Chapter 81

The morning after Yumera 2 appeared.

She sat at the breakfast table with a normal expression. It was too familiar. If she had fully utilized her abilities, she wouldn't have been pushed to the brink of destroying the world.

Then, 2 said in a tone as if inviting her to go shopping.

"Got time after this?"

"Sure, but... what for?"

"Just a bit."

What could it be? Since she had no plans for what to do next, it was a relief to be consulted by 2. But from the atmosphere, it didn't seem to be anything serious.

"Where do you want to talk? Should Patrick be there too?"

"Hmm... I think a slightly larger place would be better. Maybe it would be good if the Margrave's guy is there too."

A larger place? Does that mean it's a topic that might turn into a fight? I can't really predict. No matter what we talk about, it seems like one of us will end up throwing a punch in the end. Well, then the garden of the mansion will do.

As soon as breakfast was over, we went outside, leaving Eleonora, who wanted to go with us, at home. It seemed that Ryu hadn't returned from his morning walk yet. I think he'll be back soon.

In our rather spacious garden, there were chairs and a table that we rarely used. They looked like something you'd find on a café terrace.

"Shall we sit and talk?"

"No, I think we'll be standing up soon anyway."

Oh? Is it going to be a fight? A fight?

We faced each other at a certain distance. Patrick was beside me, and strangely, it was the same setup as our first encounter.

Alright, let's hear what 2 has to say. Depending on what it is, it might turn into an immediate brawl.

"Do you know why I came to this world?"

"Of course."

"To reiterate, I came to this world because I have a job for you."

"Uh-huh."

"I thought I'd get it done."

I held my breath.

Her purpose was to kill me and unlock the level cap. So... I had a feeling deep down that a fight with 2 was inevitable.

"Even if it comes to that, I thought it would be a bit later."

"Being too cozy and familiar won't do you any good, you know?"

"Maybe... but"

Still, it's painful to fight her. 2 and I had argued and fought many times yesterday, and she left me without any clothes... Hmm? I can totally fight her. In fact, I'm getting more motivated.

Considering the potential damage to the surroundings, the garden of the mansion isn't a good place. But, oh well.

"Shall we start then?"

"Yes, but—"

First move wins. 2 is saying something, but I don't care.

I kicked off the ground and accelerated, closing in on 2.

"Let's take down that annoying evil god, shall we?"

"Huh?"

By the time she finished her line, my fist had already struck her cheek.

Caught off guard, 2 received the... no, not the Yumera Punch... or should it be the Yumera 1 Punch? No, the Rider Kick is a Rider Kick, so it's fine to call it the Yumera Punch. ...Anyway, she was hit squarely and sent flying.

2 said something, but I ignored it. When I showed my stance for a follow-up attack, Patrick stopped me.

"Hey, Yumera! Stop it!"

"Don't stop me, Patrick! We're destined to fight! There's no other choice!"

"No, that's not it. She was saying something, you know?"

"......Really?"

Could it be that the battle setup was just my misunderstanding? But 2 did say she wanted to get her job done... It's a mystery. The person who can solve this mystery is now standing up, swaying slightly.

"Maybe it's better to kill you first."

"Ah, if you don't intend to, there's no point in fighting."

"You're the one who started it, so what's with that attitude!?"

Yumera 2 said, and she turned her hand towards me.

In an instant, a dense, dark magical power overflowed. Ah, here it comes.

"Black Hole"

Most of my body was enveloped by a pitch-black sphere.

In the next moment, I would disappear along with the black sphere... if I hadn't moved.

The Black Hole attack consists of two stages: the appearance of the sphere and its disappearance. Even though it happens in an instant, there is a time lag between the start and completion of the attack.

What I'm trying to say is... I can easily dodge it after seeing it.

"Phew"

I kicked off the ground and flew into the air, twisting my body to escape the range of the Black Hole.

I was surprised. It's easy to dodge, but being hit by an instant-kill spell is bad for the heart.

"Huh... How are you still alive?"

"Huh? I just dodged it."

"Nobody can dodge it, you know? You—"

Her words were cut off.

Patrick rushed out and pointed his sword at 2's neck.

"Don't move. I'll cut you if I sense any magical power."

"Huh? Patrick? Why are you suddenly so aggressive? You were the one trying to stop us before."

"Because Yumera was just about to be killed."

Being about to be killed, Patrick is exaggerating. He could have dodged it easily too.

"Don't make it such a big deal. You could have dodged it too, right?"

"Black Hole is impossible to dodge. You can't predict its range."

"Just move after you see it."

"......That's impossible."

What, really? Could it be that Yumera 2 really came to kill me?

I doubt it. Even if it hit me directly, I wouldn't die.

"My head was outside the Black Hole's range, right? If my head is safe, I think I can regenerate with a healing spell. I've never tried it, though."

"......Can you use magic with just your head?"

"I can't say for sure without experimenting... Ah, I always wear a protective charm, so I shouldn't die."

Why am I defending 2? Arguing with Prosecutor Patrick about whether she had murderous intent is too futile.

Then, the defendant, Yumera 2, spoke.

"I used magic with the intention to kill."

After I tried so hard to defend her, she confessed.

Hmm, it's not like I would die from that. Is 2 just trying to act tough?

For some reason, the two of them were in a tense standoff, so I decided to mediate. It's rare for me to be in this position.

To get him to lower his sword, I grabbed the part of the blade that was easy to hold.

"Come on, lower it. It won't cut like this."

"Hey, if you grab it there... Oh, it doesn't cut."

Patrick looked at the sword and muttered that it was a good quality one. I think a sword and a club are the same strength, so I don't mind if it's not sharp as long as it's sturdy. Cheer up.

However, it was strange that Yumera 2, who was told not to move, obediently stood still.

"Why didn't you move?"

"I thought I'd be cut if I moved."

"But it's not that easy to cut through a body."

"That's only true for you."

What? I was betrayed by someone with the same Yumera defense. I see. It was a life-or-death situation. I didn't notice.

Well, since I started the fight, I should listen to what 2 was trying to say.

"Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding. You were about to say something..."

"Right, where should I start... From your reactions, it seems like my purpose is misunderstood."

"You're trying to defeat me to unlock the level cap, right?"

"That's what I thought just now, but it's a means, not the purpose."

"What do you mean? You said your purpose was me, right?"

"Yes. I came to meet you."

"Oh, that's it."

Thinking back, 2 said she came to this world for me, but she never said anything about defeating me.

So, what was her purpose for coming to see me, crossing worlds? It can't be something trivial like wanting to see her parallel self.

Finally, Yumera 2 revealed her true purpose.

"As I was saying... I came to this world to defeat that annoying evil god. I can't beat it with my current strength. I was considering whether to defeat you to get stronger or to ask for your help... But seeing you dodge the Black Hole, I don't think I can beat you."

The conversation is taking a strange turn again. What's this evil god? But more importantly...

"Why didn't you say something so important first!?"

"I thought you knew."

"How could I know?"

"Because you said it. 2's purpose is me? ...So, I thought you understood the situation and didn't say anything."

Oh... 2 is really bad at communication. No wonder there are misunderstandings.

I see. She needs a fighting force to defeat the evil god. Evil god? I have a suspect in mind. He should be watching us from the shadows, so I called out to his feet.

"Ryumn-kun, are you there?"

"......She's not talking about me, you know?"

After a moment, a black-haired boy appeared from my shadow.

The god of darkness, Ryumn, denied it, but I should ask 2 just in case.

"Is this kid not the evil god?"

"It's not this one. This one is the resisting god."

"Ryumn-kun is pretty annoying... or rather, suspicious."

"The evil god is even more annoying and suspicious."

If it surpasses Ryumn, this evil god must be quite something. I really don't want to meet it.

Ah, right. The Ryumn from the parallel world was defeated by Yumera 2. He couldn't have been the one I couldn't beat. Sorry for doubting you.

Ryumn, who appeared from the shadow but was too wary of Yumera 2, hid behind me.

"Huh? If Ryumn is the resisting god, who is the non-resisting one?"

"I don't know their name. They said they came to stop me, but they didn't even show any signs of fighting. A white-haired goddess."

"White hair? Does she shoot a beam from her forehead?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Huh? Is she talking about Sannon?

However, it's hard to imagine Sannon not fighting, and it's strange that she wouldn't shoot a beam from her forehead. Ah, if she didn't resist, she wouldn't shoot a beam.

I was getting tired of the appearance of a new god on top of the evil god, but Ryumn spoke up.

"That non-resisting god is Sannon."

"Oh, that one is the god of the Sannon religion. Seriously, she should at least say her name."

"She shoots a light attribute beam from her forehead. If you get hit directly, even I'm in danger."

"Even you!?"

Why didn't Sannon fight?

I turned to Ryumn, who apparently tried to form an alliance with her in the parallel world but was rejected. He shook his head and said,

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Sannon herself?"

"Alright."

The conversation went off track.

Now, the evil god is more important than the battle between Yumera 2 and the gods that has already happened.

"What is this evil god? What does it look like?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"It's blurry... or rather, it's visible but I can't recognize it."

Is it even real? Is it just 2's hallucination?

Noticing my skeptical gaze, she quickly spoke about the evil god.

"I met the evil god around the time the prince defeated the demon king. That is, around the time I decided to destroy humanity. It said I would die if I stayed as I am, and that I needed to get stronger."

"Did it give you power?"

"It didn't give me anything. It just taught me an efficient way to level up."

"What's that!? I'm curious, I'm curious."

What kind of level-up method did the god teach? It might be useless knowledge for me, who is already level 99, but I want to hear it for future reference.

"Defeating dungeon bosses solo... and other crazy methods."

"Isn't that normal?"

"The evil god only taught you your method. Ha... When I first heard it, I thought the person who came up with it was crazy, but it was true."

"......I don't want to be called crazy by someone who wants to destroy the world."

I think anyone would come up with that idea. Logically, it's better for one person to get all the experience points rather than multiple people splitting them.

The other methods are also things anyone could think of. It's just that no one actually does them.

Anyway, the evil god must be real. There's no way 2 could know my level-up method on her own.

"Ah, the ability to move between parallel worlds is also from the evil god, right?"

"Yes. The evil god's goal is to obtain strong pawns. It told me to come here and defeat you to raise the level cap."

I see. The evil god. The mysterious force pulling the strings that Ryumn mentioned must be this evil god.

A higher existence than Ryumn and Sannon. A god that manages countless parallel worlds and is not bound by the level 99 limit. Moving between worlds would be a piece of cake for it.

Thanks to the information from the evil god, 2 became stronger than the other Yumeras and brought the world to the brink of destruction. She came to this world to become even stronger.

The reason she could defeat Alicia and the others, unlike the other Yumeras. The reason she could move between worlds, even though Ryumn couldn't. The unclear points are finally coming to light.

As I organized the information in my head, Patrick spoke up.

"But you don't intend to defeat Yumera, right?"

"I won't be a subordinate of the evil god."

"Will the evil god... allow that?"

"It won't. That's why I'm asking for your help, bowing my head like this."

Looking at 2's head, which didn't even slightly bow, I thought.

Even if I cooperate with her to defeat the evil god, what happens after that? Her world won't return to normal, and there's no benefit for me.

I have no reason to fight. I'm not against helping 2, but if it's just for her to vent her frustration, I don't have to go along with it.

"What will you do if I say I don't want to cooperate?"

"That's not an option."

"Not an option?"

"That suspicious evil god is listening to our conversation right now. It will realize it's been betrayed and try to get rid of me. And it might also try to get rid of you, who are so difficult to handle."

"Don't drag me into this!"

Aside from being evaluated as difficult to handle by the evil god, it seems I've been dragged into a situation where I have to fight. 2 is definitely the villain, yeah.

"The evil god is the one who's fine with the world being destroyed. Wouldn't it be better for you to take it down?"

"Even so, it's hard to take advice from the one who destroyed the world..."

This is bad. It's the first time I have to fight someone stronger than me.

It's also a mistake that I can't imagine the evil god's strength. Even if it exceeds level 99, there's a big difference between 200 and 2000.

First, I need to analyze the enemy's strength. I questioned Yumera 2.

"How strong is the evil god? A rough estimate is fine."

"I don't know. I've never seen it fight. It seemed to hold back its power."

Ugh. Thanks for the completely useless information.

No matter how much it holds back, it will probably use its full strength to eliminate traitors.

Leaving the useless 2 aside, I turned my gaze to Ryumn.

"Do you know, Ryumn-kun?"

"......No matter how strong you are, you can't beat it. As long as you're bound by the level 99 limit, you can't win against it. This world might be over. Haha."

Ryumn's dry laugh and dead eyes confirmed the dire situation. The god of darkness, but his eyes had never lost their light to this extent. It's that serious.

There's too little information about the evil god. The place and equipment are not optimal, so I suggested to 2 to postpone the battle for now.

"Can we postpone it a bit? It's not that I'm afraid of losing. I'm stronger."

"No. I told you, it's watching us. Look, it's there. Come out."

She cut a defiant stance towards the void.

Ryumn immediately dove into my shadow. Ah, he ran away.

My wish that the evil god wouldn't appear was in vain. The space rippled as it did when 2 appeared, right near us.

Everyone, you're way too into middle school girls. I'm grossed out.

Everyone who claims to be a middle schooler online is an uncle. I'm an uncle too.