Just as Wodime accepted the hot tea Mash offered and before he could take a sip, a sword aura both languid and sharp suddenly tore through the harmonious air.
"Ah, this is troublesome… I have no desire to disturb your precious reunion dinner, but if I leave this tree as it is, it will become a very difficult situation for this old man."
With a sigh filled with Edo atmosphere, a man wearing a red haori and a familiar face suddenly appeared beside the trunk of the Fantasy Tree Magellan.
Senji Muramasa.
Apostle of the alien god, Alter Ego.
In his hand he held not a god-made weapon, but an ordinary sword.
Yet that same blade, in the next instant, sliced through the Fantasy Tree—which supported the entire Lostbelt with strength comparable to tofu—as easily as cutting tofu.
"Tsumukari Muramasa."
No massive explosion occurred—only a sharp "crack."
The giant tree connected to the void and supporting Olympus's entire magical cycle, along with the colossal god that had yet to manifest within it, was cleanly severed in two.
"What… that sword?!"
Musashi's eyes widened; she nearly dropped the udon bowl in her hand.
As a fellow swordsman, she understood the gravity of that single strike better than anyone. It was a blow that severed "cause and effect" and "karma."
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—!!!
As the Fantasy Tree collapsed, the sky previously covered by its canopy suddenly opened wide.
A gigantic magical reaction far surpassing the mechanical god Zeus poured down from the heavens like a red-and-black waterfall.
"…Hahahaha! Finally! I have waited for this moment!"
A sharp, arrogant female voice echoed through the Olympus mountains with a strange reverberation.
"Descend, my vessel! My new garment! I am the absolute ruler of this star—!"
When the red light faded, the true form of the existence was revealed.
A gigantic floating female figure.
Long ash-white hair, huge beast-like horns growing from her head like a crown, clad in a futuristic yet divine black-and-white dress.
She exuded a captivating yet unmistakably obedient charm and an awe-inspiring presence unique to a Beast.
Yet for most present, that was not the important point.
The important thing was her face.
It might have become slightly more mature and attractive than before, but it was unmistakably the same face.
"Director Olga… Marie…?"
Ritsuka dropped the chopsticks in her hand.
Mash covered her mouth with both hands.
The teacup in Wodime's hand shattered; he did not even notice the hot tea spilling onto his skin.
"Hmph! Foolish humans—tremble before this perfect beauty!"
Unaware of the commotion, the existence placed both hands on her hips and struck an extremely exaggerated, childish pose.
"I am a god from another planet! No… since I have already descended to the surface, such a title is far too insignificant!"
"Listen well—my new name is—Earth President! I am U-Olga Marie!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
A deathly silence fell—more awkward than when Chaos had vanished.
The warm atmosphere of Team A's reunion, Musashi's survival, and everyone enjoying hot pot together turned extremely delicate the moment someone proclaiming herself Earth's President appeared.
It was as if, at a solemn funeral where everyone mourned the deceased, the deceased suddenly jumped out in a cosplay outfit and began dancing the Paradise dance.
"That…"
Kadoc's mouth twitched as he pointed at the sky. "That… is the Director, right? The horns are a bit bigger, the clothes are a bit strange, and she seems mentally unstable… but that's the Director, right?"
"…Definitely."
Pepe pressed a hand to his forehead, openly displaying disgust. "That hands-on-hips pose, that arrogant yet somewhat idiotic gaze… it's definitely her."
"But the Director is already…"
Mash's voice trembled.
"She died. Professor Lev threw her into Chaldea."
Wodime spoke in a low voice, gaze fixed on the figure, eyes filled with regret and confusion. "I had conversed with the alien god before, but I never imagined… that her true form was her."
Seeing everyone looking at her with hesitant expressions, as though observing a rare animal, U-Olga Marie in the sky seemed slightly dissatisfied.
"Hey! What's with those faces! When you see the head of state, shouldn't you kneel and beg for mercy?"
"Especially those familiar faces over there… Hmm, why does my head hurt when I look at you…"
She clutched her head, as if fragments of memory were assaulting her perception.
Just then—
"Because you were deceived, Director."
A quiet yet powerful voice pierced all noise and resounded throughout the venue.
Steve set down his udon bowl and slowly wiped his mouth.
He raised his face and gazed at the god in the sky with eyes that seemed to see through everything—carrying even a hint of pity.
"What?"
U-Olga Marie was shocked.
"Yeah… Do you think you're an alien? A conqueror who came to Earth? Don't spout such nonsense."
Steve stood up, hands in pockets, and walked step by step toward the center of the altar.
Each step felt as though it stepped on everyone's heartbeats.
"Let me remind you about Olga Marie Animusphere."
"In the 2015 Singularity F—you were thrown by Lev Lainur into the Earth model called Chaldea."
"Did you think you died? No, you did not die."
Steve's voice gradually grew colder, taking on absolute rationality when stating cruel facts.
"Your physical body was indeed destroyed in reality, but your mind—your soul—completely fell into that false Earth."
"However, the humans of that world… or rather, that world's defense mechanism cannot recognize you as an outsider."
"In the eyes of that Gaia, you are not human, but… an alien, an invader, an experimental subject called Subject E."
"Shut up… shut up…!"
U-Olga Marie's pupils contracted violently; her hands trembled; her once-proud attitude crumbled.
But Steve did not stop.
He had to use the sharpest scalpel to cut open this abscess called the alien god and drain the pus and blood so the original flesh could be exposed.
"You were captured in America, Area 51—in that world."
"And then hell began."
"No anesthesia. No communication. No dignity."
"They strapped you to the operating table, cut open your skin, sawed through your bones, pulled out your nerves, and analyzed your magic circuits."
"They treated you like a lab rat—like an unknown biological specimen."
"One day? Two days? No…"
Steve pointed at the sky, voice like a heavy judgment gavel.
"It has been 100 years."
"Because the flow of time in that world differs, you were dissected and researched on the operating table for a full 100 years!"
"Aaaah…"
U-Olga Marie suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream.
It was no longer the dignified roar of the Earth President, but the tragic cry of a young girl facing extreme terror.
As Steve explained, the memories of human Olga Marie sealed beneath the alien god shell overflowed like a flood.
Cold operating table.
Dazzling shadowless lamps.
Indifferent eyes of masked people.
Sensation of blades slicing skin.
Unbearable agony as if internal organs were being torn apart.
Crying, cursing, praying for help.
In the end it transformed into complete despair and madness.
"I… I'm not an alien… I'm human… I'm an Animusphere…"
U-Olga Marie clutched her head; cracks appeared in the giant beast horns; the black-and-white dress flickered with runaway light and shadow.
She curled up in the air like a child trapped in a nightmare.
"Why… why didn't anyone come to help…"
"Why… why do this to me…"
"It hurts… it hurts so much… Lev… Father… Mash… Fujimaru…"
The moment she uttered that name, Ritsuka's heart skipped a beat. She trembled; tears welled in her eyes.
So that was it.
The so-called alien god and so-called Earth President were nothing more than absurd lies spun by a soul driven mad by endless pain to protect itself.
In unbearable agony she told herself, "I'm not human—I'm an alien. That's why I'm treated this way."
In a desperate situation she told herself, "I came to conquer this planet—not to be slaughtered upon it."
"…Director, you are truly pitiful."
Steve gazed at the collapsing figure with deepened pity. "In the end, when your body was dissected leaving only part of your nerves and you completely died, you finally became free."
And, exploiting the blank created when Human Order was covered, she resurrected as the alien god.
"But you are not a god who came from space. You are merely… a ghost who has wandered for a hundred years, longing to return home."
"No… please stop… please… stop talking…!"
U-Olga Marie's psychological defense completely collapsed.
The once-arrogant Earth President vanished.
In her place was the Chaldea Director everyone knew—always arrogant and proud, yet yearning for recognition more than anyone.
Without using any magical defense, she fell from the sky and slammed violently to the ground.
"Waaaaah… waaaaah!!"
She lay on the ground and burst into childlike tears.
It was a hundred years of accumulated grievances, a hundred years of fear and loneliness.
The scene was wrapped in deathly silence.
Ritsuka, Mash, Wodime, Kadoc… everyone was shocked by this extremely cruel truth and lost for words.
They thought they were saving the world, fighting evil.
They had never imagined that the desperate echoes of comrades they could not protect after enduring hellish pain would become the greatest enemy.
"…Steve."
Wodime's voice was terribly hoarse; his fists were clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms. "Is this… the truth?"
"This is the truth."
Steve turned and looked at Team A's captain with a pained expression. "Now you understand why your become a god plan looked ridiculous before her? She knows better than anyone… in this malicious universe, how miserable a fate awaits if you do not become an absolute being."
With that, Steve walked to the still-crying Olga Marie and knelt. He took a handkerchief from his pocket—a standard Chaldea handkerchief embroidered with the Animusphere family crest.
"Please wipe your tears, Director."
Steve's voice returned to its usual languid tone, yet carried a hint of gentleness.
"Your makeup is ruined from crying—it doesn't suit the elegance of Animusphere."
Olga Marie raised her face; golden pupils overflowed with tears.
She looked at Steve, then at the familiar faces around her.
"I'm home…?"
"Yeah."
Steve pressed the handkerchief into her hand and stood, showing everyone a bright smile.
"Welcome back, Director Olga Marie."
"Even though you're 100 years late… everyone in Chaldea was waiting for you."
…
PS: Please support me and read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode