In front of smartphones, tablets, and wall-sized monitors in Times Square and intersections around the world, countless people gasped in unison. So a collective intake of breath that sucked the oxygen out of the world.
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Comments flowed like a river of white noise, appearing and vanishing faster than the human eye could track. It was the Milky Way made of text. Individuals, corporations, militaries, religious groups, nations— The entire world, no longer definable by the word "viewers," was staring at a single point in the multiverse.
And standing in the center of that screen, bathed in the harsh, alien sunlight, was an otherworldly higher being. He wore the body of the greatest hero history had ever known—the Returnee in his prime. Time Patrol.
“I'll let you have the first move.☆” He quietly raised a hand, palm open, and looked at Yu. His eyes were black holes, absorbing the light.
TP pondered, his thoughts moving at the speed of a supercomputer.…Though honestly, I don't know what they'll do. They are unpredictable variables With Mana herself siding with them, I can't seal their magic. She is the admin of this reality. Even using the Returnee's body, her authority overrides mine locally.
TP's thoughts were cold, sharpened to a razor's edge. He calculated probabilities, vectors, outcomes. However, in his line of sight, a variable shifted.
The sound of footsteps approached—one step, then another. Crunch. Crunch. On the white sand. Purple light. Not just a color, aura frequency that made the teeth ache. It was the breath of a war goddess. Claval was walking forward.
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Light burst forth.
BOOM.
The purple aura emanating from Claval's body didn't just glow; it scorched the sand beneath her boots into glass. It shook the air like a jet breaking the sound barrier. Her figure—wrapped in navy armor, bandages trailing like ribbons—was truly that of a Valkyrie descending to judge the wicked.
“Haaah!!” She readied her sword. The metal screamed as she poured her soul into it. She glided forward, friction ceasing to exist. A slash like purple lightning flashed. It aimed for the neck. A decapitation strike.
“Are you sure?” TP dodged it. He swayed like a leaf in the wind, his smile of composure unwavering. “This is your grandpa's body, you know? Do you want to hurt him?” His voice was a whisper, intimate and cruel.
Those words gouged Claval's heart sharper than any physical blade.
“…Tch!” Her feet stopped. Her momentum died. Her breath hitched for a second, catching in her throat like a fishbone.
Claval's hands trembled around the hilt of her sword. Not anger, sadness. It was a burning, corrosive pain deep in her chest that fit neither emotion. It was the pain of desecration.
TP slowly tapped his own chest with a finger. Tap. Tap. Black-purple patterns glowed faintly on the muscular skin. They were indeed the same arrays and patterns Claval had seen in the ramen shop, on her grandfather's as he cooked. They were the scars of his sacrifice, now worn as a trophy by a monster.
“Of course it's not okay!! Give him back!!” With a scream that tore her throat raw, her sword scattered sparks. The air tore open. Light burst. Claval's slash was sharp, desperate, and without hesitation. She aimed to kill the parasite, even if it meant destroying the host.
However, TP slipped through like smoke. The two crossed paths, kicking up a wall of sand. Clang. Clang. Clang. Steel met magic. Flesh met aura. With every flash, the color of the sky deepened, turning from blue to a bruised purple.
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In the vortex of dust, Yu glared at TP. His eyes were wide, bloodshot. Before his vision, overlaid on reality, a translucent interface glowed blue.
[SATELLITE LINK: ACTIVE] [TARGETING: LOCKED]
“Even if it doesn't hit directly… it'll be a distraction! It will force him to move!” Yu's hand flicked the empty air, tracing a downward arc.
Fire. In the next instant— Far above the atmosphere, in the cold silence of space. Two armed satellites, broke their slumber. Bay doors opened. Hydraulics hissed in the vacuum. Six Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) dropped from the bays. Their engines ignited silently in the void, then roared to life as they hit the upper atmosphere, trailing fire.
Meanwhile, on another channel—[CHANNEL: SATELLITE VIEW]—the world watched. The camera looked down at the blue marble of the other world. Six streaks of fire were descending toward a tiny speck of an uninhabited island.
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Middle East. The CEO's Office. A room in a skyscraper that touched the clouds. The air conditioning hummed a low, expensive note.
“Hey.” The man with gold-rimmed cufflinks—the CEO of the Oil Money Fund—stood by the window, swirling his wine glass. The crimson liquid coated the crystal.
“Yes,” his aide standing next to him responded immediately, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cold air.
“They're not carrying nuclear warheads, are they?” The CEO tilted his smartphone screen, gazing at the trails of light displayed on the live feed. His eyes reflected the destruction. He spoke calmly, like a man ordering dinner.
“…I will confirm!” The aide's voice cracked. He tapped furiously on his tablet.
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The Island. Claval and TP continued their offense and defense like a dance of death. Sparks flew. Blood sprayed. Through the center of it, a single streak of white light raced.
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“I'm going too!” Rize's voice tore through the wind, high and clear. Kicking up a storm of dust, her body ran. She left afterimages—one, two, three Rizes fading in her wake. Her speed was no longer something the human eye—or even a camera—could track.
Claval gasped at the edge of the battlefield, parrying a blow from TP. She's mastered my equipment, hasn't she, Rize!
The numerous magic-assisting gears Rize wore—gauntlets, greaves, spinal braces—emitted silver flashes. They were originally intended for Claval, who couldn't use magic. But now, Rize wore them. She used her [Lightning] trait and the gears. This reduces the burden of my Trait... We can do this! We can keep up!
CRACK-BOOM.
Every time Rize and Claval's swords crossed with TP's defenses, purple and white afterglows tore the sky like zippers opening the void. TP's body was slashed. A cheek. A forearm. A thigh. Black-purple blood mist danced in the air, sizzling as it hit the sand.
“Heeh, fast, fast?” TP laughed. An expression of ease. An expression of enjoyment. But certainly, the two blades were "grazing" his flesh. He was bleeding. With every flash, the wind roared, and dust surged like tidal waves.
“Here it comes!!” Eventually, in the gap between movements, Yu's voice rang out. At that single word, Rize and Claval retreated in an instant, kicking off the air itself. In that split second— The sky burned white. Six missiles impacted simultaneously.
KA-BOOOOOOOOM.
Not a sound, a physical blow. Roar and flash. An explosion that uprooted the bedrock, vaporized the sand, and boiled the sea engulfed the uninhabited island. A mushroom cloud of dust and fire rose kilometers into the air. The three bodies—Yu, Rize, Claval—were blown away like leaves in a hurricane, slammed onto the ground by the shockwave.
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Middle East.
“Confirmed! Conventional payloads only!” The aide shouted.
“I can tell just by looking! That’s a clean burn!” The CEO raised his wine glass in a toast to the screen, laughing. “But that's amazing power. Maybe I should buy this defense company? Who made those?”
“This isn't the time for stock tips, sir!” The aide shouted, clutching the desk.
“It's fine. They'll win.” The CEO's voice dropped. It sounded like a prayer. “Claval-tan is a goddess. She won't lose to a cosplayer in god.”
But on the screen, beyond the wall of explosive smoke— “Something” was walking.
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In the center of the explosion, where the ground was glowing red like lava. The sound of footsteps treading on molten soil echoed. Step. Sizzle. Step. Sizzle. The gait was quiet, steady, as if nothing had happened.
“Indeed... that was quite something.☆” At that voice, Claval and Rize gasped, coughing up dust. The figure of TP emerging from the flames looked as if the fire itself had taken shape. The immense amount of magic patterns visible on his upper body glowed with a blinding purple light every time they pulsed. He hadn't blocked the explosion, eaten it.
“Now—it's my turn.” TP swung his arm lightly. The surrounding flames gathered like living things. They swirled, obeyed, and stretched long like whips. He struck the ground. CRACK. That single blow cracked the earth's crust and sent boulders flying like pebbles.
“The power of the man who loved mana... want to have a taste??” The flames burst with a roar. Hot wind blew violently, distorting the air into a lens of heat. The vision of the three was dyed red.
“I won't let you!” Yu stepped forward, his hands trembling.
“Let's go, Yu-kun!” Mana-chan's voice rang out in his head, fierce and protective.
“[Bind!]” Yu held out his hand.
A blue ring emitted light, expanding into a sphere. It sliced through the whips of flame vertically and horizontally. The flames scattered like mist, neutralized by the admin authority of Mana.
“I knew you'd do that. You’re so predictable.☆” TP lifted the corners of his mouth happily. In the next instant— Yu's vision distorted. The distance vanished. When he realized it—TP was right in front of him. Face to face.
“Wh...!” A sharp body blow pierced Yu's stomach.Simple punch. No magic. Just the raw, physical strength of the Returnee. THUD. A dull, wet sound echoed. Yu's body was blown backward, his feet carving trenches in the sand. He staggered, vomited bile, but withstood it.
“I see! You used mana as a physical barrier inside your gut! Clever!” TP took a step forward, laughing happily. Countless red lights gathered around him again. But the three surrounded TP. Triangle formation.
“Then, take this...!” Still, he shrugged as if welcoming it. The patterns all over his body shone even brighter. The air sank heavy. The wind stood still. Gravity increased.
“Both of you, get away—!” Yu shouted, his voice raw.
“Area of Effect Attack.?” TP's voice resonated low but joyfully. A shockwave expanded explosively. Not fire, pure force. The entire island shook as if hit by an earthquake. The stream feed on Earth is cut to static for a few seconds.
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After the blast stopped, the world lost its sound. There was almost no one standing on the scorched earth.
When Rize came to, she sat up, coughing. Her ears rang. She looked around.
Claval was on one knee, using her sword as a cane. She was breathing heavily, blood dripping from her nose. Her navy armor was cracked. Yu was slammed onto the ground, spitting breaths mixed with sand and blood. The blue glow of Mana around him was fading, flickering like a dying bulb.
Only one person—TP—stood leisurely. He wasn't even breathing hard. He walked over to Yu.
“Good grief... to think even this isn't enough to kill you. You cockroaches are resilient.” He grabbed Yu by the neck with one hand and lifted him easily into the air.
“Ghk... Gah...” Yu's feet swam in the air. A pained, choking sound echoed across the battlefield.
“Yu!” Claval shouted, trying to stand, but her legs gave out. Her body wouldn't move anymore.
Rize's entire nervous system was screaming. It felt like her veins were filled with acid. Resisting it, she pressed her blood-soaked fingertips against the ground. She clawed at the sand. Only her eyes looked strongly, straight at Yu.
That time—when the Threat attacked Rize's city. She saw herself being grabbed by the giant Threat. The image overlapped with Yu now. He saved me in the desert. I have to save him now.
“…It's not... over yet.” Particles of [lightning] gathered around her body. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.
"Even my [Maximize] collapses if you try to double-stack it!" Naz's words flashed through Rize's mind like a warning label. "There's no way to control a [Maximize] on top of a [Maximize!] If that skill is linked directly to your body... it's going to kill you!"
“No way... Rize! Don't! Any more is—!” Claval shouted in a trembling voice, seeing the light gather.
“If I don't make it in time now, when will I use it!” At that moment— Rize's entire body was wrapped in blinding white light. Lightning drew a triple spiral around her, burning her skin, boiling her blood. It was a Triple Stack of [Lightning.]
‘Power to make it in time’. Movement exceeding the speed of light distorted space. The world turned into slow motion. Even sound echoed with a delay, unable to keep up with her.
In the next instant—
“Gh... !?” TP's right arm, the one holding Yu, danced in the air. Severed. Rize's blade thrust into the chest of the astonished TP. SHUNK. The blade pierced deep, cracking the sternum. Purple blood sprayed up like a fountain. Yu dropped to the ground. Rize stood there, her hand on the hilt. Yu and Rize's gazes intersected. As if time had stopped, only their eyes moved.
“Yu—I love you.” White light ran across Rize's smiling cheek. Cracks appeared on her skin, glowing from within.
In the next moment— BOOM. With a roar of discharged energy, TP's body was slammed into the ground by the delayed impact.
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TP's expression as he stood up from the smoke was filled with pain and genuine anger. Rize's sword was still deeply embedded in his chest. His right arm was gone.
“You... little...” TP groaned, looking down at the wound, wearing a look of surprise.
When the dust cleared— Rize didn't move anymore. She lay on the sand, her limbs sprawled at unnatural angles. Smoke rose from her skin.
Yu rushed to her fallen body. His steps were unsteady, soaking the sand with his own blood.
“Rize! Stay with me! ...Rize!?” He fell to his knees beside her. He turned her over.
Her eyes had lost their light. The pupils were blown wide, black pits staring into the void. Her jaw was slack. Her lips parted slightly, and saliva trickled down her cheek, mixing with the ash. No recognition. No smile. Just a broken doll.
“Ah...” Yu supported her cheek with trembling hands. He let out a voiceless scream, a sound that tore his throat apart, as if he himself had broken into a thousand pieces.
? Born to Be a Pacifist, Forced to Be a Villainess [Otome Game + Romance LitRPG] ?
by LotteStarburst
She played otome games. Now the otome game plays her.