Why Should an Inquisitor Fear Heretics?
For all of you viewers… I’ll do my best to clear it. In This Wasteland World is an action game set in a ruined fantasy civilization. For some reason, the majority of humanity has mutated into creatures that can no longer be called human, moving only to kill the surviving remnants. These mutated humans came to be known as Heretics. The surviving humans resisted however they could, but the Heretics possessed overwhelmingly superior physical abilities, and their numbers far outstripped what technology and magic could overcome. In the end, only a tiny fraction remained. Humanity’s future was trapped in pitch-black despair, merely waiting for extinction.
The Heretics’ encirclement tightened. Humanity could only wait for the end to come as quickly as possible. Then, before them, the protagonist appeared. No one knew what the protagonist was. No one knew the name of the organization the protagonist belonged to. It wasn’t even certain whether the protagonist was truly on humanity’s side. The only certainty was that the protagonist had appeared solely to hunt Heretics. An action game chronicling that protagonist’s journey—that was In This Wasteland World… or so the developer’s description claimed.
Players who actually played In This Wasteland World never treated it as an ordinary action game.
Players who bought it thinking it was an action game left scathing reviews. Those who checked the player ratings and bought it expecting a horror game gave it glowing praise. In This Wasteland World was a game that received completely polarized evaluations. Yet even the players who gave negative reviews had to admit one thing: as a horror game, In This Wasteland World was exceptional. It received high praise, often compared to the critically acclaimed horror title Dawn Will Never Come from a few years prior.
This reputation led to one particular outcome: streamers being tricked by viewers into playing what was supposedly an action game—a situation that was unfortunate for the streamers yet endlessly entertaining for the viewers. While such incidents had become rarer now that the game was infamous, In This Wasteland World remained one of the top games mentioned whenever a streamer ended up playing horror titles.
“…Kyaa, kyaaa…. It’s so scary….”
And here appeared yet another victim. Probably.
[Lene]
[Judging the Heretics]
In This Wasteland World | 4,116 viewers | 00:57:56
“Hmm. Dodging to the left would have been correct for that attack just now…. I hesitated for a moment and my reaction was a little slow, but I think I’ll be able to dodge it next time….”
Honestly, I glanced at the chat and saw plenty of comments about my reaction. …Honestly, what was I supposed to do if it wasn’t scary at all? Even when I tried acting scared just in case, it didn’t work. So I had no choice but to play normally. …But you know, it’s an action game to begin with. Isn’t it weirder to be scared? Why am I the strange one here?
“…Yes. Honestly, I don’t understand what’s so scary….”
Of course, I knew why I felt this way. It was because of everything I’d experienced in that other world. The mutations in this game, the patterns where other Heretics burst out from inside bodies—those were so commonplace among the demon Heretics over there that their absence would have been strange. The grotesque elements there were far more disgusting too.
“Everyone…. If you think about it, I’m an Inquisitor to begin with…. Wouldn’t it be wrong for me to be scared of Heretics…?”
My flawless logic left the viewers with nothing to say. They usually tried to nitpick everything I said, yet they accepted this so readily—it felt strange. Anyway, while thinking that, I moved forward and reached the boss I’d failed to defeat earlier.
〔Collapsing Catsey — Casparlug〕
This boss was characterized by its high speed, but fortunately its patterns weren’t particularly difficult. To be honest, my previous death had been because of the Warhammer’s penalty. [Kick, kki-kik! Kke-kek!]
After the strange wailing began and the fight started, I glanced at the chat. The viewers weren’t talking about me—they were analyzing why the game was scary and disgusting. Was it because I wasn’t giving them the reaction they wanted? No. Thinking about it carefully, that didn’t seem to be the issue.
“Hmm….”
Right. When I thought about it, I hadn’t done anything wrong. I’d simply taken a game marketed as an action title and was enjoying it like an action game. In other words, the problem wasn’t me—it was the viewers. Swallowing that thought, I dodged the pattern that had killed me earlier and brought my Warhammer down hard on Casparlug’s head.
Thud!!!
The impact sound and the sensation at my fingertips. Compared to that world… yeah. The Warhammer I used to wield was still better. Even compared to New Dimension, this one felt lacking. The sound and impact favored New Dimension. The weight when just holding it felt better on this side. Of course, both were disappointing compared to my original Warhammer.
And as expected…
“Puhuh….”
This wasn’t my problem. It was the viewers’ problem.
“You’re all such cowards….”
“I’m not scared at all… but you viewers are too afraid to even play this game properly…. Hehe. You’re all cowards….”
The chat exploded instantly at my comment. Most were protests, but strangely, some viewers seemed to enjoy it…. Anyway, seeing the chat in chaos somehow lifted my mood. That’s what you get for always teasing me. Whether I did well or messed up, I was always “the beast.” They’d mocked me every time, so this was their punishment.
“For all you cowardly viewers… I’ll do my best to clear it for you…. Puhuh….”
Teasing the viewers like that, I pressed forward, and of course the Heretics couldn’t stop me. That said… how should I put it? The more I played this game, the more something felt off. …It must just be my imagination.