Let's rewind time a little.
This is about the time when the Demon Lord of Brave Questus had been finally defeated, and a measure of order was restored to the chaotic series of events that had unfolded.
Takuto, who had been using the authority of the Eternal Nations leader to observe the interactions between Atou and the Elful sisters, let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't committed the folly of compounding the worst within the worst.
"Sigh... It's over, then."
A large, long sigh.
Takuto was in a house under construction in a corner of the city. Unlike the government building where the non-combatant Dark Elves of Mynoghra had taken shelter, this location allowed him to move and hide, prepared in the unlikely event of an enemy invasion of the city.
"I'm tired."
Another large sigh.
He had already issued the recall order to Atou and the others.
Unless something unexpected happened, they would likely return shortly, together with the Elful sisters. The expeditionary force led by the old Mortar had also changed course and was now returning to this location.
There was much to do and think about, but he now had a little time.
How should he make the most of this moment?
Feeling the mental exhaustion, he raised his head, and suddenly noticed several guards around him.
They were members of the warrior band. To protect their lord, and to be ready to sacrifice their own lives if necessary to keep Takuto alive, they were now standing watch as before.
"Leave me alone for a while."
"Ha! No... however..."
Takuto gave the quiet order, his gaze settling on the guards whose expressions still held a trace of unease.
A stir of agitation ran through the soldiers.
A king’s orders are absolute, naturally, but in this situation—where the danger had by no means passed—it was a perfectly understandable reaction to wonder if they would simply obey as told.
Of course, Takuto understood that much.
And yet, he issued the same order once more.
“Leave me alone.”
“Y-yes, sir! Pardon us!”
In a flurry of panicked movement, the soldiers hastily withdrew from the room.
Perhaps they felt embarrassed to have been seen in such an ineffectual state.
Takuto sank into self-loathing, realizing his tone had become unexpectedly harsh.
Confirming that the presence of the guards, who had fled in disarray at the king’s sharp words, faded into the distance, Takuto soon flopped onto the floor, spread-eagled.
“That was so uncool…”
It was the epitome of uncool.
He had underestimated, underestimated, utterly underestimated, and now this was the result.
His own misjudgment had led to this situation, and then he had made another foolish mistake, sending away his guards.
As a leader with the sovereign authority to detect enemies who had infiltrated his territory, what was his plan if, by some remote chance, an enemy capable of bypassing them was lurking nearby?
Was he considering the blow to troop morale if the nation’s leader cowered away in an emergency?
It was as if another version of himself from within was berating him relentlessly, and that, too, weighed down Takuto’s heart into darkness.
How much, exactly, was he allowed to lean on others?
The remorse flowed endlessly, and the once-somewhat-optimistic hope from when he first arrived in this world—the dream of building a nation where everyone could live happily—crumbled with a thunderous crash.
“Isla…”
Takuto murmured softly.
I had wanted to speak more. While not as much as Atou, I also knew her well through *Eternal Nations*, and I had intended to deepen our understanding of each other through future interactions.
How did she see me?
I would never have the chance to ask again.
Staring blankly at the emptiness that gnawed at my heart more than the tactical losses, Takuto tried to think if there was anything he could do.
...Hero re-summoning was practically impossible.
Not entirely impossible, but it was only a salvage measure.
To re-summon a defeated hero, several conditions had to be met, and those conditions couldn't be fulfilled with un-summoned heroes or with Atou already belonging to the state.
In other words... the existence of "Isla, Queen of All Insects" could never be met again, no matter what system of *Eternal Nations* was used.
"...Mearia, Caria."
He had lost the twin girls their mother forever.
That fact tormented Takuto like a heavy chain.
He knew full well how much the Elful sisters had adored Isla.
He also knew well under what circumstances they had lost their mother and learned to live with frozen hearts.
The conversation where they told him with sorrowful eyes that they should have been the ones to die, played over and over in his mind. Along with the fact that he had betrayed their trust, it branded him with the seal of his own incompetence.
What was lost would never return, no matter how he struggled.
The existence known as Takuto Ira was, at this moment, truly a defeated man.
"—Damn it!"
Was that rage at himself, or a desperate attempt to deceive?
Unable to bear it, Takuto rose abruptly and slammed his fist against the floor.
It was an act born of the hope that if he could feel even a little physical pain, it might distract from the pain in his heart.
I've always hated being hurt, but now I wanted something to punish myself with.
However...
"Huh?"
A sharp, cracking sound echoed loudly.
Fist that I'd imagined striking something hard instead sank deep into the floor.
For an instant, I thought, "Did the floor melt?" but soon realized I was mistaken.
The floor of the dwelling, made from freshly cut lumber, had split and shattered exactly where I'd punched.
"Hey, wait a—!"
I cried out at the destruction of the floor, but my surprise didn't end there.
It seemed my strike had luckily broken one of the support pillars built beneath the floor, and with a dull boom of splintering wood, the collapse chained forward before I knew it, bringing the entire building down.
"Whoa! Wh-whoa! Whaaaaaa!"
Dwellings made by Dark Elves are situated high in the trees, in accordance with their cultural style.
Naturally, its collapse meant a fall from the air to the ground awaited me.
A height of several dozen meters. The human body isn't made strong enough to withstand such an impact.
With a momentary sense of floating, my vision whirled, and then darkness followed a dull thud.
Impact ravaged my entire body, and I braced for a second death.
"It hurts— Huh?"
But when I opened my eyes, the scenery I saw was unchanged.
"It doesn't hurt."
I poked my head out from the pile of lumber that had formed the dwelling and looked around.
Looking up, he could indeed see the buildings of the Dark Elves overhead.
He had simply fallen... and survived.
Considering the circumstances, that was the only conclusion he could reach.
"..."
With a skeptical expression, Takuto quietly rose to his feet. Using his authority as leader, he confirmed the Dark Elf guards were heading his way in a panic, then walked to avoid being seen.
Takuto walked for a while, glancing around.
Eventually, having put some distance between himself and the town, he spotted a tree of suitable size and tapped its trunk several times, as if confirming something.
It was an unremarkable giant tree. If anything, it was roughly a size larger than the others, and combined with the cursed land's effect brought by Mynoghra, it looked rather eerie.
Towards that tree...
Takuto casually waved his hand.
With a dull rumble, it snapped and broke apart without the slightest resistance.
"I see... so that's how it was. So that's what this is."
Glancing at the falling tree as it cracked and took down surrounding trees with it, Takuto quietly sat cross-legged on the spot and closed his eyes.
This quiet, strange act was a dialogue with himself.
Through this meditative act, he delved deep into his own core, confirming the infinite possibilities within the being known as Takuto Ira, and the power befitting a King of Destruction.
It had been there from the very beginning.
Simply waiting, composed and unhurried, for the moment to wield its power.
"Haha... then we could have won from the start. We could have done it from the start. From the very beginning..."
Takuto opened his eyes, letting out a dry laugh as he raised a hand to his face.
Everything was absurd, and his own foolishness was so utterly idiotic.
At the same time, it had become utterly unbearable.
Inside Takuto, something finally snapped.
◇ ◇ ◇
Let us speak of somewhere else.
There was a man.
He was a man of peculiar fate: always claiming victory in tournaments hosted by the game *Eternal Nations*' operators, yet perpetually content with second place in the official online rankings.
In appearance, he looked to be in his late twenties. He gave an impression so refreshing and cheerful that it was hard to imagine him as a gamer.
With well-trained muscles, a nicely tanned complexion, and a disarmingly friendly smile as his hallmarks, the man was currently receiving an interview at a certain café.
"Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule, cLoser. It’s a real help that you came all the way downtown for this."
"Not at all, I happened to have some free time today... Honestly, having someone from a game magazine come to interview me is making me nervous."
"What are you talking about? A famous player like yourself, with such a brilliant track record in *Eternal Nations* and daily popularity on game streams. It's you who's being overly modest."
"Haha... When you put it like that, I can't really argue back."
The man's name was cLoser. Of course, that was his handle in the game, not his real name.
The person across from him was a young editor for a game magazine with a decent history.
Though it struggled somewhat in sales during the current peak of the internet, the magazine was still highly regarded in the industry for its depth of knowledge and information-gathering power.
This time, as part of a special feature on *Eternal Nations*, they were interviewing a famous player, tying it into the recently booming world of e-sports.
"To be honest, we had also wanted Takuto Ira to attend, but unfortunately, he declined..."
Just as the pleasant back-and-forth was leading into the meat of the interview, the editor's words caused cLoser to twitch an eyebrow. He quietly gestured for them to continue.
“cLoser. Is that rumor really true? Do you know anything about it?”
“I have no idea. I used to think I would give anything to see his face, you know! But up until now, I’ve never managed to meet him even once.”
“Ha ha, I see.”
The ‘Eternal Nations’ player known as cLoser was always second place.
Official tournaments for the globally popular title, ‘Eternal Nations’, backed by numerous corporate sponsors, were extremely time-consuming by the very nature of the game.
Spectators could enjoy the deep strategy and thrilling battles at the venue or via the internet at any time, but players were required to play from designated spots at the venue as an anti-cheating measure.
Furthermore, during the multi-day tournament, even their free time was spent confined to their hotels under constant surveillance, with outings prohibited even during breaks.
Therefore, speculation abounded that the player known as Takuto Ira was, for some reason, unable to participate in official tournaments.
For instance... a severe illness, perhaps.
As a result, cLoser had always snatched victory in the ‘Eternal Nations’ official tournaments.
This tournament, where massive sums and luxury items were awarded by many sponsors, drew many skilled players, and every time, fierce battles unfolded.
However, the results, despite minor fluctuations, largely mirrored the ‘Eternal Nations’ network rankings.
If Takuto Ira entered, his victory would be certain.
Even if by some miraculous probability he missed first place, he would never settle for second or lower.
That was the rumor whispered among ‘Eternal Nations’ fans, and it was precisely why cLoser always harbored a sense of bitter resentment.
“So... I may be a bit rude to ask this of you, ‘the king who cannot be king’...”
“The secret to Takuto Ira’s strength?”
cLoser answered with a fearless smile.
He did not show anger at the presumptuous epithet whispered in the dark corners of the internet not because he was a paragon of character.
It was because the existence of Takuto Ira loomed far too overwhelmingly in his mind.
Takuto Ira is a name anyone involved in e-sports would have heard at least once.
He is known as an enigmatic player with virtually no information available in "Eternal Nations," and he has appeared under the same name in several other games as well.
He has left behind astonishing results in all of them, and there is no end to those who wish to know the secret of his strength, or fans fascinated by his mysterious background.
For such somewhat fame-seeking individuals, this editor must want something of a service.
If a meeting for an interview isn't possible, one has no choice but to ask someone close to him.
Though he felt somewhat put on the spot and unpleasant, as cLoser, he didn't take the risk of causing unnecessary trouble and being ostracized within the industry.
"Well, yes... there's a certain trait. You could call it a bad habit, perhaps?"
"And that would be?"
"He's always playing around. It's like he's holding back, or being careless, or making that soft judgment of 'Well, it'll probably be okay like this.' He has that kind of bad habit."
"I see... but if he did that during the early setup, he'd lose in an instant, wouldn't he? Even I know well that 'Eternal Nations' isn't such a lenient game."
"That's correct." cLoser nods, secretly raising his assessment of the editor by a tiny bit in his mind.
The ability to grasp the situation without needing every little thing explained is a minimum requirement for an interviewer.
On top of that, precisely because of that, cLoser believes the next words will also be understood, and he speaks his honest evaluation of Takuto Ira without falsehood.
"That's why he's the best."
cLoser closes his eyes quietly, as if deep in thought.
In his mind, past games replay as if the display were right before his eyes.
It's a kind of skill born from exceptional thought and repetitive game labor, akin to a talent blossoming, and his technique had reached the point of simulating plays that no longer existed.
But for cLoser, it was meaningless.
...Because in those images of his own play, no matter how many simulations he ran, he had been defeated by Takuto Ira.
cLoser declares it. He is utterly convinced that, apart from himself, he is the person in the world who knows "Eternal Nations" best and is the strongest.
Reaching a certain pinnacle that a human being can attain, the man looks up at the sky and declares through resignation.
"When Takuto Ira gets serious, no one can surpass him."
At those serious words, the editor instinctively swallowed hard and fell silent.
...Time passed in a silence as if everything had stopped, and the movement resumed only with the clink of melting ice in the glass.
"Listen, editor. I once suspected that he might be an AI developed by some corporation. I don't know the specifics, but I wondered if he wasn't using some form of cheat to maintain that strength."
cLoser recalled it.
The circumstances that led him to accept his own defeat and acknowledge Takuto Ira's power.
During the days when he was chasing Takuto Ira's shadow like a madman, he spoke to him once on voice chat.
The voice was strangely weak, so much so that it lacked any sense of reality, making him wonder if this was really that Takuto Ira.
Thus, it was perhaps only natural that a mixture of suspicion and a desire to see through his true nature had surfaced within cLoser.
"I'm warning you. I know you're interested in Takuto Ira, but whatever you do, don't make him angry."
The editor was about to retort that such a thing was absolutely impossible, but cLoser's expression, brooking no argument, made him shrink back like a frog hypnotized by a snake.
For the sake of an article, sometimes a slightly extreme measure is necessary. He felt as if that thought had been seen right through.
"Especially when you really tick him off, it's the worst. He'll use every conceivable means to retaliate and utterly crush you. I swore I would never get involved with him again."
The editor was curious about what had happened between Takuto Ira and cLoser.
If he could force the story out of him here and put it in an article, sales would surely soar, and his standing within the editorial department would rise.
But judging from cLoser's terrified expression, it was all too clear that this was mere armchair theory.
"To this day, just hearing his name makes me tense."
The editor gave a quiet nod, resolving in his heart to pry no further.
cLoser's hands were, indeed, trembling.
◇ ◇ ◇
[Mynoghra Royal Palace, Emergency Meeting]
A peculiar, unsettling atmosphere hung over the conference hall within the palace.
Those gathering were the hero Atou, the Elful sisters, elder Mortar, and other key figures responsible for the nation’s governance.
This time, several civil officials and leaders within the warrior corps were also in attendance.
And... seated quietly at the very back of the chamber was Mynoghra’s leader, the King of Ruin, Takuto Ira.
“Then, Lord Takuto. I request your judgment regarding the Elful sisters’ insubordination. Defying the words of the Great King is a grave offense. I advise that a fitting punishment is necessary.”
Atou calmly stated the matter and sought Takuto’s opinion.
The Elful sisters, the subject of discussion, stood silently near the wall. Their somber demeanor resembled that of death row inmates awaiting execution.
The sisters fully understood the magnitude of their own crime.
They had acted on emotion in the heat of the moment, but the correct course would have been to return to the streets of Mynoghra and reorganize its defenses. Those with power must protect their precious comrades. They had been taught this by their very mother, and they had betrayed that lesson.
Therefore, the two sisters were prepared to accept whatever punishment was meted out.
Even if it was death.
“Hmm. Nothing. I won't charge you with a crime.”
However, his nonchalant words were utterly different from any outcome they had predicted.
No—this was a decision that overturned the expectations of everyone present, including Atou.
“But Lord Takuto! With that, we cannot maintain national discipline. Especially in an emergency situation like this, if we let subordinates act willfully without consequence, who knows what kind of misunderstandings will arise in the future...”
Atou hurriedly interjected.
In the state, punishments for crimes were essential. Of course, there were instances where mercy or mitigating circumstances might lessen the severity of a crime.
But a full acquittal was unheard of. Some form of minimal punishment was formally required, no matter what.
As everyone stared at Takuto in shock, he shrugged with a slight show of surprise, then raised a hand swiftly as if to say the previous matter was over and changed the subject.
"This emergency... It's about that. I need to apologize to all of you."
Including Atou, several people’s eyes widened in a jolt.
And just as Takuto was about to stop them from saying any more about that absolute point...
"I am truly sorry. It was a situation brought about by my own carelessness and complacency."
The king acknowledged his own mistake and apologized to his subordinates.
"P-Please stop! For a king to apologize, this must not happen!"
"Exactly! It is only us who have been inadequate! Everything was brought about by our own negligence!"
The Dark Elves cried out in a panic.
That was the one thing that could not happen. That was the one thing that must not be done.
A king was an absolute existence. It was because they believed in that absolute existence that their subjects would throw away their own lives.
Therefore, a king could not be wrong.
A king could not admit to being wrong.
Making mistakes was the domain of humans, never the domain of a king.
A king who had fallen in the eyes of his people would find no one to follow him. The heavy responsibility of leading the people was far too great for a mere human to bear.
Therefore, no matter what, those last words had to be made as if they had never been spoken.
Atou, who had been standing, sank back into her chair as if her soul had left her.
The confusion had already surpassed her ability to process it, and no matter how hard she tried to think, she could not conceive of any way to remedy this situation.
And no one had declared that this was the end of the chaos sweeping over them.
"And I promise. I shall bring Isla back to life."
"Is—is that true?"
"Will... she really come back to life?"
A light sparked in the sisters' eyes.
The two, who hadn't understood the significance of a king offering an apology, had watched the exchange with bewildered expressions, but the matter of their mother was different. Wrapped in a strange, ominous premonition that had nagged at them for some time, they forgot even that as they turned to Takuto for confirmation.
To those words, Takuto nodded firmly.
"Pa-please wait, Takuto! By what means!? In the current situation... reviving a Hero is absolutely impossible!"
Atou was in turmoil.
She trusted Takuto, but in her current state, she couldn't fathom his intentions at all.
As Atou had told the sisters before, there was no method to revive the Hero Isla.
Takuto was not the kind of person to make a promise he couldn't keep.
Could he have gone mad? An unwelcome hypothesis brushed through Atou's mind.
If that were the case, the word "worst" would be an understatement for the situation.
But the truth surpassed all their conjectures.
"The citizens invited to the heavens shall, in time, dwell for eternity in supreme bliss and boundless peace,"
Takuto spoke eloquently.
Atou, who knew the meaning of those words, looked up in shock.
"There shall be no suffering, no pain; even the dead shall rise, reunite with their beloved, and share in that joy—
—Praise the victory. Bless the joy of reaching a new dimension. Here, the gates of God's kingdom are opened, and you shall become eternal beings within God's love."
Takuto rose silently. He spread his arms wide.
"Dimension Ascension Victory. If this world references the 'Eternal Nations' system, then I will absolutely seize that victory. All that was lost, I will reclaim."
It was a line uttered upon achieving a certain kind of victory.
Called a Dimension Ascension Victory, it was a particularly unique and special victory condition within 'Eternal Nations', one obtained only after fulfilling multiple difficult criteria.
The problem was... achieving those victory conditions was extraordinarily hard.
The difficulty was so extreme that even in 'Eternal Nations', no players actively pursued it.
Only those attempting challenge runs or aiming for dramatic video streams might consider it.
In truth, Takuto had tried it a few times himself, but had quickly lost interest and opted for Peace Victories or Conquest Victories instead.
"The Dimension Ascension Victory condition is far too strict. Even the prerequisite crafting of the Regalia invites intervention from other nations..." Atou, the only one who understood, asked in a trembling voice.
Certainly, if this victory condition were met, Isla's revival might be possible. Though what the celestial realm entails is unknown, it was said that in such a world, all the dead could return to life.
"Intervention from other nations... well, that is certainly possible."
"Yes. Not just good-aligned forces, but the entire world would turn against you. Even Fonkavun would..."
The discussion continued.
The Dark Elves could not comprehend the meaning of these words.
They knew their king sometimes spoke of things beyond their understanding, and they assumed this was vocabulary from the supposed 'Kingdom of God'.
However, they could vividly sense the unfathomable pressure contained within those words.
At the same time, they grasped just how difficult the future their king spoke of truly was.
A choice so demanding that even heroes would find it daunting.
What kind of reasoning could possibly lead one to make such a choice? As everyone was gripped by unease, Takuto once again declared with characteristic nonchalance.
"It's fine."
"How!? How can you decide it's fine, Lord Takuto!?"
"Because I'll kill everyone who gets in our way."
In that instant, Atou froze in terror.
The Dark Elves experienced living death as soul-deep terror gripped them.
Only then did they understand.
Takuto wasn't confused.
He wasn't mentally crushed by repeated crises, nor was he speaking of an impossible future in a manic state.
Instead—
Takuto Ira was furious.
It was a rage so deep it only appeared as manic eloquence on the surface.
Where its source lay was unclear.
But this was the first time Takuto—once called King of Ruin, yet somehow approachable, never directing anger at anyone—showed such wrath, and it seized the minds of all present.
A viscous pressure bore down as if it had physical weight.
Cold sweat poured out, and even attempting to draw breath produced only dry, ragged gasps.
Even Atou, the most wicked entity among them, felt an abyssal dread from something now enthroned right beside them.
"Listen carefully. The method is simple."
Whether Takuto interpreted their inability to speak as agreement, he began speaking eloquently.
Dimensional Ascension alters the world itself.
Naturally, all opposing entities are transformed according to the victorious nation's will—or sometimes annihilated entirely.
Thus, any nation aiming for Dimensional Ascent Victory declares itself hostile to all other nations, even allies. The only ways to avoid this are annexation or becoming a vassal state.
Was he prepared to shatter everything he had built just to make that choice?
Anger became the key, and the judgment of the top player of Eternal Nations—who had regained his true power—was utterly simple.
"...I will conquer the world."
That unarguably absolute declaration filled every listener with an indescribable dread.
"Dimensional Ascent Victory is difficult because of the conditions you must achieve and maintain. So first, everything that gets in the way must be removed."
To cast down the sky, to plow all the land, to drink the seas dry, to annihilate every living thing, and then to leisurely begin the Dimensional Ascent—that was precisely what Takuto was saying.
The pacifistic leader who had initially existed was nowhere to be found.
No—perhaps such a person had never existed in the first place.
"So many things I can do, so many things I'm capable of. I don't think I've ever felt this clear-headed."
*GASHAN*—suddenly, a loud noise rang out, making Atou and the others shudder.
Then, casting glances around to see who the boor was that had so rudely interrupted this tense situation.
The sound had come from directly behind Takuto.
"...?"
—Then came the overlapping clatter of numerous sounds.
It was Takuto's Emergency Production. Any operational member of Mynoghra would have witnessed this phenomenon at least once.
But they couldn't identify what was being produced.
Judging by the sound, it was certainly something hard, but even with all their knowledge, they couldn't find an answer.
Only exception: Atou.
When he realized the small copper-colored thing at his feet was a bullet, Atou let out an involuntary gasp.
One after another, weapons from the world where Takuto died before him—pistols, machine guns, rifles, explosives—materialized behind him.
In his former world, in certain regions, a human life was considered remarkably cheap.
To add further insult, the tools crafted solely to take those lives were also available at astonishingly low prices.
Often no more expensive than a somewhat premium bunch of grapes.
Takuto picked up a suitable pistol from the heap of weaponry piled high like a mountain and examined it thoughtfully.
Emergency production could generate anything, provided there was enough mana.
Its criterion was purely cost, taking no consideration of an item's material value.
The God's Domain—a backdoor trick allowing the creation of items from his past world—operated under ruthlessly unfair rules.
"I may need to ask you all for even more help from now on," he said.
Comparing the unseen paper documents he’d somehow produced with the pistol, he nodded thoughtfully.
As he’d predicted, manufacturing weapons required far less mana cost.
And the lost mana had found its way back into him.
Every possible circumstance was whispering to Takuto: avenge this world that has made you taste such bitterness.
"Honestly, it will be very difficult. But... you can all do it! Of course, you've all worked hard until now, but make sure you keep listening to what I say!"
From somewhere came Takuto’s declaration, delivered with the innocent words of a child.
Before the terrifying pressure radiating from the king, his subordinates could do nothing but tremble and lower their heads.
"Now then, let’s conquer the world."
If later histories were to record a pivotal moment when the world began its descent into ruin, this very instant might well be it.
The approach of the end grew ever more imminent.
Somewhere, a "Nameless God" was laughing aloud.