Chapter 393

Crackle, crackle...

The campfire blazes.

Though I still haven't completely left Zone 10, I had to rest.

My body, having been submerged in the spirit world before emerging, was far from its best condition. I couldn't keep moving for long.

I found an abandoned building and entered, gathering some firewood to start a fire.

Salome went out to find something to eat for me (Is there even anything edible in this neighborhood?), and I assigned Mason to guard outside.

"It feels a bit better now..."

The campfire offered more than just warmth.

Light.

Zone 10, with its towering skyscrapers shining like street lamps, provided visibility, but it was essentially engulfed in suffocating darkness.

Rustle, rustle...

The sound, like insects gnawing, echoes from all around. It's the sound of darkness creeping in.

Trying to ignore it, I stare blankly into the fire, then suddenly lift my head.

The dark sky – no, since it's below the lake, I should say the dark surface – stretches vastly, covering my vision.

Far above this darkness, there's the surface world.

Suddenly, it felt impossibly distant.

It's as if I'm stranded on an unknown alien planet in a broken spaceship. Earth must be beyond this vast cosmos, but still...

'Can I return?'

This isn't just about Crossroad. I rubbed my tired eyes.

I recalled the dream I had just before waking up here.

My life on Earth, as 'RetroAddict.'

I've come a long way from being a mere gamer cooped up in a room. At the same time, it's dizzying.

'Can I really go back?'

This time, it's not a physical question.

Even if I clear all the stages, reach the true ending, seize my wish, and return to my original world,

Would I still be me?

I've worn down so much during this year of gameplay.

I've grown accustomed to Ash's body, face, and voice, become more shameless, and more brutal. I've witnessed countless real deaths.

I went from a player to almost becoming a tyrant, and then, not even a monster.

I'm already a completely different person from the RetroAddict I used to be.

What more will change in me by the end of this game?

There's a famous philosophical question, the 'Ship of Theseus.' It asks, 'If all parts of a ship are replaced, is it still the same ship?'

'When all this ends...'

Once every part of me is replaced.

What will I become, eventually?

"..."

Staring into the campfire, gazing up at the profound darkness, I slowly utter a sentence.

It seems I was conceived in this darkness, grew in it, and still exist within it.

Now I'm floundering, not knowing where to go. Indeed, I feel like the focal point of the century.

That's when it happened.

"Ooh? What's that? A poem?"

Salome returns just in time, holding some kind of fruit in her hands.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I fiddled with the firewood and replied,

"...It's an essay. Written by a famous poet."

"Cool, Ash! You look so intellectual!"

"Thanks for the compliment..."

The poet who wrote this essay is great, but I'm just imitating by memorizing and reading it.

Embarrassed, I quickly took the fruit from Salome's hand. The fruit exuded a fresh, crisp aroma.

"How did you find something this fresh here?"

"There's a commander among the legions who enjoys gourmet food. I knew he occupied a farm here and was brewing fruit wine. I sneaked into his base and swiped some."

Being a succubus, it seems she managed not to get caught and pulled it off splendidly. She's more useful than I thought.

I chewed on the fruit, skin and all. Swallowing the juice seemed to revive me a bit.

Silently munching on the fruit next to me, Salome crouched down, resting her chin on her hands, and stared intently at me. Her gaze was a bit too much...

"...What? Why are you staring?"

"Oh~ Just because. You look good eating. Hahaha."

"There's no poison in this, right?"

"Would I do such a thing?! Come on. What do you take me for?"

After I finished the fruit, Salome's eyes sparkled as she moved closer to me.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Well, yeah. It was good."

"Then you should show some gratitude, shouldn't you?"

"...Thanks?"

"No~ Not just a polite thank you."

I wondered what she was getting at, but Salome came up with an unexpected request.

"Recite another poem! Or sing a song!"

I was taken aback.

"Why would you ask for something like that..."

"But your reading was so good! I want to hear more, more!"

"No way. It's embarrassing, so I won't do it anymore."

"Oh, come on. In your dreams, you used to broadcast quite well when you were... Oh."

Salome stopped mid-sentence and covered her mouth.

"...?"

For a moment, I didn't understand and just blinked blankly, then I belatedly grasped her meaning.

How does she know I 'broadcasted'?

"You, you...! Don't tell me!"

I pointed a trembling finger at Salome.

"Did you read my memories?!"

"Well, it was unavoidable, you see?!"

Salome hurriedly backed away, rolling her large eyes and frantically making excuses.

"I had to be in contact with you to bring you back from the spirit world! And since I'm a succubus! I naturally read the dreams you were having... I guess...?!"

"..."

I shivered in anger. I wondered why I suddenly recalled my entire life on Earth.

This succubus must have used some trick to read my past...!

"Salome, now I have even more reasons to not keep you alive..."

I muttered ominously and stood up. Salome started hiccupping.

"Knowing that I'm not the real Ash, I should kill you to seal your lips..."

I'm a human from another world, possessing the body of this mad prince.

There's nothing good about this monster knowing that fact. Salome must be killed...!

"What does it matter?!"

Then Salome shouted fiercely.

"I didn't like you because you're Ash! Not because you're a prince, or the lord of the city, or because you have money! None of that matters to a monster like me!"

"..."

"I just liked you because you're you!"

Continuing her shameless confession, Salome then looked away and muttered,

"Well, I'm not exactly sure if this is the real feeling, and that's why I'm sticking around you to figure it out... Anyway..."

...It took the wind out of my sails.

I was about to use my 'Absolute Command' to make Salome commit suicide, I sighed and flopped down in front of the fire again. Salome cautiously watched my reaction.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

"I will... just not now, later..."

Salome was too useful at the moment.

Her death is certain, but not now. I'm too tired to witness another death right now.

As I dejectedly crouched back in front of the fire, Salome crept closer to me again.

"Hehehe."

"...What's so funny?"

"Because it's a secret of yours that no one else in this world knows, only I do."

Salome boasted, thumping her chest.

"Don't worry, we're already accomplices, aren't we? Your secret will definitely remain a secret! I'll take it to my grave!"

I'll dig that grave myself, someday.

Swallowing my words, I just silently nodded. Salome kept giggling happily for some reason.

***

I called Mason in from guarding outside.

His body was still undergoing a cycle of collapse and regeneration. Since I didn't know when he might drop dead, I decided to interrogate him while he was still breathing.

He had taken on a monstrous form, a mix of various beasts, with prominent features of a bear and a tiger.

His face was half human, making it somewhat frightening to look at him.

"Answer my questions now, Mason."

Salome's charm was still effective. Mason nodded quietly.

"You said you completed your mission. What exactly does that mean? Did you really meet the Demon King?"

"Yes, I successfully had an audience with the Demon King."

I clenched my teeth.

To be honest, I had underestimated the Aegis Special Forces.

These bastards were good at messing up and failing at everything they did. With the grand name of a secret division, they never seemed to accomplish anything properly.

But this time, I had to admit it.

These damned bastards actually managed to send an envoy to the depths of this hell and met with the enemy leader.

Taking a deep breath, I glared at Mason.

"Fernandez sent you to declare 'surrender' to the Demon King."

Mason had clearly told me this before.

- It's a declaration of surrender, Prince Ash. A complete expression of humanity's surrender to the monsters.

The reason Fernandez sent an envoy to the Demon King.

It was to declare humanity's defeat to the monsters.

...Even now, it's hard to understand, seems like crazy nonsense, but anyway, that was the order Fernandez gave to Mason. And Mason,

"Yes, I conveyed humanity's intention to surrender to the Demon King."

He actually delivered that message.

It was a mad carnival of fools. I briefly contemplated whether to curse out loud, but Mason continued.

"In exchange for surrendering, we begged them to spare us from a future where all humanity is exterminated."

"...What?"

"We requested that at least the people of the Imperial Capital, New Terra, be spared. This was Lord Fernandez's demand."

So, what is this?

In exchange for giving up the fight against the monsters, and abandoning the rest of the world's population to die, they requested that at least the people of the Imperial Capital be spared?

"Why? Crossroad is still holding out. The monster front can still fight more...!"

"Lord Fernandez possesses the power to see the future, albeit in a limited form."

Perhaps because of the charm.

Mason continued his story smoothly. I swallowed hard.

Fernandez can see the future?

"Lord Fernandez witnessed it himself. The collapse of all four fronts of the Empire, and the ensuing onslaught from all sides that decimated the Empire."

"..."

I remembered the 'Guardians' Meeting' held in the Imperial Capital.

North, West, Central, and South.

The four fronts of the Empire's defense, each overseen by the Emperor and three princes.

"Every other threat was surmountable. The gods of the Northern Spirit Realm, the Dragon Lady of the Western Bringar Duchy, the underground conflicts in the Central... But, the Southern monster front was the only insurmountable doom. No matter what we did, it was an unavoidable destruction."

"..."

"In the end, the human world was destined to be invaded and destroyed by the monsters unleashed by the Demon King. No effort, no attempt could overcome this fate, as Lord Fernandez declared."

"And then?"

"Therefore, Lord Fernandez decided to become the Emperor. He aimed to ascend to a position where he could decide the fate of humanity, to save as many people as possible."

"And this 'people' refers only to those living in the capital of the Empire...?"

"Yes."

I laughed in disbelief.

So, he can see the future, albeit limitedly?

And he believes that destruction is a predetermined fate?

So, he chose to surrender to the Demon King and beg for their lives? And not for all humanity, but only for a select few living in the Imperial Capital...?

"But the Demon King rejected our surrender."

"...!"

"The Demon King said this: 'In the countless repetitions of this game, there has never been a case like this. Your declaration of surrender has given me great amusement. However, Fernandez. You are not my equal.'"

Mason looked up at me intently.

'My true adversary is still fighting. Struggling to make their next move on the crumbling chessboard, holding on desperately.'

I clenched my fists tightly.

'Until he gives up, the game is not yet over.'