The duplicate world of Kael'Ar had already been reduced to ruins.
Mountains had disappeared from the horizon, rivers had boiled into steam, and entire cities had been erased by the clash between two existences that stood far beyond the comprehension of ordinary life. Amidst the devastation, Isis slowly rose from the crater, blood running from the corner of his lips. Yet despite the injuries covering his body, a confident smile spread across his face.
His silver eyes locked onto Arata.
"Ultimate Power—Death's Vessel."
The moment the words left his mouth, an immeasurable surge of black energy erupted from Isis' body.
The sky trembled.
High above the broken world, a colossal seal materialized.
It was a perfect circle containing a regular triangle intertwined with an inverted triangle, both symbols overlapping at their centers. Ancient inscriptions surrounded the seal as if existence itself recognized what was about to descend.
Then the seal shattered. Reality itself fractured.
The heavens split apart like broken glass, exposing an endless darkness beyond creation.
For an instant…The world ceased to exist. Then reality stitched itself back together. The black energy surrounding Isis vanished completely.
When the dust settled, he was no longer standing there alone.
He had become the vessel of a god. Arata calmly walked forward, his hands still resting inside his pockets.
"So… you have come personally."
His crimson eyes met the being before him.
"Death."
Death slowly raised its palm.
Its voice echoed like countless souls speaking together.
"Death Authority—Destruction."
Instantly, the earth screamed.
The ground ruptured across the entire planet.
Gigantic rivers of lava burst upward like crimson pillars, piercing the heavens from every direction. Continents split apart while oceans evaporated beneath unbearable heat.
Arata watched the destruction without the slightest concern.
"For someone like me…this wouldn't work."
He looked directly at Death.
"Isn't that right… Death?"
He casually waved his hand.
"I'm not bound to time for it is useless against me."
The catastrophe ended. Every volcano stopped erupting. The collapsing land froze.
The flowing lava became motionless before dispersing into nothingness.
Death remained unaffected by the temporal interference.
After all…Isis was a divine vessel and Death itself was a god.
Without hesitation, Death extended one hand. A colossal black scythe materialized within its grasp. The weapon swung once. Then again. Then dozens of times.
Each slash tore across the heavens, annihilating mountains and reducing entire cities to dust.
Yet…Arata never moved. He remained standing exactly where he had been from the beginning.
Everything around him had been destroyed. Only he remained untouched.
Death's empty gaze settled upon him.
"Terror."
It was one of Death's Authorities.
Every living being that entered its presence would witness the deepest fears hidden within their hearts. Their minds would collapse beneath unimaginable horror before death finally claimed them.
Nothing happened. Arata laughed.
His feet slowly lifted from the ruined earth. He floated into the sky with effortless grace. A single snap of his fingers echoed through the battlefield. Death's Authority of Destruction disappeared.
Canceled As though it had never existed. Arata calmly walked across the empty air toward Death.
His voice was neither loud nor angry.
"Dare to invade my planet…making demands that I should work for you."
Death's expression remained unchanged.
"Absolute Erasure."
A beam of black annihilation burst forward. The attack shattered even the air itself as it traveled. Reality distorted beneath its passage. Arata simply raised his right hand.
With one effortless motion He slapped the beam aside.
The attack flew harmlessly into the endless sky.
Arata finally stopped before Death.
His crimson eyes glowed faintly.
"I am the unknown. The beginning…and the end of all that is, The incomprehensible. That is who I am."
Silence consumed the battlefield.
Then—
"Soul Circuit Authority…Godhead Manifestation."
A black-and-white halo slowly appeared behind Arata's head. Nine radiant stars circled within it.
Nine. The number of completion.
The true end…and the beginning of something new. His black hair divided perfectly into two colors. One half became white. The other remained black. His crimson eyes emitted a faint divine radiance.
An indescribable majesty descended upon the world.
Arata never even looked up at Death.
Instead… He simply lowered his gaze.
"Kneel."
An immeasurable pressure erupted outward. Death's eyes widened.
Its body crashed into the ground. The impact created an enormous crater that stretched across the ruined landscape.
Even a god…Had been forced to kneel.
Arata descended calmly until he stood directly before the kneeling vessel. He extended one hand. Placed it upon Death's head.
Then…He tore. The spirit of the God of Death was ripped from Isis' body. The divine soul struggled violently.
Arata looked directly at it. His Koketsu observed every layer of its existence. Then he spoke a single word.
"Die."
The spirit of the God of Death instantly crumbled into dust. No explosion. No resistance.
It simply ceased to exist. Arata then turned toward Isis. Using only his middle finger…He flicked Isis lightly on the forehead.
The impact burst Isis' entire body apart. Nothing remained. Silence returned. The wind gently drifted across the ruined duplicate world.
Arata canceled his Godhead Manifestation. The halo vanished. His hair returned to normal.
He calmly climbed onto the roof of a broken building.
Standing there alone, he looked toward the sunset painting the fake Kael'Ar in shades of crimson and gold. The breeze quietly moved through his hair.
The narrator spoke.
The Soul Circuit was one of a kind throughout existence. Few had ever heard of it, and fewer still understood what it truly represented. Its power allowed its wielder to manifest imagination into reality, provided that imagination could be logically understood by its user.
For a reincarnated soul like Arata Kurogane—the True Protagonist—a cynical man who possessed vast knowledge accumulated from nearly every field imaginable during his life on Earth before reincarnation, logic itself had become limitless.
And because he understood the principles behind what he imagined…Arata could logically do anything.
The sunset slowly disappeared beyond the horizon. The next moment Arata vanished. He reappeared in the emptiness of outer space. The duplicate Kael'Ar floated silently before him. With a simple thought, the entire artificial world dissolved into countless particles of light before disappearing forever.
Behind it, the concealed Soul Barrier surrounding the genuine Planet Kael'Ar quietly dispersed. The real world returned to existence exactly as it had been before. No one upon the planet ever realized they had briefly been replaced. Arata smiled faintly before opening another portal.
Moments later, he stepped back into the endless grassland where he had trained the heroes. The enormous tree still stood proudly beneath the open sky. Kaelen had fallen asleep beneath its shade. Denma sat nearby with a bottle of liquor in one hand, happily drinking.
Jess and Faith talked quietly together while watching the sunset. Kimotsu remained seated with crossed legs, calmly meditating. Gene had already drifted into another nap. Arata looked at all of them before smiling.
"Okay, kids. You can go back to your daily lives."
He snapped his fingers. The world instantly changed. Everyone reappeared inside Hoshigawa, the quiet black obsidian restaurant in Arkion. The familiar warmth immediately welcomed them home. Asar looked up from wiping the tables.
Mitsuki stepped out from the kitchen. Rei ran toward Arata with a bright smile. Nax emerged carrying another stack of dishes. They all smiled at once.
"Boss, you came back!"
Arata returned their smiles.
"Yes. I'm back."
The heroes thanked Arata one last time before departing from Hoshigawa.
Together, they journeyed back to Valhalla. Back to the Heroes Association Now under their leadership.
A new era for the heroes had officially begun.