A few moments earlier.
Floating in the silent and cold emptiness of outer space, Charlie was unaware of the mass riots engulfing various countries on the planet below him.
The sounds of screams, cries, and destruction didn't reach his ears.
His focus was entirely occupied by one thing: Artemis's Divine Arrow charging right in front of him.
Charlie realized that even if he used his body to directly intercept heaven's strongest arrow, it was a suicidal act—it was no different from throwing an egg at a stone.
The result would certainly be total destruction without being able to stop the arrow's momentum.
Therefore, Charlie relied on his newest ability, Hundred Gauntlets.
The mechanism of his ability worked in a very specific way: he set "His Own Death" as an absolute exchange in the law of cause and effect. Through Hundred Gauntlets, Charlie manipulated the causal relationship so that when the Divine Arrow struck and killed him (Cause), then all the kinetic energy and planet-destroying destructive power of that arrow would be "completely consumed" to manifest his death (Effect).
Simply put, he transformed himself into an energy-draining vessel. If that arrow killed him, then the attack's power must be exhausted there, leaving not a bit of power to destroy the planet behind him.
(So, this is the price that must be paid to interrupt a god's power, huh? The price is very expensive. Not something that can be fulfilled by mortal beings.)
After the causality manipulation was successfully applied, and only waiting for the Divine arrow to be fired, Charlie sighed inwardly. He had just felt the price that had to be paid.
As previously mentioned, Hundred Gauntlets was not a cost-free ability. The greater and more fundamental the causality changed, the greater the price that must be paid. So far, Charlie had only consumed magical essence in varying amounts depending on its use.
Considering he had Infinite Essence in his skill column—which gave him an unlimited supply of magical essence—he had never felt running out of "fuel" for his supernatural abilities.
However, stopping a god's annihilation attack required something more than mere magical essence.
(One million years... That's a terrifying number even for immortal beings. In the vast multiverse, not many creatures live that long; they're usually killed or end their lives due to unbearable boredom.)
Besides draining magical essence on a scale comparable to five ley lines of Fuyuki City, Charlie felt something more fundamental eroded from himself: his lifespan.
One million years of his immortal existence vanished in the process of causality manipulation over that Divine arrow. It felt like his vitality was squeezed without mercy. Fortunately, he was immortal. If not, he would surely have died instantly when trying before succeeding.
(But this sacrifice isn't in vain. Besides being a great achievement that could be a prerequisite for leveling up, I confirmed one thing: the gods in the Danmachi World are stronger than the Heretic Gods in the Campione World. The former have planet-level power, while the latter are at country level.)
Charlie ended his thoughts as the awaited moment arrived.
*SHIIINNNNNGGGGGG—!*
A sound that wasn't a sound, but rather a pure vibration of torn reality, echoed in the vacuum. The bright moonlight—now transformed into a giant arrow—released from its bow. That light was so blinding, radiating silvery rays that swept across the entire planet's surface below.
Throughout the world, all beings could only watch helplessly.
Many people stood frozen in confusion, not fully understanding what was happening. Others felt a deep danger instinct and began running in no direction, though knowing there was no place to hide. However, most were enveloped in total despair. They knew this was the end.
Even adventurers in Orario, who were used to facing terrifying monsters, finally knelt on the ground. They were overwhelmed by the aura of absolute annihilation radiating from the approaching arrow. A deep, primal fear enveloped the hearts of every living creature.
They bowed their heads, closed their eyes tightly, and with clasped hands, prayed inwardly or in hoarse whispers.
"Oh God, save us..."
"Please... I'm not ready..."
"Gods, forgive us..."
Similar prayers echoed from every corner, but no god appeared to come forward to answer. The gods themselves could only silently observe.
Just when all hope vanished and the certainty of destruction was before their eyes, something unexpected happened.
"Look! What's that? In the sky!"
That shout drew thousands of pairs of eyes to look up. And there, against the blinding arrow's brightness, appeared a small silhouette. Very small, almost invisible amid the descending disaster's majesty.
"What's that? A dot?"
"That... that looks like a human form!"
"Could that be a god? A god came to help us?"
"Must be! They're not abandoning us! We're saved!"
"Please, you above, save us!"
Comments full of hope began emerging from the lips of people who had just prepared to die.
In facing total despair, people tended to grasp at any hope, however small, placing sky-high hopes on anyone who looked strong.
What they didn't realize was that the figure standing blocking the world's destruction wasn't an almighty god, but a human who had just paid one million years of his age.
(This is more terrifying than I imagined. My action is as foolish as an unarmed civilian trying to stop a tank's advance with their own body.)
That thought flashed briefly in Charlie's mind, but there was no more time for doubt.
As the distance between himself and destruction grew thinner, Charlie actually charged forward. He spread both arms wide, letting his body become the center point. With eyes closed, he stretched out his hands to receive the impact of heaven's strongest arrow.
The Divine Arrow, whose size even equaled a continent's area, crashed into Charlie standing small in its path. At that crucial second, Hundred Gauntlets' activation was automatically triggered. Causality was forced to turn; Charlie's death was pulled to erase the arrow's power's existence.
*BOOOOMMMMM!*
The resulting light explosion was so tremendous and pure it swept across the entire horizon. Not a single person on the planet's surface, whether human or god, could keep their eyes open. The world instantly turned pure white, eliminating all shadows and forms.
Not a single eyewitness could observe the final result of that collision between mortal and Divine. The vacuum of outer space that had been silent now trembled violently due to the forced causality exchange.
After several moments that felt like eternity, that light slowly dimmed, receding like a tide returning to the ocean's center. The blinding flash that had threatened to burn every living creature's vision had now completely disappeared.
As that light stimulus faded, slowly everyone began opening their eyes. Trembling, they looked up, gazing at the sky now returned to dawn brightness and silence.
The second moon—the giant bow, arrow, and all of Artemis's manifestations—had completely vanished without a trace. Only the original moon remained, hanging calmly and peacefully, radiating its usual gentle light.
Suppressed silence enveloped the world.
Then, a voice broke, hesitant, full of hope.
"Is it... over?"
"Seems so. That strange moon... is gone!"
"Are we... are we saved? Really?"
The realization that they had just escaped the brink of extinction brought a wave of extraordinary relief to all races. Moved sobs and cheers began breaking out in various corners of the world, replacing the fear screams that had previously dominated that long night.
Amid that joy, no one knew the fate of the small figure who had stood firm on death's path for the safety of them all.
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