3 - The Demon King and the Fate of the Grail

“...I’m lucky the communication unit itself is on the other side. It means I can still communicate. I was right to at least get my arm inside.”

2V had transformed into a snake. Or more specifically, the doll’s arm that she had sent inside had transformed into one. The arm contained a communication unit that allowed it to take action on its own; 2V had added that function to help spy in places that only an arm could reach.

The snake hid in the jungle and watched Yoshie and the students. It was an ordinary-looking green snake, one that blended in well with the rest of the world.

“Looks like the girl made it inside successfully. But there’s something I didn’t tell her. If my information is accurate, someone’s been lurking in this place long before us... The question is, what kind of effect are they going to have on this world? And if I can get to them before anybody else...” 2V whispered.

The being who’d been lurking in this world from the beginning was likely to interfere in ways that were impossible to predict.

“I need to investigate them a little more... Fortunately, none of the Megis priests seem to have noticed,” 2V said to herself, as she moved her mind back to a doll in the real world. It was another doll with an ordinary face, the kind 2V favored. The doll was in the Megis temple’s library right now. The only things in the room were a few dedicated terminals, but there were files that could only be accessed from there.

2V was looking for a file that one of her scientist colleagues had remembered seeing: a file with information on the first Demon King.

It took some time, but 2V was able to find several files related to it, all of them holding amazing information.

“Look at this...! It’s just like I thought... No, even more...!”

○

“It’s hard for me to ask you to believe me, so just let me tell you what you need to know to stay safe,” Yoshie — Or Yoshihiko, as she was now calling herself — said.

It was hard to tell if the students in the courtyard were listening to her, they were so riled up. Half of it was fear, and half of it was excitement to be playing a game. Either way, they weren’t paying attention.

—Well, this isn’t good. I need to get everyone back safe so that I can find 2V and Akuto Sai...

Yoshie opened her screen to see what was going on. Since she’d created the program that controlled the world, and thus, the world itself, she had special access that allowed her to see what was happening throughout the map. She realized, just like Korone did, that there was someone in the game who wasn’t abiding by its rules.

—2V? No, he was pulled in just like me. So it can’t be him. And he’s just an arm... so he can’t do that much. Does that mean somebody was inside the VPS from the start...? Whatever it is, it’s dangerous. If it makes contact with everyone... they might be killed!

Yoshie was scared. But she couldn’t think of anything to tell the students that they’d believe.

“This isn’t good. Should I just climb up on the podium and start giving orders...?”

She whispered to herself. If she had to, she would do it, but doing something like that required the skills you’d need to lead an army. Honestly, she didn’t think she was up to it.

“I don’t think anybody but you has the knowledge to do it.” Junko must’ve heard Yoshie’s whispering, because she’d leaned over to whisper in Yoshie’s ear.

—Huh?

Yoshie gasped and turned towards her. Junko was smiling and trying to cheer her up.

“B-But I’m an outsider, and I’ve never led anyone. Will they listen to me?”

“If that’s what you’re worried about, I can tell them what you want to say. Either way, I’m going to help you,” Junko said.

—She’s such a nice person. She’s willing to help me. This is a tough situation, so that really makes me happy.

Yoshie smiled, relieved.

—Um, I need to thank her. I’m a man now... so I need to smile like a character in an otome game.

“I’m glad to hear you say that. I suppose that means I have nothing to worry about, then.”

—Does that make me sound cool?

But when Junko saw Yoshie smile, she frowned and looked away.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Junko said, “I’m saying that I don’t trust you.”

—Oh, I guess it didn’t really work... No, there isn’t time to let it get me down.

“Then I’ll speak without reservations. It’s true that I have fewer things to worry about now, after all.”

“I... see. As long as you understand,” Junko mumbled to herself.

Yoshie walked up the podium.

“Everyone, I’d like your attention. I apologize again, as the person responsible for this situation. But I’d like your help. And I’d like you to allow me to speak to you like this. No, I’m not telling you to follow my orders. I want you to know that even if you don’t trust me, if you’re careful, you can safely return to your world while having a good time.”

Everyone turned towards Yoshie. They seemed willing to hear her out, if nothing else.

“Thank you for listening to me. I’ve already explained most of what you need to know. No, if you don’t even believe that, that’s fine. I just hope that you’ll all work together and try to escape from here. And I’d like her to be the one who helps lead you.”

Yoshie pointed to Junko.

The students all gave a shout, and began to voice their agreement.

“Hattori will do just fine, I guess.”

“She was a hero during the war with the Demon King.”

“There’s lots of rumors about her and the Demon King... but she did fight in that war.”

Junko’s mouth opened in surprise. When she saw Yoshie hold out a hand to her, she walked up to the podium. But she didn’t take Yoshie’s hand.

“I agree that the smart thing to do is wait and see if we can really trust this man. But until then, we all need to work together, and be careful, and get as much power and as many experience points as we can!” Junko shouted, and everyone gave a cheer.

Yoshie was very impressed by what she heard.

—She’s so cool. I could never do something like that, so I’m really impressed.

“They really trust you, don’t they?” She was so impressed that she whispered into Junko’s ear.

“D-Do they...? I don’t think so...” Junko blushed and stammered.

—She’s just being humble.

Yoshie put her left hand on Junko’s shoulder, and then raised her right hand upwards. A huge map appeared in the space above them. It was a map of the world they were in.

“This is a map of this land. Let her be your commander as you explore. Once you’ve got enough experience, you’ll get an army of your own, and be able to explore without doing anything on your own. You can have fun, be safe, and get experience that will help you in the real world! But there’s no telling what will happen, so it’s safer to stay in groups...” Yoshie suddenly fell silent.

She heard a terrible low roar coming from the other side of the jungle. Everyone in the yard turned to look towards it.

A cloud of dust was rising from beyond the jungle, and gradually getting closer.

“Wh-What’s going on?” Junko asked.

But Yoshie didn’t have any idea herself.

“D-Don’t tell me something’s going on here that you’re not aware of...” Junko’s eyes went wide in surprise.

—I need to come up with some way to calm everyone down... That dust is probably an army, and the only people who could raise an army are on the Demon King’s side...

“N-No, I was just surprised that they acted so fast.”

“What do you mean?”

“Only someone on the Demon King’s side could command an army that fast. But you’d need to be incredibly decisive in order to take action in just a few short hours. They probably still don’t even know the rules!” Yoshie shouted in surprise.

But more than that, she just didn’t know what to say. As she stood there silently, Junko raised her voice.

“Everyone, prepare for battle! The Demon King’s army is coming!”

Yoshie shook a little when she heard her voice.

—I know it’s a game, but when things feel this real... I’m helpless, aren’t I?

But Yoshie knew now wasn’t the time to feel depressed. She looked around at the students to see how they were doing.

There were about 500 students there in all. Every one was a student of Constant Magical Academy. Of course, they were excellent fighters, and it would take more than something like this to scare them. But as each of them raised their weapons or tried to use their favorite spells, they realized once more that this was a game, not the real world.

“H-Huh? My nightstick...”

“I have a knife... But there’s no mana in it!”

“I can’t use my buff spells!”

Every one of those 500 students ended up standing helplessly in the yard.

“W-We’re sitting ducks out here!” Junko quickly turned towards Yoshie.

Yoshie was desperately trying to think. If the Demon King army was attacking, then maybe Akuto would come here himself. He seemed smart, so perhaps he was trying to get the students out of the game as soon as possible. If that were the case, then she could probably talk with him. And even if all the students died here, in a way, that would also solve the problem. But what bothered her was that there was at least one player in the game that she didn’t know about. Until she knew how they were going to act, she wanted to avoid letting any of the students die.

Yoshie finally decided on a course of action, and then yelled in the loudest voice she could muster.

“Get inside the school building! I’ll handle the army!”

Junko looked at Yoshie and nodded.

“I’ll go with you.” Junko leapt off the podium, and ran through the rows of confused students towards the edge of the yard.

“Right behind you!” Yoshie followed after her. Some of the students followed after her too, holding small knives and other weapons.

The cloud of dust on the other side of the jungle seemed like a giant wall getting closer and closer. The rumbling was loud enough now to make the students want to cover their ears.

As some of them began to run and scatter, and some of them began to follow Yoshie, the jungle split open right in front of their eyes.

A huge rhino appeared, trampling down the jungle trees. It was at least five meters tall. A rhino wasn’t usually a dangerous beast, but there was a nasty-looking red glare in its eyes, and it was charging with the speed of a horse.

“Gwahahahaha! I am the head of the Demon King’s army! Demon General Korone! I have come here by the Demon King’s orders to kill you all!”

A pretty young girl wearing mages’ robes was standing upright on the rhino’s stirrups. The girl — of course, it was Korone — was screaming expressionlessly about how she was going to kill them all.

The other students who’d been following Yoshie stopped dead in their tracks.

“Uwah!”

“Wh-What is that?”

“That thing is bad news?”

“What kind of game is this? It’s impossible!”

The students began to scream, and Yoshie and Junko came to a stop as well.

“Wh-Who’s that?” Yoshie asked.

“Korone. A Liradan observer. Her job is to observe Akuto Sai, one of our most famous students,” Junko answered.

“Do you know her?”

“Yes.”

“Glad to hear it. Maybe you can talk to her.”

“Will she listen to me? She’s on the other side, right? At times like this she can get really excited,” Junko said hesitantly.

She was right, too.

“I’m not here to talk! I’m here to kill you all!” Korone’s voice was emotionless, but only more terrifying because of it.

As she stood on the rhino — actually a monster called a Behemoth — she raised her staff and fired a green beam of light. The beam tore past the students as they fled, and a moment later, everything it touched exploded. Several of the students were blown into the air.

“Gyaaah!”

“Aah!’

Two of them turned to dust and disappeared. The game had decided they’d died.

“...The system’s still functioning properly, huh?” Yoshie said, relieved.

And then she turned to Korone and yelled.

“Wait! There’s something in this game that’s not playing by the rules!”

Korone’s answer, though, wasn’t what she’d expected. She stopped the Behemoth in front of Yoshie and Junko, and looked down at the two of them.

“I am aware. That’s why I’m trying to kill all the students, to send them back to reality. I’ve looked into the data myself. From the speech you just gave, may I assume that you’re the game’s creator?”

“Correct. So you know that there’s somebody out there that’s not following the game’s rules?” Yoshie was a little relieved.

“Yes. But humans are difficult sometimes, aren’t they? If we kill them, they can go back to the real world, but they’re still trying to resist.”

“No, I think most people would try to run from that rhino...” Junko whispered to herself.

Korone heard her and nodded.

“It helps that they’re running, though. I can kill them more efficiently.”

Korone crossed her arms for a moment, and then gripped her staff again. The monsters behind the behemoth — goblins and orcs — began to run forward. Korone had brought 5,000 troops, half of the ten thousand-strong NPC army she possessed. They spilled into the schoolyard, turning it black like ink spilled across a page.

As the army raced past Yoshie and Junko, the goblins and orcs attacked the fleeing students from behind.

“Uwaaah!”

“No!”

The students screamed and turned to dust, one after another.

“Kill the boys! Rape the girls!” Korone shouted expressionlessly and emotionlessly.

“I always did think there was something wrong with her...” Junko sighed.

“I-Is this part of some kind of plan?” Yoshie asked. Korone nodded.

“Of course. I’m simply trying to bring an end to the game in the most efficient way. If you’ll simply leave it to me, I can bring about a game over by slaughtering them all quickly and efficiently.”

“B-But I’m partially responsible for this myself. I would appreciate it if you could leave this to me,” Yoshie said.

Korone, however, shook her head.

“If that’s how you feel, then it would be better if all the other students except you left. Or if you like, I can always kidnap the two of you.” Korone glanced down at Junko.

“If I kidnap you, you’ll be forced to wear lewd clothing and then go meet Akuto. This game has rules for producing children. If a man and woman spend the night in the same room together, they get a message saying, ‘You had a very special night last night,’ and then...”

Junko’s face turned an explosive shade of red.

“Y-You dummy! I would never...!”

“But you just imagined it, didn’t you?”

“A-Aah! Stop teasing me!”

“Regardless, we’re going to continue the game. If you don’t like it, then we can continue the game with you two as the heroes. You can take a little nap while I get rid of the other students. Once you wake up, head for the Demon King’s castle.”

Korone waved her staff again, and fired another beam of light.

“Watch out!” Yoshie jumped in front of Junko. But the beam of light pierced both of their bodies.

“Wha...?!”

Both of them moaned in pain.

—Even if it’s a game, you still feel pain, huh?

And then she understood what Korone had done. It wasn’t a fatal blow, it was just to knock them out.

And then, Yoshie and Junko passed out.

○

Let’s go a little further back in time.

When Korone attacked, Fujiko was the first inside the school building.

—This may be a game, but I still don’t want to die. And something doesn’t seem right about that Yoshihiko either. I need to survive a little longer, and do some research of my own...

The layout of the school building hadn’t changed, but its contents had. The classrooms had been replaced with mission-planning rooms and armories.

—Armories... That’s perfect.

Fujiko shouted as she turned around, “There’s weapons here! Everyone, grab them!” She went between the rows of spears and piles of swords, and grabbed the weapon she was most used to from the real world: a whip.

The other students who’d followed her picked up weapons of her own. The room was filled with students picking up weapons, when suddenly there was a cry from the next room.

“There’s spell books over here, guys! Anybody whose class can use them, come get one!”

—Come to think of it, I never bothered to check my class.

Fujiko opened her own screen.

Class: Herbalist. Level: 1 HP: 5 STR: 8 MGK: 15 ARMY: 0

—That’s right, you get your own army. They never really bothered to explain it, but looking at what Korone had, it’s obvious what one of them can do... I need to get my level up as fast as I can, then. This may just be a game, but I need to get as much experience as I can, so that it can help me in the real world... And more than anything, I need Akuto to get stronger.

Fujiko had secretly decided to betray everyone.

—So I need to raise everyone’s level and make them more powerful... So that I can have Akuto defeat them. That’s the plan I’ll use.

Once she’d settled on a plan, Fujiko went next door to the room with the spell books and found herself a Level 1 book that she could use. And when she saw that most of the students had found their weapons, she spoke.

“Everyone, this fortress isn’t going to last long! Let’s head out the back entrance and split up into the jungle! Then we can raise our levels and gather our armies, and when the time comes to defeat the Demon King, I’ll raise the signal for us to reunite!”

Voices were raised in agreement.

“That’s right! That’s our best move!”

“It’ll give us a chance to have some more fun, too.”

“This place feels so real, I don’t want to get killed.”

“We can split into groups of two or three and run.”

The students began to leave the room.

“Fujiko! Let’s escape together!”

Three of Fujiko’s younger admirers said as they ran towards her. Fujiko smiled and nodded.

“Of course. We can leave together. Are you ready?”

They all left the room, and found that the hallways were in chaos. The students had never learned to fight as a group, so they weren’t able to seal the entrance in time. And now they had to fight Korone’s monster armies. The halls were filled with ear-splitting yells and the clanging of swords.

“Hurry!” One of the girls pulled Fujiko onwards. But even as she ran, Fujiko’s mind was on something else.

—If I’m right... this may be easier than I thought.

Fujiko looked at the three girls she was escaping with. The three of them seemed genuinely scared. She could understand why; the place felt extremely real.

—Which means that they’re not likely to be thinking straight.

Fujiko grinned to herself. She’d chosen a different route than the others to make her escape. The only people in this hallway were her and the other three. Only a single orc soldier was following them. The three girls seemed to have no interest in trying to fight it.

“You three go on ahead without me!” Fujiko shouted.

The three of them went out without her. They turned back once, looking worried, but when she shouted at them again they turned their backs to run.

Fujiko waited for the instant they weren’t looking, and swung her whip at the orc, catching the tip right on the edge of its sword.

“Hahh!’ She pulled back on the whip, yanking the sword from its hand. But even after the sword was gone from its hand, she kept pulling, flinging the sword towards the fleeing girls behind her.

“Gyaaah!” The sword embedded itself in one of the girls backs as she fell. She instantly vanished, leaving the sword behind.

—Just like I thought.

Fujiko smiled to herself. The other students, and even the girl herself, probably thought that the orc had killed her.

—You get a lot of experience for killing players!

Fujiko had already gone up a level. She swung her whip a few times at the defenseless orc to defeat it, and then caught up with the other students like nothing had happened.

“Are you okay, everyone?”

“Yes, but that sword the orc threw got one of us...”

“There’s no need to be sad about it. It may have been awful sight to see, but it’s still just a game.” Fujiko smiled.

○

“I have slain 357 humans, my master.” Korone said as she knelt in front of Akuto at his castle.

“Wow! Great job, Korone!” Keena said, clapping her hands as she leaned up against Akuto on his throne.

“Don’t do that. You’re making us look like an evil army.” Akuto sighed.

“I’m just trying to establish a mood, that’s all,” Korone said, and then she took out a crystal ball to show him. The ball showed the destroyed school building, the trampled yard, and the corpses of the orc soldiers.

“What a mess. I don’t see any students though, I guess.”

“Of course. I was able to keep this within the boundaries of the game.” Korone lowered her crystal ball, and then called up a large screen.

“And here you can see everyone’s complaints.”

“Complaints”? Akuto looked at the screen. It was showing an internet message board.

“Well, as long as everybody’s alive...” Akuto sighed, not sure how to feel about this.

“It looks like we can view the game’s message board in the real world, and people in the real world can also see part of the game.”

“Part of it?”

“They get an overall view of the game, as well as the numerical data. I was able to confirm this on the message board.”

“Just like when we went into the book, huh? Fujiko seemed to be able to do the same thing then. Anyway, I’m glad we’re getting data from the outside.” Akuto nodded.

“Now, on to crush the survivors.” Korone stood up.

“Hey, you’re getting too into character again...”

“Once you’ve started a massacre, it doesn’t end until everyone is dead,” Korone said, clearly enjoying her role a little too much. But Keena stopped her.

“Wait. Something’s not right.”

“Not right?” Akuto turned to look at her.

“I think the game’s changed a little,” Keena said as she motioned for him to look at the screen.

“What’s changed?”

“Um, the goal was supposed to be to beat the Demon King, right? But now it’s to find the Grail.”

Korone followed Keena’s gaze and pointed to a spot on the screen. The goal was written there, just like she had said.

“Somebody’s changed the game... Maybe that’s it. That other player that person was talking about might have started to take action.” Akuto sounded a little worried.

Korone looked at it and nodded.

“Then we must commence the slaughter immediately. We’ll slaughter them all, and not worry about anything else. Let’s just focus on the slaughtering, in fact.”

“I’ve never seen you look so excited...” Akuto sighed.

○

Meanwhile, back in reality...

“What are you doing to my school?” Lily said, plainly upset.

She’d heard what had happened. Lily had come back to find the school empty, but then students started to appear out of nowhere around her. And they were saying strange things about having been sent inside a video game.

“But if we say they were all sent into dat Vii-Pii-Ess thingamabob, that would explain it, raahht?”

“Ugah.”

“I think if anything, it just backs up what we’ve learned-gya. It proves there was a plan to seal the Demon King inside VPS.”

The student council trio said, trying to calm her down.

“If the game and virtual phase space are related, then wouldn’t the fastest thing be to investigate the person who created the game?” Hiroshi said as he looked at his mana screen. At this point, he just didn’t feel like it made sense for him to go home.

“The game’s creator?” Lily said, obviously uninterested. But when she saw the creator’s name, she gasped.

“Yoshihiko? Yoshihiko... Kanna was chasing somebody named Yoshie Kita.”

“That’s right-gya. It seems obvious to me that she’s involved somehow. But all the data’s been deleted, and nobody knows where he is now...”

“That’s because Yoshihiko’s in the game!” Lily stood up. “Okay, I’ve got it.”

“What are you going to do-gya?”

“All we’ve got is circumstantial evidence, but we can get the rest by threatening to beat somebody up! We’ll find somebody who worked on the game and intimidate them into giving us what we want,” she said eagerly.

“We don’t have to go that far, do we?” Hiroshi said, sounding a little worried, but Lily grabbed him tightly by the hand.

“Huh?”

“You come too! You’re already caught up in this.”

“W-Wait! Give me a break, President!”

But Hiroshi’s protests were completely ignored.

○

“Ugh....” Junko opened her eyes.

As soon as she remembered how she’d been knocked out, she jumped up in shock. It was much easier for her to wake up in the game than in the real world. She didn’t have a headache, and her body moved smoothly.

“Oh no...” Junko looked out at the ruined school courtyard. Korone’s army had already left. The school building had collapsed into a pile of rubble, and the students were nowhere to be found.

“Ugh.... So this is what defeat feels like. Even if this is just a game, it’s still not a good feeling. I don’t like having lost the initiative, either.”

She woke up Yoshihiko, who was lying on the ground next to her. His handsome face was twisted with a pain that wasn’t physical. Junko knew exactly how he felt. He was upset that so many students had died because of him.

“It’s not a pleasant feeling, no, but if we don’t start to focus, we won’t get another chance. It’s just a game, though, so maybe we don’t need to take it so seriously?” Junko laughed.

Yoshihiko’s eyes opened wide as if he was impressed.

“That’s amazing. Did you say your name was Hattori? You’re really used to war, aren’t you?”

“I don’t think that’s a very good compliment to give a girl.” she said, pouting, and Yoshihiko finally smiled.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. Let me try again: I was moved by your nobility.”

Junko found herself blushing and looking away, not because of Yoshihiko’s handsome face, but because it was clear that his words were coming from the heart.

—This is the second time I’ve ever liked a boy...

Junko suddenly thought, but then she shook her head to keep the thought from appearing on her face.

“Th-Thank you. Oh, right. How many people made it out?”

Yoshihiko opened his screen.

“...We lost quite a few. About three hundred. They got us good. That’s about as efficient as the game will let you be. Some of this goes beyond just the game parameters; the player was just that good of a commander.”

“That’s amazing.” Junko sounded impressed. She knew that Korone was a Liradan, but she still admired her skills as a commander.

“But this isn’t a problem,” said Yoshihiko. “If that Liradan is that good, we can count on her to get the students back to reality safely.”

“The school’s students are skilled fighters as well, though. They split up and headed into the jungle. They’ll want to beat the game by defeating the Demon King.”

“Then let’s get going ourselves.” Yoshihiko stood up.

“Go? Go where?” Junko asked.

Yoshihiko nodded and explained.

“To the jungle. It’s the only place we can hide. If we want to be able to fight, we need to spend some time leveling up. And monsters sometimes drop weapons, too. We need to get ourselves some equipment. Just like that Liradan named Korone said, there’s someone out there that’s not playing by the rules, so until we know what they’re up to, we’re limited in how much we can do. So we need experience and items if we’re going to explore the world freely,” Yoshihiko said, and then started to walk into the jungle.

Junko hesitated.

“Huh...? Wait...”

“What’s wrong?”

“D-Does this mean it’ll be just the two of us?”

“There’s not a lot we can do about it, is there? We need to work together, and I respect you. So it will be just fine.” Yoshihiko smiled innocently.

“Th-That’s right. You’re right. Okay, got it. You’re right.” Junko stammered.

—It’s good that he looks so innocent, but... Doesn’t he understand that we’re a boy and girl heading off alone together? Or does he just think it’s a game? Or...

Of course, Junko didn’t know that Yoshihiko was actually Yoshie.

—Forget it! Now’s not the time to be nervous! He’s obviously a gentleman.

Junko followed after Yoshihiko. And until sunset, Yoshihiko showed her how to hunt.

“Haah!” Junko sliced into a giant bat with a short sword she’d borrowed from Yoshihiko. The giant bat gave a high-pitched screech and died. Its corpse would eventually disappear, but unlike the bodies of players, monster corpses remained a little while before vanishing. And sometimes, items would appear next to them when they died.

“A knife, huh? But it’s still something I earned for myself. You can have your own blade back.” Junko held the knife in an underhand grip.

“This feels more like what I’m used to, anyway.”

“You’re a ninja, after all. Ideally we should try and get you a katana like the ones Suhara followers use. Let’s hunt a few more monsters until you’re leveled up enough to use scrolls.”

After that, Junko kept leveling up under Yoshihiko’s instruction. Before too much longer, the sun set.

“A day in the game is about an hour in the real world,” Yoshihiko explained as they made camp. He tossed something that looked like a miniature model into the air, and a tent and campfire appeared in a clearing in the jungle.

“That’s convenient,” Junko said as she sat next to the campfire. She sounded impressed. “By the way, besides level up, what will we be doing tomorrow?”

Yoshihiko opened his screen and pointed to the center.

“There’s a powerful weapon here. The monster that protects it is strong, but there’s a way to defeat it even if you’re at a low level. Let’s go there... Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

Yoshihiko had a serious look on his face, like something wasn’t right.

“The goal of the game has changed. It says it’s to... find the Grail?”

“Is it possible to change the game?”

“Of course it is. But now that I’m on the inside, I can’t do it. Only somebody on the outside can. But obviously, it’s protected by security. If it wasn’t someone from the outside... Maybe it’s the other player I mentioned before.” Yoshihiko put his hand to his chin in thought.

“We just need to be careful then, right? It’s not that big a deal. And it doesn’t look like there’ve been any accidents so far, either,” Junko said to try and cheer him up.

“Your gallantry gives me courage. I’m truly glad that we were able to meet each other,” Yoshihiko said in a soft voice.

“Y-You’re giving me too much credit. I already told you that.” Junko pouted and looked away.

“No, it’s true. I’m not that good at opening up to people. I always try my best to be honest with others, but I don’t have a lot of friends.”

“Don’t say stuff like that. I don’t know how to answer it. ...Fine. We’re going to be stuck with each other for a while. I’ll try my best to hear what you have to say,” Junko said, blushing at Yoshihiko’s openness.

“Thanks. The whole reason I invented this technology was that so you could do all of your communication in virtual phase space.”

“All of your communication?”

“That’s right. Pure communication. I thought that perhaps in a world free of physical bodies, where you can do whatever you want, it would be easier for people to live.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll just come out and say it. I’m not good with anything complicated.” Junko chuckled and shook her head.

Yoshihiko smiled sadly.

“I’m basically just complaining, that’s all. Sorry for wasting your time. Let’s go to bed.” Yoshihiko moved away from the campfire and opened the tent flap.

“Wait...” Junko turned red and waved her hand. “...Are we sleeping in the same tent?”

Yoshihiko looked confused.

“Do you want to sleep together?”

“Y-You dummy! Of course not!” Junko yelled, a little louder than she meant to.

Yoshihiko looked even more confused.

“Of course not. There’s not a lot of room. ...Oh!” He clapped his hands together. “You’ve got a camp in your equipment too.”

“Huh?” Junko patted down her pockets. Just like Yoshihiko said, there was a small model tent like the one he’d thrown. If she did the same, could she create another campfire?

—What could be he thinking about me now...?

Junko felt an unpleasant sensation, like her heart was skipping a beat.

“I’m going to sleep,” Junko said as she deployed her own tent and went inside. She got inside her sleeping bag and stared at the tent’s plain ceiling.

—Ugh... This is really frustrating. This feeling... It’s like the one he gives me.

She thought of Akuto, and then curled both herself and her sleeping bag up into a ball.

—You know, the two of them are kind of alike... Do I just have a weakness for that type?

Junko spent the whole night thinking about it.

○

—I’m not the type to get excited when I’m doing something dangerous, sadly.

2V laughed a little to herself. She was the type who didn’t take chances at all. It was more than a policy, it was sheer habit.

She’d leave any dangerous tasks to her dolls, and if she was ever in danger of being found out, she’d order the doll in question to self-destruct. She even used dolls to buy her dolls, and since she mostly bought ones that were easily available on the market, there was no way for anyone to track her.

But now, she felt the slightest bit of fear as she tapped at the terminal. She had to hack into the highest level of security. And to do it, she needed to use her own personal mana frequency — in other words, she had to do it herself. She needed to prove that she was 2V, a member of CMID-8, in order to get access to the deepest level of the god.

—CMID-8’s access privileges can’t get me down to the level that high priests can access. To go any further, I’ll need to hack it.

There was a reason she needed to get down that far.

“Even the high priest probably hasn’t noticed that record. There’s no obvious reason it’s important, after all. But if it’s true...” 2V whispered to herself as she fiddled with her mana screen.

The real 2V was a pale young girl. Her frail arms and legs were covered with badly fitting white clothes. In the dimly lit room, with nothing around her but her dolls and her terminal, she had a certain kind of beauty.

—I’ve never taken anything seriously in my life, and now here I am, tapping at a screen like a geek. Hilarious. My hands hurt, and so do my eyes. I never thought that this, of all things, would be what excites me.

Words displayed on the screen in front of 2V. She’d reached the lowest levels of the god Megis.

“The high priest only comes down here when he’s rewriting the program...” 2V whispered.

“User identified as high priest. Please select operation.”

She heard the voice of a Liradan, speaking the words of the god. Her deception seemed to have worked.

“I want to access the sealed data on the Demon King.”

“Command received. This data is read-only. It will be automatically deleted from your terminal.”

“One look is all I need.”

2V’s eyes desperately tracked the information pouring across her mana screen as she tried to memorize it. And once she’d learned all there was to know, she instantly cut the connection and tried her best to hide all her tracks.

Once she was done, she started to laugh, as if she couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Heh... heheh... Hahaha! Well, I certainly didn’t expect THAT! This is great. All of my ideals, in one place. I never thought for a moment I’d have such luck. And who could’ve thought it would be so easy... In a way, it’s almost disappointing that this was all it took.”

2V’s voice was calm, but there were traces of excitement in it. Her pale cheeks had flushed an almost eerie pink as she opened up the mana screen again. This time, she broke through the security on Yoshie’s game.

“But... this, I think, will work. He’s inside. And that means I’ll take all the risks I have to. After all this time, I’m finally starting to figure out why normal people are able to enjoy their lives. They’re able to get excited over stupid things. Sheesh... What a bunch of idiots.”

2V smiled as she began to change the program and insert her trap.

“The first Demon King... a being created to destroy the original world’s system... And it’s still usable too!”

○

Hiroshi gulped when he realized where Lily had taken him. It was the Megis temple.

There were exceptions, but even the temples themselves had halls that were open to visitors. Some of them even had entertainment facilities inside, and it was common for small downtown areas to build up around them.

But still, the area Lily had brought them into was off-limits. It was a place only for employees of the temple and priests.

“A-Are we allowed to be here?” Hiroshi stammered, but Lily shook her head.

“It’s fine. I’ve made an appointment to discuss something in secret.”

“Oh, well that’s good.”

“He wasn’t happy about it, but I made him change his mind,” Lily added.

“Wait, what does that mean?” Hiroshi asked, but Lily ignored him.

“I sent a message saying to stay in the room he’s in now.”

“Is that all?”

“What else would I need to say?”

“...No, I guess you’re right. But who are we meeting?”

“The high priest.”

“Uwah! Come on, please don’t drag me into this!”

“Why do you have to be scared just because you’re meeting somebody important?” Lily laughed. But there were two guards outside the entrance that led to the special area on the top floors.

“You need permission to pass,” one of them said.

“I-I’ll just be going then...” Hiroshi started to say, but Lily calmly walked up to them and grinned.

“I’m the daughter of Shiraishi.”

“The priest...” The guard looked surprised for a moment, but he immediately resumed the emotionally blank look that security guards were expected to have and held up his right hand.

“Even if you’re Shiraishi’s daughter, you’ll need permission. At least a temporary guest pass, if nothing else.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lily said coldly. She made a fist with her right hand and rubbed it with her left.

The two guards twitched as a tension filled the air. But a voice interrupted them before anything could happen.

“It’s fine. Let them pass.”

It was a low, gentle voice, coming from beyond the door.

“High Priest...” The guards froze in a salute.

It was Hidehiko Kita who came out. He was an honest-looking man with greying hair, set back with gel. But if you looked carefully, you could see something terrifying in his eyes, a strong light that almost seemed like madness.

“I’m glad to hear you understand.” Lily bowed forward, giving him the proper, official greeting. She was a girl, so she didn’t technically need to remove her hat to be polite. But given how obnoxiously big the hat was, not to mention her attitude before, she seemed extremely disrespectful.

But Hidehiko led both her and Hiroshi inside. And when he was far enough inside that the guards couldn’t hear, he spoke.

“I heard about my daughter’s mistake. But it would take somebody related to Shiraishi to try and threaten me with it.”

“I don’t want to chalk it up to blood. My father’s still willing to fight me when I ask him.”

“A father’s job is to worry about his daughter. Not that you’d understand at your age.”

“I’m afraid I’m not old enough to start worrying about an heir.” Lily’s attitude was making Hiroshi sweat. Hidehiko was laughing, for now, but who knew how long that would last?

They went inside the High Priest’s office, and Hidehiko sat behind his desk, gesturing for the two of them to sit in chairs. Then he opened a mana screen and motioned for Lily to speak.

“Operation Birdcage,” was all Lily said to begin with.

It was effective enough that Hidehiko raised an eyebrow.

“You’re saying Yoshie’s involved in it?”

“Correct. And so is the game she made. How exactly this came about, I don’t know.” Lily opened a mana screen of her own and slid it across the desk towards Hidehiko. It contained the information she’d gathered so far, along with her hypotheses.

Operation Birdcage was the name of the plan to seal the Demon King inside virtual phase space. The VPS it was going to use was the one that Megis used for its defense. Yoshie’s research was involved as well. To make matters worse, the Academy had gotten caught up in it.

“I had Yoshie tailed personally. I couldn’t get any proof, but there’s no doubt she’s involved in this. The fact that she’s inside is all the proof I need.” Lily called up game footage on the screen. It was showing “Yoshihiko’s” data.

“A little investigation is all you’d need to show that Yoshie and Yoshihiko are the same person. Just check your own temple’s communication data. I know you can do that from where you’re sitting,” Lily said. Hidehiko shook his head. There was no need.

“I won’t even bother. I already knew, to a certain degree.”

“To a certain degree?”

“I knew my daughter was doing research online.”

“And her involvement in the plan?”

“I knew about that as well. This is the first I’m hearing about her involving the Academy, though. If you’ve come to let me know, it means you want to make a deal. Let’s hear it.” Hidehiko’s face was expressionless. Either he’d resigned himself to the idea, or he had some other plan.

Lily grinned.

“I want information on the person who came up with Project Birdcage. As long as I’ve got that, we can deal with everything ourselves.”

“You mean Codename 2V... Alright. I’ll do everything I can.”

“I didn’t expect it to be this easy. It makes me a little suspicious that you’re plotting something.”

“Well, you’re wrong. I never liked it... The plan, that is. That’s why I’m so willing to cooperate... Oh, look.” Hidehiko slid a mana screen towards Lily. It was a log from Yoshie’s terminal, showing that it was currently in use.

“Someone’s using her terminal...” Lily gasped.

“It’s not Yoshie. The access is coming from a different point. She’s being hacked,” Hidehiko said.

“Which means... it’s 2V!” Lily’s expression changed.

Hidehiko looked at her and nodded.

“You’re likely correct. I’m doing this for my daughter’s sake, so you don’t need to worry about me backing out of our deal. Give me a way to contact you, and I’ll make sure you’re given constant updates. You want to go to that terminal’s location, right?”

“...Thank you!” Lily bowed, and then was out of the room in a flash.

○

Junko spent the next day continuing to level up.

“I think I’m starting to get the hang of this, maybe.” She was back to using a katana now. Yoshihiko had gone up several levels as well, and now they were able to defeat even strong monsters by working together.

“We could probably head to the center of the map now,” Yoshihiko said after they’d defeated several bugbears at once.

“Is that the place where you said there’s a powerful weapon?”

“That’s right. It will help you defeat the Demon King. It’s the strongest weapon in the game.”

“Then won’t everybody else be after it?”

“The monster that’s protecting it is very strong. It’s hard to defeat it if you don’t know the trick. It’s a shame that we had to split up before I got a chance to tell everyone.”

“Knowing our students, they would’ve fought each other for it,” Junko said, and Yoshihiko laughed.

“Hahaha. I’m not sure if it’s a sad thing that they’re bringing conflict into the game, or a good thing that people are enjoying that conflict.”

“I was taught that a job of a warrior is to limit conflict,” Junko said, not really meaning anything by it, but Yoshihiko was extremely impressed.

“I see. That’s something the other sects need to learn as well. It’s an opinion that should get a wider hearing. Or perhaps it’s just that you yourself have this wonderful idea.”

“Y-You keep saying that stuff like you mean it...” Junko said jokingly, but she still turned away and blushed, smiling.

Over the course of just two days, the two had gotten close enough to converse naturally.

“I do mean it, though.”

“E-Enough. Let’s focus on this weapon...” Junko said. Yoshihiko pointed in front of him.

“To tell you the truth, we’ve already been heading there. That’s it.”

There was a rocky mountain in front of them.

“It’s at the top, then?” Junko looked up.

When they approached the base, they saw what looked like a path leading up. When you got closer to the top, there were parts that were steep enough you needed to hold onto a chain to keep from falling over.

“We’re going to get attacked walking up this thing? That will be tough,” Junko whispered, but Yoshihiko laughed and said it would be okay.

“There’s a volcano caldera at the top. When you get there, there’s a narrow path, which you can lure the enemy into to trap them. That’s the trick.

“I see. It’s like a cheat code,” Junko said, satisfied, and began to walk upwards.

The path was steep, and as they approached the summit, any kind of foothold was practically non-existent. But Junko wasn’t scared of heights. She helped Yoshihiko up when he struggled, and soon they made it to the top.

“The path around the caldera goes in a circle, and part of it is narrow. Look, it’s over there.”

When they reached a point where they could see the whole path running around the caldera, Yoshihiko pointed at a certain spot. It was just wide enough for a single person to pass through.

“There’s a sword inside the caldera. If you follow the path down towards it, you’ll encounter the guardian monster,” Yoshihiko explained, and Junko nodded.

“And then you run back up the path and lure it into that narrow spot?”

“That’s right. Run up the left side. As long as you don’t mess that up, you’re fine,” Yoshihiko assured her.

The two of them began to walk down the caldera. Once they’d descended a few dozen meters, they reached the edge of a lake of lava.

“I can feel the heat coming off it... How do we get inside the lava? And where’s the sword?” Junko asked as she looked at the bright-red lava beneath them. Yoshihiko gestured for her to get ready to run.

“The lava will disappear once we defeat the guardian. Now, here it comes.”

Just as he finished his sentence, the lava bubbled up like a fountain, was bursting beneath it. The fountain of molten rock spewed into the air, quickly becoming over ten meters tall.

“The lava...! Something’s coming out from under it!”

“That’s an Ifrit. It’s going to follow us.”

Yoshihiko started to run, and Junko followed him.

As they ran, she turned back and saw what looked like a man, over ten meters tall, inside the lava. It was walking towards them. The man looked like a black, burnt silhouette. Molten lava clung to him, and he was spitting fire with each breath.

“Even if you know it’s a game, that’s still quite a sight...” Junko said, impressed.

It was a flaming genie over ten meters tall. Certainly an impressive sight.

The Ifrit slowly approached them. No, it was moving slowly, but its steps were far wider than theirs. Junko was running, but it wasn’t long at all before the Ifrit had caught up.

“Let’s hurry,” Yoshihiko said calmly, then he moved aside so Junko could get ahead of him. They were heading upwards now, so their speed was the same as the Ifrit’s, but once they got out to the level path around the caldera they’d be able to get a small lead on it.

Junko ran towards the path, keeping her distance from the monster. Then she made a ninety degree turn and ran more.

But...

“That’s not it! The other way! I said left...” Yoshihiko shouted.

“Huh?” Junko froze. She turned around and saw that he’d fallen a little behind, and the Ifrit was already between them.

“Oh no...!” She realized she’d forgotten which way “left” was. Junko might have looked smart, but she was actually a ditz.

And the Ifrit was heading towards her now.

“Uwah!” Now her only choice was to run forwards.

“Don’t go that way. The path is too uneven for you to run. He’ll catch up with you,” Yoshihiko said, but now there was nothing else for her to do.

“Wh-What am I supposed to do now?” Junko asked, panicking.

“I can support you from behind... but the Ifrit is programmed to only go after its target. You’ll have to fight it somehow,” Yoshihiko said, still extremely calm despite what was happening.

“S-Somehow... right.”

Junko turned around and leapt at the charging Ifrit, using her momentum to slash across its chest with her katana.

“I hit it!”

She jumped backwards, and then looked up at the Ifrit to see the effect of her attack.

“...What?”

But it didn’t seem to be enough to stop the Ifrit’s advance. Its huge body, covered in lava and flames, was still heading towards her as fast as ever.

“It’s so slow that its terrible at dodging, but it’s got a ton of hit points. And...”

Yoshihiko started to say something — but before he could, the Ifrit spread its hands wide, stuck out its chest, and howled into the sky. Little bubbles began to appear on its chest.

“What?” Junko didn’t know what was happening.

“...It shoots large numbers of bullets at you. They’re very hard to dodge.”

By the time Yoshihiko had finished explaining, large numbers of lava bullets were already falling down onto Junko.

“Uwah!” She jumped left and right to dodge them, but there were too many.

“Come on... Why are there so many?!” she screamed.

One of them hit her head on. She was blown backwards, only to be hit with more rocks and knocked into the ground. Only then did the rain of burning rocks stop.

“Oh no...” Yoshihiko used his healing magic, and Junko stood up instantly, but the situation hadn’t improved.

“Wh-What do I do?” Junko asked. Again, he answered in a calm voice.

“I’ll keep attacking him from behind, but you’re going to have to make it through five more of those attacks before he goes down. And unless you’re at full health, you won’t survive a single hit. But I can only use my healing magic three more times.”

“I understand. So I need to keep dodging, then.”

“Correct. But it’s not just a matter of reflexes. The game also makes difficult too. If your stats aren’t high enough, the lava rocks will hit you anyway.”

“So I’m doomed?” Junko asked, afraid.

The Ifrit was reading its next volley already.

“No... There’s one way!” Yoshihiko said. He sounded relieved, like he’d just come up with a solution.

“What is it?” Junko asked hopefully.

But...

“Take off your clothes! All of them!”

“Huh...?”

“I said take off your clothes! Strip naked!” Yoshihiko repeated.

“Wha— Don’t you understand the situation we’re in?” Junko yelled.

But Yoshihiko nodded, completely serious.

“Take off your clothes. Please, do what I tell you!”

“Do you know what you’re... gyah!”

She couldn’t finish her sentence. Two of the lava rocks from the next volley had struck her, and she’d fallen to the ground.

“Just get your clothes off. You can’t even be wearing underwear,” Yoshihiko said as he used his healing magic.

“Wh-What are you talking about...” she protested as she slowly stood up. But the answer she got was, horribly enough, a sensible one.

“Ninjas get better at dodging the less armor they’re wearing. Their stat goes up three times if they’re naked!”

“You liar!” she yelled, but he didn’t look like he was lying.

Yoshihiko didn’t back down.

“I’m just telling you the most efficient way. If you’re naked, you’ll be able to dodge his attacks, and I can defeat him!”

Yoshihiko (Yoshie) was, of course, the type to put efficiency above feelings. And in this case, she’d totally forgotten that she looked like a man to Junko. She thought Junko was just refusing to strip because she was extremely shy, and she thought it was stupid to choose defeat because you were embarrassed. And that’s why what Yoshihiko was shouting seemed so stupid to Junko.

“Strip! There’s nothing to be embarrassed about! I’m the only one here! No, if you’re that embarrassed, just take off a little and you’ll be able to feel the difference! You’ll feel so much more free.”

“What kind of nudist camp is this?” Junko said, but then another rock hit her in the head. “Ugh!”

“I told you! I’ve only got one heal left!”

“Uugh... Fine! Fine, I’ll take my clothes off! But you need to look the other way!” Junko screamed as she stood up. But her resolve was met with a complete lack of consideration for her feelings.

“I can’t beat the Ifrit if I turn the other way!”

“Okay, just one piece of clothing, then!” she complained, as she ripped off her shirt. She was wearing chainmail underneath.

“It’s mostly the chainmail you need to be rid of!”

“J-Just shut up!”

But doing it once made it easier to do it the second time, and so Junko took off her chainmail as well. Now there was only a tight cloth wrapped around her breasts.

“Th-This is good enough, right...? W-Wait... Huh?” Junko stammered. She’d complained, but now she really did feel more free.

“This is...!” It wasn’t three times faster, but now she was able to dodge the falling lava rocks by concentrating. They even seemed to be falling slower now.

“That’s good enough. But if you want to be certain, you need to be totally naked...!”

“Shut up! I’m dodging them fine already!” Junko yelled.

Yoshihiko, however, shook his head.

“But when the Ifrit gets low on HP, it’ll fire off more rocks in all directions!”

And soon he was proven right. The Ifrit’s body was getting smaller, but that was because he was shooting even more burning lava rocks off his body. The sky seemed to be filled with falling, flaming rocks.

“You dummy!” Junko sobbed as she put her hand on her skirt.

And then...

The Ifrit was defeated.

But it was only possible because Junko was willing to strip naked and cover herself with her hands.

“Ngh... How embarrassing...”

Yoshihiko walked up and handed her her clothes.

“I’m sorry. I know that must have been embarrassing, but you did great...”

“You dummy! Don’t you have any delicacy at all?” Junko yelled as she snatched the clothes from his hand.

Yoshihiko froze in surprise at her reaction.

“I-I’m sorry. I know I’m not the most sensitive person. Um... will you forgive me? I guess I took the game a little too seriously.” Yoshihiko’s response was so earnest and heartfelt that Junko decided she had to give up.

—There’s no point in being mad. That’s just who he is.

“N-Next time... Think about how the other person feels more.”

Yoshihiko looked the other way as Junko got dressed.

“I’m really sorry. This is the same as when I got the school caught up in this mess,” Yoshihiko said, still turning away.

“I get it. Don’t let it bother you too much,” Junko said when she was finished dressing, but Yoshihiko shook his head.

“I’m just talking to myself, mostly. I started my VPS research because I thought direct communication with other people was important, but I realize that I still don’t know how other people feel about things, and it frustrates me. No, maybe the real reason I started this research is because I don’t understand. Maybe I was looking for somebody who would really understand me, and whom I would really understand.” Yoshihiko turned around and smiled at Junko.

“Some day I’ll be someone you can accept. When that happens, I hope you’ll like me.”

“What...?” Junko froze and turned red.

—Did he just ask me out? Maybe...

“Wh-What are you saying?”

Yoshihiko shook his head sadly, when he saw her confusion.

“No, I guess I’ve still got a long ways to go.”

“Th-That’s not true... No, wait. What am I saying? That’s not what I meant. Just, um... well...” Junko started to stammer and fidget.

But Yoshihiko ignored her and began to walk off. Junko didn’t know what to do.

—It would be weird to ask what he meant now. No, maybe I should just forget it ever happened.

Yoshihiko pointed forward, towards the path leading down into the caldera. The lake of magma at the bottom had receded, revealing black rock beneath.

“The magma disappeared when the Ifrit vanished,” Yoshihiko explained, and then told her to take a look at the center.

“The sword...”

At the very center of the caldera was a sword embedded in the ground.

“Let’s go.” Yoshihiko started to walk down.

Junko followed him, but after a moment she stopped.

“Wait. I sense a presence.”

“A presence?” Yoshihiko turned around. Junko nodded.

“The presence of a person. Maybe a student followed us.”

“Excellent. Once we got the sword, I was planning on heading towards the Demon Ki—”

But he didn’t get to finish his sentence. Someone appeared above them on the path.

The first thing they heard was the sound of crunching gravel, and something being dragged. And then they saw a short girl.

“Who is that? I don’t recognize them. They’re not from our class.” Junko readied herself for battle.

The short girl tensed up in response as well. There was something very strange, very unbalanced, about the girl. She herself looked normal, but even though she was only 120cm at most, she was carrying a 180cm sword on her back. And her hair was woven into a ponytail so long that it almost touched the ground. There seemed to be something unusual about it too.

But her face, and her body, both looked just fine. If anything, they were too perfect. Her face had a doll-like beauty, and it was easy to imagine her graceful limbs moving with incredible ability.

“None may enter the sealed ground,” the girl said. Her voice sounded young. But the tone was loud and haughty, like a much older speaker. This was unbalanced too.

“The sealed ground? Do you protect this place, then?” Junko asked.

“Indeed,” the girl answered, again in a loud voice. “I have protected this land for eons.”

“A guardian... But we defeated the Ifrit. Is she the true guardian?” Junko turned to ask Yoshihiko. But he shook his head.

“This character isn’t in the game.”

“Are you... sure?” Junko’s voice was tense. She’d been told the game might change, but wasn’t it a big deal for a new sentient character to appear?

“Wait. She sounds like she’s from a video game. She’s talking about a sealed ground, which describes this area too.” She was right, but Yoshihiko still shook his head.

“You’re right, but you’re also wrong. This character isn’t in the game. She’s dangerous.”

“Is this the other player you were talking about, then...?”

“I think so...” Yoshihiko whispered tensely.

But the short girl didn’t seem to like that they were talking to each other.

“I dislike secret conversations! You leave me no choice but to...”

The short girl put her hand on her sword. Junko was ready for a fight, but then she realized that there was no way for the short girl to draw her sword. Her arm could only reach so far, and the blade was longer than she was tall.

The short girl reached as far up as she could, but the blade had barely left its sheath.

“Normally you’d be able to figure that out...” Junko sighed, but in the next moment, she realized that the girl did, in fact, know that already.

“I am Keisu. I bear no grudge against you, but my duty requires that you die!”

The short girl named Keisu yanked down hard on the blade, and used the momentum to draw it from its sheath. No, it was less a draw, and more a throw. As soon as it was clear of the sheath, she let go of the hilt and let it fly through the air.

“Aah!”

Junko watched as the white blade flew up into the sky, and Keisu, the sheath once more on her back, jumped after it. She grabbed the blade in mid-air, rolled herself into a ball, and began to spin, her long hair flapping in the wind behind her. She’d become a dangerous ball with a sword sticking out of it, coming down towards Junko from above.

“Watch out!”

Yoshihiko jumped in front of Junko. He drew his sword to block Keisu’s incoming blade, which struck with incredible force.

There was a loud clanging, like two bulldozers slamming into each other. The horrific impact from Keisu’s strike sent him flying backwards.

“Yoshihiko!” Junko yelled out his name.

But even in mid-air, he still hadn’t lost his balance.

“It’s fine. I can still fight.” He smiled at her.

“...! H-How stupid do you have to be to try and show off at a time like this?” Junko yelled.

“However, this isn’t part of the game. We don’t know what will happen. I have to take responsibility here,” Yoshihiko said calmly.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about! All of you, stop making fun of me!”

Keisu was still bouncing around like a ball, flailing her sword around her. Either she was very light, or the blade was very heavy, because it seemed like she was having trouble controlling it. But still, every time she wanted to attack, her aim was dead on. And while she could only strike once at a time, she could keep spinning around as long as she wanted.

If they weren’t fighting on the downward slope of a volcano, Yoshihiko would have been easily overwhelmed. It was all he could do to deflect her attacks.

“Yoshihiko!” Junko tried to find an opening to attack, but Keisu’s body was constantly surrounded by her flailing silver blade.

“You said you’re protecting this land. What are you protecting?!” Yoshihiko asked as he blocked her.

Surprisingly, Keisu was willing to answer.

“What I’m protecting is a secret, but the only thing anyone ever protects is a secret!”

It was kind of her to answer, but maybe Keisu wasn’t very bright.

“Are you protecting that sword?”

“No! I’m protecting the Grail so the Demon King can’t get it! ...Huh? I think I just said the secret...” Keisu shook her head.

“Wait! We’re on the same side, then...!” Yoshihiko said, but Keisu didn’t stop attacking.

“Even if you are, a mission’s a mission. I can’t stop attacking until I lose!”

“Do you stop attacking if you lose?”

“A samurai never goes back on her word! Actually, if you lose, you die! Everybody knows that!”

“If that’s what you think, then...” Yoshihiko stuck out his sword and froze.

“Gotcha!” The instant he stopped moving, Keisu was on him.

“Yoshihiko!” Junko screamed. Keisu’s blade was on course to slice off his head.

Her tiny body quickly passed by him — the blade had passed through his neck.

“Aah!” Junko let out a sharp scream. She knew that Yoshihiko didn’t know how to use a sword. Inside the game he was stronger than her, but only because it was a game. He was able to fight because he knew the rules perfectly. But as soon as he had to fight someone from outside the game, there was no way for him to win. Keisu was strong enough that in the real world, even Junko might have trouble with her.

Yoshihiko’s body was frozen, and about to disappear. If you died in the game, you just turned to dust. But the way he was disappearing was different. It was like a video turning blurry. Yoshihiko was as still as a statue, but the space around him was blurring, like someone had censored it.

“No, he can’t have...” ...really died, she wanted to say. But the words didn’t come out of her mouth. She didn’t want to say them.

Keisu seemed to think the battle was already won.

“For a samurai, dying in battle is a great honor. There’s nothing to be sad about.” Keisu turned to Junko and lifted up her sword.

There was no time to be sentimental. Yoshihiko was frozen, his sword pointing forward, about to disappear. She had to survive herself before she worried about him.

“Come!” Keisu readied her sword to spin around again, lifting the blade high above her head.

But...

Suddenly her body floated into the air. She hadn’t jumped upwards; instead, she was hanging down from her sword.

“Wh-What are you doing? No, who are you?” she said, flailing about as she clung to the sword’s hilt. When she turned around and saw who was there, she screamed. “How?!”

“Aah!” Junko yelled, also in shock.

Yoshihiko was clasping the blade in gauntlet-covered hands, holding it high enough that Keisu was lifted off the ground. The fading image of him was still there, a few feet away.

“I knew I couldn’t beat you, so I used a graphics bug,” Yoshihiko said.

“What do you mean bug? There aren’t any bugs! Gaah! Let me down!” Keisu kept struggling, but Yoshihiko swung the sword and her grip slipped, sending her flying.

“Oooh nooo!” Keisu yelled dramatically as she landed on the ground and rolled.

“A bug?” Junko ran over to Yoshihiko, and pointed to the copy of him that was still frozen.

Yoshihiko nodded.

“If you take a certain series of actions, your character will freeze. You’ll come back a few steps away after a moment or two, but the frozen character remains for a little while.”

“You dummy... Don’t scare me like that.” Junko pouted.

And then they heard a loud voice.

“I lost! I’m about to slit my stomach open, so watch carefully!” Keisu knelt on the ground and opened her kimono.

“H-Hey, wait! You don’t have to do that!” Junko shouted, but Keisu was stubborn.

“Don’t stop me! This is how a samurai dies...” She raised up her right hand as she put her left up against her stomach.

And...

“...I’m sorry, can I borrow a katana?”

“No. You may not.” Junko sighed.

“I’m a daikatana wielder, so I don’t carry any smaller blades. Please, can you help me out?” Keisu bowed.

“Samurai don’t do that sort of thing anymore.”

“Well, I’m old-fashioned.”

“If you’re old-fashioned, then go get your own katana.”

“I’ve never killed myself before, so I don’t know how it’s done.”

“Nobody’s ever killed themselves before! How is that old-fashioned?”

“Fine, then I’m not old-fashioned,” Keisu said.

The conversation was already starting to go off the rails, and it was clearly Keisu’s fault. Maybe he didn’t want to watch her kill herself, or maybe he was just a little weird, because Yoshihiko offered to help.

“Then entrust me with your life. I need your help.”

“My help?” Keisu stood up.

“No, just tell me who you are,” Yoshihiko said. Keisu crossed her arms.

“Is that all you want?”

“That’s right.”

“I gave you my name. It’s Keisu. I’ve sealed the Grail so that the Demon King can’t get it.”

“I’ve got that part. Where did you come from?”

“I was born to be here. That’s all I know,” Keisu said. She didn’t seem to know the answer herself.

“But the Demon King is Akuto Sai. Wait, does something bad happen in the game if the Demon King gets the Grail?” Junko asked Yoshihiko.

He shrugged.

“No, I don’t know. This Grail wasn’t a part of the original game. Which means... maybe something dangerous happens if he gets it,” Yoshihiko said. He and Junko looked at each other.

“What are you talking about? The Grail contains the Demon King’s power,” Keisu said. “You can’t defeat the Demon King. That’s why we sealed him.”

“Did the story change...? No, is she talking about the real world?” Junko whispered to herself. She turned to Yoshihiko with a tense expression.

“You may not know this, but we’ve been involved in a lot of trouble over the Demon King in the past. If she’s talking about the real one, not the one in the game, we may be facing a huge conspiracy...” Yoshihiko went pale. “Then... what do we do?”

“We need to tell Akuto about the Grail... Maybe it’s best if we have her come with us,” Junko said as she looked at Keisu.

Yoshihiko nodded.

“...Will you come with us?” Yoshihiko said as he handed her sword back. She knelt down and took it.

“My life is in your hands.”

“I’m sorry. I really don’t know what’s going on here... But I do know that we have to do something, even if I don’t know what. I’ve never felt this way before, so it’s a little scary, but... Let’s go meet him. And then once we’re back in reality, we have to face the real battle,” Yoshihiko said. His voice wasn’t the affected, gentlemanly tone he’d been using before. Junko felt like she’d caught a glimpse of his real face. He wasn’t someone who was used to battle.

“I’ll help too. You don’t need to worry.” Junko smiled at him.

Yoshihiko smiled back. And then, with Keisu in tow, they started to walk towards the center of the caldera.

It was still there — the sword that was supposed to be able to defeat the Demon King was embedded in a dais. It was a two-handed sword with jewels embedded on the bottom of the hilt, and engraved with the design of a beautiful woman. If this wasn’t a game, you’d never be able to use it in battle.

“This is the ‘Evil Slayer.’ The strongest weapon in the game.” Yoshihiko grabbed the hilt with both hands and pulled hard. The sword slid out of the scabbard.

“Ooh!” Junko gasped in shock. The second the sword was out of the dais, the ground began to shake.

“This wasn’t part of the game...” Yoshihiko said as he clasped the sword. He turned towards Junko.

“Then there’s something else...?”

“The Demon King must have awoken,” Keisu said.

“Huh?” Junko said, surprised. Akuto was already awake, and playing the game.

But Keisu explained.

“The Demon King’s sealing takes place in two stages. The world itself has changed, so I don’t know where he is, but I do know that the Demon King himself was sealed, and his power was sealed in the Grail. I don’t know where the Demon King is, but I do know that he’s just awoken.”

“What does that mean...? Are there two Demon Kings?”

Yoshihiko started to say more, but the ground began to shake even more strongly. The black rock that formed the base of the caldera split, and a crack several hundred meters long began to stretch out towards the horizon.

“Let’s get out of here!” Yoshihiko pointed towards the path they’d come from.

The three of them started to run.

As they ran, the crack raced towards the end of the caldera and the rocks around it began to fall in.

A huge hole was forming in the caldera’s base.

“Is it going to erupt?” Junko asked. When they were all the way up the path, and she turned around — and she was faced with an astonishing sight.

“Oh!” Yoshihiko gasped.

“What could that be? I’ve never seen anything like it!” Keisu yelled.

The crack had formed a giant hole, several hundred meters wide, and inside it there was only blackness. Something big was revealing itself from within.

They could feel a pressure, like the air around them had changed. The huge object had come out of the hole, and was now filling up the sky.

It looked like a giant octopus. Its skin was slimy, and its arms were lifting its bag-shaped torso up into the air. But beyond its arms, it also had the body of a four-legged beast. It was a monster, like a cross between a lion and an octopus, shaking its body as it rose and howling into the sky.

“What is that...?” was all Yoshihiko said, before falling silent.

And then the monster started to move. It crawled up the caldera, pushed its bulk over the edge, and then headed north, half of its colossal body sticking out of the jungle.

The north was where the Demon King’s castle was.

“That’s the Demon King Keisu talked about...? Is it looking for the Grail?” Junko whispered in terror.

○

Lily ran towards the spot on her mana screen, watching the information as it came in. Hiroshi followed after her, panting and wheezing.

“Is 2V there?”

“If he’s not, we’ll have wasted our time! Well, whoever’s there, they’re getting a beating regardless!” Lily was already excited.

The spot on the map was an old condo in a crowded area of town. The people in that part of town didn’t make much money, so most people didn’t stay there long, and nobody cared about their neighbors. It was the perfect place to hide.

When they arrived, Lily was calm. She circled around the condo to check that there were only two entrances. When she was sure, she told Hiroshi to go in from one of them and wait on the 2nd floor.

“If somebody comes, talk to them to slow them down. If they run, chase them. You don’t need to fight. Just stay close to them,” she said, as she went into the condo from the other side. Her goal was the second floor.

She walked up the stairs, running her hand along the holes in the walls. She’d already pushed the button to send the elevator to the highest floor. If she was quick about getting inside, they wouldn’t be able to use the elevator to escape.

“If I’m quick... that is,” she whispered to herself. When she arrived at the door she was looking at, she immediately punched it as hard as she could.

SMASH!

With a loud noise, a dent formed in the door as it came off its hinges. Lily immediately kicked it down, not even bothering to check for traps. The door slammed into the ground, making an unpleasant noise, and she stepped over the door and went inside.

The room was filled with dolls. There was nothing else there.

The sleeping girl inside sat up. She was thin, and wearing ragged clothes. Her long hair was unwashed and her cheeks were sallow.

The way she looked made Lily hesitate to immediately punch her.

And that instant’s hesitation was fatal. Maybe 2V had predicted it would happen.

“I’ve got hostages, you know,” the girl said in a hoarse voice. It had the strange, unnatural tone of someone who hadn’t spoken in a long time.

The girl — 2V — called up an image on the mana screen next to her face.

“That game?” Lily readied herself for a punch. And then she understood what 2V meant by hostages.

“That’s right. I can delete the people inside,” 2V said.

She could tell from the girl’s tone that she was definitely 2V. Lily once again regretted not attacking when she saw her.

“I should’ve known that it would be a girl who liked to play with dolls. Not that saying that now helps... I didn’t think you’d be such a sickly little girl, though.”

“You shouldn’t talk about my appearance. Didn’t you learn not to insult others based on their looks? Anyway, if you don’t want your students deleted, then don’t try anything,” 2V said quickly.

Lily knew instantly that 2V wasn’t used to being in personal danger.

“I’d like to think you’re not the kind of petty woman who’d slaughter students over an insult. Heh. it doesn’t matter. You’re finished either way. Keep your hostages. I just need to wait long enough and the students will come out on their own. It’s just a game, in the end. And the instant you kill one of them, I kill you,” Lily said, keeping her anger in check as she spoke. She was only able to do so because she thought she had the advantage.

But looking at 2V, she seemed to think she had the advantage as well, despite the danger she was in.

—Does she still have something up her sleeve?

Lily looked around the room cautiously, and 2V noticed what she was doing.

“Then why don’t we both wait here for a while? I’m okay with that if you are,” 2V quipped.

“You little... Why were you willing to take the risk of hacking when it meant your location could be tracked down? Is that your trump card?”

“I’m not telling. But you could find out with a little research what I was looking at, so I’ll just tell you that to save you some time. The VPS I used for my plan... I’ll tell you what was originally there.”

Lily was shocked by what 2V said.

“What was originally in that VPS?”

“That’s right.” 2V grinned a sickly grin.

“What is it?! You used Megis’s VPS! Some of the people behind Project Birdcage were Megis clerics. Do they know what it is?” Lily spoke quickly, but 2V held up a hand to stop her.

“The clerics didn’t know. It’s from a long, long time ago. No, it’s better to say that the documents themselves were hidden very deep, so that it could be forgotten. And there they were abandoned.”

“So... what is it that’s down there?” Lily asked.

2V giggled.

“Heheh... I should’ve just come out and told you. It was the first Demon King.”

“What... did you say?” Lily gasped.

“It’s down there? You’re kidding me! That’s so dangerous...”

“That’s why they trapped it in VPS. People were no different then than they are now. And I’ve told it to wake up. Now it’s inside the game, in the form of a monster. That’s what I did when I reprogrammed the game.”

“Is that why you hacked it?”

“There’s a monster inside the game that doesn’t play by the rules. If it kills you, I bet you die in real life too.” 2V laughed.

“Tch! How could you do that?” Lily quickly opened her own mana screen, and opened the game’s message board. Any message she sent here could be seen inside the game.

“I’ve cut off the inside from getting messages. You can’t use the message board anymore.”

“So they’ll have to deal with it themselves...” Lily bit her lip.

“They’ll solve it in the next few days, from their perception of time. For us, that’s just a few hours. Why don’t we just wait? We can see what’s going on inside the game from here. I can’t wait to see who wins in the end...” 2V grinned.