Checking the Results and the Goddesses in the Meantime

To start with, I'd like to check the new magic I learned by leveling up in that battle. 【Lightning Magic】's Lightning Rod is virtually useless on its own. It merely launches a needle made of magic power and deals a tiny amount of damage to whatever enemy it hits. It hardly seems like a spell one would learn at this stage of the game.

It would be hasty to judge it unusable. This spell truly shows its worth when combined with other 【Lightning Magic】 spells. True to the “lure” in its name, the Lightning Rod draws lightning to wherever it is embedded. Considering that an unavoidable lightning attack could chase you down, there may be no more frightening spell.

However, it is meaningless if the Lightning Rod itself is dodged, and it can guide lightning only once. The spell itself is weak, which can lure an enemy into dropping their guard and allow me to aim for massive damage with a combo, but landing a second attempt would be difficult once they were on alert. Besides, an opponent who knows what kind of spell it is would never drop their guard in the first place.

What's more, according to the description, lightning is apparently drawn preferentially to nearby Lightning Rods. It can even be used as a lightning rod. Put simply, if I am hit by a Lightning Rod the moment I use 【Lightning Magic】, that spell will come right back at me.

A spell that can make you kill yourself if you use it incorrectly. I want to master it.

Ah, come to think of it, I never mentioned the magic I learned after wiping out the ant nest. 【Fire Magic】's Flame Band produces a small fireball the moment it is cast. It can be sent along any trajectory I choose, but after a little time passes, the fireball disappears.

Immediately afterward, the area along the fireball's trajectory suddenly bursts into flame. The time lag is its defining feature, making it an extremely tricky spell. It could probably be used like a trap if handled well, but... There are a lot of spells here that seem designed for experts.

【Spatial Magic】's Mass Short Teleport is, as the name suggests, a spell that lets multiple people teleport a short distance instantaneously. Unlike Base Teleport, it is not limited to moving only to a base, but just like Short Teleport, it can only move to somewhere within sight, and the others cannot be teleported with me unless they are nearby. I suppose things were never going to become incredibly convenient all at once.

"Oh! Everyone, Izam-san and the others are back!"

Oh, I should stop thinking about magic for now. Eiji, who had been waiting in front of the nest like a gatekeeper, noticed us and waved toward the hole, calling us over. So they got back first after all. We had gone farther away, and despite lying in wait fully prepared, we had taken longer than expected.

I probably shouldn't say this, but if Jigorou or Genzou had been here, I could have left one enemy to one of them and ganged up on the other. I must have been relying far too heavily on their combat abilities without realizing it. If so, all I could come up with were plans that would fall apart unless someone capable of doing the same thing was present.

In fact, Sei's stamina had dropped considerably in that battle. He had survived because he had become a monster that incorporated Troll materials and acquired the 【Fast Healing】 Skill, but it was also a fact that he had still been pushed to the brink. And that was despite the other three launching supporting attacks from every direction.

"I'm back. ...Good grief, I still have a long way to go."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"No, I was just talking to myself. More importantly, let's share information about what happened to each of us."

As I was reprimanding myself, Shichiko flew over and perched on the tip of my staff. After brushing the subject off, we began reporting to each other. We did not have to take our next action immediately, but it was better to decide on a course of action sooner rather than later.

"Oh, yeah. We got a whole lot of loot. There weren't any items for non-humanoid monsters like me, though. Ah, and I don't think there was anything Izam-san would want. They're pretty shabby compared to the gear you're wearing."

"I see. Things went almost exactly according to plan on our end. Unless that commander is exceptionally incompetent, he will report what I told them in Irevs. If that happens, we should be able to sow distrust between the NPCs and the players... No, perhaps I should deliberately call them residents and wanderers? In any case, we should be able to plant distrust between the two groups."

This was precisely why I had fed them slightly distorted information, like some foolish villain from a manga. I hadn't lied, you know? At the time, I had said, 'I commissioned a wanderer who was in the fort you were stationed at to neutralize the lookouts.' Normally, they would interpret that as meaning, 'There is a spy among the wanderers who first came here through the goddesses' arrangement.'

There's no way they would think, 'There is a human player who was summoned separately outside, and that player accepted the commission to infiltrate the fort and carry out an assassination.' Someone would have to be a true genius—or a conspiracy theorist who tried to connect absolutely everything—to come up with that idea. Even if a goddess went out of her way to tell them the truth, they still would not be able to eliminate the possibility that the wanderers had been bribed.

Apparently, one of the fun things about WSS-type games is that schemes grounded in reality actually work on NPCs. Yes, this is so much fun. Gheh-heh, I'm playing the villain better than ever!

"...You're really a ruthless bastard. I'm glad you're on our side, honestly."

"Things have gone this smoothly because the 'Persona' was there, though. Originally, I planned for the two of you who can fly and me to observe Irevs carefully from above and devise a plan."

In fact, our original plan did not involve participating in the attack on the fort. We would thoroughly scout our true target, Irevs, and search for a suitable way to infiltrate it. Then, in response to an attack by the monster horde, we would repeat surprise attacks and looting inside the city before causing a little more spectacular commotion and making our getaway. That was the course of events I intended to create.

But meeting the 'Persona' caused the situation to change dramatically for the better. Since I could entrust infiltration and sabotage to those battle-crazed players, the number of options available to us increased. That led to a few dangerous situations when I got greedy, but it was very welcome because I could enjoy all sorts of evil schemes even more.

Maybe encountering them was not a coincidence after all. The first time we met, that angel, Dandy, said, 'Iifa-sama gathered some interesting players.' Perhaps the members of the 'Persona' were included among those players. The group was not limited to monsters, after all. Only the goddess knows the truth, though.

"Well, even if it's only a game, it's fun to move the situation along with your own hands. This is what being a villain is all about."

A Hero cannot be a Hero without a shining stage. But that also means a Hero is always forced to react to events.

So what is a villain? I believe it is someone who stirs up a situation for their own purposes without regard for the trouble they cause others. Some people may even make causing trouble itself their goal, but everyone has their own motives. As long as they are not doing something pathetic like bullying the weak, I suppose that can simply be called individuality.

"You sound like a Demon Lord."

"Hahaha, I'm not nearly that grand. Anyway, do you think the players noticed?"

"Well, unless the players who were there were complete idiots, I think they did. Eiji-san and the others coordinated so well that it looks like they slaughtered the players."

I nodded, thinking Shichiko was probably right. I had heard Eiji's account from him, so it was secondhand, but word would spread that they had skillfully divided the players who stayed behind as a rearguard, and that one of the monsters had coordinated with someone outside its own kind.

"Besides, aren't the other people participating in the hidden event, aside from us, rampaging at other forts? I don't think there were any here, though."

"Yes, that is likely. Even if they hadn't noticed, it would amount to the same thing once those who respawned in Irevs exchanged information."

Even if they had not noticed, it would be far too optimistic to assume that what happened at the other forts had not also happened at the fort where they had been stationed. Besides, some of them would surely think, 'If players were involved, then our defeat couldn't be helped.'

"That's exactly why the seeds I planted will start to bear fruit. They'll be the ones to nurture them."

"...That's scary."

"Don't say that. Now, the group's marching speed is quite slow. They probably will not reach Irevs until the third day, the final day of the event. Until then, let's steadily work on leveling up."

"Yes, boss!"

◆◇◆◇◆◇

Hello, everyone. It has been a while. I am Iifa, the 'Goddess of Death and Chaos.'

"Hyehehehehe! Wow, that's brutal! I can't believe they're the same kind of player!"

The fort attack on the first day of the event is proceeding more or less according to the original plan, with its broad outline unchanged as a near-certain loss event. However, that person has apparently already risen to my expectations from the very first day.

"The original plan was for the players and NPCs to develop a strong sense of camaraderie by fighting together, then mount a solid defense of our true target, Irevs... Wasn't it?"

"Yes. That was one of our goals."

"But they've fallen into mutual distrust instead! And the nonhuman player who risked their life to defend the fort is the first one to be suspected! This is absolutely hilarious!"

The 'Goddess of War and Victory,' Gurnare, had been watching events unfold with me in my divine realm and was laughing uproariously. If she had been human, she might have choked from laughing so hard.

"There is no problem with the craftsmen interacting with one another."

"Of course there isn't. Demand for weapons is going to increase from here on out, so I suppose they'll take help from absolutely anyone they can get."

Pisha, the 'Goddess of Production and Technology,' was delighted that the craftsmen under her purview were getting along so well. Unlike me, who has only Izam-sama, she had already bestowed blessings on several players. And Irevs was a mining city. Talented NPC craftsmen blessed by Pisha naturally gathered there in large numbers. The blessed ones seemed to hit it off immediately.

"Everyboooody, I've got a message from Father. He says, 'It's interesting, so keep it going as is!'"

That was Horyuse, the 'Goddess of Wind and Exploration.' She had gone to report the progress of the event to our Creator, whom we Great Gods—the Admin AIs—call Father. I had kept the hidden event I designed secret from all my colleagues and sisters here, but I had been reporting it to Father since the planning stage.

"That's good. Outcasts deserve to be given a chance too. Besides..."

"And helping only one side is kind of questionable for a god, isn't it? To begin with, they were victims who had been meddled with for the sake of the event."

As Gurnare said, there was more to this monster invasion than met the eye. To begin with, they were not invading at all. They were fleeing.

"Kamila is quite ruthless, isn't she?"

"But as far as balancing goes, it's just right, isn't it?"

Kamila, the 'Goddess of Magic and Research.' The Trolls were driven from their homes when the monsters she created for the event began to multiply.

Part of that threat had reached the area around the fort, but for now, it was providing players with materials and experience points. She was manipulating the situation while also giving the players a sweet reward. She was doing a fine job too.

"Speaking of Kamila, isn't she coming over to our side?"

"Who knows? There's no need to force her to join us. If she wants to, she'll come even if we leave her alone. That's just how she is."

Now, there were only two days left in the event. I wonder what kind of ending awaits us?