Chapter 274: Simulated Universe: Swarm Disaster 『 Part Fifteen 』
「 Herta suddenly fell silent, and Stelle sensed her simulated avatar fluttering lightly, gazing with hesitation at a vague silhouette generated within the deduction.
That silhouette resided in the depths of the cosmos, where even the light of the stars could scarcely reach, its form seeming to waver between falsehood and reality… Only by borrowing the brilliance of a star could one glimpse the amber at His wrist.
He was wielding something.
That thing—if the word "thing" could even describe it—was tearing and shattering something with every swing. Stelle felt her consciousness being forcibly stretched, compelled to comprehend that incomprehensible trajectory: not up or down, not left or right, but a mode of movement that transcended three dimensions and defied common logic.
The light of the stars twisted around Them, forming eerie vortices, like sparks flying from an anvil struck by a colossal hammer. Their giant hammer fell, yet what shook the earth was not a thunderous roar, but the soundless whimper of the object beneath the hammer; Stelle vaguely felt there was a kind of laughter within that sound, or perhaps a chorus of ten thousand voices…
Stelle reached out to touch her cheek; it seemed something had splattered onto her face… the sensation was not pleasant. 」
「 ..... 」
〜Record of Ragnarok World〜
"Hey, hey, that thing in the depths of the universe… that has to be Qlipoth, right?"
Ares, the God of War, swallowed hard, gazing up in astonishment at the mass of shadow obscuring countless galaxies.
He found it difficult to describe Qlipoth's "existence" with his meager vocabulary. Although in Belobog, Stelle had once been glanced at by His gaze for an instant—and the gods in the lounge had also been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the divine form—the feeling then was starkly different from now. The current Qlipoth… even from beyond the canopy of the sky, they could feel the fury carried within that giant hammer.
Though they were called gods by mortals, they could not understand His voice at all! With the fall of the giant hammer, the gods seemed to grasp something, only to immediately forget it in the tremor of the next strike… leaving only a primal, animalistic trembling.
Hades, King of the Netherworld, tensed his shoulders, staring fixedly at the shadow in the sky, his clenched lips turning slightly white:
"Is He… building a wall? Is He trying to use a wall to defend against the Swarm of 「Propagation」?"
( Translator-kun: Inside the lightscreen, Star Gods/Aeons are addressed with divine pronouns (They/Them). Outside, the Author uses gendered pronouns based on their appearance because the reacting characters are "ignorant" of the proper Star God/Aeon terminology. This is intentional, so don't worry about it. )
"No… no, He isn't building a wall, He is hammering something."
Buddha's voice was very soft as he shifted his gaze from the sky to the verdant scenery outside the window.
Outside, a cherry blossom petal drifted down into the flowerbed. Buddha's gaze followed it, watching a butterfly resting on a branch slowly flap its wings—the rhythm was natural and harmonious, as if it had just woken from a great dream of 『 Propagation 』. Further away, the ants had resumed their daily order, crawling out of their nest one after another in search of food.
"…It's the Propagation! The Propagation has vanished!"
Shiva suddenly realized, pointing excitedly at the insects outside the window and shouting.
"I see, so His actions just now were a battle against 『 Propagation 』?"
Zeus reacted belatedly, his expression somewhat disappointed. He had assumed a war between Stelle Gods—Star Gods—would be a magnificent spectacle, but the reality was that they didn't even qualify to watch from the sidelines.
They could only "feel" the changes brought about by the divine war from afar.
"Old man, don't feel too bad. For a battle of this magnitude, the fact that we can't see it with our naked eyes is something to be thankful for."
Loki toyed with the dagger in his hand, the corner of his mouth curling into a playful smile:
"Back when a Lord Ravager of Destruction crushed a star, the explosion of light blinded who knows how many deities. Now, with the Star God Himself bringing down a hammer, just the aftershocks alone would probably shatter who knows how many galaxies. And you still want to watch that kind of grand scene… Old man, if you're not afraid of dying, don't drag us down with you."
Zeus thought about it carefully; it did seem to make some sense.
"Everyone, although the bugs outside have been freed from 『 Propagation 』, is the Star God of 『 Propagation 』 truly dead?"
Susanoo suddenly asked.
"Oh? Why do you ask that?"
Shiva looked at him in confusion.
"Think about it carefully. This battle of the gods seems much simpler than we imagined. Although many Star Gods participated, the only thing that seemed to play a decisive role was those few hammer strikes from Qlipoth."
Susanoo looked up at the sky,
"Although time can be accelerated in the Simulated Universe, how long did this divine war last? Five minutes? Ten minutes? We don't even know if the Star God of 『 Propagation 』 fought back. I do not underestimate the might of 『 Preservation 』, but I absolutely do not believe that a Star God capable of bringing calamity to the universe would die so lightly."
Zeus stroked the sparse beard on his chin, musing:
"So you mean… 『 Propagation 』 is still alive?"
"Star Gods are intrinsically linked to their Paths. Does the fall of a Star God signify the extinction of the Path? I believe that as long as the Path of 『 Propagation 』 exists, the Swarm King will not die; perhaps one day He will even make a comeback."
—
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
"…Lady Serie?"
Genau stepped forward cautiously to inquire. About five seconds ago, he saw Lady Serie on the throne suddenly change her expression; beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down her cheeks, she covered her mouth tightly, and her pupils shrank into pinpoints of darkness in an instant.
…He had never seen the Lady lose her composure like this in his entire life.
Was the Lady awestruck by Qlipoth's giant hammer?
…No, no, Genau hurriedly shook his head, trying to dispel this disrespectful and unrealistic notion.
Since Qlipoth's first hammer fell, the only ones who had been shaken from beginning to end were first-class mages like themselves; Lady Serie's expression had never changed, until five seconds ago.
"Lernen… push the sensory magic within your body to its limit."
Recovering her composure slightly, Serie quickly ordered an old man beneath the throne.
Before her voice had even faded, the old man immediately closed his eyes. As the very first first-class mage, the vigorous mana within him was surging and turbulent; the moment it was mobilized, it formed a ripple-like aura around him. The detection lasted for a full three or four minutes before he slowly opened his eyes.
"Well? Lernen, did you sense anything?"
The old man shook his head with a look of regret.
"Is that so? Then you can only have missed it…"
After her expression returned to normal, the corners of Serie's mouth curled into a faint smile,
"In that instant just now, I sensed the concept of 『 Propagation 』 being diluted. In other words, 『 Propagation 』… He is dead."
"It wasn't just the shattering of the body, but the extraction and pulverization of the concept. I sensed Him being diluted, the power of the collective falling apart. This collapse extended gradually with the fall of Qlipoth's heavy hammer, until the final strike… 『 Propagation 』 was thoroughly disintegrated."
Genau was stunned.
"…Just like that? So simple?"
"Yes, much faster than I imagined." Serie looked up at the blue-green moon in the sky, its glow gradually fading, "It seems there are massive chasms in strength between the Star Gods as well. Compared to the other Star Gods, 『 Preservation 』 is truly excessively powerful."
—
( Translator kun: as I said, I will use what Author-san uses, They/Them for Star Gods/Aeons inside the lightscreen to stay true to the game lore. However, for the characters outside watching/reacting, he uses He/She based on how the Star Gods/Aeons look. Since the watching/reacting characters in this fic don't know the "HSR rules" for addressing Star Gods/Aeons, they just use what looks right to them. )