Chapter 334: Reunions Do Not Necessarily Guarantee Shared Joy

Author's Preface
Stop it already! Every time I write your lines, the shadow of a ban flickers in my mind! (But I won't stop).

One minute until the world ends.

Full-Dive VR is essentially like a dream. Getting stabbed in a dream doesn't mean you bleed in reality, and even if you scream until your throat goes hoarse, you can probably sing completely normally once you wake up.

But even so, amidst an exhaustion that my intuition screamed "this is definitely going to affect me in real life," the blade of magic I swung followed through, disappearing as the system judged it had fulfilled its role, bringing a brief silence between myself and her.

".........Now it's far too late for everything, but even so, I've avenged you all."

I can no longer overturn the fact that this world... that Spell Creation Online is shutting down.
The origin of this entire mess was indeed the player I just cut down... I believe his name is "Nutcracker" now... this guy right here, but to counter the damage caused by Nutcracker, we too ended up creating countless spells and setting them with absolute bullshit-tier difficulty chants.

It's not uncommon for an online game to lose its population and become an insular clique, but once it starts actively rejecting new players, it's far too late. SpellCre ultimately reached that exact dead end.
Burdened with the terrible reputation that "landmine players are actively harassing newbies while waging internal civil wars against each other," this game officially decided to terminate its services, and both the idiots of the Shimonetania Empire and the fools who resisted them...

Some promised to reunite with their friends in other games, while others simply disappeared without a word. Either way, this world, and the connections woven within it, would not emerge unscathed; somewhere along the line, ties would be severed.

Thirty seconds until the world ends.

That is exactly why, at the very, very end, when the invitation to settle the score came from this guy... more than just getting revenge for all the times he provoked us, the burning desire that I absolutely could not let this bastard—who kept returning with a creepy grin no matter how many times he was banned—run away with a victory in this game was overwhelming.

Looking back on it now, I know it was hopelessly idiotic, but even so, the "Magic" created by players sharing the exact same goal as we partied and made a racket ended up being useful in striking down the mastermind at the very end.
With only a few dozen seconds left, there isn't even time to bask in the victory, but I was undeniably able to slam a defeat right into his face at the absolute very end.

"───Aha,"

"...Tch, a resurrection spell? You should at least gracefully despawn at the very end."

"Ahahaha! Amazing, simply amazing, Sunraku-kuuuun... To think you'd actually overpower me at the very, very end!"

Fifteen seconds until the world ends.

Laughing, sneering. Nutcracker laughed at the very end as if to say, This game is the absolute best!

"Just the full version of Death Metal was mostly hilarious enough on its own, but... I never expected that I would actually lose..."

"I won't let you run away with a win, out of pure spite if I have to."

"Kukukukuku... A revenge killing, perhaps? The good old Japanese tradition, I see. No, it was truly magnificent."

His voice changed. Nutcracker, who possessed the bizarre real-life skill to flawlessly imitate anything from a thick, burly man's voice to an old woman's—and could even instantly mimic the voice of the person he was currently talking to—stared at me with a smile that screamed he was having the time of his life.

"This is the best... The absolute best, Sunraku-kuuuun... I still can't believe there was someone who could actually keep up with me when I got serious."

Five seconds until the world ends.

This will likely be the last words we ever exchange.
There is an endless supply of insults, but the world would end while I was busy picking one out. In that case, I'll just simply declare my current state of mind.

Raising my head, it seemed he had reached the exact same conclusion... He looked at me with eyes so clear you wouldn't believe he was the mastermind who ruined this game, and we spoke simultaneously.

"───I never want to see you again."

"───Let's meet again."

A natural tone of voice I had never heard before, completely different from his previous voices. But the massive amount of emotion packed into that voice felt like it was violently thrust right into my spine...

Zero seconds until the world ends.

"I'm so happy... So incredibly happy...! I searched for you in soooo many different games, but I couldn't find you at all and was about to give up... Guess staking out ShanFro was the right answer, huh?"

Well, obviously. Before ShanFro, I exclusively played Trash Games, the kind of garbage you have to dig out of bargain bins to find. And even before that, the probability of reuniting with the exact same player in a completely different game is as absurdly low as bumping into them in real life... Are you telling me this freak has been searching for me this entire time?

"Can't you apply that obsession to charity work or something...?"

"Ufufufufufu, goodwill is ultimately nothing more than the whim of electrical signals, Sunraku-kuuuun..."

Why she was here, or how she found me, didn't matter anymore. What was her objective... that was the only problem.

"What exactly are you after... Revenge? Bring it on, I'll take you on anytime."

"That sounds nice too... But you see, Sunraku-kun, as your worthy rival, I'd really love to become good friends with youuuu."

『A friend request has arrived from Deep Slaughter. "Let's have face-to-face chat sex!"』

Instantly rejected.

『A friend request has arrived from Deep Slaughter. "Let's have face-to-face chat sex!"』

Rejected.

『A friend request has arrived from Deep Slaughter. "Let's have face-to-face chat sex!"』

Denied.

『A friend request has arrived from Deep Slaughter. "Let's have face-to-face chat sex!"』

...Canceled.

『A friend request has arrived from Deep Slaughter. "Let's have face-to-fa-

"You're too damn persistent!!"

"I'll chase you to the depths of hell until you accept it, you knooow...?"

Report! Can't I report this!?
Desperately searching for the report command—which I never thought I'd actually have to use—I frantically navigated the menu... Hey, stop trying to link arms with me!
While desperately shaking off Nutcracker—now renamed Deep Slaughter—and manipulating the window, a highly confused Tottori spoke up.

"Hey, DeepThro-san told us you two knew each other from a different game, but... did something happen?"

"So you're the culprit!!"

Was this bastard an accomplice...? No, wait, he didn't explicitly rat me out, did he? This is that dirty-joke bastard's signature tactic: building "good, friendly relationships" with complete strangers to weave a network of goodwill.
People acting out of good intentions end up leaking strategies, or exposing your weaknesses without even realizing it. It's incredibly troublesome.
In Pencilgon's case, she frequently utilizes business-like connections, baiting people with money or items to make them sell out their allies... Honestly, they're both the worst.

"...Haaaaaaaaah... How do I put this... It's true we know each other from a different game, but we definitely aren't in a 'friendly' relationship."

"That's exactly why we need to get more friendly from here on out, Sunraku-kuuuun..."

"Shut up."

This village is already a lost cause. I have no choice but to burn it to the ground with this pervert inside it.
Perhaps sensing my resolve to accept a Red Name penalty if it came down to it, Deep Slaughter raised both hands in a sign of surrender, and began offering excuses with a slimy grin.

"No, no, wait, wait, Sunraku-kun, I'm really not doing this out of any malicious intent. ...Sure, if you take the dirty jokes away from me, there's absolutely nothing left, which is why I'm using a name like this, buuut..."

"Her voice changed, desu wa...!"

"I can even do this, desu wa?"

"A-That's my voice, desu wa!?"

The mature woman's voice took a split-second breath and instantly shifted into the sleazy voice of a petty thug. Then, grinning at Emul's reaction, what burst forth from her mouth was Emul's exact voice—a replication that far surpassed the realm of mere imitation.
She's as good at Voice Manipulating as ever, I see...

"Trust me... okay?"

This isn't a matter of whether I trust her or not. Deep Slaughter is already permanently categorized as an "Enemy" in my mind, so we're way past that.

"Believe it or not, I'm playing as a 'Sage'—the highest-tier mage class, which still has a very small population in this game—so I'm quite reliable, you know...? Well, it's not like I've banged anyone for it, though!!"

"Peh."

"Oi, oi, if this were real life, I would have collected that spit you just shot out, you know?"

"As I thought, my only option is to dispose of you right here..."

"Waah, joke, joke! It's just a dirty joke to liven up the conversation!"

Coming from the bastard who literally ruined a game with her dirty jokes, that is the absolute worst line to try and earn trust with.

"Um, I don't really get the situation, but calm down... DeepThro-san is actually an amazing person who uses Teleport Gates to help players fast-travel between continents, you know?"

"Hah?"

Teleport Gate, she says?

"As I thooought, it seems you have some idea about 'Gates' too, Sunraku-kun. By the looks of it, you're the one who can use them? You cute little bunny?"

"P-Please don't ask me that using my own voice, desu wa!"

"...Je t'aime, you adorable little bunny. Wanna have a deep, penetrating chat with me?"

"Gyaaaaa, stop using Sunraku-san's voice too, desu waaaa!"

Oi, wait a second, what do you mean, screaming while using my voice? Depending on how this goes, it's going to be the second Duxram Experience Event for you. Regardless of that, it seems Deep Slaughter really wants to die.

"........."

"Oho, Sunraku-kuuuun, you look quite natural holding that sword now, don't you? Let me guess... You're copying someone, aren't you?"

Tch... She's sharp as ever. Well, I suppose that's a given. After all...

Whether it's visual replication or roleplay mimicry. If you trace it back to the source, I was the one who stole those techniques from her.

Author's Afterword
Sunraku: Balances adaptability and reaction speed at a high level.
Sylvia: Sacrifices adaptability in exchange for extremely high reaction speed.
DeepThro: An absolute monster of isolated adaptability, but her reaction speed is only average.

It generally looks something like this.
In a specific, dedicated game, Sylvia wins overwhelmingly. In any game, the more time she spends, the more untouchable DeepThro becomes. Sunraku can essentially fight decently well right from the start in any game.