Chương 24: Alternate Ends (Part 2)

While most of the alternate timelines in my first three lives ended up on what you might call a "good" route, the number of good ends go sharply downhill for any alternate endings in the next life. That's right, if you recall, my next life was Pride, and there was very little chance of redemption for that monster.

Pride (Reference Book 2, Chapter 25 – Humility) I was in my throne room, about to have all of the nation's leaders swear their oath to me, and the new "[Hero]," a janitor, had just been summoned. And Gertrude was spoiling for a fight.

"Maybe I should release you from your oath then," I said"Do it! Otherwise, yer nothin' more than a lily-livered coward!" Gertrude shouted. I was about 20 feet from her.

"Do you not remember how this went the last time?" I asked.

"This time, I won't call for a healer to save your life."

"That's fine by me! As long as you don't go warpin' around again! Stand and fight me like a man!"

"Very well," I laughed as I continued approaching her.

"I release Gertrude and Gert from their oath and-" My words were cut off as I lost my balance and nearly slipped on the newly mopped floor. I glared over at the [Hero], who was minding his own business and mopping at the side of the room.

"You dare!?" I shouted and shot a [Hell Blaze] in his direction. The poor [Janitor] didn't stand a chance… nor did Gertrude since I also refused to fight on her terms and continued "warpin' around."

"Wait, that's not an ending," you might say. And you're right. But I had to set the stage a little. … Also, it turned out that since Kilroy only managed to defeat me through a sheer fluke, it seems that most of the timelines I could find were actually ones where I won there. That's depressing. Anyway, I started there because there were at least two paths of interest that could come about as a result of Pride winning. The first one occurred if things went as normal… and then a certain [Hero] became available.

The OmniverseEngine spun in circles. The chances of anyone defeating the [Demon Lord] were below abysmal, but still not 0. It spent cycle after cycle looking for a solution but then paused. He was available. The decision was made immediately.

"Och, awa' to Hell, ye stupid truck," Thomas muttered as the truck hit him, and the world went dark.

Thomas reappeared in the middle of a ruined town square. The few people around, dressed in rags, looked at him warily from alleyways and corners. That changed in a moment. System: Congratulations! You have been chosen as the new Hero of Placeholder! After that, it was like a collective gasp went through the people. They rushed him as one.

"Please, sir, save us!" one shouted.

"You have to defeat the [Demon Lord]!" another shouted.

"Avenge my family!" cried a third. That certainly made his job straightforward.

"I'll be done afore supper time," Thomas replied and activated his skill, <Secret Tunnel Through the Aether to the Source of Calamity>. … Every time he used it, he really wished he hadn't allowed a fey queen to name the skill. Terrible name or not, he still appeared before a man seated lazily on a throne. He had golden hair, a halo, and even flashing golden eyes.

"Found ye," Thomas said without hesitation as he readied his halberd, and that was without looking up at the health bar that informed him he was in front of the Demon Lord of Pride. He had seen enough demons trying to masquerade as angels of light that he would never be fooled. His belief was vindicated when an ugly sneer broke over the [Demon Lord's] face, and he strolled down the throne steps to meet him.

"Another pitiful little [Hero] comes to challenge me," he stated with a faked yawn.

"At least try to keep me entert-" Thomas was in no mood for an evil overlord's monologue. He triggered <Instantaneous Movement> and blinked forward with his halberd jutting at the [Demon Lord's] chest. The [Demon Lord's] eyes widened briefly, but he also disappeared. He reappeared off to the side and cast a spell.

"[Hell Blaze]!" The blackened fire shot in his direction, but Thomas simply sidestepped it and let it crash into the far wall. The [Demon Lord] cast the same spell again, aimed at the floor beneath Thomas, but Thomas took care of that by activating <Instantaneous Movement> and appearing behind the [Demon Lord]… But he had to pull back as the [Demon Lord] shot a third ball of flame at his own feet. Thomas wasn't surprised. Demons were often immune to their own flames.

"<Embrace of the Seraphim>!" Thomas countered, and holy light shunted the black flames off to the side as the angelic wings appeared and covered him. Unfortunately, that gave the [Demon Lord] time to blink away and fire yet another ball of flame at him. Thomas kept up his skill and thought of options for a brief moment. He'd been playing it safe, but the [Demon Lord] seemed to only have the single trick to his name. That would make this next part easy, then. He had just the skill in mind.

He dropped his guard skill as the next spell flew. Then, he used a different one.

"<Spell Slayer: Hell Blaze>!" Thomas shouted as he twirled the axe portion of his halberd through the spell. The spell split in two and fizzled out, but that wasn't the only benefit of the capstone skill he had gained in a different world where magic was solely the purview of demons and their followers.

"Hell Blaze!" the [Demon Lord] shouted again, then looked at his hands in confusion as nothing formed. Thomas could have mocked the [Demon Lord]. He could have explained that his skill had functionally erased the spell itself from the world for the next 30 minutes. But this wasn't amateur hour. Thomas instead used the [Demon Lord's] confusion as an opportunity to press the attack. He used his movement skill and thrust his weapon at the [Demon Lord].

He was sure the [Demon Lord] couldn't dodge in time, even with his own movement skill, and so he was about to land the first real hit of the fight. Thomas was shocked for the first time in decades when the [Demon Lord] managed to block the strike by meeting it with his own flaming fist. Thomas took a step back to avoid the follow-up kick and quickly opened the status that he had neglected to check. Ah, that explains it. He thought as he activated <Unbreakable Guard>.

He let the [Demon Lord] hammer away at his halberd that practically warped around to block every strike. Ma weapon skill is only at 5. Thomas had been to many worlds where skills capped the damage output of any weapon, though it was odd that this world seemed to have a lower cap of 5. He probably had to do something silly like get enlightenment or spend some arbitrary points before increasing it above 5. He shook his head. It disnae matter. I winnae need the help.

All that being said, he was the slightest bit stumped about how to move forward. Halberds were fantastic weapons. They had reach, were versatile, and showed that someone meant business instead of those puny sidearms that everyone always flocked to. However, halberds, and weapons in general, didn't work as well when the opponent you were fighting could block any attack from it with a bare-fisted punch.

"Is that all you can do!?" the [Demon Lord] shouted as Thomas continued thinking and blocking him automatically.

"You never should have come to oppose me!" As the [Demon Lord] pressed what he thought was his advantage, Thomas started scrolling through his other skills. He needed an attack. Something that would bust through the [Demon Lord's] strikes. <Disarming Strike>. Nae. Winnae dae onythin'. It winnae tak aff his literal arms. Thomas blocked three more strikes and even threw in an <Instantaneous Movement> to keep the [Demon Lord] guessing. <Volcanic Swing>. He shook his head.

That one was mostly fire damage, and a [Demon Lord] was obviously immune. The [Demon Lord] shouted some more things. Thomas thought they were about how he would rue the day he had come to Placeholder… And that actually gave him pause for a moment. Whit a strange name for a warld. However, he thought he might have finally found something.

"<Heavensent Stab>!" Thomas shouted as he thrust his weapon at the [Demon Lord]. The [Demon Lord] leaped out of the way, but the skill fizzled. Looks like It uises magic in this warld. Yet anither dud. Thomas still had dozens of skills to look through, but he decided to ask the System something jokingly instead. I dinnae suppose ye hae a skill I could uise tae kill the [Demon Lord] richt quick? To his surprise, the System answered him.

"And my reign will continue forever!" the [Demon Lord] shouted.

"I will never be-""[Pierce]," Thomas stated as he thrust his spear forward with a thunderclap. The health bar disappeared instantly, and the [Demon Lord] collapsed to the ground, screaming. His illusion was also stripped away, and Thomas saw him for the weak, sniveling coward that he truly was. System: Hero Thomas has slain the Demon Lord! The realm will have relative peace for the next 50 years. Demon morale will be reduced for the duration Ah, he was a returner? Thomas should have asked some more questions.

Oh well, the good news was that it wasn't too late to fix.

"<Soul Strike>!" he shouted and brought his halberd down in a heavy chop.

"No! Wait, please!" the [Demon Lord] shouted, but Thomas's strike landed true. The next thing Thomas knew, he found himself back on the side of the road. He stretched. Glad that ane wis quick. Noo, whit wis I daein' afore aw that? He checked both sides of the street before crossing but groaned as he heard a familiar honk for the second time that day.

"Och, awa' to Hell, ye stupid truck," Thomas muttered as the truck hit him, and the world went dark yet again. The end Yeah, it's safe to say that there was no recovering from that one. Even if Thomas hadn't attacked my soul directly there, it was still a coin flip for whether I would be able to reform. And so, in that timeline, Titus the Tyrant is defeated, and Thomas McKay ends up being the one to fulfill the prophecy… well, kinda.

That type of defeat isn't quite what the prophecy meant, but I won't say more than that. Spoilers. Now, where was I? Right. There were two endings of interest with Pride.

The first was Thomas McKay coming and absolutely kicking my butt. The second was a decision made by someone else quite a long time beforehand.

Admin (Reference Book 2, Chapter 1 - Farewell Sweet [Hero]) The new [Demon Lord], Titus the Mad, had just been reborn.

"Memory Protection! You're the same Demon Lord!" Admin shouted and accidentally left the transmission on. The Demon Lord stopped his shouting and said in a sing-song voice.

"You tried to kill me, but it didn't work. I'm back. I'M BACK! I was dead, but now I'm not. Not dead!" He cackled before continuing, his gaze narrowing.

"And I won't listen to you again. No. No." He covered his ears, even though Admin had never transmitted audio once." I will never listen. I'm not here." After that, he closed his eyes and crouched low on the ground. Admin's plans were ruined once again, and his time was wasted. So, he did what any rational person would do. He turned around, exited the portal, and then- Managed to barely restrain himself from putting a fist through the frame that was maintaining the connection to the world of Placeholder.

I don't have enough manipulation points to force changes in that backwater right now. He thought.

But that won't always be the case. I just have to bide my time. And bide his time he did, until the reign of Titus the Tyrant.

System: The Demon Lord has succeeded, and the demonic portal has been opened! The realm trembles as a new age of darkness will sweep over the land! Pride stared at the message from the System and had only one thing to say.

"What the Hell?" he muttered. … Which was allowed because it literally was Hell. Now, Pride could have just stayed where he was, relaxing in his throne room with his useless servants scurrying around to curry favor with him, but he had a sense of foreboding about that portal. Admin's going to completely rip you apart. I thought, but not loud enough that Pride seemed to notice. He [Teleported] and then chained [Flash Steps] back to back to arrive at the castle in the west in record time.

To his surprise, he saw a multitude of demons waiting there for him. They, for the most part, just cleared the way as he approached the throne room. As Pride slammed the double doors open, he was greeted by the sight of Admin sitting on the throne with several stronger-looking demons kneeling before him.

"Oh, good," Admin grumbled as he lazily took in Pride's entrance.

"You saved me the trouble of tracking you down." The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Pride scowled at him.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here to my world." Admin laughed, long and deep. Then, he leaned forward.

"Being the only demon on the surface, you haven't learned how things are done." He gave another brief chuckle.

"In the lowerarchy, something is yours only if you are strong enough to defend it."

"I am more than strong enough to-" Pride started, but he was cut off as Admin suddenly appeared in front of him, already swinging his great club. Pride's reflexes were just barely fast enough to [Flash Step] to the side. And normally, he would follow up with a [Hell Blaze], but there were two problems with that. First, Admin was a demon and, therefore, immune to the damage. Second, there was no time to cast because Admin [Flash Stepped] after him, and the two began a deadly dance across the throne room.

Even with Admin burdened by a hulking weapon, it felt like Pride was the mouse in a game of cat and mouse. Pride couldn't stand for that. Instead of [Flash Stepping] away after the next attack, he sidestepped the overhand swing and then laid into Admin with a flurry of [Earth Strikes]. Admin stopped and laughed at him.

"Go ahead," he gestured at the spiked armor on his torso.

"See if you can even damage me." Pride switched from earth to air and back to earth, but Admin's health bar didn't move. With panic setting in, Pride overrode the skill's level and tried again. The damage went through this time, but it was distressing to see that Admin's health bar barely changed.

"Another year or two of that, and you might actually get me," Admin mocked. Pride pulled out Insurance and tried that, but it bounced off Admin's armored form as if he had been swinging a pool noodle.

"I'm in a very good mood today, so I'll let you off with just this," Admin said with a stifled yawn. Then, he pointed his hand in Pride's direction and prepared to snap. Pride had a terrible feeling about what would happen if his demon lord form was interrupted. So, he did the only thing that he could think of. He [Disrupted] Admin's [Disrupt]. Pride breathed a sigh of relief that that worked… But he was a bit early on that front. Admin's wrath aura flared. And the club came down before Pride could react.

Pride's form was immediately broken, and I came back to myself… Just in time for the second part of Admin's revenge. He picked me up and repeatedly slammed me into the ground, even as the System informed me that I was paying all of the stored-up debt that I had accumulated with my resource pools. It was perhaps the worst time of my life, but the merciful thing was that it was short and that I would be back and could eventually find a way to get my revenge.

At least, that was the plan if Admin had been as stupid as I thought.

"Now, little [Demon Lord]," Admin mocked as he stood over me, just a few seconds remaining before my health debt was paid and I died for good.

"I have something special prepared for you." He said with a malevolent grin. I didn't like that look, but there was nothing I could do except… die faster, which wasn't something that was under my control.

"[[Remove Candidacy]]," Admin stated. With a scream, my [Memory Protection] was stripped away. Right after my health debt was paid and my life was snuffed out for all eternity.

System: The Demon Lord has been slain! The realm will have relative peace for the next 50 years. Demon morale will be reduced for the duration Admin snorted as he examined the message from the System. That wouldn't do. So, with a few quick tweaks, he triggered a new one. System: The Demon Lord has been slain! All hail the Demon King! Admin grinned. His paradise was finally ready. He couldn't wait to enjoy it. The end Yeah, that one was pretty much a bad end for everybody.

I didn't recover from being Pride and got deleted, the residents of Placeholder went from one evil ruler to a worse one, and Admin… Well, I guess Admin kinda got his good end? He got what he wanted, and all it took was a bit more patience and planning. And that's probably why I don't see very many worlds where he's the one winning. Neither of those things is his strong suit.

Anyway, going chronologically, the next [Demon Lord] was when I was stuck as deceit form. And as for defeats, it turns out that Samson Stonebreaker, the dwarf [Hero] with only defensive skills, had basically no timelines where he defeated me. It turns out that my plan of "just don't interact with [Heroes]" was one of my best ones. However, there were at least a few when dealing with the [Hero] after him. Jeremiah Cole. The detective.

Jeremiah (Reference Book 2, Chapter 36 – Perception) I had just tried to sneakily meet the [Hero] in person. It hadn't gone well. The [Hero] and I locked eyes for the briefest of moments, but it felt like the entire world slowed down. He knew. I took off at a dead sprint and pushed through the crowd. Even if he can see through illusions, he still has to catch me. That means I just have to- My thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a gunshot.

Normally in that scenario, a simple sound like that wouldn't have been enough to stop me. I would have just kept going while taking into account that his [Hero] weapon happened to be several centuries advanced of anything I'd encountered yet. There was just one problem. By the time you hear a supersonic round, you're already hit.

System: Hero Jeremiah has slain the Demon Lord! The realm will have relative peace for the next 50 years. Demon morale will be reduced for the duration"You… you just killed him?" one of the other [Watch Officers] asked Jeremiah. Jeremiah nodded.

"He was fleeing, and I couldn't allow him to take a hostage."

"What about a non-lethal takedown?" the office pressed.

"Gram's laws require the [Hero] use lethal force when confronting the [Demon Lord]." There was another long pause.

"Well, thanks, Jeremiah," the officer said after another moment.

"You've saved us a lot of grief for the next 50 years until he returns. Good work." Jeremiah raised an eyebrow.

"Pardon me. He comes back to life?" And that was how if Jeremiah had been just a bit less perceptive, the world would have been saved from the [Demon Lord] for good. After all, I was struggling so hard to survive because respawns weren't available to me at that point. Jeremiah was returned home, and Placeholder enjoyed its time of peace. The end And then there was another one… I had been captured, Jeremiah was questioning me, and he had just found out about the admins and that we were just pawns in a simulation.

And for whatever reason, he was perfectly okay with that fact.

Jeremiah 2 (Reference Book 2, Chapter 37 – Imprisonment) He must not be right in the head. I thought. And that gave me an idea. A needlessly risky, pointlessly stupid, and not-at-all-thought-out idea. I slipped my handcuffs under my legs and out in front of me in one quick motion. Then, before he had a chance to react, I jumped him.

"[Restore]!" I cast. It should have been impossible. I had handcuffs on that were continuously sucking out my mana. My mana was also sitting at empty. However, [Cast From SP] didn't care. I chunked my SP and cast the spell anyway. Jeremiah met me with a blank stare.

"That is a healing spell, correct?" he asked.

"I'm perfectly healthy. What were you hoping to accomplish with that?" I fell back to the floor, all of my SP wasted.

"Nothing," I muttered. And so, Jeremiah stuck around to ask me more questions, and while my [Actor] levels were good, they weren't enough to hide from the perceptive [Hero]. Eventually, they figured out that I was trying my hardest to stay alive, which meant that I faced a public execution as soon as they were able to get one together. I managed to slip my bounds and make a break for it… Only to hear that blasted pistol for one last time. The end Yeah, Jeremiah was no joke.

Or maybe it was his weapon that was no joke. Either way, those were just some samples of things that could have gone wrong with him. It turned out that I was walking quite the tightrope to survive. As for the life after that… well, that one is easier to summarize since there isn't quite enough for a full story.

Titania (Reference Book 3, Chapter 38 – Titania) Now, there were a couple of different ways this could go down, but most ended the same way. I could be reincarnated in a normal body, not a female one Someone besides Erica could get selected by the System hiccup I could escape the tutorial without ever seeing Erica or the other [Hero] They all pretty much end up the same way. I die to one of the enhanced bosses while attempting to solo it. Despite all that, it doesn't really impact much.

I don't learn [Lightning Spear], so I'm lacking one of my bread-and-butter options for damage-dealing, and my armor gets lost, so I'm a lot easier to kill. Either way, that version of me somehow squeaks through things until… … Oh. Wait. If I die to one of the enhanced bosses, I never encounter Gertrude or Mishael in the time wastes. And while it was just fine to leave Gertrude stuck in a temporal loop forever, my fight with Mishael not happening means- Oops. Can't say that part yet. We haven't got there. Hmm.

And here I thought I could finally include all these alternate ends without spoilers. Ahem. Anyway, let's just leave it at all of those timelines end with me tripping at the finish line. So, you'll just have to figure it out for yourself once I finally get there in my timeline's story. But for now… yeah. It ends poorly. The end While the timelines with Erica are a bit lackluster to explore, I also wanted to leave more room to tell the next story. It's…

painful to look at from the lens of my own experiences, but it at least gives a happy ending to someone who deserved it far more than most.

Varnak (Reference Book 3, Chapter 8 – Invention and Sorrow)"You're saying that-" It was very rude that Nobronor was interrupting the start of Varnak's thoughts with the middle of his own sentences, but he let that slide.

"That this enchantment does just that! It mimics the very process that allows people to recover mana, but it runs indefinitely!" He looked at the glowing sphere that was slowly dying down.

"Still not very efficient yet, but the hard part's done!"

"Varnak, that's-""Amazing? Stupendous!? I know! Just think of the possibilities! Extra mana for healers and potion makers, great machines that run forever and need only to be repaired and looked after, a boundless utopia where even the killing of monsters can be done for us! This will change everything and-" Varnak saw the look on my face and stopped.

"My boy, what's the matter?" he asked.

"Is everything okay?" Meanwhile, I had been at war with myself. This is the breakthrough I needed. I thought. This is the weapon that would let me take down the OmniverseEngine. And it's also something that could kill me. If this got into the wrong hands, it would be like they had unlimited mana. I would spend the rest of my years respawning or in the tutorial. I can't let something like this get out. A loud part of me called for Varnak's death. His invention was too dangerous to let him live.

But I listened to the quieter voice. If I had to guess my motivations, I don't think it was compassion or my friendship with Varnak. I don't think it was done out of moral virtue or a sense of rightness. I think I was just… tired. I was tired of my fight with the OmniverseEngine. I was exhausted with the thought of vengeance and the path I had found myself going down. And so, I pushed all that aside, let a small smile come over my face, and then answered him.

"No, everything's fine," I said with a shake of my head. Then, it was immediately into inventing mode.

"So, were you thinking of making something for the church with this? I imagine rechargeable [Restore] wands would be fantastic for helping out people who live in remote places-" Inventions practically flew out of our workshop after that. And while Varnak wasn't the best [Enchanter], I was. I got way more bang for our buck with the mana-gathering enchantment and could power artifacts with much more power than a simple light. …

The prices were absolutely ridiculous at first, and almost no one could afford them, but that was actually to our benefit since we were the sellers. Things were going well until Varnak came into our shop looking exceedingly troubled one day.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, my boy," he said with a shake of his head.

"Just this blasted war that's looming ahead of us. The elves and humans should know better than to think we're harboring the [Demon Lord]." He snorted.

"What cranberries." I didn't bother figuring out what word Varnak had accidentally replaced. In fact, I barely even heard the end of his sentence. Frick. They're going to war because I'm here? I thought in a panic. Then, I knew what I had to do.

"Varnak, could I talk to you in private for a moment?" I asked.

"Sure, sure, just give a moment," he replied distractedly while tightening a bolt on a mana-based crossbow we were working on.

"It's… important," I stated. Mostly because I knew that if I waited, I would lose my nerve.

"Alright then," he set his wrench down.

"Lead the way." He gestured to the private workshop. We went in, and I took a deep breath.

"Before I continue, I need you to swear that you won't share this secret with anyone without my permission, okay?" I asked. He nodded along.

"Sure, my boy. Whatever you say." I paused.

"A [System-Bound Oath], please." Varnak's eyes widened a bit.

"Nabramoor," he butchered my fake name once more.

"If you're in trouble, I can help, but I might need to let some people know." I sighed.

"The oath." Then, meeting his eyes.

"Please," I begged.

"If you insist," Varnak said softly.

"I solemnly swear by System that I will not reveal your secret to anyone without your permission."

"Thank you," I replied. Then, I paused for several long seconds.

"And now… don't freak out. Okay?"

"Why would I- By the beard of Pumil!" Varnak shouted and backed away from me into a bench. And that was because I finally dropped my illusion.

"I solemnly swear by the System that I won't hurt you," I quickly swore as I held up my hands. Varnak was shaking like a leaf.

"W-w-what have you done with Nuneiro?"

"It's been me all along," I replied.

"At first, I was just wasting time trying to figure out new weapons, but then you came up with that." I pointed at the prototype Varnak had shown me.

"And I think that with that, we really can make the world a better place, but I need your help with-""Away from me, demon!" Varnak shouted as he covered the light as if I hadn't already seen it.

"It was you who opened the portal in the west! You were the one who brought the demons here! And now, my home is under attack because they think we were harboring you!" Varnak broke down into tears.

"And we were! Oh, blue text, preserve me, what have I done!?"

"Varnak," I said softly, trying to reach out and comfort him.

"Out!" he said, whipping his head towards me.

"Leave and don't come back!" And then, when I hesitated.

"[Guards]! [Guards]!" he cried. By the time the guards got there, I had my illusion back up and running, and Varnak's oath prevented him from ratting me out. … It did not keep him from kicking me out of his workshop, however. And so, I was kicked to the curb and slightly lost on what to do. Then I had an idea. A wonderfully, stupid idea. Worst case scenario, I die. I thought. And so I made my best speed towards Pumil's walls. I had a war to stop.

Ideally, I would have arrived before the war started, but I wasn't fast enough. By the time I got there, Pumil's walls were already under siege. Ironic that most of those weapons were probably made here. I thought as I examined the catapults, trebuchets, and ballistas that were launching their projectiles at the walls. Then, I looked for the [Hero]. Eventually, I spotted her in the vanguard protecting one of the rams battering at the gates.

I made my best speed over there, my armor blocking every stray arrow or bolt that came my way, and an [Elemental Strike] took care of any spell that I thought might actually hurt me. Then, it was time for my grand entrance.

"People of Placeholder!" I boomed from atop the wall, activating my [Actor] skills.

"Stop your unjust war against Pumil!" To my surprise, I caused a brief lull in the fighting. Didn't know it would work that well. I thought. I was still covered in my illusion, so most likely, everyone was wondering who the heck I was. I jumped off the wall and landed heavily. I winced as a good 200 HP got knocked off but I acted as if I was unaffected.

"It is me that you are looking for, and the dwarves had no knowledge of my presence," I shouted as I deactivated my spell and pulled on my gauntlets.

"So, come, [Hero] Shalia," I beckoned toward her.

"I am the one you are seeking." Without another word, she strode forward, and I was shoved into her skill's pocket dimension. … Which was perfect. I didn't want anyone to see how the fight would go down. I was planning on cheating. A lot. My sword met her rapier, and I was more than a match for her because I had cast [Foresight] right as our fight started. … And also because I kept pulling out crossbow after crossbow and firing them at her with my off hand. Despite all that, she still almost won.

She pulled a new [Hero] skill out at the last moment and nearly ran me through with it. Fortunately, [Foresight] gave me enough of a heads-up that I stifled it with [Disrupt]. It would have been a [Reflect Attack], but my plan pretty much required keeping her alive. Instead, the finishing blow was made with an explosive bolt from my adamantium crossbow. That… packed a lot more punch than I had expected it to.

I blinked in surprise as we both returned to the middle of the field, her groaning in pain in negative HP and still trying to get up and fight me, and me sitting pretty with at least 150 left. I quickly scooped up her rapier, vanished it into my inventory, and then pulled off my gauntlets. And now it was time to tell the truth… with a mix of tactical lies.

"People of Placeholder!" I shouted.

"I am not your enemy!" Number of people who believed that: 0 I continued undaunted.

"Power of light restore health to my ally. [Cure]!" I cast, and in shock, Shalia quickly got up to her feet. She eyed me warily, but I turned back to the people.

"The true threats are the demons! They are the ones who deceived me into opening the portal, and they have deceived you into attacking the innocent dwarves!" I shouted. Most people still didn't believe that, but that wasn't quite the point. They had brought some demons along with them, after all. I looked over to Avarice, who was frantically motioning me to cut it off.

"He's referring, of course, to demons," Avarice replied.

"Not devils. We would never betray a contract!" He laughed.

"Demons and devils are one and the same," I answered evenly.

"I should know. I was there when you all came out of the portal." Avarice finally figured out what I was doing, but he was too late.

"I solemnly swear by the System that I will aid that [Hero] in hunting down demons!" I shouted.

"I will not harm the people of Placeholder except in self-defense, and should any [Hero] decide that I should die for my crimes, I will not resist!"

"You would dare betray the lowerarchy!?" Avarice shouted. I paused for a brief moment.

"Yes," I stated. I reached into my inventory and handed Shalia back her weapon, even as Avarice charged me. The other greed demons held back… which was a pity. I could have taken more of them out at the same time.

"Lightning become my radiant blade that will pierce the darkened heavens," I chanted as Singularity appeared in my hand.

"[Lightning Spear]!" Avarice tried to dodge it, but you can't dodge lightning. He was sent back to Hell immediately. The other demons turned to flee.

"Don't let them escape!" I shouted. I moved to go after them, but Shalia's rapier pointed at my chest.

"After them!" Shalia called. However, she didn't make a move herself. I put my staff in my inventory and held out my hands wide.

"If you decide it would be best to kill me, I can't resist," I stated.

"But I would much rather atone for what I've done."

"You think anything you do would be enough to atone for what you've done?" she asked in astonishment. I shook my head.

"No, probably not." I paused.

"But I'd like to at least try." She nodded slowly, and her rapier left my chest.

"One slip up, one indication that you're plotting something, and you're dead," she stated.

"Good," I replied.

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

The next few years were spent demon hunting. It turned out that I was really good at it since I couldn't fall for any illusions, and I could [Scry] all of the leaders. We slowly eradicated their influence from Placeholder and kept them barred in the ashlands for good. However, that had only been my secondary goal. My primary goal was still out of reach. Reconciling with Varnak. I wasn't sure that was ever going to happen.

Whenever Shalia took a few days to recuperate, silly humanoids and their need for sleep, I would [Teleport] off to Pumil and try to speak with Varnak. He refused to see me. Or speak with me when I snuck in. So, I slowly tapered off seeing until it was just once a year, on the anniversary of the day we had our fight. When I started bringing flowers, I think he finally caught the parallels to the day he took off once a year. The day that he grieved the boy who had lost his life in Varnak's workshop.

After the fifth year, I finally wore him down enough.

"I'll give you five minutes to present your case, and then you must swear to leave me alone," Varnak stated flatly.

"But what if you don't want me to leave you alone after I make my case?" I asked.

"Swear first, or leave." I sighed.

"I solemnly swear by the System that I will leave you alone after these five minutes if you decide you want me to." I looked at him to see if that was good enough, but he didn't reply.

"Four minutes and thirty seconds," he stated flatly, pulling out a pocket watch. Frick. I thought.

"I'm sorry about tricking you." I started.

"But it's true about my change of heart. Before I met you, I was lost, listless, and deceived, but I think you finally got me on the right path." My other words came out in a rush, and I was sure that I wasn't being the most persuasive. However, they were genuine and straight from my heart. I was sure that Varnak had it in him to forgive me. Varnak nodded his head slowly as the time limit ran out.

"Now, as promised, I never want to see Titus again," Varnak said. My heart sank. I had seen Varnak as a friend. Perhaps my only one left in the entire world. I didn't want to leave him behind if I could help it. He slowly gave me a slightly pained grin.

"But I don't suppose I would mind it if Nymnorian showed up and occasionally helped with my inventions." I looked up at him, hope stirring.

"Really?" He coughed, and I cast a quick [Disguise Self].

"Nergathormore, my boy!" he called, clapping me on the back.

"Haven't seen you in ages! Come in, come in! I was just working on a wonderful idea. Trap a bunch of explosion magic inside a shell of paladium and then release it all at once! The shrapnel should do wonders against demons and-" That version of me became known for two wildly different things. And it's hard to say whether Titus the Inventor, or Titus the Demon Hunter was the more prevalent title. I guess it doesn't matter much either way.

That version of me dedicated himself to Varnak's vision of making the world a better place… even when the dwarf eventually passed away from old age. However, while Varnak may have been gone, he would never be forgotten. Especially since I established the Blastfizzle Prizes…

which, yes, were knockoffs of the Nobel prize. They were mostly geared towards inventions, and they also allowed weapons of war… so long as they showed good promise of being used against the demons. And so, I lived to guide Placeholder toward ever more prominent peace and prosperity, all thanks to a certain [Mad Inventor]. The end And that's all the alternate timelines I'll go over for now.

While I could get bogged down in the thousands to millions of different universes where versions of me lived, I think it's best to get back to the story… of my last life on Placeholder.