My name is Tatsuya Minato.
If you had asked me back on Earth to describe my life, I would have told you it was perfectly, numbingly complete. I was born the only child of a wealthy family. My parents loved me, perhaps too much. They indulged my every whim. The newest video game consoles? Mine on release day. Walls lined with pristine manga volumes? Done. Whatever I pointed at, I received. But in that massive, quiet house, surrounded by every distraction money could buy, I was entirely alone.
I didn't mind it. Or at least, I convinced myself I didn't. Until the first day of high school, Class 1-A. I was sitting in the back row, ignoring the orientation chatter, hunched over my Nintendo Switch. I was grinding a particularly brutal boss in a popular action RPG. Suddenly, a shadow fell over my desk.
"Whoa! You're already at the Ashen Castle?!" I looked up, startled. Standing there was a boy with messy hair and a wide, easy grin. It was Daiki. He didn't ask if he could sit; he just spun the chair around and straddled it, his eyes glued to my screen. "That's insane! I've been stuck on the vanguard knight for three days. Your parry timing is god-tier."
He didn't stop talking. He talked about the game, the mechanics, the lore. For the first time in my life, I didn't feel the urge to push someone away. I felt a strange, tight feeling in my chest. I almost cried right then and there. I was just... glad. "Oh, crap," Daiki suddenly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Daiki."
I managed a small chuckle. "I'm Tatsuya."
That was it. That was the moment my world expanded. Soon, I was inviting Daiki over to my house. I'll never forget the look on my parents' faces the first time I walked through the front door with him. They stood in the hallway, holding a plate of sliced apples, staring at us without blinking. "Mom, Dad, you're scaring him," I had sighed. But when I looked closer, my mother had tears in her eyes. They were just so profoundly happy that their son finally had a friend.
Through Daiki, I met Rina. Daiki had hyped up this "legendary player" who was higher level than both of us combined. I was expecting a sweaty, hardcore gamer guy. When Rina walked up to us with her gentle smile, I was so embarrassed I could barely speak. She just chuckled at my red face.
We formed a party of three. We were inseparable. I remember looking around the classroom sometimes. I noticed another boy who sat quietly in the back, staring out the window. Kyouya Kusanagi. He looked like me—bored, detached. I thought about talking to him, about pulling him into our circle. But I never did. I wonder what would have happened if I had.
But now, the classroom is gone. The Switch is gone.
In the dark abyss of my dream, I stood in the Obsidian Chasm. The air smelled of ash. Daiki was standing a few feet away, but his edges were blurring, dissolving into golden light. "Daiki," I pleaded, my voice cracking. I tried to run to him, but my legs wouldn't move. The System was holding me down. "I'm sorry. Please, don't leave me."
Daiki smiled, that same easy, carefree grin from our first day. "I'm glad I met you, Tatsuya. I always admired you, you know? You could get whatever you wanted... but you chose to hang out with me."
He took a step back, his body fading faster. "Don't worry about this place. I'll just respawn back in the original world. When you get back... let's play our favorite games together again. Don't leave me hanging, bro."
"DAIKI!"
Tears spilled over my cheeks in the dark.
Location: Vaeloria Capital - The Royal Guest Wing
Tatsuya’s eyes snapped open.
He didn't gasp. He didn't scream. He just stared blankly at the pristine, frescoed ceiling of a royal bedchamber. The sunlight streaming through the stained-glass windows was warm, but he felt entirely hollow. A single, cold tear slipped from the corner of his eye, tracing a wet line down his pale cheek and soaking into the silk pillow.
"He's awake."
The soft voice made Tatsuya flinch. He slowly turned his head. Sitting in plush chairs near the bed were Rina and Saki, along with a few other classmates. They looked exhausted, their eyes ringed with dark circles.
Tatsuya sat up slowly, the luxurious blankets pooling around his waist. He looked at his hands. They were clean, but in his mind, they were permanently stained crimson. He looked up at his classmates, his grey eyes trembling with a fragile, shattered vulnerability.
"I..." Tatsuya started, his voice a hoarse, broken rasp. "I have no idea how to apologize. I have no idea how to ever ask for your forgiveness."
He expected them to shout. He expected Saki to draw her weapon. He deserved it.
Instead, there was a rustle of fabric. Rina stood up, crossed the room, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pulling him into a deep, desperate hug.
Tatsuya froze, his breath hitching.
"You idiot," Rina whispered fiercely, burying her face in his shoulder. "We thought we lost you entirely to the System. We are so, so glad to have you back."
Tatsuya slowly raised his arms, hesitantly returning the hug, burying his face in his hands as silent sobs finally racked his chest.
Later, after the emotional storm had somewhat passed, Rina sat on the edge of his bed, her expression turning serious. Saki poured them tea.
"The Adventurers Guild and the King are demanding a full report of what happened in the Obsidian Chasm," Rina explained quietly. "They know you cleared an impossible number of high-tier monsters, and they know we lost Daiki. But... they don't know how Daiki died. I told the Guild Master I wouldn't submit the official party report until you woke up."
She looked Tatsuya dead in the eye. "I can hide it. I can tell them the Arachne killed him. Saki and the others agreed to back up whatever story we choose. What do you want to do?"
Tatsuya stared at the swirling tea in his cup. The old Tatsuya—the detached, calculating gamer—would have hidden it to preserve his standing and avoid a penalty.
"No," Tatsuya said firmly, his voice steadying. "I won't lie. I will admit exactly what I did."
Location: Vaeloria Capital - The Grand Throne Room
The throne room of Vaeloria was a masterpiece of intimidating architecture, lined with towering pillars of white marble and banners of deep crimson. At the far end sat King Regis Aldous, a stern, imposing man with a thick grey beard, flanked by his highest Dukes and the Guild Master of Aethelgard.
Tatsuya stood in the center of the vast floor, stripped of his weapons, wearing simple commoner's clothes. Rina, Saki, and the remaining Vanguard students stood a few paces behind him.
The echoing silence of the hall was broken by Tatsuya's steady, unwavering confession.
"I was entirely unable to control myself," Tatsuya admitted, his voice carrying perfectly across the marble. "When I enter combat, my Ultimate Skill, [Unstoppable Frenzy], activates automatically. Combined with the cursed Title [Battle Lover], it forcefully alters my cognitive state. My empathy is suppressed. My killing instinct is artificially elevated by the System until I cannot distinguish between humans, demons, or dungeon monsters. The System simply screams at me to kill everything in the vicinity."
He bowed his head. "I killed my closest friend. The only reason I regained my humanity was because of the shock of that realization."
A heavy murmur ran through the assembled nobles. The Guild Master looked grim, whispering something into the King's ear.
King Aldous leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist. "Lord Hero. Your power is a double-edged sword that this Kingdom desperately needs, yet deeply fears. We cannot afford to imprison our greatest Vanguard, but we cannot unleash a mad dog upon our own forces."
The King sighed. "By royal decree, I will pass no formal punishment upon you. The loss of your comrade is a heavy enough chain for your soul to bear. I leave your judgment to the friends who must fight beside you."
"Your Majesty, I protest!" A tall, hawkish Duke stepped forward, his face flushed. "What if this... 'curse' activates again? What if he loses his mind on the battlefield and turns his magic upon our own royal knights?"
Before Tatsuya could answer, Rina stepped forward, her golden eyes blazing with defiance.
"He won't," Rina declared.
The Duke scowled. "And how can you guarantee that, little healer?"
"Because I have blocked his System parameters," Rina said, raising her hand. A brilliant, soothing golden aura flared around her fingers. "Using my high-tier Holy Magic, I cast [Divine Seal] directly onto Tatsuya's Status Board. I have forcibly chained his cursed Title. It cannot activate without shattering my mana."
The throne room fell silent in shock. Manipulating another person's System interface was supposed to be impossible.
"And if your seal breaks?" the Duke pressed, his eyes narrowing. "Who takes responsibility for the slaughter?"
"I do," Rina said without a shred of hesitation. She looked at Tatsuya, her expression resolute. "If Tatsuya loses control again, I will stop him. No matter what it takes, I will bring him back or I will put him down. He is my responsibility."
Tatsuya stared at Rina, his heart hammering against his ribs. The nobles murmured among themselves, but King Aldous raised a hand, silencing the room. The absolute conviction in the young girl's voice was enough. The worries of the court seemed to dissipate into the vaulted ceiling.
Location: Vaeloria Capital - Guild Living Quarters
That evening, the surviving classmates gathered in the private living quarters of the Adventurers Guild. A large map of Cascadia was spread across a wooden table.
"We can't stay in Vaeloria," Rina said, tracing a line across the map. "We've leveled up significantly, but this tragedy proved that a small group is too vulnerable. We are fractured."
"So what's the play?" Saki asked, leaning against the wall.
"We find the others," Rina stated. "Hiroto, Kenji, Kento... they should be in the Eastern Continent, holding the frontlines in the Sunderland or Frontierra. Together is better than apart. We need to pool our skills and figure out the truth behind this System."
Tatsuya nodded silently from the corner of the room. "I'll follow your lead, Rina."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the room. They had a new objective.
As the meeting broke up and the boys left to pack their gear, only the girls remained in the room. Saki walked over to Rina, bumping her shoulder playfully.
"So," Saki smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief. "You stood up to a Duke. You forcefully hacked his System. And you promised to take responsibility for him for the rest of his life. Are you absolutely sure you aren't interested in Tatsuya-kun?"
Rina’s face instantly flushed crimson, the confident, commanding aura from the throne room completely vanishing.
"W-What?!" Rina stammered, waving her hands frantically. "No! It's not like that at all! I just... I'm the healer! It's my job to take care of the Vanguard! It’s purely strategic!"
The other girls in the room burst into laughter.
"Sure, sure, purely strategic," another girl teased, packing her bag. "Just be careful, Rina-chan. Taming the mad dog of Class 1-A is going to be a full-time job."
For a brief, fleeting moment, amidst the grief and the looming war, the room sounded like a normal high school classroom again.
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