Chapter 238 – Justice and Contradiction
Justice and Contradiction
Chloe held her sword reflexively to the sight of a man approaching in front of her.
She felt a bit regretful for the man who looked pretty thrilled.
Chloe thought that, if the man had been looking forward to having a fight with her that much, she wanted to fight him seriously.
Even if Veldora challenged Chloe in his true form, the result wouldn't change.
Chloe's combat style was with a sword, it didn't change no matter what kind her opponent was.
Chloe's weapon, which shaped like an Uchigatana[1], was a Spiritual Weapon equivalent to God Class.
The sword had fought together with Chloe for a long time and became comparable to the Demonic Sword "World" which was one of the best swords in this world.
The sword was familiar in Chloe's hand as if it was a part of her, it kept protecting Chloe.
It was a supreme sword with an edge that could cut even a spiritual life-form.
But―― Chloe couldn't be Veldora's opponent.
This is because Chloe was deprived of her free will by Lucia with "Ultimate Dominion"……
◆◆◆
Lucia, who had obtained Chloe's body, was at the height of her triumph.
She had put Velzard under her complete domination and made her fight Velgrind.
Guy was a nuisance, but with Lucia's strength right now, she wouldn't lose even if she fought Guy and Veldora together at the same time.
Indeed, Veldora couldn't do a thing before Lucia.
It seemed he had borrowed a sword from Guy, but his sword skill was not worth considering
No, it was because Lucia was too strong.
Lucia had made Chloe's swordsmanship completely as hers and could completely predict the trajectory of all attacks.
Lucia thought that such overwhelming strength―― was Chloe's true worth as the strongest Hero, but that was not all.
Chloe was strangely very compatible with Seraphim's energy and Ultimate Skill『Hope Lord Sariel』.
Lucia's main body was being perfectly guarded by Ultimate Skill『Justice Lord Michael』's『Castle Guard』.
And now, she obtained the Ultimate Skill『Hope Lord Sariel』's『Absolute End[2]』.
Ultimate Defense and Ultimate Offense.
Lucia as a Manas was endowed with the wisdom to unravel the secrets of the skills.
That was why she could come up with a way to synthesis the two ultimate skills into one.
――It would be fine if she inserted 『Infinity Prison[3]』into『Absolute End』. In the first place, she didn't need to worry about defense since she had『Castle Guard』after all――
Lucia thought so.
And she would make Chloe as her sword and incorporated her into『Justice Lord Michael』.
By doing so, Lucia would become a totally flawless being with offense and defense capabilities.
Moreover,『Infinity Prison』 wasn't actually an ability for defense.
It is an ability to seal opponent that was too difficult to be destroyed like spiritual life-forms.
(Hero Chloe seems to have used it as an irregular defensive means because she was inexperienced as a human and couldn't master the ability…… but now it's an unnecessary ability. If it's me I could master it perfectly, but rather than doing something half-hearted such as sealing the enemy, I'll destroy the enemy completely. Yes――Under the name of Justice, all of God's enemies shall be destroyed!)
So, from that flow of thoughts, Lucia made the decision to erase『Infinity Prison』.
――Thus, the forbidden door is opened――
Although Lucia knew about it due to her wisdom which could even unravel the secrets of skills……
That ability,『Infinity Prison』is an ability for sealing something.
Like "Pandora Box" which contained all of the world's evils and calamities inside, an "Evil" was sealed deep inside Chloe's heart.
Once released, that "Evil" would spread chaos and disaster into this world.
Ramiris tried to interfere at the time Chloe who transcended time fused with the young Chloe was because she sensed this "Evil".
That "Evil" would have felt various negative feelings as they traveled through a long time repetitively. Chloe continued to seal it with her strong will.
However, such feelings matured inside Chloe's heart and created a hideous personality.
「If only you don't wake up a sleeping tiger[4], you will only have me as your opponent, but now.......」
That was Chloe's words.
At the end of those words, Chloe's consciousness changed completely.
If the Atonement Hero who carried all of humanity's negative feelings onto herself is Chloe, the Godslayer Hero who condemned everything and loathed humanity's sins is also Chloe.
It is Chloe yet also not Chloe.
It is the one who condemns everything without any mercy.
Its name is "Manas" Chronoa[5].
Now that the seal was gone, it was freed from the prison of the heart.
Although they were the same being, its strength was in a different dimension.
Even Yuuki's curse that bound Chloe until then, was severed instantly.
There was nothing that could stop Chloe now.
For a totally flawless being that Lucia said of itself, that was exactly the word for Chloe.
――However, the current Chloe wouldn't lose to this "Evil".
Her strong will―― and the fragments of Shizue and Hinata's heart are living inside Chloe's heart after all.
Above all, there's Rimuru now.
That's why Chloe understood that Chronoa was no more than a part of her heart too.
She just accepted Chronoa straightforwardly and it completely fused with her.
As Chloe had accepted the unleashed Chronoa,『Hope Lord Sariel』which had completed its role, disappeared into Chloe's heart.
However, all of its abilities are still usable by Chloe's will in the same manner as before.
「Justice? What is Justice? Something uncertain and changing subjectively like that is your justification, you said? If that's so, you are not my enemy――」
Lucia felt she heard Chloe's voice.
(Don't mock me! Justice is the only eternal truth of all things!)
She tried to refute, but she never could.
Because Lucia's consciousness had been locked in complete darkness instantly…...
That was what happened in Chloe's inner world.
Chloe's deadly blade, 『Absolute End』――which was released in order to interfere with Lucia's consciousness―― did not even allow any resistance and annihilated her in one blow.
Thus, the fight in this northern land ended.
◆◆◆
Velzard shook off the binding and Chloe cut down the curse.
Although there were some who were quite exhausted, ultimately everyone was all right.
「Kuaaaahhahaha! How about we call it a draw for today?」
With cuts all over his body, Veldora had barely dodged Chloe's last strike, but he was relieved to know that it was over.
And casually, he insisted on calling their fight as a draw.
Chloe's last attack was impossible to be analyzed even for Veldora. In the worst case, he couldn't help but thought that the attack possessed the same properties as『Space-Time Continuous Attack』obtained by his sister, Velgrind.
He even felt a bit scared, but it would be his loss if he worried about that.
He wanted to fight the Hero who got serious, but he wanted to win so he wouldn't allow himself to be defeated.
Therefore, Veldora judged that he would be satisfied with a draw.
「Really? It seemed to me that you wanted to fight me, so I wouldn't mind being your opponent once this Great War was over……」
「Hmmm!? N-no, no, you don't need to be that considerate. Kuahahaha, I have seen most of your attacks from our exchanges too, there's no need for us to fight for the time being.」
While slightly panicking, Veldora turned down Chloe's offer.
Veldora was somewhat scared of his two sisters' gazes towards him, but he pretended he didn't notice and ignored them.
At least, he found out that he couldn't compete with Chloe in swordsmanship at all.
As for things he said, there was no lie in Veldora's words.
Inside his mind, Veldora swore that he would train his swordsmanship thoroughly from the base up.
Next was Guy who spoke to Chloe..
Returning to his usual male form, Guy began talking to Chloe while Veldora returned his sword back.
「Yo, is that your true power?」
Chloe nodded to Guy's question.
Or rather……
「Huh? It seems that the seraphim's energy is left behind. And…...」
Chloe had treated the power as her own too naturally, but in actuality she had stolen a majority of Lucia's energy.
That was not all, there was also fragments of『Justice Lord Michael』left behind from "Manas" Lucia's remains.
As a result――
《Notification. Individual: Chloe Aubert, confirmed to have gathered the three elements of『Courage』『Hope』『Justice』[6]. Moreover, the presence of Ultimate Skill『Space-Time Lord Yog-Sothoth』in her possession had been confirmed. "Alteration" is automatically activated…… Successful. Ultimate Skill『Space-Time Lord Yog-Sothoth』has evolved into『Space-Time God Yog-Sothoth[7]』.》
Within Chloe, an ultimate evolution was being carried without her realization.
Even if it was an enormous energy of a seraph, it wasn't sufficient at all to activate that ability (Alteration)……
Because of that, Chloe's evolution ended without being noticed by anyone.
Not even Guy could notice that evolution; it was due to Complete Concealment of Ultimate Skill『Space-Time God Yog-Sothoth』.
「Looks like it. So, what happened to that Lucia fellow?」
Due to what was stated before, Guy asked about Lucia's end without paying attention to the seraph's remains.
「I have eliminated a part of her that possessed me. But, her main body is safe.」
「Did you let her go?」
「No――」so Chloe muttered to Guy who asked with sharp eyes.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
It seemed like there was a glimpse of cruelty unsuited of a Hero in her expression――
Probably, it might not just be a hallucination.
It was proof that the remnants of Chronoa which had fused with Chloe were still alive.
It was something unthinkable for the naturally gentle Chloe, but if it was Chronoa, it could do it without hesitation.
However, that was still something unbecoming for Chloe……
Therefore, Chloe decided to leave the judgment to Lucia's own actions.
「It will be great if Lucia admits her defeat obediently, but if she doesn't do so―― I shall teach her the true meaning of despair.」
Chloe declared so and stared at Guy with her strong-willed eyes.
After all, her victory was certain.
Moreover, for some reason――Chloe felt that she wouldn't be the one who decided Lucia's fate.
「Very well. Then, shall we quickly go to defeat Velda?」
「Yeah, let's quickly defeat the mastermind, I want to return to Sensei's place.」
Guy and Chloe were in consensus.
Veldora was about to say "Because the cuts all over my body aches, I'll return once they recover"―― but he remained silent before his two sisters' gazes.
It was a very wise decision.
Thus, the five people who could be said as the tops of this world began to move towards the Heaven.
◆◆◆
「IMPOSSIBLE, IMPOSSIBLE, IMPOSSIBLE!!」
Lucia was screaming in her main body while going partly mad.
Something impossible had happened just now.
A "Manas" with the strongest Will, was destroyed just by a mere human.
She absolutely couldn't accept such a thing.
Lucia thought so and derived the most optimum solution with her thoughts still in chaos.
――That's right, I just have to erase everything in the northern land――
Only after she thought so, calm returned to her heart.
And then she turned around and smiled at the being over there.
With compassionate expressions that matched her gentle appearance,
「Milim, I want you to listen to your mother's request ――」
She said so.
A terrifying plan made by Lucia.
Her plan was to annihilate Guy and Chloe along with the northern continent using Milim's Drago Nova[8] from a very high altitude.
She would order Velzard, who was under her control, with『Thought Transmission』to stop the movement of the other three people.
She had planned to strike them all in one go.
If she matched the timing and made Velzard self-destruct, it would cause massive destruction with the super high dense energy from the body of "True Dragon" as the source of the explosion.
With the synergy of Drago Nova, it would annihilate the northern continent.
It might even affect the planet itself, but such a thing was a trivial matter to Lucia.
Guy, Chloe, Velgrind, and Veldora.
She only had to get rid of those four people and everything would be fine.
If faced with this great destruction, it would be impossible even for those four people to survive.
Lucia estimated the result would be so.
「Milim, you see――」
At the moment when Lucia tried to continue with her words...
「Good grief, are you a fool who can't even accept your own defeat?」
Such cold words came out from Milim's mouth.
Lucia stared at Milim with eyes full of shock.
「I shall have you stop doing foolish things with my mother's appearance for good.」
Milim declared and smiled fearlessly towards Lucia.
It was like a lie that she was obedient like a doll until now.
「Wha, you!? Could it be you aren't under control――!?」
「Humph, you finally realized? I decided to stay obedient until now because I can't come up with a way to break through your defense, but I don't need to do so anymore, you see? I want to reclaim my mother's body quickly, so let's get started!」
Milim declared so and smiled complacently.
「What a foolish thing to say!? I have『Castle Guard』. There are many angels in this heaven, and besides even humanity's faiths are directed to this ability now, my defensive powers are incomparable to Rudra's which was reliant on something as vulnerable as loyalty ――」
「SHUT UP!」
Milim interrupted Lucia with a roar.
And then, she thrust her fist towards Lucia.
Lucia instantly put her guard up.
『Castle Guard』 automatically deployed in front of Lucia and protected her.
(You're foolish, Milim. It's troublesome that you broke out the control unexpectedly, but if Velda-sama awakened with perfect form, someone like you won't matter. I only have to endure until then――）
The real surprise hit Lucia at the moment she thought up that far.
『Castle Guard』 was smashed into pieces and scattered before her eyes.
「Im-impossible!?」
An unbelievable and unacceptable reality was expanding in front of Lucia.
「Fool? You're the fool here, you know? You don't understand the ability at all. You are like a child who knows secrets and wants to tamper on things with them. Do you know why my father, Veldanava, didn't give offensive capability to『Justice Lord Michael』……? It seems you thought that it was incomplete, but that's wrong. That skill was complete because it was incomplete. What do you think will happen if the "Spear that could pierce everything" and "Shield that could block everything" come together[9]? Also, justice itself is something filled with contradictions. When you support one side, Justice will lose its impartialness. An absolute justice is nothing but fantasy. Because of this ambiguity, my father kept『Justice Lord Michael』 incomplete. It just became a power to protect without offensive power. Justice without force is powerless, but if you have the power to protect it, you could fulfill everything. That alone is what made it complete.」
Milim indifferently informed Lucia. Like a teacher enlightening a foolish student.
And now, her hand was slowly extended towards Lucia.
「Impossible, I won't accept it. I will never accept such a thing!! Justice is the only――」
Milim's hand touched Lucia.
「Your absolute defense is gone. Soon, your abilities will disappear too. Before that happens, I shall perform your last rites with my own hand.」
「Stop it! I'm Lucia, Velda-sama's absolute believer, the one and only――」
「Begone from my mother. Mind Death Break[10]!!」
Without mercy, Milim's destructive capability was fully displayed.
At this moment, the "Manas" created form『Justice Lord Michael』 named Lucia had been completely annihilated.
Milim embraced her mother's corpse with a lonely expression.
There was no warmth in the body, as it was freed from the effect of the ability, its time which had stopped begun to flow instantly.
Lucia's body withered, turned into dust and disappeared.
「Good night, Okaa-sama. Please, rest in peace――」
Milim didn't have memories of her mother's warmth.
For Milim, playing with her mother's sacred remains was a sin worthy of a certain death.
She had achieved her goal of freeing her mother from Lucia who was being protected by the ultimate defense.
Milim shall teach the next sinful person the depths of her wrath.
The time has come.
The name of the person she should judge was Velda――the person who impersonated her father and played with her mother's corpse.
From now on, Milim unleashed her suppressed wrath.
The heaven was about to be filled with waves of Milim's wrath.
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Author's Note
I avoided Chloe's Last Boss Route.
I'm sorry for those who had been expecting that.
I also have such versions, but I let it pass for now.
[1] Uchigatana is a shorter version of Tachi. The length of an Uchigatana blade was around 60 cm to no more than 70 cm while the length of a tachi blade was around 75 cm. Pic for reference: