17 - The Day the World Ends

The World of Beasts.

It is a world where enormous forests grow indefinitely and mountains are interconnected.

There live people who imitate various animals.

Dragon God embarked with the Five Dragon Generals into such a world.

"Huh..", he sighed.

When we arrived in the world of beasts, there were more than 10,000 soldiers that appeared before us.

The time is night.

The army of the Beast Tribe was glowing with their bright eyes in the forest.

Surrounding the sanctuary atop the mountain.

It was as if they were waiting for us.

"…"

At that time, we didn't really understand what that meant.

Why were they gathered around the mountain?

Why did they look at us with murderous intent?

I didn't even think about it.

We belong to the Dragon Race.

We are a combat race.

We could only accept the hostility and murderous intent just as they were.

They are our enemies.

They killed Lunaria-sama.

That is why they gathered here to greet us when we came in search of vengeance.

Or, if you looked closer, you could have seen that the faces of the beast people were tinged with astonishment.

It was as if they had been surprised by an unexpected arrival.

However, it was only a slight discomfort, now that I think about it.

"Bring the one who killed Lunaria!" the Dragon God shouted at the astonished Beast Tribe.

It is an angry voice.

A voice that made the five dragon generals tremble echoed throughout the world of beasts.

All the beasts trembled.

They knew they were being confronted by a great and powerful being; they were facing an absolute adversary.

"We don't know!"

Yet, someone did not tremble at the voice of the Dragon God.

A person of the same category as the Dragon God.

Yes, it is the Beast God. He looked different from the last time I saw him.

He certainly has two heads.

But he was not on his white wolf.

He stood up.

Even though when I saw him at the meeting he was always riding his white wolf.

"It's Pudoria!" The Beast God heard the name and gave a suspicious look.

"Pudoria is at your house!"

"He's gone!"

"I don't know where he is!"

"Hide!"

"Do you want to accuse him blindly?!"

"If you don't let him out, I'll crush the entire world!"

"Try that if you can!" It was exactly about that which I couldn't bring myself to say.

If you think about it, it seems that it wouldn't have been a fight if we had had calmer discussions here...

Whether it was a Dragon God or a Beast God, I didn't want to engage in dialogue at that moment.

Find him and kill him.

That was the only thing on my mind.

"Well…"

The Dragon God spread his wings, and the Beast God bared his fangs and held his position.

The battle began.

The battle between the Dragon Generals and the army of the Beast Tribe continued for three days and three nights.

But is it even proper to call it a battle?

The Dragon God dueled with the Beast God, and the five dragon generals crushed all obstacles.

The Beast Tribe is a strong race.

They have a keen sense of smell, eyes that can see during the night, and they can traverse rugged roads without slowing down.

Moreover, they use Sound Magic.

Their magic shakes the enemy's ears and can even bring death.

But for us, the dragon generals, it was nothing.

Their claws, fangs, or weapons are not enough to penetrate the bodies of the Five Dragon Generals, and their voices simply weren't strong enough.

Our kicks to the ground destroyed mountains. Our punches brought down forests. With a single blow, 100 beasts were exploded and died.

It was a massacre.

The Five Dragon General killed hundreds of thousands of the Beast Race.

Or, if we had been more numerous and had colony-like strength, they would have done the same.

None of the beasts could injure any of the Dragon God's Generals.

There was an enormous difference in strength.

The Beast Tribe also had warriors who were escorts of the gods, like us, but they… did not become opponents.

So, while we were crushing the beast tribe, the Dragon God and the Beast God were fighting.

The classification as a race was overwhelmingly higher for the Dragon God, but their classification as gods is the same.

The Beast God was never inferior to the Dragon God.

The two moved so fast that it was hard to tell what kind of battle it was if someone were to ask.

Because of the speed, shockwaves were always generated around them, and the wind produced by these shockwaves created an air current, forming several tornadoes.

The tornado sucked up everything from the earth, which became a sea of blood, and made it rain trees and blood in the world of beasts.

The Beast God's main weapons were claws and fangs. He bit and roared at the Dragon God at a speed that the eyes could not follow.

However, it was not enough to penetrate the Dragon God's scales.

The Dragon God, on the other hand, also possesses claws and fangs.

He confronted the Beast God, tore him apart with his claws, and struck him with his fist.

But again, that was not enough to cut the Beast God's fur or damage his flesh.

It was a situation in which neither side landed a decisive blow on the other.

However, the damage must have accumulated. On the morning of the fourth day.

It was settled.

It was swift for a battle between gods.

Before I knew it, the Beast God was firmly biting the shoulder of the Dragon God.

The fangs pierced the Dragon God's scales and made him vomit blood.

Finally, it was the moment when the Beast God struck the Dragon God with what could be called the decisive blow.

However, that decisive blow was exactly what the Dragon God wanted.

The Dragon God grabbed the right and left heads of the Beast God that had bitten him, infused an entire body of dragon spirit into him, and split him open to the left and right.

He tore him apart.

In two.

Then the Dragon God threw both parts of what was the Beast God to the ground.

A tremendous shock and flash.

The overwhelming dominant current of energy struck the world of beasts.

I was impressed.

It was energy enough to explode not only me, but all of the Five Dragon Generals.

"!!!"

I was taken by surprise, hit the ground, but soon I got up and jumped.

What I saw there was a huge crater.

"..."

The Dragon God crawled out slowly from there.

He spread his wings and emerged into the sky.

And he shouted so that the whole world could hear him.

It was a scream of anger that could not be expressed.

"AAAAAAAAAA…!!!"

That day, all the creatures of the world of beasts were filled with fear and hatred toward the Dragon Race.

■

The Dragon God went insane.

He raged, raged, and raged.

"If you don't leave, I'll crush the entire world."

There was no falsehood in that word.

90% of the animal world was destroyed and disintegration began.

Most of the creatures that live in the world of beasts died.

At this point, it would not have been possible for Pudoria to live.

So much destruction was wrought.

"...Laplace, I'll leave the rest to you."

Relieved to now see the already disintegrated world of Beasts, he then returned to the Dragon World.

He handed me a jewel.

The jewel was covered in blood.

The moment it landed in my hand, I understood that it was a jewel with the power of a God.

If you use it, it is possible to cross the "border."

Let's call it the divine ball.

Probably when the Dragon God killed the Beast God, it was extracted.

"..."

With the God Ball in hand, I was perplexed.

I didn't know what I was supposed to do when I was put in charge and told to see things through to the end.

The remaining people were running in search of a safe place.

However, where is a safe place when this world is about to end?

I can only watch them with pity.

As a result of the Dragon God's violence, the world of beasts was destroyed.

So, is he telling me to run and kill all the remaining people?

No, I was not forced to do that.

The beasts that continued to run in this already destroyed world clearly knew that.

I don't want to die. I want to survive.

However, this world is disintegrating every second.

Their annihilation was inevitable without my help.

I had no choice but to watch helplessly as the world collapsed and people ran to save their lives.

What was on my mind was a question

What is in my heart is doubt. Is it necessary to do so much?

Was it necessary to destroy everything?

The matter should have been settled when the Beast God was defeated.

After all, I didn't know where Pudoria disappeared, but I think it wasn't necessary to kill them all.

I believe there was another way.

The Beast Race is not entirely bad.

I desperately pushed that idea away.

What the Dragon God did.

It must have some deep meaning.

I even thought it was a sin to doubt.

"Good suffering…"

There was someone speaking to me.

He was behind me before I even realized it.

I have no idea when He arrived there or when He was approaching.

After I turned around, there was a god with a memorable face.

Yes, it is a Human God.

"It's lamentable, isn't it?"

He said that as if he had seen right through me.

No, perhaps he really did see right through me.

At that time, His power was still unknown to me.

"It doesn't matter how much you suspect that he killed Lunaria, not all of these people are bad."

"…"

"Most of them probably don't even know what happened.

Suddenly, God is dead and suddenly the world ends.

There is nothing to do but despair. They did nothing…. They knew nothing…"

The Human God stayed behind me, looking at the beast and whispering to me.

I felt as if I was being blamed.

That I did nothing but watch.

I cannot stop this tragedy.

But, it seems it was not so.

After a while, the Human God said something.

"Still, it is very lamentable."

When I turned around, the Human God smiled at me.

"Keep this a secret from the Dragon God, okay?"

After he said that, the Human God disappeared from sight.

Where did he go? Where is he going?

I was thinking, but after a while I realized one thing.

People were fleeing in a certain direction.

A certain direction.

That is the direction Dragon God is going.

Are those guys planning to take revenge on him?

But Dragon God has already gone to the Dragon World.

And they shouldn't be able to cross borders.

But they are certainly going there.

In the direction from which we came.

To a sanctuary that usually surpasses the borders of the world.

Then, the people disappeared into the sanctuary.

Into the sanctuary that should only be available to God.

Well, I could also use it with this divine ball.

Anyway, the Human God moved.

The Human God saved all the remaining beasts.

From the destroyed world to his world… The Human World.

"..."

The Dragon God may have intended to destroy all the beasts.

And as Dragon General, I should have followed that.

Maybe I should have stopped the actions of the Human God.

However, I couldn't.

It would have been enough for me if Lunaria-sama's death were avenged.

I did not intend to destroy the World of Beasts as well.

That is why I am standing still.

I stand still watching what the Human God is doing.

Until the last survivors of the Beast Race move to the Human World.

To be honest, I was even impressed at that time.

How merciful is that god!

He will grant that mercy to the beasts, even if his world is full?

Even if the Beast Race might have killed Lunaria-sama in a premeditated manner.

I do not intend to disrespect the Dragon God in any way.

To me, the memory of Lunaria's death is deeply sad and filled with anger.

However, at the same time, I would like him to show generosity and mercy.

Of course, I did not intend to make such a request directly to the Dragon God.

Even now, it seems that if we consider how the Dragon God feels, it is somewhat inevitable.

But still, I wanted the beasts to receive salvation.

Even if only a few times, we exchange techniques and information.

That is why, please, grant them a little mercy.

But, it was not the Dragon God who granted it—it was the Human God.

And seeing his figure, I truly believed that this god was really trustworthy; I had no doubts.

Not knowing that it was his trick.

Anyway, that is how the world of beasts was destroyed.

■

The few remaining beasts were accepted into the human world.

Only a small percentage survived, and still only a small percentage of the world's inhabitants.

I did not know the exact number, but it was not small.

However, the Human God accepted them as refugees.

In other words, more than 90% of the animals died.

Including the Beast God.

It was the greatest disaster since the beginning of the sixth world.

But such a catastrophe was only the beginning of the tragedy that would follow.