Episode 189: Epilogue, and Then—
One day after the subjugation of Chaos.
To recover from the fatigue of the long battle, we took a nap, and then a small victory celebration was held.
The “Demon Lord” provided a room in the Imperial Castle, and the food mainly consisted of fruits and vegetables from plant Demon Beasts of the Eastern Continent.
The vitality of those who survived despite being exposed to the threat of Chaos was truly worthy of plants.
After the small banquet, which gathered only those involved in the subjugation, ended, a Crystal Orb rolled towards the two people looking down at the Imperial Capital from the terrace.
“Oh, Kouya-kun, welcome back.”
Paula spoke to the Crystal Orb.
This Crystal Orb, made in the image of a Jewel Slime, was my terminal.
Through this medium, I could see and hear, and even eat and drink. Thanks to it, I was able to enjoy the meal.
“Are you done with your rounds of greetings?”
『Yeah, mostly. Paula and Fiss are the last.』
Until just a moment ago, I had been going around saying goodbye to the people I had met in this world, such as Ergo, the son of a merchant family, and Xanthos and his family from the underground empire.
The 〔Alitia〕 of 〔Earth〕 could explore everything on the ground, as long as it wasn’t on the upper floors of the castle, so it didn’t take much effort to find them.
All I had to do was create a Crystal Orb at the right time and talk to them.
It required a bit of concentration, but the voice of 〔Asteron〕 could reach anyone in the world that I wanted to reach.
“I see, so it’s our turn now… It’s going to be lonely.”
“Yeah, it’s a shame. Take care.”
I was leaving this world.
I had already told them about it. I came now to say goodbye again.
『Well, I’m honestly fine, there’s not much that could put me in danger. You two take care of yourselves.』
“Hehe, that’s right. I’ll stay healthy and safe, pursue magic… and someday I’ll catch up (・・・・) to you.”
『? What do you mean?』
I asked Paula, who was smiling mischievously, what she meant.
“When Kouya-kun became a god, the space shook more than ever before. And then, it was like the fog cleared, and I understood. There’s space outside of this world, and many worlds are floating in that space.”
『…!!』
That matched the basic knowledge I had gained after becoming 〔Asteron〕.
What defines a world is the 〔Aether〕 of the 〔Asteron〕 of that star. If you step out of the star, you are already outside the world.
“At that moment, I had a hunch. The essence of my 〖Attribute〗 is the world itself. And if I 〖Sublimate〗 once more… well, maybe I have to raise it to 〖Sixth Canon〗, but eventually, I’ll be able to go to other worlds. That’s why I was talking to Fiss-chan earlier, if I can master magic to that level, we’ll go look for Kouya-kun together.”
“That’s right. So until then, I’ll travel this world, to my heart’s content. I’ll go see all sorts of things I haven’t seen before.”
『Heeh.』
I was impressed by their visions for the future.
Following the example of the two who had clear goals for the future, I would also set my own goals for the future.
『I see… then I’ll get even stronger. Now that I’ve become 〔Asteron〕, I can’t grow by leaps and bounds like I used to, but still, while traveling through other worlds, I’ll somehow raise my level of “strength” by one stage.』
“Then it’s a competition! Will Kouya-kun get stronger first, or will we catch up first?”
『That’s right.』
After that, we had a few more trivial conversations, and then I cut to the chase.
『I’m going to go now. If I wait too long, I might just keep dragging it out.』
The two nodded silently.
Finally, I turned the Crystal Orb into countless shining particles and stopped interfering with that place.
『Is it alright now, new 〔Asteron〕?』
Far above the Imperial Castle, in the sky.
My main body was at an ultra-high altitude, about to reach the Karman line.
『It’s fine, I’ve done what I needed to do. You take care too.』
I replied to the god of this star who had called out to me.
His main body was still buried in the core, but like me, it was easy for him to send his voice to distant places.
Even so, until recently, his condition was so precarious that even that was difficult.
『Thanks to the Chaos’s 〔Arche〕 that you offered, my condition has passed its peak. Soon, the remaining wounds will heal, and I will be healthy.』
At the end of the battle with Chaos, I finished him off with 〔Earth〕 not only to kill him for sure, but also with the aim of offering his 〔Arche〕 to the god.
Since Earth is the body of 〔Asteron〕, I thought it might be possible to use it that way.
The attempt was a great success. Thanks to the Chaos’s 〔Arche〕, which was only abundant in quantity, the god had enough energy to even converse.
『You have done me a great favor. You may visit my 〔Gaia〕 anytime.』
『I’ll take you up on that if I’m ever in trouble.』
After saying that, I looked up at the starry sky.
Because it was close to outer space, stars could be seen at any time, but… what was reflected in the eyes of 〔Asteron〕 was not a starry sky mediated by physical light.
A space with a different phase that could only be perceived by 〔Asteron〕 and those who were close to it—〔Kenon〕.
What Paula said she recognized was probably this 〔Kenon〕, and what was shining in this starry sky were not fixed stars, but 〔Gaia〕, stars where life existed.
By passing through this twisted space, it was possible to reach stars tens of thousands of light-years away in a short period of time.
When I was reincarnated, my 〔Arche〕 must have passed through here as well.
『Is that Earth?』
I muttered, looking at the blue star surrounded by (・・・・) swirling (・・・・・・) dark clouds.
If I strained my eyes, I could see black, lightning-like things piercing it everywhere.
『Yes. Shortly after your summoning, such dark clouds were observed. It is presumed to be an invasion of 〔Karkinos〕 from another star.』
『I figured. I can see something like a huge meteor shower in the back too.』
It seemed that my hometown was also caught up in some kind of trouble.
『Haa… well, I guess I won’t have trouble finding training partners.』
I reframed the trouble positively and took heart.
『Well then, shall I go?』
And so, I took a step out of the world where I was born as a slime.
My journey to become an unparalleled aberration had come to an end, and a new journey had begun—.