Hey.

A casual greeting, completely out of place in the jet black, was heard.

In response, I stared intently at the person. A natural cave in the mountains. There shouldn’t be any humans other than me in such a place.

But the one in front of me… no, this one isn’t human. I could say that with certainty.

Because–

“……Who is this guy?”

Even Garuku let out a voice of astonishment.

The being that appeared before me. It was–

“My apologies, I don’t have a fixed form, so I used your existence as a substitute.”

–His clothes, his features, everything was identical to mine.

“It doesn’t seem to be a Monster either.”

“I appreciate your quick understanding.”

The person speaking with a smile–should I call him ‘he’? It made me feel as if I were having a bad dream.

However, as I observed the being in front of me, its true identity gradually became clear.

He held a special kind of magic power.

“It’s a mysterious magical power.”

—The War with the Demon Lord. During that conflict, he was discovered in the Angel Ruins, possessing a magic power that even spirits struggled to comprehend. He existed, imbued with that very power.

“No, there’s no particular reason why I decided to talk to you like this.”

He spoke, raising both hands as if joking with the wind.

“I occasionally peek into this place, but, as expected, it’s always just darkness. At most, there was that Dragonkin you just defeated.”

“…You are…”

“From the look of it, have you figured out who I am?”

He spoke with a smile. It was my own smile, yet it felt endlessly unsettling.

“Lord Ruon, this guy is—”

“Stop talking in your head and come out, Spirit God.”

Garuku had never appeared outwardly, but this guy in front of me clearly sensed his presence. Garuku then reacted and appeared on my right shoulder.

“What are you?”

“I can’t possibly answer that. From your expression, it seems you know a little, Book Person.”

A knowing smile—for a moment, I wondered if he could read minds, but no. At least, this guy in front of me didn’t seem to be doing anything to us.

“Don’t be so suspicious. I’ll tell you, the information I have about you isn’t much. It’s just hearsay, after all.”

“Hearsay…?”

“Yes, hearsay. I’m not mind-reading you. It’s from someone else.”

Upon hearing those words… I came to a conclusion.

“Nefmeiza, is that it?”

“Correct. To put it so the Spirit God understands, I am an entity assisting someone named Nefmeiza.”

“Assisting?”

“Even so, Nefmeiza the Book Person doesn’t know about me.”

“Time Reversal Magic.”

When I stated it definitively, the other party readily nodded.

“That’s right.”

“…So, you’re an entity that can interfere when rewinding time?”

“No, I don’t think so. In this case—”

Responding to Garuku’s words, I stated,

“He’s using this guy’s power to reverse time.”

“That’s also correct.”

The other party laughed, amused.

“I’m sure you want to ask a lot of other things… but, well, I wonder about giving too many hints. For me, just appearing is enough, don’t you think?”

“…What are you planning?”

Garuku asked. The other party shrugged, as if offended.

“I’ll tell you, I haven’t done anything, and I don’t intend to. Aren’t you just using my power on your own?”

“What…?”

“The only one I’ve willingly lent my power to is that Dragonkin lying over there.”

“You gave that magic power to him?”

To the question, he smiled.

“Exactly. He comes here often, you see. So, I decided to play with him a little.”

The magic power I felt during the battle. It was undoubtedly mysterious magical power… This might be one of the reasons why the berserk Dragonkin maintained its body for twenty years and was never defeated by anyone.

“However, it’s a bit disappointing to have my playmate eliminated. At this point, there’s no meaning in visiting this place anymore. That makes things boring… Oh, if you’d like, why don’t we play?”

His tone was light, like he was inviting someone, but the aura he exuded was filled with murderous intent… enough to make an ordinary person faint.

He said earlier that he wouldn’t do anything, but… the current situation is like someone suddenly invaded his garden and broke his play device. In that case, it wouldn’t be strange for him to interfere with me.

“From the looks of it, no matter what I say, you’re not going to let me escape, are you?”

“That’s right.”

One word. In response, I first plunged my sword into the ground.

“Oh, aren’t you going to use that sword?”

“I don’t think I need to use the Dragon Magic Stone’s power on you.”

“That’s right. And it might break if you do.”

“Probably.”

Immediately after speaking, I drew magic power from my body.

There was also the intention of letting him perceive my magic power and seeing how he would react. However, ‘he’ looked back at me with a calm expression.

” …You…”

“What is it?”

–Since you’re cooperating with Nefmeiza, are you also repeating time?

I was about to ask that, but I realized it was a foolish question.

“I’ll finish this quickly.”

With that declaration, light burst from both my hands. ‘He’ stared at it and quietly smiled.

–When I unleash Book energy, the sword I usually use naturally can’t contain the magic power and breaks. Therefore, I draw out that power by creating a Magic Sword.

For example, in the battle against the Spirit God, I dealt with it using basic magic. I had the option to deal with it the same way this time, but I didn’t.

I will confront this guy in front of me with all my strength, using both sword and magic.

“–Here!”

The opponent attacked first. When he thrust out both arms, flames erupted from his fingertips.

Visually, it didn’t look particularly malicious. The flames flickered slightly in front of me, about to be unleashed towards me.

At the same time, a longsword was born in my arm. That simple sword was different from the Magic Swords that existed in the game—it was my original creation.

After the War with the Demon Lord, I pondered how to become even stronger, and this sword was the conclusion I reached.

And immediately after creating it, I was forced to make a decision.

Should I dodge the incoming attack, or deflect it?

“Well, what will you do?”

‘He’ asked, twisting the corner of his mouth. Immediately after, both his arms were stained crimson.

In an instant, magic power rapidly expanded, and a heatwave surged forth.

It was not a gentle shower of flames. It was so intense that if I took the full brunt of the heat, I would instantly carbonize–

To counter it, I swung my sword with all my might!

“Ooooh!”

With a shout, I unleashed the highest-grade ice-attribute magic sword technique, which I hadn’t even used against Divine Spirit Pheus. Its name was “Fenrir Raid.” It was a technique that defeated opponents with ice modeled after the legendary Demon Wolves.

The intense heat and ice chunks exploded, and a thunderous roar and shockwave, like a volcanic eruption, assaulted the space. Magic power raged, creating hot winds and icy winds, bringing chaos to this battlefield—

“Impressive.”

‘His’ voice, as if evaluating.

“Most humans would die from that. But I thought you might be able to withstand it.”

Keep talking—I’m preparing for the next attack. At the same time, I’m also performing a magic incantation. I’ll defeat him before he can take the initiative.

Amidst the raging heat and ice, I caught him directly in my sights. I immediately imbued my sword with magic power and brought it down.

“It seems you’re thinking of ending this in one go, but…”

The sword easily cut through the heat, and the blade struck his body. There was an impact. But…

“I don’t want to end this fight yet.”

With those words, he generated magic power in both arms. At the same time, I stepped forward with enough force to stamp my foot into the ground, inflating my entire body with magic power, still intending to attack.