City Series:Volume8a Chapter9
Chapter 9: Fighting in the Street[edit]
Hello!
I’ll be starting this back up in another 3 seconds of outside time.
All of the prison’s inmates have been evacuated and I’m the only one left here.
Which means I can do whatever I want!!
Wait, I already do that.
I will be using this message board as a place for public statements by government officials from around the world and as an FAQ for people who want to know what’s going on.
So earlier, a defense shield finally appeared around the castle, but the Yard is telling me a civilian volunteer is breaking in.
I wish him the best of luck.
Hopefully he can find some way of rescuing Akalabeth and Yuo from the castle.
Well, Akalabeth can take care of herself, but Yuo is still young.
I’ve also added a visitor counter to the site.
Commotions in this Minus World are always someone else’s problem, fake, and something from a far-off world.
But whether you’re here to see us die or to root for us, it means you see this false world as something real.
I’m curious how many such people there are across the world.
Now, time for another quote for the eternal #1 hit: the bible.
This is what the Son of God said when he last entered the holy land after prophesying his own death and resurrection.
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
- see, your king is coming,
- seated on a donkey’s colt.”
(John 12:15)
07/07/2000 DT 11:44 AM (-03:16)
Help Text[edit]
Relationship Between Words Warn and Existence Lives
Words Warn is a Lives disease still shrouded in mystery that is said to have grown in prevalence ever since the creation of this world.
Words Warn has a long incubation period and, once symptoms present themselves, it begins breaking down the body’s Lives, starting with the vocal organs. So after producing the symptoms of a lung disease, it causes the patient to Ash.
This disease stands out from others because no one can escape destruction.
Since ancient times, both humans and nonhumans, such as gods and spirits, have lost their lives to diseases thought to have been Words Warn. Lives researchers and Tuners have long performed research in search of a cure, but when a British Fast Reader accessed and read the Spacetime Lives at the end of the 19th century, it was discovered this disease did not exist in the 5 eras preceding our current world. That means Words Warn was a disease someone added to the Concept Existence Lives to create our current world.
A research paper was submitted from a Japanese university in 1939 used this as a jumping off point. The paper predicted that the Words Warn system destroys the factors making up the target object. This implied that our current world has Concept Existence Lives for individual lifeforms such as people, but Lives analysis techniques were in their infancy at the time and it was impossible to observe them within people.
The paper was laughed off at the time, but it was reexamined in 1984. The US’s cable communications had just gotten started and the Lives of the human race were being analyzed to test the global computer network when they discovered string data that could be viewed but not understood.
The string was a second layer of data alongside the Lives data and it could be displayed on a computer as text or, inexplicably, perceived as an image, but it could not actually be read. It was eventually understood that these were the Lives in charge of inheriting Messages'.
The language it used could also be represented in our current world’s language, but it could not be accurately displayed and it would not function when reproduced.
British Tuners said this image, which possessed its own language, came from beyond our current world. When one of them went mad studying it, they defined the language as a transcendent language.
It is said this is found in all beings with Existence Lives. Some are passed between people through the process of reincarnation, but others are created anew or broken down and reproduced in the ley lines to be constantly redistributed throughout our world.
Words Warn occurs when this text string collapses (or more accurately, when it breaks apart), so no being can ever escape the destruction of Words Warn.
Knight09’s Board Mode: In North DT’s Southfield District[edit]
<Knight09’s Over Reload>
You are currently in Castle Entrance, a Top Page of Castle Street.
The current time is 11:44 AM.
A defense shield is in place beyond the street ahead of you. Passage between the castle and city is forbidden.
The wood bridge behind you crosses the castle moat and leads to the large castle gate.
A large dirt road stretches left to right in front of you. The castle moat and castle wall are also here.
A single NPC Body accompanies you. He is Knight57.
Knight09: <Nothing to report.>
Knight57: <Nothing to report.>
<Knight09’s Over Reload>
There is no one alongside the moat.
Morning market shops are lined up alongside the moat. It is deserted. Fruit and other wares remain in the shops.
A digital clock is visible past the shops. It indicates around 4 hours until the Day of the Oracle.
<One new guest has entered this page>
One PC Body has arrived. He is Aoe Shouzou Asb.
Aoe is a criminal. He is likely visiting the castle for his pardon scheduled for this morning.
<Knight09’s Over Reload>
He has arrived from the eastern adjacent page, Castle Side.
He is biting into a lemon likely from the morning market, skin and all.
Knight09: <Warning.>
Knight57: <Warning.>
Knight09: “Did he get in before the defense shield closed over there?”
<Knight09’s Over Reload>
Aoe is wearing a somewhat dirty black tank top and white shorts with full pockets. He wears sandals on his feet and a backpack full of disaster relief goods on his back.
Aoe: “Hey, sorry about this, but could you let me in?”
Kinght09: “We cannot. Leave at once.”
<Knight09’s Over Reload>
Aoe frowns. It is a look of modest anger.
Aoe: “I’m Aoe Shouzou and I was scheduled to receive a pardon inside, so can’t I get in?”
Knight09: “The castle is currently on high alert.”
Aoe: “Hm. And after I worked so hard to not be late. Who is in charge?”
Knight57: “Our current top commander is Archon Suedomsa Txt.”
Aoe: “Then how is Algo Everquest doing? Can you tell him his enemy has arrived?”
<Knight09’s Board Mode has ended>
Aoe’s Sight Mode: In North DT’s Southfield District[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Aoe entered Sight Mode as he spoke the words.
His newfound vision showed the knights already in motion. With a complete lack of expression on their faces.
“They really are just dolls!”
The middle-aged knight reacted to his shout by drawing the submachinegun from his hip.
The younger knight on the left drew the long sword on his back.
But something else moved even faster: a pair of dogs.
The two guard dogs leaped toward Aoe on their third step.
Their red, open mouths displayed a pair of fangs each.
When Aoe saw the four white canine teeth, he formed a smile on his lips.
He took a step back, and…
<Come!>
The dogs accurately filled the step Aoe had taken back. They attacked.
But Aoe took control afterwards.
As the fangs approached from either side, he first stuck his hands in his shorts’ pockets.
When he immediately removed his hands again…
“Have a treat.”
He thrusted both arms forward with all his might.
A black metal spear symbol appeared on the backs of his hands as emblems.
A shattering glass sound came from the emblems.
The dogs leaped toward that sound.
Their jaws were opened wide to sink their fangs into his hands.
After assessing all of that, he instantly pulled his arms back.
He used a snap of his hands to toss the things hidden in his hands into the dogs’ mouths.
The yellow, somewhat elliptical objects were early summer lemons sold in the morning market.
The fangs tore right through the yellow skin.
With a sound like popping water balloons, the two dogs twisted their bodies in midair.
Both of them passed by Aoe without reducing the momentum of their jumps.
They tumbled behind him with a pair of yelps.
“A dog’s sense of smell is ten million times stronger than a human’s, so you need to watch out for citrus fruits. I know this is only your job, so no hard feelings, okay?”
With that, Aoe ignored the two dogs.
He faced forward and saw a submachinegun barrel.
<Aoe’s Sight Mode has updated>
Yuo’s Continued Sight Mode: Inside DT Castle[edit]
<Yuo’s Over Reload>
Yuo stared at the castle map window floating above her desk.
A locked padlock image was displayed on the bottom right.
The corridors on the map had a few red and blue lines drawn across them.
The red lines all said “working” on them.
And the audience chamber in the center of the 1st floor of the map had a square of red line displayed on its floor.
<Mom must have activated the pitfall into the basement.>
She spoke through her window and nodded.
<But this isn’t over yet, so the enemy programmer must have used some method of avoiding the pitfall.>
Her lips mouthed the words “this isn’t good”, but they only appeared on the window.
She leaned back in her chair and viewed the map again.
The word “warning” glowed red on the window’s upper right corner. Two other windows opened above that.
<Insufficient Yard members. Please contact an outside station and request reinforcements.>
<Unable to establish a connection out of the castle. Try again? Y/N>
The number of Yard personnel was displayed below the warning symbol, but that number was 1.
She could not display the locations of the castle guards since they and the Yard were on opposite sides of this conflict. They had refused to provide the data.
But in the same way, they couldn’t see her location.
The map showed a red dot by the south wall of the castle’s 3rd floor, but that was Yuo herself.
<Suedomsa is in charge of castle security, but the Yard has control of everything except for important equipment like the defense shield. Control privileges for the security system is spilt between the two groups.>
She silently spoke to herself while resting her head in her hand.
Then she looked over to the bed.
Puppy the ferret was sleeping while holding a box of pet food.
The box was empty. He was surrounded by two or three empty plates and containers.
He had just consumed all of the food there.
<I worked him pretty hard, didn’t I?>
Yuo sighed and checked the time: 11:50. The clock’s digital display also provided a countdown to the Day of the Oracle at 3 PM. She still had more than 3 hours until then.
<Why should I believe that prophecy. How is any of this better? Wait, that prophecy came from me, didn’t it?>
She sighed again, in exasperation this time. She twisted her neck to crack it and slowly stood from her chair.
<I should eat something too. I think there was still something in the fridge.>
She turned toward the kitchen to the east.
Just then, she heard gunfire from outside the window.
The rapid noise came from a submachinegun.
<Eh?>
Curled-up Puppy raised his head and looked to the window.
The gunfire came from the south, toward the edge of the defense shield.
<Isn’t that…really close?>
She could still hear the alarms and destruction coming from the city outside the shield.
But the noises she had heard earlier had been even closer than this.
Gunfire rang from the courtyard between the castle’s inner wall and outer wall.
The repeated tone of bursting gunfire echoed through the castle.
She looked to the window on her desk while she listened to the gunfire reverberate away into the sky.
The Yard personnel number was still only 1. Only her. But…
<Someone other than me…is fighting?>
Her eyes widened slightly and she looked out the window.
<Yuo’s Sight Mode has updated>
Aoe’s Continued Sight Mode: In North DT’s Southfield District[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Aoe ducked as the gunfire whizzed by overhead.
The cacophony of gunpowder continued.
It shifted downwards to pursue his duck.
So he dodged to the left.
He slammed his right fist against the lowering barrel, but…
“No effect!?”
The punch thrown at the gun barrel bounced right off.
The force of his punch was sealed away.
<I’m not even allowed self-defense!?>
He threw all of his body’s strength leftward in order to escape.
“Mh.”
A shattering glass sound came from the back of his head as he Downloaded his center of gravity.
He quickly shifted his coordinate left by taking a crouching leap.
He hadn’t Downloaded his legs, so the movement was a bit awkward.
But he still managed to arrive in front of the younger knight who had drawn his sword.
He exhaled as a sword strike swung down from above.
He stood up.
As he did so, he moved back and left, shifting himself just enough to leave a slight gap between him and his enemy.
The sword grazed his right shoulder as it dropped down.
He heard the blade swish through the air while he thought.
<If none of my attacks will work…>
He placed his right hand atop the knight’s hands holding the sword.
He matched the speed of the lowering arms and pulled back toward himself.
The knight lost his balance.
The subprogram calculating his center of gravity for the downward swing had been thrown off by Aoe’s hand.
The knight staggered forward.
“Oh.”
When the knight planted a leg in front of him to catch himself, Aoe kicked that leg outwards with his right foot.
That would have tripped the knight had it worked, but Aoe’s kicking foot bounced off.
“Even that counts as an attack!?”
He swiftly pulled his leg back and shifted his body left.
The staggering knight passed him by on the right side.
Aoe kept his eyes to the right.
Because the middle-aged knight with a submachinegun had been there earlier.
He gathered strength in his toes and swung his body forward, toward the castle gate.
The bullets arrived just as his feet stepped on the bridge’s wooden floor.
The gunfire sounded light, like it was only a toy.
Eight shots flew and one grazed his right cheek, telling him these were not just a threat or a show of force.
They were meant to kill.
Since PC Body’s used Lives resonance to function, an injury would be sent back to the Lives data. If he was shot, it was all over. The Existence Lives of his real body could not be backed up because that would trigger a resonance breakdown. He only ever had just the one life.
He kept that fact in mind as he moved right, toward the middle-aged knight.
He sensed the sword knight recovering behind him.
But he didn’t care. He kept forward with a click of his tongue. He approached the middle-aged knight.
That knight moved the barrel of his submachinegun to pursue Aoe as he approached.
Aoe charged straight ahead.
The gun had him in its sights, but he didn’t dodge. He kept approaching, as if pressing his forehead against the muzzle. But his eyes were on the knight’s trigger finger.
He saw that finger pull the trigger.
<Aoe’s Over Zoom>
Aoe crouched in that instant.
The bullet grazed his bangs and the sparks flying from the muzzle singed his hair.
But the bullet flew past him.
Aoe knew the sword knight was standing there.
The 9mm bullet, which was designed to supply an impact rather than pierce, hit the knight behind him.
“Gah!”
He heard a scream behind him and felt the air move.
<That blew him away.>
His thought appeared in his window as he checked ahead of him.
The middle-aged knight was staring behind Aoe in shock.
The artificial emotion subprogram produced a nice expression for the shock of shooting his ally.
But that expression was erased soon enough.
His management program as a guard had taken precedence over the artificial expression display.
“Kh!”
His expression was now one of anger.
He glared down at the man crouched in front of him.
Aoe said nothing in reply. He was accustomed to having angry looks directed his way.
The knight swung his gun down and fired again.
The stream of bullets pursued crouched Aoe, but it soon stopped. The gun was out of ammo.
The middle-aged knight tossed the gun aside with panicked movements and reached the same hand toward the sword on his back.
He grabbed the hilt.
A sword strike was coming.
But Aoe did not run away.
He reached both his hands out and grabbed the knight’s hand on the hilt.
And he pulled himself toward it.
“Mh!!”
With a loud grunt, he slid his hips forward while practically swinging from the knight’s arm. He slid right between the middle-aged knight’s legs.
He kept his hands on the hilt as he pulled with his full arm strength.
The knight was already swinging the sword down, so he ended up having his arm jammed between his own legs.
“Oh.”
As soon as he was through the knight’s legs, Aoe’s hands were repelled by the hand they were holding.
This had been deemed an attack.
But the determination had come too late. Having his center of gravity rapidly moved down and between his legs caused the knight to trip. And he rolled, his head thrown forward.
He tumbled in a circle and then his head crashed into the ground.
The metallic sound of his equipment sounded like splashing water.
Aoe stood up and checked behind him.
<Aoe’s Over Zoom>
The middle-aged knight remained motionless after crashing headfirst to the ground.
The shot knight lay collapsed on his back.
And the two dogs fed lemons were retching and unable to fully get the fruit out of their mouths.
“I wish I could say I was sorry,” said Aoe before taking a breath. He wasn’t even out of breath.
I can do this, he concluded with a nod, looking to the front of the collapsed middle-aged knight’s hips.
A ring of keys was attached to his belt with something like a carabiner.
Aoe crouched down and removed it.
Then he looked to the castle.
Telyb had told him he needed to enter the castle and reach the communications tower if he was going to fight.
“Monkey, do you have a map of the castle?”
Monkey tilted his head but opened the backpack. He dove partway inside and eventually pulled out a thin paper folded in quarters.
Aoe took it and found it was an old sightseeing pamphlet giving some history of the castle. It had a map of the areas open to the public, but no real details.
But he frowned when he unfolded it.
“What is this?”
The map was blank. It had nothing on it. A window opened instead.
<This product is updated in real-time based on a contract with the royal family, but its contents have been temporarily frozen because the Akalabeth family cannot be reached.>
“I can’t use this.”
He clicked his tongue, balled up the useless paper, and threw it away. Then he frowned and asked Monkey a question.
“Can you send a word mail?”
Monkey shook his head.
“Are you saying the enemy has complete control of communications in this area?”
Monkey nodded his head.
“Damn,” muttered Aoe with another look to the castle. His target was in the east.
An antenna dish sat atop the stone tower on the east corner.
That tower acted as the external communications facility. He had to take control of that, work around any privileges issues, and directly contact the Yard.
“It shouldn’t take long to get there.”
With that, he took off running.
He soon passed through the castle’s entrance and made his way inside the walls.
<Aoe’s Sight Mode has ended>
Algo’s Sight Mode: Inside DT Castle[edit]
<Algo’s Over Reload>
Algo switched to Sight Mode when he entered the audience chamber.
A red carpet formed a bridge crossing the hole where the floor should have been.
Three people stood on that bridge: Algo himself, little Alternative on his shoulder, and Suedomsa.
Algo opened a window in front of himself. It displayed the status outside.
It showed a tower jutting high into the blue sky.
The footage came from a camera on the castle rooftop and it was a bit lacking in clarity. But the blue smoke rising from below the giant structure was still plain to see.
“Looks like Mekton has successfully taken Babel. He might be cut off from us, but there’s nothing to worry about with his Pseudo Load Emblem, Tribes. That lets him become the commander.”
Then he looked to Suedomsa.
Suedomsa was looking at him, but his eyes were slightly unfocused.
That meant he was in Board Mode.
But Algo still smiled.
“Is something wrong now that you’re actually doing it?”
“I know they aren’t going to understand. It’s a feeling I haven’t felt in so long. The same one I felt during my Lives research in Japan, before I began calling myself a Minus Elite. No one but my family ever understood me, so I kept struggling and getting into fights with others.”
He offered the three program trigons in his hand to the dove on his shoulder. The dove hid them all away in its wings.
It had absorbed them.
“So a great god will soon be born. We once created every part of this city in order to summon that great god. We erased all trace of the original industrial city, erased all human presence, and spent hundreds of years creating a Minus city.”
Algo asked a sudden question.
“Is that why I see biblical references around the city even after it lost its memory?”
“Yes, it is. There were 12 primary researchers and we offered up a vessel to be turned into a god.” Suedomsa slowly turned toward Alternative on Algo’s shoulder. “Our vessel for the 1st Godtact Experiment was an NPC Body I had created. One equivalent to the current Michael-class. The Pseudo Load and Pseudo Grandload are both the result of us trying to turn an inhuman vessel into something greater than human…but that experiment was a failure. It all came down to my NPC Body.”
“And the godtact ended up reaching Yuo instead, didn’t it?” said Algo.
Suedomsa nodded once, but then he lowered and shook his head.
“The 12 researchers became 13 with the girl included. They reached the number of betrayal. Then the girl chose to become the great god and quoted a passage from the bible to the one bearing the name of Beelzebub”
A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone.
Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Small Alternative trembled on Algo’s shoulder.
Suedomsa failed to notice and continued speaking.
“I wonder what she meant when she said ‘for my Father is with me’. Was it because I had been ignoring her for so long with my research and staying in Board Mode? Any Minus-leaning person who has a family will have to pay the price eventually.”
<But we know why you ended up like that, dad.>
Suedomsa shook his head when he saw Alternative’s window.
“I’m not going to blame you two, Alternative. As a Minus researcher, I was more a cracker than a hacker. I didn’t just want to show off my power, discuss all knowledge and phenomena, and reveal anything that was hidden.” He took a breath. “I wanted to actually use those things and that sometimes led me to forget what really mattered.”
After a pause, Alternative responded.
<You’re a lot like Shouzou.>
<Algo’s Over Zoom>
Suedomsa suddenly looked up and turned his somewhat unfocused eyes their way.
Alternative accepted his gaze and placed a slight smile on her small lips.
<Six years ago, when that martial artist came to steal the title of Martial Arts Master while Uncle Ungyou and Algo were away, Shouzou came running even though it meant abandoning the precious time he had left with Yuo.>
<Which is why I think the Daughter of Zion is not afraid now.>
Alternative lowered her gaze.
<But there is one thing I don’t understand. Dad will hang my Minus dropout of a sister on the cross and Algo will nail her to it. But how will a Plus dropout like Shouzou wield the lance?>
Algo cleared his throat to respond, but Alternative placed a hand on his shoulder and opened a window.
<Personally, I’m not so sure the people who aren’t Plus Elites or Minus Elites really are wishy-washy dropouts. If they keep struggling there and refuse to give up, how can we really call them dropouts?>
She took a breath and patted Algo’s shoulder as his throat-clearing continued as a coughing fit. She also looked over to his face.
<Are you okay, Algo? Not even a Martial Arts Master can defeat a Lives disease like Words Warn.>
“Yes, I am fine. I was prepared for this. This was the only way to combine my impurely-obtained immortality and the purity of someone with a finite lifespan.”
He coughed again and spoke to Alternative.
“Master Suedomsa’s Lives collapse from Words Warn will occur at 3 PM. Yours will happen at 3:40 PM. That is why I made this choice. Once Master Suedomsa is stopped as a representative of the past, I can carry on as a representative of the present.”
He nodded.
“That is why I chose to combine with your Mind Lives, including your Words Warn, so we could always remain together as a new vessel.”
<Algo’s Sight Mode has ended>
Aoe’s Board Mode: In DT Castle[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
You are in East Castle Communication Tower, a Top Page of the castle interior.
The current time is 12:17 AM.
You are in a circular stone space with a diameter of 7 yards.
The only lights are the three windows on the east, west, and south and the lightbulb on the ceiling.
There is a door behind you to the north. The door is currently blocked by tables and chairs.
You are currently alone.
Aoe: “Hey, Monkey. Hurry it up!”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
There is a parabolic antenna outside the southern window. There is a communication device by the window.
Monkey is on the wooden table holding the device. He is operating the device with its cords in his mouth.
There is a loud pounding on the metal door past the tables lined up behind you.
Aoe: <If only I could use my fists, I could easily fight them off!>
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
The pounding only shakes the door. It does not open.
Above and below the hinges, nails removed from the chairs have been driven into the gap between door and doorframe. You did that yourself earlier.
Aoe: <Why does a cutting-edge virtual world do everything so anachronistically?>
Aoe: “Are you still not done?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Monkey looks back your way and raises his right foreleg. That is meant as an OK signal.
Aoe: “It’s working!? Way to go! Have a reward!”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
You pull a x5 chocolate bar from your backpack and toss it to Monkey.
Monkey perfectly catches it between his forelegs.
But he tosses it back after seeing the wrapper.
You catch the returned chocolate bar.
Aoe: “Hm?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
The returned chocolate bar is x5 milk chocolate flavor.
Aoe: “You don’t like milk chocolate? But I doubt you like the bitter kind.”
Aoe: “Then how about the white chocolate?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Monkey shakes his head.
Aoe: “What about strawberry flavor?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Monkey nods his head.
Aoe: “That one is mine, you fool.”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
You throw the bitter chocolate bar at Monkey.
Attack assessments are not made in regard to your own Mouse, so the bar hits Monkey, sending him rolling along the table.
Monkey weeps while lying on the table, but he still tears open the paper wrapping and begins eating the chocolate.
Aoe: “What a pain. Now, how do I use this communicator?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Monkey raises his left foreleg while weeping with his back turned.
A transparent keyboard appears.
<Voice data requires more data and can take longer. Word mail recommended>
Aoe: “I’ve never been good with keyboards, but I guess I have to.”
<Opening word mail window>
Aoe’s Word Mail: to telyb[edit]
its me. what do? reply soon. in trouble if dont
<A response from Telyb has arrived>
<Opening word mail window>
Telyb’s Mail: To Aoe[edit]
This is Telyb. I am busy preparing to attack the large knight, but I do have two things to send you.
The first is a map of the castle. The map is currently hidden by the management system. I had to access a certified copy from outside and convert it into an ordinary image file. Use it for reference.
The second is your management program. You know how to use guns, I hope? I will send your terminal a gun usage authorization program. It works with small and midsized firearms.
You will need to steal a firearm from the enemy. I put a lot of effort into increasing the time limit, so it will last 5 minutes.
You need to reach your next objective point in that 5 minutes. That point is the top level of the castle where you will find the central comm room that handles all of the castle’s communication equipment. Once you take control of that central comm room, you should be able to contact Yuo. Ask her where she is and go rescue her.
<Returning to Aoe’s Sight Mode>
Aoe’s Sight Mode: In DT Castle[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Aoe read the word mail and sighed. He ignored the noise form the door behind him and looked to Monkey instead.
Monkey was still lying down with his back turned, munching on the chocolate bar.
But Aoe did not hesitate to raise his index finger and poke at Monkey’s side from above.
Aoe saw Monkey’s limbs stiffen and back arch. Then he let go.
“We don’t have time for sulking. Show me that map.”
Monkey quickly turned around and swallowed the rest of the chocolate bar in a single bite.
A window opened in front of Aoe. It showed a hand drawn map of the castle interior. There were 5 windows on top of each other, showing the basement, the 1st floor, the 2nd floor, the 3rd floor, and the roof.
A large freight elevator to the north connected the roof to the basement and the central communication room was on the roof too.
“I just have to get there. Hey, where’s my authorization program?”
<Estimated download progress: 74%>
A circle showing the progress appeared next to the window. About ¾ of it was already filled with red and the number in the window next to it showed the numerical percentage ticking upwards.
Aoe sighed. He checked the map window in front of him and pressed the settings button at the very top.
He reduced its size and had it permanently displayed next to his head in transparent mode.
Now he could check the map just by glancing to the right.
Good, he thought, opening and closing his right fist.
“I would love some kind of power, whether it’s a gun or whatever else.”
He smiled bitterly at his own words.
<After I was so scornful of power.>
He looked to his clenched fist.
“Will I be able to avoid giving up?”
A shattering glass sound came from the back of that fist.
A transparent black emblem displayed a spear symbol on the back of his hand. When he felt a slight impact on his hand, he loosened his fist.
But he clenched it again immediately afterwards.
He nodded and checked the window over Monkey’s head.
The numerical progress had already reached 97%. The one’s digit ticked up to 8 and 9 before the number briefly showed 100.
He gathered strength in his fist and said “good” to himself.
The percentage on the window suddenly reduced to 67.
“Huh?”
He looked over to see Monkey backing away.
Monkey press his back against the stone wall and frantically shook his head.
He rapidly pointed his short forelegs toward a part of the window: the word “estimated” in “estimated download progress”.
Aoe smiled when he read that. He shook his head and worked to keep some kindness in his voice.
“Are you kidding me?”
He grabbed Monkey.
Monkey gave up resisting at that point. He didn’t even shake his head. The Mouse’s optimized decision-making process had concluded a lack of resistance was best by that point.
Aoe grabbed Monkey’s cheeks and stretched them outwards.
But he was distracted by a loud metallic sound behind him. It wasn’t more of the banging on the door. It was…
“A program!?”
<Aoe’s Over Zoom>
The metal door shined bluish-white past the barricade.
<Target Dummy Data: Range Set>
<Excel: Effect Range: Elemental Change: Plant Material Conversion: Run>
A splitting stone sound came from the door and then it fell.
“What!?”
The door hadn’t been opened or broken.
The supposedly metal door had rippled and fallen like a poster torn from the wall. It hit the stone floor with a papery sound and gently folded up there.
Aoe looked past the barricade.
A man stood on the narrow landing through the open door.
The tall black butler had the knights behind him.
He wore a vest, a shirt, and black trousers and he stood tall, looking straight at Aoe.
He pulled a pair of white gloves from his vest’s breast pocket and put them on.
After applying the wrist clasps, he pulled a thin monocle from his breast pocket.
He put that in his right eye and stared directly at Aoe.
His thin lips parted and a low voice left them.
“I am Excel Raphael Sys, one of the Quartet who serve Master Suedomsa.”
Excel raised his right hand, rotated that in front of his chest, and bowed.
He never took his eyes off of Aoe. Nor did he smile. He simply bowed.
He straightened up again.
Aoe responded by reaching behind him, grabbing Monkey, and checking the window over the Mouse’s head.
<So it’s still receiving the program.>
A window appeared over his head. He gasped and looked up, but Excel was already speaking.
“I see. How fortunate for me that your attack power is still sealed.”
Aoe looked back down.
“You know who I am?”
“Master Algo has told us all about you. He says you are a Plus dropout who was defeated by him but has not given up on finding the strongest power.”
“Not the best introduction I could have asked for.”
“But it is the truth, is it not? I took the liberty of watching your battle yesterday and it all checked out. I heard you were here, so I thought, as a butler, I should come greet you on my way down to the Questron.”
“Did you? So are you with that Myst and Mekton I fought before?”
Aoe nodded and viewed Excel.
The knights next to Excel reached out their legs and placed their feet on the tables being used as a barricade.
They intended to kick the barricade away while simultaneously giving themselves a line of fire.
Aoe sensed that deep in his mind while another thought appeared in a window.
<But I need to hurry to Yuo’s room.>
Excel reacted to the name in that window. He frowned.
“Oh? Master Yuo, you say?”
<Mh? She is his master too? Not just Suedomsa?>
That question brought a change to Excel’s expression. He bent back a bit and gave a lopsided smile. Then he opened his smiling lips.
“That is a simple matter.”
He took a breath.
“The Quartet worked as Master Yuo’s caretaker 4000 years ago.”
<Aoe’s Sight Mode has ended>
Yuo’s Continued Sight Mode: In DT Castle[edit]
<Yuo’s Over Reload>
Yuo lay collapsed in front of the fridge.
She was in her smaller size and sprawled out face down on the rug.
The fridge in front of her was small, but it had both a refrigerator and a freezer. The former’s door was sitting open.
All of the drinks in the door of the fridge had a boost factor of only x0.5.
The snacks on the shelves were all x0.7 or x0.8.
A window floated over her head while she faced them all.
<I didn’t make it in time. I never imagined going on a diet would come back to bite me like this.>
She sighed and got up, still in her smaller form.
She crawled over to the fridge and leaned against it. She reached out and opened the freezer at the top.
It was filled with frozen foods and frozen treats.
<Heating the frozen foods would use up a lot of power. They could locate me from that alone.>
The few frozen treats in the back of the freezer were x0.8 at the most.
<If I Downloaded now, I would run out of energy near instantly. I let Puppy eat all the high factor stuff when he was salvaging the programs.>
She opened the fridge again and saw a single x2 factor item. The small round container held…
<Mayonnaise. This was the only thing at the store that day, wasn’t it?>
She got up again, grabbed that, and removed the lid. She sniffed it with a serious look on her face and then noticed a pair of eyes on her.
Puppy the ferret was staring.
<Don’t worry. I’m not going to eat plain mayonnaise.>
Then she tilted her head and succumbed to curiosity.
<By the way, Puppy, what’s the boost factor on your food?>
Puppy stood up and considered it for a moment.
Then he quickly shook his head. He grabbed his empty food container and shook it to show how empty it was.
Yuo smiled bitterly at that and waved her hand dismissively.
<No, no. I wasn’t actually going to eat pet food.>
Puppy stared at her, still holding the container.
He didn’t believe her.
Unsure how to respond, she scratched her head.
She nodded, looked down at herself once more, and noticed her clothing had shrunk along with her like it was supposed to.
She carefully grabbed the mounds at her chest from below and lifted them a few times.
<Oh, they’re really there. I think I finally understand Telyb’s mini-size fetish.>
She looked to Puppy.
<So have you noticed anything weird going on?>
Puppy paused for three full seconds before responding.
He finally pointed his right foreleg at his own head. And jabbed it five times for emphasis.
<Huh?>
Yuo frowned just before hearing footsteps from outside the window.
<Eh?>
She started to rush over to the window but stopped. Being seen from outside would give away her position, so she used her ears to track the footsteps echoing in from the courtyard.
These were the footsteps of knights wearing a type of mobile armor known as a defenser. It came from the left from Yuo’s perspective, which meant the east.
<That means they’re on the way to the southeast communication tower.>
<And if the knights are gathering there, then the person who caused the gunfire earlier must be there too.>
After reaching that conclusion, she shouted her thoughts to Puppy who sat on the bed.
<Puppy! Show me a map of the southeast communication tower! I can seal the stairways better that way!>
<Yuo’s Sight Mode has updated>
Aoe’s Board Mode: In DT Castle[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Excel stands before you.
Aoe: “You seem somewhat surprised. I should switch back to Sight.”
Excel: “No need.”
Aoe: “Why not?”
Excel: “Because I too have switched to Board Mode. Because Master Yuo once taught me to never take cheap shots in combat.”
Aoe: “Trying to sound cool, huh? And it all goes back to ‘Master Yuo’, does it?”
Aoe: “If she is that important to you, why would you want to turn her into some great god’s vessel?”
Excel: “Because that is what Master Yuo is meant to be. She gave up on everything 2000 years ago. She gave up on people – on Master Suedomsa – being able to heal Words Warn.”
Excel: “In other words, she dropped out of this Minus World. And she did so by choosing to sacrifice herself.”
Aoe: “How am I supposed to believe that!? I can’t speak to your experiences, but the Yuo I know is-”
Excel: “The one we know is the real one. The one who gave up, dropped out, and chose to heal Words Warn through the summoning of the great god is the original Master Yuo. We only need to reclaim that one once we find her.”
Aoe: <Ha. Once you find her, huh? Thanks for letting me know you haven’t captured her yet.>
Aoe: “And what is this about reclaiming her?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Excel nods and gives a shallow bow.
Excel: “I will omit the details, but we will remove the seal that the queen’s group placed on her memories after the 2nd Godtact Experiment. However, this will erase all of the memories she has made since the seal was applied.”
Aoe: “You mean…?”
Excel: “Yes, she will lose her memories of you and everything else that has happened since then.”
Aoe: “What!?”
Excel: “Once that Master Yuo returns, she will likely want to become the vessel again. And the time of the godtact experiment will be very close to when the countdown to the Day of the Oracle reaches zero. So in about 3 more hours.”
Aoe: “Mh.”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Excel has lifted his head.
The corners of his mouth are raised. This is a smile.
Excel: “How does it feel to learn we know a Master Yuo who is beyond your reach?”
Aoe: “Oh, shut up.”
Aoe: “Even she’s forgotten about that part of her past, so what does it matter anymore?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Excel is frowning.
Excel: “Oh? Do you have anything capable of resisting our past?”
Aoe: “Well…”
Aoe: <Her panties yesterday and her nudity 6 years ago.>
Excel: “…”
Aoe: “…”
Excel: “What did you just say?”
Aoe: “Mh. I was only thinking to myself. Ignore it. I can’t control it.”
Excel: “…”
Aoe: “Personally, I want to know why it matters that you know Yuo from the past.”
Aoe: “If you’re going to drag out her Minus past and act like that’s all that matters, then I will present the Yuo I know and…”
Aoe: “And the Minus Yuo I have started to get to know as of yesterday.”
Excel: “Oh, really? How long-winded of you.”
Aoe: “Mh. But…”
Aoe: “Your past Yuo doesn’t stand a chance if I also present her underwear and nudity.”
<Aoe’s Board Mode has ended>
Aoe’s Sight Mode: In DT Castle[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
When Aoe’s sight returned to him, he saw a knight kicking down the barricade.
On the landing, Excel fell back a step to the side of the knights who were readying their submachineguns.
They fired.
But Aoe reached his left hand back and grabbed the table there before they could complete their action.
“Kh.”
With his right hand, he grabbed the communicator from the table.
He forcibly swung the table around forward to use it as a shield.
He did not place the top of the table directly in the line of fire. He held it at a shallow angle, so even if there was a gap at his feet, he could deflect the bullets rather than try to stop them.
The gunfire began a moment later.
The 2-inch thick table top deflected the 9mm anti-personnel bullets into the wall behind him.
…Keep it together!
The table gave him what he wanted. As the bullets ricocheted, the impacts caused the drawers to fall out of the table and onto the floor.
He took further action while all of this was going on.
He adjusted the table in his left hand, grabbing it by the leg.
“I am not dying here.”
A shattering glass sound came from his left hand as it gripped the square table leg.
Then he ran right, which meant east, across the room with the table held up. There was a window there. That small window led outside the castle.
He gathered all his strength in his legs.
The communicator fell into a drawer that had fallen from the table, so he kicked that to the west side of the room.
The drawer containing the communicator skittered across the stone floor in the opposite direction he was running.
While the bullets and sounds bounced around, the cord on the back of the communicator reached its full length while moving behind the collapsed tables. It could not be seen from the bullets’ line of fire there.
“Good.”
Aoe looked to his running feet. Monkey was clinging to the right hip of his shorts.
The circle displayed over Monkey’s head advanced from 99 to 100.
He now had authorization to fire, so he gave a whistle as he ran.
He snatched up his backpack from the floor and held its strap in his mouth. He shoved his right hand into the bag as it swayed from his running and he searched for what he needed for his escape.
The enemy’s submachineguns needed to switch magazines at just that moment.
What happened next came as a surprise to them all.
A barrier suddenly appeared in between the stairs and Excel on the landing.
<Aoe’s Over Zoom>
The knights were split between the front group on the landing and the rear group on the stairs.
“!?” they exclaimed while they and Excel looked behind them.
But Aoe’s mouth twisted into a smile when he saw what happened.
<Was that Yuo!?>
There was no doubt in his mind. He knew it had to have been her.
His body obeyed that thought in its own way.
“Run!”
A shattering glass sound came from his legs and a black spear emblem briefly flashed there.
He felt new strength there. At the same time, he threw the table he held toward Excel’s group.
Excel’s cheeks twisted slightly behind the table.
“I will not let you escape.”
“He’s Loading!?”
Aoe looked back to see the airborne table torn to shreds by the bullets of the new magazines.
The pieces of the table scattered like a fine powder more than splinters.
The sawdust produced a brown smoke.
Excel spread his arms in preparation beyond that smoke.
A sound of striking stone came from his arms.
Red glowing emblems appeared not on the backs of his hands but below the palms. The symbol surrounded by a rectangular frame was a lotus flower.
He looked to Aoe.
Immediately, he produced his next Text. The Text of a Pseudo Grandload that surpassed a mere Pseudo Download.
“Only one person may surpass me.
“And that person is not you.”
<Pseudo Grandload: Running Pseudo Load Emblem: Lotus: Preparing for Use>
Low sounds came from his palms. Sounds of cracking stone.
Several windows rapidly opened behind him.
<Activation authorized for 28M Lives within the virtual space>
<Pseudo Load Emblem: Activating: Run>
Character strings emerged from the emblems on his palms and moved behind him.
●Type-XX016 – Imperial-class - Lotus●
<Activating Pseudo Grandload of Excel’s program control abilities: Loading highest-level subprograms and releasing upper limit on program control ability>
The emblem’s lotus flower glowed red. As soon as that glow grew brighter, diskettes drew out a triangular formation behind Excel. The three circles rapidly rotated and launched light from their centers to link together.
“In Eastern thought, the lotus is viewed as an expanding seat of data.”
Excel’s words were punctuated by the knights on either side of him opening fire with their submachineguns.
They fired every bullet they had.
The gunfire produced sparks while the formation behind Excel moved. The triangle rotated once to the right as if loading a bullet.
<Target Dummy Data: Range Set>
Bluish-white light surrounded the bullets soaring through the air.
<Poly-Combine: Unification: Beginning Range Reassignment>
The four knights had fired a total of 124 bullets and Aoe saw them all combine into one.
The bullets were now the size of a large artillery shell as they flew his way.
“What!?”
“A butler is meant to assist others. My Load exists to enhance others’ powers.”
Excel bowed with the lotus emblem behind him.
“This is goodbye. You may have been born in the Plus World, but you will die in this Minus World.”
Aoe made a split second decision in response to those words of farewell.
As soon as he saw the artillery shell approaching, he jumped out the window.
<Aoe’s Sight Mode has updated>
Aoe’s Continued Sight Mode: On DT Castle Grounds[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Aoe maintained Sight Mode as he jumped out and found himself approximately 16 yards up.
A water-filled moat awaited him below.
One of the castle wall’s viewing pathways was approximately 6 yards down and to the left, but the door into the tower was closed.
He stuck both hands into the backpack he held in his mouth and immediately selected the items he needed.
He chose a thin rope and a flashlight that had been part of the disaster supplies.
He tied the end of the rope to the flashlight inside the backpack.
A moment later, the tower wall exploded behind him.
That was the result of the artillery strike. The shockwave from the sound pressure hit him before the flying rubble could.
“Mh!”
He didn’t allow himself more than a grunt while twisting his falling body to face the castle wall.
<Is Yuo watching?>
He visually confirmed the viewing pathway sticking out from the castle wall to the left. The passageway extended due north, but it branched to the left partway through, connecting to the castle itself.
The white-walled castle was visible to the southeast. It appeared to be a square fortress.
He saw knights on the three-way junction connecting the castle wall’s viewing pathway to the castle.
Those were reinforcements for the tower.
“Not a problem.”
He once more Downloaded his right hand and grabbed the flashlight in his spread fingers.
The thin rope was tied to the middle of that and he threw it forward, toward the top of the viewing pathway.
The flashlight flew around 10 yards forward – toward the floor of the viewing pathway there.
His body drew out a parabolic arc as he fell.
He held the other end of the unraveling rope in his left hand. His right hand put the backpack on his back while he avoided the rubble catching up from behind.
He dropped lower than the top of the castle wall.
The stone wall seemed to be rising on his left. A single metallic clank came from its top. That was the flashlight hitting the viewing pathway.
“Please work!”
He spoke his wish out loud while pulling in the thin rope.
Still falling, he pulled on the rope without feeling it catch.
But just before he reached the water below, he felt the rope go taut.
He looked up.
<Aoe’s Over Zoom>
The fully extended rope was tight against the edge of the wall 10 yards above.
A sharp tug pulled it even tighter.
So he swung his legs. He used his swinging feet like a pendulum to accelerate himself forward while hanging just above the water.
“Mh!”
He kicked at the water’s surface to bring himself toward the wall.
Pieces of the broken tower fell into the moat as they caught up from behind.
The water splashed while he ran in his dangling pose.
Pulling with his left arm shortened the pendulum and increased the inertia.
He used that momentum to move left and plant his feet on the wall.
“Go for it!”
A shattering glass sound came from both his legs.
A black emblem briefly appeared on his feet before disappearing again.
He stood perpendicular from the wall and he ran up it. Up toward the sky.
He sprinted, his left arm reeling in the rope, always accelerating to avoid losing his momentum.
The 10 yards of vertical distance didn’t even take him 10 steps.
With his right hand, he peeled Monkey from his leg and placed him on his shoulder.
“Food!” he shouted and Monkey handed him a x5 chocolate bar from his backpack.
After confirming it was the strawberry flavor, Aoe tore the wrapper open with his teeth. By the time he shoved the entire bar into his mouth, he had arrived at the top of the wall.
His acceleration had been sufficient.
Just before leaping from the wall into the sky, he focused on his vision.
<Aoe’s Over Zoom>
In that instant, Aoe saw the three-way junction atop the castle wall.
The passageway leading to the castle’s 2nd story was directly in front of him.
The other two directions were the pathways along the castle wall.
Four knights stood on the left side of the junction. They were running toward the tower he had jumped from.
After noting that, he forced his body up and leaped.
He propelled himself toward the spot behind the running knights.
His accelerated body flew high to circle behind them.
He used that instant in the air to tug hard on the rope in his left hand.
The flashlight attached to the other end of the rope was now 10 yards behind him and it flew like a whip at his tug.
The flashlight acted as a counterattack on the knights trying to reach the tower.
He saw them try to dodge. They ducked low with well-coordinated movements.
The flashlight passed above their heads.
Then they followed the flashlight’s movement to turn toward him.
He smiled as all four’s eyes landed on him.
Instead of catching the incoming flashlight, he let it fly behind him and swing around him.
The rope swung with his arm as its fulcrum, so the flashlight took a large circular path.
The knights stood up and tried to turn to face him.
But it was too late.
The rope anchored by the flashlight had already reached them. It caught all four of them at the hip.
“…!?”
Once the rope’s circular movement was stopped by the knights’ bodies, it rapidly wrapped around them.
By then, Aoe had let go of the rope.
He leaned forward, crouched low, and ran toward the knights.
The rope wrapped around them hindered their movements, so Aoe approached one of them and used his left hand to swipe the submachinegun from that one’s hip.
He used the one hand to switch off the safety, made sure it had ammo in the magazine, and looked to Monkey on his shoulder.
Monkey nodded. The firearm control program had already activated, beginning its time limit.
If he pulled the trigger, bullets would come out.
“Mh.”
He aimed the submachinegun toward the neck of the knights’ defensers.
Four gunshots rang out.
The control devices on the backs of their necks were all destroyed.
That kept the defensers from operating, effectively immobilizing the knights.
“Because Yuo would probably cry if I killed you.”
With those parting words, he turned his back on the knights and took off running. A beat later, the knights started shouting protests, but he ignored them and directed his feet toward the castle’s entrance.
He worked his mind while running one step at a time.
He recalled what that man named Excel had told him in the communications tower.
<They plan to erase Yuo’s current Plus-related memories and bring back the Minus Yuo?>
He released his willpower on a level exceeding mere thought.
“I won’t let you!”
A shattering glass sound came from his feet and he accelerated.
He cleared the junction in mere moments and prepared to enter the Top Page inside the castle.
The inside looked dark from the outside.
But he did not hesitate to run in.
“I don’t have to be the strongest. You can call me deadly, a fake, or a dropout all you want.”
He definitely clenched his right fist just as he was entering that darkness.
“Grant me strength!”
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