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That everyone would betray was within their expectations.
However, if the one that cannot betray them was going to betray them anyways …
The, the answer would be── that, it’s like that──
────…………
── 42 days have pa.s.sed since the game started, on top of square 306.
They were proceeding west towards Elkia’s capital. The sounds of hooves and cartwheels could be heard.
They had resupplied in the city of El Roble, and they were now swaying along inside a horse-drawn carriage. s.h.i.+ro was on Sora’s lap, he made a small, sarcastic smile.
He had already gotten used to the billboards, they had letter for letter, word for word, the same task, it was:
── 【Amongst the seven souls that the Old Deus holds, choose one to be released and killed, then, be transferred to the final square】
With this, it was the sixth consecutive time that【Task】had──no? Most likey, they keep on repeating, from square 301 until the end.
Had someone written them with some sort of intent, and then somehow managed to gather them?──
‘What… is it some sort of cliched word play that you have to solve?’ Sora ponders by himself.
── ‘Let’s try and arrange the rules’ Sora thinks with a small smile.
03: The result from throwing the dice is randomly determined, and after doing so, one dice from those used is lost.
10: Each【Task】shall be described on a billboard, and they shall be positioned irregularly across the squares of the board.
The results of the dice are ‘random’... using the random number generator that s.h.i.+ro specified.
But the【Task】positioning is ‘irregular’... It seems that it is not random.
01：The seven persons shall be granted their own “Ma.s.s Existence Time” divided proportionally into 10 “Dice”.
06 : When the game begins, each player shall have the right to create 50【Tasks】
It seems that the dice were granted to… seven persons.
But the ones who wrote the tasks were… players.
── Then, the three rules that must have been determined solely by the Old Deus were:
First, the rule that says that only the leading player would be saved without earning anything.
Second, the rule that makes the one who carried Miko away always the leading player.
And third, the rule concerning the ‘Traitor’.
That’s right, this game started because the Old Deus was threatened, or perhaps set up, by Miko.
Normally there is absolutely no way everyone would agree to a ‘traitor’ that preserved their memories.
From the fact thatthey had allowed those rules one could guess that ── no?
Let’s suppose that they were able to determine those rules. If that was the case…
── Who wrote these tasks, and how had they arranged them continuously like this──?
“That should be obvious, right?” Sora said with a smile as the horse carriage they were on, kept rolling on, and finally arrived at square 307.
After the loading screen, they finally arrived at the resulting square. But someone was already there.
Sora helped Steph and s.h.i.+ro down from the carriage. He had that someone in his sight. They were basking in it, meaninglessly and unshakably, they were simply there, it was,
“It was you wasn’t it? The seventh player, the Old Deus-san with no name”
── That’s right. She had a dry writing brush in one hand, and was resting her chin on the other. She was floating on empty s.p.a.ce, seated on an ink line as big as her. She had the appearance of a young girl.
She turned to look at Sora and the others. She had reddish-black eyes that seemed to reflect everything in creation.
She was just there. Just with that, she had the overwhelming presence of a natural disaster. However… Right now, for Sora all that seemed like a fabrication ── something hollow.
She looked just like an artificial doll. Sora dares to continue his provocations:
“You are not a dice holder, yet you’re always in the lead. You can teleport anywhere you want, and also teleport others, and yet you are a player. If the Old Deus, you, weren’t here this task would be invalid──”
For a G.o.d, it was a lousy trick.
“You wrote it yourself, by saying irregularly you were able to put them at the end of the board── how would it be possible otherwise?” Sora said, mockingly, and at the same time the【Task】resounded:
── 【Amongst the seven souls that the Old Deus holds, choose one to be released and killed, then, be transferred to the final square】
── ‘Well then, let’s continue with the next answer’ Sora thinks, and deepens his smile.
“If we reached the goal normally, probably, almost certainly, this Old Deus will die”
It was a game that started because she was threatened. That’s what would normally happen if the threatened party lost. And what’s more, even if they reached the goal, and made a demand, would she be able to avoid fulfilling it?
Since Sora and the others had their memories levied before the game, they had no way of knowing that. However, since there’s no way that Sora and the others wanted to sacrifice that, then it’s easy. They just needed to not think normally… In short:
“If the one who knows which demand would prevent the Old Deus’ death reached the goal, then there’s no problem.”
“... Are you saying that... you are the one who knows that… Sora?”
Steph asked from behind him, but Sora just tilted his head, and with a smile that was like a creva.s.se engraved in his face, he turns around and answers:
“There’s no way I’d know. But you know, right?”
When Sora made that eerie declaration, Steph ── No? The one whose memories weren’t levied, the one who knows what to demand ──
“It’s your turn ‘traitor’... or should I say ‘impostor’?”
“........................wha….t……...？”
The thing with Steph’s appearance had a face twisted by bewilderment and fear. She took a step back.
“── You will accomplish this task and reach the goal.”
As if he was chasing after her, Sora took a step towards her, and continued as if he were ordering her. That was still confused, and just raised a hoa.r.s.e scream:
“are you saying that I have to say someone’s name ── and kill them, s-so that I... can climb to the top!?”
“Not someone. You will properly say the name of the one that wouldn’t be killed even if they were released.”
── ‘Well then, let’s reveal the final answer’ Sora smiled as he said that.
The task urged them to release one of the seven souls in the Old Deus’ possession, but which seven souls was it referring to?
It was reasonable to think that it’d be the seven dice holders. By dividing the ‘Body’ into dice, and entrusting the ‘Soul’ to the Old Deus, they were able to stay alive ── if the Old Deus let go of them, Sora and the others would die.
However! Steph is an impostor! And the Old Deus is also a player!? No, wait, what about Miko!?
Aah ── Just who are these seven people!? Oh my, who should we sacrifice then──!?
… They should have been worrying like that, right?
Sora and s.h.i.+ro just looked into each other’s eyes, and laughed. If the usual question would be: ‘Who should we sacrifice’, then the solution would be to answer with: ‘We shouldn’t sacrifice anyone! Are you an idiot?’.
If they wanted to not sacrifice even a single person, then there was no room for worries.
“We will get rid of the sacrifice that was already made. Simply put, we will revive the person who died.”
That’s right. They even went as far as forcing rules like: ‘The leading player will be saved’.
The one whose ‘container’ is being safeguarded by the Old Deus after being carried away carefully by her.
The one who, unlike Sora and the others, wasn’t divided into dice. Even if their soul was released they wouldn’t die.
── The one who was already dead, so they couldn’t die anymore than that.
The one who disappeared together with the Old Deus, although Sora and the others couldn’t see it.
── The one who must be right next to this Old Deus as it floated with a composed expression.
In short, the seventh of the seven persons.
“── You just need to answer with ‘Miko-san’”
s.h.i.+ro reacted to Sora’s conclusion as if it was natural. But the thing with Steph’s appearance was just dumbfounded. There were no words, they just stared at each other, and yet, Sora by himself raised the tension.
“And thus! Miko-san’s soul will return to her body! With this, first, we will take back one sacrifice!”
He turns his hand towards the ‘traitor’ as if he was dancing, and says, as if he was singing:
“Be transfered to the final square ── Congratulations!! You are the ‘Winner’!! Now just do a winning lap to celebrate your victory, stand on the podium, bathe in champagne and make the demand──!!”
He suddenly stopped moving when he said that, and concludes:
── The third of the rules that could have only been determined solely by the Old Deus. In other words, they could only know what to demand by tampering with the fake Steph’s memories and conduct──
“... that only you, the ‘traitor’, could know, demand that the Old Deus doesn’t die── okay?♪”
──── Confusion. It created a silence born from bewilderment.
The Traitor shakes her head, and displays a natural response.
“I-I don’t… understand… F-first of all ── I’m an impostor…?”
That’s right, Sora and s.h.i.+ro knew that she didn’t have that awareness.
In that case, she was a ‘replica’ created with the real Steph’s agreement ── that’s precisely why.
Steph’s agreement ── in other words, this copy would betray according to Sora and the other’s intentions, Sora was now more certain of it.
That’s why Sora dispa.s.sionately brings that truth forward.
“── You. Do you have any memory of submitting your tasks? There are only 350 squares, but only the Tasks written by the Old Deus exist, then where are your tasks? Can you tell me what I told you right after we left Elkia? Where is Leila? Where are the notes and orders we gave you now?”
There’s no way that can answer. But if it was Steph she could easily answer those questions,
“... E-even if I reluctantly gave in and did what Sora says… It would be reluctantly, all right!?”
She said, and tried to object, but──
“I-if I raised to the top and said the Old Deus’ demands, wouldn’t the Old Deus win!? ── E-everyone’s lives and everything we bet too! At worst, she could demand everything──”
“She won’t. That’s because the Old Deus wouldn’t win”
Sora interrupted with an instant reply. In the first place, the rules say that:
13: When a Dice Holder reaches the final square, they shall be declared the “Winner” and the game shall end.
14: The Old Deus in question accepts the obligation to fulfill all demands within the scope of her rights that the “Winner” makes.
The scope of the Old Deus’ rights ── Sora and the other’s rights were outside of it.
“... That’s right. You will be the ‘Winner’ after all. I told you ── you are the ‘Traitor’ remember?”
If the one who would absolutely never betray, still betrayed then ──
“You will betray me, betray s.h.i.+ro, betray Jibril, betray Plum, betray Ino, betray Izuna, you will even betray yourself ── You will betray all partic.i.p.ants, you see”
The Old Deus’ demands: the Race Pieces, Miko’s life, everything. They won’t let her obtain everything, it’s just that they can win by not making any sacrifice.
── That’s all they wanted, and the only reason why this game started. That is their victory.
“The Old Deus believed that there was no way the traitor would reach the goal, so betray even the Old Deus too, okay♪”
────…………
Only the wind was blowing, it was a long silence.
The Old Deus was just there with an unreadable expression. Her mere presence was overwhelming.
For how long had she been like that? The little girl with Steph’s appearance was looking down, and muttering.
“... Sora… s.h.i.+ro… Am I… an impostor?”
She asked with a trembling voice, but Sora and s.h.i.+ro answered with an extremely natural tone:
“... yes… after all… in the first place──”
“We had no intention of letting Steph partic.i.p.ate in this game from the very beginning”
By now, the real Steph should be in the Eastern Federation with Leila. He smirked when he tried to imagine what kind of faces that buch was making──
“Then… Who am I...”?
She was still looking down when she screamed that.
“A doll created just for this game!? What will happen to me when the game ends!?”
She was trembling. She hadn’t complained like that even during Jibril’s game.
“── Am I needed just to win this game…?”
Even though Sora had told her that if they wanted to not make a single sacrifice then all partic.i.p.ants would be included. That caused a big impression in her ── that’s why she had been desperately pus.h.i.+ng her fears away,and yet──
“Is it fine for me to disappear just because I’m... an… impostor…?”
── However, in response to that scream filled with resentment, Sora stuttered:
“Eeeeh, aaah no, ththat’s wro── that’s not iiiiiiiit!? s.h.i.+-s.h.i.+ro, help!”
“... Nii… you’re a virgin... because you lose your composure… with a single tear… from a woman”
However, since Sora was really fl.u.s.tered for not knowing what to do, s.h.i.+ro turns towards him with half-lidded eyes. It seemed like Sora wanted to say that something was really wrong, so Steph turns her teary eyes towards him too.
“... You will not, disappear… you will not, die… It will be all, right…”
To continue what s.h.i.+ro was saying, Sora takes a few deep breaths, clears his throat once, and says:
“Ah～ How many times do I have to say this. No one will be sacrificed, we won’t let that happen.”
──Returning to the previous topic. Why was this person not one of the souls that the Old Deus has? That was because:
“... The Old Deus doesn’t have Stephanie Dola’s soul. Due to the Ten Pledges, without Steph’s agreement, a duplicate cannot be made. That’s why! There’s no way that me, s.h.i.+ro and Steph would all agree that since you’re an impostor you’d have no more uses after the game”
That’s why, well, they’d need her at least to transfer the memories from the game to the Steph outside the game, but──
“Aah～, it’s just that… you see… Steph cannot betray everyone… that’s why──”
He averts his eyes a little bit. As if it was displeasing, or perhaps embarra.s.sing, Sora says:
“── As long as you are a traitor, I cannot call you Steph”
Instead, s.h.i.+ro give her a thumbs up, and with a mouth shaped like a chestnut says:
“... Let’s meet outside… later… and say ‘I’m home”
“Ah… well, if we do that ── I will reply calling you by name, okay”
……….. Suddenly.
“Hahaha” She bursted into laughter──
── The Steph that was not Steph, the traitor, walked towards the Old Deus.Her small limbs were trembling, however, Sora and s.h.i.+ro were the same, and made a bitter smile.
In a way that didn’t befit Steph, she understood the reason for that. Both Sora and s.h.i.+ro… didn’t have absolute proof that they were correct. What’s more, in this game, including that incident with Jibril, they had made several mistakes.
── What if even if the traitor reached the goal, they still couldn’t make the correct demand?
Perhaps, once Miko’s soul was released she’d die?
Or maybe, once the game ended they’d be exterminated after all?
What if, in the worst case scenario, this was a scheme by the Old Deus, and they all lost?
── Countless worries filled her mind, but the Traitor just smiled.
‘I can believe’ she thought.
There’s no way she’d betray them, that was the very reason why she was chosen to be the traitor. That’s precisely why they were able to entrust that move, and everything they bet, to the one who would certainly betray them.
They won’t sacrifice anyone. They went so far with Jibril just for that. The traitor believes that this can end with all partic.i.p.ants laughing.
── She stares directly at the Old Deus, and says the name of the soul to be released:
“── I choose… ‘Miko-sama’!”
And suddenly…
The scenery changes, at that instant──
The Old Deus’ face was robotic and without any feelings but… for some reason, at that moment… It looked like the face of a child that was about to cry──
── There was a flash.
She had exchanged places with the girl that had just disappeared, as if it was teleportation.
From a small hill that commanded a view of the sea, accompanied by the sound of wooden sandals, a voice like a bell could be heard:
“... haah… my body after 42 days… was it always this heavy inside?…”
She appeared behind Sora and s.h.i.+ro… waving her two big tails and kimono… a golden fox.
── ‘I don’t want to get any older’ is what she was trying to say. Miko made a wry smile.
When they saw her Sora and s.h.i.+ro were so relieved they put a hand on their chests, however,
“Aah, c’mon!! Can’t we win already!?”
“... s.h.i.+ro, is also… tired… I just want… to enter, a futon… and sleep…”
They stretched and said that with tired faces──
At the same time──
Suddenly, the two remaining dice they each had disappeared from their chests. Sora returned to being 18 years old, and s.h.i.+ro to being 11, then they looked up to the sky.
She’s supposed to be on the final square, 44 squares away.
── Did the traitor make the correct demand?
The ground rumbled and shook, the game board collapsed. They had confirmed that the game had ended,
“Well… since we suffered a defeat, we can’t say that it was a perfect victory… haah, there were so many misreads”
“... it’s not… nii’s fault… this time… s.h.i.+ro too… made a lot of… mistakes…”
To summarize, the loss from this time will have lasting repercussions. As expected, Sora and s.h.i.+ro just want to sulk in bed an review, however:
“Kaka! You certainly slipped through the preparations of all partic.i.p.ants, including that child──”
However, Miko had a merciless and wicked smile.
“Did you forget about my own preparations? You are so cold♪”
Sora and s.h.i.+ro turn to where she was looking at together.
── As usual, she was expressionless, unfeeling, robotic. The Old Deus was drifting through s.p.a.ce on a giant inkline, however:
“... why doth thou not seek victory...?”
“..............................”
When they heard that question, Sora and s.h.i.+ro made a dubious frown together. The Old Deus’ appearance hadn’t changed, however, there was something different about her. The words that had been directly engraved into their brains before were just sounds now. Her incredible presence was like an act, it had no realism at all.
── It was almost as if she had stopped being a ‘G.o.d’.
“...why doth thou not seek ‘profit’...?”
Even her tone had changed for some reason. She asked her questions with an att.i.tude that made them think of a child.
However, it looked like Sora didn’t understand what she was trying to ask:
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. This is our victory, right?”
── They had pursued profit, and as a result they had won. They had obtained profit, right?
Sora had spoken without any doubts, however, the Old Deus’ expression trembled, and she spoke with sorrow:
“... Why didn’t thou steal from me? Why didn"t thou allow me die...?”
“... ehm… well, you see. This is a game, right?”
Sora’s self confidence was a bit shaken, so he tentatively confirms, in a single breath:
“Is there any meaning to a master gamer killing people!? Instead, they’d want to play again, right!? Or rather, we’d feel disgusted if we let you die! It would be a heavy burden, c’mon!”
“... It wouldn’t, be fun… it’d leave a bad, aftertaste… we have, chicken hearts, after all…”
“The ones who bet their lives so calmly have chicken hearts… such a funny joke” Miko teased.
However, Sora turns around with a very serious face, and screams:
“And actually!! I can’t take it anymore, so I’ll just let everything out, all right!?”
It was something he planned to tell Jibril later, but even so, Sora screams at his wit’s ends:
“You!! Listen to what Tet says a little bit more!! Aren"t you ignoring him a little bit too much!? Even if you say it’s because he’s annoying, won’t you spill a single tear of sympathy after coming this far!? The tenth pledge! C’mon!! Repeat it!!”
──Let"s all have fun and play together!
“What would you do if you had killed her!? I’m only asking because you seem to think I’m the crazy one!”
Sora screamed, and remembers the scenery he saw in the match against Jibril. A world of killing or being killed, of stealing or being stolen from. A world that was an endless chain of despair and hatred──
If they had made a single mistake it could become something like their previous world.
“── Is such a thing── reaaaaaaly so fun!?”
… There was a shocked silence.
That silence swallowed up the place, and then,
“... I don’t understand── don’t understand don’t understand don’t understand don’t understand don’t understand don’t understand don’t understand don’t understand don’t understand don’t understand” The Old Deus murmured at her wits’ end. The game board kept collapsing, and the rumbles became louder.
And then, she finally raised her voice:
“In that case, just what is there to believe in?”
“──? Can’t you just believe in doubting?” Sora asked, but the only response was a blank stare. She didn’t understand very well, but… through their belief in betrayal, they had arrived at trust. They had proven that just a moment ago, right?
Finally, the Old Deus clenches her teeth, and yells at the bewildered Sora with a tearful voice──
It was almost as if… yes it was just like a child throwing a tantrum:
“────In that case── answer me!!”
The board’s collapse had finally reached their feet,
“Why──── why didst the medium betray me?── Answer me, inferior race!!”
In that collapsing scenery, that scream reached only one person.
“Then, since my suffering friend asked for it. If I were to borrow your words──”
Miko makes a smile befitting an ill natured fox, and says:
“── The real thing starts now. I’m looking forward to it♥”
A black thing swallowed Sora and s.h.i.+ro.
── Eastern Federation’s capital: Kannagiri Island.
Deep under Chika Tandaifu── Plum & Ino Vs. Fiel & Kurami.
It was where the grand game that crossed over between the inside and the outside of the video game had ended. Cruelly, there was a clear distinction between the winners and losers.
── On one hand, the winners were engulfed in delight..
“Hey, how do you feel right now? Hey, how does it feel to not be able to use magic even once～♥”
“Ha, ahaha, ahahaha! I, Hatsuse Ino, have no more regrets in life!”
Plum was floating around provoking them, and Ino had a satisfied face.
If Ino had been in his body, he wouldn’t have been able to use blood destruction continuously like that and ma.s.sacre the Sora NPCs.
He was filled with an intense sense of accomplishment, he even though that he would be fine with dying right there and then.
The other one, Plum had also been able to ignore the “Soul Degradation” due to being in spirit form, and had used magic continuously. Using the original power of the Dhampir, he had completely cut off Fiel, just as he said. Not only that, he had also trapped her in mult.i.tudes of dreams and made her as useless as moss. He was ecstatic.
── On the other hand, the losers were engulfed in despair.
“... I lost to a mosquito. I lost to a mosquito. I lost to a mosquito～ Fufu── I want to die”
“... huff, puff, Fii… It can’t, be helped… after all they cheated right…!?”
Fiel was grumbling with a vacant smile, and Kurami tried to comfort her, out of breath.
With Kurami’s physical capabilities, there was no way she could win against Ino alone, much less against Ino using Blood Destruction.
The other one, Fiel, had used magic to her limit ── no, she had exceeded her limits. She had used multiple carved seal spells at the same time. She had even used her trump card of using seven spells at the same time, the soul stone on her forehead had been strained like never before, and was even blackening.
── Even after doing all that, she still couldn’t get past Plum even once.
If one compared it to how dark her eyes had become because of that, one could say that the soul stone was crystal clear.
“... After this experience～ flowers surely grew on my head～... right Kurami? If you happened to see me in my next life～ I wouldn’t be a flower base, but rather, the natural fertilizer on the flower bed, but even so, I still want you to love me～...”
“Wait, I don’t understand what you’re saying! Where are you going, Fii! Fii!!”
── Delight, and despair. It was a scenery separated like light and darkness.
Steph was staring at the line between light and dark with a stiff face. However, at this time, she still didn’t know. That the division between light and dark could be a lot worse. And that the mixing of yin and yang brought about only chaos..
── And then, she suddenly woke up.
“────!? ……….eh? What….. Where am I?”
The memories of 42 days flowed into Steph’s head in a muddy stream.
The contradictory memories of being in two places at once were confusing her──
However, two screams that seemed to be more urgent were heard at the same time:
“Wha!? What is up with this blood!? I-I can’t die yet, I take back my previous words!”
“Kyaaaaaaa!? I’m burning up! I’ll die I’ll die, I’m dying! Blood! Give me blood Queen!!”
It seemed that together with Steph’s memories, Ino and Plum’s bodies had gone back to normal too. Was it backlash from that? Ino was vomiting blood and had started to beg for his life. Plum had jumped at the water tank next to Steph, at the sleeping Leila’s wrist.
And────
“... It would seem that my Masters have won── huh?” Jibril muttered emotionally.
She came using teleportation, and tilted her head to the side when she saw the new scenery.
Due to her memories of the game── the continuous fear and her rough treatment at Sora and s.h.i.+ro’s hands, Steph was screaming sarcastically.
Due to Leila’s whims, Plum was unable to suck her blood, and he looked like he was about to implode, Fiel was just chanting ‘die die die’ at him.
Ino was submerged in a sea of blood, convulsing. Unable to help, or even move due to fatigue, Kurami was crying loudly....
────I see.
It looks like everyone had a lot of fun, I’m glad to see everyone smiling♪”
“Don’t call a face like this a smileeeeeee” Steph screamed that firm request right next to her.
“... Actually… Jibril, where did you appear after the game?”
“In Miyas.h.i.+ro. Ehm, Izunsama is also coming this way, but where are──” Jibril said as she raised her hand ── now the scenery outside could be seen as if it was completely natural.
── It was as if heaven and earth were collapsing.
The spiraling sugoroku board that transcribed the planet. It was made in the sky it even reached outer s.p.a.ce.
That was now broken, destroyed. It was now collapsing due to gravity, following the original laws of physics──
There were no less than 350 squares, each with a 10km side. It was improper to call them simple rocks, they were entire lands.
It was crumbling completely ── It was dissolving as if it had never even existed in the first place.
──However,
“... Where are Sora and s.h.i.+ro?... Also Miko-sama…”
Steph had reached the end, the board was collapsing… Also her memories had flowed in, and they had returned to their bodies.
“The game ended, right? Then where are my Masters…?” Jubril muttered.
However, suddenly, Steph remembers something from her murky memories. It was what the other Steph was forced to request at the final square:
── “I demand that the Quintessence that Miko has is returned to the Old Deus”
… That was it.
Since she was forced to request it, even Steph herself didn’t understand. It seemed like it had ended without anyone dying and without any sacrifices, but...
“── The game is not over yet.”
“... What?”
Steph sees a small black dot at the end of the collapsing board, and mutters:
“After all, that child… the Old Deus still hasn’t smiled”