Chapter 52. Humanity's Final End – Part Two / The Sorrow of Kasumigaoka Utaha!
Raku Sou took a deep breath. At this moment, he felt better than ever, as though transcending the limits of humanity—becoming a god of omniscience and omnipotence...
Alright, that was just an illusion.
He closed his eyes in contemplation, recalling Lunar Coral by Nasu "Mushroom" Kinoko.
As the saying goes: before you write, you must first become the role.
With constant tweaking, refinement, and subtle deepening...
Raku Sou slowly opened his eyes, sorrow clouding his face, and rested his fingers on the keyboard.
——
Humanity's Final End • Part Two: Lunar Coral.
[The stars shimmer, the ocean whispers, and coral speaks of love for mankind.]
Heaven turns to water, water floods the heavens—an ocean, shattered and scattered, spreads across the lunar sky.
Exquisite illustrations appeared one after another.
A background track with a haunting, sorrowful fantasy tone played.
It wept and yearned, it cried and mourned. The melody lingered, tugging endlessly at the soul.
[After the lunar migration policy was implemented, humanity suddenly lost its fire.]
[The passion for exploration, the thirst for the unknown, the desire to learn, even the drive to reproduce... all vanished.]
The tension in the words tore through the screen, and a profound sorrow seeped into every heart.
Just a few lines in, and already readers were struck by an unimaginable shockwave.
This wasn't some trivial complaint from Kazuma's and Subaru's mothers about their NEET sons—this was about an entire species becoming indifferent to everything.
Humanity...
Had lost its future.
This chilling truth ran through everything.
And yet, that wasn't the end of the story...
In the end, those who remained on Earth sent nearly all remnants of civilization to the Moon.
Because those living on Earth could survive without civilization, but those on the Moon would perish without it.
["Preserving the brilliance of human intellect is your responsibility. We're just too damn tired."]
[The Earthlings grumbled, shoving everything onto the Lunarians in frustration.]
At this point, Raku Sou let out a quiet sigh.
In the Type-Moon universe, humanity always heads toward extinction.
With magecraft at the center, they drained the planet's resources and ended up in Land of Steel.
With science at the center, they lost all fire and ended up in Lunar Coral.
However, the tone of Lunar Coral was so gentle...
Like a blade coated in honey, letting people savor that bittersweet sorrow.
…
"Damn it, when the hell is Land of Steel getting updated?!"
In her room, Kasumigaoka Utaha muttered in frustration, thoroughly pissed off by Merlin's hiatus.
Ever since discovering that masterpiece, her days had been restless, her nights sleepless. She logged in four or five times a day just to check if Merlin had climbed back up from that goddamn cliffhanger.
And yet...
There was no "and yet".
Merlin, with his conscience chewed away by dogs, had only left behind that single lonely Land of Steel.
Utaha was so mad she wanted to start swearing.
How could a work with such incredible quality not be continued?
You soulless author, don't let me catch you—
Or I'll crush your head between these thighs wrapped in black stockings!
"Ding ding ding ——."
The girl frowned and looked down at her screen, where the chat window of her social app was flashing non-stop.
It was the hardcore Merlin fan group.
No—more accurately, the hardcore Land of Steel fan group, where netizens from across the world gathered daily to curse that cliffhanger-devil Merlin, while never forgetting to praise Land of Steel.
The message speed right now—something big must've happened.
Curious, Kasumigaoka Utaha moved her mouse and clicked in.
[Land of Steel Urgent Update Group – Group #67 (Full)]
[Saint Fallen Black Cat: "@everyone, holy shit, the old bastard actually updated!"]
[My Online Girlfriend Can't Be Real: "@Saint Fallen Black Cat, seriously?!"]
[Forever Never Losing Out: "Oh my god, Land of Steel is back from the dead!"]
[His Highness: "Sorry to disappoint. I just checked Merlin's profile—he didn't update Land of Steel. Instead, he started a new cliffhanger called 『Lunar Coral』..."]
[Moment of Chaos: "Fucking Merlin, could you have even a shred of shame...!!"]
[Netorare Dragon God: "Digging new holes without filling the old ones, fuck you...!!"]
"Merlin!!"
Staring at the chat, Kasumigaoka Utaha was fuming with rage.
That bastard had done it again—started another new series.
Could he at least have a shred of shame? Just finish Land of Steel first, damn it!
She charged into the comments section of Merlin's profile, furiously pounding the keyboard while cursing nonstop. Her pale, jade-like fingers flew in a blur, typing out a 20,000-character rant.
Only when she was gasping for breath from exhaustion did the girl finally let out a snort and cease her unladylike behavior.
Curse him all she wanted—she still had to read Merlin's work.
Lunar Coral?
That was… a rather beautiful name.
Her heart filled with anticipation as she clicked into the new post.
"It might sound a little ridiculous, but my grandmother… she might've come from the Moon."
"This year is finally drawing to an end."
A sorrowful background BGM began to play—familiar in its craftsmanship, instantly pulling her in.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes lit up.
There was no mistake. This novel was definitely a masterpiece, penned by Merlin himself.
That damn bastard might live off cliffhangers, but when it came to storytelling—he was unmatched.
Satisfied, she put on her headphones, lips slightly parted, softly humming along to the tune.
——
One hour later.
"..."
The elegant background music abruptly came to a halt. Kasumigaoka Utaha quietly removed her headphones. Her eyes were red-rimmed, glistening tears fell one after another, and her whole body trembled.
Merlin…
Do you even know what the hell you're writing?
Why does it have to hurt this much?
Why use such gentle, tender words… to tell a story so merciless and cruel?
It was too sorrowful…
Like witnessing something beautiful crumble—a collapse of all romanticism and idealism, strangled by desire… and ultimately annihilated by it, with human civilization fading away in silence.
As a mirror of the times, the protagonist of Lunar Coral didn't have a happy ending either.
A girl who did not belong to humanity, transformed into a human.
A being without emotion, who came to understand love.
Unrequited affection, a prideful resolve—everything they prayed for… was for the happiness of the other.
They were a pair of the most tragically unfortunate people… and yet, somehow, so blissfully happy it choked the heart.
Perhaps, in the end, the journey of that little merchant was to prove that Earth and the Moon had never truly abandoned one another—to answer Coral's call on behalf of moonlight itself.
However, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't quite accept the ending—the one where most memories were lost. It left a lingering grief.
That crushing sorrow pierced through the symphony, through your hands, your arms, your spine—striking straight into the crown of your skull!
The sudden shift in BGM midway through the story was even more shocking.
The later madness felt like a screaming accusation—calling out the supposed happiness of humanity's first half.
When the final word was read, what remained was the aching urge to sob in despair. The pain of being cast aside, of being forgotten… and the helplessness in the face of history's relentless tide.
"So this is… humanity's final end?"
She murmured, her eyes dazed, still trapped in the story's grip.
Even the Land of Steel Urgent Update Group had fallen completely silent…
It was a long while before anyone gradually began to recover from the collective depression.