Game Opportunities Become Reality Episode 193
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Game Opportunities Become Reality Episode 193
45. Each One's Position (3)
I pointed at Selin and asked Blake.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Probably the shock of her first defeat, don't you think? There are hardly any individuals with power this strong. Surely everyone in her organization fawned over her."
Indeed, aside from Blake, who was on the level of a dragon, she was so overwhelmingly powerful that no one could face her alone.
She could single-handedly storm in and take the head of most national leaders.
No, actually, how many leaders could even protect their heads if she came for them?
For someone like that, she'd have strong pride in her abilities and be adored by those around her, but would an ordinary person give up this completely and grovel just from losing once?
Honestly, in a one-on-one fight, neither I nor Arcia could beat her.
"Hmm..."
I narrowed my eyes and observed Selin.
And I could tell that she was not just watching me, but also keeping an eye on Blake's reactions.
"Isn't it because she lost twice today?"
At my question, Blake let out a dry cough.
It seemed my guess was right.
"I healed her up, but she annoyingly came at me again, so I gave her a few hits."
"Haha."
"But she was pretty strong. I was honestly surprised."
"Judging by the atmosphere, it doesn't seem like it was just a little hitting."
The level she got beaten by us...
I suspect she got hit even harder than that.
I spoke to the deflated Selin.
"All the companions you had with you are dead."
"I-I see."
At that, Selin's complexion grew even paler.
Looking at her now, she was no different from an ordinary girl from the neighborhood.
'She definitely used to seem cool and bold.'
But I did not fall for her current demeanor and appearance to show sympathy.
She was a demon worshiper, after all.
There was only one reason she was still alive.
To give me information.
"You're the ones who attacked the Hollywood System's management terminal, right?"
At my direct question, Selin's eyes widened with surprise.
"W-Wait, don't tell me... it was you?"
See.
With just that one question, she could guess my identity.
Indeed, secretly abducting her and interrogating her was the right call.
I scrunched my face and pulled out a canteen from subspace.
Then I splashed it on her.
-Ssssss!
"Aaaah!"
What I splashed was holy water.
Holy water could be made by clergy of bishop rank or higher, but those who held the Holy Sword could produce it themselves without a bishop's help.
Upon contact with the holy water, she flinched greatly like someone scalded by hot water and let out a groan.
For a powerhouse like Selin, holy water wouldn't directly deal damage, but in her utterly cowering and terrified state, my splashing holy water on her made her tremble violently.
"Don't answer a question with a question."
Torture wasn't to my taste, but I could do it as much as needed if necessary.
I wasn't a saint, and until just moments ago, she was my enemy.
At my cold and firm voice, Selin nodded frantically.
"Y-Yes. Yes. It was us. We did it."
Finally, we caught the unidentified enemy.
I took a step closer to her.
There was an iron cage between us that seemed to be made of Mithril, but she was a Magic Swordsman above Grandmaster rank.
Even disarmed, she was a threat to me, so Arcia stood by my side with the Holy Sword drawn.
"What was the reason for attacking the Hollywood System?"
Selin, seemingly bothered by the Holy Sword's aura, cast a sidelong glance at Arcia and answered.
"Because the Demon King behind me ordered it."
"What?"
The Demon King behind her gave the order?
I froze for a moment, but since I still had too little information, I decided not to jump to conclusions.
"Why would the Demon King order that?"
"I don't know the exact reason. But I was told we could make a huge fortune through that facility, so I faithfully followed the order."
"A huge fortune?"
"Yes. That facility produces high-value materials like Mithril, mana jewels, and diamonds, and the amount is substantial. Robbing just one could earn enough to buy two or three Heaven-Piercing Fortresses."
Checking through the Myriad Mirror, there was no lie in her words.
It bothered me that she didn't know why the Demon King attacked the Hollywood System, but I figured I might pick up some hint if I kept talking, so I continued my questioning.
"How did you find the location of the Hollywood System's admin terminal?"
"The Demon King told us that as well."
It seemed that this so-called Demon King had deeper ties to me than I'd thought.
"And you naturally don't know how it found out?"
"Yes, unfortunately..."
"How often does it relay information?"
"It's irregular. The Demon King behind me issues orders like oracles about once every three months if the terminal's info is in there, we strike; if not, we stay quiet."
"When was the last time it contacted you?"
"Last week."
"So we won't be hearing from it for a while."
"Correct."
"Is there any other force that could attack the Hollywood System in your stead?"
"We had already devoured nearly all the demon-contractor (demon worshiper) groups in Rondel. With the leadership and main combat forces annihilated in this incident, the remaining scraps won't be able to take that facility."
Then again, these guys were complete outliers.
Demon worshipers of a caliber so extreme that finding a precedent was nearly impossible.
It was hard to imagine more of them existing.
Lucky in many ways.
"Tell me about the Demon Kings connected to you."
"Our organization grew by absorbing various demon contractors and their factions. As a result, the Demon Kings we followed were each different."
"Hmm."
"Among them, there were two representative Demon Kings with strong voices their contractors were the four main executives including myself, so naturally those two Demon Kings led our organization. Their names are 'Arc Scarlet' and 'Lord Exceed.'"
"Arc Scarlet?"
I'd never heard of a Demon King named Lord Exceed.
But at the name Arc Scarlet, both I and Blake, who had been listening silently furrowed our brows.
Naturally.
Because that name was the most famous among Demon Kings.
"Yes, that's right. The Crimson Demon King who descended 1,200 years ago."
It killed many dragons, drove the Sepia church to the brink of annihilation, and countless nations nearly burned to ruin.
In the end, the church summoned the Heavenly Tribe's forces, and the Crimson Demon King was driven back to the demon realm but the horror of that time remained etched in the history books.
I shook my head and said to Blake.
"It's a blessing the demon worshipers were wiped out this time. If the Crimson Demon King had descended again, it would've been impossible to clean up."
"Indeed. No matter how strong Rondel's military might has become, it would've been hard to get through unscathed."
Thanks to that, our gazes toward Selin grew even colder.
She flinched and waved her hands frantically.
"Th-this time, our goal wasn't to burn Rondel. In the first place, the Demon King behind me is 'Lord Exceed,' who belongs to the rational side and strictly speaking, Lord Exceed was the main leader, while Arc Scarlet was the second-in-command."
"Oh?"
The Crimson Demon King was an exceptionally powerful Demon King.
Hearing that such a Demon King was second-in-command made me and Blake tilt our heads.
"Yes, I understand Arc Scarlet even yielded the priority of descent to Lord Exceed."
"Just how extraordinary is Lord Exceed that the Crimson Demon King would yield like that?"
What followed my question was something no one could have predicted.
"Lord Exceed is not a Demon King of this world. He is a Demon King of a world with a different name from Rondel."
"What?"
A world with a different name from Rondel?
I opened my eyes wide, trying to guess that world's name.
"Don't tell me that other world is 'Earth'?"
At my question, Selin was equally startled.
As if asking how I knew that.
"That's correct. So you knew of that world?"
I couldn't help but bristle at such a ludicrous claim.
"How can a Demon King of another world interfere with this one? That makes no sense."
Bang!
As I struck the iron bars, she, who had been kneeling, fell flat on her rear.
"Eek! I I only heard this in passing, but there's supposedly a device that projects one's will onto Rondel. However, perhaps because that device isn't fully intact, it only relays commands at three-month intervals, and once every six months it creates a Contractor or transfers power to us."
'A device that projects one's will'?
For a moment, Blake and I swallowed air and stared at each other.
A similar device happens to be right here.
The device that Myriad Mirror named the 'dimensional teleportation device.'
'There's no guarantee that a facility like this one doesn't exist on Earth either. And now that we've learned from Selin that there are demon race on Earth as well....'
If the Demon King named Lord Exceed has taken control of something similar to this dimensional teleportation device, then everything roughly adds up.
But it seemed to have far more restrictions than the device we hold.
Or perhaps, as she said, it's in an abnormal state.
I rested my chin on my hand and fell into thought, and Blake also rubbed his temples with a serious expression.
* * *
The Walter Kingdom, located at the southernmost tip of the Defteron Continent, where the Bringham Empire and the Rhinehearts Empire belong.
The Walter Kingdom is the leading power among the alliance of dark-skinned nations commonly called the 'Southern Three Nations.'
That Walter Kingdom possesses over a hundred large and small islands, and among them, on the second-largest island, lies the Layers Count's domain, which holds a large-scale Mithril mine.
The Layers Count's domain, due to the nature of an island territory, is small in size and limited in development, so it remains a mere Count's estate, but it was a domain with great wealth and formidable military power.
Recently, strange things have been happening in that Layers Count's domain.
Namely, despite its tropical climate, the Layers Count's domain has been hit by continuous heavy snowfall lately.
For such massive snowfall to fall in a place where temperatures rarely even drop below 10 degrees it could only be abnormal.
As a result, the residents of the Layers Count's domain themselves were having a miserable time.
"What the hell is this?"
"Ugh, I couldn't sleep last night, I tell you. It's too cold."
Tropical residents are weak to the cold.
Naturally, their homes had poor insulation, and they had neither heating facilities nor winter clothing.
Because of this, the Lord, Count Layers, had to urgently airlift large quantities of heating artifacts and clothing from the mainland to distribute to the domain residents.
That was an appropriate response for a leader, but unless the root cause the heavy snowfall was resolved, the survival of the domain residents would inevitably be threatened.
In the end, the Lord commissioned a prominent domestic Mage Tower to find the cause, and the royal family also took it seriously and actively provided Support.
Yet in the end, they failed to find the cause.
"There's no way to describe it other than as abnormal weather."
And so the worries of Count Layers and his domain residents deepened.
They couldn't help but wonder if the island's climate would change forever at this rate....
Whether they'd have to live through a cold winter forever.
-Gogogogo!
"An earthquake again?"
"Earthquakes have been frequent lately."
What's more, along with the extreme cold, earthquakes had been occurring sporadically, and unrest in the Layers Count's domain was growing ever greater.
Then, one day, as the chaos continued to mount.
-Deudeudeudeu!
-Flash!
"Wha, what is that!?"
With a violent earthquake, a colossal light descending from the sky swallowed the Layers domain whole.
Just how much more god-awful nonsense was about to happen?
The people had every right to be terrified.
"Huh? The snow stopped."
But after that light enveloped the domain....
The heavy snowfall that had been giving them such headaches ceased.
"The goddess is watching over us!"
"That's right! That must be it!"
Warm sunlight poured down over the domain.
At that, the Lord of the Layers Count's domain and its residents finally felt relieved and offered prayers of gratitude to the sky.
"Hurrah! Hurrah!"
But even at this moment, the people of the Layers Count's domain did not know.
That the trials before them were only just beginning.
"What's this? Why is the broadcaster acting up?"
"The phone lines are dead too?"
Right after the snow stopped, all communication equipment lost their signals.
Those heading home to watch their broadcasts, those in the middle of calls with acquaintances, and those trying to enjoy online games all stepped outside voicing their complaints.
But shortly after, the domain residents saw something strange.
-Whooosh!
"What's that? A high-speed airship?"
"Is it a Support Train?"
"No, it looks pretty small for that. Maybe it's a personal flying car."
"But why are they letting out farts like that?"
"Haha, right. Sure is noisy."
"Looks like some noble young master who wants attention overdid the tuning."
Those small flying objects, making a racket, began circling around the Heaven-Piercing Fortress floating above the Lord's estate.
"Huh? There's more over there."
"Yeah. They're flying in formation and everything."
"Hey hey? Aren't they getting too close to the Heaven-Piercing Fortress? They'll get shot down like that."
And sure enough, disaster struck in the end.
A blue beam shot out from the Heaven-Piercing Fortress, shooting down five unidentified flying objects.
"Sigh, why would they loiter around the Heaven-Piercing Fortress without any fear?"
Loitering around the Heaven-Piercing Fortress that guards the Lord's estate is practically a challenge to the Lord.
So the domain residents thought it was a natural response.
-Whoooosh!
But at what happened next, the domain residents' expressions hardened.
"W-What are those now?"
Long, sleek cylindrical objects, flames trailing from their tails, flew in one after another toward the Heaven-Piercing Fortress.
There looked to be over fifty of them.
But those too failed to reach the Heaven-Piercing Fortress, blowing up cleanly in midair from another barrage.
-BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
However, the explosions caused by that were so massive that they terrified the domain residents.
They couldn't tell what those cylindrical flying objects were, but it was easy to understand that they were clearly weapons.
"They're, they're coming again."
Once the fifty flying objects were shot down, this time hundreds of cylindrical flying objects came flying in.
Among them were objects with even larger size and more fearsome speed than before.
-BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOOM!
This time, the Heaven-Piercing Fortress didn't even allow them to approach, starting its interception from a long distance.
The Heaven-Piercing Fortress succeeded in blowing them all up, but....
"Wh-Whoa?"
The explosions were so vast that part of the city walls collapsed.
"Th-The Lord must be angry."
"Of course! This is terrorism!"
Along with the domain residents' furious reactions, the two Heaven-Piercing Fortresses that had been landed behind the Lord's estate rose anew.
Then the two Heaven-Piercing Fortresses began moving in the direction the attacks had come from.
"What on earth is going on?"
None of the people of Count Reiers' domain knew.
That they had fallen into another world, not Rondel.