Chapter 266: A Fact That Seems Important, Isn’t, but Is Slightly Important
The big ones are the strong ones—no, the small ones are the strong ones. This question hasn't been settled from the dawn of RPGs to the present day. But in this moment, I saw the answer.
Even though he's only human-sized, the dragon serpents cower in fear and retreat before a mere rabbit.
Vash: "Oi, oi, Aydward. Ain'tcha been roughed up somethin' fierce again."
Aydward: "P-Pops…"
Vash: "Oi. I'll be takin' this back."
Picking up the long blade—Tanryu—from beside Aydward, who looks unable to stand, Vash smoothly draws it from its sheath, rests the back of the blade on his shoulder, and looks toward Goldhuneenay.
Vash: "You step out, and I step out… Ya know how this goes, yeah? Oi…"
Goldhuneenay: "You're quite attached to these ones, aren't you?"
Vash: "Ain't right to nip a bud 'fore it's had a chance to bloom… ain't that so, yeah?"
Goldhuneenay: "No, there is no potential. Not now, not ever… As long as I am myself, I can only ever be myself."
The two Unique Monsters continue a conversation that's hard to follow—maybe there's something only Unique Monsters understand between them.
"I am myself, so I can only be myself…"? Like a dish where you mix egg into egg and top it with egg… like a plain omelet cooked with mayo instead of oil and then topped with more mayo? While I'm thinking about such stupid things, wondering what I should do now that I've stood up and talked big, Vash is the first to move.
Vash: "You and me both… this here's the result of lettin' our own kin fight it out. So if that's how it is, ain't it a bit outta line for ya to come waltzin' in yourself?"
Goldhuneenay: "………"
Even against Goldhuneenay's bone-chilling stare, Vash doesn't flinch. He's not intimidating her, not swinging his sword around, but the dragon serpents are cowering, and the control of this place that Goldhuneenay held until moments ago is shifting toward Vash.
Now then. Completely at a loose end—what the hell should I do?
Goldhuneenay: "…Hmph. I've lost interest."
The hell? What're you glaring at me for, you bastard? Thinkin' you'll dump aggro on me 'cause Vash scares you too much? You've got guts. You're the one that was on Goldhuneenay's upper right, yeah? I've got your face memorized, dammit.
Goldhuneenay: "But don't forget… I will definitely come to kill the one you are sheltering. While slaughtering every last one of your kin… yes?"
A sharp wind howled. Wait—in a cave, wind should blow from the back toward the front. Why is there a tornado-like wind…?
Dragon Serpent: "GOAAAAHHHH!?"
Sunraku: "Whoa."
The dragon serpent that'd been eyeing me with a "this one I can take" look lets out a shriek. Its tough scales—which had even withstood Rei-shi's Apocalypse—are shredded along with the flesh beneath. I can see the damage effects scattering from here.
Wait—what was that just now? Wethermon's Tachikaze was way easier to understand… Huh? Magic? No way that was a skill, right?
Vash: "Careless words… ain't somethin' ya should go throwin' around all willy-nilly, yeah…?"
Not that I've got any plans to be hostile, but… yeah. How the hell do you beat either Goldhuneenay or Vysache? They're gimmick bosses, right? If these were straight-up brawler types like Lycagon or Wethermon, I'd seriously be dead.
That aside—haha, look at that shredded face, serves you right! All those dragon serpents have the same damn face, so this makes it way easier to tell 'em apart.
Vash: "Get lost. This ain't yer place no more."
Goldhuneenay: "I have no attachment to a hole I dug. But… fine. This time, I'll be the one to withdraw."
Sunraku: "Pweh—… Uwooaah, that's dangerous! Bweh!?"
Having nothing better to do, I was striking weird poses and sending taunting thoughts at Goldhuneenay when she pumped five poison swords into me in quick succession. Vash didn't help me… Ah. Yes. That was my fault for clowning around. Yes.
It seems she really is withdrawing. Goldhuneenay turns to leave, but then glances back over her shoulder and stares at me.
Goldhuneenay: "You. I will definitely kill you."
Sunraku: "Shut up. I don't care if you're 'Endless' or 'Fareless' or whatever… But one day, we'll definitely hold a blade to your throat. Be ready."
She sneered at me through her nose.
Hahaha, this bitch… I'll never forgive her…!
As I glare ahead, thinking about what kind of taunts I'll throw at her on the day of the final battle to come, the pure-white snake girl disappears into the darkness, followed by the four dragon serpents.
Then, silence. The shing of Vash sheathing the long blade echoes unnervingly loud. Looking around again, it really is a terrible situation. I get that someone with paper armor like me, or Akitsu Akane, would take dismemberment-level damage. But for Rei-shi's Twinface Armor to be nearly shattered…
Sunraku: "Aniki, thanks a ton."
Vash: "Oi… In a bit, the ones I sent back'll be comin'… Hn. Too much trouble."
Sunraku: "Huh?"
Uh, Aniki, why are you drawing your sword? Actually, there's an effect on Tanryu I've never seen before—wait, hold on…!
Vash: "Won't be no pain… Ease Pain."
A clean chop beheads me. Akitsu Akane gets stabbed through the heart. Rei-shi's throat artery gets slashed… It was way too sudden for any of us to react. Wait—has Aniki lost his mind?
Vash: "You lot… when ya wake up, everything'll be all healed up… so go on back to Rabituza first."
There's no pain. If I had to say, I can't even feel the sensation of my head hitting the ground…
[Unique Scenario "Rabituza Defensive" cleared!]
[Title "Defender of Rabituza" acquired!]
[Unique Scenario EX "Epic of Vorpal Bunny" has progressed!]
Sunraku: "No, wait, hold on!"
My fingers move before my scrambled thoughts can settle.
No death penalty. Hard to believe, but that skill or magic—whichever it was—Ease Pain, which involves some kind of system processing… players killed by it don't get a penalty?
No, more than that—those words Vash said the moment I died… You're kidding. All the weird feelings I've been having this whole time just connected.
Sunraku: "Wake up and you're fully healed… Well, yeah. It's a respawn."
Yeah, that's right. Basically, games are different from reality—you get do-overs. The biggest examples are "save" and "respawn."
Even with a ten-year gap in between, we can restart the story from where we saved. Even if we get caught in an explosion that doesn't leave a single piece of flesh, we reappear in perfect condition.
But that's… how games work…
Sunraku: "The fourth wall? No, that's not the right nuance. It's always been recognized as just how things are. No matter how deeply I was conked out, Emul always treated it as normal… Ah, shit! So that's what 'Project Two' meant—us!"
I bounce off the softness of the bed into a backflip. I feel like I just realized I left my house unlocked on the other side of the planet at the exact same moment I won the lottery.
Sunraku: "Aaaargh! I'm gonna go bust into the Library's base right now and spill everything—!!"
This is not something I should be keeping to myself!! But I can't talk about it, dammit—!
Faced with a truth so obvious I'd completely overlooked it, I just keep flipping on pure impulse.
NPCs and players might operate under the same system, but they're different things. But in this game's case… no, in the setting of this game's world, they're fundamentally different in a much deeper way.
In other words—
Sunraku: "Pioneers (players) and ordinary people (NPCs) are different species to begin with…?"
Emul: "Huh?"
As I tremble from the shock of having stepped into the truth of the world, Emul, who's come into the room, murmurs something.
But it's not the shock of someone reacting to a stunning revelation… It's more like a slightly exasperated "Huh? You're only just getting that?" kind of… Huh?
Sunraku: "Huh? What's with that face?"
Emul: "Huh? I mean, Sunraku-san… Things like dying and then reviving at the last place you slept… that's not something anyone except Pioneers, who have the Divine Era's blessing, could do, desu wa…?"
…………….
Sunraku: "Huh? What? So you knew from the very beginning?"
Emul: "Sunraku-san, that's common knowledge, desu wa?"
…………….
Grab.
Emul: "Fyaah?"
Squish, squish, squish, squiiish—!
Emul: "Fwo fhyaaaaahhhh!?"
Sunraku: "You're supposed to trigger an event before bringing up stuff like that, Emul—!!"
I roar while squishing Emul's cheeks at high speed. This ain't a narrative trick—explain things properly, dammit!!