With a glance at the ten thousand lightning swords stabbed at his feet, Arcana looked at Ceris again.

'You must have remembered. You chose you, the god of selection, the demonic sword that killed the creator god Militia.

　Arcana gulped.
　For a moment, she felt a strong feeling seep into her emotionless eyes.

'It's been a long time ago. You haven't changed. You still have that beautiful anger from when I first met you.'

　Celis says, as if she were reminiscing.

'You can tell them, too. What you've come here for. Why you were called Genudunub, the god of disobedience. Now they will no longer stand in your way. There is no need for you to fake that heart.

　Ceris smiled.
　Arcana held her divine snow sword at the ready as if to warn him.

'Right. If you don't feel comfortable saying it, I'll have to speak to you first.''

　He says in a lighter tone.
　It was as if Ceris didn't have an eye on the falling canopy or the collapse of the world.

　Arcana gave him a sharp look, but quietly opened his mouth.

'I was born in Agaha, as a dragonborn.

　A serene voice echoed between the pillars.

'It was the dragon core, which is almost non-existent even in the depths of the earth. The dragon seeks the source, which should be the nucleus of the offspring it spawns. If the dragons continue to target me, I will be attacked by a large number of dragons and the city will not be able to maintain proper security. The Sword Emperor of those days wanted to expel me from Agaha as an abominable child.

　The voice of Arcana strangely struck my ears as I heard the heavens tremble.

'He said. He said, "If there is anyone to support me who has lost my parents, I will not be banished from the Agaha. I was only a child, and I wanted someone to help me. I went knocking on every door in the city, hoping that someone would help me. I was cold, lonely, and hungry. Crying, I walked on, but the door did not open. But the door wouldn't open.

　Arcana bit her back teeth.

'None of them opened it for me. There was no salvation for me, who was made an abominable son in the prophecy of Agaha.

　There were no tears, but anger in those eyes of hers.

'I was banished from Agaha. I wandered in the wilderness, pursued by dragons. There was little to eat, and no help was forthcoming. I thought I was going to die of hunger. We thought we were going to die of freezing. I thought I would be eaten by a dragon. But if I had, I wouldn't have been so happy.

　The situation is almost identical to the dream Arcana showed me.
　There are two major differences.

　The place wasn't in Dillhade, and I wasn't anywhere near her.

I wasn't ready to die. You will be able to find out what is going on in the world. The Sword Emperor felt guilty that I was going to die after he banished me, so he chose the future with the least chance of death.

　The words, which merely tell the truth, cut her own body like a blade.

'He persecuted me, he banished me, and yet he did not have the courage to free me from the pain of life. For fear of bearing his sin himself, he forced me to suffer.

　Sometimes death would be the salvation.
　Not even that was given, and the girl continued to wander the wilderness alone and hungry, with no place to go.

After a while, a messenger from Agaha came to me, who had survived, asking me to sacrifice the king's dragon. Sacrifice to the king's dragon.

　Dark thoughts spilled out, something Arcana had never shown before.

'Then I can become an honorable dragon knight. I will be able to live in Agaha without being targeted by dragons.

　Once, Arcana stopped speaking.
　Shaking off the unmanageable emotions, she said again.

'The first Sword Emperor must have been afraid to look into the future. Because one day he would see his own death. He only saw the very near future in the beginning. Because of that, he didn't immediately realize that I was a dragon nucleus and thought that I was just a dragon coming after him.

　Didn't the first Sword Emperor know that there was a dragon nucleus that would become the core of a baby dragon, or was it?
　Or maybe it wasn't until he saw the future at that time that the meaning of the dragon core became known.

'I suppose he thought he had finally found a way to save me, who he had banished with his own life. I can live in the city and will be given the highest honor. I thought I'd take it in two words.

　Seris said, mocking the Sword Emperor's actions.

'But your answer was no. 'Why?'

　Arcana glares at Ceris with a piercing stare.



　The words made me angry.

'No one opened the door then. Not a single one. What honor could such ruthless people give you? I would have trampled on it.

　Hatred flooded Arcana's .
　Her heart was tainted with pure rage, so much so that it didn't seem like it belonged to her.

''You had that look in your eyes when we first met.

　Giggling, Celis told us as she spoke to us.

'Yes, I happen to be employed by the Order of Geordal. They took her. The Pope of Geordal made a deal with Arcana. He told me that if I would side with Geordal at the selection tribunal, I would be welcome to do so.

　'So you want me to move to benefit Geordal while pretending to be on the side of Agaha.

''You have complied. ＜You made a contract (zekt), sacrificed the king dragon that you hated so much, and after turning into a baby dragon, you made a pact to side with Zioldar. Why is that?

　After a moment's hesitation, she replied.

"...I wanted a place to belong. I wanted a normal life. I don't want to wander the wilderness, I don't want to wander the forest, I don't want to live alone, constantly being chased by dragons. I thought that help was finally on the way for me... I was mistaken...

　Biting his lip, then Arcana said.

'The congregation of Zioldar did not accept me, the people of Agaha, who were chosen to be sacrificed to the king dragon. I was treated as a heretic, discriminated against and persecuted for my belief in an abominable teaching. They said.

　The resentment spills over.

'Treating a heretic as a heretic is what is salvation for the heretic as well. I have never tried to defend the teachings of the Agaha of my own will. But that was none of the business of the followers of Zioldar.

Yeah. That's why the Pope suggested it.

　Smiling, Cerys said.

'If you throw yourself into the Bonfire of Judgment, the congregation of Geordar will accept you as a holy man,' he said. Arcana did just that. She had endured excruciating pain. Now, at last, she should be able to live a normal life as a people of Geordal.

　Arcana stared at Ceris as if she was hating him and spat out a curse.

'It was all a lie. No matter what I did, my past would not go away, and in Geordal my body just remained a heretic. The Pope said there was nothing he could do about the hearts of his people.

　Hmm. Poppycock.

'I must have been deceived. The Pope's goal was to take the source of his power at the Bonfire of Judgment and sacrifice it to the king dragon to win the Selection Judgment with a strong baby dragon. ＜I made a covenant, I could not disobey, I just wanted a place to stay.

I have made a contract with Zekt too. "I had no choice but to throw the arcana into the mouth of the dragon king. Playing the part of a knight of Agaha.

　And so Arcana was reborn as a baby dragon.

I suppose I hated him. I suppose I couldn't help but hate him. The anger and hatred, like a curse, stuck in my head, and I couldn't forgive anything. Agaha and Geordal. But at that time, those two countries were everything under the ground. There was nowhere to run except to hate them.

'If only one of them had reached out to her, I suppose it might not have happened. But everything beneath the earth was her enemy. The only thing left for her to do was to take revenge. It's a sad story.

　Without any pretense of being distressed, he said, "I have been chosen by the God of Creation, Militia, and I have won the Selective Judgment.

I was chosen by Militia, the god of creation, and I have won the selection process. Militia told me that she chose me to be the selector because I am irredeemable. I did not know what that meant, and only the covenant was the link between me and her.

It wasn't all bad. Eventually, a man named Boldinos of Agaha, who found Arcana unbearable, offered to help him atone for the sins he had committed.

　Celis points to the All Souls' Sword.

"I lent her the magical sword that can destroy even a god. The god of creation, Militia, was secretly trying to lead the Selection Judges to their demise. It was for the sake of the underground and for the sake of the dragonmen. But for Arcana, it was an unforgivable betrayal.

"Bordinos told me,

　Arcana voiced a reminder of the anger of the past.

'If you want to forget that hatred,' she said, 'you have to be God's representative. God does not have a heart. You can be the one who forgets your emotions and just keeps on saving people, calmly. That is the last salvation I have left, the last reason. I will be the one who forsakes my heart and hates no one. Militia was trying to take that away from me.

'You can understand, though. Sadly, Boldinus was playing a trick on her.

　Boldinos had tricked her.
　I feel a little uncomfortable with the way he said that thing.

　Why doesn't he say that he is?

'I killed Militia. Just wait as it is and you can be God's representative. But I guess I just couldn't forgive him. The victory of the Selective Judge is my salvation, but I would not have been so consumed with hatred if it had not been for the Selective Judge.

　She said matter-of-factly.

'The God of Alignment I have killed half of him. I would at least take it away. That order. The selective judgment to which Agaha and Giordal clung is mine. It was my last little vengeance that I committed before I became a god.

　Turning over, Arcana stared at the floor with dark eyes.

　I know. If you look at Arcana now.
　That she could not be the God she wanted to be.

'I have become a substitute for God. A substitute for an absent-minded God. No joy, no sorrow, no fun. But I couldn't let her get away with it.

　The vindictiveness poured out of his eyes.

I have only hatred, only my anger has not disappeared. I have only hatred. The only thing left in me was pain. I wished that I could not hate anyone, but I found myself becoming an agent of a God who only hates.

　So that was the lie that Boldinus had told Arcana.

I could not stop me. The heart to stop me was gone, and only hatred motivated me. I became an agent and brought back the victory, and I betrayed first Zioldar, then Agaha, and made Gadeisiola. And so I would fight against them and the gods. But I, foolish as I was, did not yet realize that Boldinus had deceived me.

'I didn't think the hatred would ever go away,' said Bordinos, 'because I never thought it would.

　Celis said in a light tone.

'When I finally realized that Boldinos was the enemy, I betrayed Gadesiola. In the end, I turned them all against each other, and in the end, Boldinos defeated me.

　Arcana says as she spits out her hatred and curses.

'I am the treacherous god who betrayed everything. That is true. But it is the people of the earth who have betrayed me first, who believe in God. They deceived me and persecuted me in the name of God, and yet I was still called a treacherous god.

　Unreasonableness continued to assault her.
　And so, that hatred must have swelled up everywhere.

'Some time after my reincarnation, Arcana came to visit me. She said she wanted to tie my hand. She had a very good look in her eyes. Beautiful eyes that wanted to defy fate. I guess she just wanted to betray me and do it.

　Cerise looked somewhat pleased.

'We discussed our information with each other and we parted ways. Arcana used the Moon of Creation to erase her own memories and hatred and put various restrictions on her actions to reach her desired goal. You might think that if she could erase her hatred, but that's only temporary and, above all, superficial. The basis of her actions have always been underpinned by that hatred.

　He said.

'Following that pitch-black sentiment, Arcana now stands here.

　Cerys spreads her hands out in welcome to it.

'Do you really think her wish is to save people?'

　To all present here, and to me, he asked.

'Betrayed, oppressed, treated well, Arcana was forced into that role. In truth, she didn't want to be an agent of the God she hated. She asked for two things.

　Holding up two fingers, Cerys says.

'One. To take revenge on Geordal, Agaha, and Gadeisiola for betraying you.

　Folding one finger, he continues.

'One. Take off your God's trappings and stop being an agent.

　Folding her fingers again, Ceris lowered her arms.

'When the selector wins the selection judgement and is the last one to be selected, the order of the god of selection becomes the selector's by the order of the alignment god Elorarielom. That way, the divinely empowered deputies will make up for the lost order.

　All the power of the selective gods that had been eating the gods up until then would be the agent's, or so it seemed.

'In other words, Anos. If you win the Selection Judge, all of the order that Arcana possesses will be yours. She will have completed her role as an agent, and you can return to your original dragoness.

　And if that canopy falls, we'll be able to wipe out Geordal, Agaha, and Gadeisiola in a clean sweep.
　That will be the end of Arcana's revenge.

'You seem to have sworn to Arcana that you would end the Selective Judgment, but that's nothing. You were fooled from the beginning, Anos.

　Celis says to me with a good-natured look on her face.

'The proof of that is that she hasn't returned the Rivine Girma to the Rational Sword, even though her memories have returned. Because if that canopy is a perpetual immortal divine body, it can certainly destroy everything under the ground.

　He turns to Arcana.

'Why did Arcana, who wished to be saved, kill Ahide?　Because I hated it. I couldn't hold that hatred in check. He looked just like her. To the descendants of the people of Geordar who betrayed her.

　Arcana and Celis glare at each other.

''Well what is your purpose?''

　Arcana asks.

'You're not going to pull it out?'

　A moment of silence, Arcana says.

'I won't let you betray me this time. If you really want to serve my purpose, then you can walk here without using anti-magic. I want to end it all at the same time.

Surely that won't be too much trouble.

　Arcana took one look at Gorloana, who continued to pray behind her.

'I suppose there is no reason for me to defend the descendants of the pope who betrayed and persecuted me, and his teachings. If he dies, there will not be enough hands to support him, and that canopy will surely fall.

All right. Okay, I'll just do what you say.

　Ceris walked slowly, pinching the thrusting ten thousand lightning swords, and confronted Arcana.

'I will not stop you from killing Gorloana. But in the meantime, I will kill you.

I don't mind.

　Celis drew her Universal Lightning Sword Gaudgemon.
　A purple lightning gushes into its sword barrel.

　I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of this stuff.

It's a good idea to have a good time.　I wouldn't let you do that....

　At the same time as Sasha stared at Celis with her , Zesia, Eleonor and Misha moved.

　Instantly, a is shot out and strikes the girls with lightning.

　Sasha and the others endured it by deploying anti-magic with all their might, but a flash of sword from the Universal Thunder Sword Gaudgemon floated into their chests.

　Immediately after, an explosion of purple lightning flashed through the girls.



'You don't have much magic left, do you?　Don't take it easy.

　As she said it, Celis pointed her magic sword at Golloana.

''Oh, the world is so fragile. The world is so fragile and crumbling, just like the trust of the people.

　Gaudgemon was thrust out with great force.
　Shiden ran through, red blood, splattered.

''.........Heh.......?''

　Arcana let the Universal Thunder Sword Gaudgemon pierce her palm, catching the purple lightning.
　The divine Snow Sword Lokoronoto she held in her hand pierced Celis' stomach.

　She must have called him into her bosom to make sure she caught him.

''Everything is just as you said. There is not a single lie.

　While scattering snow and moon flowers and freezing the ten thousand lightning swords, Arcana glares at Celis's body with .

It is a good thing that you have a good idea of what to expect. You are going to be able to find out that the day will surely never come when this horrible world will be able to forgive them, filled with betrayal and deceit. I didn't, I didn't...

　This is what she used to say when she was still the selection god of Ahide.

　Why do people want to be gods so badly?

I did not want to be an agent. How can I give to others the salvation that I did not receive? Why should I save those who did not save me, and why should I save their descendants? Why should I continue to maintain order for them while hating them so much?

　He said that he had never once felt happy that this body was God.

'Why?　Why?　Why?　Instead of the God who was supposed to give me the answer, it was me.

　Even if she had no memory of it, she certainly had that feeling, and I'm sure she meant it.

'We all betrayed each other. Everyone. Geordal, Agaha, and my Gadeisiola. So I will betray everything that has betrayed me. And you. I will not let you do what you want.

　The outpouring of purple electricity, Arcana grabbed it with her hand pierced by the magic sword and froze her own arm in place.

''However,''

　Tears fluttered down her eyes, tainted with hatred.

'The Demon King believes. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more. Even at the moment when I said that I was betrayed, he believed in me.

　Celis pointed her fingertips at Arcana.
　The moment Shi Den ran, he changed the spherical magic circle into a snow and moon flower with .

　His feet are freezing.

''My brother did not betray me.