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“…?”

I opened my eyes in a pitch-black world.

A darkness so deep that not a single ray of light could penetrate.

Looking around, all I could see was darkness.

My hands and feet were also engulfed in darkness.

I felt a strange sense of floating.

A sensation where I couldn’t tell if I was sinking or rising.

I was drifting through an endless expanse of darkness, like outer space.

But why am I in a place like this…?

Ah… right.

I fell into Hell, didn’t I?

“Haha…”

A laugh escaped me.

Ever since I possessed the villain Tristan in this game, I had worked tirelessly to avoid the predetermined doom.

There were a few close calls where I almost died, but overall, I thought things were going smoothly.

I kept the characters who held grudges against Tristan in check and even brought some to my side.

I wanted to reduce the number of enemies as much as possible.

There was also a bit of selfishness mixed in.

I wanted to give chances to the characters and extras who were wasted and disappeared in the original story.

That was also the kind of experience I had hoped to give players when the online game service started.

How many untold stories are there in this world?

Just as each player has their own story, so do these characters. They too deserve to be part of the narrative.

I didn’t want to lose anyone in this world.

Ah, of course, if it came down to choosing between their lives and mine, my life would obviously take priority, no question…

“Who would’ve thought I’d make such a choice…”

In that life-or-death moment, I sacrificed my life to save Bella.

Was it because I developed feelings for her? No.

Because she’s a key character in this story? No.

If I had to put it into words… it was closer to defiance.

The original Tristan would’ve struggled to save himself in that situation.

He would’ve thrown her into Hell just to escape.

He might’ve even exploited her feelings to force her to sacrifice herself. What a scumbag.

I absolutely didn’t want to become someone like that.

That’s all there was to it.

Whether it was Bella, Wendy, or Helga, I would’ve sacrificed myself in the same situation.

Of course, I was surprised by my own choice… but I don’t regret the decision I made.

“By the way… for a place called Hell, why is there nothing here?”

They said it’s eternally burning, but is there even anything to burn?

It’s all darkness. How can it even burn? Ah, maybe they cut costs.

They probably didn’t need to implement every little detail in the game. Maybe it’s just adult reasons.

As I was having these pointless thoughts, a sudden question popped into my mind.

“…Is this really inside the game?”

I had met countless characters. The NPCs here were so meticulously crafted that they were indistinguishable from real people.

Until now, I had simply thought of this as a game that faithfully reflected the original world.

The game company had expressed their intention to reflect the original and reality as much as possible, and they had achieved that.

But still, something felt off.

It was almost too perfect, to the point of being strange.

I recalled the expression Bella had shown me just before I fell off the cliff.

She had emotions so rich that it was hard to believe she was just an NPC.

And it wasn’t just Bella.

Wendy, Helga, Blanshe—they all showed me a more human side than actual humans.

The more I saw, the more I couldn’t help but doubt this world.

Is this world that the players invaded really just a game?

Or is it…?

“No… let’s not think too deeply about it now.”

No matter how much I ponder, I won’t know the truth. Only my brother or the game company officials would know.

If I ever get out of here, I’ll have a mountain of questions for my brother.

How dare they throw me into a game?

First, I’ll unleash a torrent of curses.

As I was grumbling, I felt something squirming beneath my feet.

“…Huh?”

It was a small light.

The pitch-black surroundings began to brighten slightly.

The light, which was the size of a bean, gradually grew larger.

I realized it was the ground. I had thought I was floating in the darkness, but I had actually been falling the whole time.

My heart started racing.

“Damn it…”

I gathered the remaining magic power in my body and infused it into the coat I was wearing.

Then, I spread the coat as wide as possible, like a parachute.

“Please work…”

But was it too late?

The speed of my fall didn’t slow down; instead, it was accelerating.

Soon, the ground came into view.

I clenched my eyes shut, bracing for impact.

-!!

With a loud crash, I hit the ground.

“Ugh…”

A sharp pain shot through my back, enough to make me groan involuntarily.

Of course, it was fortunate that falling from such a height only left me in pain…

Wait. Why is the ground so uneven?

As I tried to brush off whatever was on my back, I realized what was protruding from the ground.

“…Bones?”

Countless bones were scattered everywhere. And judging by their shape, they were all human remains.

I had landed on a pile of bones.

A shiver ran down my spine, and I instinctively stood up.

That’s when I got a clearer look at my surroundings.

Before me was a vast space.

The dome-shaped ceiling and stone walls were filled with nothing but silence and skeletons.

The eerie energy emanating from everywhere made me instinctively tighten my coat.

That’s when it happened.

“Ooh, what’s this? A newbie?”

A voice came from somewhere.

“…Who’s there?”

“Well asked! I am the ruler of Hell, the embodiment of nightmares, the Demon King!”

“……”

I was at a loss for words.

Not because I was overwhelmed by his words.

“Lowly creature! What are you doing? Worship me!”

“…Can I ask you something?”

“How dare you question me? Such insolence!”

“…How old are you?”

His voice sounded so childish that I couldn’t help but ask.

“Hah! I am a noble being. I’ve long forgotten such trivial things as age!”

Is this kid for real?

I looked around to find him.

“Huh? You dare seek the Great Demon King? How laughable! Go ahead, try! Hahaha!”

“That’s exactly what I was planning…”

The dome-shaped area made it hard to locate the source of the voice due to the echoes.

But for someone who wields Moon Magic, detecting magic power isn’t difficult.

I sensed the magic power in his voice.

“Over there?”

“Huh? Uh, uh? You, you brat?”

I stepped over the pile of bones and approached him.

“Wait! You’d better stop!”

“Why’s that?”

“I am immortal! A mere mortal like you has no right to lay eyes on me!”

“We’ll see about that.”

“You, you brat?!”

The closer I got, the more flustered the owner of the voice became.

“If you stop now, I’ll grant you the special privilege of serving me!”

“No thanks.”

“What…? I am the highest in Hell! How dare you refuse! You fool!”

“I serve no one.”

I coldly spat out the words and continued walking toward him.

“Immortality! Yes! I’ll grant you immortality!”

“Immortality?”

I scoffed and finally stood before ‘him.’

Then, I picked ‘him’ up with both hands.

“Don’t you think this form is a bit too hollow to call yourself immortal?”

What I held up was a small skull.

My magic detection told me.

This was the true form of ‘him.’

“…Is this you?”

“……”

But the moment I grabbed him, he tightly shut his mouth.

I quietly prepared to throw him to the ground.

“Then I guess it’s fine to smash this ugly skull.”

“Wait-! Do you know what you’re about to do?!”

“What?”

“Desecration of a corpse! Desecration! It’s the act of killing the dead twice!”

Was his desperate excuse funny or cute?

“You said you were immortal earlier, right? So dying twice shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Even immortals don’t want to die! That’s just how it is!”

Well, if that’s how it is, then fine.

I stopped myself from throwing him.

“Whether you’re a Great Demon or the Demon King, why are you here like this? And where is this place?”

“Ahem. First, show some respect.”

“……”

I pretended to throw the skull again.

“Respect is important, but what’s more important is the heart! Hahaha! You’re one of the rare ones with a good heart these days!”

“Right.”

“You asked where this is. It’s strange that you’re asking such a question after coming here on your own.”

“…What?”

“This is the lowest layer of Hell… the Endless Abyss.”

The hollow-eyed skull seemed to be mocking me.

 

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