ICHIBAN USHIRO NO DAIMAOU - Volume 7, 4 — A Fairly Large Battle

Volume 7, Chapter 4: A Fairly Large Battle

 

The view from the castle terrace was not bad. The scenery was mostly the jungle and a rocky mountain, but that nature – or images modeled after nature – visible below the blue sky had a way of calming the heart.

Akuto stood on the terrace with a wine glass in one hand.

“Being the final boss of a game is pretty boring.”

“You don’t really notice it while playing the game, though,” replied Keena as she stood next to him eating rice.

The sight of her scooping rice from a bowl using chopsticks did not suit that western castle.

They could not access the outside world, so they could only view the game’s manual and the internal data. After checking through all that and realizing he could not comprehend the program, Akuto had little left to do.

“And we learned the holy grail is deep in the castle,” complained Akuto.

He had found the game’s final objective of the holy grail enshrined in the bottommost dungeon of the castle. Picking it up had done nothing. It seemed to only be the players’ final objective. That meant the game would end when he was defeated and one of the players took it. Akuto did not care if that was the ending reached.

“But who changed the story?” asked Keena.

“All we know is that a lot of different factors are involved. But until we know what those are, we shouldn’t try anything. …By the way, where did you find that rice?”

“It was right there! As soon as I wanted to eat it, it was there in front of me. This castle sure is convenient. It must be filled with invisible maids.”

“If there are so many invisible maids, why don’t we run into them?”

“Maybe they’re fast, so they move out of the way.”

“I’m not sure I like the idea of fast invisible maids…”

Akuto smiled bitterly and heard a voice from behind him.

“Demon king, it is I, Demon General Korone. I have come with news.”

Akuto turned around to find Korone kneeling.

“Can you please stop putting on that act?”

“No. Fulfilling the game is the key to leaving this world.”

“Even so… Anyway, what is it?”

“Two things. First, the program seems to have been altered a bit from outside.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yes, but the virtual alternate dimension is primarily influenced by the wills and actions of those inside. External changes are limited to small things outside of the fundamental factors. For example, increasing the number of enemy characters. But I cannot say what will happen, so be careful when faced with an enemy not in the manual.”

The problems just kept coming.

“It would be dangerous if an enemy like that killed you, right?” said Akuto with a nod of understanding.

“Yes. Be careful. As for the other piece of news, while hunting down the remnants, I learned that the enemy is gathering together.”

“Gathering together?”

“Yes. It seems they scattered, raised their level, and waited for an opportunity. If the time has come, they will advance to the castle with an army they believe can defeat you.”

“That’s good to hear. This game will soon come to end,” said Akuto in relief.

“No, we will achieve victory by killing all of them.”

“If that’s what you want to do, that’s fine too. Everyone is going to hate me regardless.”

“Then I shall head to the fortress on the path here. …As you can see, they have begun to move.”

Korone pointed beyond the terrace.

Akuto turned around and found a single trail of smoke rising from the jungle.

“Oh, it’s smoke,” said Keena innocently.

More and more smoke signals began to rise across the landscape.

“A lot of them survived.”

“Do not worry. There are fewer than thirty survivors and each commander has no more than ten thousand soldiers. I will borrow your army. I shall surely be victorious with the twenty thousand troops of the demon king army and the geographical advantage of the fortress Korone Barrier!”

“When did you create that fortress?”

Akuto could not believe what he was hearing, but it was true Korone was helping resolve everything. He decided he could leave it to her, so he nodded toward her.

“Then I shall head out to battle. Demon king, enjoy yourself while dancing and listening to music. The invisible maids will prepare it for you,” said Korone.

“Dancing and music?” complained Akuto, but Keena’s cheerful voice cut in.

“Dancing and music! That’s right! I forgot what mattered with a castle! It slipped my mind because there aren’t very many people here!”

Keena’s eyes were sparkling.

“Enjoy yourselves,” said Korone as she left.

Music then began playing.

“Eh?”

“Wah! C’mon, A-chan, let’s dance!”

Keena pulled on Akuto’s hand.

As he saw more and more smoke signals rising, Yoshihiko nodded.

“Oh, no. The students decided their level is high enough to begin an attack on the demon king’s castle,” he commented.

Junko nodded with a displeased look. The giant fusion between an octopus and four-legged beast was shaking the earth as it walked in the distance ahead of them.

“Have they not noticed that monster?”

The monster was several dozen meters tall. It would be visible from a distance, but it was unlikely every single student scattered across the world had seen it.

“I doubt all of those who see it will realize it isn’t a character from the game. Do we have no choice but to defeat it?”

Yoshihiko turned to Junko and Keisu.

Junko was still hesitating, but Keisu gave a powerful nod.

“I think we should defeat it. It…might be the demon king. We cannot let the demon king acquire the holy grail.”

“In the game, the holy grail is in the demon king’s castle and that monster is headed in that direction. Also, our contact with the outside world was cut off when this monster appeared.”

Yoshihiko produced a screen in midair and checked once more.

He then nodded resolutely.

“If we can do anything, we have to do it. Let’s hurry. We are quite a long way from the demon king’s castle.”

Yoshihiko began walking after the octopus monster.

“By the way, what happens if the demon king acquires the holy grail?” asked Junko.

Keisu readily gave a terrifying answer.

“He gains his perfect form.”

“The time has come to show off our power!”

Fujiko gave her orders. The female students and the NPC armies under their command let out a cry. They were all female.

“What is that?”

“This is Etou Fujiko-sama’s Amazon army!”

At the head of the military force advancing toward the demon king’s castle was Fujiko riding a Cerberus and carrying a flag bearing the “E” of Etou.

Fujiko and some of the other female students had formed an alliance and quickly grown to the largest force among the students. They had done so primarily by attacking the male students.

It had begun when some of the male students had attempted to sneak into the female students’ tents. The boys had decided there was no harm in peeking since this was a game, but the girls had fiercely fought back. To stop that conflict, Fujiko had suggested acting as a group.

Fujiko was popular enough that the number of girls under her command continued to grow as they travelled. The creation of a group and the comfort of it all being a game had radicalized their thinking. It became implicitly acceptable to kill any of the boys that opposed them.

This radicalization had of course been secretly instigated by Fujiko. She had been the first to realize killing fellow students gave extremely high experience. She had indirectly advocated hunting the boys to strengthen the girls allied with her.

“But Fujiko-sama is so kind…”

“If only those other girls weren’t with her…”

Fujiko had mastered her villainy to the point that even the surviving boys were convinced that was true.

With Fujiko’s Amazon army of seven thousand at the lead, more and more armies joined with the Anti-Demon King Alliance.

Students hidden to the left and right would join up with them as they continued along the path and those students’ NPC armies would follow.

Ultimately, the alliance reached three hundred twenty thousand and it held up many different flags as it advanced. It moved toward Korone Barrier. The wide path narrowed at one point and a fortress had been constructed there. Wall-like cliffs rose up on either side of the path, making it look like a giant dried up river. The cliffs were several dozen meters tall, so one could only attack on the level of dropping rocks if one climbed up to the top. Either way, the battle came down to defeating the fortress head on.

“So it begins here.”

The students’ excited muttering rose up into the sky. The cliffs approached on either side and the people and horses of the army created a single black stream that looked like muddy water flowing through the dried up river with tremendous force.

A giant wall blocked the path like a dam in the river. That wall was decorated with flags bearing the word “demon”.

“It’s the demon king’s army!”

“They haven’t left the castle yet!”

“Bring out the battering ram! If we break down the gate, we win!”

The alliance continued charging forward. The one person to slow down was Fujiko.

—Heh heh. Once the students gain more experience in this battle, I will find the perfect moment to offer them to Akuto-sama. This plan is perfect! And finally, I will offer my own body up to Akuto-sama… Ahhh! Akuto-sama will kill me with his own hands… Such bliss! Just the thought of it and I can barely contain myself!

While lost in her delusions, Fujiko slowed down and hid herself within the army so that she could survive. She also surrounded herself with female students. This was a truly cowardly action, but she was amazingly able to do so without those around her growing suspicious.

Meanwhile, those at the head of the army arrived at the fortress.

One boy’s army had prepared a battering ram, but a shower of arrows suddenly rained down on him and his army. Orc soldiers under Korone’s command had been hiding atop the fortress and they began their attack.

“Waaaah!”

The battering ram unit was defeated.

That shower of arrows signaled the beginning of a fierce battle.

The soldiers in the lead held their shields above their heads and reached the fortress wall. They began placing ladders against the wall and desperately holding them in place. The following soldiers began climbing those ladders.

More arrows poured down. Soldiers so full of arrows they looked like hedgehogs fell from the ladders and struck the soldiers behind them.

Even so, the soldiers held their shields up and continued climbing. More and more ladders were set up and the arrows were dispersed over more points. This allowed the soldiers to make it higher and higher up the ladders before being shot down.

“This is our chance! Bring the battering ram!”

On the orders of one student, a giant log with wheels attached was pulled forward by several soldiers. The battering ram was slammed against the fortress’s gate. The entire gate shook.

Some of the raining arrows turned toward them and the concentration of arrows dropped further. Finally, one of the soldiers reached the top of the gate just as the battering ram broke through it.

“Let’s destroy them all!”

The students let out cries, thinking they had reversed the situation. The soldiers rushed through the gate while shouting out.

The soldiers who had climbed up the ladders began defeating the orc archers with their swords. The number of arrows raining down lessened.

The soldiers who passed through the gate ran into a group of spear-wielding goblin soldiers waiting on the other side of the wall. The demon king army formed a new wall with their spears and shields, but they only numbered several hundred. Even if they could stab the leading soldiers with their spears, they could not defend against the great number of soldiers pressing in.

The center of the dense formation was breached and the goblin soldiers scattered. The cavalry had been waiting for the downpour of arrows to finally stop, but they appeared now and shot and cut down the goblins one by one.

“We can do this!”

More and more voices cried out as they were certain of their victory.

But one person was less certain. It was Fujiko as she watched the battlefield from the very back of the army.

—This is odd. Korone should be in command here, yet I have not seen her. And there were only about twenty thousand soldiers waiting for us. No matter how difficult it is to put large numbers in this fortress, I can only assume she is saving her forces for some other purpose.

Fujiko planned to offer up the students’ experience points to Akuto, so she wanted to avoid a complete defeat to Korone. And if possible, she wanted to defeat Korone herself.

—But the only place to keep the rest of her troops is on top of the cliffs.

Fujiko looked up at one cliff.

It was several dozen to a hundred meters tall. Rocks could be dropped down, but there was no sign of any large number of rocks having been prepared. Also, they would not have enough rocks to block off the path, so the army could ignore the rocks and continue on, rendering that strategy pointless. To use rocks effectively, it would be best to use them while they were concentrated at the fortress wall.

—If she was to attack with an army, it would be best to attack from the flank while we are stretched through the fortress’s gate, but I see no sign of an army hiding anywhere.

And then Fujiko’s thoughts were cut off.

“Gwa ha ha ha ha ha! So we meet again! Demon General Korone has arrived!”

Korone’s voice rang out.

She was on top of the cliff. She must have been waiting for the alliance forces to stretch out after breaching the fortress gate because she appeared directly to the side.

“Don’t be afraid! They can’t hit with arrows from that distance!”

“Continue on! They can’t have that many rocks!”

The male students gave instructions like that.

That was the same as what Fujiko had thought.

—But there has to be something I am missing.

Fujiko ordered the female students to stop.

And then Korone took action.

“Exterminate them!” she shouted as she ordered her troops to advance.

The orcs and goblins began jumping from the cliff one after another.

“Wha…!?”

The soldiers down below gasped. After all, flight magic did not exist in this world. The enemy soldiers could only fall.

“Advance! Advance!”

But Korone expressionlessly ordered them onward. The soldiers of the demon king army continued jumping.

“Wh-what is she doing?”

Those watching could not believe their eyes. However, Fujiko alone realized the truth.

“We have lost. No… If we do not want to lose, we must close the fortress gate!”

Fujiko gave instructions. The female students had yet to pass through the gate, but they now shut that gate they had worked so hard to open. They also began removing the ladders.

“Wh-what are you doing!?” n/-0𝒱𝞮𝑙𝑩In

The male students began to panic, but they did not have time to focus on the gate.

“Wh-what!?”

Their eyes opened wide in shock.

Corpses began piling up in front of the cliff. They of course belonged to the soldiers of the demon king army. Those corpses formed a slope which an elite unit led by Korone ran down.

“You’re kidding!”

The male students were shocked and quickly routed.

Anyone with a human heart would have hesitated from using this strategy. No, it may have been possible in a normal game, but only Korone could have used such an abnormal strategy in this world that felt so real.

“Cut off their heads to be sure! Take no prisoners!”

Korone sent the elite unit in every direction. The stretched out alliance army was split into several sections and the isolated soldiers were surrounded and defeated. Korone’s strategy was especially effective because she targeted the commanders. The rules of the game said a soldier would disappear once his commander had been lost. A single beam of light from Korone would eliminate thousands of soldiers.

The male students who had passed through the fortress gate were forced to flee, but Korone pursued them and took them out one by one with her beam attack.

“damn you, Sai Akuto. How could you order Korone-chan to do this? You aren’t human.”

“So the truly terrible one is the demon king…”

The boys went to their deaths never doubting that Korone’s cruel strategy had been Akuto’s doing.

And before long, Korone had slaughtered everyone there.

Ultimately, Korone had sacrificed tens of thousands of soldiers to create a path for her thousands of soldiers which then defeated an army of hundreds of thousands.

“You monster!” shouted Fujiko from the other side of the fortress.

Only the seventy thousand troops of the girl-led Amazon army remained.

“A-chan, this war is scary.”

As elegant music surrounded them, Keena clung to Akuto’s arm while wearing a dress.

They were watching the battle at Korone Barrier from the terrace.

“It’s only a game. But even as a game, this intensity is fairly thought provoking. Wars take up so much money, but they are so empty,” said Akuto.

He was wearing white clothes as well.

“Yeah, war isn’t right. But…”

Keena turned toward a table bearing a luxurious feast.

It had plain onigiri, fried rice, pilafs, doria, dry curry, rice cakes, and rice pudding. Keena held a glass of amazake.

“It feels hypocritical to say that while wearing such lovely clothes and dancing in front of so much delicious food.”

“You have a point. We really are the villains here. Then again, I wouldn’t call this food ‘delicious’. How did it end up like this?” complained Akuto

Suddenly, he noticed a change in the scenery.

“Ah!”

“What is it?”

“Look at that.”

Akuto pointed beyond the battlefield.

Something taller than the trees of the jungle was slowly walking toward them.

Keena screamed when she saw it.

“Kyah! A-chan. You can’t go there.”

Keena was clearly afraid.

“Is that the interference from outside the game that Korone was talking about?”

Akuto embraced Keena as he watched the creature. It looked like a four-legged beast with an octopus for a head. It looked evil.

“I have a really bad feeling about that thing. I’m worried.”

Akuto felt Keena trembling.

That told him something was wrong more than anything. Keena was always so carefree, but this terrified her.

“A bad feeling?”

“Its presence is similar but different to yours. It’s really unpleasant.”

“Don’t worry. You just have to stay here,” said Akuto as he moved away from Keena.

“No, don’t go.”

“I have to. It seems to be headed this way.”

The creature’s movements looked slow, but it was approaching at a speed appropriate for its giant form.

“And if its presence is similar to mine, I really do have to go, right?”

Keena finally nodded her head in acceptance.

“But be careful.”

“I will.”

Akuto nodded and began running.

“Gwa ha ha ha ha! Bow down before me, Amazons!” shouted Korone.

The fortress gate was closed off from both sides, so the allied army had lost a large number of troops without breaking through the fortress. All that remained were the 70,000 of Fujiko’s Amazon army.

Fujiko could see no way to defeat Korone who stood atop that fortress. But if they retreated, she would undoubtedly pursue them and wipe them all out.

“Onee-sama! What should we do?”

“This is not good. I would hate to admit defeat even if this is a game.”

Fujiko made up her mind and raised her head.

“Demon General Korone! I challenge you to single combat!” shouted Fujiko as she stepped forward.

This was a final desperate plea that Korone had no obligation to answer, but she did so readily enough.

“Do you really think a mere human can defeat me?”

Korone opened the fortress gate and came out alone.

“When you say it, I cannot tell if you are acting or not,” complained Fujiko.

—I will eventually have to fight Korone for real in the process of improving Akuto-sama. This is a good opportunity to learn how she fights.

Fujiko kicked at the Cerberus and moved quickly forward. Korone was a magician, so Fujiko and her Cerberus would be at an advantage in direct combat. If she charged forward, she could reach Korone as long as she could withstand two magical attacks.

“Beam! Beam!”

And Korone used those two attacks to their fullest. Both hit Fujiko.

“Kh!”

But Fujiko survived with a tiny amount of hit points left. She drank a recovery potion she had mixed herself and regained the health she needed to withstand direct combat. She then swung her whip at Korone.

“Did you think this would come down to our in-game stats in close quarters combat?”

Korone swung up her staff and blocked the whip. The whip wrapped around the staff.

“Our stats are meaningless. I thought I would see your fighting habits outside of your strategy.”

Fujiko pulled the whip and stopped Korone’s movements. If Korone let go of the staff, she would have lost her weapon. Normally, it would then come down to a comparison of strength.

However…

“There.”

Korone swung the staff and moved forward.

A normal human would reflexively resist having one’s movements restricted, but Korone showed no such reflex.

“Oh, no.”

Korone attacked Fujiko with the handle of the staff. A physical attack from a magician did not do much damage, but it caused decent mental shock.

“You really do have tremendous resolution when it comes to combat.”

“The humans known as masters show that trait as well. Any normal L’Isle-Adam combat program will take that into consideration,” explained Korone indifferently as she sent down a shower of blows with the staff.

—Geh. If I have to fight Korone in the real world, I need to find some kind of weakness.

Fujiko regretted her decision, but her pride would not allow her to admit defeat.

—I need to put up a smokescreen and wait for another opportunity.

Just as Fujiko had that thought, she heard a tremendous scream from behind her.

She was so focused on Korone that she hesitated to turn around. However, she slowly turned around once she felt a shadow cover her and Korone moved back and pointed behind her.

“Ee!”

A monster stood there.

It had slimy skin, its body was that of a four-legged beast, its head was an octopus, and it was several dozen meters tall.

“Wh-what is that thing!?” said Fujiko in what was almost a scream.

Korone’s response was perfectly calm.

“It is a monster that is not part of that game. It seems be attacking us. We should fall back and watch on.”

Korone began moving toward the fortress gate.

“Yes. It is unfortunate we cannot complete our match, but we have no choice. Everyone, through the gate!”

With that instruction, Fujiko ran through the gate herself.

But as Fujiko’s followers rushed toward the gate, the monster moved more quickly than expected and caught up with them. The monster did not exactly attack them. It swung the tentacles coming from its head to sweep aside the female students as if they were merely in the way.

“Kyaaah!”

Screams rang out as girls were thrown into the air where they turned to dust and disappeared.

“It seems this creature has taken on the rules of the game,” commented Korone.

“That is good even if nothing else about this is.”

Fujiko trembled as she looked up at the monster on the other side of the gate. Nothing stopped its advance. It brushed the girls aside, trampled them underfoot, and finally began slamming its body against the fortress.

A great rumbling ran through the earth. The fortress shook and smashed pieces of stone fell from above.

“What is this thing?”

“It seems to have been created by someone hacking in from outside and it seems to have been given some kind of objective. I believe it is pursuing that objective and nothing else.”

“So if we flee, it will not bother us?”

“Most likely.”

“Then we should do so right away.”

Fujiko prepared to flee, but she then noticed a change come over the monster’s actions. It had been trying to move forward, but it now stopped and swung its front legs up to reach a standing position. It looked like a building being lifted up by a crane or a giant object suddenly protruding up from the earth.

“Ee!”

Despite knowing this was a game, Fujiko could not suppress the fear. She understood why the monster had done that the instant she turned around to flee.

“Akuto-sama!”

The monster had clearly reacted to Akuto’s arrival. Its emotionless eyes were following Akuto as he walked toward the fortress.

“Its objective is the demon king? How very odd,” muttered Korone.

Suddenly, someone shouted out from behind the monster.

“That thing is the sealed demon king!”

It was Junko’s voice.

The monster had been faster than them, so they had only caught up once it arrived at the fortress. Junko could see Korone and Fujiko beyond the gate visible between the monster’s legs.

“That thing is the sealed demon king!” shouted Junko.

“The demon king? What are you talking about?” replied Fujiko.

“It seems something was sealed in this space from the beginning and external interference has brought it out!” explained Junko.

“Sealed?”

“Someone who was already in this space said it was the demon king. It might be the demon king of an earlier generation.”

“Really?”

Fujiko closed her eyes in thought, looked back at the monster, and then spoke.

“It reacted when it saw Akuto-sama, so that might be true.”

“Akuto is here?” asked Junko.

Fujiko nodded.

“He just arrived!”

“That monster reacted when it saw Sai Akuto?”

Junko found that odd, so she looked to Yoshihiko. However, Yoshihiko did not seem especially bothered by it.

“I wonder if there is some connection there. At any rate, we need to speak with him. If we could defeat that thing and make our way to the other side…” said Yoshihiko.

“Defeat it? I do not think the demon king can be defeated. That is why it was sealed in the first place,” commented Keisu.

But Junko shook her head.

“But you saw when it defeated those students, right? Fortunately, it seems to exist as a monster in the game. That means it can be defeated.”

Junko threw a shuriken at the monster’s back.

The monster did not seem to care, but a wound appeared on its back.

“This can work, right?”

Junko grinned and Yoshihiko nodded.

“It’s worth a shot.”

The two of them began attacking the back legs of the monster with their swords. Their attacks were enough to cause it to move slightly. It had completely ignored them until they attacked, but the injuries to its legs caused it to shake its legs as if driving away an insect.

“Then I shall attack, too.”

Keisu grabbed the sword on her back in preparation to draw it, but she suddenly stopped. A snake was wrapped around the scabbard. That snake had slithered up to the grip and waited for Keisu to reach behind her back.

“Nh!”

By the time Keisu noticed, it was too late.

The snake bit her hand.

All life seemed to vanish from her eyes and she stood stock still.

Neither Yoshihiko nor Junko noticed what was happening.

—Good! It worked!

The snake secretly grinned.

This was of course the green snake 2V had transformed into. It had clung to the monster’s body, dropped off just before the monster reached the fortress, and hid in a nearby thicket. From there, it had waited for a good opportunity.

—It’s a good thing I took the form of a snake. I just had to make a few modifications to the snake’s venom!

2V left Keisu’s hand and slipped inside the collar of her clothes.

2V then used a spell she specialized in. As a doll user, 2V could influence L’Isle-Adams if she concentrated her power. This was only possible in the game because 2V had rewritten that portion of the program.

The snake completely disappeared into Keisu’s clothes and Keisu’s body finally began moving again.

However, life did not return to her eyes. Keisu tossed her sword up to draw it, caught it in midair, and landed, but all of it was done under 2V’s control.

Korone informed Akuto of the situation and he nodded when he understood the gist of it.

“You mean that character isn’t in the game?”

“It seems that way.”

“But it obeys the rules of the game. What is going on?”

“Either this is interference from outside the game or this is the influence of the person that existed inside the virtual alternate dimension from the beginning. I cannot say which.”

“I see. But this will be a giant pain if we don’t take care of it, right? It’s obeying the rules of the game, so let’s defeat it as a monster in the game.” Akuto began giving Korone instructions. “Reorganize the NPC army. The moment the fortress falls is our chance to attack. That monster is sure to show an opening.”

Korone nodded.

“As you wish.”

Korone began instructing the army of orcs and goblins, but Fujiko suddenly shouted out.

“Kiiii! I wanted to play that role!”

“Is that so? Too bad,” said Korone calmly.

Fujiko was blatantly angry.

“Couldn’t I give up my position?”

“A class change requires a ticket. Tickets may be purchased at the online store,” replied Korone mechanically.

“I was not aware this game made money like that,” complained Fujiko.

Meanwhile, the monster’s actions grew more fierce and wild. It had been trying to destroy the fortress, but it began writhing irregularly and slamming its giant body randomly against the fortress. Junko and Yoshihiko’s attacks were proving effective.

“They are doing well. His weapon seems to be especially effective.”

As she reorganized the army, Korone pointed at the monster’s feet.

Yoshihiko’s double-edged sword, Evil Slayer, was an amazing magic sword. The giant monster writhed to keep its back legs away from the attack and it used its tentacles solely for keeping Yoshihiko at a distance.

The monster succeeded in destroying the fortress and tried to flee beyond it just as Korone finished putting getting the army into formation. The stones making up the foundation could be heard cracking and the entire fortress began toppling toward Akuto and the others.

“It’s falling!” warned Fujiko.

Akuto gave an order.

“Have the army charge toward it. They can get on top of that monster from the fortress. Have them cling to its back regardless of the crumbling stone. Make sure they can continue to attack even after it stands up.”

The demon king’s soldiers and demonic beasts charged straight forward even as crumbling stone poured down like rain and the walls of the fortress collapsed. Naturally, a lot of the orc soldiers and demonic beasts died miserable deaths as they were crushed beneath the rocks.

“Ahh! Such a coldhearted command! I have so much to learn from you!” exclaimed Fujiko as she writhed about.

Even if they were not human, the demonic beast soldiers looked very real. For a non-L’Isle-Adam to sacrifice them like that, Akuto’s mentality was far from normal.

And his strategy worked. The fallen monster stood back up, but it was covered in orc soldiers who acted like blood-sucking ticks. The monster let out a roar and swung its tentacles around. It began striking its own body in order to knock off the orc soldiers. It succeeded in knocking a lot of them off, but it was still left with swords stabbing into it over and over again, causing continual damage.

Junko and Yoshihiko had moved away as the fortress collapsed, but they began to attack once more. Yoshihiko’s Evil Slayer caused even greater damage to the monster.

“This is going to work,” said Fujiko with a smile.

“Should you really say that when you have done nothing yourself?” asked Korone.

But Fujiko did not care.

“I am providing moral support for Akuto-sama.”

However, Fujiko’s smile froze over. The monster was either trying to escape the effects of Evil Slayer or risking everything on a single attack because its death was near. It stood up tall, gave a scream-like cry into the air, and charged directly for Akuto.

“Akuto-sama!” screamed Fujiko.

Akuto took a defensive stance.

“Don’t worry. I’ve survived an aircraft carrier running into…”

Akuto trailed off before he could finish.

A tentacle swept in from the side. Akuto tried to turn aside the attack, but he could not. The tentacle wrapped around his body and tossed him like a doll.

He flew over ten meters, struck the bare rock, and groaned.

“Gh!”

Akuto’s body was almost buried in the rock.

“Akuto-sama!”

Fujiko cried out in concern, but Akuto replied along with a light hand motion.

“I’m fine. It seems that attack doesn’t exceed the limits of the game. As long as I don’t get hit a second time, I won’t die in the game.”

Suddenly, someone else shouted toward him. It was Junko who was slicing at the monster from behind.

“No! It seems this monster is after the holy grail in the castle, not your life! No one knows what will happen if it gets the holy grail! It might even affect the real world! This may be a game, but we might have no way of stopping this monster if you lose!”

Junko’s words surprised Akuto a bit, but he quickly realized it fit with the other things he knew.

—Come to think of it, the holy grail was a change from the original game. And it said for the demon king to acquire it, but nothing happened when I picked it up despite the fact that I’m the demon king in the game. If this thing is the demon king instead…!

“Kh…”

Akuto stood up and tried to fall back to the castle, but the monster began charging at him again.

“Recovery magic.”

Akuto tried to use recovery magic on himself, but realized he could not.

“In exchange for his automatic regeneration ability, the demon king cannot use recovery magic! Your magic power doesn’t drop when you use magic, but it would be unfair if you could heal infinitely!” explained Yoshihiko.

“That’s…not good.”

Akuto prepared for death.

Despite Yoshihiko and Junko’s efforts, the monster was not stopping. A tentacle attacked Akuto once more. He tried to use defense magic, but he knew it would never be enough given how much damage he took before.

“Oh, no.”

Akuto cursed his own conceitedness. He had charged into battle without knowing the situation or rules and assumed it would all work out okay.

The tentacle drew closer.

Akuto reflexively closed his eyes.

He heard the sound of something large crashing into stone.

“I’m glad this is a game. Next time, I need to…”

As Akuto began to mutter to himself, he realized he felt no pain and instead felt something wrapping around his body.

—Hm? I thought you were supposed to feel pain in here.

He opened his eyes and realized he was still in the game.

“What?”

He was also floating in the air. Flying was forbidden in this game, so it should have been impossible.

—That means…

“C’mon, A-chan. You really can’t do anything without me, can you?” rebuked Keena.

“I told you to stay in the castle. …But you did save me,” said Akuto in relief.

Keena was flying while holding Akuto under his arms. Akuto recalled that Keena alone could ignore the rules in this world.

“But it’s dangerous, so you need to head back,” said Akuto as he looked down.

The monster had crashed its head into a rock wall.

“Lower me down. I need to defeat that thing.”

But Keena shook her head.

“I can’t. A-chan, you have a bad habit of wanting to do everything yourself. That thing is targeting you, so you should tell the others what to do.”

Keena’s words stabbed at Akuto because of his earlier failure.

“You’re right. Trying to solve this on my own only led to failure.”

Akuto sighed and shook his head decisively, and called to those below.

“Senpai! When I give the signal, blind that monster!”

“Yes, Akuto-sama!”

Fujiko nodded ecstatically.

“You two in the back, attack its legs once it’s blinded to throw off its sense of direction!”

“Understood!”

Junko and Yoshihiko exchanged a glance and nodded before answering.

“Korone, use the surviving soldiers to open the monster’s mouth!”

“As you wish.”

As soon as Korone gave her answer, Akuto gave his signal to Fujiko.

“Senpai!”

“Understood!” replied Fujiko.

As the monster tried to stand up and regain its position, Fujiko threw a potion that produced a smokescreen.

The monster had yet to fully stand up, so the potion bottle struck it directly on the face. Despite being wrapped in white smoke, the monster stood up and tried to reach Akuto. It likely planned to jump up at the location it remembered Akuto being in.

But Junko and Yoshihiko attacked at the monster’s back legs. They cut at those legs the instant it tried to put its weight on them, so it collapsed.

“Korone!”

Korone acted on Akuto’s instruction. The soldiers still clinging to the monster moved to its neck and Korone fired lightning magic at them. The soldiers convulsed as the lightning struck them, but the electricity passed through their swords and into the monster those swords were stabbed into.

With a pained roar, the monster raised its jaws and revealed the mouth hidden below the tentacles.

“Keena!”

Akuto had Keena fly directly upwards and drop him.

As he fell, he fired the strongest attack magic in the game toward the monster’s upturned mouth.

“Fallout!”

A nuclear explosion occurred inside the monster’s mouth, tremendous heat and light shot from the octopus head, and it collapsed onto its back.

Lily shouted in joy as she saw the monster collapse on the mana screen.

“Ha ha! Looks like you lost. That original demon king was defeated!”

But 2V’s expression remained unchanged.

Lily’s smile gradually disappeared. 2V was clearly plotting something.

“What do you have up your sleeve?”

“Oh, it’s just that this isn’t over. It isn’t over at all.”

“It isn’t over?”

“If you thought that monster was the original demon king that was sealed in the virtual alternate dimension, you’re quite the idiot.”

2V giggled.

Lily was shocked.

“Then the original demon king is still in there? Is that holy grail the condition for awakening it?”

“Exactly. The holy grail is a program chip stored in the virtual alternate dimension. It became the holy grail when it was brought inside the game, but it is actually a portion of the original demon king.”

“So you created that monster as…!”

“As a bluff, yes. It was meant to distract people from the real demon king. I want the original demon king to be revived. My original plan was to seal the current demon king, but I changed my mind once I realized the original demon king was there. I will have them return to the real world along with the original demon king. And of course, it doesn’t matter who dies in the process.”

“Wh-what? Then the original demon king is actually…”

Lily trailed off as the mana screen continued to show the game footage.

“So this ends the game.”

Akuto checked on the monster’s corpse and waited for it to eventually disappear.

Yoshihiko walked over and bowed his head.

“I apologize for getting you wrapped up in this.”

“Are you the one behind all this?”

Akuto looked questioningly toward Yoshihiko. Yoshihiko knew this was to be expected, so he shook his head apologetically.

“I cannot deny that I am behind it. I was the one who trapped you in this virtual alternate dimension, after all. However, we still have to worry about 2V.”

“2V? Of CIMO 8?” asked Akuto.

Yoshihiko nodded.

“Yes. This was 2V’s plan. You could also say it was the government’s plan. I know this is no excuse, but I did not know about the plan to seal the demon king in here. When I learned about it at the last second, I decided to not cooperate. By adding in the rules of this game, I made sure no one would be killed inside and that I could speak with you.”

“In that case, you actually saved me. You don’t need to apologize. I’m thankful. Anyway, what is this about a demon king being in here from the beginning?”

Akuto looked toward the corpse of the monster and shook his head.

“This virtual alternate dimension is used to protect the God Megis. It seems some ancient demon king was sealed inside it. Or maybe this virtual alternate dimension was set up in the first place to seal it. Either way, it was completely forgotten about,” explained Yoshihiko.

“I see. The first demon king… I find it hard to believe so suddenly, but we should be able to investigate it after safely leaving this game. Now that I know 2V is my enemy, I should be able to put together a plan once I return. By the way, I see someone else I don’t recognize.”

Akuto faced Keisu who stood behind Yoshihiko.

“She too was apparently already inside this virtual alternate dimension. She says she was protecting the dimension so the demon king would not be revived.”

Yoshihiko called Keisu over.

At the same time, the game’s corpse display time reached its end and the giant monster’s corpse vanished. Keena must have sensed something because she suddenly cried out.

“Wait!”

Akuto stopped walking toward Keisu and turned around.

“What is it?”

“The bad feeling from before is still here. I still sense something unpleasant that’s similar to you, A-chan,” said Keena as she trembled.

“Then that wasn’t the demon king?”

Akuto pointed toward where the monster’s corpse had been.

“That’s right… But it’s definitely somewhere nearby,” said Keena with a nod.

“Then it’s no surprise we could defeat that monster according to the rules of the game. What should we do now?” asked Akuto as he looked around at the others.

“Even if the demon king is here, the holy grail is in the castle, right? As long as he does not acquire it, there should be no problem. How about we simply end the game here?” suggested Fujiko.

“No. If the last survivor does not acquire the holy grail, the game will not end. And we were only trying to end the game because someone who does not follow the game’s rules would be able to damage us in reality,” said Yoshihiko. He turned toward Akuto and added, “It seemed like 2V knew what was sealed in here. He was probably plotting to kill you here using that fact.”

“Understood. Either way, I just have to win the game. But 2V is still in here. And he might be you. Sorry, but I can’t fully trust you.”

Akuto stared at Yoshihiko.

Junko frantically cut in.

“Wait a second. Um…I was with him. I think you can trust him.”

But Yoshihiko waved his hand to say her support was not needed.

“No. It is only natural for him to not trust me. I already said I would take the blame for what I did. However, it is not as if the two of us have never met. I never expected this to be how we fulfilled our promise of playing video games together, though.”

Yoshihiko winked at Akuto.

Akuto immediately realized what that wink meant. His eyes widened in surprise and he nodded.

“I see. So you look different in here because you made the rules.”

“Exactly. But I still don’t blame you if you don’t trust me. I caused all this and I realize now just how inexperienced I am. I overlooked the importance of physical communication. She taught me just how important it is. She is quite noble and kind.”

Yoshihiko smiled toward Junko.

Junko frantically shook her head.

“Stop that. That is not true at all…”

Junko tried to deny it, but she found herself unable to look Akuto in the eye. Yoshihiko made it sound like something had happened between them while they were alone together. While things had indeed happened, none of it had been romantic in nature. Even if he had said he wanted her to like him.

At any rate, the current atmosphere made it look like something had happened and she was curious what Akuto’s expression would be when he realized it. In all honesty, she hoped he would look upset.

However…

“That’s true. Once we get back to the real world, you should spend the day with her at least once,” said Akuto.

Junko started to wobble on her feet and her vision seemed to go dark.

“Are you okay?” asked Yoshihiko as he caught Junko.

Everyone turned toward Junko.

At that exact moment, Keisu took swift action. She leaned her body forward as she ran. She quickly swiped Yoshihiko’s Evil Slayer from its scabbard and charged toward Akuto.

The tip of the magic sword was accurately aimed toward Akuto’s throat. Keisu’s speed put incredibly force behind the blade.

But Akuto had predicted this action.

“That isn’t going to work. I realized you alone do not obey the rules of this game.”

Akuto had not been distracted. He avoided the quickly moving sword by jumping to the side and he slammed his fist into Keisu’s gut.

“Gh!”

Keisu passed out and collapsed.

“Now your plan is at its end.”

Lily cracked her knuckles.

That had likely been 2V’s last resort.

“So that Keisu was the demon king. Your plan to kill Akuto is over. Can I start punching you now? I don’t think I can resist much longer.”

“No, no.” 2V remained calm. “Unfortunately for you, my plan is not over yet. My hopes have not yet failed. I still have another trick up my sleeve. And Zero is still doing well.”

“Zero? Is that the name of the original demon king?”

“Yes. Zero will grant my wish.”

“Your wish? And what is that?”

“Control. I want to control everything. And the ideal existence to grant that wish is Zero. The very first…that is to say, the prototype demon king was created with the abilities needed to destroy the world ruled by the initial Gods.”

“Wh-what are you talking about? What exactly do you mean!?”

“You still don’t get it? Zero can control artificial intelligences and cause them to malfunction. After all, the original Gods were similar to modern L’Isle-Adam AIs.”

This shocked Lily.

“What? And you’ve resurrected this person!?”

“Yes. Just watch. This will continue and it should last a while!”

2V laughed loudly.

“She was the only one not following the game’s rules,” said Akuto as he looked at Keisu’s collapsed form.

He held his right hand out toward her and fired magic.

“Lightning.”

That was the incantation for the game’s lighting magic. Electricity shot down at Keisu’s back. A snake slithered from her clothes, died, and turned to dust.

“What was that snake?” asked Fujiko.

“2V came here as only an arm. He might very well have become a snake,” answered Yoshihiko.

“2V uses dolls to act, so he might have been able to control L’Isle-Adams,” said Fujiko.

“I see,” said Yoshihiko. “And Keisu is a L’Isle-Adam. That means she did nothing wrong herself.”

“Then is there nothing more to worry about?” asked Akuto.

Yoshihiko nodded.

“Probably not. Your punch stopped her temporarily, but we can ask her about it once she comes to. She probably doesn’t know any of the details, though. We can take our time completing the game afterwards.”

“I see. Then…”

Akuto crouched down next to Keisu as he spoke.

“Watch out!” shouted Keena.

She shoved Akuto to the side.

“Eh?”

Akuto was confused and he felt a cold sensation in his gut.

“Kyaaah!”

“Akuto-sama!”

He heard screams from all around.

“Wha…?”

Akuto realized Evil Slayer was stabbed deeply into his gut.

A sensation different from damage in the game spread across his body. His stomach felt cold, but the hand he placed there felt warmth.

“Why?”

“The sword… The sword moved on its own!” shouted Fujiko.

“It did. The sword flew. It was as if it had been waiting for this opportunity,” confirmed Korone.

“Then…this sword is the original demon king? Anyway, I need to regenerate. I just need to concentrate mana inside me and…”

Akuto tried to recover from the damage as normal, but he could not. Every time he tried to gather strength, the wound would throb.

“A-chan!”

Keena ran over and used the game’s recovery magic, but it had no effect on Akuto’s wound.

“We need to return you to reality before you die. You can be healed there.”

Korone calmly held up her staff.

“Wh-what are you…?”

Fujiko raised a confused voice, but Korone fired a deadly magic beam.

It splendidly shot straight through Akuto’s head.

Akuto’s body convulsed and his eyes closed. He had died in the game, so he turned to dust.

And Evil Slayer remained.

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.

The sword remained floating in midair where it had been stabbing into Akuto’s gut.

“Not good! The monster and Keisu were both camouflage! If the original demon king was disguised as the most powerful sword, anyone would take it with them on their quest for the holy grail! That was the trick!”

Fujiko was clever when it came to evil plans, so she caught on quickly.

“Be careful, everyone. We have no way of knowing what will happen!” warned Junko.

“The sword may only have limited power and might only be able to fly over short distances. Otherwise, it would not need anyone to carry it,” said Yoshihiko.

“The holy grail is in the castle. This is dangerous, but we only have to keep the sword from heading there!”

Junko turned toward the castle.

However…

“Oh…the holy grail… Whoops. I thought it was important, so I brought it with me.”

Keena pulled the holy grail out from her robe.

It was a small, shiny gold cup.

“You idiot!” shouted Fujiko, but it was too late.

Evil Slayer aka Zero flew toward Keena. She avoided it, but she was unable to stop Zero from touching the holy grail.

As soon as the holy grail and sword touched, they both burst apart and became a thin mist.

“Ah!” cried Keena in surprise.

“Oh, no. I don’t know what the first demon king is, but this means the game is over. We’ll all be sent back to the real world!” said Yoshihiko.

“Th-then the original demon king will be revived in the real world!?”

Junko picked up Keisu. She awoke from being knocked out, so Junko asked a question.

“Please tell us. What will happen if the original demon king is revived?”

Keisu opened her eyes as Junko shook her.

“Zero will…”

Before Keisu could finish speaking, the game ended.