How did Rem find himself fighting the baby of all dystopian robots?

That was a simple question with a long answer. To explain how the arrest of the World Smartest man went so catastrophically south, the condition of the arrest must first be understood.

Melosov was hiding inside Acrisius’s temporary camp deep beneath the valley. In the history of Centuria, someone must have used this place as an emergency refuge given various corridors underground. Rem wasn’t Hikma, but he doubt the cave painting of a giant butterfly emerging over tiny stick-like humans painted all over the wall foretold a sunny future. The adjacent wall also depicted a white tower and an army of monster being chained by this humongous dude waving a golden sword.

[Clairvoyance] might have its power significantly reduce, but Rem’s instinct worked fine. Especially the imaginative part that prophesied a potential threat.

Alas, he finally reached the fake door leading to the room his target resided.

…

Nereo Melosov stood in front of him like a twisted reflection.

His black hair contrasted with Rem rapidly whitened lock. The flannel shirt and trouser were downright relaxing compared to Rem’s heavily modified suit with smart fabric. Both men were so similar in so many ways. They were both men who chased an illusory goal, and both knew they would face utter darkness to achieve it.

However, the victor was clear.

Rem fell to his knee. His head spiked with a painful migraine. The hero could only ask what was the dwarf with wrench was doing with his brain. His [Clairvoyance] flickered as the vision of the future transformed into a static snow of a malfunctioning television. This had never happened before. Not a cried escaped Rem’s lip, but the critical damage was done.

Rem instantly knew what Melosov accomplished and immediately upped the threat-level to the maximum. Screwed Orwell, Wayward or even the gods, those guys were nothing. Rem knew he wasn’t facing the final boss. This was the hidden boss meant to test your jacked party at the end of the video game.

Nereo Melosov did the unthinkable. He jammed [Clairvoyance], taking out Rem’s greatest ability before the battle even started.

“Quite a useful ability,” Melosov knew exactly what he was thinking. “But you are too overconfident with it.”

“When did you set it up?” Rem had to ask. He refused to believe Nereo packed a future-vision jammer for shits and giggles.

“Before the battle even begun,” Nereo answered. “You are smart, but do you believe just searching Promtus can stop me from listening in?”

For Rem, everything suddenly clicked.

“You modified Kakia and showed her on purpose,” Rem realized. “You know Ace wants to kill her, so you throw the bitch away to lure her out of here.”

Melosov nodded, “Yep, quite a collection you got there. I can’t afford to have your gang assembled. That is too much variable. So, I play a classic divide and conquer. Nano-12 is an Anti-Magic, mass-destruction golem to deal with the softy, Kakia to bait your elf, and in case you have a back-up I decide to throw in the Earthshaker jacked up on booster signal.” Melosov chuckled. “Okay, you are probably thinking I am explaining my plan like a megalomanic, and it would backfire.” Melosov spread his arm outward as a welcome, “Sorry mate, but you are too late. I am long gone.”

Rem expected this, “You are a LMD—a life-model decoy. The real you already got everything he wanted and made you as a robot’s terminal to talk to me.”

“Bingo,” Melosov applauded. “After reviewing your friends little tussles with the two S-rank specimens. I conclude that even my best effort will only slow you guys down. I simply don’t know enough about you folks in black to risk it. The data about the Earthshaker, the crest and the Leyline are the reason I am here. With that done and dusted, I have no reason to stay.”

“You scoop,” Rem said. “You sold the portfolio and cut your loss.”

Melosov shrugged, “You can say that, but I never care about the loss, Dream.” Melosov laughed. “You are really careful with those codenames. I can’t help but be curious about you.”

Rem grabbed his Central Magnum, “Curious? Consider me afraid. You wound Acrisius like a wind-up toy and played him like piano.”

“Not going to deny that,” Nereo felt a certain kinship with the boy. “It isn’t even hard. They want to believe we are just like them.” Nereo chuckled. “Come on, do you think everyone in the world operates like El Acerbia?”

“Then what do you run on?” Rem asked, trying to figure out this dangerous enigma. The room must be a booby trap. That was pretty obvious.

“Exactly,” Melosov answered like Rem hit the question. “That question is what I want to answer.”

“What?” Rem said, without [Clairvoyance], deducing the man in front of him is impossible.

“I thought long and hard about this,” Melosov said. “I don’t want power. Fame isn’t my thing. The only thing that drove me is the pursuit of knowledge.” Melosov narrated. “But long time ago it used to be more than that. I wanted to impress someone.”

“And that person is gone,” Rem finally got what Melosov operated on and it scared him. “You are doing this out of revenge.”

“No, she wouldn’t want that,” Melosov said. “It is a logical assumption, but a mistaken one, Dream.” The World Smartest Man chuckled. “That name has a meaning, isn’t it? You believe dream is the basis for all goodness. In certain aspect, you are right, the desire to do good and sustain said merit is borne out of a vision. Without that vision, people will simply exist without desiring for better tomorrows. Yes, empathy is nice and all, but to sustain a long lasting and meaningful change, you need an image of what that world would be.”

“You are the first enemy I have ever met who actually get close to understanding that meaning,” Rem was respectfully fearful of the man before him.

“Ah yes,” Melosov replied. “I apologize for the rest of Phantasia. They have been repeating the past for time immemorial, but you already know that.” Melosov clapped softly. “None of your enemy understood you, and that ignorance brought your victories. Those masks. Those entrances. Your symbol. They are to light the beacon of hope, daring the people to dream. Once the people believe better life is possible, no one can stop the coming tide. The power that be could try as they might, but the moment people dared to envision the world without them, the evening bell will toll. But you never give your organization’s name out. Let me guess, a euphemism for the sunrise, isn’t it? You are called the Dawn.”

“No,” Rem lied.

“You are lying,” Nereo confirmed. “Anyway. I have clarified some of my doubt.”

“Your doubt?” Rem said.

“It is suspicious for someone of your caliber to emerge out of nowhere,” Nereo said. “I want to understand more about you. For I also have a dream to chase. You should understand better than anyone, not all dream is selfless. I seek to understand the greatest mystery of all — me.”

“You want to understand yourself,” Rem finally pieced together Melosov’s desire together. “You want to know why exactly you are this way?”

Melosov laughed, “Quite childish, isn’t it,” the scientist seemed remorseful but determined. “I know what society accepts as right and wrong. I understand why that concept needs to exist. I am smart enough to understand what people want and why that should be respected. But I happily ignore all those qualms, in favor of attaining wisdom and peace with myself.”

“You know right and wrong, but still ignore the consequence,” Rem knew he was wasting time, but Melosov must be understood. “Do you think you deserve peace after all the bodies you pile to get there?”

“Who knows?” Melosov replied and put forth his final speech. “We are, all of us, submerge in the pool of doubt. We invent million stories to escape from the bottomless pool, tricking ourselves the imaginary light can guide us out of darkness. I refuse to accept those half-bake answers. I need to understand what exactly is ‘me’ who is swimming in that pool.

“To shed myself of ignorance, I have studied countless tales we, as a collective, had woven. Stories range from Religion, Material Science, Physics, Mystical Theory, Programming, Nanotechnology, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, and countless field of engineering. Yet, I know I am only a student. The stories we created are countless, so are our tools to measure the pool of unknown.

“We have a million ways to understand the pool of mystery, but the field of ‘us’ and our existence is still unbelievably thin. For the ‘me’ is the measurement of metaphysics, we can measure how our nervous systems and brain activities allow us to swim in that pool of darkness. We know when we swim from history and evolution biology, but what are we swimming in the first place? Where exactly are we swimming too? Why did we exist to swim?

“I seek neither power nor domination. The only thing I want is to answer that question. I already lost interest in the cultural definition of good and evil. The pool exists to be used to answer that question. This is my apology to you, bringer of Dawn. I want us to part in peace, but you know I won’t stop nor turn back. Your dream exists for all who hope, while mine exists for me alone. We might cross sword and lock-arms depend solely on the enemy. I want you to know this isn’t personal.”

…

The World Smartest Man

That title was highly disputable among all its various interpretations. For Rem, the reason Nereo was awarded with such a title was to credit the sole dream of exploring knowledge above all things. The man wasn’t just smart, but he pursuit intellect for the sake of intellect itself.

Experts in their field pursuit their interest out of desire. They would hit the peak eventually. However, Melosov—The World Smartest Man — pursuit knowledge out of desire to understand himself and knowledge itself. It was a path only brought more question, an unending interstellar mountain, requiring the man to understand and surpass every discipline.

If education prepared the man for the environment he lived in, Melosov’s was beyond even the most educated of them, for he sought to pursuit the metaphysical meaning of education itself.

…

Melosov stood, “One last thing, I detected the few movements in the Spirit Realm. I believe Hades might be after something,” Melosov looked at Rem sympathetically. “And I apologize.”

“For the entire mess?” Rem retorted.

“Nope,” Nereo replied as the floor beneath them cracked and the entire room shuddered. “For making you test-run my new Anti-Mage robot.” Nereo shrugged at Rem’s glare. “Good test-run aren’t easy to find, you know?”

The green Magus Sin Crystal particle beam exploded from beneath Rem. Melosov’s LMD exploded in the attack, refusing to give Rem the satisfaction of venting his anger.

It was the first time Rem solidly got out-planned by someone.

…

Meanwhile, in the valley, Hikma got blasted into the rock with violence.

The Nano-bot enhanced meat-tower was proven to be magic resistant. Hikma already tried freezing, electrocution, sealing, biting it off with darkness, killing it with laser, crushing it, and cutting it. He even flooded the Valley, but nothing work. The only thing he hadn’t really tried was burning, and that was because the meat tower responded to that by rechannelling it back into another thermal death-ray. Worst, the tower kept splitting itself apart, making any effort to bind and handle it all but in adequate.

It was then he found himself at the feet of a familiar man.

Sameal Wayward in his new blue hair, was carrying Duke Eurystheus on his back like a knapsack.

“Have fun?” Hikma said. “And put Eurytheus down.”

“I will have to say no on that,” Wayward said. “How about a deal,” he pointed at the hungry meat-tower, “I help you deal with that and you left me alone with Eurytheus.”

Hikma groaned, “You think you have a choice?”

Wayward shrugged, “I already have to destroy several flying ships and war-machine to get this far. At this point, I no longer bloody care.”

Hikma picked himself up, “I can handle this.”

“You might,” Wayward looked at the meet tower. “But that thing operated on high power Nanotechnology and Anti-Magic system. It was ready to split apart several times when you tried to attack it. Your firepower couldn’t kill it, could you? You needed [Tenshou] to hold the pieces together.”

“I could wait for Dream,” Hikma argued.

“But Dream won’t be coming soon,” Wayward gestured around the valley. “And how much death we are on? Oh yeah, there we are down to around few ten thousands survivors in this valley. Can you bear to watch that dropped any lower?”

Hikma knew Wayward got him, but he couldn’t go down.

“What are you really planning here, Wayward?” Hikma said. “I am not as savvy as Rem but even I know you have an agenda.”

Wayward smiled, “Yes, I have a long-term plan in Frisnia. Personally, I have a reason to believe El Acerbia is testing something.” Wayward grinned. “But I suggest is a whole new ballgame. If a rumor is true, the Enma clan is involved with the project.” He clicked his finger. “I also heard your old nemesis is sighted in Frisnia,” Wayward mused. “It would be an interesting time to reboot your relationship.”

“Oh shut-up,” Hikma addressed the giant meat tower. “Let get this over with.”

“Very well,” Wayward spread his finger and held the tower of meat in place with telekinetic pressure. Image of a blue bird appeared behind him and scorched the tower with the flaps of its wings. Together with the telekinetic whirlpool, the flames imprisoned the meat tower in place and did what Hikma’s ability could not, chaining the meat tower in place.

Still, the nano-machine enhanced tower proved to be worthy of its durability. But with himself freed from the constant attack and facing an immobilized opponent, Hikma was finally freed to unleash his combination attacks.

“[Tempest], [Aegis],” Hikma commanded his pseudo spirit and the cloud above them part. “Unleash the [Entropy] ray!”

The beam of severing light collided against the tower. Each nano-machine was hit with an electromagnetic wave that slowly shutting the off one-by-one. Normally, such an attack would be quickly intercepted by the nanobot’s ability to absorb and vent energies, but Wayward cyclone of heat had entered the equation. Unable to handle the combination of magical-base scrambling and the Wayward’s firepower, the titanic golem composing the corpse of hundred people slowly crumbled into a burnt out-husk.

Wayward felt something in wave of [Tenshou], “It looks like your comrade is finishing their businesses,” he noticed something, “oh. This is interesting.”

Hikma watched a cute little mouse flying toward him. It was a pink rodent that seemed to swim through the air like sardines, leaving a trail of twinkling dust behind.

“What is this,” Hikma asked as the cutesy animal crept at him with pleading eyes.

“That mouse is the emissary of the Spirit King, Hades,” Wayward took a few steps backward. “It has space attribute by the way.”

Hikma finally realized what Wayward meant when the mouse exploded with light.

When the light faded, Hikma De Darwin was gone.