Novel Bin Chapter 22: Irrevocable (1)
Chapter 22: Irrevocable (1)
Roll!
I shook off the blood from my blade as the head tumbled over the floor. The others, who probably saw their fate in him, quickly averted their eyes. It was quite the natural reaction, I'd say.
“It's time to pay for your sins, you Demon pawns!"
However, it wasn't just me who wanted to punish them. The Inquisitor also stepped forward.
“You Hero bit—!"
Crunch!
When I took a peek, I saw people dying to the kimchi dumpling's mace.
While I somewhat expected it, I didn't get any experience points if the Inquisitor killed something. That was a bit of a shame.
“Erm."
Fortunately, the Archmage and the Thief decided to stand back. Well, it actually would have been fine if they had participated.
There were enough experience points around for all of us.
“Erm, could you leave one?"
However, that was when the Thief suddenly spoke up. The Inquisitor’s and Archmage’s heads immediately turned toward him.
“What do you mean?"
Although he hadn't played as active a role as the Inquisitor, the Thief had at least protected the Archmage properly.
Perhaps because of that, the Inquisitor's voice didn't seem as hostile as before. One could still hear disapproval mixed in with it, though.
“It's not such a big deal…"
The Thief stood before the corpses stacked on the altar, completely destroyed after the Knucker was summoned. All the blood had been sucked out of them, and their bodies were crushed to pieces, forming a giant lump without a single body intact.
“One of my colleagues is related to one of the kidnapped kids. I just want to give him a chance to get revenge."
Considering the Thief's past was set up to be that he entered the back streets to kill the noble who murdered his friend, his sentiment was quite understandable.
Besides, in the original, wasn’t one of the Thief’s class branches Avenger? I remembered it because I had thought its class branches were kind of weird.
“If I can’t bring their precious family member back, wouldn’t it be nice if they could at least take revenge?”
“Personal vengeance is prohibited by the law.”
However, our Inquisitor was a massive iron wall.
As I watched the Thief’s expression grow rotten, I grabbed one of the Demon Contractors by the nape of the neck. They were still alive.
Toss.
“Urgh!”
Good. I threw them before the Thief.
“Demon Knight…?”
“…Mister.”
“Keep this in mind. If you let that Demon bastard escape, I will cut off your head as well.”
“…Got it. Since surveillance is our speciality, I won’t let that happen.”
Personally, I didn’t advocate for personal revenge, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t sympathize.
Moreover, in the Demon Knight’s case, he even lost the chance to properly take revenge. He would surely grant someone this kind of trivial favor.
The Quest didn't say I had to kill them all but subdue them, so something like this should still be allowed.
“Demon Knight!"
Though, the Inquisitor didn't seem to like my decision. If she were a D&D character, she would definitely be lawful neutral.
“Urgh, I will curse… I offer my flesh and blood…!"
Slash.
Did he think I wouldn't hear him chant?
“Sir Archmage…!"
“Demon Contractors are dangerous. If one can not keep them in check with Divine Power, it would be better to just kill them. You don't know what they might do otherwise."
“Couldn't it work if you cut off their tongue and sever the ligaments in their limbs?"
“…You shouldn't keep them alive for long. Demonic Energy is quite different from regular magic. You should never let your guard down around them."
“Don't worry; he'll die as soon as I get there.”
I thought it kind of was a waste of experience points, but I decided to focus on cleaning up again.
I killed all those who tried to cast curses. The Inquisitor only killed a few of them because she was arguing with the Thief, so more than half of my experience bar was suddenly filled.
“Abide by the law…!”
Ah. Were they all dead now? [Detection] didn’t alert me about any more presences either. The Quest had also updated.
Good. We could probably leave the dungeon now.
Hmm. Nevermind. Should I just log out here? The Full Dive end notification would probably pop out in about an hour if I did more than this. Could I properly complete the Quest in that amount of time?
If I had to stop in the middle of the Quest, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to stop here after everything had been neatly taken care of.
In addition, if I saw a distinctive place like this after logging back in, it would be easier to remember where I left off.
Anyway, while I couldn’t say anything about other games, the NPCs in this game were just too realistic. They would probably find it very strange if I was confused after logging back in. I really wanted to prevent breaking character as much as I could.
“Log out.”
So, I came to a decision and immediately took action.
「This command cannot be carried out.」
But what the hell was with that message?
“…? Log out.”
「This command cannot be carried out.」
“…???”
…Could this be a bug or something? No, what game bugged out when one tried to use the logout function?
Did the game company want to go bankrupt? No matter how well-made the game was, if one couldn’t log out of a VR game, the game’s reputation and value would crumble to dust.
“Log out.”
「This command cannot be carried out.」
“…Log out!”
「This command cannot be carried out.」
What? Why was this happening? Faced with the repeated appearance of that error message, I fell into a daze.
I couldn’t help it. This wasn’t something I ever would have expected, a sight no gamer would ever imagine encountering.
“Demon Knight?”
…No, I should calm down. There was no way the game company wouldn’t have fixed that kind of bug during testing if they hadn’t gone completely crazy. It probably had something to do with this place.
I mean, didn’t some games have areas where one couldn’t log out? That was probably the case. That message was just very vague, which scared me.
“…Nevermind.”
I seemed to have been even more shocked than I thought. I said something slightly off for my character. Anyone who saw that kind of message would have been out of it, as well.
“Hey, where are you going?”
Feeling impatient, I hurried out.
“I’m going to cut down those corrupt bastards who conspired with the Demons.”
Since I couldn’t tell her I was leaving the dungeon to log out, I naturally recited what the updated Quest said.
「❖ Ominous Sign
∎ Subdue/Eliminate all enemies
∎ Move to the Temple
∎ Find the traitors who conspired with the Demon Contractors」
Of course, I didn't actually mean to do that right now. I would log out of the game as soon as I left the cavern.
“…! P-please wait a moment!”
The Inquisitor urgently called out to me before she began muttering her prayers.
She probably did it to Purify the place. For some reason, it sent a cold chill down my spine.
“Mister.”
However, logging out was more important right now.
I ignored the various appeals to wait and headed to the hallway we came from. Then someone rushed after me.
The Inquisitor was still Purifying the area, and the Archmage was beside her, so the only one remaining was the Thief.
“Thank you.”
The tone of voice he used to convey these words was firm and serious, unlike his usual loud and provocative tone.
Although I could still hear some faint groans from that Demon Contractor, I could just dismiss them as background music.
“…Thieves never let go of a grudge. However, they also never forget the grace they receive. I’ll definitely repay you.”
“No need.”
Since he was the representative character of the Thief class, it was more than obvious he would join our party as a Companion.
“…Even if you say that, I will still repay you.”
“I told you that’s unnecessary.”
Was the hallway that long? I quickened my steps a bit. My mental state was rather precarious right now.
“Who’s there?!”
“Jeez. The guards.”
Then, I just had to encounter guards who came down the stairs. Did [Detection] not catch them because they weren’t exactly hostile to me?
“Wh-who are you!”
“Surrender immediately!”
Perhaps because I was currently covered in blood, the guards raised their weapons toward me while trembling.
I didn’t want to attack them, but I felt I would die if I didn’t defend myself, so they saw me tightly gripping my sword in self-defense.
“Surrender?”
I fiddled with the hilt of my blade. According to my setting, my character’s personality wasn’t so twisted that he would wield his sword against civilians who weren’t criminals or related to Demons. However, this much was fine.
I didn’t have to cover up my irritation.
“Demon Knight!”
“Please, wait!”
Fortunately, 20 seconds after the guards and I ran into each other, the Inquisitor and the Archmage came running after me.
Their timing really was great, although the Archmage seemed somewhat out of breath as soon as he reached us.
In the end, not only did we wander around all night, but we also went into battle without a single break. A Wizard with low amounts of stamina would certainly be exhausted by now.
“Wh-who are you?!”
“I’m an Inquisitor from the Great Temple!”
It felt so irritating to explain all this. My character also wouldn’t do this, so it should be fine to make way for now.
As I was calculating that, I took a step aside. The Thief did the same as the Inquisitor quickly stood before us.
She held out the Holy Relic of the Order to prove her identity.
“Th-the Great Temple…?”
“We came here after detecting some Demonic Energy in this underground way and killed all the Demon Contractors we found. And these people are my Companions. Lower your weapons.”
“D-Demons!”
“…Is that true?”
The Inquisitor didn’t speak any further. A Divine Power flowed from her body, enveloping the dark passageway in warm light.
The guards, glancing at each other, hurriedly lowered their weapons.
“Forgive our rudeness, honored priest.”
“You just did your job. Don’t apologize.”
Just as I wondered if the Inquisitor was of a higher rank than I thought, I heard a small murmur from the side. It was the Thief.
“What’s so honorable about that thug…?”
…Hey, could it be if one started as a Priest, this guy wouldn’t become your Companion? I felt like he wouldn’t be joining us yet.
I thought the Demon Knight would have the dirtiest personality, but it seemed like the Thief was a close contender. I didn’t read that class’s interactions properly because the Thief story was so annoying.
“Let’s go.”
While I was momentarily lost in thought, it seemed like she finished her conversation with the guards. The Inquisitor looked at me as if telling me to go out. Or that was what I was hoping for, at least.
“Hey, hand over that criminal.”
“What? That one’s mine.”
“The Inquisitor told me to retrieve this Demon Contractor.”
“…Ah, that thug….”
“What did you say just now?”
“It’s too stuffy here, so I said I’ll hand him over when we’re outside, didn’t you hear?”
“…I don't remember it being that long.”
“It’s because I speak fast.”New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on no/vel(b)in(.)co/m
I went up the stairs and left the vegetable store. The midday sun was blinding my eyes.
“Ah, but I have to do something urgently. I’ll be right back.”
“…! Wait, halt!”
“Catch him!”
“That maniac—!”
“Goodness me.”
“Oh, Sir Archmage, are you alright?”
“Haha… I’m fine. However, this march seems to have taken quite the toll on this old man’s body.”
“Ah, I, erm…”
“Don’t worry, I can still move around more. Shouldn’t we find those corrupted ones in the Temple?”
I focused on the sound of the Thief fleeing, the guards giving chase, and the Inquisitor’s complaining, along with the Archmage catching the Inquisitor’s attention that had been half-seriously fixed on the Thief.
「Somon: Commercial District」
We changed maps. I had to be able to log out now.
…I just had to.
“Log out.”
I glared into the air before me and repeated the command. Then, a Window showed up before my eyes once again.
「This command cannot be carried out.」
* * *
* * *
“This crazy m—!”
Shit, this damn game system bastard…!
“Demon Knight?”
An exclamation leaked from between my teeth, to which the Inquisitor turned toward me. However, I wasn’t confident I could control my expression right now.
Anyone else would feel the same way. At this point, I couldn’t blame it on my location anymore.
There was no way I couldn’t log out while I still had a Quest open, and there was no reason for me to be restricted from logging out in this area. That meant there should be no reason for the logout function to be blocked.
But I still couldn’t log out? If I were to sue the game company, I was sure to win, no questions asked. Damn, this is a serious problem, you know?
“Settings.”
I tried opening the Settings to try manually clicking the logout button.
I usually avoided using it in fear of the NPCs looking at me strangely given their too high level of intelligence—they wouldn’t be able to see the System Window, after all—but that wasn’t something I should be worrying about right now.
「This command cannot be carried out.」
「This command cannot be carried out.」
「This command cannot be carried out.」
「This command cannot be carried out…」
However, all that happened was the same Error Window showing up repeatedly.
“…What is this?.”
I-it can’t be. I felt the temperature in my face dropping rapidly as I mumbled the logout command like a madman. But all it did was summon that Error Window again.
“Demon Knight? Is something wrong?”
“You…?”
How could horror games compare to this? Damn it, I felt true horror at this moment.
I chewed my lips and grabbed at my hair in fear.
What should I do now? Really, what should I do?
Even though I had already experienced many different bugs, I had never been unable to log out. I never even heard of something like that happening.
I’d never gone through something like that before…
“…! Emergency protocol.”
Then I remembered a certain function and urgently shouted out. It was a function built into the capsule itself.
I had half-forgotten about it because I’d never had to use it before, but now that I had fallen into a real crisis, I remembered it again.
“Forced Capsule Termination.”
“What?”
「This command cannot be carried out.」
“Emergency protocol, Forced Capsule Termination!”
「This command cannot be carried out.」
“Shit!”
However, that didn’t work either. I repeatedly shouted ‘log out’ and ‘Emergency protocol’ before chanting all the swear words I knew of.
Unfortunately, or obviously.
None of the functions I knew of worked.
“Demon Knight, what’s going on?!”
“Why are you acting like this?”
What did it want me to do? If I couldn’t log out, and the Capsule Emergency protocol didn’t work, how was I supposed to turn off the game? How could I get out?!
How the fuck did these game company bastards make this game while leaving in such a damn bug…?!
“Demon Knight. What, what is wrong?! By any chance, the Demon…!”
The Inquisitor grabbed my arm and locked eyes with me. A terrible displeasure and gruesome uneasiness crawled all over my skin.
“No way…”
“What?”
“Log out…”
No, no. I had to calm down. After the nutrients injected into the user during the Full Dive ran out, the Full Dive would end automatically. Of course, the game would shut down as well.
That feature was an absolute necessity because people might die of starvation if they forgot to exit the capsule after running out, so it would kick in no matter what. I was absolutely sure of it.
So I needed to calm down. Calm down. I just… I just had to wait a few more hours. Just a few more hours until the full dive would end—
“Come to your senses!”
Baam!
An excruciating pain ran through my stomach. I could hear the sound of my HP draining in my ear.
“Cough!”
Damn, what the hell? I already adjusted my pain level to the lowest setting, so why did this still hurt so much…?!
“You…!”
I reflexively put my hand on my stomach and glared at the one who hit me: the Inquisitor.
“Oh! Have you finally come to your senses?!”
That kimchi dumpling, why was she so proud after hitting someone in the stomach…?! And why the hell was she smiling like that?! Did her head turn into an actual kimchi dumpling?!
“Are you fucking—!”
“I apologize for hitting such a vital point! However, it looked like you needed my assistance.”
“…What?”
I felt positively enraged looking into her glistening eyes, showing no indication she believed she’d done anything wrong. Even the serious matter of being unable to log out disappeared from my mind for a moment.
“I felt the Demonic Energy in your right arm moving around. Didn’t the Demon you’ve been suppressing start rampaging just now?”
“…?”
What kind of nonsense was she talking about?
“Don’t worry. I absolutely do not doubt you. Even if you may waver for a moment, I believe that you will be able to overcome the Demon and will never succumb to it!”
“…?”
“That’s why, Demon Knight! If this ever happens again, feel free to rely on me! I can buy you some time, at least!”
“…??”
“I will make sure of it!”
…Kimchi Dumpling, I really liked her, but what the hell was she talking about?