The former capital of the El-Nar Spirit Covenant Union.
Now it served as the base of operations for the Succubus army led by the witch Vagia, and was also a vital stronghold housing the World Tree, a Dragon Vein nexus. The site, which had once been the starting point for the powerful magic strategies of the Seven God-Kings via its Mana Source, was now colored crimson with raging flames and smoke.
The colossal tree, which had once signified their presence to the world with its immense majesty, was completely severed at its base. It smoldered, charred black, and even now slowly crumbled under its own weight.
The venue for the all-faction summit was particularly thoroughly devastated. Looking at the destruction of the surrounding facilities as well, anyone could judge it to be utterly incapable of even minimal function.
The perpetrators were the Holy Swordsmen, a profession that could be called the very embodiment of good.
The Holy Swordsman, Yuji Kannagi.
He was a player of the RPG faction, and one of the participants in the current alliance under the Mynoghra-led Regalia Treaty Organization.
"A raid on the enemy HQ... heh. I bet storming the Demon Lord's castle in the game was about this chaotic too."
He muttered to himself, with the burning city and unending screams as his backdrop.
The war objective assigned to Yuji was terribly simple and straightforward, if one disregarded its difficulty.
The annihilation of the enemy headquarters and its Mana Source.
Immediately after the war began, Yuji used the RPG faction's teleportation magic to transfer directly to this location, which should have been far in the rear, and instantly unleashed the highest-tier fire magic indiscriminately in all directions.
In Brave Questus, players could freely teleport to any city they had previously visited.
By participating in the all-faction summit, this city was already registered as a place Yuji had visited.
Therefore, he utilized this ability for a raid on a rear base.
A tactic that any player familiar with various games might reasonably predict, but it was asking too much for the Succubus faction, who could barely handle the cards of the Seven God-Kings, to anticipate and counter such methods.
Comprehending all the versatile game rules, deducing exploit-like uses, plugging loopholes. Easy to say. But if told to do it, the difficulty skyrockets astronomically.
This raid, too, succeeded as it did because of the brilliant mind of Takuto Ira and the strategy it produced.
That was precisely why Yuji intended to see the objective's destruction through to the end, in order to repay that trust.
"I know it's not very Hero-like, but if we lose, it's game over. I'll play the part I've been given as well as I can."
Surrounding the grumbling Yuji, without exaggeration, was a mountain of Succubus corpses.
I was currently in the midst of cutting down the elf warriors who came sporadically.
His actions were by now so brutal they made the title of "Hero" seem laughable, but this was not a game—it was the real world. Takuto had a clear objective, so he had no intention of stopping even if deemed cruel, and would not cease even if branded as wicked.
Most of all... there were those present who held feelings completely contrary to his own inner thoughts, facing the situation with him...
"Ahahahaha! Die, die, die, you bitches! Don't you dare make eyes at my Master!"
That was Ira, Takuto's slave and supposed witch.
"W-well... I'm glad Ira is in good spirits. Y-yes, glad!"
Perhaps she had no intention of composing herself, or perhaps her restraints had snapped and she had forgotten them entirely.
Ira's demeanor was utterly changed from what she had shown Takuto and the others until now. With a gruesome smile and arrogant words, she was beating to death everything that stood in her way.
There was no discretion in her actions; whether it was a guard Succubus, her elf companion, or a fleeing citizen, it made no difference—she gave death to all.
"Defend the city! Don't let the enemy burn our homeland!"
"Until Lady Vagia returns, hold the line! She will definitely, definitely come back!"
Of course, the enemy was not merely standing by.
On the contrary, as the capital, this city had more defensive forces allocated to it than usual.
In addition to the Lesser Succubus, which were typical squad-leader class, there were the elves' elite troops, the Spirit Fighters.
Individually, their combat power was mid-to-high Holy Knight class, and their numbers were sufficient to easily annihilate a small nation.
But even so—
"Ahahaha! No matter how many small fry group together, they don't even amount to experience points!"
It was utterly insufficient to stop the slave girl Ira.
Splat, squelch, thud.
The sound of liquid-filled masses bursting apart echoed there, and along with screams, a cry of delight trampled the city.
Magic, fired without any specific target, detonated all across the city, spreading the flames of war ever further.
Yu could do nothing but watch her.
In any age, a man's position is weak. Especially between someone like Yu, a common-sense individual, and someone like Ai, whose soul burns with extremism.
"Master! I've finished cleaning around here, so I'm going over there now! It'll be just a little bit away from you, but that's okay, right? Right!?"
"A-ah, of course, my angel. Hmm, listening to a slave's selfish whims is part of a master's job, after all!"
"Yay! I'm so happy! I love you, Master! I adore you!"
"Of course, I love you too!"
Accepting Yu's reply with a girlish smile, Ai vanished into the distance.
From not too far away, screams and explosions began to sound. Yu glanced at the burning World Tree and let out a slight sigh.
What was it about Ai that drove her to such extremes? Even while forcing a strained smile, he never once rebuked her actions. What did Yu know?
"Well... once you decide to live as you please, that's what you should do. Watching someone's face all the time, living like that is just suffocating. No matter what it leads to."
After confirming no one was listening, Yu murmured that to himself.
His inner thoughts were unfathomable.
But if one fact could be stated, it was this:
The capital had already fallen, and they had reached the stage where the only question was how much more damage and how many more casualties could be inflicted.
The original objective was to conduct sabotage in this location and stop the World Tree, the source of Mana.
From there, the main force under Takuto would defeat the Witch Vagia.
That was why, if by any chance repairs or restoration were carried out, the entire operation would crumble from the ground up. Yu could not leave this place.
Fortunately, the center of the battle had already shifted elsewhere. Beneath the World Tree, thick with the miasma of death and destruction, an idle Yu turned his thoughts to his allies—fellow members of his faction, each with formidable abilities.
...Suddenly, a bad premonition seized his heart.
"Come to think of it, could King Takuto see his allies' status with his SLG abilities? Huh? Can they see ours too? Oh boy, what should I do... Seriously, this is a problem."
With a dry chuckle, Yuu languidly swings his weapon.
Behind him, an elf spirit warrior who had plunged in with the resolve of a desperate counterattack is split vertically.
They had likely been searching for a gap to assassinate him, but if it could be dealt with so easily, this city would never have fallen in the first place.
With a sharp splattering sound, another red stain is added to the paved city street.
This is what it means to face a player.
For those who dwell in this land, resistance was fundamentally impossible. Their very dimensions of existence were literally different.
"Elves are fools too, you know... Joining hands with a Succubus. If they had allied with Mynoghra, they might have had a slightly better future."
Though they should naturally be adversaries, Yuu held Takuto Ira in high regard as a human.
Dragged into this world by the whims of gods, he was involved in what could be called an unreasonable struggle in a sense. Every opponent was a formidable foe not to be trifled with, and what's more, a psychological deviant. Yet Takuto was a figure with whom he could speak rationally and logically.
For Yuu, who knew that victory was not the main point of conflict in this world, being able to converse held value in itself.
On the other hand, he was utterly exasperated with the Succubus, who was obsessed with meaningless world conquest and initiated pointless wars.
That was clearly evident from her failure to stop Ai's massacre.
Of course, even if Yuu had wanted to show the Succubus some leniency, whether Ai would listen to those words was another matter entirely...
"...Hmm? Has Ai come back?"
The presence of his beloved slave was drawing near.
Yuu was clearly aware of this, but he furrowed his brow slightly.
He heard the sound of something heavy being dragged along, a sluggish, weighty noise.
What on earth was she doing?
But there was no need to confirm it, as the answer appeared before his eyes together with Ai.
"I'm back, Master!"
"Welcome back, Ai. Is that a souvenir?"
"No, Master. Just garbage."
What she'd dragged along was a tattered elf.
It had apparently been tortured. Its limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, and its face was swollen like a steamed bun. Ai tossed the thing aside and spoke with a sweetly cheerful, utterly relaxed tone.
"Master, I've found the other Mana Source strongholds! And an armory too. Let's raid them together!"
Where did she get her information? It was hardly worth asking.
Takuto felt dazed under the glow of her brilliantly shining eyes, but he composed himself and addressed her.
"Well now, Ai. But our objective is to destroy the Capital's Mana Source, right? If we slack off and this place gets recaptured for even a moment, our plan might go up in smoke~!"
Trying not to offend her too much, Takuto reminded her of their original goal.
Upon hearing this, Ai showed neither rage nor displeasure. Her eyes briefly held a rational glint as she pondered, then the same manic grin from before spread across her face.
"Then let's do that! Master! It's exactly for situations like this that it exists!"
"That, huh..."
Perhaps it was like wordless communication, or perhaps it was the bond between master and servant, albeit a twisted one. Just the word "that" was enough for Takuto to understand what Ai meant, though his expression turned somewhat grim.
"Also, you realize we're being watched, right? How are you going to explain this later? I feel like we should stop, and besides, you can't control it, can you?"
Takuto understood Ai's strategy perfectly well and agreed with its usefulness. Incidentally, it wasn't that he particularly wanted to stop her either.
But that method felt like it was asking for trouble, especially in a situation where Takuto Ira's surveillance was likely in effect...
"..."
However, such thoughts became meaningless under Ai's unblinking stare fixed upon him.
Cold sweat trickled down Yu's forehead.
"Alright, alright! Fine! What kind of master ignores the words of his beloved slave!"
"You're amazing, Master!"
The slave's expression flips instantly to delight as she hops in place. The master sighs, hoping Ai doesn't notice.
It was becoming impossible to tell who was really in charge, but it was perfectly clear that he had reached the point of not caring anymore.
"That one... huh."
He cuts a card from his concealed hand. With this, he could certainly secure the World Tree while still conquering the other bases. The repercussions, however, would be immense.
But Yu had no intention of defying Ai.
To rephrase, he wasn't on anyone's side but Ai's. That included himself.
Therefore—
"This is going to cause friction. Already dreading it... But oh well. Can't be helped. Yeah, can't be helped."
"Then here I go! Treasure, grant my wish!"
Without warning, Ai raises a gemstone of an eerie hue. At the same time, a dread-inducing presence envelops the area, converging as pitch-black mana into the gem.
===Message: Ai has used the Primordial Treasure!===
Space distorts, and a malevolent aura thickens.
───
=■■■■■═══
My beloved, beloved follower. I shall grant you anything
—Yes, anything at all.
=Message═══
The Four Heavenly Kings—Ice Rock has appeared!
The Four Heavenly Kings—Lady Wind has appeared!
The Four Heavenly Kings—Ord Mechanic has appeared!
The Four Heavenly Kings—Fremain has appeared!
The Demon Lord has appeared!
───
And so—
Surely, for all eternity to come,
Yuu will continue to offer everything of himself for the sake of love.