"The scouting party was wiped out?"
At the Daywalkers Guild's base, inside the ordinary shared tavern used by its small handful of members, the former frontliners received that shocking news from Argo, who had shown up unannounced that day.
Satoru took it relatively calmly, only frowning. Sheeta looked worried, while Diavel, Kibaou, and Lind all showed clear shock and disbelief.
"What exactly happened?" Diavel could not help asking.
Argo did not look very energetic either. The news must have frightened her as well. As an information broker, she had actually done many things without expecting anything in return, doing everything she could—whether that meant publishing public strategy guides, tirelessly clearing quests, or digging through data just to obtain boss information.
She could be called one of the greatest behind-the-scenes contributors among the non-combat frontliners.
The girl, who was used to hiding her face beneath her hood, lowered her head even farther, matching her mood.
"The day before yesterday, the frontliners broke through the 75th Floor labyrinth without any casualties and found the Floor Boss room. We had already predicted it would be a tough fight… so we sent out a twenty-person scouting team made up of members from five guilds."
The little Rat spoke in a low voice.
"The scouting operation was extremely cautious, and the procedure itself wasn't wrong. Ten people stayed by the door as the rear guard, while the first ten advanced to the center of the room. But the instant the boss appeared, the door immediately slammed shut. According to the ten rear guards waiting outside, it stayed closed for at least five minutes. During that time, neither Lockpicking skills nor attacks had any effect."
"When it finally opened on its own, there was nothing left in the room. Not the boss, and not the ten people who went in first."
Argo paused.
"After that, someone went specifically to the Black Iron Palace to check the names on the Monument of Life, and all of them…"
Diavel's expression changed slightly.
"A scouting party would definitely carry teleport crystals. If they didn't use them during a five-minute fight to the death… was it a crystal-nullifying zone?"
"Here we go again with that damned nullification mechanic," Lind sighed.
"The raid was split in half. With only ten people, there's no way they could beat a boss. And they had no way out at all. Damn it!" Kibaou slammed the table in anger. "And we didn't even get any information on the boss. Doesn't that mean those ten people died for nothing?!"
"Five minutes…?" Satoru was silent for a moment, then continued, "The 75th Floor. So every twenty-five floors, huh."
"That's true. We ran into especially large obstacles on both the 25th and 50th Floors." Diavel nodded gravely. "I was the one who organized the strategy battle on the 25th Floor. The two-headed giant-type boss nearly wiped out our elites. On the 50th Floor, the Knights of the Blood, who had grown stronger and stronger by then, took the lead. The metal Buddha-like boss attacked too fiercely, and its range was too wide. Many players panicked and abandoned their positions without permission. If the rescue force hadn't arrived…"
He let out a long sigh, as if remembering those old boss raids that had pushed them to the edge of death.
"The one who held the collapsing battle line by himself back then was Heathcliff. That was also when Holy Sword first became famous."
"It's almost certain now. Every twenty-five floors, a powerful boss appears."
"Clearing this game without casualties is our greatest premise, and also our bottom line. Even though there are still several thousand survivors, only a few hundred are truly active on the front lines, opening the path forward. We cannot die, and we cannot afford to die. Even if we still have the courage to face the boss under the shadow of death, by the time we reach the 90th Floor… I'm afraid there won't be many frontliners left."
Diavel closed his eyes heavily.
"It's way too hard for mid-tier players to catch up. A real gap has already formed." Kibaou anxiously scratched at his cactus-like hair. "If only our Liberation Squad's activities on the lower floors had gone perfectly back then!"
"It's starting to feel more and more like a real death game," Satoru muttered.
"But… we can't just give up because of that." Argo raised her head and looked at them, speaking bitterly. "We're only one quarter away from the end."
"What is Heathcliff's plan?" Satoru asked.
"Since crystals can't be used to escape, and the room cuts off the retreat path, the only choice is to send in the largest raid party that can still be properly commanded."
"So he wants to throw every available force in at once…? I suppose that's the only method left now."
"Then why did you come here?" Satoru looked at her hesitation. "You didn't need to come all the way here just to tell us that, did you? Did that Knights of the Blood Guild Leader make another strange request?"
"'Please lend us your strength.' Those were his exact words." Argo pressed her lips together, but still said it.
Diavel and the others exchanged glances, then smiled wryly.
"We… are basically on the verge of leaving the frontliners already. Whether it's our level or our equipment, even if we went, we wouldn't be much help."
"That's why… Heathcliff specifically named Yurnero and Sheeta. He said he hopes the two of you will go." Argo turned her face aside, doing her best to avoid meeting their eyes.
"That man never has lapses in judgment, does he?" Satoru gave a cold laugh. "But I refuse. The risk is too great."
"Yeah… of course. You can't force someone into something like this. I'll tell him." Unexpectedly, Argo seemed to let out a breath of relief, as if she had been hoping this commission would fall through.
Satoru, who had thought she would criticize him, froze for a moment.
"Aren't you the one who wants this game cleared more than anyone?"
"But I don't want anyone to die either…"
"Wanting to clear the game while wanting everyone to avoid death is a contradiction in itself, isn't it?"
Argo squeezed her hands and spoke softly.
"Then I don't want you to die."
Diavel and the others, who had been in a heavy mood, were caught completely off guard by those words. Their eyes widened by reflex, and they all glanced at Sheeta, whose expression had not changed at all. Then they exchanged looks and, in perfect unison, shifted a little farther away from the three of them, wearing subtle expressions as they waited to see what came next.
"…"
Satoru glanced at Sheeta, who was sitting close by. She gave him a look of trust, so he could only shake his head helplessly.
"Don't tell me you're still bothered by the fact that you called me over on the 36th Floor. Let it go. That wasn't your fault. No matter what, it would have ended up that way."
After half a minute of silence, Argo nodded faintly.
"The second strategy meeting for the 75th Floor boss raid will be one day from now. The gathering point is the teleport gate plaza in Granzam."
After saying that last line, Argo stood up and hurried out of the tavern.
"This feels a little complicated," Diavel said as he watched Argo leave.
"Mm…"
"No, I don't mean anything else. I'm only talking about Argo." He patted Lind and Kibaou on the shoulders. "We'll head out for our daily hunting first. I'm in no position to tell you what to do, whether it's this raid invitation or anything else. But no matter what, I'll support you. That's all I can say right now."
The three of them left the tavern one after another, leaving only Satoru and Sheeta at the table.
There were still other players nearby, chatting and resting, but their easy warmth only made the air around this table feel heavier.
Satoru silently lit a cigarette.
"Argo-chan seems to like Nero," Sheeta suddenly said, staring at him.
The heavy smoker, who could usually handle smoke as naturally as breathing, broke into a violent cough.
"Cough, cough!" He took a moment to recover. "That little one's impossible to read. Don't start guessing."
"Hehe."
He was already used to her illogical way of speaking, so he could not tell whether that soft laugh meant agreement, or whether she was simply letting the topic slide.
"Are you really not going to the raid, Nero?" Sheeta blinked.
"I don't have enough influence on my own to decide whether it succeeds." Satoru paused. "The same goes for you… Stop thinking about it. Isn't it great to earn a little Col every day in peace, go to pastry shops, and eat and drink as much as we want?"
"How lazy."
"I worked hard enough before. I'm allowed to be lazy now, right?"
Sheeta smiled quietly.
"But if we do that… this game will only drift farther and farther away from being cleared. There was always a time limit from the beginning."
"True." Satoru admitted it. "In the real world, we've been lying in hospitals for almost a year or two. We do have a time limit. Just lying there like vegetative patients can't be good for us, no matter how you look at it. Our lifespans have probably been shaved down quite a bit without us noticing."
"But it's fine. Don't worry too much. People aren't that fragile. At least lying in a hospital, a facility meant for treatment, is much safer than being outside. Just look, if you go out, you have to worry about traffic. If you're unlucky, you might even get hit and killed by a drunk driver."
Satoru made a joke, though it was not funny at all.
"And Heathcliff will be taking part in this battle too. If he's there, there's nothing to worry about. They'll definitely win…"
The smile at the corners of Sheeta's mouth gradually disappeared, and the look in her eyes changed.
"Why… are you running away?"
"Running away? I'm not." Satoru lowered his head slightly and took a drag from his cigarette.
"Nero… are you afraid?" the girl asked again, worried.
"Afraid? I'm not afraid." Satoru smiled again. "Look, if I were afraid, I wouldn't have saved you from that pack of monsters back then. I wouldn't have gone to the entrance of the Floor Boss room when I clearly knew it was a trap. I wouldn't have dared to take the donations and run for so long either, much less spend almost twenty floors tangling with so-called red players."
"Even Heathcliff, the man they call the strongest player in this game, doesn't scare me. Back then, I marched right into the Knights of the Blood, challenged them on their own turf, defeated their Guild Leader, and walked away holding your hand right in front of their stunned faces."
Satoru's tone even rose a little, and he snorted twice in a way that did not suit him at all.
"That's right. Nero has always been strong. He is my hero. He never backs down from trouble. He always does everything he can to break through it, or else finds a clever way around it."
"Mm-hmm." Satoru accepted the praise without shame.
"But…" Sheeta's voice grew softer, tinged with sorrow. "Why does it feel like you're afraid of leaving this world… afraid of going back there?"
"That should be the greatest salvation this world could ever receive. It should be the hope everyone in this world wants most. But why… is it Nero's greatest fear?"
The smile Satoru had forced onto his face slowly vanished.
"If only we could return to that world. If only we could smile again in that world. Strength, perseverance, little tricks, all of it. If Nero could truly come back to life as himself again, in the world where so many people are trying so hard to exist, and set out a second time while carrying the bonds from here… that would be wonderful."
"Do you want to go back…?"
"Mm."
"Then do you want me to go back too?"
"Mm."
"Do you want… us to stay together in that world too, just like we are now?"
"Mm."
The girl answered softly, her voice clear and pleasant.
But.
Satoru suddenly turned the face he had deliberately kept averted toward her. The eyes that had always been quiet and gentle when they looked at her were now filled only with pain and terror. Before this moment, Sheeta had never seen him look at her like that.
Those eyes scorched the heart like flame.
As if he wanted to question her about something.
As if he wanted even more to roar.
They were the eyes of a trapped beast with nowhere left to run.
Sheeta could not help shrinking back a little, suddenly at a loss. Worry and fear flickered across her beautiful, gentle face.
"…!"
Seeing that he had frightened her, Satoru froze.
The negative emotions coiling around him were snuffed out as if doused with cold water. He opened his mouth.
"No, that's not it… I don't hate you."
He reached out, carefully moving his hand toward the girl's face.
Then he touched her, stroking her with the gentlest care.
"I'm… I'm sorry."
He spoke.
Sheeta nodded and raised her own hand, covering the hand caressing her face.
"It's okay…"
Satoru closed his eyes tightly.
"Please don't hate me."
He pleaded.
"I won't."
Sheeta tightened both hands around his, feeling the faint tremble in his palm.
"But I truly hope… Nero can keep walking forward, confident and composed, just like you are now."
Listening to the girl's voice, sorrowful yet almost sacred, Satoru lowered his face, his expression blank.
For a long while.
"Yeah… I know."
He said it.
"I'll show you whatever version of me you want to see."
In this game world, where he could do anything.
He wanted to rewrite every circumstance and cover up his guilt.
In Satoru's eyes, the golden glimmer that had only appeared occasionally until now finally became completely pure, with no other color mixed in.
The truth was…
There was already no road ahead.