Chapter 1363: A Long Time Ago
Three choices lay in front of Roland.
The first: use the opportunity Valkries offered and kill Hackzord outright. Near-zero risk. It would amount to eliminating a Grand Lord without a proper battle, an almost embarrassingly clean result. Given Hackzord’s unique spatial abilities and the fact that high-grade demons grew harder to replace as their rank increased, this would help the front lines enormously. He could explain the failure to Valkries through accidents, through unforeseeable complications, and lie convincingly enough. If he was lucky, the same bait might work again on another Grand Lord.
The second: bring Hackzord into the Dream World and let the two speak. Valkries had already chosen to take the leap. The real question was not whether she would cooperate but what came of the meeting. The ideal outcome was that Hackzord verified the truth and Valkries convinced him to withdraw demon forces from the Human Kingdom — and then carried that message outward through their hierarchy — clearing the path from Neverwinter to the Bottomless Land. Kill the last Oracle, reach God at the continent’s edge.
If the war had been only humans against demons, he would have chosen the first without hesitation. Killing Hackzord that way was a certainty, and a dead Grand Lord bought real advantage in the North. The longer the stalemate held, the further Neverwinter could develop its industrial war capacity.
But the war was not only about humans and demons.
There was God. And against that threat, a single Sky Lord was an afterthought. Winning the Battle of Divine Will entirely, with every demon dead and every field secured, would still not prevent human civilization from being destroyed.
Roland did not know what level of development it would take to survive that cataclysm. He only knew the clock was running.
Valkries had likely seen the same arithmetic and chosen the risk accordingly.
It had to be said — the offer showed real sincerity. She had watched the Oracles attack, watched Erosion work, and she had taken Lan’s warning seriously enough to think beyond the Battle of Divine Will. The Transformer had planted something in her long before the battle lines were drawn: a willingness, in the name of her civilization’s survival, to give up on winning a single war. That willingness was bearing fruit now, and perhaps it was inevitable — the seed had been too deep to not eventually grow.
But Hackzord had not been present for any of it. Whether one conversation in the Dream World would be enough to bring him around was unknown. And the more times they met here, the higher the risk of exposure — which was precisely what Roland could not easily accept.
Which left the third choice.
Hold the current position. Buy time. Build enough strength for humanity to reach the Bottomless Land under its own power.
Honestly, this was the choice most consistent with who Roland was. It was the goal he had been pursuing from the beginning. Whatever the demons decided, whatever the Sky Lord ultimately chose — for humanity to arrive at the continent’s edge with the independent capacity to fight was the only outcome that felt truly reliable.
The difficulty was the terrain. The thousand-kilometer distance to the ridge included the Impassable Mountain Range to Neverwinter’s north. To traverse it, the Fire of Heaven was necessary, and alongside it the ability to defend against aerial assault. Research, development, production — all of that took time. What changed along the front lines during that wait was anyone’s guess.
This was the trap Roland had already recognized: choosing the reliable option was itself a form of risk. The difference between this choice and the other two was that the risk here depended heavily on what humanity could make of itself through sustained effort.
I should ask the Association for support on this in the next Dream World visit.
He turned the thought over once and let it rest.
After dinner, Anna came to his office with a roll of design plans and settled across from him at the mahogany desk. This was the hour they had made their own — two or three hours before the research institute closed for the night, during which the day’s work could turn into sudden insight and the pressure could briefly lift. Nightingale usually materialized at the side table with something to eat and a stack of Scroll’s illustrated comics about Dream World events, speaking up occasionally with something dry or irreverent, keeping the air around them soft and warm.
When he’d worked through the day’s technical problems, Roland raised the Dream World question that had been grinding against the inside of his skull.
“So that’s why you were sighing all day.” Nightingale didn’t look up from her comics. “Does the connection have to exist? What if the images from the Dream World are just assembled at random? The more you think about it, the more grey hairs you grow. Some things simply cannot be understood.”
Roland gave her a flat look. “If people stop using their brains, civilization ends.”
“If you keep using yours this hard, you’ll end before civilization does.”
”…” He decided to revise his earlier assessment of the atmosphere as warm.
Anna was quiet for a long time — the long, inward quiet of someone following a thread. Then: “I think Nightingale is right.”
Both of them turned to stare at her.
Anna laughed. “Not about not thinking. About this particular problem.” She tucked her hair back behind one ear. “Maybe the link between the two scenes is simpler than you’re making it.”
“You’ve found something?”
“Not found. Guessed.” She spread her notes in front of her. “For example — the order of the two scenes. Or more specifically: time.”
Roland went still. “The link is time?” He followed the thought forward and then felt it open up. “If the second scene occurred before the first—”
“Then it’s a complete story.” Anna finished it.
“This is the price.”
Not the price paid for evolution — not like the Radiation People who had simply vanished. Not the tsunamis and storms that swallowed survivors whole. Those events were separated from the red cavity by more than ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years, perhaps further still. The price was pointing somewhere else entirely.
The outcome: gravity was no longer the most revered force. A red void, enormous and spreading, had appeared somewhere in the universe.
And if that single declarative line — from this moment forth — was a subtle reference to magic power, then it pointed toward a conclusion that stopped the breath.
Roland and Anna looked at each other across the desk.
“—Magic power did not exist in this world before,” they said, together.
Without magic power, there could be no living beings who depended on it.
No demons.
And no witches.
Chapter 1363 - A Long Time Ago
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Roland had three choices laid in front of him. The first choice was to make use of the opportunity Valkries provided and kill Hackzord. This involved almost zero risk and was equivalent to getting rid of a demon grand lord easily.
Considering Hackzord’s unique ability and that it was far more challenging for higher grade demons to upgrade themselves, this action would benefit the front lines greatly. He could then push the blame to external factors or accidents that prevented the other party from showing up and lie to Valkries successfully. If lucky enough, the same plan could be used to lure other grand lords as well.
The second choice was to bring Hackzord into the Dream World and allow him to talk to Valkries. As the latter had decided to take the leap of faith and agreed to collaborate, Roland knew that the crux of the matter was not on the Nightmare Lord but on their discussion. The most ideal situation would be for the Nightmare Lord to verify the truth and conversely convince the Sky Lord to lead their troops out of the Human Kingdom, and spread the information to the rest of the Demon Race that the Battle of Divine Will had to stop. This way, the path from Neverwinter to the Bottomless Land would no longer be obstructed. As long as the last Oracle was killed, Roland would be able to face God there.
If the war concerned only the humans and demons, Roland had no doubts of choosing the former—after all, killing Hackzord in such a manner was a certainty and they would earn a bigger advantage in the war in the North. The longer they stalled for time, the further they could develop their war potential through industrialization.
But looking at the bigger picture, the situation became completely different.
Besides the Demons and Sky-sea Realm, Roland was worried about the threat from God, and a single Sky Lord was simply insignificant compared to that. Even if they won the Battle of Divine Will, the human civilization would not escape the outcome of being destroyed.
Roland did not know to what extent their development needed to survive such a terrifying cataclysm.
Time was not on their side.
Valkries might have realized this point and thus chose to take the risk.
It had to be said that this method had shown enough sincerity—at least after witnessing the attack from Erosion and the Oracles, she had truly considered Lan’s warning and thought about the bigger picture seriously.
The problem was that the Transformer had too much of an influence on Valkries, to the point that even before the Battle of Divine Will, it had already planted a thought in Valkries. With the big picture in mind, to be able to forgo the victory of a battle to allow the continuity of her entire civilization could be said to be a natural outcome.
But Hackzord had not experienced any of it, making it a question if he would come to a consensus with Valkries after the exchange. Generally speaking, a decision to decide the fate of the entire civilization was not something that could be determined after one negotiation. But the more they were allowed to meet in the Dream World, the higher the risks, and this was what Roland had difficulty accepting.
Based on the present situation, he preferred the third choice.
That was to maintain the current status quo and gain more time for humanity to gain sufficient strength to reach the Bottomless Land at the edge of the continent
Frankly, this choice best suited Roland’s style and it was the goal he pursued from the very beginning. Regardless of what response the Demons had, for
humanity to have the capability to traverse over a thousand kilometers to reach their destination was undoubtedly the most reliable outcome.
However, the problem was the continuous mountain range terrain to the north of Neverwinter. To travel to the ridge of the continent, they had to rely on the ‘Fire of Heaven’, at the same time possessing the ability to defend against attacks in the sky. The process from research and development to production required time. During this period, it was an unknown if there might be any changes along the front lines.
Just as Roland had realized before—facing the threat of the Divine Will, choosing a reliable option was a form of risk as well.
The only difference between the third and the former two choices was that the degree of risk more or less relied on humanity’s efforts to make up for their deficiency.
I should look for the Association’s support regarding this in the next trip to the Dream world.
Roland thought to himself.
After dinner, Anna entered the office with a roll of design plans and sat at the opposite end of the mahogany desk. This was the time for their routine interaction and was the only period of the day where they felt relaxed and happier. So long as the research institute did not work in the night, Anna would stay in the office for two to three hours, where the conversations included the day’s work to sudden enlightenments and ideas.
During this time, Nightingale would appear and relax by the side table with snacks on hand, browsing through the comic books illustrated by Scroll that depicted things in the Dream World. During this period, Nightingale would occasionally speak up, making the surrounding mood rather placid and warm.
After resolving the technical problems, Roland talked about the Dream World’s problem that was troubling him.
“So that’s why you were sighing incessantly…” Nightingale curled her lips. “Is it a must to have a connection between both worlds? What if the images you saw in the Dream World were assembled randomly? The more you think about it, the more white hairs you will have. No matter what, some things will never be understood.”
Roland rolled his eyes. “The brain will degenerate if unused; if everyone’s like you, this world is doomed.”
“But the more you think about it, you’ll die much faster than the world.”
“…” He decided to retract the thought that Nightingale looked placid and warm.
Anna did not immediately give her opinion. She pondered and muttered to herself for a very long time before speaking up. “I’m afraid that Nightingale is right.”
Both Nightingale and Roland were stunned. “What?”
Anna could not resist laughing. “I’m not talking about not thinking, but she’s right on this matter… maybe the link between both scenes isn’t as complicated as you think.”
“Did you discover something?” Roland asked curiously.
Anna shook her head. “I’m not certain, just some wild guesses.” She pulled her hair to the back of the ears and gazed upon her notes. “For example… the sequential order of the two, or should I say—time.”
“The link is… time?” Roland frowned and thought about it before exclaiming in surprise, “If the second scene occurred before the first…”
“Then it depicts a complete story.” Anna finished his sentence.
“This is the price.”
The price was not about upgrading like the missing Radiation People.
Or about the tsunamis and storm that devoured all the survivors.
The two were on the time scale separated by more than ten thousand years… hundreds and thousands of years… or even further.
The price was pointing to something else.
The outcome was that gravity was no longer worthy of being a revered force, and a gigantic and red cavity appeared in the universe.
And if the string of words was subtly hinting to magic power, the phrase “From this moment forth” pointed to an astonishing conclusion.
Roland and Anna looked at each other.
“—Magic power did not exist in this world before.”
The two of them said in unison.
The absence of magic power meant that living beings that relied on it would no longer exist.
For example, demons.
And… witches.