A world riddled with scars; traces of life were hard to find.
In this world, the God-Spirits waged a Great War for the hegemony of the One True God. The terrifying power unleashed by them and their creations had run rampant, turning the earth to scorched soil and shrouding the sky in ash.
The ash impacted the power of the stars flowing through the heavens—the Spirit Corridors—and began to glow, staining the once-blue sky a deep red for reasons unknown. That same red now covered every piece of land where the mutual slaughter continued unabated.
The corpses of the Spirit Race—one of the Sixteen Races and the very cornerstone of Disboard—born from the Spirit Corridors yet existing as pure energy, emitted a faint blue light. They drifted down like snow, accumulating on the ground.
The pale blue fluorescence flickered continuously, creating a magnificent sight.
However, lurking within that beauty was a murderous intent so terrifying it was absolute.
During the Great War, the vast majority of races used spirits as an energy source for battle. This process was, in essence, the killing of countless spirits. After death, spirits would transform into "Spirit Remnants" (Línghái).
These Spirit Remnants cause no harm to lifeforms that possess a connection to the Spirit Corridors, but to those without, they are fatal.
Spirit Remnants burn the skin, leaving behind incurable scars. Contamination by a large amount will result in death.
---o---
"This is truly awful."
The youth, who lacked a Spirit Corridor himself and would feel extremely uncomfortable—though not burned—if contaminated by the Spirit Remnants, commanded an invisible wind to blow everything away from his vicinity.
"Big Brother, is it because of those pale blue things?"
The girl with azure eyes stood beside him, observing their surroundings before turning back shyly to murmur to her lover.
Bronya, upon learning that the world they were heading to had a power level equivalent to a "per capita nuclear bomb," had not come along.
The reason was that the results of his blatant meddling with the timeline had finally surfaced.
"Colonel Alexey didn't die; he was merely secretly arrested."
This was the intelligence revealed by Cocolia, who had been sentenced to nearly three hundred years in prison for her failed attempt to orchestrate the Great Collapse in Changkong City.
In that era of major economic collapse, Alexey, a Russian military colonel and Cocolia's superior, had colluded with Major General Ivan to sell military supplies on the black market in order to support his wife and daughter.
On the original worldline, he should have been killed by Sirin's area-of-effect attack. In this new one, he was instead sentenced to prison for arms dealing.
Theoretically, being caught for such a crime should have resulted in him being shot until he looked like a hornet's nest.
But—
Alexey was well-connected within the military and had friends in high places.
Although the higher-ups couldn't get him out directly, his connections ensured he wasn't executed, merely imprisoned.
In order to take care of her husband, his wife, with the help of Major General Ivan, managed to get a job working inside the prison.
Obviously, such a harsh environment was no place for a child.
Therefore, a still-young Bronya was sent by her mother to an orphanage.
And then—
Perhaps due to the pull of fate, Bronya was taken away by a soldier who had come to the orphanage to recruit child soldiers.
Faced with this sudden development, Bronya chose to temporarily forgo her trip to Disboard with a certain someone, opting instead to return to Siberia to visit her father in prison.
Therefore, the only one accompanying him to this world was Seele.
No, that wasn't quite right.
Li Zihan glanced to his side.
There stood a beautiful girl with fox ears perched on her head.
Her eyes were blue, the front section of her bangs was pink, and her long, cherry-blossom-colored hair was tied into a ponytail.
She wore a white shirt and a pink plaid skirt, radiating the style of a Far Eastern "JK."
Clearly, this was Ling.
Even before Bronya had announced she wasn't coming, Ling had grabbed a certain someone and insisted on going with him to check things out.
Her reason was simple enough.
"You are my big sister and Rin's husband, after all. If I just let you run wild, you'll definitely cause some trouble that will give them a headache. I have to keep an eye on you for them."
Honestly, the reason was quite ridiculous.
After all, Sakura and Rin were women from the Edo period; they weren't particularly bothered by the idea of their husband having three wives and four concubines.
But, there was no need to dig too deep into it, was there?
The youth, who could still feel the aura of the monster determined to reign supreme over the very planet, gazed into the distance.
This world was home to sixteen races.
The Great War, centered around the "Star Grail," was also a war between the various God-Spirits and their creations.
And among all the races, the strongest, possessing the power to crush all of creation, was the one ranked first: the God-Spirit Race.
The God-Spirit Race is the strongest species in the world, born when wishes, faith, and desires coalesce and activate after obtaining a Divine Core (Shénsuǐ).
Theoretically, the number of God-Spirits is infinite.
However, the number of God-Spirits that can successfully activate and develop self-awareness is pitifully small.
Among the God-Spirits that have already manifested, there is only one who has clearly demonstrated the power to shatter a star in a single instant.
The God of War and Slaughter, the creator of the Flügel—Artosh.
A monster who, according to the lore, could skewer a dozen planets as if they were candied hawthorns on a stick.
Since the very act of "battle" was his Authority, his strength grew in proportion to the strength of his enemies. At his limit, he could even rival the One True God.
Seriously? Right off the bat, I'm up against a bug-level character who operates on a "the stronger the enemy, the stronger I get" system, whose upper limit can even reach the Super-Singularity Rank?
The youth sighed, feeling that this starting situation was rather soul-crushing.
"Tsk—, that bastard isn't the type to bitch about his surroundings."
Ling, who had chosen to appear in her physical form after a long time, stood beside a certain someone, habitually mocking him.
And then—
She suddenly noticed that his expression was somewhat grave.
As if a heavy stone had been laid upon her heart, Ling's own heart sank, and the mocking smile on her face vanished completely.
"...Hey, did something happen?"
The girl, her voice instantly softening, looked at the youth whose expression was far from his usual carefree demeanor and asked cautiously.
"It's nothing. I've just been targeted, that's all."
The youth, absolutely certain he had been spotted by the master of the Flügel—whose primary ability was likely just "being absurdly good at fighting"—smiled casually.
"Next, I expect some 'little wings' will come looking for trouble."
"Do you need my help?"
Ling, who shared Herrscher Authority with Li Zihan and whose own power was actually terrifying, remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"If you need it, Seele will do her best, too."
The girl, whose Herrscher power was only at a normal level but who possessed the boons of being a God-Slayer and having a Guardian God, also summoned her black scythe.
"That won't be necessary at all."
The youth chuckled softly and said:
"I haven't fallen so low that I need to send my girls to the battlefield."