Episode 1033 The End of the Arcadium (1)
As you can see, the three factions have divided the three ancient knowledge among themselves. The sage artifacts that received this ancient knowledge are being protected like kings in their respective bases.
Bloodia kept snapping her fingernails as if out of habit.
It might be different if it were a one-on-one, but in a three-way battle, stealing ancient knowledge while suffering massive losses in military strength is virtually impossible… … .
Even after passing three of the five Absolute tiles with a piece possessing ancient knowledge, it is already too late to summon the Absolute. This is becausethe Reverse Heaven faction controls most of the center of the stage. Approaching it is a gamble. The damn Fate Destroyer must have set a trap.
“Unless one abandons the compulsion not to lose even a single piece, even the Destroyer of Fate cannot summon the Absolute. Consequently, it seems that no faction can satisfy all victory conditions related to primordial knowledge.”
The remaining methods are the end of the war and the faction victory conditions.
The condition for individual victory on the side of Fate is the completion of the Wheel of Fortune. However, Bloodia excluded this. It was the right choice.
Even if intellectual conflict does not fully illuminate the causality of the birth of destiny, the Destroyer of Destiny will frantically and persistently cling to even the smallest remaining thread within it in an attempt to find the answer.
The Resistor faction is also not revealing the slightest clue regarding the causality of the power source. It is as if they never even considered a victory for their faction from the start.They never once doubted the intellectual capabilities of Deus, Bloodia, or Verden.
“This is why I told you Arcadium is such a hassle… … Hehehe.”
Bloodia supported her elbow with the back of her hand and stroked the corner of her mouth. She put aside the anger that had welled up from the artificial golem’s insult.Her patience would no longer allow her to be dragged along in a high-stakes battle of wits.
“It will lower my chances of winning, but I will take the loss and kill off that pathetic piece of equipment you are so desperate to protect.”
Bloodia abandoned the items she could not recover and constructed a new formation with her remaining forces. The strategy reeked of blood.Even to an outsider, her ulterior motive was all too blatant.
“Since the game isn’t going your way, do you mean to at least get on my nerves? If you show a weakness, you plan to use that opportunity as a stepping stone to turn the tables.”
Verden responded calmly.
The puzzle pieces are complete.
Bloodia is on the left.Deus Widen is on the right.
The Reverse Heaven faction further seized control of the territory, enabling them to move three pieces in a single turn. Verden, Alpha, and Beta each took charge of defense. Sincethey understood what kind of outcome Verden wanted without needing to communicate it through will, there were no errors in a single move.
Kaang! Kang! Kwazizik!
Pow pow pow!
It blocks and scatters Bloodia’s objects as they try to charge in like berserkers, and intimidatingly and sequentially cuts down Deus’s objects as they move cautiously like mystics.
Will you attack, defend, retreat, or do nothing and pass the turn?
Verden and his party presented them with four options each time, and forced them to make choices that matched the picture Yeokcheon was drawing.
Now the number of objects has been reduced sufficiently.
The minimum conditions for victory, not guided by the rules of intellectual conflict, had been met.Having fully grasped the game stage over the course of hundreds of turns, Verden held countless possibilities in his hands, as if casting the spatial domination learned from Elder Sheorn of the Ark.To control the variables and steer the game according to his own intentions.
“Host, I know without you crying out. That I must become strong to rival ‘you’ and the First Demon King, and that compared to them, I am infinitely frail right now.”
A massive war is accompanied by tragedy.
Someone dies.Even so, we must win.
What leader would care about the grains of sand falling from a handful of sand? Dwelling on small things only brings you closer to crushing defeat.
In a world where you might lose everything if you do not sacrifice the few for the many,it is the providence of survival to prioritize the group over the individual, the village over the group, the city over the village, and the country over the city.
Verden also experienced war.
Casualties occurred when he became the third leader of Black Hour and waged an all-out war against the Bohemian Magic Tower. Members of Black Hour and the Society passed away.
They died or were wounded in the war led by Verden because they trusted him and pledged their loyalty.Though the time they shared was brief, the name of the one who left is still remembered.
No matter how much Verden faced the most dangerous enemy on the front lines, his responsibility is not lightened. Verden volunteers for sacrifice to take responsibility as a leader and at the pinnacle.
This is also an action for oneself.
For Verden, weighing the lives of his subordinates on orders while watching from the safety of the rear was a shame he could not bear.
To some, it might seem like hypocrisy or self-consolation.
I do not deny it.
Still, I can say with certainty about this one thing.
No matter when or where, Verden will stand at the very front.This is indeed Eon’s way.
thud.
The Verden piece advanced one square and took its place at the center of the intellectual clash. It was a peculiar arrangement overall. While Bloodia and Deus were trying to figure out what the move was, Verden raised his voice as if to show off.
There shouldn’t be anything else to see.
Verden turned his head toward Shelbron, who was in charge of the intellectual conflict. And furthermore, he made a declaration to the host who was watching the scene.
It is a stalemate.
* * *
stalemate
Originally, it referred to a situation resulting in a draw because, according to the rules, no move could be made within a single turn due to it being a self-defeating one.For this reason, it was a term that could not be used in the current context of intellectual conflict. After all, no situation where a move would be self-defeating could be seen anywhere.
[Stalemate? What nonsense.]
Bloodyia muttered as she withdrew the hand she had been reaching for to move the object. Her eyes darted about. Yes, it would only be visible after she had paid such close attention to predicting the numbers.
At that moment, Bloodia’s pupils dilated as he looked toward a number exceeding several hundred.
[uh?]
If you attempt to capture the opponent’s core territory, a noble piece is bound to be captured along the way.Even if you capture the King and eliminate the Rebellion faction, you will lack the pieces to finish off the Resistance faction.If you try to seize the Ancient Knowledge, the Sage pieces remain exposed. According to the rules, a faction that loses all its Sage pieces loses.Any move other than those mentioned above is a bad one. It is no different from conceding defeat immediately, regardless of whether the King is captured or not, while failing to do anything about the Rebellion faction.
Deus, who leads the resistance camp, is in the same situation.
In other words… … as long as the pieces placed by Verden exist, the victory conditions cannot be satisfied, and if both players eliminate Verden from both sides and only the two remain, it results in a stalemate.
However, if you set your mind to it, someone can win.
Deus said.
“You could seize the victory if you gave up just a few pieces, but are you determined to refuse that?”
Verden answered.
“I will neither lose nor win.”
Intellectual Conflict – The Flaw of a Three-Way Battle.
If one side deeply involved between the two dominates the situation and even forfeits victory, it can ensure that no one wins.Even if one of the three is missing, if only one survives, no one can become the winner.
[You’re out of your mind. You’re irrational. You’re going to throw away a victory you’ve already secured just because you’re afraid of sacrificing a few pieces that aren’t even real? Even though winning here would allow you to learn the secret you want?]
“If I had only walked the paths others opened for me, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Verden is not a fool who would readily swallow a poisonous bait. Nor is he so lacking in conviction that he distinguishes between reality and the game, or applies his beliefs as he pleases depending on the situation.
───{Abandon the dignity for the sake of the intelligent, Asher. It is a worthless ideology. If you do so, I will gladly share my knowledge with you. Ah. You say you cannot abandon your inherent ideals because you are a transcendent being? Is that really the case?}
───{Unlike other transcendents, you can advance above your ideals even after abandoning them. Just like the ‘you’ of the past. You have already met the minimum qualifications. You simply hadn’t fully realized it.}
───{There is absolutely no need to hesitate. You must have seen it in the Desert of Silence. What that Oldark did to the four Kirondar who built the First Magic Tower. Face reality. That is the noble thing.}
You just need to take one step forward. There are already those walking ahead of you, so it won’t be difficult. Don’t you respect her? Oldarc.
The minimum qualification the host mentioned seductively when I first visited the Arcadium must have referred to divinity.It was an indirect whisper that by abandoning ideals, one could become a free god, just like the ‘you’ of the past who did not create destiny.
Looking back, the host kept testing me.
If Verden had been seduced by Host’s eloquence, he would have abandoned his ideals and would not have been able to walk the true path of God bound by ideals.
Also, even now.
If he takes just half a step further from here, he might soon join the same ranks as Oldark and ‘you.’ In other words, it is the distortion of self-sacrifice.However, Verden’s heart has not changed, then or now. On the contrary, it has become even more obstinate.
I have no intention of being played by anyone. Everything is entirely my own choice.
Verden stubbornly declared.
“I will find out what secret you are hiding in my own way.”
[judgment.]
Alpha snapped his fingers. As he urged him to reach a conclusion, Shelbron trembled, unable to string together a proper sentence.
“Uh, uh, th, I mean…… I mean…….”
What’s the point of studying the revised rules so diligently?
The distinguished guests and guests of honor say that after countless possibilities, a stalemate will eventually occur, but unfortunately, Shelbron lacks the intellectual capacity to interpret the situation at all.However, if he jumps to a conclusion now and it causes problems later, it will be the end of him.
Shelbron was seized by the terrible fantasy of being punished, falling into the landfill of knowledge, and becoming a wraith.
It was then.
{To choose to render victory and defeat meaningless when one could be a winner. It is truly foolish for an intellectual… … but that is precisely why it is noble.}
The host’s voice rang out.
Asher’s argument that it will eventually end in a stalemate, assuming neither side makes even a single mistake, is valid.
“…….”
{Ascher proposed a stalemate of intellectual conflict. Would you accept?}
Deus and Bloodia looked down at the chaotic battlefield in silence for a moment. It was Deus who first expressed his intention.
I’ll accept the offer.
[… … Hmph, what a lame ending. It’s not like I’ve lost my mind.]
[Gaguri.]
Bloodia turned her head as if displeased with the lukewarm result. She, too, had accepted the stalemate.In any case, the fact that she had not been defeated lightened the weight of her choice.
Magion and Bloodia accepted Asher’s stalemate.
The host acted as the referee.
{Third guest of honor, fourth guest of honor, first distinguished guest. I, the host, acknowledge the conclusion reached by the intellectuals participating in the third game, the three-way intellectual clash.}
The space vibrates weakly.
{There are no winners or losers in intellectual conflict.}
The surrounding sea seemed to shake.
{With this, I will conclude the third and final ‘game’ of the Arcadium.}
The game is over.
The darkness surrounding the stage gradually brightens. Shelbron clutched his trembling knees, as if he had barely survived, and repeatedly let out sighs of relief.
At that moment, Verden’s gaze turned ominous.
‘also.’
From the start, the Host announced that he would present the soul of Draven Lemarque to the intellectual who reached the ‘end of the Arcadium.’Not to the final winner of the game.Otherwise, given the Host’s personality, he would not have allowed such a dull draw.
Remember the new information gained from the adventure story.
That there was always a flaw in Arcadium’s game…
Then what is the end of the arcadium?
The owner of the Arcadium is the Host. It is the Host who hosted the Banquet of Knowledge. It is, of course, the Host who maintains the Arcadium… …and it is also naturally the Host who brings the Arcadium to an end.
To secure Draven’s soul, we must find the host. Before those two.
That is the host’s true intention.
Whoosh!
Alpha and Beta burrowed into his embrace together. As if he had been waiting for this moment, Verden activated his magic circuits and reached out his hand toward Bloodia and Deus.
They, too, will soon realize this fact.
In the Arcadium, physical killing is forbidden, but collisions are permitted. Now that the game is over, even the restrictions on minimal friction have disappeared.
As long as you don’t kill them, you can keep them in check.Though they won’t die anyway.
[hmm?]
“this.”
Bloodia’s eyes widened, and Deus immediately unleashed his magic.
Madou
Kwag
As the beam of destruction burst forth, it engulfed the two. Shelbron screamed. Verden immediately fled the scene.
[Find Host. Initiate.]
The competition has begun in earnest.
Boom!
Bloodia blasted away the debris that had been weighing down her entire body right on the spot. Suddenly ambushed, she swept back her red hair.Immediately afterwards, she understood the host’s final intention with her high intelligence.
For reference, Deus had already disappeared.
[Ha. So.]
Bloodia let out a hollow laugh, spread her wings wide, and opened her mouth wide.
[────────────────!!]
A roar of rage stirred the deep sea.
“Hiiiiiik!”
Shelbron screamed.
