The Arcana Continent.

The Main Spirit Palace of the Holy Land Canaan——

An annex to the grand cathedral at the heart of the holy pilgrimage site, and the headquarters of the party "Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage."

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. Looks like our Mia got a little too excited."

"That was way beyond 'a little too excited'..."

"Yeah, see, I totally figured it was my little brother—the current Demon King—being useless again and one of the Five Great Disasters going rogue. But Mia's actually pretty loyal when it comes down to it, big on honor and all that, so I thought something felt off."

Elise sat cross-legged on the bed in the guest room.

"I see now. She'd already been fighting that 'creepy presence' I'd been sensing, chased it all the way to the Holy Land. Then she happened to run into Ren, and I bet she just couldn't contain herself."

"We were scrambling over here, you know. Seriously..."

Ren slumped against the sofa and stared blankly up at the ceiling.

The Demon General of Wave—Mia.

According to what Elise told him afterward, that Demon General was especially warrior-tempered even among demons. She had a strong sense of honor, but the flip side was that whenever she encountered an unknown strong opponent, she simply couldn't resist picking a fight.

"She came at us for real."

"Well, that's just how she is. But hey, things worked out, right? You're fine, and that human holy maiden... um, what was her name?"

"Elies?"

"Oh, right, right. She made it through okay too, didn't she?"

"She'd better have."

When it came to Elies, the injuries from the Light-Form Higher Being's heat beam had actually been far worse than anything from the fight with the Demon General of Wave.

...On the surface, Elies hadn't had a single visible wound.

...An attack of light that destroyed only the inside of the body, huh.

Ren had never seen damage like that before. The only reason it hadn't been fatal was the swift first aid from her subordinates, and above all——

"Thanks, Fear-senpai. You really came through."

"I didn't do anything special."

Fear smiled and shook her head from her chair by the window.

The Archangel's healing arts.

Thyrus, who had been watching from nearby, and even Nebirim—a Healer herself and one of the top-ranking officers—had stared in open shock at Fear's technique. That scene was still fresh in his memory.

"But what are you going to do, Ren?"

Kyelse leaned against the guest room wall with her arms crossed.

She had been listening quietly to the conversation, and now those vivid Emerald Green eyes were fixed on him.

"This unidentified glowing entity that attacked you. Do you have any leads?"

"Honestly, that's what I've been agonizing over..."

The monster that had suddenly descended upon the Hall of Prayer and attacked them.

Its identity remained unknown.

If there was only one of those things in the world, that would be one thing. But if countless more existed out there, they would undoubtedly become one of the greatest threats in their journey in pursuit of the Encore.

...Or could it be...

...that thing is also 'something' connected to the Encore?

Their next destination.

The logical first choice would have been the Underworld.

However——

"What do you want to do? Heading to the Underworld to obtain the Demon King's Seal could take priority, but investigating that thing's identity first is fine too. I'm curious about whoever attacked you."

"I mean, I'd love to investigate. But there's just no leads to——"

No leads at all.

Just as Ren was about to say that.

"There's something in The Hegemon City Elmekia."

The guest room door opened without warning.

"Elies!? Should you be up already!?"

Standing beyond the open door was a girl with lapis lazuli hair.

Draped in her golden ritual vestments as a holy maiden, she looked—at least on the outside—no different than she had before yesterday's fierce battle.

"Your injuries..."

"I'm fine. I can walk, and it won't interfere with my daily prayers."

The holy maiden stood with three women—her top-ranking officers—in attendance behind her.

Beyond them, the figures of Thyrus the Fulltype and Premier the Aria were also visible.

"Honestly, there's something I need to prioritize over my own recovery."

"Prioritize?"

"This."

Elies pulled something small and stone-like from the sleeve of her vestments and tossed it.

It sailed through the air and landed neatly in Ren's hands.

——A black stone.

"A stone? Looks like obsidian, but..."

"It's a black crystal. A rare mineral that can only be mined in The Hegemon City Elmekia's mines. It's also used in the black combat garb that those Elmekia Dusk people wear. You recognize it, don't you?"

Now that she mentioned it. The dull gleam coming from the gem in his hand looked strikingly similar to the color of the combat garb worn by that party's swordsmen.

"What does this have to do with..."

"Nebirim found it. A fragment of this black crystal was lying in the Hall of Prayer."

"What!? Wait. You mean——"

"Yes. That glowing entity that attacked us. It was inside that thing's body. When you destroyed it, this stone must have shattered and scattered as well."

The holy maiden's words.

And immediately after, what flashed through Ren's mind was a certain exchange from Heaven.

"I will hold onto the Goddess's Seal for now. I shall await you in The Hegemon City Elmekia—O return of the Brave Hero."

The Heretic Knight, Casadine.

Words spoken by a knight who served as an officer of Elmekia Dusk.

Thinking back on it now, events were unfolding exactly as that man had said.

——An unidentified Light-Form Higher Being.

If the Heretic Knight's words were true, then the possibility that the attacker and The Hegemon City Elmekia were connected was by no means small.

"What about you, Elies?"

"Obviously I'm going. Not as a holy maiden—as the leader of the Sacred Vessel of Canaan Pilgrimage. I have a mountain of things I want to investigate in The Hegemon City Elmekia."

The girl nodded, resolve burning in her eyes.

Faced with her answer.

"...You heard her?"

"What will you do, Ren? Whatever the reason for visiting, The Hegemon City Elmekia is a fine city for broadening one's horizons too. It is the world's largest city-state, after all."

Elise and Fear took turns asking.

And finally——

"Your call, Ren."

Kyelse rested her hand on the window frame.

The girl who stood at the pinnacle of all dragonkind continued with a defiant grin.

"Don't worry about it. Between the seasickness and everything else lately, frustration's been piling up. I was just thinking it was about time I cut loose."

Afterword

Thank you for picking up this book. I'm Sazane.

Encore: The World's End World Record has reached its third volume. The story is finally starting to move in earnest, so I'd like to tighten my focus and give it my all going forward.

Now, as for the main content—this volume's theme was "Heaven."

Shangri-La, paradise, utopia... there are many ways to describe it, but this time I put the spotlight on the garden of the angels. That said, what Ren saw was only a small part of Heaven. Including the Goddess of the Seraphim, Resflaze, herself, there are still plenty of episodes I'd love to write about that place if the opportunity arises.

Meanwhile, the stage moves even beyond Heaven.

For the first time, Ren fights alongside an ally in a battle against a powerful foe.

I'll refrain from discussing the companion who fought at Ren's side and the opponent they faced in this afterword, but it was one of the battles that represents major emotional growth for the boy once called "Fake Brave Hero," so I hope you'll watch over him warmly.

Now for some acknowledgments for Volume 3. Once again, my deepest thanks to everyone at MF Bunko J's editorial department who worked so hard on this book's completion—especially the editor-in-chief and my editor, N-sama!

Also, to Fuyuno Haruaki-sensei, who drew the lovely cover illustration of Fear.

And above all, to everyone who picked up this book.

Thank you always for your warm support. Thanks to all of you, a manga adaptation of Encore: The World's End World Record has been confirmed!

I'll share more details as they become available. I'm personally really looking forward to it.

(You can also find updates on Sazane's Twitter: https://twitter.com/sazanek)

And finally, a preview.

Volume 4 of Encore will likely be around June.

Set in the world's largest city, The Hegemon City Elmekia——

An arc of party conflict and upheaval, where various figures and their machinations collide.

On top of that, the Three Princesses' innocent and adorable (?) rampage, along with a rare display of serious combat.

And the showdown the world's seers are holding their breath over—"Fake Brave Hero (Ren) VS Knight King (Zelbright)"—among many other developments planned.

This is where the real story begins. I plan to give Encore my all this year, so I'd be thrilled if you continue to support it.

Until we meet again in Volume 4 of Encore: The World's End World Record.

Sazane Kei

Author

Sazane Kei

Thank you always for your support.

Encore has already reached its third volume.

I want to give it everything I've got this year so it continues to be a work everyone can enjoy.

Illustrator

Fuyuno Haruaki

Illustrator. Known for illustrations in light novels and many other works. Recent projects include Listening to the Soundtrack of a Movie I've Never Seen (Shincho Bunko nex), among others.