Operation (3)
Lieutenant Polman struggled to process what Priest Areon had just said. The idea that the God of Tranquility, Busker, was actually an evil god who had been sealed away didn’t make immediate sense to him. But with two paladins charging straight at him, there was no time to think.
“Everyone, focus on me!”
Second Lieutenant Greg’s provocation skill must have activated, because the two paladins immediately changed direction and rushed toward the shield warrior instead. Polman tried to fall back, but his body suddenly refused to move.
“What the—?!”
He needed to buy time by supporting Greg with magic, but his body was completely frozen. Glancing around in panic, he saw Priest Areon and another cleric murmuring incantations. It looked like some kind of Hold spell.
Even though Greg was a shield knight with pure stats over 60, he couldn’t possibly handle two paladins alone. Polman had to do something—anything.
Water Ball
A sharp whistle cut through the air as an arrow flew from behind, striking one of the priests who had been chanting. The man collapsed, and Polman’s body was freed. Sergeant Taylor, their archer, had provided covering fire from the rear.
Polman quickly retreated and began casting. “Water Ball!”
A sphere of water exploded outward, slamming into one of the paladins fighting Greg and sending him flying. But then Polman saw a large group of reinforcements rushing across the far side of the bridge. The Tablon Church had come prepared.
“Damn it. This went south fast. New plan—we kidnap the priest! Hobbs, give us support!”
Summoner Sergeant Hobbs came running from the rear and called forth two small, club-wielding monkey-like creatures.
Water Wall
At Polman’s command, a wall of water surged up from beneath the bridge, forming a thick barrier across its width. The Tablon Church members tried to break through, but the dense liquid wall refused to yield.
“Priest Areon. I didn’t want it to come to this, but you’re coming with us. We will guarantee your safety.”
“On the contrary, I will guarantee your life,” Areon replied. Even though the situation had clearly turned against him, the priest showed no sign of panic or anxiety.
Polman was about to snap at him for being delusional when he suddenly felt all strength drain from his body. The water barrier holding back their enemies melted away like a waterfall and vanished completely.
“M-my mana… it’s gone.”
Not only Polman—Hobbs’s two summoned monkeys dissolved into nothing before they could even fight properly.
“My skills won’t activate!” Greg shouted, clearly struggling now that his power had vanished.
“You chose this bridge because you’re a water mage and it gave you an advantage,” Areon said calmly. “But an open bridge with no other obstacles also makes it the perfect place to set up a magic circle. Surrender quietly.”
Six more paladins and four additional priests had arrived. The numerical disadvantage was overwhelming. Without their skills, even Greg—the shield knight—could barely hold his own against a single paladin.
“Damn it, retreat!” Polman ordered.
Hobbs immediately threw himself off the bridge. Polman followed, diving into the water below. But Greg, still locked in combat, couldn’t clear the railing in time. A paladin tackled him, and he was captured.
“Block his mouth so he can’t kill himself!”
“We need information on the Busker god. This prisoner is valuable!”
They stuffed cloth into Greg’s mouth and bound his hands and feet. But Greg simply focused his eyes and summoned his status window.
Warning! Forcibly terminating the connection may permanently sever the link between your body and soul. We strongly recommend logging out while in a light sleep state.
The warning appeared, but Greg had no desire to be captured and tortured. He believed that, like a normal logout, he would simply wake up back on Earth when he reconnected.
Do you really wish to force a connection termination? We will not be held responsible for any resulting issues. Proceed with termination?
Yes / No
Greg selected Yes with his eyes.
“Huh? He was struggling when we tied his limbs, but suddenly all the strength left him.”
The paladin examined Greg’s face after the man stopped resisting. “He’s still breathing. Looks like he passed out. Easier to carry. How’s the other side?”
“The two who jumped into the water are nowhere to be found. Since they used water magic, they probably planned their escape route in advance.”
“The archer’s trail has gone cold too. These guys are clearly trained.”
“Hmph! They claimed every individual was isolated and knew nothing, yet this clearly proves their words were lies. As expected, followers of an evil god cannot be trusted.”
“Indeed. Let’s withdraw.”
Ding! You have been connected for 4 hours and 51 minutes. All biological signals and vitals are normal.
The moment Lieutenant Polman stepped out of his capsule, he turned to look at Greg’s pod. He and Hobbs had managed to swim to safety, fall asleep in the water, and log out properly. But Greg hadn’t jumped, so Polman was worried.
A crowd had already gathered around Greg’s capsule, and the atmosphere was grim. Still, when he saw Greg sitting up inside the pod, Polman breathed a sigh of relief.
“What happened? Did you escape?”
“Well… it looks like the lieutenant forced a logout. People from Changing are already on their way.”
“Why is Changing sending people? Shouldn’t logging out be enough? Greg, what happened after we fell into the water?”
Polman asked what had happened next, but Greg simply stared at him with vacant, uncomprehending eyes.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Lieutenant, it appears Second Lieutenant Greg has suffered cognitive impairment,” Major Schultz, the military doctor who had been standing by, answered in his place.
“Whether due to the forced disconnection or not, he cannot speak. His cognitive and intellectual functions seem to have vanished entirely. He’s sitting, but he doesn’t even seem to understand that he is sitting.”
“What are you saying?”
“To put it simply, Second Lieutenant Greg is in a state of intellectual disability. His mental capacity is roughly equivalent to that of a newborn.”
“What…?”
As Polman stood there in shock, the Changing Group team arrived. Yasuke Yamashiki listened to the situation, examined both the capsule and Greg, and reached the same conclusion as Dr. Schultz.
“Hmm. When we travel to the cliché world, our minds are connected to the capsules and transported. In simple terms, only our souls go there.”
“So… by forcing the connection to terminate, his soul couldn’t return?”
“That appears to be the case.”
Yasuke Yamashiki looked genuinely sorrowful.
“If the connection is forcibly severed while not in a light sleep state, the body on Earth and the body in that world reject each other, preventing the soul from returning. That is our current assessment.”
“Then… Greg will have to live like this forever?”
“Realistically speaking, yes. If technology advances further in the future, it may become possible to reinsert the soul into the Earth body. But for now, this is the situation.”
Even as he spoke of future technological possibilities, Yasuke felt a pang of guilt. Giving people false hope like this only made them cling to it while they waited in despair. It was a political answer meant to prevent the bereaved or the soldiers from directing their anger at Changing. No one was actually researching such a technology.
Lieutenant General Michael arrived in a hurry after receiving the report from Washington. After hearing the full briefing, he called Lieutenant Polman aside.
“Second Lieutenant Greg will be admitted to a military hospital for long-term care. What about the operation? Should we consider the meeting with the Tablon Church a failure?”
“Yes, sir. Frankly, it’s fortunate they didn’t kill us the moment we met. Also, we need to confirm something with Elon Busker. The so-called God of Tranquility, Busker, is not a proper deity.”
“Not a proper deity?”
“Correct. He is an evil god who was defeated in the war between the old gods and subsequently sealed away.”
“A sealed evil god?”
“Yes. That’s why the Tablon priests tried to capture us without hesitation.”
“Bring Yasuke from Changing here. I want to hear his take on this.”
“What? The Busker god is an evil god? I had no idea.”
Even Yasuke Yamashiki had been unaware of Busker’s true nature.
“The very first tester, Aaron, met the Busker god at his initial transfer point. Busker told him that the place he was in was the divine realm and that he could send them to a new world they desired.”
“He offered to do so without any conditions?”
“Yes. According to the remaining records, the Busker god asked for nothing in return. He simply said he could send twelve people to a new world and grant them various abilities so they could survive there.”
“Giving away power for free… and no one questioned his intentions?”
At Major General Michael’s words, Yasuke responded as if the question itself was strange.
“He is a god, sir. Isn’t it only natural to assume that a god would love humanity and give to them selflessly? Don’t all Earth religions say that God loves us?”
Neither Polman nor Michael could argue with that. No one would suspect a god who gave without asking for anything. Especially not one who called himself the God of Tranquility and claimed to be helping humanity find a new world. No one would have suspected him of being evil.
“That may be true, but there is no such thing as a free lunch. This Busker god must have had some purpose in bringing us there. Where is Elon Busker? I need to speak with him immediately.”
“He is already on his way here.”
“You’re saying that because the Busker god is an evil deity, the Tablon priests attacked you before you could even have a proper conversation?”
Elon Busker sat down after hearing Yasuke’s report and immediately began asking questions.
“That’s correct. They called him an evil god on the spot. Is that why you warned us during the first connection to stay as far away from the churches as possible? Doesn’t that mean you already knew Busker was an evil god?”
“Even if I knew, would it change anything now?”
Elon Busker showed no remorse even though he understood that withholding information had caused the soldiers to suffer. Instead, he shot back at Major General Michael.
“Didn’t we provide clear guidance during the first connection? We repeatedly told you to avoid contact with the churches at all costs. Now that the Department of Defense ignored that advice and problems arose, you’re complaining to me? If you had followed the instructions, this damage would never have occurred.”
“That may be so, but…”
Major General Michael had no rebuttal. It was true that Changing’s staff had emphasized multiple times during the initial connection that they must not approach the Tablon Church. Since they had ignored that warning and tried to make contact anyway, the responsibility lay with the Department of Defense, not Changing.
Still, the revelation that Busker was an evil god had been completely outside their expectations.
“Then is the Busker god summoning people from Earth in order to break the seal that was placed on him after the war?”
“He said he would break his own seal. And once it is broken, he claimed he would be able to open a gate for us instead of sending us one by one like this.”
“A gate? You mean a door that would allow anyone to travel between the two worlds?”
“Correct. The Busker god is very interested in Earth. He wants the two worlds to be able to travel back and forth freely.”
After listening to the explanation, Major General Michael realized that whether Busker was an evil god or a benevolent one no longer mattered. What the U.S. military and Earth needed was a new world that could replace their dying planet—one plagued by resource depletion and climate crisis. They had once looked to Mars, but now a far better alternative had appeared. At this point, it didn’t matter if Busker was evil or good.
“Tell the Busker god that we will actively cooperate in breaking his seal. Also convey that I wish to meet him in person. Once that is arranged, I will make an official report to the VIP.”