Chapter 219: Ark of The End (4)
Chapter 219: Ark of The End (4)
About twenty days—three weeks—had passed since I obtained Administrator Authority. It was a period that felt neither short nor long.
Al’shel had said that once we gained Administrator Authority, everything would proceed without a hitch.
And he was right.
The moment he secured that authority, Al’shel began restructuring the situation without a moment's rest.
Grix seemed surprised, as if he hadn't expected things to move quite so fast, but once he grasped the situation, he assisted us proactively.
Zess didn't help as actively as she had claimed she would, but she didn't interfere either. Occasionally, she would offer something resembling advice under the guise of a joke.
Un-ho was… well, he was Un-ho. He just commented on how the quality of the snacks had improved.
Regardless of their individual circumstances, the first thing Al’shel did with his newfound power wasn't a system overhaul.
It was summoning the leaders of each room, utilizing Grix and Zess’s connections.
Of course, some refused to come, but even they were eventually forced to show their faces once Al’shel proved his authority through various means.
“If you do not come, we have the authority to shut down every system in your room. Naturally, I desire the continued existence and peace of the Demon Train, so I would prefer not to do that. But you know, don't you? The patience and whimsy of the Star Race.”
It seemed most of them were moved by that threat.
Regardless of the coercion involved, Al’shel made a declaration before the gathered representatives and powerhouses of countless races.
He declared that he would change the rules that had persisted for eons.
There was immense backlash, but Al’shel—perhaps having developed a taste for presentations—explained his vision to them with fervor.
Perhaps it was that passion that reached them. Through the ensuing discussion, several points were established.
First: The amount of currency obtained by killing others would be drastically reduced.
Second: A tax would be levied on currency during private transactions between individuals, excluding The System.
Third: The total amount of currency issued would increase at regular intervals. If the digits became too unwieldy, a numerical compression process would be performed.
Fourth: Indirect contributions through the rooms, rather than direct contributions to the Demon Train, would also be treated as contributions to the train, and a basic allowance would be paid. This included social, cultural, and educational work not related to combat.
Fifth: Depending on the economic scale of a room, authority to access The System would be granted. This would be subject to the collective will of that room.
Sixth: A Management Object for the Demon Train would be created to monitor currency value and numerical changes. This would be completed by integrating it based on autonomous maneuvering. The object would provide and allow reference to various statistics by default, even without specific authority.
Seventh: All changes made to The System are not absolute and can be modified at any time.
It contained many concessions, considering it was Al’shel.
The initial draft had contained much harsher terms, such as the total confiscation of all currency if one unilaterally murdered another.
Despite this, the representatives of each room protested, but the final point became the clincher.
Eighth: Al’shel would eventually leave the Demon Train and transfer most of his authority to the Management Object defined in the sixth point. The representatives of each room could gather to adjust the Management Object, and he would not interfere in that process.
In essence, he meant he would carry out this reform and then leave, entrusting the rest to the autonomy of the Demon Train.
At this, the powerhouses of each room displayed various emotions.
Some showed blatant ambition.
Some nodded in agreement.
Some rolled their eyes, calculating something.
Some chuckled as if it were all very amusing.
They all reacted differently, but to put it bluntly, it meant uploading only the most basic economy and academia to The System and placing a control body—something like a senate—on top of it.
Of course, our world's history has proven that such governing bodies can become corrupt at any time, and since some of those sitting there likely knew of similar histories, they probably harbored dark thoughts.
But Al’shel, Grix, Zess, and I are not fools.
…Well, I hadn't thought that far ahead, but at the very least, I’m not an idiot.
I scanned those gathered, but as expected, I saw no one stronger than Zess when she revealed her true power. At most, there was one person who came close.
Since our prediction was correct, we made a proposal to Zess.
We asked her to become an existence that watches over them at all times, like the sun.
As I had said before, Zess could remain neutral.
She could simply watch the corruption of the Demon Train unfold.
However, at the moment that corruption collapsed...
We asked her to be the recorder who tells those rebuilding society that such things had happened in the past.
Al’shel dressed this proposal in all sorts of flowery language, but in the end, it meant he wanted Zess to be a repository of knowledge.
To that, Zess replied:
“I’ve had many people ask me to join them or make a wish, but this is the first time someone’s told me to just stay still and only speak up when needed.”
“It’s what you’re best at. Listening to stories, remembering them, and then spitting them out like a machine gun whether people want to hear them or not.”
“I don’t just talk to anyone.”
“As if.”
“I won't admit that I don't pick my audience, but it is something I like. Before I accept, let me ask one thing, Al’shel.”
“What is it?”
“Even if the Demon Train becomes a mess, I really don't have to get involved outside of my own room? It’s fine if I just watch, like I always do?”
“Yes. It is impossible for us to create a perfect utopia. No matter what kind of society we build or how we design The System. Even if, by some miracle, I were to stay here.”
Al’shel smiled once and continued his explanation to Zess.
“Therefore, such corruption will also serve as the tempering process for their development. However, we cannot allow the sword to break or the method of making it to be lost during that tempering, can we? So, Zess, it is enough for you to be the one who tells them what the previous sword was like when they try to fix it or forge a new one.”
At that, Zess laughed.
Al’shel laughed.
Grix and I laughed as well.
And so, time passed on the Demon Train.
* * *
Even if everything is going smoothly, one must never let their guard down.
Because the opponent always has at least one card to turn the tide.
Had the Star Race judged Al’shel as arrogant?
However, that was a flawed assessment.
The ones truly possessed by arrogance were not just Al’shel, but every single passenger on the Demon Train.
After obtaining Administrator Authority, everything proceeded smoothly. Most races expressed their willingness to cooperate, stating they had only fought wars to keep the majority from starving. Now that starvation was no longer a threat, they were with us.
In the first place, most of the current room leaders were of the generation that had endured that hellish war.
They were people whose conflicts had been minimized and who had grown up nursing hatred for the Otherworld through stories passed down for generations. If they were told they could have revenge—no, even without revenge—there was a common ground in the fact that they had to cooperate to survive.
Thus, they complied with Al’shel’s reforms.
Some criticized Al’shel, claiming he would become a dictator, but when he announced he would relinquish his authority to a new governing body once everything was finished, the noise died down.
In particular, the fact that Zess showed interest in the plan was a crucial factor.
And so, everything went well.
In that short time, Un-ho put on weight. Someone wrote down their race's history in a book.
Someone else stepped down from their leadership position to raise the next generation, establishing a school to share magic.
In some rooms, trade and delegations began—the exchange of races had started.
A positive change had occurred.
They showed a rapid transformation that even Al’shel and I hadn't anticipated.
The majority preferred stability over combat. They wanted a slightly unstable progress rather than a fading decline.
Was it because they had seen The Enemy with their own eyes?
They readily accepted the very things I desired for humanity.
With just one existence—Al’shel, who could control everything—everything changed.
Because of that, I also saw light there.
Even among different races, those who have seen the terror of The Enemy will take steps on their own.
If there is a catalyst, those who have lost everything once...
Will know the importance of strength better than anyone else.
Trials and growth. I witnessed them and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Even if this wasn't my world, I knew that someone could draw the ideal I desired in order to survive them.
It’s okay if there is no omniscient being.
It’s okay if there is no omnipotent being.
Wasn't this flame started by a single superhuman named Grix?
A powerhouse who now doesn't even have time to blink, his eyes drying out from the intensity.
His thoughts had met a catalyst named Al’shel and blossomed.
In that way, our world could also change like that if there were a catalyst.
I had such a happy dream.
I speak in the past tense because I cannot believe what is happening before my eyes right now.
“You crazy bastards!”
A roar echoes.
“Do you think I will die alone?”
Where did it go wrong?
Everything was working perfectly.
The majority of races agreed with us.
The majority of powerhouses also avoided fighting.
Almost everyone was in favor.
“Stop this madness right now! Have you forgotten what those things did to the world?!”
Thus, the gears of affirmation turned.
Gears that meshed flawlessly, heading toward an ideal society.
Even if those gears didn't reach every passenger on the Demon Train yet, it was a society where one could believe that the rotation would gradually widen until it reached everyone, and the day would come when the Demon Train would become an Ark of Hope.
“Hahaha! I can’t forget what you did more than what they did.”
But at some point, it went off track.
At the hands of a small number who did not belong to the majority.
“You killed us whenever you felt like it, and now you unilaterally sign a peace treaty and say let’s move forward peacefully?”
They shouldn't have been a problem either.
The vast majority of the minority were either neutral or simply held a pessimistic view of the future; they were people who would follow along if society changed.
“Did you think I would have forgotten you? Do you have any idea what I was thinking while standing over the corpses of my kin?”
“That is an experience we all share! Not just you! Most of us followed this change even knowing that!”
However, among the tiny fraction of the minority, there were one or two powerhouses. A single, massive wedge capable of breaking all the gears.
He wasn't even someone noticeably strong.
He wasn't the leader of any room; he was simply someone who possessed power.
“Is that so? Then were those corpses your blood relatives? Were they someone you loved? Or were they children you birthed yourself?”
“….”
A dark, murky sludge from the Otherworld seeped into the clockwork machine of society.
And then, the breakdown that would ruin everything began. It wasn't the achievement of the three weeks Al’shel and I had been involved.
The desires of everyone that had continued endlessly since the destruction of the stars were being annihilated.
The Ark was being driven toward its end.
“I summon thee! Brunoni! The Pale One who knows The End! I have prepared a feast! Use my body as a pillar and descend here! Bring down once more the flames that incinerated my world!”
The Ark, which was trying to be reborn, began to catch fire.
A golden flower that would burn everything, fueled by the dark sludge of revenge.
“You crazy son of a bitch!”
Otherworldly Power, more than just murky—viscous—began to swarm.
The repulsive atmosphere of that place below Nanjido, where everything was stagnant and foul, began to be recreated here.
“Hahahaha! Yes, you are all dying with me! Now witness your end. the end of the Demon Train! The sight of our world being destroyed! I will go first and wait for you!”
Wrapped in golden flames, the body of a humanoid race began to burn.
The place where it all began.
The Core of the Demon Train.
The heart of the Demon Train.
All of us, having sensed the madmen's plan in advance, gathered there.
The powerhouses who had gathered lunged toward those performing the ritual.
But in the single moment our feet left the ground, everyone except the powerhouse presiding over the ritual in the center and shouting at us turned to ash.
And from the mouth of the one spewing curses at us from the center of the Magic Circle, flames erupted instead of words.
And the moment we crossed the Magic Circle made of corpses and our hands were about to reach his body...
Whoosh.
Flames surged from every orifice, and his insides incinerated.
From within the man, who was now nothing but ash except for his outer shell, golden flames stared back at us.
Long, long ago. The emotion of revenge that started from one man.
After a vast stretch of time, it became fuel.
By summoning an existence that should never exist on the Demon Train...
The end had begun.