Chapter 352: The End of All (5)

"

Yaaaawn...

" Ganesha murmured, standing at the entrance to the frozen, crystal cave that was the magical space of the lighthouse's uppermost floor.

"... A yawn, at a time like this?" Gawain said, his eyes narrowed at Ganesha.

"What is there to do, then~ when we are told to wait here? More to the point, where is Ria and what is she doing?" Ganesha replied, pouting her lips and taking out a crystal orb.

Though Ganesha stared intently at the crystal orb, there was no reply from Ria, who did not seem dead but merely could not understand what she was doing.

"... But then again," Ganesha continued, looking at those around her.

The advance, which had started with around three hundred people—including Maho of the Principality, the leader of the Scarletborn, loyal knights, and Imperial Mages—now had fewer than ten people remaining, with an even representation of all races and origins.

"Isn't it interesting? There are so many different races and peoples gathered here.”

From among them, Ganesha looked at the Great Elder of the Scarletborn, Elesol, who remained in her robe.

—

When facing a great villain, race matters not. Even now, beyond this lighthouse, many Scarletborn fight on Her Majesty's behalf.

The Great Elder said.

"... Alright~ give it your all," Ganesha replied, her twin tails fluttering as she peered into the other side of the lighthouse once more. "I can't even see anything."

On the other side of the lighthouse, nothing could be seen, and merely staring at it was enough to make their head feel disoriented.

"A frigid cold that freezes even concepts is a first for me, and I must say,

Ganesha thought.

"But I wonder... even if we kill Professor Deculein, will that meteor really disappear...?" Maho said in a soft voice.

Maho, the princess of the Principality, had somehow survived this long, but she remained unaware of the world's realities.

"Then, are you suggesting we let Deculein live~? The one who brought that meteor down upon us~?" Ganesha replied with a chuckle.

"It would be better for us to persuade him... because a mage would be needed to stop the meteor," Maho said, fidgeting with her fingers.

Without a word, Ganesha shook her head, and Gawain wore a comparable expression.

"First and foremost, we will uphold Her Majesty's command," Gawain said, drawing his sword. "To ensure that no one may pass this place..."

Vrooooom—

At that moment, from the bottom of the lighthouse, a sudden faint engine sound was heard, a sound that could not be identified as a vehicle or anything else...

Wait, how does a vehicle manage to get up these steps?

Vrooooooooom—!

While they stood in bewilderment, the engine sound grew louder, the friction of the tires drew closer, and in the end, everyone was forced to turn and look.

"... But that's a vehicle, isn't it?" Ganesha muttered blankly.

As Ganesha had said, a vehicle was indeed drawing near, wrapped in some kind of barrier and with rough sparks flying from its tires as it climbed the stairs in a situation that would surely bewilder anyone.

Eventually, as the vehicle came closer, the faces of two women sitting in the driver’s seats could be seen, and the audacity of the two was even more unbelievable because they were Yeriel and Louina.

“Wait—! Wait—!”

Their shouts seemed out of place because no one could understand how they had managed to get a vehicle all the way here, and as this bewilderment filled their minds...

Skreeee—!

The luxury sedan belonging to Yeriel and Louina leaped and landed like a dolphin leaping from the sea.

Screeech—!

With an artistic drift, the vehicle was safely parked.

"...

Oh

," Ganesha murmured, clapping her hands without realizing it.

Both Maho and the other Scarletborn blinked.

"I have something to say!" Yeriel shouted, stepping from the driver's seat and holding out the analysis paper clutched in her hand.

***

... Sophien was walking a path that felt distant because time was frozen and space was stretched into a lengthened road, and she could not perceive the flow of time or the scale of space but was merely walking toward him to meet him.

“

It brings back memories from long ago.

”

All at once, Sophien heard Rohakan’s voice in her ear—a tone from the recent past spoken to her soul—and she reflected on it without a word.

“

Deculein had no talent to speak of. His limits were quite apparent to all.

”

That was Rohakan, reminiscing about Deculein.

“

I felt pity for that boy and, to be frank, a certain gladness.

”

It was Rohakan who said he was fortunate that Deculein was without talent.

“As

he had an evil soul, someone who carried evil in his very essence.

”

Those were the words of Rohakan.

“

He was born with the destiny to become a villain. However... he is different now. He holds a secret you are unaware of.

”

"A secret," Sophien muttered, a soft whisper to herself.

Deculein had a secret, but Sophien, in a peculiar way, seemed to vaguely know what it was and felt as if she already knew what kind of secret he had.

Craaack—

Suddenly, Sophien’s feet were frozen to the ground, and in the frigid cold that froze her body in an instant, she came to realize that she had reached her destination.

Raising her head, Sophien stared at someone standing there, a woman of pure white, a knight of winter, and a sword dedicated to Deculein alone.

"Yulie," Sophien said, calling her name and capturing her image in her cold retinas. "You are... so very pure, indeed."

The puppet body that contained Yulie’s soul appeared to have lost its spirit but remained whole, and because it had been frozen before it could break, it stood upright forever like a statue, retaining the form of the purest and most virtuous knight...

Sophien approached Yulie, and one step at a time, enduring the mana that froze time and space, she reached out and tenderly touched her cheek.

"Yulie, I know your heart.”

The Empress, the most noble of this continent, knew the heart of this knight and her loyalty to Deculein.

“Therefore...”

For some reason, there seemed to be a smile on Yulie's face.

"You may rest now," Sophien muttered, sweeping a finger over Yulie's smile.

Creeeeeeeeeeeak—

Then, with the sound of a door opening and the warmth of a gradually seeping light, Sophien gave a bleak smile and looked beyond, wondering if it was something Yulie had permitted.

“... Deculein.”

Sophien called the name of the utterly audacious subject who stood firmly and waited for her, daring to summon the Empress to him.

***

“... Deculein.”

The tone of Sophien’s voice calling my name was that of Her Majesty, the Empress, awakening my momentarily halted mind and stirring the body of an

Iron Man

to move.

I stared at Sophien. This body, which was on the verge of death—no, this body that was already dead—could not welcome Her Majesty as I wished, but there was still a bit of time left.

"Yes, Your Majesty," I replied with the utmost respect, as a noble of the House of Yukline, addressing the most honorable Empress in all the Empire.

No expression appeared on Sophien’s face.

"You do not look well," Sophien said, doing nothing more than approaching me.

“No, Your Majesty,” I replied.

"As I promised you, I have arrived in the Land of Destruction," Sophien replied.

"It is an honor, Your Majesty."

As either Deculein or Kim Woo-Jin, I respected Sophien. Although no word greater than glory or honor can describe her, as the Empress of this continent who holds a position above all and below none, I admired Sophien for always being true to herself.

"Your Majesty, I too am now prepared to honor my promise," I continued, placing the wooden board I had prepared for Sophien—a mere Go board—on the desk.

"Where is God?" Sophien asked, after a long, silent moment of staring.

God created this world, and that was the being who poured Kim Woo-Jin's soul into Deculein.

"God will be watching over us from some place," I replied.

"Where is the God of the Altar?" Sophien asked with a nod of her head.

"... He is at the end of this lighthouse, Your Majesty. Your meeting with him will be after you have killed me."

There were stages in the game, and the final boss was always at the end, because if it were not the end to begin with, it would not be the final boss.

"... Would you like to play a match, Your Majesty?" I asked.

"A flower, I see," Sophien said, her eyes falling upon the Go board on the desk, and then upon the forget-me-not placed beside it.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Sophien stretched out a hand to lift the forget-me-not, and delicately stroked the blue flower bud as if she were touching a newborn's skin.

"... Deculein," Sophien said, her voice filled with some fear as she put the forget-me-not back in the vase and shook her head. "Deculein, if I drive my blade through your heart, will you truly face your death?"

"... A greater honor than that will follow," I replied for Sophien.

“Honor?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Sophien furrowed her brow.

"My entire body is implanted with spells," I said with a smile, pointing to my body.

On the blood vessels and muscles of my entire body, the ultimate secrets of

Telekinesis

were inscribed, and this heart served as a Magicore to propel that

Telekinesis

throughout the continent.

"Upon the shattering of this heart, the turbulent mana of Your Majesty's sword will serve to power my spell."

The magic I was planning to use to save the continent and the method to preserve humanity was uncomplicated—too uncomplicated to be called a grand magic—as it essentially used

Telekinesis

, the first magic I learned, to lift all the humans and life on the continent and forcefully put them inside a canvas.

It was a method that was as simple and crude as it was extremely efficient.

"I will, through these means, bring about a miracle."

"Could you not just stop the meteor with that

Telekinesis

?" Sophien replied with a smile of disbelief.

"... It is not possible for fate to change, Your Majesty." I said, speaking of fate.

It was something that might be described as the programming of the game.

“A fate.”

Sophien stared at my face—no, she had not taken her eyes off my face since some point, as if she did not want to miss a single moment.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the continent's destruction was the inevitable work of fate."

The destruction of the continent was fate, and even if it wasn't now, it would be eventually.

Therefore, this lighthouse did not manipulate the celestial object’s orbit but only adjusted its speed, as it was a fate that could not be stopped if not now.

"However, even if the continent is ruined, if a person remains alive," I continued, approaching Sophien and placing a hand on her shoulder. "We will continue to survive."

"... Does that mean the price of it is your death?"

"I am already a dead man, Your Majesty," I replied with a nod in response to Sophien’s question.

I had tenaciously dragged this body, already dead and beyond hope of recovery, only to reach this moment.

Sophien remained silent.

After a long silence, looking up at me, Sophien asked, "Then is today to be your last day?"

My last day.

"I do have one final thing that must be done," I replied after a moment’s thought, then shook my head.

Even if I manifested my magic in this lighthouse and Sophien drove her sword through my heart, I would not die. Though there would probably have been only a short time left, that time was meant to be spent only for her, as it had already been predetermined.

Then, Sophien's eyes slowly came down to the desk, settling on the wooden board that was meticulously wiped clean.

"Furthermore, within this place are records I wrote myself."

Sophien raises her eyes and looks at me again.

"With them, you may filter out the Altar's agents, Your Majesty."

I had no doubt of success because Sophien’s will and my magic would not possibly end in failure.

"Let those who can be brought back be brought back, and let those who cannot be punished."

Therefore, I told Sophien about that future event and, in the guise of advice, gave her a word of caution.

Sophien remained silent once again.

... Drip.

At that moment, rainwater beaded on the lighthouse’s window, and the sky, distorted by the celestial object, bore the marks of a sudden downpour.

"The God approaches, Your Majesty," I continued.

Whether I would be able to see her again—the woman I met in my old world who was now called God—remained a question, but I had to set it aside.

"Therefore, in the short time that remains..."

This moment, and this moment only...

"Will you care to join me for a final match?" I concluded.

Had to be a time that belonged to Sophien.

However, Sophien closed her eyes without a word.

Drip, drip—

Even with rainwater beating against the window and wind coiling around the lighthouse, Sophien remained that way for a long time without a word, and...

"No need," Sophien replied, her face a blank canvas as she shook her head.