At the beginning, unlimited skill tree!

In the end, they could only get a few answers in the following story.

…

Riku thought to himself as he touched the only canon entrusted to him by the Ex-Machina - Starkiller.

——What on earth are you doing here?

The game is certain to be defeated, but we must use conspiracy to destroy it——

"——Shut up, it's not okay yet, don't think about it yet."

He told himself this, confirming that the lock on his heart was about to be loosened.

——No problem, the lock is still locked, it’s not over yet, I can still hold on.

In the distance, Abant Heim can be seen slightly.

There, the Ex-Machina were working to strip away Artosh's marrow without killing anyone.

Then--

Finally, at a certain moment, Riku waited for that [signal].

Suddenly, a sound - no, a [shock] that shook the planet passed by.

[Heaven, earth, and everything in the world—listen! 】

——The [voice] that started speaking with such a commanding tone.

It can be said that he is a god——that is the absolute voice that is consistent with the strongest god type.

"This is defeat - it turns out, it was indeed a thrilling and enjoyable battle."

You can hear me, he said as if with conviction.

"——You can feel proud, you are the strongest [enemy]."

Then... Riku saw white light filling the red sky.

That should be the scene of the soul being stripped away as Einzig said. ——Just think of it as...that's the same thing.

Riku thought without emotion.

"..."

In fact, he understands - but he must pretend that he does not understand this fact.

The Ex-Machina didn't come back... and he didn't realize what it meant - no - he continued to pretend not to realize it.

I'm afraid that Arteo also understands this because of this.

That's why I didn't say "I was knocked down".

It wasn't that he defeated the strongest - he just forced a draw.

(If you think about it carefully, what the Ex-Machina wanted to do from the very beginning was just to separate the God of War from his own marrow, which is like separating the body from the soul.

From the beginning they were not fighting to win or kill the God of War.

Nearly half of the population was sacrificed, and all it did was separate people's souls from their bodies.

Because the purpose is not to [kill], what is needed to simply strip away the marrow may not be "powerful power", but something else.

Their biggest problem should not be how to defeat the God of War, but how to complete the entire process of stripping the divine marrow under the resistance of the God of War's powerful power.

In other words - although stripped of the essence of the God of War, they look like Ex-Machinas who have completed the great deed of killing gods.

...But in fact, it is not considered killing or defeating the God of War at all, so it will not further trigger the concept that the God of War becomes stronger when he is strong. Can you understand this ending? )

"Not even one...came back?!" Everyone murmured in discomfort and a little lost.

Although in the game life six thousand years later, Ex-Machina will appear again.

Even though the number is not large, not even 100 machines can be found, it does preserve the continuation of the race.

However, it is impossible for people to know something so far away - the future development of the game world.

When they thought about it, they had never heard of the existence of a race like 'Machina'.

Everyone subconsciously thought that the machine-like species perished in that battle.

——Just to strip away the essence of the God of War, the "entire" Ex-Machina species were sacrificed without even truly destroying the enemy.

Is such a plan really worth it? !

At this moment, people can’t help but ask themselves again, is this really worth it?

They were ashamed to find that they had no idea how to face these... in a sense, machines that had sacrificed for humanity.

With the abilities of the Ex-Machines, no one is willing to provoke them even during a war.

If it hadn't been for Riku's plan, they wouldn't have had to risk their lives.

After seeing Riku use the word "forced peace" to describe the final result of this game, even Riku couldn't deceive himself into thinking that it was a "victory"——

The uncomfortable feeling in everyone's hearts became even deeper.

1. Do not kill anyone.

2. No one should be allowed to sacrifice his life.

3. Don’t let anyone discover it.

4. Any means is not cheating.

…

Yet looking back upon them all, nothing can be more called sophistry and fraud;

A machine with a heart and life is not a dead thing like a prop after all! At the end, even Riku smiled bitterly:

"Then - that's the end... I'm sorry, gods..."

Everyone watched as Riku directly chose to activate the only true book.

moment--

Intense power flows in——The muzzle of the cannon inserted into the ground spurts out light.

The power that burned the continent and even the planet into scorched earth - 70%.

That force shrank into a ray of light, penetrating through the base like a needle.

It penetrated the core of the planet and even destroyed the Elven Corridor.

——Succeeded? !

A victory achieved on the wreckage of countless machines.

When everyone subconsciously thought that they wanted to see the scene where the Star Cup arrived after sacrificing so many talents...

What they saw was Riku's complete collapse.

——In Riku’s perception, it just happened in an instant.

But at the same time - the lock in his heart also broke -

"——What is a draw, you bastard...like this...how can it be a tie...!"

It's like an emotional dam bursting.

The light returned to his eyes, and all Riku's previously sealed emotions burst out.

After the [Lock] was broken, my heart couldn't stop.

——How many people died?

Hubie's companions, the ones who had life, the Flügel—how many of them died! !

He doesn't hesitate to deceive himself - even using Hubie's feelings as an excuse.

A war that continues to cause endless sacrifices, and the final sacrifice made to end it——

At this point, he still wanted to find such an excuse. Riku even had the intention to kill him.

——What is a tie?

You are nothing but a scumbag and a loser.

Even if I use Hubi’s wish as a reason!

You still are! Miserable and desolate! I lost—Riku! !

"...I'm sorry, Hubby...I still lost..."

In the illustration, looking at the Star Grail that finally emerged from the Elf Corridor, Riku collapsed and shed tears.

Everyone looked at Riku who was so embarrassed and collapsed...

Even when the true face of the Star Cup was finally revealed in the illustration, no one was paying attention.

The people were silent.

Chapter 422: [God] born from one person’s thoughts!

"Now - Hubie, if you and I can become one -"

"I really want to win next time. Hubby——"

The man who was now physically and mentally bruised and extremely fragile said this.

Looking at the illustration, everyone seemed to be able to hear Riku's voice full of misery and despair...

Everyone's eyes were wide open, and their eyes were red and wet without knowing it. They just watched the final ending of this 'game' in silence.

Obviously——

It seems like Riku's plan has been successful. Are they the final winners?

But at this time, Riku seemed to be the one who lost the most.

That kind of [victory]...maybe, as Riku said, it's not called victory at all.

The Star Cup was obtained by sacrificing so many people and paying such a heavy price——

Thinking of this, everyone felt sad.

Immediately afterwards——

"Next time, the two of us must play a game where no one dies or has to die - a game like that -"

When people see Riku's heartfelt prayers and longings, he cries and says those words.

Thinking that Riku has never won a game in his life——

After finally meeting Hubie, but even Hubie lost...

The little princess and the others suddenly covered their mouths and burst into tears.

Don't be too cruel to Riku for things like this...ah!

"...This...is...?"

——[Star Cup]——

Like a ray of light, the polyhedron of the pentagram and the regular dodecahedron of the star shape emerge.

Riku, who finally calmed down, looked at the [Star Cup] that the gods were fighting for, a conceptual weapon that represented the throne of the only God.

Then there was the scene where Riku reached out his hand but found that he couldn't touch it.

It turned out that his body was being swallowed up and collapsing in the light of the Elf Corridor, which was emitting incomparable power.

The right hand has completely disappeared——

Without the power of the Star Cup to heal him, it would be impossible for him to recover, and even other parts of his body would continue to turn into ashes.

Riku smiled bitterly and thought——

What's more, I am not the [winner]?

...The body is gradually losing strength.

——When did it start?

Suddenly, at this point, Riku realized that he was crying, regardless of his image and face.

The man with bandages all over his body and no hands, collapsed and cried like a child——