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The doors for complete awakening opened, and I overlap the being on the other side with me.

I will become a complete sun from here on.

There will be no thoughts or will in that. I will turn into a mass of heat that eats away at the world one-sidedly.

But I can return to normal. However, I need to make preparations for that.

Right, what’s important is for how long I can maintain this space.

It is not like I can use this power several times a day. There’s the consumption of mana, but the burden on my personality is extremely high.

Using it repeatedly is more taxing than the length I use it for.

That’s why I need to finish him in one try instead of activating it in intervals.

I am fully aware that he is not an idiot that would challenge me without a plan. I could tell with the exchange just now that he also learned well about the traits of my power.

I can smell the scent of that monster from the mana of Ekdoik.

The possibility I can think of is that the Purple Demon Lord might have given him the power of that monster that can endure.

I may have held back before, but the subordinate of the Purple Demon Lord managed to protect the life of Ekdoik. It is possible that he could pull off a similar feat by using that power.

In that case, I should double the amount of time.

No, he said he reached complete awakening.

If it were a body strengthening like Zahava, there would be no point in him not using it earlier. He would have chosen to use that to defeat me before I use my complete awakening.

Also, he provoked me a whole ton.

The power of Ekdoik really must be something that only shows its effects on limited scenarios.

Ekdoik had special eyes to begin with. That’s a part of the ability to alter the laws. It is not something that he obtained on his own but something that he inherited from someone.

There are individuals within the monsters that grow to Uniques and manage to learn special powers by instinct.

Also, thinking about what he mentioned of his upbringing, he must have obtained the power of the monster that raised him.

If that’s the case, his target of fear would be the monsters of the Purple Demon Lord. There’s an extremely high chance it is about devils.

His appearance when he completely awakens will be that of a devil. In that case, it is possible that he will bring out the same output in the powers of the Unique called Dyuvuleori. No, he should be able to bring out even more than that.

I should make the duration 4 times…no, 5 times longer.

It should be right near the limit considering the remaining mana I have.

“…No, that’s not it.” (Ofaro)

I denied my answer due to the faint off feeling I had.

I am the one who will suffer if I mistake how much power to use. Also, I suffered greatly just before fighting Ekdoik.

The face of the annoying man popped in my head.

That man comprehended my power completely, and dealt with it perfectly.

We ended up fighting under equal grounds by the power of Yugura, but he read my calculations completely, blocked me with the bare minimum strength, and succeeded in holding it out until I ran out of stamina.

That man used the method to move heat, took away the heat around himself, and offset my heat by clashing it with his heat. And then, he continued cooling down his surroundings, and succeeded in wasting time until time ran out.

I could have imitated the technique itself. But what shocked me the most was that he completely predicted the time in which I would use the complete awakening.

I don’t care about having lost. What’s important is that he read the moment I would use my complete awakening.

It is simply that man who could read it.

It is easy to just assume that, but the humans have dissected our actions far more than I imagined.

In that case, maybe Ekdoik has already predicted the moment I would use the complete awakening.

I am the one who is at a disadvantage if they have predicted the timing. They can match their distribution of power with the time.

Consecutive complete awakenings carry a heavy load on the mind. The reality is that I would be in a state where I can’t use it immediately.

It would be troublesome if he were to take advantage of that.

Should I take into account whether he has me read or not? Just how much of my power should I use against just Ekdoik alone…?

“—So stupid. Showing myself worrying will only make that man get ahead of himself.” (Ofaro)

The worst result is that he will predict the length and endure it. Even if I manage to kill him afterwards, I would be in a hopelessly bad state.

In that case, I will burn him down thoroughly without thinking about the consequences. I just need to have him despair and think all of that was pointless.

I will deliver the longest time and highest output of heat.

The exhaustion afterwards will be pretty high, and I won’t be able to move into action in order to turn the tables on the war immediately after.

But the only one who would be troubled with that is Black. I can just take my time and rest before going back into action.

This war will be all for naught with the space-time magic of Yugura anyways. He will return to the past and redo it all.

That’s right. ‘That being’ has told me this. There’s no doubt about it.

There’s no being in this world as of present that can stop Yugura. That’s why, after I observe the events that unfold in this world, I will obtain the cooperation of that being to take part in the space-time magic of Yugura, and return to the past.

After that, I will accompany an otherworlder that can become on the same level or stronger than Yugura to get rid of him slowly.

That’s the future that has been promised to me.

That’s right. I can choose.

Doing some annoying battle of wits against a weakling like this is stupid.

I just have to show him the greatness of the sun that will eat away this world…!

◇◇

Ekdoik disappeared together with Ofaro.

Ofaro must have dragged him into his personal world.

From what I have been seeing from afar, their fight hasn’t been bad, but…will the power of Ekdoik work on an opponent that has been awakened completely?

“It is like you are praying? You are not praying to the god that Yugura spread, right, Blue?” (Purple)

“I have absolutely no interest in a religion that was spread when I was dead. But it is true that I am praying.” (Blue)

“Oh, to who?” (Purple)

“To Ekdoik, obviously. Who else am I to rely on?” (Blue)

Purple and I have thrown in our strongest trump card in this battle.

But Purple’s trump card, Dyuvuleori, doesn’t have a consciousness. The one using his power is Ekdoik, so he is the only one we can rely on now.

“If it were me…I guess I will pray to Dear?” (Purple)

“What are you expecting from a guy that has been possessed by Black and is imprisoned? He just caused a war and hasn’t done anything beneficial.” (Blue)

“It can’t be helped though? Who in the world do you think can escape Yugura?” (Purple)

I have heard about the state of that man through Colorless.

His life isn’t at risk, but he has given the control of his body to Black.

It is not like I am saying he is useless. He has turned that mass of unreasonableness that is Black into a weak being, and has also made it so the very personification of out of bounds, Yugura, to not put a hand in this.

This war would have ended a long time ago if any of these two factors were present.

But that should be all he can do. The people of this world must cut open the path ahead.

It is because Ilias and the others understand this that they have managed to not cry about the fact that that man isn’t present and are fighting this grueling battle.

“He wouldn’t be able to do any scheming under the eyes of Yugura. That man has brought about enough results. What’s left depends on the hard work of us and Ekdoik, right?” (Blue)

“So shallow.” (Purple)

“What.” (Blue)

“That man shook my heart without the need for him to fight himself. If he is still conscious, I am sure he is doing something for our sake.” (Purple)

“…Hm.” (Blue)

I don’t want to agree, but I can’t deny it at all.

It is true that it is hard to think that that nasty man wouldn’t do anything.

He definitely has set something annoying, and there’s no doubt we are all caught up in it without exception.

I don’t really mind. Drag us into it all you want. I will be dragged into it while making a displeased face.

That’s why…lend your strength to Ekdoik.

I won’t forgive you if you don’t.

Come on, Ekdoik, your comrade is also lending you strength, so don’t you dare lose.

I don’t have a place to be in a world where you are not present after all.

◇◇

Stagnation appears on the mass of heat. That stagnation continued warping and eventually became a will.

I bring back the memories from the core that has a will, and form a consciousness.

I am…Ofaro. The one who lives as evil, the sun that eats away at the world.

The man that was chosen by that being instead of Yugura.

“—!”

Massive exhaustion came crashing down on me the moment my consciousness grew clear.

The recoil of doing a complete awakening that gets really close to my limit is understandably heavy.

The recoil of having lost my will until now, the feeling of having a consciousness in this world made me want to vomit.

But I managed to do it.

The personal world has been undone and the surroundings have perished completely.

Even the ground has evaporated and there’s nothing remaining.

The body of Ekdoik is not lying around here covered in meat like before either.

The guy that I hated so much has perished without leaving anything behind.

My hatred might have lowered if there were a charred corpse left, but this has its own refreshing factor.

“Hahaha, I don’t even know what kind of trick you were trying to pull. I would be a bit curious about it though.” (Ofaro)

“I see. Then it is worth explaining.”

“?!”

I faced the direction where the voice suddenly came from, but there was nothing there.

But there’s no way it was an auditory hallucination. There’s no way it would reach my ears this clearly if it were.

A faint crack appeared from what should have been empty space.

A familiar hand appeared from that small crack, and it grabbed the empty space through the cracks.

One hand became two, spreading the cracks further and further apart, opening a big hole.

And then, from inside that hole…

“Ekdoik…!” (Ofaro)

“I have reached…what’s ahead of the set sun.” (Ekdoik)

Impossible. What in the world did he do?

No matter what kind of defensive barrier he were to use, it would be pointless in the face of the strongest and longest sun.

He shouldn’t have anything remaining and should have perished completely.

Wait, why did this guy appear from empty space?

There’s no signs of Ekdoik having been bathed by heat. If I had to point out anything, it would be that he has both eyes closed and is crying tears of blood… Wait, could it be…?!

“Did you drag yourself…inside your own eyes?! No,even if you can do that, it was a personal world that I altered the laws of! My heat could affect your personal world! I even grabbed your chains before and—” (Ofaro)

“That’s right, Ofaro. You can influence my personal world that’s reflected in my eyes. But that’s only if it is reflected in my eyes. You wouldn’t be able to reach anything if it is a completely isolated world that doesn’t exist at all.” (Ekdoik)

“What are you… Ah?! Are you saying that you crushed your eyes and destroyed your personal world to tear it away from the laws before taking yourself in?!” (Ofaro)

That’s insanity.

A personal world is a world that exists together with your own mind. That’s why it is easy to alter the laws, and you can unleash a variety of powers.

It is true that, if you can destroy the personal world, it would become a space that’s harder to influence than the real world, but that would be a broken mental world. Your mind would mirror this if you were there and you would definitely break.

There’s no point in just crushing your eyes.

It means he destroyed his own mind together with his world after he connected both his personal world and his own mind.

It is more hopeless than reaching complete awakening. This is not even about the power of complete awakening.

You are not losing your sense of self, but destroying it. That’s just committing suicide.

“I was honestly worried about how to get my own sense of self, but I managed to get the resolve thanks to you.” (Ekdoik)

“Thanks to…me?” (Ofaro)

“Ofaro, even when you are in a completely awakened state inside your personal world, you can still return to your original form by undoing the personal world. You must have cast something to regain your sense of self, right? There’s two precedents, so that’s enough to get the determination.” (Ekdoik)

I heard ‘two’ and remembered the face of that man for an instant.

That man became me.

He erased himself and became me to think of ways to corner me.

Even when he destroyed his own self, if he knows the ways to get it back… No, no, as if I could accept there being something so ridiculous!

“Looks like you know of the one other precedent. My condolences.” (Ekdoik)

“There’s no way that’s possible! I have formed my own magic formula to regain my sense of self! The only one who can imitate this is Yugura! Also, I am sure a resident of this world can’t pull off what that man did—” (Ofaro)

“It is possible. That’s the fear I overcame after all.” (Ekdoik)

“…Huh?” (Ofaro)

“I at first thought that I would become a devil like Beglagud who raised me. But it seems like I already faced that fear when I turned into a demon.” (Ekdoik)

Ekdoik poured mana into both of his eyes and regenerated them.

It is far slower compared to us, but he will be completely unscathed with that.

Even when I unleashed my full power…!

“The fear I had to overcome in order to fully awaken was a single human. A monstrosity that turns his own sense of self worthless, and mirrors the sense of self of others perfectly inside of himself… You should know who that is, don’t you, Ofaro?” (Ekdoik)

The regenerated eyes of Ekdoik open.

His eyes were like bluish purple eyes that would reflect the world like a mirror in the past, but the eyes opened right now were completely different.

Even a dead corn on the foot would have more of a human heart.

Those are the spitting image of that man’s eyes. The man that has become the vessel of Black and is only watching over the fate of this war.

The man that made me go on my knees and brought back the emotions that were deep in my heart…!

“Something like that… Becoming the person because of the fear towards an individual… As if I could accept something that ridiculous!” (Ofaro)

“But you look like you accept it to some extent. You must have gotten involved with him out of curiosity since he was an otherworlder like Yugura, didn’t you? And then, you ended up swallowing a bitter pill because of it.” (Ekdoik)

“!”

It is those eyes.

Those eyes that see through my heart and my past. A lot of things make sense once I get conscious of it.

The abnormally stirred anger when I talked with Ekdoik, and my mind being shaken…! That’s why I was reminded of that man over and over…!

“I won’t step into complete awakening. I admire Comrade, but I have no intention of becoming him. There’s no more cards in my hand. The most I can do is comprehend you.” (Ekdoik)

“…!” (Ofaro)

Ekdoik closed his eyes and his eyes returned to what they once were. But there was a single spear inside those eyes.

It is made from countless chains, a spear of will that was made from altering the laws of the world.

This spear that’s only reflected inside his eyes was certainly in the hands of that man and was being projected into this world.

“The sun may have set, but the glow still remains, right? Let’s finish this, Ofaro!” (Ekdoik)

Ekdoik spread out wings of chains and flew towards me.

He overcame the fear of that man. It is true that the technique of that man is a threat, but that’s not something that brings about direct harm.

Ekdoik had a plan to get through my heat, but there’s nothing ahead of that.

I am still above him when it comes to pure battle power.

I am already releasing heat, but the output is low.

I may be able to eat away his skin and flesh, but it is not enough to pin down the attack of that spear.

I still have a hidden trump card even in my normal form.

I have continued shooting heat beams until now. The enemies have been evading straight attacks due to this, and would end up charging forward with the resolve of being hit.

But that’s a trap I set.

A strategy that makes them think I only have beams for my long range attacks and only heat to deal with close range.

A mass of light that explodes in close range by gathering all the heat in one place.

I should be able to destroy his body even without awakening completely.

“Don’t bark all big for a man that only knows to flail chains…!” (Ofaro)

I shoot a beam with low output to hamper him without losing my calm.

There’s certainly a gap in battle experience. He evaded, matching the shooting of my beam.

But that’s a trap, too.

The light explosion has no preliminary motion.

Now, close the distance filled with confidence.

That moment will be your last—?!

The bundle of chains weaving the spear of Ekdoik was smashed onto the surrounding ground.

The ground around us lost its moisture and turned into sand, drawing a spherical shape. Vision was completely obscured with the impact of that attack.

“A smokescreen?!” (Ofaro)

But I can deal with that!

His shadow should be showing soon within the cloud of dust. But that would be a feint. His true aim would be an attack from behind.

You ask how I know?!

I have already been hit with a similar attack from that otherworlder after all!

Isn’t that right, Ekdoik?! Your way of thinking has tilted to being more like him even if you don’t step into complete awakening!

Yeah, I would have certainly been hit by the attack of Ekdoik if it were a normal circumstance! But too bad!

The man that you admire has allowed me to experience this scenario already!

“! There!” (Ofaro)

A swaying shadow within the sand used to cover my vision showed up in front of me.

I could feel the corner of my lips warp.

I will act as if I reacted to this, turn around immediately, and unleash the light burst behind me.

I have never shaken this much from the feeling of killing someone and winning.

Aah, I am so evil—

“—Eh…?”

I see a spear sticking out from my chest.

I was stabbed from the back? There’s no way…

I turned around and attacked behind though.

I looked back and there was the face of Ekdoik as surprised as me.

“Why did you turn around all of a sudden…?” (Ekdoik)

Ekdoik squeezed out those words within his confusion.

That’s when I understood it all.

Ekdoik simply used this as a smokescreen to deal with the beams, and planned on attacking me from the front.

He wasn’t expecting the light burst.

This wasn’t a recreation of that scenario, but a scheme of that man so I would bring my own demise.

He predicted this situation and defeated me with that method, so that Ekdoik would win.

He made a strong impression of that victory on me to create a lapse of judgment.

That man had planted…the seed of evil. That has budded in this battle.

“What a…nasty man.” (Ofaro)

Ekdoik made a face of understanding after the response I wrung out.

——

-Even a dead corn on the foot looks more shiny. (By a certain Goddess)

-Even a dead corn on the foot shines a bit more. (By Blue)

-Even a dead fish has more beautiful eyes. (By Tedoral)

-Even a dead corn on the foot has more dreams of the future. (By Arcreal)

-Even a dead corn on the foot would have more of a human heart. (By Ofaro) New!

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