Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (WN)

17-51. Guardians of the World (1)

Satou here. All kinds of deities exist in all part of the world, but I feel like there\'s a trend where the creator deity--the deity who created the world would then entrust the rest to the children or subordinate deities.

So nice how you can just create then forget the rest, as an unneeded programmer stuck to debugging, I kinda yearn for it.

◇

"--You beat her."

Arisa murmured.

"You could tell?"

"Un, somehow. How master has ceased to be human was transmitted to me after all."

Looks like she found out through Familiar Link that I\'ve attained godhood.

"Master\'s level has returned too."

"Come to think of it--."

The Skill and Title systems have been restored before I realized.

However, I don\'t see revived Kagura around.

If I\'m not mistaken, she was saying 『--I\'ll get revived on my own. The signal for that will be when your last Unique Skill gets activated, Ichirou.』, but since she didn\'t say \'Right away\', I guess I could only wait now.

She might even be planning the best timing for her entrance right about now.

"Gogogogogo~?"

Right after Tama said that, the Netherworld began to crumble down even faster.

The me now can sense it. It\'s heading toward a total collapse after losing its master.

I retrieved the Divine Sword and Godreaping Scythe god Parion used, along with my two broken rainbow swords into Storage and escaped to the human world together with the small spaceship.

◇

A small spaceship is floating quietly above human world\'s sky.

"We\'re back to our world."

Lulu muttered that word vividly as she looked up at the sky, everyone breathed out a sigh of relief all at once. I reported to my beloved Aze-san waiting at the Solitary Island Palace that we had settled the matter with Demon God. I was tempted to propose to her right there and then, but I held myself back. Gotta hold on until we\'re face to face.

I saw Tama\'s ears twitching in the corner of my vision.

"Nyu~"

"Satou."

I followed Tama\'s and Mia\'s line of sight to be greeted with Sera clad in emerald light.

"..."

She\'s looking at me with a deeply sorrowful look on her face.

"Tenion-sama, right?"

"...Pillars."

God Tenion spoke through Sera\'s body.

"This world will fall into ruin now that it has lost its pillars."

Well now, if that doesn\'t sound ominous.

"F-fall into ruin?"

Lady Karina shouted in shock to hear god Tenion.

"Oh no~?"

"Pochi doesn\'t really get it, but it must be really bad nanodesu!"

"Liza, know~?"

"It means the world will disappear."

"Oh gee~sass~"

"Emergen nanodesu!"

Tama and Pochi are moving about restlessly.

The other girls seemed to be greatly shocked by god Tenion\'s revelation.

"It\'ll be alright."

Gotta clear up the misunderstandings.

"What do you mean all right! With you and me being the only gods left, this world won\'t hold up! Even if we could, it wouldn\'t last longer than 100 years at most. If we could at least get Dragon God-sama to help it could turn out differently, but that person has no interest in maintaining the world."

Yup, I know.

Kagura is just that kind of girl.

But there\'s no need to worry.

"In other words, everything will be fine so long as we have all seven gods right?"

"That can\'t be done, it\'s why--"

"Oh it sure can."

I called Demon Lord Shizuka here with Unit Arrangement.

"Sorry for calling you without warning. Mind lending me a hand?"

"Eh? No, I don\'t really mind?"

After getting Shizuka\'s OK, I took [God\'s Fragments] out of four girls--Liza, Nana, Mia, Zena-san.

Green, vermilion, indigo and orange colored lights are floating around me.

Unlike [Demon God\'s Fragments], they\'re all very quiet.

"Hikaru, are you alright with it?"

"Un, of course I am."

The Unique Skill Hikaru received during her hero summoning, [Friendship (Get along with everyone)], dissolved into particles of blue light.

"Do you intend to revive gods from their fragments?"

"Yes, that\'s the plan."

"How many thousands of years would that take! You and I can wait, but not the world. It\'s going to take 100 years at the latest no matter how hard we try!"

It\'s rare to see god Tenion this hysterical.

"Oh it won\'t take that long--<<Storage>>."

I put away the fragments in my Storage.

My Storage wasn\'t able to store living beings originally, but now that my Authority as Administrator has been liberated, it can be done no problem.

"Next up--Unit Creation 『Heraruon』."

A boy clad in an orange-colored light emerged in front of me.

He\'s a bit young, but this much is the limit with only fragments.

It seems his Authorities have been severely weakened as well, but he should have enough Divinity to maintain the barrier.

"Unit Creation 『Garleon』 『Urion』 『Zaikuon』 『Karion』."

Boys and girls clad in their own respective colored lights manifested.

Since I didn\'t have a fragment of god Zaikuon I tried making him out of his Sacred Treasure [Zaikukan] I had in my storage, turned out fine. Sacred Treasures must have been created using a tiny amount of fragments.

And lastly--.

"--Unit Creation 『Parion』."

A little girl clad in blue light appeared.

Her absentminded face surveyed the surroundings and then turned and nodded at me after she saw the five boys and girls-turned gods.

"Do you know who you are?"

"""YES, CREATOR GOD-SAMA."""

Who the heck\'s creator god.

Their egos appear to have been reset, but I\'m sure they\'ll grow up to their former selves eventually.

"Your missions are to help god Tenion support this world and watch over the people here. Please give them your aid before or after a great disaster that\'s out of their hands befall them."

"""YES, CREATOR GOD-SAMA."""

I mean, letting everything be taken care of by gods would stunt humanity\'s growth.

"This should be fine, right Tenion-sama?"

"Y-yes. There is no problem, Creator God-sama."

Like I\'m saying, who the heck\'s creator god.

I see that god Tenion must be tired.

"...Geez."

I look at the girls, asking for help.

Everyone is looking at me their own way.

Among them, Tama who was flopping down on a rug at her own pace had her ears twitched.

"Nyu~?"

Her eyes are turned beyond the void sky.

--ＡＬＥＲＴ.

All the small spaceship\'s monitors turned red along with that warning.

『Satou! I\'ve got a call from Saze of Beriunan, their early warning satellites have detected Bizarre Creatures approaching fast!!』

A flustered Aze-san reported in from Solitary Island Palace.

It appears those Bizarre Creatures have made their way in when the barrier that was concealing our planet went down when many gods died.

"I-it\'s those Endless... Forget 100 years, the world is ending today."

God Tenion was being pessimistic, but I\'ve got more pressing matters to attend than caring for her right now.

『Thanks for the report. We have detected them as well. Commencing extermination.』

『Thank you, Satou. Please don\'t get hurt--』

"You can exterminate them?!"

God Tenion shouted, interrupting my beloved Aze-san\'s voice.

"Yes, of course."

The old me aside, it\'s a piece of cake to me now.

◇

"Let\'s do this, girls."

I Unit Arranged the small spaceship into satellite orbit.

Since this ship is rather lacking, I recreated the large spaceship sunk in Netherworld using Unit Creation and put everyone on board.

『Satou, the early warning satellites have all been obliterated. We have lost contact with not only the outermost first line, but the second and third lines as well.』

Saze-san of Beriunan Clan contacted us.

『Satou, [Burgtom Eye] set in the third line have all been destroyed. The enemy ranks consist of not only Jellyfish and Dark Grey. Visuals aren\'t clear because they\'re too far away, but we have detected Silver and Black Spheres as well.』

This time it\'s Keze-san of Burainan Clan.

I Unit Arranged our spaceship to the relay point located between the third line and the planet.

"Waarning~?"

"There\'s enemy nearby nanodesu!"

"Lulu, take a defensive maneuver. Tina, support her."

They shot down the dark grey monsters that came close with pulse laser cannons.

Judging from what I\'ve seen on my Map, there\'s quite a heavy number of these monsters all around us.

There\'s innumerable Silver and Dark Grey monsters, there\'s even a few of the Black Octopus that gave me trouble outside the planetary orbit.

"T-this is gonna be a tough nut to crack."

"We\'re outnumbered, so I report."

"It\'ll be fine. We\'ve got reinforcements."

"Reinforcements?"

Light dots got displayed on the bridge\'s radar dome behind Arisa who was tilting her head in confusion.

"Here comes reinforcements~?"

"Light Ships."

Mia put up the images caught in ship\'s telescopes on the main monitor.

It\'s a formation of Light Ships with the elves riding on them.

A light ship leading the way docks on our space ship, Aze-san who\'s riding that ship is coming here through the tube connecting the ships.

"Jules Verne is there too!"

Looks like lady Ringrande and Saga Empire\'s heroes have come running as well.

"Over here too!"

Zena-san pointed at figures of dragons cruising in space.

"That\'s Heiron person nanodesu!"

"And he\'s together with Ten-chan and aunty Ancient Dragon."

"Heiron and the gang are here too huh--that\'s reassuring."

"\'Too\', are you saying those dragons aren\'t the reinforcements you were talking about, Master?"

"Yeah, the one I\'m referring to is--"

Unit Creation--Dragon God Akon Kagura.

A rainbow-colored gigantic object manifested next to our space ship.

I got fascinated by the beautiful figure for a while when the rainbow dragon howled once as if to remind me.

"Was I being too hasty?"

"Not at all. I had expected this outcome."

A little girl with rainbow-colored hair--Kagura showed up on the ship.

She exists at the same time as the Dragon God floating outside.

"W-who?"

"Daughter of Tachibana. Do you not recognize me?"

Kagura called Arisa by her former name before reincarnating.

She\'s speaking in a theatrical tone somehow.

"Who--wait, are you Mi-chan?"

"Indeed. Patron Deity of the shrine you lived at during your early years--"

"--Ame-no-Mizuhana-Hime-sama!"

Hikaru hugged Kagura\'s small body.

『Umu, Miko of Takatsuki, you appear to be in good health too.』

Kagura received Hikaru\'s charge without flinching and gently brushed her hair.

"Why would my lady be here?"

『That is the form I take in this world.』

Kagura turned her line of sight at the rainbow dragon outside the window.

"--Dragon God Akon Kagura-sama."

"Indeed, o daughter of dragon worshiping clan. I am Akon Kagura. I shall grant you who serves upon Ichirou the honor of calling me Kagura."

"I\'m unworthy of such honor."

Liza proudly fell prostrate at Kagura\'s word.

"Kagura~?"

"That\'s such pretty rainbow-colored hair nanodesu!"

"Umu, you two have nice fur yourselves."

"Nihehe~?"

"Feel free to pet Pochi\'s fur more nodesuyo?"

Tama and Pochi are completely unaffected.

"Dragon God-sama, we are currently under invasion from Outsiders."

"Tenion huh. Worry not. Leave this spot to me."

"Very well, then I shall protect the land along with other gods."

"Umu."

Kagura looks at me.

I could guess what she was going to do, thus I nodded to give her my consent.

Kagura bloomed into smile, she looked somewhat similar to Arisa.

『Come forth, my familiars!』

As Kagura commanded with both her arms wide open, rainbow colored lights filled the void sky, dragons of many colors began to materialize one after another.

Platinum, golden, silver heavenly dragons.

Crimson, jasper, ocean blue, earthen yellow ancient dragons.

White, blue, red, green, blue--colorful-looking true dragons.

All the dragons my Meteor Shower annihilated at Dragon\'s Valley had showed up, they happily flew all around to greet Dragon God (Akon Kagura) before forming orderly lines.

The sight of thousands of dragons systematically forming into one united formation was quite spectacular to behold.

"Let\'s do this, Ichirou."

Kagura held out her hand to me.

I took her hand and Unit Arranged on to the rainbow dragon\'s head.

『We\'re not gonna lose ourselves!』

『Yes Arisa.』

After attaining godhood, I can move around in space like it\'s normal, and I can also watch and listen to Arisa and the girls.

I see--gods are omnipresent huh.

◇

"Here\'s a greeting."

Kagura spoke, then a rainbow colored flame shot out of Dragon God Akon Kagura\'s mouth.

A moment later, space-shaking laser-like torrents of flames burned down the army of bizarre creatures with a flash, creating a kilometers-wide hole right in the middle of enemy ranks.

The destructive power is no joke, but it fits well with the image of this strongest girl.

『...So this is a breath of Dragon God-sama.』

『It\'s like I\'m looking at Colony Beam or Wave Motion Gun.』

As always, Arisa spoke of references from some old classic anime masterpiece.

『Enemy, incoming~?』

『Satou-san, the enemy is invading from outside Dragon God-sama\'s attack range.』

Tama murmured followed by Zena-san\'s report.

A swarm of fast-moving Silver Creatures assaulted us as we advanced.

"Go! My familiars!"

As Kagura swung her arm, the dragons following her flapped their wings and went off to intercept those creatures.

Apparently the dragons are using ether flowing in space as replacement for winds.

『Alright, we\'re heading out too!』

With Arisa\'s command, Lulu and princess Sistina shoot out short range lasers.

Sera is in charge of regulating defensive barriers and engines, Nana is handling the side ships. Core Two is inside the sub-control compartment as a co-pilot.

『Dog Hero Pochi, Dragon Steed Lyuryu, capatult launch nanodesu!』

--ＬＹＵＲＹＵＲＹＵＵＵ.

Pochi riding the white dragon sortied out of the large spaceship\'s catapult.

Pochi and her Exosuit on top of her golden armor aside, this battlefield is a bit too much for the lesser dragon Lyuryu.

There\'s one thing I could do to help, however--.

"You should just follow your whims, Ichirou."

"--I got it."

I had my reservations, but with Kagura pushing my back, I put it into action.

Administrator Authority--Racial Evolution: Lesser Dragon => True Dragon.

Lyuryu\'s body got wrapped in rainbow light before it doubled in size.

Since my Map\'s info showed its race as [True Dragon], that evolution went without a hitch.

--And here\'s an extra.

Lyuryu\'s body shined, then an exosuit matching Pochi\'s clad its body.

Since Lyuryu was wearing golden armor for dragon already, this much was no big deal.

Pochi and Lyuryu clashed with the silver bizarre creatures that was drawing near at near one percent of speed of light.

Pochi unleashed her finishers while shouting out "Nanodesu!"

『[Black Spear] Liza, to arms!』

『And Tama too~?』

Following after Pochi, Liza wearing her large exosuit, and Tama who had taken a seat on Liza\'s shoulder also launched out of the catapult.

Black Dragon Heiron came flying from beyond, letting Liza and Tama ride his back before heading off to assist Pochi.

『Pochi\'s group defeated their second Dark Grey. Dark Grey--2 sunk, 7 serious damage.』

『Silver--1 sunk, 3 minor damage. Liza has killed one Silver, so I report.』

『That\'s our Liza-san!』

Those girls appear to have seized sure fire means to victory at the end of their hectic offense and defense.

As for me, I have spread divinity strings across the space riding on ether flows in order to defeat my match.

I\'ve been using [All Map Exploration] every time the strings reach a new unexplored region, but I still haven\'t caught even a shadow of the [Boss].

Kagura would probably tell me if I asked, but I don\'t want to rely on her for everything so I\'m gonna look with my own power.

『--Large bizarre creature ahead. It\'s an unknown type!』

『Glittering sprinkles, caution.』

『Aircraft carrier is it! Mia, unleash your void sky spirits!』

『Nn.』

『Arisa, I shall deploy my void sky golems.』

『The legless golems big-wigs just don\'t get huh, righto!』

Princess Sistina launched Full Vernier-type golems through the space ship\'s catapult one after another.

Then Mia\'s exclusive destroyer-class sized Nautilus IV went on with the golems to obliterate the small bizarre creatures deployed by the carrier-type creature.

『We\'re here to help, Satou!』

『My void sky spirits ain\'t gonna lose!』

High elves riding laser-shooting Light Ships and Nautilus β, which had been modified to be easier to manage, also helped destroying the smaller creatures.

Since it\'s dangerous, I ask the light ships to join our spaceship to form a fleet and help shooting down the enemy from afar.

『We have the upper hands fighting off the small fry--oh no. Arisa-chan, a group of Dark Grey is rushing here to crush our interceptor unit.』

『That\'s bad. Mia\'s spirits won\'t be enough--can we ask Liza-san\'s group for help??』

『Arisa-chan, we will sortie out too!』

『Yes, just leave the small fry to us desuwa!』

A large fighter craft launched out of catapult.

Raka who\'s interfacing directly with the craft assists with the craft\'s anti-gravity movements.

The fighter craft joined Nautilus series to annihilate the dark grey creatures that were hunting down golems while routing all smaller creatures it came across in its acrobatic courses.

Large creatures that have breached the line manage to encircle the craft since it was focusing too much on the dark grey creatures.

『Watch out, Zena-tan!』

『It\'s okay--』

The spell-assist functions installed on the craft invoked Zena-san\'s wind magic in the void sky.

『--Tempest.』

With the craft in the center, ether flowing in the void sky turned into a storm that also brought forth tornado and electrical discharge phenomenon, exterminating the smaller creatures all at once.

Only the carrier type remained in the wake of destruction caused by Tempest.

『--We\'ve got a clear visual on enemy!』

『Karina-dono, now\'s our chance!』

『Yes, Raka-san!』

The cockpit\'s canopy of the fighter craft opens up as it moves at full speed.

『Full Throttle Boost! Ultra Great Spinning Karina KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII---』

This unfortunate naming sense must have been Arisa.

Lady Karina flew out perpendicularly toward the carrier type at super high speed while rotating like a drill.

『Astral Thrust.』

Zena-san\'s wind magic accelerated Lady Karina even further.

『--IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!』

Lady Karina\'s pierced through the carrier-type deck at speed far faster than sound.

Intense sparks were flying everywhere as the carrier\'s deck got instantly pulverized when lady Karina vanished inside it before breaking through the other side of the creature after a slight pause.

The carrier type creature broke into two while wailing loudly, perishing.

Right before lady Karina got swallowed in the flash and explosion, Zena-san came flying and collected lady Karina into the fighter craft.

We\'re about done dealing with the small fry.

The real big bad is about to make its entrance.

『--Incoming Black Octopus class ahead!』