Episode 1194 Oldark – 3
The first thing that made me question the first Demon King was the neglect of the Golem research facility.
Artificial Golem Unit.Communication Device.Memory Golem.Image Golem.
Eon’s intelligence network consisted of various creations produced at the Golem Research Facility. Without Golem technology, Verden would have had to endure much greater damage, such as during the Black Hour usurpation and the war with the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
The same applies to the Second War of the Transcendents.
By establishing the World Alliance headquarters and actively utilizing communication devices, they were able to achieve a massive victory against the Xerion Empire.Without a tight command structure, at least one or two legions might have been annihilated.
Putting personal feelings aside, Alpha and Beta had a significant presence. If Verden was a symbol of power, these two represented technological prowess.
However, the first Demon King abandoned all of that.
They did not visit the Golem Research Facility for about 470 years.They abandoned Alpha.In the Great Forest, they abandoned Beta and left.
If Beta ran out of use after being used to design a semi-permanent power source… I have absolutely no intention of understanding it, but I can accept it.After all, Beta was created and used for its intended purpose.
On the other hand, Alpha was abandoned before he could do anything.
To be precise, this laboratory is a research facility operated solely by golems. And it was decided that we would contact the main body when the overall progress of the research exceeded 50%. Alpha and I followed that manual exactly.
Even though the manager and Alpha sent a message, the first Demon King remained silent.
However, even as time passed, the main body showed no signs of coming. I tried the same thing several times after that, but as you can see, the results were disappointing. The only ones who appeared at the facility were outsiders like you.
Something might have happened to the main body… or maybe it was simply forgotten.
There was no danger to the First Demon King’s personal safety. While he was out of sight, he left traces in various places over hundreds of years, including the Great Forest, volcanic zones, and the Sky Island Ark.Naturally, it makes no sense to say that he entrusted the Golem research to someone and then forgot about it.
You sowed the seed of the Golem Research Facility, so why didn’t you harvest it?
The gist of the question was as follows.
+Alpha… … +
Oldarc muttered Alpha’s individual name and continued speaking firmly.
You are underestimating Alpha’s abilities.
“……yes??”
Verden tilted his head.He was bewildered.He thought hard enough to make his forehead burn, but he couldn’t truly understand what he meant. Underestimating an Alpha? Who? Me? His blue eyes wavered.
I absolutely couldn’t help but ask again.
What do you mean by that?
Communication bracelets and memory golems. And the various other artificial golems Eon showcased during the war. Do you really think it took nearly 500 years to research and perfect such trivial things?
Oldarc turned her head. Verden’s astonished expression was reflected in her eyes, which harmonized with blue and gold light.
Alpha completed all the research I desired in just 30 years of its creation.
He added in a low voice.
+Just can’t remember+
* * *
I crumbled in the war for destiny.
Oldark recalled her most intense past.
I was able to put her to sleep in the end, but war is a battle of power. My faction, having lost its head, was reduced to prey, and I had to helplessly watch the whole scene unfold.
The immortal gray dragon was sealed, and over time, the remaining resistors all either died or surrendered. Just as the Azure Dragon Talisia was slain and the other ancient dragons switched sides due to fate.Just as the World Tree was forced to endure its existence under duress.
Although it was a de facto defeat, neither ‘you’ nor ‘your’ apostles considered it the end of the war. For as long as Oldark was alive, it could not be called a complete victory.
truce.
Thus, Oldark alone maintained the course of the war as the last resistor.
Countless ages passed simply to regain her former strength. The world had already become hers while she slept. In contrast, I became isolated.
Although I bore the disadvantage because ‘you’ had set the stage first, I suffered a bitter defeat in the all-out war between forces regardless.Yes, I had to admit it. Her ‘trickery’ surpassed that of Oldark. She inflicted defeat on Oldark, who had never known it, for the first time.
That’s when I realized what it means to feel at a loss.
Breaking the truce would drastically accelerate her rise if she were to reveal her true nature and act.Once she awakens and takes command of her forces, Oldark could not win. It was a balanced scale. Unless it was a one-on-one fight, there was absolutely no chance of victory.
+In the end, power was needed+
New resistors who will stop the Followers of Fate while Oldark battles her, and who will not betray her.
In the end, Oldarc secluded herself for the first time and immersed herself in meditation to design the war.Just as she had put on a mask and prepared for her destiny…
And so, only after drawing the entire blueprint based on my new ideals did I emerge onto the continent; that must have been approximately 2,000 years ago.
Verden recalled the first deed of the first Demon King, the oldest from now.
“Kirondar…….”
Research and perfection of the Magic Cultivation Method through the four Kirondars who founded the first Magic Tower. Dissemination of the Magic Cultivation Method throughout the world, granting magic circuits to humanity.
Birth of the Hierarchical Wizard.
First Hierarchy Wizard───Deus Widen.
And at some point a thousand years ago, the concept of a transcendent being emerged.
The four Kirondars, including the first Tower Master Telor Krandros, created their respective magic cultivation methods through human experimentation in an attempt to achieve eternal life, but were discovered by the first Demon King and punished.
The First Magic Tower was teleported in its entirety and fixed upside down underground in the Desert of Silence, along with a seal that prevented Telor, Ilzas, Solv, and Rielrka from escaping.
Unable to endure the passage of time, they perished among themselves, leaving only Telor to survive. Eventually driven mad, he discovered the remains of ancient gods—whom he had killed and sealed away during the Great Divergence—below the First Magic Tower. After experimenting on himself, he was able to break free from his seal. By being reborn as a new being… as the Adversary of Ishur, who will become ‘your’ Seventh Apostle.
Verden continued speaking.
It was the artificial golem, Omega, who oversaw the formation process of that adversary.
Only after creating that child did I put an end to the conception and finally put it into practice. Omega. That is why I gave it that individual name.
I could feel a strange warmth in the way Oldarc spoke about the golem.
And, I created Alpha to pursue the ideals I had set. Verden, the Golem Research Facility overseen by Alpha is literally what it means.
Golem.Research.Facility.
It was only after Verden ruminating on the word a few times that he realized its true meaning.His voice trembled.
“Did Alpha design all the golems except for Omega and Alpha?”
Oldarc nodded.
Beta, who will design the cornerstone of the power source. Gamma, the final form of the artificial golem. Alpha helped me create his brothers.
Omega, the end of fantasy.
Alpha, the beginning of the ideal.
* * *
I was shocked by the fact that Alpha had already completed all the golem research the first Demon King wanted in 30 years, but upon hearing it, it didn’t seem strange.
Yes, with Alpha’s abilities, it is possible.
To think that this is the result of having been with Verden for less than three years.If he had received direct support from the First Demon King, whatever he had achieved would have been understandable. Therefore, there was only one question regarding this matter.
But why did you make Alpha feel that he had been abandoned?
+If I hadn’t manipulated the memories, Alpha would have committed suicide+
Verden’s expression hardened.
Oldarc let out a hollow laugh.
It’s a contradiction. It has fulfilled its purpose and ought to be discarded, but I didn’t want to look at it, nor did I want to end it with my own hands, so I left it to time as if running away.
Not only the administrators, but Omega, Alpha, and Beta were scheduled to gradually disappear.
Omega would cease operation once the adversary named Kirondar was completed. Beta, left in the Great Forest, had its frame and core nearly destroyed by the weight of time, to the point where even its memories were damaged.Alpha was soon to be shut down due to damage to the small power source maintaining the Golem research facility.
If it weren’t for Verden, none of them would have been able to come out to the continent.
Oldarc looked down at her palm.
It was a lingering regret. It was an exam I took on my own.
……test?
It is now a story of the past.
Oldarc clasped his fingers tightly. The warmth vanished from his tone. A cold, heartless gaze shot at Verden.
The reason I led you here is not merely to discuss the things she had to compromise on. This past, which will become the future, shall be the stronghold of destiny; therefore, your actions here were an invasion in themselves.
Verden slayed Zukta, an ancient god who had succumbed to fate. Even if it was nothing more than a mere scratch, it was an invasion of none other than ‘your’ domain.
+Ancient beings will come. Incomparable to the crude gods you killed…
Old gods and ancient species.The followers of ‘you’ who annihilated the resistors.
Will you really be able to avoid compromising?
I am different from you.
Verden had long since hardened his resolve.
“Let me ask you the opposite. What did the First Demon King compromise on?”
Actions no different from ‘your’ fate, manipulating the lives of sinners of a fallen nation, Kirondar, Tearel, and others as you pleased, and forcing them to make sacrifices as adversaries of the Apostles.
“For what purpose did you create the power source?”
The Soul Tree, created by researching the World Tree together with Beta in the Great Forest. A certain concept created by the Golden Anvil, which used the Soul Tree and other materials to destroy even the Black Volcano.All of this is concentrated to become the power source of the Ten Great Magic Towers that ushered in the Age of Magic.
“What did you build the Ark for?”
A massive sky island handed over by the first Demon King to the first adventurer leading the Ark.
With what do you intend to save the world?
“What is the ideal that the first Demon King pursues, even going so far as to cross the line and compromise with himself?” When Verden asked this, Oldarc twisted the corner of his mouth.
+Hahahahahaha… … +
It was a maniacal laugh.Different from ‘you’.
You are not yet ready. If you truly wish to know, rise higher. Become a being who needs no need to conceal their true dignity from this world.
Oldark pointed to his heart.
The World Tree and the Power Source. When that time comes, I will find you and whisper the truth.
The surroundings began to ripple.
The space changed like paint spreading, just as it had when crossing into ‘your’ territory. Verden instinctively felt that this meeting would soon end.So, after a moment of contemplation, he asked one last time about the information he had recently obtained.
“You said that.”
Oldark istrying to becomeyou .
Oldarc smiled with her eyes as she recited the sentence ‘you’ had sent through the messenger.
She is still sharp.
He added.
I, too, offer you advice. The honesty shown by the Sixth Apostle in war is an exception. If good and evil are ambiguous, then good intentions and evil intentions are no different. Future wars will take a different form.
“…….”
The more this happens, the more you should value your surroundings. Do not become so absorbed that you forget what must not be forgotten.
Oldarc placed her hand on Verden’s shoulder and spoke firmly.At least in that respect, she looked like a manager.
After all, what we live for is the present.
The space has completely changed.
Verden had returned to the coast of the West Sea. The First Demon King, who had been walking ahead, had vanished.When Verden turned around, only the footprints of two people remained.
Whoosh──
The sound of waves lingered in the empty space.
* * *
After finishing the sudden conversation with the First Demon King, Verden returned to the Great Hall. And, as originally planned, he met Aisha, that is, Hiante.
Hiante said.
“So you met him.”“……Yes.”
Verden sat facing her.
Hiante fidgeted with his hands while looking at the table.
“Don’t you… resent me? If I hadn’t taught her the apocalypse…”“I do not resent her. And I shouldn’t.”
It is unreasonable to hold Hiante accountable for all the sins you have committed just because she told you the future. All responsibility lies with you.
I am grateful to you.
The Aspects of Eon survived this war.Cain died but was resurrected as an Apostle.Eon’s damage was certainly less compared to other factions.
That must be your strength.
