I Kidnapped the Hero’s Women

"Now it's the end."

Countless missiles soared into the sky.

The contrails left by the missiles rising from all directions densely covered the firmament. The scientist, gazing up at the apocalyptic sight, turned around with a surprisingly calm expression—even to himself.

"I knew it would come to this someday."

The limited resources of the Preserve.

And humanity’s endless greed.

The outcome of these two factors combined was as obvious as fire burning in plain sight.

For hundreds of years, countless countermeasures, alternatives, and treaties had been proposed—only for all of them to fail.

The world had frozen over, turning into an uninhabitable tundra where not even a single sprout could emerge. The only habitable space left was the narrow confines of the Preserve.

And now, it had reached its inevitable conclusion—self-destruction caused by humanity’s own conflicts.

"There’s no choice. We must start over, with only the chosen ones."

Of course, there were those who had predicted this outcome and had prepared for the next chapter.

Inside thick-walled time capsules, the seeds of all plant life and the entirety of human civilization’s knowledge had been preserved.

The brightest and most capable individuals had gone into cryogenic sleep within those capsules.

I, too, had planned to enter cryosleep today.

But the war erupted sooner than expected, preventing me from reaching the time capsule in time.

I will die here today.

But for the sake of humanity’s survival, I must accept this fate.

Someone has to wake the time capsules when the time comes.

[Upload Progress: 100%]

[Neural map upload complete.]

"You’re quick about it."

As soon as the notification rang out, the scientist grabbed the storage device and bolted.

A storage device that contained a perfect copy of my brain.

I would connect this to the main computer of the bunker before entering sleep.

And once the mana fallout had completely settled and the world was cleansed, I would emerge, awaken the time capsules, and rebuild civilization.

That was my mission.

"Damn...!"

Boom! Boom!

The shockwaves of mana-fission bombs reached him from afar.

The building began to shake violently.

Had the upload taken too long? Would the building collapse before I reached the bunker?

Suppressing the ominous premonition, I ran without stopping.

"Huh?"

...Boom!

A deafening explosion ruptured my eardrums, muffling all sound as my body was hurled into the air.

For a moment, I lost consciousness.

When I came to, I found myself buried under rubble, my body covered in blood.

"Kuh...! Hhkk! Huuuuh...!"

My entire body was numb, drained of strength.

Blood streamed down the floor like a river.

Beyond the shattered outer wall, a mushroom cloud loomed, far larger in scale than the bombs that had just detonated.

"Ah."

I was dead.

The scientist shut his eyes tight, fully realizing his fate.

A mana-fusion bomb... They actually created it...

There was no surviving that blast.

That single bomb alone would be enough to wipe out the entire Preserve.

Barely turning my head, I spotted a fallen security android nearby.

"At least... its durability... is insane..."

It was an outdated, barely functional piece of scrap metal—but I had no other choice.

Summoning the last of my strength, I moved my fingers, inserting the storage device into the android.

A software update bar began filling up.

"Done...!"

Boom!

At that moment, the shockwave hit.

Everything was swept away.

[Battery Level: 5%]

[Exiting emergency power-saving mode.]

[...!?]

As I tried to sit up, I realized I couldn’t move at all.

The interface of the security android flickered before my eyes.

I had successfully uploaded my consciousness into the android—but relief was ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) short-lived as a sense of crisis settled in.

Just how much time has passed?

For the battery to have naturally drained to just 5% in emergency mode, an unthinkable amount of time must have elapsed.

A rough calculation placed it at about forty thousand years.

Far too little time for mana fallout to have completely dissipated.

It was still uninhabitable for humans to settle and farm.

However, small insects and reptiles might have begun forming an ecosystem.

Which meant—there would be monsters.

Having concluded my deductions, I immediately activated the android’s built-in functions to attract monsters.

I had no way of knowing how deep I was buried.

But if I summoned enough creatures, I could make them dig their way to me.

[Light... Is that... the surface...?]

After what felt like an eternity, the pale glow of moonlight seeped in.

With joints screeching from rust and corrosion, I twisted my body, climbing out of the pit.

As expected, a desolate wasteland stretched before me.

The once-thriving civilization and lush nature were long gone.

All that remained was an endless land of death.

[...A village?]

In the distance, flickering lights caught my attention.

Forcing my creaking legs to move, I staggered toward the source.

There was no way any humans could have survived the war.

Even if some had made it into the bunkers, they would have perished from starvation long ago.

For millennia, simply breathing the air outside would have been fatal—aside from those in cryosleep, none should have survived.

[Ahh... The climate must have changed, melting the ice and making the lands beyond the Preserve habitable for humans...]

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

From the ridge, I gazed down upon a vast, sprawling land.

I stood there, frozen in awe.

The Preserve had perished, transformed into a demonic wasteland by war.

But the lands beyond had flourished—humanity had endured.

Drifting into town under a ragged cloak, I quickly realized something was amiss.

Why were the buildings so primitive? They looked like artifacts from a museum.

I stole a newspaper, hastily reading through it.

And at last, all my questions were answered.

[So that’s how it is... Civilization perished, and the inferior nomads who once roamed the frozen lands inherited the world... These degenerates survived and built this pathetic excuse of a civilization...!]

Rage boiled within me, my rusted limbs trembling.

They had been born in an era blessed by nature—yet this was the best they could create?

This horror could only be the result of an inferior species infesting the world.

[This world must be purified! I will resurrect the true civilization and cleanse this mindless, primitive existence! With all this land and its resources at our disposal, imagine how far we could advance...!]

Having made my decision, I let out a distorted, crackling laugh.

If I had awakened too early, the world would still be frozen over.

If I had awakened too late, even these degenerates would have developed technology rivaling my own.

But now—it was just the right time.

Now, I would open the time capsules.

I would resurrect civilization.

And this time, we would reach the absolute pinnacle of advancement.

"Uncle, is it serious?"

"Very."

"How serious... sir?"

"It seems that dangerous humans from a distant past have awakened."

Riding in a carriage toward the wastelands, I explained the situation to Charlotte, Yulia, and Sylvia.

In our rush, we hadn’t even brought Yuri from the capital.

I had sent Irene back to inform the Empress—Yuri would follow later with her.

But for now, every second counted.

'This must be the final boss. A relic of the old world has been discovered, and now its people are awakening to destroy modern humanity.'

The Old Generation, with technology surpassing the present.

At a glance, one might think it was an opportunity to learn from them, to integrate their knowledge and advance further.

But that was impossible.

The Old and the New could never coexist.

'A race of insatiable greed and selfishness... They were more like our reality’s humans.'

I had always felt something off about this world.

The people here were different.

Here, even the most corrupt nobles had restraint.

Priests genuinely cared for the poor.

Scholars dedicated themselves to the pursuit of knowledge.

Soldiers protected the people with their lives.

Apart from a few like the original Aslan Vermonte or Sephiroth, most people were too soft.

Here, no one had even thought of creating a mana-fission bomb.

The Old Generation, however, had built them without hesitation—and annihilated themselves.

'We cannot coexist. One must disappear.'

I had been born in their world, but I now lived in this one.

I had made my choice.

"This is war. A war for survival—between the Old World and the New."

"W-what!?"

"Are you serious...?"

The Old World must remain dead.

I would be the one to nail its coffin shut.

Clenching my fist, I made my decision.