Clocking Out at World’s End

“Ever since the appearance of the God of Creation, the star-creating gods have always been busy creating all kinds of worlds.”

“They believe this to be quite an interesting pursuit, and perhaps undertaking such work feels meaningful to them.”

“One world after another has been brought forth by the creators, each devoutly following the rule that a world can be created in seven days, never tiring of crafting diverse realms.”

“Yet perhaps in many instances, few have ever pondered a simple question: why is the deity representing all creation deemed a god, while the one representing all destruction is mostly labeled a demon?”

“Creation and destruction ought to be inherently complementary concepts.”

“Therefore…”

She raised her head and spoke thus:

“When you question me like this, while conveniently opposing me and claiming I am a demon of total destruction, a witch who brings about calamity—what can I possibly say?”

“Brave hero, feel free to crusade against me.”

“The life force of this world is already running dry.”

“I am merely the one acting in accordance with it all.”

“You may resist in the name of your own justice, but that does not mean destruction will not come regardless.”

Amidst the ruins, the witch was covered in wounds, having faced the endless resistance of righteous souls.

To confront this apocalypse, the races of the continent had united under the leadership of a great hero, ascending the massive black tower to confront the witch of calamity.

“Because of you… because of you, so many people have died!”

The hero glared at her, staring fiercely at this woman.

The white-haired girl had once been his companion, the person he believed was his guiding light.

Her long black dress wrapped around that crystal-white, flawless body and her ash-snow hair.

She remained natural and calm, just as she had been when they first met:

“We lost so many things… because of you people, we lost so much!”

“Now I will definitely finish you off!”

“No matter what lies behind you!”

“No matter what you represent, I will strike it down!”

“Tell that so-called god behind you… Witch, send Him my regards.”

The hero raised his sword and declared:

“To hell with that bastard!”

“If He has the guts, tell Him to come down here Himself!”

“This world is protected by someone!”

“Protected by me!”

Facing that enraged countenance, the sharp blade, the sparks flying across the burning tower, and the furious hero—everything unfolded just like every other story.

—

Alright, alright, alright.

Anyone reading up to this point knows that this ought to be the beginning of a cliché story.

A great hero overcomes all hardships, slays his former best friend turned arch-nemesis witch, and saves the world.

Happy ending, happy ending… if only it were actually that simple.

Although my current situation is indeed critical, with that sword merely a few centimeters away from me, I feel I can still be salvaged.

At least, I shouldn’t feel any pain when it strikes down.

That is, after all, a divine sword imbued with the will of the world!

Its power is absolute and unavoidable—quite a frustrating thing to face, really.

To put it plainly, if everything were truly this simple, the story wouldn’t have any narrative potential left at all.

Although the other side probably thinks slashing down like this is the end of everything, unfortunately—I accounted for this as well.

(Laughs)

—

The blade sliced across her body, entering the flesh.

The force representing the entire world’s resistance against extinction plunged into this frame, and then—

“Heh.”

It was a smile of victory and triumph.

Death is not the end of everything, but this would surely be the most interesting scene.

—The sword sank into the witch’s delicate body, and at that exact instant, the divine sword representing the world’s will was interfered with and corroded by a dark force—

“Scan complete.”

“Connection established with the World Origin System.”

“Link complete.”

“Executing Star God Protocol.”

“…”

The hero froze.

In front of him, the impaled witch raised her head, revealing a triumphant and victorious smile:

“Finally broke through this world’s willpower interference.”

“It’s over.”

“I finally succeeded in clocking off.”

“Only the final step remains!”

“You…”

“It’s fine!”

“Just a fatal injury!”

“Hahaha!”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

The witch burst into a frantic, insane laugh, not forgetting to cough up a couple of mouthfuls of blood.

As the sword darkened, her body also began to dissolve:

“I had a lot of fun in your world!”

“But my mission is finished!”

“Whew…”

She took a deep breath despite being impaled.

Then, as the surrounding space began to fracture and collapse, her body started to vanish.

Yet simultaneously, high in the sky, a massive phantom projection manifested—a luminous, gigantic existence.

A rift tore open in the sky, and from it, a six-winged angel slowly emerged, holding a trumpet, and blew it forcefully!

“Doo-doo-doo-baa-baa~!!”

In an instant, this sound was detected by every intelligent lifeform in the spatial realm:

“Listen up, everyone!”

“Anyone who is still in this dump right now!”

“Hear me out!”

The angel in the sky yelled at the top of his lungs after finishing his trumpet blast, his tone filled with joy:

“According to Clause 1, Article 3 of the ‘Pan-World Creation God Regulations’!”

“This world—having been out of the hands of the Creation God Creator Teliucian for 130,000 years due to lack of operation and system maintenance—has been designated by the Apocalypse Execution Committee as a pan-world operational negative asset!”

“Having obtained the creator’s signature under legitimate and reasonable circumstances, we are now entering the apocalypse process!”

“Phew, the horn has sounded, and the world reset begins!”

Following those words was a world-shattering catastrophe.

Everything sustaining the realm collapsed, with all things falling into non-existence!

Facing the crowd below attempting to resist, the angel spoke thus:

“I understand if you want to attack me or whatever!”

“But it’s useless!”

“For the remaining time, please try to spend it with your most beloved ones, with those closest to you, and await the final three days of this world.”

“After three days, this world will be completely destroyed…”

“We wish you all the best and hope you can meet again in a new world with bright hopes!”

“I am the mouthpiece of the Apocalypse Goddess Andalita!”

“The Doomsday Announcer, Lacklan!”

“In the name of the supreme destroyer, the Goddess of Apocalypse Andalita, I declare that this world ends here!”

“Destruction begins!”

Between his words, he seemed to be in a tremendous rush.

“Alright, everything that needed reading has been read, and everything that needed saying has been said.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, my mission is complete!”

“Now, please spend the rest of your lives well during these final three days of the apocalypse!”

“This guy…”

The six-winged Doomsday Announcer Lacklan smiled, and then roared at the top of his lungs with immense satisfaction:

“…is off the clock!!!”

“Hahahahahahaha!!!”

This is not a story about a hero defeating a demon.

It is a story about the destruction of worlds—or rather, the destroyers of worlds.

Just as there are gods who bear the responsibility of creation, there are gods who bear the duty of destroying worlds.

They are neither righteous nor evil, kind nor cruel.

Is there a possibility that they are simply doing their job?

Perhaps that is the true nature of everything after all.