Selphira - 3
The more we ran, the more the black creatures swarmed in.
I poured every ounce of strength I had left into fleeing from the horde charging like waves.
"Selphira, what the hell are those things…?!"
Was it because the situation was so desperate? Selphira didn't answer my question—whether she hadn't heard it or not—and just kept sprinting ahead.
I don't remember creating mobs like that when I set up the game...
Project Atlantis was fundamentally a visual novel dating sim. Since the relationships with the heroines were the core, I'd only added monsters when absolutely necessary, and even then, only in ways that fit the atmosphere.
But those things? No way.
Their faces were twisted ferociously like vengeful spirits. Sharp claws that looked like they'd inflict fatal wounds on contact. Red liquid dripping from their eyes.
Every one of them had visuals straight out of a horror genre.
What the hell is going on here? While I kept running, clueless and bewildered,
Pop!!
Black creatures that had been hiding beside Selphira and me burst out.
"Selphira, watch out…!!" They were too close for her to react, so I tried to shield her, but Selphira pushed forward instead and swung her fist at them.
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!!!
In an instant, her fists hammered the monsters in rapid succession.
Maybe it was because I'd set her as an orca, the apex predator of the sea. The creatures hit by her punches collapsed limply on the spot.
"Let's hurry, Creator."
"Uh, yeah…."
Selphira had cleared the path easily.
But we couldn't relax yet. Countless creatures were still chasing us from behind.
We ran nonstop for what felt like forever until Selphira spotted something and gripped my wrist even tighter.
"Creator, this way!!"
It was a Ferris wheel.
"Is it safe to go there? Once we're inside, it's sealed off—we won't be able to escape anywhere…."
"Don't worry. Those things have no reason left; they're just monsters. If we vanish from sight, they won't know where to look for us."
I trusted her words and boarded the Ferris wheel gondola that had just arrived.
The creatures pressed against the windows before it started moving, but as the gondola rose, they tilted their heads in confusion, looking around like they'd lost us.
But the bewildered creatures spotted other people and charged right at them, devouring them in a gruesome frenzy.
"Huff, huff… Selphira, what are those things…?"
As I finally caught my breath and asked, Selphira stared silently out at the scenery for a moment before speaking softly.
"……The end of this world."
"The end…?"
As the gondola climbed higher, a horrific panorama unfolded outside the window. It was exactly the kind of scene you'd imagine if the world truly ended.
"In your world, Creator, they'd be called bugs."
"Those are bugs?"
"Yes. They started out as small as rabbits… but they multiplied like a virus and turned into that."
Selphira gazed outside with sad eyes and added one more thing.
"…It started when you abandoned this world."
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut, my heart sinking to the floor.
If I hadn't finished developing the game and bugs had spawned because of it… and if those abandoned bugs had proliferated, ruining the world of the characters I created…
That was obviously my fault.
"Selphira, I…."
I was about to apologize from the heart when—
BOOM—!!
A massive vibration rocked the gondola violently.
It wasn't black creatures clinging to it. It was caused by a colossal monster appearing in the distance.
Or could you even call it just "colossal"?
It looked like a giant born solely to destroy a world, gripping a blood-red sword in eight hands. You didn't need an explanation to know that if it struck, every life on this land would end.
"Selphira, isn't there any way to stop the bugs?"
I asked frantically, and she replied in a voice full of resignation.
"……Unfortunately, no."
"Really? Nothing at all…?"
"Yes. Once that sword hits, this world ends."
Selphira slowly closed and opened her eyes before continuing.
"But don't worry too much. It doesn't mean we die."
Her calm, matter-of-fact tone had no highs or lows.
How many times had Selphira endured this already? The thought made my chest ache even more.
"Creator."
Unable to lift my head from the guilt, Selphira gently took my hand.
"It's okay. I've been alone until now, but now you're here by my side…."
She smiled at me.
But those words of reassurance stabbed me like a sharp blade. After all, all of this was essentially because of me.
"……Selphira."
"Yes? Speak freely."
"I'm… I'm so sorry…."
My throat choked up, barely squeezing out the words, and Selphira quietly pulled me into a hug.
"It's okay. You came back to us, even if it's late."
The sweet warmth transmitted through our touching skin. I savored it quietly for a moment before pulling away and looking out the window.
In the crimson sky, the blood-red sword was falling toward the ground.
Not too fast, not too slow. But unmistakably.
"Creator."
Just before the sword hit, Selphira said something to me.
"You must ■■■■■."
But the moment the sword touched down, a deafening roar split my ears, so I couldn't make out the rest.
KABOOM—!!
Everything on the ground from the sword's impact point began getting swept away by the shockwave.
The black creatures were no exception. Those below the gondola screamed in agony before turning to dust and vanishing.
A shockwave that erased life itself.
The gondola, unable to withstand it, lost its balance and collapsed.
CRASH!!
With a thunderous boom, our gondola was flung away and engulfed by the shockwave.
"Aaaahhh!!"
It hurt.
Not like a mere gust of wind—it felt like every cell in my body was tearing apart in real time. I finally understood the expressions those black creatures had made.
Selphira.
You endured this pain… and still smiled so beautifully at me.
"Sel…phira…."
I crawled toward Selphira, flung far away.
Breathing was hard, my body wouldn't obey… but I wanted you to hurt a little less, even if just a bit.
I finally reached her and clung tightly to her unconscious body.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…."
If only I'd finished the game somehow, you wouldn't have suffered like this. You could've lived loved by so many people, not trapped in a hell like this.
Regret crashed over me like waves.
I wanted to say "sorry" more, somehow…
But now even my voice wouldn't come out properly. My breath was getting blocked.
My body was starting to disintegrate into dust, just like those black creatures.
My vision blurred, and I couldn't breathe at all anymore.
Consciousness kept fading.
I couldn't… hold on…
anymore.
How much time passed after I lost consciousness?
A damp sensation on my skin felt vividly real.
What…?
I was definitely with Selphira earlier, and we surely died… So what was this sensation now?
Puzzled, I cautiously opened my eyes.
"Oh my."
Kartellis was right in front of me.
"Wh-what…!?!"
I jolted up in shock, trying to scramble back, but my body wouldn't move. Kartellis's tentacles were binding me.
"Creator, if you react like that to a delicate girl like me, it really hurts my feelings…."
A girl who could smash through a bathroom door barehanded calling herself delicate? The retort rose to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it.
I felt wronged, but in this situation, I was the one at a disadvantage.
"It's not because of you… I could've sworn I died, but I'm alive…."
Kartellis pressed close beside me and explained quietly.
"You did die, that's true."
"What?"
"But you're alive now, that's also true."
Kartellis clung tightly to my side as she continued.
"After you left, this world has been trapped in an eternal weekly loop. Every week… it resets. Everything vanishes, and we go back to the start of that first week."
A world repeating every week. I remembered setting a huge time dilation between game time and real time…
How many weeks had these girls endured?
"Um… Kartellis."
"Yes~? Something you're curious about?"
"So, how many years exactly have passed since I disappeared?"
Kartellis opened her mouth quietly at my question.
"……100 years."
Her tentacles tightened around me.
"We've been repeating the same week… for 100 years."