I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 392

Crackling, crackling…

The campfire blazed.

We hadn’t even fully escaped the 10th District yet, but we needed to rest.

It seemed my body wasn’t in the best condition after being submerged in the spirit realm. I couldn’t move for long.

We found a ruined building and went inside, gathered some firewood, and started a fire.

Salome went out, saying she’d find something for us to eat (is there even anything to eat in this neighborhood?), and I put Mason on guard duty outside.

“I feel a bit better now…”

The campfire provided more than just warmth.

It provided light.

The 10th District had skyscrapers that emitted light like street lamps, but it was still a place shrouded in suffocating darkness.

Rustle, rustle…

The sound of insects gnawing echoed from all directions. It was the sound of darkness approaching.

I tried to ignore it, staring blankly into the fire, then suddenly looked up.

The dark sky—no, since we’re under a lake, it should be called the dark surface of the water. Anyway, it covered my entire field of vision.

Above that distant darkness was the surface.

It felt so far away.

It was like being stranded on an unknown alien planet after crash-landing in a broken spaceship. Earth was surely out there beyond that vast universe, but…

‘Can I go back?’

It wasn’t just about Crossroads. I rubbed my tired eyes.

I thought back to the dream I had just before waking up here.

My life on Earth, as a ‘classic game enthusiast’.

I, who was just an ordinary shut-in gamer, had come so far. It made me feel dizzy.

‘Can I go back?’

This time, it wasn’t a physical question.

Even if I cleared all the stages, reached the true ending, obtained my wish, and returned to my original world.

Would I really be me then?

During the past year of the campaign, I had worn down a lot.

I had become accustomed to Ash’s body, face, and voice. I had become more brazen and more cruel. I had witnessed countless real deaths.

I was a player, then I tried to become a tyrant, and in the end, I couldn’t even become a monster.

I was already a completely different person from the classic game enthusiast I used to be.

If I reached the end of this game, how much more would I change?

There’s a famous philosophical problem called the ‘Ship of Theseus.’ It asks, ‘If the parts of a ship are replaced one by one, and eventually all parts are replaced, is it still the Ship of Theseus?’

‘After all this is over…’

After all the parts of my body are replaced.

What will I become in the end?

“…”

Facing the campfire, looking up at the endless darkness, I slowly uttered a sentence.

I was conceived in this darkness, grew up in this darkness, and still survive in this darkness.

Now I’m floundering, not knowing where to go. I guess I’m as haggard as the focus of the century [a person who is the center of attention or controversy].

That’s when it happened.

《Ooh? What’s that? Poetry?》

Salome returned at the perfect time. She was holding some kind of fruit in both hands.

Feeling a bit awkward, I stirred the firewood in the campfire and answered.

“…It’s an essay. Written by a famous poet.”

《Cool, Ash! You look intellectual!》

“Thanks for the compliment…”

The poet who wrote this essay is amazing, but I’m just a mimic who memorizes and reads it.

Feeling embarrassed, I quickly took the fruit from Salome’s hands. The fruit emitted a fresh scent, as if it had just been picked.

“How did you find something so fresh in a place like this?”

《There’s a commander among the legion who enjoys gourmet food. I knew he had taken over a farm here and was making fruit wine. I snuck into his base and swiped it.》

Being a succubus, she must have succeeded without getting caught. This girl is more useful than I thought.

I bit into the fruit, peel and all. The juice quenched my parched throat, and I felt a little better.

Salome squatted right next to me as I silently chewed the fruit, resting her chin on her hands and staring at me. Her gaze was unnerving…

“…Why? What? Why?”

《No~ I just like watching you eat so well. Hehehe.》

“You didn’t poison it, did you?”

《Of course not! Seriously. What do you take me for?》

As I finished the fruit, Salome’s eyes sparkled, and she moved closer to me.

《Did you enjoy it?》

“Well, yeah. I enjoyed it.”

《Then you should express your gratitude, right?》

“…Thank you?”

《No~ not just a polite greeting like that.》

I wondered what she wanted, and then Salome made a bizarre request.

《Recite another poem! Or sing a song!》

I was appalled.

“Why would you ask for something like that…”

《But your recitation was great just now! I want to hear more, more!》

“No way. I’m too embarrassed to do it again.”

《Aww~ don’t be like that. I saw in my dream that you used to do it well when you were broadcasting… Ack.》

Salome covered her mouth, stopping mid-sentence.

“…?”

I was momentarily confused, blinking blankly, then belatedly understood what she meant.

How did she know that I used to ‘broadcast’?

“You, you…! Don’t tell me!”

I pointed a trembling finger at Salome.

“Don’t tell me you read my memories?!”

《W-well, you could say I had no choice?!》

Salome quickly backed away from me, her large eyes rolling around as she frantically made excuses.

《I had to be in contact with you to bring you back from the spirit realm! And since I’m a succubus! I naturally ended up reading your dreams, or something like that…?!》

“…”

《So, I just happened to, uh, see your memories from that world…》

I shuddered. I wondered why I had suddenly recalled my entire life on Earth.

This succubus must have been up to something, trying to read my past…!

“Salome, I can’t let you live even more now…”

I muttered ominously and stood up. Salome started hiccuping.

“Now that you know I’m not the real Ash, I have to kill you to seal your lips…”

I’m a person from another world who possessed this scoundrel prince’s body.

There’s no good that can come from a monster knowing that fact. I have no choice but to kill Salome…!

《What does it matter?!》

Salome shouted sharply.

《I didn’t like you because you were Ash! I didn’t like you because you were a prince, or because you were a lord of the city, or because you were rich! Those things mean nothing to a monster like me!》

“…”

《I just like you because you’re you!》

Salome, who had been shamelessly confessing, then avoided my gaze and muttered.

《Well, of course, I’m not sure if this is really that feeling, so I’m sticking with you to find out… Anyway…》

…Somehow, I lost my energy.

I, who was about to use ‘Absolute Command’ [a power that allows the user to control others] to make Salome commit suicide, sighed and plopped back down in front of the campfire. Salome cautiously watched my reaction.

《You’re not going to kill me?》

“I’m going to kill you… Just not now, later…”

Salome is useful for now.

Killing her is a certainty, but not now. I’m too tired to see anyone else die right now.

As I listlessly squatted back down in front of the campfire, Salome cautiously approached me again.

《Hehehe.》

“…What’s so funny?”

《I’m the only one who knows your secret that no one else in this world knows.》

Salome thumped her chest and declared confidently.

《Don’t worry, we’re already accomplices, right? I’ll definitely take your secret to the grave!》

I’ll dig that grave myself someday.

I swallowed my words and silently nodded. Salome kept giggling, as if she was very happy.

***

I called Mason, who had been on guard duty outside.

His body was still collapsing and regenerating. He might die at any moment, so I needed to interrogate him while he was still breathing.

He had become a monster that looked like a mix of various beasts, but the forms of a bear and a tiger were most prominent.

His face was also half-human, which made it a bit scary to look at him.

“Answer my questions from now on, Mason.”

Salome’s charm was still working well. Mason nodded silently.

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

《Yes, I succeeded in meeting the Demon King.》

I gritted my teeth.

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

Those bastards always messed up everything they did. They had a grand name like the ‘Shadow Unit,’ but they never seemed to accomplish anything properly.

But I had to admit it this time.

Those damn bastards had managed to send an envoy to the very bottom of this hell and had actually met the enemy commander.

I took a deep breath and glared at Mason.

“Fernandez said he was sending you to the Demon King to ‘declare surrender’.”

Mason had clearly said this to me before.

– It is a declaration of surrender, Your Highness Prince Ash. A complete expression of humanity’s intention to surrender to the monsters.

The reason why Fernandez sent an envoy to the Demon King.

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

…Even now, it sounded like some crazy nonsense that I couldn’t understand, but anyway, that was the order Fernandez gave to Mason. And Mason,

《Yes, I met with the Demon King and conveyed humanity’s intention to surrender.》

He actually delivered it.

It was a festival of crazy lunatics. I briefly considered whether to spew out a string of curses, but Mason continued.

《In exchange for surrendering, I pleaded with them to at least avoid a future where the monsters would annihilate all of humanity.》

“…What?”

《I requested that at least the people of the Empire, specifically the Imperial Capital New Terra, be spared. This was His Highness Fernandez’s request.》

So, what?

Instead of giving up on fighting the monsters, instead of letting the rest of the world’s population die, he asked that at least the people of the Imperial Capital be spared?

“Why? Crossroads is still holding out. The monster front can still fight…!”

《His Highness Fernandez has the power to see the future, albeit in a limited form.》

Perhaps it was because he was charmed.

Mason continued his story smoothly. I swallowed hard.

He can see the future? Fernandez?

《His Highness Fernandez witnessed it himself. The four major fronts of the Empire collapsing, and the threats pouring in from all directions, devastating the Empire.》

“…”

The ‘Guardian Council’ we had in the Imperial Capital before came to mind.

The four imperial defense fronts that the Emperor and the three princes were each in charge of: the North, West, Central, and South.

《All other threats could be overcome. The gods of the Northern Spirit Realm, the Dragon Lady of the Bringer Principality in the West, the power struggles in the Central underground… But only the monster front in the South. It was a destruction that could not be overcome no matter what.》

“…”

《In the end, it was the fate of the human world to be invaded and destroyed by the monsters unleashed by the Demon King. His Highness Fernandez said that no effort, no attempt, could overcome this.》

“So?”

《So, His Highness Fernandez decided to become Emperor. To rise to a position where he could decide the fate of humanity, to save as many people as possible.》

“And those ‘people’ are limited to the humans living in the Empire’s capital…?”

《Yes.》

I was so dumbfounded that I let out a hollow laugh.

He can see the future, albeit in a limited way?

And destruction is a predetermined fate?

So, he chose to declare surrender to the Demon King and beg for his life? And not even for all of 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 repeated games, there has never been a case like this. Your declaration of surrender has given me great pleasure. But, Fernandez, my opponent is not you.’》

Mason looked up and stared at me intently.

《’My grandmaster is still fighting. He is struggling to survive, trying to make his next move on the collapsing chessboard.’》

I clenched my fist tightly.

《’Until he gives up, the game is not over yet.’》