After hearing her name, Tsutsumi didn't recognize it. But there was something about Acheron, some vague, hard-to-pin feeling, that bothered him. He ignored it for now and glanced toward the wall of layered security systems surrounding their cell.
"Azu," he called in his mind.
"I've already begun hacking the system, Master," Azu replied immediately. "Progress is at forty-six percent. Their firewalls are far more advanced than most worlds we've encountered. Fortunately, they lack an AI capable of matching me."
After listening to Azu, Tsutsumi paused and began thinking...
Won't it be better to just break out directly?
He probably could do it in under a minute… but it would draw too much attention.
And honestly, he preferred the idea of Azu taking full control of the facility first. If they broke out after that, watching the staff panic once they realized their "perfect" security meant nothing would be more satisfying.
After all, they are so confident about their security system that they didn't even bother having guards stationed outside their cell. So Tsutsumi wants Azu to fully take control of this place first, only then, when they broke out, it would be more satisfying to see the horror in their faces once they realized they are powerless against him.
Of course, since this is some kind of jail, he couldn't freely release everyone; some might be imprisoned for a proper reason, while he didn't even know why he was in prison to begin with.
His eyes moved to Acheron again.
She didn't feel hostile. But she was a stranger. And Mom always told him the prettier the woman, the better she was at lying.
So he wasn't going to trust her yet. Not completely. Not until he knew the full story.
"So, wanna play something to pass the time?" he asked, casually pulling out a deck of poker cards.
Acheron looked like she wanted to say they should focus on escaping, but with her sword gone, she couldn't even cut the barrier. She let out a small sigh and nodded.
"Sure. Better than staring at the wall."
They sat across from each other, playing quietly. No tension, no urgency, just the shuffle of cards. After some time playing together.
"So where do you live?" Tsutsumi asked as he plucked a card from her hand. Ten of Spades. He placed it down along with his Ten of Hearts.
"That's not important anymore," she answered. She pulled a card from his hand, a Joker. "My homeland was swallowed by the Shadow of Nihility a long time ago."
"Yet you still became its Emanator?" he asked, dropping a 2 of Diamonds with his 2 of Hearts.
"I didn't wish for it," she said simply. She took the 9 of Clubs from his hand and paired it with her 9 of Hearts. "I stepped into IX the Nihility's shadow by accident. After that… I lost my purpose."
"I see." Tsutsumi pulled an Ace of Spades from her hand and set it down with his Ace of Hearts. His hand was empty.
Acheron stared at the Joker left in her hands. "…I lost again."
Before he could respond, Azu's voice echoed in his mind.
"Master, I've fully hacked their system. Access complete. Would you like the arrest details?"
"Tell me."
"According to the record, Acheron's arrest came from the fact that she is an Emanator of Nihility; the people who tricked her wanted to turn her into their weapon. And Master is just a test dummy to help gaze and gain her trust, making her easier to manipulate and control."
"Plus, they already suspect you to die during this task and have already set up your replacement the moment Acheron snaps and kills you." Azu's amused voice rang through his mind.
Tsutsumi blinked. "…Wait, what?"
"And," Azu continued, amusement in her voice, "they already predicted you would die during this task. They had your replacement prepared for the moment Acheron snapped and killed you."
Tsutsumi: "..."
So this is why security is so bad... the previous him was a spy planted to gain Acheron's trust. Previously, she ignored him because she didn't trust him or have any interest. Then, Decade Tsutsumi appeared in this world, becoming one with this world original Tsutsumi.
With the identity of the Destroyer of Worlds, he was gazed upon by Terminus, the Aeon of Finality. Becoming the Emanator of Finality.
During his chat with Acheron, Tsutsumi discovered how one would normally become an Emanator in this world. Although he dislikes the idea of becoming someone who is forced to watch the end of worlds, and watches new worlds be reborn.
He really didn't have much of a choice in this, like how Kadoya Tsukasa, even after traveling to different worlds and helping the other heroes out in his journey. In the end, he is still being called the Destroyer of Worlds.
And Tsutsumi Ryoko, being the next Destroyer of Worlds, no matter how much he tries to run or avoid it, he would eventually become the Destroyer of Worlds.
Tsutsumi slipped the card away and exhaled, rolling his shoulders as he stood up. "Alright then, let's leave this place."
He reached into his belt, pulling out a Rider Card with a casual flick of his wrist.
Attack Ride: Earphone Jack!
With the same ease as plugging into an outlet, he stabbed both jacks into the wall beside the barrier. A pulse of violent, rippling sound tore outward. The forcefield flickered, then the wall detonated with a sharp boom. The light curtain collapsed instantly.
"Let's go. The people here want to use you as their weapon." He stepped through the smoke without a second glance.
Acheron blinked, somewhat taken aback by how easy he could have destroyed the cell wall, plus what he had just revealed to her. What adds even more confusion is that the alarm didn't go off the moment their cell walls got broken.
His ear returned to normal as they walked into the dim hallway.
"How did you even know that?" Acheron asks, still confused.
"I have a partner who hacked into their system and transferred the data to... me." Tsutsumi paused, turning back to find that Acheron had disappeared.
"Damn it, I didn't mean to." He murmurs to himself, seeing that his track record of disappearing on others has made him drop Acheron somewhere.
"Azu," he muttered.
"I've already located her, Master," the AI responded smoothly in his mind.
Acheron scratched the back of her head with some embarrassment. "My apologies, I'm rather directionally challenged and don't know the way."
"It's fine, just follow me." Tsutsumi replied, he didn't mind this since he is already used to helping others in need.
Although he didn't know what an Emanator of Nihility was or what she could do.
But he knew that turning a living being into a weapon is wrong in many ways. The consequences for letting her go, he would have to deal with it later.
His long tail coat suddenly broke off, turning into a jacket; the detashed pieces moved behind his neck, turning into a scarf. Seeing this, Acheron reached out and held on to the scarf before Tsutsumi began to walk, with her following behind.
"Where are we going?" she asked as she followed behind him.
"To get your weapon back. Azu already found the location."
He summoned the Nameless. The guards stationed throughout the hall noticed them immediately.
Before they even raised their weapons, Tsutsumi pressed his thumb onto the scabbard's biometric seal. It clicked.
Acheron paused, staring at the sword he drew.
Drawing the Nameless out, he held the broken blade in his hand.
Acheron: "?"
She was confused, seeing that the blade he drew out was just a handle and hilt; the little metals on the blade couldn't even count as a small knife.
Blue spiritual flame spread out from the scabbard as the pieces of the Nameless flew out, slowly piecing themselves onto the sword. Forming into the true form of the Nameless.
Twisting the blade in his hand, Tsutsumi wiped the blade with his palm before pulling out a card.
Attack Ride: Slash!
Swinging his blade, the pieces of the Nameless extended outward, spreading further out as he swung, and the afterimages of the extended blade followed. The wide range of attacks tore through all the guards in one motion.
As their body fell, falling on the ground, the pieces of the broken blade flew back into his scabbard, then he sheathed his blade. Tsutsumi continued moving forward, ignoring the corpses lying around him and Acheron.
The security doors finally activated, slamming shut before they even reached it.
With Azu in full control of the system, every reinforced door behaved like a trained guard dog.
The moment Tsutsumi stepped within range, it slid open instantly, obedient, seamless, almost reverent.
To everyone else in the facility, it looked like he owned the place.
Panic swept through the command room like wildfire.
"Damn it! What is Number 453145 even doing!?" the head of the facility roared, slamming his fist onto the metal desk hard enough to dent it. He glared at the monitors as Tsutsumi calmly walked side-by-side with Acheron.
"Has he been charmed by that woman!?" Spit flew from his mouth as he turned on his operators. "And who keeps opening those doors for them!? CLOSE THEM! NOW!"
The workers scrambled, fingers flying across their keyboards, but they were hopelessly outmatched.
Azu didn't just block them. She humiliated them.
The moment anyone tried to input an override, the key arrangement reshuffled. Letters swapped places. Numbers traded positions. Command sequences scrambled.
Some workers tried to relearn the layout, painstakingly typing with one hand while mapping with the other, only for Azu to reshuffle everything again exactly five minutes later.
They were trapped in a digital maze controlled by an AI far beyond their comprehension.
One worker screamed, "I-I can't even type my own name anymore!"
Another slammed his forehead into his keyboard, defeated.
Azu's voice echoed calmly in Tsutsumi's mind. "They are attempting to resist, Master. It is adorable."
Tsutsumi ignored the chaos caused by her as he and Acheron moved deeper into the facility. They passed rows of observation windows, each revealing grim shapes inside.
Creatures, people, mutated beasts, artificial life of countless races. All strapped down, chained, or caged.
"Azu?" Tsutsumi murmured.
"Those are the other living beings currently being experimented on," she answered."Foundation V intends to convert them into weapons. Their internal files refer to this as 'Optimization.'"
Tsutsumi's jaw tightened.
Before he could say anything more, a set of heavy reinforced doors slammed open ahead of them, this time not by Azu.
Dozens of monstrous figures spilled out, mindless, malformed, all with spiked metal collars burning into their necks. They dragged iron chains across the ground, some limping, others convulsing.
Acheron clenched her hands by instinct.
Tsutsumi simply pulled out a card.
Attack Ride: Tranquility!
His vision washed into grayscale, every detail quiet. Around each creature, petals of color fluttered softly, revealing their emotions.
Pain, anger, rage, confusion, sadness, and lastly emptiness.
Not a single speck of joy.
Tsutsumi closed his eyes for a moment. Then opened them with resignation.
"So that's how it is…"
He knew what needed to be done.
He drew another card.
Attack Ride: Unlimited Blade Works!
Blue flames erupted in a perfect circle around them, consuming the hallway.The world shattered beneath their feet.
A blinding white light consumed everything.
And then…
Snow.
Soft, cold snow drifted from a star-filled sky. The moon loomed full and pale overhead, bathing the barren field in ghostly light.
Stretching endlessly in every direction were swords and weapons, countless, impaling the ground like grave markers. Weapons from every type, age, every world, every battle.
Acheron stared, her eyes wide.
This wasn't just a battlefield.
It was a graveyard of endings.
Seeing his subspace ability, she was reminded of the Horizon of Existence she wielded.
He simply raised his left hand.
Swords trembled, then tore free from the ground, rising like a steel storm.The monstrous creatures looked around, sensing something in the air, something ancient and final.
Tsutsumi lowered his hand.
The blades descended.
Steel rained upon the creatures, piercing flesh, metal, bone. Their screams filled the sky, echoing through the snow-laden wasteland. Some crawled desperately. Others simply accepted their fates.
One by one, they fell silent.
Acheron watched without flinching.She merely whispered under her breath:
"So this… is the power of an Emanator of Finality."
Tsutsumi didn't look at her.