The Player in the Ruins
Player!?
Atop a half-collapsed high-rise, with his back to the massive gray clouds that looked ready to crash down to the ground at any moment, he stood one step away from the edge. As always, he whispered to the damned world with a sincere wish in his heart.
“I want to die.”
He longed to escape this mortal coil and find eternal rest in darkness and nothingness. He wanted to put an end to this meaningless, false life filled only with pain and despair. He no longer wished to exist in this accursed game world.
Operator, please delete my account. I’m begging you.
No answer came. In this ruined world, there was no kind god or enthusiastic operator who would grant the wish of a lowly creature wearing a crow mask.
Kkyu kkyu!
More importantly, the original owner of this body did not want to die.
This infuriatingly adorable little shit. I’ll curse you even after I die.
Of course, to do that, he would have to die first.
Damn it. Why can’t I do what everyone else manages? Why? Why not me?
Kkyu!
Kkyu my ass. Go eat some birdseed, you damn magpie.
Kkyu!!!
“You’d really say something that harsh…?”
That was why the tenant of this ruined world, “him,” continued to rot away alone in a high place ordinary mutants could not reach, accompanied by a view too beautiful to waste on someone like himself. Or at least, that had been the plan—until a furious wail tore through the headset built into his Plague Doctor mask.
—Kkieeeeeeek!
The anomaly struck suddenly, just like the day he had been possessed into this world with no connection to it whatsoever. He tilted his head like a real crow at the familiar cry.
“…A Pregnant? Why is that thing suddenly ‘calling’? Did it run into a lunatic?”
The mutant known as the Pregnant used its own fetus as a biological drone, dangling it from the umbilical cord. Aside from the fact that it occasionally shoved the grotesque, vomit-inducing fetus right into your face, it was a relatively harmless creature that crawled around like a maggot and only ate corpses on the ground. However, if you damaged the fetus or the cord while trying to escape its search, the “children” nearby would respond to the mother’s call and swarm in—an extremely unpleasant outcome.
That was why, in this world, the common sense approach was to quickly eliminate the main body first if you had to hunt a Pregnant.
Even a half-mad lunatic would know that much.
But then—
What the hell set it off?
Did the mutants fight among themselves? With curiosity and doubt, he turned his black beak toward the sharp screams.
Through the black lenses, his exhausted, sunken pupils reflected the black asphalt road—and on it, a figure being chased by crimson meatballs…
“…A black mage?”
A black robe with wide sleeves reaching the wrists, black hair brushing the shoulders with every step, and a small frame that made it impossible to tell if it was just a kid or a short woman.
What is that? A new type of lunatic? Or a neutral NPC that survived? No, it looks way too young for that.
Even he, who prided himself on knowing almost everything about Terraforming, had never seen this unknown existence before.
Thump.
A violet ripple spread across his ashen heart, which had lain dormant for decades under the weight of boredom and fatigue, as if it had died before its owner.
“Hmm.”
His interest was piqued.
“…I’m curious. Should I just check it out a little?”
After being forced into a dopamine detox, any break from the abnormal that had become his daily life was irresistible. He took another step into the abnormal.
Even in this shitty world, he could not resist new content.
“I’m coming, black mage!”
Whoever you are, just hold on a little longer. The Flying Plague Doctor is on the way!
Deploy.
—Chwarururururuk!
The branches of original sin that had grown toward the sky of the ruined world unfurled their black wings woven from those horrific appendages. In the next instant, the rooftop of the half-collapsed building was empty.
***
“Hah, hah, hah…!”
—Contractor. Don’t breathe so heavily. Exhale in small bursts.
“Hah, hah, hah…!”
—You’re doing well, Contractor.
“Hnn… Raven… sir…”
—Your limits are far beyond this, aren’t they?
“Ugh… Aaaagh!”
Whenever she wanted to give up and collapse from exhaustion, his gentle voice whispered in her ear. That was why she could keep going. That was why she did not fall to her knees in terror.
But—
—Eeeeng.
—Eeeeeeng.
—Iiiiing.
Born a noble, Yuri was not accustomed to running. With a child’s body, there was a limit to how long she could flee from monsters that transcended humanity.
Chop chop chop chop chop!!!
“Hah, hah…!”
Her steps slowed with fatigue, and the spine-chilling sounds drew closer. A voice rose from her fear-soaked mind.
“Don’t come! Don’t come any closer! No, no!”
No…
Thud.
“…huh?”
A small crack in the black road caught her twisted ankle. The ground rushed up to meet her, and behind her came the delighted cries of the mutants. And then—
“Huh!?”
—Chwarururururuk!!!
Two pairs of black branches shot out from the back of her robe. They stabbed into the ground like a spider’s legs, roughly catching Yuri’s falling body.
These familiar black tentacles…!
“Kkachi!”
“Kkyu kkyu!”
At Yuri’s delighted call, a small cry rang out proudly, as if declaring that she could leave everything to him now. Joy spread across Yuri’s sweat-drenched face, and hope lit her eyes.
If Raven’s familiar is here!
Those disgusting monsters were no longer a threat.
Chwaaaak!!!
—Ing?
—Ueng?
—Eeng!
As if proving Yuri’s thoughts correct, the mutants that had been crawling on all fours were sliced in half with short screams every time Kkachi’s black tentacles swung.
Shaaaak!
In less than five seconds, over ten mutants were neutralized, splattering black blood everywhere.
“…What is this?”
Yuri could not close her mouth at the sight of the black tentacles moving at a speed almost invisible to the eye, stirring up strong winds.
The speed is completely different from when he fought Sion or the Examiners. Was Kkachi also holding back his power like Raven?
But then—
…If his familiar is this strong, just how powerful is Raven really?
A chill ran down her spine at the sudden thought. She brushed her goosebump-covered arms and asked Kkachi,
“Kkachi! Please keep attacking until we can retreat to a safe place!”
Though curiosity simmered faintly, such thoughts were a luxury in the current situation. Survival came first.
“Kkyu kkyu!”
With a small smile at Kkachi’s reassuring cry, Yuri turned and kicked off the ground. But after only a few steps, she had to stop again.
“…Kkachi?”
“Kkyu?”
At Yuri’s tense question, Kkachi popped out from her shoulder and tilted his head. Yuri glanced at him, then pointed a trembling finger at one spot and asked carefully,
“C-Can you handle something like that too?”
“Kkyu kkyu?”
After wrapping the last mutant chasing Yuri with his tentacles and tearing it in half, Kkachi followed her fingertip with his gaze.
“Kkyu…?”
That is…?
At the tip of Yuri’s fingernail, in the center of a wide open space, stood a massive beast the size of a high-rise building, staring down at them with bloodshot red eyes on all fours.
The head of a giant bull with its hide peeled off. A grotesquely wide, massive jaw like a hippopotamus’s, hanging open. Ribs like iron bars revealing sparse organs inside. Two legs with bulging tendons ready to burst, and a long tail like a snake with exposed bones, hanging limply on the ground without moving.
One of the three great raid bosses of Terraforming, the “Beasts of Salvation.”
Behemoth.
…Why is that thing here?
A look of dismay flashed across Kkachi’s eyes, which had been full of confidence. If it were his past self overflowing with bio-energy, it might have been different, but the current Kkachi, who had given most of his power to Raven, could not face that thing.
More importantly—
There’s no way to obtain mana here!
Mana, the new energy granted by the Administrator in place of bio-energy. In the world of Bastion, simply frightening intelligent beings was enough to gather mana, but not here.
Those things aren’t intelligent beings…
Beasts that had abandoned intelligence and gained rest. Therefore, emotions like fear could not be drawn from them.
…I should have extracted more mana from that man. I was too soft.
Recalling the Examiner with whom he had spent enjoyable times in the dark, Kkachi regretted it.
“…K-Kkachi?”
When no answer came from the usually confident Kkachi, Yuri’s voice trembled with anxiety. Kkachi looked at her quietly.
The precious savior who had rescued both him and his father. The future family member who might become his second father or mother.
…I must protect her.
This place was a false world created by the Administrator. A trial ground overlaid with past data. The boundary between reality and unreality, falsehood and truth. Therefore, even if one died here, it would not affect the real body. She probably would not even remember it. He was certain because he had been warned in advance.
But even so—
Even if death in this world was a false death—
I, Kkachi, will protect Mother or Father with all my strength.
To himself.
And because he had sworn to Father.
“….”
Once the decision was made, only action remained. Just like Father had done.
—Chwarararak!!!
“…Kkachi?”
Suddenly, black shadows wrapped around Yuri’s arms and legs. Though startled by the sudden situation, Yuri obediently entrusted her body to Kkachi’s shadows. Her trust in Kkachi, born of Raven, was as solid as her trust in Raven himself.
She was only curious about what he intended to do with her body.
“Hih!?”
With a chilling sensation of something thin and sharp piercing the back of her neck, Yuri’s senses expanded.
“Uh, uh?”
As her body trembled lightly at the strange sensation, Kkachi’s shadow shook violently on her skin like splashing black water.
What is this?
Kkyu!
Huh?
The cry of a small animal echoed not in her ears, but in her mind. In the split vision, her two legs began to bend even though she had not moved. And a pair of black wings began to grow from her back.
“K-Kkachi, wait a second!”
Kkyu!
Kkachi, who had created a gas mask from the black shadow to protect her face, controlled the contractor’s hand and raised the middle finger toward Behemoth, who was emitting a fierce aura as if ready to charge at any moment.
—Flap!
“Uwaaah!”
She shot into the sky and quickly left the area.
—Moooooo…
Only the sorrowful cry of a bull looking up at the empty sky echoed quietly through the deserted streets.
Meanwhile—
“What the—! Kkachi, did you see that too? The black mage grew fallen angel wings and flew into the sky!”
Kkyu kkyu kkyu!!!
“That’s no NPC! That’s—that’s definitely a player!!! Oh, you goddamn god!!! Creating two victims like me!!! If you exist, please just die already!!!”
Kkyuuuuk!!!
“He” and the past Kkachi had been greatly mistaken.