Great Teacher in a Defense Game

#59 Losers of the Game

God does not exist.

Yet, is needed.

Therefore, he would create a god himself.

To summarize, that was roughly the gist.

Needless to say, the present-day Enoch questioned the sanity of his future self.

“Madman. It’s as if you intend to stand in the heavens.”

“Not entirely incorrect. At the very least, that level of power is required.”

“Are you serious? Erecting a human fortress within another race’s territory? As if they’d welcome that with open arms.”

“Then we are merely doomed to perish.”

The Enoch of the future was resolute.

Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he tilted his head, reacting as if the notion pleased him.

“…Come to think of it, not a bad idea.”

“What?”

“Rather, simply let it be destroyed. It might be easier to build anew upon the ruins.”

“……”

Enoch held his tongue.

He doubted any words he could utter would be agreeable.

His future self was excessively radical.

As if he were some Ultron or another.

Just what had happened to twist his thinking so?

“…In any case, I’ll put your plan to good use. Regardless of the outcome, fortifying the entire continent… it sounds rather promising.”

Enoch tucked the notepad into his coat.

All said and done, he did like the plan itself.

Once the continent’s defenses were stabilized, escorting the Archmages would become far easier.

What’s more, the notepad contained blueprints and designs for towers yet to be built.

Seemed he’d been drafting them in his spare moments.

There was no reason not to make use of something this good.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“My business is concluded. Only your questions remain. Is there anything else you wish to ask?”

“Forget it. The conclusion will be the same regardless. Most likely the work of the Concord and those shadowy b*stards.”

Enoch shook his head.

His purpose was achieved, after all.

Black hands, a covenant… he had a rough grasp on the narrative threads now.

The rest was Enoch’s own burden to bear.

There was a limit to dwelling on past failures. Asking more would amount to nothing more than dependence.

Enoch had no intention of doing that.

Especially considering how off-kilter his future self seemed to be.

“Still, I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Originally, after this matter concluded, I had planned to seek out my third student.”

“Karen, you mean? A sound decision. As a Meister, she will prove invaluable to your future endeavors.”

Karen.

One of the heroes from the original story, and the student whose address Richter had recently passed on.

Her profession was, none other than, a Meister.

In the lore, she was the original creator of Enoch’s skills – the Mechanical Serpent and Knight Summon.

Originally, players utilized the constructs she created as skills.

“Karen remains at the location inscribed on that address. There is little else to elaborate on.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. However, allow me to offer one piece of forewarning.”

“What is it?”

“Karen despises Orban. Before meeting her, it’d be best to finish things with Orban beforehand.”

Out of the blue, Orban was mentioned.

That guy really stuck his nose everywhere.

Enoch internally grumbled, voicing his question.

“Why Orban, of all people? Did something happen?”

“Karen’s creation. He stole the copyright for her technology.”

“……”

“And it wasn’t just one or two instances. Because of him, she’s practically in hiding now. Tying up loose ends with Orban in advance will greatly increase the chance of her willingly cooperating with you.”

He himself hadn’t known, and thus wasted time.

Future Enoch added this.

“I understand the situation. But, what justification do I have to apprehend him?”

“Justification?”

“He’s the head of a company, isn’t he? I can’t just waltz in there and drag him out by the hair without a reason.”

Orban was the CEO of D’Mira Inc.

However, in reality, he possessed a far more colossal backing.

A man who proudly reigned supreme in a web of interconnected corporate ties.

A being who held the continent’s purse strings in his grasp.

If he were to become a problem, the company itself would falter.

More precisely, the continent’s economy itself would tremble.

Naturally, starting with the employees beneath him, countless individuals would lose their livelihoods.

Enoch pointed out the practical concerns.

To which, the Enoch from the future let out a derisive chuckle.

“The small-town mindset still clings to you.”

“?”

“What did you even hear me say? To hell with justification, just beat him senseless and think later. We need to build fortresses across the entire continent now, and you’re going to worry about such trivialities?”

The company might shake, but it wouldn’t collapse.

A temporary chaos would ensue, but it would eventually recover.

Just write it off as an owner’s risk and move on.

That was future Enoch’s doctrine.

Whether a million lost their jobs or not, fortification plans took precedence over such trivialities now.

“…Understood. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Bear this in mind. Always act unpredictably.”

“I *got* it.”

Enoch waved a dismissive hand.

It didn’t sound like a joke, coming from a man as dark as night.

The conversation, more or less, concluded.

Enoch promptly prepared to depart.

First, he hoisted the unconscious Lakrina onto his back.

Then, he spoke once more to his future self.

“It’s all finished. Release me now.”

“Very well. Where shall I send you?”

“Where? You can choose the location, too?”

“Such is the nature of this particular magic. A vanished person, found further afield than where they began. It’s not so difficult when you manipulate the concept.”

Future Enoch explained with a detached air, as if it were nothing.

Enoch watched him, a pang of envy in his heart.

Even if nothing else, he seemed remarkably at ease.

“Could I not learn magic myself?”

“Magic?”

“Yes. If I could wield it, there would be so many applications.”

He didn’t necessarily need to learn the magic of disappearance.

Be it elemental, conceptual, or phenomenal, learning it would surely prove useful.

“Forget it. It would be a wasted effort.”

“A wasted effort?”

“Impossible from the start. Our bodies are fundamentally incapable of learning magic.”

Magic, in the end, depends on aptitude.

And Enoch possessed none.

He was far better off focusing on the skills he already had.

“Curious. If what you say is true, then how are you able to wield magic?”

“I’m a special case. I didn’t learn magic, I was just devoured by it.”

Future Enoch moved his fingers.

The nearby air rippled like water.

“Now I use magic as I please, but it wasn’t always like this. It took a long time to get here. …A very long time.”

“…So you’re saying I should just focus on what I’m good at.”

“Yes. Unlike me, you’re short on time. Messing with too many things will only be a detriment.”

Enoch quickly lost interest.

He might if he could, but there was no point in clinging to the impossible. No good would come of it.

“I’ll set your location near Magnus. The rest is up to you.”

“Understood.”

“I repeat, take care of that Orban fellow as quickly as possible. He’s a shady character anyway. Pretext? It will come out on its own after you shake him down.”

“I got it already.”

Enoch answered with a weary tone.

Future Enoch chuckled and waved his hand.

The shimmering air nearby shifted.

Slowly, it approached Enoch and Lacrina.

“…Come to think of it, I still haven’t answered you.”

“Answer what?”

“About this clown attire.”

Future Enoch belatedly gestured to his own clothing.

A black robe and a mask with a strange expression.

He held them out as if to show them off.

“The reason for my attire is simple. My inner mind is reflected here.”

“Inner mind?”

“Yes. Remember the shape-shifting of magic. It’s the same concept.”

Enoch recalled the ice magic Nordilla had shown him not long ago.

Arrows and swords made of ice.

In the end, it was all the same ice magic.

Only the shape had changed, reflecting the user’s inner mind, but the magic itself hadn’t changed.

Future Enoch’s situation was similar.

He chuckled, pointing to himself.

“In short, I consider myself a clown. Isn’t that the truth, actually?”

He is a failed possessor.

Everything he built is gone.

He returned to the past from the distant future, and cannot even return.

However, Future Enoch denied it.

Denying the ending, throwing himself into magic, he deviated from the timeline.

The reason is only one.

A better ending. For a perfect end.

Yet, even then, all sorts of restrictions are plastered all over him.

Let’s leave aside that he can’t escape magic.

Even just meeting his past self is like this.

Enoch knows the events that occurred in the original work.

He knew that an incident related to the magic of disappearance would occur at this time and place.

But, even knowing that, he couldn’t do anything.

He can’t go to his past self first, nor can he draw someone in to ask for help.

It’s because he’s already become one with the concept of disappearance.

A lost person cannot return home by their own will, but only waits, counting the days until someone comes to find them first.

“Look. This ugly sight. Isn’t it ridiculous? After failing once, he’s just stubbornly clinging on with lingering attachments.”

“…”

“If I had been careless, I might not have even met you. The wizard of time. If she hadn’t noticed beforehand, that is.”

Even becoming a phenomenon-level wizard, there is nothing he can do.

It sounds grand, but the reality is that he has only been devoured by magic and lost even his will.

What good does it do to abandon even death and throw yourself into it?

Only this kind of result comes back.

Truly, a clown is no different.

Future Enoch mocked himself in that way.

“You should regard me as ugly. You can consider me pathetic, and you can even hate me. I am, in a sense, your complete object lesson.”

He extended his finger again.

Towards his past self, he emphasized with bloodshot eyes, as if pleading.

“Just… don’t fail, not like you. One of these godforsaken endings is more than enough.”

“……”

“Build a fortress on the continent, forge a god within us. Shatter the curse of doomed fate with it. Understand?”

I had forsaken even death for that sole purpose.

Future Enoch added softly.

Present Enoch remained in quiet silence.

Listening intently to his own words, lips sealed tight.

“…You said you forsaked even death.”

“Yes.”

“What becomes of you now? Once I depart, will you be trapped here, for eternity?”

Future Enoch. He had already cast himself into the magic, transcending even the axis of time.

A place to return to, there was nowhere.

What would become of his future self, so distant?

“…A mage trapped in a phenomenon exists beyond the realm of life itself. Death comes only to the living. It’s not a tale that concerns me.”

“…Then.”

“Simply… I simply continue to exist. Until the eons break my consciousness completely.”

Future Enoch slumped into the chair.

Leaning back afterward.

A hint of weariness hung about him.

Especially as much as he feared the time ahead.

“…Why go so far?”

“What?”

“Your ending, I mean. If it ended tragically, couldn’t you have simply accepted it?”

“……”

“What reason could there possibly be to go this far?”

Enoch finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked.

It wasn’t a question to direct at one who had already committed the act.

But, even so, he wanted to hear it.

The reason his future self would go this far. He wanted to know the reason for desperately enduring, forsaking even peace.

“A reason…”

The Enoch of the future answered the question.

They would not meet again, in any case.

Even worse, he would have to spend a long time alone.

If this was to be the their final exchange, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

“…There was a line like this in a game from the past.”

“…A game?”

“He didn’t love because he was loved. He simply loved… Truly a ridiculous statement. Isn’t it? Love without expectation of return, a story that we humans, at least, cannot empathize with.”

“…Then, why?”

Enoch asked again.

The Enoch of the future smiled, weary.

“It’s a simple tale. The people of this world, they loved us first.”

“…”

“Because we were loved, we simply returned the favor. At the very least, to avert the worst possible ending for them.”

Wealth, connections, affection.

He had received more than he could ever repay.

And yet, he had ultimately failed.

He had to at least try to make amends.

Even if an eternity of solitude was the price.

For the sake of the people who had loved him, the Enoch of the future could endure even that.

“…The malice of this world was beyond anything I imagined.”

“…”

“I did leave some contingencies in place, but I hope things work out for you. I truly do.”

The future Enoch waved his hand.

At that moment, the wavering emptiness rushed forward.

Enoch and Lacrina. Both of their forms were instantly enveloped.

“Be on your way now. Lest this lingering attachment only grow.”

“…You.”

The future Enoch muttered bitterly.

He raised his head, watching Enoch and Lacrina slowly fade away.

“Enoch. The failure of others is not something worth dwelling on.”

“…”

“You are not me. You will not fail. Isn’t that so?”

“…I-“

Enoch opened his mouth, trying to reply.

In that fleeting instant, both of them vanished in a blink.

A magic of disappearance.

They no longer existed within this space.

@

“…It has grown quiet.”

The future Enoch muttered to himself, alone.

There was no one around him.

He was the only one left in the place where guests had once lingered.

‘How much longer until my consciousness fades away…’

Enoch leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in silence.

A hundred years? Or perhaps, a thousand?

He could not know with certainty.

Already, decades, at least, felt as though they had passed.

He could only wait.

Until an eternity of time crushed him utterly.

Or until the Enoch of the present finished everything.

‘…Lacrimosa. In this era, she still possessed a fierce spirit.’

Enoch closed his eyes, reaching for memories.

Beyond his shut eyelids, cherished recollections surfaced.

A Lacrimosa still young. And himself, going to find her.

What had he done after that?

Yes. He had dragged her around, forcing a clumsy shopping spree.

‘I should have treated her better… it has been so long since we spoke… it’s hard to recall… her way of speaking…’

A smile slowly bloomed on Enoch’s face.

A smile as deep as the ocean, as placid as a lake.

Memories continued to unfold like a panorama.

Lachryma. And the countless souls that walked beside me.

How reckless were we in those days?

And how joyous?

Enoch smiled softly, tracing the contours of memory.

Just reliving those cherished echoes was enough to endure another thousand years.

@

Enoch snapped back to the present.

Lachryma slumped against his back, stirring him awake.

‘…Seems we’ve arrived.’

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, taking in his surroundings.

Somehow, they were standing utterly alone, in the middle of a street.

The cityscape was familiar.

Magnus. In the heart of the commercial district, no less.

‘Why the commercial district of all places?’

-Thump-thump

Enoch took his first step.

Lingering here would only draw unwanted eyes.

-Beep-beep

He activated his comm device.

Punching in the code, he initiated the call.

The one on the other end was Rosita Mantera, the guildmaster.

-Click

-Hello? Little brother? Is that really you?

“Yes, Brother. I’ll call you back shortly.”

-What? “Shortly,” you say! It’s been two weeks since you last contacted me!

“Two weeks?”

-Yes! Where in the world have you been all this time?! Everyone’s been tearing their hair out trying to find you!

Rosita’s scolding crackled through the comm.

Enoch quickly grasped the situation.

They had been in a magically isolated space, and apparently, time flowed differently within its confines.

“I apologize. There were… circumstances.”

-Circumstances, you say! Quickly, contact the other mage tower lords— no, Jane, first. Her tantrums are legendary; it’ll take some doing to stop her-

“No. There is a matter of greater import at present.”

-Greater import?

“Yes. It concerns Orban, the Golden Sorcerer. It is a tale perhaps too lengthy for the comms. Might you have time to hear it?”