I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 440 The End of the Black Box, Uesugi Tetsu's Final Answer! After many years, Nanjo Manami awakens!

Ye Chun breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't receive a reply.

From then on, he would often go to the top of the lighthouse, do nothing and say nothing, just sit quietly next to Uesugi Tetsuya's eyes, gazing in the same direction as him.

Even if the scenery isn't the same.

—Aside from the three people who knew Uesugi Tetsu the best—Erchi, Ye Chun, and Ririko—no one else noticed any unusual changes in Uesugi Tetsu.

From an outsider's perspective, Uesugi Tetsuya hasn't changed much since the beginning.

He will always work normally, always point out the direction, and mark the difference between dangerous and safe places. When someone encounters danger and cries for help, he will also lend a helping hand.

At most, he just "talked less".

But in the world of wandering, apart from ordinary people whose lives change rapidly and a very small number of the right ones, all the other right ones speak less.

There's no other reason than that it took too long.

The time spent wandering the present world, sailing on the boundless ocean of depth, is far too long.

Even though the sense of time has been blurred in the black box, there is no clear representation of time such as sunrise and sunset, or the changing of the seasons.

Those who are right have also experienced a long period of time that feels almost tangible.

Moreover, since leaving the mortal world, nothing has changed from beginning to end—under such unchanging and boring conditions, the fun and enthusiasm of the past will gradually be worn away.

Even Kitano Runa, who didn't experience it firsthand but was "manipulated" to play, was already in a daze from playing.

Even though she had played coloring games like Stellaris and Civilization before, the time she spent on those games was nothing compared to even a fraction of what she was doing now.

At first, the constantly changing, fully immersive gaming experience was indeed very fun and surprising.

But now, a large iron lump floats on the endless sea every day.

All the opponents within sight were mere fodder that he could easily defeat, but their numbers were increasing, requiring him to navigate them more and more frequently, making it almost impossible for him to continue becoming stronger.

This game has come to an end.

All that's left is completing daily tasks and grinding monsters.

In the end, Kitano Runa is just an ordinary person.

Compared to the vast majority of those present who were indeed ghosts and spirits in reality, her soul and spirit were so fragile that they would shatter at the slightest touch.

She has been able to hold on until now simply because of a gamer's yearning for the ending and his pure persistence.

"I want to see how it ends."

After all, so much time and effort have already been spent; we can't just give up halfway through.

Runa Kitano thought.

So what follows is a monotonous and boring period of downtime.

The reason it is described as "almost" is because, as time goes by, the wandering world continues to venture deeper into the ocean of depths.

The number of eroding species is increasing, and the energy required to maintain the present world is also increasing. Meanwhile, the tide of the underworld sweeping in from afar is accelerating, and the pace of progress in the present world also needs to be accelerated...

This created a vicious cycle.

Simply relying on the light and heat naturally emanating from Kitano Runa's body is no longer enough to satisfy the needs of wandering the real world.

So those who had surplus strength each contributed a little, and then a little more.

so repeatedly.

When even this failed to fill the energy gap, the group slowly took out the corpses of the ancient demons that had been stored for an unknown period of time using special methods and threw them into the furnace.

The corpses of demons were as numerous as mountains and seas, and the energy contained within them was also quite enormous. This method immediately made up for the energy shortage.

But it was ultimately just a stopgap measure.

Until one day, Kitano Runa ran out of the stock of demon corpses that she thought she would never need.

Wandering in the present world, many of the right people shrank their size and gathered together again in a room that resembled a human conference room after a long time.

"How long has it been?"

A correct person asked, "What is shaped like a clump of weeds?"

"do not know."

The clouds and mist gave a lazy, calm, even somewhat numb reply.

Once the weakest among those who were right, it has now reached above the average level thanks to the power of time.

"Will this ever end?"

Resembling a pangolin, the non-human corrector who was once kidnapped by Uesugi Tetsuya asked.

"I don't think so."

Kitano Runa's miniature firebird clone answered, but after a pause, she added, "However, it's also possible that we'll be caught up by the apocalyptic wave in the end, and one wave will kill us all."

As the strongest person present gave their answer, everyone fell silent.

"So, what is the purpose of our persistence?"

The correct person asked a question about the silver-white liquid metal robot.

"—We'll go to the Deep Sea later to kill some Corruption Species."

The robot paused, looked at Ririko, whose passion remained as fervent as ever, took a deep breath, and spoke again.
"What I mean is, since the foreseeable future is always like this, and it will eventually lead to destruction, why should we persist for so long in the first place?"

"—In order to kill some erosion species on the Deep Sea later."

Ririko looked at him and answered calmly, word by word.

Then, she invited him, "Would you like to come along?"

robot:"……"

"I come."

Erchi, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

She walked to the door, kicked open the locked wooden door, and went outside.

Ririko followed behind her and went out as well.

The robot watched them leave silently, then asked, "Does anyone else want to join them for a little game of killing the eroding species?"

Without waiting for anyone's answer, the robot shook its head and opened its palm.

"If someone is willing, then let them go... In short, I'm tired of this time-wasting, meaningless, and pointless waiting."

He gave a non-existent yawn, then walked out through the broken wooden door, waving to the group of correct individuals.
Goodbye, everyone. I'm actually hoping to wake up to some different reports!

"May you all enjoy great success in your military endeavors!"

Having said that, the robot, under the watchful eyes of all the correct ones, walked directly into the furnace entrance and transformed into a continuous stream of surging energy, as if it were giving its last bit of heat.

After the robot exited the black box in this way, there was no sound in the conference room.

"I... I'll also go to the Deep Sea to kill some Corrupted Species."

By the time Kitano Runa uttered those words, all the correct people in the meeting room had already left.

Although the other right ones did not immediately throw themselves into the furnace like the robots, as the boring time continued, they couldn't help but think of doing the same thing.

—Continuing to waste time like this is truly pointless.

It's exactly the same as... Yin Yang's idea.

Is there anything in this world that remains unchanged forever?

Is this the case now, or has it always been this way?

[If there is "nothing," then what is the meaning of everything? The ultimate end of everything is annihilation—heroes, epics, despair, hope, destruction… Doing something, or being done to, is meaningless.]

【--is that so?】

From then on, large numbers of the righteous volunteered to enter the furnace, where the immense energy generated could easily kill countless corrupted species. During this time, Kitano Runa could practically stay in one place and just sit there in a daze, doing absolutely nothing.

But such abnormally easy days will eventually come to an end.

But no new correct ones will be born.

Apart from a few individuals who voluntarily stayed behind and were of great help to those wandering the world, almost all the right people have left.

The giant roc that Kitano Runa transformed into is no longer enough to support their continued wandering in the mortal world at an even faster pace.

"Let me come down."

The two-foot-tall figure, as white as jade, addressed Kitano Runa, walking before the furnace: "Burning oneself to protect the world. This path aligns with my right principles."

"Therefore, it can become stronger while burning, and can last for a long time."

No one stopped the two-foot-tall monk.

She simply said goodbye to Ye Chun, and without even seeing Uesugi Che's eyes at the top of the lighthouse, she entered the furnace.

Seeing the golden light shining brightly inside the furnace and hearing the clear Buddhist chants, Ririko pursed her lips but didn't say anything more.

Much later, the pace of life slowed down once again.

Lili knew that the Buddhist chanting within the furnace had disappeared.

"Runa, can you still hold on?"

Ririko asked the little firebird that had landed on her shoulder, "If you want to sleep, you can leave the back to me."

But she saw the little firebird firmly shake its head.

"—Whether it's a happy ending or a bad ending, I've fought this far, and I absolutely have to see the final outcome!"

Ririko laughed and flicked the little firebird away with her finger: "Then remember to tell me the ending after you're done fighting."

Runa Kitano nodded emphatically.

Ririko did not enter the furnace, but instead went to the space between the furnace and the lighthouse—a completely quiet room used to extract idealistic power.

An incorruptible body that sees God.

Furthermore, a flawless sword heart, which had gone a step further than before and had even stepped into the legendary realm of "divine enlightenment," slowly rose from the center of the mortal sky.

Illuminate the present world, drive the present world forward.

"If there were no sun in this world, wouldn't I be the one to be it?"

In the quiet room, Ririko's gaze seemed to pierce through the void, landing on Ye Chun, who was standing beside the vertical pupil at the top of the lighthouse.

"I will outlive her."

Lilizi thought.

But in the end, she still couldn't do it.

"Therefore, the power is not strong enough."

Having willingly surrendered, Ririko's life force waned, and the sun that had shone for thousands of years in the world went out and disappeared.

In this way, no one can push the present world forward any further.

Therefore, the tide of the Yellow Springs is constantly approaching.

Ye Chun sat silently beside Yan Tong, keeping her company, until she realized that she was about to be consumed by the approaching Yellow Springs. Only then did she gently hug Uesugi Che's vertical pupils and choose to end her own life.

The Yellow Springs Tide, which once engulfed the mortal world, is gradually approaching, and has already turned the surrounding seas into a forbidden zone for living beings, where even the corrosive species cannot survive.

Amidst the wandering world, aside from Kitano Runa who can still use a little power to protect the last embers of civilization, most areas have become desolate and lifeless.

"Damn it... what kind of awful, garbage game is this?!"

A pale golden roc with a dull, lifeless body flew to the top of the lighthouse and poked Uesugi Tetsuya's eyes several times with its wings. After the latter did not react, it could not help but let out a long howl.

"So, Uesugi-kun, you were already offline all along?!"

The giant roc rolled its eyes, and a roc cried out in the air.

"Damn it... I really want to kick this game developer's ass with my stinky boots!"

In fact, Kitano Runa could also enter the furnace and exit the game, allowing her to wander in the real world for a long time.

But she was unwilling to accept that all her efforts had been in vain.

"Will the truth remain unchanged forever...?"

The only thing that can be said for sure is that the belief that "I don't want to have played the game for nothing" will not change.

The giant roc gazed at that last, pitifully desolate patch of pure land and asked itself a question.

"Can I keep burning forever?"

After a moment, the giant roc thought to itself,
"Of course I can."

If you can't do that, then you've wasted your time.

Therefore, the "cannot" option never appeared in Kitano Runa's dictionary.

Then pure white flames ignited from the giant roc's body, and she descended towards that small patch of pure land with a regretful sigh, enveloping it tightly.

"It's a pity that it didn't have a good ending."

The wandering life eventually came to an end.

The Yellow Springs tide, which had accelerated to a speed that terrified even the righteous, swept across the heavens and earth, swallowing everything.

In that instant, countless golden-red vertical pupils appeared, piercing through heaven and earth.

All the vertical pupils closed at once.

The world then fell into absolute darkness and stillness.

If these pupils remain closed, nothing will continue.

But all the vertical pupils reopened, allowing themselves to be revealed, only to be completely eroded, worn away, and swallowed up.

The tide of the underworld truly engulfed the present world, the furnace, the quiet room, the lighthouse, and that pure white land...

Is there anything in this world that remains unchanged forever?

[—Will something that is correct remain unchanged forever?]

Uesugi Tetsu, who was no longer capable of thinking, answered the question with "Ten Thousand Eyes - Candle Shadow".

—Except for “I” and “correctness” which will not change, everything about me will keep changing, changing eternally.

It is both constant and constantly changing.

This is the "answer" that Uesugi Tetsu handed in.

……

As endless years pass, so long that even the power of the underworld diminishes to a point where it becomes acceptable.

The viscous black mass, enveloped by the remnants of the golden-red vertical pupils, stirred slightly.

Then, it moved again.

With a dry, sizzling sound, the still petite Nanjo Manami casually transformed the viscous black liquid beneath her feet into a robe large enough to wear, and looked around at the silent surroundings with a rather strange expression.

She looked up thoughtfully, then looked down again.

They stared at the vertical pupils, which were exactly the same as in their memories but had now turned into the shape of fossilized earth, for a long time.

Nanjo Manami silently raised an eyebrow, then gazed at the white flames burning silently in the far distance for a while.

Then, unable to resist, she pinched her small chin and asked,
"How much time has passed now?"

(End of this chapter)