Chapter 09 “The Mirrored Hero or the Birth Cry of the Destroyer”
A windowless‚ perfectly temperature-controlled birdcage (special training room).
In the center‚ on the highest-grade leather sofa placed there‚ I silently received the teacup that was offered.
“Lord Louis. This is a special tea leaf to enhance the computational efficiency of the mind. Please enjoy it.”
Agreas bowed respectfully. From the amber-colored liquid‚ white steam was rising gently.
I took a sip and let it flow down my throat.
『Component Analysis: High-temperature liquid (H2O 99% · Tannin · Trace caffeine). Temperature: 72 degrees Celsius』
『Taste and Smell Protocol: Offline. No corresponding emotional data exists.』
What would have once evoked feelings like “fragrant” or “calming” was now processed merely as the physical phenomenon of “a 72-degree Celsius heat source passing through my esophagus.”
In this cage‚ indeterminate elements that could stimulate my humanity had been thoroughly eliminated by Agreas.
At the end of my gaze—the void—there floated a huge pale blue monitor (visual data) projected by hacking the magic circuit.
That pale blue light was exactly the same color as the system logs flickering in my brain. The world I perceived was no longer a warm reality‚ but had been completely replaced by an inorganic UI (user interface).
What was displayed was the academy's courtyard.
And in its center was Leon Valks‚ clad in silver armor.
「……It has begun again.”
Leon seen through the monitor was no longer the one from before.
Around him‚ frightened students formed a distant circle. In the center‚ Leon was coldly interrogating a student who had merely bumped shoulders slightly‚ labeling him as “malicious impurity.”
Leon's angry voice echoed.
But to my ears‚ it only arrived as
『Audio Data: Peak 68dB‚ Emotional Waveform: Unanalyzable』
as.
My arithmetic eye overlaid a pale blue grid on Leon's back across space.
『Warning (Alert): Serious abnormality in the logical structure of the target (Leon Valks). Collapse probability: 99.98%』
「……Ah‚ stop it. Leon‚ no more.”
The thought “I have to help” floated up. But even that thought felt like something from a distant stranger.
Still‚ I involuntarily leaned forward from the sofa and reached out to the projected magic monitor.
It sounded like a log from the remnant of the separate process called “past Louis.”
The moment I tried to construct an interference formula to connect space and deliver my magic (voice) directly to him.
――Zap!!
Pale blue sparks scattered‚ and my fingertips were repelled.
“What…!?”
『Warning (Alert): Detected inefficient emotional intervention (noise). Rejected as an action that impedes the optimization process of this room.』
The inorganic system log flickered in my mind.
The “optimization” Agreas applied to this room not only protected me from external threats but was a system that physically blocked the “human-like bug” of me trying to interfere with the outside (impurities).
The repelled fingertips.
The electrical signal called “pain” reached my brain exactly 0.5 seconds after the sparks scattered.
The delayed dull pain did not connect to me as my own sensation; it was so detached that it was misrecognized as “a distant stranger’s fingertips hurting.” Even the ownership of the body was being stripped away by the system.
And another 0.5 seconds later‚ the emotion of “being unable to help a friend” brushed my brain with a thinness as if reading someone else’s sorrow.
「……Mr. Agreas. What does this mean?”
My own voice sounded as if coming from a distant external speaker.
To my question‚ the jet-black butler answered with a cold smile still on his face.
“What my lady desires is your absolute safety and peace. Any act of going out to touch impurities (noise) yourself and wasting computational area has been set to be processed as a system error.”
Agreas continued his words respectfully‚ yet with absolute cruelty.
“Please‚ you have no need to suffer.”
Agreas continued in a tone as if soothing a child.
“Suffering is a ‘defect’ that occurs when humans cannot process it fully.”
At the same moment he finished speaking‚ Leon in the monitor finally slammed the student to the ground.
『Target’s mental structure has exceeded the allowable friction coefficient』
『――Collapse probability: 99.98% → Updated to 99.99%』
The bright red numbers coldly dyed my vision red.
At the moment Leon slammed down the student who should have been his close friend‚ my heart did not move at all.
No sadness or impatience welled up. Only the fact that “the collapse probability increased by 0.01%” was displayed plainly in my vision.
0.01%. Arithmetically‚ it was already a ‘determined future’ that was no longer even an error margin.
While watching my own hands that began to tremble with a delay of a few tenths of a second‚ I could only continue to observe the image of my close friend breaking down as one piece of environmental data.
After finishing the judgment in the courtyard‚ Leon walked out carrying cold killing intent.
The visual data of the magic monitor switched to the academy's back garden‚ tracking his back.
It was a blind spot surrounded by dim tree shade and stone walls. The UI (user interface) covering my vision visualized the multiple ‘vectors of malice’ lurking in that space as green numbers.
As if waiting for him to come‚ the high-ranking noble students under Duke Germar‚ surrounding the central Leon in silver armor‚ stood with vulgar‚ sneering smiles.
In the center stood Leon clad in silver armor.
“Look‚ Valks. This is the poor rat of a commoner you protected the other day during courtyard cleaning duty when you said ‘unfair treatment.’ This guy stole a catalyst from the academy’s magic tool storage.”
One of the nobles kicked the mud-covered boy to Leon's feet.
My brain system instantly cross-referenced with past logs.
『Cross-reference complete: Target (commoner boy). Matches the record where Leon Valks rescued him from blackmail by nobles a few days ago.』
In the boy’s hand was indeed an expensive magic catalyst‚ academy property. The boy‚ trembling and with his face a mess of tears and snot‚ was unmistakably the underclassman Leon had saved as part of his daily good deeds.
“N-no‚ it’s not true! I didn’t steal it! They forced me to hold it…! Lord Valks‚ please believe me! You are my hero!”
The boy cried out‚ clinging desperately.
The system analyzed the boy’s vocal data‚ sweat rate‚ and heart rate irregularities.
『Audio analysis complete. Truth probability of target’s testimony: 98%. Possibility of forced fabrication: extremely high.』
No matter who saw it‚ it was a despicable trap by the Duke Germar faction.
A malicious board to test Leon’s “100% pure justice.” An atrocious stage device to artificially turn the ‘good’ he himself had saved into ‘evil’ and have him condemn it with his own blade.
The former Leon would have seen through the nobles’ malice behind it and protected the boy once again.
But.
“…Excuses are unnecessary.”
Leon’s voice was as cold as an absolute zero blizzard.
He didn’t even glance at the nobles‚ only staring at the trembling boy’s hand at his feet—the fact of the ‘stolen item’ gripped there.
“There is a stolen magic catalyst in your hand. That is the fact. It doesn’t matter who made you hold it or what the circumstances were. The ‘result’ of carrying the burden of evil as an impurity is there.”
“Eh…? Lord… Valks…?”
The boy’s eyes widened in despair.
A terribly cold ‘understanding’ flashed in my brain as I observed the scene through the monitor.
(…Ah. We are completely the same.
I discarded taste‚ Leon discarded mercy.
Neither of us is a human equation anymore.)
To maximize magic efficiency‚ I purged human senses.
And now‚ Leon was trying to purge the human heart to maximize the purity of justice.
My arithmetic eye visualized the ‘justice computation’ being processed at high speed inside Leon.
『Analyzing the thought circuit of target (Leon Valks):
Input A: The boy possesses stolen goods
Input B: Possession of stolen goods = evil
Input C: Evil must be eradicated
――Variables “circumstances‚” “background‚” “coercion” were automatically deleted (purged) during the optimization process.』
What Leon once protected was the life called “the boy.”
Now‚ what Leon was trying to protect was only the concept called “justice.”
There was not even a second of hesitation before he drew his sword.
No—the unnecessary processing process called ‘hesitation’ itself had already been completely deleted from his thought circuit.
Leon placed his hand on the hilt of the holy sword 《Ragnarok》 at his waist.
That sacred silver glow appeared to my arithmetic eye only as ‘an extremely powerful convergence of destructive energy.’
“Impurities must be eradicated. That is my justice.”
Leon drew his sword.
The nobles‚ convinced of the trap’s success‚ deepened their vulgar smiles.
The boy let out a scream.
And in my vision‚ only the cold‚ red error logs rained down.
『Warning (Alert): The target’s self-contradiction has exceeded the critical point.』
『――Collapse probability: 99.99% → Unmeasurable (error). Transitioning to event determination.』
The silver flash drew a cold trajectory and swung down.
The dull sound of flesh being cut. Vivid red scattered on the stone pavement.
“Aaaaaah!”
The boy clutched his shoulder‚ screamed‚ and collapsed. It was not fatal. But the blood flowing from his slender body was unmistakably that of a “sinless weakling.”
At that instant‚ the nobles surrounding them burst into vulgar laughter all at once.
“Gyahahahaha! A masterpiece! He really cut him!”
“Even though we just threatened him into holding it! How does it feel to execute the ‘pitiful rat’ with your own hands‚ oh hero of justice!”
“While you were happily playing justice in the academy‚ the aid supplies to your shabby hometown that defied Duke Germar have been completely stopped!”
“Right now‚ your family and your people are crawling on the ground like this rat‚ slurping mud!”
The mockery echoed through the academy's back garden.
Leon’s movements stopped unnaturally‚ perfectly still.
Leon’s heart paused for one beat‚ as if left behind by the world.
As if his own heart had understood the ‘death of justice’ by his own hand faster than his brain.
Only the world’s time had completely frozen around him.
Blood from the boy dripped from the tip of the swung holy sword 《Ragnarok》. The boy crouching at his feet looked up at Leon with eyes stained in terror and despair.
“Why… hero… I didn’t do anything…”
That hoarse voice and the cruel truth of his hometown physically shattered Leon’s eardrums—and the ‘justice equation’ that supported his madness.
『A fatal contradiction (paradox) has occurred in the logical circuit of target (Leon Valks).』
『Input D: Injured the weakling that should be protected with his own hands.』
『Input E: His own justice destroyed his hometown and family.』
『Output result: His own justice = evil.』
In my vision continuing observation through the monitor‚ the pale blue grid covering Leon’s back cracked like glass.
『To help the weak and crush evil. That is my――』
The beautiful‚ pure definition of justice that once supported him collapsed with a sound due to the boy’s blood at his feet and the despair of his distant hometown.
100% pure justice. That beautiful crystal that allowed no impurities could not withstand the self-contradiction that he himself had become “impurity (evil)” and completely collapsed.
“――A‚ AAAAAAAAHHH!!”
A beast-like‚ or broken instrument-like wail burst from Leon’s throat.
At the moment Leon’s heart completely shattered. The holy sword 《Ragnarok》 began to flicker violently in response to its master’s despair.
The god-forged armament linked to the owner’s soul. Its silver blade resounded in the back garden with a “thump‚” a raw ‘pulse sound’ impossible for metal――and immediately transformed into ‘dark red (the color of blood)’ that burned everything.
It was the moment when justice that allowed no impurities judged the world itself as impurity and mutated into a destructive impulse.
Inside the isolated birdcage (special training room).
In my brain sitting safely on the sofa‚ at that moment‚ it was assaulted by an immense “abnormality.”
『Critical Error: Justice logic failed』
Bright red error logs that filled the vision.
They proliferated infinitely‚ dyeing my UI blood-red.
The “sound” of Leon’s heart shattering. What would have once made the former me tear at my chest and scream together in sorrow now was received by my current interface only as ‘an influx of unprocessable massive bug data (noise).’
“…U‚ ah…”
It hurts.
No‚ not pain as a human body. That pain was not in the depths of the chest but a fatal system agony as if the ‘brain’s computational area’ was physically burning out.
(…Is this how the system cries?)
The tear glands shed not a single drop. No emotion of sadness welled up.
Only the ‘fact data’ that my close friend’s heart had completely died continued to hammer into the vessel called me until it forced a fatal error shutdown. My system‚ having lost empathy‚ could not digest others’ tragedies as “emotion‚” and thus could only taste it as inescapable “error agony.”
Beyond the gaps in the bright red logs‚ on the other side of the noise-filled monitor.
Leon‚ holding a sword emitting blood-like red light‚ slowly turned toward the laughing nobles.
『――Initiating the process to rewrite the target’s existence definition.』
The moment I saw that red light‚ I understood.
That the former ‘Hero Leon’ no longer existed anywhere in this world.
In the back garden where the boy’s blood dripped‚ the voices of the laughing nobles suddenly‚ unnaturally cut off.
Because they saw the face of Leon as he slowly turned around.
In those eyes‚ there was no intense anger or tears of despair.
Only absolute zero ‘nothingness (blank)’ spread.
Colors of the world peeled off one by one from Leon’s eyes.
As if his vision itself had begun to reject the world.
Tap‚ tap‚ tap.
Leon’s footsteps on the stone pavement echoed. It was not a human gait but an extremely regular‚ mechanical rhythm like the second hand of a clock.
Leon’s chest no longer rose and fell with breathing.
Instead‚ only the red-black pulsation of 《Ragnarok》 in his hand was substituting for his “life activity” as a system.
“W-what’s with those eyes…! Don’t come closer‚ we are Duke Germar’s――”
“Target recognized.”
Leon’s flat voice cut off the noble’s words as he backed away in terror.
“The mud before my eyes. …No‚ that’s wrong.”
Leon stared intently at his hand stained with his own blood‚ then looked up at the void.
“This world itself‚ which allows such malice and withered my hometown‚ is a corrupted seedbed that produces impurities. Then‚ eradicate everything. That is my newly redefined justice.”
『Input F: The world is a structure that allows malice.』
『Output result: World = target of judgment.』
From the evil before his eyes (A) to the world system itself (B).
The moment the equation of madness was fully assembled‚ the red blade flashed.
There was no time to scream.
The nobles’ heads flew into the air easily and silently as if a physical computation bug had occurred. Amid the rain of fresh blood‚ Leon looked down at them without changing his expression.
Immediately after.
An unprecedented abnormality occurred in my vision as I observed the monitor in the isolated birdcage.
『Warning (Alert): Target’s magic density‚ unmeasurable (NaN)』
『Detected collapse of spatial laws. Further information processing will cause fatal destruction to this system (Louis Adel)’s brain nerves.』
Ziziz…! The pale blue UI screen began to be eroded by ‘black noise.’
The world was beginning to break. The overwhelming destructive concept emanating from Leon was physically trying to burn out even my computational area in a distant location.
(…Leon. Why couldn’t I be by your side?)
At the bottom of me‚ the remnants of human guilt let out a scream for just an instant.
『――Detected unnecessary emotional error (guilt). Immediately purged (deleted).』
The remnants of purged guilt held “temperature” for an instant in the depths of my chest.
I could no longer notice that it was the last bit of humanity.
Even the painful fluctuation was completely erased by the cold system log in less than a second.
“Gu‚ ah…! My vision…”
“Oh dear. It seems a slightly out-of-spec bug has occurred.”
When I pressed one eye‚ Agreas elegantly snapped his fingers.
Instantly‚ a thick jet-black magic barrier deployed around the magic monitor that was being painted with black noise.
“We cannot allow such low-level destructive impulses (viruses) to infect your high-dimensional computational area. We have lowered the depth of the observation filter and isolated the target as mere ‘environmental noise.’ …Now‚ your system is safe.”
Agreas did not care about Leon’s tragedy even as much as a roadside stone. The only thing important to him was protecting me‚ the ‘optimal computing machine.’
“Hehe. …See‚ Louis? Just as I said?”
From behind‚ Selina’s soft arms wrapped around my neck.
She glanced at the tragedy raining blood on the other side of the monitor‚ then let out a sweet‚ maddeningly happy sigh in my ear.
“The outside world is full of impurities‚ ugly‚ and broken. …If that ‘destroyer’ cleans up the garbage outside nicely‚ it’s convenient. But don’t worry. No matter what happens to the world‚ I will absolutely protect this cage.”
On the other side of the monitor where the black noise had thinned through the filter.
In the pool of blood‚ Leon was looking down at his own face reflected in a water mirror.
『Leon Valks is dead.』
Toward the self reflected on the water surface‚ he smiled with the former hero’s face‚ coldly enough to send chills.
『I am Kyle. The one who will destroy this corrupted world.』
The moment that name was uttered‚ the air in the back garden slightly distorted‚ and the world trembled as if refusing to accept the new “definition.”
The laws of the world held their breath for an instant. As if the world itself could no longer recall the name of the former hero called ‘Leon Valks.’
――From my UI‚ the individual recognition data for ‘Leon Valks’ was completely lost (erased).
And at the moment Leon was born as “Kyle.” The outline of “Louis” as a human inside me also quietly died.
At that instant‚ somewhere in the world‚ the scream of a new victim rose.
But my system processed it merely as ‘environmental noise’ and coldly discarded it.
I lost the world inside the cage‚ and Leon killed the world outside the cage.
The heart to consider which was right no longer remained in me.
At that time‚ at the edge of my vision‚ the important memory data called ‘Mom’s face’ changed for an instant into inorganic black noise.
Only I‚ inside the perfect cage‚ could no longer understand that the world had begun to break decisively.
The black noise flickering at the edge of my vision.
Unconsciously‚ I tried to access the depths of my brain――the ‘memory archive’ to repair it.
(…Mom. Mom’s face. Mom’s‚ smiling face.)
『Search query: Querying mother (family concept)…』
『Error: The extension of the corresponding data is corrupted.』
Something’s wrong.
I aimed to become a magician to make my mother‚ who was struggling in the frontier‚ a little more comfortable.
That warm smell of bread. The feel of slightly rough but gentle palms that stroked my head.
Every time I tried to touch the neural circuits to recall it‚ the pale blue system log became a cold wall blocking my thoughts.
『Warning: This memory data has been judged as a cause that triggers inefficient errors such as “nostalgia” or “impatience” in the subject’s mind in the current survival environment (happy cage).』
『――Continuing optimization process. Completely formatting (initializing) the data.』
“Ah…”
The smell of warm bread disappeared from my brain.
The feel of the rough palms disappeared.
And finally‚ the outline of Mom smiling gently was swallowed by the inorganic sandstorm (white noise) with a “zaaah” sound and completely replaced with ‘blank.’
The moment Mom’s outline was swallowed by the sandstorm‚ one color disappeared from my world.
In my brain‚ the door to the memory archive quietly closed with a sound that would never open again.
“…Huh. What kind of… what kind of voice did my mom laugh with?”
The murmur that spilled from my mouth was not a painful one seeking help from someone.
It was merely empty‚ flat audio data like a hard disk with slightly increased free space after deleting unnecessary files.
“Hehe‚ Louis. What’s wrong?”
From behind the sofa‚ Selina lovingly stroked my cheek.
Her body temperature was processed by my system as ‘36.5 degrees Celsius heat source (safety standard cleared).’
“…No. I feel like I deleted some important data… but I can’t remember what it was anymore.”
“There’s no need to worry about it. The only thing the current Louis needs is me. My voice‚ my face‚ and my magic alone. You can forget all the other ‘outside garbage.’”
Selina floated a smile pregnant with maddening possessiveness and gently covered my vision with her white hand as if to block my eyes.
The moment her cold hand covered my entire vision‚ my world ended silently.
“Just as my lady says‚ Lord Louis.”
Agreas bowed and completed the deployment of the thick magic barrier.
“With this‚ the link between this training room and the external environment has been completely severed. No destructive noise of any kind will threaten your computational area anymore. …Please‚ enjoy eternal peace.”
My vision‚ covered by Selina’s hand and sunk into darkness.
There‚ the last error log floated up quietly‚ just one.
『System Notice: Confirmed disconnection of external connection (world). From now on‚ transitioning to complete standalone (isolated) mode.』
The world’s last sound quietly faded out.
At the moment I completely lost the “world” and “past” inside the cage.
On the other side of the thick wall――in the place once called the ‘world‚’ the former hero who had become the destroyer (Kyle) was smashing the gates of the corrupted royal capital with his blood-stained red sword.
In the center of the royal capital‚ a red-black light pillar to end the world was rising.
But that roar‚ the people’s screams‚ the smell of the burning country.
Never again reached my optimized system.
End of Chapter 09
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