Chapter 77
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Epilogue to the Prologue
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“Kaduel, show these people the schematics for Alma Rondel. Anything they might need.”
[Understood, Little Mistress. Accessing with Guardian authority.]
Kaduel emitted a glow, projecting the control center's schematics into the air.
Kaisen’s eyes narrowed. From a rough assessment… it seemed the structure went down to a fifth basement level.
Various points of light flickered on the schematic. While he couldn't be sure of the details, it was clear that the red dots were enemies.
“Where is the Elite Knight now?”
[The Apostle of the Sword is currently moving to the third basement level. He will arrive at the control center within fifteen minutes. The entire interior of the facility is being corrupted by the power of Ikillas.]
“Is it serious?”
[Seven Ice Spires have been erected at points within the facility. They are the source of Ikillas's blizzard field and also serve as dimensional gates. They must be stopped.]
Johan, who had been lost in thought while gently stroking his chin, lifted his head.
“I don’t know what Ferbias Eijin intends to do in Alma Rondel, but it certainly won’t be anything ordinary. Something greater than dropping the sun or the moon… Your Excellency, we must hurry and stop him.”
[Yes, that is correct. Kaisen, will you lead the Children of Gold and form the vanguard? You are the only one who can pursue and eliminate the Apostle of the Sword.]
“Leave it to me, Your Excellency.”
[Lady Tarsiyo, like Johan, please lead a contingent to destroy the Ice Spires. You must not go near the control center.]
“Yes, I understand. Kaduel, go with Kaisen and help him.”
Again, you approach me.
Conveying your heart not with the resonance of Thunderous Fragrance, but with the simple trembling of your lips.
“That pin… no matter what happens, you must never pull it out. Promise me.”
It was a relief. That I didn’t promise you then.
Did you know?
That the battle inside Alma Rondel would be the final stop in my life as a Fake Warrior. Is that why you didn’t press me for a promise?
[I will hold the Frostwyrm Wall front until the Ice Spires are destroyed. That way, I can send reinforcements immediately. Kaisen, my beloved child, please be exceptionally careful.]
I didn’t know.
Not even in that moment when I brushed off your words with a wry smile and charged into the facility.
It was just that when the moment came, it felt as if it were destiny.
[Error in gate-opening procedure… The gate has been completely frozen by the power of Ikillas.]
Before Kaduel could even finish, an abnormal mass slammed into the gate, causing an explosion of light.
Supreme Holy Sword, Gaumris.
Simple power was needed—a tremendous force capable of breaking through all absurdity, coupled with the special ability of a Light Pressure Explosion.
[You mustn't. This is a top-priority facility. All equipment is built to withstand a 7th-tier weapon…]
The physical impact of Gaumris didn't shatter the gate, but the Light Pressure Explosion annihilated Ikillas's frost, allowing the gate to operate.
The half-dented gate opened, then stopped with a shower of sparks, unable to complete the opening sequence.
Still, it had certainly opened a passage wide enough for people to pass through in single file.
“Is there a problem now?”
I asked, sheathing Gaumris on my back.
Kaduel remained silent.
Johan, blinking his eyes, let out a nostalgic sigh and shook his head, pressing his fingers to his brow.
“Like master, like disciple. Even his personality of smashing first and asking questions later has become identical.”
Epilogue to the Prologue,
Here Lies the Fake Warrior (3)
That day, Alma Rondel was less a ruin of The Ones Who Came and more a capital of frost.
Even inside the facility, a blizzard raged…….
But the blizzard was not all. Greater, more terrifying things lurked within.
“FakeWarrior, be careful!”
The beings of Ikillas are different from typical frost-type monsters. As entities from the outer cosmos, their very nature is fundamentally different from any other existence.
“Multiple Dolls appearing! Their numbers are significant!”
Demons that seemed to have sprung from a madman's imagination; their existences were already recorded in Kaduel's library.
Dolls.
The frozen dead of another world, they approached, dragging their shattered bones and trailing long entrails.
[Destroy the otherworldly tower! We must open a dimensional field for Lady Thunderous Fragrance!]
The Dolls were the least of our worries.
There were the wolves of Ikillas, which infected their victims with a Frost Toxin that caused death amidst extreme chills with a single bite.
There were the swarms of Ikillas's rats, which moved silently along the currents of the blizzard to devour their targets down to the bone. And then, there were the players…….
“H-Hahahahaha!”
“Blasphemous heretic! Receive the god’s punishment!”
Sacrificed to the absolute being of Ikillas and robbed of their souls, their eyes blazed with a pure white light.
Were they completely corrupted?
Not a shred of reason could be found in them, but having gained the ability to wield otherworldly power, they were an even greater threat than before.
[Your Excellency, this is Wolf. The Warrior has destroyed the first of Ikillas's Ice Spires. The dimensional field has stabilized considerably.]
[I am sending the first wave of support. The main force will be dispatched as soon as the Frostwyrm Wall front is secured.]
[Kaisen, there are tons of players here! How is it on your end?]
A flash like lightning carved a crimson arc through the blizzard.
Flash.
The players who had been advancing while exuding frost staggered back, their upper bodies sliding off their lower halves.
“No problems here.”
I said, suppressing the final whisper of fate that rustled right behind my back…….
The interior of Alma Rondel, which we were plowing through with such futility, was in complete chaos.
It was so alien, so filled with contradictory existences swarming endlessly from all directions, that one might mistake it for having been transported to another dimension.
[Kaisen, be careful! The Brand’s magic is moving toward you!]
“More heretics approaching! Deliver the judgment of light to the messengers of evil!”
[Ikillas's forces have seized the corridor. It seems they intend to prevent us from passing. If you can secure a connection terminal, I will activate the Rasephins.]
Still, when the facility walls opened and the Rasephins creaked to life, we could finally breathe a little.
[Rasephins activated. Warning, a second Ice Spire has been confirmed at facility point 7-A.]
[Kaduel, I'll handle it.]
[Rats, a swarm of rats is coming! Put up a barrier!]
Every moment of our descent to the control room was a nightmarish spectacle. It felt like a descent into the depths of hell.
[Warning, the facility has been activated. But this is strange. It's not a connection to sever the Starlink, but one for line maintenance.]
“Does that mean there's no problem?”
[Under normal circumstances… but this facility must be elevated to the highest crisis level. The facility manager, Eldia Alma(01) Alkaios, is nowhere to be found.]
Alkaios was also an ancient AuthenticWarrior, famous for being a leading Warrior who wielded two True Holy Swords.
[If only Alkaios had maintained control of the Rasephins, the facility would not have been so easily seized… We cannot reach him at all.]
Everyone should have paid heed to that warning, that nightmarish prophecy.
But we couldn't.
Because the information that came from Johan at that moment was so shocking that it made us forget the prophecy.
[Kaisen, I've succeeded in tracking the Elite Knight's trail with active tracking magic.]
Active tracking was the same magic Johan had used long ago to help me secretly watch Camilla’s training.
“Anything important?”
[My ominous feeling was right! The Elite Knight is trying to connect the Starlink to another dimension!]
“What are you talking about?”
Then, instead of Johan’s voice, the gravelly voice of a middle-aged man came through the Thunderous Fragrance waves.
[Don't let that data dummy get near me… I will turn the power of the line this Alma Rondel sends to the satellite into a gate leading to Ikillas.]
And then, Wolf again.
[That's what he means. Better you hear it yourself than have me explain, right?]
“Lady Thunderous Fragrance, we have a problem.”
[I was listening. But for the apostle of Ikillas to access the Starlink, doesn't he need administrator privileges? That is, if it operates the same way as Vete Rondel. Without Lady Tarsiyo's assistance, it shouldn't function properly.]
The blade of Aradamanthel cut down hundreds of Dolls, their pure-white frozen blood scattering like snowflakes.
“That’s right. But do you think the Elite Knight wouldn't have thought of that? There must be a way.”
[I suppose so, I suppose so. You had best hurry. Johan, my brilliant child. I will send an additional fifty thousand troops for now. As soon as the main force arrives, completely purge the Ice Spires from the facility. I will be there soon, so do not overexert yourselves.]
[Understood.]
[Kaisen, we must prevent the power of the Snow-White Star, Ikillas, from encroaching upon our world. If that happens, no one will be able to stop the world's destruction….]
“Yes, Your Excellency. I’ve just entered the fifth level.”
Everything exploded in a single moment as we broke through the central corridor of the fifth basement level.
A scream. It was a scream.
The chaos began as screams echoed chaotically through both my physical hearing and the resonance of Thunderous Fragrance.
[G-Guaaaaaah!]
A sudden, wintry gale swept through, severing the limbs of the Children of Gold on either side of me, armor and all.
The armor that protected their bodies with holy miracles was instantly shattered, and through the severed sections, Ikillas's Frost Toxin invaded their bodies.
In an instant, their bodies froze a deathly blue, transforming into Dolls.
[W-What in the… Stop it! Lady Tarsiyo!]
But screams were also coming from the other side of the Thunderous Fragrance resonance. As I tried to focus on that commotion, a warning came from my reality.
[Warning, high-risk light signature approaching at high speed.]
Suddenly, the corruption of Neigalas surged, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe.
[Two Rasephin squadrons annihilated.]
Chaos. It was chaos.
The apostle of the silent absolute being of chaos was approaching.
[It's the Elite Knight.]
Into the heart of the chaos, being pieced together from all angles—sight, sound, and mind—a spear strike suddenly thrust forth.
Claaaaang────!
Though I had no idea what was happening, I drew Scherpang on pure instinct and managed to block the spear just before my eyes.
“So, you’re Kaisen? You look scrawnier than I heard!”
At that moment, Kaisen felt a shock that stopped his heart.
It wasn't a shock born of fear, but an unacceptable torrent of rage blooming from familiarity.
His eyes, his breath, began to tremble violently.
“You bastard, that spear…”
His opponent's frame, with its widely set bones, was as robust as Kaisen's own.
His white hair, a mark of one who shaves their lifespan for power, whipped violently in the wind from the impact.
Scars from countless bloody battles covered his entire face, which held an air of boisterous dignity.
The Elite Knight, Ferbias Eijin.
“That’s right, it’s a legendary-class weapon left by the former Spear Star, Tval! The highest-grade spear you can get in the Imperial Civil War scenario!”
His appearance didn't matter, didn't even register.
The weapon in his hand was the problem.
A spear whose mass and dimensions far exceeded standard specifications… its blade was coated in frost, spewing an otherworldly chill.
“Let go of it…”
In that instant, the murderous intent echoing savagely in my mind made it impossible to even form words, so I could only mutter.
“That is… not a weapon… for the likes of you… to handle… so carelessly…”
Dozens, hundreds of times…….
How many times had I charged across battlefields with that dull gleam? How many times had it saved me?
I couldn't even count.
- Ha! Let's go, Kaisen.
Because he loved this world.
Because he loved the weak and powerless of this world.
That man’s weapon, the one he died with while fighting nightmares on the edge of a blood-soaked mountain range… that weapon, how dare you, how dare the likes of you…….
“What are you muttering about?”
Claaaaang…!
The masses that defied standard specifications collided once more, and a sword wind erupted, carving cracks into the corridor walls.
“That Wyrmbone Spear is not something trash like you can touch so carelessly!”
The moment the coldly gleaming Wyrmbone Spear and Scherpang's blade clashed, a mysterious explosion erupted from the spearhead.
“You may be a data dummy, but being the strongest soldier in humanity's lore, you’re definitely more fun to fight than the other rabble!”
Freezing Point Explosion.
It was a technique that transferred the frost of Ikillas coating the spearhead to a contacted object, causing it to explode.
“But how did you kill the Administrator? With just this?”
The absolute power made no distinction between inanimate and animate objects, as Kaduel would later explain.
‘A crack in Scherpang’s blade?’
My wrist and shoulder bones were shattered.
Rolling backward, I plunged a vial of Dragon's Blood Serum into a joint in my armor.
My cells pulsed as the torn and broken bones and muscles began to regenerate and knit together.
“That Elite Sorcerer bitch might have been easy, but you don't seem skilled enough to have taken down the Administrator.”
Kaisen’s breathing had long since broken.
Something was writhing, a hot and cold abyss extending its tentacles toward its target, and I could feel it drawing closer to my heart…….
“Do you know how big a bounty the Administrators have put on your head? Of course, that Shadow Absolute God put up the biggest one.”
Cough. Beyond the spurt of blood I coughed up, my consciousness was stained crimson.
Dammit, if my body were just in proper condition, I would have slit that arrogant bastard's throat in under ten exchanges… If I released the Dragon Spirit, I wouldn’t even need one.
It was then.
Johan's voice came through.
[Kaisen… it’s an emergency… Lady Tarsiyo has been captured….]
I had no way of knowing then.
That Johan was dying, all his limbs torn apart except for his left arm, or that the support team had been annihilated.
I could only guess the gravity of the situation from his ragged, desperate gasps.
“How insolent! Daring to look away in my presence!”
The Elite Knight slammed the Wyrmbone Spear down violently. *Crack!* With a cry of absolute frost, the floor froze and then shattered.
[It's the old Warrior… that woman… she reappeared… her skill with the bladed whip… we couldn't even react… before we even perceived her presence, everyone….]
The old Warrior…….
What…….
What was happening…….
[Confirmed activation of the spatial transport device leading to the control room. This can only be operated by a Guardian… no, how…?]
Amidst the life-or-death struggle with the Elite Knight, a drowsiness I couldn't fight was washing over me.
Gaumris and the Wyrmbone Spear clashed, and I was thrown back again by a freezing point explosion…….
This cold sensation that made even the pain feel dreamlike… was this death?
[It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Kaduel?]
In the video Kaduel projected into the air, the woman's voice as she stared straight up at the camera was strangely familiar.
Where had I heard that voice before? Was it a trick of my drowsiness?
No, I had definitely heard it. In Setsunen of Thunderous Fragrance’s memory resonance.
[Ryukael, what happened to that body…?]
Ryukael…….
If I remembered correctly, that was also one of the old Warriors' names. Seira had told me. What was her number?
I had no time to recall it.
“Curious why I’m here? That bitch offered to help. To kill you and open the dimensional gate to Ikillas!”
A succession of Freezing Point Explosions.
I was busy fending off the Wyrmbone Spear’s stormy assault.
[Kaisen… don’t come here… it’s a trap… they’re trying to lure you in too….]
In the video, a whip made of countless metal fragments woven together with vicious precision was controlling Tarsiyo's body.
Her body was soaked in blood.
Using Tarsiyo’s body to operate the control room's devices, the dark-blue-haired old Warrior spoke.
[It doesn’t matter if you come or not. The moment Ikillas and this world-line intersect, this world ends anyway.]
[Ryukael, what in the world are you doing? That person is our—]
[—Master’s daughter? Please, just stop! How long are you going to keep acting as that cruel creator demands?]
Ryukael tightened her grip on the hilt, and Tarsiyo's faint scream flowed through the video.
[We mean nothing to him! We’re just toys that can be broken! He might have cherished his daughter as his own flesh and blood, but good riddance. I’ll tear her limb from limb soon enough.]
Tarsiyo.
Did you know?
[Kaisen, you must retrieve Lady Tarsiyo! She is humanity’s last beacon of hope!]
That the battle in Alma Rondel would be the final destination of my life.
Is that why.
Is that why you wore such a sad smile when you told me not to pull it out?
[Warning, the Starlink line has been corrupted and its direction is being altered. Connection coordinates ●*&, 664, 3◆■, Snow-White Star Ikillas!]
You know.
I didn't know back then, when I brushed off your smile as a wry one.
“The glory of the empire shall be built firm only upon a mountain of corpses! I will kill you and bring ruin to this world. All to raise my fallen empire once more!”
But you know.
Now that this moment has come.
My body just started moving on its own, without any hesitation.
“I am the Emperor! The great emperor of the Verto Empire, Ruvison ran Verato!”
- Remember this, Kaisen.
“Emperor of an empire built by covering half the continent in blood! Even Providence was jealous of me, destroying my empire with natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanoes, but my body and strength remain!”
- The next time you release the Dragon Spirit. And when that transcendence ends.
“I will sacrifice this world’s empire, no, this entire world, and once again raise my empire—!”
Like reading the end of a book whose conclusion you already know, yes, just like destiny.
─────Ting!
Before the flash of transcendence could even form into light.
- Your body.
Before those photons could even be etched onto the Elite Knight’s retinas.
- Will surely.
Before that clear sound could even reach his eardrums.
- Die.
Upon a single blade, roaring crimson, the world was sundered.