Inside a chamber of the Great Cathedral of Amritate.
Originally a room for storing liturgical implements, now used to house various documents instead, a woman's scream rang out.
"What—what are you doing?! Please stop!"
The tearful voice of accusation belonged to a young sister.
Forcibly summoned from a peaceful rural village in the Southern Provinces, she was a pitiful former village girl tasked, through some twist of fate, with safeguarding and organizing official documents in this very room.
"Silence! Now is not the time for that! You can tidy up later!"
"How could you be so unreasonable!"
Her counterpart was Atou, formerly of Mynoghra's heroes, now mired in disgrace.
Ignoring the sister's fearful yet determined protests, born of a sense of duty toward the work bestowed upon her by the divine, Atou rifled through the document stacks.
Meticulously organized bundles, expertly arranged by the earnest and diligent sister who never cut corners, were now being scattered by Atou, swirling through the room like a blizzard of paper.
Endless piles of already-processed documents kept arriving, mountain upon mountain.
The sister's desperate past efforts—burning the midnight oil to organize them, believing they might someday be needed—flashed through her mind.
What had she even done wrong? Tears overflowed from the sister's eyes, and just as she reached her breaking point—
"Fenne! Over here!"
"Ah! The Face-Hidden Saint!"
A lifeline arrived to shift the situation.
A fellow sister, also assigned to document duty, had brought the Face-Hidden Saint, Fenne, to the room.
The person currently running rampant in this chamber, known as Atou, was a guest of extremely delicate standing.
She existed outside the formal chain of command, yet was considered an important figure by Renea. Forcing her to comply required the saint's direct order.
But to think her colleague had managed to catch the perpetually busy and elusive saint and bring her here...
The sister offered her gratitude to God while inwardly weeping over what might have been, if only things had gone differently.
Setting aside the sister's lament, Fenne stared at the scene before her, mouth hanging open at the devastation.
"Atou... what exactly are you doing?"
Fenne understood that Atou had developed some interest in the historical documents.
Even so, the method was far too careless and crude.
Atou should have grasped that Renea's situation remained dire.
She was deeply perplexed that someone who ought to have been their ally was not content to merely shirk her duties, but was actively creating more work.
Believing a lecture might be necessary depending on the answer, Fenne stepped forward and entered the room, but—
"!?"
Atou reacted with an almost bizarre alarm.
"...? Is something wrong? You're acting strange."
It was a clear rejection.
No, suspicion was more accurate.
As a saint who had met countless people and weathered many experiences over the years, Fenne was acutely attuned to such attitudes and emotions.
She could tell immediately that Atou harbored suspicion toward her, but the reason eluded her entirely.
It wasn't that the GM's brainwashing had worn off.
If that were the case, Atou would have drawn her blade against them at once and attempted to slaughter every living thing present.
Instead, all she was doing was rummaging through old documents—
This actually suggested that Atou had quickly identified something hidden that Fenne herself had yet to notice. But—
"Fenne. Can you truly prove that you are yourself?"
"...Huh?"
Fenne couldn't make sense of the sudden question from Atou, and a ridiculous, involuntary sound escaped her lips.
It was precisely because the question had shaken her to the core that her composure crumbled so completely.
"A philosophical question, perhaps? Or theological? We don't have time for such debates right now..."
She answered after a moment's thought.
She couldn't read his intentions, but nothing would move forward if she refused to listen. She hadn't expected him to plunge into deep contemplation about the nature of his own existence, but even so, listening to a companion was simply what one did.
"I'm the same! Aaagh, really! This prep work is way too troublesome, Takuto! Fenne! Come over here for a second!"
"Hey, don't just yank me around..."
Or so she thought, but judging by Atou's demeanor—brooding alone and then practically exploding with frustration—it seemed her guess had been off the mark.
Quite the opposite of his earlier attitude, he now seized her with a kind of forceful resolve, dragging her inside the room without hesitation.
"Look at this."
Before she could even voice a complaint about what was going on, Atou thrust several documents before her eyes.
Fenne examined them with a skeptical expression, but quickly realized they were a format she had grown familiar with recently.
"These are orders I issued. The ones about the knight corps, the management of each village, and then... what on earth is this?"
The orders of a Saint carried binding authority.
Their position as beings who received divine oracles directly from God was an extremely delicate one, and for those who worshipped the Holy God Aros, her words were treated as equivalent to the word of God itself.
To ensure those words were transmitted accurately, they were always recorded in writing according to a prescribed format.
While in the present era this had become something of a formality—primarily to prevent obstacles in the chain of command and the conveyance of orders—the words were recorded verbatim and approved under the bearer's own confirmation.
And the document she had been handed was an order personally issued by the Saint of the Hidden Face.
The special seal affixed to it, the signature penned upon it—every last detail belonged to Fenne herself.
However, this was inconceivable.
"I... never wrote anything like this."
Fenne had absolutely no memory of inscribing such an order.
"Hey there. Hello there. Have you seen Soarina?"
Paying no heed to Fenne's bewilderment at this abnormal situation, a voice called from the doorway of the room.
Whether they had heard of the commotion somewhere or simply happened by chance, Erakino poked her head through the door.
"Ah... perhaps I'm intruding?"
Her face tightened at the state of the room, and she quickly turned on her heel to flee the troublesome scene.
But seizing the opportunity, Atou and Fenne dragged her in, and the three immediately began consulting on how to handle this strange anomaly.
...
.....
...
After dismissing the Sisters and strictly forbidding entry to the room, Atou and Fenne, in the midst of the chaotic gathering of Holy Demons, examined with grave expressions the contents of the directive they had issued.
"There are multiple contradictions within the directive. The schedules for meetings and such—the plans were also falsified. Fenne, how were you handling the management of that area?"
"Management was left entirely to others. If that's what I was told, I just agreed without question. It was unfamiliar work for us to begin with."
Shown a single sheet of paper, Fenne shook her head in confusion as she answered.
The recent busyness was understood by all, stemming from the complete disappearance of the administrative layer within their organization.
Fenne had indeed been consumed by the work before her, but fundamentally, a Saint did not exist for the purpose of operating an organization.
Her role was to conduct ceremonies for comforting the populace and establishing authority, and when an emergency arose, to repel outside threats with the true miracles bestowed by God.
Rather, it was almost a miraculous feat that Fenne and Soarina had managed to lead the country this far. Therefore, there was no reason to blame them for not questioning the content of their own work simply because they were caught up in daily busyness. Even if significant contradictions existed within it and their confusion was intentionally created, one could not fault them for failing to notice.
"Erakino, what about you?"
"Well, Erakino is a free spirit, so she doesn't do much work..."
Erakino was the same in that regard. She was a witch and the Game Master's vanguard. She was not an entity for running an organization, nor was she made to be. If the Game Master had attached such settings to her, the story might be different, but even they hadn't anticipated this situation.
And Atou, the only one capable of responding to it, had long been kept away from Renea's core due to her origins.
"Then I'll continue asking. Don't you think the number of misunderstandings and crossed paths has increased lately?"
"That's... because everyone's busy. The Master also said if there's any trouble, they'll let us know..."
"I also agree with Erakino. In my case, especially, I wasn't exactly welcomed and thought I was being avoided."
The contradictory documents. Among them, the one Fenne judged not to be her own was crafted with a convincing degree of truth. Indeed, they were even arranged to make appropriate arrangements for problems the saints had overlooked, and as a fact, people's lives improved and the saints' authority grew stronger than ever.
But... there was one point where it was clearly conscious of their side.
That was how the time they could gather and exchange words was subtly and skillfully reduced. As if it would be troublesome if their wills or opinions were unified.
"Someone is clearly tampering with these documents. It is almost certainly Takuto, but... as for the means, please allow me to refrain from explanation for now. I am not yet certain myself."
"Where does the purpose lie? Certainly, it can hinder our actions now. I hadn't even considered it until you told me. Atou, you once said the Ruined King's objective was you. Does this have something to do with retrieving you?"
"In connection with the knight squad massacre, we have extensively used the Game Master's powers. If Takuto is trying to identify those laws to counter the Game Master, it would make sense."
"To confuse us, then, and find openings or countermeasures within those actions. That does make sense, but is that truly all there is to it?"
Fenne recalled her own memories.
She certainly remembered extensively debating the GM's abilities in order to solve the Knight Order massacre and repel the presumed Takuto Ira. Various information surfaced during that process, and at times, Soarina had even strongly insisted that the GM descend into this world to resolve the issue. Conversely, Fenne was negative about that suggestion, arguing it would be more advantageous to remain hidden, and their relationship had soured since then.
They had been that frank in exchanging opinions, revealing everything.
However, all of it was conducted in secret, with participant selection handled with utmost care.
Soarina, Fenne, Erakino, Atou, and occasionally Holy Knight Commander Fjord.
All of them were trustworthy individuals, and the exhaustive investigation of the GM had confirmed they were the "real" ones.
Naturally, counter-surveillance was also perfect. The barrier created by the Saintess's miracle and the GM's authority to block eavesdropping provided flawless defense.
If the King of Ruin was secretly rooting and operating in this land, there was no way to know the details.
That was precisely why Fenne found the stated purpose of deducing the GM's abilities somewhat questionable.
More than anything, the power of the GM's authority, the "Adjudicator," was not something that could be changed regardless of whether one knew about it.
Seeing Fenne in deep thought, Atou started to say something, but stopped.
Instead, she brought this topic to a close and stated a preliminary conclusion.
"In either case, we need to raise the alert level. Or rather, cancel all schedules—ah, suspend everything and convene for a discussion. If... no, if my prediction is correct, this is a highly dangerous situation."
"Yes, indeed. Above all, they must not realize that we have caught on. If they have penetrated this deeply, they must have set some kind of trap. We need to strike first before they act."
First, unity of will and comparison of intelligence were necessary.
The absent ones were Holy Knight Commander Fjord and Saintess Soarina.
Especially Fjord, the situation could be considered quite dire. Despite being close to the Saintess and the others, he was taking independent actions, driven by his knightly pride.
That was virtually a unilateral decision.
The fighting force, along with her subordinate knights, was something indispensable to Renea, and should never fall into the hands of evil….
Fenne and Atou’s sense of crisis grew, their awareness already shifting to that of battle.
Their senses sharpened, granting them inhuman abilities, ready to act without a moment’s laxity for whatever was about to happen.
But it was the last person present, the witch Erakino, who checked their momentum.
“Um, well…”
Her face somewhat pale, she let out the words as if wringing them out.
Sharing a sense of crisis was important, but judging by this reaction, that wasn’t the case.
While her and the Game Master’s weakness to unexpected events could be predicted from past occurrences, this reaction seemed like something else entirely.
“I thought you were just, you know, busy with normal work—”
And then, the fear spread….
“So, Soarina… Is she somewhere?”
This time, it was Atou and the others whose faces drained of color.
“—Erakino! Roll the dice!!”
Atou shouted.
Startled by those words, Erakino quickly closed her eyes, silently pleading for help from the Game Master.
=GM: Message===
Exert Game Master authority.
Reveal the location of the Holy Maiden of Burial, Soarina.
―――
A moment of silence.
The result: Soarina's location is unknown.
―――
The result could only be described in one word: worst-case scenario.
Watching every move, Atou and Fenne understood the severity of the result from the look of near-tears on Erakino's face for the first time.
The absolute, unresolvable logic behind the knight squadron massacre had now turned its focus upon the Saint.
"Why!?"
"What is happening!? Why can't we get an answer!? Soarina has nothing to do with this, does she!?"
"Game Master! Can you identify the cause of the error!? Take a shot in the dark and query the system!"
Shouted in desperate, reckless hopes.
But sometimes, such foolhardy actions strike with perfect precision.
By a stroke of chance, one part of the answer was revealed here.
〈!〉 Execution Error
Currently regenerating an Ev-en-t.
GM privileges cannot be executed.
[Event Name]
Pursue the Culprit Behind the Serial Knight Squadron Murders!
―――
But the truth does not always bring light.
"An... Event!?"
Atou clapped her hands to her head and cried out.
It was at this point she understood that the sticky, dreadful premonition she had long harbored was becoming reality.
She had heard the word "event" from Takuto before. It must have been when Mynoghra was forced to drink bitter defeat, when the hero of the defensive war was vanquished.
But that was impossible! It couldn't possibly happen!
No — it could happen. If it was that hero!
"You would go so far as to copy even that! Nameless Evil God!!"
Atou screamed.
She should have known that name better than anyone... yet because the name did not exist, it had faded from her memory like a mist — that terrifying hero.
The being spoken of as the counterpart to the God of Light who had supposedly created Atou.
A player of the game — that is, the existence regarded as identical to Takuto Ira.
The name of Mynoghra's god within Eternal Nations!
"Game Master! You can hear me, right? Summon someone who knows where Soarina is! Do it now!"
Ignoring Atou's confusion, Fenne calmly declared her next move.
Having already grasped the nature and scope of the Game Master's ability through its repeated use, she attempted to exercise it within a range that would not directly interfere with the event.
And her speculation struck its mark precisely.
A heartbeat after her words, a holy knight materialized on the spot amid a brilliant burst of light.
"Wha—! What is going on?!"
"You — you're the intermediate holy knight who was promoted the other day. I'll explain later. Tell me the location of the Holy Maiden Soarina."
The holy knight, stunned by the sudden occurrence, had fallen on his backside and was looking around in bewilderment. But upon sensing Fenne's intense urgency and recognizing that something serious was unfolding, he forcibly suppressed his confusion and answered the question.
"Eh, ah, yes! I, um, I believe Lady Soarina is at the old cathedral site."
"Why on earth would she be there?!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the holy knight's expression shifted to one of chagrin.
But that look, too, was swept away by Erakino's scream, which sounded like a shriek of despair.
"T-that is... the Order Commander said he had something private to discuss. I was only told to relay the message in case of an emergency. I don't know the details."
His voice grew weaker as he spoke; it seemed he had been sworn to secrecy. Probably, he was the only one who knew. He must have been tasked with informing others if a crisis occurred.
As for the old cathedral site, it was the church that had been used before the Grand Cathedral of Holy Amritate was built. Its history was long, but it was merely a slightly larger version of a common church, a decaying wooden structure. It had been unused for ages, and with no funds for demolition, it had simply been left to rot. Why were the two of them there...
The answer was obvious without needing to be spoken.
At last, the hand of the demon had reached for Soarina.
"We must go immediately... They've likely noticed our exchange just now," Atou said. Fenne nodded, and Erakino caught her breath.
"No, perhaps... it means their preparations are already complete."
Atou cursed internally, a torrent of rage.
How utterly pathetic... how inept...
His mind raced, filled with a terrible, circling thought that had been spinning there since earlier.
"Steel yourselves. Our opponent... is Takuto Ira."
From her squeezed-out voice, the saint and the witch silently nodded, steeling their resolve.
Simultaneously, they came to understand that the very being they were about to face embodied the very word of catastrophe.