kscans

Chapter 359 - The Signal Fire of Counterattack

The day after his rescue, Hayato logged in early in the morning.

Esha and the others had said he should probably rest for another day, but his body was in perfect health with no problems whatsoever, so Hayato decided to log in right away.

When he logged in, he awoke in his room at the headquarters.

He had been confined in the Demon Lord's Castle for nearly a week, so his room felt nostalgic. When he had returned, he had logged out immediately, so he hadn't had time to get sentimental, but now he could finally feel that he was back.

He thought it was strange to feel more sentimental about returning to his room in virtual reality than to his own home and cafe in the real world, but Hayato quickly decided to check the situation.

Lunaria's former Demon Lord's Army had currently lost all its territories.

Yesterday, they had won at the "Magic City Under."

This was simply because Amanda had lost without fighting. She had lost quickly to return to the Demon Lord's Castle to prevent Hayato from being retaken, but he had been able to escape thanks to Xenobia and Esha.

Xenobia had been captured in his place, but no one knew her current status. In the worst case, her consciousness could be taken, and she could become an enemy.

Even so, they could not afford to lose.

Amanda was plotting world domination by winning this event. And in the end, she would put all of humanity into virtual reality and reign as the Demon Lord. That was the dream of Amanda, who had been unable to achieve anything as a Genetically Enhanced Human.

And for Amanda to achieve world domination, she needed to completely seize control of the spaceship Aphrodite. She was trying to make Hypnos, Diite's backup, do that.

Hypnos currently had to obey Amanda's orders. The detailed circumstances were unknown, but it was because Hypnos had been captured by Infinity, the program of this virtual reality, and Amanda had saved him.

If Diite was destroyed, Hypnos, being her backup, would become the administrator. Indirectly, Amanda could seize control of this virtual reality and the spaceship Aphrodite.

Hayato absolutely wanted to avoid that. This was an event they could not afford to lose.

However, if they won, he didn't know what would happen to Amanda, Hypnos, and Nanagi.

If Amanda lost, it seemed she would be moved to a cold sleep from which she would never awaken, but Hypnos's fate was completely unknown. It was highly likely he would be confined in some space as before. The fate of Nanagi and the members of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords was also unknown.

Hayato wanted to avoid that as well.

It had only been about a week, but he had lived with Amanda, Hypnos, and Nanagi, and he had some affection for them.

They were all acting selfishly, but it was still just within the virtual reality and hadn't affected the real world yet. Yet the risks of losing were high. Even if it was a state they themselves had wished for.

He didn't know what the best outcome would be, but if they won this event, Diite would supposedly regain all her functions, so anything would be possible.

Hayato thought that far, and then psyched himself up to focus on winning first and foremost.

Just as he was thinking of checking his inventory next, he heard a knock on the door.

"Hayato-kun, it seems you've logged in. May I come in?"

"Ah, Diite-chan, please, come in."

As Hayato said that, Diite came in.

"Good morning—hey, wait, Diite-chan, what's wrong?"

Hayato was surprised to see Diite after so long. Diite's face was a mixture of crying and laughing.

"I'm so glad you're safe. Truly, I'm so glad."

Her words made him realize. He had been in a state where he couldn't log out. If someone hadn't taken care of his body, he would have really died. Although Diite had grasped Hayato's situation in the real world, she must have been on edge until he logged in.

Thinking that, Hayato smiled to reassure her.

"Thanks to everyone, I managed to pull through. You did a lot too, didn't you, Diite-chan?"

"...I couldn't do anything. Esha-kun and Ney-kun were the ones who sent you to the Hospital and paid for it. When I suggested paying about a billion to the Hospital to get you super VIP treatment, Ney-kun got mad at me."

Hayato silently praised Ney for a job well done. If they had done that, they would have been marked by foundations other than Ney's, making life difficult.

"I've never felt so powerless. And from the time you were taken until yesterday, no, even now, I've been terrified."

"Terrified? Are you talking about my body? I had Mist-san check me out, and she said there were no problems, so I'm fine—"

"That's not it."

"It's not?"

"Of course I was worried about your body, but what was even scarier was the thought that you might not log in anymore."

"Not log in?"

"Yes. You almost died in this virtual reality. I thought you might decide not to log into such a dangerous virtual reality anymore. And it's been like that until now. You're always getting caught up in the problems happening here. It would be normal for you to grow to hate this place. Until just a moment before you logged in, I was thinking that the whole time."

Diite said this with her head down.

"Ah, I see. That's fine too. I've logged in properly, haven't I?"

"...You didn't come to say goodbye, did you?"

"Of course not. If that were the case, I would have contacted you through the cafe's monitor without logging in."

"I see, that's right. Then, will you keep coming to this virtual reality from now on...?"

This time, she looked up at him with an anxious expression. Thinking she was completely different from the usual Diite, Hayato nodded with a smile.

"Of course. Besides, if we don't win the current event, you'll be in danger, right? I can't fight, but I'll never let that happen."

As Hayato said that with a smile, Diite looked surprised, then looked down again.

"Th, thank you, Hayato-kun. I'm happy. But could you please not stare at me so much? My main core is in danger of thermal runaway. Even the coolant temperature has entered the danger zone."

"What are you talking about?"

The situation was unclear, but since it seemed dangerous, he averted his gaze from Diite for the time being.

Diite seemed to be taking deep breaths, inhaling deeply and then exhaling to her limit. He didn't know if that would calm down her thermal runaway, but Hayato vaguely thought that part of her was very human-like.

After a while, Diite said, "I'm okay now."

"I've finally calmed down."

"That's good."

"Then, to get right to it, I will be by your side until this event is over."

"Um?"

"It would be bad if Hypnos were to take you away again. Xenobia-kun is gone too, so we wouldn't be able to rescue you. With Esha-kun and the others around, your life might not be in danger in the real world even if you were taken, but I never want to go through that feeling again."

"I appreciate that, but aren't you busy with various things?"

During the event preparation period, Diite had hardly come to the headquarters. It seemed she was researching something, but he hadn't heard the details.

"I've been investigating Amanda and Hypnos until now, but in the end, I didn't find out anything. However, if we win this event, I can regain all my functions. There's no doubt about that. To be honest, it's a mystery how Amanda and Hypnos got such settings, but that's a secondary concern."

Diite seemed quite motivated, her breathing heavy. It seemed more likely to be a thermal runaway danger than anything else.

Ignoring Hayato's concern, Diite wore a wicked smile.

"I think I'll get serious too. Amanda-kun and Hypnos shouldn't think they can get away with putting you through this...!"

"First, let's calm down. Let's take a breath deeper than the bottom of the sea."

There was no telling what would happen if Diite seriously tried to crush them. Her abilities were currently limited, but even so, a serious Diite would likely be considerably strong.

Besides, Hayato was also thinking about saving Amanda, Hypnos, and Nanagi.

When he told her his thoughts, Diite looked exasperated.

"I did a terrible thing to you before, Hayato-kun. And you still forgave me, so I'm not in a position to complain, but—as Esha-kun says, you're a softie, Hayato-kun."

"It's been a while since I've heard that. But when I know the various circumstances of an opponent I know nothing about, I wonder what I should do."

"I understand. But let's think about that later. First, we have to win. Oh, right, it seems everyone believed you would come back safely, so there are a ton of materials in the storage. Rose-kun also sold a mountain of goods, so we have plenty of money. We can do whatever we want."

"That's a great help. Well, I logged in this early in the morning anticipating that. Oh, yeah, I've been thinking since I was taken hostage, but for this event, do you think something like this would be allowed?"

Hayato had been watching the battles through a monitor in the Demon Lord's Castle, but he hadn't just been watching. He had been thinking about how he could be useful.

He immediately consulted Diite about his idea.

Hayato had gone out with Diite but had returned to the headquarters.

In the dining hall, the members of Lunaria's Demon Lord's Army seemed to have been waiting for Hayato, and upon seeing him, they all looked relieved.

Lunaria, at the head of the table, spoke up.

"Hayato-san wasn't in his room, so we panicked a little, thinking you'd been kidnapped again."

"Ah, sorry. I had something I wanted to do, so I stepped out."

"Yeah. We got a voice chat from Diite-chan, so we knew it was okay. But we couldn't relax until we saw you. Since you made us worry, today's breakfast has to be something amazing."

"Got it. Before that, good morning."

"Yes, good morning."

Lunaria said that, then smiled.

"And one more thing. As expected of one of the Seven Demon Generals of the Demon Lord's Army. I knew you'd return safely, but as you did, I'll praise you as the Demon Lord. Well done."

"Should I say thank you? But, I'm sorry. Xenobia-san was captured in my place—"

Lunaria stopped Hayato's words with her hand.

"Xenobia-chan just did what she thought was right. Before she went to save Hayato-san, she confessed that she had been a companion of Amanda's and apologized. And she said she would save Hayato-san no matter what happened to her. I accepted her apology and entrusted it to Xenobia-chan. As a result, Hayato-san was able to return, so there's nothing to apologize for."

"I see..."

"Next time you see Xenobia-chan, please thank her. I think you can have a conversation if you give her advance notice and stay three meters away."

Hayato nodded.

Please thank her when you see her, Lunaria was saying that she would rescue Xenobia too.

After that, Rosalie, Gil, and the others also rejoiced at Hayato's return.

"Now that Hayato has returned, we can eat delicious food every day."

"Is that what you're happy about?"

"Is there anything else?"

Rosalie said this with a straight face, but Gil laughed, "Hahaha."

"You shouldn't take her seriously. Rosalie-dono is just saying that to hide her embarrassment."

"You're not supposed to say things like that, even if you think them, you know? Well, I was a tiny bit concerned, about the size of a needle's eye. If anything, Ney and Simon were worried to a dangerous degree, so today might be tough. Those two were ready to charge into the Demon Lord's Castle, which they can't even enter."

It was sad that he could easily imagine it, but thinking that they were worried about him, a smile spread across Hayato's face against his will.

However, he couldn't just be happy. The event was still ongoing, and the battles they couldn't lose would continue.

"I'm going to make breakfast now, but before that, I'll give you this."

Hayato said this and placed it on the table.

Lunaria and the others tilted their heads at it, but then they realized his intention.

"There was a lot of lumber in the storage. And we have a method of attack, so it's fine. The places we can use it will be limited, but around Deep Impact, it should definitely be usable."

"As expected of Hayato the Arrogant. To do something like this right after returning. I'd like to entrust you with being the Demon Lord's Army's strategist."

"More like the military technology officer, maybe? I thought it would be a good signal fire for a counterattack, what do you think?"

"I think it's the best. From today, we can fight seriously, but a flashy battle like this is just what I, as the Demon Lord, desire. Yes, let's eat breakfast right away and prepare for battle. Hayato-san, breakfast please."

"Roger that."

Hayato listened to the requests of Lunaria and the others and prepared a massive breakfast.

Afterward, many members gathered at the headquarters.

All of them rejoiced at Hayato's return. Simon, Benitsuru, and especially Ney's joy was intense, and it seemed to have transformed into anger toward the new Demon Lord's army. They were fired up, saying they would annihilate them without leaving even a speck of dust.

And the leaders of the major clans also rushed over.

There were five of them, Jolt of Bandit, Rauxal of Imperial, Keith of Over the Top, Lutz of Starkest, and Alvie of Kiss of Death.

Only Jolt knew the detailed circumstances, but the other leaders, even without knowing the details, knew that Hayato had been taken hostage, so they were happy that they could finally get serious.

Hayato thanked them for their concern and then handed them items.

The next battlefield had been decided as Deep Impact. Then it could be used, he thought, and handed them out to all the major clans except Bandit.

All who received it understood the intention and their faces twitched slightly, but only Jolt burst out laughing.

"Well, I never thought we'd be fighting with this. Can we use it on the battlefield?"

Hayato glanced at Diite for a moment before nodding.

"I've confirmed it with the management. And the attack method I was taught the recipe for before is also installed. But the battlefields where it can be used will likely be limited. If we use it in a town, the NPC residents will probably become enemies, and I think it would be less effective in a forest or the like. It's probably limited to places with no NPCs and a clear view."

"That's more than enough. But it's scary that you came up with this, Hayato."

"I can't fight, you see. But I think this can overturn the difference in our forces."

The number of players who had sided with Amanda was far greater than their own. Although they had NPCs who were each a match for a thousand, they couldn't win with ease. They needed enough fighting power to overcome the difference in numbers. And Hayato had prepared it.

Jolt nodded in agreement with Hayato.

"True. And only we can use this method. It's still a rare item, and they probably can't prepare this many. And you've given them not just to us, but to the NPCs as well, right?"

"Of course. I think there are about thirteen in total. Oh, and what I gave you is a thank you for helping with my rescue operation, so you don't have to return it."

Jolt started laughing even harder, then looked at Rauxal, Keith, Lutz, and Alvie.

"This is what's scary about Hayato. It's what makes him interesting, too!"

The other members could only manage a dry laugh, but they understood what Jolt was trying to say.

Hayato had a way of fighting precisely because he had no combat power.

And even if someone else thought of it, they normally wouldn't do it. How you play an online game is up to you, but he was so unconventional as to get into the top ranks of the Clan War with NPCs as his allies. Everyone here seemed to have renewed their understanding that his strength was not being bound by common sense.

"Well then, the event battle is about to start. Shall we go with the intention of taking back all the territories starting today? Well, I can't fight, though."

While wondering if that was self-deprecating after preparing so many of these things, everyone thought that with the different atmosphere of their allies, they would be able to win by a landslide today.

Demon Lord's Castle, Amanda's room.

Breakfast was not prepared on the table, but Hypnos and Nanagi had come to the room as usual to watch the event battle on the monitor.

Amanda was exuding an atmosphere that made it difficult to approach her, but Hypnos had no such reservations.

"Are you not going out to fight, Amanda?"

Amanda was lying languidly on the sofa and shot a glare at Hypnos.

"It doesn't matter, does it?"

"It certainly doesn't matter, but do you no longer intend to win?"

"You're so annoying. Fine, I'll tell you. Lunaria and the others haven't been fighting seriously until now. But from today, that's different. I wanted to see how strong they would become."

On Amanda's side, even though there were many players, they had few NPCs they could deploy. The Demonfolk who were members of Ambrosia, Ivan and the other members of Blackjack, and Nanagi and her group.

Moreover, due to Hypnos's "playfulness," the members of Blackjack, including Ivan, were set to regain their consciousness once they were defeated. The more they were defeated, the more their fighting power would decrease.

In the end, all she had to do was win against Lunaria in a one-on-one duel, so she thought it was fine to lose in the battle for territory. No matter how much their stats changed, she didn't think she would lose to Lunaria.

However, Amanda's circumstances had changed slightly.

Winning or losing was important, but there was something she wanted to obtain even more. If a battle were to occur, it would likely make an appearance. Confirming their fighting strength was an important matter for Amanda in order to time the moment to steal it.

And then, the battle began.

The enemy camp was visualized on the battlefield around Deep Impact, and the players of the new Demon Lord's army raised a war cry and were about to attack the old Demon Lord's army.

But that stopped immediately.

Everyone was looking up at the sky.

"W, what is that..."

Amanda couldn't help but let out a voice and stared at the monitor. Nanagi was also looking at the monitor with a frown.

Amidst this, only Hypnos clutched his stomach and burst out laughing. After laughing for a while, he crossed his arms and looked at the monitor with a grin.

"Just as I'd expect from Hayato. He's only just been rescued, and today he does this."

"Hey! Is that allowed!?"

Hypnos turned a smile toward the flustered Amanda.

"It doesn't matter, does it? There's no rule saying it's not allowed. The basic policy of this virtual reality is 'All actions possible within the game are permitted at the individual's own responsibility.' It's far more wholesome than taking someone hostage."

Amanda, not noticing the sarcasm, stared at the monitor.

Reflected there was a fleet of airships, fitted with cannons.