CHAPTER 18: MORDRED

Three days have passed since I was locked in this dark dungeon.

I know the exact time because each day, the cloaked man visits. He carries a silver spear imbued with mana, using it to rip open my chest and insert a Philosopher’s Stone. Oddly, though my powers have vanished, I absorb them naturally, and the wounds heal afterward. Once finished, he sits and chats with me for a while, as if he has no one else to confide in. His name is Arthur—he calls himself the Chosen among the Chosen. He’s the one who created the Philosopher’s Stones and the Homunculi. In a way, Arthur is my father.

He told me how he yearned to climb to the pinnacle of glory, to become a legendary king like in the tales. But it all fell apart when the Elders discovered his work. Greedy and spineless, they lusted after the Stones’ power, ordering the capture of those with high mana and confiscating all records on Homunculi and Stones for themselves. Arthur, forewarned, hid the first Stone—acquired long ago by forging the Elders’ orders and sending comrades to their doom—inside me. He then crafted a Homunculus doppelgänger to take his punishment while he hid under the protection of Cacus, a corpulent Elder obsessed with immortality. Arthur convinced Cacus his dream was within reach with enough Stones, suggesting an army to serve him once immortal. For years, Cacus secretly amassed blood to spawn Beasts. The other Elders eventually caught wind, summoning Cacus to the Meadow to settle matters—nothing more than power-hungry squabbles.

Arthur slaughtered them all, Cacus included, using their mana to forge another Stone and summon Kulshedra. After Snow battled the red dragon and was defeated, she leapt below—her fate unclear. Arthur took her severed arm, spinning a lie that an Android had infiltrated and killed the Elders, and that he’d avenged them. Now hailed as the Federation’s savior, his dream came true. Yet he stands alone—having stabbed his comrades in the back and murdered innocents, all as rungs on his ladder to the top.

“This is the last Stone.”

“…How many lives have you snuffed out for this pile?”

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“Not as many as you’ve taken in your years of war.”

“…Don’t equate me with you… I fought to protect…”

“My creation, playing at being human. I must admit, that white Android threw quite a wrench into my plans.”

“Snow…”

“Even giving each other names. I never approved of Homunculi having names—though I created you, I couldn’t control your emotions, so I stopped bothering.”

I wanted to punch him—desperately wanted to smash his face—if these chains weren’t holding me back.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die just yet,” Arthur said slowly. “I’ve placed Stones in you containing the mightiest Beasts I can summon. We’ll crush Midgard soon enough.”

“Ridiculous. Snow took down Kulshedra with a single cannon…” I mocked.

“…Summoned by dying Homunculi,” Arthur retorted. “The Elders’ mana brought forth its true form. You’ll see soon enough, Hel.” He smirked, brimming with self-assured omniscience.

“Branwen was just a test. Hel’s book doesn’t only summon souls from the past—it calls forth Beasts it’s absorbed,” he went on. “But your power’s unstable now, which wasn’t in my plan. No matter—I’ll make you the Reaper again soon.”

Arthur’s been gone a while. I still can’t believe what he said. In the end, I’m just a puppet dancing to his tune. Whether this war ends by my hand or someone else’s, it no longer matters to me.

The only thing I care about now is whether Snow is alive or dead.

“Snow…”

“SNOW!! Can you hear me!?”

A familiar voice jolted Snow awake. Muse sat beside her, worried, sporting a new pair of hands. Snow sat up, realizing she was in a tent, her body hooked to repair devices.

“Snow! I thought you were…” Muse hugged her tightly with her newly acquired arms.

“Muse, why are you here? What happened? Where am I…”

“It’s been nearly twenty days since you shut down—I was terrified,” Muse’s voice quivered. “They found you drifting in a stream. They saved you, and these hands—they made them for me.”

“Who’s ‘they’!? Is Kira still in Elysium!? The cloaked man…” Snow bolted up, yanking off the devices around her.

“I’ll explain everything, but first, meet the ones who saved you,” Muse said, pulling Snow out of the tent.

The scene unfolding before Snow was unbelievable. Androids and Homunculi lived together peacefully in a forest, showing no trace of enmity. A Homunculus approached her slowly—black hair, golden eyes—making her wary. She’d seen this face beneath a black cloak, advancing to finish her after Kulshedra’s defeat.

“I understand how you feel, but I’m not that cloaked man. I’m Mordred, leader of the Knights of Treachery.”