Otherworld TRPG Game Master

86 – S2. A Grudge Vowed To The Stars -8

*

The power struggle with the viral foreign news was coming to an end with my complete victory. If you were to ask exactly what kind of grand battle took place.

The guy who had been losing his mind over the flood of additional settings seemed to have soon realized that he couldn’t hold out forever. The speed at which he was adding settings was faster than the speed at which he was erasing them. Eventually, at some point, he would have been transformed.

After that judgment, the guy took a systematic offensive. Before he died, he tried to mess things up or obstruct things by messing with the laws of physics of the world, but defending against this was honestly easy.

When the foreign guy gave someone who stepped on a roof tile a physical attribute that made them jump 32km vertically, it was a bit scary. It was only because I discovered it.

If I had been beating up Joseph as a hooligan, Veneth would have been able to see the sight of a goddess being vertically ejected. Then, the atmosphere would have been completely ruined.

However, the automation of defense was one of the things I had put the most effort into.

By giving the Narration detailed defense commands, the foreign guy’s attacks were roughly blocked, and I took advantage of that gap to stab the manly man who was a bundle of boy hormones with an attack that would have turned him into a noble lady in 3 seconds .

And now.

The foreign guy was crouching, waiting for just one chance. To put it nicely, he was guarding and getting hit. It was obvious what the guy was aiming for.

The climax of the story, the players had to defeat the guy no matter what.

The moment they faced each other, the guy would do his best to spew out exhaustion. From there, it was a full-fledged head-on fight. Between the players and the foreign guy.

For safety, it might be better for me to just melt the foreign guy and provide the players with a different boss mob. However, for one thing, if I were him, I would have wanted to defeat the guy who had caused me so much pain with my own hands.

Secondly, like a cornered rat attacking a cat, it was hard to guess where the foreign guy would run if he was given no way out like this⋯⋯ in the sense of eliminating variables.

Thirdly, it didn’t seem like the hero party I had created would lose to the weakened and shrunken guy.

Raise the curtain. It was time to see the ending.

—- —-

“So… everyone, are you ready?”

Veneth looked around at his companions with a refreshing smile. He had often smiled before, but this was the first time he had smiled so refreshingly. Tara and Niole looked at each other. What the heck.

[…Yes, we’re ready.]

-Yeah, we’ve rested enough⋯⋯ but. Niole, wait a minute.

[Yes. Veneth, I’ll talk to Tara for a minute and come back!]

Niole walked around the corner with a piece of glass in his hand. As soon as he was far enough away from Veneth, he slid down the wall and sat down. Thump, thump. His heart was pounding.

Tara seemed to have taken damage to her heart as well, as she was seen breathing deeply with her hand on her relatively small chest. The boy-like side of Veneth, who always seemed a bit gloomy, was very destructive to women.

What had happened. Tara and Niole suspected each other first.

[Is it Tara?]

-I thought it was Niole⋯⋯.

[Then who is it.]

-Then who is it.

Who made Veneth smile like that. Tara and Niole turned their heads at the same time. A quiet and mysterious woman carrying a holy bomb on a cart. Joseph. Could it be?

[…]

-⋯⋯⋯⋯.

In that case, Joseph should not be left alone with Veneth.

At the moment when the grand curtain of the scene that would end the story was about to rise──.

The two of them ran out to defend against love.

—- —-

“…”

When they met again with their faces flushed for various reasons, unaware of the fact that the goddess (or not) had stopped by.

Veneth flicked his finger once to calm down the strangely chaotic atmosphere.

“There is one thing that is significant.”

He said, raising his index finger. According to speculation, the evil god will descend into the basement of the Silver Twilight Cult building. There will be a medium there to call him.However, Joseph initially stated that ‘the evil god was sealed in the meteorite pit’, and his testimony has not changed even after several revisions. In that case,

“There are two possible cases. The first is that our assumption that there is a girl goat in the basement is wrong. This part is not a problem. Since we are not pressed for time, we can continue our exploration.”

[The problem is the second case. After the evil god descended, something unexpected happened… and the evil god had no choice but to go to the meteorite pit?]

“Yes. That’s why I… plan to open the battle with a bombardment.”

Bennett tapped the wagon wheel. Inside the connected carriage, a pile of sacred bombs that the Abraham lineage had been making for 100 years were stacked.

“We’ll start by slamming all of this into the evil god’s seal.”

No matter what the evil god was plotting, he planned to blow his mind with an intense preemptive strike. Sufficient firepower sometimes becomes the sure answer.

Bennett moved to the seal with the priests to give the evil god a present. Niole and Tara remained in the building. Tara for the battle, and Niole to assist in the battle through the mirror.

↔

Tara began to descend the long, dark stairs leading to the basement. Thud. Each time she descended a step, the narrow space was filled with echoes. But she was not afraid.

[Be careful with your feet.]

“Yes.”

Even though their time zones were slightly different, her friend was by her side.

The communication problem caused by Niole’s characteristics was solved through magic. Having the Abraham lineage study telepathic magic, the current Niole was able to communicate without writing.

The path down to the basement was stained red with dried blood. And as she descended, a jet-black slime that seemed to absorb all light began to appear here and there.

Squish. Tara frowned at the texture transmitted from the soles of her shoes. The slime sometimes twitched as if it were alive.

“How is it over there? It’s so dirty and dark here.”

[On this side, it’s well-maintained down to the basement. It seems to be used as a brewery.]

“It’s the same place, but how can the atmosphere be so different…”

[It’s thanks to Tara.]

At the end of the stairs was a door covered with all sorts of talismans. As if to say that one should never enter beyond this point, it was densely covered with grim warning phrases.

Tara lightly placed her hand on the door. The talismans were apparently not just decorations, as they tried to brainwash Tara and push her away upon contact. But then, thorns spread out.

Whir, crackle.

Tara’s incarnation began to devour the defensive magic on the door little by little.

“It looks like it’s going to take some time. You know, Niole.”

[I’m listening.]

“I never thought I’d be playing the role of a saint in my life. I never thought I’d be praised as a saint. But in another world, this is what happened.”

[It seems like a lot has happened to us.]

“…There will be a lot more to come.”

Even the current defeat of the evil god was just a passing thing for her. Tara had something to do. Along with avenging her parents, she planned to overturn the Goddess religion.

Tara hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“By any chance, in the future… can you help me?”

[Have you asked Bennett?]

“Not yet.”

[Then, shall we go and ask him together when it’s over?]

Niole smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. Tara felt grateful for her accepting appearance, but… she wondered if something had become strangely alluring about her.

Crackle. Thud. Clang.

The talismans on the door burned black, and the door handle broke and rolled to the floor. She gripped her cursed sword once more. Right in front of her.

Beyond this, there was the culprit who killed Abraham and made the world like this.

Bang!

“…Come out, evil god!”

Tara kicked open the door and stepped into the basement.

It was a pitch-black space. Black slime covered everything, and at first glance, it looked like an infinite void or even space. In the middle of it, opened eyes.

Blink.

The goat’s eyes with their characteristic pupils.

Blink. Blink. Blinkblinkblink.

Roar.In the void, hundreds of eyes appeared and stared at Tara. Various emotions flickered in the glassy, inorganic pupils. Ridicule, deceit, interest…

She tensed every muscle in her body with tension. And, suppressing her fear, she breathed out a flame of anger.

“For what you have done, for the death you have caused, it is time to pay the price…!”

“Sin?”

“……”

The voice of a young girl was heard. Soft, innocent.

Looking closely, a small mouth was floating in the void beneath the goat’s eyes. The mouth whispered in the voice of a young girl.

“You humans also eat animals and plants. So when do you plan to pay the price for the deaths you have caused?”

“……..Nonsense!”

“You humans are always selfish. Like children. You always throw tantrums like that when things don’t go your way. Listing meaningless words like justice and sin. But look, I just did my best in my position.”

The pupils blinked and closed repeatedly.

“I heard a voice begging for power, so I lent it to you. It would be rude to refuse the gifts that humans offer in gratitude, so I accepted them. The things you… call sins are all things that you humans have done. I just lent you my power, so why should I pay the price?”

“……”

As Tara wavered for a moment, Niole stepped forward.

[It’s all lies and sophistry, Tara. That guy is not such an innocent being. He whispered terrible things to me several times.]

“Were you there too…?”

[That being is a true evil god who does his best to inflict pain on humans.]

“Hmm…”

When the truth was revealed, all hundreds of pupils widened. The space vibrated and roared, and in the darkness, bubbles swelled and shrank like they were bursting, repeating over and over. Tara and Niole felt like they were laughing out loud.

And the small mouth left its last words.

“I’ve been caught.”

Blink.

All eyes closed.

Boom. Thud.

A huge foreleg appeared, shaking the ground. A goat’s hoof with human fingers protruding from it. A body that seemed to be a mishmash of horrible parts of all kinds of animals. A terrible sight that made me want to vomit just by looking at it .

Swoosh.

And a huge goat’s head that could swallow a person in one bite.

Translucent tentacles stretched out from the evil god’s body and swayed. The tentacles that had cut off Bennett’s arm in the battle with the cult leader. There were countless such tentacles.

[Focus on defense. And, it’s dark so you can’t see it well. But there’s also a tail. It’s going to aim for your blind spot, so be careful.]

“…..I understand.”

Tara raised her magic sword in a vertical position and quietly caught her breath.

A silence that felt terribly long passed.

Is it coming? When will his attack come? He said there was a tail. But there’s no sign of it yet. Niole will tell me about any attacks I don’t sense. So I’ll just focus on the attacks coming from the front──.

Screech──!!

“……Ugh!”

Clang-!

Tara narrowly kicked away a tentacle that flew diagonally from the side in the darkness. A gap that inevitably occurs because human concentration is not infinite. The evil god had been aiming for that gap in consciousness.

Swish──! Swish──!!

“‘Thorn of Remorse, Open’!”

From Noble mtl dot com

The tentacles flew so fiercely that they sounded like a whistle. Tara unleashed all the power she had absorbed from the fanatic. The space rippled and swayed, and the tentacles changed direction in the middle and hit each other.

[Tara, turn around and give it all you’ve got!]

“……..!!”

Swish──!

As soon as she heard Niole’s instructions, Tara twisted her whole body and swung her sword at the back. The huge goat’s head that had been approaching silently like a cunning snake.

The magic sword scraped across the cornea of its large eye.

────!!

A scream that shook the space.

A light of anger flashed in the goat’s eyes. As if to say that the game was over, the evil god revealed its entire twisted, deformed body in the darkness. A huge monster that was over 5 meters tall.

Its throat swelled up. An eerie red light turned the monster’s body red, and a monstrous amount of power gathered in the goat’s head’s mouth.Tara’s physical body was so hot that it could have vaporized into dust.

However, even in front of it, Tara did not panic or run away. She believed that at the decisive moment, Bennett would definitely save her. That was why she could confidently face the evil god.

[The signal is here, Tara.]

“Yes, I was waiting for it. As expected, your timing is perfect.”

Tara aimed the tip of the magic sword at the evil god. Then, she smiled confidently and impressed.

“This is a present I prepared for you, you son of a b*tch! I hope you like it-!!”

Woooosh-!

Boom-!

Just before the evil god could spit out a magic beam from its mouth, its goat’s head was twisted as if it had been hit by a giant hammer. Its jaw snapped shut, and its eyeballs burst from the pressure. The evil god rolled its eyes in confusion.

Boom-! Kwaang-!!

An explosion from the future shook the evil god. Its forelegs exploded, and a hole was blown in its stomach. Its body melted from the continuous explosions, and its magic power wavered. The evil god opened its mouth wide and screamed in agony.

Meee──!!

Its tentacles fliled wildly. It wasn’t aiming or swinging, just lashing out. Niole’s eyes flashed.

[Five steps to the left. Jump. Watch out for the upper right. Advance.]

In the midst of the torrential downpour of tentacles, Tara danced with Niole.

[Crouch, roll forward. Watch out for the top. Advance.]

Repeated charges. Tara’s movements, which were close to artistry, pierced through the evil god’s resistance and brought her right up to it. Niole, on the other side of the mirror, wiped away the nosebleed that was flowing from his excessive concentration and swung his arm.

[Finish it, Tara!]

“Yes-!!”

Thump. Thump.

The sound of the evil god’s heart beating, spilling out foul blood, could be heard. Thanks to the evil beat, the location of the heart was very clear. Tara extended her thorns. Long, longer.

A three-meter-long spear made of intertwined thorns.

The reason Tara, who had only recently mastered the fable, was able to maintain it almost constantly was due to the characteristics of ‘Remorseful Thorns’. By absorbing the power of others and making it her own, she was able to suppress her consumption.

That’s why this blow.

A blow that gives up on absorption and pours all its power into destruction, a blow with no future.

“‘Remorseful Thorns, Full Bloom’!”

Poof──! Crackle, Kwaak──!!

The thorn spear pierced the evil god’s heart and sucked out its power. And with that power as its driving force, it multiplied. It spread its vines in all directions, tearing out the heart and destroying it.

Oooooooooo──!!

The evil god screamed. It tried to tear out the thorn vines that were eating its heart with its tattered forelegs. But the thorn vines dug into its forelegs and bloomed endlessly from within.

A killer blow that doesn’t stop until it has sucked up all of the target’s power.

The evil god calmly accepted its situation. It was impossible to preserve its heart. About 70% of its body had already been consumed by the thorn vines, and there was no way to remove them.

In that case, it would discard 70% to survive.

Rustle-!

The evil god cut off its own head. The severed head changed shape and became a human form that swayed unsteadily.

“…What, what is it? Something popped out?”

[It’s trying to escape! Catch it!]

“…!!”

The evil god ran past Tara. It hurriedly climbed the stairs, left the Silver Twilight Temple building, and headed for the meteorite crater. The place where the goddess’s power and its own power had clashed. There were still some remnants there.

If it ate that, it would be able to recover some of its current damage.

The evil god’s last desperate struggle, the pursuit, began.

—- —-

*

Let’s do the last scene together!

Isn’t it a magnificent finale? I slightly overlapped the world and the world. Niole and Tara could see each other’s figures, yet translucently. Of course, Bennett, who would soon join them, was the same.

And I duplicated the image of the fleeing evil god and pasted it into the future. Niole must have noticed this strange phenomenon right away, and he flicked away the glass piece he was holding. Tara widened her eyes as she watched the translucent Niole running beside her.

“What’s going on?!”[The evil god is going berserk, and the space-time seems to be even more distorted…!]

Yes, it’s easier when you understand it. Tara and Niole smiled even in the urgent situation of chasing. They were in different pasts and futures, but they felt like they were together.

Didn’t we practice the gimmick battle? Let’s play!

“Let’s go!”

[I’ll go ahead!]

—- —-

The priest’s magic power was special. As it was received from the god they served, it had a specialized nature in a certain field. In the case of the Goddess Church, they benefited from regeneration, recovery, purification, healing, and all kinds of things that benefited life.

So, there were many spells that were helpful in the chase.

“…Anyway, it’s always not there when you need it!”

It was a pity for Tara, whose divine power was out of control. Now that she had used up all her magic power by hitting the fable with all her might.

Niole deftly passed by the shortcut and matched Tara’s speed, and asked quietly as he chased the evil god. Only the shape of his mouth moved.

[…Don’t you remember that time?]

“That time, when?”

[When you were chasing the wizard!]

“…Then, aren’t we missing one person right now?!”

Tara and Niole laughed out loud. They found a familiar man’s shadow at the end of the path where the evil god was running.

Bennet hardened his expression as he saw the girl running in the lead, and Tara and Niole chasing her. What’s going on?

“…Is it an illusion?”

“Hey, Bennet! That’s an evil god!”

At Tara’s cry, Bennet drew his shining sword, ‘Guardian’, without hesitation. And swung it with a strong flash.

Swish-!

The evil god’s body was cut in half at the waist, but it squirmed like a slime and split into two. The cloned evil gods scattered in different directions.

“Can you tell which one is real?!”

[I don’t know. Could neither be real?]

“I guess I’ll have to burn it with my body⋯⋯ Tara, knock that down!”

“…I don’t have any magic power right now, so it’s hard!”

Tara grumbled, but put all her magic power into her magic sword and threw it. The throw from the past knocked down the erected stall and tied one of the evil god’s feet. And in the grip of Bennet, who followed fiercely, the sword light flashed.

“If it’s a problem to cut it cleanly, I’ll cut it into pieces so fine that it’ll turn to dust.”

Chachachachachacha──!!

The evil god’s body was cut as if it were being sliced, and it scattered into dust. Tara was chasing the other evil god, and the distance from Bennet was far.

[Bennet, this way is a shortcut!]

“I’ll follow you!”

Niole led Bennet over the city’s structures. The distance, which was far away, was narrowed in an instant.

—- —-

The three ran down the road. There was no worry. Just catch up and finish it off!

The evil god used strange tricks every time the distance narrowed. It was a bizarre spell, such as putting up a wall of corpses, or having dozens of strange, square illusions appear in front of his eyes.

“Run towards the sound, Bennet!”

Tara led.

[The shortcut is this way, Bennet!]

If Niole told him the answer.

It was very easy to break through. When I was chasing the crazy wizard alone, the distance kept getting longer. Maybe even then… If I had joined forces with them. I might have caught him in an instant.

“Don’t come near me──!!”

The evil god summoned tentacles with all his remaining strength. A wave of tentacles as high as 3 meters, high enough to fill the field of vision.

“Should we avoid it?!”

[If you avoid it, go this way!]

Bennet smiled and kicked the ground, one step ahead of Tara and Niole. And inspired, scattering light.

“No, you don’t have to avoid it. I’ll protect you!”

Bennet’s swordsmanship was swung at a speed that was not even visible. Maybe hundreds of times or more. The sword light from ‘Guardian’ was connected like a solid wall.

A net of tragedy. An advanced technique called a sword curtain, which is only possible for those who have mastered the ability to manipulate magic power. However, its thickness was completely different from before.The tentacles were torn apart and scattered with the particles.

The party’s speed hardly slowed down. The evil god turned around and emitted a black light. Death was inevitable. Then, even if he had to burn his own existence, he would curse them.

“You think this is the end, but it’s not! This is not my main body, and you will one day play with me──!!”

The surroundings turned black in an instant. Nothing was visible, and there was no way to distinguish right from left, up from down, or complete darkness. However, Bennett did not lose his way.

Because the star in his heart was shining, showing him the way he had to go.

Paaat──!!

Bennett’s sword cut through all the illusions, evil, and darkness. With a brilliant light, the evil god’s second heart was split in half.

The darkness dissipated.

Finally, the dawn was breaking appropriately.

Bennett turned his back on the evil god who had met his death and looked back at Tara and Niole. They were drenched in sweat and looked at Bennett, catching their breath.

“…Did you kill him?!”

[Is it over?]

“It’s over.”

He muttered with a smile. Refreshing.

“Now, no matter how much you or anyone else talks… I won’t lose my way.”

Now he knew exactly where he had to go. Even if he lost his way again after a severe ordeal.

“…It’s over, it’s over.”

[When I get back, I want to sleep for a week first…]

Surely, Tara and Niole will tell me again.

“Let’s go back.”

⋯⋯⋯⋯.

Bennett, Tara, and Niole. The three warriors saved the world that was being destroyed by the evil god and returned to their original world.

However, that will not mean the end of the story.

This was the birth of a warrior, and they were young, so their heroic tale will continue for a long time to come.