Rikudou possessed immense power. He was destined to stand atop the world, a chasm separating him from all other beings, like the sky from the earth.

But he had been vanquished by the ‘Undead,’ his fractured entity, and Amemiya Hiroto. Worse still, he had suffered damage at the hands of Amemiya Hiroshi, a mere child, not even a reincarnated individual.

More than ten years of plotting, all his efforts and perseverance, all his studies – all for nothing. Despite being cornered, he had believed his ambitions achieved… only to face this.

It was absurd, a nightmare come true – how was he to have anticipated the ‘Undead’? How could he have prevented his interference or defeated him in battle?

And why was he unable to command spirits like the ‘Undead’ and Amemiya Mei?

No matter how he pondered, no matter how many simulations he ran in his mind, he found no satisfactory answer.

Within these simulations, he screamed as he was slain again and again.

“Why, WHY?!”

Amemiya Hiroto’s blade of light cut him down. Banda’s claws and tentacles impaled him. Hiroshi’s black beam shattered his skull.

This wasn’t reality, so there was no pain, but each time he was killed in these mental simulations, an unbearable sense of humiliation and despair consumed him.

Why am I doing this? Rikudou asked himself. No, I don’t want to think about it! But… I can’t help but think!

Why had he failed? How could he have lost? He was frozen, trapped by something unseen. Yet, fully conscious, he couldn’t stop these thoughts.

Why am I not dead?! Could it be… because I became a god, I can’t even die?!

“No, I don’t know much about other gods, but you’re definitely dead,” a voice said.

A familiar face flickered into view, then vanished, and Rikudou Hijiri’s consciousness awoke within him.

Rikudou hadn’t returned to life, nor had he returned to Origin.

“This place is… Could it be, the place from back then?!” Rikudou exclaimed, surveying his surroundings.

His surroundings echoed the space he’d found himself in after his death on Earth, before his reincarnation in Origin.

“Yeah, it’s a little different from how it was back then, but you’re right.”

“You?!” Rikudou wanted to shout at the sight of Aran and the other familiar spirits, but quickly composed himself. “Machida, Shimada, and Endou, huh. To think you would welcome me. But your appearances…?”

He couldn’t hide his confusion at seeing these reincarnated individuals, who were supposed to be dead, here with white wings on their backs.

Aran and the others sighed exasperatedly.

“Enough with the act. We already know what you truly are,” Aran said.

“You trying to act all calm in that form gives me the creeps…” Izumi said.

“You’re quite a sight to behold yourself, you know,” Kouya said, producing a mirror and holding it before Rikudou.

“This form is…!” Rikudou murmured.

He looked at his reflection – completely hairless, three meters tall, with pale skin and a muscular body like a well-proportioned statue, utterly unlike a human.

Realizing he was in the form of ‘Arch-Avalon’ rather than the human Rikudou Hijiri, he understood the nature of his state.

“I see… So, I did die after all. And since you died first, you’ve been here watching… What are those wings? Have you become that god’s servants?” Rikudou asked.

“…It’s helpful that you’re quick to understand, but your shamelessness is quite unpleasant,” Izumi said. “Well, not that I expected you to earnestly apologize for what you did when you were alive.”

“You’ve been watching me the whole time, haven’t you? It’s too late to make amends. In fact, I’d like to charge you a fee for the show,” Rikudou said with a smirk.

Having remembered he was ‘Arch-Avalon,’ Rikudou’s mind regained composure. He wasn’t shaken, despite learning his former companions were aware of his true nature and his role in their deaths.

“Yeah, we’ve been watching. We saw you slammed into a wall by Hiroshi. We saw you ripping off your own limbs to escape Banda. We saw you getting killed by Amemiya. We saw it all,” Aran said.

“Stop! Don’t make me remember it!” Rikudou shouted.

His mind was still deeply wounded by the memories of his defeat and death. His former self might have deflected Aran’s cheap provocation with a cool expression. But his handsome face was now twisted with humiliation, rage, and fear.

“Why did you come here?! To condemn me for my crimes? To laugh at the traitor before he’s sent to hell?!” Rikudou screamed.

Kouya signaled for Aran to step back. “No, neither of those are the reasons,” he said. “We were checking your current state. Checking for memory deficiencies, problems with consciousness, or a collapse of your mind. From what we’ve seen, you have some trauma, but no major problems. Unfortunately.”

“What?” Rikudou muttered. “Why would you go out of your way to…?”

“And one more thing – a warning,” Kouya added. “You’re probably going to be asked to fight Vandalieu again… the ‘Undead.’ But you should refuse.”

“Your two companions’ sacrifices allowed you to avoid destruction, unfortunately for us, so you should take better care of yourself. You shouldn’t take any more risks,” Izumi said.

Kouya and Izumi stepped back, distancing themselves from Rikudou. Rikudou tried to approach them, to ask what they meant, but he couldn’t.

“It seems the evaluation is complete,” a voice said.

The ground beneath Rikudou shifted. Five towers… no, fingers, curved inward to enclose him.

“This is… I see. I’m on your hand,” Rikudou said, realizing the ground was Rodcorte’s palm. “It’s been a while, God,” he said, looking up at Rodcorte with defiance. “Is this a show you’re putting on to show me my place because I declared myself a god? You want to tell me I’ve been dancing on the palm of your hand the entire time, right?”

But the truth was that Rikudou’s soul was imprisoned within him, trapped within Rodcorte’s hand. Rodcorte had simply regained consciousness, released Moriya’s soul, and ordered Aran and the others to awaken Rikudou and assess his state.

The reason Rikudou couldn’t move before was because Rodcorte had lost consciousness while clutching his soul.

“…Interpret it as you wish. But your actions have caused me considerable trouble and damage, and it is true that I am very angry,” said Rodcorte, choosing to express his animosity without revealing the embarrassing truth.

If Rikudou hadn’t acted in Origin… if he hadn’t researched the death attribute and betrayed the Bravers, if he had simply lived an honest life as a high-ranking member of the organization, Vandalieu and his allies would be significantly weaker.

Perhaps the Eighth Guidance were always destined to become Legion, but perhaps Murakami Junpei and the others wouldn’t have died, their souls devoured by Vandalieu. Tsuchiya Kanako and others wouldn’t have been reincarnated in Lambda and joined Vandalieu’s side.

Amemiya Hiroto and the others wouldn’t have met Vandalieu again and reconciled with him.

That was what Rodcorte believed, setting aside the fact that he had ordered Kaidou Kanata and Murakami Junpei to eliminate Vandalieu.

“So, what do you plan to do with me?” Rikudou sneered. “Are you going to send me to hell for trying to destroy humanity, or imprison me?”

“No, I do not care about the humanity of that world,” Rodcorte replied. “If their souls were destroyed, then it would be a concern, but simply killing them all as you tried would not be a problem.”

“…What do you mean?”

Rikudou had never been religious on Earth, but upon reincarnation, he had witnessed Rodcorte firsthand. Thus, he didn’t doubt the existence of gods, linking Rodcorte to the general concept of ‘God’ accepted by the world.

That’s why he believed Rodcorte intended to punish him. Yet, Rodcorte was saying he wouldn’t hold him responsible for attempting mass murder and destroying humanity. Rikudou was bewildered.

“Are you not God?” he asked suspiciously.

“I am a god. But there is no reason for me to protect humanity, is there?” said Rodcorte. “Still, this conversation is getting nowhere. I suppose I have no choice.”

Suddenly, information related to Lambda and Vandalieu flooded Rikudou’s mind.

Rikudou was bewildered by this unfamiliar sensation, and Rodcorte felt a slight satisfaction at seeing him squirm.

“I see… Becoming ‘Arch-Avalon’ wasn’t a problem for you, but the system I used to reincarnate you as ‘Arch-Avalon’ was. Who would have thought,” Rikudou murmured, putting a hand to his forehead, his head spinning as he realized he had incurred Rodcorte’s displeasure in a way he never imagined. “But more importantly, you intended to have us reincarnated in another world after our deaths? What the hell is the meaning of this?! If I had known, I would have chosen another path… No, I suppose that would have been impossible if the other reincarnated individuals knew as well.”

If Rikudou had known he would live a third life in Lambda, he likely wouldn’t have become obsessed with researching death-attribute magic. Perhaps he would have planned to commit suicide after acquiring knowledge and skills in Origin to be reincarnated in Lambda before others, becoming a god there.

Of course, as Rikudou noticed mid-sentence, many other reincarnated individuals would likely have done the same, making being reincarnated in Lambda before others impossible.

The reincarnated individuals with ailing minds, such as Minuma Hitomi and Joseph Smith, would likely have committed suicide.

“I feared that if you knew in advance you would live a third life, you would not live your second lives to the best of your ability,” said Rodcorte. “I did send Divine Messages to you and your subordinates to let you know… starting about a year ago. Did they not reach you at all?”

“I don’t know what conditions need to be met for these ‘Divine Messages’ to reach us, but I have a good idea why they didn’t,” said Rikudou.

In betraying his companions to research the death attribute, he had subconsciously begun to fear God… Rodcorte. Unaware of the true nature of Rodcorte, he had believed Rodcorte matched society’s view of God, thus assuming God would disapprove of his human experiments and betrayal of his companions.

For that reason, he had shut off his mind from God and aimed to become a god himself.

“But if you’re going to tell me to fight the ‘Undead’… Vandalieu, then it’s simple! Return me to Origin! I’ll make a plan that accounts for his existence, and I’ll definitely defeat him this time!” Rikudou said.

“That is futile,” said Rodcorte. “There is not even the slightest chance of success, and you will certainly have your soul devoured and destroyed.”

“W-what?!”

Rikudou was astounded to be told he had no hope of winning.

“Due to the incident you caused, a part of Vandalieu has become a part of the God of Origin. If you return there, no matter how clever your plan, Vandalieu will know about it and crush you,” said Rodcorte.

Because a part of Vandalieu had become part of the God of Origin, he could see the memories of everyone who prayed to or feared him, even sending Divine Messages and divine protections to worshippers.

And most importantly, Rodcorte believed Vandalieu himself could descend upon Origin once more.

The girl named Amemiya Mei, to whom he had bound a fractured entity of himself, had moved to Lambda, so perhaps Vandalieu’s return to Origin was impossible.

But he was now part of the God of Origin; it wouldn’t be strange to think he could move between the two worlds even more freely than before.

Rodcorte had no intention of testing which possibility was correct.

“But then, why are you planning to give me another chance?” Rikudou asked. “Even if I’m reincarnated in this ‘Lambda,’ I don’t have any hope of winning, do I?”

Rikudou Hijiri had failed to defeat Vandalieu and his allies in Origin; if one were to ask if he could defeat them in Lambda, the answer would naturally be no – not as he was now. Amemiya Hiroto and the other Bravers weren’t in Lambda, but Vandalieu’s main body was, and he had his own allies.

Without the authority Rikudou had in Origin, he could never gather subordinates or exploit organizations and nations like the Chinese Republic and the Nordic Federation.

In fact, there were plenty of powerful enemies in Lambda, even excluding Vandalieu and his allies.

If he were to try mass murder to increase his power in Lambda as he did in Origin, he would need far more time.

Origin had billions of inhabitants, while Lambda had less than a hundred million, even including Vida’s races. This was far smaller than Origin’s population.

And while he was doing this, heroes would gather to eliminate Rikudou. If reincarnated in the Amid Empire, he would face elite enemies like the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords, A-class and B-class adventurers. The Storm of Tyranny, led by Schneider, might even join in.

And in the Orbaume Kingdom, there were Vandalieu and his allies, Randolf ‘the True,’ the Five-colored Blades led by Heinz. Both nations had potential heroes nurtured by the gods serving Alda, the God of Law and Fate, all poised to defeat Rikudou.

If he attacked the Demon Empire of Vidal directly, only despair awaited him. The ‘Sun Giant’ Talos and the former Majin King Godwin would come from the Boundary Mountain Range. The Moon Giant Deeana, the Mountain Queen Elder Dragon God Tiamat, and Bakunawa would come from the Demon Continent. The guardian deities would come from Gartland. Countless god-like enemies would gather.

By becoming ‘Arch-Avalon,’ Rikudou Hijiri had indeed become a god. His strength could be ranked as 13, but even then, he was only equivalent to Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins… or even less, given experience and physical strength differences.

The shockwave of death Rikudou unleashed in Origin could be survived by C-class or higher adventurers in Lambda. A-class or higher adventurers with high Vitality might only feel a light jab.

If Lambda were conquerable by any Rank 13 being, the remnants of the Demon King’s army and the Pure-breed Vampires would have conquered it long ago.

The most Rikudou could do was perhaps destroy a single nation before being killed.

Vandalieu defeated Rikudou in Origin with limited methods because he only had a fractured entity with far less Mana than his main body, and his soul had no physical form. Most importantly, he wanted to prevent Rikudou’s indiscriminate slaughter of humanity.

Rikudou’s face was twisted in humiliation, but Rodcorte had more to say.

“In addition, I am unable to reincarnate you as a human,” Rodcorte said.

“W-what?!”

“I am a god who governs the reincarnation of living things, including humans. Although you have fallen, you did become a god, and I cannot reincarnate you with your previous life’s powers, memories, and personality. The scope of your soul is different.”

A reincarnated individual ascending to godhood in Origin was a situation Rodcorte hadn’t foreseen. Thus, reincarnating Rikudou in Lambda was a significant problem.

If he were to try, the body and mother carrying it wouldn’t be able to contain him; both would likely die before he was born.

Rodcorte couldn’t directly create a body for him like he did for Asagi and Kanako.

To reincarnate Rikudou, he would need a demigod-level body, and Rodcorte couldn’t create one.

Even if he pushed himself, the body would likely be extremely distorted and fragile.

And even if Rodcorte did this, it was unclear if Rikudou would benefit from Lambda’s Status System. As Aran and others had discussed, there was no telling how the Status Gods would treat a reincarnated god from another world.

It was unlikely the Status Gods would consider Rikudou human, given he couldn’t be reincarnated in a human body… It was questionable how they considered Vandalieu human, but Rodcorte had no recourse.

“So, what are you telling me to do?” Rikudou asked. “Stay here and be one of your servants like Aran and the others?”

“Well, I did consider that,” said Rodcorte.

He had considered reincarnating Moriya and Rikudou’s other subordinates in Lambda, then having Rikudou support them as a familiar spirit. This would allow Rikudou to use his god-like power through them, benefiting from the Status System.

“However, I decided that facing Vandalieu this way is too dangerous,” Rodcorte said.

Vandalieu might attack Rikudou before ‘Familiar Spirit Descent’ could be used. This plan could work if a Magic Item could store Rikudou’s soul, but this was difficult, given his god-like soul.

And it was difficult to imagine Moriya and others improving enough to close the strength gap with Vandalieu’s forces.

“But this does not mean there is no way for you to be reincarnated in Lambda and defeat Vandalieu,” Rodcorte continued. “It’s a desperate measure, with risk, but… it does provide a chance.”

Given the possibility of no more reincarnated individuals fighting for him, Rodcorte was forced to use Rikudou Hijiri, no matter how difficult.

Alda’s trump card was Heinz, who had awakened Bellwood