(Nearby human world, the beach.)
"Would you like a drink, sir?" a waitress asked, carrying a tray of cold beverages and even a few snacks.
Roger smiled and, without saying a word, took one of the cold beverages and drank it. Before the waitress could walk away, he took another, then another.
Eventually, he had drunk all the drinks on the entire tray and even ate the food, making the waitress stare at him with a disapproving look.
"Thank you for the meal," Roger said plainly, looking away.
"You..." The waitress sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration. "It’s not my first time encountering an entitled old man. I hope you can’t get it up for the missus, bastard."
With those words, she walked away, pouting.
However, Roger couldn’t care less about the beings of this planet. After all, they were unfortunate enough to be in the midst of a cataclysmic explosion.
Though I wonder... Is he really going to survive? Roger pondered. I did say he had a chance, but the chance is very minuscule... Probably a 1 in 10,000 chance he survives.
He was always . Even his previous disciples had died because he was too harsh on them, but how could he not be?
His master had quite literally made him harden his body by tanning in a supernova. And that was exactly what he was making Aster do, just on a severely lesser scale.
As Roger began eyeing another beverage nearby, the sky suddenly lit up in a white light. It was distant at first, and it seemed to be spreading quite slowly.
But despite that, every single human beside him spotted the white light and, of course, began admiring it.
"Wooah... is that a shooting star?"
"You think the volcano erupted again?"
"Nah, no way. Take a photo of this though. Send it to me later."
None of them recognized the impending danger, but Roger did.
So the Volcano world finally blew up... I can still sense him, so he’s alive. But it’s only just the start, Roger mused and stood up.
He dusted himself off and walked up to one of the people who were admiring the explosion, then stole their sunglasses.
"Huh? Hey! Old man, what the f—"
They couldn’t even finish their words as the temperature suddenly increased. It wasn’t by much, but it was definitely noticeable.
It was to the point where everyone who had even a bit of a brain realized what was happening, and because of that...
"We’re going to die!"
If only this explosion wasn’t natural, then I could save everyone.
But as the leader of the Blazing Sun Knight Brigade, he had to uphold some tact. Especially regarding destiny and fate, something the Goddess controlled directly.
It was a series of coincidences, in a way.
He brought Aster to the Volcano world because he knew it was going to be destroyed. It was destined.
Therefore, he spent his remaining moments with the humans of a nearby world who were caught in this destined outcome. After all, if he were to interfere and save these humans, then he would be going against Solenne’s wishes.
She wanted to control the Universe’s Will, and she could only do so if there were no hiccups in the way things were being run. But lately, people have been constantly popping up who defy fate, stagnating Goddess Solenne’s goals in the process.
Roger clenched his fist, putting those thoughts to the back of his mind. Even if he was strong, he was still a normal person in the grand scheme of things. So no matter what, he wasn’t going to defy Solenne.
Despite our differences, she is still the Light of the Universe, and I have no choice but to serve her, Roger thought with a faint, yet distant smile.
But if there was another light to replace her, then...
He shook his head, immediately scrapping that thought. It was treasonous of him to even think that in the first place, and if Solenne were to find out...
Roger suddenly pulled a black ornamental knife out of his inventory, then held it in front of him. He twisted the blade and stabbed it right into his shoulder, triggering the reaction he was waiting for.
Immediately, Roger’s body shook violently, then finally settled. Once he realized what was in his hand, a look of understanding appeared on his face.
I thought something heinous againt, didn’t I? Roger thought with a dark look and glanced up.
Panic ensued, yet Roger didn’t budge as he simply stared at the white glow in space which constantly approached this world.
And after less than a minute, the nearby skyscrapers caught on fire, followed by charred humans running around, then falling down lifelessly.
The world was ending, and yet, Roger used this inevitable outcome to get a good tan in.
The ground turned to mush, and a single minute later, Roger was standing on magma, watching as the white glow finally reached the planet, and then, it hit.
A loud explosion rang out from the shockwave, and moments later, the world Roger was on imploded as well, giving him the long-desired tan.
However, he simply stepped once in the air, appearing several hundred thousand kilometers away, then stepped again, reaching the previous Volcano world.
He glanced around, expanding his mana as far as he could and trying to locate Aster. Because of the explosion, his senses were thrown off just a slight amount, so it took him a few minutes to lock onto a life signal.
Roger’s eyes widened, and without wasting a single moment, he dashed toward the life signal. Upon arrival, he noticed a peculiar sight.
It was Aster, and instead of being burnt to a crisp, he was glowing in a completely white light.
He was alive since his eyes were open, and he seemed to understand everything that was going on. However, he also seemed a little different. Roger just couldn’t understand what had changed.
But when their eyes met, Roger soon realized what had happened and stared at Aster in awe.