The Lone SF Transmigrator in the Otherworld Forum
Chapter 180: Second Meeting

In truth, Karlstein did not care whether these beings called themselves divine and demanded worship, or felt superior while enslaving other races. After all, the Galactic Empire had also invaded and usurped other dimensions for strategic purposes.

However…

“I can’t understand why an absolute being like you would engage in such petty, dishonorable acts.”

“We can fully resolve this through amicable dialogue.”

Resolve this through dialogue?

“Haha…”

It was merely laughable how they ignored their own actions, got angry in reverse, and played the victim. There was no need to hear more.

“Just call the tree over herself. What’s she called, mummy? Mother? My business is with that one.”

After all, his purpose was to meet the true form of Sephiroth, which he had previously encountered.

“Do not sully Mother’s name!”

Despite only watching cautiously as Karlstein rampaged around, the clansmen suddenly became agitated as if a switch had been flipped.

“Your arrogance knows no bounds!”

“You may possess absolute power, but this is our stronghold. Don’t forget that our entire clan is converging here now!”

Oh? Now they’re resorting to threats?

Karlstein couldn’t help but smirk at the absurdity.

“You seem to be under some misunderstanding…”

Pzzt-

A radiant light rose behind Karlstein’s golden armor. Sensing something unsual, the clansmen hurriedly distanced themselves from him.

But distance meant nothing to Karlstein.

“I didn’t come here to leisurely chat with the likes of you.”

As the light rose, the air itself stilled and golden sparks began to fly from the sky.

Pzzt-

Light particles emitted from the golden sparks gathered around Karlstein.

Rumble-

With a thunderous sound, cracks began to form in space.

The clansmen who had been secretly surrounding Karlstein turned pale, feeling an overwhelming, world-crushing pressure.

“…!”

“T-this is!”

The chilling prelude to destruction made everyone gasp. They knew their opponent was absolutely superior, but facing that power directly was a completely different reality.

Rumble-

It was an unbelievable spectacle—golden currents seemed intent on destroying everything in their path.

Karlstein continued speaking, looking down on them contemptuously.

“If you don’t come out right now, I’ll collapse everything.”

Karlstein’s ice-cold gaze was filled with determination.

“Oh, and that wasn’t meant for you clansmen.”

Karlstein fixed his gaze on the heavens as a thunderous crash, like the sky itself falling, shook the world.

“I’ll count to three. Three…”

Those surrounding Karlstein panicked. Reinforcement was supposedly coming from their higher ranks, but they didn’t know when it would arrive, and it didn’t seem like they could stop this anyway.

Stopping that man? No, that was impossible from the start.

“Two…”

Crack-

The sky split, and a torrent of golden currents flowed out from between the cracks.

Was this truly a sign of the world’s end?

“One.”

As Karlstein was about to destroy this entire world, the sky fractured further, showering the world below with falling branches.

Karlstein sensed something approaching outside his mental barrier and deliberately weakened it to allow entry.

Then.

Pop-

He blacked out and came to in unfamiliar surroundings.

***

“…We meet again.”

He had been there before. Larger than any planet, a white tree shone with a gentle, shimmering radiance. The light, however, was dimmer than it had been.

Sss-

The majestic tree, seemingly at the universe’s center, gathered white light into the shape of a woman. She had long ears and jade-green hair.

Karlstein had a hazy memory of her being a bird when he last saw her. Was this because he had grown stronger after absorbing Longquan? Or was it because Sephiroth had weakened?

Either way, it didn’t matter.

“Sephiroth?”

The woman opened her eyes at Karlstein’s voice, staring at him.

“…”

Her gaze was utterly devoid of emotion.

“Why don’t you answer? You seemed quite talkative last time.”

Only then did the woman respond to Karlstein’s prodding.

“Were you not the one who called for me?”

Karlstein nodded, as that was not wrong. He came here, drawing attention to himself, for the sole purpose of meeting this being.

“So, what was your purpose in causing this situation?”

There was a hidden bite to her question, which was only natural from her perspective.

Despite sealing the dimensional cluster and blocking all external entry points, leaving herself severely damaged, Karlstein had forced a way in, ready to drop a bombshell.

“Did you not reject my offer last time?”

Moreover, had he not rejected her offer to join hands? She could not understand why he had come. Could it be intimidation or coercion?

It might be disappointing for him to hear, but even if he had grown stronger than before, it would not be easy to damage her very essence. If she were determined to avoid him, even he would be powerless.

That being the case…

“What brings you here? I must warn that using force would be a mistake.”

***

Karlsten was sure the woman was some sort of clone. He had not noticed it before, but now the truth was obvious.

But what did that matter?

Karlstein had lured out Sephiroth by taking her dimensional cluster hostage, and her appearance showed her desire to protect it.

Let’s see how long you can keep acting defiant.

“That’s not the conversation I wanted.”

“What do you mean?”

Karlstein resumed his earlier work, relentlessly drawing out Ether, poised to obliterate the dimensional cluster linked to Sephiroth.

His boundless Ether and Longquan’s knowledge made this seem entirely feasible.

Crunch-

The woman’s eyes twitched.

“What are you trying to do? Didn’t you want to talk?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why are you being so unreasonable?”

Karlstein was attacking the connection that bound the dimensions together by radiating Ether. She was not oblivious to this.

“Are you really going to do this? If so, I can’t just stand by either.”

A powerful aura emanated from Sephiroth as well, enhanced by the giant tree behind her. As she was enveloped in an intense silver light, he was exposed to an indescribable sense of pressure.

“This place is connected to my mental landscape. It may be different outside, but in here, it won’t be so easy to act as you will.”

Her frosty gaze made his skin tingle.

Karlstein certainly felt it might be difficult to annihilate her existence completely. He had a hunch that even if he burned the woman’s body and the giant tree behind her, it would not damage her essence.

Nevertheless…

“Hahaha.”

He had come prepared to gamble everything. It was time to walk the walk.

“Last time, didn’t you suggest we join hands to create the future I want?”

“…So I did.”

“But then I thought about it.”

“?”

“For the future I want? Is it really?”

“…”

Karlstein pointed at her without stopping his Ether manipulation.

“Say, how well do you really know me?”

Karlstein sneered.

“Get it straight. It’s your desired future, not mine.”

“…”

The woman frowned.

“Naturally, my suggestion was not for your sake. But if your desire aligns with my intentions, what is the difference?”

Karlstein shook his head.

“Oh but it differs. You call that an argument?”

Her words seemed reasonable on the surface.

“How can I trust you in the first place?”

“Humans are often described as creatures of doubt. Though you were born human, you should strive to broaden your perspective a little.”

She spoke in an advisory tone, which naturally displeased Karlstein.

“Right, well said. It’s because I’m looking at the bigger picture that I came here like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“The future I want, I’ll create it myself. That’s all.”

Starlight streamed from Karlstein’s golden armor as it shifted into its ultimate battle form.

“This is the conversation I wanted from the start.”

“…”

Click-

Once his face protector descended, he was fully obscured. Now only battle remained.

Sephiroth bit her lip hard.

Just as Karlstein was about to leap into action, she sighed.

“…I understand.”

“Huh?”

“You make the first proposal. What kind of ending do you want?”

“Haha.”

Only now did she show a gesture of surrender. But Karlstein grinned as he formed a spear from golden currents, gripping it tightly.

“Let’s finish this part of the conversation first!”

As Karlstein hurled the spear, the world became bathed in gold. First to strike wins, as they say.

The spear hurtled toward Sephiroth.

***

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