After spending some time testing the augmentation brought by the Saiyan bloodline, Jaden finally stopped.
He looked around the surroundings and began thinking about how to leave this place.
"Judging by the environment here... it feels similar to Royal Court City from the modern era."
"Did the explosion of the Gods' Paradise affect the ground as well?"
He couldn't quite make sense of it.
And just as he was pondering, Brunhilde's voice echoed within his mind.
"Lord Yuki... is the battle over?"
The Royal Orbs were different from ordinary Divine Weapons. Their power was exerted entirely within Jaden's body. Because of that, Brunhilde and the other Valkyries had been unable to observe what was happening outside.
Only when Jaden's use of the Royal Orbs suddenly dropped, and his physical condition began recovering, did Brunhilde finally send out an inquiry.
"It's over," Jaden replied calmly. "I'm just figuring out how to get back now. Do you have a way?"
As his words faded, a flash of light appeared beside him.
Brunhilde's phantom took shape.
The moment she saw the surroundings, her eyes widened slightly.
"This is... the void?"
"And these fragments..."
She turned her head slowly, scanning the area.
"Lord Yuki... did you shatter the Gods' Paradise?"
As she spoke, Brunhilde walked forward and picked up a shattered piece of armor lying nearby-the remnants of Gaia's Armor, left behind where Zeus had vanished.
"This is the Armor of Gaia..."
She paused.
"Did you kill that old lecher Zeus?"
Faced with her rapid questioning, Jaden simply nodded.
"The Gods' Paradise exploded. As for the gods... if they weren't killed in the explosion, there might be a few survivors."
"But the ones I encountered, I killed."
"Including Zeus."
Hiss-
Even Brunhilde couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
When she had first chosen to lead her sisters to fight alongside Jaden, the best outcome she had imagined was an equal contract between humans and gods.
She never imagined-
That Jaden would actually accomplish such an absurd goal.
Single-handedly killing the gods.
And even blowing up the Gods' Paradise itself.
Was this... rational?
"...Hm?"
Jaden frowned slightly when he noticed Brunhilde standing there in silence.
She quickly snapped out of it.
"Ah, nothing... Lord Yuki. If you're finished here, then we can assist you in returning."
Although her heart was still in turmoil, her expression had already regained its calm.
And now, her respect toward Jaden had deepened further.
If her previous use of "Lord Yuki" had merely been courtesy toward the wielder of the Thirteen Royal Orbs-
Then this time, it was sincere.
After all-
This was the man who ended the gods.
With that thought, Brunhilde dissolved into light, bringing the shattered Armor of Gaia with her as she merged back into Jaden's body.
She became a Royal Orb once more.
Upon returning, she connected with the other twelve Royal Orbs.
The power of the Thirteen Valkyries surged together, and before Jaden, an enormous and incomparably sacred gate materialized.
Brunhilde's voice sounded again.
"We Valkyries possess the mission of guiding heroes, so we naturally have the ability to freely travel between realms."
"This Divine Weapon is called the Gate of Valhalla."
"However... it has always been humans traveling from the mortal world to the Gods' Paradise."
"This is the first time a human has used it to return."
"Mhm."
Jaden nodded.
He stepped forward, pushed open the gate, and walked into the light.
This time, there was no dreamlike sensation like when he first crossed worlds.
It felt as though he had merely walked a short distance.
And then-
He returned.
When Jaden emerged from the gate, he stood on high ground and looked down.
At the location where the capital of the Great Kingdom once stood.
"Just as I thought..."
The explosion of the Gods' Paradise had indeed affected this place.
The capital had not turned into ruins.
It had vanished entirely.
In its place was a massive fissure, now filled with seawater.
The reason Jaden could still recognize the location was because some of the outer structures beyond the capital had survived. He was very familiar with those.
If even those had disappeared, he wouldn't have recognized this place at all.
"I originally planned to go back to my throne," Jaden said calmly. "But now..."
Brunhilde's phantom appeared beside him again.
"This place... yes. It was affected by the destruction of the Gods' Paradise."
A faint light flickered in her eyes.
"However, Lord Yuki, there's no need to worry. Because of your earlier actions, everyone had already evacuated the capital. No one was harmed."
"Did you foresee this?"
Jaden shook his head.
"That doesn't matter."
"The important thing is that I wanted to return to my throne."
"But it looks like it's probably sunk to the bottom of the sea."
He still needed to return to his original era.
Which meant-
He was now considering whether he needed to dive down and retrieve the throne.
"No."
Brunhilde shook her head.
"Your throne isn't here."
"Through the Divine Weapon Alchemy between us, I can sense the aura of the Royal Orbs you embedded in the throne."
"They aren't at the bottom of the sea."
"They're still in the void we were just in."
"...Then can we go back to the void?"
Jaden recalled the modern Royal Court City.
Using the Royal Orbs as a key, one could access the Royal Court in the void.
He turned to Brunhilde.
She considered it briefly, then nodded with a slight frown.
"If we research it for a bit... using the link between the Royal Orbs, it should be possible to activate the Gate of Valhalla and teleport directly to Royal Court City."
"Good."
Jaden nodded.
"I'll leave that to you."
"As for me..."
He looked toward the horizon.
The sun was already setting.
"The moon will be out soon."
"Go back and research it with your sisters."
"No matter what happens, don't come out."
As he spoke, Jaden casually wrapped his tail around his waist.
The movement made Brunhilde pause slightly.
But she didn't ask anything.
She nodded and returned to his body.
Jaden remained where he was, silently watching the sky.
With the Thirteen Royal Orbs guiding him, and the power of the Valkyries sustaining him, he possessed abilities close to that of a god.
-Such as maintaining bodily functions through pure energy.
Even if he went without food for days, it wouldn't affect him.
And now-
He was waiting to test something.
Something absolutely necessary to test.
As the sun fully sank and the moon rose into the sky, Jaden lifted his head.
He looked at the full moon.
Crimson light burst forth from his eyes.
This was what he had been waiting for.
The inherent ability of all Saiyans in Universe 7 who possessed a tail-
-The Great Ape Transformation.