On the other side.
"The Threnodian is gone?"
Imperator hesitated slightly and expanded the original barrier, once again isolating all the Dark Tide far away on the other side.
Avidius's body was still covered in tide erosion marks. He was currently unconscious on the ground, his fingers twitching slightly as if his consciousness was about to awaken.
"To prevent the Threnodian from returning, it would be safer to kill this Threnodian vessel."
In mid-air, Imperator stepped toward Avidius, but its movements suddenly halted. A girl wearing half a champion medal had stepped forward, standing protectively in front of Avidius.
"Wait, Sentinel Imperator!"
Lupa spread her arms, blocking Imperator, and hurriedly explained:
"Avidius must have been used by villains. He is innocent. Is there no other way to save his life?"
"...There is none." Imperator shook its head.
It did not know Lupa, nor did it know Avidius, but after being devoured by Leviathan for over a hundred years, it could recognize it at a glance.
This Avidius was originally a Dark Tide creation, not a living human.
For that reason alone, he must die.
"Please step aside." Imperator's voice left no room for argument.
"I..."
Lupa bit her lip tightly, her heart torn. Did she really have to step aside?
Admittedly, she had never liked this assigned partner from the beginning, and she hated how he always pretended to be weak before every fight.
But no matter how much she disliked him, he did not deserve death—especially since—
This person had recently been her comrade who won the championship together with her. The Ephor—no, Teacher—had specially instructed her when awarding the medal:
"Walking alone is certainly praiseworthy, but being able to protect those who stand shoulder to shoulder with you better demonstrates one's own strength."
"Step aside, partner."
A voice came from behind her. Lupa turned around in shock. When she saw Avidius's tide-eroded face, her pupils shrank.
"I'm sorry. My horrifying appearance must have scared you."
Avidius covered his cheek, his completely black eyes dimming slightly:
"I remembered everything. I know everything now."
"No wonder the genius priestess from Tetragon Temple always looked down on me. No wonder my power fluctuated. No wonder I couldn't find my past."
"So I... am fictional."
Avidius's voice was filled with bitterness:
"It turns out I was just an artificial human created by someone. Did I... ever have the right to live truly as Avidius?"
"Crossing the bottom of the Manes four times, the highest gladiatorial honor—the oak leaf emblem—and becoming the Hero King from the prophecy... all fake. Everything was fake."
"The one who created me intended for me to become the Threnodian's vessel and submerge Septimont with Dark Tide. In the past scripts, I indeed destroyed Septimont countless times."
"But this time, my fate—will not go as he wishes!"
Buzz!
All the Dark Tide inside the mountain was drawn as if pulled by an invisible force and rapidly surged toward Avidius's body.
The endless Dark Tide turned into chaotic whispers, madly ravaging Avidius's sanity and brutally tearing at his consciousness.
Even so, he did not stop absorbing the Dark Tide.
Compared to becoming someone else's puppet, death did not frighten him.
"All my wishes... all my hopes and expectations, everything was real. I swear on my spear... I will protect my allies... and shatter the chests of all evil spirits!"
Under the trembling gazes of Imperator and Lupa, Avidius gritted his teeth and suppressed all the absorbed Dark Tide. Using his last bit of sanity, he roared:
"The appearance of the Dark Tide, the crisis in Septimont—everything is because of me. I am the protagonist in the script of the mastermind behind the scenes. Kill me, and everything will end!"
"Avidius—"
"There's no time, Lupa!"
A fiery Blazing Flag spear pierced through Avidius's chest.
His figure turned into sparkling broken light points and scattered. His final expression was one of unwillingness and relief.
Half a golden champion medal fell and was tightly grasped by a hand.
"Although he was a Dark Tide creation..."
Imperator was silent for a moment: "He protected Septimont."
Lupa picked up the long spear that had fallen to the ground, lowered her head, and remained silent as well:
"Once everything settles, the Vale of Glory will have one more blade belonging to a Hero King named Avidius."
...
"Furious tides—split the heavens!"
The radiant sword light seemed to dim the heavens and earth. The giant sword descended from the sky, its powerful aura firmly locking onto Cristoforo.
"No!!!"
The Crown of Valor carried overwhelming might as it fell. The horrifying, twisted body, distracted by internal conflict, had no time to dodge and was struck instantly.
When the wind calmed, only a golden Echo and a barely breathing figure remained on the spot.
At the very last moment of the attack, Cristoforo had used some unknown method to separate his own body from the fused form.
However, his current appearance was like a candle in the wind, his entire body covered in Dark Tide marks.
Noah tossed out his Terminal and absorbed the golden Echo.
[Echo: Son of the Sea (Crown of Valor)]
[Quality: 5-star Overlord class.]
[Main Attribute: Crit DMG 44%, ATK 150.]
[Sub Attributes: ATK 10.5%, Resonance Liberation DMG Bonus 10.1%, Resonance Efficiency 10.8%, Crit Rate 10.5%, Crit DMG 21.0%.]
After confirming that the Synergy effect was the same as Daughter of the Sea, Noah was overjoyed.
All five sub-stats were effective and nearly maxed—perfect for Iuno.
At this moment, Noah was in an excellent mood. Even when looking at Cristoforo beside him, he found the other party much more pleasing:
"Congratulations, your mom is dead."
"Cough... cough cough... Leviathan is dead. Next, it's my turn?"
Cristoforo lay weakly on the ground, barely propping himself up with both hands. He tried to persuade Noah:
"Don't kill me, Noah... aren't you someone who likes to save others? Give me a chance!"
"Kindness has a price."
The tip of the Crown of Valor pointed straight at Cristoforo's throat:
"And you are only worth cruelty."
"Heh, as expected."
Cristoforo coughed heavily a few times:
"You raise a powerful sword yet claim to be righteous. Do you remember how many Fractsidus members you have killed?"
"..." This question actually stumped Noah.
Noah thought about it, then gave up thinking:
"Do you remember how many Star Crisps you've eaten so far?"
"Comparing human lives to Star Crisps and still talking about eliminating harm for the people—hypocrite!"
"Talk reason with me in your next life!"
Noah was completely unfazed by the pressure. He was about to swing his sword down when Cristoforo roared:
"Wait! I still have something to say!"
"...So noisy. You get one last sentence."
Cristoforo racked his brains but, under the terror of life and death, he had no ideas left. In the end, he broke down and roared:
"You can't kill me! I am very important to the continuation of civilization! I am irreplaceable!"
"There are plenty of people who can replace you!"
After a sword hum, a head rolled to the ground, still wearing that hysterical expression with no trace of elegance left.
"Maybe you were important to Rover, but to me, you're more important dead!"
Sheathing his sword, Noah switched to Encore and was about to write his way back to reality when his movements suddenly paused.
"I feel like something is missing?"
His gaze returned to Cristoforo on the ground as he muttered:
"Maybe he's faking death to trick me."
As soon as he spoke, the corpse twitched.
"Ha! So you really were faking death to trick me!" Noah flew into a rage and pulled out his scythe with a backhand.
"Featherfall, Annihilate All Laws!"
Black light carrying terrifying power flashed past. The entire script world suddenly twisted.
A crack appeared in the sky, then the sky rapidly collapsed. The crack spread like a chaotic spider web. Countless cracks appeared.
The sounds of breaking were endless.
The script world could no longer hold and shattered into countless manuscript pages that scattered like snowflakes from the sky. It was as if the heavens were falling—an extremely spectacular sight.
Countless manuscript pages fell. Noah reached out his hand, and one page accurately landed in his palm.
[Avidius]
The content on it was precisely Avidius's ending in reality.
"So he absorbed all the Dark Tide with his own death?"
It turned out artificial humans didn't have to seek revenge on their country. It turned out artificial humans didn't have to be controlled by others. It turned out artificial humans could possess pure and noble souls.
Some people, despite possessing great power, only indulge in lust and greed in dark corners. Some people, even if as weak as fireflies, will reach out to help when others face danger.
Human character is not shaped by what one is born with.
As a proxy player, Noah had known from the beginning that killing the script's protagonist Avidius would directly end Cristoforo's script.
But he was unwilling to do so.
"I am just a cheater. You are the real Hero King."
With a soft sigh, Noah inserted this manuscript page into his own script and wrote a blessing:
"Avidius—From now on, live truly and freely."
[Main Quest: "Flames of Heart" has been completed.]
[Currently obtained: Radiant Tide40, Lustrous Tide35, Astrite16680, Shell Credit898w]
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