Father-in-Law and Rival (1)
“Why are you hiding? Come on out already.”
A human stepped out from the darkness.
That guy…!
He was the man from that shocking status window I'd accidentally opened before coming to this desert.
I hadn't implemented a way to acquire titles inside Luddera yet, so only those who'd accomplished truly legendary feats in reality—enough for others to recognize them as such—had titles on their status windows.
The Dragon Lord was one.
The Demon King was another.
Founding Emperor.
And his name—Ahenobarbus.
The spitting image of the Empire's first emperor. The Conqueror Emperor who'd supposedly died ages ago. Was he actually alive?
No, even if he was alive, why the hell was he playing the game?
Wait a sec.
That guy was on floor 1 of the Labyrinth Tower just a bit ago.
His presence here now meant he'd followed us. Why?
…Did he figure out who I am?
I recalled the various powers I'd used in the desert.
Uh…
No way.
Neither the Dragon Lord nor the Demon King knew I was Luddera's master, the GM.
Even though I'd assigned her as community manager and given her tasks, we'd never met face-to-face, so she couldn't possibly recognize me.
But seeing an avatar in my true body's likeness wielding GM powers? And by a transcendent being like him, no less.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
What the hell was the first emperor doing here?
I waited tensely for him to speak.
“……”
But he just stood there, mouth agape, staring blankly at Solaris.
“What the hell. Why are you gawking like she's some long-lost lover? Creepy as fuck for a grown-ass man.”
She scowled in disgust.
“Another sucker caught in this desert pit like us?”
“Empire human, huh? Smells rank.”
Valt and Perigit didn't seem too bothered by him.
He was fully suppressing his power, so from their perspective, First Emperor Ahenobarbus—or Baldy, let's call him Baldy for short—looked like just another swordsman on Valt's level.
“Anyway, it's great to finally meet some intruders like this. Thrilled to have you here.”
Solaris launched into the main storyline, following the setup I'd prepared.
This marked the start of the core plot piercing through floor 3 of the Labyrinth Tower.
“This place is a demon den called Pandemonium.”
“Pandemonium?”
“Yeah. Ever heard of it? Well, technically, this is just one offshoot branch from the massive Pandemonium.”
Floor 3 of the Labyrinth Tower was one of the demon dens spawned from the Demon God's temple, Pandemonium.
A shrine meant to resurrect an evil god.
Of course, regular demons were way too high-level for players, so aside from one boss demon, I'd filled it with standard monsters.
Even so, their sheer numbers had players struggling just to push through to this point.
At the heart of this Demon God shrine lurked a weakened archdemon, performing a ritual to revive an ancient evil god.
The main quest revolved around slaying that archdemon and halting the ritual before it completed.
“…That's the gist of it. So we gotta take out that demon quick and stop the evil god's resurrection.”
“Hold up.”
“…Huh?”
As Solaris finished explaining the setup I'd prepped, Baldy—who'd been standing there dazed—finally spoke.
“We haven't heard your introduction yet. Who are you? How do you know all this? And why are you here?”
“Whoops. Got so excited I forgot. As I mentioned, I'm Solaris. The proxy sent by this world's god to stop the evil god's revival.”
…Huh?
I didn't write that line.
I couldn't script every single NPC line, so aside from key dialogue, I left the rest autonomous. They'd build memories and act based on their given settings.
That response was probably Solaris's own judgment call.
Technically accurate, though. She was proxying my story explanations.
“I couldn't stop the evil god alone, so I waited for someone to reach me. After so long, you're finally here—my comrades to halt the ritual!”
“So before that…”
Baldy started another question after her reply, but
Snap.
Solaris raised a hand to silence him.
“Later. Questions about personal stuff can wait. The evil god's revival is imminent right now. We'll stop the ritual first, then I'll answer. Follow me.”
She turned and strode ahead.
“…Damn it.”
Baldy followed grudgingly.
“Evil god revival… What the hell kinda place did we stumble into?”
Valt muttered blankly, shocked by the tale.
“Haha, no kidding.”
I hadn't expected to drag a friend into this either.
“GM-nim's proxy… Meeting a divine messenger…!”
Perigit, on the other hand, brimmed with enthusiasm.
“A chance to smite an evil god alongside a divine proxy! Let's go!”
“Whoa! Hey!”
She grabbed us both and hauled us after Solaris.
“Haaah!”
Slash.
Boom.
The sword aura bursting from Solaris's swing cleaved through the monsters blocking our path.
“Whoa, she's badass. Gotta be a divine pick, huh.”
“Ahh, glory to the great GM.”
Valt and Perigit gawked in awe.
“……”
Baldy just watched silently.
“Uh… hey.”
Valt tried addressing him, but
“……”
No response.
“Hey?”
Valt sidled closer, waving a hand in front of his face.
“We're in this evil god hunt together now, so let's introduce ourselves. Name's Valt.”
Grab.
“…Huh?”
Baldy clamped down on Valt's arm.
“Guh!”
“Piss off. I got no attention to waste on scum like you right now.”
“Uh…”
He released Valt's arm and headed toward Solaris, who was sheathing her sword after felling more monsters.
Rubbing his gripped hand, Valt returned to us with an awkward grimace.
“Guess he ain't the chatty type. Shy guy, maybe?”
Could be, but…
He was talking to Solaris.
And that dazed stare earlier…
Why?
No way he'd fallen for an NPC at first sight.
Sure, Solaris was made from one of the assets Kartesia handed over that I'd polished up myself.
We'll see as we go.
I trailed Solaris with the group.
A woman in his master's form.
She'd introduced herself as the GM's proxy, but her voice, inflection, appearance, personality—everything screamed his master.
After that day, he'd thought she'd vanished into the wheel of reincarnation.
That's why he'd wandered countless dimensions searching for her…
Only to reunite like this.
“Solaris, was it? Where are you from?”
“…I said we'd talk trivialities after stopping the ritual.”
Solaris replied as she sheathed her sword post-monster cleanup.
“We need to know each other at least a bit to sync up in battle, no?”
“…Sigh. Fine.”
Seeing Ahenobarbus wouldn't budge this time, Solaris sighed in resignation.
“I'll tell you. Truth is, I have no memories right now.”
“…No memories?”
All those memories with me… forgotten?
He'd suspected as much since she didn't recognize him, but hearing it straight hit like a thunderbolt.
“Yeah. The GM saved me when I was drifting memoryless in some sea of dimensions. Made me his emissary.”
“GM…”
So the GM had fished her out while she drifted between dimensions after bouncing from the reincarnation wheel.
From some point, he'd been convinced she was his master's reincarnation.
Damn it all.
What now?
He'd longed to reunite with her, yet now that he had, confusion left him adrift.
Boom.
Solaris's strike rent the massive doors barring the shrine entrance.
Via normal routes, you'd face thousands of fiends to reach the boss room—but our hidden path got us here fast and easy.
“Phew. We're here.”
She glanced back.
“I've cleared all the fiends blocking the way. Only the ritual-performing demon remains. It's a high demon, but weakened by old wounds and lost power, so we can take it. Everyone ready?”
“Hell yeah! Evil god or whatever, bring it!”
“For GM-nim, I'd do anything!”
Valt and Perigit buzzed with zeal.
“…Nothing can bar my path.”
As Solaris turned to him, Baldy answered reluctantly.
“Heh. Good. Let's go.”
We followed her into the shrine.
—Foolish mortals!
Boom.
—Who dares enter this place!
A massive double-headed eagle slammed down, crashing the ground. The archdemon Quetzalcoatl, final boss of the 66th Pandemonium on floor 3.
“Haaah!”
Solaris's battle cry wrapped us all in her aura.
“GM's blessing be with you! Stop the evil god's revival!”
—How dare you!
“Alright! Let's do this!”
“Great GM, be eternal!”
Just as Valt and Perigit geared up to charge—
—The evil god's wrath shall smite—Aghk!
Boom.
Crunch. Something plummeted from above, pulping the archdemon.
“…Huh?”
“Wh-what?!”
Thud.
The mangled Quetzalcoatl collapsed.
“Now I get it.”
Clink.
The first emperor emerged from behind the demon guts, adjusting his gauntlets.
Boom.
He stomped again, unleashing a massive aura centered on him.
The storm-like blast engulfed our party—everyone but Solaris.
“Gaaah!”
“Kyaa!”
Valt and Perigit dissolved into white light, logged out from his attack-induced deaths.
My avatar's lingering 'instant death prevention' trait nullified it—max HP-exceeding damage ignored, a safeguard against game mishaps.
“GM. You lured me here from the start, didn't you?”
The first emperor glared at me, face twisted.
…Pardon? Me?
“Urk!”
Stunned, he scooped up the dazed Solaris princess-style.
“Using my master as your puppet…!”
Uh… hold on.
That's a misunderstanding…
“Here, I'll wrest my master back from you, GM!”
Boom.
Fury fueling a massive leap—
Whoa!
I triggered emergency protocols in panic.
Thud.
“Gahk!”
The sudden shield repelled him.