Tea Time with the Culprit of the Massacre Route
The man who would eventually destroy the world was sitting across from me, drinking black tea.
"Good tea leaves."
Mokjul set his cup down.
It was a meeting organized by Earl Grey, under the pretext of fostering unity through a pre-sortie tea time and brainstorming a strategy to take down Golgotha.
Earl Grey, Jack, Origin, Mokjul, and me.
The five of us sat at one table.
Origin, Jack's Saint and the Saint I was seeing for the first time today, was a girl with green eyes and brown hair. Seeing how young she looked, I could understand why Jack didn't want to put this child on the battlefield.
But my interest was elsewhere right now.
My gaze was fixed beyond the teacup, on the white-haired young man.
The protagonist of the Kyungdanryeon faction.
Mokjul.
In Apocalypse Core, there are six factions,
And six protagonists.
I had focused mostly on the Southern Cross side of Apocalypse Core. That was the only route where Earl Grey was the heroine.
After watching the bad ending about two thousand times, I felt suffocated, so I had dabbled in other factions as well.
With the hope that I might get information to save Earl Grey.
That was where I found out.
That for the protagonists of each faction, excluding Earl Grey, there existed a True Ending that corresponded to a happy ending.
It was a conclusion reached by digging through the game with other users, pouring in time and effort to replace the unfriendly, explanation-lacking official lore.
Nairobi the mercenary of Europa.
Prester John of Africa.
Lafitte de Montmorency of the Continental Army.
The Anatolian of the Arab faction.
Every one of them had a convincing True Ending. A conclusion where their own true happiness was achieved.
The reason I repeated the loop 90,000 times was, in the end, to find Earl Grey's True Ending.
But Mokjul. This bastard's True Ending is the destruction of the world. A True Ending is an ending where the protagonist's true happiness is achieved. If you flip that, it means this:
He's just hiding it usually, but inside that head of his, he considers the destruction of the world to be his true happiness. The strongest of the six protagonists is the most insane one.
Perhaps this guy is Earl Grey's death flag for this life. So, even while I was drinking tea with a smiling face, I was wary of him on the inside.
"Thank you all for coming."
Jack clapped his hands.
"By the way, did the other Apostles not come?"
Now that I thought about it, the five reserve Apostles and Saints were nowhere to be seen. Even so, they were comrades who had to challenge Golgotha together.
"That is..."
Earl Grey trailed off.
"It's probably because they don't want to mingle with half-wits like us."
Origin replied, toying with her teacup. It was a calm demeanor that didn't suit a young girl.
"That's a bit harsh."
Even so, Earl Grey wasn't a half-wit. I grumbled at that sentiment.
"It is the truth, though..."
Earl Grey herself admitted it despondently.
"You're smart, Saint Origin."
Jack tried to place his hand on Origin's head as if she were adorable. Origin swatted his hand away.
"Please call me Origin. And we aren't exactly on a first-name basis, are we?"
"The ones who didn't show up here are incompetent anyway. They wouldn't even be a meaningful variable."
Mokjul cut her off indifferently. Then, he tilted his head.
"By the way, if it's Origin... could it be, an Original?"
Earl Grey's shoulders stiffened.
"Original?"
Jack asked back.
"There are two types of Saints."
I answered.
"The Descendants, who are descendants of a Saint chosen by the gods. And the Originals, who received the call from the gods directly. Originals can pilot an Advent alone without an Apostle."
"All Descendants have an Original as an ancestor. Our Twining family is the same."
Earl Grey added cautiously.
"This is just a bad joke."
Origin set her teacup down.
Clatter, the sound rang out.
"It's a name given to fakes, to bastards."
Mokjul laughed bitterly.
"I see. That's in poor taste."
"...Come to think of it, do you not have a Saint?"
Jack changed the subject. It was clear he was reading the room regarding Origin.
"Yeah. Though I don't really want to talk about the circumstances."
Considering his Asian-like appearance and those words, Jack nodded as if he had reached his own conclusion and was satisfied.
"I see, Kyungdanryeon's bad taste, is it? I've heard of what those bastards do."
"Something like that."
Mokjul's gaze shifted to me.
"You know quite a lot about Kyungdanryeon, don't you?"
"Certainly, both of you are Oriental... no, that was my mistake. Both of you have Asian characteristics."
Jack raised his hand in apology. There was no malice in it, so I didn't bother dwelling on the word.
I know the settings, so should I just leave it at that?
"I don't know the full internal affairs either. I just lived in a region near Kyungdanryeon, so I know a bit."
"Near Kyungdanryeon. Is that near Malaysia or the Philippines?"
Mokjul nodded.
"It must have been devastated by this invasion."
Jack placed a hand on my shoulder with a sad expression.
"I'm truly sorry, friend."
"Evan..."
Earl Grey looked at me.
"It's not like I have good memories of that neighborhood anyway."
I didn't actually live there, though.
"By the way... the fact that you said you were Korean."
Earl Grey opened her mouth cautiously.
Mokjul and Origin looked at me at the same time.
"A descendant of Koreans living in the Southern Cross. This is a big deal, isn't it?"
Jack whistled.
"A Korean, one of the original founding classes that built the Southern Cross... to think you were a descendant of those refugees."
Origin's eyes widened.
"If you had revealed that sooner, you would have been treated much better."
"Even though they've been replaced by white people now, they were the founding people."
Jack chimed in.
Founding people, huh. Should I play along a bit more?
"If I say it, I'll only be suspected."
"Evan."
"And right now, I am, first and foremost, Earl Grey-nim's Apostle. Please keep this a secret. I don't want to be judged by my ethnic background."
Earl Grey's eyes reddened. I could see her biting her lip to hold it in. I hope I looked cool to her...
Anyway, that wasn't my true intention.
I had other motives.
If I pull the "Korean" card in this situation where I have nothing, I'll get dragged into politics and die. It's better to pull it out after I've achieved a few more feats and use it to elevate Earl Grey.
Mokjul nodded and said.
"Indeed, that's admirable. Maybe it's because you're from the neighborhood, but I feel a connection."
"The neighborhood?"
I knew Mokjul was mixed-race, but the details of his birth weren't in the game.
"My mother was from Japan."
"Ah..."
"I see. It's not often that Asians meet outside of Kyungdanryeon."
Jack grinned.
"How about the three of us get along well?"
"You're going to join in too?"
You're a different race to begin with.
Go back to America, you Yankee bastard.
"Just tagging along."
Jack interjected between us with a good-natured smile.
"You can ignore this person, he just likes to act out."
Origin spat out coldly. Jack retorted with a face that wasn't hurt in the slightest.
"I come from a lively Irish family. Haha."
"As long as we don't get in each other's way, there's no reason to refuse."
Mokjul emptied his cup.
"Alright. Since we're all gathered, let's plan the operation. Golgotha is divided into East and West. Jack and I will take the West."
Jack spread a map out on the table.
"First, we in the West will throw the reserve Advents into the front lines to be consumed."
Mokjul said it bluntly.
Earl Grey and Origin stiffened at the same time. He spat out the suggestion to use five people as bait without even shaking the angle of his teacup. As expected, that is his true nature.
"Well, they didn't attend the important strategy meeting, so they have to pay a penalty."
Jack shrugged.
"Even if they are rookies, if five Advents gather, the main force's fire net will head that way."
I picked up where he left off. It might sound cold, but tactically, that was correct.
My top priority was Earl Grey's survival and success.
Wishing for anything more than that is greed.
Mokjul looked at me and said.
"Apostle Raven, you will defeat the Golgotha stationed in the East, separate from us. Jack, you will destroy the Golgotha in the West with sniping."
There was conviction in those eyes that were glancing at me. The conviction that there would be no problem with me destroying Golgotha.
'As expected, he sees right through me.'
He's a guy I need to be careful of.
"The problem is what happens after that."
Jack scratched the back of his head.
"Origin and I don't have a Covenant. After firing one shot, we can't even run away and will just die."
Mokjul replied with a laugh.
"I'm here so that won't happen. I'll tie up the Advents in the West."
He's going to tie up seven of them alone. I didn't laugh at that ridiculous statement. Because if it's him, he really could do it.
However, if I leave it all to him, the credit Earl Grey can take will decrease.
"Once the Golgotha destruction is over, I'll move into a pincer attack formation too. However, there is one problem."
"What is it?"
Mokjul asked back.
"It's a problem related to the first encounter with Golgotha. Kyungdanryeon's Golgotha has a wide-area detection sensor. I don't know about Jack who is sniping, but I have to engage in mid-to-close range combat, and that thing won't allow me to approach."
"It will notice the moment you try to approach and finish its defensive preparations."
A Golgotha that has finished its defensive preparations is a pain to deal with.
"So?"
"I need a means to approach from outside its detection range."
"Ah. You mean the DPM."
Mokjul nodded. As expected, he gets it immediately.
DPM.
It is a high-speed infiltration device that burns a massive amount of Afterglow Particles to instantly project an Advent behind enemy lines or inside their air defense network.
However, because it uses up all the Afterglow Particles for acceleration, the defensive power of the Sanctuary Field is greatly weakened during the projection.
"You're going to aim while riding that rocket accelerating at Mach 20?"
Origin stood up from her seat.
"Evasion is impossible at that speed! If you get hit directly by the Kyungdanryeon Golgotha's main cannon!"
In Hard Mode, you died in about three hits, right?
However.
"That won't happen."
I answered. Jack, sitting next to me, also nodded.
"That's right. I've used it a few times too, and if you push your reflexes to the limit, you can dodge it."
"Did you say Origin?"
Mokjul said, lifting his cup.
"You still don't know what kind of species a real Apostle is, do you?"
Origin was offended. It seemed she thought he was looking down on her.
"Aren't you the ones who pilot the machine on behalf of the Saint by resonating with them, to solve the defect of Descendants who cannot pilot an Advent alone?"
"That's true, but. We are also people chosen by God, just like the Saints. It's troublesome if you treat the nerves reinforced to the limit by a Covenant as being on the same level as an ordinary human."
"But. But..."
"If you're a skilled person in the top 20 or 30 rank, it's possible."
Jack chimed in.
"Well, in my view, Evan... no, the Apostle Raven standing before my eyes looks even more amazing than that."
"I see. You can see it too."
Mokjul showed interest in Jack.
I don't know if it's because he's someone he wants to get close to, or if it's as prey.
"As expected. If you run as support for Lafitte, you can see it to some extent. Whether it's chaff like me... or a real hero."
Jack laughed bitterly. What on earth is Lafitte to that guy?
"Okay."
Earl Grey set her teacup down.
"As Evan said, we will execute the decapitation operation on the Eastern Golgotha using the DPM."
"7th Saint Commander, are you crazy?"
Origin shouted.
"You are the head of a Saint Faction! If you die doing something like that!"
"Once I became a Saint, I was prepared to die."
Earl Grey's voice was calm.
"But at least I don't intend to die here. Even if I have to use up all my Divine Power, I will survive and return with Evan."
"You're crazy... everyone here, all of you..."
"Did you say Origin?"
Mokjul set his cup down.
"You keep saying only negative things. You're the one who keeps stepping up here without even having the skills. In the first place, if you could have just formed a Covenant with Jack, the situation would have been better."
"Hey, Mokjul-ssi. To our Saint..."
Jack narrowed his brows.
"In the end, am I the problem again?"
Origin's voice cracked.
"Yes. If you want to run away, it doesn't matter if you run away."
Mokjul continued calmly.
Origin's eyes wavered.
"Because your sacrifice right now won't change anything."
"Mokjul-ssi!"
Earl Grey shouted.
"Stop."
I set my cup down.
"If you say any more than that, I feel like a fist is going to fly from Jack."
"...Yeah. Mokjul. Sorry, but stop there."
Jack added in a low voice.
"Fine."
Mokjul backed off obediently. With a calm face.
"Ugh... if you don't need someone like me, then just go away!"
Origin ran out crying.
"Origin!"
Jack jumped up.
"Jack. What are you going to do."
I held him back.
"Even without Saint Origin, there is no setback in the operation."
"Evan!"
Earl Grey was shocked.
"As expected, your judgment is fast."
Mokjul muttered as if it were interesting.
The next moment, Jack grabbed me by the collar.
"What did you say?"
"What to do with that child right now is not something we decide. It's something Origin herself, and you, decide."
"It's obvious I want to keep her from fighting!"
"Then she will live in self-loathing forever, won't she? It was your arrogance that judged she didn't have the qualifications to fight because she was young."
"...You're right."
Earl Grey added quietly.
"In the end, a Saint must fulfill her duty. Leaving her broken like that... isn't good for her either."
"Well, it's none of our business, though."
Mokjul poured the rest of his black tea.
"Decide, Jack."
I said, looking down at his hand gripping my collar.
"Whether to stand by the Saint's side, or leave. That is the duty of us Apostles."
"I..."
"To that child, you are the opportunity."
Earl Grey said.
"If it's not you, she will have to live as a Saint without an Apostle forever."
The strength left Jack's hand.
"Damn it...!"
He kicked the door open and ran out.
"Is he running away?"
Mokjul asked, looking toward the door.
"No."
I shook my head.
"Jack is not that kind of man."
I'd only known him for a few days, but I could tell.
That man is, inevitably, a kind man who cannot leave others alone.
Beyond the hallway, the shout of that kind man rang out.
"Ori! Stop right there!!!"