Chapter 53

“—Are things all right on this end?”

“Yes, it seems so. That young lad called Arthur is also a Divine Spirit Contractor, and the teacher has arrived as well.”

While watching Hera and Wilhelm being carried by the teachers from above, we continued expanding our magical detection to search for the reincarnated person who had escaped earlier.

We had already confirmed that they were not in this forest, so I expanded my detection range even further.

Not in the Demon Academy either… In that case, I’ll have to search even wider…

I drew even more magical power from my Unique Spirit Realm and expanded the search range further. Up until now, I had only been able to sense things within a radius of about 10 kilometers, but now the range had already exceeded 100 kilometers, and honestly, my head was starting to hurt.

It was only natural, considering I was sensing an area ten times larger than usual, but still… it felt like my head was going to split open from the pain.

My sense of balance was also gradually fading.

“Ugh… This is seriously bad… I’m starting to feel like I’m going to puke…”

“Are you all right!? Just how wide is the area you’re sensing?”

“…100 kilometers… This forest is surprisingly large, old man… You take over…”

“You… A mere human, yet you managed to sense such a wide area… Are you really human?”

“That’s rude, old man. I’m a bona fide human being.”

The old man, who had manifested, gave me an openly shocked expression for some reason.

Sure, 100 kilometers is impressive, even for me, but surely there are others who can do something like this.

In fact, someone like Arthur could probably pull it off with ease. He’s wind-elemental, after all, which makes him skilled in detection.

“Divine Spirit Contractors aren’t human… They are beyond that—oh, I found them.”

“All right, you said something harsh just now, but we’ll deal with that later. First, let’s go knock that reincarnator down.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“More or less.”

With the old man’s guidance, I instantly returned to the Spirit Academy, where the reincarnator was supposedly hiding. Since I wouldn’t be able to use magic anyway, I dashed at full speed without worrying about conserving magic. Even without activating [Thunder Being], I reached near light-speed.

“Old man, is the reincarnator really in the Spirit Academy?”

“Of course. No one can fool my eyes.”

Although I was a bit worried, I activated my own detection just in case… and sure enough, I sensed their presence.

At the same time, I figured out their true identity.

“I see now… No wonder they can use teleportation magic…”

“Did you figure something out?”

“Yeah.”

“But how do you plan to fight them? Once you lose your magic, you won’t be able to win.”

“They said their ability is from the Forbidden Archive—Akashic Record.”

The Forbidden Archive interferes with the laws of the world. However, it’s not omnipotent and cannot be used outside of this world.

In other words—if I take them to a different world, they won’t be able to use their ability.

“—Answer my call, and open the door to the otherworld—Gate.”

Using the magic I had memorized from them, I connected their power to my and the old man’s Unique Spirit Realm and opened the gate to it.

In an instant—the gate to the Unique Spirit Realm appeared in this world, swallowing the entire school building—

“Huh…? Where… am I?”

“We meet again, Louis. Or rather, should I say—the one disguising themselves as Kai through illusion magic, you Original Fanboy?”

Only those allowed to enter—the Original Fanboy—remained in this space. As Louis’s form grew faint, a completely unfamiliar person—Original Fanboy—appeared from within.

Yes—since the moment I killed Kai with my own hands, the protagonist no longer existed in this world.

The Original Fanboy had only rewritten everyone’s memories by using the Forbidden Archive Akashic Record to alter his body with illusion magic.

Louis, now revealed as the Original Fanboy, looked at me in surprise and asked:

“How… did you figure it out…?”

“—It’s the quality of your magic. Just like souls, magic in this world is unique and immutable. It seems you were able to fool even Divine Spirits who can peer into souls with your illusions, but… you couldn’t hide all of your magic.”

The more magic you have, the harder it is to conceal. I’ve already given up on suppressing my own magic, for the most part.

Moreover—when I saw their form earlier, I became certain.

“—Your Forbidden Archive Akashic Record power can’t be used outside of this world, right? If you could, your illusion should’ve broken the moment we left this world.”

“…You’re sharp.”

Even as they said this, they still wore a smug grin, as if they were confident that they were still superior.

“…That smug face of yours… I’ll make sure you can never wear it again—[Thunder Being].”

Though I found their expression unsettling, I activated [Thunder Being] and transformed my body into lightning.

Since this entire space was filled with my and the old man’s magic, when I turned into thunder, the lightning in the space surged into my body, further strengthening it.

“—Fufufu… Hahahahaha!”

However, the Original Fanboy laughed as they watched me.

As if mocking me—as if my resistance was meaningless.

“What’s so funny?”

“No… I was just thinking how foolish you are, challenging me with nothing more than a Divine Spirit.”

“—‘Nothing more than a Divine Spirit,’ you say?”

Even the old man seemed to have reached his limit after hearing them insult all spirits.

The old man—Zeus, when serious—surrounded himself with even more lightning than me and struck the ground multiple times with his lightning staff, the [Thunder God’s Staff]. A surge of blue-white lightning filled the space.

“Foolish boy… Just because you possess the Forbidden Archive Akashic Record, don’t underestimate the Divine Spirits, the protectors of this world.”

As expected of him.

The overwhelming magical power and pressure radiating from his body made the space itself feel heavier, as if gravity had increased. I knew what that felt like, having experienced it once before—it was extremely difficult to endure.

The reincarnator also widened his eyes in surprise and fell to his knees.

“This… Hmm, it seems Divine Spirits do indeed hold some power.”

“‘Some power,’ you say?”

Our expressions grew harsher, and the intensity of our yellow-white and blue-white lightning stormed wildly.

And then—they laughed again.

“Yes. There’s no way I can defeat this.”

—In an instant, a bottomless, dark, terrifying magical energy surged from their body, consuming our Unique Spirit Realm, swallowing the lightning and erasing it without a trace.

“What!? Our world… is being devoured…!? Could it be—a Supreme Evil God!?”

“—Correct.”

At the same time as the Original Fanboy’s words, an Evil God appeared.

Upon seeing it, rage surged within me.

Wasn’t their goal to recreate the original story…!? So why…!?

“—Why are you contracted with that creature!? The final boss who tormented the protagonist—Hera’s evil god, the Void Lord…!!”

The story now reaches its climax.