Aleister was not at all surprised by the scene before him. There was neither shock nor astonishment in his eyes. Everything was exactly as it should be, as if preordained by inevitability.
That being's rank surpassed that of the Magic Gods by an immeasurable margin. In the eyes of such a being, Magic Gods and ordinary humans were likely no different—existences that could be rewritten entirely with a single thought.
Perhaps even the fall of the Magic Gods was nothing more than one of that being's passing notions.
Even if that being had not appeared, Aleister himself could have forced the Magic Gods to fall—though it would have required sacrificing everything he had.
What would happen after the Magic Gods fell was beyond his prediction.
But by that point, he would already have vanished forever, leaving the task of dealing with the Magic Gods to those he had trained.
...
Within the auroras shrouding the western hemisphere's atmosphere, nine crimson meteors fell chaotically in every direction.
One shot straight toward Pluto in the outer solar system. Another streaked for Jupiter's orbit. One pierced toward the Sun, another fell toward the Moon, and the remaining five plummeted toward different points across the Earth's surface.
...
Across the world, countless onlookers were shaken to the core by this phenomenon. Yet among them, some magicians grew frenzied with excitement. Magic Gods—the full title being the Gods of Magic—were, after all, the deities of magicians.
Those who worshipped the Magic Gods, along with their magical organizations, behaved like fanatical cults.
In a sense, magicians who worshipped the Magic Gods were nothing short of heretics, having long since abandoned their humanity in their pursuit of godhood.
Among the Christian Church, the Inquisitorial Division was founded precisely to exterminate such cultists and evil magicians.
The most famous of these was the Anglican Church's Necessarius—the Church of Necessary Evil.
...
At that time, Noah had already returned to Academy City, walking the bustling streets at dusk like an ordinary high school student. He looked up toward the bright horizon.
Even in the eastern hemisphere at dusk, that radiance illuminated the skyline. Countless students stopped to gaze at the miraculous sight.
But that miracle lasted only a minute before vanishing.
Before news of the event could spread, the people of the eastern hemisphere simply dismissed it as a phenomenon of sunlight piercing through clouds—the Tyndall effect.
As the bastion of science, Academy City denied the existence of magic. Though its upper echelons knew of magic and its opposing side, ordinary citizens were all raised under atheism, disbelieving in gods or the supernatural.
Even espers were more devout atheists than ordinary students.
Even when faced with magic, they would insist upon explaining it through scientific theory—concluding that magic was merely another form of psychic power.
Although, originally, psychic abilities were indeed a branch of magic.
However, ever since Noah's arrival, psychic powers and magic had completely diverged.
"I knew this day would come," he murmured. "But I didn't expect it to come so soon. It seems I overestimated the Magic Gods' self-control."
"Then again, without restraint, beings possessing absolute power long ago lost the capacity for self-discipline and vigilance—emotions only normal lifeforms can feel."
He had done nothing extraordinary to this world.
Merely by existing within it.
As a Super-Primeval God—known by some as God Himself—where he stood became Heaven, his own divine domain.
Within his domain, he was the sole and absolute deity.
God was, by definition, the one and only. Wherever He resided, He alone could be called divine.
Thus, any lifeform of a lower rank would have all divinity forcibly extinguished within His presence, reverting to its most primal form.
If one had become a god through laws, they would revert to a spirit embodying those laws. If one had become divine through humanity, they would descend once more to mortal form.
Now that He resided in the mortal world, this world itself had become His Heaven.
Had the Magic Gods remained within their phases and refrained from touching the mortal plane, nothing would have happened to them.
But they could not suppress their curiosity. Having only just awakened, they reached for a realm forever beyond their grasp.
And so—curiosity killed the cat.
Now, they had silenced all divine authority within themselves, becoming nothing more than quasi-Magic Gods.
The so-called quasi-Magic Gods were magicians who had crossed the abyss from the pinnacle of humanity, yet failed to ascend due to the absence of a divine ritual or opportunity.
And such an opportunity—such a ritual—only ever came once. Miss it, and it would be lost forever.
"There's no need to concern ourselves with the details. It's almost over now."
A faint smile curved across Noah's lips.
The Ether Anchors he had established in this world were already sufficient to pull an entire world into alignment. Yet those anchors were unstable—there was no way to ensure that risks would not arise.
At present, Academy City was already completely infused with the aura of Teyvat. Moreover, with the Misaka Sisters now dispersed across the world, that influence had spread even further.
After all, the Toaruverse was nothing more than a shell—an empty vessel without a consciousness.
Otherwise, he would have had to seize it through force of war rather than such effortless means.
Perhaps it was precisely because this world lacked a world-consciousness that all the Truths and Laws had merged into its world-barrier, forming an absolute wall that isolated it from everything beyond.
Stuart, Aiwass, and the beings numbered 663—those bearing the titles of angel and demon—began the hunt for the Magic Gods.
Noah had directly issued an order to every angel and demon in this world.
Once fallen into the mortal realm, stripped of their divinity, the Magic Gods were no longer gods at all—merely powerful magicians.
He had no need to act personally. All he had to do was wait for the captured Magic Gods to be brought before him.
...
London.
Having resolved to transform herself into an angel and begin the Judgment of Good and Evil upon all believers of the Cross Church, Lola responded with devout reverence, "Yes, my Lord."
Aiwass stepped out from the artificial heaven, bowing in fervent obedience. "As You command, my Lord. Aiwass shall capture every heretic who dared to steal Your divine power."
...
Meanwhile—
Within the Windowless Building—
Crack, crack…
The sound of shattering glass echoed through the chamber. Aleister's life-support capsule fractured with countless cracks, the entire room trembling violently.
With a deafening crash, the containment unit shattered completely.
A man with silver hair so long it trailed across the floor slowly rose to his feet. The green surgical gown upon his body dried instantly, and his eyes blazed with unquenchable fury.
He raised his hand lightly, grasping a magic staff shaped like a twisted tree branch.
"Magic Gods fallen to the earth, huh… Hehehe… It's time to settle the final score."
"The techniques I devised specifically to deal with you—let's see if you can still withstand them now. Hehehe…"
In order to slay a Magic God, Aleister had dedicated every ounce of his magical talent to his research—until at last, he succeeded in developing a spell capable of killing one.
At first glance, it was an utterly ordinary spell. Yet it was precisely this ordinary-looking magic that served as his ultimate trump card against the Magic Gods.
A Magic God could only be slain by a power greater than their own.
But how could one possibly surpass a Magic God?
The answer was simple—use a Magic God's own power against themselves.
Thus was born his god-slaying spell: Spiritual Formula — Spiritual Tripping.
Through forced meditation, he imprinted an image directly into the minds of those who beheld him. Accompanied by specific hand movements, the target's thoughts would involuntarily follow his gestures.
If the target imagined that the object in his hand was a gun, then the resulting injury would be the equivalent of being shot.
The power of the spell was determined entirely by the imagination of the target—completely shattering all concepts of pure idealism.
And the imagination of a Magic God was infinite. Therefore, once struck by the spell, they would suffer infinite attacks born of their own limitless imagination.
Of course, that alone was not enough. He also required a magical apparatus capable of amplifying his spell tenfold.
That apparatus was the Blasting Rod, a magical relic that increased the power of Spiritual Tripping by ten times.
Together, the two formed a perfect feedback loop—once a Magic God was ensnared by the spell, they would be struck by tenfold infinite assaults.
Naturally, there was a prerequisite: that the Magic God could actually fall prey to the spell.
After all, he had never yet tested it on a Magic God and did not know if it could truly take effect.
...
Noah glanced once more toward the fallen Magic Gods and then looked away. Even with that single glance, he had already seen the outcome.
Now, he only wished to enjoy what little leisure he had left in this world.
Unknowingly, he found himself inside a large shopping mall.
From nearby came the cheerful, energetic voices of two young girls.
"Uiharu, Uiharu, look! Isn't this outfit cute~?"
"It is, it really is! But, Saten, are you sure you want to buy something that expensive?"
"Hehe… Even though I'm an unpowered Level 0, I've actually saved up quite a bit of money. It's fine to splurge a little sometimes!"
"After all, we start at the Talent Workshop tomorrow. We've got to look our best and leave a good impression on our classmates!"
"I see… In that case, I'll buy something too! Just this once, I'll spoil myself a bit."
The two girls—both around thirteen or fourteen, dressed in sailor uniforms—were carefully trying on clothes in the women's section. Watching their lively interaction, Noah stroked his chin, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Of all the worlds, the Toaruverse really was one of his favorite anime settings—mainly because of how many adorable girls it had.
Despite being powerless, Saten Ruiko scored highly in every aspect—personality, charm, and character—making her, in his mind, the ideal type of girl to marry.
As Saten Ruiko and Kazari Uiharu stepped out of the changing rooms, neither noticed Noah standing nearby. With a mischievous grin, Saten suddenly lifted the hem of Uiharu's skirt.
"Wah—!" Uiharu, who had been admiring her new outfit in the mirror, froze as her skirt was flipped up, exposing her underwear. Her face instantly turned crimson, tears of embarrassment welling in her eyes.
"Saten! What are you doing?! Y-you lifted my skirt again!"
"What if a boy saw that?! Uuuh…"
Saten showed no sign of remorse. Instead, she giggled playfully. "Don't worry, I checked—there aren't any boys around. But today, Uiharu's wearing strawberry print panties~."
"E-even if no boys saw, it's still embarrassing! Even being seen by another girl is too much!"
Saten tugged lightly at her own skirt. "Then how about you lift mine, Uiharu?"
Uiharu puffed her cheeks, face still bright red. "No way, I'm not doing that!"
Saten teased, "You're so forgiving, Uiharu. If you don't lift it, I'll take it as a sign you've forgiven me."
Uiharu pouted, thinking to herself that she had to make Saten experience the same embarrassment—otherwise, she'd just keep doing it whenever she wasn't looking.
"Fine, Saten! I'll lift yours too! If a boy sees, don't blame me!"
Saten laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "This is the women's section—there are no boys here!"
Uiharu's eyes narrowed with determination. "Alright then—take this!" she exclaimed, and in one quick motion, lifted Saten's skirt in playful retaliation.
"Eh? W-white?!"
Saten blinked in surprise, her cheeks turning red. "Ehh? You actually did it, Uiharu?"
Uiharu puffed up her cheeks, flustered. "You told me to! So I just… did what you said!"
Saten laughed awkwardly, scratching her head. "Haha… well, at least no one saw us."
Just as she finished speaking, a calm voice came from the side, instantly freezing both girls in place.
"I saw everything, you know~ Quite clearly, too~"
Both Uiharu and Saten turned their heads stiffly, like puppets. Standing nearby was a young man who at first seemed ordinary—but the longer they looked, the more his striking features became apparent.
"Ah—!"
"Ahhh—!"
Their sharp cries echoed through the store as they quickly tried to compose themselves, faces flushed red from embarrassment.
Uiharu covered her face with both hands, her eyes welling up. "Th-that was so embarrassing! Someone actually saw us!" she stammered.
Saten looked just as red, though she managed a sheepish smile. "S-sorry, Uiharu… I really didn't mean for that to happen."
Uiharu lightly hit Saten's arm, half-crying, half-laughing. "It's all your fault, Saten! You always start this kind of trouble!"
Saten lowered her head in apology. "Yeah… sorry about that."
Noah chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Come on now, no need to be so dramatic. It was just a harmless prank. Tell you what—how about I cover your shopping bill as an apology?"
The two girls, still flustered, quickly shook their heads.
"N-no, it's fine!" Saten said hurriedly, trying not to make eye contact. "It's not your fault, really."
Uiharu peeked up shyly before looking away again, still red-faced but beginning to calm down.
Noah smiled faintly at their innocence before turning away, letting them return to their cheerful chatter as if nothing had happened.
For him, it was a small, peaceful moment in an otherwise turbulent world—one of the few traces of normal life still left for him to enjoy.
—
—
23 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven