Chapter 134
Agatha dragged her armored prosthetic forward and reached Noel. The rebel forces guarding Noel had long since been torn apart by Scylla, reduced to heaps of scrap metal.
It was the perfect opportunity to drive the rebels out of the Empire. If Noel died, the rebels would collapse.
Kadeudeudeuk!
Agatha thrust her massive poleaxe at Noel’s side. The ground shattered, sending up a cloud of dust. The right arm of the armored prosthetic, Scylla, was larger than the left. It had likely been modified to wield the heavy poleaxe with one hand.
From within the dust, Noel stared at Agatha with a blank expression.
"You've tampered with an armored prosthetic."
-Because you killed Katrin.
"She took her own life. I never intended to kill her."
-Are you kidding me? You drove Katrin to her death! It was you! You killed her, you worthless bastard!
Agatha’s mechanical voice surged with raw fury.
"Agatha, don’t use the armored prosthetic. You may not realize it now, but before long, the machine will consume you."
Noel spoke as if trying to reason with her.
Pazik!
Agatha swung her poleaxe upward from below. Noel’s left arm was brutally shattered.
Noel only staggered for a brief moment. He let out a bitter smile.
"I can't afford to fall here just yet. Please… let me go."
-Are you seriously saying that? Why are you doing this, Noel? This isn’t you. Why…?
If Agatha could cry, she would have. But the armored prosthetic, Scylla, could neither frown nor weep.
"I haven't changed. It’s the world around me that has. Please, believe me."
-How can I believe you? You betrayed Katrin! If that was your plan, why did you marry her? Why did you go to her in the first place?!
"I have betrayed many people… but I will never betray you. You are special to me."
Even without Noel’s perspective, I could see it.
‘Noel is using Agatha’s feelings against her.’
He was exploiting Agatha’s emotional vulnerability, manipulating her turmoil. He knew her feelings toward him were tangled in both love and hatred, and he used that knowledge to his advantage.
"When my work is done, I’ll tell you everything… I promise."
-Shut up! I don’t need to hear it! I will forget you. Never appear before me again. The Noel I knew is already dead.
And then, Agatha swung her poleaxe.
Kwajijik!
Noel’s upper and lower body split apart. But since he was a full-body prosthetic, this alone wouldn’t kill him.
-Let’s see if your precious subordinates come to rescue you. If you’re lucky, you won’t get caught by the Imperial forces. This is my choice.
* * *
Agatha retired from the military. Officially, it was due to the irreversible side effects of the armored prosthetic. Given her many achievements, the higher-ups had no choice but to accept it.
As time passed, Noel’s rebel forces grew in size. Every noble’s private army that clashed with them suffered near-total annihilation.
Eventually, the emperor, unable to tolerate it any longer, led his army on a personal campaign. The rebels were utterly defeated in the confrontation, and from that point on, they rapidly declined.
This was the official version of events. Ultimately, the imperial authority grew stronger, while the nobles were weakened.
‘Noel and the emperor’s plan is moving to the next stage.’
After exhausting the bulk of their forces, the rebels scattered across Planet Arc in a guerrilla formation. They hid in major cities, carrying out acts of terrorism and assassination. At times, they banded together to strike key imperial facilities, killing many influential nobles in the process.
It wasn’t particularly surprising that so many nobles were dying. After all, one of the rebels’ core ideologies was the dismantling of the class system.
However, Noel’s faction was now on the verge of collapse.
“Kosova and Hinden are dead too. Information is leaking.”
“We need to restructure. We can’t operate as a military force anymore.”
“Let’s be honest. We’re falling apart. Internal unrest is growing, and with it, more betrayals.”
The advisors voiced their concerns one after another. Noel sat in the highest seat, silent.
He couldn’t stop now. Too many deaths had already piled up. If he halted here, all the suffering and sacrifices would have been for nothing.
“…I’ll draft the restructuring plan myself.”
Following Noel’s directive, the rebels reorganized into small, compartmentalized cells. Only a handful of key figures understood the full structure of the organization.
‘Winning isn’t the goal. The goal is relentless resistance.’
Even if one branch was exposed, only the outermost members would be cut off. The core would persist, waging an unwinnable but unending struggle.
It was around this time that Akies Victima began to spread publicly. Rebel leaders gathered locals and taught them Akies combat techniques. Though crudely learned, the techniques quickly took root in the backstreets.
“Noel, you’re planning to leave at a time like this?”
“Two days is enough. I’m counting on you, Uwe.”
Leaving the organization in the hands of his trusted aide, Noel disappeared. No one could trace where he had gone, as if he had vanished into thin air.
‘The emperor’s overseer.’
That authority still belonged to Noel, even now.
Under the identity of a fugitive, Noel entered the city. He had disguised himself to attend a wedding.
It wasn’t for an assassination.
‘Agatha’s wedding.’
It was Agatha’s wedding after her retirement. It wasn’t grand, but it was modest and warm.
Her spouse was not a soldier. He was an imperial bureaucrat, well-reputed, diligent, and sincere. In many ways, he was the ideal partner.
Noel watched Agatha’s wedding from a distance.
I don’t know exactly what Noel was feeling at this moment. But I could guess. He must have genuinely wished for Agatha’s happiness.
…And then, ten more years passed.
Under the pretext of suppressing the rebels, the Empire began monitoring and oppressing its people. Afraid of rebel attacks and terrorism, the people willingly accepted the authoritarian rule.
Noel and the emperor’s plan had reached its final stage.
Across the Empire, massive immigrant ships were being constructed.
‘The Planetary Immigration Project.’
It was an enormous undertaking that consumed the majority of the Empire’s resources. The goal was to leave the barren Planet Arc in search of an ideal place to live.
The entrenched noble society had no reason to welcome such a project. The nobility had already adapted to Planet Arc, monopolizing its industries and reveling in wealth and power. Immigration would disrupt existing interests, create new factions, and force the nobility to share their privileges.
‘And colonizing a new planet while building an immigration fleet is an enormous burden on the Empire as well.’
Most of the current generation of imperial citizens would never benefit from immigration or planetary development. They would be exploited for the sake of the future and die without seeing any rewards. Even in the best-case scenario, it would take two or three generations before their descendants could reap the benefits.
There was no group—nobles or commoners—that would willingly embrace such an uncertain future at the cost of present suffering.
‘The only force that can suppress all those grievances is absolute imperial authority.’
Noel’s rebellion had ultimately led to the concentration of power in the imperial family. That was what allowed them to enforce the immigration plan by sheer force.
‘So this was all for the immigration fleet. One day, this fleet will bring the Empire to Planet Novus.’
Noel’s once relentless and fierce drive had begun to wane.
"It will all be over soon."
Sitting alone in a dark room, Noel murmured to himself. He had betrayed those he loved. He had let those who trusted and followed him die. His mind must have already been in ruins.
He had endured a life filled with disgrace and suffering. Even someone with ice-cold blood and an iron will could not escape the toll it took on his soul.
"Agatha, this is a record for you. By the time we meet again, I probably won’t even have the chance to explain."
Noel suddenly looked up at the ceiling and spoke. His gaze pierced through me. This was the letter Noel was leaving behind in the simulation.
"This was the only way to save everyone. I'm sorry for the wounds I inflicted. No words could ever be enough to atone. It wasn’t just you. What I did to Katrin… not even death could make up for it."
Noel plugged a thick cable into the back of his neck. The circuits and grooves engraved on the cable pulsed with light, which was drawn into the computer. The light flickered as if breathing, and Noel’s pupils flashed in sync.
He was converting his memories into simulation data.
"If I had been wiser, if I had been a better person… could I have made a better choice? I’ve thought about it every night, but the answer never changed."
Noel carefully organized his memories.
"If I had told you everything, you would have willingly taken on disgrace and death alongside me. That’s not what I wanted."
He was speaking to Agatha. He was certain she would be the first to see this record.
"Please, survive, Agatha. I know this is cruel to you. But I can't tell anyone about this. You're the only one I can trust. If you alone remember who I was… then I can be saved."
The room I was sitting in trembled. A deafening crash erupted from the floor below. A battle had begun.
"I don’t need anyone else’s recognition. Just you. And I need you to see how the evil I committed led to salvation… to prove that my life wasn’t meaningless."
Noel’s eyelids flickered rapidly. The simulation conversion of his memories was nearing its completion.
‘To save Agatha, at the very least…’
The final step of the plan was Noel’s death. And the one chosen to carry it out was Agatha.
Agatha, who had transferred her brain and consciousness into an armored prosthetic, was on her way here. From below, the sounds of horrific screams rang out. Just from the sound, I could tell her strikes were merciless.
Noel continued listening to the news through a hologram, playing the same broadcast on repeat. It was the list of casualties from a rebel terrorist attack.
‘Agatha’s husband and daughter were killed in the attack.’
That grief and fury had dragged Agatha back to the battlefield.
‘It was probably the imperial family’s doing…’
I could sense Noel’s reasoning as if it were my own.
Not every terrorist act carried out by the rebels was under Noel’s control. But he would have done everything he could to keep Agatha from being caught up in it.
But if Agatha ever learned of Noel’s reasoning, she would die as well.
‘If she remains unaware, she can kill Noel and claim wealth and honor for herself.’
It was unclear whether this situation was the emperor’s form of consideration or simply his twisted amusement.
Despite working together for so long, Noel never fully understood the emperor’s humanity. He couldn’t even be certain whether the emperor genuinely cared for his people. He had simply sided with him because, in the end, he believed the emperor’s decisions were right.
Kwa-deudeudeuk!
The floor shattered, and the armored prosthetic, Scylla, emerged.
Her glowing, menacing eyes radiated nothing but killing intent. Overwhelming hatred and rage, the overload of the armored prosthetic, and the sudden return to the battlefield—Agatha was in no state of mind to think rationally.
"Agatha, it wasn’t intentional. Please, spa—"
Noel’s final words twisted into the pathetic excuse of a wretched man. That must have only fueled Agatha’s murderous intent further.
She didn’t hesitate. Perhaps she feared that if she kept listening, she might be swayed just like before. After all, she had once loved Noel enough to suppress even her thirst for vengeance.
-Capture him alive, Agatha!
The shouts from below were meaningless. Agatha’s arm did not stop.
Kwajik!
Noel’s head burst. That was the end of the simulation conversion.
Chijijijik!
A terrible noise rang inside my head. It was the signal of death imprinted into my emotions.
Pazik!
Returning to reality, I gripped the virtual simulation device as if to crush it. The outer casing cracked, exposing its internal components.
In the latter half of the virtual simulation, my similarity index with Noel had been low enough that I didn’t experience dissociative symptoms.
‘What happened next?’
Akies Victima automatically began its deductive reasoning.
‘Agatha was rewarded for killing Noel by receiving the name Custoria. Though she killed him instead of capturing him… it must have been the emperor’s way of showing favor.’
However, the official records stated that Noel had been captured and secretly executed. The most plausible reason was to use his capture as bait to lure out the remaining rebel forces.
‘With interplanetary immigration on the horizon, they needed to purge any lingering threats one last time.’
The imperial family had used Noel until the very end.
I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts. Giselle waited without touching me.
"…Ah, that was quite an entertaining memory, Luka."
Not long after, Barbara woke up as well. She looked at me with a faint smile.
"If you have something to say, go ahead."
"Do you know why we left Planet Arc and came to Novus? Not the official reason—the real one."
I frowned and remained silent. The deep immersion in the virtual simulation and the continuous causal reasoning had left my nerves razor-sharp. I was too irritated to bother answering.
"Well, since you showed me something interesting, I’ll give you some information in return. I like you, after all. Listen closely—Corites, Bellatians, and even us Imperials all migrated to the same planet at roughly the same time. There’s been a conspiracy theory floating around for ages… a rumor that all three human nations were driven to Planet Novus because of some 'incident.'"
A single image flashed through my mind.
A grotesque, organic warship made of black-red flesh. Engines that emitted darkness instead of light…
Barbara probably hadn’t seen it. Only I had. Agatha likely didn’t know either.
Barbara raised her index finger and continued rambling about her theory.
"If that rumor is true, then the emperor must have foreseen the coming disaster and used Noel’s rebellion as an excuse to construct the massive immigration fleet. That means there was a threat serious enough to force an entire nation to relocate."
Her words were certainly intriguing. But right now, they weren’t relevant to me. I would simply store them in my memory.
…Ultimately, I wanted to make a different decision than Noel. But no matter how many times I thought about it, the conclusion remained the same. Compliance with the Empire was the best option.
The imperial family was ruthless and cunning. But they were undeniably acting for the survival and benefit of the Empire as a whole.