270. VS Vanguard – Total War (Part 11)

The first thing I thought was: You can actually break this thing.

The Master Key is the most critical item in the system. I never imagined it would shatter so easily. it was far too fragile.

—As if it were practically begging to be crushed.

Libera-san stared silently at the Master Key as it disintegrated and misted away, her expression unchanging. But for just a fleeting second, I saw a flicker of agitation in her eyes. As if she were mourning something.

“……I see. So that’s how it is, after all.”

“Libera-san……?”

Was something wrong?

“It’s nothing. Regardless, the means to interfere with the system is gone. Let’s focus on the idiot in front of us.”

Her expression became so sharp it made me think I’d misseen her previous look; she pierced Randall, still inside the barrier, with her gaze.

Inside the barrier, Randall was trembling.

Blood seeped from his mouth—he must have bitten his inner cheeks raw—and he had clawed at the barrier so hard his fingernails were likely peeling; bloody marks were visible on the surface.

He clawed at his head frantically, glaring at us with a face like a demon.

“You…… you…… YOU BASTARDSSSSS! What! Do you understand what you’ve done?! Do you realize how much that was worth—what you did to the only tool that could control this world?! Do you comprehend the depth of your own folly!?”

“……Compared to the folly you’ve committed, this is infinitely better.”

“Folly, you say!? It was necessary! For the new world we are to live in! Why can you not understand that!?”

“I don’t understand, which is why I’m opposing you. ——’Sanctuary Recovery’.”

Libera-san’s hand glowed, and that light was directed toward me. In an instant, the wound in my stomach closed up.

“Any problems?”

“No, I’m good.”

In fact, I felt even better than before. As I checked my condition, I felt new presences from the sky.

『Apologies, we are late.』

『Kept you waiting, Kazuto.』

Sora and…… the other red dragon is Flamme, I guess. The former Dragon King resurrected by Arrogance, and Sora’s husband. Sora is clinging incredibly close to him. If I look closely, her tail is wagging like crazy.

『……What is it, Kazuto? Looking at me like that.』

“No, just…… you look happy.”

『I-It is nothing of the sort. I have heard the circumstances from my husband. I am indeed glad to be reunited, but I am not so foolish as to forget the time and place.』

『……』

Even as she says that, she’s clinging even tighter than a moment ago. Perfectly snug. The husband has a face that says he wants to comment on it too. ……Yeah, I won’t say a word.

Actually, she’s met her deceased husband again. I probably can’t even begin to fathom the weight of those feelings.

『Flamme, since you came with your mate, does that mean you defeated the Sword Saint?』

『No, I did not defeat her. However, she agreed to a “deal.” I was fortunate she was someone who could be reasoned with.』

『A deal……? Well, fine. If it’s settled, that’s all that matters.』

When I searched for presences, the Vanguard presence that had been over there was gone.

“Boa betrayed me……? Impossible. If so, why is she not dead!?”

『If you mean the self-destruct device you planted, a companion of Ayame Kujo neutralized it. “Conversion” is quite a convenient unique skill. And thanks to Ayame’s unique skill “Wisdom,” negotiations proceeded smoothly.』

“Wait, hold on. Ayame Kujo? What do you mean?”

Why is my cousin’s name popping up here? I’d noticed an unknown presence in a different barrier from Nishino-kun or Libera-san, but that was Aya-nee? I haven’t heard anything about this. Sora looks at me with a puzzled expression.

『You were told nothing? She was quite enthusiastic for your sake, you know?』

“No, told nothing? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

I hadn’t received a single contact. Just in case, I checked my mail. Mixed in with the demonic amount of spam from Ichinose-san, there were about two emails from Nishino-kun. One was about reinforcements, and the other—sent a few minutes ago—was about successfully persuading one of the Vanguard members.

“……”

When I opened them, they contained detailed accounts of Aya-nee, her companions, and the whole sequence of events. The reason she came here, the unique skills she and her friends have, why she couldn’t contact me directly, why we couldn’t meet before the battle, how she persuaded a Vanguard member, and why she had to leave immediately after… it was all there in meticulous detail.

……The information had come. It just got buried under Ichinose-san’s mountain of spam.

(ICHINOSE-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!)

I couldn’t help but scream at her in my mind. I mean, it’s partially my fault for not noticing, but this is a terrible way for the secret to be revealed. Turning off mail notifications really came back to bite me…… and the emails are still coming in even now.

“Is something wrong, Kazuto?”

“……No, nothing.”

Anyway, if one of the enemies turned to our side, that’s for the best. That leaves four Vanguard members including Randall.

Randall, Gashmash, Rialdo, and Orion.

Two of them—Gashmash and Rialdo—are still engaging Ichinose-san, Nishino-kun, and Rikka-chan. That Orion person is currently immobilized, sandwiched between Peony’s mass and the barrier.

In other words, we just need to focus on Randall here.

Since the Master Key is gone, we don’t need to worry about him interfering with the system anymore. Arrogance and I couldn’t win alone, but now we have Libera-san, Sora, and her husband, the former Dragon King.

In terms of combat power, we definitely have the advantage.

……Assuming Randall doesn’t have any more aces up his sleeve.

“……Hah, quite composed. Do you think you’ve won already?”

It seems Randall has regained some level of calm. The demonic face from earlier has receded, replaced by a cold expression full of hatred. He’s gripping an ominous black sword.

“Not yet. It is not over yet. I will kill you, and once again, I will c-con-troll the sys—……?”

“……?”

What? Did something just……?

“……Wha-at?”

Randall himself seems to feel the anomaly; he touches his own neck in confusion.

The next moment—his right arm bulges out unnaturally with a squelch.

“Og-oe…… wha—what is this!?”

The abnormality doesn’t stop at his arm; it spreads across his whole body in an instant. His torso, arms, legs—everything is swelling and bloating unnaturally.

“Ogo…… goah, wha-what is——……”

“As I thought. ……Backlash.”

Libera speaks coldly to the Randall whose body continues to throb and expand.

“Wha…t……?”

“The backlash from using the Master Key continuously. Did you really think you could perform that many modifications with zero risk? Even if the Master Key is gone, the load on the system remains. When the key that was controlling it disappears, where do you think that debt goes……?”

“Th-that can’t…… h-he, help, me……”

“It’s impossible. You used that power knowing the risks, didn’t you? Then accept it.”

“I-I didn’t hear about th-this…… N-no. I, I didn’t want th-this…… I, for this world, I aaaaaaah~~~~……”

Boko-boko-boko-boko-boko-boko-boko!

Randall’s bloated flesh finally burst, splattering inside the barrier. With a splat, Randall’s hideously swollen head hit the barrier and fell to the ground. That black sword of his pierced right into his own head, as if all his karma had finally come due.

Faced with such an abrupt end for Randall, we could only stand there in a daze.

“……Is it over?”

“No, not yet.”

“Eh?”

Libera-san readies her staff.

At the same time, the pieces of Randall’s flesh scattered inside the barrier bloat even further and begin to clump back together. As they merge, they expand explosively, transforming into the form of a giant, pitch-black infant.

“AA…… GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!”

“Ts……”

What a roar. To emit such pressure even from outside the barrier.

“Libera-san, what on earth is that……?”

“……I suppose you could call it a collective mass of system bugs.”

“A collective mass of system bugs?”

“I told you before, didn’t I? By using the Master Key repeatedly, the system accumulated bugs. It seems that by breaking the Master Key, those bugs used Randall’s flesh as a vessel to manifest in this world.”

“Wha—!?”

The black infant touches the barrier with its hands. Peta-peta.

“……Ah, pigyuuuuu…… AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!”

Then, Shuram’s barrier shattered like thin ice.

『It destroyed the Sea King’s barrier……?』

“OGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

The black infant charges straight at us.

“Wh-what should we do?”

“What else? We have to take it down.”

Faced with Libera-san’s bluntness, both Arrogance and I are stunned.

“Take it down, but……”

『……Is it even possible? If it is a mass of bugs, it means it is an entity on the system’s side. I do not think we can do anything about it.』

“We can.”

Libera-san declares firmly.

“It exists in this world using Randall’s flesh as a medium. And Randall’s body, though he was an otherworlder, is a part of this world’s existence. ——Ifrit!”

As Libera-san raises her staff, the spirit of scorching heat, Ifrit, appears.

“Burn it to ashes.”

“GIGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

A massive flame launched from Ifrit’s mouth enveloped the black infant that was heading toward us in crimson fire.

“Giiii…… IGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

The black infant writhes in agony as its body is scorched.

“It’s working……?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Even though it’s a mass of bugs, it’s not a supernatural entity. It ‘exists’ in this world in a way that allows it to be defeated. That is how it is ‘set’ in the system.”

『……』

At Libera-san’s words, Arrogance takes a pensive stance.

『……I felt it when I obtained my unique skill too, but there is a sense of something very intentional here. Well, let us leave those doubts until after we’ve dealt with that thing.』

“……You’re right.”

I ready my ninja blade, Arrogance his magic sword, Libera-san her staff, and Sora and Flamme spread their wings, preparing their breath.

All at once, we launched our attack on the black infant.

End of 270