Chapter 242: Be Ye a Man, Dye Thyself Black, E'en Should Thy Body Perish

Author's Preface
Desire to talk about lore gauge: 40% (As of 8:59 AM today)
Desire to talk about lore gauge: 300% (As of 9:35 AM today)

My desire to talk about lore reached MAX HAZARD OVERFLOW, so I couldn't hold back and posted consecutive updates.
I am truly sorry about tomorrow's update, but please forgive me... I've completely exhausted my soul.

For the time being, since the equipment itself was successfully crafted, it seems my Vorpal Soul has exceeded 200.
No, that's fine and all, but having parameters you can't even check as an equipment condition is pretty brutal. At the very least, since this Vorpal Soul is a hidden parameter equivalent to something like HP, MP, or STM, it might be decreasing without me even noticing. And the fact that I can't check it introduces the possibility that I won't be able to equip the weapon when it matters most.

"...Well, I somewhat know how to raise it, though."

Specifically, if I launch a raid on the Crystal Plains, I'd probably be able to max it out in no time.
Anyway, 【Konsho】has an effect that applies a debuff to the opponent, and【Meiki】has an effect that applies a buff to myself... A buff to myself?

"No, that's useless."

No, seriously, it's useless. Because, I mean, I repel all of that stuff.

"O-Oouh..."

Or rather, fundamentally speaking, regarding performance as a weapon, the Aspiring Blades of the Hero (Duxram) are so excellent that it's reached the point where I'm thinking, "Do I even need other weapons?" Not losing durability really is convenient. If you're a dual-wielder, isn't it basically a mandatory human rights weapon at this point?
No, wait. Since it's a Twin Blade Sword, the flagship effect will be demonstrated when they combine.

"So at the very least, it's not industrial waste. It's not industrial waste. It's not industrial waste..."

It's an explosive advantage just from the simple fact that it looks cool, so it's not industrial waste. It's not industrial waste... As I was desperately giving myself a mental suggestion, Vash, who had perhaps somehow sensed what was on my mind, floated a somewhat wry smile and tossed another palm-sized item over to me.

"This is..."

Shape-wise, it's a gun, but rather than a weapon, it feels more like a flame gun used for shooting flare rounds or something. In other words, I don't sense any lethality from it.

"Ou. This here's... a BC-Beacon. You've heard of it a few times by now, haven't ya...? It's what ya call a flute to call Bahamut."

"Ba—"

Come again!? No, hold on a second. The destructive power of that line is insane. The fake magical girl would literally die.
After all, with just that single phrase, all the information I've obtained so far connects in an instant. The dots connect, and mere information takes the shape of lore.
At the very least, through the footage left behind by the underground scientist, Setsuna's words, and Vash's words just now, it's been confirmed that Bahamut isn't a monster, but some form of "Science." In that case, what about Leviathan and Behemoth... Are they not unrelated either? Since it's a fantasy setting, my consciousness didn't gravitate towards it, but those so-called "named" fantasy creatures frequently used in fiction... Are the entities bearing those names actually relics of the Divine Age? No, but... guh, I want to pitch this to the lore-junkies with a full-power fastball, but including this BC-Beacon item, the importance of this information is way too high!

"Even so, it ain't somethin' you can just use wherever. In this day and age, no matter how loud ya scream, no one's gonna hear ya... There are 'Coordinates' for usin' it."

"Coordinates?"

"Ou. We ain't gonna tell ya. If ya get close, the beacon will naturally let ya know. Ya gotta search with yer own two feet."

"Y-Yes sir..."

"Aa, there's one more thing I forgot to tell ya."

Please spare me, my brain capacity can't handle anymo—

"That scar that mutt carved into ya... there's a way to temporarily nullify it. That's exactly why we went out of our way to forge 'Meiki' like that."

Receiving a Rush of impact information boasting the highest firepower today—as if to demonstrate exactly how to knock someone out using pure information—this time, I was completely and utterly knocked out.

"S-Sunraku-san... what Dad said..."

"Honestly, I want to go to sleep right now and forget everything that happened today."

Both the "Marking" and the "Scar" are, when it comes down to it, permanent debuffs that cannot be erased. That's exactly why the information Vash provided felt like scales falling from my eyes, and why the method indicated for achieving it was such an impossible task that Emul had to ask "Are you serious?"

"The only way to erase a dark color is to paint over it with an even darker color, huh..."

Emul and I were heading toward the other pinnacle of the Rabbit Palace. If Vash is the symbol of the nation known as Rabituza, then this is the place where the NPC who handles the central administration of the nation resides. I've heard his name countless times, and I've even submitted petitions through Emul.
But this is my first time actually going to meet him...

"So this is the office."

"Yes sir, Aydward-oniichan is in here desu wa."

The Vorpal Bunny who proudly bears the "A" in Vash's series of children. To execute the conclusion derived from the information brought by Vash and the information extracted from Bilac, I opened the door to the office.

"Nn... Oh my, I was wondering who it was, and it's Emul and... Should I say it's a pleasure to finally meet you? Sunraku-dono."

"Ah, it's a pleasure... Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

If the eldest daughter is a black rabbit and the second son is a white rabbit, what color is the eldest son? The answer was "Gray." A rabbit slightly smaller than the human-sized Vash, with his right ear folded perfectly in half, adjusted his glasses with a kui and directed a smile toward me while speaking in a polite tone. Ah, an intellectual yakuza...

"To go out of your way to visit my room, what business might you have?"

"Boss... No, allow me to call him Vysache here... I received a lot of advice from him."

The permanent debuffs bestowed upon players by Unique Monsters have tiers. For example, regarding Lycaon, the "Marking" is strictly something placed on prey. It's a curse meant to intentionally force the prey to walk a path of hardship, thereby increasing their strength and making them a chewier meal.
And as a result of me demonstrating the strength to push back against those fangs, Lycaon changed the "Marking" into a "Scar."

A letter of challenge directed at a worthy rival. Having acknowledged that strength, it also includes the intention of encouragement: "Become even stronger." In terms of the game system, the wound has worsened, but in terms of the lore, the wound has lightened.

If that's the case.... As Ctarrnid personally embodied, all creation has an inverse.
If a "Marking" becomes a "Scar" as a result of being lightened, then there must also be a pattern where the "Marking" worsens even further.
Damn it, just how much of this world's lore do I have to shoulder in a single day? This is a massive scoop that could make Library cough up money even after I've drained all their funds and forced them into debt.

"I'm not a Vorpal Bunny. In the end, I'm just a freeloader... but even so, I gladly sit at the lowest seat of this country as an honorary citizen of Rabituza."

"Indeed, speaking for myself, I hold you in high regard as well."

"That's exactly why... I believe I must fulfill my duties as a citizen."

Vash said it: to cancel out a curse, you need an even stronger curse.
And it's not something rooted in "Interest" like Lycaon, nor is it rooted in "Evaluation" like Ctarrnid, nor is it rooted in "Expectation" like Siegwurm.

Only the seventh "Curse"—one rooted in a much more fundamental "Hatred," a curse that despises everything regardless of whether they are young or old, male or female, strong or weak, hostile or flattering—fits the criteria.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, please add me to the 'Rabituza Defense Line'... to the battle against Goldunine the Inexhaustible."

According to Vash... it is an entity that hates humans, hates rabbits, and hates the world. The mother of all "Serpents," and the arch-nemesis of the Vorpal Bunnies, who continues her invasion of Rabituza to this very day.
And she is the "Seventh Unique Monster," an entity of which only a tiny fragment of her existence had been discovered in this game by Library.

Author's Afterword

The seventh one is finally revealed: Goldunine the Inexhaustible. She's a cute girl with a habit of shedding (stripping), yep. (Averts eyes)
Remember the Gluttonous Giant Serpent? Yep, the one that used sh- I mean, toxic feces attacks. That guy... or rather, all serpent-type monsters are derived from Goldunine.

It's a phenomenon that could only occur in the modern era because it passed through the Divine Age. Biologically speaking, she is the genuine "First Ancestor," which should be impossible.