Chapter 128: In the end, nothing has changed

When Geppeti asked me if I thought it would be a good idea to assign him a gender, I told him to follow his heart.

His body transformed in an instant.

His waist became a little more defined, his chest grew, and he acquired the graceful curves of a woman.

Geppeti realized that it would be more appropriate for him to take on the form of a woman, since he has a setting called “Mother Goddess,” the mother of all machines.

Now it was time to stop the machines from killing people indiscriminately so I put my palm on her immaculate back to remove the virus that had been implanted in her.

It feels like fingerprinting, she says, and if I keep it there, I’ll be able to get rid of it.

With that, she unabashedly exposed her pure white flesh. There was a faint warmth coming from her back, like a human.

Maybe it was the virtual space.

“What is this ‘setting’ anyway, you and X-05 from the other day……? Are you guys mimicking humans?”

After staring blankly into space at my question, Geppeti speaks up.

“We’ve adapted our form to fit this world… we decided that this was a ‘fantasy world’ where magic and other supernatural energies exist, so we ‘evolved’ using such elements as data.”

“…But it looks like you weren’t able to escape the machine setting.”

“It wasn’t easy, as there were only a limited number of substances that could cross the dimensional gaps, also known as ‘gates’, but we are analyzing and utilizing the resources and energies of this world to create organisms. I am creating a body that will be able to assist Lord Zetto.”

The unidentifiable black sphere that had been visible upon entering the room and which I assumed it was Geppeti, was instead used by her to create a ‘human’.

“I needed some data on my appearance, and I hope you’re happy with the way I look now.”

Geppeti turns around and stares at me, her red eyes are devoid of any emotion.

“Is there anything you want me to change?”

“I was born to serve you, Lord Zetto, and therefore my every function and action must be solely for your service.”

Geppeti looked a little choked up.

“…I think you’re fine as you are.”

I replied with a smile and Geppeti tilted her head, then turned back to me.

“Do you think I’m pretty now?”

Geppeti question made me take a closer look at her appearance.

Ruby red eyes, long lashes, snow-white hair, crystal clear and unblemished.

“…I think you have a pretty face.”

“I created the appearance based on data from 200 years ago called ‘universal beauty’, but judging by your reaction, it seems to have been successful. I’ve heard that appearance is an important factor for humans. Or, if you’d like to tell me your ‘preferences’, I’d be happy to incorporate them.”

“…I’m fine as it is.”

“I see.”

Geppeti shakes her head and we continue to talk about the virus.

I suggested that it might be some sort of “fate force” that had caused them to turn against the Pantheon, and Geppeti, who had researched what I meant by fate force, agreed that it was a plausible argument.

I don’t know if I was brainwashed or if it was a simple memory distortion, but the one thing I do know now is that the world went on to become the future as I knew it.

The information about the future wasn’t wrong and my memories of it remained clear.

I stared at the pure white bandage I held in one hand, the “Blindfold That is Beyond Reason” or “Crown” as it was called.

Memories of game I’d played, information I’d learned through the community. The things I’d accepted so readily felt so foreign.

What choices would I have to make in order to remain ‘me’? It felt like I wasn’t even given a choice, because I didn’t even know what kind of human being ‘I’ was in the first place.

I felt like I was drowning in a deep, dark sea, where the truth was impossible to find or reach.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Earth is now doomed from a human perspective and there is no way back.

I didn’t think it was possible to go back, but the realization that the way was blocked might have made me feel a little stuck.

Time passed and Geppeti told me that she had gotten rid of all the ‘viruses’.

Next, I asked her to explain the alien species.

According to Geppeti, they were created on Earth and sent through a dimensional rift.

When I ask why she doesn’t use modern or futuristic firearms, she explains that her data on “weapons” was completely destroyed along with the AI that created her.

She explains that her current form is merely an evolution of the data she learned in this world, and that humanoid alien species often resemble knights among humans, while beastly alien species resemble monsters.

The inherent energy of mana is currently being studied, and the results of that research will be the organisms that Geppeti is creating.

I decided to ban hostilities with the Pantheon to preserve and increase their numbers.

When Geppeti asked me if I was preparing for a large-scale invasion, I said that I was preparing for a war against demons.

Since it’s the ending and there’s nowhere to go back to, the war between the demons and the humans will have to be fought face-to-face at some point.

The alien species are not living beings, but machines, scrap metal, and even if they fall in battle, they have no life force to feed the demons’ growth.

It would be possible to upgrade all of them to anti-demonic weapons, but that would require data on the demons, and Geppeti had never had any contact with them.

She had some data on the occasional sighting of something different from the pantheons she knew passing through, but she hadn’t gotten to the point where she thought they might be the demons she’d heard about.

Apparently, she had had contact with demons who hid their horns.

I told her not to worry since there were plenty of demons who could be data.

“Lord Zetto, what do you plan to do with the Crown?”

Geppeti asked me, glancing at the bandages that I had unwrapped and still had in my hand.

In hindsight, I realize that this is a virtual space created by Geppeti, a space made up of her data.

And yet she was able to identify the color of my eyes, so clairvoyance was as simple as that.

“I can see you’re reluctant, but the memory loss or distortion is something that’s already happened, and it won’t be reversible. My opinion of the current situation is that unless you’re afraid of the process of Lord Zetto becoming ‘King’, you won’t have to use it.”

“…Why?”

“Currently, there is only one intention of the ‘god’ that I have grasped. He wanted Lord Zetto to become a ‘king’ and I realize that you may find it disturbing that you don’t know what ‘king’ means, but I’ve determined that it’s far from his ‘purpose’.

I don’t think there was any brainwashing. If you had been brainwashed in the first place, you wouldn’t have been able to suspect anything, and I doubt a transcendent being that can effortlessly warp dimensions would have put you through such a flimsy brainwashing.”

Well, she didn’t seem to be wrong.

Scratching my head, I carefully placed the bandage over my eyes.

It was unpleasant to have my memories tampered with by a mysterious deity, but… Regardless, judging by the item’s performance, the benefits of the Blindfold were significant.

It will serve me well in my endeavors as it has always been.

Tightening the bandages, I looked at Geppeti and thought about the process of becoming a king.

“Did I mention that my emotions are worn out?”

“A lack of them, to be precise. My guess is that it’s a slow exclusion of emotions that are unnecessary for a ‘king’.”

“Exclusion…”

I echoed Geppeti’s response.

Apparently, the closer I get to being a king, the less human I become, but honestly, I hadn’t felt any discomfort about it yet.

If anything, I’ve become unnecessarily calm and cool, so I’d say it’s comfortable but from a human perspective, I don’t think that’s a very good thing.

“I’ve been thinking of a way to deal with this, but would you like to hear it?”

I nodded at Geppeti suggestion.

There was a pause, and then Geppeti’s mouth opened.

“…You may not believe it, but to me, there are things called ’emotions’.”

“Emotions exist…?”

“Well, human emotions are intense, causing many unnecessary ‘errors’… but the AI that created me did so in order to better understand humans through interactions such as ’empathy’.”

It’s not that I didn’t understand the idea of an AI created to serve humans.

However, I was curious as to how they were able to create such complex human emotions, but I didn’t ask for an explanation because I didn’t think it would make sense with my knowledge.

In short, Geppeti’s opinion was that while I could lose my emotions, I could regain them through learning, so I could reverse my state through the emotions I regained.

I didn’t want to be a ‘king’ that I didn’t even know the meaning of.

In addition, she said that experiencing various emotional changes continuously can slow down the rate of emotional wear and tear, and the more intense the emotion, the better the effect.

“For example, an emotion like love.”

“…That would be intense.”

“In any case, for the survival of the species called ‘Earthlings’, Lord Zetto needs to spread his seeds and create as many offspring as possible.”

“……”

Sowing seeds are probably pretty harsh words for an AI to use.

“So why don’t you give me a chance to learn emotions by Lord Zetto’s side?”

“By my side…but…You said your body is not complete.”

“Yes, but I believe it will be completed soon.”

Since I was attending the Innocence Academy, it wouldn’t be easy for me to bring in Geppeti that was an outsider… but that was also true of the Hero I was about to bring in.

Since the timing seems to be right, it would be better to do it all at once.

“Then I’ll come back for you sooner or later. Until then, I suggest you learn about this thing called…… ‘little sister’. You’re too stiff right now.”

“Little sister. That’s the ‘role’ I’ve been given, I see.”

Sisters in an orphanage with nowhere else to go that after an emotional reunion, never wanting to be separated again, are forced to live with me at Innocence Academy.

That was the scenario in my head.

‘I wonder if the hero will follow me…’

Since our interests are aligned, what’s not to like…

***

“…So I guess I was the king…”

After finishing my conversation with Geppeti, I stepped out of the virtual space and faced Sierra, who was furious at my speechlessness.

Geppeti was now in the form of a sphere while I was sitting on a throne talking to Sierra…

[My apprentice was an otherworldly king…? Aren’t these guys supposed to harm humans?]

“It has been stopped by my order. There will be no such slaughter again, though those who have already lost their lives to them can’t help it…”

[Yes, hey can’t help it, but… it’s hard to accept. Are you saying that you’re from another world, then?]

“…I was, I guess.”

Hearing my vague answer, Sierra strokes her chin and clears her throat.

Her ethereal violet eyes scanned my body.

[It’s good that you’ve stopped the slaughter, but I wonder what their purpose is; have you figured out what they’re up to with you as king?]

“They have no purpose.”

[Then?]

Sierra’s eyes narrow.

“They only serve me, and their battles with the humans before they met me were an ‘error’ of sorts. They seem to do as I wish, and will not oppose me….I suppose you could think of them as golems. It wasn’t easy for me to accept, either, but my conversations with… ‘Geppeti’ here confirmed that there is no truth to all of this.”

I said, looking at Geppeti, the black sphere next to the throne.

It would be very complicated to explain artificial intelligence, the essence of science and technology, to Sierra, who lived in a fantasy world.

In any case, there was no lie in my explanation.

But even I found it difficult to accept, and I wonder if Sierra, who doesn’t have as much knowledge or information as I do, would find it even more difficult.

Sierra ponders this, and finally speaks up.

[Do you mean…you have to go back to the other world…?]

“No, I don’t think so.”

Sierra’s eyes widen slightly at my terse answer, then narrow again.

She rephrases her question in a cautious voice.

[…Why? It’s your home, according to you. ]

“Well, from the looks of it, it’s a lot different from where I came from, and they say there are no humans living there anymore, and since I’m the last one who somehow got caught up in this world, they’ve come after me, so they’re making me king.”

[If you have no business returning to the other world, that is enough. No matter how many times you explain it, it doesn’t seem to be something I can understand. I thought you were a prophet, not a mortal…]

“I have similar abilities. …Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t really know what I am or who I am.”

[……]

Sierra purses her lips at my confusion.

She steps in front of me on the throne and gently caresses my cheek.

Sierra’s soothing voice echoes in my head as she whispers.

[ …I don’t know why the thought occurred to me, but… ]

Her warm echoes travel out of my head and into my body.

[ …No matter what you go through, no matter what situation you find yourself in, you will always be Zetto, my first student, my last student, and the most precious thing to me, so don’t be afraid, student.]

Her ridiculous inclusiveness was simply beyond my comprehension, even if her student was an otherworldly human.

To her, I was, after all, “Zetto,” and it didn’t matter if I was for another world or not.

Warm feelings of security and coziness melted the tension in my body.

I smiled softly, realizing that I had been thinking about something stupid.

“…I see.”

That’s right.

I no longer have a place to go back to, but on the contrary, I have a place to be.

I was still Zetto.

To those I cared about, I remained Zetto.

I ran a hand through my hair to clear my thoughts.

“Thank you, Teacher. Thanks to you, I can think straight.”

At this, Sierra smiled somewhat sheepishly, covering her mouth with her sleeve, as she was supposed to do as a teacher.

[So…what are you going to do about these otherworlders?]

Sierra asked, turning to look at the ‘knights’.

“I plan to use them as a tool against the demons.”

[I suppose it’s the least I can do for the people who would have been killed by them, though it won’t atone for that…If you are indeed their king, you should be responsible.]

I nodded in affirmation of Sierra’s words.

The explanation for Sierra was slowly coming together.

There was still time for Geppeti’s body to be completed, so there was nothing more to be done here.

As I pushed myself up from my throne, a question came to mind, and I looked into the black orb and spoke to Geppeti.

I spoke in an otherworldly language, Korean.

Sierra looked at me strangely as I spoke to the sphere, but even though I explained that it was Geppeti, it didn’t seem to go over well.

“But Geppeti, isn’t this an ‘ancient ruin’?”

The space I was standing in, the real world, was far from being an ancient ruin and Geppeti answers my question.

“There are indeed ‘ruins’ of supposed antiquity in the upper levels, though they are currently sealed off to keep the Pantheon out, but if you are curious, would you like to take a look for yourself?”

The ruins were in the upper levels.

Apparently, this deep underground space was created by Geppeti, and the original ruins didn’t have a basement.

I say yes, and Geppeti leads me somewhere.

***

Following Geppeti’s lead, I boarded an “elevator” similar to the one I saw when I entered the site.

Instead of stopping at ground level, we ascend a little higher and soon find ourselves in a space that can only be called a ruin.

The ruins that Sierra and I stepped into were ancient, but they looked like they were on the verge of collapse.

[I wonder if this is an ancient ruin…?]

The dilapidated exterior walls were cracked, and the floors and walls were dusty from years of disuse.

I had to stifle a sneeze as the dust kept drifting up my nose.

[…full of statues.]

There were quite a few “statues” that looked like they were made of stone.

Most of the statues were in a bizarre posture, with their heads in one place.

One statue stood out from the rest, looking very different from the others.

Sierra grabbed my arm and pulled me toward it.

Sitting at the far end of the center was a statue I’d never seen before.

Whoever it was, I knew one thing: It wasn’t Henries the Giver or Helgenas the Drinker, the gods of this world at least.

They were known as sisters, that is, goddesses in female form and were often depicted as female.

But the statue in front of me was not one of them, for it was in the form of a man.

‘I noticed something…’

I wondered if she had noticed the same thing but Sierra looked at the statue and spoke up.

[I can’t tell if it was worshiped in ancient times, but… It’s very coincidental that it’s holding the sword in a reverse grip… it looks like it’s just holding it to the ground, so it’s unclear if it’s actually wielding it in a reverse grip or not.]

Clenching my jaw, I stare at the statue. It was a well-crafted statue, as if it were alive and breathing.

The man with the reversed sword sat on the rough stone floor in a reclining position.

His eyes glowed red in the blue moonlight streaming in from a small hole in the ceiling and the horn-like thing that stretched down the side of his head felt different from the horns of the demons I knew.

His face was expressionless, devoid of emotion but perhaps it was simply because he was a statue.

I turned my head slightly away from the statue and looked behind me.

The other statues looked like vassals or subjects bowing to their ‘king’.

I stretched out my senses, just in case, but got no information.

The statue of a king holding a sword in reverse reminded me of a great man who lived in ancient times and accomplished great deeds, or a forgotten god that often appears in fantasy.

I wondered if this statue had anything to do with the events that had happened to me.

Was it really just a coincidence that the statue was made with a sword in a reverse grip?