Project Erinyes was about to be complete after incorporating the ranking system, but Emilia still didn’t rest. Countless artifacts were added into the system as [Quest Rewards] or [Shop Items]. All the knowledge and abilities of this world were contained in the system as well.
Furthermore, magic-engineered inventions were added into Erinyes.
“Rest a while, Emilia.”
I immediately proceeded on with my mission to give Emilia a break. I was in charge of the final step. I selected 20 million humans regardless of their age or gender and placed them into [System Erinyes].
“The selected ones… is it a blessing, or a curse… I have no idea...”
Observing them gave me mixed feelings. They had a future… someday. A new life would unfold for these people when the 300 lords and 299700 warriors from the other world arrive. However, they had to lose all of their memories of their current lives. Moreover, I could not promise them that the future would hold a better prospect than their present.
“Likely a curse...”
I valued my present memory over the future. If I was given the opportunity to enter Erinyes, I would’ve abandoned the future. After all, happy memories could be found even in those days when I was exiled with my mother.
I even cherished the memories of when my father – Saturnus, that d.a.m.ned b.a.s.t.a.r.d – sent me to the Tundria temporary base camp as a slave soldier to fight the barbarians. The chills, anxiety, fear and thrill of my first ever battle, the sense of achievement that I felt when I acknowledged my survival, the half-rotten piece of meat that I ate voraciously on the brink of starvation...
“Die!”
And that spark of joy when I finally sliced Saturnus’ head off. That feeling was simply irreplaceable.
Moreover...
“Your Imperial Majesty!”
“As expected from Your Imperial Majesty!”
“Your humble servant pledges loyalty to Your Imperial Majesty!”
My subjects and,
“Dear!”
My most beloved woman.
“Daddy~! Daddyyy~!”
Our precious daughter as well. I lacked the confidence to live on without these memories. I didn’t want to in the first place. Who cares about the future, truly?
“Hu.” I let out a long sigh. “What an agonizing task.”
Indeed, the selection process was not easy. Amongst the selected candidates, there was bound to be people who shared my opinion...
“Is it done?” Emilia asked when the selection process was about to come to an end.
“Still left… one… more...” I struggled to reply to her question. The last candidate remained.
“I see...”
“...”
“It’s going to be tough, but please… try to get through it well...”
“...”
“It won’t be easy...”
I did not reply to Emilia’s consolation. No, I couldn’t.
Grasp!
I tightened both fists.
Grit!
And clenched my teeth.
d.a.m.n it…!
I wanted to scream my lungs out. Who the h.e.l.l created such a f.u.c.ked-up situation? G.o.d? Yes, it must be G.o.d. If G.o.d really existed, I wanted to grab him by the collar and ask him the reason for creating those Agnagas.
“Let’s go.”
However, I suppressed my emotions and began to make my way. I had no choice. All I could do was put the final selected candidate into [System Erinyes].
“F-Father…!”
“My dear daughter...”
“N-No! I don’t want to!”
“...”
“I want to stay with mother and father! I don’t want to go to sleep! No! I don’t want to!”
My daughter. My lovely daughter. The most beautiful, lovely, kind and mature child in the world was whining at me. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay with me. My heart ached so badly, as if it was going to shatter into a million pieces.
“My dear daughter… you are n...”
“No!”
“...!”
“I don’t want to be a nice daughter anymore! Never!”
That was Arsh.e.l.ly’s first and final rebellion, the very last time I could see Arsh.e.l.ly show these kinds of emotions.
“Father… daddy…! I don’t want…! Sob… sob-sob… P-please, don’t leave me alone…! I don’t want to sleep…! I want to stay by your side… Please? I will be a good child. Arsh.e.l.ly will behave, so please?”
It was getting hard to watch. Word after word, Arsh.e.l.ly’s voice was making my heart ache.
Was there any moment… more painful… than this…?
Just one, perhaps, when my mother died in Saturnus’ hands. That experience was as devastating as this.
“Daddy… mommy…!”
When Arsh.e.l.ly realized that I couldn’t be persuaded, she began to plead with my wife.
Drip…! My wife was struggling to hold her tears in. She was sobbing silently. Of course, she was in as much agony as I was.
“Mommy… I don’t want to… I want to stay by your side forever… sob… sob sob...”
Arsh.e.l.ly refused to give up.
“I-If I miss you...” Arsh.e.l.ly began to tear up. “What do I do? If I miss you two, how can I endure…?”
At that moment.
Brrrr…! I felt an emotion that could not be described in words. I couldn’t take it anymore. If I continued to hear my daughter’s pleas, my difficult decision might go down the drain.
No, it definitely would.
“Arsh.e.l.ly...”
With that, I stretched my arms towards her.
Ooooong! As I held Arsh.e.l.ly tightly in my arms,my powers began to torrent and put my daughter’s biological activity to rest.
“D-Daddy…!”
“My dear daughter, Arsh.e.l.ly...”
“N-No… I don’t want… I...”
“This horrible father of yours...”
“Daddy...”
“Loves you very much...” I could feel tears dripping down my cheeks. “I love you, my dear daughter...”
But I did not stop. Rather, I couldn’t. I had to stay strong.
“I love you… I love you… I really really… love you… my dear daughter...”
“…ddy.”
“Love you...”
“D…dd…y…m…mmy...”
With that,
Ssssss… My lovely daughter Arsh.e.l.ly closed her eyes and laid dormant in her specially crafted cradle.
“D-Dear! Heuk…!” Immediately, Brynhildr threw herself into my arms. “Sob… sob sob… our daughter… our poor daughter… sob...”
“...”
“What do we do now…? I miss her… heuk...”
She was crestfallen. I couldn’t say anything to comfort her.
I want to… die...
It was because I felt the same way as her...
“Please… please live a happy life… my dear daughter...”
With that, I gently kissed Arsh.e.l.ly on her cheek.I would definitely miss this warmth from Arsh.e.l.ly’s cheek.
She was the last selected candidate. After Arsh.e.l.ly had fallen asleep, the last battle commenced.
Roarrrrrr…! All the dragons soared into the air.
“Mennnnnnnnnn!”
As the commander-in-chief, I bellowed in my loudest voice towards the alliance army.
“Chargeeeeeeeeee!”
That signaled the start of the final battle between the alliance and the Agnagas. The battle lasted 3 days and nights.
Kill, kill, kill…!
I cut down enemy after enemy in this unprecedented chaos.
“Julius…!” When I regained my consciousness, “Don’t… don’t turn around… Julius… my dear love...”
My wife, Brynhildr, was dying.
“Brynhildr…!”
“Face… face the front...”
“...!”
“You… my dear… can’t turn around to face me...”
My heart ached again.
“Go… you are the leader of the human race… This world’s Messiah… so don’t care about me...”
“...”
“My last moment… cannot be so unsightly… Julius… I wish to be… beautiful in your memories… I love you… all the time… forever...”
My wife’s voice began to fade away.
Grip…! But I did not turn around. If I did, she would definitely be disappointed.
“Go… Julius…!”
“...”
“Hurry… claim the victory… Don’t let our parting… be in vain… my dear love…!”
That was the end. I couldn’t hear my wife anymore. It was a farewell. Even during her last moments, I could only hear her voice. I couldn’t even manage to take one last look at her face.
“I love… you… Brynhildr...”
Grasp! I tightened my grip around my sword.
“I… I will kill them all… every single one of them…!”
I began to move. This intense battle was about to end.
I promise… our farewell will not go to waste...
I recalled my wife’s last words and charged towards the enemy.
“Human…!” The last enemy spoke to me. “We are the only ones left on this battlefield.”
The enemy, which could not be defined by any word, had already defeated Emilia.
“I’m surprised. I never expected to face such strong beings in this world. I’ve conquered countless worlds, but you all are the first to impress me. I admire your courage and bond. What is your name? I’m Rindermergel, the Relentless Predator, the one who consumes the stars.”
Rindermergel the Relentless Predator. That was the name of the perpetrator who destroyed my happiness and this world.
“Answer me. What is your name?”
So, I replied.
“Your mom?”
“What did you say…!”
“Your mom.”
“...!”
“Why, do you have a d.i.c.k stuck in your earhole? You can’t hear me, can you?”
“What is this...”
“Shut the f.u.c.k up, a.s.shole. How dare you speak, motherf.u.c.ker?”
I began to swear profusely at Rindermergel. As the Emperor, I had never sworn in my entire life before this, but now, I had to. The Emperor’s elegance? Charisma? They were useless now, because everyone was dead. I was the only one left in this world, so who cares if I spout some vulgarities? It was the final battle anyway… the very last moment.
I had to swear to get some load off my chest.
“Shut the f.u.c.k up and just die, you f.u.c.ker.”
Simultaneously, I whipped out my ultimate trump card.
…A Joker.