Chapter 61
4.444.404
A few days after banning the troll who had forcibly broken into the Gallery.
Elizabeth got a chance to track down that IP.
“So you came.”
She sensed a strange and unpleasant presence coming from Kellearton Territory.
Elizabeth immediately left the castle and headed in the direction her instincts indicated.
Soon, she discovered a rift.
-Vroooom.
“Something's different.”
It was different from the other rifts.
Normally, rifts were one-way.
You could cross over from here, but nothing could cross over from outside into this place.
So people usually waited for the right time, and only a small number of magic beasts would cross over...
But this rift was pulsating like a heart, giving off an ominous aura.
“Someone forcibly tore it open with sheer power.”
Even Elizabeth would have had difficulty tearing a rift open by force.
And even if she did, she would feel terribly exhausted.
Her opponent was no ordinary magic beast.
Elizabeth tried to continue the pursuit immediately, but the troll had already vanished without a trace.
A few days after that, Elizabeth was able to identify what 4.444.404 looked like.
[Destruction Gallery Wiki]
Document/Rifts
.
.
6. Places Sighted
6.1 Northern Plains of Kellearton Territory
(Meme of a rift several times larger than the others)
ㄴ D-damn, that thing looks vicious.
ㄴ Like your face?
ㄴ You fucking bitch.
The Destruction Gallery Wiki contest had begun right away, and the Gallery users started sharing the information they had.
As a result, the meme of the rift she had visited was also making the rounds.
“Found it.”
Looking closely at the meme, someone could be seen running away at the edge of the plains.
They appeared so tiny that an ordinary person couldn't see them, but it was easy for Elizabeth.
Long white hair, red eyes, and the appearance of a young girl.
An unnaturally pristine appearance, and one that even resembled that of an ancient demon.
It was definitely 4.444.404—the very same anonymous user.
*
Diehard Bloodsucker: So we have to kill her.
Head Mod*: No, come on.
Diehard Bloodsucker: She's dangerous.
The assistant mod was urging me to commit murder.
The reason was that the girl I'd picked up might be a magic beast who had crossed over from outside.
Had they been investigating this all along, while seeming oddly quiet for the past few days?
“Hmm.”
I turned my head and looked at Penny.
Penny was tucked under a blanket, reading a fairy tale.
Her eyes were sparkling; the fairy tale must have been quite interesting.
She had already piled up enough fairy-tale books to reach the ceiling.
So that's a demon?
Head Mod*: Lol;
Diehard Bloodsucker: I'm not joking.
Diehard Bloodsucker: Tell her to open the Gallery.
And with the assistant mod's continued suspicions, I gradually began to wonder myself.
‘Honestly, there are a few things that are suspicious.’
Penny had grown.
By at least 20 centimeters, no less.
She had definitely been a little girl when I picked her up.
In terms of her previous life, she'd looked like an elementary school student, but now she looked closer to a middle schooler.
No matter how intense a growth spurt was, this was beyond the bounds of human biology.
‘But the Holy Sword didn't react, either.’
In a situation like this, it was faster to ask her directly.
I approached Penny, who was absorbed in her fairy tale.
“Penny.”
“What?”
As soon as I called her name, she put down even the fairy-tale book she had been reading and stared straight at me.
Living with me had greatly eased Penny's wariness toward me.
After a moment's hesitation, I said,
“Do you want to go into the Gallery?”
“...Huh?”
“The assistant mod knows you. They just contacted me, saying you might be a magic beast.”
I said it bluntly.
But even I found it ridiculous as I said it.
How could a girl who could talk, get sick, feel pain, laugh, and cry be a magic beast...
-Rattle rattle rattle.
“Penny?”
Penny started trembling before I had even finished speaking.
The hand gripping the drawer was shaking violently, as if she'd turned on vibrate mode.
She blinked repeatedly for a long while, then asked me in an extremely cautious tone,
“I-if you mean the assistant mod, could it be...?”
“Diehard Bloodsucker.”
“Eeeek.”
Could she have something to feel guilty about?
Penny's face turned pale.
“Malphite, how do you know the assistant mod?”
“Ah, well.”
For a moment, I considered hiding the fact that I was the Head Mod, but stopped.
In the first place, the Marketplace carried all sorts of things that weren't listed there, including refrigerator models, carpets, and so on.
“I'm the Head Mod.”
I said it casually, and Penny froze.
She stopped dead, forgetting even to tremble, as if time itself had stopped.
*
[Access to the Gallery is currently blocked.]
[Ban duration: Permanent]
“I-I'm sorry... I wasn't trying to deceive you.”
In the end, Diehard Bloodsucker had been right.
The assistant mod I'd assumed did nothing but guzzle cola and tomato juice every day had been right all along.
‘Come to think of it, she definitely did say that.’
When I'd asked her name, Penny had called herself Lust.
At first, I'd thought it was some hellish gimmick, but now I understood what the name meant.
She was the demon of lust from the Seven Deadly Sins.
Diehard Bloodsucker: Wasn't I right?
Head Mod*: For real...
I was frozen in shock at the revelation that Penny was actually a magic beast, and Penny lowered her head.
Penny had used her power to forcibly tear open a rift and come out.
The problem was that she had lost the vast majority of her power as a result.
There was also the fact that an immense amount of energy could be sensed coming from the torn rift.
[Featured Post: Guys, Why Is This Happening?]
(Meme of the rift in the northern plains of Kellearton)
(Meme of the rift growing larger while making an ominous sound)
Fuck, I've never seen anything like this before.
[Recommendations1583] [Dislikes42]
- Even the symptoms preceding a wave weren't like this.
- Seriously, this is fucking ominous. What is it?
- What the hell happened to the rift's size?
- Why aren't you running?
ㄴ Author) Shouldn't this make the featured posts?
ㄴ Ah lol, your life comes second to getting featured?
ㄴ Fuck, thinking about getting featured first after seeing something like that is truly fucking legendary lol.
In fact, the rift Penny had torn open was growing in real time.
According to Diehard Bloodsucker, a number of magic beasts incomparable to any wave seen so far would emerge.
For the time being, I temporarily lifted Penny's ban and added her to the administrator chat.
[4.444.404 has been invited.]
4.444.404: ...Hello?
Diehard Bloodsucker: Let's kill her.
4.444.404: Eeeek.
Head Mod*: Calm down for now. So why did you cross over?
That was what I was most curious about.
Why had she crossed over to this place even though it meant losing all her power?
From the fact that she'd crossed over alone, it didn't seem like she was aiming to invade us like the other magic beasts.
The answer that came back was absurd.
4.444.404: I-I, well.
Diehard Bloodsucker: You're not going to tell us?
4.444.404: I couldn't stand it anymore!
Head Mod*: What?
I reflexively turned my head and saw Penny with only her eyes peeking out from under the blanket, her face bright red.
Penny buried her face in the blanket with an expression of humiliation.
4.444.404: There's nothing to do outside! Nothing to play, enjoy, or take pleasure in—nothing at all!
Head Mod*: .
4.444.404: What can I do when I was born with a body like this?
4.444.404: I learned about this place after eating the memories of a human named Frederick. I just couldn't stand it anymore, so I crossed over!
“You met Frederick?”
“Yeah. I was happy to meet the first human I'd ever seen. So I was going to have a little fun, but he went and died all by himself...”
I'd heard he'd been exiled, but it seemed he had died in the end.
“Wasn't the usual rule that someone who got exiled came back alive as a final boss?”
Anyway, he was the first human she'd met.
Apparently, Penny had lived outside for her entire life.
In the midst of that, she learned about this place and recklessly crossed over despite knowing she would lose her powers.
Diehard Bloodsucker: That's a lie.
Diehard Bloodsucker: How are we supposed to believe that?
Of course, Diehard Bloodsucker didn't believe her.
A demon of lust crossing over after giving up all her power because she couldn't control her libido?
I wondered where you'd find such a stupid magic beast, let alone a demon, but Penny couldn't say a word.
She merely curled up under the blanket, looking utterly miserable.
“I thought it would be nothing but fun if I came here...”
But the place Penny had arrived in was a wasteland.
Hunger, disease, invasion, and murder.
There was no pink-hued future like the one she had imagined.
Diehard Bloodsucker: Then what about the Black Death?
4.444.404: I almost died because of that! Why?!
The Black Death in particular—I had witnessed it myself.
The timing also meant the buildup had begun before Penny arrived.
In the end, the conclusion was that Penny was a demon named Lust who had crossed over without ever getting to do anything and nearly died.
Only then was she able to clear her name.
Full-HP Elf: I just woke up. What the hell happened?
Head Mod*: Go back to sleep exactly as you were.
Full-HP Elf: (Meme of an elf elder saying, “You impudent fellow!”)
*
Penny succeeded in clearing her name.
But the fact remained that she'd forcibly ruptured a rift when she crossed over here.
And that different magic beasts would come jumping out of it.
4.444.404: I'm sorry... I really didn't mean for this to happen.
Now looking dejected, Penny belatedly spilled every bit of information she knew.
4.444.404: The wave will probably break in three hours.
4.444.404: There are five mutant magic beasts coming out.
Diehard Bloodsucker: Wouldn't the Head Mod's weapons solve this?
I had been thinking something similar myself.
What, wouldn't a few high-explosive grenades take care of them quickly?
But Penny disagreed.
4.444.404: No, it won't work.
4.444.404: They're magic beasts made entirely of steel, so nothing short of high-level magic will even scratch them...
Diehard Bloodsucker: (Meme of “Oh, come on, just let me—!”)
4.444.404: Eeeek.
You can't kill them with high-explosive grenades?
If their entire bodies were made of steel, fragmentation grenades might not be very effective, either.
It meant that hordes of magic beasts that couldn't be killed with any modern weapons I'd brought over would be appearing.
“Then Kellearton is in danger too.”
If modern weapons couldn't kill them, Kellearton's future was obvious.
Just then, Diehard Bloodsucker, who had been silently watching the situation, spoke up.
Diehard Bloodsucker: I'll take care of them.
Head Mod*: Oh, for real?
Diehard Bloodsucker: But there's a drawback.
Head Mod*: What is it?
Diehard Bloodsucker: I'll have to go back to speaking in my old-fashioned manner.
If Diehard Bloodsucker stepped in, the problem would be solved easily.
The only issue was that using their power would make them revert to their old manner of speech.
I closed my eyes for a moment and pictured it.
Then I recalled Diehard Bloodsucker's hellish speech from the past and shook my head.
“That's a hard pass.”
Head Mod*: No, no. I'll do it instead.
Diehard Bloodsucker: But how?
Magic beasts unaffected by explosions.
Then all I needed was something other than an explosion.
After a long while, I opened the Marketplace and entered the weapons section I'd been keeping an eye on.
[Category/Chemical Weapons]
“If the rift is one-way, couldn't we kill them all before they cross over?”
Head Mod*: I have a way.
I had released Fritz Haber's nitrogen fertilizer into the other world to solve its food shortage.
Now it was time to put a chemical weapon of mass destruction into the rift instead.