Evil Avalon
The business district was located slightly north of the center of Dungeon City. The skyscrapers in this area housed numerous companies providing services for adventurers and trading dungeon-produced items.
Among them, the price of magic stones—one of the pillars of the energy industry—was determined at this city's exchange, where guilds, investors, and trading companies from all over the world gathered to conduct active trading.
At the top floor of a modern-designed office tower that rose conspicuously above the rest of the business district was a vast open floor.
A Japanese garden stretched across the space, featuring a small waterfall that poured out an abundance of water, a pond where vividly colored koi swam, and moss-covered rocks and plants arranged in harmonious balance.
The walls on all four sides were lined with glass display cases containing weapons and armor that emitted suspicious glows, revealing the tastes and interests of the floor's owner.
In one corner of the garden, where the sound of flowing water was pleasantly soothing, several leather sofas were arranged with generous spacing between them. Sitting casually on one of them with his legs crossed was a tall yet slender man. As if saying "Take a look at this," he flipped over the tablet he was holding.
One of the Eight Dragons of the Adventurer School—Tsukasa Horai.
"With energy demand continuing to rise in recent years, magic stone prices have also kept climbing. Thanks to that, our trading company has been doing quite well."
"My! As expected of the Horai Group. With this much, it will more than suffice as operating funds for quite some time."
"If this is all it takes for you to accept me into the group, then it's a cheap price to pay."
Upon seeing the number displayed on the tablet screen, the silver-haired girl—Kikyou Sera—opened her violet eyes wide, her face lighting up with delight.
This was support funding offered in exchange for accepting Horai as a member.
The amount exceeded ten billion yen.
Furthermore, after he promised additional support on the spot, the long-haired man listening quietly beside them—Kouki Suou—gave a small, elegant round of applause, a smile blooming across his androgynous face.
"I welcome you wholeheartedly, Tsukasa-san. And Takuya-san, while it may not be much, I've prepared these documents for you."
"Let me see."
As soon as Suou produced a stack of printed papers, the blond, long-haired man—Takuya Tsukishima—snatched them away and began examining them closely.
At the top of the document were the words:
"Overview of the Tokyo Incident."
"This information comes directly from acquaintances in the Adventurers Guild and the National Police Agency. The media hasn't reported it, but there's no doubt that both the death toll and the number of missing persons are quite substantial."
"...So Mikhail Maxim really was there. And Rokurogi Shigure drove him off? As if that's possible."
The so-called Tokyo Incident, said to have been caused by the Holy Empire's attempt to monopolize Gate information.
Elite soldiers of the Holy Empire clad in white robes had stormed the scene and clashed with Japanese adventurers centered around the Kinrankai.
According to the report, Shigure Rokurogi, one of the executives of the Ten Rakshashas, had fought valiantly and ultimately repelled them.
Suou added that the information had been gathered directly from insiders within the Guild and the police, making it highly credible.
However, Tsukishima flatly rejected that conclusion.
Among the Holy Empire's elite soldiers were many infamous adventurers who had earned notoriety on battlefields across the world.
And among them, Mikhail Maxim stood in a class of his own.
If he truly wished, he possessed enough power to reduce an entire large building to rubble by himself.
Even if Japanese adventurers gathered in great numbers, they should not have been capable of defeating him.
If he had really been driven away, then someone else must have been involved behind the scenes.
With that deduction, Tsukishima tossed the report aside.
"Kouki, are there any photos of the battlefield? Any eyewitness accounts?"
"The entire building was transformed into a Magic Field for several hours. By the time investigators were able to enter, everything had already been automatically restored like a dungeon. Not even a drop of blood remained. However, there were reports of witnesses seeing a giant white spider..."
"A spider...? A monster, perhaps?"
When Suou mentioned reports of a "white spider," Sera covered her mouth in surprise, wondering if a monster had appeared in Tokyo.
Tsukishima, however, immediately identified it as a summoned creature.
"A white spider would most likely be the Arachne-type summoning spell Arachne Monarch, which specializes in speed boosts and debuffs. If that thing was present, then a player was almost certainly there as well."
While it wasn't impossible to bring monsters outside a dungeon, they would quickly disappear unless special conditions were met.
At present, those conditions did not exist.
Which left only one possibility: a summoned creature.
And among the countless summons appearing in DunEx, only one matched the description of a white spider.
The highest-ranking member of the popular Arachne line favored by backline players:
Arachne Monarch.
From that alone, it could be inferred that the person present was a player who specialized primarily in magic.
After instantly piecing together the situation to that extent, Tsukishima earned an impressed reaction from Horai, who had been listening with great interest.
"You can deduce that much about the user from such limited information? Summoned creatures... are they the same kind of beings as the lizard beastman summoned during the duel with the Swordsmanship Club?"
"Precisely, Tsukasa-san. As a matter of fact, I've also been granted a new summoning spell."
Horai had gone to great lengths to establish contact with Tsukishima.
Although he had paid a tremendous price—vast financial support and allowing contract magic to be engraved onto his body—it was a bargain compared to obtaining knowledge from the Abyss.
As Horai's eyes gleamed suspiciously while he digested the information, Suou added:
"I've acquired multiple overwhelming powers that no one else in this world could possibly know about."
His eyes burned with excitement as he clenched his fist tightly.
Watching the exchange among her companions with a warm smile from beside Tsukishima, Sera's expression suddenly darkened.
"I'm curious about this player's identity as well, but the Gates becoming known to the world... We've lost one of our valuable cards."
"The world is definitely going to change dramatically. But I don't think Gates will be found that easily. My Weapon Research Club also participated in the search, but..."
The Gates had been one of Tsukishima's party's greatest advantages.
As Sera lowered her gaze in disappointment, Horai voiced a more optimistic opinion.
Following the Tokyo Incident, a worldwide race had begun to locate Gates and seize the benefits associated with them.
Even the greedy directors of the Adventurer School were no exception.
They lured students with promises of preferential treatment and threw them into the search.
Horai's Weapon Research Club had pretended to cooperate fully while secretly keeping a close eye on the information flowing from the directors and nobles.
Yet there had been no sign whatsoever of any Gates being discovered.
According to Tsukishima, Gate Rooms appeared on floors divisible by five.
So why, Horai wondered, had tens or even hundreds of thousands of adventurers running through dungeons failed to find them?
Were they hidden in locations that remote?
"It's not just the location. Cognitive interference is at work too. No matter how many fools you mobilize, if they lack proper detection skills and knowledge, they'll never find them."
"I see... Then, Takuya-san, how did the Kinrankai manage to locate a Gate? The Ten Rakshashas also seem to have identified Gate locations using some kind of information."
"Yeah... Do any of you know anything about those clans?"
It had already been experimentally confirmed that powerful cognitive interference surrounded Gates, preventing ordinary adventurers from even approaching them.
Thus, Tsukishima declared that mobilizing students was pointless.
In response, Suou raised a straightforward question:
How had the Kinrankai and the Ten Rakshashas overcome that interference?
There were two possible explanations.
The first was that the cognitive interference around certain Gates had weakened.
However, since adventurers around the world still hadn't discovered any new Gates, that seemed unlikely.
The second possibility was player involvement.
The shadow of a player had also surfaced during the Tokyo Incident.
Perhaps a player existed within the Kinrankai or the Ten Rakshashas—or had at least made contact with them.
When Tsukishima asked if anyone knew anything about those clans, Suou, Sera, and Horai exchanged glances and fell into deep thought.
Even fragments of a player's knowledge were enough to shake the world.
If any organization had someone comparable to Tsukishima backing them, it would represent a grave threat.
"Let's see... Almost everyone in the Kinrankai has been detained, but I heard that a subordinate organization called 'Sorel' was the first to discover the Gate. As for the Ten Rakshashas, it's become a hot topic that they entered a dungeon this morning leading an entire battalion. In fact, they're also fighting our brethren in the Kansai region right now. They're certainly an energetic bunch."
Gazing into the distance as he searched his memory, Suou listed the information currently available.
Both the Kinrankai under Colors and the Ten Rakshashas were engaged in conflicts all over the place, and even families associated with Suou had become entangled in them.
"Sorel, huh..."
Tsukishima murmured with interest.
Meanwhile, Sera frowned delicately, troubled by the brutality of large-scale conquest clans.
"I've never cared for large-scale conquest clans. They're so bloodthirsty. If a player is truly backing such dangerous groups... Takuya-sama, it's frightening."
"But I don't think there's one behind the Ten Rakshashas. If there were, they wouldn't need to search for Gates."
To nobles, large-scale conquest clans were little more than vulgar organizations that wielded selfish violence under the guise of justice, threatening national peace and order.
If players were involved behind the scenes, their threat level would become incomparable, potentially shaking the foundations of entire governments.
Still, the Kinrankai and the major Colors executives had already been arrested.
As for the Ten Rakshashas, if they really had a player backing them, there would be no need for them to search for Gates.
At most, Horai speculated, they might have had some minor contact.
"So if there isn't a player behind them, then they're not our enemies. Right?"
"Indeed. Anyone still desperately searching for Gates at this stage is already behind the curve."
"Don't underestimate them. Even with all our knowledge and information, we're still lacking in equipment and levels compared to large-scale conquest clans. First, we need to—"
Tsukishima stopped mid-sentence.
The automatic doors at the entrance to the floor had opened.
Everyone slowly turned their gaze toward the newcomer.
A girl wearing glasses and the Adventurer School uniform stood there, curiously looking around the floor.
It was Risa Nitta.
"Welcome, Risa-jou."
"Risa-sama, it has been far too long!"
"Honestly, calling me out to a place like this without warning... Do you know how hard it was to sneak away from the class gathering? Oh! There are weapons and armor displayed everywhere~♪"
Suou greeted her with a polite bow befitting someone addressing a noble of higher rank. Kikyou also hurried over and welcomed her with a smile as radiant as a blooming flower.
Meanwhile, Nitta puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and complained about being summoned so suddenly, but the moment her eyes landed on the glass display cases lining the walls, she completely ignored Suou and the others' greetings and eagerly rushed over to peer inside.
"A pleasure to meet you, beautiful lady. My name is Tsukasa Horai, and I've just joined the party today... Hmm. As a token of friendship, would you like to take whichever item you fancy?"
"Eh~? Really? I can have one~?"
The displayed weapons and equipment were all famous blades and rare magic items worth hundreds of millions if purchased.
However, they were all Horai's personal property.
Faced with his generous offer to give away whichever one she wanted, Nitta's sour mood instantly improved, and she beamed with delight.
As she carefully browsed the collection, the item that captured her attention was a one-handed sword that emitted an unusually dense aura of dark magic despite not being inside a Magic Field.
However, this sword was a cursed object infamous for driving each of its previous owners to commit mass murder.
Horai tried to stop her with a wry smile, saying that particular sword was best avoided, but—
"Come here~ I'm your new master now~"
Nitta smoothly extended her hand and quietly muttered a command.
The cursed blade shattered its display case and flew into her grasp on its own.
At once, an even denser wave of magical power erupted from it, making the surrounding air feel heavier than before.
As the girl innocently held the sword up to the light and admired it, Horai stared in astonishment.
Even the sword's previous owners had never understood its true nature.
Suou and Kikyou could only tense up, unsure of what had just occurred.
Only Tsukishima nodded in satisfaction before rising from the sofa.
"As expected of the Black Knight. Subjugating a mere magic sword like that is nothing to you. Today, I wanted to introduce our new companion and hear your objective opinion about our future plans."
"Well, he did give me a sword, so of course I welcome him. But asking for my opinion...? I have a bad feeling about this~"
Having added Horai to the group and finished reviewing information regarding the rapidly changing world situation, Tsukishima suggested that they discuss their future plans together with Nitta.
Hearing that, Nitta let out a long sigh and stored the magic sword in her Magic Bag.
Once everyone had settled back onto the leather sofas, Tsukishima swept his sharp gaze across his companions and began speaking of his ambitions.
"To put it bluntly, it doesn't matter how the world changes because of the Gates or who rises to power. As long as we keep gathering information, we can deal with anything. It's all just a prelude before I obtain everything this world has to offer—but..."
Adventurers around the globe were desperately searching for Gates, and the existing balance of power was rapidly shifting.
If they panicked and acted recklessly now, they could easily find themselves in conflict with powerful organizations like the Ten Rakshashas.
For the moment, they should continue gathering information in secret, monitor developments, and wait for the right opportunity.
However, that was only the situation for now.
No matter how much Gates improved dungeon-diving efficiency or what unknown organizations rose to prominence, conquering the vast dungeons filled with powerful monsters would never be easy.
Meanwhile, Tsukishima's party would never stop advancing.
As time passed, the gap would become increasingly obvious.
Eventually, each member of Tsukishima's party would possess enough strength to single-handedly destroy a large-scale conquest clan.
And when that happened, they would openly stand atop society itself, able to shape everything according to their desires.
Even Kaworu, who still failed to see reality, would have no choice but to follow him someday.
However, Tsukishima had realized things would not be that simple.
The greatest obstacle standing in his way was—
"Him... Now that I think about it, I finally understand. I'm certain I came to this world for the sake of defeating that man."
The ambition-filled expression that had appeared when speaking of obtaining everything vanished entirely.
Instead, Tsukishima looked upward as though recalling the distant past.
The reason he had entered the world of DunEx.
The reason he had decided to climb to the top there.
More than that—the very purpose of his life itself.
Everything had begun when he learned of that man—
Calamity.(Evil Avalon)
That was why witnessing the legendary "Strongest Tactic: Aerial", performed so freely in the school's arena, had struck him with overwhelming force.
"This is it. My coming to this world was destiny. And someday, fighting that man with everything I have is my fate."
Hearing Tsukishima reveal such extraordinary feelings for the first time, even Suou's relaxed expression became serious.
"I watched that duel very carefully myself... and honestly, words cannot describe it. Battles between players have a troublesome habit of exceeding one's imagination with ease."
"Seeing angels and giant monsters appear was enough to leave anyone speechless, wasn't it? Everything we considered common sense was completely shattered."
"Calamity... What an ominous name... But we've sacrificed sleep and trained relentlessly ever since then. We can beat him now!"
Although it appeared as if Tsukishima's party had withdrawn from the front lines after losing the duel, they had actually spent every day since then diving through dungeons, raising their levels through grueling effort and acquiring even more skills and equipment.
They understood each other better than ever before, and their teamwork had improved beyond comparison.
Kikyou passionately insisted that they could defeat that devil now.
However, Nitta quietly shook her head.
"Calamity-kun doesn't actually believe you've all become obedient, you know~? He's simply focusing on other priorities right now. And besides~... if you think getting a little stronger has closed the gap between you and him... you're completely mistaken~."
Just because they had gained levels.
Just because their teamwork had improved.
If they believed that was enough to reach the legendary monster who had sent a million players into hell, they were gravely mistaken.
Only because they didn't know how many elite players' corpses lay along the path Calamity had walked could they make such careless remarks.
To begin with, Nitta's goal was world stability.
For that purpose, she was prepared to make any player either an ally or an enemy.
And from her perspective, Tsukishima's party still did not come close to matching Calamity's evaluation.
At this stage, they were merely backups in case he ever faltered.
If they challenged him recklessly without a convincing chance of victory, they would not merely be defeated again.
They would certainly be killed.
And that could interfere with her own goals as well.
Perhaps she should simply cut them down here and now—
"Just kidding~."
Nitta stuck out her tongue slightly as she offered her warning.
However, as if proving her words were not entirely a joke, a horrifying aura of dark magic spread from her body.
Kikyou turned pale and involuntarily stepped back.
Realizing things were becoming far too serious, Tsukishima immediately stepped in to stop her.
"Calm down, Risa. I don't actually believe we can beat him with our current strength. After all, he's the ultimate player I've admired and chased ever since my days in DunEx... Losing that duel was inevitable. I'm glad to hear directly from you just how large the gap between us and Calamity still is."
He had once believed obtaining the entire world would be easy.
Now, he was almost grateful that reality had proven otherwise.
It meant he could move forward with even greater caution and obsession.
Revealing his feelings openly, Tsukishima proposed that they sit down and thoroughly discuss their plans for the future.
There was a refreshing clarity on his face, completely at odds with someone whose pride had been shattered and who had been pushed to the brink of despair.
The party had achieved tremendous growth in DunEx precisely because they never grew complacent about their knowledge and always struggled desperately for more information.
Moreover, the people before her possessed exceptional talent, boundless greed for power, and now the invaluable spice of defeat.
If anyone could reach him someday, perhaps it would be them.
Though it would undoubtedly become yet another trial for that perpetually troubled classmate of hers.
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