— — — — — —
When…?
The question surfaced in Ryo's mind.
The Prophet was behind him and he hadn't sensed anything.
That was wrong. Very wrong.
With his cosmos and his own immense mental sense, Ryo's perception was sharpened to an absurd degree. Not even Highness, Scathach, or Leticia could get within three hundred meters of him without being noticed.
But right now, the Prophet stood less than fifteen meters away.
That was impossible.
The Prophet spoke in a mild, gentle tone. "I already foresaw that an enemy has disguised themselves as one of us and infiltrated this place."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted slowly between Ryo and Rin.
Rin's eyes had gone unfocused, blank, mouth hanging slightly open. The picture of someone who had completely given up thought.
She had already surrendered her consciousness, allowing Ryo to puppeteer her via their mental link.
'Damn, you're awfully good at acting mind-controlled…' Ryo couldn't help complaining internally.
He knew this was part of the plan. He was supposed to be the one "controlling" her in the infiltration. But still. Did she have to look that practiced?
The Prophet glanced at Rin once before turning his calm brown eyes to Ryo.
"So it's you, then. The one wearing the face of my companion."
Ryo didn't answer. He was deciding.
Run? Or fight?
The Prophet continued, steady and calm: "You controlled her and sneaked in here to find something, didn't you?"
"Judging from your destination, your goal is the Seventh Vault. Most of what's stored there cannot be used, though they are of great value."
"If that is what you're after, I can tell you clearly: the contents of the Seventh Vault are on my person right now."
'Stalling for time huh… This old man…' Ryo's brow tightened.
But he had to admit—he was tempted.
Kill the Prophet fast. Take the flag. Get out.
Decision made, Ryo didn't hesitate.
He raised one finger. Divine light pulsed.
A storm of light-forged fists roared into existence, forming the fangs of the lion. They tore toward the Prophet like they meant to rip him in half.
The Prophet didn't step back. He stepped forward, arms open.
The light swallowed him completely.... And passed straight through.
Only the air shattered where he stood.
"Useless?"
Ryo's eyes widened. He immediately jumped back, twisting space with his psychic force to widen the gap.
But before he could gain distance, the Prophet raised his hand.
A black parchment appeared.
—Host Authority.
The power to host a Gift Game and forcibly drag anyone into it.
Using this authority without consent meant Little Garden's core branded you as a Demon Lord.
Which meant the Prophet was a Demon Lord.
Ryo realized at the instant he moved back that the game had already activated.
Running was impossible now. Gift Games enforced their boundaries.
He narrowed his eyes.
Black parchments drifted down from above like falling feathers, then vanished into the ground.
Ryo grabbed one and scanned it.
{Gift Game: The Prophet's Trial}
{Break the false. Recognize the real.}
{Ouroboros Seal}
No other instruction. No rules. No win condition.
Rin, sharing consciousness with him, cried out in disbelief. "Maximum-level obfuscation authority? Are you kidding me?"
Ryo's mouth twitched.
Demon Lord games often hid their solutions on purpose.
But only a very short list was allowed full highest-grade concealment.
One of them was the Evil God of Zoroastrianism, Azi Dahaka.
Humanity's Last Embryo.
Which meant the Prophet… was something of equivalent class.
An Ouroboros base guard… was that level of monster?
What kind of sick joke was this?
Run or fight? Dammit. He should've run. He knew that. The instant the Prophet appeared behind him, the only smart move was to get the hell out.
Thinking was already a mistake. But now the Gift Game was active. The exit was sealed. Too late.
He can only... fight.
Ryo's gaze chilled.
Violet light surged along his fingertips.
—Praesepe Underworld Waves. (Sekishiki Meikai Ha)
The blast of underworld light hit the Prophet.
And passed through again.
The Prophet stepped forward, closing the distance.
Ryo twisted space again. A fifteen-meter gap became more than two hundred thousand kilometers of overlapping dimensions.
The Prophet closed the gap to five meters in a single step.
"WTF!"
Ryo quickly built a Rubik's cube of dimensions, but the Prophet simply reassembled the cube in an instant.
"..." Ryo was stunned.
Two special techniques. Zero effect.
The Prophet kept advancing.
This time, silver-white twin-headed serpents surged from the void, lunging to bite.
The Prophet tried to step back, but Ryo froze space with a mental grip, locking him in place for a moment.
The fangs passed straight through.
Ryo froze.
But so did the Prophet.
Ryo narrowed his eyes, 'So even he didn't expect the Serpentine Dragon of Mercury to be useless?'
So the immunity isn't universal. It's toward me… meaning…
Ryo's eyes lit up.
He immediately puppeteered Rin and sent her lunging forward.
'Oi oi oi, hold on!'
Rin's body moved on its own, grabbing a dagger from her thigh and sprinting straight at the Prophet.
'Are you seriously making me stab what might be a Last Embryo-level entity with a pocket knife?! Ryo Yagami, fuck your—' Rin's angry scream cut off as Ryo severed the mental link.
Rin, now fully conscious, shrieked internally as she stabbed with all her strength toward the Prophet's neck.
The Prophet didn't dodge. He stepped forward to meet her head-on.
'Don't come at me like that!' Rin screamed silently.
She leapt, passed straight through him, and stumbled.
The Prophet didn't even slow down. He accelerated, closing the distance to Ryo in an instant.
They were now only a meter apart.
So it really is nullification against me. Ryo's lips curved slightly.
He raised his right hand.
Holy radiance shimmered along his arm.
The Prophet didn't flinch. He simply reached for Ryo with his open hand.
Ryo focused and brought his sacred sword down.
.
.
.
The update schedule's been a mess lately, especially the timing. Starting with the next update, everything will be back to the normal time. I'll also try to prep a mass release while I'm at it. (Keeping the update time consistent is guaranteed.)