"Kallen, I will take you away from this false world."
"Mm. Please take me with you, Elias."
Tears shimmered at the corners of Kallen's eyes. Somehow, she had truly fallen in love with an extraordinary boy. Faced with such unreasonable despair, he could carve out miracles again and again.
She looked at the doorway leading to the real world. Though she had no idea what awaited outside, alongside anticipation, a trace of unease rose in her heart.
But she believed that as long as she held this person's hand, no matter what difficulties lay ahead, they would overcome them.
Elias tightened his grip on her hand and stepped forward to leave. At the same time, he summoned a Subspace Lance and hurled it backward, piercing straight through a certain sneaky someone who had been trying to follow them out.
"Was it really necessary... to be this ruthless... Elias... No matter whether you kill me or not... the result is the same..."
Otto spoke in broken fragments. He had clearly reached his limit. If he did not return to reality soon, this fragment of his consciousness would become a data ghost—and wander this virtual world forever.
But killing him was useless.
He could revive at any time using his consciousness backups. As for whether someone resurrected from a backup could still be considered the true Otto Apocalypse—that depended on personal interpretation.
In any case, without question, that would still be a fool willing to commit every ugly sin in this world to fulfill his long-cherished wish of reviving Saint Kallen.
"You're right. Whether I let you go or not, the result is the same. But at least I can kill you once. And you do need to pay for what you've done."
As he spoke, Elias activated the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption once more.
He fused Otto with this virtual world, using his current data body to fill the vacant role in the script.
"You made my Kallen endure tens of thousands of cycles. I haven't settled that score with you yet. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You can personally experience that pain for yourself."
"Heh... fair enough. I suppose I deserve it."
Feeling the changes within himself, Otto quickly understood what Elias had done. A bitter smile formed on his face. It truly was an eye for an eye.
He had now replaced Kallen's role. From this moment on, he would be forever bound to this virtual world, endlessly repeating death after death. No matter how he struggled, it would be meaningless.
And the sentence would last for infinity.
Anyone else would have gone mad with fear.
But Otto accepted it.
Perhaps those who have committed too many sins are like this. He even felt a strange sense of relief at receiving punishment. After all, the Otto in the real world would continue pursuing his wish, unaffected.
"That's only one of your crimes. Don't forget what I said. One day, I'll list every sin you've committed over the past five hundred years—and make you repay them one by one."
"Of course. After my wish is fulfilled, no matter what punishment awaits, Otto Apocalypse will accept it obediently. But until then, even if you stand in my way, Elias, I will not stop."
Impaled by the Subspace Lance, Otto looked enviously at the hands Elias and Kallen held together.
After watching them leave, he sighed at the sight of this virtual world.
The moment he "died," the reset triggered.
When Otto opened his eyes again, his hands were bound in shackles. Several Schicksal members wearing beaked masks were escorting him toward a dungeon.
"Criminal Otto Apocalypse. For the numerous crimes you have committed, you are hereby sentenced to death."
"...Yes. That's how it should be."
At that moment, Otto even felt a flicker of joy.
Though this world was false, this was the correct ending. The one meant to die that day was never the saint—it was the clown himself.
From now on, he would use infinite cycles of death to repay an insignificant fraction of his towering sins.
"Heh. I'm actually feeling happy... It seems figuring out how to revive Kallen while opposing Elias will have to trouble the me outside. As for me, I'll peacefully accept my punishment in this false world."
...
In the real world.
"...I'm back."
Elias muttered as he removed the virtual reality connector. He had not expected it to turn into a no-logout-button situation like some survival game.
But now was not the time to dwell on that.
"You two. Was it fun to touch?"
"E-Elias, listen to my explanation! It was Bronya's idea!"
"Please do not believe Kiana's lies. She was the mastermind. Bronya was at most an accomplice."
The two girls scrambled off his body in panic.
Feeling the slight chill on his upper torso, Elias immediately realized his shirt had been stripped off.
Apparently, while he had been causing chaos in the virtual world, certain unspeakable things had happened in reality.
"Kiana. Bronya. Are you prepared to repent? The price of a prank can be quite severe."
Elias cracked his knuckles. A red glint flashed in his eyes, frightening the white-haired duo into hugging each other and trembling.
A few minutes later, identical lumps had risen on Kiana and Bronya's heads. They knelt obediently in front of him, sincerely confessing their mistake...
but claiming they would dare to do it again next time.
"No. You're reflecting on the wrong thing."
"Eh?" ×2
"Next time, don't do that when I'm unconscious. I didn't feel a thing. That's a huge loss for me."
"Ah... that's the focus?" ×2
Kiana and Bronya stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Then they immediately declared that they understood their mistake. Next time, they would absolutely wait until Elias was awake before doing such things.
Only then did Elias nod in satisfaction.
"That's more like it. So, how's the review going?"
"All done! This lady will definitely get full marks on the makeup exam the day after tomorrow!"
Kiana placed her hands on her hips, brimming with confidence, fully displaying the overconfidence typical of the Herrscher of the Void.
"Very good. I like the spirit. But if you don't pass, you'll be punished. No games, no snacks, and no lewd activities for an entire month."
"Wha—?!"
Kiana, who had just been planning to play a couple of games to relax her overworked brain, immediately collapsed into despair.
She could barely accept no games. No snacks was already cruel. But no lewd activities...
At that moment, the long-idle brain inside her head roared to life. Every brain cell began operating at full speed. She swore to memorize every single word in those textbooks.
Elias had no idea that two days later, she would actually score full marks.
Sometimes, desire is truly a terrifying source of motivation.
"Alright, keep reviewing, Kiana. I have something to take care of. Bronya, you're in charge of supervision."
Elias patted the heads of the white-haired girl and the silver-haired girl before stepping out of the bedroom.
He needed to quickly construct a body for the saint.
Since she lacked a physical form, after returning to reality, Kallen had temporarily stayed within his mental space.
She was currently chatting with Misteln.
However, the moment Elias stepped out, he ran into Cecilia, who had just returned.
The instant their gazes met, she lowered her head, even the tips of her ears turning red.
She looked like an innocent young girl.
"Ahem. Kiana might not think too much about it, but if you act like that, others might get suspicious, Cecilia."
"I'm sorry... I don't know why, but whenever I see you, Elias, I feel... something strange."
"...I see. Then we really do need to sort out our relationship. Give me a little more time."
He thought about the system's upgrade that was nearing completion. Perhaps things could finally be settled then.
As he passed by Cecilia, he subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed her head—just like he did with Kiana.
"Ah. Sorry. Habit."
Recently, Elias had been petting far too many white-haired girls.
Kiana. Theresa. Kallen.
Now whenever he saw a head of white hair in front of him, he instinctively reached out.
"I-It's fine. I'll be going now."
The blush on Cecilia's face deepened as she hurried away. Elias scratched his head awkwardly as he watched her retreat.
...
Back in his own bedroom,
Elias immediately activated the authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth, creating a body identical to the one Kallen had in the virtual world—but now made of real flesh and blood.
Within his mind, the saint kept chiming in with requests.
"Make this part a little bigger."
"That part should be more lifted."
He adjusted things for nearly half an hour.
In the end, looking at the body that could only be described as a perfect work of art, Elias couldn't help but admire his craftsmanship.
He then infused Kallen's consciousness into it.
The moment she opened her eyes, it was as if the world around her dimmed slightly.
"So this is what a real human body feels like. It's so strange... It's different from the false one in a way I can't quite describe."
"That's normal. No matter how realistic something fake is, it's still fake. There's a fundamental difference from reality."
"Oh... I see."
She moved excitedly, performing a few difficult stretches to quickly familiarize herself with her new body.
"By the way, Elias, have you decided on my name?"
"Uh... not at all..."
Elias quietly averted his gaze. Too much had happened in too short a time. He hadn't had the chance to think about it.
But it was important.
The girl before him possessed all of Kallen Kaslana's memories and had made the same choices as that saint.
Yet she should never be merely a shadow.
The moment she was born with her own soul, she deserved a beautiful name of her own.
"It's okay. I've already thought of one."
The reborn girl smiled.
She raised her arms and wrapped them around the white-haired boy before her, nestling intimately against him.
"I'm not the saint who died five hundred years ago. I'm someone who inherited her memories, was saved by you, Elias, and now exists only for you."
"So call me... Eliana Kaslana."
The name was a tribute to Kallen, yet also a symbol of belonging to Elias. She was deeply satisfied with it.
"Mm. It's a beautiful name."
Elias gently stroked her cheek, repeating the name Eliana again and again, as if engraving it into her very soul.
In the sweetness of that moment, they embraced.
And Elias claimed everything that belonged to the girl.