I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

The destructive light once again swept across the entire world. This was the final aftermath of the Zenith Sword's shattering.

In the vortex of scorching light, all the factors in the underworld, whether it was the power of the god of death or every drop of flesh and blood, were all evaporated and turned into empty nothingness.

This is the self-destruct device that Ophelia and the Arcana Tower specially set up for the weapons in the Taboo Index. Once the confidentiality structure of the Zenith Sword is destroyed by external forces, the self-destruct device will be automatically triggered. This weapon will never be allowed to fall into the hands of others and be studied by potential enemies to understand its internal structure.

All the old man gained by his move was a few seconds of stagnation.

But just these few seconds are enough.

The dark space crack flickered again.

And when the destructive light that annihilated everything struck again, the two of them were no longer visible in the abyss.

……

The world was spinning, and the chaotic space kept rising and falling beside him. Last felt like a small boat in the endless ocean, traveling through the cracks in the planes and the void of dimensions.

However, he was supposed to be drifting like a small boat, which could be torn apart at any time by the suddenly emerging void cracks and dimensional gaps, but he was caught by a large and powerful hand.

It led him to dive into the dark abyss of the dimension, but he never lost his way.

When Rast regained consciousness, he felt the warm and moist wind blowing across his skin... and the sound of waves hitting the rocky beach.

What comes into view is a bright night sky dotted with stars.

This is a rocky beach next to the coastline.

Broken Coast.

The name of this place instantly appeared in Rast's mind.

He lay down on the broken rocky shore, letting the salty, yet warm sea breeze wash over his body, making his already tattered clothes, which were only a pile of rags, rustle.

Last's vision gradually darkened, and the coldness spread throughout his body, gradually dulling his five senses.

Even in the depths of his soul, an indescribable feeling of weakness spread to every part of his body, causing his perception of his own body to gradually fade, until it reached the point of nothingness.

This feeling was not unfamiliar to Last. It was the shadow of death looming over him... just like his experience of dying countless times before being devoured by the Iron Cross in the time loop of Deep Blue Harbor.

It is only natural that such a situation would occur.

After the flower of flesh and blood bloomed, he was able to retain the last bit of his skin by relying on the effect of "Desperate Plea" which was similar to the famous sword Sima Ming.

The reason why he has been able to hold on until now is entirely because of the control over the underworld he gained after devouring the remaining soul of the god of death. This allowed him to continue to borrow the remaining divine power of the god of death to resist the arrival of death.

At this moment, both the Star Grail and the authority of the God of Death were returned to Akxia and returned to the timeline of the present world... and everything left by the old God of Death, whether it was Paradise or the entire Underworld, was buried by the brilliance of the Zenith Sword, and Last's last bit of reliance was completely turned into nothingness.

Now, after losing all his temporary identities and external supports in the night world... he is just an ordinary person who is seriously injured and on the verge of death.

But, it was at this moment.

Last felt the left side of his heart... the light that illuminated his chest, which should have been empty, and his exhausted body.

In a trance, Rast saw ripples, which were warm water and gentle sunshine.

He bathed in the spring water, and the darkness in his vision was dispelled by light, and the cold was dispelled by warmth.

The loss of Rast's vitality stopped, the flame of life, like a candle in the wind, no longer flickered, and his wounds began to heal slowly.

"Cesar... Leader?"

Laster lay on his back on the broken reef beach, gazing at the pure black sky and whispering softly.

Although he couldn't see the face of the lion-like old man, as soon as he saw the bright sun that overshadowed the power of the Zenith Sword, Last knew the old man's true identity.

"It sounds like the suffix 'leader' you used this time has a bit more sincerity."

"It's not like when we first met in the Watchtower. It's more like a casual, perfunctory affair."

There was a hint of teasing in Cecil's words.

At this moment, his tone did not sound like that of a powerful superior or a big shot, but more like that of a peer chatting and joking with Last.

"To receive your sincere recognition... is the highest honor for me as the leader of the Shore Guardians."

"Why do this?"

Without responding to Cecil's teasing, Rust just looked up at the empty black sky and spoke calmly.

"I know your strength. Even among legends, it's unfathomable... It's definitely not comparable to someone like Noah."

"But you have already passed on the 'Library of Fools' to Gray, and that spark no longer exists in your body."

"Even if you can still wield the power of the Fool's Library, it is ultimately just a residue, a lingering ember left after the firewood has burned out...nothing more."

"Under such circumstances, forcing my way into the Abyss, resisting the Zenith Sword, and forcibly rescuing me from the annihilating Abyss... is undoubtedly a blind and unwise choice."

He looked at his battered body, so bloody and mangled that even the white bones were visible, and spoke calmly, "The authority and power of the God of Death have vanished from this world. Now I am a useless man."

"Even if you save me, my current condition won't have any impact on the rest of the battle."

Luster paused for a moment and said, "Instead of using your remaining embers, which are becoming increasingly scarce, to save me..."

"Using all remaining strength in the upcoming war or preserving oneself is the most rational choice after weighing the costs and benefits."

"You're right, that's indeed the optimal rational solution."

He was not at all annoyed by Rast's ruthless questioning of the correctness of his decision.

Cecil just smiled and nodded.

"But, just like the way of life you've insisted on in the past, derived from a broken and empty mental world, it's no different from a machine."

“Value judgments made by machines based on the comparison of effort and benefit are only so-called correct.”

"In the final analysis—"

"Even you feel sorry for it, don't you?"

His voice was lost in the violent wind blowing from the Broken Coast.

"The power of hatred, the resentment and hatred that constantly gnaws at the soul...it will indeed drive Gray to grow."

"Let the once innocent and naive girl learn to be cautious, learn to hide her strength and identity, learn to always be wary of others, and learn to never hesitate to use the deepest malice to fear and speculate about others..."

"Ultimately, this hatred and resentment will become her food—"

“It became the force that pushed her forward and ultimately to the top of the world.”

"but--"

Cecil paused for a moment, "Using hatred as nourishment and lies as soil..."

"The fruit that ultimately grows... no matter how gorgeous and beautiful it is, it is ultimately just a flower blooming on the wrong path."

"Feeding her deep-seated hatred for you, little Grey will one day become powerful, reach the pinnacle of the world, and become a true legend..."

"But at the end of this road, she will only become a 'gravekeeper' like Noah—"

"Rather than a 'shore watcher.'"

"At the end of the path of absolute rationality that always makes the right choice and the choice of interests, this is the inevitable outcome."

Cecil's words slowed down a bit: "Everything you just said is indeed the right choice."

"But precisely because of this, you underestimated human nature... You forgot the brilliance that can erupt from even the most fragile of human natures."

His eyes dropped slightly, and he looked at Rast who was looking up at the sky, and the smile on his lips became more distinct.

"Am i right?"

"From the new era..."

"Future shore keeper?"

Cecil's words echoed in the damp sea breeze.

Although he was speaking in a question form, the meaning of his words was not an inquiry, but a firm assertion.

Listening to the old man's voice, a smile appeared on Rast's pale face.

"It turns out that Leader Sissel had already guessed my origins... and knew the truth behind all this."

"Originally, I wanted to use the 'copy eye' excuse to try and fool them again."

"of course."

Cecil sat down on a rock so that his eyes were at the same level as Last, who was too weak to even sit up.

He smiled casually: "If as the owner of the "Fool's Library", I can't even detect someone who possesses the same Night Blade as me when they appear before me——"

"Then my nearly thousand years as a shore guardian have been wasted."

"That special weapon you just used, the one that slew Noah's Avatar of Fertility, the one you called the 'Zenith Sword,' is technology from the future... I'm certain that nothing like it has ever existed in history."

"Combined with your Night Blade, the same 'Library of Fools' as mine... a time traveler, this is an easy conclusion to draw."

The old man raised his eyes slightly, gazing at the depths of the ocean, at the pitch-black horizon. "The future shore guardians...will face a situation even more difficult than ours right now, or even than the Sixth Epoch's shore guardian organization."

"Even, there will be no one to accompany you."

"after all……"

He glanced at Luster and chuckled, "You don't look like someone who grew up under the company of companions, or under the protection and guidance of elders."

"Your past way of life was like that of a lone wolf... wandering the boundless wilderness, needing no companions, moving forward alone towards your goal."

"but--"

"That's in the future, not today."

He slowly stood up from the reef and straightened his back.

Those old eyes revealed a look of arrogance like a young eagle soaring in the sky, overlooking its own territory.

"No matter what will happen in the future, no matter what the Watchers will become, I only know one thing at this moment—"

"Whether it's Little Gray or you, Rust, you are both my descendants and the ones I need to protect."

"Just like when I was still weak—"

"My teacher, the previous shore guardian... did the same things for me."

He gazed at the distant dark sky, his words carried on the sea breeze, as if he was talking to himself.

"Remember, as the heir of the 'Fools' Library' and leader of the Shore Keepers... besides being a machine that is always right and always rational, you are also a living person."

"You'll Never Walk Alone..."

"So, don't leave any regrets behind, and don't let that little guy be blinded by hatred."

"Live on...hold on until the epic legend comes to an end, until everything comes to an end."

"Then, go and say goodbye to her in person."

Rast sat on the reef, listening silently to the old man's words in the wind.

His right hand unconsciously touched his chest, feeling the heartbeat that had become strong and solid again, and the warmth that slowly spread out.

This was the third time that Last had experienced this inexplicable feeling in his life, including the hundreds of years of time loops in Deep Blue Harbor.

The first time was when he was in the hell of a one-day prisoner and in the abyss of despair. He arrived at the sunny border town of Canaan for the first time and met Xiao Ai for the first time amid the melodious sound of bagpipes.

The second time was at the end of Deep Blue Harbor, in the tide that was about to be swallowed by the Iron Cross, there was a rapier girl named Hiltina with long chestnut hair that shone like a morning star.

And the third time is right now.

Last believed that his mind was strong enough, so strong that he had already calculated and arranged everything... He never trusted anyone, nor did he need to rely on others. For hundreds of years, Last had been alone and had long been accustomed to this lone wolf-like way of survival.

However, throughout Rast's life, there are always some people who break into his life unreasonably.

Then, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, she took it upon herself to protect him behind her, even though Rast thought he was strong enough and did not need anyone's protection.

That heart that had wandered in the empty red wilderness for hundreds of years, long since sealed in dust, like a wooden fish, felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer...

Dust fell and a heart roared.

It was as if the blood of this world was connected to him again, and Last felt the joys and sorrows of this world again... as if he was no longer the lonely ghost who walked out of the hell called Deep Blue Harbor, displaced and wandering in the world.

In that red wilderness of mental imagery, little bits of green are sprouting...

Just like the indescribable warmth that fills my heart.

"Can you tell me the last part?"

The sea breeze blew Cecil's white hair.

At this moment, his eyes were hazy. His face was so old, with sharp lines like stone carvings, but his eyes looked so warm.