Chapter 13 15 and 16FANTASY GAME
Chapter 13 — The Battle Beyond the Universe
The creature raised its enormous arm.
For one brief moment, everything became silent.
Then it attacked.
A colossal wave of energy erupted from its body, spreading across the cosmic battlefield. Galaxies trembled. Stars disappeared behind the expanding wave, and the surrounding space twisted under the pressure of an attack that threatened everything in its path.
"EVERYTHING ENDS HERE!"
The players scattered.
"LEONIDAS!" Napoleon shouted.
Leonidas immediately raised his mystical shield.
"COME FORWARD, YOU COWARDLY UNIVERSE!"
A tremendous impact struck his shield.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Leonidas was pushed backward, his feet sliding across the invisible surface beneath him. Cracks of light spread across the shield, but it held.
His eyes widened.
"What kind of power is this?"
Napoleon raised his mystical spear.
"Do not attempt to block another attack of that magnitude without assistance!"
Alexander activated Conquer.
A powerful aura surrounded his body.
His strength doubled. His speed doubled. His physical capabilities rose to superhuman levels.
He charged forward.
"FOR VICTORY!"
Alexander leaped toward the creature's enormous arm and swung his sword.
CLAAAAANG!
The impact created a shock wave that spread across the battlefield.
The creature's arm moved slightly.
Alexander stared at it.
"Did I just move its arm?"
The creature turned its head.
"YOU DARE?"
It struck Alexander with its other hand.
Alexander raised his shield, but the impact launched him across the battlefield.
"Alexander!" Leonidas shouted.
Alexander recovered in midair and landed on his feet.
His shield was damaged.
He looked toward the creature.
"That was unpleasant."
Meanwhile, Miyamoto Musashi drew his sword.
His expression became serious.
"Let us see whether you can withstand this."
He swung his blade.
A colossal energy wave tore through space and struck the creature directly in the chest.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion illuminated the surrounding galaxies.
Kakakume Kasugari and Shinjuku attacked simultaneously.
Kakakume transformed his cutting force into a tremendous energy strike.
Shinjuku released a devastating wave from his energy blade.
The three attacks collided with the creature.
For a moment, the battlefield disappeared beneath the explosion.
Then the light faded.
The creature was still standing.
Not a scratch.
Musashi's expression hardened.
"That should have been enough to destroy an ordinary opponent several times over."
The creature laughed.
"ORDINARY?"
It spread its arms.
"YOU ARE FIGHTING THE END OF EVERYTHING!"
A pulse of energy erupted from its body.
The three swordsmen were hurled backward.
Rasputin rushed toward the creature, laughing as he charged.
"I HAVE SURVIVED POISON, INJURY, AND THINGS THAT WOULD HAVE KILLED OTHER MEN!"
He punched the creature's leg.
The impact shook the battlefield.
The creature looked down.
Rasputin grinned.
"YOU WILL NEED TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!"
The creature lifted its leg and kicked him away.
Rasputin disappeared into the distance.
A moment later, he returned, brushing himself off.
"That was rather rude."
Nixon stared at him.
"How is he still alive?"
Sukishi shook her head.
"Don't ask questions you don't want answered."
Eve raised both hands.
Dark energy swirled around her.
"Enough playing around."
Her eyes darkened.
"VOODOO: CURSE OF THE ABYSS!"
A massive formation of dark symbols appeared around the creature. Black chains emerged from the symbols and wrapped around its limbs.
The creature struggled.
Adam watched carefully.
"Interesting."
He extended his hand toward the creature.
"Let's see whether I can copy your power."
For a moment, a strange energy surrounded Adam.
His eyes widened.
Then the energy disappeared.
Adam staggered.
"What?"
Eve turned toward him.
"Adam?"
He looked at his hands.
"I couldn't copy it."
The creature laughed.
"YOUR ABILITIES ARE NOTHING BEFORE ME!"
The chains shattered.
Eve was struck by a wave of dark red energy and sent flying.
Adam caught her before she could fall farther away.
He looked toward the creature with a serious expression.
"Then we'll have to defeat you without copying your power."
Nearby, Shiva stepped forward.
His aura grew overwhelming.
"ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION."
A terrifying force erupted from his body.
The cosmic surroundings shook.
The creature finally turned its full attention toward Shiva.
For the first time, its laughter stopped.
Shiva raised his hand.
"Be destroyed."
A massive wave of destruction surged toward the creature.
The impact swallowed its enormous body.
For several seconds, nothing could be seen.
Then the creature emerged from the destruction.
Still standing.
Shiva narrowed his eyes.
"Impossible."
Brava stepped forward.
"Then allow me."
His hands glowed with brilliant golden light.
"ULTIMATE CREATION!"
An enormous structure of energy appeared around the creature, forming countless layers of barriers and restraints.
Brava clenched his fists.
"I have created a prison beyond ordinary matter and space!"
The creature looked around.
Then it smiled.
"YOU HAVE CREATED SOMETHING FOR ME TO DESTROY."
The barriers shattered.
Brava was pushed backward by the resulting explosion.
Shiva caught him before he could be thrown away.
For a moment, the two gods looked at one another.
"So much for your prison," Shiva said.
Brava sighed.
"At least I tried something other than destroying everything."
Across the battlefield, Buddha remained perfectly still.
He watched the creature.
He watched the gods.
He watched the warriors.
Then he closed his eyes.
"This battle cannot be won by strength alone."
Nostradamus appeared beside Nixon.
"At last, someone is speaking sense."
Nixon looked at the battlefield.
"Everyone is getting thrown around! Even the gods can't defeat it!"
Nostradamus's expression was unusually serious.
"I have examined countless possible outcomes."
"And?"
Nostradamus looked toward the creature.
"Most end in our defeat."
Nixon's stomach dropped.
"Most?"
The prophet smiled faintly.
"Not all."
The creature raised both arms.
The galaxies around it began to collapse inward.
"ENOUGH!"
A colossal wave of energy spread across the battlefield.
"NOW WITNESS MY TRUE POWER!"
Nostradamus's eyes widened.
"EVERYONE, TAKE COVER!"
The universe turned white.
And the battle entered its second stage.
---
Chapter 14 — The Strongest Player Reveals Himself
When the light disappeared, the battlefield had changed.
The stars were gone.
The galaxies were gone.
The cosmic structures that had surrounded the players had vanished.
Everything appeared empty.
Yet the players remained standing on the invisible surface.
Nixon slowly opened his eyes.
"Are we dead?"
Sukishi looked around.
"If we were dead, I doubt you'd still be complaining."
"That's not funny!"
Nostradamus examined the surroundings.
"The creature has removed the previous environment."
Alexander approached them.
"Can it truly destroy everything?"
"Perhaps," Nostradamus replied. "But I suspect we are still here because the creature wants us to witness our own defeat."
The creature's enormous silhouette appeared in the distance.
"YOU HAVE FAILED!"
Its voice echoed through the emptiness.
"YOUR WEAPONS HAVE FAILED! YOUR MAGIC HAS FAILED! YOUR GODS HAVE FAILED!"
Shiva clenched his fists.
"Do not mistake an unsuccessful attack for defeat."
The creature laughed.
"THEN TRY AGAIN!"
Shiva prepared to unleash another attack.
Buddha raised his hand.
"Wait."
Shiva turned toward him.
"What are you doing?"
Buddha opened his eyes.
"We have already demonstrated that attacking it directly is insufficient."
"And what do you suggest?" Shiva demanded.
Buddha looked at the creature.
"Understanding."
The creature's enormous head turned toward him.
"YOU THINK YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
"No," Buddha replied calmly. "But I understand that you want us to believe you are impossible to defeat."
The creature roared.
"I AM IMPOSSIBLE TO DEFEAT!"
Buddha smiled.
"Then why did you create a game with rules?"
Silence.
For the first time, the creature did not immediately respond.
Nostradamus's eyes widened.
"Buddha..."
The enlightened player continued.
"You brought us here. You established challenges. You created conditions for victory and failure. You announced that defeating you would allow us to return home."
Buddha stepped forward.
"Your own words established a possibility of victory."
The creature's body trembled.
"THAT POSSIBILITY IS MEANINGLESS!"
"Perhaps," Buddha replied. "But you have not disproved it."
Nostradamus suddenly laughed.
"Magnificent!"
Nixon looked at him.
"What is?"
"The announcer is powerful, but he has also given us information."
Nostradamus turned toward the others.
"We have been approaching this battle incorrectly. We have been treating it as a contest of strength. But the challenge is not simply to damage our opponent."
Napoleon immediately understood.
"Then the real objective is to discover the condition required to defeat him."
"Precisely," Nostradamus replied.
The creature's voice thundered.
"THERE IS NO CONDITION! THERE IS NO WEAKNESS!"
Nostradamus smiled.
"An interesting claim. However, I have encountered enough impossible situations to know that confidence is not proof."
He closed his eyes.
Future Sight activated.
Possible futures unfolded before him.
In one future, Shiva attacked and was destroyed.
In another, Brava created a new weapon, only for the creature to erase it.
In another, Adam attempted to copy its power and failed again.
In countless futures, the players attacked together and still lost.
Nostradamus continued searching.
One future.
Another.
Another.
Then he stopped.
His expression changed.
"What did you see?" Nixon asked.
Nostradamus opened his eyes.
"A possibility."
"Of victory?"
"Yes."
Nixon nearly jumped.
"THEN TELL EVERYONE!"
"Not yet. I need to understand the conditions."
Nostradamus turned toward Buddha.
"I believe the creature's power is not the only factor governing this battlefield. There is another system at work."
Buddha nodded.
"The rules of the game."
"Exactly."
Nostradamus looked toward the empty space.
"The creature claims to possess infinite power. But the challenge itself still follows a structure established by its creator."
The Ultimate Announcer laughed.
"YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME!"
Nostradamus ignored him.
"Napoleon, I need you to organize the fighters. Alexander and Leonidas, you will coordinate the physical attacks. Musashi, Kakakume, and Shinjuku, prepare to attack simultaneously."
Napoleon nodded.
"Understood."
"Adam and Eve, focus on identifying anything unusual about the creature's energy. Do not waste your abilities trying to overpower it."
Adam nodded.
"And what about us?" Shiva asked.
Nostradamus looked at him and Brava.
"Your powers may be our greatest advantage, but we must use them at the correct moment."
Shiva grinned.
"Finally, a plan worth following."
Brava sighed.
"Please don't destroy the plan before we execute it."
Nostradamus turned toward Buddha.
"And you..."
Buddha smiled.
"I understand."
Nostradamus looked at Nixon.
The boy immediately pointed at himself.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"Because you are the anomaly."
Nixon's expression froze.
"What does that mean?"
"The system has been observing you since the beginning. Your origin was unknown, and your compatibility was unconfirmed. There may be something about you that the game itself does not understand."
Nixon looked at his status.
Level 2.
Strength: 5.
Defense: 5.
Agility: 5.
Intelligence: 5.
Two spells.
That was all.
"You think I'm going to save everyone?"
"No," Nostradamus replied. "I think you may possess information we have overlooked."
Nixon swallowed.
"That's not much better."
The creature suddenly roared.
"YOUR LITTLE DISCUSSION ENDS NOW!"
Its body began expanding.
An enormous eye opened in the center of its chest.
The eye looked directly at Buddha.
"YOU! THE ONE WHO CLAIMS TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING!"
Buddha remained calm.
The creature raised its arm.
"SHOW ME YOUR TRUE POWER!"
Buddha took one step forward.
Then another.
The surrounding emptiness seemed to change.
Not because he had destroyed anything.
Not because he had created anything.
But because, for the first time, the creature appeared uncertain.
Buddha joined his hands.
"Very well."
He opened his eyes.
"Let us see what happens when you face someone who does not consider himself separate from the world you seek to destroy."
A golden light spread outward.
The creature's enormous body suddenly stopped moving.
Its eye widened.
"What... are you?"
Buddha's expression remained peaceful.
"That is the question you should have asked before beginning this game."
The golden light intensified.
And the strongest player finally began to reveal the nature of his power.
---
Chapter 15 — The Power That Stands Above the Game
The golden light spread across the empty battlefield.
It surrounded Buddha without burning or destroying anything.
The creature stared at him.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
Buddha did not answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward the other players.
"Everyone, listen carefully. I cannot promise that we will survive this battle."
Shiva frowned.
"Then why have you revealed your power?"
"Because understanding the nature of our opponent is more important than demonstrating our own strength."
Buddha raised his hand.
The golden light spread farther.
The empty battlefield changed.
Faint outlines of galaxies appeared in the distance.
Stars began returning.
The universe was not fully restored, but the surroundings were no longer completely empty.
Nixon stared.
"He's bringing the universe back?"
Brava watched in amazement.
"No. He is not creating it in the way I would."
Buddha looked toward the creature.
"My ability is not simply creation, destruction, or control."
The creature growled.
"THEN WHAT IS IT?"
Buddha answered calmly.
"Oneness."
The word echoed across the battlefield.
"To be one with all things is to understand the relationship between existence, change, and the things that appear to stand apart from one another."
The creature laughed.
"POETRY WILL NOT SAVE YOU!"
It unleashed another enormous blast.
The attack swept toward Buddha.
But as the energy reached the golden light, its movement changed.
The destructive wave spread around Buddha instead of striking him directly.
It continued into the distance.
Buddha had not overpowered the attack in a conventional contest of strength.
He had interacted with it in a way the creature had not anticipated.
The creature stared.
"IMPOSSIBLE!"
Buddha lowered his hand.
"You keep assuming that everything must be decided by who possesses more power."
The creature's body trembled.
"MY POWER IS INFINITE!"
"Perhaps," Buddha replied. "But power and understanding are not the same thing."
Nostradamus watched closely.
His Future Sight showed several new possibilities.
For the first time, the outcomes were changing in response to Buddha's actions.
"Nixon!" Nostradamus shouted. "Look at the system!"
Nixon opened his status.
The familiar interface appeared before his eyes.
Then it flickered.
A new message appeared.
SYSTEM NOTICE: ANOMALOUS PLAYER DETECTED.
ORIGIN: UNKNOWN.
COMPATIBILITY: UNDER REVIEW.
FINAL GAME INTERFERENCE DETECTED.
Nixon stared at the words.
"What's happening?"
The system flickered again.
PLAYER NIXON BALLOT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS AN UNREGISTERED VARIABLE.
THE FINAL CHALLENGE CANNOT FULLY CLASSIFY THIS PLAYER.
Nixon looked toward Nostradamus.
"What does an unregistered variable mean?"
Nostradamus's expression became serious.
"It means the game cannot completely predict your role in its own rules."
"That sounds bad!"
"It may be the opposite."
The creature suddenly turned toward Nixon.
Its enormous eye narrowed.
"YOU!"
Nixon froze.
"Me?"
"YOU ARE THE ANOMALY!"
The creature's voice shook the battlefield.
"YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO EXIST HERE!"
Nixon took a step backward.
"I was just playing a game!"
The creature raised its enormous arm.
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE REMAINED A PLAYER!"
It launched a concentrated attack toward Nixon.
"NIXON!" Sukishi screamed.
Nixon raised his hands.
"LIGHTNING BOLT!"
A small bolt of lightning emerged.
It struck the enormous attack.
For a moment, the two energies collided.
Then Nixon's lightning disappeared.
The creature's attack continued toward him.
"MYSTIC ARMOR!"
A thin layer of magical energy surrounded Nixon's body.
He braced himself.
But before the attack could reach him, Adam appeared in front of him.
Adam raised his hand.
"I may not be able to copy your power, monster, but I can still protect my teammate!"
He was joined by Alexander, Leonidas, and Rasputin.
Alexander activated Conquer.
Leonidas raised his shield.
Rasputin planted his feet firmly.
The attack struck them.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion swallowed the group.
When the light faded, the warriors were still standing, although they had been pushed backward.
Nixon stared at them.
"Why would you protect me?"
Alexander looked over his shoulder.
"Because we cannot win if we abandon our own people!"
Leonidas nodded.
"A warrior does not need to be the strongest person on the battlefield to make a difference."
Rasputin laughed.
"And besides, I would hate to let that ugly thing decide who gets to live!"
Nixon's eyes widened.
For the first time since the battle began, he did not feel completely useless.
He looked at the system again.
The message had changed.
ANOMALOUS VARIABLE: NIXON BALLOT.
INTERACTION WITH FINAL CHALLENGE DETECTED.
POSSIBLE OUTCOME PATHWAY IDENTIFIED.
Nostradamus's eyes widened.
"There!"
He looked toward Buddha.
"Buddha, your ability is changing the conditions of the battle. The system is responding to Nixon because he is not fully registered within the game's rules!"
Buddha nodded.
"Then the path to victory may require all of us."
Shiva stepped forward.
"Tell me what to destroy."
Brava raised his hands.
"And tell me what must be created."
Napoleon lifted his spear.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves!"
Musashi drew his sword.
Kakakume and Shinjuku moved into position.
Eve's dark magic began gathering around her hands.
Adam stood beside Nixon.
The creature roared.
"YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME!"
Nostradamus smiled.
"Perhaps not through power alone."
He turned toward the players.
"But we are no longer attempting to defeat you through power alone."
Buddha's golden light spread across the battlefield.
Shiva's destructive aura intensified.
Brava's creation energy began forming a vast structure around the creature.
Nostradamus examined the possible futures.
Napoleon coordinated the attack.
Alexander and Leonidas prepared to strike.
Musashi, Kakakume, and Shinjuku raised their blades.
Eve prepared her magic.
Adam stood ready to exploit any opportunity.
And Nixon looked at the message on his screen.
For the first time, the game had acknowledged something it could not fully understand.
The final battle was about to reach its decisive moment.
---
Chapter 16 — The Final Chapter: The End of Fantasy Game
The battlefield trembled.
The players stood together before the creature.
Buddha's golden light surrounded them.
Shiva's power threatened to tear apart everything within reach.
Brava's creation energy formed an enormous network of glowing structures around the creature.
Nostradamus looked toward Napoleon.
"Are your forces ready?"
Napoleon nodded.
"Everyone is in position."
Nostradamus turned toward the gods.
"Then we begin."
The creature roared.
"YOU BELIEVE YOUR COOPERATION CAN DEFEAT INFINITE POWER?"
Napoleon raised his spear.
"We do not need to surpass your power in every category. We need to create one opportunity for vi