[Outside, United States Presidential Residence.]
“This is a serious issue.”
President Luigi unconsciously clenched his fingers as he watched the live footage split across multiple screens in front of him.
“They’ve already decreased this much.”
“Mr. President.”
“It’s a good thing, but at the same time, it’s concerning. Don’t you think so, Patrick?”
“…If you understand that, you need to take action quickly.”
Aide Patrick urgently handed over a freshly printed document to President Luigi.
“This is the latest emergency public opinion survey. Conducted an hour ago, it shows that the number of opposing voices is steadily increasing.”
“So, the opposition is against the Master clearing the remaining S-Rank Towers.”
President Luigi accepted the document and turned his gaze back to the live feeds of two locations.
“The Delicate Arch has already been conquered, and the Statue of Liberty has regained its freedom, at least above its head. It’s only a matter of time before Devil’s Tower returns to its former state as well.”
“That’s precisely why people are talking. They believe we must find a way to keep the Master here in the United States.”
“On what grounds?”
President Luigi tapped on the graph, which showed opposition surpassing fifty percent.
“Back when the Golden Gate Bridge was being cleared, these same people were begging to get rid of the Towers. And now that the number of Towers is decreasing, they’re suddenly acting selfishly. Do you think that’s reasonable?”
“My opinion aligns with yours, Mr. President, but public sentiment is different.”
“Even if public sentiment changes, it won’t stop the march of a giant. The Master will continue to conquer other Towers, and we cannot stop him.”
“…So.”
Aide Patrick pulled out another document and handed it to President Luigi.
“There’s a growing discussion about the idea of clearing Babel after all the S-Rank Towers in America are dealt with.”
“Babel?”
“Yes. After cleaning up every S-Rank Tower on American soil, the plan is to prepare for the conquest of Babel—where no one has set foot yet.”
“Here, in the United States?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
President Luigi fiddled with the second report for a long time, deep in thought.
“This is tricky, very tricky.”
“Persuading him, even just once, makes a big difference.”
“And if he refuses? What if he decides to go after the remaining S-Rank Towers in South America or Eurasia? The Mediterranean region would be even easier to access.”
“Even so, you need to say something. It must be recorded. That way, whether a hearing is held later or any other political consequences arise—”
“Political burdens are meant to be shouldered by politicians. How could I force that burden onto the Master?”
President Luigi slowly placed the report down.
“If the Master conquers the S-Rank Tower at Devil’s Tower and immediately moves on to the next one, I won’t stop him. In fact, I’d welcome it. If we must go through administrative procedures after the S-Rank Towers disappear, wouldn’t it be better to handle everything at once?”
“The impact of the Master leaving America will be greater than you expect.”
“I’m sure it will be. But that’s something we have to endure. Tell me, Patrick, do you like fantasy stories?”
“Huh?”
“A hero slays a dragon that the villagers feared. Does that mean the hero has an obligation to become the village chief or a lord to govern them?”
“……”
“At the very least, I don’t think so. Of course, as a village chief, I’d want him to stay. But I can’t force him. …I understand the public sentiment. Now, let’s focus on the most important matter.”
President Luigi made the sign of the cross and clasped his hands together, offering a prayer toward the TV screen.
“May the Master successfully conquer that S-Rank Tower and return safely.”
* * *
Elaine and Drei joined the battle.
Elaine ascends the Tower to take on the boss, while Drei joins forces with Kiharu to handle the villains on the deck.
And me?
‘It feels a bit bad, but this is my battlefield.’
Inside Illinois’ bridge, I tap away at the keyboard and mouse.
In a room where the bed is right next to me, I’m simply pressing buttons, taking out the beasts charging toward Illinois.
[Kuuaaaagh!!]
Screams echo from outside.
Illinois’ control system locks onto the beasts near the screaming man and aims its cannons, but at the same time, the man’s profile pops up in a small window, like an ID card.
[Unregistered. B-Rank.]
[Murder: 13, Arson: 4, R*pe: 45. Various other crimes…]
“…Tch.”
Right now, I’m manually controlling Illinois.
Although I receive assistance from the auto-lock-on system, every missile launch and cannon blast is decided by the buttons I press.
[P-please! Spare me!!]
“You killed 13 people. Just go.”
I don’t press the button.
The reload is finished, but instead of firing, I move my mouse to target something else.
Boom!
Illinois’ bombardment causes a series of explosions among the beasts.
The quadrupedal creatures tumble and scatter in the blast, their bodies shredded to pieces.
[Phew… I survived!!]
One of the villains cheers after barely escaping the explosion.
He probably thinks he’s safe for now, but that moment of relief will be his downfall.
Kiiiiaaaah!!
“Huh?”
A beast, having emerged from the flames, sinks its fangs into the villain’s neck.
Crunch.
The sickening sound alone is enough to turn my stomach.
I wasn’t the one who killed him, but if I wanted to, I could have saved him.
But I didn’t.
I had no intention to. He wasn’t worth saving, and I had no time to spare.
[P-please! Wait! I-I surrender! Spare me!!]
The villains on the deck start shouting.
Just moments ago, they were attacking Kiharu in unison, but now, their stance has completely shifted.
[Y-you’re not seriously going to keep killing us when there are so many beasts swarming, are you?!]
[Y-yeah! W-we have a common enemy here!]
The villains suddenly lower their heads in submission.
It’s partially because Drei joined Kiharu, putting them at a disadvantage, but more than that, the beasts are now swarming toward us in full force.
[Look at that black tide! The monsters are pouring in, covering the entire horizon!]
“…True.”
Through Illinois’ external cameras and the game system display, I can see the overwhelming number of enemies closing in.
Gigantic bear-like creatures exhale dark shadows as they charge forward at a speed of 56 km/h, their heavy footfalls shaking the ground.
“Drei, can you estimate the number of enemies?”
[Give me a moment to calculate. Or should I just give you a rough estimate?]
“Of course.”
[At least 10,000. B-Rank.]
“That’s a lot… Was the Break about to happen?”
The number of beasts was beyond imagination.
If we consider the Tower in terms of floors, this was just the first floor. And yet, over 10,000 B-Rank beasts were present here?
‘If we had been just a few days late, the Break would have occurred, and those monsters would have flooded out.’
It would have been a horrific catastrophe.
A polar bear tearing apart a human is nothing unusual, but those B-Rank beasts looked like they could rip apart not just people but tanks as well.
That’s why—
“Alright, villains. I’ll give you the chance to maintain at least a shred of your pride as ‘Hunters’ until the very end.”
I’ll use whatever is available to me.
“Kiharu, Drei. We’re doing ‘that.’ Get ready.”
I quickly manipulate my smartphone to move them as fast as possible.
Party Disband. Recall. Resummon.
With a flash of light, the two instantly appeared in the captain’s quarters where I was.
“Ugh, it’s convenient, but I still hate it~”
“So this is what it feels like to be a yellow rodent trapped in a Pokéball.”
Drei flopped onto the bed the moment she appeared, while Kiharu transformed into her cat form and climbed onto Drei’s stomach.
[W-what?! They just disappeared…!]
[Weren’t we fighting together?!]
“We are.”
I turned on the microphone connected to the external speakers and made an announcement to the villains standing on the deck.
“My maid is off to kill the boss. Until she’s done, survive however you can. Don’t die and spray your blood all over my rooftop.”
[O-open the door!!]
[Let us in!!]
As expected.
Faced with the overwhelming waves of beasts, the villains were desperately looking for a safe place.
“Who said you could?”
[What…?]
“Haven’t you watched Western movies? Ever seen zombie apocalypse films? Even those make it obvious.”
The monsters were like zombies, and the villains were a desperate group of survivors.
“The ones you have to be even more wary of than the zombies are the survivors who try to barge into someone else’s house.”
[What the hell are you saying?!]
“What do you mean? This is my house.”
Illinois is my home.
“I’m not the kind of guy who opens the front door for a bunch of survivors in an apocalypse.”
[You…!]
“Especially when those survivors happen to be villains who’ve killed people.”
[I-I’ve never killed anyone!!]
One of the villains shouted.
“I’ve never committed murder!!”
“Really?”
Indeed, there was no such record.
Neither the crime reports nor the data hacked by Drei showed any traces of murder.
However.
“My cat says otherwise.”
[What…?]
“Maybe you didn’t kill anyone on Earth, but in the Dungeon, you’ve taken lives, haven’t you? My cat has an uncanny sense for these things.”
“You mean a divine sense.”
Kiharu stretched her body while swishing her tail.
She wasn’t reading minds.
Nor could she directly see what happened in other Tower Dungeons.
But—
“The spirits of the Hunters you’ve killed are still clinging to you.”
Kiharu, a being who could read human malice better than anyone else, could easily distinguish between good and evil.
“Alright, villains. Let’s play a game. The rules are simple—if you survive until my maid defeats the boss, you live. If you die before that… well, then you’re just dead.”
[N-nooooo!!]
“Good luck.”
I turned off the microphone.
Then, picking up my smartphone, I connected to Elaine.
“Hmm.”
Beyond the screen.
“…Wait, don’t land the final blow just yet.”
Elaine was about to swing her sword at the neck of a 40-meter-tall polar bear, which she had already reduced to a bloody mess.
“Just wait about ten minutes.”
“You just want to watch the villains running around in panic for ten minutes, don’t you?”
“No. I need to do some final checks.”
I pulled up an offline page I had saved on my computer.
“…Melee or firearms? Which should I go with?”
For the fifth summon.
