The Goddess Is Obsessed With Me

With a mighty roar, I unleash my full strength in a single blow.

"Yes... That's the power!!"

Although the first strike severs her arm, there seems to be a smile behind her mask.

"Harold...!!"

She swings her twin-bladed sword at me, but...

Clang!

My strength easily shatters her frail weapon.

"That determination! The will to protect what you love..."

"Kill me!!"

"Space distortion!"

The magic she used to devastate Eleona and many others...

Ting!

But my power, capable of warping even abstract concepts, easily slices through it.

"Time distortion!!"

Any other attack would have been insurmountable, but I effortlessly counter it.

"Harold――!!"

She lunges at me with a barrage of punches.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Even blows that would devastate a normal human cause me no harm...

"Rise up! You feel nothing, do you?!"

As Tempus says, I feel no pain. Whether it's the white light around me or my own inherent toughness, I'm not sure.

But one thing is certain...

"Ugh!!"

Even against the god of time, I possess an overwhelming power.

Thunk!

My sword pierces her chest.

"I can feel it...! I feel my death approaching!"

Crack!

Her mask shatters, revealing Tempus's true, smiling face. This wasn't the image I knew of her. Previously aloof and uninterested, her eyes now sparkled with life.

"Cough-?!"

Brighter than any moment I had seen in the game.

"Tempus!"

As much as she desired death, I had no reason to deny her.

Thump―!!!

With my sword embedded in her chest, we both plummet to the center of the kingdom.

"Just dying would be a bit dull... So, I'll give you some resistance!"

Her magic hits me directly. All of Tempus's spells were surely lethal, but... Even without knowing what I was dealing with, or if it was all protected, I felt nothing from her attacks.

"Ha!"

With a shout, my strike once again lands solidly on Tempus. Handling this power for the first time, I realized something. This power could alter concepts and higher-dimensional entities.

"Ugh...!"

Tempus, hit by my strike, is pushed back.

"Kuk... Kuk...!!"

Despite the pain and coughing up blood, she smiles with joy at the approaching end.

"Just one more... and I'll finish it..."

Gripping my sword with all my might, dazzling lights start to seep into me. My powers swell further, solidifying my belief that I can deliver the final blow.

"Then, I must fight with all my might too."

Tempus, with her remaining arm, summons all her energy to create a massive time vortex. A shiver runs through me as I sense the right moment and forcefully leap off the ground. Raising my sword, I plunge directly into the oncoming time spells.

"Fate's Vortex!!!"

Tempus's last spell, capable of reducing anything it touches to nothingness, charges at me. A desperate move, unveiled in the game just before her demise.

"Uaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"

With a fierce battle cry, I dive into it. My blade splits into two streams, relentlessly moving towards its target. A decisive strike, truly the last.

Cha-chaaaak!!!

At last, my final attack pierces through.

"Ha...!"

Tempus, hit by the blow, spurts a grand arc of blood.

"Ah...."

Her voice fades rapidly, yet she still looks content.

"Thank you... child..."

She turns to look at me, staggering past. Standing seems almost impossible for her now, and in what was a brief moment, she eventually kneels.

"A truly satisfying end... Now... I can finally rest..."

Looking up at the sky returning to its original state, she whispers her last words to me. "By killing me, the gods will weaken again... Not as completely suppressed as before, but... there will be no more fighting..."

Tempus, maintaining her smile to the end, then lowers her head and opens her eyes wide.

"Now be happy... Cherish and love the girls who want you... This time, may you truly enjoy your happiness forever."

She then gradually dissolves into light, her form fading away.

"Tempus..."

"Any last words?"

I ask her, as her life is just seconds from ending.

"Was all this... just an act?"

A lingering doubt. Tempus had spoken as if she had orchestrated and planned all this. Although it didn't seem like mere acting when she first tried to kill Elerona...

Did she drive me to this point, harm them one by one... all for her own sake?

"Well... not entirely wrong, but not entirely right either," she replies ambiguously, smiling brightly even at her end, leaving a frustrating feeling.

"After all, once I die, their health will return... and if you had died, it all would have ended... Just remember this."

So, there was indeed a possibility she could have actually killed me and her...

"Now it really ends..."

With that, Tempus closes her eyes for the last time. Her body mostly turned to light, ready to disperse into the world.

"The final trial is over... Lastly... I'm sorry... and thank you... for giving me peace."

These were the final words of Tempus, the god of time.

"Haah..."

Releasing a breath filled with numerous emotions, she beautifully dissipates.

Waaahhh --

Releasing a dazzling light into the world...

"Ugh...?!"

Elerona, who had briefly lost consciousness, soon regains her senses and gets up.

"Your Highness, are you okay?"

"Her... Harold?!"

And there I was, Harold, facing the goddess in a markedly different atmosphere. "What on earth... happened here?!" Elerona's voice is filled with confusion. Her last memory was of chaos and imminent death, but now the sky is a clear blue, and her body is unharmed.

"I resolved it all, with this heart," I say, placing my hand on my chest and smiling brightly.

"Really...?" Her skeptical tone gives way to acceptance as she senses the undeniable power radiating from me.

"Yes, and..." I confess with a happier smile, something I had long denied. "I love you, Elerona."

"What...?!" She's taken aback by words she never expected to hear from me.

"What do you mean?!" She hastily asks, blushing deeply and almost shrieking in surprise.

"I realized through this ordeal, I've been denying it, but now I accept it. I genuinely love you, Elerona, and all the goddesses who love me!"

My honesty initially startles Elerona, but soon she's overcome with a mix of emotions and tears of joy. "I've always... loved you too!"

It's a harmonious moment.

"Harold...?"

But the seriousness soon fades.

"What about me, brother? I love you too, you know."

"I feel a bit left out here. I love you too, right?"

"The love of a princess feels light to you?"

"Harold, I should be your primary, right?"

"I've always said... you're everything to me..."

"That's right! I really like you too!"

"Don't you know how glorious it is to be loved by fate?"

Elerona and the others, now reenergized, darken at my sudden confession.

But I remain unfazed. "I love all of you too. Just as much as you love me, I love you."

My statement stirs a little chaos, leaving everyone a bit flustered and overwhelmed. "Wha...what?!" The exclamation of surprise rings out from everyone.

Harold, amidst the chorus of shocked voices, can't help but smile happily, knowing he has many explanations to offer. "It's all over now. We just have to be truly happy!"

Months pass after the rebellion against time, a historic event that shook the world. The gods, some perished, some wounded, and the kingdoms including the entire world, experienced great turmoil. Some divine factions ended ambiguously, while others benefitted from the vanishing of their competitors. But with the source of trouble gone, time began to heal the wounds, leading to a more liberated and improved era for the gods.

And there I was, Harold, enjoying the newfound peace. Underneath a giant tree where Miru often stayed, I relished the serene tranquility. Surrounded by my loving companions, we all sat together, calming our hearts.

Remembering the past, Erina reminisced, "It all started when you saved me from bandits... Since then, my life has been peaceful." Her bittersweet memories brought a smile to her face.

The conversation shifts to what to name the baby. It turns out I unknowingly fathered a child with Morione, who once drugged and seduced me. She had halted the pregnancy's progress, waiting for the right time to reveal this. A truly complex feeling washed over me.

Moving on, Mir, a bit disappointed for not being the first to bear a child, caressed her growing belly. "Someone beat me to it... I really wanted to be the first."

Despite their mixed feelings, everyone seemed content that the ultimate goal of carrying on the lineage was achieved, as Abne expressed her satisfaction.

Marika, the second to conceive, mentioned the royal palace's ongoing buzz about the situation, reassuring herself as a strong candidate.

Recently, there was a gathering different from the usual - a "mother and daughter hotpot" event, which everyone found embarrassing but secretly enjoyable.

In this new era of peace and complex relationships, life continued with its mix of joy, challenges, and shared love. In the midst of this unusual gathering, Aris and Arsia engage in a slightly odd conversation, "I was sure I'd be first... Why do I feel like I'm somehow behind in the actual ranking? Well... as long as I'm happy, it doesn't matter." Despite her doubts, Luceria smiles, content with her place.

Morione, after peering into something, suddenly becomes excited, "I see it... a perfect destiny filled only with happiness!"

Yura, laughing softly, covers her mouth at the somewhat sad reality, "Now it feels empty without tails and animal ears!"

Eleona, with a newfound broad-mindedness compared to the beginning, admits, "My husband... To be honest, I still have thoughts of monopolizing you." But she quickly adds, "Yet, this feels sufficiently happy as it is."

Surrounded by so many women, I can't help but think it's an overwhelming situation. But in its own way, it's a fitting conclusion.

No, more than that, it's the best possible ending I could imagine. "I love you all," I declare, sharing my true feelings amidst this tranquil and blissful peace.