Became a tyrant of defense games - Episode 387
◈ 387. [Side Story] Proof of existence
In the meantime, I've always been worried.
What is right and what is wrong. Is my choice really fair?.
Because I worry, hesitate, and agonize… … I was still human.
But I don't do that anymore.
Worrying is just a luxury. Hesitation is just poison in the face of monsters..
It is my fault that all my enemies were born into this world. Therefore, I will declare them objects to be eliminated and suppressed. That's why I kill you with my own hands.
When I changed my mind, the world became so easy and simple..
Intuitive and simple.
“…….”
Spring sunlight was falling on such a simple world..
The feel of cool spring air, the light pink flower buds hanging from the tips of branches, the refreshing smell of new shoots blooming, the taste of water droplets remaining in your mouth.…….
I turned my eyes away from the world that emits tens of thousands of colors like a prism..
I reviewed what I had to do today..
When a monster comes, a new bait is tested.…….
That's all..
***
“…….”
It's already been a few hours since I wasted time at the forward base..
Puzzled, I took out my pocket watch and checked the time..
“……what.”
It's time for monsters to appear..
The surface of the black lake is calm.
I frowned and looked towards the lake..
what? Did you use a dark event that changed the appearance time? However, the dark event was skipped in this stage as well.…….
Curiously, I opened the system window and looked at enemy information. and.
“……?”
I found something strange.
The number of enemies displayed in the system window had decreased significantly compared to when I first checked, and was even now dropping. And at a rapid pace…….
“What is this……?”
I was embarrassed and jumped up..
what?
What's going on down in the lake now??
flashing!
At that time, the teleport gate installed at the forward base began to light up, and a soldier rushed out..
“Me, your majesty! I will report to you!”
“What's going on? Since it is dangerous during a defensive battle, I would have told you to refrain from dispatching troops unless it is very urgent..”
“It's a jailbreak!”
I couldn't believe my ears and looked back at the soldier. The soldier continued to shout.
“Sir Lucas and others who were imprisoned in the Central Prison... … It is understood that he escaped from prison about an hour ago.!”
“what?”
“All of the prison guards were neutralized, so it took a while to report.……!”
I was shocked and stood there blankly for a moment..
But the report that followed was even more shocking..
“It is said that Archduke Dusk Bringer and other parties directly under His Highness stormed in, occupied the prison, and took out Sir Lucas and others..”
“……Now they are disobeying me as a group..”
I placed my hand on my painful forehead and gritted my teeth and asked..
“So, where did all the escapees go??”
“That is… … After gathering your weapons, let’s all… … He disappeared through the teleport gate..”
“…….”
All the hero parties under my command took the gate and went somewhere.?
Where on earth has everyone gone?…….
“……for a moment.”
I glanced back at the system window..
I could see the number of enemy monsters falling at an alarming speed. I opened my mouth slightly..
“no way…….”
***
I guess it was right.
A few hours later. After the number of monsters in the stage enemy information window drops to 0.
flashing!
Heroes under my command appeared through the teleport gate installed at the forward base..
Lucas, Evangeline, Damien, Junior. Kuilan and the Punishment Unit. Dusk Bringer and the Dragon Blood Knights. Verdandi and the Holy Grail Expedition.
Everyone had bathed in the monster's blood, and there were minor injuries all over their bodies. But his face was proud.
“…….”
I crossed my arms and glared at the heroes lined up in front of me. Eventually, when the lineup was over, I was so dumbfounded that I asked.
“What is this??”
Lucas, who was standing at the front, reported..
“I heard that the Unknown of the Lake Kingdom is always fending off legions of monsters alone. The remaining monsters that he was unable to stop leaked out of the lake and invaded Inse..”
“so?”
“So, in cooperation with Nameless, we killed all the monsters that flooded this time before they could escape the lake..”
“why?”
“If the monsters don't invade, there will be no need to use living people as bait..”
Lucas glanced behind me..
This is the place where human baits are locked in iron bars..
“My lord, you don't have to use that 'new method'..”
“……therefore. To summarize,.”
I laughed and wiped my forehead..
“Are you saying that in order to protect those prisoners, you all disobeyed my orders, rebelled, escaped from prison, and then voluntarily crawled under the lake and suffered such injuries??”
It's a shame that the size of the monsters in this stage is small..
If there were just a little more, these idiots would all be dead down there in the lake..
“It's not those prisoners we're trying to protect..”
Lucas looked around at the other heroes..
“The banner of the monster front here, and…….”
Then, he stared straight at me..
“It's the lord's humanity..”
“…….”
“Even if this body of ours is torn apart, we will continue to protect it..”
I was out of breath..
I ground my teeth..
“Why don't you know... … ? I'm doing this because I can't bear to see any more of you getting hurt and dying..”
“…….”
“But why don't you listen to me? why!”
“My lord, why don’t you know??”
Lucas answered calmly..
“What do we truly want to protect, even to the point of injury and death? … Why don’t you know??”
I looked around at my heroes in bewilderment..
Everyone is looking at me with unwavering gaze..
I couldn't bear to face each other, so in the end I looked away..
“From protesting to escaping from prison, it must have been done with the readiness to receive severe punishment.?”
“…….”
“Until a new punishment is determined, all of you are under probation. Have everyone wait at their lodgings..”
Lucas bowed first and then walked to the gate. After that, all my heroes took the gate one by one and returned to the Crossroads..
I looked back at the soldiers waiting at the forward base and sighed..
“……Human decoy testing is postponed until the next defensive battle..”
Since there are no monsters to kill, there is no way to test it..
I waved my hand helplessly at the prisoners locked in the iron bars..
“Take them off the bomb and put them back in jail…….”
***
drank alcohol.
Sitting at the bar of an empty mercenary guild, I poured myself a glass of brandy and swallowed it..
I was now alone in this place where an old lightning wizard sat next to me and worked with me..
I poured strong alcohol into my stomach without stopping to get drunk..
I don't even know how much I drank or how much time has passed..
When I suddenly came to my senses, Serenade was sitting next to me..
He was wearing an elegant suit, his neatly organized water-colored hair was tied back, and he was sitting next to me, listening to what I had to say..
“I am… … Just an ordinary game player.”
I was gibbering.
“He is not a genius strategist, much less a well-educated military commander. I just… … He's a loser who played games in the corner of the room.…….”
“…….”
“People die for believing in me like this. I can't take it anymore. so… … Somehow, I want to change the situation.”
I was trying to change.
I was trying to call myself a monster. however…….
At that time, Serenade slowly reached out and held my hand..
“majesty. The reason the people here love you is not because you are a flawless commander..”
“…….”
“It's because we do our best, take responsibility for the results, and cry together. Because he was a more humane commander than anyone else..”
Serenade's silver gaze gazed softly at me..
“But now, Your Highness is trying to kill people in order to save them..”
“…….”
“This is not like your highness..”
I shook Serenade's hand away..
“Why don't you even know? we have to change.”
“majesty.”
“They're getting stronger, and our damage is increasing.……!”
It's a tutorial stage, even if I was in a situation where I couldn't do anything..
Since then, as each stage progresses, the damage on our side increases. I am losing colleagues one after another..
A scar was eventually visible on Serenade's forearm..
The injury she received from a goblin's arrow in a previous battle left an indelible scar..
If this situation continues, there will be a serenade someday... … You will get seriously injured or die.
“If I don't become a monster, eventually... … The monster front will be torn apart in front of their attacks..”
“…….”
“We'll all fall apart…….”
Serenade, who was looking at me quietly, took my hand again and smiled..
“If you're torn to pieces, you can just live with being torn to pieces..”
……what?
“If you're shattered, you can just live with the shattered pieces..”
“What is that…….”
“majesty. Don't be afraid to get hurt.”
I stared blankly at Serenade. she smiled brightly.
“People can't win every fight. The important thing is to overcome the hurt, stand up again, and keep walking without giving up..”
“…….”
“It's okay even if I'm a complete wreck. It's okay even when it's broken into pieces. I like you no matter what you look like.”
Serenade reached out and touched my cheek..
“If you don't lose your heart, even if it breaks into a thousand pieces, you are still you..”
“…….”
“The reason everyone is trying to stop you now is because you are about to betray your own heart..”
Serenade shook her head slightly..
“don't do that.”
To me, who was speechless and silently looking at her,
Serenade whispered softly, with a sad face that looked like she was laughing or crying..
“Your own heart... … Don’t let go of the flag in your heart. majesty.”
***
…….
Memories flicker.
When I became aware of my blurred consciousness, I was walking down the back alleys of Crossroads..
For some reason, I felt like I had to meet an unknown person. I stumbled and headed towards the teleportation gate installed in the manor house..
In my head, dizzy under the influence of alcohol, people's words echoed repeatedly..
- This is not your way..
- This is not your path..
- This is not like your highness..
- Because you are about to betray your own heart..
my way?
My way?
It's me?
my heart?
Holy shit, what the hell is ‘me’??
‘I am…….’
Is it a player??
Is he a tyrant??
Is it a monster??
‘I am…….’
Are you a fan of classics??
Is it Ash??
or not? What on earth?
‘What did I want to do??’
What am I in this world for?…….
- brother!
……They were fighting?
I saw the magic stone of the teleport gate in front of me. I reached out and activated it..
Magical light exploded and a magic door opened in front of me. I stumbled and threw myself into it..
Immediately after,
[Proof of current player's existence is unclear..]
[System is unusable.]
A somber darkness, different from the usual flash of light, spread before my eyes..
[It is impossible to prove the player's existence. Retrying…….]
[It is impossible to prove the player's existence. Retrying…….]
[It is impossible to prove the player's existence. Retrying…….]
As I saw the system window filling up my eyes in bright red with a beeping warning sound, a thought occurred to me..
What Grandma Coco said.
- Entering another world itself is not difficult. The problem is coming back to reality.
- ‘Only by holding on to the light of the lighthouse called ‘yourself’ can you emerge back into this reality..
- So, people who are not sure who they are often end up disappearing during teleportation magic. Losing the light of the lighthouse and drifting away.
A smile crossed my lips..
“Oh my, damn it…….”
[Failed to prove existence.]
Finally, that phrase appeared before my eyes.,
with a splash……!
With the feeling of your whole body being swept away by a turbid current.
I go into pitch black darkness……
To the other side of the ocean, it sank..
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