To the Final Battle

"Ria-chan."

Maal was dancing.

Moving her arms and legs with nimble grace, she danced joyfully.

This was a scene from long ago.

The cat beastkin surrounded Ria and the others, laughing together.

This was a scene from long ago.

"Ria-chan."

Maal's figure grew distant.

"Please take care of the children."

Wait. It's too soon.

She had always known that someday they would have to part. But that day shouldn't be now.

It's still too soon.

Maal vanished with a smile still on her face, and Ria awoke.

"Ah, you're awake."

Shizuna was there, peering down at her.

"… What's the situation?"

Ria sat up and wiped away her overflowing tears with her sleeve.

"The immigration has resumed. Teleportation magic can be used again too."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Two full days."

Ria stood up from the bed, but she staggered and Shizuna caught her.

"How is everyone?"

"They're all doing their respective jobs. I'm useless, so I stayed here."

That was half a lie. Shizuna had heard what happened from Ohma and had been at Ria's bedside the entire time.

"… And Maal?"

Placed in a coffin, Maal had been cleaned of blood and looked as though she were merely sleeping.

Beside her stood her husband and children. They were lost in the grief of losing a family member.

Irina seemed not to fully understand what had happened. She stared at Maal with a bewildered expression.

"Maal…"

Ria stroked the cold fur and the paw pads.

Sorrow was all that filled Ria's heart.

Anger still remained. But that anger was directed at herself.

She had probably made a mistake somewhere.

She wasn't sure where she had gone wrong. But she should have been able to prevent this.

"Stay at the palace for a while. Once everything is settled, we can think about what comes next."

Looking upward and desperately holding back the tears that threatened to overflow, Ria spoke to the family left behind.

"Humans have it hard. Souls just get reincarnated anyway."

Ohma spoke as if she were genuinely sympathetic. As a Divine Dragon, it was probably something she couldn't understand.

"I'm telling you though, even for lashing out, you went way too far. The immigration got held up for a bit."

Apparently, Ria's attack had caused massive weather disasters across almost all of Earth.

When she asked how many humans had died, the answer ranged broadly from over one billion to under two billion.

How many innocent humans… no, including non-humans, just how many lives had she taken?

This was a mistake. Even if Earth would eventually be destroyed entirely, there was a difference between instant annihilation and dying in agony.

"Well, the result doesn't change much either way. Worrying about it is pointless."

Ohma's way of thinking was something Ria could not accept.

Her traveling companions visited Manesh's palace.

Carlos and Lulu came together.

Burying her face in Carlos's shoulder, Lulu wept quietly.

Gig brought an ill-suited bouquet and placed it beside Maal's body.

Irina remained expressionless, continuing to stroke Maal's forehead.

Serge arrived last, kneeling before the coffin with an exhausted face.

Maal's family, her three children, probably didn't fully grasp what had happened yet.

Looking at their mother in the coffin, they clung to their father.

 

*

 

After the final farewells were given, Maal was laid to rest.

Along with that, an overwhelming sense of emptiness struck Ria.

She sat in the chair in her office, staring vacantly into space.

"Ria, no matter how sad you are, a ruler must fulfill their duty."

Guinevere said. Not as comfort, but as a matter of practical reality.

"There are things that only you can do, and they're right in front of you."

"Ah… yes, you're right…"

Though awkwardly, Ria resumed her activities. She mechanically worked through the mountain of documents before her. But this wasn't the kind of work she was suited for.

She longed for the days when she could solve problems by swinging her katana.

"Guinevere, where did I go wrong…?"

"… If I had to say, it was in trying to save the people of Earth."

Guinevere wasn't particularly gentle, but unlike Ria, she could view matters with cold clarity.

"If the Divine Dragons had destroyed Earth the moment the worlds made contact, then at least your friend would have…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence for Ria to understand. But Ars had stopped that from happening. In order to allow the migration of Earth's people.

"What a terrible story…"

"Yes, it's a hopeless tale. But Ria, there was nothing you could have done. If there was anything you could have done… it would have been to start a human-demon war and reduce this world's population. And among those who died, even more of your friends might have been lost."

That was an even more hopeless tale.

"Perhaps the only way to protect what's truly precious is to keep it close at hand…"

"What is precious to you?"

"My son, and this country. That's all."

Ria too had precious people. The companions she had traveled with, the people she had met on her journey, her family back home, and this world.

She had seen acquaintances die in war many times before.

There were beastkin who had died due to Cordova's brutality.

Even so, this grief was beyond comparison.

"I'm so weak…"

"Ria…"

Carla tried to embrace Ria but was gently refused.

"Don't comfort me right now."

If she leaned on someone now, she would never be able to stand on her own again.

She would live carrying this sense of loss in her heart. If Valis's words were true, for hundreds of millions of years. Seeing off one person after another, dozens, tens of thousands.

Could she endure that? Ria had no confidence.

Carla took her hand.

 

*

 

Time passed.

One week remained until the deadline Ars had given.

It was then that Shifaka and Valis came to visit Ria.

"We've accommodated three million people on the floating continent. Given the time remaining, this is the limit."

Shifaka said in a weary voice. Once, he had brought ten thousand humans to this world.

Compared to that, this time they had saved three hundred times as many. Whether that seemed like a lot or a little depended on one's perspective.

"Soon, the prayers will be fulfilled."

Valis announced in her usual flat tone.

"Prayers?"

Was something else going to happen? Ria grew wary.

"The gods of Earth will awaken."

This was something she had heard before.

The majority of humans on Earth who hadn't made it to the evacuation were praying to their gods. And using the power of those prayers, the gods would revive.

To prevent them from interfering with Valis, they wanted her to destroy the gods of Earth. That was the Divine Dragons' request.

"The final battle will begin."

Battle.

That was Ria's area of expertise.

Even if her opponents were gods—rather, precisely because they were gods, she could fight and destroy them without any pang of conscience.

Because it wouldn't be a one-sided massacre, but a fight to the death with their lives on the line.

Adult dragons and ancient dragons took flight.

Black dragons, fire dragons, wind dragons, water dragons. Their numbers exceeded ten thousand.

Following the dragons, the Machine Gods descended upon Earth.

And then there were the few who could fight dragons in their bare flesh.

Slipping through the gaps, the migrants from Earth—the refugees—moved to the other world.

In the end, only about five million people had been evacuated from Earth.

A mere five million. Over ninety-nine percent of humanity would share Earth's fate.

Ria forced herself to remain emotionless.

Right beside her was Carla. She didn't speak to Ria, but simply watched her.

From among the Machine Gods that had advanced ahead, one particularly conspicuous black Machine God pulled up alongside Ria.

"Hey, I have something to discuss."

Ars spoke via telepathy, so Ria replied the same way.

"I have nothing to discuss with you."

"Then just listen. If by some chance I die in this battle, I'd like you to take over governance of the Demon Territory."

Ria found herself staring at the Machine God's face.

"The Demon Territory may have been civilized, but it still only holds together because of the absolute power of the Demon King. There are plenty of hot-blooded types there."

Ria couldn't respond. Governing the Demon Territory, far more vast than Ogress, was something she couldn't possibly do.

"You're the only one. Stronger than anyone, knowledgeable about the benefits of civilization, free of racial discrimination, and above all—young."

That was giving her far too much credit, Ria thought.

"I have my hands full just governing Ogress. And now the Demon Territory too? Give me a break."

"Of course you wouldn't have to do it alone. I've built a bureaucratic structure. I've already informed my subordinates."

This man… was he trying to use Ria for his own purposes again?

"… Are you… planning to die?"

"That's precisely what I'm not planning. I want to see the child in Ferna's belly. I'm simply thinking about contingencies. Isn't that a ruler's duty?"

That was certainly true.

Ria too had given Guinevere instructions in case the worst should happen.

"If the Demon Territory falls into chaos, the world will be thrown into chaos as well. But if that's fine with you, I won't force you."

Cutting off the conversation unilaterally, Ars moved forward again.

As Ria pressed a hand to her forehead, Carla drew closer.

"Did something happen?"

"Something troublesome. I'll tell you later."

Saying that, Ria pulled Carla into an embrace.

"Carla… don't die."

"I won't."

With a smile like a goddess, Carla answered as if she hadn't a worry in the world.

Dragons soared through Earth's skies.

In the West, dragons were beings akin to demons. Many people fell to their knees and prayed to their respective gods.

Human prayers took form. As if born from the earth itself, they appeared.

Gods of different lands, different faiths.

Beings that should only exist in myth now took shape.

Though they offered no real hope, people clung to them nonetheless.

In response to the gods' movements, the earth itself rumbled.

Massive earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, lightning—these assaulted not the dragons in the sky but the people on the ground.

What appeared were not only gods.

There were also beings that other religions had branded as demons.

Even these emerged to challenge the dragons in battle.

The final battle had begun.