Episode 249
The landscape of Jaxen Castle faded away, leaving behind a realm that existed solely for two individuals.
A winter night, both bright and dark.
There stood the Shadow Lord, clad in armor of darkness.
Beside him was Shub, the ancient mother of darkness who loved humanity.
Opposing them was the champion of this otherworld, the greatest monster hunter, and another version of himself. With Sistina, the artificial goddess who loved humanity, he claimed the title of the Golden Lord.
“So this is what mana truly is?” Dale asked, facing his own shadow.
“The swarms of nanomachines that have consumed our planet and now fill the atmosphere,” came the reply.
”…”
“Sistina discovered a way to control the nanomachines in the atmosphere over countless ages. She began to restore the broken earth by resonating with them. The ‘mana’ that fills the air responds to the powerful thoughts of conscious beings, constructing specific materials.”
Terraforming, planetary modification. The goddess of mercy and compassion was no lie.
This was the true form of the power people in this world called magic.
Advanced science indistinguishable from magic. It was exactly as they said.
“Thus, the elves, a race optimized for resonating with nanomachines, were born. They covered the land with forests and trees, breathing life into the dead earth. That’s how the Second Empire, the most powerful, came to be.”
“Good for them. But what does that have to do with me?” Dale asked indifferently, as if it were someone else’s problem. The warrior silently adjusted his grip on his sword.
“The mana that fills the air can be a force of salvation, restoring a broken world. But it can also become a weapon of apocalypse, consuming everything and driving the world to destruction, as it once did.”
”…”
“Yet you sought power, willing to embrace the apocalyptic force that could end the world. The day you reached the winter of the universe and grasped the chill of the apocalypse, that was the proof. And your actions.”
“Wasn’t it ‘our’ decision to do whatever it takes to bring down the Empire?”
“It was also our decision to do whatever it takes to protect our homeland.”
The warrior spoke.
“Our homeland is already gone. Just because the ground beneath us is the same doesn’t make this place our home.”
Dale dismissed coldly. The warrior laughed at his words.
“You sound just like someone from this world.”
”…”
“Didn’t I say? The only thing that proves our truth is our actions.”
The otherworldly warrior continued.
“Our homeland is gone. That’s the truth. But the nanomachines that fill this world still remember. They remember the world before they consumed this land. And we know the true power that mana can unleash.”
“Surely not…”
“That’s my action.”
The warrior declared, and Dale couldn’t even muster a laugh.
There stood the Golden Lord, refusing the truth and clinging to his lies until the end.
“To destroy this damned world and reclaim the one we truly need to protect.”
“You’re insane.”
It was akin to declaring himself the god of a new world.
“You accused me of accepting the world’s end, yet you’re the one truly trying to destroy it.”
“Didn’t I say? To save the world we couldn’t.”
Dale spat out a curse.
“Unfortunately, I can’t let that happen.”
“Yes, this world must be precious to you. Now, do you have a sense of who the ‘real hero’ is?”
“Do you think it’s justified to destroy one world to save another?”
“You already accept this world’s end, don’t you? Then it’s a deal where neither side loses.”
“That doesn’t mean I’ll just sit back and watch the world crumble tomorrow.”
The Shadow Lord replied icily.
Before him stood another version of himself. How another version of himself could exist simultaneously was unknown. But, as with the white and black Aurelia, it didn’t matter much.
Dale was denying himself. The warrior facing him was doing the same.
“Did you enjoy playing house in this world?”
The warrior taunted coldly.
“Honestly, whether you’re the real one or I am, it doesn’t matter. I died on that bright and dark winter night. It feels as vivid as if it were just yesterday. To me, the day we died is yesterday, and realizing this world’s truth is today. Is there any reason for me to hesitate in destroying this hellish world to reclaim ours?”
Born as the eldest son of the Jaxen family, he grew up and arrived here.
But the warrior before Dale was different. He was alone until the end.
“I pity you. I understand the pain we went through better than anyone.”
That’s why Dale smiled bitterly.
“But I can’t let you have your way.”
“I never expected your approval from the start.”
The warrior said.
“The scenes of Earth that Sistina showed you are probably just distant memories now. But to me, they are as vivid as if they happened yesterday. The people I couldn’t protect, the loved ones I couldn’t save. I don’t need anyone’s permission to reclaim them.”
“Even if you use mana’s power to reclaim our old world, do you realize it’s all a lie?”
“What does that matter?”
The Lord of Lies replied.
The conversation ended there.
Dale unleashed the chill of the apocalypse, and the otherworldly warrior silently extended his arm in response.
─ Database registration: Amplifying the nanomachine resonance rate of first-class user Hanseong to 9700%.
Simultaneously, the artificial goddess ‘Sistina’ called the warrior’s name, and a storm of mana swept through the area.
It was clear. The warrior Hanseong before Dale understood the ‘pinnacle of mana’ better than any magician in this world.
The ability to freely manipulate the nanomachines that filled the land.
It was not much different from being able to manipulate reality itself.
Like a god of a new world.
The sky was covered in shadows. An armored dragon, but both individuals present knew its true nature.
A nuclear bomber flew overhead, launching an assault on the ground they stood upon.
Tactical nuclear weapons. Flames of apocalypse incomparable to the red mages of the Red Magic Tower consumed the world of the bright and dark winter night.
The landscape vanished, mushroom clouds rose, and the searing heat and ash engulfed the winter night.
Yet, amidst the bombardment, the warrior remained unscathed.
The Shadow Lord, Dale, was no exception.
“It seems this isn’t enough to kill you.”
The warrior remarked, observing the scene. Dale did not respond.
He simply extended his arm, accelerating the heart of his shadow and scattering the primordial darkness.
No mana, no magic, no aura. Yet Dale still possessed the power granted by the ‘ancient mother of darkness.’
The power of primordial darkness and the chill of the apocalypse, as an apostle of the beginning and the end.
Dale’s abilities were not the product of science derived from the nanomachines covering this world.
They were the powers of celestial beings beyond human comprehension.
Truly in the realm of what could be called ‘magic.’
Against the gods of science and technology, the existence of the Shadow Lord was truly the only one that could be called a magician.
Thus, from the primordial darkness, a creature was created.
Against the shadow creature, the warrior also manipulated the nanomachines to create his own creature.
A monster.
A clash between a monster made of darkness and one made of nanomachines.
A battle of those with the power of creation.
Soon, Shub’s tendrils emerged, wrapping around Dale’s body. As they had when facing King Arthur, the endlessly entwining tendrils of blackness gradually enlarged the Shadow Lord’s armor.
Before long, a shadow colossus, like something out of myth, stood there.
And the warrior, too, began to transform into a colossus that was no less formidable.
A humanoid armored weapon, a giant mech.
“When I was a kid, I prayed for giant robots like this to be developed.”
”…”
“I wish I could go back to that time with this robot. Then I could have defeated all those monsters.”
The steel colossus spoke, while the shadow colossus remained silent.
“Yes, you can still go back.”
“There’s nothing that can be undone.”
After a moment of silence, the Shadow Lord replied coldly.
The tendrils of blackness continued to scatter endlessly, while the steel colossus opened its rear armor.
Countless guided missiles rained down against the tendrils of blackness.
Simultaneously, the steel colossus generated a blue blade along its arm. A plasma cutter.
Dale knew as well. It wasn’t difficult to grasp the capabilities of the steel colossus before him.
A fictional giant robot born from childhood dreams. It projected the imagination that filled his mind.
─ An invincible robot that never loses.
He dreamed of riding that invincible robot, protecting the world against monsters.
That was the ultimate ideal of the warrior’s thoughts. Even if giant robots didn’t exist, it made no difference.
But now, at last, that ideal was realized.
It was beyond laughter.
The steel colossus swung its plasma cutter, slicing through the shadow giant’s tentacle-formed body. Black blood splattered everywhere, and soon, new jet-black tentacles emerged, wrapping around the hero’s robot.
Countless tendrils ensnared the steel giant.
“Why do you stand in my way…?”
The hero spoke, his voice heavy with emotion.
“Dragged into a world I know nothing about, treated like a dog in hellish torment. This world destroyed ours. You remember, don’t you? The world we were supposed to protect, the people we failed to save.”
”…”
Dale didn’t respond immediately.
“You’re right.”
After a pause, Dale finally spoke.
“What do you mean by that?”
“The only thing that proves our existence is our actions.”
”…”
“My truth is simple: to protect the Saxon family and those I love in this world.”
“Is that your truth?”
“Yes.”
Dale affirmed, acknowledging the truth that lay within his own shadow.
Even if he possessed memories of a past life, even if they formed the foundation of who he was now, he had no choice but to accept it.
“Because I am Dale of Saxon.”
Leaving behind the world he couldn’t save and the shackles of the past, the false hero and true sovereign declared.
Facing the true hero, still trapped by the world he couldn’t save and the chains of the past, the false sovereign stood firm.