Treatise Of A Failed Knight Chapter 328: Reset

Lucien’s body instinctively trembles at the sight of this cursed entity.

He knows...

... it is impossible for him to win.

"I thought it would be a Knight or a President. If it were either of the two, then maybe... I could have sohow survived. But this... this is sothing else!" As he mutters, he realizes his lips are quivering.

That’s because he knows what this thing is!

"... An Earl!"

’The Ouroboros Sect lied in their report when they said my Kingdom was destroyed by a Monster.’ A wry smile forms on his face as he takes a step forward.

Technically, a Temporal Beast is a monster.

But it belongs in a separate category—one that cannot be mistaken.

Demiurges...

They are cursed creatures that do not belong to this world and should not be allowed to erge from the confines of their existence.

They are very wretched things.

Unnatural in every way.

They are also the bane of a Leviathan’s Existence.

"It looks like I lied, after all..." Lucien smiles softly as he turns to the house. "I won’t be coming back."

Lucien already knows he is no match for this.

Even if he were a Rank 4 Leviathan, he still wouldn’t be able to win.

He recognizes that fact.

Yet—

’Hehe... Why am I not running away?’ He quietly asks himself as he approaches the descending entity. ’What would be the use? The presence of this thing ans I have likely failed this Trial Scenario. In that case, there’s nowhere to run.’

In the end, this is a Trial Scenario within a Secluded Domain.

He is like a bird trapped in a very big cage.

If he escapes the Temporal Beast and it begins to consu the existence around him, it will only cause the cage to shrink until a confrontation is inevitable.

Still, isn’t the instinct of life to preserve itself?

All humans die, right?

However, they try their best to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible.

In the sa vein, the selfish Lucien Zevalis should have no problem with extending his life in order to live even a second longer.

And yet...

... he keeps walking forward.

Because he knows that his survival is not his motivation.

Not anymore.

"I made a promise to her... to my mother... that I would stop you... that I wouldn’t leave anymore." He clenches his fist as his expression hardens. "Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will never abandon my family again!"

Lucien knows that the two people he left behind in that house aren’t real.

At most, they are echoes of ti—fragnts woven together by this Trial Scenario—just like all the previous ones he has challenged.

But that doesn’t matter.

’They are my family... They helped rember... and...’

He extends both of his hands as though expecting a hug from a long-lost friend.

"... I love them!"

With a brilliant smile and a hearty laugh that borders on insanity, he overcos his fears and marches onward toward certain doom.

"You won’t advance from this point on!" he screams. "I won’t let you!"

Such an absurd sight...

Lucien Zevalis, who is only about two ters tall at most, stands face to face with a hulking monstrosity that is thousands of ters in height while possessing an absurd body that maintains no consistent mass.

Even then... his body expressing the fears deep within his heart, his face shows a different mask.

A look of determination.

Of joy!

And... strangely enough, of relief.

’I rember it now... I rember everything!’ He beams.

’How Mum would cook dinner for when I returned from the old man’s workshop. Her als were always the perfect mix of spices. Oh, her cake was always a little too sweet... but I didn’t complain because of my sweet tooth. She always went to work every day, especially on the weekends. She was a very hard worker. I didn’t fully understand the nature of her job back then, but I can understand it now. As for my father... I never t him—not once. I was only given a ring from my mother which belonged to him. She made it into a necklace and told to wear it at all tis... that it would protect . She also said my father was a powerful man.’

Lucien’s smile grows a little distant. ’Heathcliff... so that’s my father’s na...’

RUMBLE!!!

At this point, the Temporal Beast begins to advance.

’It feels... very familiar...’

The terrifying entity closes the distance in an instant, not even giving the lancholic man any opportunity to have a final thought.

CRUNCH!

Thus concludes Lucien Zevalis’ Apotheosis.

It ends in a definite failure!

As for the old toy... it has long stopped crawling.

It tumbles and falls onto the muddy, deserted, and completely empty road.

*****

’What exactly is about to happen?’

I stare at the sudden change within the sphere, half expectant and half afraid.

The rest of the Ouroboros Sect mbers have shocked looks on their faces, like they know sothing about what they are seeing, but they aren’t very certain about it.

The fact that the Captain isn’t giving out any orders must an this isn’t a bad developnt...

... right?

Before I can answer that question, I witness Lucien’s silhouette shatter into a million pieces within the sphere, causing it to burst at the sa ti. The dark purple yarn of threads unravels, breaking apart into countless particles before dissipating.

Almost like it is only an illusory dream.

Then—

VWUUUSH!

—A massive wave of colors, illusory and incorporeal, suddenly manifests from the center of the explosion and bursts in all directions.

Within an instant, it spreads outward, covering the entire Capital.

Then, after a few seconds, it vanishes into the distance, perating everything around without a hint of slowing down.

I watch this with bulging eyes, my heart racing uncontrollably.

My breathing is unnatural.

I can feel my body paralyzed in an instant.

It isn’t simply due to the tidal wave of energy that has now extended itself beyond what my eyes can perceive, but because of its implications.

I look beneath ... and around ... and my eyes witness a completely new world.

Everything... has been reset!

The Capital has been restored, its buildings and occupants now present.

I lower my gaze and watch the denizens of the Randalorion Kingdom going about their business without a single clue about what has just transpired. I see the Royal Palace in the distance, standing tall and resplendent as though it wasn’t in ruins monts before.

The gaping hole that leads underground is nowhere to be found.

No Magivore corpses litter the ground.

I stare into the distance and find myself unable to locate any sign of the Cadre 6 Magivore that appeared not too long ago.

My goodness!

What kind of miracle is this?!

It’s almost as though I dread the whole thing.

The only proof of the battle that just occurred is floating in the air with .

They’re all Leviathans of the Ouroboros Sect.

"What just... happened?" Muddleheaded and a little frightened, I cast my gaze on Alistair, hoping for an explanation. I can see that he, too, is stunned by the developnt, but I cannot help but suspect that he understands what has just happened.

At least, more than I do.

He glances at and smiles. "Temporal Implosion."

"What’s that?" Although I blurt out the question without thinking, a few seconds of ntal scrutiny causes to quickly piece it together.

"One of the consequences of failing Apotheosis?"

Alistair nods.

’I only knew of death, insanity, and corruption... also known as falling into depravity.’

So there is Temporal Implosion too.

This ans that Lucien Zevalis surely failed Apotheosis.

But how does this result affect the rest of the world?!

That’s my confusion.

"When a Leviathan passes Apotheosis, it is called Ascension. If they fail, we call it Deviation. As you know, failure can take on multiple forms. One of them, and the rarest of all, is Temporal Implosion. This is the first ti I am personally experiencing sothing like this..."

" too!"

"Sa here!"

"I’m the sa."

" as well."

"I... know soone who has experienced it before."

"A-ahh...!"

So no one here has ever witnessed such a result before? But this does not answer my fundantal question. How exactly does Lucien’s failure alter reality to such an extent?

All the signs of our battle... and every sense of destruction that existed have been wiped out.

How and why?!

"Temporal Implosion erases the existence of the Leviathan—not just in the present, but also in their past and future. It removes them from reality, completely wiping their influence from anything that has ever occurred or will ever occur."

"What...?"

My eyes stretch to their limits as I let Alistair’s words sink in.

’So the existence known as Lucien Zevalis no longer exists in this world? But why do we rember him? In fact, I still feel all the effects of the battle that just concluded, including having mories of everything that occurred. Ah, Leviathans aren’t affected by this change, huh?’

"You’ve figured it out already..." Alistair smiles while nodding. "As Leviathans, we aren’t under the influence of the Implosion. As such, all of Lucien’s effects on a Leviathan will remain constant and unchanging. If Lucien killed soone or orchestrated their deaths, they will be alive in this world where Lucien no longer exists—well, only if they wouldn’t have died by other ans if Lucien didn’t interfere. As for Leviathans, those he has killed will remain dead."

"Ah... I see..."

At first, I was excited about the possibility that ca with this discovery.

After all, Lucien Zevalis was the one responsible for instigating Zarius to commit his atrocities. If he didn’t exert such influence, Zarius would have never beco a Leviathan.

He would have never co to the Randalorion Kingdom.

He would have never killed my friends and family.

’Unfortunately, Zarius is a Leviathan, so although Lucien no longer exists in any period of ti, everything about Zarius remains unchanged.’ I sigh deeply. ’Everyone is still dead.’

Yet, I cannot bring myself to be sad.

After all, this is indeed a miracle of unimaginable proportions!

All the millions who died as a result of Lucien’s interference with the world will now be alive, and everyone he has hurt throughout history will no longer have experienced such tragedy.

That includes his aunt!

For this reason alone, we have to rejoice.

"Javier..." Alistair calls for , smiling warmly while expressing an uncharacteristic, almost playful wink.

"... We saved Randalorion."

My heart leaps, and I feel a burning sensation in my chest.

Without even waiting for a second, I nod at my Captain and clench my fist in excitent.

"Yes!"

We actually did it!

Although they’ll never know it... we saved everyone!

*****

"H-huh?"

Dustin Aditi finds himself lying on the ground, his body feeling refreshed although his mind aches with a certain indescribable sensation.

’I’m still alive...?’ He asks himself for a mont before quickly rembering what happened.

’Ah, yes... Sir Evernight ca and rescued .’

He casts his gaze on the world around him, shocked to not find any corpses of the Magivores that attacked the village.

He also notices that there are no signs of destruction around.

Why is that the case?

If it were just that he didn’t find any Magivore corpses, he would have assud that Lord Evernight cleared the area. But why wouldn’t he leave any for him?

That wouldn’t be his style at all.

’Then was it the villagers that cleared everything? But that doesn’t explain how the signs of battle are nonexistent. Besides, how could they have handled everything so quickly? And why would they leave out here by myself?’

None of these explanations make much sense to Dustin.

He becos even more confused when he looks ahead and notices his faithful steed—a Cadre 2 Magivore—charging towards him.

This is the Raven Stallion which has accompanied him on many adventures.

’He died during that scuffle with the Ironbloom Magivores, didn’t he?’ Dustin’s face twists into confusion as the beast approaches. ’So... why is he still alive?’

Was everything rely a dream?

But—

’My clothes are in tatters, and my Armant is completely broken. I don’t have any Potions left on ... and I clearly rember everything that happened.’

It couldn’t have been a dream!

But it only makes sense if he dread about everything.

’There’s only one way to find out...’ He stares at Zen Village, a short distance from him, and narrows his eyes.

’I will have to seek out the residents.’