* Bennett Hilton vs. Adventurer Kellin
Niolle Lestman vs. Wandering Swordsman Ifar * Upolin of Silence vs. Knight of Redburn Anphir
Hero Candidate Benjamin vs. Flame Wizard Kravellin Render ===============================================================
The Round of 16 had come to an end.
Now, only eight remained in the Tournament of 『Immutability』. From here, only two would be chosen.
The 『Reformist Faction』 was clustered in Block A, while Red Flavor and Cardinal Faction dominated Block B. With no way to change the brackets, the best-case scenario was clear—
Bennett had to win Block A, while the neutral faction’s Silent-whatever needed to win in Block B.
However, the chances of anyone neutral breaking through formidable candidates from Redburn and the Cardinal Faction were slim. Realistically, one of those two would take a slot.
And if I had to choose between them—
It would be better for Red Flavor to win.Meanwhile, the Conditions Discovery Laboratory was still running at full capacity. With dark circles hanging under our eyes, Evil God-chan and I gloomily continued our testing, logging the ever-expanding list of discovered conditions.
Clusters of ‘Heart’ constructs followed commands. And among them, one collapsed unnaturally.
Check.
“⋯⋯Another one?”
“Now you can’t put too much force on your left ring finger.”
No matter how many we found, more kept appearing.
It seemed the Cardinal Faction was throwing everything they had into the tournament to compensate for their poor performance so far. They were abusing the Goddess’s authority.
And because new conditions were popping up out of nowhere, I had to re-test every verified movement from the beginning. And the worst part was that I had no idea when they would add more conditions, or at what timing.
It was an endless swamp of exhaustive testing.
Having to analyze fights, investigate the Church’s secrets, and juggle a million tasks at once—even Evil God-chan and I were on the verge of collapse.
So, I made a patriotic decision for work-life balance.
“Let’s take a break.”
“⋯⋯Right. You sneaky bastard. You mean I should keep running tests while you rest, right?”
“No, what is this kid yapping about? Let’s rest together. Up we go.”
“Eueut.”
Even machines break down if they run non-stop. Even that Goddess malfunctioned from overuse—so how could humans endure? I picked up the nonsense-spouting Evil God-chan and tucked her under my arm.
Then, I threw myself onto the bed. The mattress sank beneath me with a soft thud, bringing a tired comfort. Only after lying down beside me did Evil God-chan start throwing a fit.
“⋯⋯Let me go!”
“Your reactions are always a beat late?”
Did she get a bug?
Lying there, arms crossed, I went over the current situation.
First, the difficulty had skyrocketed. With conditions popping up like mushrooms after rain, even putting together a combat module was giving me a headache.
Thankfully, I had farmed a mountain of custom martial arts during the martial arts session. Without that, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the update speed.
Duke Red Flavor’s side seemed to have caught on to the ‘conditions’ system as well. Seeing how they absolutely refused to step with their left foot in specific stances, they had either learned from experience⋯⋯.
Or they had 『Puppeteer』 running infinite analyses like me.
What made this even more annoying was the “Childish Fate Manipulation” (provisional name) was starting to synergize with the stacked conditions.
If a boxer fought with his left arm tied, his movements became predictable. That was our situation. The more ‘must not do X’ conditions stacked up, the more predictable our movements became.
And predictable movements were a direct death flag against Red Flavor’s『Childish as Fuck Fate Manipulation』.
The Round of 16 had already been a close call. Bennett, who had been using nunchucks, had to switch back to his longsword 『Guardian’s Dream』 at the last moment. And Niolle—who was relatively less skilled—was already pushed to her limit.
If we tried to avoid Red Flavor, the conditions would screw us over. And if we tried to avoid the conditions, Red Flavor would grab us by the ankles.
It almost felt like these bastards had joined forces just to screw me over.
The only silver lining was that the Cardinal Faction was avoiding direct confrontation with us. They shoved all the independents and Bennett’s party into Group A, so we wouldn’t have to face them.
“⋯⋯Why did they do that?”
Evil God-chan had a point. It was strange. Bennett wasn’t weak, but compared to knights directly commanded by the Empire’s Duke, his specs were lacking.
‘Bennett must have an amazing wizard backing him who can strengthen-mutate Metamorphosis! Better to fight Red Flavor instead.’
There was no way they thought like that.
We didn’t know the exact reasoning, but we could make educated guesses.
“There might be a simple but efficient conditional statement. Something like—‘Those without Divine Power are unfortunate.’ Or maybe, ‘Those who visited the Holy City after a certain point are unfortunate.’ Something along those lines.”
“⋯⋯Couldn’t they just set it as, ‘The Red Burn family is unfortunate’? Or ‘The Reformist Faction is unfortunate?”
“Machines don’t work that way. Since the Goddess operates mechanically, I suspect she can’t process abstract distinctions that are difficult to quantify.”
Though, I wasn’t entirely sure why the Goddess had to be so rigidly mechanical⋯⋯.
After that, the tournament proceeded smoothly.
The quarter-finals passed.
Niolle, unfortunately, was eliminated. But Bennett remained. In Block B, both Red Flavor’s knight and the Cardinal Faction’s fighter had also secured their places.
The end was gradually approaching.
===============================================================
[Wo■■abiliza■vice Corruption Rate 29%⋯⋯]
===============================================================
It was a night veiled in faint clouds.
As wisps of water vapor drifted across the moon, the entire world seemed to dim and brighten in rhythm—as if someone were toggling a light switch. In the darkness, I approached the balcony, swirling the wine in my glass.
Bennett was already there, gazing up at the sky. I let the clink of ice in my glass announce my presence.
“Shall we have an early victory toast, Bennett?”
“⋯⋯Isn’t it a bit too soon?”
“Your opponent, the wandering swordsman, likely knows nothing about the tournament’s hidden rules. There’s a vast gap between those who understand the rules and those who don’t.”
“That’s true, but… So, why did you call me out here?”
What else? I rubbed my hands together wickedly.
Once Bennett won, things would get hectic. So while we still had some time, I needed to collect what was mine.
“I think it’s time to collect my payment. There’s no such thing as a free lunch⋯⋯ right?”
“Yes, it’s thanks to you, Crazy Wizard. Without your help, the 『Reformist Faction』 alongwith us would have faded away like dying embers. I’m grateful.”
“Gratitude isn’t enough. Let me collect. What I want is⋯⋯.”
“Is it the Holy Sword?”
…Way off.
But honestly, an interesting guess. A suspicious, mysterious wizard suddenly asking for payment—it was only natural to assume it was something that big.
But no. What I wanted was a bit of wisdom.
I had learned a thing or two while rolling around the Holy City. If I just subtly hinted at my question, too embarrassed to ask outright, Bennett would never give me a proper answer. I’d be left hanging until I died of old age. I needed courage to get what I wanted.
So, I took a deep breath and asked boldly.
“I want to know how to successfully two-time.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Bennett first cleaned out his ears.
Then, he pinched the back of his hand to check if he was dreaming.
Next, he summoned 『Guardian’s Dream』 and spun it like a top on the ground.
Finally, he slapped himself hard across the face.
…Was my character breaking that shocking?
Bennett leaned against the balcony railing and thought for a long time. After an awkwardly long silence, he spoke in a quiet voice.
“Be honest.”
“⋯⋯Honest?”
I was already being plenty honest.
“Think about it logically. Can you love a woman who has another partner? Could you accept that?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“You can’t. Even the thought is unpleasant. They probably feel the same way. If they could, they’d want exclusivity.”
“⋯⋯I suppose so.”
He was right.
If Yuna suddenly brought someone over and said, “This is my boyfriend. I’ve decided to date you both,”⋯⋯ I would probably feel devastated.
Because Yuna and Yuri get along well. Sure, they expressed jealousy sometimes, but it was never too severe.
Had I just… buried these thoughts without properly considering them?
Bennett gazed up at the sky, his eyes softening with affection—likely thinking of his own partners.
“It means they love me enough to endure it. So I, too, must work hard⋯⋯to be someone worthy of that love.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“It’s not about whether you can two-time well or not, Wizard. If you receive this much love⋯⋯ it’s about being grateful and giving it your all.”
I see.
Rather than desperately clinging with both hands— Loving came first.
Thinking about it, he was absolutely right. Bennett’s philosophy as a sigma male wasn’t about ‘managing’ relationships── it was just expressing his sincere feelings. It was an expression of love.
I bowed my head, deeply moved.
“Thank you, Bennett. As expected of the master of two-timing⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯Don’t phrase it like that.”
Bennett’s expression soured.
Alright. Should I confess?
I was really, really dragging my feet. For real. Alright, let’s confess—right after I finish this one thing.
The illusionary flower bouquet I had been secretly modeling wasn’t for nothing, right?
Eum.
“⋯⋯Um, what would be a good confession line?”
“Don’t ask others to decide something like that for you.”
But if I messed up and became a lifelong laughingstock, that would be a disaster, right? Yuna might let it slide, but Pink-Haired Lesbian would definitely tease me about it until the day I died.
Still, coming here for advice was a good call. It was worth hearing. I was glad I’d mustered the courage for it—even if it might have cracked my concept a bit. But⋯⋯.
My mind felt much lighter.
Good.
I stretched and prepared to go insi──
===============================================================
──Wild beasts sense disaster before it strikes.
When birds frantically take flight, when animals shriek and flee, it means their keen instincts have detected a threat.
In short—
Bennett, whose Metamorphosis had enhanced his physical senses. And me, who could read countless fragments of information thanks to my naturally gifted talent.
────.
We probably were the first ones to notice the anomaly before anyone else in this city.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
A chill ran down my spine, like ice water had been poured over me. I felt my entire body tense up, my neck stiffening involuntarily. All of my focus—my entire being—was pulled toward the center of the city.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Though I couldn’t see it. Though I couldn’t hear it. Something majestic, something beyond comprehension, brushed past in a pale flash.
A streak of cold sweat ran down my neck.
I got the feeling we were royally fucked.
It was crude, but nothing else could describe my gut feeling more accurately.
And then—
A pillar of light descended, carving through the dark, silent night sky.
I knew what that was.
『Divine Punishment』.
A pillar of extremely concentrated Divine Power. So intensely hot, it melted both people and objects indiscriminately.
But this time—
The scale was completely different.
If what struck the Paladin who drank the Succubus Queen’s fluids was a small wave… then what was descending on the center of the city now was a tsunami. It was at least ten times larger.
The sheer heat radiating from it was enough to melt nearby buildings—and I could feel it even from this far away.
Bennett spoke.
“⋯⋯It’s the Hero’s Hall. Where the Holy Sword is kept.”
The Holy Sword.
My head spun. Puzzle pieces snapped together at dizzying speed.
Evil God-chan had once mentioned feeding dragon scales to some guy. Which meant—she extracted and bestowed the essence of ‘That.’
When I arrived in the Holy City, I learned that the recipient was the Cardinal Faction’s Hero Candidate. I’d counted on that being my trump card.
I had assumed—
If the Goddess was so sensitive to fragments of ‘That,’ then even if the Cardinal Faction won, their candidate wouldn’t be able to become the Hero.
Because 『Divine Punishment』 would strike if he touched the Holy Sword.
So. This pillar of light right now⋯⋯.
It had to be that.
The Cardinal Faction, desperate over their failing tournament performance, had made their not-yet-selected candidate grab the Holy Sword early, bypassing all procedures.
That was the most likely scenario. Up until this point, it was fine.
There was no real problem.
If this pillar of light faded away, it would be nothing more than an incident.
But if my instincts were reacting this strongly.
Then what came next was—
[Warning: Traces of ■■■ detected in the Administrator ‘Hero’ selection device.]
[Warning: Corruption rate confirmed at 30.2%.]
[Warning: Possibility of intentional corruption due to ■■■ intervention rather than religious leader’s incompetence. Two warning messages related to this judgment.]
[Warning : Initiating Administrator Purification Phase.]
Right.
Divine Words rang out. To most people, they would have been an incomprehensible cacophony. But to me—
Someone who had once briefly connected with the Goddess. I understood it.
“What the hell happened in the Hero’s Hall…”
“Bennett, wake up everyone you know. The Goddess is pissed. If this keeps up, the aftermath might⋯⋯.”
[Warning : Administrator Purification Phase 1 - City Erasure.]
I immediately abandoned my concept.
“HOLY SHIT, BENNETT! Prepare to evacuate—right now! If I heard that right, the Goddess is about to wipe out the entire city!”
“⋯⋯Damn it, understood!”
I needed to think of a way to live.
***
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