Burke glanced back before quickly looking away. Every time he moved forward, what seemed to be a dead end turned into an open path. If the path ahead was blocked, the next one would be to the left or to the right. It felt like a moving maze, with paths forming at will.

Behind him, Ethan asked If again,

“It’s not a living thing?”

At his question, she tilted her head slightly before answering.

“Hmm, I guess you could call it a cell.”

What does that mean?

Just as he was about to ask more, Burke, who was leading the way, gestured to them.

“Sorry to interrupt, but take a look at that.”

Burke pointed to one side with the tip of his sword. Following the direction of the blade, Ethan narrowed his eyes behind Burke.

“A hole?”

A hole in the wall, faintly visible in the darkness. The collapsed pile of stones was so old that it was covered in moss and dust.

And from outside the hole, a faint light seeped in. That was why Burke could see the condition of the hole more clearly than Ethan.

“Could it be the outside?”

“Probably.”

The ancient ruins they had seen so far only moved in her presence. Like those, this place responded to her movements – the lights went on and off accordingly. This had also been the case with the path they had taken so far.

“Both the front and the back are blocked, so this is probably the place the Crown Prince discovered.”

Ethan released If from his arms and drew his sword. There was no clear presence he could sense, but he couldn’t be sure what kind of relics might be there…

At Ethan’s glance, Burke nodded, stepped back, and switched positions with him.

After making sure If was safely behind Burke, Ethan stepped forward.

As he closed the distance, faint breathing reached his ears.

Speech so slurred it was impossible to make out the words, breath on the verge of fading.

Is it only one person?

Ethan quieted his footsteps and moved slowly forward.

Then, peering inside, he clicked his tongue.

“You can come.”

Burke, confused by Ethan’s answer, led If over and stood beside him.

“This is…”

The iron-domed room was huge. The smooth, polished iron walls were impossible to produce with current technology. The objects inside seemed completely out of place.

Lamps were placed all around the room. The kind that used expensive oil and were typically used by nobles.

Of course, even nobles couldn’t have afforded such gilded lamps.

Looking at the lavishly gilded lamps, Ethan let out a crooked smile.

At first glance, they were extravagant ornaments far beyond the means of a low-ranking noble.

‘Then they must belong to the Emperor.’

Ethan looked down.

The old man was collapsed on the floor, visibly emaciated, barely able to breathe. His irregular, ragged breaths foamed from malnutrition.

Both the hand sticking out from under the red cloak and his exposed face were sunken and gaunt. His skin, unable to retain moisture, was covered in deep wrinkles, and the bones beneath the back of his hand were clearly visible.

Ethan’s gaze soon moved to the Emperor’s eyes.

They were completely covered by something made of smooth iron and dark glass, like a blindfold used during t*rture.

Ethan slowly shifted his gaze.

Strange objects were piled high in the middle of the room. No doubt, they were all ancient relics. And beyond that – an open passage.

This side had crumbled under the weight of time, but the other side was full of signs of deliberate design.

Ethan looked into the passage. The only wall was finished differently than the others, in a style he recognized from a noble family’s estate.

‘Is this the way to the Imperial Palace?’

He remembered what Enkan had told him. 

If the Emperor was here, then this must be the underground section of the Imperial Palace. 

“It’s a bit disappointing how easy it was to get in. If anyone saw this, they’d never guess there was a war going on.” 

Burke circled the pile of relics and stroked his chin. 

While Ethan nudged the emperor with the tip of his foot to check his condition, he shrugged. 

“Honestly, the people in the capital probably still don’t know. They wouldn’t call it a ‘war’ just because it was against a bunch of mercenaries, would they?” 

“Well, that’s true. But what are you going to do about it?” 

Burke tilted his chin toward the Emperor, who looked like a lifeless corpse. Ethan furrowed his brow. 

“I don’t know. Keeping him alive will probably just be a headache.” 

“Exactly. The crown prince – the brain – is already gone, so what’s the point of saving the emperor – the head? If cutting off the head is enough to make everything collapse, there’s no reason to put it back on.” 

“They say that he hasn’t appeared in public for a long time, so even if he died like this, no one would notice. From the looks of it, it seems that only the Crown Prince knew that the Emperor was here. The Duke was also involved, but judging by the loss of his signal, he’s probably dead.” 

As Ethan continued to speak, he suddenly raised an eyebrow. 

“What?” 

“Don’t you find it strange? All the soldiers were killed, and yet the Crown Prince was the only one who survived. They say he couldn’t give any orders, but still…” 

“It’s because of this.” 

The voice echoing through the room made Ethan turn around quickly. 

If, now standing in front of the pile of relics, looked back at him and pointed to a spot. 

Ethan quickly stepped forward and stood beside If. 

It was a hunk of metal, egg-shaped and about the size of a forearm. Half of it was glass. 

He pulled the relic out of the other objects.

It was quite large to hold with one hand, though not impossible.

It didn’t seem particularly portable, nor did it seem to have any special features at first glance.

“You’re saying he survived because of this? If this relic helped him survive, then the Crown Prince should’ve had it.”

But the relic was here, right now, in the underground of the Imperial Palace.

“That’s because it’s not the object itself that’s important, but what’s inside it.”

Ethan frowned and examined the green liquid inside.

The liquid bubbled and fizzed, but it didn’t look particularly hot.

“Cells… is that what you called them?”

“Yes. Cells are the basic units of structure and function in living things. They’re alive, but so small you can’t see them with the n*ked eye. And this… I mentioned it before, didn’t I? An artificial womb.”

Ethan froze at her words.

“There’s an artificial womb.”

“What?”

“A fake womb. One we created.”

“We made artificial wombs to make pregnancy and childbirth easier – and that’s how we reproduce.”

A woman’s womb, artificially created by ancient humanity.

“This is it?”

“Yes. It’s an older version, though. I didn’t know it still worked.”

She looked at the artificial womb with a sense of wonder. In fact, she was quite surprised.

The fact that it was an older version meant that it was at least tens of thousands of years old.

Which meant that this ancient machine had been working for all that time.

The weak signal they’d picked up had come from here.

Everything else seemed to be broken.

Ethan’s gaze shifted briefly to the other artificial wombs – completely empty.

“That Crown Prince… he must have injected this liquid.”

“This liquid?”

“There are probably some of the cells that created us in there. Normally it wouldn’t have caused a reaction – but the one that moved this time was an incomplete robot, right? Because of a mistake, it mistook the weak signal for ‘us’.”

Ethan clicked his tongue at her words.

“I see. That’s why it killed all the remaining soldiers.”

Of course, it would eliminate everything but the ancient humans. It had followed the Crown Prince as far as Rigo.

Did it only attack the forest in front of Rigo because there were Ancient Humans on this side as well?

“The rest of this is basically useless. Anything that could have caused real trouble has already been shut down.”

“Then what about that?”

Ethan pointed at the Emperor, who was wearing something strange over his eyes.

Following his hand, If tilted her head slowly.

“A virtual reality simulation headset? Why would he be wearing that?”

As expected, it was also a relic.

Seeing her obvious confusion, Ethan spoke up.

“That thing looks dangerous too.”

“It’s just a toy.”

“How can something that turns people into shells be called a toy?”

If blinked, obviously not understanding.

You could still feel sensations with the headset on, so what was the problem?

If you didn’t want to use it, you could just take it off.

“…Anyway, turn that thing off too. It’s dangerous for us.”

Ethan gave up trying to convince her and let out a sigh.

He felt dizzy just thinking about how many more ‘toys’ like that might exist – ones that could turn people into shells.

How could anyone call that a game?

In response to his reaction, If nodded obediently.

She approached the Emperor and pressed down hard on the centre of the headset.

Through her reinforced skin, she quickly accessed the circuitry and immediately shut down the headset.

The Emperor’s trembling body went limp.

Straightening her bent knees, If stood and rolled her eyes in Ethan’s direction.

“Ethan, is this someone who needs to stay alive?”

This was a serious injury, like the one Ethan had suffered recently – it couldn’t be fixed with blood alone.

It couldn’t restore what was missing, like nutrients or damaged organs.

Just like Ethan’s arm, special equipment would be needed to repair the damage.

“No.”

Ethan denied it without hesitation, then raised his sword and covered If’s eyes.

The emperor, obsessed with relics, finally gave in.

It was almost laughable.

The Emperor he had once looked up to would now meet his end at the hands of the lowest of the Randalls.

Here, in this ancient ruin, where no one would ever know.

The Emperor’s body would rot and decay, never to be found.

A thud. The sound of flesh being pierced echoed through the air.

In Ethan’s arms, If blinked and squirmed.

“Let’s go back to Rigo now.”

Time to end the war.

As she nodded to his words, her eyes suddenly widened.

“Ethan.”

“What?”

“Belphirn has been exposed.”

“What?”

If furrowed her brow.

Hooked up to the main computer, she checked the cities that hadn’t been maintained and the android robots that were working at minimum capacity.

Of course, she was also fixing bugs and preventing the spread of viruses.

Listening to her, Ethan finally realised the problem.

“…That means you also stopped the vaccine from leaking, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Since the vaccine had been contained in Belphirn, the instinct-driven beasts would have sensed it immediately.

Those who had used the vaccine to extend their lives would no longer need to remain trapped in Belphirn.

The land had changed.

With both the virus and the vaccine gone, the beasts of Belphirn would have come out.

And the nations that had been keeping an eye on Belphirn would have sensed that something wasn’t right and sent soldiers there…

“An ancient ruin has been discovered.”

It would have been easy to follow in the footsteps of those who came from Belphirn.

The Granat Empire could only call itself an empire because most of its nobles were born with powerful offensive magic.

The neighbouring kingdoms may have lacked raw destructive power, but they had many mages who could wield magic of great versatility.

Magic that could track someone’s movements, for example.

The discovery of ancient ruins and ancient relics, considered ‘divine artefacts’ by those who believe in the gods.

Nations around the world would now prepare for war to obtain them.

“…Burke, we really need to be ready now.”

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“The ancient ruins in Belphirn have been uncovered. From now on, it won’t just be the Empire – every nation will set their sights on Rigo.”

All in pursuit of the last remaining ancient human.