Silence
Silence. The word refers to quietly staying still without saying a word, or that state itself. They say that when you have something to say but hold it back due to circumstances or stubborn pride, you're keeping silent. Yeah. That's exactly what everyone around me was doing right now. The moment my crime was announced, it was like they'd heard something they wished they hadn't! Damn it, what the hell did you do, Leydan Tantun, you psycho! I'd heard rumors that even regular sex offenders get treated like the worst of the worst, despised even by fellow criminals as the lowest scum.
But this? Attempted rape of an Outer God, the public enemy of this world? Even if they looked like beautiful women, there's a limit to deviant lust! As someone with perfectly normal sexual inclinations, I raised my voice.
"W-wait... Th-there's gotta be some mistake. Think about it? No way a human could do something like that to an Outer God... Hell, is it even possible in the first place?! This is a frame job, a total frame job!"
"A severe mental delusion."
I tried protesting to the bear-masked man for a correction, but it fell on deaf ears. I couldn't accept it and moved to act, but White Mask thrust her plastic sword forward.
"Don't move. Criminals have no room for excuses."
"This thing's—"
"Bold, aren't you."
It was just a plastic sword, right? I tried forcing my way through, but a toy axe slamming down in front of me erased that thought.
Thud.
"I-I told you not to move, didn't I?"
Watching it strike the floor, I realized it: Super Coward Mode only makes scary things go away—it doesn't protect from pain.
I had no choice but to admit defeat. I pretended otherwise, but deep down, I was relying on this Super Coward Mode. By stripping away fear from a coward like me, it had let recklessness grow instead. Unable to budge, I shot Hunter a wounded look that screamed it wasn't me.
"Tch."
She didn't buy it one bit. Hunter, come on, it wasn't me, I swear! In desperation, my last bastion, I glanced at Agartha—but that was a mistake.
Our eyes met perfectly.
She grinned. A thief's perfect, infuriating grin.
"...Pfft."
"?"
"Running around naked was... heh, at least more dignified? Pffft-haha."
Ah. Should I just kill myself? Whoever set me up as 'Leydan Tantun'—if our eyes ever meet, that'll be their last day.
"Kyaa!"
"I just told you not to move."
White Mask prodded Agartha's stomach lightly with her plastic sword, and a sizzling sound like burning flesh rang out. That alone snapped Agartha's mouth shut.
"One more word, and there won't be a next time."
"Got it!"
Watching Agartha crumple made me feel a tiny bit better—but only a tiny bit. She was still sneering at me, which set my insides burning again.
Just as I swallowed my rage, the bear-masked man spoke, not hiding his disgust.
"No survivors in the prison. As of now, the prison is closed. Our knight order will take custody and escort these subhuman criminals."
"No...!"
"No more questions."
I wanted to argue, but they bound our hands with something like duct tape. It looked like it'd rip if I pulled hard, but even straining did nothing. Was this some Outer God-made thing? Like that, we were dragged off, bound in flimsy tape weaker than handcuffs, without resisting.
Even as they pulled us along, I kept mulling over my crime.
...Hah. So this is what they mean by responsibility without pleasure. Way shittier than I imagined.
They seemed to know the way well—relying on just one lantern in the pitch-black paths. I snuck glances at Agartha and Hunter. Agartha still eyed me with a face full of teasing intent, but Hunter wouldn't even meet my gaze anymore.
Hah. What a headache.
Just moments ago, I'd felt like we were getting closer. It had to be because of my crime. No good could come from distancing myself from Snow Castle's protagonist.
I glared daggers at that fuzzy doll head. This was all that bear mask bastard's fault. Why announce my crime like that...! Whether my backstory was this or that, if he hadn't said it, none of this would've happened.
"Finally, the exit."
"This prison feels too damn big every time..."
"Why'd an Outer God have to show up here of all places...!"
The knights, oblivious to my thoughts, just chattered among themselves. Yeah... what could a powerless guy like me do? It'll work out somehow, I thought, trudging along until the path ahead grew brighter. Like the masked woman said, we were almost outside.
The moment we stepped out, what greeted us was...
"...Whoa."
I couldn't help but gasp in awe at the mystical sight.
A vast open space brought a sense of liberation, with vibrant green trees—like a hint of spring—dotted between villages. At the center stood a towering pillar of stone bricks, heat haze rising as flames blazed atop it.
The reason this dark fantasy world, ruined by Outer God interference, was called Snow Castle. Even in the world-ending blizzard, the castle's eternal flame burned ceaselessly. I remembered they called the sturdy tower Logs and the fire atop it the Hearth. And wasn't there a princess at the top?
Recalling community lore, I looked up at the sky. That's when I remembered another reason I'd started this game.
Beyond the walls, the raging blizzard reached the territory and melted away. The Hearth's blaze intertwined with the world-freezing snowstorm. Ice and fire clashed in stark contrast, yet paradoxically blended naturally, like one entity.
This world was too...
Beautiful.
My eyes stayed glued to the cinematic vista, movie-worthy spectacle and all. White Mask noticed, and a grating voice scraped from behind her mask.
"Guess the mental delusion checks out. Admiring the calamity destroying this world—the very cause of Outer God interference."
I didn't care about her snark. Yeah. I'd started Snow Castle because the game rendered this scene in stunning graphics, drawing me in with its beauty. Even as the world's doom, to a gamer, this snow was gorgeous in itself. Seeing it live felt like an honor.
As I scanned around, trying to etch the view into my memory, something caught my eye.
"Hm?"
Peering into the blizzard, past the snow mountain, I spotted walls like another territory—and inside, a massive silhouette standing tall. Squinting for focus, it sharpened into view.
A person?
It was humanoid. A giant far taller than any castle. Towering larger than the snow mountain amid the gale, it was utterly overwhelming. Staring closer, it shifted into a woman's form, and suddenly, it felt like she was looking right at me. Her mouth moved, saying something—then someone yanked my head back by the hair.
"Aaaagh!"
Pain like my scalp ripping shot through me. Glancing back, White Mask looked furious.
"Mental delusion or not, you don't even value your own life!"
I pulled the most wronged expression at her sudden shout, but her face only darkened further.
"Rondan's Iron Rules, number three: Do not gaze at the massive thing beyond the snow mountain. Do not revere it. Do not pray to it."
What the hell? There was a rule like that?
Before I could ask, the masked woman helpfully explained.
"Looking at it freezes you from the guts up, turning you into an ice statue. Were you trying to suicide from shame over your crimes? Idiot!"
...You die that painfully? What the hell is that thing? My Snow Castle knowledge was fragmentary—like knowing the branches but not the trunk.
I burned to ask, but figured she'd ignore me, so I buried it.
"...You okay? Your guts aren't freezing up?"
Even then, Agartha whispered slyly, checking on me.
"Eh, after dealing with the Observer, this is fine, I guess."
Her steadfastness was some mental comfort—but admitting that might make me sad, so I held back.
Like that, we headed toward Rondan's heart.