12. Hell Kaiser II
12. Hell Kaiser II
Mars played a hot-blooded song on the electric guitar,
Minerva performed a soft ballad on the violin,
and how did Merk sing an anime song with castanets?
"Wow, 18,270 points! I got an A!"
"She's kind of a hit."
Unlike when playing it as a game, the range of the instruments was far beyond what I'd imagined.
Well, trying to implement even castanets in a game would be a case of the tail wagging the dog.
I confidently applauded Merk, who had boldly outed herself as an otaku.
"...Perchance?"
"Mm."
A look in her eyes as if she'd discovered a comrade.
I calmly pulled out a coin and flipped it with my hand.
"Railgun."
"Comrade!"
Wai! Waaaa!
She scurried over to me and pressed the karaoke machine into my hands.
"Hey, listen... wanna sing with me? Hm? Let's do a duet!"
Merk's eyes sparkled with the sense of kinship at having met a comrade.
That sight must have been deeply irritating to Mars, who was standing nearby, as she forcibly reached out and separated Merk and me.
"Hey, can't you see he doesn't like it? Can't you read the room?"
"Ehhh... it didn't really seem like he disliked it..."
"He does dislike it, okay? Right?"
Excuse me, ma’am.
We've agreed to call this kind of Q&A format 'intimidation.'
That's what we call a social 'contract.'
"Then... is it my turn now?"
Before an awkward silence could settle in, Yuno took the machine and pressed in a number.
Yuno lifted the mood by singing a moderately famous idol song.
The instrument she used was the microphone. In a sense, it was an instrument befitting the main heroine.
"It's my turn now, right?"
The next batter was none other than the Protagonist, Jupiter.
He swept his blond hair back and pressed the karaoke machine without hesitation, then—
"What ever shall I do....! What should I do.....!!"
'Oh fuck.'
Even I had no idea what he should do.
As his husky voice, scraping (forcefully) against the eardrums, filled the karaoke room, the heroines' faces began to sour one by one.
"Where are you──!! My story──truly, can you hear it....!!"
The song itself was a really good song.
Since the piece itself was excellent to begin with, there was no way it couldn't be good, but...
...How should I put it—it was like a sanctuary that must not be defiled.
"...Kinda, cringe. Right?"
"............"
Mars murmured softly into my ear.
Exactly that. If he'd been completely tone-deaf, it would've at least been funny, but since he could sing just ambiguously enough—the only impression left was pure, undiluted cringe.
[7,846(C)]
"....Ahem.."
After the song ended, the Protagonist awkwardly returned to his seat.
The score was exactly what you'd expect, was the general sentiment.
"Alright, Chrono, it's your turn now, isn't it? Let's see what you've got!"
".....Tch."
Mars snatched the machine as if there was nothing left to see and handed it over to me.
I finally pressed the start button—and at the same moment, a tearing mechanical sound erupted from the amp.
...
..
.
[Difficulty: Master]
[Mode─All Perfect]
[Destroy Metal City—Murder]
"...What's this?"
Mars's face suggested she'd never heard of it.
"Ahaha....."
Yuno smiled awkwardly, as if trying to hide her bewilderment.
"...Murder?"
Merk tilted her head at the extraordinary title, and
"..........."
Ter stared silently, as if waiting to see just how good he was,
And then....
"DMC....!!"
Minerva rose halfway from her seat, now certain.
This bastard was serious.
He really, truly intended to do this.
The moment that thought turned to certainty—a man's roar began to reverberate through the amp.
[GIIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!]
That sound was like the scream of a demon rising from hell itself.
The sound of the electric guitar tearing through eardrums. The beat of the drum pounding the brain into mush. The viciousness of the bass plugging every last exit without exception.
"Even if it's Master difficulty with All Perfect mode...!"
The Blessing of Muse made the stage reproduction rate far beyond what I'd imagined.
It wasn't just an illusion that lightly overlay reality—it was a high-level reproduction that made you feel as if you were standing right on that stage.
Minerva's legs, which had been awkwardly planted, now stood straight as she rose from her seat—and Chrono's true skill began to unfold from here on.
Tadatadatadatadatadatak!!
"The note chart... I can't. I can't see it...!"
In the blink of an eye, five, six markers flew past.
An ordeal that required pressing them with eight keys on top of that.
A melody that forgave not a single moment of carelessness, one that only the death gods who had returned from hell could perform.
And so, into this 'sanctuary' that mere mortals were never forgiven to approach, permitted only to the Masters who had dominated an era—
I am a terrorist from hell
Yesterday I raped my mother
Tomorrow I'll violate my father
[I am a terrorist straight out of hell]
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!"
It reached.
It had reached at last.
The moment of the abyss at the very bottom of hell, which no mortal dared approach—
Minerva could not help but raise her voice, for it was unfolding right before her eyes, before her very own eyes.
I have no father, no mother
Because I killed them
I have no friends, no lover
Because I killed them
"Hell Kaiser! Hell Kaiser, brooo!!!"
The three death gods gradually began to manifest upon the stage.
Vocalist and electric guitarist, Hell Kaiser II
Bassist, Alexander Krauser
Drummer, Crimson Devil
The moment the three demons who had dominated an era revealed themselves, Minerva no longer cared where this place was.
"Kyaaaaaak! Aak! Aaaaaaaahhh!!!"
It didn't matter who was around her.
How she looked, how she would be seen—none of it mattered.
At this moment, this place was a sanctuary solely for receiving Hell Kaiser.
Minerva raised her right hand and prepared herself.
Kill, kill, kill your parents
Kill, kill, kill everything
"Ah.... Aah....!"
It was coming.
Right now.
In this very moment.
Commit murder, commit murder
Commit murder, commit murder
"KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!"
She raised her voice.
She raised her hand higher, so that Kaiser over on the other side could see her.
Commit murder, commit murder
Commit murder, commit murder
"KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!"
Minerva.
A paladin, a talented student of Class A meant to serve as a model for others,
"KYAAAAAAAK! FUCK! FUCK YHEAAAAAAAA!!!"
Was, in truth, a hopeless, utterly irredeemable death metal fanatic.
****************
[98,120(SSS)]
[Full Combo!]
"....Hwooooohhh...!"
I had done it. I had conquered it. It was legendary.
Having finished cleanly without a single missed touch, I lifted my hands from the keypad and dusted them off with a tap-tap.
I'd been a little nervous since it had been a while, but it seemed the muscle memory still remained in my body.
I clenched and unclenched my tingling, trembling hands and leaned back into the chair.
"...You, what the hell are you, to be this good?"
"Heh."
Mars stared at me blankly.
The achievements and Easter eggs you could get at the karaoke were so lucrative that I'd practiced even when I hated it, probably.
I had a few other Master songs I could play right away, but I held off on those since I wasn't confident I could full combo them.
'Anyway, she should be coming in soon now...'
When would she come in?
I glanced at the karaoke room door as I handed the machine over to Mars—
"Chrono."
"....Minerva?"
—or tried to, but Minerva, who had definitely been on the opposite side just moments ago, was now standing right in front of my nose.
"I have something to say."
".....Huh?"
Minerva gazed down at me in silence.
Then she took hold of my hands and said to me,
"Would you... become a god of the new generation together with me?"
"Excuse me?"
Suddenly, death metXl here?
Seeing me too flustered to even answer, Minerva grabbed my shoulders and shouted.
"You... you can become one! The second, no—the third Hell Kaiser! The one and only demon (Lucifer) who will inherit that great one's will and pacify the corrupted world of death metal!"
"............Um."
I only just remembered this now, but—
In Minerva's bond rank story, there was a side story event where you joined a death metal club and personally performed death metal.
If you scored high there, your affection would rise like crazy, and later, during the 'school festival' event, an option to perform death metal together would become available—but setting that part aside...
"That rat-bellied shorty over there, and now you too—what's your deal?"
"....Outsiders, please stay out of this."
"Outsider? Outsider must be referring to you. It's blatantly obvious that he doesn't like it, so are you messing with him right now?"
"Please do not present your own assertions as if they are another person's true feelings. Chrono, do you truly find my approaching you uncomfortable?"
"Filthily uncomfortable, yes."
".................."
Yes! Mars smiled and peeled Minerva off of me.
"The Demon Lord.... Hell Kaiser, to me......"
Minerva returned to her seat with her head deeply bowed.
It felt like her affection had taken a bit of a hit, but I wasn't the Protagonist in the first place.
Please direct your affection to the blond-haired Protagonist over there. Why are you appealing for NTR to the NTR villain?
[Apostle of Athena and Apostle of Hermes — Success]
[Trample the Apostle of Zeus — Success]
-Cronus stood from his seat and applauded you.
Reward: Contribution 4 / Rank Up Qualification / Cronus's sincere smile
Bonus Reward: Notification upon Rank Up
"Oh."
The quests were cleared.
Now, what remained was....
"Excuse me~~"
""""....?""""
A person opened the karaoke room door and stepped inside.
A woman with pale blue hair who appeared to be a staff member approached me and asked,
"By any chance, are you the Protagonist who sang that song earlier?"
"Yes. That's correct."
I raised my hand slightly and stood up.
Then the staff member approached me and—
"Let's get married."
—promptly dropped a confession on me.
Ah, for reference, there's no need to be surprised.
This person, no, this goddess is...
"You don't need to worry about a thing."
One of the nine Muses of learning and the arts,
Called 'Ur,' taking her name from Euterpe, who oversees music—
"I'll let you live the rest of your life──with nothing but a microphone in your hands!"
She was the master of the achievement grind and Easter eggs I'd mentioned before.