Orpheus of the Abyss
"Disappear."
The crown prince, soaring on the wings of the Elder Guardian, channeled Knight Ren's inner energy into his holy sword and swung it with tremendous force.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaaang!
A massive blade of divine power shot from the holy sword, sweeping through the horde of monsters.
"Well done, Hero."
As the battle ended, Saintess Carthesia approached him with a towel.
"Ah, thanks."
The crown prince took the towel and wiped his sweat.
...Too easy.
With the hero's body and holy sword provided by default, plus the essence absorption and utilization ability gained from the previous episode, and the powers of the characters he'd summoned by defeating monsters, no enemy could stand against him.
It was a stark contrast to Act 0, where he'd had to navigate the story with just an ordinary spear and the body of a regular soldier.
"At this rate, we'll reclaim the surface soon, Hero!"
The crown prince rode a teleportation spell back to the holy site with the saintess, who was chattering excitedly.
Come to think of it, they said an Abyss kin had infiltrated this story. Why hasn't it shown up?
Sixty percent of the surface monsters had already been exterminated.
At this pace, full reclamation of the surface was just around the corner.
The crown prince scratched his head and entered the holy site.
For the story to end so smoothly and boringly?
No way.
With an Abyss kin inside, there had to be some twist. The crown prince was certain of it.
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"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
Upon entering the holy site, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the air.
-Kieeeek! -Kirruk!
"M-monsters!" "Save me!" "Holy knights! Holy knights!" "When is the Hero coming back?!"
Humanity's last bastion, the safest place from monsters, was now crawling with them.
"Impossible! The holy site has a barrier created by the Constellation herself—monsters can't get in!"
The saintess froze at the shocking sight.
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The crown prince calmly assessed the situation.
The passageway in the holy site was filled with about seventy monsters.
Only one was Elder Guardian rank.
Not particularly tough opponents.
To think they'd bypass me and target the holy site directly.
The monsters had emerged from the edge of the holy site, the magitech department.
That's where the Abyss kin must be.
Muttering to himself that it wouldn't end boringly after all, the crown prince smirked, gripped his holy sword, and charged at the monsters.
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Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! After battling alongside the saintess to annihilate the monsters, the crown prince cleaved the last Elder Guardian and flung open the door to the magitech department.
Opening the door revealed the magitech department soaked in crimson blood, greeting them with a foul stench.
"......I see."
Even the battle-hardened saintess covered her mouth and groaned at the gruesome sight of fragmented remains that had once been human.
"......You arrived faster than expected."
At the center of the magitech department stood a man with slicked-back hair wearing a mask, gripping Ian Kaliuga by the collar.
"Nice to meet you, Hero... or rather, the new curator of the Archive. I am Orpheus, Orpheus of the Abyss."
Orpheus...
The first intelligent foe from the Abyss he'd encountered.
Was this guy one of the Abyss members who would become the main antagonist in the upcoming Akashic Archive saga?
"Why don't you put down the guy you're holding first? He's not even fighting."
The crown prince stepped forward with feigned nonchalance, making the offer.
Now I get why they targeted this place in the raid. With the magitech department wiped out, we can't afford to lose him too.
The magitech department handled repairs and enhancements for weapons and armor. With the department annihilated except for its head, Ian, losing him would severely hamper their sustained combat ability.
"Amusing words."
Orpheus grabbed the head of the unconscious, limp Ian.
"Wai—!"
Kwajik!
Before the hero could finish speaking, Ian's head burst like a watermelon, spraying blood and brains.
"But this sinner can't be spared."
Ian's headless body crumpled limply. At the same time, a crumpled candy wrapper fell from his pocket.
"I-Ian! No!"
"......No room for negotiation, then."
"Hilarious. The prospective Archive curator negotiating with the Abyss."
"If you insist on drinking the poison."
The crown prince infused his holy sword with sword aura.
Losing the entire magitech department was a major blow.
But the enemy had overlooked one crucial fact in inflicting that blow.
Just eliminate this guy here.
The Abyss agent in this story was solely the Orpheus before him.
Take him out, and there'd be no more enemies in this tale.
Considering he used a diversion with monsters instead of a direct confrontation, his raw power probably isn't that great.
"Prospective curator. Let me tell you one thing."
Orpheus chuckled from behind his mask, his body beginning to blur.
"Spatial teleport! Trying to escape?!"
Tung!
The crown prince lunged swiftly and swung, but he only sliced through an afterimage.
"You can't face the Abyss with such sloppy methods. Best remember that."
Or else you'd just get devoured by the Abyss.
Soon, he faded completely and vanished.
"Orpheus!"
The crown prince's shout echoed futilely over the pool of blood.
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Watching those cleaning up the unprecedented disaster of the holy site's Abyss raid, the crown prince fell deep into thought.
With equipment repairs and enhancements now impossible, could he still clear the story?
Considering the level of monsters he'd seen on the surface, it wasn't impossible.
But the problem is that Orpheus bastard.
He'd been right in front of him, yet he hadn't landed a single solid hit before letting him escape.
If such an opponent started guerrilla tactics to disrupt battles, it would be a huge problem in their current state without sustained combat power.
"If it were the old me, I'd dive in thinking even this hardship was fun..."
But he couldn't delay the clear.
The crown prince had a reason to clear this story quickly.
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Would you like to end the game?
Unsaved progress may be lost.
"Doesn't matter. That's the point anyway."
Beep.
The crown prince force-quit via the button, disconnecting from the Akashic Archive.
As virtual reality faded, the familiar ceiling of his bedroom came into view.
Reconnect.
Launching the Akashic Archive again, his vision drowned in darkness.
Starting Story Mode.
"Yeah. Let's go."
Force-quitting to erase unsaved progress, retaining only the information gained—like a pseudo-regressor to play the game more easily.
Not a common technique on the Raipania Continent, where the game wasn't as widespread as on Earth, but sharp players like the crown prince had discovered and exploited it.
In the previous playthrough, the crown prince hadn't used the save feature at all, preparing for any unforeseen situations.
"Hero! You're awake!"
[Hero Born to Repel the Invasion from Another World]
You have been summoned as the hero to repel monsters from another world in the underground holy site.
In this world, humanity has fled underground to escape the invasion of the Abyss.
Reclaim the surface from the holy site, humanity's last bastion.
And stop the Abyss kin infiltrating through cracks in the Abyss erosion.
Thanks to the last autosave being at the story's start, the crown prince returned to the very beginning.
Orpheus of the Abyss, huh.
"This time will be different."
A confident grin spread across his face as he strode forward without hesitation.
The crown prince repeated his actions from the previous run exactly.
To avoid any butterfly effects from changed behavior influencing Orpheus's patterns.
Probably around this point.
At the moment from the prior run when Orpheus had raided the magitech department.
The crown prince gathered all the holy site's forces, blockaded the path at the boundary where Orpheus had infiltrated, and waited.
He waited and waited.
"......Why? Why isn't he coming?"
But after a long wait, Orpheus didn't appear.
In the end, he had to dismiss the troops. He couldn't keep busy people tied up pointlessly.
Scratching the back of his head amid glares questioning if this was really hero material—"You said he'd come for sure, what gives?"—the crown prince headed to check the magitech department first and sought out Ian Kaliuga.
The magitech department he found was...
Drip. Drip.
"Oh, you finally showed up, prospective curator."
...Reduced to ruins by Orpheus.
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I chuckled while checking player reactions on the community site, Apheraio.
The Seven Calamities of Ruin made their debut here.
They serve as the top executives of the Abyss, functioning as main villains in the Archive Saga. As independent entities unbound by the story, they ignore the save & load regression power exclusive to players and share memories...
That's the setup.
Inspired by a brutal visual novel from my past life.
A device to maximize Orpheus's impact. Strictly speaking, it doesn't fully track the player's regressions.
The moment the player reaches the holy site, Orpheus's character is injected with the player's memories from the previous run.
This lets Orpheus know what the player did before and adapt as if regressing alongside them.
Possible because the world was created via the Constellation's dream powers.
A fourth-wall-breaking villain character.
Limited to within the Akashic Archive's [stories], of course, not breaking the game itself—but a huge shock for players.
With Act 1 focusing the narrative on the villain, it was necessary to avoid the story feeling cluttered.
At first glance, players might wonder if clearing is even possible.
But in terms of final difficulty, it's simpler than the tutorial.
To the point where sheer player willpower guarantees a clear.
Because what character Orpheus wants... is his own death.