Those who dwell in the shade of the World Tree each prepare at least one countermeasure against falling. This is because falling due to rain, wind, or the shaking from impact is a common occurrence.
Maximilian was no exception. He spread his cloak like wings. It didn't flutter like a bird, but the spinning saw blades pushed the air away and lifted him up. Maximilian could swim through the sky more elegantly than any bird.
With his back to the ground and his face to the sky, Maximilian gazed at the flames disappearing into the distant heavens and muttered with eyes full of longing.
"It wasn't a Demon God. The world hasn't been overturned."
Maximilian observed the very small, precise gears meshing together inside his chest. The mechanical device, built by stacking logic as gear teeth and meshed without even a 1mm error, was still winding its mainspring at a constant rhythm.
World Distortion Detection Gear. Literally, a device that detects the distortion of the world. That device, Maximilian's masterpiece, was firmly interlocked and would not misalign under any impact, but was so precise that it would detect even the slightest change in the world's principles.
When Maximilian faced the Golden Mirror in the Alliance of Nations, the sound of the gears changed to something different. The Golden Mirror altered physical properties just by approaching it.
When he entered the Abyss, the gears spun idly. In the Abyss, created by borrowing the very space of the entire earth, the gaps between the gears widened and they wouldn't mesh.
And when he approached the Floating City of the Magic Federation. The rotation cycle of the gears changed minutely.
Anyone can break gears, but overturning the structure of their logic is the domain of only a Demon God. Since deciding to become a Demon God, Maximilian had always carried it with him.
Therefore, he could know that the power that burned the World Tree was not a Demon God itself.
"However, those flames are different from any flames I know...! A power originating from a Demon God I don't know!"
That was why he intuitively realized that such an enormous and unfathomable power also originated from a Demon God he didn't know.
It burned even consuming the ashes, spewed glittering smoke, and instead of sinking, disappeared far above into the distant sky. Instead of an unpleasant burning smell, a sharp, dizzying scent lingered at the tip of his nose. As if it wasn't a flame originating from this land.
The flame of the star was so powerful and mysterious that even Maximilian could realize it was different from ordinary flames.
That was precisely the specialness that only a Demon God could create.
"My gears..."
Cannot reach it.
His gears were insanely useful but couldn't transcend common sense. They were merely tools obtained by complexly assembling trite and classical devices.
As the King of Humanity said, gears cannot escape being tools.
"I cannot become a Demon God..."
A difference so vast it felt despairing. A gap that could not be narrowed at all.
Maximilian, facing a wall, covered his face and sneered. His laughter spread lonely into the empty air where no one could hear.
"Thanks to that, what I need to do has become clear! Good! The direction the gears will move only needs to be one!"
His goal was not to become a Demon God. He merely wanted to cover the entire world with the logic of gears. The Military Nation was a masterpiece completed by his genius inspiration receiving unlimited support, but it was still far from his ideal.
To that end, he approached the Tree of Immorality, met Nevida, and joined the Order of All Things.
"Everything, for the King of Humanity."
His gaze turned downward. Toward the giant lotus, scattering its beautiful petals as it alone sank rapidly.
The lotus fell lightly onto the ground as if landing on the water's surface. Not a single sound could be heard, so it didn't look like it had fallen but rather like it had just bloomed.
Twitch. Twitch. The lotus twitched as if the space was too cramped. After swaying this way and that for a moment, the lotus soon learned how to unfold its petals. One petal, one petal. Unfolding the curled petals like fingers. It revealed what it had been tightly concealing inside.
The sky where even the clouds had burned with the flames of divinity. Welcoming the sunlight streaming clearly through, the being that had been asleep inside the lotus stretched.
"Haaam."
The being, who yawned lightly as if the weather were fresh, stood lightly on the ground.
Grey long hair reaching down to her waist covered her breasts. Her smoothly extended limbs showed not just health but even a wild aspect. As if she had no shame at all despite not wearing a single piece of clothing, she slowly gripped the ground with her feet.
She is a beast. It is only natural for a beast to stand with its feet on the ground.
Nothing particularly special, nothing particularly significant, but.
This single step she took would turn humanity entirely upside down.
"Hello. It's been a while."
The King of Humanity, awakened from a long sleep, offered a light greeting to the world. The world, too, gladly accepted her greeting. The softly blowing wind, the swaying grass blades, the dew brushing and flowing past her skin, and the light illuminating her body.
Like a newborn child, like an old person awakened from a long sleep. She, who had been looking around with curious eyes, suddenly looked down at her own body.
A naked body without a single thread. Custom would reprimand her, but aesthetics would exclaim in admiration toward her. She herself wouldn't care at all whether she was naked or clothed, though.
"Oops. I was supposed to wear clothes."
Since the majority of humans wear clothes, she also decided to wear clothes.
The moment she made that decision.
Wild grass grows. Druidism, the enlightenment that understands the structure and root of plants and controls their flow. With that enlightenment, she makes cotton grow. The rapidly growing cotton instantly blooms white flowers and bears fruit, then snaps off and falls to the ground.
The seeds sleeping inside the cotton crumble, and what remains is only pure white cotton wool. Crackling lightning threads seep into every fiber. The complexly tangled fibers straighten out as if someone had combed them, forming bundles, and twine around each other like snakes to become thread.
The King of Humanity moved her hands. The warp and weft wove together to make cloth. It groped the King of Humanity's body, wrapped around and climbed up, then stopped where it should be. With her fingers swiftly cutting the cloth, scrap pieces fell to the floor, and the cloth transformed into complete clothing, earning the honor of wrapping the King of Humanity.
-All of this process took less than a minute.
As if rapidly reproducing human civilization, the King of Humanity, who had created and put on clothes from nothing, tied her hair loosely to one side. The King of Humanity, having cleaned up her hair just enough so it wouldn't be in the way, looked at the unfamiliar visitor.
"They say it's rude to peek at someone getting dressed. Everyone said so,"
"Haha. You do have such common sense, King of Humanity!"
What appeared from the tree shadow was Maximilian. He hadn't particularly hidden his identity, but neither had he revealed it, simply waiting, and now stood before the King of Humanity with an incredibly clear expression. The King of Humanity tilted her head and answered.
"Of course. It's 'common sense,' right?"
"No, King of Humanity. Your 'common sense' is different from that of others."
Maximilian grasped the hem of her clothing.
"King of Humanity. You don't wear clothes because you need them. The world also doesn't have the power to force you to wear clothes. But you wear clothes. Because clothes have already become an inseparable concept for humans."
"Yeah. You can't live without wearing clothes."
The King of Humanity made an entirely common-sense statement and smiled brightly at Maximilian.
"Maximilian, unlike your gears."
A tone as if she had seen right through his thoughts.
Needless to say. Clothes are already a part of humanity. Humans of all kinds born across the continent each make and wear things to cover their bodies. Even without being taught, they naturally converge to such an outcome.
However, gears are just one way to interpret the world, and they fall far short of becoming a part of humanity.
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Therefore, the King of Humanity wears clothes but does not use gears.
"However, King of Humanity. Even if my enlightenment cannot reach that of a Demon God and cannot spread universally."
But, conversely. If the King of Humanity uses gears.
And so, if that usage spreads from the King of Humanity to all humans.
The converse doesn't always hold true, but humans sometimes mistake it for being true. And if all humans make that mistake, it ceases to be a mistake.
Humanity and the King of Humanity were placed in such a relationship.
"If you use my gears, all humans will also use them."
Even though Maximilian had created the century's toy called the Military Nation and was satisfied with the structural state operating according to the logic of gears. The fact that he threw himself into the Order of All Things as if possessed and sought the King of Humanity.
Was all for this moment.
"Use the gears. For me."
All the gears orbiting around his body aligned. Clack, clack. The sound of teeth meshing was swallowed and disappeared at some point.
Over 918,000 large and small gears were all connected.
The principle of gears is relatively simple, and not many are needed to perform specific functions. As the number increases, it becomes more inefficient due to friction and wear, and the number of over 918,000 is beyond unrealistic, now in the realm of jokes.
However, Maximilian connected all that power into one, even if it meant reaching the pinnacle of inefficiency.
Maximilian's unique demonic art, Gear Maiden. Its ability was to rotate the gears themselves according to his will.
How much fearsome power would be needed to turn one gear and move the gear structure of over 918,000 pieces? It would be impossible to even dare to calculate. No matter how sturdy the gears, they would break and wear down.
But, conversely.
Through the special unique demonic art, moving all over 918,000 gears.
If all that power were focused on a single gear.
Just for a single moment, if he could endure that impact and implant it into the King of Humanity.
Maximilian's wish would be fulfilled.
"Full Gear Assembly."
Maximilian, having absorbed all the gears, looked like a giant. With a creaking sound, his flesh began to spin violently. The air caught between the teeth burst out, producing a bizarre explosive sound.
All rotation occurring inside and outside his body converged into one hand. A torrent of power made by overlapping dozens of gears focused on one hand.
The gears all over his body creaked. The overly powerful force caused wear on the gears themselves. Although the gears composing Maximilian's body were made of the highest quality adamantine, they crumbled and wore down under the pressure of the logic built by stacking gears layer upon layer.
The power emitted by surpassing his limits according to logic, which a living creature fearing death could never unleash, gathered into the single gear hanging on Maximilian's right fist.
"This is the Sun Gear. Now, take this!"
It was already difficult to even call it rotation. The atmosphere was heated by the tremendous speed and sparked into flames. It was as if it had become the wheel of a sun chariot.
A tremendous power that would be hard to find even if one searched the entire world, was shot at the King of Humanity, who was watching him with eyes full of curiosity.