Chapter 8: Orpheus

"Begone."

The Crown Prince, soaring on the wings of [Elder Guardian], swung his holy sword with Knight Ren's inner power.

*KWAAANG!*

The massive divine power blade shot from the holy sword swept through the horde of monsters.

"Well done, Hero."

As the battle ended, Saintess Cartesia approached him and held out a towel.

"Ah, thank you."

The Crown Prince accepted the towel and wiped his sweat.

'...This is too easy.'

The Hero's body and holy sword were provided by default.

With the essence absorption and utilization ability gained from the last episode, plus the power of the characters he had drawn, there was no enemy that could stop him.

It was in stark contrast to Act 0, where he had to progress through the story with just a common spear and a regular soldier's body.

"At this rate, ground recovery isn't far off, Hero!"

The Crown Prince returned to the Sanctuary via spatial teleportation magic along with the cheering Saintess.

'Come to think of it, they said a Servant of the Abyss had infiltrated this story. Why haven't they appeared?'

About 60% of the monsters that had been on the ground were already annihilated.

At this rate, complete reclamation of the ground wasn't far off.

The Crown Prince scratched his head as he entered the Sanctuary.

For the story to end so smoothly and boringly.

That couldn't be right.

Given that a Servant of the Abyss had entered, the Crown Prince was certain there would be some kind of twist.

"KYAAAAAAAH!"

As he entered the Sanctuary, a piercing scream rang out.

-KIEEEK!

-KIRUK!

"M-monsters!"

"Save us!"

"Holy Knights! Holy Knights!"

"When will the Hero return!"

Despite being humanity's final bastion and the safest place from monsters, the inside was already filled with monsters.

"Impossible! The Sanctuary has barriers built by the Constellation themselves - monsters shouldn't be able to enter?"

The Saintess froze at the shocking sight.

The Crown Prince calmly assessed the situation.

Seventy or so monsters filling the Sanctuary's corridors.

Only one Elder Guardian-class monster.

They weren't particularly difficult opponents.

'To think their target was invading the Sanctuary by circumventing me.'

The monsters appeared to have burst out from the edges of the Sanctuary, from the Magi-Engineering Department.

'That's where that Servant of the Abyss must be.'

Muttering that it certainly wouldn't end boringly after all, the Crown Prince smiled and gripped his holy sword as he launched himself at the monsters.

*KWANG! KWANG! KWANG!*

After battling and annihilating the monsters alongside the Saintess, the Crown Prince cut down the last remaining Elder Guardian and flung open the doors to the Magi-Engineering Department.

Opening the doors, they were greeted by the Magi-Engineering Department dyed crimson with blood, along with a putrid stench.

"...No."

Even the Saintess, who had experienced countless battles, let out a groan and covered her mouth at the horrific sight of fragments of those who were once human scattered about.

"...You came earlier than expected."

In the center of the Magi-Engineering Department...

...Stood a man with slicked-back hair wearing a mask, gripping Ian Kali-Yuga by the collar.

"A pleasure to meet you, Hero... or rather, new Supervisor of the Archive. I am Orpheus, Orpheus of the Abyss."

'Orpheus...'

The first intelligent enemy from the Abyss he had encountered.

So this was the member of the Abyss who would become the main antagonist in the [Akashic Archive] narrative.

"Why don't you put down the person you're holding first? He's not a combattant."

The Crown Prince stepped forward with an deliberately relaxed attitude as he made the suggestion.

'I see why they targeted this place in their attack. After the Magi-Engineering Department's annihilation, we can't afford to lose him.'

The Magi-Engineering Department had been in charge of weapon and armor repairs and enhancements, but now the entire department except for Department Head Ian had been wiped out.

It was clear they would take a major hit to their combat sustainability if they lost him as well.

"How amusing."

Orpheus gripped the unconscious Ian's head in his hand.

"Wai-!"

*CRACK!*

Before the Hero could get a word out, Ian's head burst like a watermelon, spraying blood and brain matter.

"But I'm afraid this sinner cannot be allowed to live."

Ian's headless body collapsed lifelessly.

At the same time, a crumpled candy wrapper fell from his pocket.

"I-Ian! No!"

"...I see negotiation is not an option."

"How laughable. The provisional Supervisor of the Archive speaking of negotiating with the Abyss."

"If you insist on drinking from the bitter cup."

The Crown Prince infused his holy sword with blade energy.

Losing the entire Magi-Engineering Department was a significant blow.

However, the opponent had overlooked one crucial fact in delivering that blow:

'I just need to eliminate him here.'

The only Servant of the Abyss that had entered the story was Orpheus right before him.

If he eliminated just him, there would be no one left to be his enemy in this story.

'Considering he used such roundabout methods like unleashing monsters and conducting diversionary tactics rather than facing me head-on, his combat ability probably isn't that high.'

"Provisional Supervisor. Let me tell you something."

Orpheus's body began to fade as he smirked behind his mask.

"Spatial teleportation! Planning to escape?!"

*CLANG!*

The Crown Prince rushed forward swinging his sword, but only cut through an afterimage.

"Such naive methods cannot contend with the Abyss. You'd do well to remember that."

Because otherwise you'll just be devoured by the Abyss.

Soon he faded completely and vanished.

"Orpheus!"

Only the Crown Prince's shout echoed over the pool of blood.

* * *

The Crown Prince fell into thought as he watched those cleaning up after the unprecedented disaster of the Sanctuary being attacked by the Abyss.

Would it be possible to clear the story at this point, when equipment repairs and enhancements had become impossible?

Given the level of monsters he had seen on the ground, it didn't seem impossible.

'But that Orpheus fellow will be the problem.'

He had been right in front of him yet couldn't land a single hit before letting him escape.

If such an opponent interfered through guerrilla warfare, it would be quite troublesome now that they had lost their combat sustainability.

"If it were the usual me, I would have charged right in thinking such hardships were fun, but..."

I can't delay clearing this.

The Crown Prince had a reason he needed to clear this story quickly.

[Would you like to exit the game?]

[Unsaved content may be lost.]

"That's fine. That's the goal."

Beep

The Crown Prince terminated his connection to [Akashic Archive] through the force quit button.

As the virtual reality disappeared, he saw the familiar ceiling of his bedroom.

Reconnecting.

When he restarted [Akashic Archive], his vision was enveloped in darkness.

[Would you like to start Story Mode?]

"Yes. Let's begin."

Force quitting to erase unsaved progress while retaining the information gained so far to become a pseudo-regressor and play the game more smoothly.

This wasn't a commonly used technique since games weren't as widespread on the Leypania Continent as they were on Earth, but some sharp individuals like the Crown Prince had discovered they could exploit this to play games more easily.

In his previous playthrough, the Crown Prince hadn't used the save function at all just in case.

"Hero! You've opened your eyes!"

[Hero Born to Stop the Otherworld's Invasion]

-You have been summoned to the Underground Sanctuary as a Hero to stop the monsters from the Otherworld. In this world, humanity has hidden underground to escape the Abyss, the invaders from the Otherworld. Reclaim the ground from the Sanctuary, humanity's final bastion. And stop the Servant of the Abyss that has infiltrated through the cracks of Abyssal Corruption.

Thanks to the last auto-save being at the start of the story, the Crown Prince was able to return to when he first began.

Orpheus of the Abyss.

"This time will be different."

The Crown Prince's steps showed no hesitation as he grinned.

The Crown Prince repeated exactly what he had done in the last playthrough.

This was to prevent any butterfly effects from changed actions affecting Orpheus's behavior patterns.

'This should be around the time.'

And at the point when Orpheus had attacked the Magi-Engineering Department in the previous playthrough.

The Crown Prince gathered all the Sanctuary's forces to block off the route at the Sanctuary's border where Orpheus had infiltrated and waited.

He waited and waited.

"...Why. Why isn't he coming?"

But even after waiting a long time, Orpheus did not appear.

Eventually the Crown Prince had no choice but to withdraw the forces. He couldn't meaninglessly gather people who had work to do in one place.

While receiving looks that seemed to say "You said he'd definitely come but what's this? Some Hero you are", the Crown Prince scratched the back of his head.

'I'm sure I acted exactly the same as the previous playthrough. Was there something that could have influenced Orpheus?'

The Crown Prince decided to check the Magi-Engineering Department first, looking for Ian Kali-Yuga after dispersing the gathered people.

And the Magi-Engineering Department he found was.

*Drip- Drip*

"Oh. You've finally come, Provisional Supervisor."

Already devastated by Orpheus.

* * *

[-Wait what? Orpheus you crazy bastard, how do you remember even after resetting?]

[-They say high-ranking Servants of the Abyss aren't bound by [Stories] so they remember even unsaved content]

[-Wasn't this supposed to be a game? Is [Akashic Archive] real?]

[-That's so broken! How do you beat that?!]

I laughed as I watched the players' reactions on the community, Apelio.

The Seven Stars of Destruction making their first appearance.

They are the Abyss's top executives who will function as the main villains in [Archive Saga]. As such, they are entities who can engage with and affect stories independently rather than being bound by them, allowing them to share memories and ignore the regression authority of save & load that only players can use...

...is the setting.

It's a setting I devised after being inspired by a brutal visual novel game I played in my previous life.

As part of giving impact to Orpheus's appearance, strictly speaking he doesn't completely follow the player's regression.

When the player reaches the Sanctuary, Orpheus's character is injected with the player's memories.

Through this, Orpheus learns what the player did in the previous playthrough and can respond as if he had regressed together.

This was possible because it was a world created through Lady Constellation's Dream Power.

A villain character that breaks the fourth wall.

Of course, it's limited to within the Archive's [Story] rather than breaking the game itself, but it will come as quite a shock to players.

It was also necessary since Act 1 itself pushes the narrative towards the villains, which could make the story feel messy otherwise.

From the players' perspective, they might wonder if it's even possible to clear this.

But in terms of final difficulty, it's actually even simpler than the tutorial.

To the point where it can't not be cleared if the player has the will.

Because what Character Orpheus wants is his own death.