Chapter 99: The Grand Finale #4

Chapter 99: The Grand Finale #4

“Don’t… interfere with me…!”

Michael’s eyes were bloodshot.

Not just his eyes. His entire body, from head to toe, was covered in dark red blood, making him look like a demon.

Michael’s sword severed Anna’s arm. It tore through Eden’s neck and ripped open Akasha’s insides.

‘It’s no use, Michael. You know that too.’

All vital points and fatal wounds only apply to the living. Those who are already dead do not fall, no matter how many times they are killed.

Under the domain of darkness, if you want to survive, you must defeat me, the necromancer.

But Michael, in his current state, lacked the composure for such a cold calculation.

Crack!

Akasha, having been cut dozens of times, giggled and bit into Michael’s shoulder. Eden squeezed Michael’s neck with all his might.

“Khuuugh!”

Michael let out a death rattle. A fight against companions who wouldn’t die no matter how many times they were killed.

If expressed in Buddhist terms, it was none other than the Asura hell.

“I did nothing wrong!”

Michael shouted, spitting foam from his mouth.

“Ultimately, it was something that had to be done. Weren’t you all prepared for this!”

Michael’s eyes were already unfocused. He glared as if trying to kill something invisible, raging endlessly.

After a few minutes of a desperate struggle, Michael collapsed onto the floor.

He looked like he didn’t have the strength to move a single finger.

Even if he had the strength, his mind had long since been exhausted.

Akasha and Eden stared at him coldly with eyes filled with hatred before disappearing.

Only Anna, with a heart-wrenching expression, her eyes welling up with tears, finally returned to the world of the dead.

“Damn it…”

Michael lay sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily.

Is this the end of a hero?

Though he was a great hero who had amazed the world, his final moments were no different from those of countless others who had died before him.

There were no winged cherubs descending from the heavens to take him away,

Nor did he ascend in a blaze of glory.

Michael, the Michael who was born as an ordinary human, was dying in such a pathetic state.

“Are you… there… Lich…”

Michael slowly opened his mouth.

“Yes.”

“Estel… was it… Your name…”

“That’s right.”

“I have something… I want to ask… Estel…”

Michael was about to die.

Perhaps in a few minutes, within minutes.

No matter what answer I give Michael, the outcome is already decided.

In terms of a game, these are choices that don’t matter anymore, regardless of what you pick.

Michael dies, and I, the victor, leave the hall. Only I will remember what happened here.

I could have mocked and cursed the dying Michael to my heart’s content. But I didn’t feel like doing so.

I believed it was my duty as his creator to calmly witness this man’s final moments.

“Speak.”

“I… wanted to know… the end of this world…”

“The end of the world?”

“What lies… at the end… What comes after…”

What?

I didn’t expect him to ask such a question. Honestly, it was unexpected.

‘He’s curious about what lies beyond the ending.’

For Michael, a character in the game, reaching the ending prepared by “Nine Stars” was the end of his journey.

In Michael’s life, there is nothing beyond that. There’s no need to be curious, and he shouldn’t know.

However, this world is not merely a reproduction of a game.

Even after ascending to the throne, even after clearing all dungeons and conquering all challenges in the world, life continues.

Thus, Michael felt a sense of doubt. About what lay beyond the destiny assigned to him.

‘This is also largely my responsibility, so I should answer.’

I looked down at Michael’s blurred eyes and said,

“I don’t know either.”

“⋯Cruel…”

“No, I really don’t know. All I know is up to this point. This world has a predetermined destiny. If you think of it as a book, it’s the conclusion, the last page.”

Strictly speaking, it’s a game, but the concept of digital games doesn’t exist in this world yet, so I used the closest analogy.

“Perhaps if you had won, you would have reached the last page, ascending to the pinnacle of the world. Although I interfered and twisted that destiny… in any case, no one knows what comes after.”

“⋯Is that so…”

Michael let out a deep sigh and remained silent for a while.

Just when I thought he had breathed his last.

“If the end of the world… is just settling on the throne… it’s too boring… and too terrible… It’s no different from the current Emperor…”

“I agree.”

“Damn it… cough! That the explorer who will open up what lies beyond… is you, not me…”

“……”

“I will tell you…”

“Tell me what?”

“The treasures I’ve gathered… They will be of help…”

Perhaps Michael had a change of heart at the last moment, and with difficulty, he revealed the location of his accumulated wealth.

I can’t be sure why he felt compelled to do so.

If I were to guess, perhaps it’s because he realized that Michael and I are fundamentally similar.

Someone who is not satisfied with mere worldly riches and seeks the unknown, unseen by anyone before.

However, Michael’s methods were overly self-righteous and ruthless. That’s why he made too many enemies and ultimately failed.

Well, I also have many enemies… but I think my approach is more sophisticated.

“Anna…”

Michael’s gaze wandered somewhere on the ceiling of the Hall of the Sun.

In the dusty ceiling, where there was nothing, Michael seemed to be looking at something.

“Eden, Akasha… I’m sorry everyone… If I’m reborn, then…”

Michael couldn’t finish his sentence. His mouth remained open, frozen, and he said no more.

The faint light of life that remained had completely faded.

“Farewell.”

I stood up from my seat.

Everything that needed to be done was finished.

The wheel of destiny begins to turn again. Bigger, and more solid.

The only surviving Death Knight followed behind me, carrying Michael’s corpse on its shoulder.

The reason I didn’t deliberately store it in my storage ring was to widely announce the fact of Michael’s death.

What happened next was as expected.

Upon confirming the death of Michael, the heart of the Empire and its last bastion, the Imperial army lost its will to fight.

The remaining Imperial soldiers abandoned their weapons and surrendered one after another.

***

A hazy period of time passed.

This man, Julius Domitianus III, who was once the Emperor of the Empire, wandered through a long dream.

From a broad perspective, his life hadn’t changed much from before.

He still lay in bed with his heavy body, blinking, dozing and waking, spending most of his time, and doing nothing meaningful.

However, the environment surrounding him had changed.

Now, Julius lived in a small room that smelled of musty dust. There were no attendants to look after him, and he was always cold and hungry.

Only someone would come in twice a day to clean up his waste and bring him just enough food to survive.

‘This is good.’

Julius remained leisurely despite this. The effects of the drugs, deeply ingrained in the folds of his brain for over a decade, were not easily shaken off.

But it was rather good. How agonizing it would have been to face this reality with a clear mind.

He hoped that this hazy feeling would never fade.

There were days when people would visit him.

Now, he couldn’t remember who was who, their faces or names, but they would look at Julius like an exhibit in a zoo and chatter amongst themselves before leaving.

Perhaps the sight of the former Emperor fallen into such a miserable state served as a lesson.

‘That too, is a good thing.’

But where did Michael go? Why is there no news?

The loyal Michael used to provide all sorts of enjoyment and clear away all worries from his sight.

Lately, Michael hadn’t appeared before Julius.

But Julius wasn’t worried. He believed that Michael would reappear someday and reclaim Julius’s crown.

He just had to wait patiently.

Sometimes, a small girl would come to see him instead of Michael.

He managed to remember this girl’s name. Estel. A delicate and pretty child, like a doll.

If it were in the past, even if she were a bit young, Julius might have taken her as a concubine.

‘This child is kind. Truly good.’

On the days Estel visited, Julius would also be very excited. He ate plenty of delicious food, and the room was warm with a fire.

Moreover, servants would come in and bathe him. Before he knew it, Julius began to eagerly await Estel’s visits more than Michael’s.

“Here, sign this.”

Every time Estel visited, she would place a golden quill in Julius’s hand.

Julius signed as instructed. He didn’t read what was written on the parchment.

Reading and thinking about each item made his head too heavy and gave him a headache.

He signed, stamped, and drew.

Like a child playing, he wrote his name in various places and drew whimsical patterns. Then, everything became happy.

‘But what good does my signature do for this child?’

Sometimes, such a question arose. Was scribbling on a piece of paper a sufficient repayment for Estel’s kindness?

Estel also talked about ‘legitimacy’ and such. Julius didn’t know, but she mentioned that he had a clever nephew.

Just by wielding a quill a few times in a small room, the Empire’s glory would continue, and the world would be at peace.

There couldn’t be a better story.

Julius decided not to think too deeply. After all, what Michael used to do was now being done by Estel.

‘What a good child. Indeed.’

The sweet dream continued. It was an era of peace.