Otherworld TRPG Game Master - Chapter 333



333 – S6. Erased Territory of the Ruined Castle ~■■ Sleeping Beneath the Wreckage~ -2

That Yuri Lanster who told me to leave it to her and go up first was in five pieces, like Exodia. An indescribable rage towards an unspecified multitude surged at that fact, but it was quickly followed by relief.

*Squeeze.*

“…Mima?”

“… … ….”

I held Yuri in my arms, like that for a while.

If I hadn’t been utterly wrecked by Dark Yuna, I wouldn’t have had to hear about Yuri’s disappearance after everything was over. That would be an unbearable sadness for both Yuna and me.

After that, I helped her reassemble.

I fused the severed information back together as if I was welding it. But unlike welding, sparks didn’t fly, instead, things like sugar star candies and heart effects popped out.

Yuri spun her arms around and said.

“Limbs are precious things, aren’t they. I realize their value anew.”

“Kyaaak!”

If only she wouldn’t say a word.

Alright then, Yuri’s safe, so let’s get to work, step by step. First things first, acquiring the Great Kaiju’s main body.

I pointed my claw towards the Great Kaiju in the sky. Yuri instantly understood what I meant, knelt down, and made a platform with her hands. The stance you take to help a friend over a wall.

“Keek.”

Could I really reach that high like this?

“It’s worth a shot. Of course, if I stepped on those floating, erratic objects, I’d eventually reach it, but by that time, the Yuri Engine would probably have turned over ten times.”

“What’s a glass engine, anyway? What kind of unit is that, even?”

Anyway, figured it wouldn’t hurt to try, so I put my foot in Yuri’s hand. This way, I could jump…!

*Shwooosh—!*

Yuri’s arm muscles gave me a boost, launching my body high up. My altitude kept increasing. But the height was nowhere near enough to reach the Great Kaiju’s main body. I’d probably fall after getting about halfway up.

Guess I should use the straight-on method of climbing things after all. How am I even gonna land from here? While I was worrying about that, *crack*, the ground groaned with the sound of splitting.

*Shwwooosh!*

Yuri, having leaped up to a similar height as me, spun her body around and said:

“Mima, guard.”

Guard?

*Whirr-lick—!*

Her body rotating again and again, Yuri’s leg, fueled by centrifugal force, whipped towards me like a flail.

Ah, *that’s* why guard.

I adjusted my body’s slime to be bouncy like a rubber ball and curled up, using all my front and back legs. I was basically a Kaiju soccer ball.

*Thwack—!*

“Krrraaak!”

That hurt.

The extra push Yuri provided sent me soaring into the distant sky. The Great Kaiju’s massive flesh was getting closer and closer.

I, like a small raindrop falling into a lake. *Plunk*, and I was successfully sucked into the main body of the *Great Kaiju*.

–

……..

Okay, I’ve taken control.

There was something like a lingering thought inside the 『Great Beast』, but as soon as I occupied the main system, it was erased as if it had never existed.

Whoosh. Crack. Crack.

I tried moving my right arm lightly as a test, but since this thing is a 100-meter-tall giant beast, even a small movement shattered things. At this size, it’d be better to just float here.

I also needed to find a way to compress this size back to human. Maintaining this form outside the 『Tower of Illusion』 would cause all sorts of trouble.

The reason I think I can keep the Great Beast form outside the tower is…

This tower’s boundary between illusion and reality is blurred by Yuna’s sublimation ability. I’ve used that quality before, having changed my race to an information lifeform in the Holy City.

So, I’m guessing that at least some of the power I gain here can actually be used outside.

That said, I don’t plan to increase my power by absorbing all the information from the 『Erasure Domain』. It’s like if you eat food from the underworld, you can no longer ascend to the land of the living – there’s a risk of being trapped by the 『Illusion』.

I floated in the sky, and sent a telepathic message to Yuri, who was looking up at me from below. This body even had that function.

-Ah, mic test. Can you hear me?

“Ah, yes. Loud and clear. It seems you’ve succeeded in taking control.”

-There are a lot of random functions, huh? Yuri, I secured an escape route before coming in here, you know? We could leave right now if we wanted to…

“Please state your plan. I’m listening.”

Since this seems like the place where things erased by 『Subtraction』 go, I’ll call this the 『Erasure Domain』.

And in the distant past, Yuna once erased the trash of the old Purple Magic Tower with her own hands. It’s likely she used 『Subtraction』 in the process.

Which means, he might be here.

One of the two people who led the experiments, the former Purple Magic Tower Master.

-I don’t know if that guy has retained his consciousness, or if he’s even still alive, but the data itself should remain. Securing that would help in conquering the Tower of Illusion.

And, as an added bonus, it would be possible to dismember the guy who tortured Yuna.

“Confirmed. There wasn’t much up there, so we need to head down.”

-Yeah, I didn’t see anything looking up either. Maybe it’s a stacked structure, like…the first information in being at the bottom.

Together, we began our exploration of the ‘Erased Zone.’

Pushing aside and fighting through things swallowed by ‘Subtraction,’ Yuri and I slowly descended. The abandoned parts of the session that remained after building the Fantasy Tower, the hollowed-out dragon scales of Aisha, etc.

All sorts of junk formed the terrain, floating around in disarray.

From these objects, I could estimate the time period. The section we were passing through was created during the time Yuna was living all cozy and cute with us.

Filtering out meaningless session resources, we only investigated objects that seemed to be related to Yuna. But there wasn’t much of a haul, really. All we found was…

“Mima, I found a racy magazine.”

-Why is that here?

“It has women with big boobs and long legs as the models.”

-So *that’s* why it’s here.

A secret expression of jealousy Yuna had towards the big-boobed, long-legged types, perhaps.

-I found one too… but I’m not going to read it, for privacy’s sake. Yuri, don’t touch this either. Let’s leave it as something that never existed in the first place.

“What is it?”

-A self-written poem…

Awkwardly written poetry, filled with the heart of a turbulent youth.

Just unimportant, trivial things like that. Is it because this is a shallow layer?

Yuri Lanster, hearing me, smiled with satisfaction.

“If not much was erased during the time she spent with us, that means Yuna was happy. It’s something to be proud of.”

-I guess so. Was it really like that?

“Yeah. If not, wouldn’t something darker be lurking here? But… Mima. It’s the floor. There’s no sign of a way down any further. Is this the end?”

*Thud.*

Yuri stepped onto the flat floor.

Just as she said, there are no descending stairs or gaps to be seen. But there was something unsettling about this being the bottom.

There was still much information yet to be discovered, and the material of this floor… it looked familiar somehow.

Ah.

-I get it.

“My love?”

-I knew that long ago. I’m talking about this floor. Look, there’s one resource that appeared in the Stellaria Session that hasn’t shown up yet, right?

“『Great Kaiju』 appeared, and the devastated city also came out in pieces, so what hasn’t appeared yet is…”

The giant robot 『Meteor』.

*Swoosh.*

I extended a large forepaw and touched the floor. I could feel it. This was a kind of manhole cover made by crushing a giant robot.

I pulled out a strand of tentacle and carefully scooped up Yuri. Then I gently placed her on top of my head.

After securing Yuri’s safety, I raised a claw on my forepaw. I intended to shatter this cover and descend below.

But right before I kicked, a romantic notion subtly tempted me from within.

‘What if you absorbed that giant robot too?’

No. As I just thought, if I greedily ate everything good, I might become subjugated by this 『Phantasmagoria』. And I already have the power of the 『Great Kaiju』, is there any need to take in more?

Even like this, I can go out and beat the shit out of Dark-Yuna. If I work in tandem with Aisha, we should be able to handle her.

‘But— if you eat that, 『Armored Great Kaiju』 will be born?’

Huck.

I’ve succumbed to the devil’s whisper.

Clankclankclank, ddddddd──!!

Absorbing the information of the giant robot. The 100-meter-tall “Great Beast” grows to 150 meters, and its body is reinforced with robot armor plating like a carapace.

And above all, the “Mana Engine.”

Wooom──!!

With a deep engine roar, mana courses through every corner of my body. Yes, this is it! It’s so good to see you again. I twist and manipulate the mana, reveling in our reunion.

Butterflies flutter around me, flowers bloom, and a rainbow appears. All conjured with illusion magic. This familiar sensation is just so exhilarating. It’s like getting your phone back after military service.

I’ve regained my magical abilities.

Yuri, gleefully, pats the top of my head and says,

“Mima, it seems we’ve found the target. Look down.”

I turn my gaze toward the area below the “Erasure Zone,” where the lid had been. A twisted mass, like a tumor, was occupying the space with illusion magic. Similar to a nest sewn together from the dreams of a succubus queen.

Even with the lid open, there’s no real reaction. Did it not detect the commotion above? Perhaps it’s designed to only detect things from *within* that space.

I shift my perspective. I activate the malice detection filter and scan the area. And then I saw it. A flesh wall of corrupted information, a complex labyrinth of data, and deep within, hunched over…

An old man.

–

The former Violet Mana Tower Lord, Scarabe, had dedicated his entire life to achieving his life’s goal.

To achieve it, he didn’t hesitate to resort to any means. He readily reached out to black magic practitioners, killed people, and conducted inhumane experiments.

His goal was to accomplish the great feat of turning illusion into reality.

Everything is for the sake of opening “The Gate.”

Assuming a hypothetical space where everything exists, the ‘Phantasmal Realm’, and creating a door that connects it to reality, summoning what is needed from within—the pinnacle of summoning magic.

If achieved, omnipotence would be certain. Theoretically, anything could be summoned from within. Dragons, ascendant beings, even fantastical creatures never before seen.

But simply opening it… it’s too dangerous.

You don’t know what might come out. What if, upon opening the ‘Phantasmal Realm’’s door, a toxic plague that wipes out all of humanity emerged from within?

Or what if an evil entity whose sole purpose is to kill humans crawled out? That would be completely backwards. Scarab’s research is for becoming the ruler of the world, not for committing suicide.

So, they decided to put a limit on the ‘Door’. To imbue it with the properties of a mirror. To copy and summon what it reflects. For example, reflecting an apple summons an apple, reflecting a staff summons a staff.

The method of use would become more difficult, but stability would greatly increase in return. The caster would be able to decide what is summoned.

And on the long-awaited final day, when the research reached 100% completion. The completed ‘Door’ reflected not the prepared shard of an evil god, but something else entirely.

‘Vanish. All of you. Everyone involved in this experiment.’

And so, Scarab’s experiment ended with the collapse of the old Violet Magic Tower.

But–he is still alive like this. His dream is not yet over. Swallowed by ‘Subtraction’ and arriving in the ‘Obliteration Zone’, he grew in power by consuming the information raining down.

His disciples, who fell with him, were devoured long ago. The information of the low-life mercenary group killed by Yuna in Sanjebi Village, he swallowed that too.

He waited. Patiently waited. For the day he would escape this place. For the day he would get revenge on Yurenstow’s experiment, who ruined his own.

And now, a new prey has come.

Scarab, swirling his hollow eyes and ten arms, spoke to the pink-haired woman who had appeared before him.

“Tsk tsk tsk… A succubus? Even before, remnants of the Succubus Queen’s dream fell here. But for a dream demon, her clothes are awfully modest.”

“……”

“Are you afraid of death within death? Do not worry. You too will live eternally within me. I pray that your little brain might hold a clue to escaping this place… hmm?”

The pink-haired succubus didn’t particularly answer, instead, she pointed her finger at the sky with a listless expression. A signal. She was sending this place’s coordinates upward.

Scarab, both curious and bewildered by this sight, craned his neck and looked up.

⋯⋯Something, a form. It was rapidly growing larger.

Nothing from the nest’s barrier. Meaning, it was so far out that it hadn’t even reached the barrier yet. And yet, it was large enough to see.

Something, something enormous⋯⋯ was coming!

“Wha-what the hell is that⋯⋯?!”

“There’s no need to know his name. But if you insist on calling him something, I have some fitting words. Judgment, divine punishment, retribution, or⋯⋯.”

Karma.

*Whirr*. Yuri Lanster shot upwards on the pre-set elastic rope, escaping the scarab’s nest.

Arriving directly after was.

A mad mage, in the form of an 『Armored Colossus』, crawling to the top of the 『Erasure Domain』 before falling and casting, with a 150-meter body, mass, and added falling acceleration──

-More than that Reverse Heavenly Demon Lord bullshit, you b*stard!

A tackle.

KWAhhh──!!

There was no time to resist. The mad mage’s impact instantly shattered the nest, and the scarab was flattened like a pancake under the immense mass.