"…What?"
Iskandar frowned as he followed Ren's finger toward the blazing sun hanging above the desert.
The artificial sky of the Reality Marble remained unchanged.
The sun burned silently above them.
Nothing looked different.
Rider lowered his gaze back toward Ren.
"What are you pointing at?"
Ren tilted his head slightly.
"Before that…"
His tone remained casual.
"You should send your Master and the others out."
Rider raised an eyebrow.
"...Hoo?"
Ren pointed upward again.
"I'm about to launch something awesome."
Then he shrugged.
"But the attack is indiscriminate."
His eyes briefly drifted toward Waver Velvet, who was still sitting weakly in the sand behind Rider.
"I doubt you could protect him from it."
Silence fell between them.
Rider stared at Ren for a moment.
"…You expect me to just believe that?"
Ren smiled faintly.
"You're a king."
"You should know when someone is serious."
The King of Conquerors watched him carefully.
Ren's expression did not change.
No arrogance.
No fear.
Just calm certainty.
After a long pause, Rider exhaled.
"…Very well."
He turned toward Waver.
"Boy."
Waver looked up weakly.
"W-What…?"
"You're leaving."
"Eh?!"
Before Waver could protest, Rider raised his hand and the Reality Marble began to tremble.
The desert winds shifted.
Far away, the edge of the world cracked slightly.
One by one, the observers were expelled from the Reality Marble.
Artoria Pendragon, Irisviel von Einzbern, Aesc, and Sakura Aion vanished from the desert battlefield.
Even Waver was forcefully ejected despite his protests.
The Reality Marble stabilized once more.
Now—
Only two figures remained.
Rider.
And Ren.
The wind swept across the ruined battlefield.
Less than a hundred soldiers of Rider's army still stood among the countless corpses of SCP-3199 scattered across the sand.
Rider rested his sword on his shoulder.
"…Now."
He looked at Ren again.
"What exactly are you planning, magus?"
Ren scratched his cheek casually.
"Just a little test."
His eyes drifted upward toward the blazing sun again.
Inside his mind, however—
His thoughts were far less casual.
Ren had already judged the situation carefully.
If something happened to waver to the point got him killed
It would simply be…
An inconvenience for him as the one responsible.
Waver Velvet had far too many connections to the future plotlines.
Removing him now would cause the entire plot of this world to spiral into chaos.
And that would attract unwanted attention.
Specifically—
Alaya.
Ren clicked his tongue slightly.
'And I really don't feel like dealing with the Counter Force today.'
It wasn't fear.
Not even close.
If the Counter Force actually decided to chase him down—
Ren would simply escalate the problem.
After all—
If someone dared threaten him…
Then Ren had no problem threatening every living being on this planet in return.
Humans.
Devils.
yokai.
Even the beings hiding in realms like Heaven or the Underworld.
None of them would be exempt.
But doing that would be extremely troublesome.
And Ren hated troublesome things.
Saving Sakura had already been enough.
Sakura had only minor entanglement with the future plotline.
Being with Ren wouldn't disturb the world too much.
Waver, on the other hand—
Was different.
Ren sighed softly.
"So…"
He looked back at Rider.
"You ready?"
Rider grinned.
"Oh?"
Lightning crackled faintly around the King of Conquerors.
"Now you've got my attention."
Ren pointed toward the sun again.
"Good."
"Because the show is about to start."
And high above the desert battlefield—
Then—
The sun changed.
At first, it was subtle.
The golden light hanging above the Reality Marble began to darken.
The color shifted.
Gold…
to orange…
to something far more unnatural.
Scarlet.
The sun turned blood-red.
But not everywhere.
A small patch of sunlight around Iskandar remained unchanged—still the normal yellow glow of the Reality Marble's sky.
A narrow safe zone.
Rider noticed it immediately.
"…What did you do?"
Ren didn't answer.
Instead—
The scarlet sunlight touched the battlefield.
And the nightmare began.
The first soldier screamed.
"AAAAAA—!"
The man collapsed to his knees as his armor began to deform.
Not from heat.
From melting.
His flesh softened like wax under fire.
Skin sagged.
Muscle liquefied.
His body began to collapse inward like butter left under a furnace.
"HELP—!"
"MY BODY—!"
Desperate cries echoed across the desert.
The soldiers of the King of Conquerors began to melt alive.
Their arms sagged.
Their faces collapsed.
Eyes slid from their sockets as their bodies liquefied into grotesque pools of flesh.
Within seconds, the battlefield became filled with horrifying screams.
Some soldiers tried to crawl toward Rider.
Others begged for mercy.
Others simply screamed until their voices disappeared into bubbling gurgles.
But nothing stopped it.
One by one—
They melted.
Armor fell empty onto the sand as their bodies dissolved into expanding puddles of red flesh.
And it didn't stop there.
The corpses scattered across the battlefield began to react as well.
The shattered bodies of Rider's fallen soldiers.
The broken remains of SCP-3199.
Even the dead creatures began to soften.
Their bodies collapsed into liquefying flesh under the scarlet sunlight.
Soon the battlefield was no longer a desert.
It had become a sea of melting meat.
And then—
The pools began to move.
The flesh trembled.
Quivered.
Then slowly began sliding across the sand.
The liquefied bodies crawled toward each other like living sludge.
Two puddles touched.
Merged.
Then more followed.
The battlefield slowly gathered into massive shifting masses of red flesh.
Blobs.
Pulsating.
Growing larger and larger.
Soon the merging pools formed towering hills of living meat that twitched and writhed as if breathing.
A grotesque mountain of flesh began to rise in the middle of the battlefield.
Watching the horrific transformation of his army—
Rider froze.
For a brief moment—
Even the King of Conquerors could not speak.
Then his eyes exploded with fury.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Lightning erupted around him as he pointed his sword at Ren.
"There is no honor in this!"
Ren simply tilted his head slightly.
"…Honor?"
His voice remained calm.
Then he pointed toward the safe patch of sunlight surrounding Rider.
A narrow circle untouched by the scarlet sun.
"I left you a safe zone."
Ren's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So here's a question."
He gestured toward the mountains of melting flesh where Rider's soldiers were still dissolving into screaming meat.
"Will you step out of that safe zone…"
"…to help your comrades?"
His voice remained quiet.
"But if you do—"
Ren looked toward the scarlet sun above.
"You'll melt just like them."
Silence fell.
Then Ren finished the sentence.
"…Or will you stay safe here?"
"…and leave them behind?"
The question hung in the air like a blade.
For the first time since becoming the King of Conquerors—
Iskandar felt something crack inside his mind.
His soldiers.
His companions.
The men who marched with him across the world.
All screaming in agony as their bodies melted into living flesh beneath the scarlet sun.
And the one responsible for it—
Stood calmly in front of him.
Waiting.
Watching.
Testing him.
Rider's grip on his sword trembled.
Then—
His eyes hardened.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
Not toward the melting army.
But toward Ren.
"If you are the source of this—"
Lightning erupted around the Gordius Wheel as Rider mounted his chariot.
"Then you will fall first!"
Before charging, Rider closed his eyes briefly.
Through the spiritual link between Master and Servant—
He reached out.
'Boy.'
Outside the Reality Marble, Waver Velvet suddenly froze.
"…Rider?"
Inside the desert world, Rider smiled faintly.
'Looks like this is where our road ends.'
The King of Conquerors tightened his grip on the reins.
'You did well, my Master.'
Then the chariot thundered forward toward Ren.
Lightning still crackled around the chariot as Iskandar charged forward.
The King of Conquerors did not hesitate.
Not even for a moment.
The instant his foot crossed the edge of the safe zone—
The scarlet sunlight touched him.
His body began to melt.
It started with his armor.
Metal softened like wax beneath a furnace.
Then his flesh followed.
His skin sagged.
Muscles collapsed.
But Rider did not stop.
The Gordius Wheel continued forward, dragged by divine bulls that themselves began dissolving under the crimson light.
His body was already deforming, flesh slipping from bone like molten wax.
Yet the King of Conquerors kept advancing.
One step.
Another.
And another.
Even as his arm began to liquefy and drip onto the desert sand.
His voice still roared across the battlefield.
"A king… does not abandon his battlefield!"
But the scarlet sun was merciless.
Before he could even reach Ren—
His body collapsed.
The massive figure of the King of Conquerors melted into a spreading pool of flesh beneath the red sky.
The Gordius Wheel dissolved beside him.
The divine bulls followed soon after.
And with the fall of its king—
The Reality Marble began to crumble.
The desert horizon cracked.
The sky fractured like broken glass.
The army of the King of Conquerors had vanished.
Only Ren remained standing among the mountains of melted flesh.
But Ren wasn't watching the collapsing world.
Instead—
He frowned.
"…That's strange."
The melting battlefield around him barely registered in his mind.
Something else bothered him.
Something deeper.
Ren closed his eyes for a moment.
And replayed the events in his head.
Letting SCP-3199 loose against Rider's army.
Activating the scarlet sun of SCP-001.
Melting every living thing on the battlefield.
Every...action he did, it is like not something he would do
Then why did he do that?
Did he hate Rider?
No.
Did he want to kill Rider?
Also no.
The answer was surprisingly simple.
"…I was curious."
He was curious about what would happen if he used the Scarlet Sun trait on the spirits Iskandar Army that had gained temporary bodies inside the Reality Marble.
He was curious about what would happen to Iskandar—a clone of a Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes who possessed Spiritual body—when faced with the Scarlet Sun.
Ren opened his eyes slowly.
he realized...his curiosity
It was the same kind of curiosity a child might feel while pouring water into an anthill.
The child wasn't trying to murder the ants.
He was simply curious about what would happen next.
And Ren had just realized something disturbing.
That curiosity…
Didn't entirely feel like his own.
"…Ah."
"So that's what's happening."
The more he thought about it, the clearer it became.
When Ren used summoned SCP objects—like the Joke Bandage or the anomalous pen—his personality never changed.
He was still himself.
But during the Holy Grail War, something had begun to shift.
Throughout the war, Ren had repeatedly relied on the power of SCP-2030.
Its traits had merged with him.
And those traits…
Were...might be influencing him.
Ren remembered the file clearly.
The host of SCP-2030 possessed a deeply twisted sense of humor.
A constant desire for entertainment.
A warped curiosity toward the suffering and reactions of others.
"…Right."
Ren rubbed his temple slowly.
"That explains a lot."
Ren sighed.
"That explains the whole 'let's see what happens' moment."
Then he spoke inside his mind.
"System."
"If I keep using SCP traits like this…"
"…will my personality start changing?"
The answer appeared immediately.
[Answer: Extended use of anomalous traits may gradually influence the host's cognitive patterns.]
[Certain SCP abilities contain conceptual properties that can affect perception, emotional response, and behavioral tendencies.]
[These effects are not considered system errors.]
[They are classified as normal side effects of anomaly integration.]
[However, Host does not need to worry about SCP traits taking control of your personality.]
[The influence of these traits is merely a whisper in the dark.]
[As long as you maintain mental stability, everything will gradually return to normal.]
Ren stared at the message for a few seconds.
"…Huh."
He wasn't shocked.
Not really.
Did he blame the system?
No.
Without this system, Ren would still be an ordinary person thrown into a completely insane world full of Servants, devils, and cosmic nonsense.
The system had given him power.
Security.
A way to survive.
So instead of anger—
Ren simply nodded to himself.
"…Alright."
He took the system's answer as something else entirely.
A warning.
Or maybe a wake-up call.
"If that's the case…"
Ren stretched his arms slightly as the collapsing Reality Marble shattered around him.
"I'll just need to be more careful."
He exhaled softly.
"I guess… this is the price of power."
"…After all, the things that come for free are often the most expensive."
Ren then Open a massive portal, and command the meat mountain to enter the portal to containment zone.
as the reality marble crumble, Ren finally out.
(end of chapter)
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Author's Note:
I gradually realized that I made the protagonist a bit too overpowered, so I decided to nerf him slightly with this change.
Also, please remember that the protagonist was originally just a normal human who suddenly gained an overwhelming amount of power in a very short time. Because of that, his ego shot through the roof and he started treating many things like a game.
Even though he knows this is reality and not a game… well, humans make mistakes.
As I've mentioned several times in the story, he often thinks using anime logic or game logic. His mindset is still flawed and immature right now.
So please don't start hating him too quickly if you saw his personality changed abruptly. His character will change and develop as the story progresses. And I promise you, he will turns better.