A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 167 Game Over (Part 2)

In a daze, the coldness that had bound my soul for the past ten years or so vanished.

Lin seemed to have returned to her childhood.

The castle in the forest under the small sun, its prosperous light shimmering like stars on the earth, once seen, makes all the cities and things that mankind has built in the years to come seem dull and uninteresting.

Next, I recall my memories of the academy.

"From now on, this will be your room. A room means a place to rest, a place of your privacy. You can lock the door and do whatever you like inside. What does it mean to rest?"

"Just sleep, close your eyes, don't think about anything, relax your mind."

"What's the point? Ha, it's certainly not necessary for you. But sleep is how humans measure time, helping us clearly mark the end of each day, with mornings and nights, instead of letting time slip away in a dull way."

"During the most prosperous era of the elves, they measured time by observing humanity. They would observe when and where a human settlement appeared, from its growth and prosperity to its decay—until the lives of several or even dozens of generations had passed before the elves would say something like, 'When will the next human appear?' Long-lived beings are quite indifferent, aren't they?"

"Don't understand? Ha, you're getting off-topic. This is Grindelwald, founded by the hero Merlin, and I'm the current headmaster. Okay, don't look at me like that. In short, this is a place for teaching and nurturing. I know you don't need to learn arcane magic. What you need to learn is how to be a person."

"While human lifespan is much shorter than that of immortal beings, what sets humans apart is that they strive to fulfill their desires within their limited lifespan. This may sound simplistic, but it's precisely why humans can create so many miracles; you can start by decorating a room you love."

"Lin, you must remember this. You are what you believe yourself to be. You must take control of this body, okay?"

ah.
In the end, he hadn't even seen my room yet.

Something surged from the depths of her soul and began to dominate her body; it was runes older than the ancient ones—

[Attacked. Spell Analysis]

[Confirmed as Grindelwald's spell: Destroyer of the Demon King's Castle]

[Mana's output is estimated to be at level nine]

[Undefendable.]

[Waiting for a response from consciousness.]

No response.

[Current situation analysis in progress]

[It has been confirmed that Lynn Shiloh, the human restraint device, is about to die.]

[Awaiting response from Tiresia, the executor of the 'Atonement' plan.]

No response.

【.】

[Warning: Mana reserves are less than 10%.]

[Warning: No law loading detected.]

[As the damage to the body worsens, the system's logic dictates that it must be forcibly activated—]

[The body is extending]

[Expand complete.]

[The third will has not responded, the second will has not responded, now the first will is executed—to eliminate all gods.]

Even the weakened version of the Demon King's Castle Annihilation Cannon is a genuine ninth-tier arcane spell. This kind of mysterious pinnacle created by human ingenuity is astonishing in both power and scale, with its light, smoke, and flames.
The chaotic mana seemed poised to swallow the sky, like a raging flood crashing over the airport. The immense tremors instantly traveled from the barrier to the ground, shaking almost half the city. Cracks spread across the airport's ground and walls; just as everything was about to turn to ruins—

The roar of the artillery fire suddenly stopped.

The barrier Lin had erected almost completely blocked all the aftershocks of the shelling from the airport, but even so, the people here should not have been spared.

Everyone simultaneously raised their heads, gazing at the roar that should have turned them into a living hell, and at the growing mana that eventually devoured everything aimed at it—

It was a giant who sat with his knees drawn up to his chest and his eyes closed.

Its dilapidated yet enormous body floated above the airport. One of its arms alone was the size of half an airship dock. Aurora-like light seemed to float above its head, with jewel-green hair at the front that gradually turned into pure, dazzling light at the back.

The giant was completely naked, with only a multicolored band of light covering his sensitive areas. He looked utterly wretched; half of his body had been blasted apart by the previous cannon shot, revealing a dense array of runes and magical matrices.

"Are you sure that's a hero?"

"what is that?"

Quinn answered Ankua's question with a question.

Ankuya leaned against the window, looking down at the colossal object beneath Grindelwald's Eye.

He looked almost stunned; this was the first time he had ever lost his composure like this in front of others.

Lin's arms were wrapped around her knees, and she floated in the air as if asleep, motionless.

Quinn had seen the band of light that wrapped around her before; he even had one himself, the very same transparent and shimmering robe that was almost like a cicada's wing.

“How should I know?” Ankuya gritted his teeth and replied, “It’s a magical artifact.”

"A magical artifact?" Quinn picked up a box with spatial storage capabilities. "Like this one?"

“That’s an arcane artifact. Making arcane magic work independently on an object and making magic work independently on an object are two different concepts. To this day, there are very few craftsmen among humans who can create magical artifacts. After the Elf Queen Tiresia disappeared, this kind of creation that originated from the Elf race was almost lost.” He spoke very quickly.

Quinn stared at Lynn's missing half of her body. There was no blood, no internal organs; all that was exposed was a structure that humans could not comprehend.

It was an extremely beautiful band of light that swayed like jellyfish tentacles.

It is also a pathway to 'magic'.

"Are you sure that's a magical artifact?"

Quinn's voice held no surprise or bewilderment, but rather a strange sense of relief.

"How the hell should I know—" Ankuya suddenly roared furiously, "This thing is a hero? A transmigrator from another world? Are you sure?!"

"."

Quinn stopped looking out the window and said with extremely complicated feelings, "I don't understand why it turned out this way either. Lynn is..."

The word 'normal' was not uttered.

Quinn suddenly realized why he had been unable to sense Lynn's presence despite his extraordinary abilities.

Even now, with Lin, as gigantic as Godzilla, floating before him, he still felt utterly alone—

Perhaps... this isn't even human.

Suddenly, all the illogical things about Lin became plausible explanations, but what if she was a magical artifact, an artificial life form?
What about the genuine, simple soul that I feel?
Quinn gave a self-deprecating laugh. What right did the person who had ruined her have to think about these things?
“Never mind who she is.” Ankuya stared intently at Quinn. “I’m just asking you, is she a hero?” “I think she is.” Quinn said weakly. “Judging from what happened in the abyss, even if she’s not a hero, she’s at least a transmigrator like me.”

"Row."

After saying that, Ankuya turned around and pressed the lever of the Grindelwald's Eye elevator. The chains pulled the cabin, accompanied by the sound of steam. He held his suitcase and turned his back to Quinn, seemingly lost in thought.

"What are you going to do?"

Quinn noticed that the elevator was going upwards.

"What else can we do?" Ankuya said calmly, "Lin isn't dead, is she?"

Quinn glanced out the window again, then remained silent.

His left hand and half of his chest were blown away, and the other half of his translucent skin was covered with cracks. If it were a normal person, such injuries would surely be fatal.

Every hero has a unique system. Is this Lin's system?
"The original plan was that if I didn't kill Lin with one shot, I would go down to the ground and finish her off. But most of the people on the ground are still alive, not to mention the obstacles they would cause. Even if I went down, I'm not confident I could take down this thing."

Ankuya did not say 'Lin'. Every magical artifact is a treasure of the arcane world, almost immeasurable in monetary terms, and its effects far exceed the imagination of ordinary arcane mages, as evidenced by the fact that nearly half of the artifacts contained by the cult are magical artifacts.

Ankua reached out and tapped the metal structure of the elevator, chuckling, but there was no real mirth in his voice: "All of Grindelwald's creations are made to the standards of the Demon War, Academy quality, as solid as a rock."

That's true. When the Eye of Grindelwald was hit by an overloaded shot, even with the barrier Lin had set up, the octagonal building of Axwell Airport was almost collapsed. But the Eye of Grindelwald, which was so close to the shell, still stood up, and even the complex internal steam pressure elevator was still functioning normally.

"I prepared enough for two spells, although it looks like one more Eye of Grindelwald would be enough to destroy it. But thankfully, the spatial locking function is still working. The academy will be out of the spirit world for a while, so we need to hurry."

"So?" Quinn guessed what Aqua was going to do.

"Judging from Lin's condition, one more shot should be enough to take her down. It will take five minutes to reload the matrix, and there may be many other issues, but I can handle them. In short, if you feel the vibration within ten minutes, run. That ejection device can take you to Lakeside Manor."

"how about you?"

The elevator arrived at the station, the gate opened, and Ankuya walked in. "I need to make sure the Eye of Grindelwald launches properly. The second launch will probably blow up the entire airship teleportation tower. I'll figure out how to escape myself."

“Okay, let’s go.” Quinn paused for a moment, then tried to follow Ankuya into the elevator.

"What are you doing here?"

Ankua's voice was as cold as when the two first met.

"Come with me up there and give Lin another shot?"

Before Quinn could reply, he closed the gate.

"Come on, look at your expression, like your own child has died." Ankuya paused, then said to himself, "Many things are beyond our control. I'm sorry. I hope you'll have the freedom to choose in the future."

The elevator ascended rapidly, and Quinn looked at the empty elevator shaft, unable to utter a word of farewell.

He looked at Lin outside the window for a while longer.

She looked as if she were asleep, her body mutilated.

Quinn pressed himself against the wall, slowly sliding down to the ground while holding the box. He touched his forehead and grabbed his hair, until he had turned the hairstyle that Lin had magically styled for him into a messy, vagabond-like mess.

We've only known each other for a short time.
Why do you trust me so much?

He knew without guessing that the barrier Lin had set up was for him.

The consequence of disobeying the Demon King is death.

Revealing one's identity as a demon spy also means death.

The only way to escape all of this is to sacrifice Lin's life.

Is that all?

Quinn's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he sprang up from the ground like a spring, dodging a knife that suddenly stabbed him from the wall with an almost unbelievable speed!

At the same time, the briefcase opened instantly, the elderwood wand appeared in his hand, the mana sword materialized, and he rose to his feet, slashing backward—

boom! !

A sharp pain shot through his lower abdomen, accompanied by the sound of an explosion. Before the katana could strike the attacker, he was sent flying, crashing heavily into the wall on the other side before rolling to the ground.

Quinn endured the excruciating pain, struggling to get up from the ground and adjust his posture. His clothes were covered in burn marks on his chest. This was Grindelwald's arcane robe. If it weren't for this robe, he probably would have lost the ability to move.

He stared intently at the man who was slowly emerging from the smoke. This was the first time in more than two months that he had been outpaced by someone else.

"The entire way was riddled with arcane traps. The guys who laid them were incredibly ruthless, like veterans of the Vietnam War. Without teleportation skills, getting up here wouldn't have been easy."

Ike Capone, dressed in a spotless white suit, held a forearm-length kunai in one hand and toyed with several ping-pong ball-sized explosives in the other, maintaining the same composed demeanor as when he spoke with Quinn earlier.

Quinn stared intently at him. "Vietnam War?"

“Strange word.” Ike shrugged. “Maybe it’s some ancient war that used traps. I don’t know what it means, just like I don’t know what you meant by giving me the authority to control the Eye of Grindelwald. Oh, now I think I understand a little.”

He looked out the window, a look of amazement flashing in his eyes.

"A Colossus is called a Colossus?" he suddenly muttered to himself. "Oh crap, you mean it just blasted the Elven treasure to pieces with one shot? Wait, weren't the Elves extinct? Can you stop with the riddles?"

In the current situation, there is no need to think about what to do.

"Certainly--"

With a sudden outstretched left hand, the golden light of the immobilization spell abruptly bound Ike, who was strolling leisurely. His face was frozen on that strange, self-talking expression. Quinn gripped his sword with both hands and slashed down!

Whatever Ike intended to do, the attack he launched earlier was aimed at killing him, so killing him now was the best solution. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit; he was no longer a novice new to this other world. Ike's status as a superhuman was already written in the data provided by Ankuya, and his rank was definitely higher than his own.

Quinn possesses dual sequences, making him as fast as a regular Sequence 7, but Ike is still a step ahead of him. Could he be a Sequence 6?

If it's Sequence Six, then no matter what fate awaits, I have almost no chance of winning.

However, he has Merlin's ability to freeze people.

The boss forbade him to use immobilization spells during training for a simple reason: immobilization spells combined with face-to-face katana attacks could almost guarantee a kill across two skill levels; if the opponent couldn't withstand a single strike, they would be certain to die.

The katana slid smoothly into the neck, and Ike's dark head flew high in front of Quinn, while the man in the white suit stood there in horror. The battle was over in an instant.

But that's how it should be, in Quinn's view.

He had just breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes suddenly widened again. The headless corpse and the severed heads on the ground suddenly exploded into white smoke. A terrible premonition surged through him, and then he was kicked solidly in the back, sending Quinn flying. The terrifying force even sent him crashing into the wall, cracking it.

“Oh, that was close. If Bonner hadn’t mentioned that you were so fast that even he couldn’t see you clearly, I probably would have been hit too.” Ike walked slowly behind Quinn. “Let me introduce myself. I’m a ninja, Sequence Six, Jonin. That was called Shadow Clone.”

(End of this chapter)