The last captain lowered their head and gazed down into the vertical mine shaft.
Under the blinding light of the searchlight, the vertical mine shaft was completely exposed without a trace of darkness.
Rippling radiation and refracted space.
Though there were two rippling phenomena, it should have been nearly invisible, but the captain adjusted the aperture of their eyes as if there were no issues and stared into the mine shaft.
There were two people inside the mine shaft.
One was the target the captain had to kill in order to claim their position.
And the other…
“…13.”
A mechanical voice mixed with the male’s tone flowed. The man recognized the woman who was glaring at him with eyes filled with anger.
13. She was once the last comrade of the captain who was Aslan, and she was the last one who died.
Since losing 13, he felt like he had nothing left to lose, and after that, he braved any danger or setbacks for his goal.
In his extreme pursuit of efficiency, the man could no longer call himself Lee Hyun-woo. He was merely the last captain, Aslan.
Guilt clouded his mind. Negative emotions flowing through his mechanized brain began to invade the captain’s body.
A feeling as though something heavy was placed on his chest. Even though there were no parts to feel such sensations, the captain thought his heart was beating heavily.
No, perhaps it really was.
Recalling 13’s final moments, he smiled sadly with a face that no longer existed.
It felt as if she had come to punish him for becoming an evil deity despite her noble sacrifice, and the fact that he had to kill her again caused him anguish.
He also despised himself for issuing orders to attack without hesitation.
While smiling sadly, the captain issued a mental command.
There was no hesitation.
Because everything could be reversed and started anew.
Because he could now achieve his goal without losing anyone.
Because he could ignore guilt for the sake of achieving it.
Drones moved simultaneously. The high-explosive launchers attached above the searchlights erupted with fire all at once.
BOOM! KOOOOOOOOOOM!
Simultaneous firing. Focused firepower. Grenades poured from the barrels into the mine shaft and immediately turned into flames.
Before the flames could rise, 13 swung her staff.
Incantations, hand signs, words—none of them were necessary.
She was truly the master of magic.
The refracted space bent dramatically. Explosions surged like waves and tangled together.
Entangled flames surged upward, reversing within the mine shaft. Facing the ascending flames, the captain aimed the longsword that sprouted from his forearm.
At his feet, what little remained of a shadow disappeared, and silently in his mind, the captain muttered.
‘Shadow Reverse.’
The flames split apart in a V-shape and scattered. Amidst the rising flames was a fireball.
A boulder-sized fireball. An attack of a size that even a top-tier manifestation school mage would find difficult to create easily.
There were dozens of them.
Before the mana reaction disappeared, the captain’s left hand transformed into a minigun.
DRRRRRRRRR!
Six rotating gun barrels spewed fire. Shell casings flew wildly in every direction as the dozens of incoming fireballs were shredded and extinguished.
Smoke rose, flames flickered, leaving mirages behind.
Beyond that, neither 13 nor Aslan was there.
The direction where the mana reaction remained was above. The drones’ high-explosive attacks ceased.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAKK!
Thunder roared. 13 appeared.
She was floating in mid-air.
With hundreds of lightning bolts descending alongside her.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAKK!
The ferocious thunder roared. Hundreds of these bolts of death tore apart dozens of drones.
Lightning dyed the sky blue and split the clouds, utterly destroying dozens of drones armed with high-explosives.
Unit lost, unit lost.
Ignoring the clattering mechanical sounds, the captain stared at 13.
Different attributes swirled around her two hands and staff.
Flames, lightning, thunder.
Each one sufficient to harm life.
Kind and gentle, compassionate artificial hybrid that she was, she unleashed all the elements. Hundreds, thousands of deaths aimed at the captain.
Her eerie vertical pupils glared intensely.
Upon seeing the converging current, the captain lifted his foot high and slammed it down.
Due to the gravitational field, gravity intensified sharply around the captain’s body, causing the ground beneath him to crumble and tilt.
KURRRR, the trembling earth rolled underfoot.
‘Thunder Call.’
KRAAAAAAAAARK!
Thunder followed the rolling movement.
The ground surged up.
Crushed by the weight heavier than the earth, the land gave way.
Scattered boulders and rocks sprayed everywhere, destruction akin to a meteorite falling.
The lightning couldn’t leap over the rocks and was blocked, so the captain swung the longsword in his right hand backward.
KAHHHHHHH!
There was no sound.
He just instinctively knew.
If it were him, if it were Aslan, he wouldn’t miss this opportunity for a surprise attack in such a situation.
The dark blade and the white blade clashed, and the dark blade emitted a faint glow.
A kind of plasma. The energy that arose pushed aside purity.
He already knew exactly how to counter the holy sword he had lost.
Through the crossed blades, thus the two men met each other’s eyes.
Essentially the same beings, yet vastly different now.
The captain faced his own emerald green eyes that once belonged to him.
Aslan faced a possible future that could have been his own.
The captain thought while meeting his gaze.
The captain believed Aslan was too weak to succeed.
Even if he had succeeded so far, he would eventually fail and lose everything.
Thus, only he could save the world.
On the other hand, Aslan thought slightly differently.
About whether he could escape, or not.
It would likely be impossible.
Given that Aslan had caught up even with 13’s continuous spatial leaps, it was clear.
Even if he escaped here, he wouldn’t gain much time.
From the moment he was caught despite 13’s superior magical prowess and experience, there were no options left.
Besides, Aslan didn’t include escape as an option.
If someone had to buy time for the escape, and knowing the outcome of buying that time, it was obvious.
Aslan did not want his comrades to make sacrifices.
Thus, both versions of Aslan reached the same conclusion.
To fell each other here.
The time it took for these thoughts to finish was but a fleeting moment.
The two warriors who locked eyes simultaneously dropped.
They distanced themselves, measuring the gap.
Aslan’s purity was slightly longer.
The captain adjusted the length of the blade on the spot. Now they were evenly matched.
In a fraction of a second shorter than a blink, dozens of possibilities and calculations passed, and the swords of the two warriors crossed.
Like decalcomania, they swung their swords in the exact same pose.
KAHHHHHHHHHHH!
The swords clashed, a ringing sound too clear to believe they were mere blades.
This was the first collision.
The monstrous force flowing through the scales of purity faded, and Aslan’s brow furrowed.
Aslan was being pushed back in terms of output. The captain’s strength was several times greater than Aslan’s.
Both possessed the “Impermanence” technique. The power of the predator surpassed.
Their skills were equal, and the only thing Aslan could claim superiority in was the single blade of purity.
The captain pressed his advantage. He closed the distance. Simultaneously, Aslan stepped back. They maintained the engagement rhythmically.
Amidst that, the captain struck down with a plasma-burning sword, which Aslan blocked with the hilt.
DRDRDRDRRK!
At the moment of blocking, the captain tried to cut off fingers by tilting the blade, while Aslan countered by letting go with one hand and gripping the sword with the Dragon King’s hand alone.
The plasma touching the dragon scales reflected and ignited.
“Grrk…!”
An involuntary groan escaped. Aslan, having blocked the blade, frowned and was pushed back.
It wasn’t a voluntary retreat. The force was too powerful.
But this retreat wasn’t a simple withdrawal.
Aslan always fought opponents stronger than himself.
So he rotated.
Before the shock could tear through his body, he moved, dissipating the impact with the rotation and swung.
Centrifugal force imbued in purity. A surging white sword strike.
The captain deflected the slash with a plasma-filled longsword while extending his left hand.
The minigun barrel spun. The target was the head. Sensing the muzzle aimed at his head a beat earlier, Aslan ducked his knees.
Lowering his stance drastically without any warning.
DRRRRRRK! The fiery muzzle flashed, hitting nothing. Instead, Aslan’s sword swept in first.
The purity pierced through the twisting minigun.
Simultaneously, the captain attacked. Plasma scorched and sliced Aslan’s cheek. Blood splattered, and gums showed through the split bone.
But Aslan’s purity didn’t yield either, cutting through the minigun and grazing the captain’s jaw.
Shards of torn metal. Flowing blood and steel.
Their eyes met again, and Aslan’s leg struck the captain’s abdomen.
‘Thunder Call.’
KRAAAAAAAAARK!
The technique meant to repel rebounded on Aslan instead.
Too heavy to be pushed away.
Even Aslan’s Thunder Call, which could deflect the Supreme Divinity’s Sword.
The captain endured it.
“What kind of weight is this…!”
Even in astonishment, as Aslan performed a landing technique, 13’s magic adorned the sky.
Thunder Strike. The strongest magic of the manifestation school, worthy of being called supreme.
Dozens of shots hammered the ground.
The thunderous roar echoed, dust surged, and the pursuing captain halted.
Something sprouted from the captain’s left arm as 13 swung her staff.
A sprawling blue shield unfolded. An enormous amount of lightning, enough to carve through the clouds, poured down.
The sky turned red, and the surging dust transformed into a lightning cloud, blooming suddenly from the ground.
While Aslan’s cheek healed, something ignited in his mind.
An ominous premonition. A sensation he wouldn’t have felt before.
Aslan reflexively twisted his body, splitting the dust with his sword, and something touched the blade.
KARDRDRTDK, a heavy tactile sensation ran along his fingertips. As the dust cleared from the impact, melted metal revealed itself.
Aslan understood what it was.
It was molten tungsten.
A weapon system known as orbital sniping.
Beyond the melted tungsten was a fractured space. A void hinting at the universe.
Aslan faced the threat that arrived via some form of spatial teleportation.
Molten tungsten.
A projectile accelerated from the atmosphere.
Much like a hollow-point bullet.
A method designed not to penetrate upon impacting the ground but to deliver maximum shock.
In other words, it was the sniper round of the Devourer.
A single round that could fell even the largest ancient deity.
The sniper round approached soundlessly.
Without any forewarning.
Purity cleanly bisected the molten tungsten, and the divided tungsten collided with the ground beyond Aslan.
The impact itself was light. However, when the molten metal touched the ground, the shockwave dramatically increased.
A crater formed, spreading the shockwave widely as plasma arose.
The moment acceleration was deemed sufficient, the decisive blow was teleported in front of Aslan.
There was only one way to defend.
“Dragon King Transformation!”
CHARRRRK! The sound of scales rising accompanied by surging plasma.
The earth covered in dust and plasma.
Within the burning clouds, Aslan was caught, and the captain leaped.
He believed that cutting down 13 now would increase his chances of victory.
Aslan saw this scene through the rising dust, gritted his teeth, and used acceleration while burning.
Wings unfurled, and the winds of Hel and accelerating mana wrapped around Aslan.
TUNG! Aslan burst forth, encased in dust and plasma.
He shot straight toward the captain like a bullet, but the captain reached 13 faster than a bullet.
The sudden appearance of the enemy.
Yet 13 extended her staff without hesitation.
Space bent. With her immense mana as nourishment, the world warped.
Not even purity could cut through this spatial distortion.
But there was one means that could penetrate.
The captain’s plasma sword turned black.
‘Knight Slayer.’
A one-time perfect penetration.
The blade would ignore even the curved world to slice through 13’s neck.
The captain swung his sword. The honest strike of a blade swung countless millions of times headed directly for 13.
But at the moment of striking, the captain saw 13.
Cutting down a comrade.
Guilt seeped into the blade.
His heart sank heavily, and the sword slowed.
Enough for Aslan to catch up and swing his wings.
ZHEEYAK!
The wing that struck his own body.
The captain flew.
Aslan also flew in the opposite direction, rolling on the ground due to the forced jump and unreleased shock.
The crimson sunlight of the setting sun.
The violet dust on the ground.
Plasma.
Amidst the earth painted in strange colors by these forces, the two men rose.
The last captain, composed of liquid metal quickly repairing itself, and Aslan recovering through purity’s regeneration.
The two men who struggled to rise met each other’s gaze.
Even through the mechanical face, emotion surfaced.
The captain felt discomfort and hesitated while looking at Aslan’s scales.
What about?
Unknown. Aslan grasped purity and breathed heavily.
This battle, originally one Aslan shouldn’t have been able to keep up with.
Yet he managed.
He could protect, and he could deal effective blows.
Thanks to newly acquired special traits.
[Aslan]
[Level: 17]
[Strength 5] [Agility ■] [Health 5]
[Mana 20] [Will 11] [Luck 20]
Luck 20 Special Trait: Omniscience.
He wasn’t truly omniscient, as the grand name suggested a rather simple effect in the game.
But its simplicity made it powerful.
The Luck 10 Special Trait, Precognition, which enhanced all ability score corrections slightly to significantly.
And granted proportional bonuses to various situations based on luck.
It was the special trait that allowed pure investment in luck to become the driving force for survival in the mid-to-late game.
Aslan could feel the real effects of that special trait.
Even without using storage and reload exploration, the future felt vividly tangible.
The molten tungsten attack that couldn’t have been avoided at Luck 18 was successfully blocked.
The subsequent Dragon King Transformation wasn’t used too late either.
Still, there was lingering unease. Resisting that unease, Aslan gripped purity.
The captain was still standing strong.
He hadn’t shown his full strength.
Rather, he seemed relaxed and had time to hesitate.
Aslan considered a true powerhouse to be someone with diverse means.
Unaware of how many tricks the captain might have, Aslan remained cautious.
However, the captain simply stared at Aslan and lowered his sword.
For there was something he needed to ask.
Just as the mechanical voice was about to flow,
KAZIZIZIZICK!
Suddenly, something struck the captain, and his steel body was sent flying.
The heavy body that even Aslan’s Thunder Call couldn’t push away was driven back, raising a cloud of purple dust as it slid across the ground.
Before Aslan could react, he lowered his stance, and 13, seeing this, swung her staff.
Spatial distortion.
Absolute defense capable of blocking anything except special attacks like Knight Slayer.
Amidst the distorted reality, a familiar roar was heard.
―――
Reality condensed. Beyond the refracted space, the world condensed and shivered coldly.
A landscape as if the refracted space itself was collapsing.
Contained within were divinity and rage.
The ground flipped, scattered, and rained down like dirt.
As the surging dust dyed the world brown again, Aslan looked ahead with a very familiar feeling.
That was the roar.
DRDRDRDRDRDRDRDRDR!
A roar more powerful than when the Supreme Divinity’s Sword was wielded, familiar to Aslan from the Supreme Divinity’s use.
―!
The roar echoed, and Aslan saw.
In the posture of discarding the sword, roaring in fury—the Supreme Divinity.
More accurately, himself, who had consumed the Supreme Divinity and become the Supreme Divinity.
Aslan bit his lips and observed the man truly worthy of the title ‘Supreme Divinity.’
