“Why are you here? And with the Golden Mirror right in front of you?”

The regressor, who had burst into the Golden Palace, breaking it apart, looked at me with a puzzled expression. His face was carefree, as if he had no worries in the world. The regressor, who smashes problems with brute force and resorts to suicide when that fails, could never fathom the struggles I’d been through.

But that’s fine. As long as he’s here to save me, he doesn’t need to know.

For the first time in a while, I greeted the regressor with genuine relief.

“Shay, I’m so glad to see you I could cry.”
“Can’t say I feel the same. We just saw each other a little while ago.”

This guy… Even my gratitude feels wasted on him.

“More importantly, why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to come looking for the Golden Mirror tomorrow?”
“And why are you here, Shay?”
“I figured you might not share the location tomorrow, so I thought I’d find it ahead of time.”
“I’m here for a similar reason. I was scouting the area and just happened to stumble upon it.”
“Well, you should have said something if you found it. I’ve been searching everywhere. Who’d have thought it’d be this close?”
“How could I tell you when I didn’t even know where you were? I didn’t have the chance. Look.”

While the regressor and I were exchanging this less-than-warm reunion, the other side had grasped the situation. The Golden Mirror, standing protectively in front of Elik, pointed at us accusingly.

“Who are you? What makes you think you can intrude on this sacred ground?”

The hostility and wariness in his voice were unmistakable. Even tucked away in his own world, he reacted when his sanctuary was breached. He ignored small fry like me, but someone as powerful as the regressor clearly posed a challenge.

The regressor, oblivious to the exchanges that had passed between Elik and me, adjusted his clothing. It didn’t make him look any more presentable after his dramatic entrance that shook the earth, but let’s give him credit for trying.

“The Golden Mirror, huh? Seems like I found the right place. I’m a peace envoy. Let’s call a truce.”

Oh, no. Even if he tried, speaking like that wouldn’t help. Not that it would’ve worked no matter how he phrased it.

Shaking my head, I interjected to stop him.

“Shay, it’s pointless. They’ve already decided to fight.”
“What? Really?”
“They have no intention of accepting a truce! We should prepare to escape!”

At the same time, Elik shouted:

“Demo! Those people are our enemies!”
“E-enemies, here?”
“Yes! For the sake of me and this nation, eliminate them!”

Though startled, the Golden Mirror obeyed Elik’s command. He placed his hand on the ground, transmuting its surface into steel in an instant. With a wave of his hand, the ground rippled, and a steel tidal wave surged toward us.

“W-wait! I didn’t come here to fight!”

The regressor, though flustered, reflexively responded to the attack. He slammed Jizan into the ground and swept it sideways. The tremors from Jizan’s impact shattered and fractured the advancing steel wave.

“I said I’m not here to fight! Stop already!”

But it was too late. Beyond the crumbled steel barrier, the regressor was met with the sight of a cannon-like weapon aimed directly at him.

“Apologies. I have no desire to fight either.”

Click.

Hecto, the Suppressionist Overseer, loaded a massive iron ball into a piston cannon and spoke with feigned regret.

“But the Golden Mirror is our god. If he commands it, I must obey!”
“Damn it!”

Hecto aimed the piston cannon and fired. A dull thud resounded as the massive iron ball shot toward us.

Hecto, the only living human here, was easy for me to read. Anticipating the attack, I rolled out of the way. The regressor, however, stood his ground, dodging the iron ball with only a paper-thin margin. His reaction was almost mocking.

“You think something this slow can hit me?”

Such finesse! It’s a stark contrast to me, scrambling on the ground like a frightened dog.

But then Hecto opened his hand.

“Suppression, release!”

The iron ball, crafted from special alchemical steel, had been compressed. When Hecto released his Unique Magic, the pressure restraining the ball disappeared. It expanded like a balloon, transforming into an explosive wave of steel.

The regressor, who had dodged the iron ball by the narrowest of margins, was caught in the explosion. The expanding steel struck his head, shoulders, and torso, battering him repeatedly.

See? My approach may lack finesse, but at least it keeps me safe. If he didn’t want to get hit, he should’ve dodged with everything he had, like me.

‘Heavenly Counterguard: Reflective Shield!’

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter if it works out for him anyway.

As soon as the steel touched him, the regressor infused it with energy. He restrained the force of the expanding steel using his qi, neutralizing its explosive power. Even without Hecto’s Unique Magic, the regressor suppressed the steel just as it was about to expand.

Neutralizing the cannonball-like impact with a mere punch, the regressor yelled in frustration:

“So you do want to fight?! Fine, if that’s what you want!”

Our regressor might be as hot-headed as they are. One attack, and he was ready to unleash all his fury.

“Earth-Splitting Style: Savage Blow!”

Gripping Jizan with both hands, the regressor swung it at the incoming iron ball.

He infused it with an adhesive qi before the strike and a repelling qi immediately after, reversing the steel’s momentum. The iron ball, struck by Jizan, flew back with a force that shredded the air. Its weight and power made it unstoppable, capable of tearing apart anything in its path.

However—

“Eliminate.”

At the moment the iron ball hurtled toward Hecto, the Golden Mirror repeated the word.

The ball disintegrated mid-air, reduced to steel dust. The Golden Mirror, who had turned steel into powder, muttered in a somber, mechanical tone:

“Eliminate. Eliminate. Eliminate.”

Gone was his earlier playful demeanor. The Golden Mirror now spoke in a monotone, repeating Elik’s command like a machine.

But it wasn’t just empty words. In this world, the Golden Mirror’s words always became reality.

Farmers began to approach. Until now, they had been mere background figures in the garden-like setting of the model nation. Now, they transformed into warriors to carry out the Golden Mirror’s will.

Beneath their straw hats, mechanical eyes gleamed. Some had faces half-covered in steel; others had metal branches embedded in their fingers. Each was unique in appearance, but they shared one trait: they were all augmented with steel.

The regressor, taking in the sight of the homunculus army, tensed up.

“They’re Guardians, aren’t they?”
“Guardians?”
“Homunculi created from the abilities of previous Overseers. The Golden Palace uses them as its defenders! Be careful! Each one is likely as strong as a Ten-Blade Overseer!”
“I don’t think being careful is going to help us here!”

He wasn’t wrong.

The Guardians raised their hands, and steel erupted around us. Flaming steel projectiles shot through the air, mirror-like blades reflected deadly precision, and weapons of unknown origin all targeted us.

“They can even use Unique Magic!”

No, it wasn’t Unique Magic. If it were, my mind-reading would’ve picked up on it. This wasn’t personal imagination but Unique Magic replicated by the Golden Mirror’s authority! The Overseers’ Unique Magic had alchemical roots, after all.

We need to run. I can’t read their thoughts. I can’t predict their attacks or anticipate their movements. To survive this, we need another way out. But to escape…

“Shay! Aim for the Golden Mirror! Even if we kill them, they’ll just revive!”
“Got it!”

The regressor gripped Tianying and Jizan in each hand. Holding the heavens in one and the earth in the other, he brought their ends together. The two relics formed a closed loop, binding the sky and ground.

Jizan was nearly unstoppable in close combat but lacked range unless thrown.

So, he threw it—with the help of Tianying’s tether.

“Heaven-and-Earth Meteor!”

Using Tianying as a rope and Jizan as a hammer, he spun it around. At first, it whirled above his head like a jump rope but soon expanded its range, tearing through the ground.

Jizan’s immense weight crushed everything in its path, whether steel or earth. By the time its rotation reached its peak, the regressor hurled it with all his might.

“Moon Throw!”

Whoomph.

Jizan tore through the air, destroying everything in its way as it hurtled toward the Golden Mirror. Nothing could stop its sheer weight—nothing except the Golden Mirror itself.

“Gravity Overseer, Wedge Overseer, Mortar Overseer.”

A level of alchemy incomprehensible to the mind unfolded. The ground beneath the Golden Mirror trembled and shifted. Within a 50-meter radius around him, the earth rose into a hemispherical barrier, standing between him and the incoming Jizan. Earthweight steel collided with the weaponized ground, the clash thunderous and overwhelming.

The steel-reinforced structure, crafted directly by the Golden Mirror, withstood the force of Jizan. Despite the seemingly unbreakable might of Jizan, which could even obliterate mountains, the alchemical steel held firm, showing only slight dents. As Jizan lost momentum, it became evident—it had been stopped.

“This is insane… Stopping Jizan? That’s cheating!”
“Coming from the guy wielding overpowered weapons, that’s rich. Anyway, now’s the time! Let’s run!”
“For once, we’re on the same page!”

The regressor pulled back Tianying, which reeled Jizan in with its tether. The spent weapon returned to the regressor’s side without resistance. Wasting no time, he grabbed it and turned to flee.

Jizan’s overwhelming assault had been so destructive that even the Golden Mirror and his Guardians were momentarily distracted, missing the chance to press their advantage.

As we ran, the homunculi scrambled to pursue us.

“Hah! Slowpokes! Catch us if you—”
“Eliminate.”

As we fled, a massive iron cage crashed down just in front of us. Stopping in our tracks, we looked up to see more Guardians descending from the sky, supported by ropes of molten steel. Among them was the Heatwave Overseer, glaring down at us alongside a horde of other homunculi, each armed to the teeth with weapons.

The Heatwave Overseer murmured coldly,

“You cannot escape.”
“What the hell is this!?”

This was no longer Unique Magic—this was something else entirely. Even the real Heatwave Overseer couldn’t do something like this!

We were surrounded from every direction—above, below, and around us. Worse, these homunculi weren’t human. They didn’t even have thoughts I could read. Though they looked human, they were more akin to systems created by the Golden Mirror.

We were truly trapped. The regressor was busy smashing through the iron cage, but if we got bogged down here, we’d never escape the Golden Mirror’s world.

In this moment of desperation—what could we do?

Then, from the fractured space around us, shadows began to pour in. The darkness seeped into the gaps, consuming the surroundings until it rapidly coalesced into the form of Tirkanjaka.

“Phew! Finally found you. Where on earth have you been?”

You’re asking me? Where have you been!? I brought you along as a bodyguard, and you lose track of my location after a brief absence?

But now wasn’t the time for complaints. Suppressing my frustration, I shouted urgently,

“Tir! This isn’t the time! We have to escape! Behind you!”
“Behind me?”

Didn’t she see them? Behind her stood another group of homunculi, preparing to flank us. While I couldn’t read their thoughts, it was obvious they were Overseer-level creations. If we got pincered like this, there’d be no way out!

Tirkanjaka turned leisurely to glance at the homunculi behind her. Despite the dire situation, she replied calmly,

“There is no need for concern.”

‘They are my limbs.’

…What?

I froze, trying to comprehend what she’d just said. In the next instant, the homunculi behind Tirkanjaka began to creak and groan as they moved—not toward us, but toward the ones pursuing us.

They surged past me and the regressor, charging directly into the ranks of the other homunculi.