Two months had passed in the blink of an eye since Alicia and Makina met. Alicia and Machina, who had come to stay on the artificial island in a semi-residential manner, were enjoying their days very much.
　There were days when Alicia would take them out with her, as she did when they went to the amusement park, and there were days when they would spend the whole day chatting together, playing games and other things that Alicia had bought in the city inland.
　It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to be able to get a lot of the things you need.

　However, although we spend most of our time together overwhelmingly, it does not mean that we do not act separately. Many times Alicia would occasionally wander out in the middle of the night when Makina was asleep and come back in the morning with a souvenir.
　Makina didn't care that she was 'probably looking for something she said before'... but in reality, she wasn't. Alicia has been doing a certain 'research thing' ever since she met Makina, and it's usually in relation to that research thing that she goes out on her own.

　And today, in the middle of the night when the date was about to change completely, Alicia was on the rooftop of a high-rise building, staring at her mobile device and putting her hand to her chin in thought.

(.........Makina's condition is a bit strange.

　While looking at the several materials displayed, Alicia uses her outstanding thinking skills to organize the information. Why is Makina isolated on that artificial island, why is that artificial island so well equipped with anti-intruder interceptor traps.......She was trying to find out the purpose of the person who did it.

(Amazingly, Machina's father a genius scientist who is said to have advanced the world's technology for a century. He has disappeared from the public eye for more than ten years and according to the information I've gathered, he's acting very suspiciously now. (He buys land in various parts of the world, even in remote areas, and buys antiques for large sums of money that seem to have no use for them...)

　

(.........most of it has no land value. But what is it?　Something's bugging me there's no pattern to the buying. What the hell is the purpose of all this little land........no, wait. (Could this be it?!)

　At first glance, it looked like they were buying land around the world in pieces with no laws at all, but a possibility emerged that Alicia could not overlook.

(.....here and here.

　 These monsters were called living disasters.....
　But that's all in the past now. All of the seven-star demonic beasts have been defeated by Alicia, the only one, and the land that was said to be a magical power pool has already been dealt with to prevent new demonic beasts from being born.

(..........I defeated all the seven-star demonic beasts and I didn't make the mistake of leaving behind a corpse that is a huge lump of magical power. But yes, for example, if you look deep into the ground, there's a chance that you'll find an ore or two that contains magic power. (And although most of the items this guy buys are free antiques, there are a few that he believes contain magical powers.

　It was only here that I began to see the similarities in Makina's father's behavior. Alicia took a hit in that direction and proceeded with her thoughts while looking at some more materials.

(He's collecting magical items. If we assume that, what is this guy's purpose?　Do you have...?　(The Piece of the Core of the Great Satan...)

　After thinking that far, Alicia moved her fingers to caress the space as if she were caressing the space and moved to the space created by spatio-temporal magic.
　There were the tombs of those she had bonded with, and behind them.......there was something that looked like a broken crystal ball.

　
　And Alicia had also collected the shards she had found on her journey, which she had promised to do with Iris.

(About 80% of the core shards I recovered.......not that there isn't a possibility that she found and possessed the remaining 20%. No, it's better to assume that I have it. But, that doesn't mean that there's any point in having it, right?

　That's right, the core piece of the Great Evil God does not in itself pose any danger. The Great Evil God has already been destroyed, and it can be said that it is at most an item that is 'a piece of glass that may have a small amount of divine magic power left in it'.
　That's why Alicia in particular isn't in a hurry to recover it either. However, since there is no possibility that some factors will mesh together to develop into an incident, I just collect what I see on my journey.

(This isn't a game or an anime. It's not that collecting the core pieces of the Great Evil God doesn't bring him back to life. Even if it does, it's unlikely to be anything more than a crystal ball with a larger magical power in it, and there's no way the core can be restored in its entirety since I have most of it in the first place. Then what is Makina's father trying to do?　Are you under the impression that collecting them will bring back the Great Evil God?　(So, a magical item... hmmm, doesn't feel right)

　The idea that once popped into my head, the possibility of the resurrection of the Great Evil God, my former nemesis.......but there is a part of me that cannot be explained by that.

(Even if the resurrection of the Great Evil God and the resurrection of the Seven Star Demonic Beast were the aim, that would still feel uncomfortable with Makina's current situation. That's exactly why Machina's power is supposed to be important in the 'search phase', but she's not using her power to collect magical items. I don't know, somehow I can't connect Machina's current situation and the magical items. (Am I just overthinking it, or is there no connection between the collection of magical items and Machina?

　After thinking that far, Alicia shook her head to the side as if to change her mind and moved her hand again to return to the roof of the building from the special space.

(Well, let's continue to investigate.......tomorrow, or maybe already today.......what kind of souvenir should I buy for Makina to take home? I'd be more than happy to buy something Machina doesn't know much about... well... I don't know... wait...)

　Along with the sensation of puzzle pieces meshing together in her head with a click, Alicia's expression changed sharply and she began to think at a tremendous speed again.

(It was a blind spot, no, a pitfall. I know magic and magic. But to the world, it's a fairy tale.......the technology of magic has already been lost from the world. It's quite possible that Machina's father 'doesn't know about magic'. Yes, change your thinking. I don't know that the items I've collected contain magical power but what if he only knows that 'some kind of mystical power resides in them'?　If I'm mistaking magic for something else, then...

　Alicia takes out her mobile device again and operates it at a terrific speed. She has acquired a wide range of skills over the years of travel, some of which are super advanced hacking techniques.
　She uses it to examine a database with several peripherals.

(Among the items that have been purchased, the one that Machina's father, in particular, spent a lot of money to buy is the one that has been certified as a "holy relic". ........but it's kind of zany. 　(This is...)

　Alicia stopped moving her fingers at high speed and stared at the information displayed on the terminal as if devouring it. It was information on the proposal that Makina's father had submitted to his sponsor, a wealthy man, shortly before he disappeared from the stage.
　It seems that the proposal was immediately rejected and the loan could not be obtained, but.......the proposal was left as data.

A proposal like this can only be considered crazy. In fact, it was immediately rejected and Makina's father disappeared after this. The content is also incoherent, and it's occult and poorly done that you wouldn't expect a famous scientist to have written it... but this sentence 'God of salvation who has the power to see the world'... if the power to see the world is clairvoyance... ...I'm curious. (Let's do some more research in this direction)

　Normally, this was something I would laugh at, but inexplicably, Alicia was curious about the proposal for Sole. She closed the terminal and looked up at the sky once to examine it in more detail.
　As if to reveal her bewildered mind, the night sky was dark and covered with thick clouds.









　In a simple building on a quiet artificial island, Makina was reading a book. Alicia brought her a book, which was very interesting and she read it until midnight, when the date changed.
　It's a good idea to close the book and look at the inside of the house, Makina smiled to herself.

　This island that can be said to be nothing, this house that can be said to be nothing, the self that is just living with nothing. This had been going on for more than ten years, but in just two months, it was hard to believe that things had changed so much.
　Until I met Alicia, there were never any books or games in this house. Until I met Alicia, Machina had never gone off the island.
　Until she met Alicia she had never felt so lonely at night alone.

　I can't wait for the night to dawn. I can't help but look forward to welcoming Alicia, who will return with a bright smile on her face, carrying an unusual souvenir.
　Feeling the warmth of a somewhat happy chest, Makina was about to prepare for sleep when she heard the sound of a helicopter.......in her ears.

　Immediately activating her clairvoyant power, several large transport helicopters were on this island.......about to slowly descend in front of Makina's house.
　Perplexed by the situation for the first time, Makina went out of the house.
　And from those helicopters came a dozen or so people in white coats. The only familiar face...................was the one man standing at the front.

''Well the time has finally come!　Tonight, God is complete!

　Makina just looked at the white-clad man who was shouting with a crazy smile on his face, his eyes devoid of emotion. What is he saying, what is his purpose, what is the huge container................................I'm curious.
　But more than that........the man's eyes, seen in the lights of the helicopter, were uncomfortable. Eyes like looking at machine parts.
　It's a good thing that you're not the only one who's been happy, but it's also a good thing that you're not the only one who's felt the coldness in your heart, Makina thinks about it as if it were someone else's business.

　Oh, after all, this man is enough to be a father - 'seemingly'....

　And at the same time, I was glad that it was a dark night when the stars were not visible, I thought. Because I didn't want the starry sky I could see from this island, which I looked up with Alicia, to be defiled by such an opponent....











　The men went to work as soon as they found Makina. If they had taken even one step into the house, they would have noticed an increase in the number of items that should not have been possible, but to them, the Makina was nothing more than a component for the creation of the artificial god, and if they were here, there was no point in entering the house.
　The artificial god let out of a huge container - a machine designed to look like an angel in its own right, about 15 meters in size, with a huge black sphere in the center of its body.
　Quickly prepared by the men, Makina was placed inside the black sphere the core of the god. Realizing that it was pointless to resist, Makina obeyed meekly.

　There is nothing in particular inside the core, just a pitch-black space.......the free movement of Makina's body, and there is nothing suspicious about it. There was nothing out of the ordinary, to the point of being anticlimactic.
　However, the moment Makina's father announced the activation and the inside of the core flashed for a moment, Makina let out a cry of anguish.



　It's a muddy stream of emotions if you want to describe it. Information flowing incessantly into her head........emotions from all over the world. Pain, hatred, sadness, anger.......a tremendous amount of emotions ran through Makina's head.
　
　How much of that would be?　There are billions of "humans" living in the world alone, not only in the present, but also in the past, and if you include non-human creatures, it's a ridiculous number to describe.

　Can a mere mortal accept such an overwhelming amount of information...no, there is no way a mere mortal can accept such an overwhelming amount of information. That's why the divine core protects Machina's body with the enormous amount of magic power that fills its interior. In order to prevent it from breaking........but that is only so that the parts do not break.
　There is no consideration for Makina's pain as she suffers from brain-burning information. Makina holds her head that is about to explode and rolls around in the empty core.

　It was like being painted over.
　There was no longer even the power to speak out in anguish, and yet, while thinking of the sensation that she would disappear in the murky stream of information that never stopped.......Makina thought of her friend who was not here.

...the world is flooding with emotions that are smearing me with ...help ...antsy ... ...)

　The one and only person in the world she could call by name for help.











　On the rooftop of the building in the darkness of the night, Alicia scratched her head as she walked, looking at the screen of her mobile device.

(Hmmm. (Hmm... I know you're trying to make a god and are collecting various materials, but I don't know where the key is. (If I'm going to do this, I should have built a better information network or something.

　She was basically a traveler who toured the world at will, and she didn't put any special effort into gathering information unless it was a global crisis-level problem.
　After all, she was by far the strongest person in this world. Even a haphazard approach was more than enough to deal with the situation, and there was no one in this world that could harm her in the first place.
　At this time, she still didn't have much need of her information-gathering abilities, and she was struggling to gather information about the man-made god.

(Well, isn't that much of a panic?　Considering the materials and such, the best I can make is a degraded Seven Star Demonic Beast at best. To the public, it's probably a threat to the human race's annihilation class, but the amount and quality of materials are too inadequate to create a level of existence that I can struggle with. For now, it's enough to destroy them when they appear?　Well then, I'm tired from a long investigation, and I'm going to get something light to eat at a 24-hour shop, and then I'm going to get a souvenir for Makina--?

　After concluding that, Alicia stretched out with a giggle to relieve the stiffness in her body, she was about to descend from the roof of the building to the city for her evening meal.
　But at that moment her body ... no, her heart pulsed strongly.

''........Hecaton Cale is reacting. Is this something to Makina!

　In Alicia's heart dwells the Hecaton Caille, a mind tool specialized in bonds. That Hecaton Cail........the bond that was spun by that Hecaton Cail is telling Alicia strongly - that something happened to Machina.......

''d*mn it!　Makina!

　Alicia instantly leaps and accelerates, kicking hard through the air as it is. With one step, she rips through the wall of air, and with two steps, she leaves the sound behind and heads in a straight line to the artificial island where Makina is.
　Now, regretting that I had come to the city without Makina at this time........









　 That means, in other words, the completion of the man-made god. Understanding this, Machina's father spreads his hands out with a joyful smile and exclaims.

'At last, ah, at last ... the god is complete!　Finally, the world will be saved!

　The cheers that follow that declaration rise. The man cries with the joyful voices of those who have gathered with him in common cause.
　At long last, at long last, the time to be freed from the sorrow, from the pain that could not be healed for more than ten years, is at long last.

'........Come on, God!　Save us, the world save us!　Erase the sorrow, the suffering, from this world!

　 The artificial god held up a mechanical hand to the man and with a flash of light emitted from it, the man was obliterated without a trace.
　After a moment of roar and silence, the man's companions are unable to think about what has happened, and the artificial god waves his mechanical hand sideways at his friends, who have gone rigid.
　Then a flash of light is released again, and a dozen or so people and several helicopters disappear in the flash of light.

　Breakdown?　Runaway?　No, no. The Artificial God rightly descended as God. And the Artificial God, Makina's father the father of Makina heeded indeed the wishes of his creator and acted to fulfill so-and-so's wishes.
　The plan to create an artificial god was a success. But if there is only one and biggest miscalculation.....................it was too successful?　The God they had created was so divine, even his thoughts. There is no human emotion there, no consideration for the depths of wishes.

　Erasing suffering and sorrow from the world ... is the easy part.

　Just erase from the world - 'all creatures with feelings'.

　If those who have feelings were to disappear from the world, no one would suffer, no one would be sad. The peaceable world that his creator had wished for would be complete...the man-made god concluded.
　Indeed, that may be........salvation in a way. It's not a world that Machina's father would have wanted. But the man-made god does not realize that.
　He only works to accomplish his goal of saving the world.

　The artificial gods are powerful, using all kinds of magical objects as materials, containing shards of the gods that once existed in their cores, and created with the highest technology.
　Even if the armies of all the nations of this world were to unite, they would be able to wipe out all emotional life from the world in just one day.

　And then the artificial god spread his mechanical wings and stopped moving as he tried to flap his wings for the salvation of the world.

'........Weave a bond!　Hecaton Cale!

　Yes, indeed, God is finished. The man-made God was capable of saving the world. If things had gone as they were, the Artificial God would have saved the world as the Creator had wished.
　However, that is........that is if the Hero of Hope - Alicia, who once defeated the Great Evil God of Despair and saved the world, did not exist in this world.

　Clad in light like numerous meteors, Alicia lands in front of the artificial god with a look of anger on her face. Then she opens her mouth with two knives, one white and one black, in her hand, pointing one of them at the artificial god.

''A scrap of iron full of claws, taking in my friends and pretending to be a god.......don't get too carried away, clunker.......Makina will be returned!

　Seeing Alicia declaring that with her sharp eyes, the Artificial God immediately went into an attacking stance. The too fast attacking action might be due to the magical power of the Great Evil God and the Seven Star Demonic Beast that were used as materials in creating the Artificial God.
　I know the magic power even if I don't have the will to do so.

　The flashes of light from both arms, the light of death in the name of salvation that wiped out its own creator and his companions without a trace. It was easily sliced open by the knife Alicia wielded.
　And in the next moment, Alicia stepped in and easily surpassed the man-made god's perceivable speed and cut off both of its arms.

　But that wasn't enough to stop the god. The chopped off arms transformed like liquid metal, instantly creating arms that couldn't be hit. At the same time, the artificial god spread its wings and flew up into the sky.
　It didn't escape. It was trying to intercept Alicia not on a narrow artificial island, but in the wide sky above. A rain of flashes of light rained down on Alicia as she jumped up after the artificial god... but it was also slashed by a knife wielded with tremendous speed.

(Is it the power of one of the seven-star demonic beasts, the Mercury Beast, that regenerated his arm?　(But he's still weak... he's only more powerful than an ancient dragon and less than a seven-star demonic beast.

　While circling around the artificial god, which continues to emit flashes of light from its arms and wings, Alicia's thoughts wandered around the artificial god as she played the attack. As she expected, the power of the artificial god is not on a level that can be called a threat from Alicia's point of view.
　

If you destroy that sphere normally, the connected Makina will be damaged as well...)

　Yes, the reason Alicia was hesitating to attack was the existence of Machina, who was captured by the core. If she attacked the core without a second thought, the damage would come to the Machina.

(But that doesn't mean I can't continue to avoid the attack like this. Even if I'm perfectly fine, Makina's psyche will still be severely damaged...)

　It's not a big deal for the synthetic gods to attack, and even if they continued to attack for an entire day, it would never reach Alicia. But that would not be enough to keep Machina's spirit, which is probably still suffering, intact.
　If that's the case, we must aim for a short term battle, but....

(It's difficult with my current skills to unravel that messy magic combination at high speed and save only Machina unharmed...)

　And after thinking about that much, Alicia smiled with a huff.

(What. I can't do anything about it now?　You can't save her?　It's just the same as it was before, you know.

　There is a strong will in Alicia's eyes. Yes, it's just the same as it always was. She was never born invincible, nor is she an all-powerful superhuman.
　She has encountered and overcome many hardships in the past. That's right, for her, 'I can't do it now' is not an obstacle in any way.

''It's the same as always!　If you can't be 'me now', then be 'me who can do that'!

　With that declaration, Alicia kicks in the air and rises even higher into the heavens. And one by one, the meteors she wears are absorbed into Alicia's body.

'This--this moment--is the ultimate in my heart!　Transcend the limits--Weave the world now!　--Hecaton Cale!

　In response to Alicia's voice, her body emitted light, and when that light reached a critical point.......the sun of hope descended, pushing away the darkness of the night.
　Clothed in a shimmering light, Alicia kicked in the air again, blowing away the dark clouds as she headed in a straight line towards the artificial god.








　Makina's mind, which had been continuously exposed to numerous negative emotions in the dark core, was no longer in a state that could be called a windfall. Her vision, her mind, and even her soul were painted black.
　There was no longer any pain, no room left to think. However, it was terribly cold... Still, the negative emotions that flowed in unceasingly, and I felt just a little bit of fear at the thought that I wouldn't be able to feel even that cold any time soon, but even that was driven away by the many emotions that were disappearing.

　Maybe it would be easier if I just closed my eyes and killed my mind.
　Perhaps that's why the light she felt immediately afterwards........Makina raised her face in the darkness.

(..........light.......warm and gentle.......ah, this is a feeling.......the 'light of hope' ........)

　That light brings warmth to Makina's cold heart, and gradually awakens vitality in her soul.

(Ah, yes ... it's not just suffering and sorrow that fills the world. I learned that from her.......Alicia)

　Straining her trembling body, Makina struggles to reach for the light, which she doesn't even know where it's coming from. I don't know why, I don't have any evidence. But because she was sure that Alicia was at the end of this light.

''........Alicia.

　Almost as soon as the name of hope was spun for her, someone grabbed her outstretched hand forcefully. No, someone, etc........it was obvious.

'Makina!'
'What?　Alicia!

　A strong hand is pulled back, and with a faint floating sensation, Makina is pulled out of the core.

'Sorry, I'm sorry you had to wait.'
No I'm glad you're here.

　Seeing Alicia, whose every hair shines and shines, as if her whole body is clothed in radiance, Makina felt beautiful, along with relief.
　The light that Alicia wore should be quite strong, but it didn't feel dazzling, rather it seemed to convey only warmth. And Makina immediately understood that this radiance was the light that lifted her out of the darkness.

(This glow of Alicia's is a light of hope for the future ... for happiness. It's so warm and reassuring.)

　Reaching out her hand to cling to Makina, who clings to her, Alicia hugs her with one hand and smiles kindly.

The actuality that the captive princess was rescued safely, and if the princess kissed me on the cheek with this, it would be a safe and happy ending, but... well, before that, let's get rid of the junk, shall we?
'What?　Ah........

　When Makina heard Alicia's words, she moved her face and saw a mechanical angel... a man-made god, falling with its core destroyed.
　It hadn't completely stopped functioning yet, or maybe it was trying to reach out and emit light from it while falling. A flash of merciless destruction, different from the light that Alicia wore........
　But before it could be released, Alicia raised the white knife to the heavens. Then with a high-pitched vibrating sound, the light of hope converged on that knife.

''........Piers Hope!

　The light of hope that was emitted looked like a shooting star falling from the heavens, splitting the darkness of night. The shooting star, clothed in warmth and light, easily shattered the flash of destruction and annihilated the nameless mechanical god created by human hands.
　After confirming that the man-made god was completely annihilated, Alicia re-hugged Machina's body that she was holding with one hand in the form of a princess hug and told her in a somewhat light tone of voice with a bright smile on her face.

''How can I say, you're living an aggressive life as usual~''
Hmm, yeah. Yeah. It's a real fairy tale, isn't it?
Do you feel any pain?
No, I'm fine but maybe it's because I'm relieved, I'm a little tired.

　Makina put her hand around Alicia's neck and smiled with a reassuring look on her face. There was pain, there was pain.......but now, yes, more than that, her heart was filled with joy.

''I was really, really, really happy that Alicia came and helped me.''
'Of course. Even if I was on the other side of the world, I would have run as fast as I could because Makina is my best friend.
...yes!

　Makina wanted Alicia to come to her rescue, not anyone else. And that wish had been granted, and Alicia had shown up to help her. I was impossibly happy about that.

''........Alicia.......is my hero (hero), isn't she?''
I'd like you to call me a heroine at least. I'm still a young man in this.......and I'm still a maiden, whether I'm young or not. I demand a change!
Hmmm........after all, being a hero is more appropriate than being a heroine. Because Alicia is so cool. So, the change was rejected.
Oh my God...
"Mmm-hmm.
... ha-ha.

　The two girls are laughing at each other in the sky higher than the clouds. As if to bite into the happiness of being together now.....
　After laughing for a moment, Alicia suddenly noticed something and spoke to Machina with a gentle voice.

''........look, Makina.......it's dawn.
Wow it's beautiful.

　The dazzling sun was shining through the sea of clouds as they climbed. It seemed to bless a new beginning.

''.........Well, anyway, that's all settled. Makina seems to be tired too, so it's time to--
Alicia.
Yeah?

　Alicia almost mouthed the idea of going back soon, but shortly afterwards, her name was called and she turned around to face Makina. Then Makina brought her face closer to Alicia's with a natural, flowing movement.......

''--chu.''

　........on the cheek, a lightly touching kiss.

'What?　Ooooh, abu!

　Completely unexpectedly and unexpectedly, Alicia almost stepped off her feet in the air by miscontrolling her jutsu, but she managed to stay on her feet.
　And then, with an unusually quite panicked look, she shouted at Machina.

''Hey, what are you doing all of a sudden, Makina!
...This is a 'happy ending', right?
....

　When Machina told her with a laugh, with a face like a successful prank, Alicia kyotoned for a moment and then erupted.

''.........Pfft, haha!　You know, I did say that. Yeah, you're right. That's a no-brainer ... happy ending!