At first, I hesitated a little, wondering how I should even explain the situation to Dercia.

"Jern? I heard you went to capture the assassins who hunted the Knights…”

But the moment she saw Agnes in my hand, her face twisted into that of a wrathful demon, and she let out a sigh of relief.

As expected, even in the body of a bird, my master could still recognize one of her own kind.

Though it didn’t seem like a very positive reaction.

"...Agnes. The worst assassin who was executed when I was young… There is no way you could still be alive. You should have been erased in front of that tree. What trick did you use?”

Dercia stared at Agnes in the cage with wide, disbelieving eyes.

If she used the word "erased," it didn’t sound like they were simply killed, but Agnes just clicked their beak against the cage and replied mockingly.

"They thought I only devoured humans.”

"..."

Dercia’s expression filled with even deeper disgust. Seeing that I didn’t understand, she tossed the cage onto the desk and explained.

"They devoured another elf and used them as a substitute before being erased. We saw the elf’s soul disappear and were completely deceived. No matter how far they’ve fallen, to sacrifice another elf…it's beyond reason.”

"...So killing humans is fine?”

"No. Even if their lives are short and fragile, taking a life meaninglessly is a sin. Humans may prey on animals, but they don’t burn down entire mountains just to hunt, do they?”

So we were like wild animals, huh?

Unable to come up with a response, I stayed silent as Dercia pulled a fountain pen from her coat.

"At least you brought them in, Jern. That’s fortunate. I’ll execute them.”

"Wait."

Just like when I caught them, Agnes immediately tried to bargain for their life.

"If you have last words, keep them brief.”

"I know a secret that neither you nor your disciple are aware of, something that will surely shock you. I’ll tell you in exchange for my life.”

Staying true to their nature as a damn elf, they hadn't told me anything. Go figure.

Dercia shot me a glance. It seemed she wanted to hear them out first. I nodded.

She tucked the pen back into her coat, crossed her legs, and tilted her chin.

"Choose your words wisely. My master isn’t merciful. You might actually get roasted.”

"...It would be better to speak to you instead. Your world, the Abyssal Sea, is no different from the world we live in now.”

"Ah, I know. I’ve heard that much already. It doesn’t really mean much to me.”

One of the Three Calamities was the Abyssal Sea, and another was the world we live in.

Honestly, it was the kind of thing you just go ‘Oh, okay’ and move on from. Seeing my unimpressed expression, screaming, ‘If that’s all, your bird life is over,' Agnes chirped in irritation.

"I can roughly guess what you’re thinking. Your Abyssal Sea and this world are so different that even if you know it, you can’t really accept it.”

"That’s kind of true, I guess.”

"The reason your Abyssal Sea and this world differ is because all ‘possibilities’ have been removed.”

"...Possibilities? What are you talking about?”

"Originally, there existed possibilities in this world that could turn any place into a type of hell. Enter a forest, and unseen branches might strangle your neck. Fall asleep in a cave and the exit might be sealed when you wake. Step into sunlight, and your skin might melt. Step on the ground, and it might collapse beneath you. There was an era when such things were considered normal.”

Agnes muttered as if recalling a distant memory.

The possibilities they were speaking of each seemed to describe a Fallen’s world.

"Consider this. If one existence, lamenting the fact that only a handful of beings could exist in this situation, chosen through the most brutal survival of the fittest, gathered all possibilities that could take lives and erased them—what would such a being be called?”

"A creator? A god, I suppose."

"Yes. Our creator deemed all worlds false and severed them from reality. As a result, life, including elves, was able to take root. In exchange, that god lost their omnipotence. The world became beautiful but incomplete.”

Only then did their words align with what Great Void had said.

"So the god is the First Mage, and wizards are those who inherited their blood…”

"That is why only wizards can come into contact with the world they separated.”

I had already grasped parts of that from my conversation with Scarlet Abyss, but now I understood the exact mechanism behind it.

Even after seeing my unimpressed face after hearing all that, Agnes continued, now speaking about the Abyssal Sea.

"However, even the being who created the world could not touch two of the worlds. Those that you call the Three Calamities. The land became the real world. That left the sky and the sea. And those were left untouched.”

"...Why?"

"You should know better than I do. The Abyssal Sea itself is a possibility that rejects life. Those who fall into it cannot survive. If that were removed, the Abyssal Sea itself could not exist. The god was not omnipotent enough to erase something that already exists…or perhaps there was another reason.”

They shrugged, as if even they didn’t know.

"What matters is that the Abyssal Sea and the sky were left alone. Those who fell elsewhere survived as ‘Fallen,’ but those who fell into those places were never even given a name. A single possibility is enough to kill a trained wizard, so how could anyone survive in a place where thousands, tens of thousands of possibilities exist?”

"..."

"A Fallen formed purely from the possibilities of the Abyssal Sea would surpass all the Fallen in the Empire combined. That is why the leader of Scarlet Abyss is abnormal. He is the only one who ascended into the sky and still survived. And from that moment on, everything was over.”

"What? What do you mean ‘over?’”

"This world."

Agnes declared the end of the world as if it were nothing.

"You’ve done well for a human. But—Scarlet Abyss’ leader is simply different.”

"I don’t care how absurdly strong he is. If I were going to give up over something like that…”

"No, that’s not what I mean. I'm not talking about mere strength. Strength always allows for variables. The problem is that the creator’s intent has been completely derailed.”

Thinking they were just talking about Great Void’s power, I frowned, but to that, they just let out a dry laugh and continued.

"Think about it. Every creature in your Abyssal Sea is monstrously strong. Why do you think that is?”

"Well, because if they weren't, they’d die.”

"Exactly. Environmental pressure made them that way. Living under thousands of tons of pressure at all times in cold, pitch-black waters where you can’t see even an inch ahead, having to evade predators while hunting prey. That extreme environment forced life to evolve. The creator did the same thing. Leaving Scarlet Abyss alone was exactly that.”

"...? What? Why? Wait, they knew about Scarlet Abyss?”

That creator bastard knew about them and didn’t wipe them out?

The world was on the brink of destruction because of them, so what kind of nonsense was this? As I stared in disbelief, they continued.

"Environmental pressure. One cannot reach the extreme through peaceful research alone. In fact, they wouldn’t even aim for it. The greatest enemy would become the greatest teacher.”

"That just sounds like some insane grinding logic.”

I mean, sure, they made the real world, so who was I to argue, but their method of creating a successor was brutally crude.

It made them appear less like a god and more like a tyrant forcing others to their limits.

"The creator remained in this world for only a very short time. From the moment they created it, they knew they had less than a few hundred years left to live, and there was far too little time to prepare. Of course, they didn’t act without thought. In case Scarlet Abyss turned out stronger than expected, they created things like Divine Relics, along with various other safeguards.”

At that, I glanced at my robe. It didn’t seem all that helpful, honestly.

"However, none of it mattered. Something happened that the creator had never anticipated.”

"I wasn’t expecting omniscience, but for a god, they sure missed a lot.”

"I’m not making excuses, but this was unavoidable. Who could have known that the leader of Scarlet Abyss would be the first to reach the Heavenly Realm?”

The Heavenly Realm.

The original name of this world—just like my Abyss Realm’s true name, was the Abyssal Sea.

But the way Agnes used it didn’t seem to carry that meaning.

If it meant something else—

"Repeat that."

Dercia, who had been silently listening until now, spoke up for the first time.

She didn't look pleased. More than usual.

"Explain that in more detail.”

"What is there to explain?”

Agnes let out a bitter chuckle and elaborated anyway.

"Great Void, that man reached the extreme of magic and became the guardian of this world, just as the creator intended.”

Hmm.

Seeing Dercia slowly sink into her seat with a blank expression…

...It seemed Agnes had truly kept their promise.

* * *

The Heavenly Realm.

A state where it meant nothing whether one had 9 or 10 stars shining in their eyes.

Because a mage who had reached the Heavenly Realm could create a world with a night sky filled with more stars than one could count.

Unable to bear looking at Dercia’s shocked expression, I turned back to the cage and threatened Agnes.

"He’s a Fallen, right? If he’s a Fallen, what does it matter whether he reached the Heavenly Realm before or not?”

"This is why humans are so… You don’t understand what it means to reach the Heavenly Realm. It’s not simply a matter of higher rank. It means they can shape the very concept of magic however they please. He may have even made it so that no one can ever reach that realm again.”

"..."

If that was true—

Then even if Scarlet Abyss were defeated, the world would still collapse, having no Heavenly wizard left to sustain it.

The condition for victory was completely gone. Now it was just either lose or lose more slowly.

Faced with such an absurd choice, I couldn’t even respond. Agnes clicked their beak, almost in amusement.

"I’m more surprised that you didn’t know this.”

"...Really? I’m more confused about why you’re so calm. The world’s about to end, and you’re not worried at all? Did you live too long to fear death?”

"Not fearing death is one thing. Wanting it is another. If I wanted it, I would have killed myself when you captured me in this humiliating form. I’ve always struggled to survive.”

"What?"

“Why do you think I’ve always pursued strength? Why do you think I devoured Knights, assassins, wizards, and even Fallen to grow stronger? Just to kill a few nobles?”

"...Don’t tell me—”

"I act so that even if everything goes according to the will of Scarlet Abyss’ leader and the world returns to its primordial state, I will still survive. Even my interest in the Fallen was simply to obtain them through you without provoking Scarlet Abyss.”

Agnes had known all of this for a long time and had been strengthening themselves alone, over and over, just to ensure their own survival.

As I wondered what the hell I should even do with this lunatic, it started squawking.

"So, are you going to keep me locked up like this? Remember that I cooperated with you to the best of my ability, and that keeping me imprisoned is meaningless. Let me go, and I will never attack Knights again.”

I looked back and forth between the cage and Dercia, who still seemed stunned.

If everything Agnes said was true—

'There’s no way to turn this around…'

From the very beginning… From the moment Great Void reached the Heavenly Realm, everything had already been over.

At this point, I didn’t even understand why Scarlet Abyss had started moving. If things were this far gone, couldn’t they have just done nothing?

As I turned over possibility after possibility, something strange hit me, and I hesitated.

...It wasn’t as shocking as I expected.

Checkmate had already been called, and the executioner was walking toward me with the blade raised, and yet I didn’t feel like death was approaching.

Was I losing my mind? It was clearly strange, and as I tilted my head in confusion, a deep-sea creature swam past near my head.

Only then did I realize what was going on and let out a sigh.

"Well…from my perspective, nothing really changed.”

"?"

Agnes titled their head.

But what I said was true. Whether I defeated Scarlet Abyss or not, my situation wouldn’t improve.

If what they said was true, then even in the primordial world Scarlet Abyss wanted, the Abyssal Sea would still be a horrific place—

And I was already there with no way out.

Thinking that, I actually let out a light laugh. I opened the cage and grabbed Agnes.

"Well, if everyone’s going to die anyway, I guess it doesn't matter if I roast you over a fire first. Might as well find out what elf tastes like before the end.”

"What more do you want? I’ve told you everything.”

Perhaps sensing the tone of negotiation in my voice, they sighed but showed willingness to comply.

"You said earlier the creator left behind other safeguards beside the relics, right?”

"Yes. But they’re practically meaningless. Even the most threatening relics ended up like that…”

"I’ll be the judge of that—”

A fight where my life was on the line.

A fight where the fate of the world was on the line.

Either way, it didn’t make much of a difference to me.

"So tell me everything.”