I Acquired the Demon Sword
I got the Demon Sword. You know what I'm talking about? In manga, it's common sense that a character draws their sword and their power activates. Of course, what I'm playing now isn't a manga—it's a visual novel game titled Doomsday Love Comedy, and there's only one sword-wielding protagonist character with special abilities. But whatever. A Demon Sword that cleaves through any power. A protagonist with an obviously special ability building a harem of beautiful girls and saving the world? Sounds pretty damn appealing, right? Yeah, if it overflowed with lovey-dovey scenes and witty banter like the title suggests. If it threw in plenty of fanservice scenes typical of visual novels and made progression easy, it would've been a god-tier game... [...In the end, the apocalypse, huh.]
At the start of the game, the visual novel's protagonist had given a bold impression, but now he stared up at the pitch-black sky with a face sunk in despair. Dragons and giants that heralded the end times were emerging from the dark clouds. Even one of them would trigger a bad ending, but Tokyo's skies—the backdrop of this visual novel—were already swarming with all sorts of monsters. He issued commands to defeat the monster bastards quickly, but the protagonist character didn't budge. The Demon Sword that cleaved any power lay split in half, rolling on the ground, and all his female companion characters had either betrayed him or were already dead. [If there's a next life...]]
Muttering with hollow eyes, the protagonist closed them. A massive shadow enveloped his body, followed immediately by a thunderous voice. Boom—! The giant's foot crushed the city.
That was the 132nd bad ending. Not even a single fanservice scene or couple formation event, let alone a happy ending. I was starting to wonder if I was playing a beautiful girl conquest game or one of the world's top raid games.
"...Who the hell even recommended this piece-of-shit game? Fuck, why did I buy this crap?"
I'd fallen for the pretty girl characters on the cover and the decently drawn monsters. Romance sim with top-tier beauties and slaying creepy monsters? Double the fun, right? ...Of course, none of it went as planned, which was a huge problem. But I wasn't lonely. A quick browse online showed plenty of fellow 'Doomsday Love Comedy' comrades.
"Hmph, always a mess."
Normal visual novel communities overflow with "Which girl's the hottest? So fuckable." But the 'Doomsday Love Comedy' community was just whiny bad-Ending victims and hardcore strategists sharing play records. The whiners and the sages, they called them. How do you even progress to the next chapter? How much dedication does it take to see your fave's affection scene? I was one of those sages debating seriously. Not like I had a specific girl I wanted to see naked—it was more like stubborn pride. For me, who'd started this game out of swordsman romanticism, it was a massive challenge.
I'll clear this shit game no matter what.
It'd been a month since release, no one worldwide had cleared it, and I was starting to doubt if it was even possible. But with no other games grabbing me, I just kept at it.
"Ah, fuck."
Collected the 133rd bad ending. This time, died to the apocalyptic dragon's hellfire breath. Playtime piled up bit by bit.
"...Hah."
Before I knew it, I'd collected the 250th bad ending, and two months had passed since Doomsday Love Comedy's release. There'd been progress—barely halfway through the episodes—but after getting smashed hundreds of times by increasingly stronger enemies, I'd reached a conclusion.
Age 17. High school boy with intense vibe and orange spiky hair, acting like the protagonist.
If this were a normal visual novel, this guy would've been the alpha male shining star. But two months post-release, Doomsday Love Comedy was one of the world's top shit games. In this hellish school worthy of being called a demon realm, a newbie like him just couldn't cut it.
What? A Demon Sword that cleaves any power? Whoa, that's badass! Impossible with the guy I'd fangirled over at the start. A Demon Sword with power nullification couldn't clear this game. I'd finally realized that.
"Fuck, what an utter shit game."
Ding—!
"...?"
I was about to quit when a notification popped up. What? I'd disabled all messengers to focus... Squinting, I opened it—it was a subbed game's official notice. Only one game had notifications set.
Hello, players. In response to your passionate support, the Doomsday Love Comedy dev team is releasing a DLC expansion pack...
TL;DR: It's your fault for sucking, so here's an easier expansion pack.
"Those fuckers?"
I sensed it immediately. These bastards made the main game hard to farm DLC cash. Fuming, I scrolled fast through the patch notes.
"...Hoo."
That many changes? Downloading the DLC added tons of new characters and events. Plus weapons with special powers!
"...Wait, a space-cleaving sword and a time-cleaving sword?"
For a mere 15,000 won, I could experience it all. Biting my nails anxiously, I agonized... then decided to become a happy sucker.
Two months wasted already—if 15k could make me happy...!
"...I'll gladly be your sucker!"
I bought and downloaded the expansion, then launched the game. Goal wasn't clear—it was the Time-Stop Sword! Space-cleaving was cool, but time manipulation was way cooler. Overspec later, you might slice space vaguely, but time? Never, even at endgame!!!
Anyway, I memorized the Time-Stop Sword owner's info. No deep lore, just events to encounter.
So this character's name is... "Ichimaru Shiki."
Murmuring it, my vision went black.
***
How long was I out?
"Kyaaah!"
A bloodcurdling scream jolted me awake. But what entered my sight wasn't my dim room and big monitor—it was an incongruous wild mountain. House-sized black wolves pouncing on a girl in school uniform.
...What?
An incomprehensible scene far from daily life. Like a game event. Say, from that shit game Doomsday Love Comedy I'd just been playing...
A sense of déjà vu hit as the girl screamed again under the wolf. My dazed mind lagged, but my body moved on instinct.
Shing.
I drew the sword at my waist. A long sword from the Sengoku era, far from modern life. Moonlight reflected off the blade, and then—the power activated.
—In that instant, everything stopped.
Proof: The girl's agonized scream froze mid-note. No more tearing cries. The wolves charging on all fours toward her hung in midair, petrified like stone magic victims. No—if just stone, they'd crash down. This was true stop.
Yeah. Time had stopped.
Realizing that, I gleefully shouted at this amazing situation.
"Oh my, everything's stopped, huhuhu?"
...?
What? Rubbing my mouth that spouted weird shit on its own, I realized. I'd gotten the Time-Stop Sword, but my body had changed too. Seemed like a lot had.