Chapter 01

Story Recap

A suspicious group appears in Calloah Castle Town, headed by a man calling himself the Liberator, who claims he’s found a way to safely log out from the death-trap game. Players desperate to return to the real world seek his help and disappear from Eternity.

Among those who trusted the Liberator and “logged out” with his aid are Rao and Reilan’s friend Haru Kanata as well as Kiichi and Yoshino, two players who had once adventured with Shuutarou. Alas, it is all an intricate sham, and the Liberator is, in fact, a player killer.

With the help of his Overlords, Shuutarou exposes the murderer and his abettors, who promptly flee. Rao, Reilan, and Crest’s Calloah branch chief, K, chase them down and slay them, ending the serial killers’ cruel plot that claimed the lives of dozens of players.

Wataru’s frontline group successfully clears Ciola Tower, but their celebration is cut short by news about the tragic incident in Calloah Castle Town. Makoto calls Barbara, and Byakuren checks in with Rao and Reilan to make sure they are safe. The friends open up about things long left unsaid between them and promise to reunite soon.

Misaki, practicing alone as usual at the training grounds, gets into a verbal altercation with Yamata’s top two players, which results in her battling Yamata’s sub-master, Alan. The experience leads to them building a rapport.

With the Liberator dealt with, Shuutarou returns to Ross Maora Castle to tackle a new threat—an invading troop of NPCs. He decides to leave this task to Iron, reborn as Beorite, along with his pet slime, Punio. The two overpowered monsters wipe out all the NPCs but one, who is taken captive. Not hoping to learn much, Elroad asks the NPC some questions…and the answers prompt him to rush back to his master.

Aegis and Yamata temporarily ally to clear the Cerou Underground Labyrinth. Everything goes well, and they make it to the final boss, a spirit, but the battle is very strange—the boss doesn’t attack at all, merely repeating the same line of dialogue. The Yamata players are wary of this opponent, but Aegis continues its assault even when the boss finally utters a coherent plea for them not to destroy it. The spirit’s barrier is broken, and two angels descend from above to pierce the spirit with their swords.

Shoukichi and friends go to a monastery to retrieve mementos of the player killers’ victims where they meet the chief nun, who is an NPC. They receive Angel’s Blessing, a special stat and EXP boost that was unlocked with the appearance of the angels. With this buff, Shoukichi’s party feels optimistic about traveling to the front lines to join the effort to clear the game.

Sounds of a fierce battle filled the training grounds. A blade of light deflected a colossal greatsword and closed in for a counterattack.

“Raah!”

Alba spun around, making use of the centrifugal force generated by his greatsword to change its trajectory. He flashed a toothy smile as he and his opponent locked swords.

“Making gains against you is never easy,” he said to Wataru.

“Well, I’m supposed to know what I’m doing.”

The two men grinned at each other.

Among the players who had gathered to watch the mock battle between Crest’s top two members were Byakuren and Makoto.

“I called up friends from my previous party last night,” Makoto mumbled. His mind seemed to be far away from the spectacular competition in front of him.

“The one Rao and Reilan joined, with those children, right?” said Byakuren. “They are so lucky to all still be alive and well.”

Byakuren had lost a close friend, and she blamed herself for it.

“I don’t know if I’d say they’re doing well. I’m really worried about Shoukichi…”

Shoukichi’s crying during that call was still vivid in Makoto’s memories. It made him question why he’d gone on ahead to the front lines, leaving the vulnerable children behind.

“Barbara let me know she supports me, albeit in a roundabout way. Kyouko and Kettle were trying to be brave, but they’re probably having a rough time, too.” Makoto paused for a moment. “I’m not so sure anymore that I should be here…”

Byakuren had been listening with sympathy until then. She shot Makoto a sharp look. “Then go back if you have any regrets.”

Makoto momentarily glanced at her in surprise before averting his gaze uncomfortably. He scratched his cheek, hanging his head.

“Sorry for off-loading my worries on you.”

“It’s okay. We’re party members, after all…” Byakuren looked at the ground. “I have plenty of regrets myself. Everyone’s experiences are different, of course, but I understand how you feel.”

She’d been through a mental breakdown following the death of her close friend and many of her guild members, and for a long time, she’d cut herself off from her remaining close friends and the faithful players who stayed in her guild. She’d been plagued by regrets over what had happened and the choices she’d made.

“But you know what, Makoto?” She looked at him again. “You’ve shown great courage in coming to join the fight on the front lines. But even heroes need someone beside them…to show them the way so that they may not lose it.”

Makoto listened in silence that was punctuated by the noises of battle. Byakuren’s eyes were following Wataru and Alba.

“You have Misaki and me to rely on, but also Barbara and her party. You can choose to walk either path, and you will be supported, with nobody criticizing your choice. You’re more fortunate than most.” She smiled. “There is nothing shameful about going back and nothing foolish about pressing on. Ask yourself what you want more, sleep on this question, and find your own answer.”

“…I’ll do that.”

After his tearful call with Barbara followed by Shoukichi’s sobbing, Makoto had been riddled with uncertainty over what he should be doing. Byakuren’s advice finally helped him shake off his anxiety.

What’s foolish is pushing away a helping hand, thought Byakuren.

She saw some of her past self in Makoto, and she didn’t want him to make the same mistake she had. She also made a promise to herself not to betray her loyal guild members or her saviors, Makoto and Misaki. She would remain on the front lines and wait for Rao and Reilan to join her again.

“—!”

A cold chill out of the blue sent a shudder through Byakuren’s body. She saw that not only Makoto but also Wataru and Alba were on edge.

“Something’s wrong…,” Wataru said quietly.

He put the duel on hold and ran outside. Makoto and Byakuren nodded at each other and followed him.

Fort Sandras was in the dark embrace of the night, but the streets were still busy, and NPCs were carrying on as usual. Everything seemed normal.

“I can’t see anything concerning…but that bad premonition wasn’t just my imagination.”

Byakuren looked around, hugging her chest as if she was cold. Only a handful of players seemed to have sensed something, and they came out onto the streets to check what was going on.

“You don’t think it could be an invasion?” Makoto asked warily.

“It might be…but I’ve never had this sort of visceral feeling before,” Byakuren replied. She, too, was on her guard.

Wataru and Alba were a short distance away when they caught sight of someone and stopped short.

“Makoto! Byakuren!”

They turned and saw Misaki running toward them. Byakuren was a bit relieved; Misaki would be able to tell them if there was an incoming invasion. However, before Byakuren could say anything, Alba let out an angry shout.

“What in the world have you done?!”

He was yelling at six members of Yamata. Hiiiiive and Alan were among them.

Other players began to gather in the street, wondering what the commotion was about.

“I didn’t do nothin’,” Alan replied with an annoyed sigh.

“We’ve beaten the last boss in Cerou,” Hiiiiive told Alba, his gaze serious.

“The final boss of the Cerou Underground Labyrinth? You’d made it that far already…?”

“Well, to give credit where it’s due, it was mostly Aegis doing the boss-bashing.” Hiiiiive turned to Wataru. “The boss was some sort of spirit. It didn’t attack at all while we got its LP to zero. That triggered this weird event. Something was destroyed along with the spirit. Something happened.”

Hiiiiive was taking his time getting to the point. Stone-faced, Wataru asked him what he saw, exactly.

“These…angels appeared and gave us level-ups. We got the hell out of there, and here we are.”

A member of his guild sighed, pulling a face, evidently dissatisfied. “I don’t get it. Why did you call retreat?”

“You’re saying it’s these angels who caused this…change?” Wataru asked Hiiiiive.

Hiiiiive slowly shook his head. “No. I think it’s whatever’s behind them.”

“What’s behind them?” said Alba. “And what would that be—?”

His question was cut short by a high-pitched scream.

It was Misaki.

Makoto and Byakuren had to help her stay upright. She was shivering.

Beads of sweat appeared on Wataru’s forehead.

“So many…,” Misaki began haltingly, white as a sheet. “In Cerou… There’s no time… Is it even possible to stop them…? I’ve never seen so many in one place…!”

Byakuren wrapped her arms around Misaki, worried about her. Alan strode toward them.

“Move,” he barked to Byakuren, then looked down at Misaki, who was terrified. “How many monsters are comin’ at us?”

Players around them gasped, finally understanding they were in danger. Those in the know about Misaki’s ability in particular were seized by fear.

They heard a commotion at the town gate.

“There’s more! More people returning from Cerou!”

“Aegis folks…?”

“But…why are there so few of them?”

Aegis had come back to Fort Sandras. Some of its members looked absolutely petrified, their teeth chattering. Others stared ahead with empty eyes, muttering to themselves.

The Aegis sub-master, Matsu, was there, but there was no sight of the guild master, Shirokado.

“We need healers over here!”

“Bring potions!”

“Carry the weakest to the inn!”

Fort Sandras was in an uproar. Meanwhile, Matsu walked over to a quiet spot and sat down, cradling her sword in trembling arms. She looked toward the town gate.

“They will come…and kill us all…,” Matsu mumbled.

Misaki looked up first at Alan, and then at Wataru.

“There are at least six large dots. And more than a thousand others, every one of them heading our way.”

Large enemy markers meant boss monsters. Even a single boss monster could start an invasion, and they were dealing with six. An army of over a thousand monsters had been unleashed when the protective barrier created by the spirit’s Prayer was broken.

A great crowd gathered by the town gates. There were members, old and new, of Crest, Twilight Adventurers, Yamata, and Aegis, as well as unaffiliated players who were capable fighters.

“We’re here to discuss a strategy to stop a large monster invasion!” Alba boomed, silencing the crowd. He stuck his greatsword into the ground in front of him. His face was very grave. “We will stop this invasion here, at Fort Sandras.”

His proposal didn’t go unchallenged.

“Sorry, but…Allistras is protected by a magical barrier. Isn’t it wiser to retreat, gather up fighters from the towns we pass by, and focus our forces there? If it turns out we can’t defeat those monsters, at least we’ll be safe in Allistras…”

“Hold on, hold on! Do we even have the luxury of time to be standing around here discussing tactics?!”

There were more shouts indicating general unrest. Wataru recognized that the concern about time was valid, and he walked over to Misaki.

“Can you estimate when the monsters will reach the town?” he asked her.

“Just a moment…”

Misaki compared the location of the massive monster group on her map with where they’d been when she first saw them and did some calculations in her head.

“If they keep moving at the same pace, they will get here in two hours.”

The anxious members of the crowd breathed a sigh of relief, finding some comfort in the knowledge that they still had some time to prepare. However, Misaki wasn’t finished.

“But there’s also a vanguard,” she said a little louder. “They’re all flying monsters. They will reach us in fifteen to twenty minutes.”

The news that some monsters were flying straight at them and would get there quickly made many members of the crowd lose heart again.

Byakuren, representing Twilight Adventurers, took over.

“We don’t have much time, and we certainly cannot risk trying to walk back to Allistras. It’s likely that we’d be quickly overtaken by the monsters, and heavy losses would be unavoidable if we had to fight while retreating. We would also be putting players in the other towns in danger, and don’t forget that noncombatants live in the previous areas.”

The crowd began to quiet down.

The next speaker was Flamme.

“Fort Sandras is better equipped to repel a monster invasion than even Allistras. We’ve just put in a request with—”

“Good news, everyone. Our fat king’s gonna help out for a change,” someone said apathetically.

Hiiiiive and his guild members descended into the crowd. He waved a piece of paper in the air.

“You’re not joking, are you?” asked Alba.

“I’m not. Why don’t you check for yourself?”

Hiiiiive handed Alba the piece of paper—or rather, the parchment—bearing the king’s seal.

Grand Quest

Request: Stop the Monster Invasion

From: King Tyrone

Time Limit: None

Participants: No Restriction

Details: A swarm of monsters from the Cerou Underground Labyrinth is threatening to attack the town. Take up arms and defend Fort Sandras. The king shall support you with the fort’s many armaments.

It was an official request from the king, triggering a Grand Quest. The crowd grew agitated; the soldiers headed out of the town gates with their weapons at the ready, while the civilians took shelter.

After the mechanical soldiers walked out in neat ranks, the players resumed their strategy meeting.

“The mechanical soldiers are only around level thirty, while the monsters we’ll be dealing with are at least level forty. Don’t expect the soldiers to be much help,” Alba said, visibly worried. His gaze followed the mechanical dragons soaring through the sky. “I’m sorry,” he added to Hiiiiive and his guild. “I’ve insulted you, assuming you brought this danger upon us all.”

“No offense taken. Besides, we kind of did bring this on…,” replied Hiiiiive.

“So. Tactics?” Alan prompted them to get on with it, losing patience.

“Misaki can see that the enemies from Cerou are marching on Fort Sandras in a straight line,” said Flamme. “Which means that, thankfully, we will only be facing attacks from one direction. We should take out all the flying vanguards before the rest of the monster troop has a chance to join them.”

Byakuren gave a slight nod. “The fortress armaments will be the first line of attack. We’ll position ourselves behind the mechanical soldiers and soldier NPCs and kill any monsters that survive their attacks.”

Flamme showed everyone a map with markers designating each guild’s position. Since they couldn’t quite count on perfect coordination between the guilds, the strategy was simple—everyone would attack the monsters closest to them.

“We’re now going to distribute stat and EXP buff foods!”

With the distribution of supplies, all present started feeling ready for battle.

Foods that boosted stats would be extremely helpful during the upcoming fight, as would anything that increased experience points.

Makoto scanned the crowd of fighters, biting into a chunk of meat on the bone—a defense-boosting food item.

This should be very different from the other invasion…

His guild had barely survived their desperate battle with the Goblin King and its mob. This battle, though, would take place at the front lines, where all fighters were among the top players, unafraid to risk their life. Only a handful had beaten a hasty retreat to Allistras.

“Best of luck, everyone!” Wataru shouted.

Slowly, he began to walk toward the gate leading out of the town. His guild followed him.

“You’re fighting, too?” Hiiiiive asked Misaki.

When he saw her face, his eyes widened in mild surprise.

“You’re scared?” he said.

“Of course I’m scared…”

The first invasion, which had threatened to destroy Allistras, had been a big turning point for Misaki, who had not known peace since. That time, they’d prevailed thanks to help from a miraculously strong hero, but she knew better than to count on something similar happening again.

“I don’t know how I’ll bear the sight of other players dying in front of my eyes…”

A little smile appeared on Hiiiiive’s lips. “Ah. As long as you’re not scared to fight, it’s all good.”

“I’m scared to fight, too!”

“Really? I’d say nobody here is. You can see player locations on your minimap, right? You should know that the cowards have packed themselves like sardines into every available inn.”

Misaki didn’t reply. She did know that very few people had fled the town, but there were so many who were hiding in the inns. Even the brave frontline fighters had a certain degree of risk tolerance, and for many of them, battling an army of monsters of unknown strength, type, and number was well outside their comfort zone.

Alan stood next to Misaki and Hiiiiive.

“We’ll see what happens, I guess,” he said, cracking his neck.

“I wish I could be as stoic… You’ve gained six levels?” Misaki asked him.

“Ah, yeah. We killed the spirit, got some levels from it, and accidentally started a monster invasion. We made this mess, so we’ve gotta clean it up.”

Yamata members headed to the town gate, too.

Misaki strengthened her grip on her Silver Bow, willing herself to be brave, and she rushed to the battlefield.

Magic soldiers stood in formation, while mechanical dragons patrolled the sky. Fort Sandras’s gigantic cannons swiveled around until they were aimed toward the Cerou Underground Labyrinth.

“Honestly, I never expected the king to lift a finger for us…,” said Flamme.

“It may be a scripted event triggered by the first clearing of Cerou,” replied Wataru.

Behind the magic soldiers, Crest members were lining up.

“So this invasion was scripted, too?” Flamme said. “If it was caused by the spirit’s defeat, and defeating the spirit was necessary to progress through Cerou, it was guaranteed to happen… It’s absurd how everything is stacked against us in this world.”

She looked into the distance, furrowing her brow. The hand she was using to hold her dagger was shaking from indignation rather than fear.

Nobody knew how much of a difference the fort’s armaments might make. In Allistras, the players had help from the NPCs, but their frenetic attempts to fight back hadn’t amounted to much. Sandras, however, was ruled by an army, and its military assets were worlds apart from anything in Allistras.

“At last, the gizmos get put to use instead of being part of the scenery,” said Hiiiiive.

“That’s great. Don’t hold your breath waiting for them to win the battle for us, though,” replied Alan.

The two men laughed mockingly, aware that the chances of victory were hopelessly slim.

Hiiiiive looked toward the Cerou Underground Labyrinth, petting his summon, Gem Dragon Kleinod.

“We win this, or we all die. Simple.”

Fort Sandras had been fortified with various mechanical weapons following the angels’ destruction of Ciola Tower when the tower was still being built. The angels deemed these weapons not to be a threat, so it was anyone’s guess whether they’d be effective at all.

There were 719 players supported by about 150 regular soldiers, roughly 500 mechanical soldiers, and 3 mechanical dragons. The fort was equipped with mortars, magical cannons, and lasers. That was everything at Fort Sandras’s beck and call.

“The problems are the enemies’ levels and types, and the bosses,” said Makoto.

He was quietly looking out toward the underground labyrinth.

The monsters seemed to be coming from beyond the Cerou area which was meant for level-40 players, so it was safe to assume they might be level 50 or even higher.

Next to Makoto, Misaki was doing her final prep, pulling at the bowstring to check the tension.

“You’re all so impressive,” she said to Makoto.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The battle formation, for one…”

Behind the mechanical soldiers were unaffiliated players from the west, followed by fighters from Twilight Adventurers, Yamata, Crest, and Aegis.

“Everyone’s focused and ready to give it their all. Unlike when Allistras was in danger of invasion,” Misaki added,

Almost imperceptibly, Misaki’s hands were shaking. Remaining calm when a swarm of unknown enemies was approaching was impossible for her. Yet Makoto and everyone else seemed relaxed.

“We’re only putting on a brave face,” said Makoto, leaning on his shield. “Besides, the circumstances are different. Anyone who’d run away now would be branded a coward, especially if they’re not from Crest.”

The frontline fighters who hadn’t contributed to saving Allistras from invasion had an excuse—their duty to clear the game. This time, though, the invasion was coming from the front lines. The fighters had no reason to refuse participating. Furthermore, the problem wouldn’t go away on its own if they fled to an earlier town. These monsters had to be defeated.

“We didn’t really have time to prepare for this battle,” said Makoto. “So we’ve resigned ourselves to do this, accepted it, and channeled fear into resolve. I bet you that’s why most people seem so calm.”

And that was true of Makoto, too. He slapped his thighs to stop his legs from shaking.

“The fast ones are coming!”

No sooner had Misaki hollered than she nocked an arrow. On her minimap, she noticed countless dots flying toward Fort Sandras. They were so close, she could already see them with her own eyes—an undulating swarm of black creatures that merged into the shape of one giant monstrosity flying straight at the fortress.

Chorus Bat Level 35

Native to the Sorn Mines area, Chorus Bats hunt as a flock. Once they have their prey surrounded, they stun it with a cacophony of noise and then carry it off to their nest.

“Prepare to fire the magical cannon!”

Immediately after players heard King Tyrone’s booming voice, the fort’s cannon fired at the bats. A sweeping beam of light pierced the sky, followed by a loud whomp a fraction of a second later, and the explosion’s resulting shock wave smashed the bats into polygon shards.

Monster drops and coins rained down onto the battlefield.

“That pretty much wiped out the entire swarm…”

“Watch out! There’s more!”

Some Chorus Bats made it past the mechanical soldiers and began attacking players. Screams of pain and fierce roars reached Misaki and Makoto. Then a giant bat swooped down on them. Its wingspan was no less than five meters. Getting bitten by a monster this huge was certain to be very painful.

“Over here!” shouted Makoto, casting Provoke.

The bat attacked him, exposing its back to Misaki, who promptly shot an arrow at it. It screeched in pain and thrashed, but it didn’t die, even though Misaki was using a powerful steel bow.

Beads of sweat formed on Misaki’s forehead.

“Multistrike!”

She sent forward a parabola of countless arrows that hit several bats in the flock. Two flopped to the ground and died from fall damage.

The fort’s weapons are doing decent work…but will they be enough to dent the bosses?

Misaki decided not to think about that. She proceeded to methodically shoot down the bats Makoto had lured. She didn’t even pay attention to her level rising, fully focused on exterminating as many monsters as she could.

“All monsters from the first wave are dead! Use this time to recover!”

Since Misaki was the lookout, it fell to her to give instructions to the players. Fighters around her breathed a sigh of relief and sat down to rest while they could.

“Huh? H-hey! Where are you going?!” Makoto shouted, suddenly breaking into a run.

He’d spotted Matsu, the sub-master of Aegis, shakily walking toward the underground labyrinth. He caught up to her quickly and stood in her way.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Turn around!”

“I have to…go to Shirokado…”

“Shirokado…? Wait, is he still stuck in there?”

Matsu shot Makoto a furious look. “He’s not ‘stuck in there’! He stayed behind, because he saw that as his duty! You…you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?!”

She drew her sword as if she was about to attack Makoto, and yet he kept calm.

“Doesn’t look to me like you understand him, either. He put his life on the line to buy you time to get outta there alive, no?”

Matsu stuck her sword in the ground and crouched beside it, her face contorted in anguish. She started sobbing.

“If you go in there alone, those monsters will rip you to pieces. Calm down and think about what you can reasonably do—how you can actually help! If you refuse to come to your senses, I won’t stop you again,” Makoto spat before heading back to the battlefield.

For a while, Matsu stared vacantly in the direction of the labyrinth, muttering Shirokado’s name. But then she stood up. Members of Aegis looked at her with relief.

“I’m sorry, everyone. I wasn’t thinking clearly,” she said. “Shirokado would be disappointed in me…”

Her guildmates shed tears, agreeing that she shouldn’t go back on her own. Matsu got back into battle formation.

“We will defend this town and then go rescue the Aegis members who stayed behind!” she declared loudly. “Until then, I will be the acting guild master! I might not be cut out for this…but I ask you to lend me your help!”

Wataru had positioned the Aegis troop on the far wing, since he’d been worried that, without their leader, they might lack commitment, but they rallied under Matsu.

Players from various guilds successfully united to vanquish the first wave of enemies, a feat that began to form a strong bond between them.

“Their main forces are coming! They are within sight!”

At Misaki’s warning, everyone looked to the horizon. The monsters had made faster progress than they’d estimated. First, the players saw a billowing cloud of dust, and then the monsters that stirred it: creatures with deer- or bull-like heads, a line of giants dragging rusty chains behind them, a troop of semitransparent knights, flaming beasts covered in sores, and a group of grotesque monsters covered in miasma.

The enemies were dealing damage to one another, even killing other monsters, but they were undoubtedly heading toward Fort Sandras.

When the monsters at the front got close enough for the players to see their levels, the players screamed and reflexively backed away.

The scope of the enemies’ levels didn’t come as a surprise, but it was at the higher end of that range.

Fort Sandras cannons fired at the swarm, engulfing the monsters in a searing blast that reduced their numbers. The mechanical dragons breathed fire from the sky, scorching the ground below. Many enemies perished, but the entire mass of them kept marching on, as if some invisible force was pulling them toward the fort.

The mechanical soldiers attacked, and then the regular soldier NPCs joined in. The players prepared to fight.

“All right, Misaki! I swear, when this is over, I’m gonna tell Barbara I love her!” Makoto proclaimed, casting defense buffs.

Misaki, who was about to shoot an arrow, was so thrown that she couldn’t help glancing at Makoto.

“Why are you telling me that now…?”

“You know death flags in games? By not keeping this secret, I won’t trigger the ‘dies before confessing love’ death flag.”

“Oh. Okay…”

Makoto was cracking jokes despite the danger, but Misaki understood this was his coping mechanism, and she followed his lead. She thought about the players she was close to, those she respected and felt loyal to. She’d bonded with some players, but not through love. Romantic feelings were alien to Misaki.

The person who came to her mind first—although she wasn’t sure if it was because she liked him the most—was a certain boy who had once saved her life.

Shuutarou… I’ll stay alive until we meet again.

Players cast spells, threw spears and orbs, and shot arrows at the mass of invading monsters. Misaki fired multiple arrows that fanned out and flew at the enemies, and Makoto readied himself for combat.

Umineko, the guild master of a tiny progression guild called Marebito, was regretting being brave and participating in this battle.

“M-Master…!”

“I know… Trust me, I know…”

Marebito had only twelve members. Most of them joined because they didn’t think the other progression guilds were a good fit for them. They weren’t exceptionally strong players, but they were capable enough to survive on the front lines.

Those who didn’t join the larger guilds shared a distaste for limitations on their freedom, stiff hierarchy, and rules. A death game was still a game, and they wanted to choose how they engaged with it. Players with that mindset gravitated to one another and, over time, formed their own guilds in different towns.

Marebito was one such guild, and they’d been on the crest of a wave. With only twelve people to split between, guild quest rewards were extremely generous. Information from beta testers guaranteed their safety as they progressed through the game. For a small guild, they were very successful. They’d even managed to clear 10 percent of Ciola Tower and had been preparing to take on the first boss of that area when this invasion began.

I’ve been foolishly optimistic… In this battle, we’re really risking our lives, thought Umineko.

Fortunately, everyone was still alive, but only half of the guild members were still able to fight. Two had shut themselves in their inn rooms, and four dropped their weapons and were shaking in fear.

A procession of monsters kept marching on from beyond the horizon. The players were getting their bearings and gaining levels, which made the fighting easier…but there was just no end to it.

How many more hours—or days—do we have to keep this up…? Umineko wondered.

Whenever it seemed they were making headway, it never lasted more than a split second, but they weren’t losing ground, either. It was as if they’d been dealt cards with either angels or devils on them, and with the limited information they had, they kept drawing the angel cards.

While they could heal their injuries, nothing could help with the mental exhaustion. Every enemy they defeated was just a drop in the bucket. Behind every strong foe was a line of hundreds of others.

“Master!”

With a dull clang, a dent appeared in Umineko’s armor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a semitransparent knight holding a mace.

The strike sent Umineko sprawling on the ground, and the piercing pain almost knocked him out. The emotionless knight raised its mace to deliver a finishing blow.

“Rune of Lupus!”

A wolf ripped apart the ghostly knight with its teeth.

On cue, a pack of darkly glowing wolves advanced like a wave, tearing monsters limb from limb as if they were feasting on their flesh before charging at farther targets.

A green glow enveloped Umineko’s body. His LP recovered, and his injured leg that he couldn’t move was healed.

“I won’t let you die.”

Byakuren waved her staff as if she was dancing.

Star magicians, a type of summoner, cast spells that were brief but very powerful.

After exterminating all nearby monsters, Byakuren moved on to cover other players without casting as much as a single glance at Umineko.

“Master! Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine…”

Umineko was dazed, but he was alive. He touched the dented part of his armor, and only then, a wave of fear washed over him.

“Let’s retreat. I…I’m at my limit,” Marebito’s sub-master pleaded, tearful and covered in mud.

Umineko got to his feet, refreshed, and looked down at his distressed sub-master.

“I want to protect everyone here. I’ll keep on fighting a bit longer,” he said.

He drew his sword again and headed toward a group of enemies. The sub-master quickly wiped their tears and followed Umineko.

Three arrows pierced a giant’s knees. The monster growled, hunching down, and then another Silver Arrow struck its forehead.

With a terrible rumble, the giant began to sink into the ground, its LP fully depleted. Misaki swiftly jumped to retrieve her Silver Arrows from the enemy’s knees, shoulders, and forehead.

She switched to wooden arrows and pulled the bowstring all the way back.

Full-Power Rapid Shot in four…three…two…one!

She unleashed the attack from the sky with sublime accuracy. Some monsters were pinned down to the ground. Others had their defensive stance broken and got skewered with swords. Some became immobilized and were fried by spells, while others simply exploded into bits.

She took down the monsters that could be killed in one hit and scattered the others to make them vulnerable to her allies’ attacks.

When she silently landed, a formless creature moved in—but something pulled its writhing body in the opposite direction. Misaki turned and saw Makoto, who’d just used Provoke.

“Shield Charge!”

Makoto smashed the foe with his shield, splattering gloop and exposing its core. Without delay, Misaki cut through the core with her dagger, and the monster burst into shards of light.

Makoto ran over to Misaki.

“How’s the situation looking?” he asked.

Misaki used her unique skill to check the number of enemies and their positions.

“We’re pushing them back… Incredible…”

The allied guild forces had started the battle with a numerical advantage that had since increased. Having continuous artillery support from the fortress was certainly helping, and the magic soldiers, soldier NPCs, and mechanical dragons were reliably thinning out the enemies, too.

However, they weren’t the ones who made the biggest difference…

“Ground Tremor!”

Alan leaped into a group of enemies and smashed his fists into the ground, sending the monsters flying and releasing an explosive shock wave through the earth. He launched his flaming right fist at the airborne monsters.

“Divine Firebird!”

In the blink of an eye, all the monsters burst into pixels that rained down onto the ground where Alan had been standing mere moments earlier.

Strengthened by the angels, members of Yamata and Aegis surpassed the other fighters on the battlefield.

“! Incoming!”

Misaki’s gaze snapped toward the Cerou Underground Labyrinth entrance. A giant wrapped in chains had crept out of it and was looking down at the players.

Boss Mob: Chained Giant King Level 50

When the players saw the monster’s level displayed above its head, their hearts sank. A level-50 boss monster—who was strong enough to take down such a formidable foe?

“Piercing Beam!”

A silver beam of light struck the giant’s chest, reducing its LP by 5 percent in one go. The moment the monster roared and swung its arms down, something small slipped between its fists and the ground.

It was Alan. He fended off the giant’s enormous fists with a punch, charging his own attack.

“Destroying Fist!”

A heavy smashing noise followed, and to everyone’s surprise, Alan overpowered the monster. Its fists crumbled, shaving off another 10 percent from its LP bar.

“Piercing Beam!”

The Gem Dragon fired another light beam, this time at the giant’s forehead. The boss monster crumpled to its knees.

“They totally own this fight…,” Makoto muttered in shock.

Misaki took her eyes off the boss and faced the opponents in front of them.

“We should do what we can to kill off other monsters before the rest of the bosses swarm us.”

“Roger. I’ll go and pull some.”

The battlefield was heating up, and it was the players who had the upper hand, yet Misaki couldn’t shake off her anxiety. She concentrated on shooting to keep her mind occupied.

“Are they really human…?”

“Look at that! They’re going to defeat that boss!”

“You’ll finish him off in no time! Go, go, go!”

The Yamata players’ overwhelmingly powerful attacks halved the Chained Giant King’s LP. Other fighters watched, riveted, as Kleinod roared and whipped the monster with its spiky tail. The giant fell backward, knocking up a cloud of dust and crushing a group of monsters that had been coming up behind it.

The players felt this boss monster was no challenge for the frontline guilds. They once again began to feel hopeful; their morale was being restored to its former glory. But then a thunderous war cry ripped through the battlefield, as if foretelling a counterattack. The players’ hearts thumped audibly.

The Giant King shall be unchained.

The Giants shall be unchained.

The boss monster’s chains began to glow as if they were heating up. Only a few players noticed, and by then, they could do nothing to stop the transformation.

The boss’s battered chains broke and shattered on the ground. All the giants on the battlefield stopped moving as if a spell had been cast on them. Their chains started cracking and falling off, and their eyes began to glow red. A mere moment later, the mood on the battlefield changed completely.

The red eyes were everywhere.

“Watch out for the giants’ punches!”

No sooner had someone shouted the warning than something flew into the air—several players whom the Giant King had scooped up and thrown skyward. Electric spears appeared in the giant’s right hand.

“Quick Shot!”

Misaki reflexively attacked with her Silver Arrows. As each one hit a lightning spear, they both shattered—but the giant had one spear left, and it threw the weapon at the players still in midair.

“Aaaaaargh!”

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

“Guh… Aaargh!”

Their screams of agony lasted only a single moment. The horrible stench of burning flesh filled the air, and the players’ carbonized bodies shattered on the ground.

For a couple seconds, everyone was silent.

“They’re…they’re dead!”

“Aaaah!”

Terrified shrieks filled the battlefield. Players broke ranks, their attacks missed their targets, and spells were being misfired. The monsters knew no mercy, targeting the panicking players one after another.

Boss Mob: Lightning Giant King Zauron Level 50

There were bosses in the game whose attack pattern, weapons, or properties changed when their LP dropped past a certain point. And then there were bosses that transformed completely. Shirokado assumed that the spirit in Cerou would have a second form, but it was this giant that possessed that fearsome trait.

The LP that had initially been displayed above the monster was actually the durability of its chains. It was only when the chains broke that the monster’s real LP bar was displayed, and it was back at 100 percent.

“We’ll keep fighting!” hollered Hiiiiive.

There was no time to grieve for the lives already lost. The players had to deal with the danger at hand first.

“If we hit it when it’s readying the lightning attack, we may be able to stop it from throwing the spears!”

“Attacking the spears directly seems to work, too!”

“Protective barriers are meaningless against that move…!”

Players were hastily exchanging observations and theories. These monsters were all new to them, so they had to guess at how best to fight them.

But the enemies were many, and there was no telling what other skills they might have had. Furthermore, the fighters had just witnessed their allies’ horrific deaths. Their anxiety had grown into fear, which was dulling their reflexes. Some players had already broken ranks and were retreating.

No… No…!

Seeing what the others couldn’t, Misaki was losing her own battle against despair. She raised her shaking voice to alert her allies of more bad news.

“Large monster at ten o’clock! Likely a boss!”

The strange creature brought with it a horrible stench of rot. Both whalelike and amoebic, its purple mass crept along the ground, slowly approaching the battlefield.

Boss Mob: Putrid Mi Dan Level 52

Its level was higher even than the Giant King’s. And soon enough, the players’ hope took one more hit.

“Another one! Coming from above!”

A giant humanlike demon with bat wings was cutting through the air, gliding at them. It had moose-like antlers and looked as if it was wearing a full-face helmet.

Boss Mob: Laginus the Sky-Killer Level 50

Now there were three boss monsters on the battlefield, and while they were hostile toward one another, they seemed to recognize the players and Fort Sandras as their common targets.

“We’ll take on the slime!” Alba shouted.

The players who’d swiftly backed away watched as Alba led a squad to fight the Putrid Mi Dan.

“And we’ll fight the demon!” Wataru proclaimed without delay.

He quickly aggroed the monster on himself and raised his blade to the heavens. Swords of light showered down onto Laginus, which dropped down to the ground. On cue, Wataru and his squad began to attack it.

The main Crest force had split into two, with each group fully focused on their target. The remaining Crest members were under Flamme’s command, tasked with killing the regular monsters. The precious tanks and healers were carefully assigned where they were needed.

Misaki and Makoto were on Flamme’s team, mainly because Misaki’s ability to see the number of monsters on the map made her too valuable to risk putting her in one of the boss-fighting teams.

The mechanical soldier and NPC numbers are down by a lot, thought Byakuren. One of the mechanical dragons has been killed, and given the risk of friendly fire, we can no longer use the artillery…

As the situation changed at a dizzying speed, Byakuren, the leader of Twilight Adventurers, pondered over where she’d be most useful.

Crest’s prompt engagement of the new boss monsters prevented the other players from losing spirit, for the most part. But with so many bosses to tackle at once, the smallest mistake might greatly turn the tides of battle against the players. They also weren’t killing the regular monsters as quickly, especially with the Yamata fighters now diverted to the boss monsters.

Byakuren knew where she had to go.

“Squad A will come with me to reinforce Yamata and bring down the giant! Squad B and Kagone will continue culling the horde, but pay close attention to their attack patterns!”

It was time to put her prebattle plan into effect.

Byakuren took eleven of her best fighters with her and joined Yamata to fight the Lightning Giant King Zauron together.

Yamata members had already managed to whittle down the boss’s LP to 60 percent, but with a mob of giants around it, they were struggling to get close enough to attack the boss.

Byakuren stopped next to Hiiiiive.

“Leave the minions to us,” she told him.

“…Appreciate it,” he muttered.

Putrid Mi Dan’s miasma and poison were affecting not just the players but also nearby monsters.

Fighting this thing’s a pain in the neck, Alba silently grumbled. He was keeping the boss aggroed on himself, tanking it solo. Of course, being the closest to it meant that he was constantly being affected by Poison and Curse status ailments.

Annoyingly, this boss had high magic defense. Physical attacks were the most effective against it, but for fighters to get anywhere near the monster, they’d need healers or other support players who could cure Poison and lift Curse, and they were desperately short on those. Flamme was gradually sending in more supporters from her group, but still, the close-range fighters couldn’t get within reach to make full use of their abilities.

“Watch out for Poison Rain!”

Alba shielded himself with his greatsword, while the healers cast protective barriers around them. The backline fighters took cover inside the barriers.

Afterward, the frontline fighters were healed back up, and the slow battle of attrition continued.

Wataru’s squad probably won’t be able to come to our aid. We’re helping others just by keeping this boss occupied here, at least, thought Alba.

Grimacing as he endured the status ailments, Alba shifted his gaze from the soul-crushingly full LP bar of the boss…

“Meteor Sword!”

With a heavy swoosh, the boss’s LP dropped by a whole 7 percent. For the first time, Mi Dan groaned in pain. A cloud of dust rose, obscuring things, but Alba saw a human shape high in the air. It spun around and landed next to him.

“Aegis Sub-Master Matsu is here to help!”

More Aegis members appeared out of thin air around them.

Matsu shook blood—or to be precise, slime—off her sword, raising her head to glower at Mi Dan.

The battlefield erupted in cheers when word got out that the Lightning Giant King Zauron and the Putrid Mi Dan had been defeated. The greatest contributions came from Yamata and Aegis players—the angels’ blessing had given them six level-ups, so they weren’t affected by the boss monster’s special trait, which halved damage dealt by players of a lower level.

“Less than half of the enemies left now!”

Misaki’s report boosted morale even further. Two of the six bosses had been vanquished, and it was only matter of time before Laginus the Sky-Killer was defeated, too, now that Yamata members had joined in fighting it.

All in all, everyone expected the players to triumph over the invading monsters. But there was something everybody failed to notice, even Misaki with her Sense Life skill.

“…Huh?”

Misaki sensed something not with her skill but with her gut. She had just been pulling out one of her Silver Arrows from a defeated beast’s forehead when she noticed something enormous in the very middle of the battlefield—a translucent knight bigger than even the Giant King.

Slowly, the other players saw it, too. It was as if the phantom had been there all along, somehow overlooked by everyone.

The monster drew its sword, gripped it tight, and took aim at the fort. When it brought the blade down, the battlefield was sliced in half.

Those unlucky enough to find themselves in the line of attack died without even realizing what had happened to them. The shock wave from the slash passed through the town walls, the town itself, and finally the fortress. The artillery stopped, and everything went quiet for moment…until a terrifying rumble of destruction shook the battlefield.

Boss Mob: Ancient Knight Rimpeller Level 100

The fort was engulfed in a sea of flames. One after another, the magic soldiers fell over, broken, and the mechanical dragons came crashing down from the sky. The fort itself was still standing for the most part, but its gates had been totaled. Where the shock wave had passed, nothing remained—the impact had carved a deep trench in the ground.

“What just…?”

What just happened? That was the question every player was asking themselves. How could the giant knight appear seemingly out of thin air?

Misaki’s Sense Life skill still wasn’t picking it up.

The Ancient Knight Rimpeller turned to the silent gathering of players and attacked them without mercy.

“Ruuun!” someone shouted, but their voice was drowned out by a deafening rumble.

Players who had been fighting the other monsters; players immobilized while casting their spells; players who’d sensed danger and were fleeing in a panic; players who bravely prepared to face the new opponent—they were all hit by the knight’s attack, and their bodies shattered into pieces that eventually faded away.

“No…,” Misaki whimpered.

The assault had swept through the battlefield, killing many, players and monsters alike. Only Misaki knew precisely how many had died. On her minimap, numerous red dots and dozens of blue dots had disappeared simultaneously.

The Ancient Knight Rimpeller turned to gaze into the distance. Misaki thought it was looking in the direction of Allistras. If this monster went there, none of the noncombatants would survive.

“We have to…defeat it… We have to…protect the others…”

Her hands shaking, Misaki raised her bow. Other players, still stunned, watched her vacantly.

Misaki shot an arrow at the monster, breaking its helmet, and there was no visible change to the monster’s LP bar. It didn’t look like her attack had been voided by some skill—it’d simply failed to deal any damage.

Numerous monsters began to appear high in the sky. With the town walls broken, monsters were able to invade. Fort Sandras had suffered too much damage to quell any incoming enemies.

Chorus Sea Eagles were flying toward Fort Sandras. They were big—twice the size of a regular sea eagle—and their beaks looked like gigantic gun muzzles. Instead of shooting bullets, they fired lasers.

With the fort in their sights, the eagles began to slowly rise higher. The remaining mechanical soldiers desperately tried to stop them, but the damage they dealt to the monsters was negligible.

Whoom!

The lasers caused an explosion at the fort. Monsters began to flood into the town through the broken gates. Inside, players were shouting and crying in pain.

“Stop…”

The sounds of combat drowned out Misaki’s voice.

What good had all that desperate fighting done? This phantom knight was enough to crush the spirit of even the most valiant frontline fighter.

“No…”

Misaki took out her last remaining Silver Arrow, nocked it, and pulled the bowstring taut. She steadied her shaking hands, repeating the movements that were now muscle memory for her, and fired the arrow.

She missed her mark by a wide margin. The arrow flew out of sight, tracing an arc in the air.

Misaki’s hand, still holding the bow, fell limply at her side. She dropped to her knees. Tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the ground.

“Crying again?”

That voice sounded vaguely familiar.

Sensing someone’s presence next to her, Misaki looked up to see a man in gray armor.

“Even with your spirit broken, you didn’t let go of your weapon,” said Theodore, a faint smile briefly appearing on his lips.

Chapter 02

Stupefied, Misaki couldn’t get any words out. Her full attention was on the man in front of her.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Misaki?” the man said.

He was one of her saviors; she’d met him in Ilyana Tunnel. He’d taught her the importance of good equipment, and the power of fear. Hearing his voice again, Misaki felt enveloped in comforting security. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Theodore looked down at Misaki’s Silver Bow and let out a pleased chuckle. “I see you’ve been putting it to use. You trained diligently, as you promised. Well done.”

His warm words of praise made her tears flow ceaselessly.

Theodore placed a new quiver of Silver Arrows beside her. “These are an improved version with higher attack power. The quill feathers are arranged in a spiral…”

With an artisan’s pride, Theodore began explaining the modifications to the arrows, but Misaki couldn’t focus on listening. Fear and all the other negative emotions she’d been suppressing throughout the battle finally came crashing down on her. Misaki started hyperventilating, and Theodore stopped talking when he noticed.

“I… I…”

Misaki couldn’t put her thoughts into words. She simply kept on sobbing.

Players around them had been closely watching Theodore, trying to guess who he was. Misaki’s behavior indicated he was not an enemy, and that brought them huge relief. In their eyes, he was more terrifying than anything else they’d seen on the battlefield, including the giant knight that had cut the fort in half.

“Your bow is willing to keep fighting,” Theodore said, looking down at Misaki’s weapon.

She gasped and clutched it tightly in her fist.

“Will you keep fighting, too?” he asked.

Misaki nodded deeply.

“Good,” Theodore said quietly, satisfied.

He slowly reached toward her and held his hand over her head. A black light appeared around her. When it faded, Theodore smiled a kind, fatherly smile. The next moment, each player on the battlefield glowed with that same black light.

Silverstone Lizard Level 46

A monster from the Sorn Mines. Besides feeding mainly on silver ore, it also sticks it to its body as a form of armor protecting it from attacks.

A swordfighter stepped forward to fight this enormous, four-meter-long reptile.

“Damn… There’s no end to this.”

The battle had been going on for so long, his sword was looking battered.

Silverstone Lizards were bulky monsters with very high physical defense. The best strategy against them was suffocation via a combination of Water and Earth magic, but the battle formation had been broken, and the combatants were scattered, making teamwork impossible. Knowing he probably couldn’t hope for timely healing, either, the swordfighter pointed his blade at the lizard, assuming it was his duty to defeat this foe.

Suddenly, the ground below his feet glowed with a black light that proceeded to envelop his body.

A new type of attack?! Eh, my LP’s so low, it doesn’t matter what hits me—I’ll die all the same.

As the Silverstone Lizard assumed a stance to counter, the player put everything he had into one last strike.

“Hrrraaaargh!”

The clang that followed was unlike anything the swordfighter had heard. The enemy was split in twain, and it burst into polygons. The sword strike had been powerful enough to leave a deep gash in the ground.

The swordfighter was panting heavily, adrenaline rushing through his body. It took a moment before he could think clearly about what had just happened.

Did I get a strength buff? Or was my weapon buffed? Whatever this is, it’s incredible… Who cast this?

He reasoned it must have been a high-tier buff, because he felt almost invincible. He was a veteran frontline fighter, but he’d never experienced anything like this before. And he wasn’t the only one affected.

“Dammiiiit!”

A pack of monster dogs was about to tear another player to pieces…but the player’s LP wasn’t going down at all.

“What…?”

His LP was completely full and seemingly infinite. He’d slashed the monsters surrounding him with one last desperate attack…and they died, just like that.

He froze, not understanding, and gazed down at his hands. A faint black glow was emanating from them like heat haze.

This is it… Since this black glow appeared, I’ve been feeling this strange lightness in my body.

Marebito’s guild master, Umineko, was slicing through enemies with ease, wondering why he was suddenly feeling all-powerful. Were the enemies weaker? No. He must have gotten stronger.

“They’re dropping like flies…!” he marveled.

It used to take several minutes of intense fighting to finally bring down one foe, but now it was as if they were fighting monsters from the starting area. Umineko laughed at the creatures, which no longer posed a threat to him.

Perhaps he’d unlocked a secret superpowerful skill? Or a dormant special ability had activated? Was he the chosen one, blessed by the gods with a unique power?

“I’ll take them all down!”

Then he noticed something odd—everyone beside him had stopped fighting. They were motionless, staring vacantly at a fixed point.

“Wake up and fight! Keep killing the enemies so we can win this battle!” Umineko shouted at them haughtily.

He heard his sub-master say quietly, “The battle’s won already…”

Umineko was about to yell at her, “What are you talking about?!” when he, too, finally realized what everyone had been staring at.

He followed their gaze to the half-destroyed Fort Sandras, the broken town gates now gaping wide-open, the carved ground, and the giant knight that had wreaked that destruction. A man walked up toward it, leaped into the air, and brought down his greatsword on the Ancient Knight Rimpeller’s helmet, slicing through it. The boss monster’s insane LP bar instantly emptied.

He killed it in one hit…?!

Umineko looked at the man in complete shock. The mysterious fighter smiled.

The Ancient Knight Rimpeller had survived the attack with a barely noticeable sliver of its LP bar left.

“Hmph. Remarkable endurance.”

No sooner had the man said that than the monster’s LP fully recovered—it had truly astounding regenerative ability. That was the ace up its sleeve. But even faced with this cheat-like power, the man fighting the monster remained calm, stroking the blade of his sword.

“Flame Fencing: Commence.”

Fire began to flicker on his greatsword, spreading all along its length. The mysterious man vanished from sight, and the next moment, the ancient knight’s chest burst into flame. It burned with unnatural intensity, as if a spark had been dropped onto a pile of dry leaves. The fire was relentlessly dealing damage that greatly exceeded Rimpeller’s ability to insta-heal. The conflagration was depleting its LP bar fast, until all of it was gone, and the charred monster fell to its knees limply, dissolved into light, and disappeared.

He killed the level-one-hundred monster with a single attack…?

It was over in the blink of an eye.

Like the other players, Umineko was rooted to the spot in shock, tensely waiting to see what the mysterious man would do next.

“How tedious,” the man grumbled.

He leaped high into the sky, spun around, and began to transform. Beautiful, shiny, armor-like, black scales appeared on his body, and he sprouted giant wings and a long tail. His new form was that of a dragon from Western mythology.

The dragon gazed down with its glowing yellow eyes at the monsters beneath it, flames appearing inside its snout. It was looking toward the entrance to the underground labyrinth, which the invading monsters were coming from. And then it breathed a devastating stream of fire in that direction.

The monsters’ cries of agony, loud sizzling, and the stench of burning flesh reached the battlefield. The flying monsters that had emerged from the underground caught fire when they got within a few meters of the black dragon, and they dropped down to the ground, trailing flames like meteors.

It’s so hot there, they burned to death just from getting near it…

Umineko gulped. He was protected by the strange black glow, but the monsters weren’t so lucky.

The dragon positioned itself by the labyrinth entrance and was burning the remaining monsters.

What’s going on…?

Umineko had seen monsters squabbling among themselves, so he guessed it was something like that—except this time, it was just between boss monsters, and now the winner had gone to slaughter the rest of the monster horde. He felt he ought to be cheering for the black dragon…except that, in the end, they’d be left with a dragon powerful enough to quell an invasion.

“But I have this power…”

Umineko decided to trust the power he’d been blessed with for reasons unknown. If it allowed him to one-shot the other monsters, who knew what his limit might be?

“M-Master! What are you doing?!” shouted his second-in-command.

“I’ve never been stronger! I’m going to defeat that black dragon and earn the title of dragon slayer!”

He was about to rush off when the irritated sub-master stopped him.

“Are you joking?! The dragon’s our ally!”

“What? An ally?”

Umineko stopped in his tracks.

“You’re feeling stronger because that dragon gave us something like a buff. Let’s just watch and not get in its way.”

The sub-master understood the situation. The battle was already over. The players who had been bathed by the black light had received Theodore’s Dragon Lord’s Protection stat buff. But now a white light enveloped the players too.

At Fort Sandras, the players who were hiding in their inn rooms witnessed the fort being cut in half and then swallowed by a sea of flames.

“What the hell’s happening?!”

“It was that giant knight standing outside that did it!”

The town filled with screams. The buildings in the line of fire had been smashed into the ground. None of the players and NPCs who’d been inside them could have survived.

Amid the shouting and chaos, two sparsely dressed people were just standing motionless on the main road.

“Did the progression guilds lose…?”

“No, they couldn’t…”

This man and woman had been hiding out in an inn, engaging in an activity to help them forget about the harsh reality, when a strong tremor shook them off the bed. The inn had collapsed, but they’d managed to crawl out of the rubble and escape onto the main road. There, the sight of the damaged fort had rendered them speechless.

The walls around the fort town were broken, and monsters were flooding in. The man and woman saw flying monsters defecate over the fleeing NPCs; their droppings exploded on contact and blew the NPCs to smithereens. The soundscape was a mixture of people screaming, explosions, and monsters breathing.

The pair grabbed each other by the hand and broke into a run toward the southern gate, which led to Koane Monastery.

“Where…where are we going?”

“We might survive if we make it as far back as Calloah!”

“What, you want us to run all the way to Calloah?! Wataru may still bring this under control, you know!”

“If monsters are in the town, that means they’ve already failed! If you want to die, do it without me!”

The battlefield had indeed been in shambles since the Ancient Knight Rimpeller’s appearance.

The man and woman nodded at each other and continued running to the southern gate. As they did, they heard buzzing behind them growing closer and closer. They turned and saw a group of players frantically trying to get away from giant wasp monsters.

Voracious Wasp Level 43

Carnivorous insects found in the Tsulgur Primeval Forest, believed to eat anything that moves. Although acute hunger can drive them to cannibalize their nestmates, these social wasps normally cooperate to catch prey. Their stingers are strong enough to pierce steel, and their venom is capable of melting flesh.

The players who had avoided the battle were still frontline fighters. They banded together to fight off the wasps, but their slapdash teamwork was too poorly balanced to be effective.

One of the wasps was approaching to try to break into the middle of the players’ formation. The close-range players at the front saw this as their chance and ganged up on that wasp—but then the other wasps, as if they’d been waiting for such an opening, made it to the rear-row fighters and managed to snatch one of them.

“Aaaah! Aaaaargh!”

“Kenjirou!”

The wasps swarmed the healer called Kenjirou in midair, ripped him to pieces with their sharp fangs, and promptly devoured him. One of the front-row fighters furiously charged at the wasps, throwing the battle formation into chaos. Everyone was fighting for themselves.

“We…we have to help them…”

“Don’t be stupid! The town’s lost! Saving one or two players now doesn’t make a difference!”

The man kept running, pulling the woman with him. The woman saw a wasp nimbly snatch another player while a second wasp delivered the lethal sting.

“H-heeelp…!”

“Nooo! I don’t want to diiie!”

The woman felt sick when she saw the last of that group get eaten alive. Without slowing her steps, she threw up.

Scenes from hell were playing out along the road—people getting trampled by giant pigs, skewered with spears, or snatched up and carried away by monstrous birds.

The man and woman could hear breathing behind them, and the tapping of claws against the paving stones. The monsters were getting closer and closer. They couldn’t tell exactly how close these creatures were, but they had a feeling they might be caught before they made it to the southern gate. The woman was too terrified to look behind her in case one of the monsters bit her head off. She forced herself to run as fast as she could, desperately praying in her head.

Dear God… Please, I beg you, save us!

The next moment, something happened.

“Making merry chasing terrified prey?”

The woman felt as if the temperature around suddenly dropped below freezing. She couldn’t look back, but not because she thought it was too dangerous—her body simply refused to move. Even though she’d stopped in her tracks, her companion wasn’t pulling her arm. He, too, had been paralyzed by fear.

The beasts’ panting began to grow distant, as did the sound of insect wings beating.

“Oh? Now you’re the ones running away?”

The voice sounded bored.

The next moment, the woman heard what sounded like a large number of objects bursting at once. A spectacular cluster of light rose to the sky, where it dissipated. The monster noises ceased.

The woman very cautiously turned her head and saw an all-white girl standing with her back toward them.

She’s not human…

It took only one look to tell that. The girl filled the woman with primal fear, as if she were looking at death incarnate.

“Miss.”

The woman shuddered, realizing the girl was speaking to her.

The girl turned toward the man and woman. She was terrifyingly beautiful, but the expression on her face was deathly cold. She looked them up and down.

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“Like what…? Oh…!”

Running away from danger had been the only thing on the pair’s mind, so they’d forgotten they were still in the getup they wore for…private moments.

The ghostly-white girl—Vampy—watched them with a steady gaze as they hastily changed into armor.

“Did you want to die?” she asked them with genuine curiosity.

Not wearing defensive equipment on the battlefield seemed to indicate a death wish, but these two humans had been running for their lives. Vampy was mystified by this contradiction.

“We just thought this might be the end, and…”

The woman didn’t finish. She and her companion had run away from their responsibility as frontline fighters to engage in some escapism. They’d done nothing to help as their allies were getting killed, instead rushing past people in need simply to save their own skins.

The woman felt so embarrassed. “Actually,” she said, “I think I want to die right now…”

Or to be precise, she wanted to disappear and never be seen again.

“I see,” Vampy said without interest, turning back toward the southern gate.

“If you still want to die a thousand years from now, I will grant you your wish.”

The girl started to stroll leisurely through Fort Sandras without even looking at the monsters that foolishly ran at her. Her eyes gleamed ominously. Monsters all around appeared to be irresistibly drawn toward her as if a spell had been cast on them, but as soon as they got near her, they simply dissolved to their deaths. As shiny pixel shards rained down around the girl, it seemed there was an invisible dome around her. The dome began to expand farther and farther, killing any monster it touched.

The couple sank to the ground.

“Wow…”

“What’s going on…?”

Anyone who had experience as a tank would instantly recognize that the girl had some sort of skill aggroing monsters on her. But unlike tanks who would hold the monsters back while enduring their attacks, the girl was simply gathering the monsters to slaughter them. If a monster with a skill like hers existed, it would be absolutely terrifying.

Like a receding tide, monsters began to run out of the town, perhaps to escape the area of effect of the girl’s skill. The battered surviving players were convening on the main street, talking excitedly.

“Look, guys! The monsters are running away!”

“Her insta-kill skill is really OP…”

“But it’s not affecting us?”

“Are we…safe now?”

The girl ignored the relieved players and instead focused her attention on the fleeing monsters. There was no escape from the death she served. Every monster, be they on the ground, under it, or in the sky, was dissolving into nothingness.

The players in town watched the developments with awe. And then they cheered and thanked the girl.

“Yeeeeeaaaah! We’re saved!”

“Thank goodness… Thank goodness!”

“She can kill all the monsters on the front lines for us!”

Some of the players were getting too greedy with their expectations, but most of them were simply grateful for what Vampy had already done for them.

Vampy walked to the northern gate without stopping or turning back to look at the players. She left the town, heading toward the front lines.

“Now, let’s see here.”

A girl unhurriedly strolled out of the broken gates. Her clothes, hair, skin, and even eyes were all white. Many of the players who were fighting closest to town had witnessed the invading monsters burst into pixels that disappeared into the sky.

Vampy wearily scanned the battlefield, any monsters she saw instantly dying. The black dragon flew down, assuming a human form upon landing next to her. Vampy sighed, letting her dissatisfaction be known.

“Would it hurt you to be more thorough?” she asked.

“Oh. My bad,” Theodore replied curtly.

An eerie silence fell on the battlefield. Worn-out players looked around, puzzled that the vast army of monsters had simply vanished.

“Did we…win?” someone cautiously asked, their voice carrying surprisingly far.

“We won!”

“We survived! We survived this, guys!”

“Who killed that big one…?”

“Mother, I… I…!”

People were shouting and rejoicing all across the wasteland.

When Misaki saw there were no more monsters showing on her minimap, she ran toward the two saviors, crying tears of relief.

“Vampy! Theodore!”

Misaki was the only player who knew who these two were.

Theodore gave her a small nod, while Vampy merely eyed her emotionlessly.

The reactions of the players who saw that Misaki was familiar with those two were mixed. Most were grateful that Misaki had such powerful allies, but there were also some who were shocked, confused, suspicious, or even resentful. The weak-minded couldn’t help but try to shift the blame onto her, mentally accusing Misaki of having caused the deaths of their friends by not calling her allies to help them earlier. Vampy was quick to pick up on those negative emotions, but she remained neutral.

Wataru stepped forward.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to our aid,” he said.

Vampy looked at him dispassionately. “We did what was our duty.”

Her complete lack of emotion made her unreadable, and many players found that terrifying. They had a good reason to be terrified, too—by then, almost everyone had realized that those two were, without a doubt, boss monsters. The monsters had saved them, and they didn’t know what to make of it.

“We’re finished here. Let’s go,” said Vampy.

Without wasting a moment, she started walking away. Theodore followed her.

Having a sudden thought, Misaki ran after them.

“Excuse me, but…could you tell me where your master is…?”

Sensing that the other players weren’t friendly, Misaki didn’t use the boy’s name.

Since they parted, not a day had passed without Misaki trying to find him. No matter how tired she was or how busy, she was always scanning her map for that purple dot, eager for it to appear again. She didn’t know whether it was love or something else, but she had this strong desire to meet Shuutarou again.

“Our master…,” Theodore began, but then he fell silent.

Misaki thought it looked as if Vampy’s face had clouded over. She waited for Theodore to continue without hurrying him.

“Our master isn’t with us,” he said eventually.

Even though the faint hope in Misaki’s heart burst, she wasn’t despondent. She chose to believe that Shuutarou was busy elsewhere, fighting something she couldn’t even begin to imagine.

“Or rather, he was unable to join us,” Theodore added.

“You talk too much,” Vampy snapped at him angrily.

Theodore fell silent again, looking glum.

He was unable to join them? thought Misaki.

This nagged at her. She began to worry that Shuutarou might have been injured. She needed clarification.

“Did…did something happen to him?!” she asked.

However, neither Theodore nor Vampy was willing to answer the question. They started walking away.

Vampy turned to look at Misaki one last time.

“Please stay safe,” she said, her voice tinged with sorrow.

Before long, Vampy and Theodore vanished into thin air.

Some time earlier, after dealing with the NPCs invading Ross Maora Castle, the doors to the throne room were flung wide-open by Elroad, who appeared unusually impatient.

“Is something wrong…?” Shuutarou asked him, worried.

The other Overlords looked at Elroad, who’d returned in great haste from his interrogation of the invader they were holding captive.

“I must apologize, Master, for not having verified the information and relying largely on my own hypothesis, but this matter is of utmost urgency.”

Everyone in the room knew that Elroad had just spoken with the captive, so they guessed he’d learned something very important—such as another wave of intruders being on their way. Shuutarou braced himself, but it turned out to be something completely different.

“It’s about the Prayer of the spirits,” Elroad told him.

“Oh? What did you learn?”

“If I may cut to the chase, it is possible that dispelling the Prayer allows some sort of external entities to flood in.”

“!”

Shuutarou’s heart started pounding.

The one time when he and Elroad tried to break through the Prayer’s barrier, Elroad’s magic had been completely ineffective against it. That led Shuutarou to theorize that the spirit that had cast the Prayer spell had to be defeated to enable further progress. And the spirit was located in the Cerou Underground Labyrinth.

“Did the captive tell you this?” Shuutarou asked.

“He hinted so, yes. If he is to be believed, there is a Prayer barrier in a land past the kingdom he hails from, and behind it, a vast army of monsters awaits.”

A captive’s word should always be treated with suspicion, but making up such a lie would not have benefited this man in any way.

“We need to go…”

Shuutarou looked at the Overlords, his eyes frantic.

“We need to go now! The progression guilds are clearing the Cerou Underground Labyrinth!”

Shuutarou had heard from K that the labyrinth was the latest area reached, but he didn’t know just how far the guilds had gone.

“Awaiting your orders, Master.”

The Evil Overlords knelt before him, ready to serve.

“We’ll all go together!” Shuutarou told them.

Shuutarou exited his castle to an area outside Calloah Castle Town. His minions began appearing next to him one after another— first Elroad, then Vampy, Gallarus, Sylvia, Theodore, Bertrand, and Beorite.

Shuutarou could summon up to five monsters through his leveled-up job, but when he wasn’t worried about being seen by players, he could summon as many as he liked.

“Let’s fly to Cerou together. Elroad, can you take us all with you?” Shuutarou asked.

“Of course.”

Elroad drew a magic circle, lifting everyone into the air, and granted them the ability to fly freely. Shuutarou checked the location of Fort Sandras on his map. Then a thought occurred to him, and he opened a different menu.

“I almost forgot! I’ve gotta tell everyone not to leave the safest towns.”

There was no knowing what sort of enemies they might encounter. Shuutarou figured he should message the players in Allistras, Emaro, Calloah, and Sandras and tell them to stay put. He was counting on his Allistras contacts—Lumia and Candy—and K from Crest’s Calloah branch to have the connections and authority needed to spread the word.

Message sent.

Once Shuutarou received the notification, he began to rise higher into the sky.

“There’s probably little time, so let’s hurry—”

1 message could not be delivered.

Shuutarou froze, surprised. He’d never seen that error before. He checked to see which message had failed to send.

Why did one of them fail while the other ones got sent out okay?

Message Delivery Failure Recipient: K

It was K who didn’t get the group message. Shuutarou decided to contact him separately.

Message sent.

1 message could not be delivered.

The same error message popped up.

For some reason, Shuutarou seemed unable to send messages to K. He’d have to try calling him instead.

The player you are trying to call is currently offline.

Shuutarou’s thoughts momentarily stopped. Offline? In this game, that meant only one thing.

“K must have died…”

Shuutarou forgot all about the monsters he was sending off to fight. He felt his mind going blank as he looked through his friends list for K.

“What…?”

Offline. Shuutarou knew full well what that implied.

He tried calling Shoukichi. He kept telling himself that maybe he misdialed or the signal was too weak.

The player you are trying to call is currently offline.

The player you are trying to call is currently offline.

The player you are trying to call is currently offline.

Vampy noticed Shuutarou was behaving strangely.

“Master…?”

It was as if he couldn’t even hear her.

“No… No, no, no…,” Shuutarou whimpered.

He kept getting that same robotic error. He heard a sound, as if something was shattering inside his head.

“Shh… It’s okay.”

“Nice to meet you, Shuutarou!”

“Shuutarou! Stay close to me! I’ll protect you, even if it costs me my life!”

“I never said that!”

“I was gonna add you to my friends! Let’s do it now!”

“My fortune was ‘Good fortune will come your way’! Everyone gets what they deserve, I guess!”

“I hope so…”

“All right then, kids! You had a day out with Reilan; now it’s my turn!”

“That’ll be amazing.”

“Many people fell victim to that con man, but look at all those other people here who you’ve saved. Be proud of that! You’re a hero!”

Shuutarou was hit with a torrent of memories.

“You’re the same age as me! Lemme add you to my friends!”

“Oh… Ohhhh…”

Shuutarou started plummeting to the ground.

This world had been constantly pushing him to his breaking point, and he’d only been able to keep it together thanks to his Evil Overlords, the residents of Regiuria, and—perhaps most importantly—his friends.

“Master!!”

The Overlords all reacted at once, catching Shuutarou in their arms. They held him as he wailed.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

His young, tender heart was breaking. Strangely, his eyes remained dry even though he felt as if he was falling to the bottom of a dark abyss.

“Master! Master!”

Vampy was calling to him desperately, in tears. Shuutarou’s eyes were open, but there was no light in them. They were vacant. He looked utterly lost and empty—and that sent the Overlords into panic.

“We must return to the castle at once!” Gallarus said.

“No, we must carry out Master’s orders! His compatriots are in danger!” Bertrand insisted.

“You worry about them more than about our master? His safety is paramount!” Vampy yelled.

Beorite shuddered, Sylvia looked down at her feet, Theodore was silent, and Elroad waited patiently for Shuutarou to speak again.

“Vampy. Theodore.”

Shuutarou’s voice was chillingly devoid of emotion. The two Overlords he called knelt down and listened.

Shuutarou’s eyes remained vacant, and his face dispassionate. Only his lips were moving.

“I’d like you two to go to the Cerou Underground Labyrinth. Protect all the players on the front lines. Theodore can fly, so you guys should be able to get there on your own.”

“Understood,” Vampy said with a mixture of emotions on her face.

Theodore silently nodded.

“Gallarus, you go to Allistras,” said Shuutarou. “Bertrand, you stay in Calloah Castle Town. Beorite, you head to Emaro. I want to make sure all our bases are covered in case anything unexpected happens.”

Shuutarou ordered his Overlords to protect not only the frontline fighters but also players in every town. Gallarus, Bertrand, and Beorite silently agreed.

“Elroad and Sylvia, you stay with me,” Shuutarou said, opening his friends list again. His empty eyes fixated on one name.

Kettle Online

He didn’t have the strength to try to think about why only Kettle was still online, but he knew he had to protect her. He shut out all other thoughts so as not to be distracted.

The Overlords whom Shuutarou had appointed to town defense, worried as they were, dutifully headed to their posts. Sylvia began tracking down Kettle, and Elroad gathered the scant bits of information to try to decipher what had happened.

As for Shuutarou…

“When it’s all over, I’d like to…sleep for a bit.”

…a single, final tear spilled from the corner of his eye down his cheek.

Elroad glanced over at Shuutarou.

It’s as if shedding that one tear has made him a different person.

Elroad’s master was wise, but still very young. Young minds needed time and the right environment to pull themselves together, and Shuutarou had neither.

Elroad understood that Shuutarou’s youth made him vulnerable. He’d realized as much when Shuutarou had witnessed Iron kill its previous master; that had deeply affected the boy.

Although Elroad knew spells for easing the mind, they would not be of help in this case. The situation was different. The threat to his master’s psyche was coming from the boy’s own heart.

His swift deployment orders were excellent, though.

Shuutarou had been calm as he issued commands to his minions. Grief didn’t make him shut down, nor was he blinded by rage. He focused on what had to be done and sent everyone where they were needed.

‘We’ve arrived at Fort Sandras,’ Theodore reported telepathically.

‘We’ll split up to destroy the enemies inside and outside the town,’ said Vampy.

For the front lines, Shuutarou had chosen Vampy, with her unparalleled ability to kill, and Theodore, who boasted both the ability to fly and sublime battle prowess.

Some players might have seen Vampy and Theodore the last time they suppressed a monster invasion. Elroad surmised that this time, Shuutarou wanted them to help the players openly to show that the Evil Overlords were, in fact, allies, not foes.

It is both a rescue mission and a clever plan to clear us of suspicion.

Gallarus, the Evil Overlord with the highest defense, had been sent to Allistras, which had the largest player population. Bertrand, a master of both attack and defense, had been assigned to the second most populous town, Calloah. Meanwhile, the town that was the lowest on the priority list, Emaro, got Beorite.

Shuddering in awe, Elroad deciphered his master’s intention—to be prepared in case the players failed to defend Fort Sandras and possibly let the monsters pass through to the earlier towns.

The one remaining concern is that Ross Maora might be attacked.

Analyzing the situation like a game of chess, Elroad quickly noticed which part of the board had the fewest pieces placed. They’d allowed intruders to reach Ross Maora Castle earlier that day. The castle seemed too exposed to danger without a single Evil Overlord to defend it.

No, my fears are unjustified—Ross Maora has the Abyss Slime, and Kamui and Semui as its guardians, not to mention the residents of Regiuria, whose battle ability is simply extraordinary. Also, we will be back to bolster the castle’s defense as soon as we ensure the girl’s safety. In which case, it is our ability to swiftly find and protect this girl that underpins everything else. This is what is being tested…

Elroad was startled to arrive at the conclusion that his master was testing him. Why would Shuutarou do that? One possibility instantly came to mind.

“Master, I have failed you. I should have been quicker to understand the function of the Prayers…,” Elroad said gravely.

He was certain he had disappointed Shuutarou the most; foolishly, he had not investigated the matter properly, despite his hunch.

“No, you were quick, and that’s helped a lot. Thanks,” Shuutarou replied. His voice was flat and robotic.

Elroad simply nodded, conflicted.

Chapter 03

“Let me go!”

A pained scream echoed through the night at Fort Sandras.

“What do you think you’ll gain by going in alone?!”

“We need a hand here! This guy wants to kill himself!”

Several players were attempting to restrain a man who was frantically trying to shake them off.

The crazed man was Makoto. He kept hollering, tears running down his cheeks.

“Pushing on to clear the game was supposed to free us and our friends sooner! Well, so much for that!”

Everyone could tell he wasn’t his usual self.

Among the people who heard the commotion and came to investigate was Matsu, the sub-master of Aegis.

“…I owe you my life,” she said. “But as much as I’d like to help you, protecting you out there in the state you’re in would put both of us in too much danger.”

She drew her sword and delivered a swift blow to the back of Makoto’s neck with the blunt side of the blade. He reeled from the impact, his eyeballs rolling back in their sockets, and slumped to the ground limply, going quiet.

“Please cast healing and mind-calming magic on him. I ask you all to keep looking out for other death seekers trying to leave the town alone. Things should calm down come morning…”

Matsu’s guild members dispersed. She watched Makoto get carried away, and when she could no longer see him, she headed off to the fort again, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Norihide, the backup receptionist at Crest’s Calloah office, stared vacantly, tears rolling down his face.

“K… My friends…”

Twenty-nine guild members had been sent to retrieve mementos of the Liberator’s victims. All twenty-nine were dead. The Calloah branch had lost too many people to be able to function as a guild, and the headquarters had to send in more people to get it back up and running.

Lumia, the receptionist from Crest’s HQ, looked devastated by grief.

“Have we been doing this all wrong…?” she muttered.

“What do you mean, dear?” asked Candy, the battle instructor, also from HQ.

“We set out to save the noncombatants in Allistras, and we all nearly died. We formed a special unit, and both Galbo and all his party members died. We set up a branch, and almost all members died.”

Lumia’s eyes were lifeless as she spoke. She was breaking down.

“We didn’t cause any of those deaths. You’re making it sound as if every time we tried to do good, it backfired. You must be tired… We’re good here for now, so why don’t you go to the inn and have some rest?”

At Candy’s insistence, Lumia stood up heavily and dragged herself out the door. Candy sighed, worried, and then he turned back to Norihide.

“After the great battle at the front line, we’re short on fighters there, too. With no protection on that side, trouble’s never far away. We’ll need to gather up players strong enough to fight on the front line and send them in as reinforcements…”

Not that they had many such players—between Candy and the defenders of Allistras, there were only ten. They had to leave some strong fighters to protect the safe havens for players, which meant that they could spare just three or four players for the front line.

Norihide looked at the ground dejectedly, and Candy put his hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Pull yourself together. For the time being, you’re the boss here. Hold down the fort until the guild leaders return.”

“Sure…”

Norihide’s response didn’t quite reassure Candy, but Candy was needed elsewhere more. He started getting ready to leave when the door opened with a clatter. Three people walked in.

“Hah!”

Candy instinctively reached for his weapon, sensing inhuman power from the newcomers. Could these be new player killers? Perhaps it was them who had killed all of Crest’s top fighters in Calloah?

“Hi, Candy.”

Even though Candy couldn’t see the face of the player due to the backlight at first, he recognized the voice, although he’d never heard it so devoid of emotion before. Tears welled up in his eyes as he ran over to the player in the middle of the three.

“Shuutarou, my boy! You’re alive!”

Candy had trained this young man, who looked the same as always but had a drastically different aura. He wasn’t as terrifying as the two people with him, but still, Candy could sense this boy’s crushing power.

What has he been up to…?!

Candy had heard that Shuutarou had changed his job to summoner, but he was shocked to see the boy with two humanoid monsters. He was so intimidated that, without realizing, he’d started walking backward until he bumped into the reception desk.

“There’s no time to waste, so I’ll get straight to the point—I’d like you to tell me what happened to Shoukichi’s party.”

Shuutarou spoke so coldly, it was as if he was a different person.

Shoutarou messaged us in the middle of that invasion…, thought Candy. At that point, we’d only been told there were a bunch of monsters heading toward the town, but he already knew it’d been caused by the Prayer’s barrier…

Candy had no idea how Shuutarou got that information, but he didn’t suppose the boy had done so through some evil means. The fact that he’d chosen to become a summoner even after witnessing Iron kill his master led Candy to think the boy had some special secret. His gut told him so, and Candy trusted both his gut and Shuutarou.

“We don’t really know what happened,” Candy said. “The only survivor has gone missing, too… All I can tell you is that the last place that party went to was Olsrott Monastery.”

The players who’d gone to retrieve the mementos from the monastery had died, but nobody knew how or why.

“Thank you,” said Shuutarou. “The three of us will find Kettle. Please tell everyone to stay put.”

Shuutarou turned on his heel to leave. Candy was taken aback, but Norihide pushed him away from his desk and called out, “Not so fast! You look like the prime suspect to me!”

Shuutarou stopped. His companion, the one dressed like a butler, snapped his book shut and looked Norihide in the eye.

“Eep…!”

Norihide felt as if a giant hand had closed around him. He was so terrified, he forgot to breathe. He started to choke, then fell backward and gasped for air.

“You don’t need to believe me, but I promise you’ll be safe if you stay within the town. Also, I’ll be dealing with the front lines,” Shuutarou explained.

Candy shot a glance at the monsters standing beside Shuutarou, thinking that probably even a single monster like that could annihilate the sort of enemies the guilds were battling on the front line.

“We’ve been to Olsrott Monastery but found nothing there. No bodies, not even mementos. If anyone can shed any light on what happened there, it’s Kettle, but we have no idea where she might be,” said Candy.

The facts remained a complete mystery.

“Thank you for sharing,” Shuutarou said, turning away again. “If I don’t find her at the monastery, I’ll go back to Allistras and search every nook and cranny. If you learn anything, even if it doesn’t seem like much, please let me know.”

Shuutarou and his minions left the guild office.

“Wh-who the heck were they…?” Norihide stammered.

He was still on the floor, shaking, perhaps unable to stand up just yet. Candy stared at the closed door, his mind elsewhere.

Shuutarou had nothing but bad memories about Olsrott Monastery. He’d lost good friends there at the hands of the Liberator, and now he’d lost even more friends in this place. As he slowly strolled through the monastery, Shuutarou wondered that maybe it was better not to have any friends to begin with.

Nothing stands out from all the other times I’ve been here.

The facility appeared unchanged, except now it was inhabited by NPCs just like any other church-type location in the game.

Shuutarou noticed that the inside seemed brighter, though. It used to be semidark, but now gentle light was shining down, and it wasn’t coming from a lamp—it was moonlight, pouring in through a large hole in the ceiling. That hole hadn’t been there before.

“Have you come here to receive a divine blessing?” someone asked him.

Shuutarou turned to see a female NPC with a gentle smile, dressed like a generic nun. She seemed harmless, but Shuutarou fixed her with a cold stare.

“No…”

“Oh,” the nun said, looking disappointed. “I am the prioress of this monastery. My name is Duo. If you have any questions about the monastery or the Church, I will be very happy to answer them.”

Shuutarou immediately pointed to the hole in the ceiling. “How long has that been there?”

“Hmm… I’m afraid I don’t know,” was Duo’s genuine answer.

“Tell me about the recent incident here, where players went missing.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

“Someone very important to me has gone missing.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re referring to,” the nun replied mechanically.

Shuutarou sighed, realizing this NPC was unable to talk about anything other than what she’d been preset to explain.

“…That’s everything, then.”

“Very well. If you’re ever in need of help, please don’t hesitate to come to us.”

Duo smiled at Shuutarou, who was already hurriedly leaving the monastery. The visit was a waste of his time.

“There was no god available to save the players when they needed help,” he muttered bitterly.

He pushed the door open and bid farewell to the monastery.

Three silhouettes were moving fast through the obsidian sky. One was a blue-haired man dressed like a butler. The second one was a beautiful woman with long silver hair. The last of them—a boy whose cheeks were streaked with tears.

Sylvia looked over at her master’s back, her expression clouded with worry.

‘I don’t sense her in Ilyana Tunnel or near Ur Sluice,’ she communicated telepathically.

The three of them had finished investigating Olsrott Monastery, Ilyana Tunnel, and Ur Sluice and were ready to head to the next location.

‘We have Beorite in Emaro, Gallarus in Allistras, and Bertrand in Calloah. They can search the towns. We’ll go to Kiren Graveyard,’ Shuutarou told them, his tone startlingly cold.

He was gazing ahead with a glazed look in his eyes, like those of a dead animal. While his voice was measured, he was gripping his sword, unsheathed. He was anything but composed.

‘Master, if I may…’

Elroad held his hand over Shuutarou. A mysterious glow enveloped the boy, and when it faded, a slight sparkle had returned to Shuutarou’s eyes. He slowed down a bit.

‘Thanks,’ he said, now less tense.

Elroad nodded. He’d used the Calm Mind spell on his master yet again. Every time he had to recast it, it seemed as if the duration of the spell’s effect had shortened.

We have to find the girl soon, or Master’s psyche will be damaged beyond repair…

They’d been searching for Kettle together, scouring many areas of the game world, but there was simply no sign of her. Only the online status displayed next to her name in Shuutarou’s friends list indicated that she was still alive.

‘The next Prayer is still up?’ Shuutarou asked Elroad.

‘Yes. I can confirm it remains in effect.’

People were able to go past the Cerou Underground Labyrinth once the spirit and its Prayer had been destroyed, but that also led to an invasion by monsters that had been waiting behind the barrier. The allied frontline guilds stopped the incoming monsters, which Vampy and Theodore finished off. The players suffered losses, but those who survived gained a massive amount of experience points, and they unlocked access to the next area—the Sorn Mines.

‘Five areas separate the players from the next Prayer,’ Elroad told Shuutarou.

‘I don’t think it’s super likely, but Kettle could be in one of those areas, too.’

The Prayer’s barrier stopped anyone from passing through—it was certain at least that even the Evil Overlords didn’t have the power to burst through the Prayer. This narrowed down the search area to the in-game locations between the starting town and the next Prayer. However, each zone took time to search thoroughly. Dead ends, hidden locations, houses, canals—the list of places to check was overwhelming. Yet Shuutarou and his two Overlords had already finished going through the areas up to and including Ur Sluice, leaving no stone unturned.

Sylvia exchanged glances with Elroad.

Master said he won’t sleep until the search is over… We may have to put him to sleep with magic, for his own sake.

Elroad nodded, guessing what she was thinking.

‘Don’t even try,’ Shuutarou warned.

Flying ahead of them, Shuutarou didn’t turn to look at his two concerned minions.

‘I won’t sleep until we find Kettle. I’ve made up my mind about that.’

Sylvia gulped. Elroad’s mind-calming spell had already stopped working. Chilled by the realization that Shuutarou’s psyche had the power to resist even Elroad’s magic, the Overlords silently followed their master into the night.

Forty-eight. That was the number of elite fighters who’d died in the battle against the invading monsters.

“I can’t fight here anymore,” a man clad in armor said in a strained voice.

The flickering light from the torches mounted on the walls illuminated a group of armored people around a large table with many chairs. The dark room was the Adventurers Guild office, and the players had come to speak with Wataru and other top officers of Crest.

“That defense battle was insane, and I’m really sorry you’ve had to endure it,” said Flamme. “But we had to stop the monsters at all costs here, or they’d have—”

“Look, I understand it was necessary. We agreed to fight. It’d be all over if we let the invasion run rampant. But we only got into this mess because the guys from the other guilds defeated that boss without doing proper research! Shouldn’t you have, like, coordinated with the other guilds to not spring things like this on us?!”

The man was being unreasonable, basing his arguments on hindsight—but after what had happened, remaining reasonable was a tall order. This Crest member, a tank, had just lost two of his close friends. His voice was full of emotion.

“I’ve honestly liked this guild since Wataru stopped the chaos when the game trapped us. When we had to defend Allistras, I was willing to die fighting to protect the city and my friends! But now?!” the man shouted. “We stop the invasion, and the first news we get is that a lot of people have died in Calloah! I thought we were saving the towns behind us, but something killed people there… My friends—they’re now dead!”

The room fell silent.

First, there were the murders at the hands of a player killer’s gang. Then the massive invasion, and a large number of unexplained deaths all happening at once. The fact that so many people had died in such a short span of time pushed the surviving players to the brink of mental exhaustion.

Flamme hesitated whether to interrupt the man or let him talk. Alba was biting his lip, looking anguished. Wataru was staring at the table, saying nothing.

“I could understand why you didn’t tell us about the murders when we were in Ciola—they’d have wanted us to press on to clear the game. But it just keeps happening, and it’s killing my resolve to go on. If Crest wants to be a progression guild despite all that, count me out.”

The man stood up from his chair. Others were nodding as if to say they felt the same way.

“We need to progress to get the survivors out of here,” Alba told the man.

“There was nothing in that message from the Mother AI about setting us free if we defeat the last boss. I’m not going to blindly follow you without any proof that this is the way out. I’m going back to Allistras.”

A sullen mood spread among the guild members.

What counted as clearing the game? In most RPGs, the story ended when you got to the last area and killed the final boss, and that could also be the case in Eternity—but there was no guarantee. The message from the Mother AI told the players they must defeat someone, but it was anyone’s guess if it was the final boss of the game or not. Although they didn’t want to say it out loud, everyone in the room had a lingering suspicion that they might make it to the last area only to discover that wasn’t the key to get out.

Alba frowned. “So without a guarantee it’ll work, you don’t want to try to escape?”

The man scowled back. “There’s something else you need to sort out before insisting on progress.”

Alba nodded deeply. “We’ve already decided that we’ll all go back to Calloah to investigate what happened there, and we’ll only return to the front lines once we find the cause and deal with it. Does that not sound sensible to you?”

“You still want to return to the front lines? I’m not going to do that. Me and my men here will help you with the investigation. We’ll do anything to find out what killed our friends. But we won’t be coming back here with you.”

Both the man and Alba had a point, and neither was backing down.

“Nothing will change if you stay in the starting city!” Alba shouted. “Or do you disagree?! Our real-life bodies can’t wait forever for us to wake up!”

“It’s not absurd to expect help from outside the game. I’ve been thinking of the best strategy, and seeing how risky it is to progress, I opt for putting my life on the line to defend the starting city and waiting there for help from the outside.”

The man looked around the room to gauge approval.

“Who will go with me to Allistras? If you want to bunker down in Calloah, that’s fine by me, too.”

He was effectively asking who else was willing to quit being a frontline fighter. After some hesitation, about 30 percent of the guild members sided with him.

“Hmph…”

Alba clenched his fists, feeling powerless. He had to admit that the man’s stance was justified. If similar incidents kept occurring, they were going to lose more and more fighters. Moving the whole guild back to Allistras to bolster the city’s defense did seem logical, and they couldn’t rule out the possibility of help from the outside. Alba began to waver, almost convinced that what the man proposed was indeed the best course of action.

Wataru, who’d been quiet this whole time, stood up. Everyone held their tongues, waiting for him to speak.

“I will take responsibility and escort you back.”

Alba and Flamme stared at him in shock.

“You…agree with him, then?” Flamme asked cautiously.

Wataru smiled.

“There is no point in pushing on if we leave the problems behind us unresolved. If we lose our strongholds in Allistras, Emaro, and Calloah, we’ll become stranded.”

The master of a progression guild wanted to backtrack—this was a big surprise for the players who had decided to return to earlier towns.

“Since the beginning, I’ve had my eyes firmly on the task ahead of us, and this is what I’d been guiding us toward. You can be certain that Crest isn’t changing its direction. There is much to be gained by progressing—resources, information to be gleamed at towns, and a better understanding of the overall state of affairs in this world.”

The argumentative man opened his mouth to say something, but Wataru raised his hand to tell him to wait. He smiled at the man.

“I admit that my decisions have led many to die,” he said, unequipping his armor and shield.

The players gathered in the room watched, dumbfounded.

“Many of my decisions backfired, and I intend to take responsibility for that.”

“No!” shouted Flamme.

But Wataru had made up his mind.

“I’m leaving Crest.”

Everyone was silent as Wataru changed his gear to a crude shield, light armor, and a full-length hooded cape.

“There’s no…no need to go that far…”

The argumentative man was panicking. It never crossed his mind that expressing his opinion to the guild master would make the latter resign.

“I must ensure that from now on, nobody dies because of me. To make amends for my mistakes, I will henceforth patrol the areas between towns, deal with monsters that might invade our strongholds, and share information from the front line with the wider player population.”

Wataru was going to try to achieve the goals he’d laid out for his guild all by himself.

Nobody in the room seriously thought that Wataru was to blame for everything, but they couldn’t help thinking that if he’d taken the frontline fighters back to Calloah as soon as he learned about the Liberator’s killings, they might have prevented the next wave of unexplained deaths, for example.

Flamme bit her lip, fighting back tears.

Wataru faced so much criticism after we cleared Ciola Tower. He gave our members the option to leave the front lines if they wished to, and only those who were really determined remained here with us. If it wasn’t for them, the invasion would have led to even more casualties…

She didn’t try persuading Wataru to stay, knowing how many difficult choices he’d had to make alone, enduring their consequences. His departure from the guild would certainly cause some unrest, but she’d rather relieve Wataru of the burden that came with being the leader.

Wataru looked at Alba. “I’m leaving Crest in your hands.”

“…”

Alba nodded in silence, no doubt thinking the same as Flamme.

Misaki was patrolling the fort when she spotted a dozen or so blue dots on her minimap. She hurried over to the spot and found a small gathering of Crest players about to leave from the northern town gate. As far as she knew, there was no expedition scheduled for that night. One thought came to her mind—these players were planning a group suicide.

“Excuse me, but what are you doing here?!” she asked them sharply.

Some players only mumbled indistinct replies, but one of them, a man in a tattered cape, stepped forward and removed his hood.

“W-Wataru…?”

He gave Misaki a feeble smile.

“Has there been some trouble? I’ll gladly help!” she offered eagerly.

Wataru shook his head and smiled at her again. “I would be more reassured if you stayed here. If you’d like to join the Calloah investigation, you’re welcome, of course, but I’m no longer in a position to give orders to Crest members.”

It was then that she noticed there was no guild emblem displayed over his head.

“You don’t mean…,” she started, disoriented.

She immediately grasped what that meant, but she couldn’t accept it.

“Until now, I never doubted that I’d been on the right path,” Wataru confessed. “While my decisions did indirectly result in some fatalities, I believed that I chose the best of the possible options, and some sacrifices were, unfortunately, unavoidable.”

Wataru hung his head.

Misaki looked around at the other players. They all averted their gazes uneasily.

“The second wave of deaths in Calloah might have been prevented, had I acted differently,” Wataru added. “If we’d stopped trying to clear Ciola Tower when I was notified of the Liberator incident, we might have saved those thirty players. This had led me to question myself on whether I really should be leading the guild.”

A gust of wind made his worn-out cape flutter. Misaki saw that under it, Wataru wasn’t wearing his usual armor. She understood that Wataru was dead set on penitence. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Nobody thinks that was your fault! Without you, Crest will lose its way!” she shouted emotionally.

Their guild was a rickety structure that was bound to collapse without the unifying force that was Wataru. This should have been obvious, yet the guild members didn’t seem to be trying to stop Wataru, and that greatly irritated Misaki.

“I have doubts now,” Wataru said quietly. “And I don’t think that someone who doubts themselves should be in a role where their decisions have such a profound effect on others. It took so many people losing their lives for me to realize how ruefully unqualified I was for this position.”

Wataru put the hood over his head again and turned to leave. The Crest members accompanying him followed, shooting Misaki furtive glances as they passed her by.

“I…I will fight on!”

Back then, she could say that to Wataru with confidence, but as she watched him disappear into the distance, she wasn’t sure what to think.

After Wataru and the members who’d decided to go back left the meeting room, a suffocatingly heavy atmosphere spread around. It was a huge blow to lose Wataru, who was a pillar of moral support, but thanks to Alba’s appointment as the new guild master, Crest didn’t descend into chaos.

“Let’s talk about what we do from now on,” Alba said to the gathered players, thinking hard as he tried to quickly put together a plan. “We have two tasks at hand—restoring Fort Sandras and exploring the area.”

The fort’s walls had been damaged by monster attacks and explosions, which left the stronghold compromised. As Wataru had pointed out earlier, in order to ensure steady progress, they needed to strengthen their bases first.

“Flamme, I’d like to oversee the restoration effort. Do you think you can get crafters in from other towns?” Alba asked.

“Huh? Oh. Yes, I think so.”

She wasn’t quite present, still clearly reeling from shock over Wataru leaving.

Alba soldiered on. “We’ll train people up and recruit more members to prepare for continuing progression… Before we start that, though, I’d like to appoint a new sub-master.”

Alba looked around the room.

When Wataru was the leader, he used to make decisions together with Alba and Flamme, who offered him a different perspective. If they couldn’t agree on something, they went with the majority rule, avoiding a situation where a single person’s judgment would trump the others’.

“How about Amakusa?” someone suggested.

Several people voiced their agreement.

A bored-looking man leaning back in his chair opened his eyes wide. “What? Me?”

Flamme measured him with a look.

It might be a good idea to include someone from Amakusa’s faction to restore stability and to prevent a mass exodus…, Flamme mused.

There were two main factions in Crest—ardent supporters of Wataru who agreed with his ideals, and a slightly extreme group represented by Amakusa, who excelled at clearing new areas.

Amakusa looked back at Flamme.

“Hmm. Do you mind that I’m not going to change my personal policies?”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes, which were sly and narrow. They gave Flamme the creeps.

“You’re not going to be representing the whole guild,” Alba pointed out. “I want you to contribute your own perspective as the second-in-command.”

“Okay, sounds good. I don’t mind being the sub.”

Amakusa laughed dryly, making it sound like he really didn’t care.

He’s a threat to Crest in its current state, thought Alba. Like Flamme, Alba had conflicted feelings toward Amakusa.

Amakusa’s faction resembled Yamata and Aegis in putting exploration before everything else. In the past, they’d clashed with the leadership regarding support for the noncombatants. On the other hand, they could be relied on to contribute heavily on the front lines.

And so, Alba became the acting guild master, with Amakusa as the second-in-command.

Wataru’s tattered cape fluttered in the wind as he gazed at his friends list, tracing the names of people who were now dead. Their faces briefly appeared in his head, only to scatter like dust. He remembered the friends he’d been playing this game with, new players he’d invited to his guild, and those who’d joined Crest after being inspired by its ethos—all dead because of his orders.

Wataru escorted the returning players to Calloah Castle Town and headed straight to Olsrott Monastery.

“Maybe I should’ve dropped by our Calloah branch… No, it’s not my guild anymore.”

Wataru laughed bitterly at himself and continued on his way, with the only sound being his footsteps.

“Mister.”

Realizing someone was speaking to him, Wataru turned and saw a blond knight clad in glamorous armor.

The Evil Overlords gathered in the throne room. They had vanquished the invading monsters, and no players in towns earlier than Fort Sandras had suffered any harm. The mission was a great success, and yet the Overlords were tense and gloomy.

Vampy looked at the empty seat.

“How is our Master?” she asked solemnly.

“I’m just about managing to keep him stable with mind-calming magic, but he seems steadfast in his decision not to sleep and is resisting sleep spells,” replied Elroad.

Two days after the invasion, Shuutarou finally relented and listened to Elroad, who’d been imploring him to get some rest, concerned about the boy’s health. Shuutarou had been searching for Kettle tirelessly for two whole days without sleeping or taking a break.

“So even your magic won’t work on him,” said Vampy.

Mind-calming magic could be resisted through willpower—but that was normally only possible when the target and the caster were of similar strength. Level differences greatly skewed the success rate of spells, and with even just a five-level difference in favor of the caster, the target should be unable to resist the mind spells. Shuutarou was many, many levels below Elroad, and yet he was able to resist the Overlord’s magic. His mind wasn’t working as normal. This was also why Elroad’s Calm Mind wasn’t as effective as it should’ve been.

Gallarus gazed down at the other empty seat. “And where’s Number Four?”

“I’ve instructed her to continue searching,” Elroad replied.

“Finding her should restore our master’s emotional stability,” Bertrand said gravely.

He recognized that locating Kettle was absolutely critical for Shuutarou’s sanity and nothing else was likely to help.

Gallarus sighed, stroking his beard. “This goes to show we haven’t been sufficiently devoted to Master.”

“Excuse me?” Vampy snapped at him. “What are you talking about?”

“We weren’t the source of his inner strength, were we? It was this girl and those other players,” the giant continued matter-of-factly.

“And why are you bringing this up now?!”

Bertrand had to step in to stop Vampy and Gallarus arguing.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, you two. We’re here to talk about solutions, not to fight among ourselves.”

They went quiet, and for a while, they all sat in silence, until Theodore spoke up.

“As for what to do next, shouldn’t we continue to carry out Master’s orders?”

Shuutarou had asked his Overlords to defend the towns and players from invading monsters, telling them to withdraw from fighting when their help wasn’t needed. But he hadn’t recalled them. They were still able to travel between Ross Maora and the rest of the game world.

“You mean, be the peacekeepers?” asked Bertrand.

He thought about the young man in a tattered cape he’d met outside Calloah and the conversation they’d had.

“Why are you being nice to me?”

“Because we have some things in common. We’re both kings whose kingdoms have crumbled.”

Theodore looked at Bertrand sharply.

“Do you have objections?”

Bertrand took a long drag of his cigarette, looking pensive. Eventually, he breathed out a big puff of smoke and shook his head.

“Nah… I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”

The other Overlords nodded in agreement.

A few minutes after the Overlords’ meeting, Gallarus was standing in front of the door to his master’s quarters. The heavy door was locked.

Come to think of it, Master hasn’t been using these rooms much. He first appeared in one of the guest rooms and then mostly spent time inside our realms.

His master valued his vassals and cared about the common folk. His power was absolute, yet he was humble and extended a helping hand to the weak. Magnanimous and driven by a strong sense of justice, people were naturally drawn to him—yet this ideal master changed beyond recognition following the deaths of a handful of humans.

“I can’t understand this…”

Gallarus grabbed the metal door and ripped it out in one forceful move.

Shuutarou was inside. He was awake, but he didn’t react. He was just sitting on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His eyes were vacant, emotionless.

“Master.”

Even Gallarus’s booming voice seemed not to reach the boy’s ears. He didn’t even twitch. After a while, Gallarus got tired of waiting and shuffled into his master’s room.

Shuutarou looked at Gallarus; he must have noticed him only then.

“What’s up?” he asked with a faint smile and empty eyes.

The terrible pain in Shuutarou’s smile made Gallarus grind his teeth.

“I just don’t know what to do,” Shuutarou added offhandedly.

There was no energy in his voice.

Gallarus clenched his fists and knelt in front of Shuutarou.

“It may sound harsh, Master, but there were things you’d decided you wanted to accomplish, so I think you should be working on doing that. A king doesn’t look back at what’s lost, wallowing in sorrow. A king moves on, always looking to the future.”

Shuutarou hung his head.

“Rather than save one life, lead many to freedom!” Gallarus told him. “I will be your sword. I will be your shield! Mourning is a waste of time. Defeat all enemies standing in your way and bring the world peace! You will be a savior to everyone!”

Shuutarou didn’t reply to Gallarus’s impassioned speech. He only looked at him with sad, lifeless eyes.

When Gallarus understood that no matter what he said, he wasn’t reaching Shuutarou, his fists fell limply by his side as a pained expression briefly appeared on his face.

“What’s going on here?!”

Having heard something, the other Overlords came over to investigate and were shocked to find the door to their master’s room destroyed. Gallarus was treated to furious glares, which he ignored. He walked out of the room without saying a word.

“Wait!” shouted Vampy. “Are you not going to explain what transpired here?”

She sounded as if she wanted to murder him on the spot.

Gallarus looked at the others coolly. “I’m off to guard duty,” he announced before leaving.

Shuutarou stayed silent. The Overlords looked at him with concern.

“Master… Did he say something to you?” asked Vampy.

Shuutarou didn’t speak.

“I’ll head out for a bit,” said Bertrand, who proceeded to follow Gallarus.

When Elroad placed his hand on what was left of the door, it began to reassemble itself.

“Let’s leave Master to get some rest,” said Vampy.

Elroad recast Calm Mind on Shuutarou.

“Please do try to get some sleep,” he told his master before leaving the room with Vampy.

Are we powerless to help him…? Vampy wondered.

She stopped outside Shuutarou’s room, wishing he’d come out as usual to greet her with a smile. It felt as if it’d been years since she’d last seen him like that.

“Master…”

She could force herself into his room, but she wouldn’t dream of doing that.

I’ve tried to be a loyal vassal, but that wasn’t what Master truly needed. What he needed were beings who were equal to him, unbound by hierarchy and obligations.

She pressed her back against his door and sank down to the ground. Taking some comfort from sensing him behind her, she recalled her treasured memories—of Shuutarou breathing life into her Realm of Death, of him gently holding her hand, of him teaching her the meaning of life.

“Let me give you succor as you have once given me…”

She pulled her knees to her face. In that moment, she wasn’t the Queen of the Dead, and she wasn’t an Evil Overlord—she was just a very lonely girl.

Shuutarou had forgiven her even for trying to kill him, which she’d attempted in order to end her own existence. He was now suffering terribly, and she didn’t dare knock down the door separating them.

The Third Evil Overlord’s words played back in her mind.

“We weren’t the source of his inner strength, were we? It was this girl and those other players.”

She was about to question what a man who’d risen to power through brute force alone would know about inner strength, but she stopped herself.

“He was right for once…”

She and the other Overlords were physically close to their master, together with him in their castle, but they couldn’t reach through to him, and that caused Vampy unbearable anguish.

For a while, she sat there with her back against the door, battling with self-hatred. Then she looked down at Punio, which had also come to wait by its master’s door.

“You…you feel the same, don’t you?”

No matter their rank or race, they all loved their master.

Vampy picked up Punio into her arms, cuddled it, and then gently set the slime down by the door.

If I hadn’t met Master, I wouldn’t even be able to touch another being. He has changed me, and I can change even more if I work at it. I will become someone who can offer Master emotional support, too.

She walked away with renewed determination.

Down on the floor by the door, Punio jiggled in the spot she’d left it. And then it flattened itself out and squeezed through the gap under the door.

“Wait up, big guy!”

Bertrand finally caught up to Gallarus in the vestibule leading outside the dungeon. Gallarus stopped before the circle of white light and slowly turned around.

“What do you want?” he asked.

Bertrand leaned against the wall. “I’d like to offer a little advice to a certain overearnest giant.”

Gallarus folded his arms, looking grumpy. Rings of tobacco smoke spread out from Bertrand’s cigarette.

“Guarding a city—isn’t that too easy for you? How would you feel about spicing it up by helping people out as well?”

“Hmph. Why should I help anyone other than Master?”

“What if I told you it would benefit Master, too?”

Gallarus didn’t reply, but Bertrand took that to mean the giant was willing to listen.

“I think you need to learn more about humans. About the people who come from the same land as our master. It might help you understand him better.”

“…Are you putting Master in the same category as that riffraff?”

“You’re bitter that Master values that ‘riffraff’ more than you, eh?” Bertrand said, laughing mockingly.

Gallarus turned away from him and took a step toward the white light.

“I cannot possibly understand humans,” he said before disappearing.

Bertrand’s thoughts turned to the Second Evil Overlord, Vampy, but he decided to leave her to her own devices. He, too, headed to his assigned town.

Meanwhile, Vampy was watching the exit from the floating island, waiting for her partner. When Theodore finally appeared, she welcomed him with a glare.

“…You took your time,” she told him.

“Apologies. I had preparations to make.”

“Let’s go already.”

After their brief exchange, they started walking together.

Putting on a disinterested tone, Vampy asked, “Why do you think Number Four didn’t come back?”

She shot a furtive look up at the stoic knight. She had guessed that Elroad hadn’t really ordered Sylvia to keep searching for Kettle, and she could tell Theodore was also thinking that was a lie.

“It was probably her own decision.”

“She didn’t return even though Master is in such a precarious state?”

“His state is one of the reasons she decided to continue the search…but she’s not doing it for Master.”

“What?” A crease appeared on Vampy’s brow. “Who is she doing it for if not him?”

“For the young miss, Kettle.” Without slowing down his steps, Theodore continued, “For the brief time we spent among the humans, Kettle and the other party members treated us as allies—no, friends. Sylvia is extremely loyal. I suspect that to her, Kettle isn’t merely a friend of our master. The girl is like family to her.”

“What…? How…?” Vampy stopped in her tracks. “It’s…too easy for some…”

“Indeed.”

They walked the rest of the way to the exit in silence, and then they traveled to Fort Sandras, where their master had last assigned them.

A silver silhouette pierced the darkness, moving at great speed. She had lost track of how many times she’d revisited the same areas, searching for a scent that she couldn’t detect anywhere.

“Kettle… Where are you?”

Sylvia kept running with a single-minded focus. She’d always prided herself on her bottomless stamina, but now she was feeling the first signs of exhaustion.

At first, her master’s compatriots seemed only like a burden to her, but as they traveled together, she gradually began to see them as part of her pack.

“Wow! Sylvia really eats anything you give her!”

“I’ll give her some of my ice cream!”

“I looove her silky-soft fur…”

She used to tell herself she’d only have to put up with them until her master was ready to continue with his plan.

“Whoa! Is it just me, or is she better at blocking than I am?”

“Why don’t we have her be the tank?”

“Don’t put me out of a job!”

Everyday scenes were coming back to her. She favored Shuutarou, of course, but she didn’t dislike being around his friends.

“When I hold her, I can forget about all the bad stuff.”

The smiling girl who’d said that was nowhere to be found.

“Wait for me, Kettle…!”

Sylvia started running even faster. She checked every area from the beginning to the end, and when she was finished, she checked them again. And again. And again.

Severe pain woke her up.

“Ugh… What…? What’s…?”

Her body screamed in pain as she forced herself to sit up. She didn’t know where she was. Her recent memories were hazy, as if her body was resisting remembering what had happened. As if a noise in her head was jamming her thoughts.

“Where is…everyone…?”

Feeling like she might burst into tears at any moment, Kettle got to her feet and took stock of her situation. She was in some sort of a damp space overgrown with luminescent moss, which was the only source of light. And in that light, she saw something milling around—a great number of monsters. She didn’t have the leisure to count them, but at a glance, there were about fifty.

“Wh-what? M-monsters…?”

Noticing that she’d awakened, the monsters began crawling toward Kettle. When she quickly took a few steps back so as not to draw the other creatures’ attention, she felt a wall behind her. She looked around for a way out, but there was none.

I’ll have to…defeat them!

She reflexively grabbed her weapon.

“Speed-Casting!”

Her mind cleared. The hours of training with Reilan and the others were paying off.

Speed-Casting shortened the casting time for the next spell. High-tier magician-class jobs did a lot of spell casting, so they’d always start with this skill.

“Flame Wave!”

As a flame magician, Kettle had powerful fire spells in her arsenal. The wave of flame she’d conjured swallowed up the monsters in front of her. It also briefly lit the area so that Kettle could see it was a round cavern as big as her school gymnasium. And it was absolutely packed with an array of different monsters, big and small, with all sorts of weapons. There were close to a thousand of them.

Kettle’s legs buckled under her. Her spell had incinerated a few of the monsters, but it was only a tiny percentage of the enemies around her.

“Shoukichiii!” she cried. “Barbaraaa! Kyoukooo! Reilaaan! Raooo! Where are you?! Please, heeelp!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

They should have been together. They were all she had.

“Shuu…ta…rou…!”

She waited and waited, but her trusty allies weren’t coming to help her this time.

The monsters all rushed in to attack the defenseless, sobbing girl.

“Aaaaaaaaarrrrgh…!”

They stabbed her with swords. Fangs clamped down on her flesh. They were chewing her, ripping her to pieces. Countless monsters were tearing through her.

Everything went red from a blood-spatter effect. Kettle had no way to defend herself, paralyzed by pain. She watched as a monster shoved a dagger into her stomach and jerked the blade up to her chest, cutting her open.

“Hhhrgh…!”

Her LP bar was shrinking fast. She’d only had half of the bar left to begin with and was almost at zero.

This is where I die…

The pain began to feel distant. She had a strange sensation as if she were only watching from afar as her body was getting mauled, and then her vision started fading to black.

Ten seconds passed. Twenty. A minute. Ten minutes…

The hellish pain was coming in waves only to recede again, stopping her consciousness from drifting away.

Why…?

Her LP was stuck at one. Her body had been mutilated, and her mind couldn’t take it anymore, but death wasn’t coming. It’s like a curse, she thought with despair. She wouldn’t be granted the relief of death.

After some time, the monsters withdrew like the sea at low tide, crowding at the far wall. Kettle was left on the ground like a bloodied, tattered rag.

Her LP was gradually recovering with passing time as she lay dazed on the floor. Eventually, shaking from pain and fear, she laboriously pulled herself to her feet.

“What is this place…? Where am I? Let me out! Let me out!!!”

She walked around the gloomy cave, banging her fists against the walls. There were no doors or even cracks in the rocky surface.

When Kettle’s LP recovered to 50 percent, she heard a rustle from the monsters as they began approaching her again, like robots programmed to destroy her.

“No… This is worse than death!”

Kettle was pummeling the walls so hard, her fists might break. A monster threw a sword at her, which skewered her to the wall.

“Go awaaay!!!” she screamed in terror as the mass of monsters pounced on her again.

The dark prison offered no hope. Kettle’s friends, her guardians, and her role models weren’t there to save her. She was all alone with the monsters that mauled and devoured her with no end.

Chapter 04

Two days had passed since the massive monster invasion. The frontline fighters had been greatly outnumbered but prevailed over the enemy, although their victory left a bitter aftertaste. The mood among the players varied greatly depending on which guild they were in.

The leaders of the four biggest progression guilds were holding a meeting at the Fort Sandras Adventurers Guild.

“We’ll go on ahead.”

Yamata declared they wanted to pass through the underground labyrinth to whatever lay ahead. They’d lost many members fighting off the invading monsters, but their top eight players were alive and well. Their ability to function as a guild remained uncompromised, and they were committed to doing their duty as a progression guild.

Yamata’s master, Hiiiiive, and sub-master, Alan, wore dour expressions as they talked with the others.

“There’s no point sticking around here indecisively. We want to be back in action, building up on the sacrifice of the players who died in that battle,” said Hiiiiive, unafraid to ruffle some feathers.

The other guild leaders didn’t let him provoke them, though. They listened in silence.

The next speaker was Alan.

“We’re gonna make it through to the next town. Come and join us after you sort out your own problems.”

He and Hiiiiive stood up and left the Adventurers Guild. Misaki was outside, waiting for the meeting to end. Alan put his hand on her shoulder as he passed her by but didn’t say anything.

“…”

The Adventurers Guild’s creaky door was still swinging. Misaki peered inside the building and caught a glimpse of the other guild masters.

Yamata had suffered the fewest losses in the battle. Aegis and Crest, on the other hand, had lost many members.

“Aegis will probably be dissolved,” said Matsu. She alone was representing the guild in the absence of the guild master. “As I’m sure you all know, after the Prayer barrier was broken, the first wave of invading monsters killed half of our guild. Shirokado was the central figure in our guild, and without him, I don’t think we can continue as before.”

Shirokado had an almost religious following in Aegis. With him and half of the strongest Aegis players dead, the guild had fallen into disorganization.

“We’ve had members leaving to form their own guilds. As far as I know, they went back to Allistras, Emaro, and Calloah. After what happened, it’s hardly a surprise that people feel it’s senseless to keep going,” Matsu added with a self-mocking smile.

Those who survived the invasion had gained roughly ten levels from the massive amount of experience points awarded. And the frontline fighters who had received the angels’ blessing in Cerou got six more levels on top of that. Players at level 60 or higher could even deal with an invading Goblin King and its army of minions. By moving back to a town in a low-level region, they could secure themselves an easy life.

“Aegis is now a shadow of its former self,” Matsu said, looking like an empty husk, having lost the person who’d given her strength. “While there are so few of us, I’m thinking of Aegis taking on a support role to other progression guilds. That’s the least we can do to make up for the fact that the destruction on the front line was our fault.”

Matsu hung her head and fell silent.

“Our stance is the same as Yamata’s,” said Byakuren. “We urgently need to establish a new outpost and work on bolstering its defenses. But if we encounter another Prayer, we’re not going to recklessly approach it. Strengthening our bases takes precedence over that. We don’t want to get held up in one place again, though.”

Tears were rolling down her cheeks. After the battle was won, she’d found out that her closest friends were dead—the four friends she’d started the game with. She was the last one left.

When she lost one of her dear friends, Byakuren had abandoned her guildmates. She didn’t want to make the same mistake again. Instead, she was going to avenge her friends by ending this death game—it might have only been by clinging on to this resolution that she remained sane.

“We don’t have as many people as Yamata, so we’ll take some time to prepare before setting off into the unknown. While we’re in Fort Sandras, I want to see if we can find out more about the spirits and their Prayers.”

“…”

Crest’s representatives were next to speak, but they were taking their time. Many misfortunes had befallen their guild—apart from the losses in the invasion battle, they’d lost members to a player killer, and recently, many had died from an unknown cause in Calloah.

“…We’ve had the rug pulled from under us,” Flamme said quietly.

With only the weary Alba next to her, Wataru’s absence was conspicuous.

“Our branch chief and almost all the members stationed at Calloah have passed. Calloah used to serve as an important support base for us with midlevel players, but currently, it’s not operational. We’re planning to move some of our members from Allistras to Calloah and the front line. For now, we’ll collaborate with Twilight Adventurers to rebuild Fort Sandras and investigate the Prayers.”

The player killer incident had left a huge dent in Crest’s reputation. Some players were suspicious of the guild, while others thought that being a Crest member was a risk in itself, assuming that K and the other recently murdered players were victims of another player killer or killers targeting that guild specifically. With those sorts of opinions floating around, it was impossible to get the Calloah branch back up and running.

Alba and Flamme considered it impractical to carry on exploring the front lines without a working branch office, so rebuilding their guild was a priority for them.

Kagone, the sub-master of Twilight Adventurers, timidly asked, “Sorry, but…where is Wataru?”

Flamme and Alba exchanged nervous looks.

“…Many of our frontline fighters lost their friends in the recent incident in Calloah. Wataru is escorting them back to that town,” said Alba.

Kagone seemed relieved, but Byakuren and Matsu sensed there was something off in Alba’s demeanor.

“Together, we’ve overcome a great threat to us all… Every one of us has suffered losses in the process, but at least the experience has helped us align our objectives.”

Admitting responsibility for the destruction of the players’ outpost on the frontlines, Yamata finally agreed to cooperate with the other progression guilds. Aegis had become effectively eviscerated, but the remaining members offered to support the other guilds. Twilight Adventurers came out of the ordeal without losing cohesion, and they were determined to resume their efforts to clear the game. Crest had lost its leader, but that didn’t impact the guild’s vision.

The four guilds still had different methods and ambitions, but they no longer prioritized their own gains over those of others. Fighting off the largest monster invasion yet, at a huge cost to them all, had the unforeseen benefit of uniting the four disparate guilds.

Misaki was waiting for the meeting to finish, counting birds in the sky to pass the time.

“Ah! There you are!” someone said.

Misaki turned to see who it was. She recognized the smirking man.

“You’re…Amakusa? Is that correct?”

“Aw, man, you don’t recognize one of your own guildies?” he replied, snickering.

Misaki wasn’t in the mood for a chat. She couldn’t stop thinking about the previous evening.

“Nobody thinks that was your fault! Without you, Crest will lose its way!”

When she found Wataru among the group heading back to Calloah and heard what he was doing, she’d done what she could to stop him, but nothing could change his decision. Wataru, in that tattered cape, walking away—it was a sight she couldn’t forget. Ever since then, she’d been racking her brain trying to think what she should be doing. Accompanying Yamata and supporting their exploration of the unknown with her unique skill would probably be the most beneficial to everyone…

“I guess I should…,” she started.

“Um, hello? Are you okay?” Amakusa asked.

“!”

Misaki vigorously shook her head to escape the thoughts circling her mind. Amakusa was watching her, the smirk never leaving his face.

“You hear anything I said?”

“No… I’m sorry…”

“Okay, here we go again. Misaki, what do you say to joining my team?”

The invitation came out of the blue for Misaki. It seemed really strange to her that he’d ask her that, but maybe he had explained himself earlier, when she wasn’t paying attention. She kept her expression neutral so as not to offend him by looking shocked.

“Why do you want me on your team?”

“Well, ’cause you stand out from the others.”

“Stand out? How?”

“How do I put this? It’s your frame of mind in battle, your sense of purpose—those things really set you apart.”

“Huh.”

Misaki didn’t know what to say to him.

“We need strong fighters to defend Fort Sandras and forge a path ahead. Would be awesome if those monsters that lent us a hand earlier were still available. You’re friends with them or something?”

Amakusa clearly wanted to use her as a tool and was unashamed of it. It made Misaki uncomfortable, but she felt obliged to give an explanation about Vampy and Theodore.

“I know them, but I cannot contact them,” she said without emotion. “I can only tell you that they have saved my life twice and they are definitely our allies.”

She honestly didn’t have more information to offer. She knew that the monsters served Shuutarou, but she wasn’t going to tell anyone about him.

“Interesting,” Amakusa mused, stroking his chin.

Misaki realized he wasn’t looking at her but at the bow and arrow quiver strapped to her back.

“That pale girl’s skill reminded me of how the monsters suddenly died in the Goblin King battle. Maybe that’s just a coincidence. What do you think?”

“Sorry, I don’t know,” Misaki said with irritation.

Pretending not to notice her antipathy toward him, Amakusa changed the topic.

“Anyway, I have a task for you.”

“What task?”

“Come with me, and I’ll show you.”

If he was just a regular Crest member, Misaki might refuse, but Amakusa was the guild sub-master. Misaki didn’t trust him, but she did trust Alba and Flamme and their judgment in picking this man as the second-in-command. She followed him without another thought.

When they arrived, Misaki was shocked by what she saw. Inside ruins on the outskirts of the town, players were fighting among themselves.

“So you bastards are player killers, huh?!” a man yelled.

The attackers were clad in sinister black capes, while the attacked wore Aegis uniforms.

Misaki gasped, reaching for her bow.

“Not so fast,” Amakusa said, stopping her.

Instinct took over, and Misaki pulled out her dagger. A split second later, she had Amakusa pinned against the wall.

“It was you… You killed Barbara’s team…!”

“Wh-whoa, whoa! I didn’t! Gimme a moment to explain!”

With a blade pressed against his throat, Amakusa was panicking.

Misaki stared at him with cold threat in her eyes, waiting.

“Look, they finished,” Amakusa said.

Misaki glanced toward the other players. Two of the assaulted Aegis members had fled and were already pretty far away. The attackers faded into the shadows, and after a few electronic bleeps, the ruins morphed into a familiar square training room. Four remaining Aegis players slumped to the floor as Crest members appeared in front of them, offering congratulations.

Misaki overheard one of them saying, “Sorry for deceiving you. It was a test to see if you were worthy of joining us.”

They trick players they’re scouting to test them…?

She was dumbstruck.

“We test them to see what they do when faced with enemies they can’t defeat,” Amakusa said, unbothered. “Only those who don’t run away get an invite.”

He pinched the blade of Misaki’s dagger and moved it away from his neck, pointing to the four Aegis players with his eyes.

“That invasion’s something I wish I could forget, but it taught us a lesson. In circumstances like that, I don’t blame folk for wanting to run away to save their bacon, but I wouldn’t want to be teamed up with them, you know?”

Misaki was staring at him in silence, but that didn’t put him off.

“Does the number eighteen ring a bell?”

When Misaki shook her head, Amakusa’s face clouded over.

“That’s how many of our people died because the formation broke.”

“!”

Staying in formation was crucial not only for effective attacking but also for defense. The basic formation that allowed each fighter category to shine was tanks at the front to keep the monsters away from the rest, spellcasters behind them, and healers at the back. That way, the tanks could focus on holding back the enemies, the attackers on dealing damage, and the healers on casting heals on whoever needed them. It was a sustainable strategy.

But what if a party’s healer ran away midbattle? The tanks wouldn’t be able to keep tanking without getting healed, and if they didn’t notice that the healer wasn’t there anymore, they might even die. And without the tanks keeping the aggro on them, the monsters would attack the glass-cannon casters, killing them easily. Having a single person run away could have a domino effect, leading to a wipeout.

The eighteen players whom Amakusa was talking about had been effectively killed by their allies.

“We’ve just been in a pretty pickle, and as far as we know, there might be a whole jar of them waiting up ahead. Monsters insanely stronger than us. Now, imagine some of our team run out of courage and leg it. What’s gonna happen next?”

Misaki didn’t need to answer. It was obvious that in such a situation, the remaining players would get slaughtered.

She watched the Crest players talking with the four Aegis members. Two of the latter stormed off in indignation, leaving only two recruits.

“I’m happy even with just a third of that group passing. Those two had been through that battle; they didn’t run away. They’re hella strong.” Amakusa let out a little chuckle. “I don’t subscribe to Wataru’s policy of ‘let’s give it a go and rethink our strategy if people die,’ you know?”

The sad image of Wataru walking away popped up in Misaki’s head.

“I will never get over having people die because of my decisions. It’s not something you should allow yourself to become desensitized to. I will never forget the faces of those who have lost their lives because of me,” he’d told her then.

She would never forget how anguished he looked, biting his lip to fight back tears.

Does he seriously think Wataru is so reckless? This man has no idea how much thought Wataru was putting into leading our guild.

If Amakusa noticed how incensed Misaki was, he didn’t let it show.

“And you, Misaki—you use yourself strategically, like a pawn. In a situation where an enemy will die in one hit but you may also die in one hit, you choose to attack without hesitation. You’re going to be a terrific asset—”

Misaki didn’t let him finish, unable to hide her outrage any longer.

“There may be some logic to what you’re saying, but it would be truly frightening to have to rely in battle on people who think nothing of deceiving their allies.”

The Aegis members had probably heard her. Everyone was watching Misaki and Amakusa.

“It’s easy to reject people, isn’t it?” said Misaki. “I’m sure your team, populated only with the choicest fighters, is very strong. But unlike you, Wataru didn’t reject the weak. He extended a helping hand both to those who were courageous and those who weren’t. He was fighting for all of us. I will not allow you to disrespect him.”

Her seething rage shut Amakusa up.

“I’m not joining your team. Good-bye,” she spat before turning on her heel and leaving.

Amakusa watched her go.

“Got turned down, huh?” asked the Crest member who’d been briefing the two remaining Aegis players.

Amakusa looked at him and then gazed at Misaki in the distance again. “You can’t survive on idealism alone,” he muttered sadly.

He and his companions went into the building.

Inside the dimly lit, steel-walled tavern, a man was getting drunk. He was clearly worn out, but he kept refilling his glass. The double door swung open with a creak, letting in a sliver of light from the outside. The man didn’t turn to look at the newcomer.

“So that’s where you were…,” Misaki said softly.

“Whatcha want?” asked Makoto, who looked haggard.

“A drink,” she replied, forcing a smile.

To Makoto’s surprise, she snatched his bottle and poured the liquid into her own glass.

“Hey, now! You’re underage!” he protested.

Misaki ignored him and downed the drink. She set the empty glass back down with a loud clunk, and for a few moments, they were both silent, until Misaki spoke again, getting the words out with effort.

“I just… My mind’s a mess right now.”

Tears flowed from her puffy eyes.

“I guess it’s okay for you to drink in a game,” Makoto said, pretending not to notice she was crying.

He poured her another drink and added, “I heard about Wataru leaving the guild.”

“…He’d been carrying too much on his shoulders. It’s going to be difficult for Alba and Flamme, but it’s probably for the best.”

“Yeah.”

They drank together, talking a little in between sips. After some time, the door opened again. Byakuren walked in and took a seat opposite Misaki. She poured herself a glass in silence. She wasn’t there to celebrate stopping the invasion.

“So the guys who went to investigate in Calloah got back with a report…,” Makoto began. “According to which, after the Liberator’s killings, Barbara’s party went to the monastery to look for mementos of the victims…and they never came back.”

Makoto’s hands were shaking.

“A raid team of thirty people went to that monastery. Twenty-nine died, and one’s missing. No witnesses. How’s that make any sense?! Byakuren, your friends were there! The branch boss was there!”

Byakuren pressed her lips together. Misaki stared darkly into her glass.

“And you know what really gets me?” Makoto continued. “They’re treating Kettle, who’s gone missing, as a suspect! Just because she was the only one to survive. Kettle, who doesn’t have an ounce of cruelty in her…!”

The night after he found out Barbara’s party was dead, Makoto had tried to leave the town by himself. He’d gotten into a scuffle with the well-meaning players who stopped him and had been put on sort of a house arrest.

When he was notified of the investigation team’s findings an hour earlier, he’d desperately wanted to join anyone going back to Calloah, but he was the only one. He’d been in the tavern drinking ever since.

“I don’t care. Tonight, I’m leaving for Calloah,” he said stubbornly.

Misaki didn’t feel like arguing with him.

“You’re going there, hammered like this? You’ll die on the way,” Byakuren cautioned.

“I’m not drunk!” Makoto insisted.

He hung his head, looked into his glass, and shook it, making the ice inside clink.

“I can’t even get drunk despite my best efforts…”

Alcohol did nothing to dull the pain in his heart.

Misaki and Byakuren exchanged glances and nodded.

“Makoto,” said Misaki, “I’m going to Calloah, too.”

“!!” Makoto’s eyes shot wide-open. He grabbed Misaki by the shoulders. “You mean that?!”

“I also want to find Kettle. With my skill, we won’t need to waste time searching locations where there aren’t any players.”

Makoto thanked her profusely, his mood completely changed.

Byakuren flashed him a strained smile. “Why didn’t you join the returnees?” she asked.

“They invited him, but he was too distraught to even hold a conversation…”

Misaki then explained why Makoto hadn’t join the group Wataru was leading.

Makoto turned to Byakuren with reproach in his eyes.

“And you’re just letting it go? Didn’t you lose your last close friends there?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not letting it go!” Byakuren clenched her hands into fists to get a hold of herself. “I have my work cut out for me here. We need to restore this town, secure a new outpost, and make it defendable. Without my powers, exploration would take a lot more time. My ability doesn’t offer any advantages for areas that already have completed maps.”

Tears in her eyes, Byakuren looked at Misaki and Makoto. That spurred Misaki to get emotional, too.

“Please…,” Byakuren urged them. “Find out what happened to my friends… Avenge them…and bring back Kettle safely…!”

No longer able to restrain her emotions, Byakuren started sobbing loudly. Misaki rushed over to comfort her. Makoto stood up from his chair.

The night grew dark, approaching the small hours.

After seeing Byakuren off, Misaki and Makoto searched for other players who might travel with them to Calloah. They’d leveled up quite a bit in the last battle, but traversing three areas as a party of two would be needlessly reckless. They’d gladly team up with other players who weren’t in a party and wanted to return to Calloah for the same reason as them. Best-case scenario would be if they found a healer.

“Is anyone out and about at this hour?” Makoto asked Misaki.

“I don’t see many people…”

Misaki’s unique skill allowed her to pinpoint the locations of living things on her map. Blue dots moving around town were other players, although Misaki couldn’t tell just from her map who they were.

Maybe we should ask Flamme to recruit a second team to dispatch to Calloah… No, she’s already busy managing the fort’s restoration and planning future expeditions. I shouldn’t take any more of her time.

Misaki was about to give up when she saw two red dots on her map. They were getting closer.

The walls around Fort Sandras were broken, which meant monsters could simply walk into the town.

“Makoto…!”

Misaki reflexively reached for her bow, but she let go of it when she saw who emerged from the darkness—Vampy and Theodore.

“Oh, hello! I didn’t know you two were still around!” said Misaki.

“Greetings. Master ordered us to protect this town, so here we are,” replied Theodore.

Having witnessed what these Overlords were capable of, Makoto was heartened to see them again. Byakuren would have an easier time with them around, which made Makoto happy.

“And why are you out and about at such a late hour, Misaki?” Theodore asked.

“That’s because…”

Without missing a beat, Misaki told Vampy and Theodore what she and Makoto were trying to do and why. Makoto had never seen her confide her worries to anyone. He looked surprised.

“I see,” Theodore said curtly when Misaki finished. He was about to tell her and Makoto that Shuutarou would find Kettle first, but then Vampy spoke up.

“I will go with you two,” she announced.

Vampy’s decision surprised Theodore the most.

“…And what about Master’s orders?” he asked her.

“You alone will suffice to protect the town.”

“That is true…”

Theodore couldn’t comprehend why Vampy, the most loyal of the six Overlords, would abandon the task given to them by Shuutarou.

“If I find the girl first, Master will praise me,” Vampy added.

Ah, so that’s her rationale, Theodore realized.

Vampy looked at the confused humans without emotion. “Do you accept?”

“Yes, of course! You’re most welcome!”

Misaki had no objections. With Vampy on the team, they wouldn’t need a healer.

“Are you sure about this, Misaki?” Makoto whispered to her.

“I trust both of them,” she whispered back.

Theodore walked over to Vampy and said, “Well, then. I shall dutifully protect this town.”

“Please do,” Vampy replied, staring into space.

Theodore hesitated for a moment before adding, “Please find Kettle.”

Vampy looked up at him, astonished by the unfamiliar expression on his face.

“…Where did that come from?” she asked.

“Our master’s well-being depends on her.”

But that wasn’t the only reason—Theodore had spent just a short amount of time with Barbara’s party posing as Shuutarou’s summon, but he was still affected by the news of their death and Kettle’s disappearance. During his travels with Shuutarou’s friends, he felt their welcoming warmth. It helped him understand his master better, and he also considered it a valuable experience in its own right. He hoped that Vampy might be similarly enriched through Misaki and Makoto’s company.

Theodore turned to Misaki and Makoto.

“Vampy cannot fly, so you should depart as soon as you can,” he said, handing Makoto a silver shield and sword. “I happened to have these spare items lying around. You might get some use out of them.”

Makoto accepted the items. They felt marvelously lightweight yet had extraordinary stats.

“Do your best,” said Theodore.

Makoto quickly wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded decisively.

“Hurry up, or I’ll leave you behind,” Vampy called.

She was already far ahead, walking toward the southern gate without any intention to wait for Misaki and Makoto.

“M-Makoto! We’d better go!”

“R-right!”

They ran after Vampy.

Theodore watched them until they became too small to see in the distance.

Chapter 05

Meanwhile in Allistras, the capital city…

With help from a powerful guild, more and more of the weakest players were becoming independent every day. Supplied with potions, armor, and weapons, they would venture out to the field maps around the city, completing quests daily.

But recently, a different category of players with different goals and expectations had arrived in the peaceful city.

“I’ll kill the boss for you for ten thousand gold! How’s that sound?”

“Join our guild, Netherworld Darkness, and we’ll lend you a sword used by frontline fighters!”

“Recruiting slaves! I’m an ex-frontline fighter with my own mansion. Become my slave and enjoy a life of opulent leisure with me!”

Along the main street, many people were trying to strike various deals with the locals. They were mostly returnees from the front lines, from guilds other than Crest.

There was an unspoken rule among players that slavery and offers of lavish monetary or material support were taboo. The latter was something of a gray area, but in many cases, inexperienced players were lured with large amounts of cash to level up fast and access areas they were unprepared for, where they often died.

And while some players weren’t bothered by slavery so long as both parties were consenting, the practice presented ethical issues. There was concern that in-game slavery would lead to players becoming real-life criminals once they were no longer in the game, hence the outright ban.

But the newly arrived, high-level players were acting as if they were above any such rules. This was a direct result of the monster invasion on Fort Sandras.

Passersby were eyeing those individuals suspiciously.

“We’ve been getting more of these folks in town lately.”

“They leveled up so much on the front lines, nobody’s strong enough to stand up to them here. They do what they want.”

“Why are they coming back from the front lines anyway?”

“You didn’t hear? The whole squad got wrecked.”

Bad news about the front lines had reached even the people who didn’t step outside Allistras, like these two chatty players.

“Seriously? Think that’s gonna delay them clearing the game by a lot?”

“Yeah, I’d say so…”

“What a waste of space. How much effing longer do we have to wait?!”

Nobody reacted to the pair’s heartless comments. Those who’d had brushes with death even once would never say such things.

“Don’t disrespect the players who put their life on the line!”

The two gossips turned pale when someone shouted at them furiously, her voice carrying through the shopping district. They turned around and saw Crest’s Allistras receptionist, Lumia, her hair disheveled, her glaring eyes sunken.

Since she was just a random lady to them, they relaxed, not feeling ashamed at all.

“What for? Don’t forget your guild said it’s a choice to fight. You gonna treat us as second-rate citizens because we chose not to?” said one of the men.

“Women have it easy. Become a slave to someone powerful, and you secure a worry-free, cushy life for yourself,” said the other.

Lumia was shaking with powerless rage. Watching the two men walk away, she burst into tears.

Her guild had just sorted out the last problems in supporting the noncombatants; on top of that, training new units to send to the front lines had been going smoothly, and more reports had started coming in of members successfully clearing the Ur Sluice and Ilyana Tunnel. Right then, though, they’d been beset by a string of misfortune. There was some consolation in the fact that Alba and a few other figures central to Crest survived, but they first lost Galbo’s Party 6; then the Calloah branch chief, K; Barbara’s Party 7; and so many frontline fighters… And then Wataru left Crest.

With so many esteemed guild members dying one after another, it was little surprise that morale had plummeted, and there’d been a huge spike in the number of players leaving the guild. The organizational structure of the guild was on the verge of collapse, despite the best efforts from Alba and Flamme.

“We’re…losing everyone.”

She couldn’t forget the day she saw off Wataru and Misaki as they departed for the front lines. How many of the players who’d gone with them then had died?

Lumia began to think that maybe they were making a mistake in helping the noncombatants become self-sufficient and encouraging them to move to the next towns.

“Lumia, it’s heart-rending. It really is, but we have a lot of work to do,” Candy told her. He turned away from her to give her some space.

People were losing their loved ones and their friends, and tragedies were playing out right in front of their eyes—but grief wasn’t going to change anything for the better. They had to keep going. They had to soldier on and work to bring an end to this hell.

“Yes, you’re right…”

They had to check on the remaining guild members and assign them new tasks, then urgently discuss the guild plans and supportive policies with the leaders. There was no time for lamenting what had happened.

“The Cerou Underground Labyrinth has been cleared, and our frontline fighters weren’t wiped out by the invading monsters. That’s two pieces of good news among all the bad, isn’t it?” Candy told Lumia.

“Yes, of course. Progress has been made.”

“In the future, I might be taking over the Calloah branch…leaving you as the big boss here in Allistras, sis.”

Candy was being considered for the position of the new Calloah branch boss, and it was hard to find a better candidate—Crest members trusted him, and he was a terrific fighter to boot.

“I suppose I’ll have to manage…,” said Lumia.

“For now, let’s focus on getting our guild organized again,” said Candy. “Without order, players will only keep dying, I’m afraid.”

Lumia looked up gloomily at the sky, which was clouded over. Dark as Crest’s future.

A young lady was walking swiftly through the streets of Allistras, which was no longer the safe haven it used to be. Her skin was as white as a porcelain doll’s, and her delicate features made her seem fragile. She had long black hair with highlights and was wearing dark rose-red lipstick paired with red eyeshadow and thick eyeliner—in other words, an alt girl aesthetic.

“Oh! Mii! Did you wait long?” she said, skipping over to a man who was leaning against a wall and smoking a cigarette.

His equipment far outclassed anything worn by people in the Allistras region. It was clear at a glance that he’d been on the front lines.

“It’s been freaking ages,” he replied. “Come on.”

“’Kaaay!”

The girl cheerfully wrapped her arm around the man’s. They strolled through the shopping district, visiting restaurants and stores, before going to the man’s home.

The next morning…

“Bye! See you in the evening!” she said to him.

“Nah, can’t do it today. I’m busy.”

The man waved her away like an annoying fly.

“What? But today’s—”

“You deaf? I said not today.”

“Oh… Sorry! You’re busy. Got it. I won’t come over tonight.”

Even though he was treating her like a pest, she nonetheless grinned at him and waved good-bye.

On the way out…

“Eep…!”

…she bumped into someone and fell over.

“I’m sorry—”

“Watch where you’re going! Sheesh!” The woman she’d bumped into huffed at her and strode away.

“…”

The alt girl turned and saw the woman enter the house with the man she’d spent just the previous night getting all lovey-dovey with.

“Must be his sister,” she said to herself after a moment, before getting to her feet and patting the dust off her skirt.

She’d been biting her lip unconsciously but promptly smiled and walked away, deciding to forget what she’d seen.

The girl’s name was MagNe.

MagNe’s boyfriend, whom she was practically living with, was among the lucky players who got Eternity for free. Not wanting to be separated from him, MagNe bought the game out of her own pocket, and thus, the two of them were brought into this game world together. She never ever wanted to be apart from him, and that’s how she came up with her player name—she would stick to him like a magnet.

As for Mii, the man she’d been with the previous night—he wasn’t MagNe’s boyfriend but rather one of the men she was living off.

She did what those men told her, let them do whatever they wanted to her, and left when they had enough of her. She justified everything by telling herself this was just a game, that her real body remained untouched by all the men she’d been with.

“Keisuke…”

That was the name of her beloved boyfriend. But he wasn’t anywhere near, and MagNe felt helplessly pitiful.

And yet this was the only thing she knew. Attaching herself to men for some self-affirmation and falling asleep, lying to herself that she was loved—that was simply a temporary reprieve from misery.

For the first time in months, MagNe was outside the city. She didn’t have any battle experience, but she got to level 7 just by accompanying her dear boyfriend. And at level 7, dying within the Allistras city limits was all but impossible.

“Here we go! Freezing Strike!”

Pierced by a frosty sword, a rat monster leaped a few times, scattering shiny pixels before it burst.

“Ha! Nice, right? How ya like my Freezing Strike? Honestly, this area’s way too easy. I’ll keep you safe, Mag. Let’s keep up the good work.”

The man who turned toward her with a smile wasn’t MagNe’s boyfriend, though. It was another guy who had been a noncombatant until recently. When he got to level 7, he’d started feeling pretty confident and invited MagNe out to the field with him, probably to show off what a great fighter he was.

“Okay! I’ll do my best to help!” she said cheerfully.

He chuckled at her reaction, his ego tickled.

They went around the map hunting Nut Rats. After a while, the man looked MagNe up and down with a smile playing on his lips.

“Why don’t we take a break?” he suggested.

“Sure. Wanna sit over there?”

She pointed to a shaded spot by a large tree. The man shook his head, a tad exasperated.

“N-not that kind of break. I mean, uh, the kind at an inn, obviously.”

MagNe caught herself biting her lip again. She quickly put on a sweet smile. She’d had a nagging feeling the man would want that. It didn’t bother her, of course.

The monster invasion on the front lines had indirectly resulted in a noticeable decrease in public order across towns. Crest had been acting as peacekeepers, but they’d lost about half their members and were no longer able to keep the troublemakers in check. Add to that the runaway frontline fighters causing further problems in Allistras and Calloah.

The strong used the weak for comfort and distraction, and there was nobody to stop them. High stats gave people power in this world, and unfortunately, power was becoming all that mattered.

More and more people were throwing their principles out the window in order to join the ranks of the powerful. Consequently, MagNe was encountering more men who were very forceful with her.

Guess I’m spending the night with this guy…

She stared blankly at his face, lost in her own thoughts. What he wanted from MagNe was fine with her. She was willing to do it to feel like she was wanted, like it was okay for her to exist in this world. She’d do anything if it helped her forget about everything else and fall asleep.

“I’ll do whatever you say, dear Crimson Knight,” she said, hoping her smile looked genuine.

The man dragged her away by the hand. MagNe gazed up at the sky painted red by the setting sun, and her mind went blank.

On the way back to the city, MagNe and the man encountered a group of players.

“Never seen you here before.”

“Oh, hey. Who’s this cutie?”

“I’m digging this slightly unhinged look.”

MagNe looked up for help at her companion, who gathered his courage to defend her.

“B-back away from my girl! I’ve taken her out to so many dinners for this day!”

The other guys exchanged looks, and then they eyed the man up and down, taking note of his equipment.

“You’re one of them shut-ins, yeah?”

“What?! N-no, why would you—?”

“It’s written all over your face. But I love how a pip-squeak like you is trying to act real tough. We’re from Calloah, you know.”

Their average level was 32. As far as an Allistras recluse like MagNe was concerned, they were god-tier strong.

“Tch!”

MagNe’s companion ran away, leaving her behind. The group of men encircled her.

“I heard you needed a break from grinding. You don’t mind taking a break with us instead, huh?”

“Let’s go over there.”

One of the men pointed to a shaded spot. The other grabbed MagNe’s hand and dragged her along.

“Here’s good.”

They shoved her down on the ground as if she were a thing, not a person.

She lay on the grass, looking up at the branches of a tree swaying in the wind when she felt someone touch her cheek. She shuddered. MagNe reminded herself again and again that she was needed—that was how she got her self-affirmation. She had to do this to protect her sanity.

MagNe felt someone lie down on top of her, and suddenly, all she could see was a stretch of pale orange.

CRRR-CREEEAK!

The noise was so loud, as if a large tree was breaking.

“It’s gonna fall!” one of the men shouted.

It turned out a tree was breaking. Fortunately, it didn’t fall on MagNe and the men around her. Confused, the two men stared at the fallen tree…and then they saw something terrifying.

“It’s…it’s a monster!”

They fled, leaving MagNe behind. It was only then that she noticed what had scared the men away.

“Eek…!”

There stood a towering man with red hair and a red beard. His stunning armor made MagNe think of a shogun.

“Nothing but weaklings here,” he said.

The exasperated giant scratched his head. Then he looked down at the strangely dressed woman at his feet. She was opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

“You there. How do I enter Allistras?” he asked.

Intimidated by the giant’s overwhelming aura, MagNe timidly replied, “Th-through that gate…”

The giant grinned and picked her up. “Very well, woman. You will be my guide.”

“S-sorry?”

And that was how the Third Evil Overlord, Gallarus, met MagNe, a woman buoyed by fate in the strangest of directions.

People were screaming around them. MagNe hid her face but stole glances at the giant who was carrying her. He seemed unfazed by the reactions.

Why is he so at ease…?

A group of ex-noncombatants who’d been fighting rats panicked when they saw who was approaching the city gate.

“Oh crap! There’s a huge monster!”

“An invasion?! We’ve gotta tell Crest…!”

“Run! Run for your life!”

A number of people shouted in horror, but Gallarus paid them no heed.

Even someone as trusting as MagNe was convinced she couldn’t trust this enormous man, who was holding her pinched between his fingers.

I mean, he’s definitely not human…

The man had a humanlike appearance, but he stood more than three meters tall.

“Woman.”

“Eek!”

His booming voice made her involuntarily shudder. Since she was so close to him, it seemed almost as loud as an explosion.

“What is your name?”

“I-I’m MagNe, sir.”

“MagNe? I’m Gallarus. I’m defending this city as per my master’s orders.”

“Oh,” MagNe said weakly.

Crest was Allistras’s guardian, although it was no longer the strongest guild around. Lately, it seemed as if the ex-frontline fighters who’d returned and were doing as they pleased were the strongest force in the city. And in any case, monsters couldn’t get in because of the magical barrier.

“Gotta say, your battle earlier was frankly comical,” Gallarus remarked. He guffawed at the memory.

When it dawned on MagNe that he meant the group of men being rough with her by that tree, her face flushed red. She glared angrily at Gallarus.

“That wasn’t a battle…”

“To defeat a man, a woman should aim for his weak point with deadly precision. You could’ve easily kicked them in the jewels…”

Gallarus chatted away at MagNe while he walked with her. Before long, they reached the city gate.

“Can you put me down now…?” she asked.

“Ah, I suppose so.”

The giant dropped her nonchalantly. MagNe landed on her butt and screamed.

“Ow… That wasn’t very gentle…”

“The lady has high demands, huh?”

MagNe quickly went through the gate. Gallarus peered at the city curiously and then took a big step inside. He went in without any problems. MagNe looked up at him, thinking what it meant.

If he can go through the gate, then he must be human…or maybe he’s an NPC.

The city’s magical barrier was working fine, but what MagNe didn’t know was that the game system considered Gallarus a member of Shuutarou’s party, and that was why he was able to enter towns. Even if that wasn’t the case, he could probably force his way past the barrier.

“Holy moly! What is that?!”

“A monster has entered the city!”

“Don’t be dumb. Monsters can’t get in…”

“Look at the size of him…!”

They became the center of attention. A giant walking together with an alt girl must have made for a surreal sight. And while Gallarus appeared completely unbothered by the shocked onlookers, MagNe was somewhat uncomfortable.

“They’re calling you a monster, sir,” she told Gallarus.

“Hmph! Ignorant fools. Do I look like such a primitive creature?”

“I can’t speak for those people, but monsters definitely don’t talk, for one thing…”

Then again, humans weren’t three meters tall.

“And why were you outside the city, sir? Were you lost?”

“Lost?”

“Did you go the wrong way?”

“Hmm. I suppose you could say I was lost.”

“Huh…,” MagNe murmured vacantly.

Gallarus had been asked to deal with any invading monsters that might slip through and threaten Allistras, but he didn’t need to be inside the city for his skill to work. In fact, it was better for him not to be. He had stayed on standby on the field map and didn’t even know where the entrance to the city was located.

“I have another task to accomplish besides city defense—learning about humans, and for that, I need to interact with humans other than my master. An unpleasant necessity…” Gallarus sighed bitterly.

“You wanna learn about us?”

MagNe finally thought to check Gallarus’s info.

AcM Gallarus

Where have I seen AcM before…? Right, that stands for “Accompanying Monster.”

She remembered a certain summoner who’d been nice to her. He’d had an accompanying monster, too. Which meant that Gallarus was a monster after all. A monster who could talk just like a human. She thought they were similar, in that she depended on men who validated her just like a summoned monster depended on their master, and that made her feel a sense of kinship with Gallarus.

“Your master’s really important to you?” MagNe asked.

“More than my life!” Gallarus replied proudly.

MagNe suddenly found that she envied him. She also wished she had that sort of relationship with someone.

“I want to understand humans’ feelings,” said Gallarus. “I will need to talk to many humans and compare their answers.”

They reached the central plaza, which had a fountain.

“This looks like a good place to start,” Gallarus mused. He sat down cross-legged next to the fountain.

“Here?” said MagNe. “This is where you want to talk to people?”

MagNe had assumed Gallarus was heading somewhere specific in the city for his business, but he seemed to be making up his plan as he went along. The giant smiled smugly and nodded.

“I’ll sit here, listen to the humans’ problems, and guide them toward solutions. I might be able to decipher the way your feelings work, and I’ll be protecting the city at the same time.”

It was actually Bertrand’s idea. Gallarus’s execution of it wasn’t the most elegant, to say the least, but he was doing his best out of his genuine desire to understand his master better. For his master, he’d even put up with mingling with humans—but he was certain he wouldn’t enjoy it.

“During the Battle of Ten Nights, I sat like this in the middle of the town, talking with my soldiers. The king speaking with the common soldiers—now that raises morale like nothing else. Other kings weren’t as clever as me. It wouldn’t cross their minds to try that.”

Gallarus laughed heartily. Scared passersby gave him a wide berth.

The Battle of Ten Nights took place in Gallarus’s world when he was the king of his people. In this world, however, he was merely a monster. The dignity and respect he enjoyed in his realm didn’t simply transfer over—but Gallarus hadn’t realized that.

MagNe picked up on how clueless the giant was and asked timidly, “Will you be okay without me?”

“? And why would I need you?” was the giant’s blunt reply.

MagNe was offended, but she plucked up the courage to offer a careful rebuttal.

“…You needed me to come here, for example.”

“I appreciate you bringing me to the city, but now that I’m here, I have no need for you anymore.”

Gallarus crossed his arms and began people-watching.

I have problems, too, y’know, thought MagNe.

It upset her that even though Gallarus declared he’d be helping people with their problems, he wouldn’t ask her if she had any.

“I want you to help me,” she eventually said in a quiet, strained voice, looking down at the ground.

Gallarus eyed her suspiciously. “Help with what?”

“I’m waiting for someone. I’ve been waiting a long time, waiting and waiting, but he’s just not showing up.”

Gallarus listened quietly and fixed MagNe with a cold stare. “You’re the type to always rely on others, huh?” He shook his head disapprovingly. “Use your brains instead of simply waiting. Turn the situation around. If the man isn’t coming, you go look for him. It’s that simple.”

“But I can’t go look for him. I can’t fight…”

“You can’t, or you don’t want to? Children can fight if they’ve got all four limbs. In my country, there was a time when even nurslings were given swords and forced to do battle…”

“That doesn’t sound like something to be proud of…”

“What I’m saying is, driven into a corner, even a child will fight. And what’s your excuse?”

MagNe fell silent, feeling down. Gallarus was being rude toward her, and his examples were extreme, but she thought he hit the nail on the head.

“I hate spineless people like you. Solving your problem for you will give you a sense of satisfaction, but me—nothing.”

This is how he was talking to the person who’d guided him to the city? MagNe’s face flushed. She was used to being treated poorly, but what really made her mad was how Gallarus spoke as if he knew everything about her.

“I…I didn’t choose to live like this! You don’t know anything about my past! Don’t judge me based on your assumptions!” she shouted, much louder than she’d intended.

Embarrassed, MagNe ran away. Gallarus watched her with interest.

The Adventurers Guild building was deserted. Normally, it would be bustling with unaffiliated players, but lately, it’d been as quiet inside as if it had been abandoned. Having heard that the frontline outpost had been destroyed by never-before-seen monsters and a lot of people had died in Calloah, many players lost the will to try to level up and move on from the starting city. And who could blame them?

It made more sense to accept quests from the Crest’s guild office instead of the NPC-run Adventurers Guild anyway, since Crest offered all players support to make sure they were safe—but many players living in Allistras didn’t even know such basics.

A solitary player entered the Adventurers Guild.

I need to…pick up a quest, right?

MagNe uncertainly went over to check the Quest Board. As a noncombatant, she’d latch on to this or that man for support, and she had actually been living comfortably, sheltered from incidents such as the Goblin King invasion or the Liberator’s killings. And she wasn’t the only one. About 65 percent of Allistras’s player population still hadn’t fought a single monster.

“…A loser like me can only survive by sponging off others.”

MagNe punched the board angrily.

She was weak, but it was the people who did well in this world who were messed up. She wasn’t doing anything wrong living the way she did, and she didn’t want much. Just a safe place to sleep.

Trying to make herself feel better, MagNe concentrated on the Quest Board again.

“The ones where you have to kill monsters are too hard for me…”

She didn’t actually understand the game’s mechanics very well. Unsure what to do, she looked around for help.

“Would you like to take on a quest?” asked a robotic voice.

She turned toward the source—a softly smiling female NPC behind the reception desk.

MagNe hurried over to her, relieved. “H-hello. Yes, I’d like a quest…”

“That’s great! Can you please tell me what sort of reward is most important to you?”

MagNe didn’t want to become an independent player. She’d come to the Adventurers Guild on the spur of the moment, incensed by what Gallarus had said to her, needing to prove to herself that she, too, could achieve something without anyone’s help.

What I need the most is money.

“I’d like something with a monetary reward,” she told the receptionist.

“Sure! I found you a quest that fits those criteria. Please take a look.”

The NPC made a few swift gestures, and a quest window opened in front of MagNe.

Request: Catch That Thieving Cat!

From: Sharon

Time Limit: 48:00:00

Details: A cat has stolen our heirloom jewelry box! The dastardly stray is often seen near the fish market. Catch it and get my jewelry box back! Anything else you find besides the jewelry box is yours to keep.

Objective: Retrieve the Heirloom Jewelry Box (0/1)

Reward: 1,200G, 80 EXP

“Twelve hundred gold?!” shouted MagNe.

She couldn’t believe it. One night at an inn cost 50G. Catching a single stray cat would earn her enough money for twenty-four nights. The men she was seeing were giving her 500G on average as pocket money. Financial support from Crest was 2,000G per month. Meaning she’d have so much spare money for entertainment!

“I-I’ll take this one!”

She tapped CONFIRM, and the quest’s status appeared on one side of her field of vision.

“I’ll mark the location of the fish market for you. Good luck!” the NPC receptionist said with a smile.

MagNe left the Adventurers Guild in a great mood, heading straight for the location indicated on her minimap.

As soon as MagNe arrived at the fish market, she saw a black cat with a small box in its mouth.

“There it is!”

This quest seemed really easy. However, a more experienced player would have noticed the red flags—fetch-type quest rewards were usually between 100 and 120G. But this was MagNe’s very first quest, so she had no idea what to expect.

When she approached the cat, it gave her the slip, escaping into a back alley. She ran after it and saw a tall man looming at the end of the alley.

“Nice job, Zereh, you smart kitty,” the man said, stroking the cat’s chin.

He was wearing chain mail and very good equipment, although the ax on his belt looked filthy. When he noticed MagNe, his expression changed.

“…Lookin’ for this? Sorry, but it’s mine now. Yer not gettin’ it back.”

He opened the box and held up the ring inside it as if appraising it.

It…wasn’t supposed to be like this…

MagNe started walking backward.

“O-okay. You can keep it…”

The man heaved a deep sigh and slowly pulled his ax out of its holster.

“Can’t let ya go, can I?”

Wanted Man Rick Level 6

“What…?”

MagNe didn’t understand what was happening.

Rick hit the ground with his fist. “Mud Wall!”

The earth rumbled, rising behind MagNe. She fell over and felt there was a wall right behind her. It took her a moment to realize her escape route had been cut off.

He trapped me…?

“Ya saw too much. Now I gotta kill ya.”

He leaped into the air and swung the ax at MagNe. The blade sank deep into her unprotected shoulder with a blood-spatter effect.

“?!?!?!”

MagNe was speechless with shock. Her LP dropped down to 30 percent from that one hit. First, she felt the weight of the ax, then a hot sensation, fear, and lastly—the horrific pain of the blade cutting through her flesh and bones.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Writhing in pain, her face wet from tears and snot, she tried to creep away in panic.

“Th-th-this is a city… You can’t…attack players… Owww… It huuurts!”

Attack skills didn’t work in the city—that was what MagNe had mistakenly believed. For the first time since starting the game, she was experiencing real pain.

It was true that players were unable to attack one another within towns, at least as long as the town walls remained intact. But that rule applied only to players. While the thieving-cat quest was presented as a regular item-fetching task, it was actually a special type of quest that involved fighting an NPC at the end. Crest had that quest on their “caution advised” list due to the risk of players dying in the event battle.

Rick was slowly walking toward MagNe, etching lines in the mud wall with the tip of his ax.

“No worries—it’ll stop hurtin’ soon.”

“No… No… Don’t hurt me… I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything you ask!”

But pleas like that didn’t work on an NPC. He stopped right in front of her and raised his bloodstained ax to deliver a final blow.

MagNe was certain she was about to die. For some reason, she remembered what Gallarus had told her earlier:

“To defeat a man, a woman should aim for his weak point with deadly precision. You could’ve easily kicked them in the jewels…”

“Power Enchantment: Leg Strength,” she muttered under her breath.

Her right leg began to glow red. She gathered up all her strength and kicked Rick in between the legs. His face contorted in pain, and he was sent flying, his LP decreasing by 30 percent.

“I promised I’d die together with my bae!!!”

Somehow, MagNe had snapped.

Her battle spirit ignited, MagNe miraculously managed to get to her feet. She took a battered sword out of her storage and held it awkwardly.

“You can have it. I don’t need it anymore.”

It was the first and only gift she ever got in the game—one from her beloved boyfriend.

“Power Enchantment: Weapon!”

The well-used sword started glowing red.

Power Enchantment was MagNe’s unique skill, which enabled her to strengthen a part of her. She currently had the second tier of the skill unlocked.

MagNe had gotten used to wielding Power Enchantment whenever she went out to the field map with the love of her life; it’d made him so happy. It all came back to her now as she stared death in the face.

Rick staggered on the spot, and MagNe struck him with every ounce of strength she had.

“Hyaaah!”

The leg buff added momentum to the blow, greatly increasing its power. MagNe broke through Rick’s guard and stabbed him in the right cheek.

Her sword’s durability dropped to zero, and the blade shattered.

“Gwaaah!”

Rick had less than 10 percent LP left. Fueled by desperation, he grabbed MagNe by the neck and lifted her off the ground. She made a fist, her eyes on the NPC’s neck.

“Power Enchantment: Arm Strength!”

With a loud thwack, she punched straight through his neck. The NPC’s eyes rolled back, and he began to foam at the mouth. At last, he fell backward and disappeared.

The level-up chime sounded twice, but MagNe wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.

“Thank you, Keisuke…”

She picked up the pieces of the broken sword and sobbed.

A short while later, Rick’s mud wall crumbled, and MagNe escaped the alley she’d been trapped in. When she received her reward from the Adventurers Guild, the exhaustion finally hit her like a ton of bricks. For the first time, she got a taste of what it was like living in a game where you could really die.

And all that…for just one thousand two hundred gold…

That could cover close to a month of lodging, but it didn’t seem like a fair price for risking your life. MagNe grasped just how dependent she was on Crest for support. If she hadn’t done a quest by herself, she would’ve continued to think of her Crest stipend as a freebie she was entitled to.

MagNe dragged her feet, feeling more pathetic than ever.

“Wait… MagNe?”

She hadn’t been expecting to hear that voice.

“Kei…suke?”

It was her beloved boyfriend. He seemed less confident than she remembered, but then again, it had been a long time since she last saw him. This was Keisuke, though; there was no mistaking it. Her dear boyfriend was back.

Overwhelmed with relief, MagNe almost collapsed, but Keisuke swiftly caught her in his arms. He looked at her with concern.

“Hey, are you all right?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry to make you worried.”

Her own state didn’t matter to her—she was overjoyed to have him back. It paid off in the end to have been patiently waiting for him in Allistras, and she couldn’t be happier everything worked out.

“You’re back at last…,” she said through tears.

“Yeah…,” Keisuke replied, looking somewhat uncomfortable. “I saved up a good amount of money, so I thought I might as well settle in Allistras. I went as far as Kiren Graveyard, but that area’s too spicy for me.”

He smiled at her, making her so emotional that fresh tears flowed from her eyes. She’d been longing to see that smile for so long.

“So what’s up with you?” he asked.

“I was just finishing up a quest. I didn’t wanna sponge off others, y’know…”

But the quest had taught her a painful lesson, and now that she had Keisuke back, she no longer felt like making any more effort. She was about to tell Keisuke that when he spoke up.

“MagNe, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Want to become my slave?”

He looked the same as she remembered.

“Striking out on your own—that’s not your style. Give me the money you got from your quest, and I promise you that from now on, you won’t have to worry your pretty head about anything at all. Oh, but don’t mess around with other guys, or I’ll kill you, got it?”

She’d heard that many times when they used to semi-live together.

MagNe was about to obediently give Keisuke the 1,200G she’d earned from the quest, but somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to confirm the transaction on her screen.

Huh…?

Her hand just wouldn’t move.

“You can sleep as much as you like, eat all your favorite foods, and have as much sex as you want. Best deal ever, huh?”

Keisuke kept talking to her, but his words seemed increasingly distant. She felt as if she was underwater—sounds were muffled, and her vision was hazy.

“Striking out on your own—that’s not your style.”

Those words were playing in her mind over and over. She thought he’d be happy to hear she learned how to make money on her own.

Is he upset that I’m independent now?

That was what she gathered from what he was saying.

Kiren Graveyard was far from Allistras, but it was nowhere near the front lines. If that was where Keisuke had gotten held up for so long, it meant he wasn’t strong enough to progress in the game. He returned because he’d failed.

It hit MagNe that Keisuke didn’t want her to be independent. He wanted to keep her entirely dependent on him, like before.

“Here,” he said. “The place where I’m staying.”

He handed her a piece of paper with an address on it.

“Thanks,” MagNe said with a smile. “I’ll think about your offer.”

She quickly left the Adventurers Guild without waiting for his reply.

MagNe walked fast down the street until she had to stop to catch her breath by the weapon shop. She bent over with her hands on her knees, taking big gulps of air.

“What’s wrong with me…?”

She should be happy that her boyfriend was back, but it wasn’t happiness she was feeling, and she didn’t understand why.

When she straightened up, she saw her pitiful reflection in the store window. She remembered Gallarus telling her he hated spineless people like her. Memories of her conversations with various men flashed back in her mind.

“Oh… Sorry! You’re busy. Got it. I won’t come over tonight.”

“I’ll do whatever you say, dear Crimson Knight.”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry to make you worried.”

“I’m so freaking pathetic…”

Sobbing, she crouched down limply. The things she tried not to think about were coming back to her, inflating until they were so big, they exploded.

Keisuke had disappeared from Allistras after stealing everything she had. The last thing he’d said to her was that he’d come back after finding the next town. She’d never forgotten his face when he said that. It happened several months earlier. MagNe knew he had abandoned her, but she’d been in denial, telling herself she believed him and patiently waiting. And he did come back. He appeared as if out of thin air, without an apology for leaving her for so long, taking for granted that their relationship was as before.

“I’ve had enough…”

She opened her menu window with a shaking hand. Her eyes were overflowing with tears even though what she was about to do was her own decision.

She brought up her friends list. Sniffling, she began to delete everyone from it. She could remember what the men looked like but not their personalities or even their voices.

Soon enough, her friends list was empty. She didn’t need to delete Keisuke from it—he had unfriended her sometime earlier.

“I knew it then…”

When his name disappeared from her friends list, she’d thought he was dead, and she’d run in a panic to the Crest headquarters to ask what had happened to him.

“While we cannot be sure that he’s alive…when players die, their names get grayed out, and their status changes to offline. If he disappeared from your friends list…he might have simply unfriended you.”

Her nagging suspicion had been proven correct, and yet she’d stayed in Allistras. She still loved her boyfriend even though he dumped her.

“You complained about my cooking, stole my money, drank too much, and never kept promises…but you were my entire world.”

She started deleting everything that reminded her of Keisuke—an outfit he liked her wearing, a staff she bought to support him in battle, the screenshots they took together. She was erasing all traces of him, along with her lingering love for him.

Afterward, she felt lighter. Her mind felt clear; it was as if she’d been living a lie.

“I’m going home…”

She stood up to go, but then she noticed a blade in the store window. It reflected the golden rays of the setting sun at her like some sort of blessing.

She read the sword’s name aloud: “Calendula.”

With her palms pressed against the store window, MagNe stared at the weapon in a trance. The scabbard and the hilt were decorated with orange flower motifs, and the blade itself was adorned with elegant temper lines.

Price: 1,200G

She’d risked her life to earn that money, and her boyfriend, who didn’t appreciate her efforts, wanted to take it from her. If she had to put her own life on the line to make that money, she’d use it for herself.

MagNe knew that in the language of flowers, marigolds—a type of calendula—symbolized despair, disappointment, and the sorrow of separation.

“I don’t need anyone to protect me anymore.”

MagNe had a feeling that this sword would help her become a new person. She pushed open the door to the store.

Gallarus wasn’t making much progress.

“They all waste my time asking for money or weapons,” he grumbled.

He was still sitting in the central plaza, asking passing humans if they had any problems, but most of them demanded that he give them money. Gallarus had no cash to distribute to the needy, although he could potentially get some weapons from Theodore.

“Why don’t they ask me for something I could actually help with…?”

Getting bored, the giant clenched his teeth to stop himself from yawning when a man walked up to him.

“You, big guy!”

It was Crimson Knight, the player who’d had his date with MagNe ruined. He’d only started fighting monsters recently.

“What do you want?” Gallarus demanded.

“Er… Help me level up!”

“…”

Gallarus didn’t like the man’s attitude, but he was getting frustrated with his inability to achieve either of the tasks Bertrand had challenged him with. He stood up heavily and decided to give the man a chance.

“…Will leveling up make you happy?” Gallarus asked.

“What? Of course it will.”

“Hmph. Leveling up makes humans happy…,” Gallarus said to himself, taking out his notepad to write something down.

“Hurry up! A human gave you an order, monster!” the man yelled impatiently.

“Hold on. Can’t you see I’m taking notes?”

Ironically, a massive disparity in levels made the weaker players unable to gauge others’ power. Anyone who’d fought on the front lines would’ve sensed Gallarus’s overwhelming power, but Crimson Knight saw him just as a harmless monster NPC.

They left Allistras, and the man pointed toward the woods. He looked up at Gallarus.

“Take me there! I want to train there until I’m level ten! MagNe will be so impressed when I come back—”

Gallarus ignored the man’s irrelevant comments. Instead, he picked him up with his hand and carried him to the woods. When they arrived, he tossed him down.

“Ow! What the hell?!”

Perturbed, Gallarus stared down at the man. “What do you want me to do?”

“…Go into the woods, then come back here. You’re just a monster, so it doesn’t matter if you get killed, but I gotta be careful.”

“You want me to walk there and back? That’s it?”

“No, you oaf! Lead the monsters that attack you back toward me! Then I’ll kill them while you’re tanking. And then we repeat that.”

Gallarus seemed to understand the instructions. He walked off into the woods.

Those who knew a thing or two about Gallarus would remember that his unique skill automatically reflected damage dealt to him, with his own attack power added to the damage.

“Good, that’s it! Frost Edge!”

The man took a comically exaggerated swing at a hornet monster, which flew toward them. When he struck its wing, the hornet turned toward him and started attacking.

“The hell?! Keep the aggro on you!”

“Why are you giving a fancy name to a regular attack?” Gallarus asked.

“I… That doesn’t matter right now! Hurry up and do your job!”

Gallarus sighed and swatted the wasp, which shattered into pieces as soon as his hand came in contact with it.

“What are you doing?! I won’t get any EXP that way!” the man griped.

“What do you want me to do then?”

“Don’t kill the enemies yourself!”

“I’ve had enough of this. I’m going back.”

Gallarus turned on his heel and started walking away.

Monsters intimidated by his presence came out of hiding to attack the weak-looking player.

“Hey, you can’t leave me here… Huh? Aaargh!”

The man waved his sword around frantically, but a beast repelled the blade with its fangs, and all the other monsters chomped down on the defenseless player.

It was pointless trying to understand humans, Gallarus thought, ignoring the screams behind him, perhaps because the man’s attitude had riled him up.

“Power Enchantment: Leg Strength! Power Enchantment: Weapon!”

Someone zipped past Gallarus, speeding like a bullet toward the group of monsters. Red flashes accompanied a graceful flurry of strikes.

The man was dumbstruck.

“…M-Mag?” he stammered.

It was her, with a sword in hand.

“Crimson Knight,” she said.

“D-did you see my Frost Edge earlier? Pretty cool, huh? It’s so fast, enemies freeze in fear…”

He waved his sword around in a last-ditch effort to impress MagNe.

She smiled at him. “You’d better call it ‘Thaw Edge,’ because there’s nothing cool about it.”

The man tensed up at the biting criticism. MagNe was no longer the woman he knew, who couldn’t survive without relying on others for everything.

She turned away from the man.

“Could I ask you for your help one more time?” she said to Gallarus, who was waiting in the distance. “I’d like to learn to fight solo.”

Her eyes gleamed with resolve. Gallarus was intrigued by how this woman, whom he thought could only lead a parasitic existence, had changed to such an extent in a short span of time.

He laughed heartily. “Now this, I like better!”

“Maybe it was you with your cold attitude who pushed me in a new direction,” MagNe teased.

Gallarus started walking again.

“The way to becoming strong is through battle. Come with me, MagNe.”

She happily followed the giant.

“A monster in the city?!”

An emergency had been reported to Crest—a giant was hurting people in the central plaza.

As if things weren’t bad enough, now a monster has broken through our protective barrier…?!

Lumia and Candy quickly gathered up capable fighters and headed with them to the plaza. And there, they saw the giant in question right away.

“It’s your face that’s the problem,” he told one man.

“Are you saying I’m ugly?!”

“? Was I not clear enough?”

“Sh-sheesh! Rein it in a little, would ya?!”

The man stormed off in anger, and a woman started chiding the giant. As far as the Crest members could tell, the monster was giving people advice on personal problems.

Ah… It’s only emotional damage he’s inflicting through brutal honesty…

Lumia was relieved that it wasn’t an actual emergency, but Candy was tensely eyeing the monster.

“We can’t do anything about this one,” he said to Lumia.

“It doesn’t look like we need to. He’s not causing any real harm.”

“Lumia, it’s not an NPC; it’s a monster! And it’s stronger than any of the invasion bosses we’ve encountered!”

The Crest members were instantly on guard. Gallarus scowled at them, sensing their hostility.

“Don’t.”

With one word, the giant intimidated everyone in the plaza. Not only Candy but every armed player also realized they weren’t equipped to fight someone like this.

MagNe stepped between Gallarus and the players.

“Leave him alone! He doesn’t mean you any harm!”

Her sincere appeal calmed everyone down. They realized there was no way the city’s barrier could’ve been broken without Crest noticing, and nobody had seen the giant cause any damage to the city.

“If he’s an ally…lucky us,” said Candy, watching Gallarus closely.

“I will not cause you any harm,” Gallarus assured the players.

Candy reasoned that, seeing as Gallarus had AcM displayed before his name—which meant he was a member of somebody’s party—he was presumably someone’s tamed monster or a summon.

“Is this your summon?” Lumia asked MagNe.

“No, he said his master is somewhere else.”

For a moment, Candy wondered if the giant’s master might be a certain boy he knew, but he quickly banished the thought.

He’s already got two monsters like that. It’d be too game-breaking for him to have even more.

Gallarus remembered that he was supposed to be the guardian of Allistras, defending everyone who lived there as per Shuutarou’s wishes, and he thought he should let the humans know.

“I will be protecting this city for a while. My master ordered me to annihilate any threats. You humans can rest easy.”

While the Crest members were positively surprised by this, some players in the plaza felt a chill run down their spine—the latter were the former frontline fighters who had been acting as if they were above all rules.

“What exactly counts as a threat to the city…?”

“Um, player killers, maybe?”

“If it means anyone who disturbs public order, I’m screwed…”

The former frontline fighters were acutely aware of Gallarus’s powerful aura, and they feared him. The giant’s proclamation was about to have the unintended effect of improving public order.

“! While you’re at it,” MagNe said to Lumia, “can you tell me which quests are safe but give good money?”

“Oh, um… For advice on quests, you should come to our headquarters.”

“Of course! If only I’d thought about getting advice from you guys earlier…”

After a while, the Crest members dispersed. Lumia and Candy thanked Gallarus and went their way, too.

I don’t quite know what to expect from that monster, but I guess him being here means our defense has been bolstered, Lumia thought, glad to finally have some good news after the string of misfortune.

“MagNe!” someone shouted angrily from across the plaza.

It was none other than MagNe’s beloved.

“What the hell?! You never showed up!”

He strode toward her in big, furious steps.

“I came back to you, didn’t I? And you frigging ignore me?!”

He raised his fists into the air threateningly, but MagNe didn’t even twitch.

“You’re too late, Keisuke. Things have changed.”

Keisuke had never seen MagNe acting confident before, and it unsettled him.

MagNe used to be a convenient girlfriend to have around, since she’d always done what he said, but in this game, she’d begun to feel like a burden. Keisuke wanted to become a frontline fighter so that he could live as he wanted and enjoy a feeling of superiority. He’d given himself into the fantasy of becoming a strong, high-level player surrounded by women in awe of him. Things didn’t go as planned, though—he got stuck on Kiren Graveyard and couldn’t find a single woman in Calloah who’d be impressed by him. Only then did he reflect that MagNe was indeed valuable.

Now, even here, only the ex-frontline fighters get to throw their weight around…

But there was his MagNe, completely disinterested in him, turning to walk away…

“Y-you bitch! I know what this is—you found yourself another dude to leech off, and you think you can dis me! Just wait, and he’s gonna dump you too, like the piece of trash you are!”

His abuse really stung MagNe. It made her doubt whether she had truly evolved if she was still relying on Gallarus’s help. If Gallarus refused to have anything to do with her, would she go back to living as before? She was almost in tears.

Suddenly, Gallarus stepped in between her and Keisuke, who fell over, overwhelmed by the giant’s presence.

“She’s not leeching off me,” Gallarus said. He looked down at MagNe, who had tears in her eyes.

“We’re helping each other out. We’re partners.”

Keisuke couldn’t believe it—MagNe had partnered up with this monster that even Crest was impressed with?

As for MagNe, she kept repeating what Gallarus said over and over in her head. It made her so emotional to be considered an equal that she couldn’t help crying.

Gallarus stood next to her.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and help me,” he said, mindless of MagNe’s tears and eager to get on with his personal project.

MagNe nodded firmly. She turned away from Keisuke and didn’t look back.

Chapter 06

Misaki, Makoto, and Vampy were standing outside Koane Monastery, which was far smaller than Olsrott Monastery.

“You sure you want to go in?” asked Makoto.

He was eyeing the building with distrust. Vampy, next to him, was emotionless as usual.

“I’m sure,” said Misaki. “Vampy’s help is priceless, of course, but I still want to be as prepared as I can.”

By then, many players knew that praying at churches or monasteries gave a temporary boost to stats and experience gain. It had been hugely helpful to players in Allistras, hastening their transition to independence.

Seeing Misaki wasn’t going to change her mind, Makoto sighed in resignation.

“All right. I’m going in with you,” he said.

“Why? You don’t need to.”

“Sorry, it’s my trauma speaking. I’m not letting you go in there alone.”

The last place Barbara’s party had visited before they died was a monastery. Not that particular one, but Makoto wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

Vampy crossed her arms. “I will wait here. Don’t take too long.”

She was unable to enter monasteries.

Misaki opened the monastery door, which led straight into the roomy chapel, just like in the other monasteries and churches in the game.

“Have you come to receive a divine blessing?” someone asked.

Misaki turned toward the voice and saw a smiling female NPC.

“I am the prioress of this monastery. My name is Quattuor,” the NPC said.

“I’m Misaki. Yes, I’d like to receive the blessing, please.”

Makoto leaned back against a pillar and kept a wary eye on the prioress. After the exchange of pleasantries, Misaki walked over to the altar. An empty chair was placed on a pedestal there.

“Offer your prayers to the angels, and they shall give you their blessing…”

Misaki followed the nun’s instructions, and a bright light enveloped her. She felt its power coursing through her body.

“Thank you,” she said to the nun and walked briskly out of the monastery.

Outside, Makoto said to her in a hushed tone, looking back toward the building, “Not to be rude, but do all nuns in the game have unpronounceable names?”

“I don’t know if they do. And it is a rude thing to say.”

They rejoined Vampy, and the three of them continued on their way to Calloah Castle Town.

Ken-Ron Cavern had served as the frontline fighters’ training ground before clearing Ciola Tower. It was extremely cold and riddled with traps, and among the monsters that lurked there were highly intelligent simian creatures that worked together to defeat the players—but they weren’t going to get that chance now.

“Do not worry about monsters. They will not bother you.”

Makoto stared dumbstruck as Vampy walked through the cave, destroying all monsters in her vicinity. Misaki’s targets died before she got to loose a single arrow, so she put her bow away, giving up on trying to support Vampy.

“I haven’t even gotten to test out the sword I was given…,” grumbled Makoto.

“Do not waste your breath on meaningless chatter. Search for the girl,” Vampy ordered coldly.

“Right…”

Makoto called Kettle’s name over and over, desperate for a response. Misaki used her unique skill to its full range, searching for any blue dots.

After the last invasion, very few players venture out into dungeons. It makes it easier to search for Kettle, but so far, we’ve been without success…

They went through the entire dungeon, but none of the blue dots marking players on Misaki’s map turned out to be Kettle. They still had no clue where she might be.

Makoto sighed heavily.

“It’s very unlikely she’d be in a dungeon somewhere. Let’s keep searching and not lose spirit,” Misaki encouraged him, ready to move on to the next area.

“Yeah, sure.”

Vampy followed them, frowning.

Without stopping for a break, they began searching the Kleeshira Ruins, which was patrolled by stone statues brought to life with now-lost techniques. The ruins had been a site of demonic experiments and research on separating the soul from the body so that it may be sealed inside a statue. Destroying the gem, which was embedded in such a statue’s chest and powered it up, freed the trapped soul, which could be briefly glimpsed before the monster died.

The ruined buildings were made of stone, but every now and again, you’d come across metal parts with strange patterns on them. Broken test tubes and traces of magic circles added to the sinister aura of the place.

But neither suddenly falling rocks nor the living statues could get close to Vampy. They bounced off and disappeared.

Makoto stumbled on uneven ground and fell over.

“Oops…”

“What are you doing?” Vampy asked, irritated.

Misaki hurried over to Makoto’s side. “A-are you okay?!”

He’d happened to trip over a round pedestal about four meters wide. Misaki examined it and found scientific-looking scribblings on the top part.

Could this be…a boss spawn point?

She thought that Vampy’s skill had probably killed all the area bosses already. Turning back to Makoto, she was surprised to see he hadn’t gotten up. She thought that maybe he’d somehow hurt himself badly when he fell over, but that wasn’t it.

“Kettle…,” he muttered to himself absentmindedly.

He looked as if he didn’t have the willpower to stand up, close to his mental limit.

“Vampy, do you mind if we take a short break?” asked Misaki.

“…”

Vampy wordlessly stared down at Makoto before letting out a resigned sigh.

Misaki checked that there were no blue dots near them, and then they all sat down by a wall.

“I would like to thank you, Vampy, for making our search so safe,” Misaki said.

“Why do you bring that up now?” Vampy asked brusquely.

“Because…I’m not able to contribute anything. You’re doing all the hard work, and the only thing I have to offer is my gratitude…”

Misaki’s voice got quieter and quieter. Vampy thought for a moment in silence.

“Tell me how to make friends,” she requested without changing her impassive expression.

Caught off guard, Misaki looked at Vampy with surprise. “S-sorry?”

“I wish to know how to make friends.”

Vampy wasn’t only searching for Kettle to earn Shuutarou’s praise. She wanted to learn how to truly support him.

“We weren’t the source of his inner strength, were we? It was this girl and those other players.”

She shook her head in annoyance that Gallarus’s words kept coming back to her.

“I think all you need is to want to be friends with someone,” said Misaki.

Vampy’s eyebrows knit. Theodore had told her something along those lines, too.

“You’re saying it happens naturally?” Vampy asked.

“Yes, that’s it.”

“In which case, the fact that there has been no change to my relationship with Master despite us being together for a while means friendship is impossible between us?”

Misaki blinked. Vampy hung her head, looking glum.

“You want to be friends with your master?”

“…”

Vampy didn’t reply, which led Misaki to suspect the girl had romantic feelings for Shuutarou, but she was wrong. What Vampy wanted was genuine friendship. The misunderstanding caused some awkwardness in the air, but Misaki was oblivious to it.

“I think you’ll have to stop being his subordinate for that to work.”

“No. My allegiance to Master is eternal,” Vampy snapped.

What Misaki suggested was impossible—she couldn’t stop being Shuutarou’s minion.

“But listen,” Misaki continued. “As far as I know, friendship is about understanding each other, laughing together without reserve, and being able to talk openly about your problems.”

Seeing that she had Vampy’s attention, Misaki smiled a little.

“As long as you have this status difference, there’s a wall between you and him. There are lines you cannot cross. But friends overcome their differences. A friend will hold your hand when you need it.”

Vampy was astonished—this human girl had the answer to her question, an answer far more detailed than anything the other Overlords or any of Vampy’s minions had come up with. She scooted closer to Misaki.

“Holding hands—is that all that is needed?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it literally. It’s about emotional support.” Misaki laughed a little awkwardly and took Vampy’s hand in hers. “For example, if the other person seems very sad, you gently ask them what’s wrong and hear them out about their problems. You help each other without wanting anything in return. I think that is what makes you friends, and you don’t need to do anything special beyond that.”

Vampy stared at Misaki’s hand holding hers. Misaki noticed her gaze and gasped.

“S-sorry!”

She quickly withdrew her hand.

“It sounds feasible,” Vampy said, still looking at her hand. “To start, I will become friends with you.”

“Huh? W-with me…?” Misaki scratched her cheek, confused.

“I couldn’t possibly start holding hands with Master all of a sudden. I will practice on you first.”

Vampy got it into her head that physically holding hands was a requirement for being friends with someone. Misaki wondered if she could try to clarify that point further, but in the end, she decided it would at least be a way for her to repay Vampy for helping them out.

“Okay. Let’s be friends, V!”

“? Why do you speak to me so casually?”

“Being casual doesn’t mean being disrespectful. Mutual respect is very important between friends!” Misaki explained with confidence.

She reminded Vampy of someone from the distant past.

“I’ll get a strong skill and become your personal guard!”

“What would I do with someone as troublesome as you protecting me? Thanks, but no.”

“Sheesh! Anyway, no matter what unique skills we get, we’re friends forever, right?”

Vampy shouldn’t have those memories.

I, too, had a good friend once…?

She couldn’t remember his name or what he looked like, but the faint memory was there, and it was none other than Misaki who had triggered it to come to surface.

“…Let’s be friends, Misaki.”

“Oh gosh. This…feels like such an honor…”

“You sound more reserved again. Has our friendship ended already?”

“What? No! No! I didn’t—”

“It was a joke.”

Misaki widened her eyes, finding it hard to believe the monster girl had just joked with her. When Vampy looked away self-consciously, Misaki giggled.

“Well, I’ll be! You two are fast friends!” said Makoto, lifting his head off the ground heavily to grin at the girls. “Want to be friends with me, too?”

“No,” Vampy answered immediately.

Makoto’s sunken expression made Misaki giggle again.

“Are you sure you want a monster-killing quest?”

“Hmm… You think they’re too difficult for me?”

Lumia looked MagNe up and down, taking note of the woman’s gothic equipment, which had evidently been put together as a fashion statement rather than battle gear; and her low-spec sword, which was equippable by level-1 players. MagNe was level nine, which was quite high for a noncombatant, but she didn’t seem to have much experience fighting monsters.

“May I ask if you have any combat experience?”

“After the game trapped us, I did a quest that involved a battle, and I killed some monsters in the forest…”

“Was the quest a monster-killing one?”

“Um, no, it was about getting treasure back from a cat, but then in the middle of it, I got attacked by this weird dude…”

“The thieving-cat quest?!”

Lumia was flabbergasted. The infamous thieving-cat quest had claimed at least twelve lives that they knew of. The guild used to have someone stationed outside the fish market to intercept any inexperienced players doing that quest before they got into the battle.

While everything’s been thrown into disarray here, more people have been attempting that dangerous quest… It’s a miracle this lady survived it with her current gear.

Lumia had to reassess MagNe’s readiness for battle.

“It must have been terrifying for you… I see I don’t need to warn you that fighting monsters can be very scary. You know what you’ll be getting into.”

“Yeah, I’ve learned my painful lesson…”

The memory of being cleaved by an ax would probably remain with MagNe for the rest of her life.

“I’d be less worried about you if you took part in one of our regular seminars about transitioning to independence…”

“Hmm. Might check it out at some point, thanks.”

Judging from MagNe’s unconcerned smile, she wasn’t going to check it out. Lumia had to remind herself not to become too involved with unaffiliated players, since she had plenty to worry about in her own guild. Nonetheless, she decided to at least caution MagNe about some things that were discussed in more detail at the seminars.

“You got some levels, but I would still advise you not to take on quests that require going deep into the woods or to the Ilyana Tunnel. I see you don’t have battle equipment yet. Please rent a beginner’s armor set from us. Please also make sure not to go out to the field maps at night, and if you see an unusual monster, run away at once. This is for your safety.”

Lumia was speaking fast, but her advice was very easy to understand. MagNe thought the receptionist had probably briefed a lot of noobs like this. She looked at Lumia with respect.

“One more thing. It will be some time before you reach the Ur Sluice, but when you do, make sure to visit the church.”

“Why?”

After the Liberator incident, there was some ill feeling among the Crest members about the in-game places of worship, but the buffs they offered weren’t to be passed up.

“At churches, you can get a buff boosting your experience-point gain and stats by praying to the angels. It will give you a huge advantage. You will notice battles getting significantly easier with the buff.”

Having said all she had to say, Lumia smiled at MagNe, who thought that Crest was really helpful.

MagNe went to rent very uncute armor, and then she left the Crest headquarters. Gallarus had been waiting for her outside. She relayed to him what Lumia had told her, and she got changed into the ugly armor.

“Now I have a road map for becoming an independent player. Thinking back, I should’ve just asked Crest for help instead of bugging you for advice…”

“She told you to visit a church, eh?” Gallarus cut in.

She gazed up at him. The giant was lost in thought, with a very serious look on his face.

“I might want to take a look at that church, too.”

Gallarus picked up MagNe indelicately and started running with her toward the city gate.

“Wait, what’s gotten into you?!”

Ignoring her, Gallarus ran even faster out of the city and through the field map and dungeons, trampling any monsters in his way without slowing down. Finally, he stopped…

“Is this the church?”

“Gallarus, I don’t understand why you suddenly got the zoomies…”

They were standing in front of the Ur Sluice church, which Lumia had told MagNe about. When Misaki passed it by a long time ago, it had just been an abandoned ruin, but it wasn’t looking so dilapidated now. Monsters didn’t come near it, so the church seemed to be active.

“Yowch!”

MagNe got dropped on the ground, and she wanted to make sure Gallarus knew she didn’t appreciate that, but he wasn’t listening. He pointed at the church.

“Go there and get the blessing.”

“Huh? Did we need to hurry here for that…?”

“Sorry, but this may be important to my master. Make haste.”

The change in Gallarus’s attitude made MagNe feel like it would be a bad idea to argue with him, so she reluctantly entered the church. Inside, it looked just like the real-world church in the city where she lived, with long pews facing an altar.

Seems like a perfectly ordinary church…

Monsters didn’t spawn in churches, but MagNe kept her hand on the hilt of her sword as she walked farther in.

Several nuns were praying at the altar. Their name tags were all the same—UR NUN.

“Welcome, adventurer,” one of the NPCs greeted MagNe; only her name tag was different—TRIA.

“H-hello, um, Sister,” MagNe said awkwardly.

The nun smiled at her softly. “My name is Tria. Have you come here to receive a divine blessing, adventurer?”

“I guess I did…”

MagNe had been brought there by Gallarus kind of against her will, but the nun didn’t need to know that.

Tria didn’t seem bothered by MagNe’s ambivalent reply.

“Very well, then,” she said, folding her hands in prayer.

It wasn’t long before MagNe returned from the church to Gallarus, who was just outside.

“Will you now explain why we’re here?” she said with a pout.

“It’s something very important. Takes priority over anything else.”

“Right. You’re a monster, serving some master.”

It crossed MagNe’s mind that maybe it wasn’t safe to be walking outside together with a monster, but she assuaged her fears by telling herself that Gallarus was to be trusted.

“Did you get the blessing?”

“Yep, got it. It’s amazing! A twenty-four-hour buff to stats and EXP gain!”

MagNe spun around like a dancer. Gallarus still had that grave look on his face.

“So receiving the blessing doesn’t kill…”

“…What did you just say?”

“Never mind.”

Gallarus was visibly disappointed. He’d been hoping to find a clue to help with Shuutarou’s investigation, but it had come to nothing.

“My master is investigating a mysterious mass killing in one monastery, and he’s looking for a girl who’s gone missing. I thought there might be a connection between the church and that monastery.”

He picked up MagNe again. She really wanted to repay him for his help, so she did her best to describe everything she’d seen in the church.

“Monasteries and churches are a bit different. In the church, there was an altar, rows of pews, and nuns. One of them gave me the blessing… Her name was… Huh, you know what?”

All the information was the same as Gallarus heard from Shuutarou, but MagNe got his hopes up. He stopped walking.

“Her name kind of doesn’t fit.”

The nuns’ names weren’t something the Overlords had thought was of any importance. Gallarus was all ears.

“Why doesn’t it fit?”

“Her name was Tria, which means ‘three’ in Latin.”

Gallarus gave her a blank look, and MagNe realized he wouldn’t know what Latin was, so she proceeded to explain.

“So I used to write, like, twenty letters to my darling every week, and you end letters with a PS, but one day, I thought, what does PS actually mean? And I looked it up. It comes from Latin, and I got a little interested in it. It’s one of the languages from my world. So anyway, this is the first church you come across in the game, but the main nun is called ‘Three’? Maybe it’s nothing, but it seems kind of unnatural to me…”

The Ur Sluice church was the closest church to Allistras, which was the starting city.

“Makes you wonder why, no? But I guess it’s not really important…” MagNe scratched her cheek.

“It might be. Thanks,” said Gallarus.

He telepathically reached out to the other Overlords scattered across the game world and told them about the nun from the Ur church. Vampy was the first one to respond.

‘I feel like this is indeed a clue.’

‘But what does it tell us, exactly?’ asked Bertrand.

Neither of them knew what to make of this clue, but Elroad started connecting the pieces.

‘The prioress of Olsrott Monastery, which our master investigated, is called Duo, and the prioress from Koane Monastery is called Quattuor. Do you know whether their names mean anything?’

Gallarus asked MagNe about it, who looked at him in surprise.

“Sure. Duo is ‘two,’ and quattuor means ‘four.’”

‘There is clearly a connection there,’ Gallarus said to the Overlords after explaining the meanings.

‘Since Master’s friend disappeared from a monastery, I think we should investigate all related facilities further,’ Elroad added. ‘I will check whether there are any more churches or monasteries on the way to the next Prayer barrier. I will not be able to gather other information about them, since we cannot enter those places.’

When Shuutarou and Elroad were investigating the first Prayer, they’d flown over fields and dungeons, reaching places that other players hadn’t yet explored. They had been interrupted by monsters on that occasion, but Elroad dealt with them easily, wiping them out with one attack.

‘Where might the first nun be? Should the next nuns’ names be numbers higher than four, perhaps one nun has gone missing.’

The Overlords fell silent, considering this possibility and its implications. Suddenly, Shuutarou joined the telepathic conversation.

‘Gallarus and the others who are protecting towns, please check again if there could be some churches or monasteries we missed within the region you’re in. We’ll investigate the areas from Sandras to the next Prayer.’

The Overlords heard a swoosh of fast movement as Shuutarou left the conversation before Vampy could share an update on what she was doing.

‘I’m traveling together with Master’s compatriots. We’ll be going to Olsrott Monastery next.’

‘And what pushed you to do that?’ asked Gallarus, very surprised that Vampy wasn’t with Theodore.

‘A desire to learn more about humans,’ she said curtly and left the conversation.

‘…Theodore, was that your idea?’

‘No. Hers.’

‘Really? Another one of us is trying to expand their horizons, eh?’

When the rest of the Overlords ended their telepathic connection, Gallarus burst into laughter. MagNe’s eyes shot wide-open, and she quickly covered her ears. Gallarus hastened back to Allistras.

“We’re not going to the town first?”

“Did you remember some clue?”

Makoto and Misaki were mystified by Vampy’s sudden change of plans.

“I’d like you to check somewhere else for me as soon as possible,” Vampy said without slowing her pace. “It might be related to your search, too.”

The two players decided not to question her anymore and let Vampy lead them. When they arrived at Olsrott Monastery, Vampy told them the gist of what she’d learned from Gallarus.

“This is where everything began, and there might still be clues for us to find,” she added. “No matter how insignificant it might seem, please tell me all your observations.”

She turned to Misaki and bowed her head slightly.

“I’ll be grateful for your help.”

Misaki bowed back, and she and Makoto entered the monastery.

“Looks just like Koane, no?”

Makoto looked around, clenching his fists so hard that his fingernails broke the skin. The monastery was similar to the one they’d been to before, but it had been the scene of the Liberator’s killings, and another—yet unexplained—mass death of players not long after.

The nun NPCs were going on about their business in an unhurried manner as the orange sky began to darken, the sunset giving way to nightfall.

Hold on…

Misaki stopped still as if rooted to the spot. She was staring intently at something.

Makoto was alarmed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Without lifting her eyes off whatever it was she was seeing, Misaki pointed. “What do you think that is?”

Makoto turned to where she was pointing, but he couldn’t see anything, or rather, he couldn’t see anything unusual. The ceiling had a skylight, and below that were several empty chairs. There were some other paraphernalia around the altar, but everything appeared the same as at the other place.

“I’m not sure what you’re pointing at.”

Makoto kept looking from Misaki toward the altar. Misaki felt a pang of frustration that Makoto wasn’t noticing something that was obvious to her. She walked closer.

“This strange pattern here.”

“I…don’t see it.”

Try as he might, Makoto couldn’t see any patterns where Misaki was pointing.

One of the nuns took notice of them and came over.

“Have you come to receive the divine blessing?”

They saw that her name was Duo.

“No. I was just looking at that pattern, but it seems my friend can’t see it…”

“Oh! How marvelous!” the nun exclaimed jubilantly.

Misaki and Makoto exchanged looks.

“You must have earned the angels’ favor!”

“What do you mean…?”

“They have heard the devotion of your prayers,” the prioress said with an exalted smile.

She looked toward the spot Misaki had been staring at—the pattern must have been visible to her, too.

“This mark appears where the angels descended.”

“Angels have been here?”

“Indeed. You could call it the angels’ footprints. It is a mark of prestige for a monastery like ours.”

The nun’s chest swelled with pride.

Not bothering to say good-bye to the NPC, Misaki shot out of the monastery to share her findings with Vampy.

“Kettle and the others might have come in contact with the angels.”

Vampy fell into thought. A while later, Makoto came out of the monastery to join them.

“What’s that mean, then? The players were attacked by those angels?” he asked Misaki.

“I don’t know, but think about it—the churches and monasteries activated only after the Prayer was broken. Breaking that Prayer unleashed not only the monsters waiting behind its barrier but the angels, too.”

After the allied teams of Yamata and Aegis defeated the spirit in Cerou, two angels appeared out of nowhere to deliver the finishing blow to the spirit. The players who were there leveled up several times. After that, NPCs returned to the churches across the game world, offering all players highly advantageous buffs.

“So your thinking is, the angels may be villains in disguise… Lots of stories like that, but I dunno…”

“In the Ciola Tower backstory, the angels were described as punishers, remember?”

“So they came down to punish Kettle and the other players for some sins?”

“Let’s just assume that the angels are to blame,” Vampy cut in. “Many people died here, perhaps because they had incurred the wrath of the angels. But a more pressing question is, why did they abduct one person, and how can we track them?”

Tracking—in other words, following footprints. Misaki thought about what the nun had told her about the pattern she saw by the altar:

“You could call it the angels’ footprints.”

“That pattern in the monastery… I saw something like that earlier…”

Makoto couldn’t see it—it was only visible to players who had received the buff after praying. Which meant that Misaki must have spotted that pattern for the first time after they left Koane Monastery…

“I remember.”

It was where they’d stopped for a break, on the pedestal Makoto tripped over. Misaki broke into a run, and Makoto followed her.

‘We’re going there now,’ Vampy informed the other Overlords, and she, too, joined Makoto and Misaki.

The sun had sunk below the horizon, and pitch-black darkness shrouded the scenery.

Chapter 07

They backtracked to the Kleeshira Ruins and found the pedestal that had stuck in Misaki’s memory. It still had the glowing angels’ footprints on it.

“I see that pattern here!” Misaki exclaimed.

Makoto looked around impatiently, catching up to Misaki.

“Great, but how does this help us find Kettle?!” he said.

“It…it might…”

Misaki hadn’t really thought that far in her single-minded urge to check on the connection between the markings in the monastery and in the ruins. Neither she nor Makoto knew what to do from there on.

Vampy looked at the humans out of the corner of her eye. Before they noticed, she’d gotten an ax out from somewhere. She approached the pedestal.

“If it was the angels that took the girl, she might be underneath this.”

Without hesitation, she struck the pedestal with the ax. The strike was deafeningly loud and sent a cloud of dust into the air. As it cleared, Makoto and Misaki saw that Vampy had her eyes fixed on the ground, and she was frowning.

There was not even a scratch on the pedestal.

Maybe it’s protected from me like the churches…

While it could also be that Vampy wasn’t strong enough to destroy the pedestal, the fragile-looking girl could break through rock with a touch of her finger. If her weapon left no mark on the pedestal, it was more likely that it was protected by some special power. A power like that of the Prayers…

Misaki placed her hands on top of the pedestal.

“Let me see if this comes off!”

Vampy watched with astonishment as Misaki pushed the top of the pedestal to the side, revealing stairs leading underground. It seemed that only those blessed by the angels could interact with objects marked by them. If Misaki hadn’t prayed in Koane earlier, she wouldn’t have been able to open that passage nor would she have even noticed that there was anything special about that pedestal.

“She’s gotta be there, Misaki!”

“I hope so! Let’s go!”

Makoto and Misaki had no doubt they’d find Kettle at the bottom of the secret passage. They readied their silver weapons and were about to run down the narrow flight of stairs that disappeared into the darkness below.

“Wait.”

Vampy blocked their way with her arm.

“Why are you stopping us?”

“There is no time, so I will be brief. You must promise to stay behind me and not attack anything. Is that clear?”

Vampy was dead serious. Misaki nodded in silence, and Vampy cast her buffs on Misaki and Makoto. She stared suspiciously at the staircase, but before taking the first step down, she sensed that Makoto was in a scrappy mood. She treated him to a fierce glare.

“I wasn’t asking you nicely. It was an order.”

For the first time, Misaki and Makoto felt a menacing, almost bloodthirsty aura from Vampy. Overwhelmed with fear like a frog stared down by a snake, Makoto stiffly acknowledged the order.

“!”

A new presence let itself be felt in the world. Sylvia was the first to sense it.

“Wait!” she called to Shuutarou and Elroad.

The three of them were flying over the areas yet unexplored by players, searching for churches and monasteries.

“What is it?”

“Kettle is in those ruins.”

She pointed to an area far behind them, the Kleeshira Ruins.

No sooner had she picked up on Kettle’s location than something that had been concealing its presence decided to come out of hiding. To Shuutarou and his Overlords, the aura of threat the mysterious being emanated felt like discharges of electricity in the air.

“A rather troublesome entity awaits us,” said Elroad as they turned back.

As they neared it, the entity’s powerful aura grew stronger. Elroad reckoned it was at least on par with them, the Overlords.

We shouldn’t be taking our master to such a dangerous place…

Shuutarou was silent, his eyes fixed on their destination, wanting only one thing with his whole being—to find his friend. He was unable to think of anything else.

They flew to the ruins as fast as fighter jets. When they arrived, they received a telepathic message from Vampy.

‘We’re going there now.’

‘Please be careful,’ Shuutarou replied.

Pleased that her master cared about her, Vampy cut the telepathic connection and jumped to action.

Shuutarou, Elroad, and Sylvia dived to the ground. Elroad traced a glyph in the air, summoning a magic circle.

“Dark Procession!”

Something began to ooze out of the magic circle, dropping onto the ground, where it spread like a sinister dark stain from which monstrous creatures darker than the night began to emerge. A hundred of them began to creep to the ruins, where each went in its own direction. A hundred little screens appeared in front of Elroad, from which he could observe each of the summoned creatures.

Dark Procession was the skill he had been using to search the dungeons and fields, while Sylvia relied on her sense of smell and instinct.

Sylvia was wearing a gloomy expression, as worried about Kettle as her master was.

“We’ll find her soon. I’m sure she’ll be okay, Master,” she said to cheer up Shuutarou, and then she ran off to search the ruins herself.

A few seconds later…

‘I found her!’ she reported.

Shuutarou looked to Elroad, who gave him a slight nod. Together, they flew to where Sylvia was waiting.

“She’s down there.”

She was standing next to a pedestal with the cover moved to the side, ready for battle with her light swords out. It seemed she didn’t want to go down the underground staircase before they joined her.

Shuutarou gazed down without any hint of fear. “We’ll rescue Kettle, no matter who we have to fight.”

The two Overlords shuddered at the new emotion in their master’s eyes—not so much resentment as a deep, dark grudge.

What were the angels?

Players could read in the Ciola Tower background information that the tower had been built for two reasons—spotting invading armies from neighboring countries from afar and watching out for monsters coming out of the underground labyrinth. Yet the tower had never been completed, since the project was abandoned following an attack by the angels.

The angels subjugated those who opposed God. Also known as “punishers,” these beings were different from a police force; they simply punished sinners.

The angels were merciless to anyone who dared try to ascend to the heavens without God’s permission. Ciola Tower allowed people to get closer to the celestial world where God resided—a sinful enterprise that the angels destroyed before its completion.

The king of Sandras, who had commissioned the tower, was so enraged at the angels that he had machines built specifically to slay the angels, and he remade his castle into a fortress.

This was the story behind Ciola Tower and Fort Sandras. But it begged the question: Why did the angels not destroy the fort with its angel-killing machines? The answer was simple—they ignored it because they didn’t deem it a threat to them. The fort was left standing as a message to the players that the power of machines was useless against the angels.

As Misaki and Makoto descended the staircase, they felt a crushing sense of foreboding, different from Vampy’s threatening aura earlier. It was an unshakable feeling of walking toward certain death. Had this been a flesh-and-blood person, Misaki and Makoto would have promptly fainted.

“Do not fear. My blessing will protect you,” Vampy said softly to the two humans, who were so terrified that they’d forgotten how to speak.

At the bottom of the staircase was a laboratory, which felt out of place considering the ancient ruins above. On the far left side, the players could see a room with glass walls. At the very center of the lab stood two strange white creatures.

These things are the holy angels people are supposed to pray to? How deluded do you have to be…?

At a glance, Makoto could tell those creatures specialized in killing.

“You were not supposed to have come here.”

The robotic voice reached every corner of the lab.

The angels were humanoid, but they stood four meters tall, with two pairs of wings growing out of their lower backs, and smooth, masklike faces. Far from making the impression of holy beings, they seemed blasphemous.

Angel Level 120

Makoto’s heart sank when he saw the one angel’s level.

The angel lifted its hands. “What do you seek here, children of hope?”

“We’ve come to retrieve someone important to us,” Vampy replied in a low voice, looking toward the glass room.

“Someone important?” the angel repeated emotionlessly. “You must mean the sinner.”

The angel directed its gaze to the same spot Vampy was looking at. Misaki’s Sense Life skill picked up a signal, and a blue dot appeared on her map, confirming her suspicion that Kettle was trapped in that room. But she wasn’t there alone—countless red dots surrounded her. Misaki gasped.

“Don’t do anything. Remember what I said,” Vampy warned Misaki, who managed to regain her composure.

Misaki considered the fact that it had been two days since Kettle’s abduction. If she’d been in that room with all those monsters that whole time, she should be dead, which meant that she was being kept alive for some reason.

Misaki willed herself to remain calm and leave everything to Vampy.

“We cannot hand her over to you. Unfortunately, she has glimpsed the world’s secrets.”

Vampy didn’t understand the angel’s cryptic explanation, and she didn’t care, nor was she going to stand there chatting with it any longer.

She swiftly caught something out of the air with her bare hand. Makoto saw the pointy end of a dagger right in front of his face. Vampy had stopped the crude-looking weapon just before it struck him.

What the…?!

The dagger had been thrown so fast, he hadn’t even seen it coming. Beads of sweat appeared on his brow.

“A surprise attack? Are you so afraid of us that you have to resort to that?” asked Vampy with a faint but confident smile playing on her lips.

The dagger shattered into light particles and disappeared. The angel held its hand over Vampy and began to chant.

“Seal of Death.”

Red and black lines appeared on Vampy’s body, creeping from her toes up her torso to her hands, neck, face, and eyes.

“How simple it would be if I could die from something like this,” she scoffed.

The deadly markings shattered. Vampy patted the dust off her dress, completely unbothered.

The angel stood motionless in silence for a moment. “Who are you?” it demanded, on guard now that it had seen Vampy was no ordinary opponent.

This time, both angels attacked at once. Vampy got her ax out and prepared to counter them.

“Huh…?”

“What…?”

Misaki and Makoto were stunned when Vampy and the angels vanished. They couldn’t hear them, either, or smell them or sense their presence in any other way. After a few seconds’ silence, with thundering noise, the three figures reappeared, locked in a vicious battle as if someone had fast-forwarded through the first part of their clash. The fighting between these powerful beings was at such a level that the weak were unable to even witness it. Makoto and Misaki felt pitifully powerless.

They have no dignity, Vampy thought, fighting an uneven battle. The angels were within the range of effect of her unique skill, The End, but they weren’t dying, which meant they were monsters of the same or higher tier than her. If they were of equal power, she could still kill them by touching them directly, but they were careful not to allow that to happen.

They know close-range combat is to their disadvantage, so they’re switching their targets to Misaki and Makoto…

“Lapidation!”

A flurry of stones was sent flying through the air toward Misaki and Makoto. Vampy intercepted them, letting them all hit her instead. Even though she had insanely high LP, those two attacks shaved off a significant percentage of it.

When she stopped for a moment in front of the players, staring at the angels—which were staring back at her—Misaki and Makoto had the chance to get a better look at her and saw that she was badly battered.

“Oh my gosh! Vampy!” Misaki cried.

“Nothing to worry about,” Vampy assured her.

She would recover from that damage thanks to her autoregen, but the problem was that she couldn’t attack the angels when she had to defend both the players and herself. Offense was her specialty, and defensive battles were quite a struggle for her.

“You have made a mistake bringing the children of hope with you,” said one of the angels.

It was true that without Misaki and Makoto, Vampy could probably handle the angels easily, but she’d chosen to take them there with her nonetheless.

“You would never understand why it is important for them to be here,” she told the angels with a mocking grin.

The angels responded by conjuring a magic circle bigger than any they’d summoned before, evidently planning to use a spell with an area of effect so great, it might destroy the entire underground facility along with its targets.

“Apologies for my lateness.”

Between the angels and the players appeared a man dressed like a butler. A clockface appeared under one of the angels, and its movements slowed down to a stop.

Vampy sighed, annoyed. “I thought you’d never come.”

“I’m truly sorry. We had to travel quite a distance,” the man explained, pointing to the frozen angel with his eyes. “Might I have that one?”

Vampy shrugged. The next moment, Elroad and one angel faded away like illusory images. The remaining angel seemed disoriented by the sudden arrival of reinforcements.

“What are you doing…?!”

With a soft little smile, Vampy placed her hand on the ground as if caressing it. “Perhaps you really are a servant of God, but if your master is a being who torments people, the world will be better off without God.”

A small, pitch-black hole appeared beneath her palm, like an opening leading to hell. Vampy stuck her hand inside it and pulled out a sinister-looking staff.

“Your turn to be on the defense.”

She waved her staff in the air, and a plethora of magic circles appeared all around her.

“Misaki.”

Misaki heard the voice she’d missed so much. The voice of someone she’d been searching for every day, longing to see him again. At last, he showed up as a blue dot on her minimap.

Misaki heard steps on the staircase behind her and became so emotional that tears welled up in her eyes, yet she couldn’t bring herself to turn her head.

It’s him. I’m sure it is… But why…why does he sound so cold?

When she first met him in the Ilyana Tunnel, his voice had been warm and friendly, but now it was as cold as ice.

“You found Kettle. Thanks.”

Shuutarou walked past Misaki and Makoto. For the first time, she saw him without the armor he used as a disguise.

He’s a young boy… But now that I’m a bit stronger, I can tell he’s much more powerful than me…or anyone else I’ve ever met!

Shuutarou was very young, after all, but strong and dependable. Misaki idolized him just as before.

Makoto, though, was confused, not knowing what to make of the new arrivals.

“Let’s go and rescue Kettle.”

When Shuutarou said that, the invisible bonds around Misaki and Makoto fell away. Makoto shot like an arrow after Shuutarou, calling Kettle’s name.

Why…? Why is my voice getting stuck in my throat? I’ve wanted to see him for so long…

Intimidated by Shuutarou’s aura, Misaki was still unable to speak. She followed the boy with a mix of feelings in her heart.

“Kettle’s down there…”

Shuutarou looked through the thick glass. The other side was too dark to see anything.

“…”

Then he abruptly turned to look back toward Vampy, who was having a standoff with the angel. Elroad was fighting the second angel somewhere else.

What if anything was to happen to them…?

He didn’t know just how powerful the angels might be, but when he saw them, he knew immediately that they were far stronger than him. Their levels were so high, he couldn’t estimate their power, just as he couldn’t guess at the Overlords’ battle ability.

The Overlords were as dear to Shuutarou as Kettle, which made him hesitate. Sylvia read his mind.

“You don’t need to worry about those two, Master,” she reassured him, breaking the glass with her swords of light. “Let’s focus on our own task.”

Shuutarou took that to mean he should have faith in his minions, and that rescuing Kettle was his own important duty.

“Yeah, sorry. Let’s go,” he said with renewed resolve.

Beyond the glass was a circular underground room. At the bottom of it, a few meters away from them, they saw a grotesque mass of monsters of different kinds, who looked as if they had been packed into that room to cannibalize one another. Their growls and snarls rumbled through the room.

“Why are there so many of them here…?” asked Sylvia.

It did seem strange that this space, which hadn’t possessed an entrance point until they broke inside, was packed with monsters like a tin of sardines.

The next moment, a sea of flames burst forth. At the center of the roaring inferno was a young girl, casting her spells even as the flames licked her, too, melting her body.

“Kettle!” bellowed Makoto.

She’s alive! Light returned to Shuutarou’s eyes.

But Kettle seemed oblivious to them. She nimbly waved her magic rod, which was missing its tip, as the monsters fled away from her in terror. They scraped the walls with their claws. They tried to dig holes to hide in. Some were reckless, though, and crept toward the girl. The next second, they were all burned to ashes.

“Flare of Agony!”

There were no more monsters left, but the girl was still summoning more flames. No sooner had the monsters respawned than they all died again, their cries and groans drowned out by the roaring flames. The girl was burning, too, the fire cracking and sizzling in a scene straight from hell.

Sylvia gasped, and without thinking, she rushed to Kettle, slicing through any remaining monsters on her way. She swept up the wounded girl into her arms.

“Kettle… Can you hear me?!” she shouted, sick with worry.

She shook Kettle several times. Even as she was cradling her, Kettle kept waving the worn-out piece of wood that remained of her magic rod, but her motions became slower and slower, and then they stopped. She looked at Sylvia, but her eyes were cloudy.

“Aah… Uh…”

She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, as if she’d forgotten how to speak. Her Crest uniform was gone, burned away. She didn’t have her hat or glasses, either. Her body was covered only by the default equipment, which was smeared with soot. The fire had singed much of her hair.

Little by little, Kettle’s eyes cleared as she looked at the person who had called her name—a woman she had never seen before.

“Sy…Syl…via…?” she said with effort.

She’d never seen Sylvia’s human form before, but she recognized her warmth, her smell, her presence.

Caught off guard, Sylvia couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

Makoto ran over to Kettle’s side. “Kettle! Kettle…!”

She slowly turned her head. A relieved smile appeared on her face when she saw him.

“You kept…me waiting…,” she said.

Tears gushed from Makoto’s eyes as he apologized again and again.

The glowing shards of the dying monsters created the illusion that they were under a starry sky.

Still in Sylvia’s arms, Kettle turned her head again and noticed someone else by her side.

“We came to get you out of here.”

Shuutarou smiled at her. The earlier icy look on his face had melted away as his warmth returned.

Tears rolled down Kettle’s cheeks. It was the belief that Shuutarou would come and save her that kept her sane during her captivity in that dark room, where monsters tortured her over and over.

“Let’s go.”

Shuutarou reached toward Kettle, who took his hand. Feeling safe at last, she closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

Misaki watched them, crying from too many emotions.

The girl, now safely cradled by her friend, had survived being trapped with a horde of monsters. Rescuing her seemed like an impossible task, yet Shuutarou and his friends succeeded. What was it if not a miracle?

You are our hope… The players’ hope…

Misaki watched Shuutarou, who was turned away from her, tears dripping from her cheeks.

Vampy and the angel kept their gazes locked on each other. She pointed her staff at it and smiled.

“I won’t give you an easy death.”

Countless human hands emerged from her magic circles, clambering on one another until they formed a single enormous, wriggling hand. The angel cut through them without resistance, and they dropped down to the ground with squishy thuds. There, they teemed and squirmed, arranging themselves into a centipede shape, then regrouping again as they crept closer and closer to the angel. Cutting them only split them into yet more crawling hands. Some of them caught their target, and the others hurried to join them, grabbing onto the angel or the hands below them until the foe was immobilized.

“Good riddance.”

The angel was sinking into the ground. A bottomless dark pit opened up below it, and the hands were pulling it under. The more the angel fought to free itself, the more it became entangled.

“Those who dare harm us can be certain of punishment…”

“Call more angels to help you or even call your god if you wish. I assure you, you will all die. I will kill you slowly, and you will regret ever having been born… An eternity of painful death awaits you.”

The angel got pulled under, and the lab became quiet again. Vampy was no longer looking in the direction where the angel had vanished, though, but toward the underground room behind the glass, where Sylvia was cradling Kettle. The girl was sleeping peacefully with Shuutarou’s hand in her grip.

“…”

Vampy’s gaze was drawn to her master. His eyes were brimming with tears, but his face shone with relief. Vampy had never seen him like that.

What is this that I’m feeling?

With her hand pressed to her chest, she watched Shuutarou and the others.

I used to resent anyone who touched Master, so much that I wanted to kill them. Why does this scene bring me such comfort?

Traveling together with Misaki and Makoto had changed Vampy more than she realized. Confused by her own emotions, she couldn’t take her eyes off the group below the glass.

High in the sky above the ruins, two mighty beings were battling it out, unleashing powers beyond human comprehension.

“Punishment—!” the angel shouted.

A forest of swords swarmed Elroad, approaching him fast.

“Guardian of Time,” Elroad chanted.

Unfazed by the countless swords, Elroad opened his hand, upon which a clockface appeared. The book he always carried with him flipped open, its pages turning quickly, until a bookmark fell in between them.

“Dimensional Wrench.”

The fabric of space around Elroad twisted. The swords froze in the air for a moment before turning one hundred and eighty degrees and launching themselves back at the angel.

“God’s Shield!” the angel cried.

Elroad narrowed his eyes wearily as a giant shield silently appeared in front of the angel, repelling the swords like a magnet before they could even come in contact with it. The blades plummeted toward the ground.

It has skills of this kind, too? Hmph.

Elroad clenched his fist, and the swords shattered before reaching the ruins below.

“A pompous name for a skill: ‘God’s Shield.’ Who is this god anyway?” Elroad asked, snorting a mocking laugh.

The angel turned its smooth face toward him. “God is our master.”

“That tells me nothing, doesn’t it?”

The angel’s wings flashed brightly, sending countless beams of light toward Elroad. They reached him in a split second, but something invisible turned them before they hit him, launching them toward the sky instead.

“Oh dear. What if they hurt your god up in the heavens?”

The angel didn’t react to Elroad’s goading, floating in the air, unsettling in its enigmatic stillness.

Seeming rather bored, Elroad flicked through his book again, placing the bookmark on a different page.

“Where did you take the girl’s friends?”

He knew the angel would guess he meant Kettle.

But the angel didn’t bother replying. It stroked its swords wistfully before suddenly lifting its face toward Elroad again, as if it had made a difficult decision.

“You leave me no choice.”

Its swords began to glow, unraveling into flickering lines of strange symbols resembling cuneiform writing. They spread out around the angel, and the air started thrumming.

“Commencing judgment.”

In an instant, the symbols spread all over the sky, perhaps enveloping the entire world. A network of light lines stretched above the angel and Elroad, as if some enormous computer had just been switched on.

And then the angel vanished.

“!”

Elroad looked around for his foe with alarm, and it reappeared—right in front of him.

The angel reached toward Elroad and touched his protective barrier, shattering it. Then the angel touched Elroad’s right arm, which began to disappear as if it were being rubbed out with an eraser.

Elroad reflexively moved away from the angel, eyeing his injury curiously. The part of his arm below where the angel touched him was being erased, too, as if a contamination was spreading through it, making it rot away.

This is a different type of attack from what it used before.

He calmly severed his injured arm. Blue fabric stretched over where his arm used to be, and a moment later, his arm was restored.

My LP hasn’t been affected.

Elroad was unusual in that damage taken reduced his MP instead of LP, and a certain buff made his MP limitless. To kill him, an opponent would need to be able to deal limitless damage to negate all of Elroad’s MP and his LP at the same time. The angel’s attack, though, appeared to use a different mechanic, which gave it the potential to be lethal to Elroad. He suspected this mechanic was similar to the unique skill of the Second Evil Overlord, Vampy.

“Your power is too great to be allowed in this world. I must erase you, along with the sinner whom you take for a master,” the angel announced in its robotic voice.

Elroad’s face clouded over. “…Erase my master, you say?”

The air thickened with powerful magic that circled around him. For the first time, the angel felt fear.

Until then, Elroad had been toying with the angel, using but a fraction of his actual power.

“He has become such an inconvenience. And yet he is merely a caged bird,” the angel said quietly as if to itself.

Elroad’s eyes sparkled strangely.

“Ultimate Magic, Tier One: Fireball.”

Elroad used a spell available to every beginner wizard, conjuring an ordinary fireball. It wasn’t particularly big nor fast-moving…yet it caused the angel to panic.

“That power… It can’t be…!”

The angel pulled the cuneiform symbols back toward itself until they reformed into its twin swords again. It summoned God’s Shield once more and surrounded itself with various defensive spells.

The fireball was moving through the air toward the angel. It reached the angel’s protective barrier…

“!”

…and went straight through it, destroying it in the process without losing its own momentum or attack power.

The angel dropped its shield and began fleeing. Its judgment was correct—the fireball had gone through all its barriers including God’s Shield, and it wasn’t slowing down at all.

“Surprise.”

This time, Elroad appeared out of thin air right behind the angel, who tried to swiftly block him, summoning God’s Shield again.

“Ultimate Magic, Tier One: Windcutter.”

There was a flash, and then the angel’s body split into two. Shining polygons appeared around it.

“I see… You are irregularities…,” it said before suddenly switching to a more humanlike voice. “I remember you now.”

Elroad’s eyebrow twitched at the change. “I will ask you one more time,” he said. “Where did you take the girl’s friends?”

The angel giggled as it started to vanish. “Nowhere. They are simply dead.”

And then the angel was no more. Light particles rained down, glittering beautifully.

Deep in thought, Elroad looked at his arm where the angel had touched it.

The mystery of the spirits’ Prayers and the hordes of monsters remained unresolved.

The Evil Overlords began to change in order to connect with their master.

Who were the angels, and why did they kidnap Kettle?

And what was the sin these angels spoke of?

End of Volume 5

Extra Chapter: King of the Giants

A new race appeared in a world where humans, elves, and demons all lived alongside one another. It was the race of giants, who were not only larger than the other races but also possessed astonishing vitality. The giants’ arrival started a war between the races, all of whom desperately wanted to ensure their own survival.

A new race was bound to attract attention, and the giants’ great strength was taken by the other humanoid races as a threat to their kingdoms. They united their forces and attacked the giants.

A year later, only the giants remained.

They spread through the land, establishing their own kingdoms, which were influenced by the local cultures they’d superseded. Consequently, cultural differences between neighboring giant kingdoms led to friction, then to a long period of war between nine nations. One of them was called Arvosa.

A monster was born in the Kingdom of Fire.

These events occurred very soon after Gallarus took his very first breath.

“This child is no good. Offer it to the Fire God now!”

“P-please, reconsider…!”

The king of Arvosa assessed every newborn, casting the children he deemed to be unpromising into fire so that the Fire God might bless his kingdom.

The giants followed a meritocratic system where the strongest enjoyed the highest status. Their king was the strongest warrior of all.

“We can’t go on like this…”

“All our babies are getting killed.”

“Damn this stupid king…!”

The king’s fanaticism in allowing only the strongest to live had begun to meet with opposition from his people, yet none of them were powerful enough to overthrow him. His unparalleled strength ensured he kept the throne no matter how unpopular he was.

“What do you say of this child?”

The king picked up Gallarus from the babies lined up before him.

“What in the world…?!” the king exclaimed, instantly sensing something extraordinary.

And then the newborn Gallarus grabbed the king’s arm…and snapped it in two.

“Gwaaarh!”

Never before in the giants’ history had a baby been born who was stronger than an adult, and it was not just any adult whom baby Gallarus had injured—it was the strongest of the giants in the kingdom, who held on to the title of king despite fierce competition.

Baby Gallarus reached for the king’s head next and twisted it, breaking the king’s neck… Or at least, that was what the king’s aides claimed, but their testimonies were a little unclear. It was, however, an undeniable fact that the king had been slain by a baby whom some believed to be an incarnation of the bad karma the king had earned himself through the practice of infanticide.

Whether such superstitious ideas were justified or not, the baby had shown himself to be the strongest giant in the kingdom and, as such, was entitled to be the king. A few months after his birth, when Gallarus was still a nursling, he became the king of Arvosa.

Gallarus had been born miraculously strong. The old king he’d killed had been hailed as the strongest not only in his kingdom but also in all the world, and so that title had been passed onto Gallarus. No other giant could rival him.

His earliest memory was of attending a war council where adults were discussing how to deploy the troops. He couldn’t talk yet, but he understood that the meeting was about a war, and it was in that very war that his true potential was recognized.

As a two-year-old toddler and king of Arvosa, the Kingdom of Fire, Gallarus was sent into battle at the very front line. His unique skill hadn’t manifested yet, but despite that, Gallarus’s superior strength alone allowed him to mow down all his opponents.

By the time he was ten years old, he had crushed the Kingdom of Water. At twenty, he annexed the Kingdom of Wind as a vassal state. At thirty, he destroyed the Kingdom of Earth. Undefeated, he was the strongest king the world had ever known.

The other five kingdoms united to defend themselves against the Kingdom of Fire, and for several decades, Gallarus’s advance came to a standstill.

The Kingdom of Fire, Arvosa, had an active volcano at its center, and at the summit was an imposing castle. In that castle, Gallarus, the ninth king of Arvosa, was sitting on his throne with his ministers around him. He was looking very fed up.

Gallarus’s kingdom was thriving at the time. He’d made the captives and slaves from the conquered kingdoms into laborers in his own land. The giants had an innate admiration for strength, so Gallarus, the victor of hundreds of battles, was a very charismatic figure to them. Most of the soldiers he defeated joined his army, which was growing in strength every day.

Gallarus had made forays into the remaining five kingdoms many times, but the problem he encountered was that instead of fighting his army, his opponents retaliated by murdering civilians in Arvosa. It was frustrating for Gallarus to have people he was obliged to protect. Being king wasn’t as enjoyable for him anymore. He hardly ever got to draw his sword those days.

“I’m bored…”

Every day, he applied himself to the task of developing his kingdom. It had been so many decades since he’d fought anyone worthy. His ministers were telling him it would be too risky to have him battling on the front line. That he should learn about his people so as to understand them. That a king didn’t rule his country alone and it was important to consider different perspectives.

“Times have changed, I guess.”

Gallarus didn’t personally care about any of those things he was constantly being told he should be doing, but since he was the king, he thought it was his duty to follow through.

It became impossible for a single person to start a war. The Arvosa throne wasn’t left empty even for a single day. The nation cherished its people and grew.

But neither of those goals were what Gallarus had chosen himself. The older he grew, the more bored he felt.

“What a dull time to be king…”

“Your Majesty, they’re here.”

His ministers led a group of children in shabby clothes into the throne room. Gallarus’s eyes narrowed as he looked from one to another. As a form of entertainment, he’d taken inspiration from the previous king and begun selecting children with aptitude to make elite soldiers out of them. And this time, one of the children drew his attention.

“What have you got there? A bird?”

The boy he’d spoken to quickly hid his hands behind his back. He was an orphan and didn’t know the reason he was brought before the king.

The little fledgling that the boy was hiding started chirping, and the ministers looked at their king with mounting fear.

“Romo, no!” the boy cried.

The small blue bird darted out the boy’s hands and would’ve flown past Gallarus if he hadn’t snatched it out of the air, his hand moving faster than eyes could follow.

Gallarus looked at the bird with interest.

“This seems to be an immature haitenio.”

“Please accept our apologies, Your Majesty. We didn’t notice the boy had an animal—”

“Oh, no matter. I am a kind king, after all.”

The bird was flapping, trying to escape, but Gallarus held it tight, inspecting it in his hand.

“If I’m not mistaken, young haitenios have soft meat with a honey-sweet flavor.”

“Sorry, Your Majesty, but Romo is my friend. He’s not food,” the boy said anxiously, ignoring the ministers who warned him to be quiet.

“…What are you called, boy?”

“I’m…Agni, Your Majesty.”

Gallarus smirked, getting off his throne.

“Well, Agni, let me borrow your birdie.”

“H-he’s my friend! Please, don’t hurt him!”

Agni ran after Gallarus, who was taking his pet birdie away somewhere, and clung to him. The ministers tried to pull the boy away, but he pushed them off with surprising strength for a child and held on tight to Gallarus again.

“Please, have mercy! Don’t take him from me!”

The boy was desperately trying to stop Gallarus, crying as he pleaded. Ignoring him, Gallarus began to pluck the bird.

“Romo! Romo! Don’t do this to Romo!”

Agni seemed like he was going to leap at Gallarus and attack him. The ministers drew their weapons, but Gallarus stopped them from taking action with one sharp look. The next moment, he put the bird into his mouth. Everyone was quiet. The only sound in the room was the crunching of the little bird’s bones as Gallarus chewed.

“Noooooo!”

Flames of fury lit up the boy’s eyes. With every ounce of strength he had, he punched Gallarus. And then he punched him again. And again. And again. Each time, he hit harder and faster than before, until eventually, his attack power surpassed Gallarus’s defense, and the boy’s punch sent him flying.

Gallarus smiled with satisfaction. His hunch was right.

“From today, we’ll be training you. Try to avenge your little birdie friend whenever you want.”

Gallarus laughed like a villain and turned to leave the throne room. Agni wiped the tears streaming from his eyes with his sleeves and watched with burning resentment as the king walked away.

And so, out of boredom, Gallarus took Agni under his wing. Not to nurture the boy as a parent would—the only thing Gallarus was interested in nurturing was Agni’s potential as a soldier. Perhaps Gallarus was hoping that, one day, the boy would surpass him.

“Take thaaat!”

Agni thrust his sword at Gallarus’s back. The king sighed, striking the sword off.

“Maybe you’re not cut out for this after all,” he said, snorting a laugh.

Agni glared back at him. “And you’re not cut out to be our king! You’re a devil! You devoured my friend, and I heard you devour children, too!”

Gallarus had ordered everyone to turn a blind eye to Agni’s rudeness. The boy was the only giant in the entire kingdom who got that special treatment.

Neither the boy’s attitude nor accusations bothered Gallarus in the least.

“Listen, boy. Strength is everything in this world. Without it, you won’t get enough to eat; you won’t survive. If you don’t agree with my methods, then kill me and take the throne yourself.”

He looked down at Agni with challenge in his eyes, radiating boundless confidence.

“You’re a dictator—that’s what you are!”

“A dictator? When do I ever meddle in politics? I don’t even make any war decisions anymore; that’s all in the hands of the army. I value diversity, didn’t you hear? Besides, if I were a dictator and got to do what I wanted, I’d have conquered the whole world a long time ago.”

Gallarus had been king from pretty much the moment he was born. He didn’t have any goals to strive for, nothing to fire up the insatiable ambition that giants were known for. He believed himself to always be in the right, and none of his ministers dared tell him otherwise. Everyone agreed with him, and Gallarus thought that being king was the sole purpose of his life…but as of late, it just seemed unbearably boring, and he was becoming increasingly reclusive.

“…”

Agni didn’t understand why Gallarus insisted on training him, but he persisted with it in the hope that one day, he’d become strong enough to vanquish the king, whom he hated from the bottom of his heart.

At age fifteen, Agni was made to join the army as a commander in charge of a hundred soldiers. This kind of high-profile posting at the start of one’s career was unprecedented for someone raised at an orphanage.

Inspecting his company of soldiers for the first time, Agni recognized a few faces—they had been among the boys presented to the king with him.

“You’re alive! I thought the king had eaten you!”

“We thought he would…”

The other boys had been convinced they’d end up as sacrifices, but after the presentation, they’d been taken to the military training grounds as future recruits. Agni was very surprised to hear about this and felt ashamed for calling Gallarus a child-eating devil.

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?!” Agni asked Gallarus angrily.

“Never crossed your mind I have better things to eat? Killing them wouldn’t benefit anyone. Letting them go and fend for themselves would’ve been similarly pointless—the hopeless brats would’ve wound up dead in some gutter. Much more logical to train them to become soldiers in my army, don’t you think?”

Agni was stunned as if hit with a hammer. He’d been under the belief that all giants were the same in leaving the weak to die and valuing the strong, even if they were the enemy, but Gallarus was showing a very different side now.

“But…but you ate my friend Romo!”

Gallarus sighed. “One thing that’s exceptional about you is your ignorance.”

Agni hated Gallarus’s guts, but for some reason, the king’s frustrated remark really got to him that day.

“Why are you interested in haitenios?”

“I just…want to know more about them.”

Agni visited the oldest of the ministers to ask about avians. He was not prepared for the answer he got.

“Well, the common name for haitenios is parasite birds. As they near maturity, they burrow into the body of their parent and begin to eat them from the inside out, absorbing their power.”

“Wait… So if I kept one as a pet…”

“It would recognize you as its parent, and one day, it would wait for you to fall asleep and devour you. They spread here with us when the king annexed our land.”

The minister used to be a warrior from the Kingdom of Wind. The Kingdom of Wind had trained flying monsters to fight alongside soldiers. The fierce haitenios were valued allies, but raising them required extreme caution. Almost everyone knew that.

“One thing that’s exceptional about you is your ignorance.”

Agni was overcome with shame, having finally realized it hadn’t been out of cruelty that Gallarus killed his pet haitenio. The minister smiled warmly at the boy.

“You understand the king now?”

“…”

“King Gallarus isn’t impulsive. Say he spotted a bandit. He wouldn’t take any action immediately, letting the bandit go free. He’d do that in order to discover the bandit’s hideout and every one of his accomplices, and only then, he’d deal with them all at once. Despite appearances, Gallarus is deliberate and logical…”

Gallarus didn’t let his emotions weigh in on his decisions. He always thought in the long term and followed sound logic.

He wouldn’t kill the orphans because by supporting and training them, he earned himself more loyal soldiers. Agni was no exception.

The boy deeply regretted his prior actions.

“Make up for past mistakes by fighting valiantly on the battlefield. This will please the king the most,” the minister advised him, and Agni resolved to do just that.

He soon began to distinguish himself in battles, climbing up the ranks until he became the general of the army and Gallarus’s right-hand man.

For decades, Arvosa, the Kingdom of Fire, had been growing in strength, building up its army until it had many powerful soldiers besides General Agni. Their preparations complete, they started a full-scale war against the other five kingdoms. In the blink of an eye, the Kingdom of Steel was annihilated.

“…”

But when the news of victory reached the king, he didn’t even twitch.

“Your Majesty! The army reports the Kingdom of Thunder will be the next to fall!”

“Tell them to keep going.”

Of the five kingdoms, which had so tenaciously defended themselves against Arvosa, only four remained. The scales had been tipped toward Arvosa, and it seemed only a matter of time before Arvosa defeated all the other kingdoms…until another messenger burst into the castle with a new report.

“Your Majesty! The united armies of the Kingdom of Light, Kingdom of Darkness, and Kingdom of Wood have breached our borders and are advancing on the capital!”

The jubilant mood instantly changed to shock. Fighting could already be heard outside. The foe was suddenly at the heart of their kingdom. For the first time in Arvosa’s history, the king’s castle was under siege.

From his throne, Gallarus spoke to his elderly minister, who used to be the general in the army of the Kingdom of Wind.

“…Do you insist even now that I stay here instead of leading my army?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Your death would mean the death of Arvosa. You’ve been building your army so that they may fight without you.”

“It’s not working very well if the enemy’s made it this far.”

“Your Majesty, I ask you to please trust your soldiers.”

Gallarus thought the minister was sheltering him unnecessarily, but he had no interest in continuing the conversation. He got off his throne.

“Y-Your Majesty?! Where are you going?!”

“The common people must be anxious. Don’t want to have them revolt while we wait for the army’s return.”

He headed out to the castle town.

The civilians were as terrified as if they’d seen ghosts. Nobody in the land had ever experienced a siege. The sounds of battle just outside the town walls scared children into wailing loudly, and even adults were shrieking and lamenting—but the sudden appearance of a certain man immediately silenced the cacophony on the streets.

“I-it’s the king!”

“King Gallarus is here!”

Gallarus walked unhurriedly, looking around with interest. The civilians parted way for him and bowed their heads low as he passed by. The king’s appearance created an unreal atmosphere; it seemed as if even the sounds of fighting had grown more distant.

Gallarus found a spot to sit down. He set down a massive wine cask he’d brought next to him on the ground, and then he began to talk in a voice so mighty, probably everyone in the castle town could hear him.

“The peerless army of Arvosa isn’t going to lose to the losers from the Five Kingdoms’ Alliance! Come, talk and drink with me while we wait for our soldiers’ triumphant return!”

The anxious civilians began to calm down. They came over to the king to thank him for coming out to reassure them, and then they toasted together and chatted for a while. Along with the townspeople’s trust in their army, the morale of the soldiers guarding the castle town was also restored. They defended the main gate, which had almost been breached, with renewed ferocity, pushing the enemy back.

“Nobody sleeps until our army returns victorious!” ordered Gallarus.

The castle town was as lively as if they were holding a festival.

The army of the Kingdom of Thunder saw their only chance of victory against the superior Arvosa army in launching a pincer attack, but when they heard that the besieged Arvosa capital was already celebrating victory, their morale fell, and their land was conquered soon after.

The Arvosa troops marched on, eventually clashing with the united armies of the three remaining kingdoms. A day passed, then another, and another. After ten days, when the Arvosa civilians were becoming quite weary, the situation on the battlefield changed dramatically. The war would finish three days later.

The enemy army besieging the castle town started shouting animatedly.

“Open the gates, tyrant!” they called out to Gallarus. “The long war between giants is over! Come out and see what we brought you!”

The enemy general presented the corpses of the ministers who had been acting as commanders of various Arvosa troops.

“Our entire army has been defeated…?”

People started screaming in alarm, but Gallarus remained calm. He looked from one corpse to another, until he found the body of the young general of his army.

“Agni…”

They weren’t related by blood, but to Gallarus, Agni had been both the finest warrior he had and like a son. And now, Agni lay dead in front of him.

“Hyeh-hyeh-hyeh…!”

Gallarus heard malicious cackling behind him.

“This is what happens when you have an incompetent king with an army whose only merit is its strength. Oh, what a grave mistake you made, benevolently taking in defeated enemy soldiers to fight for you!”

It was Gallarus’s adviser, the former army general of the Kingdom of Wind and the oldest tactician in the country.

“You produced your own defeat by putting me at the center of your government. The best strategy carried out by the finest army is bound to fail when the enemy already knows every detail of it.”

Soldiers began to line up behind the minister—traitors who’d been waiting for that moment. The civilians shed tears for their defeated nation and their poor betrayed king.

It was true that Arvosa’s defeat had been in the making since they started incorporating defeated soldiers from other lands into their own army. Gallarus, who’d assumed a hands-off approach to building up the nation and left it to his minsters, was to blame.

The traitors took out their weapons, but Gallarus stood unmoving, still looking at the dead.

“This is the end of the Kingdom of Fire! And the end of you, a king isolated from his nation!”

At that call, the soldiers rushed to attack Gallarus to the accompaniment of the civilians’ screaming.

I tried to trust my ministers, and this is what happened. I was right from the beginning.

Gallarus heard something snap inside his head. The swords and spears aimed at him bounced off before they even reached his body. Some force pushed the attackers back and squashed them.

“What…?!”

The elderly minister looked on in shock, not understanding what had happened.

Gallarus was born with an invincible body. And now his unique skill manifested.

“Archers! Attack! Kill hiiim!”

Arrows rained down on Gallarus, but again, before reaching him, they turned around and flew back at the archers who had loosed them. They struck them with such force that they broke the ground around them, destroying anything nearby.

This was the unique skill Adamantine Body.

It negated damage from opponents whose attack power was lower than Gallarus’s defense. The damage was then reflected back at the opponents, amplified by Gallarus’s attack power.

“…Embracing diversity was a mistake.”

Gallarus slowly turned. The backstabbing minister had no soldiers left.

“I should’ve trusted only my own judgment. Done as I see fit. Make the world mine as it should be.”

He felt as if his chest was on fire. The wild ambition that giants were known for had finally awoken in his heart.

“Everything will be mine. Everything!”

He brought down his fist on the minister’s head, crushing him into the ground. The impact broke the stone paving, opening up a crater to the volcano below. The dead bodies began sliding into it.

“What a waste of time.”

Gallarus picked up what was left of the minister and chucked it into the volcano, unwittingly mimicking the motions of his predecessor who had cast the weak into the fire.

The thousands of enemy soldiers waiting outside the Arvosa castle all turned as one when they noticed someone walking out of the castle gate.

“It’s…their king!”

Gallarus didn’t have a single soldier with him. He walked to where his dead commanders had been laid for him to see…and he erupted in deafening, raging laughter like water bursting through a dam. It rumbled through the battlefield as if it were coming from the depths of hell.

“In the end, there was nobody in the world strong enough to kill me.”

He kept laughing, looking down at Agni’s dead body. He’d been raising Agni so that one day, the boy might slay him, but Agni had ended up dying to the losers’ army. Gallarus found it irresistibly funny.

“The tyrant’s lost the last of his sanity. It’s time I put him to the sword!” said the enemy general.

He raised his weapon and brought it down on Gallarus’s neck. His soldiers heard the blade cleanly slicing through flesh and bone, and they looked up when a head flew up into the air…but it was their general’s head. This didn’t make sense.

“He…he killed our general!”

“Kill him! Kill the tyrant!”

The confused soldiers drew their weapons and charged at Gallarus, but it was as if an invisible barrier was protecting him from all attacks. Every strike was immediately parried, destroying the soldier who’d attempted it. Blood rained on the battlefield.

“What a dull world I’ve been born into.”

Gallarus stormed through the battlefield, slicing through soldiers who matched him in size as if they were made of paper.

All his life, he’d had one desire—to find someone powerful enough to kill him. He didn’t seek death; he was simply starved for a worthy rival. The ministers he’d trained—and even Agni, who had once managed to hurt him—turned out to be disappointments.

Gallarus gave up on waging endless wars. He lost all hope—and that was when his unique skill ended its dormancy. That skill gave him the power to destroy everything around him.

The wars ended. Gallarus united the world under his rule. He scoured the land to find every enemy soldier and killed them all, and then he destroyed anything that was left of the enemy kingdoms. His own people’s respect turned to fear. When their king returned without so much as a scratch on him, the victory was celebrated in silence.

After that, Gallarus was like an empty husk. He’d given up hope and had no more patience. He ruled the world as he saw fit, becoming the dictator that Agni had once accused him of being. He was no longer willing to listen to others.

The peaceful world was intensely boring to Gallarus, but then one day, he met someone who finally offered him some amusement.

“Well, I’ll be. You survived my attack.”

“This is the first time I was struck on first sight…” Voroderia, God of Darkness, laughed. “What a sad world. You seem miserable, too.”

“Hmph. It’s a world with only one victor.”

Gallarus looked out a window. There were no kingdoms beside his. Past the borders of Arvosa, there was only wasteland.

“Well, you may take what I’m about to tell you to be good news, then. I’m going to isolate this world.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means I’m plucking the strongest inhabitants of various worlds to use in another world.”

Gallarus grinned, finding it hard to believe how lucky he was. After giving up hope of ever finding a worthy opponent, he was going to be taken to some!

“This sounds too good. What’s the catch?”

“For you, there’s no catch… As for what’s in it for me, should you become able to go outside the place I’m about to send you to, I’d like you to rampage to your heart’s content.”

“And if I don’t go outside?”

“Well, I truly hope you will.”

The God of Darkness began to cut out Gallarus’s world from its space.

“Oh, and by the way, don’t go all out fighting the other people I’ll put you with.”

“You don’t want us to kill one another?”

“You’re tough as a diamond, but so are they. You won’t kill any of them without dying in the process, too, I’m afraid.”

When Voroderia melted into nothingness, Gallarus burst into laughter, delighted at the prospect of going to a new world where powerful rivals awaited. He thought that maybe, he’d finally find something that would give meaning to his life.

Without hesitation, Gallarus strode into the pitch-black space that opened before him. On the other side, he met the other “diamonds”—the Evil Overlords.

When Shuutarou appeared in their castle, Gallarus couldn’t stand him. Someone becoming a king without having worked for it—it reminded Gallarus of himself, and he didn’t like it.

And the worst part is, the boy is a weakling…

Shuutarou didn’t look like a worthy opponent to Gallarus. He didn’t seem to have any quality that would justify him being Gallarus’s master, so Gallarus had no intention of treating him as such. In the giant’s eyes, the boy had one use only—to enable Gallarus to go to the world outside the castle.

But Gallarus’s thinking completely changed the day Shuutarou created Regiuria. When Gallarus saw it, he understood for the first time what an ideal king should be.

He breathed life into an empty space, creating a world populated withdiverse peoples in a way that ensures their peaceful coexistence… A world where mutual respect is taken for granted and individual weaknesses are negated through cooperation as everyone strives together toward improvement…

Regiuria was an environment that enabled its citizens continuous growth. It was a little world with infinite potential, whose residents would surely surpass Gallarus—who prided himself at being the strongest of all—at some point. This little world was what Gallarus had always wanted, what he’d searched for, and what he’d tried to build himself, ultimately failing. The fact that creating Regiuria came so easily to Shuutarou humbled him deeply.

“He truly is the king of kings…”

For the first time in his life, Gallarus pledged his loyalty to another.

He may lead me to where I never managed to arrive by myself.

Gallarus suppressed his overgrown ambition and let a new chapter of his life begin—a chapter where he was no longer king.

Afterword

Thank you for buying the fifth volume. This is the author, Nagawasabi64.

We had some big plot twists this time around. If you’ve only been reading the novels, what happened to Shoukichi and his party was probably quite a shock. In the web novel, I published the story up to that point and left my online readers on that cliff-hanger without updates for a while… Sorry about that!

I’ve had this plot development planned since I decided on the young Shuutarou being the protagonist of this series. That bombshell was also needed to get Shuutarou actively involved in clearing the game, which I’m going to write about (hopefully) in the next volume.

I feel that Gallarus was a beacon of light in the dark atmosphere we’ve had since the first volume. From the start, I had it in my head that Volume 5 would heavily feature Gallarus, and I think the giant pulled off his prominent role pretty well.

If you’ve read the extra story at the end already, you know that Gallarus’s background is quite different from the other Overlords’. Only he (well, we don’t know anything about Elroad yet!) was born an invincible king, never meeting anyone who’d challenge him throughout his life in his original world. That’s why his line of thinking differs from the others, who didn’t start out as the most powerful beings in their world. He’s got strong ideas about what a king should be doing, which you could see from how he approached Shuutarou when the boy shut himself in his room.

One thing led to another, and Gallarus went off to defend Allistras, which created a nifty opportunity to introduce a new character—MagNe. I wanted to have this sort of interaction: the powerful Gallarus and a weak, dependent player. As for why I made MagNe so peculiar, there were two reasons.

The first one was that it was crucial that she’d be morbidly dependent on others. The unstable emo alt girl used to be completely dependent on the boyfriend she lived with, doing anything he said. When he got a new game, she bought it to in order to play together with him. He was the center of her universe. At one point in the story, she sees a similarity between her and Gallarus, and she’s not wrong—as Shuutarou’s minion, Gallarus is subservient toward the boy just as MagNe was toward her boyfriend. Thanks to this connection, meeting MagNe helps to shape Gallarus’s new way of thinking.

As for the second reason, I wanted to see how Kawaku would draw an emo character. I’ll be honest—this was the main reason! When I saw the first draft, I loved it! I’m also looking forward to seeing MagNe drawn by Hirokawa in the manga adaptation!

But MagNe isn’t just a helpless, dependent woman until the end. The encounter with Gallarus propels her toward change, and she learns to manage on her own. I’m planning to keep following her adventures in the next volumes. Let’s see where they take her!

We had one more new character—Amakusa, who becomes an important figure in the story with his assignment as the new sub-master of Crest. I’m not going to delve deep into his background, since I’m intending to keep him as a mysterious character who’ll raise some red flags and keep you guessing if he’s really a friend or foe.

The next volume’s extra story will be about Elroad, and then you’ll know about the origins of all the Evil Overlords. Who will I write about next? Misaki and Shuutarou will be driving the story from the next volume on, but I’m not planning to write an extra chapter about Shuutarou, since I’m pretty sure his real-world life will be touched on in the main story. I’ve already decided who will be featured at the end of the very last volume. Can you guess?

By the way, some of you may know that the second volume of the manga adaptation was released before this book hit the shelves. The first two volumes of the manga correspond to the first volume of the novel. I was surprised by how detailed the manga was, and it even features additional, original characters! Definitely check it out if you haven’t already!

My other series, Frontier World Online, is also getting a manga adaptation! The first volume should be out this winter. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to read it! Unlike this series, Frontier World Online is a very chill story about the good life in a VRMMORPG. How about that for a change of vibe?

Frontier World Online, Vol. 3 is going on sale at the end of October. That series isn’t selling all that well, but I’m hoping the release of the manga might help with that… Heh! Please give Frontier World Online some love, too!

Bye! Until next time!