Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer? - Chapter 80: Don’t Do This (5)

My vision was redder than it was earlier.

I felt a little puzzled by this but soon put it aside. I thought it might just be because of my mood, and even if it wasn’t, it was probably because of some blood splatters at most.

Well, it wasn’t that inconvenient.

Moreover, there was too much to do to pay attention to something like that.

“Run away!”

“Kuwaaargh!”

I mean, as one could see. Weren’t there still a ton of bugs scurrying around all over the place?

Ah, wait, they weren’t bugs, but people. I was so absorbed in my Demon Knight roleplaying that I’d confused my words.

“Argh!”

‘But isn’t it fine to call them bugs? They’re so ugly.’

I pierced through the back of the guy who was attempting to run away from me. The scimitar had broken, and using the Zweihänder inside was fairly difficult, so I had no choice but to use my bare hands.

“Am I acting too cruel?”

I pulled out the guy’s heart and crushed it. It was a little disgusting, but I wondered what else was wrong with this. I simply stabbed them with either my hand or a sword.

And who were they? Weren’t they slaughterers? Slaughters who destroyed this city, the cities around it, and many villages, completely massacring the people living within them.

To people like that, even death was nothing less than a luxury. They had to be brought to a far more miserable state, shredded to the point where it would be impossible to reassemble their parts.

「Madness Gauge: 54%」

For something like that, using my bare hands was a lot more convenient. Even without a weapon, those guys collapsed to the ground and died easily… Also, tearing them apart one by one was much easier with my hands than with a sword.

「Madness Gauge: 57%」

But when did my Madness Gauge exceed 50%?

I fell into deep confusion after finding that out. Of course, I couldn’t just stop what I was doing over feeling a little concerned, so I didn’t forget to catch the guy trying to get away from me.

‘It doesn’t really matter. There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong with me.’

I split apart his back using my fingers. Four marks were left behind, almost like scratch marks that an animal might have left behind, allowing glimpses at his bones and internal organs.

It was quite a sight. Those marks, that is.

“I got dirty.”

I suddenly realized my hands were exceedingly dirty. Blood and crushed flesh were sticking to them.

I knew the grime would get automatically cleaned later, but it still felt unpleasant. Should I have just taken a random sword to kill those guys?

‘But if those guys hadn’t been here in the first place, wouldn’t I have stayed clean?’

「Madness Gauge: 60%」

I couldn’t shake that feeling.

‘It’s because of those guys. They’re the cause of all this.’ It felt like a grumpy person was wildly shouting these things in the back of my head, completely changing cause and effect.

“You bastards.”

Of course, I knew these guys weren’t to blame. But despite knowing that, my anger just wouldn’t let up. That’s how powerful the irritation I felt was.

“Die, all of you.”

So, what else could I do? I had no choice but to kill them.

“Kuargh!”

“Aaargh!”

“Kehek.”

「Madness Gauge: 61%」

「Madness Gauge: 62%」

「Madness Gauge: 63%」

I moved and annihilated every person I came across, crushing their necks and trampling their internal organs.

There was no real need for me to look around as they were all people who deserved to die anyway, so I just vented my anger on them.

“Open! Open the door!”

“Those damned bastards blocked the door from the other side!”

“Do something!”

“You pirate bastards, go and buy us some time!”

“The hell? What are we supposed to do against a guy who’s ripping through people with just his hands?!”

Then, I came across a familiar hallway. It seemed to be the path leading to the central garden…

It seemed those villains’ shallow bonds caused something to happen. I chuckled as I watched those guys struggling with the closed doors.

“H-He’s coming!”

Sending a [Slash] their way was the most efficient way to kill them all. However, I didn’t know if it would work without a proper weapon.

I quickly looked around to see if there was anything around that I could swing.

‘My hand?’

My bare hand suddenly caught my eye. It wouldn’t be that strange. After all, I could break rocks and even more insane things with this body so long as it was enveloped in Arcane Power.

If one thought of them as vessels to contain Arcane Power, there wasn’t much difference between a sword and a part of one’s body. In that case, it wouldn’t matter what I emitted Arcane Power with, either.

Arcane Power began to sizzle in my hands.

“Damn it, we can’t just stand there and die—!”

I gently waved one of my arms diagonally. Immediately after, a massive, rough [Slash] was sent out from it, seemingly a bit less stable than when I used it with a sword.

Slash!

However, it was equal in power. All the guys huddled in the back of that hallway got sliced apart.

「Madness Gauge: 64%」

A vague sense of pleasure climbed up my spine.

Crash.

However, it didn’t stop there. Even the door leading to the garden was cut down. Beyond it, I could see said central garden.

“H-He’s here!”

“Prepare to attack!”

“Just follow the plan!”

I had wondered where all the Demon Contractors had gone, but they seemed to all be cowering here.

I glanced at the magic circle drawn on the floor before looking back to the Demon Contractors. Their aims were painfully obvious. It seemed they wanted to get rid of me for good, considering the blood and sacrifices piled up here.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you pouring in Demonic Energy?!”

“I-It’s not working.”

Anyway, there seemed to be a problem: they couldn’t use Demonic Energy. That somewhat cooled my intentions of waiting and seeing what evil plan they’d prepared.

“I-It’s no use. What the hell is going on…?!”

“…The Great Demon. The Great Demon wants to kill us.”

How rude. I hadn’t even done anything that could be described as Demonic yet. Furthermore, my setting was that I had a Demon sealed in my body, but my body itself wasn’t that of a Demon.

“Did the rest all run away?”

Still, it was kind of fun seeing my enemies dying so helplessly. Realizing their attack wouldn’t come, I just lightly waved my arm in the direction of those guys trying to flee.

Slash!

Like that, dozens of people lost their lives simultaneously. Were humans always so weak?

“Hah.”

「Madness Gauge: 65%」

They were so weak that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“U-Urgh…”

“Hmm.”

What was that…?

I pursed my lips when I saw prisoners strewn all over the garden. I nearly walked past them without noticing because they were lying flat against the ground, almost like insects.

‘Should I kill them?’

I was shocked at that thought but quickly shook it off. These were the people I came to save. They weren’t targets for me to kill.

‘Really?’

…It should have been like that.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I felt a little strange. I wasn’t sure, but since earlier… My head was a bit…

‘Now isn’t the time.’

…I wasn’t sure. I felt a bit tired, so maybe that was why. It could also be an effect of that Madness Gauge leaving my mind so dazed.

“Leave.”

I tore off the people’s shackles, deeply conscious of that sinking feeling within me. Once I’d grasped how to do it, pouring Arcane Power into my hands wasn’t so difficult.

“U-Uwaargh!”

However, why did they scream every time I tried to help them? That made me feel bad.

Those I’d released just fled without looking back once. They didn’t even thank me a little.

That felt a bit unpleasant.

‘If they hate me so much without any reason, maybe I should give them one.’

I thought about giving them a real reason to be so afraid of me, but I held back. I couldn’t harm innocent civilians. That was against my ethical code. Since it was like that… I, that…

「Madness Gauge: 66%」

「Madness Gauge: 67%」

That?

「Madness Gauge: 68%」

So annoying and unpleasant. Everything felt so irritating now. I clearly remembered things had been fun up until now.

「Madness Gauge: 69%」

I felt something hot rising within me. Annoyance. No, fury.

Wouldn’t it be good if everyone before me just disappeared? Or should I just kill each and every one? Would it lessen this unpleasant sensation if I tore off all their limbs, dug out their internal organs, scattered them all over the ground, and burned them to ashes?

「Madness Gauge: 70%」

I didn’t know why, but I was just filled with this incessant ‘wrath’.

It was like a fire that would never go out, even if it set the whole world ablaze.

My vision became even redder.

* * *

* * *

The Inquisitor somehow reached the castle while dealing with waves of Demons. At some point, however, those Demons began escaping rather than engaging them in battle, so it became easier.

“Are Demons beings that would just run away for no apparent reason?”

“…No. Demons usually don’t flee like this.”

Demons wouldn’t typically run away, except for one reason.

“Everyone, take up your arms. And… If something happens, prepare to run away without ever looking back.”

There was only one reason they would run: when an overwhelmingly stronger, higher-ranking Demon tried to hunt them down.

“What?”

The closer the Inquisitor got to the castle, the more unpleasant and creepier it became. She could faintly see a garden behind the castle’s broken facade.

“Looks like the ground over there has been ripped up in a straight line, doesn’t it?”

“True… Who did that?”

They approached the garden following this unnatural trail.

“That’s…”

The first to see what lay ahead was Deathbringer, who had the keenest eyes and superior night vision.

“…This is terrible.”

However, he couldn’t say anything more, so another thief spoke on his behalf. The Inquisitor, whose eyes were just so-so and had poor night vision, stared into the darkness for a while.

“I can’t see anything. What is it?”

“…Demon corpses.”

She walked further ahead without lowering her guard. After she took three more steps, the thief added a few more words.

“Torn into hundreds of tiny pieces.”

Only then did she see what lay ahead in the garden. There were traces of a gigantic Demon shredded into minced meat.

What made it even more terrifying was that this had been accomplished with a sharp blade instead of a blunt weapon like a mace. The clean and straight cuts were proof of that.

“…Who did this?”

One of the thieves spoke to themselves. And the answer to that question was someone both the Inquisitor and Deathbringer knew very well. They hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, but they were certain.

“Mister Knight, probably.”

Only that man could do something like this, considering the gigantic cuts carved into the ground.

A veil of silence fell over the group.

“Let’s enter.”

They silently passed through the garden and entered the castle. It was so dark that even the faint moonlight which had been illuminating their way had disappeared, leaving it difficult to make anything out.

“I don’t feel any signs of life. Could you turn on the light?”

“…Yes.”

Tak, tak, crackle. After a few tries, the oil inside the lamp caught fire.

At the same time, the dark world was dyed scarlet. The stone walls, the tattered carpet on the floor, and the ceiling; there was blood everywhere, along with its former owners.

“…!!”

Truthfully, this sight wasn’t new to them. If the Demon Knight had been the one to kill all the Demons outside before heading inside, there was no way he would leave the rest alone.

Because these people had all sold their souls for wealth and fame.

However…

“Mister Knight would never kill anyone that cruelly.”

Deathbringer felt some doubt. The methods of the Demon Knight he knew and the method in which these corpses were killed were very different.

The Demon Knight couldn’t be called merciful by any means, but he at least tended to send people to the afterlife in a single attack. Also, his used weapon was always a sword, no matter whether it was a short sword or a long sword.

If he didn’t use a sword, it was often to subdue someone, though he might break one of the person’s limbs in the process.

“They… weren’t killed with a sword.”

However, when he analyzed these corpses’ cause of death, it appeared they weren’t killed with a sword, but rather…

“Were they killed with bare hands?”

He believed they were killed with bare hands.

“Hands?”

“The cuts are too rough to have been made with a blade. There are many four-pronged wounds. Most of all, this person… had their heart ripped out.”

The wound was too big and too rough for it to have been cut out with a knife or blade. No weapon he knew of could inflict such wounds.

“Mister Knight knows how to strengthen his body with Arcane Power… So, him putting Arcane Power into his hands would explain how he tore out this person’s heart.”

Of course, he didn’t know whether this was possible. Before meeting the Demon Knight, he’d never seen someone capable of using Arcane Power like that.

However, if it was the Demon Knight he’d witnessed, particularly that time he danced in the sky, it didn’t seem impossible.

“Can you not do that?”

“…If you ask like that, I’d say it’s possible.”

He became even more sure when the Inquisitor, who was similar in strength to the Demon Knight, confirmed it was possible.

“…We’ll have to be prepared.”

Seeing the dead Demons, they concluded that the Demon hadn’t taken over the Demon Knight. However, there were just too many suspicious points for them to consider him on their side.

The Inquisitor pursed her lips at Deathbringer’s words. For some reason, her instincts as an inquisitor were ringing alarm bells in her head.

“Wait, I can hear people running.”

Then, one of the thief’s ears perked up. They didn’t hear wrong. Soon, a group of people began appearing before them from one side.

The Inquisitor standing at the forefront held up her shield. The shield’s identity was a part of her armor used as a decoration.

“Who are you!”

“Aah, p-please, help us!”

The Inquisitor looked with fierce eyes over the faces of those running toward them. She couldn’t feel any Demonic Energy from them, and their clothes were shabby. Just like the slaves they’d come across, one of whom they’d taken to their hiding place.

“We came here to kill Vipurit. Who are you?”

“W-W-We…”

However, one could never know. She knew of those corrupt priests who held no Divine Power and even those who went as far as hiding inside the Temple.

That was why the Inquisitor decided never to let her guard down.

“They’re safe.”

This would have continued for quite some time had a familiar voice not spoken in their stead.

“You’re…!”

Was her name Lukkwan? The Inquisitor clearly remembered that she went here together with the Demon Knight.

“You’re alive!”

All of them had thought she was dead. Had the Demon Knight fallen for a trap, it would have been quite difficult for Lukkwan to survive through her own strength.

“Lukkwan!”

“Big Sis, you’re alive.”

However, she returned alive. She managed to survive safely.

The Inquisitor momentarily felt relieved by this small bit of luck.

“I was lucky.”

Meanwhile, Lukkwan approached them with a complicated expression on her face and gestured toward the people.

“There are many things I want to tell you, but first… These people were going to be used as sacrifices. They’re safe.”

“Is that so?”

They weren’t close enough to have absolute faith in each other, but their relationship wasn’t shallow enough to be wholly without trust. The Inquisitor decided to believe Lukkwan’s words and lowered her shield.

The people watching from behind let out a sigh of relief and showed some unrest.

“W-We have to run away.”

Then, one of them finally mustered the courage to speak. Those words seemed strange to them.

“Is there something inside of this place?”

“Th-There’s a monster…”

“It’s going to kill us all.”

“Please get us out of here!”

When she asked them, their reactions were almost hysterical.

“Kill you all… What do you mean?”

“I’m guessing you’re talking about the Demon Knight.”

However, when the reality she’d expected but wasn’t prepared for suddenly struck her, the Inquisitor couldn’t help but be as shocked as everyone else.

“He’s… become strange.”

The Inquisitor gripped her mace tightly.

* * *

To kill, or not to kill. But I want to kill. But why? I didn’t know. I was just angry. Everything felt so annoying and irritating.

Wasn’t it alright if I killed just a little bit?

“Get lost!”

No, it wasn’t.

“Get out of here right now!”

I roughly cut the ropes of the people bound like oysters. There was no time for me to loosen their shackles one by one.

I at least cut the rope limiting their movements, so I hoped they could run away by themselves.

“U-urgh.”

“P-Please spare me.”

I’ve already shown so much mercy, so why were they begging like that before me again? I really wanted to kill them.

「Madness Gauge: 74%」

Hit!

As soon as I felt the urge to kill all those people escaping, I hit my head.

This wasn’t normal. I didn’t have intermittent explosive disorder, and it couldn’t be normal to feel such excessive rage in these kinds of situations.

This went far beyond mere anger. I even considered killing civilians, which was even worse!

“Get out of here before I kill you!!”

“Uwargh!”

“Run away!”

I hurriedly chased everyone out while holding my pounding head. I had no more leeway to worry about roleplaying or my character settings.

It felt as if something had settled into my brain and was endlessly whispering to me, or injecting thoughts into me. That seething, murderous intent tried to seize control from me.

I felt like if my sanity slipped even lower, I would end up slaughtering people.

「Madness Gauge: 76%」

Was this because of that Madness Gauge? It couldn’t be, right?

“Urgh…”

‘Kill, kill. Please just kill. Everything is so annoying. This situation is so irritating, so let’s just blow everything to bits. Let’s kill everyone here.’

“Fuck, this shitty game!”

「Madness Gauge: 77%」

Rage consumed me, and I didn’t know who it was even directed at anymore. This anger had no definite cause.

Initially, those feelings had burned like a lit fuse, but they now worsened sporadically like wildfire and rose to my head whenever they wanted.

My eyes became watery, and my whole body grew increasingly excited by this rising anger. My mind was divided into reason, emotion, and other things, and they seemed to be fighting against each other.

Kill. Are you crazy? Let’s just kill. Fuck you. Why can’t we kill? How does it make sense to kill someone just because you’re angry? But my anger won’t go away if I don’t. This is frustrating. That Madness Gauge was truly terrifying.

My vision grew red. Truly red. Even that seemed irritating and made it more difficult for me to think. I just wanted to let out these emotions.

But where did these emotions come from? Ah, was it from that damn Madness Gauge?

But did it even make sense for a game to arbitrarily influence a player’s emotions just because of some mechanic?

I felt annoyed, no, absolutely furious. Why was I stuck in this damn game, and why did I have to go through all this trouble—?

「Madness Gauge: 78%」

No. I couldn’t get swayed. I should quickly reflect on my modern moral code. I repeatedly told myself that if I killed someone just because I was angry, I would be a beast and not a human.

「Madness Gauge: 79%」

No, but that shitty game got me before I could do anything more.

“Demon Knight?”

I could barely hear a voice calling out to me above the incessant ringing in my ears. I raised my head as if hypnotized by it…

“Are you okay?”

What I found there was a lump of discomfort.

「Madness Gauge: 80%」

Ah, I couldn’t hold it in any longer.