In the end, they still couldn't have dinner. Upon learning the truth, Darius let out a blood-curdling wail. All his desperate efforts had only bought him a world he had personally destroyed. His cries were so wretched and grating that Jiang You and Illya couldn't even eat while watching the drama.
"Should we help him, for Pandora's sake?" Heavenly Emperor Illya, unable to rule alone for all eternity, still felt a pang of sympathy. According to Jiang You's plan, the two of them were about to return to the outside world to reunite with their companions. After all, this was a ruined world...
"Forget it. If Pandora really wanted to help him, she wouldn't have sent him here." Jiang You refused to buy into that. Type-Moon was full of similar characters. "It's just like the difference between Zouken Matou and Makiri Zolgen. Time eventually erases everything. He is no longer the same Darius from back then. Even he himself has forgotten who he was. Is there any point in helping him now?"
"Alright... alright." Even though she felt a bit reluctant, Illya still agreed with Jiang You's decision. After all, wasn't all this suffering caused by this Darius?
"Alright, stop your wailing." Jiang You punched the top of Darius's head, silencing his pig-like shrieks. "Be happy. This is what you've been wishing for for thousands of years, and you finally achieved it, didn't you? Next, I'm going on a honeymoon trip with Illya, so I'll leave this world to you from now on. You are the only living being in this world, its new Kami-sama. Good luck... though there's only mud left."
"Do you even know what you're saying? I'm calling the police." Illya pointed out she was only ten, and Jiang You was committing a crime.
"Wait!" Darius, who had just come to his senses, tried to grab Jiang You. This young man he had only met once before was clearly capable of taking someone out of here, otherwise where else could there be to go in this world of nothing but mud? "This isn't where I'm supposed to be!"
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Time was almost up, and Jiang You stored the small house they had been in for so long back into his Inventory, leaving behind the desolate world filled with black mud and the Giant King's remains. He had developed some attachment to this shelter during the compressed six thousand years, and destroying it like this would be a shame. "Didn't you choose this yourself? Adults must take responsibility for their own actions. Please..."
Jiang You didn't know what Darius's ultimate fate would be. The manga was just too prone to hiatuses. Anyway, as long as he completed the world's logical loop, what happened to Darius, who was left alone in this world, was no longer his concern. Perhaps he really could become a god? It's just that the time might be a bit too long. The time it would take for a newly born world to re-evolve intelligent life might be somewhat terrifying. We can only pray that Mr. Darius can maintain his sanity for several billion years.
"We're going back, we're going back!" The two and a half years spent with Jiang You, plus the time spent with Pandora, were also long enough for Illya. However, she had no complaints, because according to the original logic, she had truly passed through six thousand years of time. "But for Pandora, she really did spend that much time. To cooperate with us to complete the loop, she might be a little resentful. Remember to apologize properly to her then."
"Alright, alright." According to the manga, Pandora would throw a tantrum because of Miyu's tactless comments. Pandora wasn't afraid of being hated; prolonged loneliness was her true enemy. Therefore, because Miyu acted so completely indifferent, just as she did in the original timeline, Pandora planned to get angry. In this situation, however, the two were simply not familiar at all.
"Ah, they're back." When Jiang You led Illya out of the portal, they were met with the sight of a group of lolis sitting together, playing cards. Since Pandora didn't have her own deck, everyone was using the duel-themed merchandise cards. As for why things ended up this way, it was because everyone except the Ainsworth Faction members had been acting the whole time; they all knew this well. Pandora was the first to greet them. Due to the correction of the worldline, she had also become as lively as Illya. "How does it feel to have deceived me for six thousand years? Do you have a new little spirit?"
"A new little spirit?" Illya was confused for a moment, then her face flushed red. "It's not what you think!"
"Ah~ How boring. And here I was, putting on a long act for your sake." Pandora's face was a picture of disappointment as she turned her gaze to Jiang You. "Human History has already run its course over six thousand years, yet you've made no progress at all. Are you really okay with that?"
Jiang You couldn't be bothered to explain that he and Illya had actually compressed time. Besides, he wasn't surprised that Pandora had such a friendly and familiar personality. After all, Illya was someone who couldn't hide her thoughts, and in the time that followed, she had already spoken about her own existence. It didn't affect the logical loop anyway, so Jiang You didn't care much, even though the two of them hadn't met during the corrected time. "You've worked hard all this time."
"You're being so formal... Who told me to be friends with Illya? I can answer you now." Pandora smiled, completely different from the usual Erika, who was either taciturn or wore a fake smile. "I had friends six thousand years ago, you know? Two of them, in fact. It's just that one of them was always too shy to do anything but live on in Illya's words."
"So, what exactly happened?" Julian, who was bound together with the rest of the Ainsworth Faction, was completely bewildered now that he had been removed from Darius's replacement. Because Jiang You had accelerated the plot, he didn't even know what steps had been skipped in between.
"Oh right, as my friend, I've helped you guys so much. How about promising me a small request this time?" Pandora had called Jiang You her friend earlier just for this moment. Of course, Jiang You didn't mind much, as Pandora had sacrificed a lot to complete the loop. After seeing Jiang You nod, she said, "Julian is my good brother after all, so as his sister, can I ask you to spare his life?"
"Yes, yes!" Beatrice, who had regained her memories at some point, nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice. "It was all that Darius who led our Lord Julian astray!"
"Do you have to act so childish?" Illya, who had truly experienced Pandora's actual age, complained. Then she was struck on the head by Pandora, who had taken on the form of a magical girl, with her staff.
"Shouldn't you be asking Shirou Emiya about this?" Jiang You pointed to the red-haired high school student beside him, who was the true victim here. "Seriously, I don't even know this homo... Julian. I've only met him once."
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang You, for considering my feelings." The red-haired swordsman was quite grateful to the man who had literally saved his life, and immediately thanked him again. "I've already confirmed Julian's thoughts before. He holds a grudge against me... It's just that his thoughts were twisted by his ancestor, Darius, leading him to do some bad things. But I've decided to forgive him, as long as he doesn't repeat the same mistakes. If he does the same thing again, I will still stop him."
"My brother's wishes are my wishes." That's how a brother complex works. Miyu's words were not surprising.
"Shirou, you..." Julian's face twitched slightly. In the end, he still couldn't bring himself to say what was in his heart. He tilted his head up to keep the tears from falling. "Doing so many unnecessary things..."
Feeling something brewing, Jiang You patted Beatrice on the shoulder: "You'll have to work twice as hard."
Beatrice: "?"