Sludge Atou was the Hero Takuto used most in Eternal Nations. She had watched over him from up close and afar, having the closest look at him as he commanded their armies and lived out his life in
Japan. She knew his personality as well as her own, so she understood that despite being four against one, they were doomed—not Takuto.
…There were two situations in which Takuto always overflowed with confidence.
The first was when he felt unthreatened and let down his guard toward what he felt couldn't hurt him even if they tried. He was the most playful at these times, so he either cut corners or was just fooling around to enjoy himself.
If he was in this state—Lenea stood a chance. Atou could take advantage of this carefree opening and thrust her tentacle through his heart for the second time.
The second situation where he showed this kind of confidence was…when he already had everything in the bag.
In this scenario, where no matter what happened, the outcome would be the same, he often showed off and enjoyed playing with his opponent. And Lenea was facing this second, more deadly version of Takuto.
But someone didn't understand the dire circumstances and let her cockiness flag fly high.
"Ha! You're just pretending to be cool as a cucumber because you can't do squat. Everything was riding on that last-ditch surprise attack of yours, wasn't it? Pft, too bad, so sad, you failed to kill lil' old me~♪!" Erakino taunted him.
The moment she confirmed her dear friend was safe, she got back her spunk and used it to taunt and mock Takuto. She had some reservations about insulting someone who looked, acted, and sounded like Soalina, but now she had the real one with her. Erakino felt her confidence skyrocket with the real Soalina standing in battle stance beside her, bracing to protect the Witch from their enemy. "..."
"Tch. Giving me the silent treatment, are you?" Erakino clicked her tongue. "Oh! That reminds me, you said your whole objective here is to take Atouy back, right? Did you mean that?"
"You aren't wrong. I do want to get Atou back. She is very dear to me." Takuto had been observing Erakino like he would a curious new plaything, but hearing Atou's name made him finally react to Erakino, as if it were an afterthought.
"Gyahahahaha! I knew it! You're soooo obvious! Too bad, sucker~♪! Atouy is one hundred percent one of us thanks to your girl
Erakino here and her super awesome Slurp ability!"
Takuto fidgeted slightly at Erakino's taunting. He hadn't reacted to a single thing thus far—it was as if Erakino was lobbing her mockery into an endless, dark abyss. So seeing that reactionless creature make any kind of gesture, even if it was a contemplative one, came across to Erakino as her finally getting under his skin.
"Shall I spell out what that means for you?" she sneered, latching on to the subject she thought bothered him. "Even the System counts Atouy as a bona fide member of our TRPG forces~♪! Her affiliation and alignment weren't temporarily changed by something as basic as Brainwashing. She's been completely reassigned to us!!
Thaaaaaat's whyyyyyyyyyyyyy…"
Indeed, Erakino's Slurp didn't just Brainwash its target, but changed the faction they belonged to—altering them at their core. As the twenty-second character the Game Master had created after much trial and error, he finally added the ability to reassign enemies to their faction.
It should be impossible for a Game Master to abuse his Authority and steal the rights to a character from an entirely different game. Doing so greatly deviated from the typical discretion granted to a TRPG's game master. He got around this by giving the ability to a character, gimping the system to think it was one character using a legitimate ability against another. This workaround allowed him to even use that broken skill on characters from an entirely different game genre.
The GM had developed his method of securing certain victory by exploiting gaps in this world's rules.
Once the outcome was decided, the TRPG system kicked in, making it impossible to overturn the result. In other words, the existence known as Sludge Atou had been stripped from Mynoghra and put into a position where they could never get her back again. It was impossible to recover her through normal means.
That was an irrefutable fact.
"That's why…! You won't get what you want no matter how hard you tryyyyyyyyyyyyy!!"
[Erakino rolls 1d100=33 for Ranged Attack
Outcome: Success
]
Erakino unleashed a barrage of slashing wind blades.
"…I entomb ye now in a blooming burial."
Takuto intercepted the attack that came barreling down on him, destroying everything in its path, with a flick of Soalina's Holy Staff. The wind blades and wave of flames collided, creating a destructive fire vortex in the center of the chapel. The old cathedral's weak walls burst off their foundation, reducing the chapel to true ruins and expanding their battlefield to include the outside grounds.
"Bahahaha! I can't believe you're actually trying to resist! It looks like you can't do anything without borrowing somebody else's power first, you weakling!" Erakino cackled with glee.
[GM: Message
Exercising Game Master Authority.
Revive High Paladin Fjord.
]
"Aaaaaaaaall your little scheming in the background was absolutely pointless!!" she goaded, eyes sparkling with cruel delight.
[GM: Message
Exercising Game Master Authority.
High Paladin Fjord becomes aware of what's going on.
]
"See, even our Chiefy you went to such lengths to kill is right as rain now! Everything you did was pointless! Utterly worthless! Face the facts, you effin' shut-in: you're absolutely powerless!"
Fjord jumped up from the puddle of blood on the floor and cautiously distanced himself from Takuto. He glanced between the two Soalinas for a moment before quickly retreating from the battlefield. One of Arlos's Paladins would never flee from evil. After signaling Erakino and the others, Fjord departed to summon the rest of the Order, sensing he could do little to help them alone.
The situation changed by the second, morphing into something disadvantageous for Takuto. In fact, with the GM's last move, all his gains had been rendered null. Even with such meticulous groundwork laid to terminate Fjord, the GM undid it all at his own discretion. He could do the same for the murdered Paladins too. The GM would revive them all now that the Event wasn't interfering with his ability.
No matter what ingenious strategies or tricks Takuto had up his sleeve…everything would be nullified by the Game Master, who decided the outcomes.
"You have quite the foul mouth on you. It saddens me to hear you speak like a street urchin… I would watch your tongue if I was you, Erakino. Everything you say and do will become your Master's onus."
Soalina—no, Takuto Ira—responded with great pleasure to Erakino's best attempt at trolling. What in the world could be going through this evil creature's twisted mind that he seemed to bask in her insults, taunting, and shouting? It was as if she was feeding him exactly what he wanted to hear.
Revulsion spread through Erakino at how totally incomprehensible he was, agitating her further.
"You're a creep! An effin' creep!!" she shouted, preparing to launch another attack on him.
Fake Soalina prepared to intercept the next attack with the same
Blooming Burials skill, but…
"Die!" Erakino hissed. "I'll kill you for good this time! I don't know what you were trying to accomplish, but a nobody like you can't do nothing before Master's uber powers!"
[GM: Message
Exercising Game Master Authority.
All Saint Soalina of Blooming Burials are temporarily restrained.
]
"Ah!"
"Oh my, how fun…"
This time Takuto was prevented from even being able to resist. By order of the GM, Soalina was restricted from moving. This also applied to the real Soalina, but it only restrained her and didn't cause physical harm. As both the real and the fake Soalina reacted to the sudden restraint, Takuto's Soalina seemed as calm and confident as ever.
"You've put me in a bit of a bind here. Would you mind pausing a moment?" he requested in Soalina's dulcet tone.
"HUUUUUH?! Like hell we will!!"
All they had to do was attack him until he died. Taking Erakino's onslaught of attacks while imitating a defenseless Soalina would have to hurt him. Even if he managed to withstand the attacks, that thing wearing Soalina's skin would still be restrained by the Game Master's ability.
They could destroy him again and again and again. Annihilating him until not even a flake of skin or speck of dust was left behind, so he could never revive again.
If only…
"Fair point. Let me put it in a way you will understand then…" Takuto laughed like this was the beginning of a joke only he knew. And then, he dropped a bombshell on them. "Player Takuto Ira calls for the system to pause this game session."
[System Message
A player has called for the game session to pause.
Suspending all participants' abilities until the problem is resolved.
]
Shock coursed through them all.
Even Atou and Fenne, who were closely observing Takuto and how the situation unfolded with Erakino in the lead, couldn't react fast enough. They scowled as they realized their mistake.
But they only lingered on their failure for a moment. They quickly changed gears and confirmed each other's status. Seeing as the real Soalina's restraints had come undone, they determined something had gone wrong. Then they turned to see what Takuto was doing…
"He's gone?!"
"Wh-Where did the King of Ruin go?!"
In the spot where the creature of their nightmares should have been, stood an empty, silent space that seemed to insist there was never anyone there in the first place.
"What the hell?! Did that chicken run away?!" Erakino bellowed.
She could sense the Game Master's confusion and frantically tried to grasp the situation for him. Just as she'd concluded that their opponent chose to retreat from this disadvantageous situation…
"No! He's coming!!"
Atou's warning echoed through the ruined cathedral.
In perfect timing with her alert, countless tentacles burst through the remaining ceiling, raining down on them like blades.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 10: Introductions
TENTACLES burst through the ceiling, snaking into the church and attacking from various trajectories, each with a mind of its own. Sludge Atou noticed the tentacles first. She prepared to intercept the attack from the ground, knowing that the consortium of deadly feelers was exactly like her own.
"Everyone, behind me! Now!" she shouted. "Damn feelers! I'll show you who's superior!!"
Tentacles erupted from Atou's back and whipped around to protect her comrades. The two sets of tentacles clashed, producing an eerie metallic clang that hardly sounded like it came from something organic. The shockwaves produced by the impact destroyed what little remained of the chapel.
The three women being protected by Atou leaped into action as well.
Fenne repelled and severed dozens of tentacles with an invisible shockwave emanating from her eyes. Soalina incinerated the tentacles flopping around on the ground after Fenne's attack. Meanwhile, Erakino and the Game Master tried to get a grasp of the bizarre situation so they could handle it better.
"Master! Can't we do something?!" Erakino shouted. "Damn it!
You've gotta be effin' kidding me!!!"
"What's going on, Erakino?" Soalina asked. "Why isn't the Game
Master's ability working?!"
From the way Erakino kept swearing, the GM's powers seemed completely sealed. That had to have something to do with the declaration Takuto Ira made before he vanished.
Erakino had long since filled Soalina in on the details about the GM's powers and how they possessed abilities from a type of pastime called a tabletop role-playing game. The only way to figure out what was happening was to ask the pair about it, but…
"He called for a session pause! That little shithead!" Erakino cursed. "He's come to flip the script on its head, that prick! TRPGs proceed through dialogue and rolling the dice! The Players have as much right to stop the session as the GM!"
Takuto's counterattack was calling for "Pause this Game." As Erakino explained to Soalina, discussions between participants are an integral part of a tabletop RPG. So, when one player asks to pause the game, all participants must temporarily stop playing and hear them out. Like everything else, the system governing this world reproduced that part of the game, too.
In other words, it was possible to temporarily restrict the lawless, absolute power exercised by the Game Master. But this move was a double-edged sword.
"But… BAHAHAHA!" Erakino buckled over laughing. "What a moooooooron! You're so done now that you've used that, noob!" She paused for effect, and then declared, "Slurping Witch Erakino asks on behalf of the Game Master: state a valid reason for pausing the session!"
The Game Master and Erakino promptly discovered and pointed out the hole in Takuto's strategy.
Pausing the session is possible but needs a valid reason. Pausing without reason is cause for a penalty. In this case, Takuto Ira would be penalized. No matter how much he altered his existence with his powers as the Nameless Evil God, he made this request from the Player's dimension, not the game board. The system wouldn't mistake who should be penalized.
"Wowie-wow, here I thought you were gonna do something big with how cocky you've been, and this is it~♪? I mean, sure, I'll give credit where credit is due. You did temporarily lock down the Game Master's Authority. But as the good ol' rulebook says, pausing the session without a valid reason is prohibited! Nobody's allowed to interfere with a good game! You're finished, loser~♪!"
The likely penalty would be compulsory expulsion from the game.
The loss wouldn't be placed on the King of Ruin, who'd established an empire of evil forces in this world, but upon Takuto Ira, a human who had already died once and been given a second chance at life in this world. It was anyone's guess what would happen if he was forced out of the game. He would lose everything and never be able to get it back again—that much was clear.
"C'mon! C'mon! What's it gonna be? How are ya gonna talk your way outta this one? Luck ain't on your side. Sucks to be you, doesn't it, lil' powerless Takuto IRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Erakino jeered, her voice filled with victorious elation.
Is this the end of the road? Atou wondered, noticing something had changed when the tentacles abruptly stopped attacking. A voice suddenly came from directly behind her, declaring in an eerily familiar voice:
"My introduction."
The four women spun around and jumped back. But…they cringed when they saw who was behind them.
None other than Sludge Atou silently loomed there, tentacles swaying behind her. Or rather, it was Takuto Ira's imitation of her, with the face fully blotted out by darkness.
Erakino sensed something was amiss. The feeling of her abilities being limited hadn't changed since his declaration. The session was still paused.
"Erakino," Takuto said, speaking with Atou's voice and persona. "You might not know this, but the Elemental Ward 4th Edition you and the Game Master brought into this world has a unique feature to its gameplay."
"What?!"
From the way this nasty creature wearing Atou's skin worded it, he clearly had just cause to keep the session paused. But what stumped Erakino more than anything else was that…he spoke the name of the rulebook—which only Erakino and her Master knew of—that dictated the mechanics of their game.
"This specific edition is unique because it dedicates pages upon pages specifically to player ethics. For example, it goes into great detail about how to enjoy playing with others, what you shouldn't do to other players…and how you should greet them." The shadowy face seemed to smile there.
I know that. I know that better than anyone! Erakino screamed internally.
Erakino had been born from the game mechanics laid out in that rulebook. Over twenty-one failed versions of her character sheet had been scrapped from this world. After finally receiving life as a finished product, she thought that she and her master had overcome all odds and finally threw themselves into a battle for the world.
Who leaked the title? How did it get out?
As Erakino became absorbed in asking herself questions without answers, Takuto continued his monologue.
"This particular edition is controversial because people think it's sanctimonious. I'm personally fond of it." The shadow's smile stretched wider.
Yes, the rulebook gave him just cause to pause the game.
"I mean, this rulebook starts off in big, bold print with, 'You can't start the session until all the participants finish introducing themselves.' Wonderful, isn't it?"
This was the only way to stop the session and halt the Game Master's invincible powers.
"Introducing yourself is very important," Takuto said in Atou's know-it-all tone. "Even a preschooler knows that." He wiggled a finger at them the way Atou would.
It was the most ridiculous method at that.
Erakino gnawed at her bottom lip as she tried to come up with a countermeasure. She couldn't think of a greater bombshell reveal than him figuring out what rulebook governed them. Their TRPG abilities were entirely based on that rulebook.
Tabletop role-playing games are characterized by their rulebooks and are known for their strict adherence to the settings, lore, rules, and mechanics laid out in them.
The rulebook was their greatest weapon, and that was why it was their most confidential secret. Having their secret exposed was a lethal blow, as proven by the fact something as retarded as an "Introduction" had completely turned the odds against them.
"Oh dear, why do you look so shocked, Erakino? Ooh, now I see. Are you distressed about how I could possibly know the exact name of your game?"
A perfect guess.
Erakino needed to gather as much information as possible while her opponent was happily prattling on and on. She had no idea how much he knew, but she had to acknowledge he had an overwhelming advantage on the information front.
He was toying with them all along.
"You messed up the moment you placed monsters on the continental border. It certainly works wonders to prevent invasions from the Dark Continent, but it was like you were just begging me to guess what game you're from, you know? Besides…this particular game has online sessions that I had the pleasure of playing myself. Isn't it only obvious that I would figure it out? Wouldn't you agree…Sludge Atou?" The shadowy figure imitating Atou giggled as it sought agreement from the real Atou.
"You dare imitate me next?!" she thundered, furious with what he said. "Your impudence knows no bounds!!"
"You are the most talented combatant of the lot, Atou. It only makes sense for me to choose you… Oh, should I have asked for your permission first?" He tilted his—her—head.
He was provoking her.
They might've become enemies, but Atou had a hard time believing Takuto would use this tactic against her, which inflated her concerns and caused her to panic.
This thing was obviously not the Takuto she knew.
"No need! I'm happy to allow my King Takuto to do it! As long as it's my King Takuto!!"
"Oh my, that's quite the suggestive word choice. Something on your mind, me?"
Yes, there very much was something on her mind. It had plagued her waking thoughts since she learned that Takuto had the powers belonging to the Nameless Evil God. Ever since she realized he possessed that ability from the start of his time in this world and that she'd only forgotten about the possibility.
When it came down to it, what scared her more than anything was—
"Could it be that you believe Takuto Ira never existed from the start? That he was merely a skin the Nameless Evil God was wearing to have some fun?"
Takuto Ira—no, the shadow being—hit her with the words she didn't want to hear. With the reality she didn't want to face.
Something broke inside Atou.
Her body trembled, and she felt her knees buckling beneath her.
Fenne and Soalina tried to close the distance with her out of concern, but…
"…?! Crap!"
Takuto Ira wasn't kind or weak enough to let such an opportune moment pass by.
"Ahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're losing your touch!"
"Damn it! Damn you!!"
The consortium of tentacles homed in on Atou again. She swiftly intercepted them, but her vehemence was squashed by the mental blow she'd been dealt, making it difficult to deflect and counter the attacks as she had before.
Fenne and Soalina intercepted the onslaught with their Miracle Artes as well, but it was nigh impossible to parry and dodge the fullstrength strikes unleashed by Takuto in Atou's form, since she was the strongest combatant.
Lenea's defeat was set in stone if they didn't act fast.
The myriad of tentacles out for blood would eventually destroy them all.
As the three combatants bought her time, Erakino prepared to bet it all.
"Master! Introduce yourself! Say your name and rip this cocky, imposter shut-in off his high horse and smack him dead!!" Erakino screamed.
If a self-introduction was all it took, then they should just introduce themselves. Of course, if the other Player refused to return the greeting, they could penalize him for obstructing the session's progress.
There were a handful of ways for the Game Master to project his voice into the game world. The fastest was speaking through Erakino, or he could use his GM Authority to speak directly to this location. All that was left was for the GM—who seemed to be hesitating for whatever reason—to give his name and self-introduction.
He just needed to man up and do it.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you," Takuto-imitating-Atou casually addressed them like they were having small talk at a café, rather than him trying to impale them at lightning speed with a legion of wildly whipping tentacles. "Brave Questers has a special kind of magik that lets you curse a person to death using their true name.
Isn't that nice?"
The Game Master's hesitance stemmed from the instinctual fear of death. It bound him, staying his hand.
Erakino gasped. She shot Takuto a glare harboring all her hatred for him, but from beginning to end, he cackled like he was having a mighty good time.
Yet again, they had lost to him on the information front.
A lethal loss… Their very lives literally hung in the balance based on who had more knowledge.
"Y-You're bluffing!" Erakino challenged in a high-pitched shout.
They had already experienced him using Events from Brave Questers to interfere with their abilities. This meant that Takuto Ira could imitate any character capable of activating Events from an RPG. So it wasn't too far-fetched for him to be capable of using some mysterious curse from Brave Questers. And yet, something about how he told them about it now seemed suspicious.
They had been tricked by the changeling-like King of Ruin's bluffs far too many times. He couldn't do anything himself, so he borrowed the strength of others and then got into their heads with his lies.
The jig was up.
I'm sure he's just using his loner craftiness to get into our heads and seal off Master's abilities, Erakino concluded.
"D-Don't do it!" Fenne cautioned.
"Fenny! Why not?! Liar's just gonna lie!"
"It's over for us if that leads to the Game Master's defeat…" Fenne pointed out. "We should prioritize him and his ability to resurrect the dead!"
Few are capable of facing invisible horrors. Even a Saint occasionally makes pessimistic decisions.
Erakino sucked her lip in between her teeth and bit down. She was torn. She felt like Fenne was being a coward, but she also agreed with her. Even Erakino understood that a deadly risk accompanied revealing the GM's name in the heat of the moment.
"Atouy! Know anything?!" Erakino looked to Atou for help.
"I'm sorry, I don't!" Atou replied. "I-I'm nothing more than a character from Eternal Nations. Other games are outside my area of expertise. I know a couple of the characters we fought to some degree, but not in great detail…"
Erakino clicked her tongue. She knew even less about Brave Questers than Atou did. Atou had mentioned the game to her before, but the detailed settings, system, game mechanics, and the like, were outside her realm of knowledge. They had no way of knowing if the game had a spell capable of killing someone just by learning their true name.
"MASTER!!" Erakino begged the GM for the answer.
Unfortunately for them…
"Do you know about Brave Questers?" Imitation Atou asked. "I can't imagine your Master would. He's nothing more than an ordinary man with little knowledge of games—he was just randomly picked by the dice. Or at least that's what I heard… Yes, I was told directly all about it."
The GM had absolutely no idea about that, either.
"THAT TIME!" Fenne wailed. "You were already among us…!"
What time exactly was Fenne referring to? What conversation had Takuto Ira taken part in? Only the man in question could know for sure, and the knowledge was consigned to oblivion unless he deigned to tell them.
The one truth they could glean from that shadowy creature's awfully satisfied grin was that they had handed over a great deal of information about themselves without ever knowing it.
And with it, the dominoes began to fall one by one.
"That's right, Veiled Saint Fenne. You foolish, foolish woman who teamed up with a Witch for the sake of your own happiness," he taunted.
"How dare— AAAAAGH!"
"Fenne!"
Did she lose concentration in her moment of unbridled rage? Or did her nerves fray during the unending dance of offense and defense?
Either way, Fenne fell first.
A tentacle whipped her side, sending her flying into one of the still-standing walls. Seeing as she'd staggered in place, the blow wasn't fatal, but her pristine saintly armor rapidly turned red. She wouldn't be rejoining the fray any time soon.
"You won't be able to keep up with us with that mutilated body you hide under the veil. Please stay there and enjoy the show from the sidelines," Takuto ordered, seemingly losing interest in her enough not to finish her off. He shifted his gaze back to Erakino. "Oh, right! The most important thing completely slipped my mind. Forgive my tardiness."
He clapped his hands together as if he had just remembered something and used Atou's superhuman speed to zip over to the pulpit.
"AAAaaaaa…ngh…ah-ah-ah…" The four women gasped.
It happened all so suddenly.
The outline of Takuto in Atou's form warped for a fraction of a second before inky darkness burst into existence. As if rejected by the world itself, the darkness seemed to rip open the fabric of time and space itself to be there. Deep within that inkiness was an ocean of black darker than the darkest night. It was impossible to conclude that what they were looking at was a living, breathing being, but with the slightest movement, it made its existence known to the world.
"Agggh…oof…koff…coff…Nnn!"
It held a hand to its throat and let out the most unbearable noises. It almost seemed like it was trying to speak for the first time. The sound of it clearing its throat and trying to tune its voice to the right frequency was undeniably the work of an evil god about to make its mark on the world.
After what felt like a dreadfully long time, it seemed content with the result…
"Hello. My name is Takuto Ira. It's a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to playing with you."
With a voice that instilled fear in all who heard it, the King of Ruin introduced himself, his body a shadowy blur of darkness.
<-x-X-x->
THE King of Ruin had manifested in the Holy God's Divine Nation of Lenea.
The Saints and even the Witches were frightened to their core by the nauseating true darkness put on full display before them. The pressure emanating from him in imitation form was incomparable to the presence crushing them now.
Atou had witnessed Takuto in this form once before, and she had been his loyal subordinate and confidant then. The shadowy being looming before her emitted an imposing pressure, leading her to believe this was the King of Ruin's true form.
Was Takuto Ira, clearly directing his dark intentions toward them now, always such a terrifying being?
No one could stop themselves from trembling at the presence before them.
"All right…it's about that time, isn't it?" Takuto crooned in an inhuman, spine-chilling voice.
A cadence of heavy footfalls arrived at the former site of the mostly destroyed cathedral as if lured there by his words.
"Saint Fenne!" someone called.
"Commander Fjord!" Fenne responded.
Paladin Commander Fjord, who the Game Master had revived while his powers were still in effect, had arrived with an army in tow. He must've filled them in on the most important details, for the elite unit of Paladins were fully armored and carried themselves like men prepared to die for their just cause.
"I've gathered as many Paladins as possible," Fjord said. "I've also ordered the soldiers to evacuate the nearby citizens. We are prepared to save the world from disarray with the knowledge that this might be our final resting place."
"Fjord…"
None among them feared death. And not just because they could rely on the GM to revive them. Most Paladins were unaware of his ability in the first place, and even if they knew about it, there was something even more important than their own lives. Namely, the King of Ruin responsible for slaughtering many of their comrades and all the innocent lives that hung in the balance with his continued existence.
The holy warriors were dead set on eradicating Takuto Ira, no matter the cost. It's a pity that the unbridled wickedness of the being known as Takuto Ira trampled their resolve like a weed in the middle of a busy road.
"Then please exterminate that Witch first, Commander Fjord," Soalina commanded from the pulpit before anyone realized she had moved there.
"Damn it! Back to your old tricks!"
Was it Erakino or Atou who'd cursed?
Once again, Takuto disguised himself as Soalina and began to toy with the Order of Paladins as if he'd found the next way to amuse himself.
"Saint Soalina of Blooming Burials…"
"Wh-What's going on here?"
"There are two Saint Soalinas?!"
"Could one of them be a fake?!"
"But I can't tell which!"
"How do we proceed then…?"
Confused voices rose from the Paladins. Only a select few among them could guess what was going on from what they had been told beforehand. The majority couldn't comprehend the strange phenomenon they were witnessing, leaving them flustered by the presence of two very real Soalinas. With the GM's ability sealed, there was no way to immediately bring them up to speed.
Yet one confident voice sliced through the confusion.
"You're wasting your time, King of Ruin," Soalina said. "The easiest way to deal with an imitation is for the real person to overpower the fake. Even if that results in my untimely end, I'm content if it keeps the next generation alive."
One of the two Saint Soalinas declared she would sacrifice her own life to end the chaos. Was she just being reckless? Or was this the will of a holy Saint? Regardless, her strategy was the best tactic to employ in this situation.
"But then you might die, Soali!" Erakino cried out, horrified by the prospect.
No one could remain calm if their friend were suggesting they throw away their own life…especially if that was the first friend they ever made.
However, contrary to Erakino's flustered state over how to divert her friend away from something she had already set her mind to, Atou saw a spark of hope in Soalina's suggestion.
"No, you're looking at it all wrong, Erakino," Atou pointed out. "Have you already forgotten that we can bring back even the dead by using your Master's true power? Put simply, if we can defeat the King of Ruin and put an end to this Pause business, then we will be victorious on all fronts!"
Even if it took all sorts of sacrifices along the way, they would win in the end.
Erakino sucked in a sharp breath. Atou was…planning to destroy Soalina along with Takuto Ira. She had to be grieving for the master she loved and adored. She of course had a million regrets and lingering attachment. This wasn't the ending she wanted—she longed for the day she could peacefully return to Mynoghra.
But that was a dream that would never come true.
Atou had been completely absorbed into the TRPG forces, and her return to Mynoghra was rendered impossible because there was no way to undo what had already been done. Moreover, she'd already lost the Takuto Ira she knew. The question he'd posed shattered her heart into a million pieces, vaporizing her ability to think calmly.
The one sure thing was that, in this moment, she'd finally come to terms with how to prioritize her adoration for her former master and her desire to ensure her new friends' safety and victory…
And so, the battle between the two Soalinas commenced.
"O Lord, our maker! Grant my hands the holy flames to purge evil!" both chanted in unison.
◇◇◇
THE clash of holy flames sent forth by the Saints left no room for anyone else to get involved. The holy blaze consumed the church and spread to the surrounding buildings. Everyone incapable of keeping up with this high-level battle, such as the Under Paladins, dashed off to contain the fire.
Takuto Ira didn't change forms. No, he was being kept in check by Soalina's do-or-die barrage of unrelenting attacks. With no leeway, he was forced to concentrate solely on dodging her determined onslaught.
The only difference between the two Soalinas was…the amount of heart they put into the battle. That alone had become the key element to deciding the victor, and that alone was the only reason Takuto couldn't beat Soalina in a one-on-one match.
That alone was the weakness behind Takuto's ability to imitate everything with a sneer.
…After a long clash of fake vs original, a certain scene played out for the second time.
Soalina's Holy Staff plunged through Takuto's abdomen, consuming him in a pillar of ceaseless flames.
"Yes! I did it! I'm the one who slayed Takuto Ira! The King of
Ruin! Me!"
Soalina stood victorious. The real Soalina, that is. There was nothing fake about her, nor did the fake have the desire to overturn the result.
An imitation can never perform as well as the original in extreme conditions.
Hellfire was about to consign Takuto Ira to oblivion for the second time.
"No living being can survive the Blooming Burial Flames!" Soalina exclaimed, her voice elated with success. "Not even me, the caster! You have met your end once and for all, King of Ruin!"
Witnessing that scene…made Atou believe everything was over.
She understood that her master had been defeated. The moment Atou fell prey to Slurp, Takuto suffered an irreversible setback. As much as she hated to admit it, Atou and her master's second chance at life had come to a pitiful end here.
How she wished she could have been the one to put an end to him with her own hands.
She wanted to settle things with the Takuto she knew, not the Nameless Evil God. Now, even that possibility had been stripped from her. And so, Atou wept, dedicating her thoughts solely to apologizing to the boy she'd failed.
…Sludge Atou's biggest mistake in this moment was letting her judgment get clouded by none other than Takuto. He had riled her up until she lost the ability to think straight. That's why she misread the situation. That's why it took her much longer than usual to realize the most important and basic fact…
Takuto Ira had survived these very same circumstances once before.
"Kihehe!"
Misanthropic laughter rose from the shadowy figure caught in the center of the raging cone of hellfire.
"Kiheheha! Kuhehehe! HYAHahAHaHA!"
The vertical flowing flames suddenly flicked inward. Similar to the effect seen when watching a movie in rewind, the flames converged in one spot, morphing into a single mass with a mind of its own.
Eventually a man formed from the flames. A…strange-looking man.
"Mm!" He stretched his arms high over his head and cracked his neck. "Damn, that's refreshing. I'm a free man again, after only the evil god knows how long!" he cackled.
"It can't be…you're…FLAMIN?!" Atou cried out in horror, the only person who knew what they were looking at.
She hadn't fought him herself, but she had heard what he looked like enough to be able to identify him now. His sickly thin body, shirtless, shabby attire, the eerie gleam in his dead eyes, and the unceasing flames encasing him from head to toe highlighted his abnormality.
Yes, all of that defined none other than Flame Demon Flamin, one of the Four Generals of the Demon Lord's Army that had tormented Mynoghra and stole one of their dearest from them.
"Oooh, hot damn, totally forgot about the pesky flies still buzzing 'round the place," Flamin said when he noticed the Paladins staring at him as he enjoyed a good stretch. "Well, I was the one who lured 'em here… Time to reduce the population, eh? Shoo fly, shoo." He made a swatting motion toward them with his hand. Hundreds of fireballs formed around him and launched toward the Paladins with an oddly lyrical sound that belied the lethal punch they packed.
None of his enemies realized Flamin had just launched one of his
AOE fire spells at them. All they could tell was that a good number of Paladins had sustained damage and lost their lives to a single attack.
"ATOU! What in the blue blazes did your master imitate this time?!" Fenne bellowed.
"One of Brave Questers Four Generals of the Demon Lord's Army!" Atou shouted back. "He's a flame demon! Don't tell me he used Absorb?! Shoot! That's how he survived the attack!!"
How did Takuto come back from the damage he had sustained from the surprise attack in Dragontan?
This was the answer to that riddle.
Flamin is a flame demon with complete fire mastery. In Brave Questers, he can absorb all damage from fire spells and use it to recover his HP.
Takuto had transformed into Flamin at the last second and healed the fatal damage to his heart with the cone of flames enveloping his whole body.
Surprised gazes converged on Flamin. He pulled a face and clicked his tongue with disgust over their needling stares.
"Don't ya have anythin' better to do than stare at me like a buncha sheeple? Ya make me sick. Just die— Aah!" Takuto-Flamin put a hand to his head. "…Hmm, I see. I'm so friggen strong, my personality becomes dominant, eh? Hot damn, I come with a lotta baggage."
Seemingly having gotten control of the situation, a cruel smile brimming with hatred and greed stretched across his skeletal face. He opened his arms wide and announced, "Addressing all the stupid ladies with flowers for brains who don't understand a friggen about my awesome plan! Here's a question for ya'll stuck with a dumb look on your ugly mugs!"
Flamin—Takuto Ira—was presenting them with a challenge.
"What am I about to do, hmm? Since you're too dumb to think for yourselves, here's a little hint: it's got something to do with a special skill used by Brave Questers' Demon Lord Army! Tick-tock, tick tock!"
Atou racked her brain for the answer.
An Event…didn't fit the situation. There couldn't be too many Events that triggered during a battle. Besides, Events were designed to be completed, ending in the Demon Lord Army's defeat. So Takuto had no reason to activate an Event now.
The real Flamin had triggered his Event simply to screw Mynoghra over and take them down with him. It ended with his death and the birth of a new Witch with two sets of Hero traits, so obviously Takuto wouldn't choose that path.
Even the Event he had used on them ended with them exposing the culprit behind the Paladin Murder Case and entering battle.
No, his plan didn't include an Event.
"Well, I guess I asked too much of ya ladies. You ain't got nothing but air in yer heads. You're so damn absorbed in what's in front of you, ya don't see the big picture."
What other cards does he have to play? How else can he overturn this situation to defeat this many Saints, Witches, and an entire Order of Paladins? Atou wondered, her mind not coming up with a good answer.
"I had a speck of hope ya'd at least be able to guess at it with all those worthless joke-of-a-council meetings ya held, but looks like you were just playing pretend, eh?" he continued his taunting. "Here's hoping you get some brains in the next life, if there is such a thing."
Atou was the only one who made a move. Her years of experience and instinct as an elite unit of darkness told her she couldn't let Takuto seize the initiative, driving her to attack.
Her action succeeded. She was faster.
Flamin might've been one of the Demon Lord's generals, but he was a mage-class character with an emphasis on offensive spells. In terms of speed, he had no way of besting a close-combat character. If both took action simultaneously, Atou would always come out on top. Furthermore, Atou's current combat abilities and skills easily surpassed Flamin's. The fight should've ended in a matter of seconds.
"Without much ado…"
The moment her tentacles were about to smash Flamin's face, his skeletal frame warped and transformed into that of a strange man covered entirely in ice, standing two times taller than an average adult male—he had transformed into Frost General Ice Rock of the Demon Lord's Army.
"…Time's up," Ice Rock's gravelly voice declared.
[Ice Rock takes the Initiative!
]
[Ice Rock Summons his allies!
]
"Shoot!"
The army of ruin had been summoned to sentence the Divine Nation of Lenea to its demise.
[Long-legged Bugs answered his call.
]
[Headhunting Bugs answered his call.
]
[Brain Eaters answered his call. ]
[Dark Elf Riflemen answered his call.
]
[Gia the Assassin answered his call.
]
[Curse Sage Moltar answered his call.
]
[Witches of Regret, the Elfuur Sisters answered his call.
]
In the fire-engulfed capital of Lenea, a frenzied bout between the minions of the Holy and Evil Gods commenced.
.
--------------->
.
Chapter 11: Settling the Score
IT was a moment that took everyone by surprise. Takuto Ira—the man they believed had foolishly invaded their country alone— transformed into a frost giant and used some mysterious ability to call forth the legions of darkness. Everyone who saw the twin girls appear at the end of the summoning instinctively realized that they were harbingers of death.
Yes, the Paladins blessed by the Holy God knew at a glance the true nature of the girls who hadn't even made their move yet.
"Witches! Witches have appeare— GAAAGH!"
KA-BOOOOOM! An explosive report reverberated through the area, threatening to pop the holy army's eardrums. As they covered their ears, they saw a Paladin's head split open like a pomegranate.
The twin who attacked first offered them a dainty smile as smoke billowed from the muzzle of the revolver grasped in her right hand.
"What's our goal~?" she asked cutely.
"To shoot anything that moves, ma'am!" her twin responded.
"Hyahaha! Scatter ants, scatter!"
With a clang, the Elfuur Sisters lifted a hulking weapon more than twice their size. It was a six-barrel, air-cooled, rotary machine gun connected to what looked like a metal backpack. Known as a minigun in the Land of the Gods, this weapon wasn't as small as its name suggested. This personification of destruction had inherited the firepower and destructive force of the bigger, 20 mm M61 Vulcan Gatling-style rotary cannon.
Casually holding aloft the gun no mortal could handle without extensive support, the sisters rotated its muzzle so it could bring death to their surroundings.
"Get out of the way! NOW!" Atou shouted at the top of her lungs to warn them.
But it was far too late for the Paladins to save themselves.
"FIRE!!" the twins bellowed in unison.
"GAUGH!"
"AGH!"
"GAAAAAAH!"
The ensuing scene was truly worthy of being called a picture of hell. The minigun, swung around by the strength of the Hero twins, emitted an eerie roar as it sprayed bullets, striking death into all it hit without discrimination.
The greatest misfortune the Paladins experienced during this attack was not knowing the nature of the weapon they were up against. Those who failed to take cover died where they stood, and even the ones who avoided fatal wounds suffered enough damage it hindered their ability to fight back.
"Disperse! Take down your designated targets!"
With a gigantic rifle slung over his shoulder and a murderous expression on his face, Gia ordered his Riflemen. A group of armed Dark Elves scattered in every direction.
Atou was about to unleash her tentacles after them, but Gia and several Riflemen stopped her with relentless gunfire.
"Curse you!" she spat. "I never knew this method of attack existed! I don't have enough tentacles to spare!"
"This, too, is something His Majesty has commanded, Lady Atou.
I never expected to face off with you of all people, however."
"Elder Moltar! You old bat! Go back to your dusty laboratory in the Accursed Lands where you belong!" Atou snapped at him.
"Hohoho," he chuckled at her. "I can't do that. I need to make up for my past blunders before these old bones can be laid to rest.
Without further ado— Land of Ruin!"
Behind the gunners, Elder Moltar swiftly cast Military Magic and executed the spell. The ground instantly decayed and miasma permeated the air. As the Holy God's power vanished from the land, the forces of good felt their very souls tremble, as if they were being pulled into the pits of hell.
"My god! What's going on?!"
"This is a special spell that weakens holy forces! It'll cut our strength in half!"
Having to explain everything sucks! Atou thought. We're just giving the enemy—giving Mynoghra a chance to get stronger!!
Everything from the Dark Elves to the grotesque bugs to the humanoid monsters wearing someone else's skin, grew ten times stronger as they basked in the miasmic air. Meanwhile, the forces of good suffered devastating damage from the crippling first attack.
Atou, who knew the devastating power of firearms, was somehow able to protect the other girls because the brunt of the attack was concentrated on her. Conversely, it could also be said that she was being held back because she protected the injured Fenne and physically weak Soalina from the hail of bullets. Worse yet, the Land of Ruin terrain effect actively sapped their Strength. It acted like a lock on Atou's abilities, increasing the enemy's difficulty level in kind.
A decrease in Atou's combat potential spelled doom for Lenea.
"All right, let us get this party started. It's going to be a very, very lovely party." As it spoke, the Nameless Evil God's shape warped again.
[Isla, Queen of Bugs has appeared in the world.
]
[The Strength of all Bug units throughout the world has increased by +2.
]
An abomination appeared before the forces of good. The giant insect queen that couldn't possibly be of this world signaled the start of all-out war with her terrifyingly pleasant voice. The holy army of Lenea mustered its remaining strength and righteous motivation to fight back.
"Paladins to the front! Purge Arlos's unholy enemies!"
"O Lord, our maker! Grant me the strength to defeat evil!"
At Fjord's command, the able-bodied Paladins moved forward and chanted their holy spells. Each Paladin boasted the strength of a thousand ordinary soldiers, equaling an army on their own. Here a whole squadron of these elite units came together to draw their Holy Swords honed solely for destroying evil.
"Now go, my precious little ones," Isla said in her singsong voice.
"Annihilate Mynoghra's enemies."
"I have mixed feelings about this development, but…" Caria paused, "I'll play along with His Majesty this time!"
"Let's do our bestest, everybody! Goooooooo!" Maria cheered.
"GYEEEEEEEE!"
"GIGYEEEEEEEE!"
"MARVELOUS! IT CAN'T GET ANY MORE HUEMAN THAN THIS!" "HUEMANS!"
Facing off against the forces of good was Mynoghra's venerated evil army, headed by the Witches of Regret and consisting of buffed Long-legged Bugs, Headhunting Bugs, and Brain Eaters with Humanoid-targeted attacks.
Both armies comprised only a few hundred, putting them on the smaller side. However, considering each individual's sheer power, a war on par with two full-scale armies clashing was about to unfold in Lenea.
"Damn you! Damn you all!!"
Atou frantically staved off the incessant downpour of bullets to the sound of Erakino's litany of curses. Bullets were as
inconsequential as flies to Atou, but it was a different story trying to protect the girls behind her from what was essentially a swarm of angry bees.
Erakino's Slurp had rewritten Atou's core nature to make her a member of the tabletop RPG forces. Reassigning her with this fake sense of comradery put them into continual tight spots they might've otherwise avoided.
"Oh no! Those rotten Dark Elves!"
"How could they! They've lit the city on fire!"
As soon as they realized it, the Paladins cried out in alarm— flames had enveloped Lenea's capital. That had to be the work of the Dark Elf squadron that had dispersed at the beginning of the fight.
Fires in an urban area consisting of densely clustered wooden buildings were deadly. If neglected, it'd eventually develop into a large-scale urban conflagration, which would raze the entire city. Having noticed the spreading disaster, Lenea's citizens started scrambling to escape. Since they were all busy fighting for their lives against Mynoghra, no Paladins were around to take charge of the situation in the capital.
No one was trying to stop the rapidly spreading flames. The city was on a one-way trip to absolute devastation.
"Tch!" Atou sucked on her teeth. "It will all be for nothing at this rate! Paladins! Protect the Saints and Erakino with your lives! I'll drive our enemies back!"
To Atou's relief, several High Paladins rushed over at her request. They scooped up Erakino and the Saints and retreated out of range of the bullets with all the speed their trained-to-the-limits bodies could muster.
Finally seeing an avenue of attack, Atou concentrated her strength into her legs. With one mighty leap, she should be able to get right next to the Riflemen, forcing them to cease fire out of fear of shooting each other. Once she collapsed their frontlines, she could roll out all sorts of strategies.
However…
"Aww, could it be you forgot about us?"
"I never thought we'd fight against you someday, Miss Atou."
…such a counterattack would never happen with the Elfuur Sisters there.
They had tossed aside their miniguns once they ran out of ammunition, drew the Demon Lord's weapons they had snatched during that fateful battle, and wielded them madly as they sliced at Atou with all the malice of the incarnation of evil.
"Argh! Cheeky brats! Too bad you came at the wrong time of day! It's currently daytime! Not only is there no moon out, but the sun is still high in the sky. You're far from being able to use a pittance of your strength!"
Atou's comments as she easily dodged the two Witches were exactly right. The twins were Witches born of the brilliance of the moon and tragedy. Their full power and insanity manifested only on the night of the full moon. They couldn't use the abilities lying dormant within them during the opposite time of day, reducing them to little more than warriors with slightly more strength than the rest.
But…would Takuto seriously overlook such a thing? Was he really someone who wouldn't work it into his strategy?
"Do you honestly believe that, my sweet little Atou?" asked the refined voice of a lady from the grotesque body of a bug with a blotched-out face.
"What are you on about now…?"
Atou furrowed her brow in contemplation. No amount of skill or intuition could have possibly led her to the answer…as Takuto Ira in the guise of Isla faded away.
"My name is Luna. The symbol of darkness floating in the night sky."
The world suddenly sank into night under the watchful gaze of the gigantic, luminous moon.
"This is lunacy!!" Atou cried.
The night of the full moon was being reenacted in the middle of the day. The evil god capable of becoming anyone because he was no one had finally gone and imitated a natural phenomenon.
"AHAHAHaHAHaHaHAhA!!!"
And with the appearance of the full moon, the twin Witches born from regret awoke from their long slumber within the gentle embrace of sanity to madly display their might.
"Again! Yet again, people have shown up to steal our happiness! I knew it! I just knew it! The world hates us! It despises us!!" Caria wailed.
"Hehehehe," Maria tittered. "What fools. It would've never come to this if you'd only lived without quarreling. Nobody woulda lost anything that way."
"Plague."
"Addle."
They unleashed the most sinister, detestable skills at maximum output. Even with their high resistance to all status effects, they were up against two different Witch debuffs. Most of the Paladins desperately tried not to forget their holy mission as they fell to their knees from the disease eating away at them.
"GHH! Wh-What sorcery is this?! How could this happen?!" Fjord cried, his face twisting in despair.
The over a hundred or so Paladins he had brought to this fight were at all different levels of skill and experience, but they were elites with the strength of over a thousand normal men. These holy knights who served as Arlos's vanguard, as the shields of light protecting the people, crumpled pathetically before evil's unforgiving malice.
"Don't get cocky, damn braaaaaaaaaaaaats!"
"I won't let you continue your mayhem!"
Erakino and Soalina leaped into action at the same time. Did they finally figure out how to counterattack, or were they just sick of staying on the defensive when it wasn't getting them anywhere? Whatever pushed them to act, it was too little too late. Soalina's flames forgot their purpose due to Maria's skill, and Erakino's raised arm rotted right off before it could slash Caria.
"Miss Atou, Miss Atou!" Maria called out to her. "Whaddya gonna do now?! All your precious friends are gonna keep dying, you know? Doesn't that make you sad? Doesn't it hurt? Doesn't it make you want to give up living? Then let's forget all about them! Forget about everything!!"
"You may be very strong, Miss Atou, but you can't stop me and Big Sista," Caria added. "I mean, Cary and Big Sista have things to do, so would you please get out of our way, you deadbeat freeloader?"
Their strength increased as the twins breezily repelled Witch Erakino and Saint Soalina's feeble attempts at an attack. Atou hadn't stopped attacking with her tentacles the whole time, but an endless barrage of bullets showered them from every angle in the darkness, and an assortment of Long-legged Bugs and Brain Eaters prevented anything from getting close to the Elfuur Sisters. All the while, the girls bearing both The Hero and Hero Unit traits giggled as they held hands and committed deeds so evil that it'd put most villains to shame.
"Rot the whole city."
"Forget the whole city."
"No! You can't be serious! Your abilities can expand to cover an entire city now?!" Atou's surprised cry echoed helplessly. An invisible power fell over the capital like a thin veil, afflicting the innocent lives within its wide reach.
Atou and her friends were never the twins' target. Their true objective was to Plague and Addle Lenea's capital. The citizens were infected with a terrible disease that needed constant care but wouldn't set them free with death. And at the same time, they were made to forget all about the Holy God they had believed in their whole lives.
How would people who made their belief in god the basis for their lives, live once they had forgotten him? How would people protected by the Church's authority and Arlos's miracles overcome the disease without god's aid?
Takuto Ira had summoned the Witches of Regret for no other reason than to plunge this nation into a hell of his own making.
"Hoho, Gia and the rest are doing Mynoghra proud." Elder Moltar stroked his beard with satisfaction as he stood in the rear, giving orders to the various monsters.
To the untrained eye, he looked defenseless. Almost like he was just asking to be attacked. The forces of good weren't disoriented enough to let such an opening go to waste. Soalina promptly tried to attack with her holy flames. Her target was none other than the Curse Sage commanding the Dark Elves.
But even that undertaking ended in vain. The old man had disappeared under the cover of darkness. Darkness obscured their surroundings, leaving only their immediate vicinity visible, thanks to the moonlight and fire-engulfed city. As someone unaccustomed to nighttime battles, Soalina couldn't possibly locate the elderly Dark Elf
Sage who lived for the night. The crisis only escalated while she tried.
"AGH! …Damn it! Damn you!!!!"
"Oh no! A-Are you all right, Erakino?!" Soalina turned her attention to her friend. "L-Let me see your injuries— Aaaaah!" She screamed when she saw Erakino's arm had rotted off, leaving just her bloody shoulder.
Erakino was still conscious, but her complexion was deathly pale. She had a much higher recovery rate as a Witch, but her injuries were clearly at the point where she needed immediate medical attention. And the only person capable of healing her—the Game Master—still maintained radio silence.
Attacking the city was a show of confidence. Mynoghra was showing off that they could continue spreading despair even as they held back multiple Witches and Saints. It wasn't long before the twins' abilities fulfilled their objective. And once that was done, Takuto Ira would commence trampling them underfoot like ants.
With the GM's Arbiter skill sealed and the Order of Paladins squashed, Atou was the only fighter they had left. Due to the way she was designed, Erakino could only manifest her abilities with the Game Master's support, and Soalina's Miracle Artes were rendered useless by the potential of Flamin's existence whenever she attacked. Fenne had withdrawn from the frontlines due to her injuries, and even if she somehow recovered, her abilities were unreliable.
When it came down to it, Takuto was not the kind of opponent Atou could defeat on her own.
"We're screwed! Help us! Help me, Master…!" Erakino begged.
"Stay with me, Erakino! Someone! Anyone! Please carry her away!"
No one responded to Soalina's pleas for help. Most of her army was either having their flesh skinned off by disturbing humanoid monsters or were being greedily devoured by creepy antlike bugs.
Atou was frantically repelling the bullet hail, and Fenne was out of the picture. Meanwhile, Soalina had neither the means nor the wisdom to overcome this situation. Despair crept in and took over Soalina's thoughts, leading her to believe it was all over, when…
"My name is Keiji." A deep, masculine voice spoke from Erakino's dying body. "My full name is Keiji Kuhara. Is this where I should say, 'Nice to meet you'?" Erakino continued through the blood dripping from her mouth.
It was obviously not her voice or her choice of words. Soalina finally realized what had just happened. The Game Master was taking a gamble. He laid his cards on the table by giving his name to get them out of this predicament. He did so by borrowing Erakino's mouth to speak from another plane.
"My old man used to say that every man has one point in their life when they have to bet it all… I'm damn certain this is that point for me."
Night dawned and Takuto Ira stood silently in their presence. His entire body was shrouded in darkness, but his gleaming gaze fastened on Erakino. Or rather, it was locked onto Keiji, who was borrowing her body to interfere with this world.
"You said your name is Takuto Ira, yeah? You're good at games. I never played one myself. Gambling was more my thing… Not that knowing a lot about something makes you good at it, though."
Takuto maintained his silence. His blotched-out expression was as unreadable as ever, giving the appearance that only a rift of pure darkness existed where he loomed.
"Mine was a life of constant losing. I ended up like this because I lost big time at a yakuza-run underground casino. Loss after loss continued after that, and even now, I find myself close to losing to you."
All the color had leached from Erakino's face to the point you'd think she was dead, and the blood pouring from her shoulder had slowed so much, Soalina wondered if she had any blood left. But the Game Master continued to use her mouth to ramble on about his resolve and intentions.
"But ya know what? I won't let it end here! I've got goals, damn it! I'll win this game in the end and have my dreams come true! So, let's do it, Takuto Ira."
An eerie stillness fell over the battlefield. No one ordered the armies to stop, but both sides naturally stepped back to watch how things played out. It was almost as if this was the real battle to decide the winner.
"I challenge you to a game. If you can curse me to death, just try
it!"
"Ngh, ggg, aaa-aaa… Good for you. Such a spell doesn't exist."
It took some time before Takuto answered Keiji's long-winded harangue. Did he need the time because he wasn't used to speaking in this form, or did he have an entirely different reason? Either way, he resumed his silence after he informed Keiji of this. His shadowy form seemed to waver.
"Haha… Hahahah… BWAHAHA…"
The Game Master's—Keiji Kuhara's dry laughter echoed from Erakino's lifeless body. Was he laughing out of relief? Excitement? He continued this belly laughter for a long moment before stopping and looking emotionally up at the sky.
"Haha. My life was nothing but a stream of losses. I never did well at anything I tried, and one day, I just found myself wrapped up in this craziness."
In some other plane, in a dark room with just a table, chair, and something like a TV, Keiji shouted at the top of his lungs, "But y'know what? Even a scumbag like me has some damn pride! I decided when I died that I'd man up and struggle with everything I've got in me to be sure not to go out as a pathetic loser the next time!"
[GM: Message
Exercising Game Master Authority.
Cease fighting and accept my ruling.
]
"I win! I won this bet!" Keiji whooped.
[GM: Message
Exercising Game Master Authority.
Completely eliminate Mynoghra's army.
Revive and fully heal the Divine Nation of Lenea's forces.
Eliminate all evil afflicting the Divine Nation of Lenea. ]
The dead rose and light returned to the Divine Nation. The legion of monsters and Dark Elves vanished, and the peace that preceded their arrival returned. The raging fires, the utterly devastated cathedral, and the deceased Paladins…quickly regained their former glory like a movie put in rewind.
Mynoghra's army was gone.
Everything from the twin sisters who dished out pain and suffering like candy, to the Dark Elves who operated in the darkness, to the ferocious monsters, to the decayed land, had disappeared as if it never existed.
[System Message
All requests have been processed.
Deleting a Player goes beyond the GM's authority and has been skipped.
]
"…What a tricky system," Keiji muttered. "How about this, then?"
[GM: Message
Exercising Game Master Authority.
Seal Takuto Ira's abilities as the Nameless Evil God.
]
"Looks like that'll do it."
A pleased voice resonated loudly through the chapel that had regained its former state. Before he knew what hit him, Takuto was standing all alone on top of the pulpit, surrounded by the forces of good.
Just like that, he lost everything. His friends, his subordinates, his abilities…all of it, gone.
"It doesn't matter how many times you lose—it can all be canceled out and made right with a single big win," Keiji declared. "That's what makes gambling worth it. Gotta offer up my gratitude to our almighty Dice God."
The victor was decided here.
Keiji loudly declared his successful gamble. He reveled in the success of forging a new path for himself. Settling the score was surprisingly anticlimactic. Putting his mind to it was all it took to cinch victory.
He came to the conclusion that Takuto Ira was nothing more than a fool—a failed conman who'd only made it this far with bluffs and manipulation.
"There's no way left for you to win. It's game over for you,
Takuto Ira."
Under the scornful eyes of Lenea's Saints, Paladins, and the Witch he loved, Takuto was mercilessly slapped with the declaration of his defeat.
Truly alone for the first time, all he could do was choke on those words.
-x-X-x-
Interlude: The Legend
THIS is the story of a certain man in a place far removed from the world where Mynoghra and Lenea waged war. This man had a peculiar lot in life. Despite consistently winning the in-person tournaments hosted by Eternal Nations' game developer, he never rose above second place on the online leaderboards. He appeared to be in his late twenties and had a charming and good-humored sort of personality that belied his nature as a gamer.
Known for his sun-kissed skin, toned figure, and friendly smile, the young man was currently sitting in a café being interviewed.
"Thank you very much for meeting with me when you're so busy, Mr. cLoser," the interviewer said. "You did me a big favor coming to the city center for this interview."
"Don't mention it. I happened to have some time today. I'm the one who should be thanking you. I can't believe I'm being interviewed for a gaming magazine. Kinda nerve-racking."
"What are you talking about?" the interviewer asked with a lighthearted smile. "I can't possibly believe a popular streamer with a stunning record in Eternal Nations could ever be nervous. Not when you live stream almost every day. You're being too modest here."
"Haha! You got me there. Not much I can say in response to that, is there?"
The young man's name was cLoser. Obviously, that was his username. Sitting across from him was an up-and-coming editor for a popular gaming magazine with a long history. Although the magazine struggled to stay afloat during the Internet age, it was still highly respected in the industry for its insight, opinions, and top-of-the-line news. The magazine was running a special feature on Eternal
Nations, interviewing the game's most famous players involved in the rapidly growing Esports category.
Lively banter continued between them after their initial greetings. The interview was really starting to take off when the editor suddenly said, "We were hoping to have Takuto Ira join us for this interview as well, but he sadly rejected the invitation…" cLoser raised an eyebrow at that comment and quietly urged the interviewer to continue. "Say, Mr. cLoser, do you know if the rumors are true? Have you heard anything?"
"Beats me. I don't know anything. I used to be obsessed with trying to get at least one look at that guy's face, though! To this day, I haven't had the chance to meet him in person." "Hahaha. I should have expected as much." cLoser was the undefeated second-place player in Eternal Nations. As an internationally renowned game, Eternal Nations' official tournament came with numerous big-time sponsors and ran for several days.
Tournament spectators could enjoy watching the intense battles and mind-blowing strategies play out in person at the venue and from the comfort of their homes through the online stream. On the other hand, players were placed under strict surveillance and required to play from the tournament's designated location to prevent cheating. If that wasn't stressful enough, players were monitored 24/7 during the tournament's duration, giving them no freedom to go outside or even relax at their hotel at the end of the day.
People often speculated that it was due to these specific rules that the player known as Takuto Ira was unable to participate in the official tournaments. Gossip ran wild with speculations, such as him having too important of a job to participate or that his family wouldn't let him. Some even wondered…if he was deathly ill. Rumors about him being sick seemed the most reliable, which was why it was an unspoken rule in the gaming community not to dig into his life.
As a result of Takuto's absence, cLoser reigned as the undefeated victor of Eternal Nations' official tournaments. Many skilled players worldwide participated in these tournaments, where they could receive lofty sums of money and luxury goods from bigname sponsors, leading to epic battles unfolding every time. The results of the official tournaments fell roughly in line with Eternal Nations' online leaderboard, give or take a few minor variations.
If Takuto Ira actually participated in the tournament, he would be the victor. Even if his nerves somehow made him lose the championship, he wouldn't fall below second place. Every fan of Eternal Nations openly believed as much, which left cLoser feeling vexed.
"So…I know this is a tad rude to ask of the man called 'The King who can't be King,' but…"
"You want to know the secret to Takuto Ira's strength?" cLoser supplied with an undaunted smile.
It was more than his charismatic personality that prevented him from getting annoyed at the interviewer for slapping him in the face with the Internet's nickname for him. No, he was far too busy simmering over Takuto Ira's overwhelming presence in his life.
Anyone involved in the game industry had heard the name Takuto Ira at least once. Just as he was known as the mysterious number-one ranked player in Eternal Nations, his same username had appeared in a ton of other games too. He'd achieved outstanding results in every game, earning him a cohort of fans drawn to his mysterious history and people who just wanted to know the secret to his gaming skills.
The magazine editor probably wanted to offer some fanservice to all the Takuto fanboys and girls out there. If he couldn't meet with the legend himself, asking someone from the same gaming sphere was the next best option.
cLoser felt more than a little slighted being used as a pretext to
talk about another player, but he wasn't such a fool as to say anything under this username that would get him trolled and hated for life in the gaming industry. Besides that…he painfully shared in their desire to know more about the elusive legend.
Fine, I'll pay lip service about the Takuto Ira I know, he decided.
"Good question… I would say he has one trait that stands out. Or should I call it a bad habit?" cLoser said suggestively.
"And what would that be?" the editor asked, leaning in.
"He fools around every time. It's like he cuts corners or underestimates his opponents. He makes naïve decisions like he's thinking, 'Eh, this should be good enough.' That's his bad habit."
"Yeaaah…okay," the editor drawled, sounding doubtful. "But won't that lead to an instant game over if you do something like that during the early stages? I know all too well that Eternal Nations isn't a forgiving game."
"Exactly," cLoser said with a nod, his estimation of the editor rising a peg. Not needing the interviewee to explain every little detail about the subject is the bare minimum requirement for a halfway decent interviewer. Seeing as the interviewer had some understanding, cLoser figured he'd comprehend his honest evaluation of Takuto Ira. "And that's why he's the best there is." cLoser quietly closed his eyes in thought. Every game session
he'd ever played replayed in his mind's eye like it was being projected on a TV display. This was a skill he'd acquired from an astounding memory and playing the same game a million times over until it made him capable of simulating game sessions that were long over.
The skill did cLoser little good, however. No matter how many times he simulated the game sessions in his head, they always ended with him losing to Takuto.
If there was one thing cLoser knew without a doubt as a man who knew more about Eternal Nations than anyone else and could proudly declare he was strongest—save for Takuto—it was this:
"No one can beat Takuto Ira when he gets serious," he declared, looking up at the heavens in resignation, even though he had reached the peak of what a human can achieve in his own field.
Stunned to silence by the deadly serious edge to cLoser's words, the interviewer swallowed loudly.
Silence ran between them as though time itself had stopped until the melting ice cube in their cups shifted with a clank, restarting the world once more.
"If you want a story, editor, then I'd listen to what I'm about to say very closely. I once seriously believed that he might be an AI developed by some tech company. I don't know what his deal is, but
I suspect he's cheating to maintain his winner's streak." cLoser thought back to the sequence of events that led to him
admitting his defeat and Takuto Ira's superiority. One day, back when he was still madly chasing Takuto's shadow, he initiated a voice chat with him just once. The voice on the other side of the line sounded painfully hoarse and feeble, making him doubt he was speaking to the real Takuto Ira at all. It just didn't feel real. That's why it inevitably led to cLoser having doubts and an insatiable desire to unmask his greatest rival.
"A word of advice. I know you're interested in Takuto Ira, but it's best not to piss him off."
The interviewer was about to say that would never happen, but he shrunk back like a frog locked in a snake's hungry gaze when he saw the warning look on cLoser's face. Sometimes a good article requires a reporter to take more radical means to get the scoop. The interviewer realized that the other man had seen through his intentions to employ such means with Takuto.
"You're freakin' screwed once you cause him to snap. He'll use any means to get back at you until your mind breaks under the pressure. I promised to never get involved with him again."
The interviewer was curious about what had happened between Takuto and cLoser in the past. His magazine would fly off the shelves if he could dig up the dirt and turn it into a scoop. It'd only help improve the magazine's standing. But he realized the impossibility of getting anything out of the young man in front of him from the sheer terror on the gamer's face.
"I still get chills just hearing his name," cLoser whispered shakily.
The interviewer nodded, vowing not to pry deeper.
cLoser's hands were visibly shaking.