Otherworld TRPG Game Master

238 – Goddess Rampage -2

Great Chaos.

The priests of the order, especially the high-ranking priests belonging to the cardinal faction, were engulfed in confusion, creating a scene of pandemonium. They scurried around like mice with their tails on fire.

“What, what is happening?!”

“Suddenly the night has turned into day⋯⋯ could this be the goddess blessing us? The heavens have become so bright!”

“But still, I heard that the candidate hero Benjamin was taken away by divine punishment⋯⋯.”

The reason was that a monumental event had occurred, switching day and night.

They did not know whether this phenomenon was a threat or a benefit to them, and could only screech in panic.

Then, they sought answers from their master.

“Where is the cardinal?!”

“Right, they’ll tell us what we need to do!”

Following the cardinal’s words brings fortune. A priest favored by them would actually see an increase in divine power and might even taste a stream of immense wealth flowing into the Goddess Church.

There was no need to do much. If they could just keep silent at times, everything would turn out well. Whether the young pope never stepped outside or the high priestess was forced into scant clothing and servitude.

They only had to stop thinking and accept.

Since the goddess said nothing, they even justified themselves, claiming this was not corruption but the will of the divine.

This time would be the same. The cardinals were favored by the goddess, so this too would pass without incident. They held such expectations, but⋯⋯.

“The sanctuary, the pope should be with us in the sanctuary⋯⋯ but the door won’t open! They just keep saying to wait, that it’s nothing serious⋯⋯.”

“What?”

This time was different.

——–

The world lights up in red. Warning alarms blare repeatedly.

The young pope huddled in his chair, trembling in fear. Please, forgive me. Just once, forgive me, goddess. He prayed, curling his body as small as possible.

In response, a voice of the divine that resembled noise swept by.

[Warning: Administrator Purification Stage 1 – City Erasure.]

[Warning: Please justify yourself.]

Confess. You know that your situation is statistically unfortunate. Therefore, I will weigh your words on the scales of judgment, so transform the layers of your heart into language and send them forth.

The Pope could not understand the language of the goddess, but he instinctively realized that she was looking down upon him. He hurriedly clasped his hands together and tried to pray.

“O goddess, you⋯⋯.”

But.

“What on earth is happening──!!”

“See, I told you adding more regulations is dangerous!”

“Who was it that suggested we pick this b*stard, Benjamin! It wasn’t me, I clearly voted against it!”

“It wasn’t supposed to be this brat as Pope, and you couldn’t even manage to add a few regulations properly to create this mess?!”

Startled by the divine punishment that loomed right before them, the cardinals began to insult and berate each other, their bloodshot eyes glaring at the Pope simultaneously.

In their own way, they rushed to the Pope to try to remedy the situation and restore everything to normal. And just as they had always done, they attempted to manipulate the Pope.

The old men clutched the Pope and pressed him.

“We can fix this even now. Stop it! If the imperial family or the dukes ask what’s happening with those outsiders⋯⋯ tell them we can handle it, just say nothing happened and wait!”

“What has been pinching Your Holiness until now was to guide you to grow properly⋯⋯! If you can resolve this matter well, I will reduce the number of times we do that by half, so please do something, Your Holiness!”

“Pope, quickly calm the goddess’s wrath. That’s what you’re here for, that’s why you were chosen as Pope! I’m telling you to extinguish that damned red light even if it means taking your own life!”

“Ah, ugh, aah⋯⋯.”

How could one pray in such a situation?

The last chance graciously extended by the god of machinery was swallowed up by the wrath and screams of the fallen.

——–

A messenger rushed in, breathless, to deliver the news.

“I informed the cardinal faction about the situation, but they said, ‘The complete goddess would never do such a thing’⋯⋯ Rather than opening a path, they surrounded the entrance with the holy knights!”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

I knew those b*stards would do that. I was already prepared for it.

The main troops of the cardinal faction are already determined. The holy knights and priests. They are truly vicious when it comes to stalling and holding out, so if you want to break through by fighting head-on, the goddess could erase the city.

So⋯⋯ even if the holy knights are entrenched and the priests build a wall, I prepared a magnificent vehicle to break through.

It is the gravity-manipulating Chisel.

If we all shoot forward with her swiftness, we could surpass their defenses while they fumble about. Then, the remaining allies could engage in battle to buy time.

Meanwhile, the infiltration team would finish hacking the goddess.

The critical flaw of the legendary grade SSR vehicle Chisel is that it is human. It’s not that big, so it’s basically a one-seater, and at best, a two-seater.

—

So, to have multiple people ride the chisel, an extension-vehicle was necessary. Like attaching a sidecar to a motorcycle. But in this situation, we couldn’t just whip something like that up.

Instead, we decided to bundle the passengers together. Using this rope right here.

“It’s too loose, Mima. It would be better to tighten it a bit more.”

“It hurts…! If you pull too hard, it’ll leave marks…!”

“Don’t wrap it around my neck, you crazy fool!”

As I was tying up our party members, including myself, into a tight bundle, Prince Irid looked at me with a peculiar gaze and let out a sort of complaint.

It felt like he was looking at me somewhere between a hero and a troublemaker.

“The goddess’s rampage, you always seem to attract incidents.”

“Yeah, well… it keeps happening when I come to my senses. Maybe I was born with such a fate.”

“Don’t you act as if you want accidents to happen in the first place? To my eyes, it seems like a case of reaping what you sow.”

“Is that so?”

It felt like it made sense, yet it didn’t at the same time.

Of course, being able to manipulate a tournament all by myself… or attempting to hack the goddess while on a leisure trip, those were indeed disasters I brought upon myself.

But wouldn’t these goddess rampages and the cardinal faction’s chaotic shows have happened even if I hadn’t? As I grumbled, Irid added, not to misunderstand.

“I’m not blaming you. I mean that you have an overly broad sense of involvement.”

“Excuse me?”

“It was something you didn’t have to do. Giving someone a chance, seeking a person’s heart, rushing to a student in crisis. It doesn’t show much due to your unique atmosphere and… quirky personality.”

“……..”

Why are you suddenly saying this, Your Highness?

Saying that makes it seem like I’m some kind of paragon of virtue.

I squirmed in embarrassment. I was just moving as I wanted, heading in directions that seemed fun. But upon reflection, it was true. I had done quite a few good deeds.

After twisting my body a bit.

“Yeah, I’ll do a bit of saving. I think I’ll become the savior of the holy city and turn into a saint.”

“That’s exactly why you receive ambiguous praise and gratitude.”

“It feels odd to be thanked for something I did on a whim. By the way, seeing you act like this all of a sudden… have you had some good fortune recently?”

“……..”

Ah.

Right, I had seen Centra’s face and shared a deep kiss. Suddenly, a wave of gratitude surged within me for having brought her into my life.

In that case, I could express my thanks as much as I wanted. I crossed my arms and lifted my chin as high as it could go. A pose of tolerance and embrace, inviting gratitude as desired.

“What are you doing, stopping in the middle of tying the rope?!”

—

“Great Evil God, I shall embrace that as well.”

“Get to work!”

Irid laughed softly at the skit between me and the Great Evil God and turned away. With the threat of death looming, had she come to offer some sort of closure?

Or was she trying to tell me that it was okay to fail in saving the city? Either way, I felt happy that she was thinking of me. I felt invigorated. Should I muster a bit more strength?

I continued to tightly bind the Great Evil God to my body.

The Northern Duke, who had joined us, spoke in a nonchalant manner.

“Use this.”

“What?”

“Kavalle, create it.”

“Yes, my lord of the North.”

Splat. Splatter!

A chill swept through, and an ice sphere suddenly appeared in the open space. The Northern Great Warrior had quickly conjured it using his transformation ability. The inside of the ice sphere was hollow.

When I tapped on it, it seemed quite sturdy. With this, there was no need to tie it up with ropes! I sent a playful round of applause to the Northern Duke who sponsored the ice capsule.

In response, an indifferent gaze, like that of a frozen lake, returned. If Heart had given a standing ovation, it would have been appreciated, but here we are with avatar discrimination.

I cut the ropes and said.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get in.”

With this splendid sidecar, there was no need to split up and transport the infiltration team separately. We, the Benet party, and even the puppets of the Red Flavor Duke all entered the ice sphere.

“You guys cushion it.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

I layered the red flavor puppets made from livestock beneath us to create makeshift seats. They looked like they had a lot to say, but for now, they seemed to be holding back. They probably didn’t want to die either.

It was a bit cramped, but it was bearable. Tara and Niore looked quite uneasy about the puppet-seats, but as Benet wrapped an arm around their waist, they quickly calmed down.

“I never thought I’d become a human catapult…”

[How do we land?]

Good question.

Sicel’s transformation ability was still not perfectly controlled, so expecting a clean landing came with its own set of issues. How would we handle that? Once again, we would use gravity.

Wasn’t there someone with a transformation ability perfect for landing right here in this holy city?

“The Curry of Bankruptcy.”

“It is Kargan of ‘Bankruptcy.’ He was defeated by Sicel Yurensto in the round of 32 and possesses the transformation ability called ‘Earth Dependency.'”

Right.

The Curry of Bankruptcy can manipulate the ground within a radius of three meters. Using this, I planned to soften the ground’s properties the moment the ice sphere lands.

—

[I saw the match, but… did he really have that ability?]

“I didn’t, but I decided to create it temporarily.”

[What?]

I lifted a white crystal onto my palm. An extreme beam of goodness, which generally turns you into a nice person if it hits, is the “Fable Extra Module.”

In the mental realm, I could use it on Pingvalez without penalty, but in the material world, there are many obstacles that make it difficult… or so I thought.

I found a method that works, albeit with some side effects.

It involves using a diluted version of “Parsimony” as a syringe to insert the module.

Tara glanced around the inside and said,

“Wait a minute, then that Parsimony’s Karghan? He has to be inside that ice sphere, right? But he’s not in there?”

“If he were inside, how would we know when he lands? Naturally, Karghan has to be outside.”

“?”

From noble mtl dot come

“Good thing the rope is useful.”

I used it effectively to tie Karghan to the surface of the ice sphere.

——–

The reason Karghan of “Parsimony” accepted that absurd request was money.

Since he was a mercenary, there was a mercenary group. There were acquaintances, drinking buddies, and cunning disciples. It costs more than expected to buy each of them a piece of armor.

But still.

Binding a person to an ice sphere and launching them, isn’t that a bit too rough…?

Karghan, bound in a spread-eagle position, wore a troubled expression as he felt the cold creeping into his back and buttocks. Sissel placed a hand on the ice sphere and said,

“Are you mentally prepared, Karghan?”

“…How can I prepare for something like this! If I had known you would make me do this from the start—”

Flash.

Something shot from inside the ice sphere and struck Karghan on the head. His expression turned dazed, and a white dot appeared in the center of his eye.

“Parsimony: Administration – White.”

A line of near-infinite goodness briefly enveloped him.

Karghan’s expression brightened instantly.

“—I could have prepared a slightly better safety device. But this isn’t bad either. There’s more romance in this than I expected! My back feels so cool! Haha! Now, let’s see where we’re going, knight friend!”

“…Are you sure you’re not over-prepared mentally?”

Sissel, surprised by his transformation, didn’t forget what needed to be done. He drew up his emotions and activated the fable. Everything has a direction.

Creak, creak, creak, creak.

—

The earth trembles, and shards of stone and dust slowly rise into the sky. A massive ice sphere, filled with people, begins to sway and slowly starts to float.

Sissel gripped the broken greatsword tightly with both hands like a bat. She intended to strike it in one swift motion.

The target was the Holy Sword Repository, the Hero’s Hall.

“『Seonghyeokgeo (生挾擧) – I shall fly freely』.”

Krrrggg, kaang──!!

With a deafening roar, the ice sphere was launched.

——–

Flying with a speed and distance greater than that of a catapult, the ice sphere landed about 100 meters away from the Hero’s Hall, where the holy sword was stored.

“Uwahahahaha! 『White: Earth Regulation』⋯⋯!!”

In an instant, the marble tiles became soft and pliable, transforming into a structure that could absorb the shock. The ice sphere fell upon it.

A sound akin to a splat echoed.

Moments later, the ice sphere cracked and split open, and one by one, people began to crawl out. The first to emerge looked quite pale. The interior had shaken violently.

“Uuuhhh…”

The purple mage collapsed onto the ground, complaining of motion sickness. The mad wizard crawled out next, also collapsing, while Bennett appeared pale but did not fall.

And there, about thirty holy knights of the Cardinal faction watched in bewilderment.

There were no opponents that seemed to be of legendary caliber. They likely did not expect anything to happen through the holy sword, so the main force of the Holy City must have been concentrated where the Cardinal and the Pope resided.

Thus, it was only natural that the defenses here were relatively lax.

Yuri Lanster lifted the mad wizard by the scruff of his neck and set him upright, then dusted off her hands while looking at the group of holy knights.

Srrrung.

She drew her sword. There was no intention of letting intruders pass freely. They appeared to be from the Cardinal faction, so it seemed unlikely they would listen to reason, and there was no time for that.

The purple mage might sweep them away, but… she had to fend off the goddess’s “divine punishment.” On the other hand, what about Yuri Lanster? She could offer no assistance against the goddess’s hacking.

So, she stepped forward.

Yuri cracked her knuckles.

“Dealing with them shouldn’t be difficult, but this is a race against time. Can I leave this to you… Mima?”

“Is it possible, ugh…? Can you really do it? Your legend favors one-on-one combat.”

“Yes. That is not incorrect.”

A combat style that removes enemies through close-quarters combat while either unbinding or wrapping chains. While chain attacks cover a considerable range, it would be a stretch to call it an ‘area attack.’

Moreover, the mutated legend due to Mima’s extra module as well.

『White: Liberation of True Desire』 blocks mental interference.

『Black: Incineration of True Desire』 causes a physical explosion of connected emotions.

Simply put, one might say that there are no useful abilities for a one-to-many battle.

“That would be when I haven’t utilized the power of the succubus.”

“⋯⋯Huh?”

The rejection she had towards her own nature mostly faded away when it melted together with the mad wizard. At this point, there was no hesitation in using it.

Yuri Lanster took off her glasses and tie and handed them to the mad wizard.

“Don’t worry, Mima. No matter how much this is part of the battle, I have no intention of flirting or being coy with an outsider. Unlike you.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“Now, could you please tell me the spell for victory? So that I can bind your enemies.”

The mad wizard pondered for a moment and then…

She left a kiss on Yuri Lanster’s cheek.

Yuri flinched in surprise, then relaxed her expression and smiled bashfully.

“⋯⋯I suppose you weren’t joking about confessing. You’re quite cheeky, Mima.”

“Come back victorious. By then, I should be finished as well.”

“Yes. Now go. Leave them to me.”

The mad wizard snapped her fingers. Illusion magic spread out, and the appearances of everyone except Yuri Lanster faded away like a mirage.

As the paladins tried to capture them using holy magic and artifacts…

“This is where you should be looking.”

Clack.

The sound of heels striking the ground. And then.

──Pink.

The succubus queen’s sensuality, the mad wizard’s finesse, all learned. It was not difficult to showcase this through her divine body.

To express that sensuality, allure, and captivating power in one word, it was pink. Her figure pierced through the paladins’ perception like a needle. They could not look away.

Yuri Lanster blocked them.