-Loop IV: Necromancer-

It happened on the day that Norn was born. Being W was plotting something. Sylphy had come back crying, and my gut told me Dad was in trouble.

So I had to choose.

Stay there and wait?

Or go and help Dad.

I knew how dangerous Being W was. And I also knew that something could go terribly wrong if I didn't help.

Sylphy was there. She was good with magic, so if something happened with Mom, Mama Lily could direct her to help. After all, I was able to do it, so a genius like her definitely could, right?

...I was wrong.

I saved Dad. We killed the knights and resolved the situation neatly so there wasn't any proof. I even discovered a way to use Healing mana to unmake a corpse and dissolve it into the base materials.

So it was fine. Everything was solved.

But when we got back...

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Sylphy huddling in a corner, clutching her head and cowering.

Mama Lily holding Norn, her face pale.

And there, on the bed... Mom.

She was smiling, so it looked like she was just sleeping.

But she wasn't.

And then...

-RNG-

"You embarked on a quest to discover magic that could bring someone back to life. Right?"

I stared at the person standing across from me.

He was taller than I was. But at the same time, he was skinnier. Slimmer. Although hunched over, he seemed like a tree looming over me. Still at least a head taller.

Considering I was only a little shorter than Ruijerd these days, it meant he was freakishly tall.

And I didn't mean that figuratively.

The man laughed. Tilting his head back, he laughed and reached up to cover his face. As he did, the hood covering his face fell back, revealing his features.

As I suspected, it was me- Or rather, 'Rudeus Greyrat.'

His hair was still brown, although the color had faded to look more like ash. His eyes were also a bright green. But it was an ominous green, like radioactive waste or neon instead of emerald or jade.

He was still fairly handsome. Dad's genes were A+ in that department at least. But it was a haunted look. Sunken cheeks, permanent shadows under his eyes... And while he was laughing, it was with an expression that seemed a moment away from breaking into sobs.

The look of a haunted genius. Tragic, but nothing out of the ordinary.

That wasn't true for every other part of his body though.

His hand that he used to cover his face was pure black, standing in stark contrast to his pale skin. Twisted and gnarled, it looked like the branches of a tree more than a hand.

But that wasn't all.

When he moved his hand, the robe shifted to reveal his body. And when it was revealed...

First of all, the guy wasn't wearing any clothes. But he didn't need to, because the body underneath those robes had stopped being human long ago.

A pulsing crimson orb where the heart should be, one sending ugly pulses of dripping mana coursing through his limbs. Limbs that were a grotesque mass of black flesh weaving in on itself in the shape of a man.

I grimaced and looked back at the guy's face. "You're one ugly bastard, aren't you?"

He lowered his hand and smiled. "I admit that it's a bit flawed in terms of appearance. But I can assure you that the performance is excellent." He held out his right hand, causing it to writhe and swarm like tentacles.

"Ugh." I shuddered and said, "Did you inherit the horny too much when puberty hit? Turning your entire body into tentacles...? I think even Sylphy would get creeped out by that, right?"

His eye twitched and he clenched his hand into a fist. The tentacles wrapped back on itself, hardening into a fist that looked like it was made out of carbon fiber. "You shut up about Sylphy."

"Oh." I smiled and said, "Touched a nerve, did I?"

Witty banter. Sharp words.

"I bet it sucked when she called you a monster and left. No, I bet she went along for a while, but when she saw how obsessed you were, she said that you changed. That you weren't Rudy anymore. Right?"

Rudy's words would hurt Rudy.

Even if that guy spun off out of control, we had the same start. Unlike Rudeus, that guy was definitely an offshoot of 'me.' And I knew what hurt me the most.

"You...!" He grit his teeth, but then took a deep breath to calm down. After that, he smiled and said, "No. It's fine. You're still just a brat. A child who doesn't know how cruel the world can be." He laughed and said, "Though you look like that... Since you just met Ruijerd, I'm guessing you're eight? Nine?"

"Something like that."

That's right. Keep talking while I figure out what the hell kind of crazy things you did with your life.

That crimson orb definitely seemed to be his mana. It looked a lot like how mine used to be when I extracted it to reabsorb it later.

The weird black body though... I couldn't parse it. There seemed to be mana woven throughout it, but it wasn't really 'woven.' If I had to describe it, the mana seemed more... discrete? Like individual grains instead of a continuous flow.

Not impossible, but I didn't understand it. I had a few guesses on how that could work. Maybe creating individual cells and programming them. But how that would work...

No. This was a 'me' at the end of his path. One who looked like he tried fighting Being W and failed... Or just lost everything and decided to destroy the world. Probably the latter.

So I had to assume that even crazy things were possible. Then, assuming he somehow developed the ability and mental capacity to control trillions of individual components...

"There's no need to lie about your age." He smirked and said, "It's not like I'm carding you to get into a bar or anything. Besides, age is just a number to a reincarnator like us, isn't it?"

"First of all, I'm not like you. Still perfectly human unlike the weird virus/undead/corpse hybrid lich you are. Second of all, I'm a proper royal, you know? Rudeus Notos Greyrat, instead of the lowly Rudy Greyrat that you are. Or should I call you 'Rudeus the Grey?'"

A lame joke. Since he was dressed in grey, he reminded me of a certain wizard from a famous story about a ring to rule them all.

But instead of laughing or brushing it off, he suddenly turned sharp, staring at me. Specifically, at my eyes. "...As expected. To be able to enter this lost portion of spacetime, you have eyes to peer into one's past. Did you manage to get it after empowering Kishirika?" He mumbled and said, "Perhaps I should have enslaved her instead of killing her off? It let me kill the Fighting God by using her as a hostage, but if she could give more Demon Eyes..."

"...I think I'm starting to understand what that wannabe superhero felt when staring at his future self."

A radical difference. But not one that I couldn't see myself following.

Rika had said it as well. The Magic God Laplace that I became was ruthless and focused completely on wiping out any and everything related to Being W. That guy had gone full magus and did a lot of unethical experiments to become powerful with 'the ends justify the means' being his creed.

The one in front of me though... who was apparently ACTUALLY called Rudeus the Grey.

He wasn't acting 'for the greater good.' He wasn't even trying to get power to achieve some goal.

That look of his when he had that realization was just simple curiosity. A clinical analysis and contemplation of potential results.

In short...

"You're batshit insane."

Rudeus the Grey...

Actually, he didn't deserve being called Rudeus.

'Grey' looked at me and then laughed. "Insane... Yes. I suppose I've gone insane a long, long, *long* time ago." He let out a crooked smile that stretched *way* beyond how a normal face was supposed to stretch and said, "But that's what happens when you live past the end of the world. I'd be surprised if there was a person who *was* sane after all of that."

Yeah. This guy needed to go. If he managed to get out of here... judging from what I saw happen to the port, we'd be facing a zombie apocalypse. Probably one with various causes.

Definitely no good.

But...

"Just what happened to you?"

A fake disgust and morbid curiosity-

Ah, no. That was real. I didn't need to fake those emotions.

Grey chuckled and then held out his left hand. As he did, a familiar white mist formed. Being W's mana.

...Except it wasn't.

As I watched, that mist became corroded with black-red mana. No, 'corrupted' was the better word. Being W's mana fizzled before turning into a grey mist and condensing into a human skull. One with gleaming red eyes.

Grey looked at it and smiled. "I've been thinking long and hard about this. What happens after death in this world? Is there an afterlife? Would it be possible to pull someone back, or if not, at least recreate the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. Bargaining with death to bring back a life."

"...Because of Eris, right?"

His smile vanished and he nodded. "Because of Eri." He stared at me for a while and then shook his head. "You're lucky. By chance, you didn't choose the path I did. And you avoided the 'Knight' as well. You've even walked this far and didn't turn into the 'Conqueror.'" He laughed and then said, "It's funny, you know? It's as if there's someone helping you. A person behind the scenes giving you little nudges here and there to make you miss the pitfalls by the smallest of margins. That's..." He clenched his hand, causing the skull to shatter. "...It's really not fair. You know?"

"Luck *is* a skill, you know?"

Grey spat to the side and he said, "This is why I hate children. So flippant. So arrogant. It's why I lost everything back then, thinking I could solve it all by myself."

Oh yeah. 100000% edgelord.

And I thought he was just a necromancer, but now that I stared at him...

Mage Sight wasn't pulling anything other than a hazy crimson mist surrounding his entire body. One similar to Being W's.

Did that guy manage to snatch a bit of Being W's powers? It would explain how he found his way here... So I'd have to be careful about that.

I'd also have to be careful about what I said and what I showed off.

Learned my lesson about that from Being W. If that guy managed to recreate a black hole by experincing it firsthand without any theory, a much older version of myself who presumably had decades to study and refine various theories would *definitely* catch on.

The only upside seemed to be that he had hyperspecialized in life and death magic.

'Seemed' to hyperspecialize.

He was still me, after all. Even if an 'alter' instead of proper me. Knowing that, he definitely had a bunch of weird trump cards lined up. ESPECIALLY if he went full edgelord.

While I was silent, Grey kept talking. Staring at my face- No. He seemed to be staring through me, peering at something in the distance. "You're lucky... Yeah. You're lucky. Eri is alive and well. Stronger here too. And Sylphy... She loves you a lot, huh? I guess you must have accepted her after all. Master Roxy too."

I tensed.

He laughed. "Did I touch a nerve?" He reached up and tapped his eyes. "You're not the only one with Demon Eyes, you know? I might not be able to see the past like you, but I can see the present. Especially all the warm and cuddly bonds you share with the people around you." He frowned. "...I'm a bit surprised though. To think that I would have eventually had another baby sister... Thought Dad was just filled with blanks."

"...You seem like a calm and reasonable person." I smiled and said, "You're me, after all. And it seems like you have a grudge against Being W too, right? How about you team up with me?"

Grey looked at me. "Team up? With you?"

I nodded. "That's right. We can work on getting rid of Being W together. And after that, with the both of us, I'm sure we can figure out a way to get your world back and save everyone."

Grey let out a soft smile. "...That sounds nice."

"Right?"

"Mm. If time worked any differently, then I'd agree. But unfortunately for you." His eyes turned sharp and he said, "As long as you're alive, this timeline is the only one allowed to exist. So... Just shut up and die, you brat."

A swarm of black tentacles, lashing out from all around.

"Gah! I fucking knew it! You edgelord!"

I swung my sword and cut through the tentacles before running at him.

The only part left unchanged was his head, so it was probably his weakspot. After all, the human brain was a delicate thing. Even with mana, I definitely wouldn't risk touching it. So...

*tick*

Time slowed down and I sped up. My customized Battle Aura flared, boosting my fighting abilities. At the same time, I swung my sword at his head.

Grey didn't react. And like that, his head flew off with a clean slice, tumbling on the ground.

His body dissolved into black mana, oozing into the ground.

"Huh." I lowered my sword and looked around. "That was easier than I expected."

Did he spec too hard into magic and int? For all his talk about the performance of his body being second to none, leaving such a glaring weakness was-

Wait.

Glaring weakness.

Trump cards.

Crimson moon...

Where was I exactly?

I quickly spun around to look at my surroundings.

It wasn't the port. And I didn't see any signs of Rika, Ruijerd, or Roland and Astolfo.

In fact, all I could see was a murky red color-

Oh.

Oh shit.

*You really are just a kid, aren't you?*

A raspy voice that seemed to echo from everywhere around.

At the same time, the ground beneath me gave way and millions of shadowy tendrils reached out to grab me, preventing me from moving.

*Just be quiet and die. Trust me. Being W can't be killed anyway.*

I struggled a bit to try and break free, but couldn't move an inch. And I knew why now that I saw it up close.

"You crazy bastard... Did you turn yourself into a giant supercomputer to control all of this?"

A booming laugh echoed. *That's right. What was that old meme...? Right. 'Nanomachines, son.'*

Well. This was awkward.

Never expected a version of myself to actually turn into a *moon* of all things. Or to have enough mana to be able to even make that possible.

...Seems like I might be the only 'Rudeus' who *didn't* research the mana drain spell.

But that was fine.

Seeing the crimson moon and recently fighting Being W gave me a better idea.

It would be impossible for a human to match a god or a being with access to so much energy.

Normally.

And I wouldn't normally be able to do it outside of this place either.

But considering the fact that we were technically outside of time, that I had a sword in hand pulled from an imaginary space, and that I was facing a version of myself from a different timeline...

"Hey, Rudeus the Grey."

*What?*

"Have you heard? Multiverse theory's a bitch."

*...What the hell are you- Wait. What the fuck? That's possible?! How the hell-*

"Try not being an edgelord in your next life. Speaking from personal experience, it opens up a lot of doors."

A flash of rainbow light. Mana pulled in from the infinite reaches of space across countless timelines, using imagination to integrate it into reality through the power of a demon and her gifted clairvoyance...

Gotta love the fact that mana is magical phlebotinum.

-RRR-

A flash of crimson light, shooting towards the ground before twisting and piercing the heart.

Ruijerd stared into the eyes of his opponent and sighed. "...You worked hard. Thank you for protecting him."

Silence.

Ruijerd's opponent stared back at him before crumbling into dust.

He shook his head and pulled his spear back before checking in on Rika.

"...Stupid Badi. If you weren't so stubborn about your promises, you'd still be alive. You know?"

No response.

Of course, Rika's opponent wouldn't be able to even if he wanted.

An absolute void barrier trapping him in space. Mana being siphoned out from the body and into that void as long as Rika stared at her opponent. And if that wasn't enough, every single joint had been turned to stone, meaning that a rough movement would cause the opponent to break his own limbs.

Rika sighed.

Her opponent stared back at her before closing his eyes. When he did, his body cracked and dissolved into dust.

Seeing that, Rika closed her eyes, letting the barrier fade.

Ruijerd walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You did well."

Rika materialized a pair of glasses and put them on. After that, she turned to Ruijerd and said, "Hmph. This One knows. There is a reason why Rudy brought This One with him."

Ruijerd smiled. "Of course." After that, he looked around the surroundings.

Roland and Astolfo were still clearing out the monsters, but Rudy was nowhere to be seen.

Ruijerd glanced at Rika and said, "Can you see Rudy?"

Rika frowned and looked around. "...He is not in the area. And I do not see his mana, so- Hm?" Rika suddenly looked up.

Seeing that, Ruijerd did as well. And then when he did, he laughed. "An ordinary human child, are you, Rudy?"

The crimson moon hanging in the frozen starry sky. There, a tiny rainbow flash formed, almost like an iridescent star. But that tiny star grew until it blocked out the moon, enveloping the crimson with its rainbow light.

Then it erupted.

"Gah!" Rika flinched and covered her eyes. "RUDY! You reckless fool!"

From somewhere far above, a faint voice called back. "Sorry Rika! And take cover! It's going to blow!"

"WHAT?!"

Roland and Astolfo immediately flopped to the ground.

Seeing that Ruijerd grabbed Rika and pulled her down as well.

"What are you doing to This-"

*BOOM*

-SNG-

The small sandbox play area at the foot of the Tower of Arcadia. One built specifically for Stella's personal use.

Stella paused in the middle sculpting a tiny robot from the sand and looked off into the distance.

It was just an instinct. A sixth sense that her Onii-chan was doing something ridiculous again.

Ena took her hands off the idealized statue of Rudy she was sculpting and followed Stella's gaze. "Hm? Did you notice something, Lady Stella?"

Sitting on a lawn chair nearby, Eos took off her glasses and narrowed her eyes. "Oh. It seems like Master's finished already." She paused and tilted her head. "Though... Odd. I didn't know Distortions could explode like that. Or be instantly contained."

Distortions... those were the bubbles of contorted spacetime, right?

And Eos nee-chan just said that it exploded and then was instantly contained.

And Onii-chan didn't say it, but from how Ena nee-chan and Eos nee-chan had been acting, it was clear that was the purpose of Onii-chan's trip.

So...

"Nii-cha. Bakamono."

An idiot monster. Yep. That was her Onii-chan alright.

Stella sighed and went back to making her robot.

Now Water, Fire, and Wind weren't earth spirits, but from what Stella saw, you didn't need to match elements to give spirits a body. You just needed one that was suitable. Mostly with magical circuits of some sort.

Stella didn't have that, but Ena nee-chan the clumsy doormat- The nice nee-chan went and got her a few extra magic stones to play with. So...

"Fai. Twy?"

The little fire spirit flew into the robot. And the moment it did...

"B-By the stars!" Ena gasped and clapped her hands together. "A genius! A true prodigy!"

...A red-haired androgynous angel appeared in a flash of golden light and started flying around. "Stella! Stella, Stella! Hey! Hey! Listen!" It giggled and then flew up to hug Stella. "I can talk now! Whee!"

...This might have been a mistake.