Book Eater

Wrath was gradually breaking through the atmosphere by using the layer of hydrogen and helium as fuel. The thickness of the atmosphere was around 1,000 kilometers. It had started to decelerate as it encountered air resistance, but it was clear that even if Wrath only moved at 2 kilometers per second, it would destroy all life on this planet. Theo had to reduce either Wrath’s speed or mass no matter what.

Kieeeeek!?

The cries of more than a thousand evil spirits rang out at once, echoing in Theo’s ears. Theo pushed away the pressure with Soul Caliber but realized it wasn’t a fundamental solution.

Kuk, there is no time to think of a way!

He only had ten seconds. Once Wrath entered the thermal layer, it would burn far more intensely than right now. It would become visible to the people on Earth, and at that point, it would all be over. Wrath’s destructive power would skyrocket with the number of observers.

“Emergency order! In the name of the victor!” 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦

He unsealed the knot Seimei had left behind.

“Yin and Yang Bind, release!”

The band on Theo’s left arm was released. His blood blackened, and his blood vessels bulged from all the magic power as he drew on the strength of the heavenly demon. It wouldn’t be hard to get rid of the evil spirits with just twenty percent of this power. In fact, as soon as he released his magic power, the evil spirits were so afraid that they scattered in all directions.

No! This isn’t enough!

He had nine seconds. Theo needed to deal an effective blow somehow.

“... Shit.”

There was one moment of hesitation before Theo cried out.

「 Absorption Star Method, activate! 」

It was the ability to disassemble all the entities he made contact with into its smallest units and absorb that power. Lust’s final weapon and the strongest ability given to the heavenly demon bared its teeth again. The power of predation didn’t discriminate between the mana in the atmosphere or seeds, plants, and animals. It would break down everything regardless of species, property, or system.

Kieeeeeeek-!

Threats that would fell a city or a nation were just prey. Theo’s left arm reached out to grab the evil spirits that were desperately trying to escape. It was like watching water getting sucked down a drain. The evil spirits disintegrated into mana as soon as they touched his arm, filling the circles which had been drained after the previous battle. It took mere seconds for Theo’s magic power to fill up again.

“Haaaap!”

Theo sent the overflowing magic power into his right arm. The emerald Soul Caliber grew hundreds of meters long instantly. It was a blessing in disguise. The pure power of a thousand high level evil spirits amplified the power of Soul Caliber.

Synergy-Harmonize.

Add the power of Abraxas to wreak havoc!

Fusion Complete: Four Elements Exterminating Sword.

Once the fusion spell was complete, Theo leaped into the air and brought down the emerald blade that had become a pillar. The sword accelerated as it cleaved through the atmosphere. The edge of the blade went supersonic right before it sliced through Wrath’s outer wall like a hot knife through butter.

Kakakakak!

Theo felt the feedback vibrating up his arm and gritted his teeth, sending more magic power into Soul Caliber. This was his last chance. Wrath would become visible to the planet’s inhabitants in another five hundred meters. He drew on all the magic power he had to increase the size of the blade to eight hundred meters.

「 Sword, blow up! 」

Once he had sunk the blade deep into Wrath, he forced it to explode. Theo wasn’t quite aware of it, but an explosion was the simplest and most effective method of destruction. The moment Wrath was about to enter the thermal layer, it was rocked by a gigantic explosion.

―――――――――――――!!!

The sky was torn. The air was torn apart as a vacuum formed around Wrath, dousing the flames and shockwaves.

Jjejejeok...! Jjeok...!

The sphere was in a miserable state. A hundred meter wide crater scarred Wrath’s silver surface where Soul Caliber had stabbed into it. Wrath had lost more than one-third of its volume, and it seemed to be trembling on its descent.

That’s it! At this rate, one more blow before it hits the ground―

However, Theo wasn’t allowed even a moment of hope.

[The number of observers on the target planet is increasing. Three... Nine... Seventeen... Thirty people. Upgrading the available power based on the increase in hostility by two stages.]

In mere moments, Wrath had regained its previous size and started to accelerate. It was now falling at a speed of 4 kilometers per second. It was like the damage Theo had dealt to it hadn’t existed.

This was when Theo realized…

... Had it already expected this?

Wrath had the best logic circuits among the Seven Sins. It collected accurate data and had the computational ability to predict the future based on its data. If so, how easy would it be for Wrath to calculate the range of Theo’s actions? It had anticipated this situation by calculating ‘Theodore Miller’s full power.’ The Killer Bots, soul stakes, and evil spirits that it had sent out had just been sacrifices for this checkmate.

Theo had lost. But he buried his despair. “No, not yet! It isn’t over yet!”

The magic power he had absorbed was still overflowing. He drew on his nine Circles, Gluttony’s functions, and the assistance feature of Goetia to cast six ultimate spells of storms, hellfire, blizzards, gravity, and space.

Jeeeong!

The combined firepower could have erased a mountain range, but merely deflected off Wrath’s outer wall. Wrath’s defensive ability had increased by a whole level from when they fought in outer space. The number of observers was still increasing, and Wrath’s output amplified significantly.

This is my limit!

Theo couldn’t do his best. This wasn’t his best. He hadn’t used everything he had and hadn’t revealed the depths of his creativity.

But if I don’t exceed my limits-!

Theo knew that he had to go beyond his limits. He knew that if he crossed the wall in his mind, a mouse could kill a lion. However, the world wasn’t so hospitable as to wait for him. Theo kept throwing spells at Wrath as the number of observers who saw Wrath on the ground reached almost ten thousand. Wrath’s surface became so hard that both his ultimate spells and Soul Caliber didn’t leave a single scratch.

“Uwaaaaah!” Theo became so desperate that he lost concentration for a moment.

Puk!?

A soul stake caught him off guard and pierced his feet and thighs.

Peeok!

Suddenly, two Killer Bots struck his defenseless sides and abdomen. Theo barely had enough magic power to turn the fatal blows into injuries. However, once his bones were broken and internal bleeding occurred, there would be no way to maintain his spiritual body. His translucent body regained its physical form.

Then…

[Second vibration activate.]

It was the vibration that had destroyed Yamato no Orochi.

“Kuweeeeeek!”

At long last, Theo was thrown off Wrath’s surface as blood sprayed from his eyes, nose, and mouth. It was a miracle that he didn’t die instantly. He was saved by the sheer force of kicking off the surface. The power of the super vibration was fearsome, but most of the power was consumed as Wrath fell by centimeters. Theo was no longer an obstacle, and Wrath kept moving forward.

“... Ah... Ahh...!”

He reached out to Wrath, but it had accelerated to ten kilometers per second and was now out of his reach.

“... N-n... o...!”

It was over. Theo was convinced of the destruction of the material world as blood flowed from his eyes. Like ants in front of a flood, like a frog in front of lightning… In front of absolute ruin, Theo was just a crumb, a crumb that fell apart once it was kicked.

- Not yet, User.?

Gluttony’s voice appeared in his mind.

- Take your family, lovers, and a few other people to another dimension. Then return after Wrath is gone. Even if the civilized planet is reset, User’s power can restore the ecosystem within a hundred years.

It was exactly as Gluttony said. Wrath was still falling, and Theo had a few minutes to escape from this world. If the fight couldn’t be won, then why shouldn’t he flee?

His valuable family... The women he loved... Was it a sin to evacuate with them?

Ah.

This was closer to the unconscious desires of a human than a cowardly judgment. In the future which was only filled with despair, a faint light shone through. Who would blame Theo for considering it in the moments before the imminent destruction?

Kiiing!

However, right after that, a faint light sprang up from his right hand, and something flowed into his consciousness. The people that Theodore Miller considered precious—his father, mother, and little brother, as well as Veronica, Ellenoa, and Sylvia…

Theo’s eyes flinched. He felt a sudden sense of discomfort as he felt them.

... What?

The discomfort was coming from Sylvia. There were two life reactions coming from her coordinates. Theo was troubled for a moment before he received a shock like he had been hit by a hammer.

“... D-Don’t tell me.”

He had no doubts about the precise location. The stirring of life was coming from within Sylvia Adruncus’ body. A child… His child existed in a world that would soon be destroyed.

“―――――.”

Theo reached out without speaking, pulling an elixir out of his inventory and pouring it into his mouth. His shredded limbs recovered in an instant. He straightened, gritting his teeth, as he stared at the giant silver meteorite.

Run away? Leave this world?

What would he tell his child who would be born in a few months?

Your dad abandoned his world and ran away?

He didn’t want to. He would have to kneel and bow his head in shame. Theo couldn’t say that... He didn’t want to have his son live in the shadow of a shameful father. Although he felt sorry for Sylvia, he had made up his mind… just like her grandfather, Blundell Adruncus, had once done. For those who were precious to him, Theo’s life was trivial.

“Gluttony.”

Theo’s companion sighed as it heard the note in Theo’s voice.

- ... I knew you would eventually do this. It will fail.

“Just 0.1 seconds. It doesn’t matter if it is only 0.1 seconds. If I can maintain my consciousness for even a moment…”

- It has a close to zero chance of success. It isn’t even 1%.

“Won’t you do anything for your purpose of existence?”

Gluttony fell silent, and Theo immediately focused. This was his last and craziest gamble. He awakened his sorcery, Forced Harmonization, and reached for the next level. Theo’s harmonization could ignore attributes, elements, and opposing forces to combine them. It could even combine magic weapons or foreign bodies that weren’t magical in nature.

Which had led Theo to an interesting hypothesis.

Was it possible to assimilate with the concept of magic itself?

Gluttony had heard the hypothesis a few months back and immediately responded,

- It’s impossible. No, you will die even if it is possible.

Why?

- I didn’t want to let you know this, but the 10th?Circle comes from the source of magic. However, User wants to throw himself into the center of this force. Do you want to dissolve in the infinite flow of information?

- Simon Magus went through proper training and was well prepared, yet he failed at the 10th Circle. Jumping into the source is a shortcut, but you will surely die.

That’s why Theo had eliminated this as an option at first. But now that he had found something worse than death, the infinitesimal hope was back on the table.

Let’s go.

His destination was the source of all the wisdom in the universe. Theo shook off his fears and launched his body and soul beyond boundaries which were neither of time nor space. However, why did he feel that he was going away?

Fate laughed at him as it created a path he couldn’t come back from.

Akashic Harmonize.

Moments later, Theodore Miller died.