Translator: Pai_
Gates appeared on Earth, and as they rampaged, monsters poured out.
The world was doing everything it could to stop them.
The only fortunate part was that they were much weaker than what he had experienced in his previous life.
“It’s not too serious yet.”
-They’ll get stronger in the future.
The Dimensional Shop Owner corrected Iron's words.
Just as she said, Earth too would gradually see more monsters and higher-level enemies appear.
-There’s still quite some time left before the Fallen Beings appear though...
As she said that, she looked at Iron.
Her expression seemed to ask what he was going to do.
Iron smirked in response.
“Refuse.”
Seeing Iron speak as if it were the obvious choice, she looked up at the sky.
The space above her shimmered, and a variety of colored energies flashed.
-How noisy. What do you expect me to do about him rejecting it! Tsk!
With a mocking tone, it seemed like someone was yelling at the Dimensional Shop Owner, angry that Iron had refused.
With a wave of her hand, as if annoyed, the flickering space quieted down.
Then, she looked at Iron with a somewhat regretful expression and said,
-Well… it’s unfortunate for me, but not a bad decision. The moment you accept their offer, all the rewards you’ve earned here would disappear.
She looked at Iron as she said that.
-Destruction doesn’t vanish just because it’s delayed. So I suppose it’s right to settle it once and for all now.
At her words, Iron gave a small nod.
It was certainly a tempting offer to accept their proposal, delay the destruction of this place temporarily, and return to Earth to help prevent its fall.
But even with that considered, it wouldn’t be wise to miss out on this rare opportunity brought by pure luck.
It was the best chance to cut the catastrophe known as true Destruction in half, and even face an enemy suffering from debuffs.
Clap!
The Dimensional Shop Owner clapped her hands, drawing the attention of both the contemplative Iron and the bothersome Fallen Beings toward herself.
-Now! My role here is finished. Since your deal has been refused, I will now nullify this.
As she said that and waved her arm, a contract appeared in midair.
Once the contract between the Fallen Being and the Dimensional Shop Owner that had formed in the air through the system window vanished, the shimmering space above returned to normal.
[The mediation has been nullified! All rewards earned in the Dimensional Shop will now be properly applied.]
-The Fallen Beings are even more enraged at you!
-Some Fallen Beings are seeking new ways to tempt you.
As the system voice rang out, he looked at the space, which had completely returned to normal.
“Have they disappeared?”
-Yes. Now that the contract is over, they have no reason to remain here.
The Dimensional Shop Owner said this as she looked at Iron.
-Now! Shouldn’t you get going too? They’ve been pestering me from outside for a while now.
“They’ve been pestering you?”
In response to Iron’s question, the Dimensional Shop Owner lightly tapped the air with her finger to show him the situation outside.
There, people were trying to break through the barrier since he hadn’t come out for so long.
“How long have I been in here?”
He had sensed from the start that the time axis inside this place was slightly distorted.
While Iron had broken through in the shortest time possible from his perspective, a lot more time might have passed outside.
-It’s been about a week in their time.
“Hmm...”
At her words, Iron could understand why they were pushing themselves so hard out there.
-If you understand now, let’s wrap things up too.
The moment she said that and clapped her hands again, the surrounding space began to completely change.
The scenery of Earth disappeared, and even the large chamber with the murals distorted.
The place that appeared next looked like an ancient ruin.
“Ah...”
Iron couldn’t help but exclaim as he saw the view of what appeared to be the entrance he had come through earlier.
‘An illusion spell?’
That’s what Iron thought, but he couldn’t be sure.
He didn’t know much about magic, but it seemed that not only simple illusion magic, but even space-type abilities had been used.
Otherwise, such a massive structure couldn’t possibly have fit in such a confined space.
He knew well, since he had flown up himself to the towering temple.
‘That was real.’
Iron, convinced that it wasn’t merely illusion magic, stared intently at the Dimensional Shop Owner.
“You… what exactly are you?”
-Why are you curious about such a trivial thing? Don’t concern yourself with pointless matters and worry about your own situation. Since you’ve decided to stop Destruction, you’re going to have some grueling days ahead.
At her words, Iron continued staring at her.
“Spatial abilities… and even for a moment, you turned back time. Not even a god could easily pull off something like that.”
-…Is that what you want to know?
“Yes.”
-If you want to know about me, you’ll have to pay a price.
At her words, Iron fell silent.
He frowned at the fact that even information about her came with a cost, then tilted his head slightly at her expression.
She didn’t seem happy about having to trade information about herself either.
“Don’t tell me… the system?”
-Yes.
“How ruthless.”
Iron looked at her with an expression of exasperation.
-Having made a deal with the system, this is something I must accept. Which is why… you must survive Destruction.
She said this while looking at Iron.
She thought back to when they had fought, recalling the moment he had stood before her after breaking through the magic and divine powers she had gained over long years as the Dimensional Shop Owner.
And that wasn’t even the end.
‘This one will grow even more. If so… he might even defeat that being.’
After a brief moment of thought, she spoke to Iron.
-Yes… perhaps you're worth taking the risk on.
With those words, she clapped her hands.
Then a contract in the form of a system window appeared before Iron and the Dimensional Shop Owner.
[Contract with the Dimensional Shop Owner]
1. Upon victory against Destruction, the name of the Dimensional Shop Owner shall be inscribed at the center of the Empire.
2. Her sisters shall likewise have their names inscribed at the center of the Empire.
3. Temples shall be built in their honor.
Compensation Plan:
Past: Lost Ancient Magic / Present: Magi-Engineering of a ruined world / Future: ??Advanced scientific technology of another dimension.
Iron looked at the witch’s contract with a surprised expression.
What she offered as compensation were the lost ancient magic of the past, magi-engineering to enhance current technological levels, and future technology far beyond what could currently be reached.
The moment these were acquired, the technology of the Auzria Continent would surely advance one, or even more, dimensions higher.
‘She’s handing over exactly what’s needed.’
With the debuff in effect, what humanity needed most was a way to further boost its combat power.
Blessings were useful, but so was technology, it could be just as effective.
Because it would raise the overall level of the regular troops.
Then, with a curious expression, he looked at Urd.
“If you… give this to me, what sort of penalties will you face?”
In response to Iron’s question, the Dimensional Shop Owner smiled without saying a word.
It was only natural, she was restricted by the system, so there was no way she could offer such terms without any sacrifice.
-You don’t need to know that. Just accept my terms.
“…I accept.”
At Iron’s words, the Dimensional Shop Owner smiled and nodded.
There was no way Iron, who was desperate enough to borrow even a cat’s help, could refuse, and as if expecting this, she clapped her hands.
In that instant, the contract floating in the air began to vanish.
[You have successfully entered a contract with the Dimensional Shop Owner. Upon fulfilling the agreement, her rewards will be granted!]
-Build temples for the three goddesses of fate in accordance with the contract with the former god Urd!
-Build statues of Urd, Goddess of the Past; Verdandi, Goddess of the Present; and Skuld, Goddess of the Future.
-Upon fulfilling the promise, the rewards will be granted at the temples!
As the system voice confirmed that the contract had been properly concluded, Urd looked at Iron and smiled.
-With this, the chances of your kind surviving Destruction have increased a little.
“…Yeah.”
Iron looked at Urd.
“I don’t know what you’ve sacrificed, but I’ll make sure you don’t regret your investment.”
-Yes. I’ll be looking forward to it.
At her final words and the gesture that seemed to tell him to go, Iron smirked and walked out of the ruins.
The moment Iron stepped outside, the ancient ruins slowly began to collapse.
At the same time, the space shimmered, and just like when the Fallen Beings had appeared, a space glowing in various colors was formed.
-How noisy.
She frowned as she looked at the beings making a fuss over her choice.
She was known as the most cold-hearted among the Dimensional Shop Owners.
She was never swayed by emotions, nor did she engage in pointless gambles.
She had lived her life focusing solely on trades, without any fun, which is why many beings were puzzled by the choice she had made this time.
-The gamble must succeed… if not this time, I don’t think I can hold on any longer…
She had wandered through dimensions for an incredibly long time.
And the reason she had gone so far was to revive her sisters once more.
She had achieved the highest performance among the Dimensional Shop Owners, but the system had no intention of letting her go easily, and always placed trials before her.
After overcoming all those trials, she had nearly collected enough points to revive her sisters.
But this time, she had invested a significant portion of those points.
She had invested the maximum amount the system would allow.
That’s how much she had wagered on this gamble.
These weren’t individual weapons handed to a person, but three large-scale buffs she had just handed over.
-Hoo… it’s draining.
She had exhausted most of the points she had scraped together with such effort.
It had taken ages to gather them, and using them now left her feeling drained and empty.
But her intuition told her that this gamble would succeed.
If she had regrets at first, since this was once a place she ruled over as a god of the past, after talking with Iron, her feelings had shifted into certainty that her gamble would succeed.
-Do you truly believe your gamble will succeed?
After the ruins had completely collapsed, a massive dragon appeared from a black space and stared directly at her.
A being so powerful it was called Destruction itself.
Among the many forces of Destruction, this one ranked among the top, and it was now telling Urd that her decision had been a mistake.
-My intuition says it will.
Urd replied as she pulled out the essences of her two sisters, which she had kept hidden for ages.
Once called the Three Goddesses of Fate, her intuition was now telling her that Iron would save her and her sisters from the system.
The enormous dragon bared its killing intent as it looked at her.
-…You will regret this.
With those final words, the massive dragon vanished.
It was warning Urd in anger, as her decision could affect even its own scheduled Destruction.
If Auzria were to fall, Urd could end up suffering retaliation from the beings of Destruction because of this choice.
But Urd had no regrets.
She simply hoped that the day Destruction would end would come as soon as possible.
-That guy… might even have to face that dragon.
Urd said this as she looked toward the distant blue planet.
The planet called ‘Earth’ was fated for Destruction.
And perhaps the hero who had defended the Auzria Continent would now have to fight another harsh battle to protect his own home.
But in her eyes, Iron could overcome even that.
The Destruction that had threatened the Auzria Continent was no small threat either, and if he could overcome that, then he would be more than capable of stopping the Destruction fated for Earth.
***
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