Disclaimer: I own neither Super dranganronpa 2 nor No game no life. The following fanfic is a fan-based story, please support the official release.
The future isn't a path, it's like an endless sea…
You can try to go anywhere.
But it doesn't mean you'll get there.
Even so… I'll keep on living.
"I'm so glad you accepted"
"…Huh?"
The older werebeast was confused, very, very confused. It wasn't because the representative of the lowest ranked [Exceed] was present, sitting comfortably in a chair before him. After all they were located in the embassy of the Eastern Federation, affairs with the other races should take place in such a place after all; furthermore as the assistant (and grandfather) of the ambassador Izuna Hatsuse it is his job to welcome such people and assist in dealing with them.
It wasn't because of the Flügel that was nonchalantly floating around the representative of the Imanity either, nor the (horrifically) casual way she labeled him her "Master" and listened to his every command with an almost nonexistent delay. After the Ten Pledges were established things before thought impossible became possible just as the Eternal War came to an abrupt end when it was thought only the world's end would stop it; so he could come to the understanding of the situation: Most likely she lost a game and was paying for it, a logical conclusion that was easily reached even if the likeliness of such an event is doubtful at best. The situation in front of him was saying that it was not only possible, but that it has happened already.
It wasn't because of the people following the King of Elchea either. He understood they were his closest aides so it was natural they were close to him. Why they'd follow him to an international meeting was beyond him but since the Imanity was the lowest, weakest race over Disboard he came to the conclusion a single man was not enough to maintain the control over an entire race. Upon seeing them he snorted, thinking that the difference between the powers of their respective rulers was evident with just their appearance in the embassy.
So why was this old werebeast, Ino Hatsuse so confused? Again, they are in the embassy. Their embassy, and were holding a conversation with the representative of the Imanity… Except they were not. For some time already everyone in the room but the Flügel has remained silent. The floating girl who has been asking a lot of questions to her "Master" has not gotten a single reply from him or his aides. It bothered Ino the nerve of those humans to ignore a being ranked as sixth among the Exceed but given that she couldn't lay a single finger over a single of their hair strands… But that wasn't the reason they stopped talking.
"H-Hold on!" The old man finally reacted as he slammed both hands on the table before him. The human king was taken aback a bit but wasn't startled at all.
"Is something wrong?" The young Imanity asked "Is there anything you do not agree to?"
The werebeast took a deep breathe. Even with the alluring tone of voice he wouldn't be deceived. Yes, he remembered the previous conversation. The new king of Elchea is a very smooth talker. It was less than half an hour but he managed to convince Izuna to wage a game to get all the territory the previous Imanity representative lost to the werebeasts. In return they'd get raw materials to better their infrastructure and country… In other words nothing since the territory in which said raw materials were taken from was already theirs.
Said like that the feeling of wanting to hit Izuna begun crawling on his limbs. It was too stupid, too retarded for him to bear and he would have just made her resign from her position if only he hadn't feel for it as well. The old werebeast's cold sweat rolled under his clothes. Not only the façade of being capable of reading minds was blown off but they were almost caught up in a scam so big only the Ten Pledges would have stopped the Miko from executing them.
No, that's not it. Ino thought. The situation is still salvageable.
""Raw materials"? Exactly where would you take that from? Aren't we already the owners of the lands that hold them? I wanted to see where this conversation was going but this… The nerve of you bald monkeys! Trying to fool us like this is the epitome of…!"
"Then, what would you like me to gamble?" The king interrupted without missing a beat, not bothered in the slightest by the pressure the voice of the old werebeast was applying. Even Jibril, the Flügel has stopped speaking yet the Imanity didn't seem to bother at all his attitude "There's not much else, is it?" He asked not to the ambassador but to his aides.
"…The old men in the castle did say there was extraction left" A red haired girl shyly replied. She at least seemed bothered by the werebeast and he noticed so it bothered him in return that the king wasn't affected at all "But just a mine or two against multiple territories is a bit…"
"We could always amass wealth with those "one or two mines". If it's this Togami Byakuya then…" Ino has never seen such a big Imanity… On the horizontal scale. The arrogant young man wearing glasses not so different of his own had a cocky attitude and just like the king didn't seem to be bothered by the pressure he applied to his voice. The blonde man's clothes almost didn't fit him from how fat he was, but oddly enough he was the only one wearing something remotely similar to formal wear with the exception of…
"Hajime should bet Jibril. Woman gives me the creeps…" The smallest among the aides spoke. Wearing similar robes to that of the white wearing Imanity it was the only other one who was wearing formal wear. He was glaring at the Flügel intensely though the werebeast was able to discern fear in the air. Said Imanity was wearing an eye patch of similar color to his clothes and gave off a somewhat dignified feel.
"Whaaaaat? Master would never bet someone as useful as me…" The Flügel replied hastily. She and the short Imanity begun arguing with him growing mad at her and her mocking him in various ways. The king simply sighed and shook his head.
"Do you have the right to bet that Flügel in a game?" Ino asked out of curiosity. The attention of the quarreling two was shifted to him as the king awkwardly laughed it off.
"I feel you'd be in the short end of the bargain so…"
"Eh?! Master! You can't be serious!" The Flügel whined and tried to get the king's attention to no avail, the rest of the aides had various reactions though most of them were of mixed feelings while the floating winged woman numbered reasons why he shouldn't beat her to the werebeasts.
"Bet her Hinata-kun. We've got our hands already full with Komaeda, in the end even if we lose it'd be a weight off our shoulders" A blond girl wearing similar robes to those of the ambassadors spoke in a really annoyed way sending daggers with her eyes to the Flügel in disgust. Ino had the weird feeling that virtually all of them really disliked the Flügel and were trying to get rid of her. Again, the king simply laughed it off and the elder werebeast had another feeling, that the king had similar opinions of the god slayer's shenanigans. Furthermore, the rest of the aides nodded at the same time upon hearing the kimono-wearing teen. Ino didn't know who this "Komaeda" person is but he began suspecting he didn't want to meet them either. If they were anything similar to the Flügel then it having him/her around is akin to wander around asking for troubles.
Well, they'd be troubled with having the Flügel around, so the business was simple.
"My apologies, but I don't think we can accept those terms. I ignore under what conditions you own that winged monster so please understand. We wouldn't like to have troubles with Avant Heim in the near future either. Right, Izuna?"
"…" The younger werebeast appointed as ambassador had been quiet the whole time, opting to let her grandfather to manage the conversation as she was catching up with the meaning behind the conversation. She knew her youth would allow the Imanity king to deceive her but was wise enough to cut negotiations with him and allow Ino to shift the conversation until it breaks down. But more importantly, she was studying the Imanity king attentively. Her senses were developing but were keen enough, she could feel something coming off the representative of the Imanity. She hasn't discerned what it is but it smells to her of danger "That's correct, desu" She said simply, nodding a couple of times.
"Then what would you have me bet?" The king asked as he bent over to lean his elbows on the table.
"Are you really that desperate to retake those territories?" The elder werebeast retorted as he cleared his throat. Since the king wasn't allowing negotiations to cease perhaps the werebeast could manage by provoking him or so he thought.
"…" Instead the young king decided not to answer and stayed silent.
"Even so we are not interested, desu" Izuna concluded as she got her own conclusion from the silence "You don't have anything of worth to us, desu"
"Ahahaha" The king scratched the back of his head awkwardly "But that's wrong Izuna-chan. I do have something of worth to you"
"Hmmm?" Both werebeasts looked at the king in puzzlement. He didn't seem all that cornered for someone who had come to beg an international game to get back their territory. Ino looked at him, really took his time to study the young man sitting in front of him. The king was nothing more than a man no long ago a child with spiky greenish hair with a strand standing in an odd position in the center of his head. He looked slim but Ino knew his body was sturdy for Imanity standards and was wearing a white cloth with short sleeves and something tied up around his neck and hanging on his chest. But the old werebeast took special notice of the young man's heterochromatic eyes. It wasn't the first time seeing something like that but in the Elchea king looked strange. A green eye and a red one staring at him in perfect contrast and giving off a vibe of confidence.
"Let's see… I wouldn't like to make assumptions but it'd be troublesome if someone were to know the kind of game you play… Right?" Ino's feeling of confusion returned. By all means it was a lie, a way to deceive them into playing his game. He knew that yet his uneasiness kept growing as the king awkwardly chuckled "Looking at this place it's plain as day you're technologically advanced. Not taking in account the similarities with Japan… And instead taking in account your position among the [Exceed], the Ex-Machina's existence added to that. It's not too much a leap in logic… Oh, and the way the dwarves fought the war before the One True God established the Ten Pledges as well…"
"…What are you trying to say, desu? Cut the chase already, desu" The younger werebeast said as her patience was drying up.
"…A videogame" One of the aides, a gray haired and red eyed girl finished her king's sentence as she fixed her glasses without hesitation in her voice.
"And a full immersion one while we're at that" The king nodded "I believe it's called VR?"
"Of course it is" The eye patch wearing immunity spat in self-mockery "Of course it's a virtual reality game…"
"Ah…" Even the white dressed human looked uncomfortable with the news and looked way less arrogant as he uncrossed his arms choosing to let the hang loose on both side instead.
"But this changes everything, right?" The red haired girl asked the king "Hinata-kun there's no reason to do it. We can manage somehow…" Her voice died down and the girl looked down with mixed feelings, unable to keep going.
"…Master?" Although Jibril would have begun hyping about the unknown information her master's friends were talking about she instead took notice of her master's discomfort and was reminded how there were some things she was almost forbidden of speaking about. So she controlled herself somehow and chose her words carefully "If it suits you better I can play in your stead. You just have to order me to do so"
"There's no need for that Jibril" Hajime replied calmly "I know you want to know, but we can leave explanations for later"
"…! I understood!" Jibril's face contorted as she tried and failed to hide her excitement from showing on her face.
"Creepy…" The red haired human commented and the eye patch wearing one nodded seriously.
"So how is it? I think we have brought something interesting to the table, no?" As the king turned his attention again to the werebeasts he went ahead and asked that.
The ambassadors hadn't move an inch since the king's proclamation. Izuna was doing physical effort to remain calm and the elder was simply looking down as he was better at hiding his surprise. Failing to answer would lead to ruin. Not only because of the Flügel but because they know the king has connection with the elves as well. Both high ranking Exceed, if information were to leak out it was very much possible both nations would rush toward the Easter Federation to dry the country from any useful thing it possesses.
The representative of the Imanity grew stiff "…How boring" He whispered as he stood up "We'll return to hear your answer, please think about a fair bet in the meanwhile" The man with the different colored eyes turned even before he finished talking and took his leave. The other humans gathered looked at each other but followed him just as the Flügel went in his direction. Only one of them remained behind, the girl with gray hair and eyes similar to the king's left one, staring hard at the elder werebeast. She sighed.
"Regret using a child as your ambassador for the rest of your life" Was all she said before bowing and following the rest of the Imanity.
"What a bunch of assholes, desu" Izuna said jumping off her seat and moving to the back door after the Imanity left. Her grandfather didn't say a thing and instead moved to his office where he began thinking about the events in silence. It took him hours but he decided to let things flow, in the end he was being threatened by the lowest ranked, weakest race around Disboard. Even weaker than some wild beasts out there, what was there to be feared of them?
The answer came the next day in the form of a present with the stamp of the king of Elchea.
It was Fuyuhiko's idea and told Hajime after they arrived back at the palace and corrected what the rest of Class 77B has caused in their absence.
"What if we send something to pressure them?" He suggested as he saw Mikan covered in what presumably was water or tea and Stephanie, the granddaughter of the former king, apologizing to her almost in tears.
"Pressure?" Hajime asked as he took Ibuki's guitar off the pedestal in where a sculpture once was. He didn't find the sculpture so he decided to leave the guitar there instead.
"In young master's parents' line of work things like that are quite common" Peko added while looking at the ceiling, ready to dodge anything that could fall on her "A warning to scare them in some kind of way, like an object from the person's house or a fing-"
"Ah…! I get it!" Hajime stopped her by raising his voice. Peko simply nodded.
"Even with war forbidden we can convince them we are going for real" Fuyuhiko nodded to himself as he said that.
So the plan was set in motion and they delivered the present as soon as possible. When Ino opened the present what was inside indeed made cold sweat run down his face.
Delivered the following day upon the arrival of the first rays of sunshine, it was a game console. Not a normal one, but a model made from various things like book covers and papers. It has been smashed and the inside was showing, a perfect replica of the circuits used by the werebeast systems. Ino knew, he has done maintenance to the hardware more than once so even a glance allowed him to understand: They were for real. He didn't know how they managed to get a hold of an imitation, but there was no longer any way to deny that they indeed knew the secret of their game.
"That aside. Jibril, how is the research on the Spirit Circuits going?" The very same morning Hajime asked as he approached the Flügel who had her halo circling around a goth-dressed Gundham.
"I'm very sorry Master, but so far we I have had no progress. If you gave me disposable subjects however…"
"Hmp, it seems the magic system of this world is incompatible with the magic in my body. This much should have been expected"
"…So he says but I don't detect any magic from him" Jibril added and Hajime laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah…"
"So master, about the test subjects…"
"No" He changed from awkward to dead serious faster than Jibril changed her mood herself. She dropped her head in defeat and followed the young man after being rejected "…Where's Komaeda?" He asked the flying woman while looking around "Haven't seen him since we returned to the castle"
"Komaeda is…?" The Flügel didn't remember the other ex-students' names. Hajime knew this but he had thought she would at least remember him when everyone was yelling his name in an almost daily basis.
Fortunately for him Peko helped him with a simple "That guy" while looking oddly frustrated, completely different from her usual poker face.
"Ah…!" If he had been an outsider Hajime would have laughed at Jibril understanding from just that. The Flügel used her halo as some sort of screen as she searched using magic "Seems to be in the dungeon underground with someone else" She finally informed him.
"Mitarai" The new addition to the class was an awkward kid who spends most of his time alone. Since the events at the Future Foundation Komaeda had been interested in the Hope-inducing video he produced, for better or worse it has had him occupied and since having company should be good for Ryota Hajime didn't oppose the idea.
There might be problems with the person in question being Komaeda, but he's mostly harmless… Most of the time… While being tied and dropped into a contained place with shifting security guarding him.
Of course, Hajime knows better than to doubt him. He's got Jibril after all which is arguably more dangerous while left unchecked and way more vicious in pursuing what she wants.
Once more Hajime silently offered his gratitude to Tet for establishing the Pledges like he has been doing since he came to Disboard.
"Master, where are you going?"
"Hmmm? To the meeting room, there's work to do"
"Please excuse me, if you are going to take that responsibility then why did you give it to the other humans?" Certainly he distributed the administration of the country between Byakuya, Sonia and Stephanie. The Ultimate Affluent Progeny and both princesses were more than prepared to take in the bulk of the job: Their talents were meant to be used for that. Still…
"I'm the ruler, that's kind of my job" Hajime replied as if it was obvious "Beside Togami-kun is not here at the moment" The girl whom Hajime won against for the throne was still missing. With Jibril examining the Magic Chess pieces they found out they were tampered with elven magic. Jibril didn't understand why that was relevant since she could pretty much shield Hajime and the rest of class 77-B from the elves by herself, nonetheless Hajime sent "Byakuya" to find the girl's whereabouts and hopefully bring the elf that helped her as well. Of course Jibril saw the calories-filled human leave after they came back from the embassy but she didn't know where he was headed "I'll take his part of the work. The country isn't precisely in its optimal condition and we don't want the people to lack the most basic living conditions"
Beside, it'll get him occupied. If he doesn't use his talents too much he can cope with the ever-ceasing boredom that would otherwise assault him.
"I don't really understand but… Master, what should I do in the meanwhile?" The question was made sound like it'd that just a couple of minutes for Hajime to be done but then again the sense of time for a Flügel must be quite different from a human's. At least that was the conclusion Hajime came to.
"Continue with Tanaka-kun the research on the implantation of Spirit Circuits" The young man replied off-handedly.
Jibril pouted "Honestly speaking, I doubt there's a way to implant spirit circuits successfully into a human's body without tearing it apart limb from limb: Even if I knew a process to implant them the probability of the subject surviving might as well hit the negatives"
"You give up too easily, there must be a way"
"Even the Lord Artosh opted to create us, the Flügel, instead of granting power to the Imanity to fight his wars for him" Jibril added while sounding really troubled. After all, what her master was asking of her was for all matter and purposes impossible and probably worse than useless since the Imanity were the weakest race with a dirt level magic to boot. The werebeasts who are ranked higher than them can't use magic either so…
"Artosh was the strongest among the Old Deus, right?"
"Indeed, in the era they were named simply as "Deus" he was the best candidate to become the One True God. Our master was truly the strongest in the world! If he had taken over the One True God Tet then things would be… Very different" Hajime casually ignored the ecstasy in in Jibril's voice and face.
"You once mentioned every living being have spirits inside their bodies, perhaps we're looking at the big picture too much"
"Yes, not only the Exceed… What are you thinking Master? Could it be…? Certainly getting you and your people spirits might be possible. For you to use them… Well, that's another story"
"Mhm, we should start with that. I'll leave it to you"
"I understand, I'll fulfill my mission to the best of my abilities" The Flügel bowed and vanished from his presence.
"I admire how you can put up with people like her" Peko commented as she kept following her fellow ex-student to the conference room.
"Ahahaha… What can I say? It's a talent, I guess" Hajime awkwardly replied as he opened the door in front of him.
"I'll return to young master's side Hajime-dono" The girl said as she bowed.
"There's no real need for that though" Without war bodyguards are useless. However he saw in her eyes her desire to keep up her duty. He knew there was no way to convince her otherwise "Well, go ahead"
"Yes"
Finally alone he entered the room where Sonia and Stephanie were waiting for him.
"Ah, Hajime-san. Good morning"
"Look at who decided to show up!"
Both girls greeted him in their own way. Getting along with the former princess was harder than Hajime originally hoped and still couldn't wrap around the way he should interact with her. Well, with him being the king a bit of informality is probably fine.
"Sorry for pushing everything on you, good job so far" Hajime said as he took a seat and begun reading the documents that were meant for Byakuya to be taken care of.
"This is the only way I can make myself useful, thanks to you I have a duty to fulfill" Sonia replied happily with a smile that said "Don't mind it" as she spoke "More importantly, is everything going alright Hajime-san?"
"What could be more important than a king doing the king's job though?" Stephanie commented with her cheeks puffed.
"The negotiations went as planned. We should be expecting an invitation to the embassy by tomorrow" Hajime replied "With that in mind the game with the Eastern Federation should be taking place in four or five days from today. Hatsuse-san isn't contacting the Miko, so the opponent will be Izuna-chan. With that in mind the possibility of bringing more people into the game is open, though I don't know if that is the best course of action. If the game ends up being a real time strategy then more people would make our game sloppy for example"
"Wait a moment, how do you know they are not contacting the Miko?" The former princess interrupted hurriedly "Don't tell me you had Jibril plant a spying spell on them?!"
"Eh? Huh? Ah… No, that's just the conclusion I came to after meeting him" Hajime's reply was ambiguous on purpose. They had more or less explained the nature of their affinities with certain tasks and the resulting in the title of "Ultimates" but some things were left out like the Ultimate Imposter's existence and the nature of Hajime's Ultimate Hope talent. They didn't doubt Stephanie's allegiance but talking about Hope's Peak and what they were doing prior to their contact with Tet is delicate information at best given how they are responsible for the destruction of their world.
Sonia is well aware Hajime possesses the Ultimate Analyst talent, Stephanie is not. That's why she couldn't believe he was getting ahead of himself and blindly trusting his intuition.
"Hajime-san, Stephanie-san might be right. Perhaps we should employ Jibril-san better" Sonia commented with an impartial tone.
"I'd like to avoid her moving too much" The king replied in a heartbeat "If it comes down to it I'll make sure to have her ready"
"With her not even scouts are needed, right?"
"Mhm, she alone is capable enough. The only problem would be…"
"Right, but Hajime-san. If you take direct control of her nothing could be done to retaliate, right?"
"You're right"
"Then I'll leave it in your care"
"Hey, don't forget war is forbidden" Stephanie hurriedly said as the other two began talking in a darker tone.
"I know" Hajime replied.
"But of course" Sonia as well.
Although not completely convinced the former princess left the subject like that. They worked in silence and time went by as they kept working.
The next day the werebeasts contacted them.
Although Ryouta refused to leave his hiding spot Hajime brought everyone (but him) along this time around.
"It seems like only the big one is missing" Ino commented as the rest of the students sat down.
"Togami? He's on a field trip" Hajime replied as if not too interested in the conversation.
"I see, I see… Excuse me while I cut the chase but, we'd like to accept your challenge for a game" The old werebeast said in a composed way "But before that we…"
"Excuse me, but shouldn't the ambassador be the one doing the talking?" Komaeda interrupted while slamming his artificial arm on the table as if he was offended "Ah, don't get me wrong. It's just, you don't have to do her job, right?"
"I-Indeed" Ino replied shaking, already with half a mind to bash the white haired young man on the floor… If only that was possible "Izuna, if you would"
The smaller werebeast stood up on her chair as if to look imposing.
"Where did you get the knowledge from our game, desu?!" She yelled while crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yes, we just knew" Hajime replied.
"The only one whose memories of it weren't erased was the previous king of you rascals, desu. But he was told not to say anything, desu. Am I correct to assume you got in some way information from him, desu?"
"No, we knew already"
"That's impossible. If you speak now we should be able to proceed in a friendly way, desu" Izuna insisted.
"As I said, we already knew"
"Well, that should be obvious since Master is…"
"Jibril, shut up"
"…Yes"
The tension in the room raised. Ino was checking on everyone's involuntary reactions so he knew they were agitated. Everyone but the king, who kept his composure at all times. The old werebeast knew they had noticed the information that Izuna just leaked and was sweating cold from just thinking what the king would do with it. If their previous encounter was anything to go with his level of intelligence is far above what they expected.
However he too knew the king only had control over the Flügel.
They knew from the previous king. His granddaughter's reactions gave that much away, he can work with that.
"Izuna, the negotiations"
"Yes. We'll accept your bet but we want in exchange the Elchea castle and everything that is in there, desu" Izuna quickly told them.
"…The castle?" Fuyuhiko let out in confusion.
"But that's…!" Stephanie was about to oppose but Hajime's words overrode hers.
"There's no problem with that"
"…Also, the Elchea library"
"Huh?! No! Not the library!" Jibril grabbed Hajime's face with both hands and practically head-butted him while talking "Everything but the library! Master please! Don't do this to me!"
"Hey, he hasn't even…"
"That's fine as well"
"MASTER! WHY! I HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL TO YOU SO FAR! MASTEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" Somehow ignoring Jibril's screeches Hajime continued.
"How noisy! Shut up already!"
"Yeah, shut it woman! You're going to destroy my ears!"
"Is that so? Are you not going to question our choices?" Ino asked a bit perplexed while caressing his beard.
"No, I got the general idea as to why these places" Hajime replied "I'm under the impression it covers everything that dwells within their walls?"
"Indeed"
"I see, then shall we discuss the terms of the game?" Hajime asked softly with an amicable smile plastered on his face. Ino shuddered.
All according to the plan.
Stephanie Dola was restless.
Unlike the Flügel who has embraced her servitude Stephanie still had worries about the one who became king of Elchea.
She met Hajime while dueling Chlammy Zell when he approached her and in a whisper told her Chlammy was cheating. She lost and wasn't able to prove Chlammy was cheating but got to meet the young man again that day as he was departing from the city. Along him she met Byakuya and Komaeda who invited her to join them in their improvised camp after she lost most of her possessions. The rest of the class had set a camp away from the Imanity capital, Stephanie was exhausted and Komaeda carried her most of the trip. That was the first shock she got.
"Wha…?!" One of the hands that was holding her felt cold and hard on her, and when she touched it the metallic feeling got her energies back as she jumped off the albino's back "That's…!" That hand was artificial, robotic in nature. Although Disboard is apparently in an age unfit to know such concepts there was one race that has bodies that fit the description: The Ex-machina. The following explanation was hard on both sides and Stephanie didn't want to believe what she was told.
There is a guy who could manufacture things like that.
A human doing things like that, perhaps it could be explained since they likely stole dwarf technology or are spies of the race.
Even after meeting them such doubts remained and after she explained the situation of the capital she was almost completely sure. For what reason would people not know such things? Of course, for that reason she wanted to oppose their decision of participating in the games for the crown. She didn't want a simple puppet to rule their race, as the granddaughter of the previous king it was her duty to at least see a fit person for the job be given the crown.
It was curious how they decided to have the heterochromatic young man participate. Sonia was the one who would do it, but apparently the ones most likely to win were the guy Komaeda who the rest discarded immediately, Hajime himself and a third person that was not present and so far she doesn't know anything about. So Hajime was chosen and the second shock came during the magic chess match.
"That's blatantly cheating" Hajime said when he saw his fist piece turn into Chlammy's upon touch with other piece.
"Is that so? Prove it then" The girl replied arrogantly. Stephanie panicked, since the Pledges forced to prove the cheating to be valid there was no way to prove the use of magic in the halls. No one could. However the young man stayed calm.
"I can't" He replied after a couple of seconds of thinking.
"That's what I thought" The girl chuckled "Just because you are in a thigh spot doesn't mean you can just throw around the word "cheater" as it befits you. Be a man and accept your…"
"No, that's wrong" He calmly interrupted "I figured out something of this nature would happen… Magic is really interesting. This is something I can't really predict very well" Stephanie noted the happy tone he was speaking with. It was odd, and the rest of his companions were calm as well. Perhaps the girl and the man were allies? Regardless of who wins Imanity is doomed? Those questions assaulted the princess and her nervousness became stronger. It wasn't until Sonia stepped in that things looked really awful for her.
Sonia gave a speech to the pieces.
Both sides turned to hear her out and everyone in the room became speechless with her words. The Ultimate Princess is her title among those in the camp. Her skills were turned to rule and administrate. Her words carried such weight that some people witnessing her talk were reduced to tears and some were so moved by her that later on they increase the morale of the country. The rules only specified that the match between those moving the pieces would be one on one. As Chlammy's pieces turned against her she tried to cancel the match by saying Sonia had no right to step in. But she was not playing, she was among the spectators, simply encouraging Hajime. She lost as her king was left alone, even the queen turning against him.
It was shocking, moving, sad and a lot of other things but Hajime won.
When he took notice of the situation with the Elchea Library he challenged the Flügel residing there for its ownership.
Those were the third and fourth shock.
He claimed that he and his friends were from another world and that they had information with the equivalent of hundreds of books from that world. Previously Hajime and the rest had been writing endlessly before going to the Library, their respective talents apparently making them masters in their own fields so they managed to pull a good amount of information in there.
Jibril betting her everything was another shock, but not from them so it doesn't really count. Hajime winning was the shock. Using terminology she didn't understand she watched through the safety of the seat the world created for the materialization game disappear at their call.
Hajime erased the face of the planet, jumping from a pyramid with a power that no human should have. Jibril had noted that his body was different from other humans, but even she was startled by the leap that was more like that of werebeasts than of humans. They began to fall and the game continued until Hajime's last move.
"Planet" The Flügel disappeared from sight and Hajime landed nearby the place they had been playing on. Apparently he calculated the time it'd take for both him and Jibril to fall and timed it to be able to make the entire world reappear when the Flügel hit the correct distance.
Even as the strongest of her race Jibril was crushed in the deeper section of the world by mountain and sea alike. She didn't tell them if she died or not but the sheer pressure at least left her without any mean to continue playing.
Then it hit her.
Hajime was a genius, she finally understood why the rest left things to him and only helped out whenever needed. Later on she was told that he was special even among them and when she asked what his "Ultimate" talent was they didn't know how to answer, with a vague "You could say talent itself it's his talent" as the only real reply she got.
Now then. While she thinks of him as a genius, there's no way not to worry about the incoming match. Although they understand the principles of the game the werebeasts are a race who can read minds. Even with their game figured out it's not really realistic to think the Imanity can win.
…Right?
"It's starting" Chlammy whispered while looking upon the projection Feel made. The dome the Imanity king was entering was big enough to house hundreds of people. The circular ceiling reaching up several meters above their heads and sustained itself without the need of any kind of pillars.
"These?!" Gundham who was following Hajime and the rest exclaimed as he saw the animal ears and tails on the people surrounding them.
"Yes, these are the werebeasts" Sonia whispered on his ear as they walked.
"What are you getting all worked out for? Didn't you see them at the embassy?" Hiyoko exclaimed caring little about acting low profile.
"Leave the guy alone! It's good to see him excited for something other than his magic stuff, ha, ha, ha!" The big guy Nekomaru followed while openly laughing to his heart's content.
"W-Well… It's difficult not to get excited over catgirls like that…"
"Hanamura-san…"
"Ha, ha, ha, ha! That's too much passion even for Ibuki!"
Chlammy raised an inquiring eyebrow. Everyone looked in high spirits except for Stephanie and Hajime themselves who were leading the march of people towards the center of the dome where a platform was waiting for them.
Normally spying like that wouldn't be possible, however the werebeasts were worried about the flying woman following the Elchea king closely more than anything else. Feel actually thanked the fact she was present as it was because of the wariness placed on the Flügel that they were capable of sneaking into the match like that.
"We welcome you to this our humble building" Ino greeted them with a stiff position. Izuna bowed silently just as the older werebeast said that "It's not much but I dare say there's nothing like this in the Elchea kingdom"
"There isn't" Hajime replied simply "Stadiums are designed like this, however there aren't any like that in here. Furthermore cupules are only used as part of the structure and not the structure itself. Normally it'd take hundreds of years to…" He became quiet as he looked at his surroundings as if he had just noticed the many werebeasts in there "Why are they here?"
"The game you're going to play is very popular among the werebeasts. These are the top tier players in the Easter Federation, developers and fans that came to see Izuna kick your… Ahem, Izuna play"
"I see" Hajime said as he raised a hand to stop Jibril from speaking.
"Well, I must apologize. Although you didn't state how many of you would participate we prepared multiple consoles but this much people…"
"No, I'm playing alone"
"…!" Whispers among the witnessing werebeasts ran rampant through the seats. Class 77-B was calm, after all they have planned this during the previous days.
Well, more like decide on who should go with Hajime, but one by one were discarded as they began listing the countermeasures the werebeasts had.
With superhuman strength, speed and resiliency alone most were discarded. Taking in account they didn't know what kind of game it was both Gundham and Akane dropped out and finally…
"I can't come along Hinata-kun"
"…I thought it was common sense Komaeda wasn't going though?"
"Saonji!"
"Komaeda… Why is that?"
"Well, even if it might seem like my talent would be useful… Well, it's very probable it'll backfire in the least expected moment"
"…"
"This is important, you alone should be more than enough so don't burden yourself with someone like me"
Hajime had agreed to that, that's why in spite of being allowed the advantage of bringing other Ultimate students along him he turned the werebeast down.
"In your territory, playing your game under your rules and one on one against who you deemed worthy of being our opponent… I assume you'll have no excuses when you lose under these circumstances?"
"…!" Ino clenched his fists and Izuna hissed. The man standing before them was completely different from the one who humbly came along to challenge them and the one who used sweet words to lure them into accepting. With a heart rate slower than normal, his lips sealed into a fine line and cold heterochromatic eyes looking at them… No, looking down on them. The king of the Imanity appeared to be a different person entirely, only related to the man they met at the embassy by body and name.
They had felt insulted but now wariness took over their senses. The less experienced Izuna actually took a fighting position with both hands spread like claws ready to leap at the king at any moment.
"…" However the man before them was as calm as if he was watching fish inside an aquarium. His posture didn't change nor did his biological functions changed in the slightest "…How boring. Let's get started"
"Was that the man that won against my brainwashing spell?" Feel asked as she peered from behind Chlammy's back.
"…Yes, that's him" The human replied "Well, it wasn't actually him, one of his aides did something to overpower the spell but…" As the older werebeast explained the concept of the game Chlammy didn't take her eyes off Hajime "Something's wrong"
"I can't detect any kind of magic coming from him"
"It might be because we're not present, or perhaps the Flügel is interfering with us"
"That would be weird, why would that demon let us see through then?"
Both girls looked intently at the projection. So invested they were that they didn't notice when a male elf, way too fat to be of the race, approached them in silence.
"So it's actually a full immersive game" Kazuichi commented while Hajime was taking his position "I've got the general idea from the Neo World Program. Since circuits and engines work the same I'll suppose the programming is the same as well, which leads us…"
"Will they cheat?" Sonia asked the question Kazuichi was leading them to.
"The question is not if but how they'll cheat" Kazuichi replied in an oddly serious way given who he was talking to.
"We don't know anything about magic 'n stuff, right?" Akane asked in an equally serious tone.
"Yes, we don't know how it works or well, ANYTHING" Kazuichi replied "I'm not well versed in programming. Also allowing magic use into a virtual reality feels too weird"
"That's not right Souda-kun" Komaeda said "Think about all the games Nanami-san played. Magic existing in the real world doesn't mean they can't program independently into a game. Think about all the stuff that happened in the Neo World Program that real life cannot replicate. Magic might as well just use the source code to shape the virtual reality. Like Usami or Monokuma did"
"Woah… Komaeda has a point"
"He, he. Thank you Saonji-san"
"Jibril" Hajime called as he sat down in the artifact that would immerse him into the game "You know what to do" His voice was slightly muffled as the helmet came down on him.
"Yes, master. Leave things to me" The woman replied.
"Should I remind you magic does not work inside the game?" Ino inquired.
"If you already know then it's useless to ask, right?" Jibril replied with a wicked smirk. Her halo then expanded and hovered over the sitting Hajime "I'll protect master from any outside interference. You're okay with that, right?"
"It's not like he can interact with the real world while he's playing" Ino shrugged "Are you ready Izuna?"
"Yes" The child replied "I'll carry out as planned" With that said both of their consciousness were transported Sword Art Online style into the game.
Five minutes into game.
Hajime was mapping out the game's landscape while shooting kimono-wearing animal-eared cute girls left and right. His step was sprightly and as he moved his head left and right his tracks were being followed by the petite werebeast. Izuna was looking at him through quite the distance but didn't lose him at any point, she made sure to avoid NPCs that would give away her position when shot and took into account that he has figured out the cloth trick already by shooting a NPC on her summer hat.
"Clever monkey, desu" She whispered as she leaped up through another skyscraper to follow the man. She planned to let him get comfortable enough with the game environment to drop his guard and attack from his blind spots, she still resented being looked down by that man and the desire to thoroughly crush him in an humiliatingly quick way was boiling inside her.
The werebeasts present too were expecting Izuna to do just that. Some of them wanted her to hurry up and crush the bald monkey for badmouth them in public, others praised her for her wisdom to not hurry up too much and make a mistake, developers and such were bragging about their creation and the special functions they managed on the last minute to avoid the lesser Imanity some fairness and not lose due to falling from too high and things like that while the pro gamers were evaluating both Izuna and Hajime and commenting among themselves on what approach to take from both sides while the lesser ranked gamers were listening to them or adding a comment here and there. Those truly focused on just watching were few, with the Ultimate students being among them at moments. Most of them felt weird while looking at Hajime inside a game, the island mutual killing life still vivid in their minds.
The tension began to spread about the 20 minute into the game.
Hajime shot a bullet in between his feet, as he ran the bullet hit a sign that was above him and bounced off in a diagonal direction. Izuna was there, she noticed the bullet's trajectory and leaped out of its destination.
"Wha…!" The next instant another three shots followed the last, all of them directed at different directions as if they were trying to cage her, leaving Izuna a small margin of time to escape. The first was directed at her while the other two made it difficult to avoid since she had her back against an air duct.
"…!" Ino looked at her granddaughter lose a sandal and leaped to the next building to hide. He ignored Jibril's muffled laughs as he observed Hajime's movements.
Almost completely with the clockwork precision of an Ex-machina. The young man pointed his gun without turning even his eyes and continued moving while his shots made Izuna leap farther and farther from him. Moreover the astray shots bounced off until they'd hit a nearby NPC and disappear, refilling Hajime's bullets as he advanced. Although the bullets would dissipate after straying too far from an objective the Imanity king did not waste a single one as all of them ended up connecting with an NPC.
Cold sweat ran down Ino's forehead as he took his hands to his console and looked at Hajime's information. His brain power couldn't be read, the numbers were changing at fast speed as his calculations changed second by second. He wasn't cheating, he couldn't even say it was Jibril's doing since the game wasn't capable of turning magic into information for the game since they hadn't been able to discern the secret behind the Ex-machina's technology and the Dwarves' only used it to power theirs and to a degree inferior to do what they were doing to make the game work. Even if they wanted to fake it they hadn't implemented a way to read magic signals. It came naturally to them and other races, so normally it wouldn't be necessary but the miniature changes needed to be showed to "prove" cheating…
"Eeep!" Izuna lost her other sandal as she got to the ground after catching up with Hajime, whose steps went faster again as he took more distance. She leaped backwards to avoid the first two bullets and turned into an alley to avoid three more. The movements of the bullets made her feel she was the one being followed even though her steps were directed after the guy's. When the barrage stopped she moved again to the security of the skyscrapers, noting she lost Hajime she was looking around in a frency.
"Hello" As she landed on a roof the young man who had been standing there threw a heart shaped grenade at the young werebeast with three shots, one on each side and one above her to prevent her from running. She hadn't expected him to be her and as she was startled she used her mantle to cover herself from the impact.
"How did he get there so fast, desu?!" After jumping off the building she turned in midair and shot bullets to fend off the human's, who leaped after her. The bullets hit each other with pinpoint accuracy and bounced off in the opposite direction. Hajime avoided them by hitting the walls of the nearby building and getting away from the trajectory "Wha?!" The speed he displayed far surpassed what she expected he could pull off, it felt like she was playing against a fellow werebeast instead of a human.
"It's started" Komaeda commented with crossed arms "Hinata-kun has all the information he needs, this is the turning point"
"Wooooh! Hajime-san go!" Sonia cheered as Komaeda informed them.
"This kind of reminds me when I woke up…" Mahiru said with a face full of displeasure.
"Yeah…"
"Me too…"
The uncomfortable feeling among the Ultimate students arose.
Meanwhile Izuna was being chased by Hajime through the skyscrapers. The momentum he gained from having shown his physical ability to match her shook her mind a little and he hooked himself to that momentum, not giving the child time to re-evaluate her situation. She could fire her gun under pressure just fine, but she was beginning to get nervous as her opponent felt more like an adult werebeast than a human. They had not planned on the chance their physical abilities were matched.
"I won't lose, desu!" Even so the small girl retaliated, using her skills as accurately as possible to avoid and deflect bullets while beginning to search the distance as her senses should still far outclass the human's. And yes, Hajime's senses are outclassed by Izuna's, however the opportunity to snipe him was slim as he gave chase without break.
Upon seeing this, Izuna's mind began cooling down. Realizing her disadvantage she took a different position and leaped towards Hajime with all her might. As a projectile she directed herself at the young man with a grenade in hand.
"…!" At such a short distance there wouldn't be a way to avoid it. Hajime had exhausted all his bullets in a single round and although Izuna contemplated the possibility of them hitting a NPC it'd still take a few seconds.
However with incredibly speed Hajime grabbed Izuna the moment she was going to throw the grenade, so close he actually got a hold of her, and spun around to throw the young werebeast downwards.
She tried detonating it with a bullet but Hajime's gun was refilled moments before and Izuna had to fend off another round of bullets instead.
Her landing created a crater on the concrete and without a single second passing she got up and escaped inside a building.
"How boring" Hajime dug his fingers inside the wall of a skyscraper and held himself like spider-man while looking where Izuna had disappeared to. Despite his words the expression he was wearing was that of deep focus. Hajime's eyes didn't stray until he closed them, choosing to climb the rest of the building with a single leap.
"…" The miko, who was watching the match from her personal seat stood up after taking her decision to move their goods out of the bet lands.
"…" Chlammy Zell was watching with unfocused eyes at the man move while her elf friend was behind her along Byakuya whom had a serious expression while crossing his arms.
"I still can't believe a human could fool the security from Elven Garde" Feel commented while turning her eyes toward the man.
"This is my specialty" Byakuya commented off handedly "Do you understand now Zell?" He turned his attention toward the speechless girl "Hinata would like to have a word with you"
"…How?" She finally spoke with a dry throat "How is he managing to do that? What kind of power is being lent to him?"
"Let's see…" Byakuya pondered "Ultimate Gymnastic, plus Ultimate Soldier, plus Ultimate Analyst and perhaps Ultimate Gamer as well"
"Heh? "Ultimate"? What do you mean? What kind of magic is that?" Chlammy asked. Byakuya grinned.
"It's just talent" Was his reply.
"Talent…" Chlammy mumbled as she looked at the players.
Izuna was missing clothes and out of her zone of comfort while Hajime had his black suit completely intact, with a serene vibe to him he was giving chase to the werebeast child. Not like he enjoys stripping naked young girls with animal ears, but the control he holds over the situation made him feel serene. Even Izuna understood he was stripping her off her means to defend. At some point she began hearing more shoots, and with that the number of NPCs decreased greatly. Izuna panicked when she realized her bullets replenishing less and less but quickly got herself together; the bullets directed at her were lesser than before, allowing her to think more carefully her moves. She effectively decided to put more effort on dodging than blocking and began competing with Hajime for the shots on the NPCs.
About 25 minutes into the game a bullet almost graced Izuna on the cheek.
Her grandfather's heart skipped a beat and his body stiffened as an "OoOoOOOOoOhhh!" escaped from the crowd watching as they thought she would be hit. Izuna leaped away and disappeared in between the tallest skyscrapers yet the young heterochromatic man didn't give chase. He stared intently at the place he last saw her and wandered his eyes on the surroundings before turning his back on her and walking away.
"…You there" Ino called a male werebeast among the staff "Take my place" He commanded with a neutral tone of voice and clenched fists "…I need to reunite with the Miko-sama" After saying that he took his hands off the control console and walked away as the image of Hajime's back was displayed on the screen almost directly above him.
Another shooting sound echoed from the speakers to the sides of the screens. Ino stopped dead and turned to face the showing game. Izuna had shot a couple of NPCs and had ammunition refilled. With that she began leaping from building to building until she dropped to the subway. Hit and run tactics, she began using such tactics about 28 minutes into the game but the moment he saw his grandchild dive into the darkness he knew what she was about to do.
"Komaeda" Nekomaru leaned on the albino and whispered "How much longer is this match going to last?"
"Hmmm? I wouldn't know" He replied and looked at the rest of the students "Don't look at me that way. Hinata-kun said it, didn't he? As long as Izuna-chan's trump card is still on the table she'll still have a chance to win. You'll know when it's coming to a close when she uses that"
"I-It won't be much more"
"Hmmm?"
Mikan shyly pointed out.
"She's mentally… Exhausted and her choices are not many. Hinata-kun's bullying is… I mean! Hinata-kun's tactic is working"
"Bullying? Well, he's come as overwhelming so far" Komaeda chuckled "As expected of the Ultimate Hope! This is truly wonderful!"
"Eeeh! Komaeda is being gross again!"
"Look!" As Ibuki caught their attention the screen's information has changed drastically. Hajime's information displayed him with almost no ammunition at all times. Izuna's hit and run tactics allowed her to have Hajime in a reachable distance at all times. Hajime's shots began straying way too far and disappeared. The young man began moving slowly, at all times being on guard from Izuna's sudden appearances.
"I knew it…"
"Chlammy?"
"Feel, what do you think is the cause of that man being capable of pulling off those…?"
"Wonders? I dunno… Perhaps that demon did something to his body?"
"Probably, and if you meddle with your body… Things like that happen. It's been some time already. Tiredness begins to build up, then concentration. On top of that the werebeast looks more than ready to keep going" The girl finished by covering her eyes, she too was tired even though she had been just watching "We should have taken things from the Library while they were out…"
"That'd be pointless" Byakuya replied "There's people guarding it. Hinata-kun set them there to avoid having the werebeasts searching for things they don't have to know"
"If that's the case then he must have planned ahead to know what to do in case of a long match, no?" Chlammy spat full of irony.
"That attitude of yours, to behave like that in front of this Byakuya Togami… Know your place, peasant"
"You…!"
"Hmmm, peasant education is really low-rate" Byakuya fixed his glasses and sighed ignoring the murderous aura of the elf behind him"From the beginning the match had to be long-lived"
In order to exhaust the werebeast's tricks.
In order to avoid having chance or luck interfere like it's so common when things are rushed.
I order to know the way the NPCs are programmed to behave.
In order to have the geography of the stage ready for the final showdown.
In order to convince them he's exhausted.
In order to make her use her shoots more boldly.
In order to throw off her mind when he suddenly recovers.
In order to corner her.
In order to force Izuna to show her trump card.
"Blood destruction?" Hajime had asked while still in the library.
"Yes, it's an ability the warbeasts… I mean, werebeasts use to momentarily enhance all their abilities to their maximum output by using the spirits within their bodies" Jibril warned him while being surrounded by the former Remnants of Despair "There is a possibility she has inherited that peculiar trait of them so I'd advise against engaging her alone. There are people in here who can play along you, right? If you are worried against the kind of game they'll choose then choose different people suited for different games and plan along them. The games from your world should at least be similar to what they had invented, right?"
"But Jibril" The king complained "I already know the game we will play"
"…Eh?" Jibril stared at her master confused "Master the game is tomorrow, if you tell me that you figured it out in such short amount of time even I will…"
"Yes, Komaeda gave me the clue" Hajime continued "A game that can't be argued allows the werebeasts' superior strength to give them advantage yet their superior senses can pass as simple "well versed" into the game. A popular one among young and old people alike, so popular it is established as the staple game of their country" Hajime looked at the rest of the students and smiled "It's a shooter, of course"
Jibril had complained, arguing that if he was so sure it was more reason to take in more people but she was turned down. The thing that allowed Hajime to win so far was his Ultimate Hope talent, a multitude of details that different talents allowed him to recognize and work along or against. Nekomaru or Akane could probably dodge bullets and give pursuit to Izuna, but wouldn't be able to do anything against Blood Destruction. Fuyuhiko or, oddly enough, Sonia and Peko could probably accurately aim at Izuna and keep her on her toes… But again, they wouldn't be able to use their talents against Blood Destruction. Komaeda could probably change the tides of the match on their favor singlehandedly… But the way his luck backfires is something even Hajime is somewhat afraid to experience. And finally, even Hajime himself is incapable of doing anything against Blood Destruction. What Jibril showed him it can do is something that he realized far exceeds anything any of his talents would allow him to pull off.
However.
If, let's say… You were to study her every movement, the way she reacts to chase and to advantage, how she reacts to pressure… If Hajime were to put his Ultimate Analyst talent to be able to predict her behavior during Blood Destruction then…
"Gyaaaah!" Izuna lost another piece of cloth after Hajime turned the flow of the battle, winning the upper ground again "This… Is… ENOUGH!"
"It's here. Just like Hinata-kun said. Blood Destruction"
Izuna launched herself at Hajime beyond the sound speed. With her enhanced senses she saw his reflexes couldn't keep up with her. She pointed the gun at him and fired, yet the bullets didn't reach Hajime. She could see it now, how the counterattack was fired in a way the bullets would bounce off the surfaces in order to get in the way of Izuna's advance. It didn't matter however as the sheer force she was moving with drove them away from her. Hajime sprinted at full speed and covered several meters in a single sprint yet Izuna followed him. She appeared in front of the brown haired young man and pointed her gun at point blank at him, but before she pulled the trigger she saw Hajime moving his hands to take her own. She changed places but saw him react to it and used his tuxedo to block. Izuna tried to fire another shot but the same hand tried to grab her own to make it changing trajectory, she changed places again but saw the other hand approaching.
Then she panicked.
"He can see it?!" She jumped off him, sending a shockwave so massive that if the in-game avatar could take damage Hajime would probably have lost in that instant. But he changed position and stopped his movement as he pointed the gun in several different places. A couple of bullets deflected most of Izuna's while the rest found the newly spawning NPCs nearby and restored his ammunition to keep driving Izuna's shots away.
"This is…" Hajime turned around only to see Izuna appear from nowhere in midair and shot. Izuna disappeared and reappeared behind once again only to be driven off by shots he previously released that had bounced off the walls. Furthermore other stray shots returned in a line directly at Izuna. It didn't matter because she disappeared from the spot yet again.
In the real world the crowd was going crazy with shouts and screams overpowering the sound from the game itself.
"He's pulling it off!"
"Go Hinata-kun!"
The rest of the Ultimate too joined the crowd while cheering at Hajime from their seats.
Ino alongside the miko stared at utter horror how Hajime reacted to Izuna's movements and drove her off each time. Even with Blood Destruction she didn't get her hands on the initiative, on the high ground.
"How much longer can you maintain that state?" Hajime asked while pulling the trigger "According to your apparent age and size and following my diagnosis it shouldn't be too long" He kept speaking while the werebeast's movements became even more erratic and desperate "Your old man said magic wouldn't work in the virtual reality yet said nothing of spirits… How clever, I guess"
Hajime felt like Izuna was trying to say something, but the difference between how fast they could process information disabled her from communicating with him. Well, then again it's probably Hajime's mouth movements were registered so slow in Izuna's ears she couldn't distinguish his words either.
"Just for the record, I can't see you move. I can't even see the moment you decide to stop moving but…" He pointed his gun to behind him and Izuna was for an instant way too close to avoid that shot yet did nonetheless "However you are predictable" A few shots came apparently from nowhere but Hajime had one of his shoes to block one and bullets to drive off the rest "This whole thing could have ended ten minutes ago… No, twenty minutes ago"
About thirty three minutes into the game Hajime stated that.
This exchange of shots and superhuman movements continued. The one being outclassed in power, the human among them was by no means scared or afraid. Why would he be? No matter how powerful his opponent was he was the one with the advantage in the exchange. His talents far outclassing Izuna's ability to move and think at the same time.
With fear taking over her the more the exchange went on, the advantage became wider since evident could no longer be more apparent.
"Hmmm?" Hajime looked to his side after losing his black tie. Izuna stopped sprinting and the changes in her body began to disappear, turning the child into the werebeast the class 77-B met "Is it already over? How boring"
"…You…" Izuna hissed while struggling to stand up "How…?"
"It's simple, really" Hajime spoke with the same uncaring tone he has used since the beginning of the match, with cold hearted eyes and a face that denoted boredom "For a person who is loved by talent as much as I am detecting regularities among irregularities is simple…" When he was near enough he pointed the heart shaped gun at the girl's forehead "But that's just an excuse. For the sake of our future I'll make sure the impossible becomes possible and the unreachable one… Comes into our grasp" Then he pulled the trigger.
Far away, in the land of the elves after some time since the game between the Imanity and the Werebeasts happened, the Elder Council was having its usual meeting when the ground shook. They detected magic and an approaching object.
The ceiling was blown away and the figure of an angel of death appeared kneeling in the center of the room.
"Really, wasting time playing for the right to make this grandiose entrance was totally worth it" A pink haired angel-like woman arose to her feet. Her beauty just as terrifying as the race she belongs to.
"…Flügel!"
"Greetings long-eared mongrels. I have a message from my Master, the king of the Imanity" Confusion grew among the elders the more Jibril spoke. Her face-splitting smirk making them even more wary with each passing second "He says "It has come to my knowledge that you hold humans as slaves in your country. This pains me greatly and would like to request an audience with you"… That's it"
"…How did he?"
"If you allow me" Jibril interrupted "I'd make a suggestion to you low lives"
"Why would we listen to you, demon?!"
"Your presence is nothing but blasphemy to our territory!"
"…If you have problems with me being here I'd be more than happy to thoroughly crush your spirit in a game. I won my pass right by winning on a game against the proper opponent" Jibril mocked and the council went silent "As I was saying… Ahem" Then her face became even more vicious than before "Prepare yourselves, cook several strategies and be ready to cheat from beginning to end. You have pissed off my master. Taste despair knowing that he's coming, and it's all. Your. Fault~"
A/N
Hope I nailed everyone's character... Unfortunately I don't have enough talent to write so many characters at the same time. Still, enjoy this little concept I came up with while watching No game no life zero one night before the exam week.
Greetings~
PD. House of Paper rocks.