"Hey, 'taru-kun? What's a magical girl?"
Why?
That was the question running through his head the entire trip to the hospital where Akane and her injured father was. Why did Saeko want to kill Akane? Why her childhood friend? Why did she even want to kill in the first place?
"[Observe]" Issei whispered as silently as he could, bordering inaudibly.
Saeko Shiraishi - Lvl 3 Human
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Highest Stat: STR
Current thoughts About You: Was impressed by your bravado in the bus. Giggles internally every time she thinks about how she's going to use you for her plans.
Reputation: 15 (Neutral)
The Gamer System says that she is clearly evil and even thinking evil thoughts.
But… He looked at the girl in front of him.
Still the seriously cute girl with the soft bubblegum pink hair, big hopeful eyes that glittered like pink diamonds, and her sinfully- shapely hourglass that filled out her white sundress. Still the cheerfully smiling and bubbly class vice-representative that he'd known in his time in Kansai International. Still the helpful class vice-rep that helped him pass his first year statistics and physics just last year. Still the Saeko Shiraishi he crushed on when he first saw her.
It was hard to think of her as the enemy when she was like this.
Why Saeko? Why?
Issei was ready to tear strips of his hair out from how little he really knew about Saeko.
At the moment, it was just the two of them in her large executive sedan- the driver separated from them by a shut window. It was well known that Saeko was a rich girl- but she never flaunted it in people's faces in the past, only occasionally using it to treat the class… like how she upgraded the classes' lodgings in this class outing.
At least he knew that Saeko wasn't planning on murdering Akane for the money. But the real reason was still lost to him.
And why is Saeko helping him at all? Did she not think of him as a threat at all, because she was Level 3? Why was she even Level 3?
'Maybe it isn't Akane that she's targeting? What if it's me?' Issei pursed his lips at that thought- his brown eyes tensely eyeing the Level 3 sitting across him. Those dainty, slender hands that he saw snatch barbells heavier than his own body weight into the air in those weight-lifting competitions.
'I forgot all about that… now I'm stuck in a tight space with a Level 3 whose highest stat is in Strength.'
Saeko, for her part, noticed how tense he was and flashed him a bright smile.
"Oh, Issei-kun. You can stop looking so worried, you know? I know you care a lot about Akane-chan, but she'll be alright." Saeko reassured him with a wink of her bright pink-eyes from her seat across from him, "She's not a porcelain doll. Akane-chan is a lot, lot tougher than she looks."
"But your dedication to her is really cute all the same- Oh!" Her pink eyes lit up as the car stopped, "We're here!"
"At a cake shop?" Issei puzzled as he glanced out the window, which Saeko rolled down to accept a red cake box from a kindly cake shop employee lady with graying hair and green apron.
"Thank you again for your continued patronage, Shiraishi-sama!" the lady bowed in gratitude as Saeko grinned at her nodding.
"Thank you for your hard work, I'll be back for more!" his class vice-rep waved back as she rolled up her window, and the car smoothly accelerated to continue on with their journey.
"Now, we have a nice milk chocolate cake to share with her- It will help make it easier for her to feel better." She said with a satisfied hum and a reassuring pat on the red cardboard cake box resting on her lap, "That tidbit of information is a freebee too, Ise-kun. Wouldn't want you to accidentally gift her dark chocolate again, would we?"
Wait…
"How do you find out that those chocolates in Amamiya-senpai's locker were from me?!" Issei jolted, his brown eyes wide like a deer in headlights. She was suspicious of him, that much he knew; but he didn't know that she found out for certain!
"Huhuhu~... No, I didn't, but thank you for coming forward with it just now~" Saeko singsonged with a wide teasing smile and a playful glint in her pink eyes. Issei's cheeks burned with embarrassment as he realised that he had been tricked into confessing.
"Also, you can call her Akane, you know." She giggled, still looking at him teasingly, "After the expensive chocolates, the funny 'confession' card, the bold declaration on the bus and now with you coming along for her sake, I think you've earned that much."
+5 Reputation with Saeko Shiraishi for being dedicated to her best friend (30/100 - Liked)
Issei winced at that, suddenly remembering that Akane was still actually with her severely injured father. "How is Amamiya-senpai's father?"
Her cheerful demeanor seemed to wilt slightly at the question, her pink eyes looking down to the cake in her lap as her voice lowered in pitch to take on a solemn tone. "Her father… he's not doing too well. He has been in and out of surgery for the past nine? Ten hours. When I left earlier, he was undergoing another one- I didn't catch how long it would take, but… the overall prognosis looks bleak if we're all going to be brutally honest."
Then wordlessly leaned towards him across the space between their seats. Eye like pink diamonds glittering at his earthy brown ones as she reached over to give his hand a reassuring squeeze with her smaller, feminine one.
"Which is why we're going to be there for her, right Ise-kun?" She reassured him in a comforting tone- smiling at him gently as she gave his hand another reassuring squeeze.
And Issei's heart broke as he gently squeezed back.
'Why, Saeko?' He sorely wanted to ask- his jaw clenching to stop the words from coming out, 'Why can you joke and smile and laugh like normal? Why can you say such sweet and caring things, and look so earnest when you're planning a murder?!'
But completely unaware of his inner turmoil, Saeko gave a small clap as her expression one again turned to usual playful one- a bright smile showing white teeth behind pink lips.
"So, what made you fall for Akane-chan?" She quizzed him with a teasing smile, "Was it her ketchup red eyes? Her hilariously-styled fringe that covers the right half of her face?"
Why? He had to know...
"[Observe]" Issei whispered again just as silently as he could.
Saeko Shiraishi - Lvl 3 Human
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Highest Stat: STR
Current thoughts About You: Wonders which way you'll react to her plans.
Reputation: 15 (Neutral)
Nothing. That told him nothing that he already knew. Saeko was planning her murder, and she had more than one plan to go about it- likely because she had been planning this for a long time. But it didn't answer Why she was doing it.
"I'm sorry, I missed that, Ise-kun." Saeko just continued to tease with a sly grin on her mouth and a waggle of her eyebrows- ignorant of how he had cast [Observe] on her, "You're going to have to speak up, or... is it because you're getting shy on me?"
"I said 'her Oppai.' "Issei replied with a straight face- trying to hide his intentions with something perverted.
Bright pink eyes blinked once, then twice as her expression looked blankly at him trying to comprehend what he just said before her mind finally caught up with his words.
"Ahahahahaha!" Saeko guffawed as she burst out in peals of laughter- stomping her foot on the floor and holding her gut. "Okay, that was a good one, Ise-kun!"
+5 Reputation with Saeko Shiraishi for having a good sense of humour (35/100 - Liked)
"Yeah, Akane-chan has decent ones, doesn't she?" Saeko said slyly as she crossed her arms under her own DD's. But just as Issei was about to comment, the car slowed to a halt- making both him and Saeko blink.
"Looks like we've arrived at the hospital. Come on, Ise-kun." She said with a smile, opening the door and taking the lead- the red cake box still in her hands as she marched past the automatic glass doors of the hospital entrance.
"Kiyoraha General Hospital." Issei read the sign that was in glossy silver letters on the side of the white-painted building. Looking like a medium-sized hotel, it had a fancy front entrance for a hospital with its lush greenery and active fountain at the front.
"Good evening," Issei heard Saeko gently greet the nurse behind the front desk as he caught up to her, "which operating theatre is Amamiya-san from room 337 having his surgery in?"
The nurse simply shook her head with a sad, apologetic smile. That wasn't a good sign.
"I see…" Issei saw Saeko falter in a shocked tone to the nurse. "Thank you for your time."
"What happened?" he prompted, but Saeko simply gestured for him to follow as she began marching down a specific corridor.
"Akane-chan's father didn't make it…" she explained- her glossy pink lips in a thin line, "He passed away on the operating table an hour ago. So forget about going to the hospital room, Akane-chan is likely in the roof-garden by now…"
Their footsteps on marble flooring echoed in the calm- almost empty halls of the hospital as they boarded an elevator- Saeko's finger gliding over the button for the rooftop.
"The roof-garden?" Issei parroted as the elevator began its slow ascent.
"She likes to stargaze whenever she's sad or upset." Saeko explained to him. "If she says something weird like 'The Stars are so cold.' just nod politely, okay Ise-kun?"
Issei simply nodded before the two of them descended into silence- waiting for the slow elevator to bring them to the top floor.
And Isse had to remind himself that the girl standing next to him- with her white sundress and red cake box in her hands- was the girl who was aiming to murder Akane. He remembered the Main Quest and the window popped open in front of him- completely unseen by Saeko.
== T ==
MAIN QUEST
[The Power of Love and Friendship]
Objective - Stop the murder(s) that Saeko Shiraishi is planning
Sub-Objectives: ?
Secret Objective(s): ?
Rewards: XP (Massive x2), Observe Lvl 2, +5 All Stats
Sub-Rewards: ?
FAILURE: [Bad End - Sacrifice]
== T ==
Issei didn't know what [Bad End - Sacrifice] meant, but he wanted to avoid it at all costs. Mental images filled his mind- snapshots of him sacrificing himself to save Akane from Saeko or Akane doing the same for him. He had to be alert- he couldn't leave Akane alone with her. Whatever it took- he needed to keep Akane safe…
Issei gave a sidelong glance at the bubbly pink-haired girl beside him, which she promptly noticed and gave him a wink and a reassuring smile. His fist clenched at his sides: Issei hoped he was wrong- he really did. He didn't mind if he had to apologise for having the wrong idea later… But for now, just in case the Gamer System was indeed right about her evilness...
...He needed to keep Akane safe from Saeko.
As the elevator doors opened, the cool evening air greeted them.
And there, past another set of doors and across the gentle greenery and rooftop garden, was Akane. Alive and well as she sat at a wrought iron table at the far edge of the building- still clad in her big red coat and black button down as she looked up at the stars.
Issei couldn't describe the sheer relief that he felt.
It was comforting to see her alive that it felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was tragic that her father just died an hour or two before, yes. But to see her alive was a comforting sight all the same.
"She's been using that same north-facing table her entire time here. She also mutters to herself while she stargazes; a lot more than usual, I mean." Saeko sighed with a fond tone to him as they stepped out under the starry sky and approached Akane who was still gazing up- a hot can of tea in her hand.
"Why are there so many icy stars?" He heard Akane softly whisper to herself- her voice carrying through the cool air as Saeko's form still in her white sundress stepped forward.
" 'Kane-chan… we heard the news... we're sorry for your loss." Saeko greeted with a sombre tone as they stopped beside the table.
"It's noth- I'm fine." Akane muttered before cutting herself off, still looking up at the night sky, "I'm fine. After all, I had twelve whole hours to make peace with it before the fact."
"Well, you're not alone. Just so you know." Saeko reassured me in a hopeful, reassuring tone before gesturing to him, "Especially now, look who decided to come along too."
At Saeko's words, Akane turned to them, a single ruby-red eye blinking into focus and up at him as if she had been in a deep trance all that time.
"Evening, Ama-" Issei began, but changed his tune when Saeko gave him a tiny kick just above his ankle, "Evening, Akane-san."
The sudden change in how he addressed her made Akane's blood red eyes blink in surprise, before she moved to level a curious glance to the broadly smiling Saeko who simply gave an approving nod.
"Evening to you too, Issei-san." Akane greeted back- her pink lips forming a small welcoming smile. And Issei couldn't miss the way his heart skipped a beat when she said his name in her graceful voice.
+20 Reputation with Akane Amamiya for having her best friend's approve of you (25/100 - Liked)
"We also brought a cake for us to share!" Saeko declared as she set the red cake box in front of Akane before taking her seat across to her left- leaving the seat to Akane's right free for Issei to take.
Opening the box, revealed a lush Hokkaido milk chocolate sponge cake decorated with enough chocolate frosting to satisfy any sweet tooth's hunger. Isse didn't miss the way Akane's eyes seemed to light up at the sight, and resolved to find that bakery for a later date.
Conveniently, there were little plates and plastic utensils included with the box. Enough for five people, so they had spares utensils should they snap.
" 'kane-chan, you should call it a night after this." Saeko lectured as she cut a big hearty slice of cake for Akane- the big fluffy slice covered in smooth milk chocolate filling up the small plate almost to spilling.
"You can go ahead later, Saeko-san. I'll catch up." Akane waved them off, already gazing up at the stars.
"Nope!" Saeko denied in a cheery tone, as she popped a big chunk of cake into Akane's mouth. "You're not staying up here in the hospital- you can stargaze from your hotel room. I even got you one that has a north-facing balcony! At least then, if you fall asleep stargazing, you'll be safe in your room."
"Fine…" Akane conceded as she gracefully took a sip of her tea, before turning to him, "Will you be okay to head home from here Issei?"
"I can give you cab money to take you straight to the resort with the rest of the class, Ise-kun." Saeko generously offered as she smiled at him.
Issei found Saeko's generosity to be suspicious due to the sole reason that it took him far away from her and Akane. And he really didn't trust her anymore- not with Akane's life at risk. He couldn't leave her to Saeko. Checking his watch, he noticed that his [Observe] was now off cooldown. But should he use it now? He needed time to think it over.
"Let me think about it over this slice of cake. It's really good." Issei mumbed into his fork, with only a half-fake smile.
"I know, right? Saeko-chan knows the best bakeries for cakes." Akane said conversationally, a small smile on her face turning smug- and her gaze eyeing Saeko's waistline as she added, "... And we all know where those go."
"Ise-kun! 'kane-chan is being so mean~" Saeko mock cried as she clung to his arm- pressing her oppai against him but for once in his life, he was unaffected- his mind still laser-focused over whether to use [Observe] now. But after agonizing over it, Issei decided to use it then.
"[Observe]" Issei mumbled into the slice of cake that he was chewing as he looked at the pink-haired girl clinging to his arm.
Saeko Shiraishi - Lvl 3 Human
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Highest Stat: STR
Current thoughts About You: Really wishes that you'll take her offer for the cab.
Reputation: 25 (Liked)
!
Issei's brown eyes snapped open as something clicked in his head, and it was at that moment that Issei found out what Saeko was planning. The plastic fork in his hand almost snapped in half as the pieces fit together in his mind.
Saeko didn't orchestrate the accident that claimed Akane's father's life... It was just a very convenient opportunity for her.
Issei put the clues together in his mind.
How hard was it for a rich-girl like Saeko to book Akane a room with a balcony? How hard would it be for Saeko to push Akane off the balcony and make it look like a suicide after her father's passing? How hard would it be for the police to believe the words of his bubbly, earnest class vice-representative who is mourning for her best friend's apparent suicide? How hard would it be for her to pay for his cab fare to get him far, far away from Akane?
All of it would have been barely an inconvenience to her.
Issei gritted his teeth: He couldn't leave. Not now, Not when it was the moment of truth. Now more than ever, he couldn't leave Akane with the murderous Saeko. He had figured out Saeko's plan.
Now, all he had to do was stop it.
"Realistically, I think just staying in the same hotel as you two would be the best choice at this time of night." He proposed as confidently as he could.
"Eh?" Saeko bleated in surprise as she disconnected from his arm like it burned her and looked at him in shock. The look in her right pink eyes seemed to change from shock to a calm scrutiny- staring into his deep brown ones before she closed her eyes and hummed in consideration.
"It'll be safer for Issei-san." Akane agreed with him- her expression turning into slight distaste, "This area of Kiyoraha is slightly infamous for its... yakuza activity."
It seemed like Akane wasn't a big fan of the yakuza that much.
[Success! (CHA 20/15) Req. to convince Akane and Saeko to stay with them at the hotel]
"Sure, I'll spot you a room, Ise-kun." Saeko shrugged with a small smile, her hand giving him a hearty slap on the back with enough force to almost make him drop his plate.
'What?' Issei shouted in his own mind. She should be protesting not supporting him. Did she plan for this too?!
"Can it be on the same floor as you and Akane-san?" He shamelessly put forward. At that proposal, both girls seemed to pause in their actions as they both shot him with flat looks as they paused in eating their cakes.
"Huhuhuu… what are you planning, Ise-kun?" Saeko broke the silence with her sly, teasing voice, "Should I be worried for Akane-chan's purity? Should I be worried for mine?!"
[Success! (CHA 20/20) Req. to convince Saeko to make your room on the same floor]
And as she 'panicked,' Saeko wrapped her slender arms around her friend's torso in a distracting display of soft flesh pressing against soft flesh. It was the kind of sight that Issei would have endured a beating for… if you had asked him a week ago. Now, it was just a reminder that Saeko can and will get close enough to Akane to kill her, and his beautiful and kind class rep wouldn't even suspect a thing.
"It's fine, Saeko." Akane reassured- a plate of cake and fork in both hands as she could sigh in exasperation at Saeko's antics, "We'll just be on the same floor."
"True," Saeko conceded with a smile as she detached from Akane, to go back to her own plate of cake, "It's not like we're sharing a room with Issei-kun."
"Saeko..." Akane scolded in a low tone.
That would have been ideal, if Issei was being honest. But he knew that with his current CHA score, he'd likely just get a Reputation loss with them if he pushed for it. He will have to keep an eye on Saeko from his own room, somehow.
"And just like that, we finished the cake!" Saeko abruptly announced, a bit too happily.
"What?" Akane sputtered in surprise- making her glance disbelievingly at the now empty cake box where there should have been a good one-eighth of the delicious Hokkaido milk chocolate cake still left, then her gaze turned to the chocolate stuck to the corner of her friend's mouth.
"Oh well~" Saeko beamed as she innocently wiped her mouth, "looks like it's time for us to go back to the hotel!"
Saeko was pushing for Akane to head to the hotel… and that told Issei that it was almost time: Almost time for her to make her move, and almost time for him to stop her.
Whatever Saeko's plans were… she was going to execute it tonight.
[Sunday]
Issei sat just inside the door to his hotel room, serious and alert as he checked the time.
'9:08 pm'
It's been almost 40 minutes since he had been keeping an eye on Saeko's room, just two meters across the red-carpeted hallway from his own. That was close enough that he could hear it open should Saeko decide to leave her room. Akane's room was right beside hers, which would make it diagonal from his.
Issei brought up the keycard to his room, and looked at the glossy golden card- knowing that Saeko and Akane had their own. But that was perhaps his biggest problem.
Saeko had convinced Akane to share their spare keycards with each other, and that meant that if Saeko wanted, she could just walk out her room, walk 10 meters to her left, let herself in Akane's room and- with her superior strength stat- throw the stargazing Akane off her balcony and down a fourteen floor drop.
Issei vowed to himself that he wouldn't let that happen.
== T ==
MAIN QUEST
[The Powers of Love and Friendship]
Objective - Stop the murder(s) that Saeko Shiraishi is planning
Sub-Objectives: ?
Rewards: XP (Massive x2), Observe Lvl 2, +5 All Stats
Sub-Rewards: ?
FAILURE: [Bad End - Sacrifice]
== T ==
Issei just didn't know what the Main Quest considered as a completed objective. But he hoped that there was a time limit. The more decisive way to stop Saeko was to catch her red-handed and get her arrested. Or the option that Issei didn't want to think about until now: Kill Saeko before she can hurt Akane.
"But can I?" Issei sighed as he thought about it, "Can I really kill Saeko-san? Part of me is just wishing that it was all a lie..."
He hoped the Gamer System was lying to him about her alignment and her thoughts. He wished that he would just sit here all night and nothing would happen. They would all support Akane through her mourning; and if she felt like it on Wednesday, they could take the train to Kyoto and meet up with the rest of the class.
Isse wished that they could all have just been friends. A week ago, he would have given his left arm to be in this position: To have a personal talk with Akane on a park bench, to hitch a ride with Saeko, to hang out with them over dessert, and to have his room right next to the Two Jewels of Kansai International Academy. Now, he would give his left arm if it was made certain that Akane will not die tonight.
He checked the time again.
'10:12 pm'
He couldn't even use [Observe] to find out what she was thinking, because he needed a clear line of sight to his target.
He couldn't even begin to guess what Saeko had planned: It wasn't like anyone knew what Saeko thought most of the time- she always had the energy to cycle a dozen different ideas in her head before choosing whichever appealed to her the most.
How was Saeko even going to pull off the murder? There was a security camera that watched the hallway- she would be recorded leaving her room and entering Akane's. She couldn't even jump the balconies between rooms as the gap was almost 8 meters apart- he checked.
Then he heard it: movement from Saeko's room.
He bolted up and peered through the door's peephole… And sighed in frustration, just room service: A hotel maid in her green uniform had her big fabrics cart stopped right in front of Saeko's door- looks like Saeko had ordered for extra pillows and blankets.
Issei entertained the possibility that Saeko was hiding in that maid's cart and sneaking into Akane's room somehow, but that was disproven by how the maid and her cart ended up rolling away from Akane's room- disappearing from view as the maid and the cart turned the corner. He hung his head in frustration- it would seem that he had a long night ahead of him.
Issei sighed as he waited and waited and waited.
… until finally, he decided to check the time again.
'12:19 am'
Two hours had passed since the maid had brought Saeko her extra pillows and blankets. To be fair they were really comfy as he sat snuggled by the door in his own pillow and blanket that he took from his bed.
The hotel was a five star after all. Issei really envied rich people. For Saeko to just treat Akane and him two nights at a five star hotel at the snap of her fingers, she really was loaded. Not to mention that she also treated the entire class to an upgrade in lodgings for this class outing: From cheap motel rooms where eight had to share a room to traditional lodgings with an onsen where three had to share a room.
Just last week, he visited the local shrine every hour to pray that he would be the lucky person to be placed in the room with Saeko and Akane. The day after that, he was so disappointed when Saeko released the list of roommates and he found out that there were boys-only rooms and girls-only rooms. She had been the one to arrange them and she knew which rooms each person… slept… in...
…
Issei's blood ran cold even as his mind raced like a speeding bullet.
Saeko could have snuck out of the hotel via that maid's cart, but he never considered that she would because she didn't have a reason to.
But what if he was wrong this whole time? What if Akane really wasn't the target?
Then it struck him.
"Akane was the alibi!" He all but yelled.
The real target was one of their classmates at the onsen! Saeko was the one who chose the lucky person to have a room all to themselves: Her target!
Issei hurriedly put on his shoes and jacket. Dashing out the door and down the hallway, he glanced back over his shoulder and at Akane's door.
"Sorry, Akane. But I might have to kill Saeko to stop her." he muttered in apology as he jumped into the elevator and punched the ground floor button. The floor number of the elevator's display is going too slowly for his taste.
It's already been more than an hour since Saeko snuck out. Going from here to the resort should take an hour and a half by the usual train. Or fifty minutes if the mountain pass was used to cut straight through the mountains. Saeko could possibly already be there by now.
He'll take a cab and ask them to double time it through the mountain pass. He hoped he could make it in time and maybe talk Saeko out of it.
Should he call the police? If the murder didn't happen, he'd be arrested for wasting police resources. But if it did happen, then he may have just saved his classmate's life.
"Hello, Emergency services? My name is Hyoudou Issei and I'd like to report a murder that's about to happen…"
[Monday, 1:08 am] [Kyoto, Japan]
Issei listened to the cab that he had disembarked from driving off into the distance. Right in front of him was the cobblestone path that led into the woods where the rustic resort was.
Wooden posts that held electric lanterns lined the path, but none of them were lit. He had been in the mountains several times before, but there was a certain eeriness to the darkness here. A week ago he would have been scared out of his wits to be walking up this unlit mountain path in Kyoto.
"Where are the police?" He muttered under his visible breath as looked around, "I called them almost a whole hour ago."
A gust of wind blew past him and he was grateful that he had momentarily stopped to buy some winter gear. A winter jacket, mitts and a hat. But even now in early spring, the cold of winter still clung to the mountains, and it was already biting him even through his clothes.
Sighing as he began to walk up the cobblestone path, Issei removed the wooden training katana that he had bought- unsheathing it from its cloth container. He wasn't a kendo master, but he knew enough to fight. Long quiet minutes passed by with only his footsteps softly sounding out before disappearing in the soft howling of the wind.
"Please let me be wrong about this." Issei muttered under his breath, "Please let my Gamer System be wrong about this…"
And as he saw the structures of the resort appear above the treeline, Issei still wished that he was wrong: He wished that all he'll find here in the resort would be his classmates sleeping soundly in their rooms. But it was too much to hope for as he came to the courtyard of the resort. The coppery smell of blood mixing with a dozen rancid odors assaulting his nose and making his eyes tear up even at the approach.
"No…" He whispered, horrified as his brown eyes narrowed into pinpricks as he took in the actual sight that was laid out all across the courtyard.
In four appalling piles of bodies laid around the center, his classmates lay defiled, dead and desecrated. Each pile seemed to be a tribute to some unholy god of evil as varying acts of unspeakable horror had been done to them.
And at the center of the courtyard a figure of a person that was using the disembodied head of a woman as a paint brush- the woman's black hair was stained red with blood as it swung to and fro. Infernal sigils and symbols were painted in blood on the concrete as the figure used the remains of the woman's spine as the brush handle.
If there were any doubts, Issei had... If there was any hope that things weren't as bad as he feared... All of them vanished as he got a good look at the person as she stood up from her grisly work.
Clad in a fluttery pink and white magical girl costume that was still slightly matted with blood in several places. Lacy frills of white streamed along the hem of her skirt. Long white gloves that snaked all the way up her arm and disappeared into her sleeve. White thigh-high stockings wrapped around her long, toned legs from the calf all the way up until it disappeared underneath the white frills of her skirt.
Like a magical girl out of a shoujo anime, she would have made for a cute and beautiful sight, if she wasn't still holding the dismembered head.
"I'm surprised that you suspected anything at all... But you should have just stayed away: I would have let you live, you know?" She sighed, as she gently placed the head down into the bucket of blood, and turned to face him, "It seems that we really are going to do this… "
Saeko beamed a winning smile at him as she did a cute pose.
"...aren't we, Ise-kun?"
Issei could only look on with shame at Saeko's bright smile.
The Gamer System was right; and he, the stupid and naive Hyoudou Isse, was wrong.
So very wrong.
Saeko was every bit as evil as the Gamer System said she was: She didn't just want to kill someone from their class- no, she wanted to kill everyone in their class. Forty people, still in their teens with their whole life still ahead of them. Forty people who had siblings and parents and grandparents. Forty people who had looked up to her and trusted her with their feelings and their safety.
But the toughest question for Issei and the one that he had been aching to ask her was...
"Why, Saeko?" He shouted at her the question that he had been agonizing over for the past several days, "Why!?"
He took a step forward, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his bokken.
"Saeko, everyone in school looked up to you!" He shouted even as he walked forward between the piles of his dead classmates, "They adored you and worshipped the ground you walked on!"
He couldn't help the hot tears of sorrow and frustration from escaping the corners of his eyes as he looked at the girl he had looked up to and once pined for.
"Because everywhere you went, you treated people with a cheerful gentleness that made them smile and look up to her. You were generous and smiling- always smiling- you smiled enough that people couldn't help but smile along. And when people were in need, you always stepped in to help... you helped so many people. "
"Including me…"
"That's why you were our Second Jewel of Kansai International Academy." he pleaded, "You were surrounded by friends who care about you, people who respect you, and crowds of grateful people you helped that adore everything you do… so why?"
His arms spread wide as he gestured all around them- surrounded as they were by the savaged bodies of people who had called her friend.
"WHY!?"
But instead of anger or some outward sign of evil like Issei expected. Saeko was simply… Saeko. Unbothered and smiling with the same gentle expression that she wore that he had seen when someone from our class would say something mean out of anger.
"Before I answer, I have a question of my own." She insisted with a soft curious tone, "What gave me away?"
"I have a type of magic that lets me read thoughts." Issei answered her without any qualms, his voice carrying through the night air. He thought that it didn't matter anymore if she knew how.
"Only surface ones, I'd bet." She snapped her fingers and grinned at him like she just understood a hard math problem. "I've done background checks on all of you… I know for a fact that you're not part of any of the Magician Organizations or any of the Big Three factions of the Church, the Devils, nor the Fallen: So you must be one of the many bastard bloodlines of one of the above… You've hidden your magic well, Ise-kun."
"None of those," he clarified to her despite only understanding a few words of what she said, "I'm part of none of those."
The knowledge that he was indeed living in a shonen anime with secret esper organizations in the background and a battle between heaven and hell… that was only secondary to what was in front of him right now. His classmates were dead, and their murderer was standing right in front of him.
His hardened, wary gaze never left her blood-stained form.
"Surprising… well as for why I'm doing all this..." Saeko gestured to the bloody remains of their classmates, "Ise-kun, if you had to choose between Akane's life and the life of a person here, which would you have chosen?"
"I would have found a way to save both." Issei answered without hesitation, which made Saeko snort in amusement- a soft smile on her pink lips.
"But if you really had to choose?" She pressed with an interested gleam in the pink colour of her eyes.
"Akane." Issei answered once again without hesitation.
+25 Reputation with Saeko Shiraishi for caring about her best friend and answering without hesitation (49/100 - Liked) (Locked!)
This Character (Saeko Shiraishi) requires the completion of a special Quest to advance to the next reputation stage. All Reputation and Affection gains are discounted until the Quest is completed. (Reputation & Affection losses are unaffected.)
"Good answer." Saeko judged, nodded approvingly with a satisfied smile, "Then in some distant way, you understand a small part of why I'm doing this."
And it was at that point that he lost his patience.
"How is any of THIS related to that?!" He half-shouted and half-growled at her as his arms spread wide- gesturing all around them to the carnage and the slaughter that she had built out of the bodies of their classmates.
Completely unbothered by his angry yell, her smile only widened as she giggled- as if he was asking for a punchline of a funny joke she knew.
"If you're still alive after this, I'll tell you the whole reason why, Ise-kun."
He knew it… he should have focused on Saeko's Quest right from the moment he received her quest [Behind the Smile]. It made sense in hindsight: Out of all the other Quests he had gained, it was the only Quest that had a time limit. He should have talked to her, to Akane… to anyone about Saeko rather than leave it for the last minute.
But now, he could sense in the tense atmosphere that... the time for talking was over.
== T ==
STATUS:
Issei Hyoudou
Title: The Protagonist
Level - 1
Class - [Locked]
Race - ?
Rank - Mortal
Alignment - Neutral Good
HP - 180
MP - 150
SP - 180
STR - 12
END - 12
DEX - 12
INT - 10
WIS - 10
CHA - 17
LCK - 11
Available points: 0
PERKS:
(CHA 15) Easy Approach: You find it much easier to approach people, and vice versa.
Observe Lvl 1: (Active) Let's you see the some info about other entities up to three levels above yours
== T ==
"[Observe]" Issei hissed out loud, no longer trying to hide that ability either.
Pink eyes blinked in realisation as Saeko let out a quiet 'Oh.'
"So, that's the one-word incantation that you've been mumbling around me all day long." Saeko murmured as she unholstered a black, retractable steel baton from one of the folds in her frilly magical girl costume, and with a flick of her wrist, it extended to almost the length of her entire arm.
The crisp metal clinking of the segments locking together made a sound almost like the bell before a fighting match. His brown eyes hardened as he steeled himself for violence- his two hands steadying their grip on his wooden sword.
Saeko Shiraishi - Lvl 3 Human
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Highest Stat: STR
Current thoughts About You: Is actually glad that you came along- now she can kill you with the rest of the class like she originally planned.
Reputation: 49 (Liked) (Next Level Locked!)
"Hey, Ise-kun~?" the pink-haired murderer cheerfully called out to him with a sly smile on her face, "You thinking what I'm thinking~?"
"Yeah…" He responded with a grimace, "Not like I'd let y-"
'Fast!' Issei barely had half a second before Saeko was already in front of him and had her baton reared back for a wide swing.
Purely on reflex, he made to intercept the rod of steel that was closing in on him with his sword: The wooden blade of his bokken impacted with the heavy metal of her retractable baton as he made to parry, only for Saeko's slender hand to lash out- trapping the bokken in an unyielding grip before..
-30 HP! (HP: 150/180)
...an elbow smashed into his cheek with the force of a flying sack of bricks.
The force and the pain barely had time to sink in his mind before his reflexes kicked in and he tried to back away with his weapon swinging…
Only for Issei to realise that Saeko's gloved hand still commanded an iron-clad grip on his bokken, and it was at that moment that Issei realised that she wasn't fighting using Kendo like Issei thought she would.
"You picked the absolute-!" Saeko happily exclaimed with a bright grin before...
-30 HP! (HP: 120/180)
… her elbow smashed into his nose with just as much force as before.
"Urgk!" Issei grunted as a wave of pain exploded from his nose. With his mind running on adrenaline and instinct, he threw a wild, desperate swing with his left hand.
"-worst weapon-!" She grunted as her white-gloved knuckles batted aside his hook with enough strength to bruise his forearm.
That same hand harshly gripped his hair- tearing some from their roots as she...
Critical Hit! -90 HP! (HP: 30/180)
… brutally yanked his temple down to meet her rising knee that was clad in a white thigh-high sock.
"- to use against me, Ise-kun!" Saeko finished with a panting laugh as she left him sprawled face-down on the concrete.
Issei couldn't think- his thoughts were a jumbled mess of aching pain and dizzying vision. From his position on the ground, he could only see Saeko's pink mary-janes with their equally pink bows.
Condition Gained: Concussion!
You sustained a hard enough blow to the head that you may experience dizziness and nausea and loss of balance or any combination of the above.
"Okay, Ise-kun. That's enough of that." Saeko sighed with a fond tone like he had pulled a mild prank on her. "You were obviously not trained nor prepared for violence. But I certainly was."
'Saeko fights dirty...' Issei painfully formed the thought before her glittery pink shoes kicked away his bokken and he vaguely felt her dainty hands patting down his pockets to empty him of his phone- setting it aside on the concrete.
"Now you're going to do me a big favour and let me frame you as the mass murderer that the police will be looking for." She happily explained as she began to drag him by the collar and across the concrete.
"It'll be very convenient for the police and myself that the ritual requires you to sacrifice yourself too." Saeko chirped in her usual carefree and happy voice, "Or at least, I'll make it look like it did."
He found himself being placed at the center of the fifth circle- the still sleeping faces of his remaining eight classmates just beside the spot where he kneeled.
"The police will get their mass murderer, and I'll get to say nice things about you when the news crew interviews me as a friend of the mass murderer. A win-win." Saeko hummed cheerily as she picked up a crude metal knife- its uneven edge made it look like it was homemade from a thick sheet of metal, but the way it was still dripping with blood told him that it was still sharp as any other.
'I have to stop her.' Issei gritted his teeth, his hands coming up to weakly grip Saeko's forearm that was steadying him as he dizzily tried to resist.
"Oh Ise-kun~" She pouted in a playful tone, "You should have just stayed at the hotel and made sure Akane-chan had someone to talk to, you know?"
"Maybe Akane-chan will be kind enough to shed a tear for you, who knows?" Saeko guessed with a happy voice as she took his hand and used his thumb to anoint the flat of the blade with some black ichor- cheerfully humming as she did.
'Akane!' His mind focused at the sound of her name being uttered. 'No, it can't end like this. I need to repay her for her kindness.'
And that vaguely familiar feeling once again rose from his belly, it was the same feeling when he talked down Saeko on the bus. A feeling of steely fury and invincibility seemed to spread from his core up to his chest and along his arms. His left forearm and hand in particular seemed heavy- like there was a bundle of strength right there waiting for him to release it.
So he did, and green light filled the courtyard.
== T ==
Perk discovered: [Wielder of the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet]
You wield one of the thirteen Longinus- a Sacred Gear with the power to kill God. Within your gauntlet rests the spirit of the Welsh Dragon known as Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor of Domination.
Effects: Doubles any permanent increase made to your STR, CON, & DEX
Ability Unlocked: [BOOST]
Activatable every ten seconds, BOOST temporarily doubles your STR, CON, & DEX. (This stacks multiplicatively.)
== T ==
"[BOOST]!" Issei roared as he batted Saeko's knife aside with one hand. His other fist, he threw a hook at Saeko, who barely dodged it- his knuckles grazing her smooth cheek.
Buff Gained: BOOST (x2)
STR, CON, & DEX are now doubled! STR(24!), CON(24!), & DEX(24!)
+20 HP! (HP: 40/360)
"A Sacred Gear! You're a Sacred Gear Wielder!" She breathed with excitement, her cheery smile turning jagged and unhinged. Her bright pink eyes seemed to glow a baleful pink like blood set aflame at the sight of the Red Gauntlet that covered his left hand.
Issei didn't care what this Sacred Gear was- he was already shooting the red gauntlet forward in a straight left punch.
"Guah?!" She gasped as his fist made contact with her stomach before she could properly block it. The look of shock and pain morphing her face for the first time.
Despite feeling like he was going to crumple over any second, Issei felt faster and stronger than ever before. Like had spent those weeks in the gym with that boxing trainer that his parents had always pushed him to go to.
Not that Issei cared for proper boxing form, as his other first was already swinging, impacting against her cheekbone with strength that would make any professional boxer proud. The force of his punch was enough to drive her from him- her pink hair whipping against his face as stumbled away from him- her shoes skidding against the concrete as she tried to regain her footing.
Not like Issei would let her, now that the advantage was his.
'Let me end this without anyone else dying.' Issei prayed to whatever god listened at the moment as he surged forward with speed he had never experienced before.
The leather of her shoes clacked against the stone, and Issei found her charging at him again.
Her metal baton rocketed through the air in a dangerous arc for his skull. Pink eyes gleamed brightly in the night air as they locked onto him as her bloodthirsty grin shone in the dark- flecks of blood on her teeth. It was a pretty intimidating sight, but Issei gathered his courage and charged forward...
"BOOS- Ugh!"
… right into the waiting trap that Saeko had laid out for him.
He deflected her baton only for her to let go of it. And his eyes could only widen as her white-gloved hand reached out for his throat. Her other hand- hidden by all the fluttering pink and white- suddenly came into view, as well as the knife held in it.
Issei could do nothing but watch as it sunk into his chest.
Critical Hit! -300 HP! (HP: -260/360 - Dying)
'What?'
Isse blinked uncomprehendingly as he suddenly lost feeling of his legs- making him crumple onto his side to the ground like as his legs buckled underneath him from weakness. The sudden shock of pain and weakness blasted through his body; still in denial, he looked down and his brown eyes saw for themselves the cause of his pain. The anointed knife's deep-red handle stuck out from his solar plexus- the blade buried deep into his torso.
Condition Gained: Dying!
The Gamer System will continue to support your life as your HP gradually sinks lower into the negatives until it reaches your negative max HP (-360) which will result in death. Healing your HP to a positive value will clear this condition.
"Hwah… Those were some good punches, Ise-kun." Saeko complimented as she stretched her jaw and winced when her hand tapped her bruised cheek. "By the look of it, you have a Twice Critical. If it was any other Sacred Gear like an Attribute/Elemental one, I would have been in big trouble."
But her explanation was lost to him as blood began leaking from the wound- he could feel the warm liquid soak into his shirt underneath his winter jacket. He attempted to reach up with his hands to slip the knife out- only for white-gloved hands to wrap around his own with surprising gentleness.
"Don't… it's too close to your heart." Saeko breathed in a gentle tone as she gave his hands a reassuring squeeze. Brown eyes looked up to the girl in pink and white kneeling by his side and holding his hands gently.
"You'll bleed out almost instantly if you do that, Ise-kun." Saeko fretted in a kind tone as if she was a nurse telling her patient to keep calm- a sincere sort of care glittered in her bright pink eyes.
He gasped to breath, unable to form the words that he wanted.
Carefully, Saeko maneuvered him back to kneel at the center of the last circle, his unresponsive legs falling limp underneath him as she moved him into a kneeling position. And when she was done, Saeko gave him a bright, friendly grin and a reassuring pat on the shoulder- just like she did all those times before when she finished helping him with his homework.
Even now, when she was the one to kill him... She was still the Saeko that he knew. She had always been like this. Happily smiling and gentle.
"Why- Why do you still act like you care? Why do a-any of this?" he stammered out between large gulps of air. The very act of talking was incredibly challenging for him.
"Well, you're still alive…" a slender finger on her chin as she looked up and mulled it over, "...and I did promise to tell you the whole reason why, didn't I?"
Reaching down, she clasped her hand in his. The soft white silk gloves warming his cold hands as her pink eyes like gems sparkling with an earnest hope.
"Because of Love, Issei." She breathlessly professed like a girl with a heartfelt confession. "Imagine if you had won here tonight, killed me and that you got to go home to Akane as a hero and be her new best friend. Imagine a few years of being side-by-side with her. And without rhyme or reason, she died. How much would you give to get her back?"
"I'd.. die for her." He grunted without hesitation.
"Good answer, Issei…" she approved with a soft smile, "But what if one soul wasn't enough? What if the price was two? Would your Love for her be strong enough that you'd throw away your morals and become a murderer just to be with her again?"
"I…" Issei tried to speak up, but he had to gasp as breathing became harder as the pain of being stabbed became excruciating.
"How about the price of three people's souls... or five... or ten?" Saeko pressed inquisitively, "How high should the price be before your Love seems not as important in comparison and you just… give up your love for Akane?"
"There… has to be… another way..." He rasped with his dwindling breath.
"Spoken like someone who isn't really in love…" She sighed with deep disappointment.
-50 Reputation with Saeko Shiraishi for not really being in love (-1/100 - Neutral)
"But essentially, that's the reason why I don't mind at all that I had to kill forty of my classmates. In fact, it makes me smile knowing that I'd go that far in the name of Love." She told him, one of her brightest and happiest grins that he had ever seen blooming on her pretty face- like she was a child told that she was free to roam around a petting zoo.
"A hundred people... A thousand... A million... A billion." She listed in pure awe, her bright pink eyes looking into the distance like she was beholding a beautiful landscape, "The feeling of joy only rises with the numbers. To be willing to kill so many...Oh, my capacity for Love must surely be so great!"
"Killing every man, woman and child on Earth... Just the idea makes me feel like I'm floating in clouds of happiness." She awed, closing her eyes and lifting her face to the starry sky, her slender arms hugging herself. "Establish breeding camps so that I can keep killing generation after generation by the millions on and on. Year after year. Forever! All in the name of Love!"
When her eyes cracked open, they were like pink-diamonds set on fire with pure insanity- twin gems of pink alight and crackling with mania. And Issei knew then that he was seeing the true face of Saeko Shiraishi.
"AND THAT, ISE-KUN! THAT IS TRUE LOVE!" She loudly declared, "If there was such a thing as True Love, that would be the closest thing to it!"
"True Love can be found gazing down at the growing mountain of corpses!" Saeko joyously proclaimed as she opened her arms wide- making a sweeping gesture to the gruesome sight laying all around them. To their horrifically murdered classmates, butchered and defiled by her own hand. "No! True Love congeals under all the bodies!"
"Ah, I don't know which one it is!" She wailed in indecision as her fingers nervously ran through her hair, a crazed grin almost splitting her face apart, "But I'm going to find out!"
"Ahahahahaha!" She broke into a crazed laugh as she- in a mass of fluttery pink and white magical girl costume- knelt down with him. Her gloved hands clamped down either side of his face like the jaws of a giant snake as she squeezed his skull in excitement as she shrieked with rapturous joy.
"I'M GOING TO FIND OUT!"
Her uncommon strength made it felt like his head was caught in a vice, and the pain was almost unbearable combined with the knife still in his gut. Then Saeko blinked dumbly- as if she suddenly remembered where she was, letting go of his head as she stood up.
"Teehee~ " Saeko gave her head a light knock with her hand as she extended her tongue out. "I got carried away and said too much."
A gentle hand ran through his hair, giving him a reassuring pat.
"There was no stopping me anyway." she consoled him as she beamed a satisfied smile at him, "Because, don't you know, Ise-kun?"
She flashed a winning smile at him- bright and happy.
"The Powers of Love and Friendship always wins in the end."
== T ==
MAIN QUEST FAILED
[The Powers of Love and Friendship]
[X] Objective - Stop the murders that Saeko Shiraishi is planning
[X] Sub-Objective: Save yourself
[X] Sub-Objective: Save your classmates (0/40)
[X] Secret Objective: Stop Akane Amamiya from feeling lonely on the night of her father's death
[X] Secret Objective: Convince Saeko Shiraishi to turn to good
Rewards: -
FAILURE: [Bad End - Sacrifice]
== T ==
In the end, he failed to even be there for Akane. But what hurt Issei the most was him knowing that it was indeed possible: that he could have saved them all, Saeko included. And in a way, the Quest was appropriately named, if he had been a better friend to Saeko… to Akane… maybe this could all have been avoided.
Taking a deep breath, Saeko pulled out from her duffel bag- a baton that looked eerily similar to what Cardcaptor Sakura used. And suddenly, the big circles of blood that were painted on the concrete began to glow an insidious red light, one after the other. A low reverberating hum rattled his bones.
On the first circle lay six of his classmates, all girls. Blood and innards lay in a steaming puddle between their wide-spread legs with dried semen decorating what was left of their skin. Chunks of flesh were missing from their limbs and bite marks left their breasts in tatters as if wild animals had raped them to death.
"With the thousand whispers of Slaa'nesh~... I sing psalms of unholy excess to my soul."
On the second circle lay nine of his classmates, a mix of boys and girls. Completely bare naked, but their bodies were covered with a multitude of bleeding wounds as countless sigils and symbols covered their skin from head to toe like a book of flesh and blood.
"With the thirty-seven keys of TzeEntCh… I unlock my ever-changing potential from the shackles of reality."
On the third circle lay seven, also a mix of boys and girls. A putrid cloud of rot and disease wafted from them as their bodies had been split open from neck to crotch- their skin peeled apart and splayed out for flies, maggots, worms and beetles to simply land on their exposed organs and feast and breed.
"With the twelve plagues of N∙u∙r∙g∙l∙e... I enrich myself to persevere through the pain of life."
But on the fourth circle, Issei could not see how many of his classmates had died there. Just chopped up clumps of blood and meat with white bones jutting out, and at the center of the circle lay a small pyramid of stacked skulls- polished to a perfect bone-white as they sat in a shallow pool of blood.
"And with the mighty axe of KHORNE… I cleave off the weak blood and flesh of my mortal form to rise anew."
And as the fifth circle that held him and his still sleeping classmates, pain exploded from every cell of his body- his classmates eyes snapping open all around him as they too felt the same agony.
"I am Shiraishi Saeko!"
And together in some unholy chorus with his now awoken classmates, Issei and his classmates screamed and screamed and screamed as their souls were flayed unceasingly by powerful, unimaginable forces.
"And I claim dominion over the Powers of Love and Friendship Undivided! ❤"
[Issei's Arc Epilogue]
In Kuoh town, a young devil heiress turned in her sleep- dreaming of some magical hero for her to befriend and deliver her from her hated fiancee's marriage. In the room across hers, a half-blooded miko looked at her black Fallen Angel wing and hoped that one day she will find someone who will accept her for what she is.
In another room within the house, a young nekoshou- curled up in blankets- trembles from the nightmares caused by her sister's betrayal, wondering if anyone can ever help her make it all go away. Across the night sky, an older nekoshou gazes out into the starry sky and prays that somehow, someone will convince her sister to find it in herself to forgive her older sister.
In Valhalla, an overworked and underappreciated valkyrie falls asleep in her cold bed- dreaming of one day finding a good boyfriend that would treat her well.
In Italy, a lonely nun looked up into the blue afternoon sky, a pair of doves flying in the distance and wished that one day, she too would find love as pure. In a church across the country, a blue haired exorcist cuts her hair short- wondering if love was something someone like her deserved. In another room in the church, another exorcist of the church gazes up into the afternoon sky and prays for her childhood friend's happiness and well-being, secretly hoping that they would meet each other again one day.
And in another world, in another time, the wielder of the Red Dragon Emperor would have answered all their hopes and dreams; and in doing so, he would become a radiant beacon of light and love and breasts in an uncaring world.
...
But this was not that tale.
It is the 101st Millennium. For more than fifty thousand years, Tzeentch- the Chaos God of change, evolution, intrigue and sorcery- toiled and planned in an increasingly cold universe. He is the last of the four Chaos Gods that once ruled Immaterium- the psychic parallel dimension of pure energy that existed alongside realspace. He is the last flickering flame of hope to whom the last remnants of life in the universe pray to for salvation. Yet even with His unrivaled rule on the universe, He is unable to stop the inexorable and unnatural freezing of the universe.
And it was all due to the actions of those who had gained the ultimate power that was the Gamer System. Beings who wandered from universe to universe slaking their insatiable desire for 'XP' and 'Level-Ups' on an unsuspecting reality- leaving behind only the ravaged husks of universes in their passing.
And this is the story of one such universe.
Even now, with the Gamer having departed millenia ago, her self-sustaining powers over ice and destruction creep from galaxy to galaxy, freezing the stars themselves solid and snuffing out life from a thousand worlds each day.
In this universe trodden and promptly forgotten by one who wielded the power known as the Gamer System, Tzeentch is but a carrion bird snatching up the glittering scraps of power the Gamer left behind. And from it, the Lord of Change fashioned a pale facsimile of the Gamer that had doomed them all. And one a Tzeentchian world, His pale facsimile of Akane Amamiya gazed up at the stars and wondered why she felt a kinship to the icy power that consumed them. All in the desperate hope that from her, would sprout their salvation- their own Gamer System in the hands of good.
Ultimately, such hope had borne fruit, only for it to have sprouted from an unlikely and dismaying source. From a sleepy mountain in Kyoto, the universe' fate was sealed by one feminine voice's damning exclamation of immense joy: "Rejoice, world! Rejoice, universe! Magical Girl Homicide-chan is going to show you all the Powers of Love and Friendship Undivided!"
To be a mortal in such a time is to be one of the last few billions left clinging to life. It is to live in the coldest and most desperate time imaginable. This is the tale of that time. Forget the power of the Sacred Gears, for they are only dying candles of a dead god- vainly flickering against the coming eternal cold. Forget the promise of peace and understanding, for even in this cold forgotten reality, there is only war. Even in a dying universe whose remaining time was measured in dwindling years, there is no peace amongst the stars, its final days filled with only carnage and slaughter...
"~Hehehehe~… HeHahOHah…
Hu∙hu∙hu∙hu∙… HAHAHAHA!"
… And the laughter of a thirsting magical girl.
== T ==
STATUS:
Saeko Shiraishi
Title: The Magical Girl of Love and Friendship
Level - 3-13
Class - Barbarian (Berzerker)
Race - Human
Rank - Mortal
Alignment - Chaotic Evil
HP - 100
MP - 100
SP - 100
Quintessence:
KHORNE (0)
N∙u∙r∙g∙l∙e (0)
TzeEntCh (0)
~Slaa'nesh~ (0)
Sacrifice points: 24
== T ==
- Chapter 2 End -
Chapter 3: A Magical Girl Learns about Honesty scheduled for posting on
…
AN:Shout out to Mirlnir's Akane Amamiya for whom this universe would not have come into being.
Thanks a lot, Akane.
FAQ:Q: I don't understand the setting. Is this DxD? Is this Warhammer 40k?
A: A DxD world set inside a post-apocalyptic W40k universe where almost none of the remaining factions are alive. The 40k aspect is barely relevant, and you won't see any other character from there.
Q: I don't understand the Tzeentch/ Prologue End part.
A: Long ago in this story's timeline, a high level Gamer dropped into W40k, killed everyone for XP with her Ice powers and moved on. This is the story of what happens to the partially trashed universe after.
Q: Who is this high level Gamer? Who is Akane Amamiya?
A: The Gamer of Mirlnir's "Play the Game Differently." A very enjoyable read, I highly recommend it. It also has a rewrite currently in-progress here. Her relevance will only increase as the story goes on. (Yes, Mirlnir has granted permission.)
Q: Are future worlds planned?
A: Yes. But they are not set in stone just yet. Needless to say, the world that she'll be heading to next will find it tough to survive her insanity.
Q: Could Issei have succeeded his Main Quest?
A: No, I wanted him to die. If this was a visual novel, it would have only had Bad Ends for him.
Q: No, really? Could Issei have succeeded in his Main Quest?
A: Fine… Yes. There were two ways that I envisioned him succeeding:
The violent way… He should have gone to Akane first. Issei lacked the CHA to properly lie, but CHA 18 would have been enough to convince Akane to tell him a bit about Saeko and score enough approval to date her friend. He'd then be invited into Saeko's house. He would have stumbled on the whole Ritual Sacrifice thing. That would have been what he needed to awaken his Longinus earlier and beaten Saeko during the class outing thereby preventing any deaths.
The secret way… He would have done everything as described above until he went to Saeko's house. He needed to read her diary. That would have given him her emotional weak spot to leverage in all his CHA checks with her. Seems near impossible? Not really, it's going to be relevant in a later chapter...
Q: Saeko too OP, too Soon!
A: No. She could barely take on Issei when he had one BOOSTOH!. If he had BOOST a second time, Saeko would have been on the backfoot. If he was allowed to BOOST a third time, he would have won for certain.
Sans the ritual, what she pulled off had taken months of preparation and planning, she was doing everything to the style of Hitman Agent 47 with one exception.