Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Worlds Connected
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* * *
The moment the flash devoured everything in the world—
Every single Elf, without exception, faced a massive mirror reflecting themselves.
And that was—
"...Huh?"
Even Pibiola, who until just a moment ago had been clashing with ■■■■■ and witnessing him being torn apart before her eyes, was no different.
The surroundings had clearly been pitch black, so it was natural to be startled by the sudden brilliant light—
But Pibiola paid almost no attention to that fact itself.
She had no choice. Something else had captured her gaze entirely.
'That’s...!'
What entered Pibiola’s vision was—perhaps the very origin of everything.
Her mother, Helena.
"M-Mom...?!"
Pibiola rushed to Helena in shock.
Helena warmly embraced her daughter.
"Pibiola."
"Mom!"
The instant she threw herself into Helena’s open arms—tears began streaming from Pibiola’s eyes.
"H-How is this possible? Mom... you’re dead!"
"You’re right, Pibiola."
At Helena’s words, Pibiola cautiously stepped back a few paces and examined her mother again.
...Transparent.
Unlike a living Elf, she seemed like she might vanish at any moment, translucent.
So this place was—
"—This is the entrance to the Spirit Realm."
"The Spirit Realm...?"
"Yes. It’s like paradise, where all Elves arrive after death. You learned about it from me, didn’t you, Pibiola?"
"So this is... the afterlife?"
Helena gently released the embrace—then tilted her head slightly upward.
"Exactly."
"Th-Then, does that mean I—"
"No."
Helena shook her head firmly before Pibiola could finish.
"You haven’t died yet."
"Then how am I here...?"
She gazed at Pibiola in silence for a moment—
"...The love of God."
"!!!"
"I watched it all, too. The wicked false god ■■■■■ who deceived us vanished... and our true god—Lord Igugwoden—descended. All of it."
...Right.
When the false god ■■■■■ disappeared, what she felt was an overwhelming Plain Fact.
A dizzying amount of love, far beyond anything cola or chocolate could provide.
"Thanks to that, temporarily... the Spirit Realm and the Elves’ land have been connected."
"Connected...?"
"Yes. Of course, you’ll have to return soon..."
"Then... we’ll be parted again? After meeting like this...!"
Pibiola shed tears once more.
After losing Helena so pointlessly, how many sleepless nights had she spent crying?
Even now, just recalling that moment made her tremble—or so she thought.
...
...Huh?
It was only then that Pibiola realized.
Only then did she understand what ‘God’s love’ truly meant.
Why she could briefly touch the Spirit Realm.
"You’ve figured it out, haven’t you, Pibiola?"
"Mom...?"
Pibiola looked at Helena’s faint smile and thought.
The reason her mother died—for the pride of the Elves.
A great hero’s sacrifice to save her kin, including Pibiola.
Yes.
No matter how many times she thought about it, that was the only conclusion.
Even though the reality had been... far more pathetic.
"H-How did this happen...?"
"It’s simple, Pibiola. God... simply erased the false god’s traces."
"Y-You mean...?"
Helena had been tricked by ■■■■■ and lost her life in a horribly cruel way.
For a woman who offered herself as a sacrifice for her kin, it was far too miserable an end.
The most tragic part was that her actions meant nothing in the end—just a prank by the false god.
The hateful ■■■■■ had deceived the Elves, toyed with her like a plaything until death, making it no different from a dog’s demise.
Right here.
At this very point, the ‘Plain Fact’ takes effect.
No matter how great a god.
No matter how infinite their power—even they couldn’t revive a life already extinguished.
Neither the loathsome ■■■■■ nor the great Sole God Lord Igugwoden could resurrect the dead—
Perhaps because she faced the Spirit Realm.
It was an absolute truth she instinctively grasped, whether she wanted to or not.
But.
While the ‘result’ of death couldn’t be changed.
The ‘how’ of her death—could be fully reframed depending on perspective.
In the false god’s world, Helena was a foolish, pathetic Elf who died pointlessly—
But in Lord Igugwoden’s world, she becomes a great hero who sacrificed herself for her kin, flipping the fundamental perception.
The two propositions were essentially the same.
The only difference was one thing—God’s gaze, and recognition.
If God deemed it foolish, it was foolish.
But if God saw it as noble, it became a hero’s deed—
"Lord Igugwoden... shared His love with me."
"Such a... thing..."
Pibiola wept again.
Tears flowed relentlessly now, no matter what she did.
"So, Pibiola, you can let go of any guilt about me. I never regretted my decision for even a moment—not for our kin, nor for you."
"But..."
Helena stroked the sobbing Pibiola’s head.
Her body was growing even more transparent than before.
Their time together was nearly over.
"Instead, be proud of me."
"Proud..."
"Yes. I must have made that choice for our family, for the Elves, time and again. Pibiola, when you—"
—Willingly spared me that day.
"...!!!"
Yes.
To save my mother... I relied on that false god I wanted to tear apart.
I thought it was the best option.
But... because I tried to save her.
Because I wanted to bring Mom back... did I summon the false god?
That thought had tormented me...
"Pibiola."
Helena embraced her once more.
"It’s okay."
"......Mom."
"In Lord Igugwoden’s world... those thoughts will fade once you return."
—Because that’s what erasing the false god’s traces means.
"Erase..."
Erasure paves the way for birth.
Before she could fully process it—Pibiola realized.
This was the final moment she could face Helena.
She had no place here in the Spirit Realm.
"...Mom!"
"I’ll... never forget you! You’re the hero who made a great sacrifice for us... Never, ever!"
"I’ll never forget, so please—"
Before she could finish, pure white light filled Pibiola’s vision again.
And—with that, she lost consciousness.
* * *
A miracle.
Indeed, Pibiola briefly reuniting with her already deceased mother Helena was nothing short of miraculous.
But—it wasn’t a miracle witnessed only by Pibiola.
Having lived as Elves meant existing under ■■■■■’s influence.
Thus—to erase the scars left by ■■■■■, every existing Elf experiences a similar miracle under Lord Igugwoden’s love.
This wasn’t overcoming.
It was something far more fundamental—not needing to overcome at all, as perception shifted.
Now, ■■■■■ could no longer influence Pibiola, the Elves, or any being in this world.
The atrocities ■■■■■ wrought with its own divine power were rendered utterly powerless before Lord Igugwoden’s Plain Fact.
Horrific experiences healed by a warm gaze.
Even identical events—changed perception evolves the Elves one step further.
Rebirth—being born anew.
That is the essence of the flash Armageddon spoken by God’s messenger.
2,000,000 power.
The inevitable erasure for birth.
By wiping out the sole being blocking the Elves and Igugwoden—■■■■■—
The New Continent truly submits to Lord Igugwoden.
「The New Continent is Igugwoden’s domain.」
God’s word inevitably comes to pass.
* * *
"......!!!!"
As if receiving divine possession—the Observer suddenly regained consciousness.
She blinked, sensing... that something had changed.
"...This is...!"
...Wind.
It was wind.
The breeze tickled her arm.
The Observer looked around in astonishment.
What spread before her vision—wasn’t darkness.
"!!!!!"
Surrounding the Observer was a flower field.
The sound of a gently flowing river, a massive rock perfect for sitting and resting, and enormous trees dancing in the wind.
The once pitch-black space... had come alive.
Recognizing this as the exact same place was simple.
After all, the pillar of light—the surest proof of connection to God—stood there.
What in the world had happened?
Thinking on why brought one thing to mind—sponsorship.
'Right, the sponsorship!'
A whopping 2,000,000 won—an enormous sponsorship!
Not 20,000 or 200,000, but a full 2,000,000!
An unprecedented massive sponsorship!
Divine power so overwhelming it bordered on violence!
The moment she received sponsorship from Lord Igugwoden, the Observer—most closely tied to the concept—was consumed with digesting that power.
No joke. No record existed of such an overwhelming amount of divine power.
Enduring it alone was an epic feat.
She’d barely held on thanks to the warm blood pulsing through her living body.
The thrum of life held power stronger than anything.
'...Hold on.'
The Observer cautiously moved to a spot overlooking the new world.
What entered her sight was...
"!!!!"
The New Continent.
The forsaken world once linked to ours—visible.
Every living being on the continent recognized.
The entire continent, like our Empire-filled world, lay fully exposed in the Observer’s view.
No longer shrouded in fog, impossible to observe without Erin’s aid—now all clearly visible.
Only then did she grasp what the 2,000,000 won sponsorship meant.
—The two worlds had become one, connected.