While the allied player struck the Holy Continental Alliance with a hidden hand, Takuto was observing the scene through his ability, just as they had predicted.
(Those guys...)
He cast his gaze skyward with a weary sigh. He had known it, but the road ahead was fraught with difficulty and problems piled high. That perpetually overcast sky seemed to mirror the situation of everyone in this world, as if signaling that its outcome would never become clear.
The true bitterness lay in the fact that even if he overcame the colossal wall of the Holy Continental Alliance standing before him now, it would not be the end.
Takuto felt not just exasperation, but a strange admiration for this state of affairs, where not a single fragment of the word "peace" could be found.
But did he truly have such composure right now?
Just as Jinguji Yuu and Kuribara Keiji were in the midst of battle, so too was Takuto. Moreover, he was engaged in combat with the enemy's leader, the witch Vagia.
In other words, the very fact that Takuto could afford to let his attention wander, even for an instant, was the answer. It signified the conclusion of the battle...
Takuto had been pondering this while gazing down at the witch Vagia, who was crawling on the ground before him.
"I laid a few traps. It's an ability any 'Eternal Nations' player would know, but it seems to have been highly effective against you," Takuto said quietly. Considering the ferocity of the battle moments ago, even with the outcome decided, there should have been no leisure for such a calm exchange.
However, he now possessed a certain composure, as if taking a brief pause, though he remained vigilant. The evidence of this was Vagia's form, half-covered in a red, sticky, thread-like substance.
"Gu... *cough*! Such an ability... existed?!"
She was trying to force power into her trembling body. Her determination to stand and fight, despite her condition, was befitting of a witch, but no matter how much will she mustered, with her body in this state, there was nothing to be done.
"The first galleon that breached the defensive perimeter... I parasitized it with the 'Rainbow-Colored Universe Mushroom,' a very convenient hero. It has the ability to amplify its combat power based on the host's capabilities, but more importantly, upon defeat, it scatters spores that take all nearby enemies down with it. It's usually a rather unassuming support ability, but it proved invaluable in my hand."
"Of course, it wasn't a cheap card to play," he added, carefully and almost obsessively observing Vagia and her surroundings. The Noble Succubus guards had already been defeated by Atou. The remaining common succubi also appeared to have been rendered combat-incapable by the fungal debuff, or else were being mopped up by the Mynoghra army.
The battle—every battle on this field—had already been decided.
Vagia could not flee under the constraints of Mynoghra’s system—the SLG—and reinforcements from any quarter were impossible, as scout reports from the surrounding area confirmed. If she possessed some hidden ability, perhaps she might turn the tide, but as far as Takuto knew, no such player existed.
"Takuto...?"
Atou, who had been fighting beside him, called his name with a hint of puzzlement.
Takuto understood perfectly what she meant. Simply: why not just kill her now?
He agreed with the sentiment, and to avoid any desperate last move, taking her head immediately was the correct course of action.
Yet a persistent unease remained within him. It was different from the one that had brought him that agonizing defeat in the past, but it was a discomfort too strong to ignore.
(The Witch Vagia’s eyes haven’t lost their will... is there a hidden card?)
What was she concealing? Why, in this situation, did she not harbor a sense of resignation? He pondered these questions, wondering if he could draw out some final piece of information.
"Vittorio, I have a question. Why did you take this course of action? Your plan is far too reckless. I acknowledge your skill in cornering us at the full-faction summit, but what followed was sloppily handled. It doesn’t seem to me that you had proper countermeasures in place."
At Takuto’s words, Vittorio let out a half-laugh that turned into a cough. It wasn’t a laugh of mockery, but of surprise at being asked a question entirely contrary to what she had anticipated.
"Cough—ha—hah... I-I wasn’t thinking that deeply about anything, you know. More than once or twice, I’ve wished I could be as clever and cunning as you."
Takuto furrowed his brow.
"That’s the crux of my doubt. You declared at that meeting that I couldn’t be trusted. What was your reason? Though it may sound immodest of me to say, I’m a pacifist at heart, and unless someone does something truly troublesome, I won’t initiate hostilities. Naturally, if it’s to our advantage, negotiation is possible."
What Takuto was implying was this: if contact had been made peacefully from the start, would this situation have escalated so far?
At the full-faction summit, Vagia had demanded the surrender of every faction but her own. She had simultaneously explained that there would be no penalties and that the god in charge would safely resolve any issues through discussion.
In response, Takuto made a similar demand for her surrender, which Vittorio refused. That exchange had broken down the talks.
Takuto deduced that there was some Vagian matter here—specifically, something related to the gods—and therefore pressed his verbal assault.
(If divine schemes are involved, leaving it be would be a poor move. Even if I kill her here, I at least want assurance there won't be unexpected interference.)
"Why are you so insistent on this? Earlier, you spoke as though you envied me and belittled yourself, but what reason compels you to push forward despite understanding that?"
He asked Atou to stand watch via thought transmission, then continued the conversation.
This was a gamble for Takuto too. One aimed at gaining a fragment of Vagia's purpose, and the gods'. The success rate was not high.
However, the gamble seemed to have yielded a certain result, given the change in her demeanor.
Vagia let out a deep sigh. Was it from the damage inflicted by the invading mycelium, or from some form of resignation?
Either way, it was a large, very large sigh.
"Cough... I have a dream. It's nothing grand, but it's one I absolutely must see realized."
"Does that dream require borrowing a god's power to achieve?"
Instead of answering with words, Vagia nodded with an exhausted expression.
Takuto had never seen this expression on her before, and he felt the reality of Vagia's true heart slowly being revealed from beneath the thick veil she typically wore.
"I see. And giving up?"
To Takuto's question, Vagia's face contorted horribly for an instant. Simultaneously, she glanced toward Atou and jutted her chin.
"Ggh... Could I ever give up on that?"
"Ah, I see..."
At this point, Takuto became certain that further negotiation was impossible.
While it was unclear who exactly Vagia felt such emotion toward, it was possible to roughly guess the situation. In a faction where a witch and a player were supposed to be paired, only she was standing in the line of fire.
If that was the case, then no amount of logical persuasion would yield significant results.
She had been promised some reward by the gods—likely the means to pull her beloved to her side. Therefore, she had to win, no matter what methods she employed.
That was Takuto's deduction. At the same time, he considered it close to a certainty.
Otherwise, her intransigence to this degree would be inexplicable.
The outcome was already clear.
But he wanted a few more concessions. Takuto, hiding his inner scheming, set one final trap.
Whether it sprung or not mattered little. It was an act bordering on play.
"Vagia, I propose a surrender within 'Eternal Nations'. Not as an ally or a vassal, but as a complete slave state. In exchange—"
"You'll revive your precious loved one. ...Right? Making a promise you have no intention of keeping sound so convincing... I really think your personality is utterly vile."
Vagia's words were a clear rejection. Takuto couldn't help but feel a bit stung by her categorical tone, as if she had experienced this before. He hadn't realized his reputation was that poor.
"I see. That's a bit of a blow..."
He could feel Atou's fury rising, but he lightly raised a hand to restrain her.
He was certain that if he didn't, she would simply kill Vagia.
Leaving it to Atou at this point would be quite unseemly.
While killing Vagia had been a foregone conclusion since much earlier stages, carrying it out with his own hands would serve as a proper demonstration of his role as the alliance's leader.
"Well then, this ends here."
He re-gripped the Regalia's holy sword and advanced quietly. He knelt, placed the blade against the neck of the woman staring at him with unreadable eyes, and took a light breath.
Around them, the world had grown dim, and rain had begun to fall, pitter-pattering, drop by drop.
Nothing happened. No one came to help. No one caused a disturbance.
His subordinates watched silently as Takuto administered this execution and brought this battle to its end.
Gripping the hilt tightly, he gathered the supernatural power of the King of Ruin, the power of a Player, for the singular flash that was about to occur.
But...
The instant she severed Vagia's head---
(……Huh?)
With the adorable smile of a young girl, she murmured something small---
(Damn!! "That thing" was here!)
---Takuto realized his own blunder.