kscans

Chapter 111 - Epilogue: The Final Choice to Rewrite the Game World

In the silence, at the very heart of the core central domain, Ark-Lore-Crest. A single man stood where the throne of god had been.

Mamoru, the Hobgoblin reincarnator.

Before him was a solemn and cold metallic device. It was the only terminal with the 'authority to rewrite the world,' known as the Game Creator's Exclusive Control Panel.

A flashing command was at its center.

【REBOOT_PROGRAM.EXE】
Executing will reconstruct the current game world to its initial settings.

Mamoru stared at it for a time, saying nothing. If he closed his eyes, he remembered. The words exchanged on their journey, the days they fought, the faces that smiled, the voices that cried, and the comrades who were killed.

He had come this far to restore the world that Hero Ares, or Taiga Nanjo, had destroyed. To keep the promise he made to the Demon Lord and his comrades. And to 'start over' everything in the world.

"...Everyone, thank you. I'm going to run REBOOT_PROGRAM.EXE."

Mamoru reached out his finger without hesitation.

Click.

【REBOOT_PROGRAM.EXE】──Executing

At that moment, the entire God's Tower began to vibrate with a low hum. The surrounding walls shattered into blocks and crumbled away. The ceiling, the floor, all melted into particles of equations and light.

Ark-Lore-Crest was disappearing.

As Mamoru stood at the center of the annihilation, the figures of his comrades appeared faintly before his eyes. A final, dream-like time to say goodbye.

Defray spoke.

"I'm so glad I got to journey with you. It was fun."

Amy smiled.

"If the world can start over... next time, I'll become even stronger."

Tiris quietly cast her eyes down, but eventually gave a small nod.

"Even if my memories are gone... I believe a memory of you will surely remain somewhere in my heart."

And Koni-chan, though crying, shouted as he always did.

"Bye-byeeeee. But you have to promise you'll play with us again."

Mamoru tightly clasped his fist with his four comrades. He closed his eyes, holding back his tears.

"...Yeah. Thank you. I love you all."

And the world was enveloped in white light.

Legend of Brave Regalia

was reset to its initial state.

The chirping of birds, the sound of the wind. Sprawling greenery, quiet air. It was the entrance to a small, ordinary monster's cavern.

Mamoru awoke in the shadow of a rock. He no longer had a powerful sword. No levels, no skills. He was back to being just another Hobgoblin.

But.

"...I remember everything. Perfectly."

Around him were orcs, lizardmen, and trolls who treated him as just another monster. Those who were once his comrades now existed as nothing more than monster NPCs.

No one remembered the 'adventure.' No one knew of the 'battles.'

Only Mamoru.

Remembered 'everything.'

The days he journeyed with his comrades.

Tiris's tears.
Amy's long tongue.
Defray's smile.
Koni-chan's booming laughter.

And that choice.

"...It all feels like a dream, but it wasn't a dream. My adventure with my monster friends definitely happened."

Mamoru, now back to being an initial-stage Hobgoblin, looked up at the sky. The memories of the days he spent with his comrades certainly remained.

They were no longer here. But their smiles, their tears, their final words.

"...I wonder if I can meet them. It'll be the first time again, but I wonder if I can meet everyone."

With those words, Mamoru stood up. He walked out of the Hobgoblin's forest cavern.

His steps were just a little proud. Like the first step of the adventure he once walked with his comrades.

'I'm the Hobgoblin Who's Supposed to Be the First Boss, but I Reincarnated, So I'm Getting Serious. ~A Record of My Preparations to Defeat the Hero Who Will Arrive in Three Years~'

THE END
The Choice of Mamoru the Hobgoblin Reincarnator

"I'll come to see you all again."