I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

"Brother Gil!" Esther ran towards the figure, but a wave emanated from that figure, pushing Esther away.

Lian gazed at that figure, tears streaming down her face.

Anna looked at Him and couldn't help but cry.

"farewell."

He seemed to smile, "Thank you."

……

A white light enveloped the entire world.

That wasn't Jill's doing.

Have you said goodbye?

"Ah."

“Your soul… I truly cannot save it. You are not a real soul, but another soul formed through memories implanted by a consciousness…”

"I know, you asked me back then if I was prepared, didn't I already answer that?"

“…I’m sorry.”

"There's nothing to apologize for." The white figure, in its broken state, reappeared once more.

"I helped you barely regain your consciousness so you could say goodbye properly... It seems your time is still near."

"..." The white figure in front of me smiled silently.

"That's enough. This world is wonderful, Mother."

"I love Anna's pure and innocent eyes, I love the children's dedication to their work, I love the King of Knights' perseverance, and I love Xingliu and the others' strength."

I also love Ilya's innocent and carefree nature, I love how Ren and Esther act cute towards me, I love seeing Natsuki's strength, I love Kusanagi's gentleness, I love Shana's sparkling eyes, and I love the noisy chatter of my friends in the Little Garden.

I also love the beautiful, even virtual, world of SAO; I love everything I protected at St. Freya Academy; and I love seeing those children riding Pal and soaring through the sky.

"So, I'm very content." He smiled.

Even if the body is broken...

"I love this world, a world with the people I love."

In the end, his body shattered into countless fragments, never to be put back together.

"..." Chuang looked at the figure disappearing into the universe and pursed his lips once again.

Thank you, child.

"So, why don't you try pursuing your own happiness too? Don't just think about their happiness." Chuang slowly extended his hand. "I'm the creator of the concept..."

……

Lian came to her senses and found herself standing in the place she knew best.

Aresia Academy.

“Eh…” Lian uttered a soft, puzzled sound.

"You've finally decided to come back?" Grevas's voice rang out. Lian stared blankly at Grevas, then threw herself into her arms, tears still streaming down her face.

"..." Grevas was stunned. "Have you taken the wrong medicine, silly girl?"

"Just this once, just this once will do."

The girl whispered.

"Mmm, just like that will do."

A childish voice rang out from the side.

This sound, which could be described as etched in her memory, made Lian raise her head.

It was a blond boy.

He looked to be only seven or eight years old, with bloodshot eyes staring at her and a familiar smile on his face.

"...Master...you're not...?"

"My mother seems to want me to pursue my own happiness," the boy grinned. "However, even so, my power is gone forever. I have no Gate of Babylon, no Crimson Dragon Emperor's gauntlets, no White Dragon Emperor's wings, and I don't even know where the items from my Knight System have gone."

“It’s alright! I’ll protect Master!” Lian immediately hugged Jill and said.

"Your face is still wet with tears, wipe them off properly!"

Grevas looked at Jill. "It seems something really serious has happened."

“Something even bigger than the Holy King destroying the world,” Jill said.

"...In short, coming back alive is the best thing," Grevas said.

……

"Ash, are we just going to watch them like this?"

"Oh dear, we still have to deal with the fragment mission again. This time we even got the world wrong when we traveled through it. Liuli, you need to be more reliable!"

"I'm more reliable than you! You half-baked tough guy!"

"Hey!"

The young man held a black and red driver in his hand.

"Thanks, Gilgamesh-senpai."

……

Then, Ren, with Gil in this form, began traveling through the worlds, visiting friends from previous worlds.

But this journey must be very long, right?

But this is their journey.

Just as Jill will not regret it.

Lian will definitely not regret holding onto the hand beside her so tightly, right?

"We're about to set off, Lian!"

"Master, don't run so fast!"

"I'm not your master anymore! You can call me Jill."

"But slow down! How can you run so fast even though you've lost your strength?!"

"Hahahaha—come and chase me!"

"stop!"

……

I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

A belated closing statement

After a year and a half of ups and downs... Jill has reached the first end of her journey.

Although it won't be the last one.

If you've read the new book, you'll know that Ash and Liuli, who appear in the last chapter, are the protagonist and female lead of the new book.

As for what happens next, I'll write it as a side story.

We should still do what we agreed to do.

I will be rewriting the first volume while writing the new book, but progress is a bit slow right now...

That's it. My closing remarks won't be too long, just a few words.

In the last two chapters, there is an Easter egg about the driver in the hands of Osamu Kojo (the protagonist of the new book). It can be said with certainty that some of the fantasy species in the book will appear in Osamu Kojo's hands.

Including that broken ice.

that's all.