kscans

Chapter 202 - Accumulated War Results

—Suddenly, the sound of a great bell rang out.

'She,' who had been sitting on the stairs with her eyes closed, lifted her head. She looked toward the large skylight that offered a view of the outside of the castle. What she saw was a brilliant pillar of golden light rising into the heavens.

It was a signal of victory, even more grandiose than the effect for a 'Pillar' being destroyed. It meant that one of the Title Holders had been taken down.

Her eyes widened slightly, and then she glanced at the system clock, which brought further surprise. Only about ten minutes had passed since the Four Pillar War began.

She opened a window and brought up the scoreboard. Among the four factions—or rather, the three excluding the West—Istia was the only one that had already accumulated points. The number displayed was an abnormal '1200.'

Something stirred within her, and she suppressed it.

To get her hopes up, only to be betrayed, and then to be disappointed again—she had lost count of how many times she had repeated that cycle.

She shouldn't get her hopes up. She should just wait.

“—…Aren’t you going?”

As she settled her rising body back against the railing, a childish voice came from right beside her. A young girl, lying on a large sofa that grew out of the stairs, rubbed her sleepy eyes from behind her long, long, pale purple hair and asked the question.

“No, I’m not.”

After replying, she closed her eyes again. The girl who had asked watched her for a moment before letting her own sleepy eyelids fall.

Within the crimson citadel, there were only two quiet breaths.

The clamor of the battlefield was still far away.

◇◆◇◆◇

Looking back on my experiences, fights against players had always followed a default pattern: “Battle! ⇒ Victory!! ⇒ Cheers!!!”

There was no mystery to it; every fight had been a single, self-contained event. So, considering that, what would happen this time? The battle against the [Great Tiger] had just concluded with a victory. What would come next?

The number of players who had been watching our duel with bated breath was well over seventy. They were lined up, split almost perfectly in two—warriors from the opposing Eastern faction or the Northern-Southern alliance. This place was, without a doubt, the heart of the battlefield.

So here’s a question. Now that Tiger Star, a.k.a. the [Great Tiger], has been defeated and the [Engage] field has been lifted.

What kind of 'voices' would erupt in the next moment?

A.1 Cheers. A.2 Jeers. A.3 Roars of anger. A.4 Screams mixed with all sorts of emotions.

Was that too easy? The answer is all of them.

“““““—————————————————!!!”””””

Kid!!

“I know!!”

I picked up the sheath of the [Samidorizuki] that had fallen at my feet and immediately leaped away from the spot. At that moment, a hailstorm of thrown objects and magic rained down.

For the players of the North and South, it was a situation where a ranker, who was likely exhausted after a battle (and with only 10% HP left), was right in front of them. It was only natural for them to seize the opportunity and attack.

Anyone would do the same. In that case, the action I should take is…

“—The rest is up to you!!”

“—You can count on me!!”

I high-fived Lotta, who leaped forward to lead his unit, swapping places with me, and dove into the crowd of our allied faction.

“Nice fight!!”

“You’re insane!!”

“Seriously, GG!”

“I’m a fan, Ninth!!”

As our veteran comrades ran past, each leaving a word of praise, I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from turning up—

Damn it… —You did too damn well, you idiot. Come back and rest for a bit, Haru.

“Roger that!!”

I slipped through the Eastern faction’s unit. The effect of the [Crimson Red Ruby] was still active—or rather, couldn’t be deactivated—and my legs, which bypassed the process of acceleration, launched my avatar into the air.

…As I did, I felt a sort of 'hunch' and extended my right hand straight out to the side in a thumbs-up.

Even if I looked back, I wouldn't be able to see anything at this speed, but I had a feeling that my friend Lotta, whom I’d left in charge, was probably doing something similar.

◇◆◇◆◇

“—…Well, yeah. That’s my impression, pretty much.”

I see. So you will not pursue, is that correct?

“That’s right. I probably wouldn’t get wrecked by a bad matchup like Tora did, but going up against that thing with a zero percent accident rate seems pretty tough.”

If there is even a slight risk, then that is the correct decision. Return to base. Your turn is not yet.

“Yeah, figures. Roger that.”

Right after the start of the battle—in the walkway where what would undoubtedly become the first highlight of this war had unfolded. A small boy, who had been observing the scene from around a corner, turned on his heel in accordance with the telepathic command.

“Ah, um… what should I do about this? Should I clean up?”

As he was leaving, the boy—Uni the [Heavy Tank]—stopped again and looked back over his shoulder, his hand moving to the hilt of the short sword at his waist.

Not necessary.

“Mm, okay.”

An immediate reply, without a hint of hesitation. And he, having anticipated it, nodded obediently, took his hand from the hilt, and resumed walking.

That's right. It didn't matter if one or two pillars were taken—in fact, it didn't matter how many more times the 'sweep' that had just occurred in under ten minutes was repeated.

Because in this Four Pillar War, it had been decided from the very beginning that no matter how enormous a score one amassed… the points meant nothing at all.