kscans

Chapter 104 - Reincarnator, State Your Wish

The throne room. Silence filled the space, still heavy with the aftershocks of the fierce battle.

Standing at the end of the deathmatch were Mamoru, the Hobgoblin reincarnator, and his four monster comrades.

It was then.

Spacetime tore apart. Amidst a freeze of light and sound, space itself cracked open, and from it, a single being emerged.

Fibers of silver and light, complex code, and clockwork gears covered its entire body. His name was Creator God Sephillos Code.

The genius director who led the development of this game world, Legend of Brave Regalia.

"...Magnificent. Reincarnator Mamoru."

His voice was calm, yet carried a certain heat.

"You, a Hobgoblin, defeating the hero. An unexpected story, not in the game's scenario. You are... the 'unexpected variable' I have been waiting for."

Mamoru, supporting himself with his shield like a staff, quietly asked back.

"...Unexpected?"

Sephillos took a step forward and answered.

"The hero slays the demon lord and saves the world. I never wanted such a 'predestined' story from the beginning."

"...Don't tell me... you..."

"That is correct. I am one of this world's developers, Toshio Imada."

At that name, Mamoru's mind reeled. It was the name of a genius programmer known to those in the gaming industry of his past. A man who had been reported to have died suddenly several years ago.

"I was defeated in a meeting. They pushed on me that 'if it's not a classic story, it won't sell.' But I still didn't give up. I embedded a seed of 'chaos' in the depths of this world. And three years later, with my own death, I activated a 'bug'... and sent the reincarnators into this story."

"That is why I grant you, Mamoru, the right to 'change this game into the world you desire.'"

"...My wish is already decided."

Mamoru said, looking over his fallen comrades.

"I want you to return this world to the original Legend of Brave Regalia, where the hero defeats the demon lord. And bring back all the humans and monsters that Ares killed... bring them all back to how they were."

A moment of silence. But in the next instant, Sephillos clearly shook his head.

"...I refuse that wish."

"Wh... why? You said you'd let me make it the world I desire."

"Legend of Brave Regalia is a classic piece of trash. Its balance is broken, its freedom is a mere formality, and its heart is bound by predetermined roles. I feel not one shred of need to return it to such a state."

Mamoru's fist trembled.

"But... that world had a human heart. It was the world everyone wanted."

"And that is precisely why it was destroyed," Sephillos stated coldly.

"Someone with your way of thinking causes everything to regress. The actions of the reincarnator Hero Ares were a hope that would lead to true evolution. Therefore, I refuse."

He then gestured to a massive tower that appeared behind him.

"One week from now, come to my core central domain, Ark-Lore-Crest. Discuss it with your comrades once more and reconsider your wish."

"..."

"What you will leave for the future of this world. I shall be the final judge of that."

The god's form vanished along with the rift.

And then, back with Mamoru, the faint breaths of his comrades began to return.

The story was not yet over.