12 O'Clock Marionette - Chapter 33

Growing up in an orphanage and surrounded by poverty, Leo never expected anything good from life. Everyone around him had abandoned him, forcing him to survive as a thief. Yet, fate had other plans.Caught by mysterious figures during a daring theft, Leo is forced into accepting a perilous mission. Transported to a strange, magical world, he confronts terrifying myths he had never believed were real.Suddenly thrust into a brutal, nightmarish battle, Leo hears a feminine voice, filled with authority and danger:“Are you worthy to be my Master?”In that moment, his life changes irrevocably—transformed in ways he'd never dreamed.And the cruellest twist?He's the only human participant in this deadly game. With just one champion at his side, Leo must navigate and survive the merciless battles ahead, relying on his skills to fight, endure, and above all… to steal.But remember, this is just F—

Immortal arts, magic weapons, magical powers, and the boundless spiritual qi between heaven and earth vanished into obscurity overnight, and all exorcists turned to mere mortals. Three hundred years later, the Five Hus traversed the pass, it was a prelude to an era of great turmoil in China. They heralded the end of the world, where thousands of drought fiends stalked the night —— the collapse of the Divine Land is imminent. Fortunately, within this long, dark night where silence had fallen on all magic, a lone star still glistened brightly on the horizon. The Heart Lamp appeared, illuminating the vast expanse around it. A sixteen-year-old young man, who will end his life on his twentieth birthday, embarked on a journey to reclaim the spiritual qi of heaven and earth that had been sealed away —— only four years remain. The road ahead was filled with countless thistles and thorns, and it seemed improbable for him to succeed. ———— Chen Xing: “The important thing is that I’m the last exorcist in this world, yet the only magic I am capable of is emitting light. What can I do?” Wait patiently then. When the Dinghai Pearl reappears on earth, the uncertain trajectory of everyone’s fates will be completely disrupted before converging once more. Chen Xing: “Could I be partnered with a more normal Protector Martial God?” Isn’t your Protector really skilled in fighting? Chen Xing: “He is good at fighting, but when he loses it he’ll hit even me……” There’s nothing that can be done about that, you can only blame yourself for losing yourself to lust.

Life isn’t dramatic.

Takasugi Shinsaku once mentioned, “The mind to bring interest to an otherwise uninteresting world”, but if you’ll let me have my say, “An otherwise uninteresting world is also interesting”.

The world is just right with this level of boredom.

That is the conclusion to the results of my, Kagoshima Akira’s seventeen years of lived experience.

It’s not like anything’s ever going to happen.

I mean.

Witches from other worlds,

and cyber soldiers paying a visit from the future,

and psychics fighting under the instruction of research institutions

don’t exist, after all.

The Strongest Magic meets the Mightiest Mecha.

I have stolen Golden Mechas from the deepest vaults of the most tightly guarded fortresses in the world.

I have personally destroyed more armies than the top three superpowers have in the span of the Absolute War - combined.

I burned down the terrorist megacity of Habon.

I was expelled from the Union of Heroes at a younger age than people are allowed in.

I have talked to Ancient Gods, loved women, and devoured mechas that would make superpowers cringe in fear.

I have faced demons head on in moonless nights others fear to speak of during the day.

I am deified in a thousand cultures, and labelled as the devil incarnate in the rest.

I am the Mecha Emperor.

You may have heard of me.

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Excerpt from Chapter 1

This is where it all began.

A junkyard.

Oh no, this isn't your clean, mechas-only junkyard that was the 'starting point' of many mecha geniuses out there.

I have seen and heard my share of rags-to-riches stories, and many of them claimed that they had started from 'junkyards' and slowly grew to be where they were right now.

From Zero to Hero, they declared.

You can do it too, they said.

As long as you work hard, everything is possible, they claimed.

I call bullshit.

Life doesn't work like that.