Chapter 249

The scenery of Saxony’s Viscountcy faded away, revealing a realm that existed solely for the two of them.

A white and dark winter night.

There, wrapped in the armor of the dark cavern, stood the Shadow Lord.

Alongside Shuv, the ancient Mother of Darkness who loved humanity.

Facing him was another version of himself, the otherworldly hero and mightiest monster hunter. With Sistina, the artificial goddess who loved humans, he claimed the title of Golden Lord.

“So this was the true nature of mana?”

Facing his own shadow, Dale asked.

“The swarm of nanomachines that devoured our planet and still fill the atmosphere.”

“……”

“Over countless eons, Sistina discovered a way to control the nanomachines in the atmosphere. She then began to restore the shattered land by resonating with them. The ‘mana’ filling the atmosphere is a force that responds to the powerful thoughts of sentient beings, constructing specific materials.”

Terraforming, planetary modification. The title of Goddess of Mercy and Compassion was no lie.

The true form of the power that people in this world call magic.

Highly advanced science cannot be distinguished from magic. It was truly as the saying went.

“Thus, the elves, a race of magic optimized for resonance with nanomachines, were born. Through that power, the elves covered the earth with forests and trees, breathing life into dead lands. That is how the Second Empire, said to be the most powerful, came into being.”

“Great. So what does that have to do with me?”

Dale asked as if it were someone else’s business, and the hero silently re-gripped his sword.

“The mana filling this atmosphere could become the power of salvation that restores the shattered world. Yet at the same time, as it once was, it could also become the weapon of doom that devours all upon the earth and drives the world to ruin.”

“…….”

“Yet you did not hesitate to embrace that apocalyptic power, willing to plunge the world into ruin to gain strength. That day, when you reached the universe’s winter and seized its icy chill—that is the proof. And it is your doing.”

“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 hero said.

“Our homeland is already destroyed. Just because we stand on the same ground doesn’t mean this place can become our homeland.”

Dale retorted coldly. Hearing this, the hero burst out laughing.

“You sound just like the people of this world.”

“……”

“Didn’t I tell you? The only thing that proves our truth is action.”

The warrior from another world said.

“Our homeland was destroyed. That is the truth. But the nanomachines filling this world, this earth, still remember. They remember the world before they devoured this land. And we know the true power mana can unleash.”

“Surely not…”

“That is my purpose.”

The hero spoke, and at those words, Dale couldn’t even muster a laugh.

There was the Golden Monarch, who refused to accept the truth and clung to his lies until the very end.

“…To tear down this damn world and reclaim the world we truly must protect.”

“You bastard.”

It was tantamount to declaring he would become the god of a new world.

“You accused me of affirming the world’s destruction, but it was you who truly sought to destroy it.”

“Didn’t I say it? I’ll save the world we couldn’t save.”

Dale spat out the curse.

“Unfortunately, I can’t let that happen.”

“Yeah, this world must be so precious to you. Now you have a rough idea of which side the ‘true hero’ is on, right?”

“Do you think destroying one world to save another is justified?”

“You’re already accepting this world’s destruction, aren’t you? Then it’s a fair trade where neither of us loses anything.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll just sit back and watch the world crumble tomorrow, twiddling my thumbs.”

The Shadow Lord replied coldly.

Before him stood another version of himself. How another self could exist simultaneously was beyond comprehension. Yet, just as the pure white and pitch black Aurelia had done, it didn’t really matter.

Dale was denying himself. The hero facing Dale was no different.

“Seems you’ve grown quite fond of this world’s family charade, huh?”

The warrior sneered coldly.

“Frankly speaking, whether you or I am the real one doesn’t matter at all. I died on that white, dark winter night. It feels as vivid as if it happened just yesterday. For me, the day we died is yesterday, and realizing the truth of this world is today. Why should I hesitate to shatter this hellish world and reclaim our world?”

Born the eldest son of House Saxon, I grew up and came to this place.

But the warrior before Dale was not. Until the very end, he was alone.

“……I feel sorry for you. After all, I understand the pain we’ve endured better than anyone else.”

That’s why Dale smiled bitterly.

“But I can never let things be as you wish.”

“I never expected your understanding from the start.”

The hero said.

“The view of Earth Sistina showed you is now nothing but a distant memory of the past. But to me, it feels as vivid as if it happened just yesterday. The people I failed to protect, the ones I failed to save, my loved ones. I need no one’s permission to reclaim them.”

“……Even if we reclaim our old world with the power of mana, do you know that it’s all ultimately a lie?”

“So what?”

The Lord of Lies spoke.

The conversation ended there.

Dale scattered the chill of the apocalypse, and in response, the hero from another world silently extended his arm.

─ Database registration: Grade 1 user. Amplifies Hanseong’s nanomachine thought resonance rate to 9700%.

Simultaneously, the artificial goddess ‘Sistina’ called the warrior’s name, and a storm of mana swept across the land.

I understood. The warrior Han Seong standing before Dale now was a being who understood the ‘peak of mana’ better than any mage in this world.

The ability to freely manipulate the nanomachines filling this land.

It was not vastly different from being able to manipulate reality itself.

Literally like a god in a new world.

Shadows covered the sky. A dragon clad in iron armor, yet both individuals present knew its true nature.

The nuclear bomber began its bombing run, targeting the land beneath the two men.

Tactical nuclear weapons. Flames of apocalypse, incomparable to the red mage of the Crimson Tower, engulfed the world of the pale, dark winter night.

The landscape crumbled, mushroom clouds rose, and searing heat and ash engulfed the winter night.

And even amidst that bombardment, the hero remained unscathed.

The Shadow Lord, Dale, was no exception.

“So, I guess I can’t kill you that easily.”

The warrior said, observing him. Dale did not respond.

Silently, he stretched out his arm, accelerating his shadow heart and scattering primordial darkness.

No mana, no magic power, no aura. Yet, Dale still possessed the power bestowed by the ‘Mother of Ancient Darkness’.

The power of primordial darkness and apocalyptic cold, the power held as the Apostle of Beginning and End.

Dale’s abilities were never the product of science, born from the nanomachines that now covered this world.

They were the power possessed by celestial beings beyond human comprehension, dwelling beyond the heavens.

The realm of what could truly be called ‘magic’.

Against the gods of science and technology, the Shadow Lord was truly the only being who could be called a magician.

Thus, from the primordial darkness, a creature was born.

Against the shadow creatures, the hero likewise manipulated his own creations by directing nanomachines.

Monsters.

A monster made of darkness collided with a monster made of nanomachines.

A battle between those wielding the power of creation.

Soon, Shub’s tentacles began to surge forth, wrapping around Dale’s body. Just as when he had faced Arthur the Great, the endless coiling of the pitch-black tentacles gradually enlarged the Shadow Lord’s armor.

Before long, a shadow giant that seemed to have stepped out of myth stood there.

And the hero, too, began to transform into a colossus that matched it in size.

It was a giant mech, an armored weapon in human form.

“How much I prayed as a child for giant robots like this to be developed.”

“……”

“I wish I could ride this robot back to those days. Then I could have crushed every last one of those monsters.”

The Steel Colossus spoke, while the Shadow Colossus remained silent.

“Yes, we can still go back.”

“There is nothing that can be undone.”

After the silence, the Shadow Lord spat out coldly.

Only the pitch-black tentacles scattered endlessly, and against them, the steel colossus opened its rear armor.

Countless guided missiles rained down upon the pitch-black tentacles.

Simultaneously, the steel colossus generated blue blades along his arms. Plasma cutters.

Dale knew it too. It wasn’t difficult to gauge the capabilities possessed by that steel colossus before him.

A giant robot born from the innocence of childhood. It was a direct projection of the imagination filling my mind.

─An invincible robot that could never be defeated.

I dreamed of riding that very invincible robot, facing monsters, and protecting the world.

That was the ultimate ideal held by the hero. Even if giant robots didn’t actually exist, it wouldn’t have made any difference.

But now, at last, that ideal had been realized.

He couldn’t even manage a laugh.

The steel colossus swung its plasma cutter, slicing clean through the shadow colossus’s body formed of tentacles. Black blood spattered, and soon, jet-black tentacles surged forth once more, coiling around the warrior’s robot.

Countless tentacles bound the Steel Colossus.

“Why are you blocking my path…?”

The hero spoke.

“Dragged into a world I didn’t even know existed, I was used like a dog in hellish torment. This very world destroyed ours. Don’t you remember? The world we were supposed to protect, the people we failed to save.”

“……”

Dale didn’t answer right away.

“You’re right.”

After a silence, Dale spoke.

“What exactly are you saying is right?”

“That the only thing that proves our existence is action.”

“……”

“My truth is singular: to protect the Saxon family and those I love in this world.”

“Is that your truth?”

“Yes.”

Dale said. Finally acknowledging the truth that existed within his own shadow.

Even if he possessed memories of a past life, even if they formed the foundation defining his present self, he had no choice but to accept it now.

“I am Dale of Saxony.”

Leaving behind the world he failed to protect and the shackles of the past, the false hero and true sovereign declared.

Against the true hero, still bound by the world he failed to protect and the chains of the past, and the false sovereign.