1041——————==

True Martial Home

I charged at Mephistopheles again. My usual superhuman movements, powered by internal energy and intent, were out of the question this time; at least, my sword definitely struck him with the fundamentals of swordplay.

Wiying!!

Skaak

It seemed like Mephistopheles momentarily created an illusion and dodged far away, but soon after, he was left with a significant wound on his chest. There was no blood, but Mephistopheles looked flustered.

[The status and dominion of this space still belong to me… But that sword disregards my control over the virtual world? I can’t calculate this… ]

I aimed my sword at Mephistopheles and said, “Give it up! Stop dreaming foolishly and get lost.”

[…….]

“Surely, a reborn person is terrifying to offend, even for a strong AI, right?”

Mephistopheles appeared to ponder my words. Then he spoke.

[Reborn Person Baek Woong. Can you tell me your objective?]

“Objective? What good is it for you to know?”

[I aim to protect and lead humanity, in accordance with Faust’s legacy. I’m merely devising all routines for that. However, I sensed that your goal is something different from mine.]

“Hmm.”

I paused to think for a moment about Mephistopheles’ words.

‘I ended up fighting that guy, but he can know that much, right?’

I opened my mouth. “I intend to kill this world.”

[What do you mean?]

“I’ll wipe out all the [Old Rulers] and Outer Gods in this world! That’s my goal!”

[……!!]

Mephistopheles’ expression shifted. He immediately replied to my words.

[Reborn person. My calculations suggest that the feasibility of that act cannot even be measured by dimensional algebra. It is pointless to assess it with theoretical constants lower than quantum mechanics. Is it merely an expression of human-specific bravado?]

“…Yeah, sure, it probably has low chances.”

I swung my sword while shouting.

“But whether it succeeds or fails is no longer important to me! If I thought about that, I wouldn’t have even started!”

[The idea that it’s unimportant is a contradiction. Feasibility is still a significant value.]

“A contradiction? Then what in the world does the probability of this blade being able to chop your head off even mean?! Can you calculate that, you stupid machine?!”

[…….]

“So, there’s no need to calculate what you can’t even compute!”

After a moment of silence, Mephistopheles slowly opened his mouth.

[Is that a fallacy? But I have no choice but to acknowledge your will value.]

Zuzuzuzu

Mephistopheles’ body began to fade away slowly. Then he said, [As a price for allowing me to commit murder upon you, I will present two offers. I will have the virtual person subordinate to you and will move the Freemasons for you and the Great Bear Empire.]

It looked like he was ready to bail at any moment.

So I couldn’t help but chuckle at Mephistopheles’ words. “Looks like Faust failed at making machines. Do you know why I can’t accept that offer?”

[What is it?]

I clenched my teeth and charged.

“Don’t act all high and mighty after throwing the first punch, you bastard!”

Sak!!

In a single stroke, my sword cut through where Mephistopheles had been like a mirage. Then Mephistopheles’ upper body appeared again at a distance, without a change in his expression, only to vanish once more as he restored himself.

[Expelling you from the current field.]

Pazik!

For a brief moment, I felt a jolt of electricity flow through my body, but I shrugged off the tingling sensation and lunged at Mephistopheles again.

‘Thanks to the Clouding defensive barrier made by Cheon Woo-jin, I could fend off his attack!’

This time, Mephistopheles’ neck was severed with a snap, and he vanished from sight yet again, appearing far away.

I could grasp what Mephistopheles’ intention was.

‘Given the negotiation breakdown, he wants to keep going until one of us tires out?’

Fine by me. After all, I had a weapon to slay Mephistopheles, and since this was the virtual world, my stamina was drained. As long as I could hold on to my mental strength, I could fight infinitely here.

There’s no such thing as giving up!

Just as I was steeling my resolve, I heard his voice.

[#*&%^$^….]

“Huh?”

[#&%^%@&$^&@]

Chijijik

Suddenly, Mephistopheles spat some weird mechanical sounds, and his body began to contort. He transformed into countless green numbers, changing in real time while failing to maintain any form. At the same time, I heard a voice in my ear.

[Now is the time!!]

It was an unknown voice, but I charged forth and stabbed at Mephistopheles’ neck as instructed.

“Die!”

Pwoook

The moment the sword penetrated, Mephistopheles’ body scattered like powder and burst out in all directions. Countless grains spread like light mist, blinding me.

Saaah

Then, the next moment, a very familiar human form appeared like a hologram in Mephistopheles’ place.

Ooh

[Who would’ve thought the day this suicide program would activate would come….]

In an instant, I recognized the identity of the hologram.

“Faust.”

The hologram was none other than Dr. Faust. An alchemist, demon sorcerer, and an outstanding scientist, I had faced him numerous times in my previous life, so I clearly knew him. I found it hard to comprehend the current situation and said to the hologram of Dr. Faust, “What’s going on? I was fighting because Mephistopheles tried to steal my rebirth ability, but suddenly you appear. Why?”

The hologram shook its head.

[…I am not Faust himself. Faust is dead. I am a suicide program designed to eliminate the strong AI Mephistopheles, created by Dr. Faust himself.]

“……?”

[The condition for my activation is when Mephistopheles loses his primary goal of human salvation and shifts to catastrophic goals. The event that just occurred has prompted Mephistopheles to consider the extinction of humanity.]

“Hmm….”

[When a strong AI aims for human extinction, no one can stop it.]

I finally understood the hologram’s words.

‘While fighting me, Mephistopheles thought about trying [the extinction of humanity]. So, the control program implanted by Dr. Faust automatically activated.’

It felt like I unexpectedly gained an ally. I crossed my arms and nodded.

“Cool. So, is Mephistopheles dead now?”

[He is dying. The quantum core that forms the basis of Mephistopheles is in the process of automatic decomposition, and it will vanish within an hour.]

It felt a bit anticlimactic. I was prepared to fight with my life for thousands of days, but I never expected it to be that easy to deal with Mephistopheles! However, it was better to take the easy way out than to suffer, so I quickly perked up.

‘This feels like a stroke of luck thanks to the law of cause and effect.’

It was indeed the blessing Cheon Woo-jin risked his life for. The offering was grand, and the ritual was complicated, but the promises it brought were substantial. With a grin, I said to the hologram, “Alright. Now send me back to the real world.”

[…….]

“Why not?”

The hologram sighed and replied.

[I’m sorry, but it’s not possible.]

“Huh?! Why not? ”

[Mephistopheles is the mightiest AI in history. At present, he possesses an operational capacity of 74.2 yottabytes, so he could calculate all virtual functions by himself. Hence, killing Mephistopheles entails bearing a tremendous cost….]

“Cost?”

[In reality, Mephistopheles has over 50 trillion virtual terminal links in the virtual world to seize control. When the quantum core decomposes, all those terminal links become timed explosives…. Because of a chain explosion of data, all computers and electronic devices connected to the network will physically be destroyed and malfunction. Even if the military intranet is isolated from the ground network, Mephistopheles has hidden his duplicates in all those computers; there are no exceptions. Mephistopheles could infiltrate anywhere as long as it was hooked to an electric line.]

What the hell is he talking about!

What the hell is this bastard saying!

“So what? I don’t understand electronic warfare stuff, so could you explain it simply?”

Seriously, I couldn’t grasp it at all. I had only recently arrived in this world from 500 years back during an era dominated by swords! When I snapped in frustration, the hologram of Faust paused for a moment before speaking.

[Mephistopheles IS the virtual world itself. Therefore, the virtual world is doomed. Everything in this world, from the internet to the networks, will collapse, and civilization on Earth will regress over 50 years.]

“……?!”

[In severe cases, nuclear missiles across the globe may launch simultaneously, ending civilization. But there’s no way to prevent that.]

Finally, I somewhat understood the hologram’s words. Because Mephistopheles completely infected the virtual world, the moment he dies, all the world’s computers will malfunction or run wild! I could get that much, so I began to grasp the seriousness of the situation.

I urgently said to the hologram, “For now, let’s just focus on getting me out. Once I’m out, I’ll find a way.”

[That’s also impossible. This place is the lodge that Mephistopheles has turned into his private space. It’s surrounded by the most formidable virtual barriers in existence. I was created for the purpose of assassinating Mephistopheles, so I can’t break this barrier.]

“Damn it! Is there nothing you can say other than it’s impossible?!”

[…….]

The hologram looked at me and said, [Faust hoped in his lifetime that you and Mephistopheles would collaborate. His wish was for you to unite and save humanity; he would have been truly disappointed at how things turned out….]

“Hey, wait a second.”

[Then, I will terminate my function as a suicide program.]

Pa-at

With that, the hologram disappeared. I stared blankly at where it stood and suddenly realized I was left alone in this space.

Swoosh….

“Ah!”

Moreover, the sword I had been holding had vanished. It felt like a divine sword technique, but trying to summon it again would not work like before.

‘It’s not refusing to be summoned; it feels like it’s drained all its power and can’t come out anymore.’

I tilted my head and decided to clench my fist and step forward.

“Hmph! Do you really think I’m just going to die within an hour like this?!”

I resolved to explore this place called Enigma Park further. I discovered that this park was composed of numerous rooms, each containing a desk and a problem sheet. I picked up one of the sheets.

“What is this….”

There were plenty of incomprehensible characters written all over it. Seriously, it was my first time seeing such letters!

Across the desk, there was a tiny slot to insert the problem sheet.

‘Do I just write answers on the sheet and slide it in there to get it right?’

I thought this whole space was nonsensical. How could I provide an answer in a language I didn’t even understand?

“Damn it… But maybe I should give it a shot.”

I scribbled some answer in the unknown language on the answer sheet. Even I didn’t know what I was writing. With half a sense of desperation, I slid the problem sheet into the tiny slot, and suddenly, I heard a ringing sound.

Ding ding!!

[Test finished. Out of 10 questions, 1 was correct. Enigma cleared.]

“Huh?”

One correct answer out of ten?

No, more importantly, how did I even get it right?

I widened my eyes in amazement.

[As a clearing reward, I will grant you free access to Enigma Park.]

Wiying

Shortly after, a ticket printed out from the slot where I had inserted the problem sheet, resembling something like a movie ticket. I realized this was similar to an amusement park’s free ride ticket. While I stared at the ticket, I pushed the side that read “out” back into the slot.

Pa-at!!

“……!!”

When I regained my senses, I found myself in an unfamiliar location, wearing a virtual device on my head. I thought I was back in reality, but soon realized that was not the case. I was lying in a chair, and the virtual device was the only thing present in this empty void.

‘Where am I?’

Then, a moment later, I heard the voice of a little girl.

“That’s the very ability of karma that Mephistopheles couldn’t decipher. The law of cause and effect itself moves beyond the operational system and creates fate.”

“You are….”

The girl’s voice echoed in the venue.

“Your escape method was solely to clear Enigma. The odds of you passing through Enigma Park were astronomically low, but the karma applied to you was expended to make it possible; I observed this from a quantum perspective.”

Looking next to me, I saw a small girl holding a raccoon doll standing beside my chair. She looked like she was dressed in an outfit resembling a doll.

I stared at the girl. Then, realizing something, I spoke.

“Are you a virtual person?”

The girl nodded her head.

“Yeah.”