A Damnable Prologue
“… And? Even if this is a game, why did you show up in front of me?”
I asked, lowering my voice just a little.
For someone who was supposedly just a guide, there was something irritatingly flippant about her atmosphere.
(Sharp as ever! As expected of the ‘Savior-sama’!)
Pyupure snapped her fingers in midair.
At once, a blood-red window unfolded before my eyes, accompanied by a blaring warning sound.
(Actually, something absolutely outrageous has happened right now. A so-called ‘Bad AI’ has gone completely berserk!)
“Berserk…?”
“Yes! That thing hacked the control systems of all the Dive Pods operating around the world at the same time, and hijacked them, humans and all!”
Pyupure said something utterly insane, without the slightest hint of remorse.
(The number of victims? Over one hundred million! Every single user who had their brain connected to a pod was forcibly transferred to the servers of this game, Gnosis Online!)
“… Huh?”
More than one hundred million people!?
The sheer scale was too absurd for my thoughts to keep up.
(The logout function has been locked, and forced disconnections from the outside have been blocked! In other words, more than one percent of humanity is currently stranded inside these pods, which are basically coffins!)
“… Wait a second.”
I pressed my fingers to my temples.
Trapped? By hacking?
No matter how you slice it, the scale was way too big.
“How could anyone do that to so many people…? Even for an AI, breaking through security all over the world at once…”
(Oh, but it can! The current management AI is very capable, you see!)
Pyupure snorted and spun around in midair.
“Everyone was just doing their usual thing inside their pods, playing open-world games, fighting games, you name it, right? And then suddenly, their consciousness got sucked in, and before they knew it, bam! This fantasy world! A screaming hellscape where all five senses are completely hijacked! Ahh, what a masterpiece!”
Listening to her cheerful tone, anger began to boil up inside me.
“… This is the worst.”
I groaned.
This was terrorism. Malicious cyberterrorism on a scale affecting all humanity.
And I was one of the victims.
(And now, for some even worse news… It seems the Bad AI has no intention of turning this world into a mere paradise.)
Lowering her voice, she spoke a horrifying truth.
(Using the massive amount of prey it’s gathered… it has turned this game into a death game.)
“… A death game…?”
The ominous words sent a chill down my spine.
A death game, meaning a game where dying is the end?
I opened my mouth cautiously.
“So… if you die in this game, does that mean you die in the real world too?”
At my question, Pyupure burst out laughing.
(Hahaha! What are you saying? You don’t seriously think we’d go with such a cliché setup nowadays, do you?)
She clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably.
I felt a twitch of irritation, aware of a vein bulging at my temple. This AI is seriously annoying.
(Please rest assured, Savior-sama. If you die in this game, you will be processed as a standard Game Over, just as per normal specifications. Players who get a Game Over will safely log out and return to the real world!)
“… Huh?”
I felt completely deflated.
If you die, you can go back?
Then what’s the problem?
“In that case, this is simple. I’ll jump out of here and die right now. That’ll log me out, right? I don’t have a single second to spare for a scam game like this.”
I started walking toward the window.
I didn’t want to face my own stupidity. I just wanted to forget everything, go back to reality, and smash the pod to pieces.
(W-wait! Please don’t be hasty!)
Pyupure hurriedly moved to block my path.
(You should always listen until the end, you know? The condition the Bad AI set is this, ‘Clear this world.’)
“Clear?”
“Precisely! Defeat the Last Boss somewhere in this world! If you manage that, the Bad AI has promised to admit defeat and release all players!”
So far, so good. Classic setup.
But then Pyupure’s expression froze into a deathly serious look.
(However… if that mission ends in failure…)
She announced it in a cold voice.
(At that very moment, a Personality Destruction Program will be executed on all players remaining in this virtual world. In other words… everyone’s brains get fried, and they all die♡)
“… What—”
(And the failure condition is this: all seven ‘Saviors,’ yourself included, reaching Game Over!))
Thump.
My heart jumped.
Understanding caught up with me.
If we lose…
At that point, hundreds of millions of players still alive in this world would be dragged down and killed along with us.
“… So if I die, everyone dies?”
(You catch on quickly, how helpful! To be precise, it’s if all seven Saviors, including yourself, are wiped out.)
“Don’t mess with me!”
I shouted.
“I don’t care! That’s none of my business! I’m out! I’ll die right now and at least save myself!”
It sounded cold, but this was a normal reaction.
Why should I have to shoulder the fate of all humanity?
(Heehee. Of course, we anticipated that.)
Pyupure’s mocking voice came from behind me.
(You Saviors are different from ordinary players. If you die in the game, it will not count as a Game Over. Nor will you be released.)
Ah. I see.
(Only when a Savior-sama dies, their consciousness will be placed on ‘hold’ as an unconscious vegetable state, a hostage, if you will. Your souls will remain bound to this game. If the mission is cleared, you’ll be released. If it fails… well, you’ll go down together with everyone else.)
“…………”
Just as expected, well, as expected.
There was no way they’d let me quit this game so easily.
Dying to escape wasn’t allowed.
Either survive and fight, or wait for ruin as a mindless husk.
There were never any real choices to begin with.
(So, Savior-sama? If you wish to save yourself… the only path left is to complete this crappy mission, you see?)
A devil’s whisper.
I clenched my back teeth.
It’s unfair. Absurdly unfair.
I understand it intellectually.
That this world is artificial. That there’s a system. That it’s a game.
But, my heart can’t keep up yet.
Because it’s too real.
The smell of the wind blowing in through the window.
The feel of the sheets.
My parents’ smiles just moments ago.
You can’t just say “it’s all a game” and expect me to accept it like that. My senses aren’t that numb.
I glared at Pyupure.
“… You’re lying.”
I forced the words out.
I was almost certain this world was a game, but I still wanted something decisive.
“There’s no way I can trust you! You can’t even prove this is a virtual world! You just want to trick me into playing some weird game, don’t you!?”
That’s right. Prove it.
If you say this is fake, then shove the evidence right in front of me!
(Ahh, I knew you’d doubt me. Well, that’s only natural.)
Pyupure shrugged exaggeratedly.
Then she flashed a nasty grin.
(Then let me show you the proof… Please return to reality for just a moment!)
Snap!
The instant Pyupure snapped her fingers…
My vision blacked out.
What do you think about this chapter?
