I created my own system

Chapter 410 410: Stepping forward

My hand still remained extended toward the empty air.

Then before I realized it—

our connection was abruptly severed.

My consciousness returned to where I originally stood.

Back at the Tower.

The screens still floated before me.

The battlefield still burned.

The war still raged on endlessly.

Nothing had changed.

Yet somehow—

everything felt different now.

For a brief moment—

I simply stared at the empty space before me.

Then quietly whispered,

"…You did well."

My voice barely reached my own ears.

Even after the connection ended, my hand remained suspended in the air as though a part of me still expected Hope to answer.

But nothing came.

No system notification.

No familiar pressure.

No response.

Only silence.

I could only gulp and grit my teeth at my own failure.

I still wasn't recovering from what had just happened.

Hope's disappearance lingered heavily inside my chest, leaving behind an unfamiliar emptiness that I could not properly describe.

Then—

Another feed suddenly opened.

"Apollo—"

Someone behind me spoke, but their voice faded into the background the moment my eyes locked onto the screen.

Alicia.

The projection expanded before me instantly.

Flames surged wildly around her.

Not the calm controlled fire she usually wielded.

These flames were violent.

Chaotic.

Unrestrained.

The inferno collided against—

Something else.

A knight.

No—

Not mine.

This one was different.

Wrong.

Its body looked twisted beyond recognition.

The armor was fused directly into flesh.

Blackened bones protruded between shattered metallic plates like spikes forcing themselves outward from a corpse.

Its limbs were unnaturally large.

Too heavy.

Too distorted.

It looked as though someone had forcefully shoved a monstrous creature into the shape of a human knight.

"…A magical beast," Aaron whispered before I could speak.

And he was right.

I could see it clearly.

The structure.

The density.

The mana flows beneath its surface.

That was not a human body.

It was a corpse.

A powerful magical beast—

Reshaped.

Weaponized.

An undead chimera.

My expression darkened immediately.

Alicia was already moving.

Her flames spiraled violently as she clashed against the creature, each strike shaking the battlefield around them.

Explosions erupted constantly.

Heat distorted the air.

The ground shattered beneath every collision.

Yet the thing—

Didn't react.

Didn't flinch.

Didn't hesitate.

It fought exactly like my Knight.

Efficient.

Unfeeling.

Relentless.

"…They made their own version."

The words slipped from my mouth almost instinctively.

No.

Perhaps it came from me.

From my demonized form.

They must have taken inspiration from the corrupted state I once revealed and used it to create this abomination.

The realization settled coldly inside my chest.

Damn it.

I had barely begun collecting myself after losing Hope—

And now this.

My teeth clenched tightly.

This couldn't continue.

Not like this.

I was already about to deploy additional artificial soldiers toward Alicia's position when—

Something happened.

Something that made my breath stop completely.

Alicia—

My Alicia—

Dropped to one knee.

The room immediately fell silent.

No one moved.

No one breathed.

"…What?"

The word escaped my lips quietly.

Uncertainly.

That...

That shouldn't happen.

There were no enemies capable of overwhelming Alicia so easily.

I refused to believe that.

And more alarming than anything else—

I saw no visible attack.

No fatal strike.

No obvious wound.

And yet—

Her flames flickered violently.

Her posture destabilized.

And the barrier surrounding her—

There were cracks.

My pupils immediately narrowed.

I zoomed the feed closer.

Enhanced the footage.

Slowed everything down frame by frame.

Then—

I saw it.

Deep inside her magic itself—

Fractures.

Spreading outward slowly like cracks across glass.

My heartbeat accelerated violently.

No...

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

"I'm going in."

The words left my mouth immediately.

Keith instantly stepped forward.

"Are you sure?" he asked sharply. "Remember, you're still injured. You might die if you recklessly join the battlefield!"

"I know."

My voice sounded calm.

Too calm.

Because if even a fraction of what I truly felt slipped through—

The entire room would break apart.

"That level of attack shouldn't have been enough."

But it was.

Which meant—

My assumptions were wrong.

Alicia might actually possess a weakness.

And worse—

The enemy already knew about it.

Silence pressed down upon us.

Heavy.

Suffocating.

It felt as though invisible hands were slowly tightening around the room itself.

"I will go."

I stepped forward.

But before leaving—

I suddenly felt it.

Their eyes.

All of them.

Kieth.

Agnes.

Blair.

Samael.

Aaron.

Watching me silently.

Waiting.

Not for explanations.

Not for comfort.

For direction.

The realization made me pause briefly.

The room was no longer just a kitchen.

Once again—

It had become a command center.

And I—

Was still the one leading it.

I slowly exhaled.

Closed my eyes for half a second.

Then opened them again.

Every lingering doubt disappeared.

Every emotion became clear.

The hesitation inside me vanished completely.

My eyes sharpened.

Cold.

Focused.

Ruthless.

"Status update."

The moment I spoke, my fingers immediately moved across the floating screens.

Faster.

Sharper.

More precise than before.

[Barrier is down. Capital is exposed. The dukes made a temporary shield but it won't last.

Estimated time: 5 minutes]

[Multiple high-level entities entering the battlefield—Cardinal Dukes, Archduke, unknown Aileenian forces.

The pillars had stepped in.

Remaining hidden pillars: 7

Currently fighting: 10]

[Alicia is currently engaged with an unidentified undead creature.]

[Estimated threat level: High.]

I paused briefly.

Only for a moment.

Then—

"The Knight is compromised."

No one reacted emotionally.

No panic.

No confusion.

Only acknowledgment.

Good.

"They're entering the final phase of this war."

My eyes remained locked onto Alicia's collapsing figure displayed on the screen.

Even while kneeling—

She was still fighting.

Still forcing her flames forward despite the instability spreading through her magic.

My grip tightened unconsciously.

"So we adjust."

The words came out colder this time.

More decisive.

"If the Knight fails—"

A brief pause followed.

Then—

"Then the most powerful piece steps in."

The sentence settled throughout the room like a verdict.

Absolute.

Heavy.

A final judgement with no hint of hesitation.

No doubt.

Only resolve.

I could feel their gazes intensify slightly after hearing my decision.

Yet nobody tried stopping me this time.

Perhaps because they already understood.

Or perhaps because the expression on my face made them realize arguing would be meaningless.

The battlefield projection continued flickering violently before us.

The skies above the capital burned endlessly.

The barrier protecting the Empire had collapsed completely replaced by temporary protection.

And now—

The real war was beginning.

My thoughts accelerated rapidly.

Countless calculations flooded my mind simultaneously.

Enemy movement.

Deployment routes.

Casualty estimates.

Possible reinforcements.

Everything overlapped inside my head at once.

Yet despite all of it—

One thought remained louder than the rest.

Alicia.

I stared at the screen quietly.

Watching her struggle to remain standing against the monstrous knight before her.

Her flames continued erupting wildly around the battlefield.

But I could already tell.

She was forcing herself.

Pushing beyond her limit.

And somehow—

That frightened me more than the enemy itself.

Because Alicia was never reckless without reason.

Which meant the situation was already worse than what I initially calculated.

My fingers slowly curled into fists.

The air around me shifted faintly as mana began responding instinctively to my emotions.

The surrounding screens trembled slightly.

Several of my friends immediately noticed.

But no one spoke.

Perhaps they realized I was barely holding myself together already.

Hope had just disappeared moments ago.

And now Alicia was collapsing before my eyes.

Fury and destruction almost tore through my body.

Fortunately I was able to control it.

I could still remember Hope's final words.

Its final question.

"Am I really alive?"

The memory struck my chest painfully.

I slowly lowered my gaze for a brief second.

Then inhaled deeply.

No.

Not now.

I couldn't allow myself to stop here.

Not while the war was still raging.

Not while Alicia was still fighting alone.

When I raised my head again—

The hesitation was gone.

"Prepare yourselves," I said quietly.

The room immediately straightened.

Everyone's expressions hardened.

Because this time—

I wasn't watching anymore.

I was entering the battlefield myself.

"Keith I will leave first, just give assistance through the consoles"

I said as my body slowly disappeared.

My vision changed and my environment from the cozy kitchen change into a ragged battlefield.

"Jeremiah, create a new barrier this one has too many holes. So many insects had gotten in"

[Affirmative Creator]

My foot then landed right at the battle and there I saw Alicia fighting not just the chimera but also a certain witch.

"Oh"

I spoke acting surprise.

"Emilia, still alive"

A pair of surprised eyes gazed upon me.

But all I did was cast a spell.

"Let me show you something amazing"

Three magic circles combined each have different elements.

My face remained calm contrary to a certain princess whose first action is to run.

'Yeah run, I already know where you are going'

My mind already mapped the area and without hesitation, the entire capital became engulf of its influence.

"Jeremiah"

[Yes Creator]

"Upgrade my stats"

A voice then replied.

[As you wish Creator]