”…wait, HELLO?!
Ael, Sael, Riel, Fiel! Where the hell are your outer shells, huh?!
You girls are way too old to be out and about in your birthday suits! Have you no shame?!
I swear, I take my eyes off you people for one second, and suddenly everything gets weird…
“Could you not act like the sane one here when you’re the weirdest of all?”
…Is it just me, or are you being a little extra tetchy today, Ms. D?
Are you a little mad, by any chance?
“I’m not mad.”
Oh, she’s totally mad.
“I said I’m not mad.”
Okay, I get it. U mad. U mad, bro. OUGH?!
“That’s enough of that, thank you.”
What the hell was that?! Something just hit me and I don’t even know what it was?!
“Erm…”
While I’m doubled over in agony, someone quietly addresses D.
It’s Black.
Yep, he teleported here along with me.
Although he apparently transformed into a scarecrow in the process, since he was just standing there being useless while I laid the beatdown on D.
“Could someone explain what’s happening here?”
“What, that thing didn’t tell you?”
Great. Now I’m a thing.
“Only bits and pieces. This one refuses to speak to me normally…”
What, so you only got “bits and pieces” out of my desperate attempt to get through to you? I’m hurt, dude.
“Let me explain from the beginning, then.”
D proceeds to explain how she was planning to destroy half of humanity, how she offered to save the world if we could defeat her as a bonus for making it all the way here, and so on.
Gotta say, I think saving the world as a “bonus” is a pretty major sign that your priorities are waaay out of whack.
We’ve all been struggling like crazy to find a way to set the world straight somehow, and D just casually drops that she can fix everything if she feels like it, y’know?
See?! Even Black is staring at her like she’s got three heads!
“Well, I suppose I am fairly satisfied, even if I’m not thrilled with how sloppy things got at the end.”
Makes sense. It sure seems like she got her kicks, judging by how beat-up Vampy, Mr. Oni, and the others all look.
I mean, Yamada’s practically on the verge of death.
It must be that damned Divine Protection of his that made things go so smoothly in such a strange direction, right?
I bet it nudged everything to go along with his stupid “I’m not giving up!” move.
Otherwise it never would’ve all worked out in such a convenient way.
…I guess I was right to be wary of Yamada.
“Well then, I will set the goddess Sariel free. As for the system, I’ll pump energy into it until it reaches its natural end. Everyone’s skills and stats should fade away gradually on their own. That ought to keep the negative effects of losing them to a minimum, I’m sure.”
“Thank you.”
Black bows so deeply, his forehead practically hits the ground.
“Officially, I’ll still be in charge of that world, but from this point on I will participate very little. Güliedistodiez, you will take the lead from this point on. I assume you’re all right with that?”
“Yes.”
“And please don’t come crying to me if anything else happens. I got what I wanted out of that world, so I’ve lost interest. You’ll have to protect it on your own.”
“…Very well.”
“Of course, one single god does not a world make. The creatures that live there also have the power to make it better, or worse. Make sure you don’t forget that.”
The representatives of humanity nod at this statement from D.
Wait a sec, are the pontiff and Natsume gonna be okay? They’re totally soaked in blood…
“All right, this means you’ve completed the world quest.”
<World Quest complete. The world has been saved.>
Looks like she sent out an announcement from the Divine Voice (temp).
What’s more, this will probably be the last time the Divine Voice is ever heard in that world.
“With that, the time has come to say good-bye. I doubt we’ll ever meet again, but do take care of yourselves, one and all.”
When D finishes speaking, teleportation runes appear beneath everyone’s feet but mine.
Hmm? Wait, why don’t I get one?
Oh well, that’s fine.
I’ll just teleport back myself, like so.
“And where do you think you’re going? You work for me now.”
Come again?
“Congratulations. You’ve earned the right to officially belong to me as my kin. Please, hold your applause.”
Huh? When did I agree to that?
“I told you, didn’t I? I have no intention of letting you go.”
She grabs my shoulder tightly.
Uh, I don’t think I can get out of this one…
Wait a sec! No one told me I’d be saying good-bye to the Demon Lord and everyone else right this second!
Aaaah, no, wait!
The teleportation runes are about to activate?!
“Welp! Thanks for everything, White!”
“Thank YOU!”
I shout my thanks at the top of my lungs, since this is apparently my last chance.
And I wave like crazy, while I’m at it.
The Demon Lord even waves back.
Then the teleportation is complete, and everyone gets sent back to that world.
Leaving me alone with the evil god…
Um, hello?
How come I get stuck with the bad ending?
After the battle, she and her kin all disappeared without a trace.
It’s said that she spent the last of her days in peace with the goddess Sariel.
Sophia
After the battle, she and her kin all disappeared without a trace.
Even in the distant future, there are still stories of a vampire’s castle in the frozen lands to the north.
Merazophis
Disappeared along with Sophia.
It is assumed that he continues to serve Sophia along with his junior, Wald.
Wrath
After the battle, he disappeared without a trace.
There is no information whatsoever regarding his whereabouts.
Shun
After the battle, he returned to the Analeit Kingdom and supported former Third Prince Leston, who became the king.
His romantic life from that point on is a mystery, with no known records.
Yuri
After the battle, she returned to the Holy Kingdom of Alleius, brought about a revolution, and reformed the Word of God religion as the Church of Goddess Sariel.
She was appointed the first pontiff of the Church of Goddess Sariel and devoted herself to its propagation.
Katia
After the battle, she returned to the Analeit Kingdom and resumed her work as a duke’s daughter and noblewoman.
It’s said she remained good friends as well as rivals with the likes of Princess Suresia and Pontiff Yuri.
Sue
After the battle, she returned to the Analeit Kingdom and supported her brother Schlain.
She is said to have remained unmarried all her life, though there are rumors she had a close relationship with a certain man.
Fei
After the battle, she returned to the Analeit Kingdom and supported her master Schlain.
She would later come to be revered as the guardian divine beast of the Analeit Kingdom.
Hugo
After the battle, he disappeared without a trace.
There is no information whatsoever regarding his whereabouts.
Filimøs
After the battle, she traveled from place to place, gathering persecuted people who inherited the blood of the elves.
She would later construct a “neo” elf village on the location of the old one.
Anna
After the battle, she remained in the Analeit Kingdom and continued to serve Schlain.
She later became the mediator between the Analeit Kingdom and the neo elf village.
Hyrince
After the battle, he returned to the Analeit Kingdom and became a knight, working only as Hyrince.
He eventually became captain of the knights and devoted all his efforts to the kingdom.
Dustin
After the battle, he returned to the Holy Kingdom of Alleius, but never made a complete recovery from his wounds and soon breathed his last.
It is said that the solemn tolling of bells to mourn the loss of a great hero were heard throughout the world that day.
Kunihiko
After the battle, he settled down in the small village of Uppenbebetenia, where he was resting.
He and Asaka married and lived out a rather happy life together.
Asaka
She settled down in the village of Uppenbebetenia with Kunihiko.
They made a modest living from farming and various side jobs, and she obtained quiet happiness.
Shinobu Kusama
After the battle, he returned to the Holy Kingdom of Alleius, where he was forced to become Yuri’s underling.
He ended up aiding the revolution, running errands for Yuri once she became the pontiff, and so on.
Ronandt
After the battle, he returned to the Renxandt Empire and continued to work as the head imperial mage.
His research on continuing to use magic even after skills disappeared had an enormous impact on the cultural future of magic.
Aurel
She carried on serving as an imperial mage of the Renxandt Empire without participating in the battle at all.
However, she never married, and continued a life of being dragged into Ronandt’s ridiculous experiments.
Balto
After the battle, he returned to the demon territory, and devoted his efforts to rebuilding their race as the leader of demonkind.
His life’s work of pursuing peace and reconciliation with humankind had a major influence on future generations.
Sanatoria
She worked as Balto’s right-hand woman for a long time, and later married him.
They supported each other both as coworkers and as husband and wife for all their lives.
Darad
He was appointed general commander of the reformed demon army and fought hard to reduce the harm caused by monsters and bandits.
He supported Balto and Sanatoria in both official and personal capacities.
Phelmina
After the battle, she disappeared without a trace, along with the rest of the Tenth Army.
It’s said they continued to work behind the scenes as the demon territory’s secret service, but the truth of this is unknown.
Other Reincarnations
After the battle, they each walked their own paths through life.
Some found humble happiness, while others later carved their names into history.
Ael, Sael, Riel, Fiel
After the battle, they disappeared without a trace, along with Ariel.
Many long years later, it’s said there were rumors of four maids who serve a vampire princess in a castle in the far, frozen north.
Sariel
After the battle, Ariel brought her along when she disappeared without a trace.
Only they can say how they spent the remainder of their lives together.
Güliedistodiez
After the battle, he spent some amount of time with Sariel and Ariel.
None have seen him since, but it’s said he still watches over the world with the surviving ancient dragons.
Reise
After the battle, they disappeared along with Güliedistodiez and the others.
It has been said that Reise still secretly lives among humans.
Hyuvan
After the battle, he disappeared along with Güliedistodiez and the others.
Some say you can still occasionally catch sight of a dragon soaring through the skies at impossible speeds.
Nia
After the battle, she disappeared along with Güliedistodiez and the others.
There may or may not be a dragon who sleeps the day away in a castle in the frozen lands to the north.
Byaku
After the battle, he disappeared along with Güliedistodiez and the others.
Rumor has it that he still travels the world in search of a hero worthy of wielding the holy sword.
The Nightmare’s Vestiges
They continued to build up a unique ecosystem as a monster species, and reign at the top of the Great Elroe Labyrinth’s food chain.
They became established as their own line and continued to produce offspring for generations to come.
Beautiful blossoms fill the garden with their enchanting presence.
Two women sit at a table in the center of the garden, enjoying an elegant teatime.
One is D.
The other is a woman wearing a maid outfit with the air of a classic Japanese beauty.
I’ve started calling this mysterious person Ms. Meido.
She’s probably a super-powerful god, too.
“So, I take it you went to the trouble of saving that world?”
“I did.”
“You do love to do things in the most roundabout way, don’t you…?”
Ms. Meido heaves a sigh of exasperation.
“Whatever is the point of providing so much energy to a world like that? You really are terribly wasteful, too…”
“Oh, it wasn’t wasteful.”
Ms. Meido’s phrasing might sound awful to the people who live in that world, but from a god’s perspective, it’s a planet that practically self-destructed.
Only someone with extremely strange taste would bother trying to recycle a place like that.
“I barely provided any energy of my own, after all.”
“…Then where did all that energy come from?”
“Isn’t it obvious? From the dragons who tried to desert the planet, of course.”
“You mean…you killed those dragons back then?”
“Yes.”
Another shocking truth bomb.
D killed all of Black’s former brethren.
So what does that mean?
Was the system made using the energy those dragons tried to steal from the planet in the first place?
Then she basically just put it back the way it was!
“Those dragons made for excellent energy, too.”
Correction.
She put the dragons through the grinder and turned them into energy, too.
It was even worse than I thought.
“That’s all well and good for when you made that so-called system, I suppose. But where did you get the energy you provided them this time?”
“Funny story, actually. It came from that world itself.”
Ms. Meido tilts her head uncertainly.
“That world had a surprising amount of energy stored up. And a whole lot more of it came gushing out of nowhere toward the end.”
“Because of the world quest?”
“Exactly. The fighting frenzy that the world quest brought on resulted in new energy being supplied at an unprecedented rate. Many lives were lost, and everyone was battling desperately, since the fate of the world was on the line, which all seems to have resulted in more energy being produced from their souls.”
So even though D held all the cards in the end, the battle over that world quest wasn’t actually for nothing, I guess.
“Nothing shines brighter than a soul trying to accomplish something even if it means death.”
The fight against D, too, was full of such determination that everyone created a lot of energy in the process.
Souls sure are mysterious, though.
They can produce energy from nothing.
Maybe if Potimas had researched the energy of souls instead of MA energy, it wouldn’t have led to the planet’s destruction.
Then again, if he researched souls, he probably would’ve created freaky super-organisms or something.
Either way, knowing Potimas, it wasn’t gonna end well no matter what.
“That still wasn’t enough, though, was it?”
“Not quite. But it so happens that someone had the rest of the energy set aside. So I decided to step in and lend it on her behalf.”
At this, Ms. Meido’s gaze turns toward me.
In case you were wondering, I’m standing to the side behind D at the moment.
Also, she has me wearing a maid outfit. A maid outfit.
I said it twice ’cause it’s a very important detail.
Seriously, why a maid outfit?
Between this and Ms. Meido, does D have a thing for maids or what?
Then again, I guess maybe it makes sense, since I’m also being forced to do actual maid work by waiting on their little tea party! ARGH!
“You see, by this one’s calculations, between the energy produced by her fight with Güliedistodiez being restored to the system, then squeezing out as much energy from Güliedistodiez as possible without killing him, and finally draining almost all of her own energy, she would’ve been able to restore the planet while still protecting humanity.”
“Were those calculations correct?”
“Yes, indeed.”
Oops, ya got me.
…Yeah, okay, she’s right.
I wasn’t planning on killing half of humanity in the first place.
For one thing, who knows what Goddess Sariel would’ve done if I did that?
Her thought process seems to be totally different from that of the rest of us, and I’m not a big fan of uncertain variables.
If the Demon Lord did all that work for Goddess Sariel, only for the goddess to let it all go to waste or something, wouldn’t that go straight past sad to super pissed off?
Ah, I’m the one who’d be pissed, by the way.
Not for humanity or Sariel or anything like that.
I was just gonna go a little overboard to save humanity for the Demon Lord’s sake, that’s all.
Whew, I gotta admit, I’m a little too attached to my grandmother (if you can call her that) for my own good.
“Incidentally, this one was also planning to play dead after doing all that.”
…Oops, got me again.
“Play dead? Whatever for?”
“To get away from me, of course. She’d make it look like she died so she could make a break for it.”
Umm, is anyone else sweating? Just me?
“This little scamp was plotting to escape from my clutches even though she knew she’d be much weaker after losing most of her energy, if you can believe it. I can’t let that slide, now, can I?”
Uh-oh…
“You’ve got to keep such a badly behaved creature on a tight leash, you see?”
“…So that’s why you’re keeping her close at hand like this.”
Ms. Meido looks at me with an almost pitying expression.
If you feel that bad for me, help me out here!
“Right now she’s still the world’s saddest little sea slug in terms of strength, just absolutely no use at all… But she managed to become a god in record time, so I’m sure she’ll work her way up to the upper echelon in no time. Now there’s a talent worth training, don’t you think? I’ve already planned out a very special crash course so that I can see to her upbringing personally.”
Noooo!
That’s gonna be the training from hell, isn’t it?!
Are you trying to kill me or what?!
“So I couldn’t have her weakening herself like that. It would have hindered my special training plans.”
Yeah, I don’t care!
In fact, it would’ve been better that way!
“At any rate, that’s why I decided to provide energy to that world as a sort of advance payment for this one’s salary.”
“I see. So you consider it the price of purchasing your new toy.”
…So you view me as a toy, too, huh, Ms. Meido? I see how it is.
But since she saw right through my plan to use up my energy and play dead, I doubt I’m gonna be able to get away from her now.
Oh, what fate awaits our beloved heroine, aka me?!
“You seem to have taken quite a liking her.”
“Yes, you might say that.”
“Speaking of which, I still haven’t heard the sordid details of her history. Tell me, what is she exactly?”
Oh, c’mon. You really gotta ask?
So I’m a spider, so what?
AFTERWORD
Hello, I’m Okina Baba, who created this series.
Yes, the series has finally reached a conclusion of sorts.
I might still write side stories and such, so I’ll hold off on calling this “the end.”
But it’s definitely hit a major stopping point.
The first volume came out in December 2015, meaning it’s been about six years.
Six whole years?! I’m surprised, too.
Those six years flew by in the blink of an eye.
But looking back, they were actually very eventful.
Of course there are major milestones like the manga adaptation, the spin-off manga, and the anime adaptation, but there were also so many smaller events that I can’t list them all here.
Then again, I guess the fact that they were so action-packed is probably why those years went by so fast.
Yes, so fast that I seem to remember constantly wondering, Am I going to finish this in time? as I wrote each volume…
Which is why, rather than feeling like “it’s over!” with a sense of accomplishment, or even “it’s over…” with a certain sadness, I feel burned-out to the point that my mind is a total blank.
Heh…heh-heh…now that this series is over, I’d better rest for a little while…
But, well, if I rest for too long, I might get rusty, so once I’ve had enough of a break I’ll get right back to writing.
In fact, since I still have some other jobs to do, I won’t really be taking a break from writing at all…
Still, I’m sure I’ll have a little bit of leeway soon!
Definitely, probably, maybe.
Now then, this So I’m a Spider, So What? series originally started as a web novel.
When I first started serializing it online, my one and only goal was to write it all the way to completion.
I wasn’t thinking about getting it published as a novel, or even paying much attention to the view counts, points, and all that.
The most I ever dreamed of was that it might become a cult classic of sorts when it was finished, popular only among those in the know.
Instead, I got a big positive reaction relatively soon after starting the series, and next thing you know, the novelization was set into motion.
It was such a huge change that part of me couldn’t even keep up.
I mean, it’s a story about getting reincarnated as a spider.
We’re talking about the already small niche of monster reincarnation, and this is even more niche than that.
Since I went in assuming no one was even gonna read it, my expectations were totally upended in the best way possible.
And then the novelization. What? Are you crazy?
And then the manga adaptation. What? Are you crazy?
And then the spin-off manga. What? Are you crazy?
And then the anime. What? Are you crazy?
Yep, I really thought that way every single time something happened! Seriously!
In fact, when the editor-in-chief at the time first proposed the novelization, my very first question was: “Umm, if it doesn’t sell, how many volumes do you think it’ll last before it gets canceled?”
Clearly, it never got canceled, and now here we are at the final volume.
I don’t think I ever would’ve made it this far without the support of a lot of people. I’m incredibly grateful.
From here on, I’d like to write some thank-yous. Since this is technically the last volume and all, I hope you don’t mind if they’re a little longer than usual.
Firstly, to my illustrator, Tsukasa Kiryu-sensei.
Kiryu-sensei became the illustrator for this series because I fell in love with their art at first sight and told the editor at the time, “I want this person, please.” Luckily, we contacted Kiryu-sensei and got the okay.
To be honest, at that point, I already couldn’t imagine the illustrations being done by anyone but Kiryu-sensei. I didn’t know what we were going to do if they didn’t agree!
To this day, I can’t imagine anyone else illustrating this series.
Kiryu-sensei’s illustrations and designs were so vital to the story that I don’t think I could have told it without them.
Thank you so much to Kiryu-sensei for illustrating So I’m a Spider, So What?
Next, to Asahiro Kakashi-sensei, the manga artist.
To be perfectly honest, when I first heard the series was getting a manga adaptation, I was more nervous than excited.
It’s already hard enough to adapt a novel into a manga, and in this case the protagonist is a spider.
Spiders don’t move like humans, you know…and they don’t look like humans, either…
There’s no way any normal manga artist would have a lot of experience drawing something in this realm.
On top of that fundamental artistic problem, the story itself wasn’t very well-suited to a manga adaptation, either.
Explaining skills and stats and so on is fun in a novel, but not so easy to depict in a comic…
But Kakashi-sensei blew away all of my various concerns.
Just look at that bold redesign that veers so far from Kiryu-sensei’s redesigns in order to be viable for a manga protagonist.
And the art that uses this redesign to the fullest.
Then there’s the explanations of skills and stats, told in such a wild variety of ways that the reader never gets bored.
How can one artist have so many talents?
I’m so glad that Kakashi-sensei is the one in charge of the manga adaptation!
Thank you so much!
The manga will still continue, so please keep reading it, too!
Speaking of manga, there’s also the spin-off manga by Gratinbird-sensei.
Here I was wondering what a spin-off manga could possibly entail, and the answer turned out to be totally wacky: The protagonist gets split into four sisters right from the start.
Then I wondered how the story could possibly stay fresh when chronologically it can only take place inside the Great Elroe Labyrinth, only for things to get even crazier than the initial concept.
How can another artist have so many talents?
I know I said the same about Kakashi-sensei, but in Gratinbird’s case, the story is self-sufficient, too. That makes it even more surprising.
The surprises and laughs keep coming with every new chapter.
Truly, thank you so much! Please continue to read the spin-off, too!
Thank you to Director Itagaki and everyone else who was involved in the anime adaptation.
It’s thanks to all of you that the anime made it to completion in spite of all the setbacks and such during the production.
I’ll never forget how emotional I felt when I saw Kumoko moving on the screen.
Thank you very much!
To my editor Ms. W, and my former editor Mr. K.
Mr. K first picked up my story, and Ms. W saw it through to completion.
I’m sure it was far from perfect in many ways, but it’s thanks to the backup from both of you that I made it all this way.
I can’t thank you enough!
And finally, to everyone who picked up this book, and this series.
A novel lives only because of its readers.
Thank you all so much for reading this series!
I hope we meet again somewhere, in some way! Until then!
Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Yen On.
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Part 9 of 9