Let's Start the Game
Enoch's philosophy on life was much the same. Such thoughts hadn't changed much even after waking from an uncomfortable sleep and being transported to another world.
"We've arrived. You may get off now."
"Ah, yes."
Lakrina followed Enoch out of the car. The vehicle had stopped at a slum built between the city's outskirts and the wall. Even in prosperous times, beggars always existed. Let alone in a world where monsters invaded. Those buried in hardship and detached from civilization existed everywhere, regardless of the world.
"Wait a moment."
-Click!
Enoch pulled a cigarette case from his pocket. Inside were twelve rolled cigarettes. He placed one between his lips, took out a Zippo, lit it, and took a long drag.
-Hiss! Whoosh!
"Hoo…"
Thick cigarette smoke rose into the air. Gray smoke escaping the man's mouth and drifting skyward. Lakrina felt it resembled the flame of a signal fire.
-Tap!
"You're here."
Faint footsteps echoed. Enoch brushed ash from his cigarette and turned his gaze. A group of figures clad in black appeared. Roughly twenty of them. They hid in the shadows, staring as if observing Enoch and Lakrina.
"Welcome. Is this our first meeting?"
Enoch asked, returning the smoldering cigarette to his lips. The answer came at once.
"Something like that. Enoch. You wouldn't know us."
"True enough. Then why have you been following us? You've been watching since we were at the Magic Tower branch. Do you have business with me?"
"Glad you're quick on the uptake. You hit it right on the mark."
The man in black who spoke stepped forward. He was clearly the leader of this group. Curiosity stirred about what he would say next. Enoch gave a slight chin gesture as if urging him to continue.
"Good that you seem willing to talk."
The man in black chuckled softly before continuing.
"Enoch, we've been watching you for quite some time."
"At most since a few months ago. Isn't the atmosphere a bit too grand for confessing to voyeurism?"
Enoch had appeared in this world only a little over half a year ago. Even if he had been under surveillance, the period wasn't long. When Enoch struck precisely at that point, the man in black paused briefly before speaking again.
"…If I've offended you, I apologize. In that sense, let me ask—what do we look like to you, Enoch?"
"Hmm. Black clothes and black masks. I suppose you're thieves."
"Wrong. We are those who seek to set the Empire right."
'Separatists, then.'
The Empire's situation could hardly be called good. Monsters were invading, after all. In such circumstances, it was no surprise that one or two revolutionary factions had emerged.
"Quite the grand claim. How is that any different from being thieves?"
"Are you speaking sincerely? You should already know. The Empire bears responsibility for the monster invasions. Isn't that why you assassinated the mages researching dimensional magic from behind?"
At the word "assassination," Lakrina's eyes widened slightly. Enoch paid it no mind and focused on his reply.
"Well. That's your interpretation. My will belongs only to me, so I don't know why others feel the need to interpret it arbitrarily."
"…I see. That's unfortunate. However, this doesn't have to mean a complete breakdown. In that sense, I'd like to make a proposal. Will you hear me out?"
"I'll listen and decide. Speak."
"Cooperate with us."
Cooperation. After saying this, the man in black pointed his sword toward the empty air. The blade tip aimed toward the capital.
"Assassinating the Empire's mages means you harbor some dissatisfaction with this country. We feel the same. Opposites attract—if our directions align, is there any reason we cannot cooperate?"
"Hmm…"
"Think it over carefully. Though our forces are smaller than the Empire's, that doesn't mean we're weak. You likely carry some bold ambition in your heart as well. We always await comrades like you. Please don't dismiss my proposal lightly."
As if the conversation had ended there, the man in black fell silent. Enoch let out a short sigh and looked at Lakrina.
"Lakrina."
"…Yes."
"Leave this place. Return in twenty minutes."
"……Yes!"
Lakrina nodded and backed away, vanishing into the darkness. Once the girl's figure disappeared, the man in black exhaled a long sigh.
"A breakdown. That's unfortunate."
He lowered his sword and gestured to those behind him.
"Send him off without pain. He's a pitiful child born in a fallen nation."
"Yes."
-Whoosh!
Some of the presences quickly faded away—about two of them. After confirming they had moved off, Enoch spoke again.
"Send him off without pain. Is that mercy?"
"Something like that. The child has no sin."
"That's amusing. If you're going to show mercy, shouldn't you spare him completely without any lingering consequences?"
"You seem to think so. Unfortunately, what I've learned is the warrior's code, not human nature. Since our wills differ, that girl will one day face us as an enemy, whether big or small. Showing mercy to an enemy only means being harsher to our allies. Don't you know this simple truth?"
"Truth?"
-Ahahaha!!
Enoch, who had been listening quietly, suddenly burst into loud laughter. The man in black, who had been watching, asked with clear displeasure.
"What's so funny?"
"Haha… Of course it's funny. That scammers like you would mention something so grand. How could I not laugh?"
"What?"
Enoch wiped the corners of his eyes and spoke in a cheerful tone.
"Those who seek to set the Empire right. Revolutionaries. Separatists. Whatever label you choose, it all points to you. You've probably lived your whole lives believing what you think is always right. Isn't that so?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Just listen to the end. Anyway, yes. Your ideology might be correct. You might hate the Empire, and there are surely many who feel the same. You've gathered those rebels and put forward your own nonsense. All this is for the sake of true justice and the genuine Empire—or so you claim. Right?"
"It's not nonsense. It's our cause."
The man in black spoke firmly. Enoch snorted as if it were ridiculous.
"Those who can't even show the small kindness of sparing a fleeing girl dare to speak of a cause? How can someone who doesn't know kindness put forward a cause?"
Silence followed. Claiming it was for the cause would only prove they were an unrighteous group. The man in black seemed at a loss for words and changed the subject instead.
"…Enough nonsense. How about grasping the situation? You're alone, and we're nearly twenty."
"Let's be precise. Excluding you and two or three others, the rest are basically small fries."
"Even so, the difference in numbers is clear. Instead of provoking us, how about surrendering while you still can?"
Enoch shook his head at the suggestion.
"Sorry. I don't really have anything to fear except time."
"Time?"
"Yeah, time. Only time always threatens me. Everything in this world treats me favorably, but only time strangles my neck."
Enoch laughed, forming a square window with his fingers. It described the status window—the greatest proof that this world had once been a game. But to the men in black, it was nothing more than a low-quality provocation.
-Haa.
Finally, the man in black raised his sword first.
"The conversation is over. Farewell."
-Shing
The black-clad group emerged one by one. As the encirclement gradually closed in, Enoch tilted his head and muttered.
"Time… time…"
"Why do you keep muttering? Last words?"
"No, not that. It's just… when you mentioned time, something keeps coming to mind."
"What?"
At that moment, the man dropped something into the grass.
'…A clock?'
Just as the man in black recognized the object, a strange metallic sound rang out from the fallen clock.
-Click!
-Clang clang!!
The clock burst into brilliant light and shattered into pieces. The miracle didn't end there. Soon the disassembled parts combined, grew in size and bulk, and raised themselves up.
-Whirr
-Kang!
"…What is this…"
The man in black stared blankly at the scene unfolding before him. It would have been better to swing his sword instead. But he couldn't. No one could look away from the bizarre sight of an object ignoring all laws, growing arbitrarily, and raising itself up.
-Uoooo!!!
"…A snake?"
No—perhaps a dragon. The man in black voiced that thought while gazing at the monster that had once been a clock. The giant steel snake coiled itself and shielded its master Enoch from danger. Enoch hid behind the massive body and leisurely admired his completed magic.
'Test piece number one. Codename: Cyber Dragon. As expected, the player's summoning skill has no issues.'
-Uoooo…
The giant snake roared in agreement. Enoch smirked at the white serpent and addressed the watching men in black once more.
"So, what were you saying earlier?"
"…"
"Ah, time. We were talking about time."
Enoch said this while rummaging through his pocket. Various accessories, including rings and necklaces, spilled into his hands.
"You may not know this, but this world is actually a game."
-Whoosh!
"In this world where time isn't on my side, we might actually be controlled by someone else's will. The life we thought we were controlling is actually— …Is it just my imagination? I feel like I've seen similar words somewhere before."
Enoch tilted his head mid-sentence. Meanwhile, the accessories he had thrown transformed their shapes and raised themselves up. This was one of the skills commonly seen in the defense genre—the power to summon giant monsters to block incoming waves. What Enoch had used was not magic, but a Skill.
-King! Kagak!
-Clang clang!
Steel beasts looked down upon the men in black. Snakes, giants, knights, and dragons. Enoch lowered his fingers from among the giants.
"…Anyway. I have to play the hand I hold. That's what it ultimately means."
Enoch laid his hand down upon the world. Life is a game. Let's start the game.