Fwoooosh!

The flames spread outward. The fire erupting from Clay’s body engulfed the white liquid entirely, burning it away.

“!”

Crea was no exception. Her form flared crimson as she staggered back, releasing her grip on Clay.

“Crea.”

Clay’s eyes blazed as he advanced toward her.

“You know what Elhaen truly wants from me, don’t you?”

Elhaen, who neither descended to the world nor perhaps even could—what did it desire of Clay?

It couldn’t simply be that it wanted him to resume the role of Hero.

“If Elhaen truly wanted me to keep playing Hero, it wouldn’t have let me die.”

Had Elhaen not forced Clay to the execution stage, matters would never have spiraled so far.

“And yet it had me killed. There must be a reason.”

Clay pressed her.

“Am I wrong?”

“...”

Crea did not answer. Instead, she raised her hand toward him.

“Clay.”

Her voice carried a hint of pity.

“There is only one thing I can tell you.”

And that was—

“That you would have been better off dying without ever knowing any of this.”

Flash!

White light burst from her hand. Clay tried to smother it with his flames, but this was no ordinary liquid.

He could neither block it nor burn it.

The light pierced through his fire and struck him directly.

“Khak—?!”

Boom!

The impact tore through every part of his body, as if his very flesh had detonated. Clay staggered violently.

In that moment, Crea closed in and thrust her hand forward.

At her touch, Clay was hurled across the burning floor of his mental world, tumbling over and over until he finally came to a halt.

“...Absurd.”

A hollow laugh slipped from his lips.

“Can you push me this far even within my own mental world?”

Many enemies had invaded Clay’s inner world before. But never had there been one capable of defeating him here.

It was only natural. He had endured every hardship imaginable and transcended them countless times. No will could surpass his.

Even beings who had lived for eons could not exert their full strength in his mental realm. That was the difference in species, and in role.

Humans were creatures who survived only by overcoming despair. And among them, Clay had borne the despair of all, pressing forward alone toward the conclusion.

That was why he had never lost. Until now.

“Cough!”

But here, in the very place where victory should have been absolute, Crea had struck him hard.

“With such power at your disposal, you still won’t even think of defying Elhaen again?”

“I already told you.” Crea replied, “I am bound. Whether I wish it or not, I can only submit to Elhaen.”

“You could still struggle.” Clay slowly pushed himself up to his feet, “At least while you still have the strength to try.”

“There are times when nothing can be done.” Her voice held a faint trace of emotion, “Our roles are already set apart. No matter what’s said, it won’t change.”

“Is that so.” Clay exhaled a long sigh, “Then let me ask you one thing.”

His gaze locked on her, “Have you ever died?”

He wasn’t speaking of defeat, or sealing.

“I mean truly believed you were dead.”

“Why...?”

“You’ll understand once you do.”

That the things you feared losing most... were in truth the shackles binding you all along.

“I clung to the hope that my comrades would save me until the end. And you—you’re resisting this only because you don’t want your life as a god to end. But I want you to know this.”

Clay bit down on his lip.

“If you leave everything up to others, you’ll never do anything yourself.”

A life where the choice belonged to someone else—such a life could only end in betrayal. Because—

“Everyone makes the choice to survive.”

There was no faith, no loyalty. Only survival and extinction.

“Do you think that if I fall here, you’ll be allowed to continue existing as a god?”

Elhaen had shackled Crea solely for it's own purpose. Her existence now was permitted only so long as she fulfilled that role.

“If someday you stand in the way of Elhaen’s survival, your story will end in tragedy.”

He hadn’t said it to persuade her. Clay only wanted her to understand.

“I will not listen.”

Her eyes trembled briefly before she clenched her fists.

“Even if I fail to kill you here, I will face divine punishment. Ridiculous as it is for a god to suffer such a thing, that is my fate now.”

She met his gaze squarely.

“The only thing I need is to survive, whatever the cost.”

“Just dragging out your existence.” Clay clicked his tongue, “If that’s your choice, I’ll respect it.”

“Thank you.”

Crea lifted her hand once more.

“Then there’s no reason to delay.”

She gave him a final courtesy.

“No malice. We’ve both chosen survival. By form alone, it is better than death.”

“A foolish choice.”

“My apologies.”

Her low voice accompanied the light that enveloped him again.

“From here on, I will return you to what you once were, with my authority.”

Snap!

She flicked her fingers.

♧

Darkness.

Clay could think nothing at all.

The light Crea unleashed coursed through his veins, spreading everywhere. He tried to control it, but his body only stiffened further.

‘Control...?’

A sliver of thought returned.

He realized it—he was trying to break free of the control forced upon his body.

But it was already too late. He couldn’t break free of the pressure.

‘No.’

Clay focused his senses on the mark on his hand. A god far higher than Crea had lent him strength. And yet if he still couldn’t shake off her control, then it was proof he wasn’t wielding that power properly.

‘I need to focus more...’

Just as he muttered inwardly, something suddenly appeared, glowing within the darkness of his mind.

They were memories.

Scenes from his days as a Hero, battling the Demon King alongside his party members—every moment flickering past in a dazzling stream.

The speed was overwhelming, yet each memory was being forcibly replayed in his mind. Clay grit his teeth.

His mind was overloading. He tried to stop the flood of recollections, but it was impossible. Only then did he admit the truth—Crea had completely seized his mental world.

“Crea...!”

He barely managed to force out the words.

“You’re trying to shatter my mind!”

—The opposite.

Her voice echoed.

—I am only trying to restore you.

“This... is what you call restoring?!”

Inflicting pain, breaking him down—how could that be any kind of restoration?

—I was tasked with returning your body to what it once was.

“What...?”

—The collapse of your mind in the process is not my concern.

An absurd answer. Clay stood there in silence, then clenched his fist tight.

“Not your concern...?”

From her words, he could finally piece together Elhaen’s design. Clay realized that perhaps Elhaen had not intended the full result of pushing him to death.

Otherwise, the contradictions made no sense. Killing a Hero, only to demand him again later—it could only mean that.

But no, that wasn’t it.

“Elhaen...!”

Clay’s gaze pierced the empty void as if staring at the unseen god.

“So that’s it?”

The realization made him tremble with rage. Even though he hadn’t heard the truth directly, his deductions alone filled him with disgust.

And yet, toward Crea—who had enabled him to make such deductions—he felt a faint, conflicting emotion. She likely hadn’t revealed this by accident.

Maybe Crea, bound as she was, had tried to explain as much as she could.

And so—

“My apologies, Crea.”

Perhaps it was cruel, but so be it.

Fwoooosh!

At that instant, his connection with the Outer God’s power was complete. Pushed to the brink, his mind focused entirely on the mark upon his hand.

Flames roared anew, spreading in vibrant colors through the darkened void. The world lit up, and Clay finally saw Crea’s figure clearly.

“There you are!”

With a burst of motion, he launched forward and seized her.

“Now it’s my turn!”

He slammed her hard into the ground. She tried to resist, but his grip was unyielding.

—How... how?

“Just because one’s total mental power is overwhelming doesn’t mean you can crush another’s will outright.”

Every mind was a fortress. Defense was always stronger than offense—that principle held even here.

“Your will is too weak.”

No matter how great her mental strength, a frail will limited how it could be wielded.

And will was too vital a part of the mind.

“Resent it if you must. This is your exit.”

Clay summoned flames that burned away the darkness, fire flickering across her face.

“I’ll repay your share as well.”

—Nonsense...!

Crea’s white eyes gleamed as she surged forward through the flames, seizing Clay’s shoulder.

—I will never vanish!

The memories replayed once more. Even within his mental world, Clay felt his body changing. The carefully forged coexistence inside him was fracturing, as if trying to revert to the “original.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Clay’s eyes burned.

“You have no right to destroy and recreate my body!”

—It is permitted by my authority.

Her face twisted under the strain of his resistance, blood spilling from her lips as she gasped.

—You are nothing but a lowly creature. I must survive to raise this world anew with my power. That is my nobility!

“Nobility?”

Her words were not without merit. To vanish here would indeed waste the boundless potential she carried. Were she to endure, she might accomplish greatness.

But—

“I refuse to sacrifice anymore.”

In an instant, Clay’s hand shot to her throat. With one brutal twist, he snapped her neck.

(End of Chapter)