330 – S6. Tumultuous -3

“aaah──!”

Like ripples spreading across a moonlit lake, a scream echoes through the dark prison. The violet-robed mages of the tower leading the experiment found beauty in the sound.

How could they not rejoice, when the children’s pain indicated the progress of their great work? Just as a diligent farmer thanks the rooster crowing at dawn, they too were grateful for the wailing children.

In their minds, this wasn’t particularly inhuman or cruel. They had a grand cause, the pursuit of the arcane, and besides…

Didn’t farmers, when harvesting their crops, sever living rice stalks with their sickles and still offer thanks?

Now, the first stage was complete.

The constant suppression had ingrained, deep into their bones, the impossibility of escaping this tower, crushing any dreams of active resistance. Now was the time to begin the actual experiments.

The magic circles built into the twelve cells of the circular prison activate.

“It’s hot, I’m going to die of heat. Damn it, the sweat won’t stop! Let me out of here!”

“I’m hungry, how am I supposed to finish a meal with just this one piece of bread…?”

“It’s stinging, it’s stinging. Why are there suddenly thorns on the floor…”

Minor pains.

Everything begins with minor pains. Each of the twelve rooms had a magic circle set up that matched its own concept, and though they were only minor pains now, they were planned to escalate to levels of stress that would make them want to give up on life.

This was very important work. The 『Illusion』 that had never existed in this world—lay in its impermanence. Theoretically, that was the case.

By lowering the will to live to near zero, to a state that was neither living nor dead. It was only in this state that the child could become a 『Gate』, pulling the products of imagination into reality.

But mere pain alone wouldn’t lead to impermanence. They had to be disillusioned with everything in the world. And so the violet-robed mages of the tower had prepared a game.

“Now, what’s placed in the center of this circular prison is the 『Golden Key』.”

Though they called it a golden key, it was just a shabby ticket with a roughly drawn key shape scrawled on a piece of paper. But the children instinctively knew, that it was incredibly important.

The experiment leader, 『Goat』, explained the rules to the twelve children.

“From now on, every hour, the prison will open and close in order, starting from cell number one. Meaning that anyone can acquire this 『Golden Key』. Using it will immediately halt the torture of that cell.”

But.

“Instead, the torture intensity of one of the other prisons will double. The ‘Golden Key’ will be generated once per day. Do you understand?”

It was a cruel game. If you used the ‘Golden Key’ to make yourself more comfortable, someone else among the children would suffer even more.

The twelve children were divided into three groups.

No one should use the key. Don’t fall for their tricks.

We have to take the key. We have no choice if we want to survive.

We must serve the one who made the key. Perhaps then they will save us.

In this situation, Yuna Yurensto–

–

“──it’s like this.”

“So, to summarize, the current martial world is cursed by the Heavenly Demon. The only way to break it is by using the ‘Golden Key’ of the Heavenly Demon Tomb. But if one faction uses it, the curse gets worse for the other two, right?”

“Yeah, the ‘Golden Key’ is basically a prisoner’s dilemma.”

“So that’s why the three Righteous, Evil, and Demonic b*stards are scrambling for the Heavenly Demon Tomb?”

I was able to hear the backstory from Aisha, who was sitting demurely with her cleavage covered by a silk quilt.

When I asked how she knew this when Woo Chaerin and Oh Hyein didn’t, she said that while she was half-taking over the Demonic Cult, she’d also finished investigating everything. That’s my girl.

“What’s this Heavenly Demon curse anyway?”

“They say that your body slowly collapses over time. When the curse reaches its final stage, it’s as painful and agonizing as being ripped apart muscle by muscle, bone by bone.”

“Holy shit.”

What a fucked-up world.

But finally, the context is clear. I also know what I need to do. The player’s role in this story is to decide the fate of the ‘Golden Key.’

I still don’t know why the ‘Stellaria’ and ‘Magical Girl’ bits are shoehorned in… but roughly, I’ve got a direction, now it’s just a matter of moving forward.

Aisha, seeing that I seemed to have my thoughts in order, scratched her temple with her pipe and asked,

“So, what’s the plan? If you’re going the righteous route, should I start some infighting within the Demonic Cult?”

“Nah, I’m not taking the righteous route.”

“Then are you going to unleash that dark temper of yours and go the Demonic Cult route? Just say the word, I’ve got a harem of beautiful women who’ve trained in demonic arts for dear old dad, ready to go. Enough for a rotation of three a day, for a whole week.”

“I don’t have a suicide hobby. Not interested. Not going the Demonic Cult route either.”

Either choice ends up hurting someone, that’s just how it is. Isn’t the whole point of the ‘Golden Key’ that it intensifies the curses on the two factions that aren’t the user?

So, for the same reason, I won’t take the Unorthodox Path either. I’m going to forge a fourth way.

“We’re all getting played by that curse in the first place. If we just resolve the curse itself, there’s no need to fight each other.”

“That curse is a map gimmick, dad. Basically a core setting of the session, is getting rid of it even possible? The chance might not even exist.”

I know.

There’s a high chance I won’t be able to lift the curse. This isn’t a session where I’m the protagonist, it’s Yuna’s flashback in disguise. But still, I’ve got to.

“Even if I can’t resolve the curse, fighting over the ‘Golden Key’ is the wrong answer. We can see the future, can’t we? What happens after the righteous faction gets ahold of the key and uses it? Do you think the Unorthodox and Demonic Cult factions, on the verge of death, will just stand by?”

Knowing they’re going to die anyway, they’ll probably start a bloodbath to take everyone else down with them.

They sought life, exploring the Heavenly Demon Tomb, and caused conflict, but in the end, this story is going to end with all three of them sinking together.

So the best solution is harmony.

“A peace crossover bringing together the righteous, the unorthodox, and the demonic.”

As I made a cross with my fingers, declaring the path of harmony and peace, Aisha just clicked her pipe with a listless expression.

“…I want to say, is it going to be that easy? But you’ve probably already planned it out, that’s why you’re blabbering on, right? Let me know when you’ve finished explaining it to Oh Hyein and Woo Chaerin. I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Yes, Your Supreme Demonic Majesty, Asura Blood-Fiend Raksasa Baekcheon! As you command!”

“⋯⋯Heezmeur.”

A little scratch got Aisha to glare at me fiercely, the tip of her pipe still between her teeth. I’d suppressed the data on the flush of her face, but she couldn’t control the tips of her ears going bright red. Red ears.

Right, about six months had passed since Aisha was born. The time when she’d start to hit puberty and want an awesome name was coming, I guess.

Not like I’m in any position to judge on the naming sense front, but I still need to say this.

“You need to study up on the aesthetics of exposure. Just showing everything isn’t appealing. It’s, like, the *barely there* that’s the point, y’know?”

“Ugh, I’ll figure it out myself, shut up, Dad!”

“And if you name yourself Asura Blood Demon Rakshasa Baekcheonma, you should think about the color coordination. If it were me, I’d start with the underwear color–“

“YAAH–!! I SAID I’D FIGURE IT OUT–!!”

I took off immediately. The amount of rage in that shout told me this was an issue that could escalate to father-daughter violence.

Aisha, like a tiger, gracefully performed light footwork, pipe in hand, chasing after me.

If I were in top condition, throwing magic around like I could, maybe I could shake her, but as it was, constrained by the limitations of the session, I couldn’t shake off my daughter, and ended up getting whacked repeatedly with the pipe. Familiar WWE stuff.

As I was taking Aisha’s moves, I thought for a moment.

Sometimes people face unavoidable hardships. Like, for example, the unpleasant roommate sealed inside my head.

Looking back, the reason we somehow got through the fight with ‘it’ was probably because we cared for each other rather than choosing the easy way out.

If, in the future, that thing was unleashed, or an affected, crazy mage turned into a monster, and then they pointed a sword at me with these thoughts, we would have had a tragedy on our hands.

But instead, we’ve been stumbling along, loving each other. And I believe that this path, even though it might seem like a detour, is ultimately a shortcut.

Whether it’s the righteous path, the heretical path, or the demonic sect, let’s break through it all together. Let’s aim for the ultimate happy ending.

Just like we’ve always done.

–

–Yuna Yurensto spoke.

“We need to band together. Let’s not be swayed by the ‘Golden Key’ or anything like it. Let’s not fall for the wizards’ prodding. We need to convince everyone, make a promise together. We won’t use the ‘Golden Key’……okay?”

She made a judgment like a mad wizard from a distant future. The other child, who’d been listening to Yuna’s persuasion, nodded heavily after some deep thought.

A pair of earrings swayed with the momentum of the nod.

“Okay, I get it. Yeah. No one should use the key. I’ll talk to the others too. But those greedy kids, and the ones who follow those damn wizards…can we even convince them?”

“……I’ll try.”

They needed to unite all the children as one, to break free from the lure of the ‘Golden Key’.

For everyone’s sake. Believing there was a better tomorrow even in this inescapable hell. Yuna Yurensto clenched her small fist tightly.

–

I returned to Oh Hyein and Woo Chaerin, and spilled the bag of information I’d gathered. About the Heavenly Demon’s curse and the effects of the ‘Golden Key.’

After hearing the information, both Oh Hyein and Woo Chaerin seemed lost in thought.

“A curse, huh…It makes me think of ‘Fallen Magic Demon King Lucifer Zekniel.’ Since the grotesques gain power from people’s despairing emotions, maybe the Heavenly Demon’s curse is part of his plan.”

“A curse, is it…? It makes me contemplate the nature of the ‘Great Beast.’ It was a being that tormented humans with pure malice, so maybe I was brought here as…a sign of the ‘Great Beast’s’ revival…”

“………”

Their gazes focused on me. They seemed to be pondering the fact that I was the one who brought the Great Beast and Zekniel into their session. I turned my head away, staring into the distant mountains.

It was like back in Abraham’s time; once they realized that I was the one who had, in a way, messed up their world, the atmosphere became strange, a little awkward.

Oh Hyein asked bluntly,

“Speaking of which, President, do you like self-sacrifice or something?”

“Huh?”

“It’s like with Chaerin unni’s world, and Sentra unni’s too. And here too, Dae-soo oppa self-destructed at the end. I just thought maybe you liked…that sort of thing, where everything is borne by one sacrifice in exchange for happiness.”

“……I don’t particularly like it. I just think it’s cool.”

A story that ends in sacrifice isn’t a happy ending.

Personally, I prefer an absolute, flawless victory. Even if the plot bends a bit, I want everyone to survive to the very end, laughing and celebrating.

Back when my sessions were just stories, I figured, well, fantasies are just fantasies. We have to end it like this, to bring the players back to reality, I thought.

But after realizing the NPCs had gained self-awareness, that changed. Of course the main characters should get married, have kids, and live happily ever after.

So Irid’s story, and the other player’s stories, aren’t finished yet. It’s an ending retraction. I want to keep them going until they cross the finish line of happiness.

And the same goes for my story with Yuna.

I clapped my hands to get their attention and began explaining the plan.

“Okay, the goal’s simple. We happen to have an ally in each of the three factions—the Righteous, the Evil, and the Demonic Cult. We’ll use this to unite all three, stop the fighting, and make sure no one touches the ‘Golden Key’.”

“‘How’ is the only part missing. So, Administrator, how do you plan to unite these factions?”

“With the power of love.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”

Right.

No matter how much you persuade, distribute benefits, or threaten, the embers of conflict don’t easily die out. Even if I could beat them all down and make them kneel.

But people who love each other don’t point their swords at each other.

And we happen to have the Heavenly Demon Tomb as a stage. A closed space filled with mechanisms, traps, and danger…And in a place like that, love is bound to blossom.

With a little directing, guiding, modified traps, and a pair of men and women, it’s simple. I solemnly raised my hand and declared the operation name.

“Operation: ‘Heavenly Demon Tomb’s Heart-Pounding Date ~ Can’t Leave Until You’re a Couple ~’ “

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

If I just turn everyone into couples, regardless of faction, they won’t be able to fight, right?!

–

Celestial Demon Tomb, the tomb of the Celestial Demon.

A once colossal evil whose name was known throughout the Central Plains. So wicked and powerful it was rumored to have reached the heavens, turning day into night.

Surely, then, there must be horrifying and vicious traps within. Poison darts that fester flesh, or spinning saw blades that slice throats in an instant.

But for the sake of the entire sect, to undo the curse that has befallen the martial world, this place must be breached. It *must* be!

…So resolved the righteous warrior, determined to achieve it even at the cost of his life.

“W-why the hell am I doing this with a lackey of the Demonic Cult…!!”

“Shut your trap! You righteous dog, you’re making the water balloon wobble with all your yapping!”

Why was he, of all things, carrying a water balloon pressed between their chests with a Demonic Cult’s vixen? Why did the Celestial Demon Tomb have so many suspiciously common two-person traps? And why, in the middle of all this, was his heart pounding…

… … …

“Alright, this area’s modified. Next.”

“What kind of mini-game should we add next? Twister?”

“That sounds good.”

The warrior had no way of knowing that a genius scientist and her mad sorceress daughter, alongside a magical girl, were working together to remodel the Celestial Demon Tomb in real time.