Estimated reading time: 7–9 minutes
Chapter 50
「That’s the guy who approached us yesterday. I didn’t catch his name, uh…」
「My name’s Mika. This is Wu, and this guy is Rei.」
「Nice to meet you all, I’m counting on you.」
「OK, Mika, Wu and Rei. Those are some pretty normal names for players. I appreciate you bringing extra troops with you.」
「Were there some real oddballs around?」
「Yeah, some weirdo calling himself ‘♰The Fallen Angel Lucifer Seeking Girlfriend♰’. Apparently that’s his official player name. By the way, you’ve got a nice face there, big sis. I’ve got a good business proposition, you interested?」
「I…I’ll have to decline.」
The one speaking with such an exasperated expression is a stern-faced older brother figure. He’s wearing a tank top, with much of his upper body replaced by machinery. The fact that it’s mainly his upper body likely means he specializes in close combat. Though calling him a brother might be a stretch – he seems more like a yakuza.
The location is an area referred to as the 「rooftop section」. Even this area is lined with the same inorganic walls as the usual corridors. However, it’s extraordinarily spacious, yet packed with numerous people. Every single one of them is either wearing a helmet or holding one in their hands. Momiji, aka Koyo, mutters that it’s a countermeasure against 「Moses’ Sword」. But is it really necessary to go as far as using aliases on top of disguises? It’s as if we’re the ones being pursued.
「Didn’t you also register an Apollyon user along with us?」
「Ah, you mean Professor Nakamoto. I had contacted him a few times, but I didn’t think he would actually cooperate with us. I must express my gratitude to you all.」
「Professor?」
「Oh, right. You’re a player, so you wouldn’t know. He’s the other hero of 2050. Not only did he make great contributions in the Scorch War, but he also used his authority to greatly assist in the construction of this Ark.」
「Was he really that strong? I heard he was unbelievably powerful in the arena.」
「His level of mastery in each and every action is simply staggering. He’s hands down the strongest Apollyon user, far beyond Orange.」
Even while conversing, it seems he still can’t tell I’m a man. I wonder if it’s okay that he knows his real name, Nakamoto… But I suppose if he’s this strong, it could be used to our advantage. Well, I’ll put aside the strongest legend stuff he’s spouting since that’s just flavor text… No, considering that level of realism, does he actually have the abilities to pull it off? If so, as a fellow Apollyon user, I feel like I absolutely have to defeat him to be satisfied. I don’t need to crush him, but my nature won’t let me rest until I’ve claimed at least one victory against him.
「The deck will be opening shortly. Please finish your battle preparations. The targets are 200 machine beasts – 100 avian types and 100 aquatic types.」
An announcement rings out. At the same time, the man who approached us earlier ascends a platform installed against the wall and makes a loud thud. With everyone’s attention on him, the man begins to speak.
「Thank you all for gathering here today… Ugh, this manner of speaking is a pain. Well, whatever. I’m Greg, and the job I need you to do is to subjugate the false prophet. The Order has been making a mess of our turf lately and is spreading their influence. It’ll be even more troublesome if their leader comes back. So we’re going to crush them, got it?」
Despite his rough speech, Greg fearlessly addresses the crowd of what seems to be well over 100 people. He does indeed seem to be yakuza as his appearance suggests. Definitely not the kind you could call a 「good yakuza」. He probably has a lot of experience with intimidation and the like. That aside, the 「Order」 he mentioned – isn’t that the group Aika belongs to? What is that girl up to?
「The target engaged in a match at the arena yesterday, after which he was seen being carried by the leader of the Order down the corridor. There’s been no word since, but you know how that prophet is. He’ll probably make a move somewhere. We have informants stationed all over for when that time comes. As soon as his presence is confirmed, we’ll immediately dispatch the forces that can be mobilized at any time – in other words, you guys – to thoroughly crush him. Since there are players involved, we’ll need to consider shifts, but we want to maintain a state where at least 50% can be deployed at all times. But that’s our concern.」
Greg snorts loudly, for some reason, before continuing.
「But we can’t afford to let our forces sit idle either. So we’ll have you take out the machine beasts clinging to the deck and sides. We’ll deduct a portion and pay you wages, but in exchange, you won’t need to purchase rights.」
Wait, so for the people who have those 「rights」, aren’t they just getting a cut taken out? Well, it’s fine by me so I won’t say anything. But I could see some slightly dissatisfied expressions around me. Ignoring that, he forcefully moves the conversation along by spreading his arms wide and projecting an image behind him. It shows the face of an extremely familiar man.
「Now then, let’s start with today’s machine beast subjugation. You’re all set with the ‘Moses’ Sword’ countermeasures, right? This is the first step in the operation to eliminate the wicked impostor posing as the prophet Orange! Death to the fake!」
Displayed there, undoubtedly captured in the arena, is the figure of an old-world human dynamically wielding 「Beast Slayer」 in an unnecessarily flamboyant manner. Of course, the one shown is none other than myself. Reina covers my mouth from behind, but I’m too dumbfounded to even cry out in the first place. I see, so that’s why everyone recommended disguising. So there was meaning behind Aika’s abrupt move.
But the surprises don’t end there. The ceiling opens up. The sunlight, shining down on this Ver for the first time, illuminates an astounding sight.
It’s a wall of liquid, a mixture of purple and white. Once the ceiling fully opens and the room’s walls are retracted, I realize that even that perception is mistaken. The liquid is cylindrically parted, extending far below. And high above, the sun peers down at us.
It’s said that Moses parted the sea to lead the Hebrews in escape from their pursuers. And the words I’ve heard over and over: 「Moses’ Sword」, 「inside the ark」, 「deck」, 「negative mass matter」, 「the floating city of Osaka」.
In other words, the place we’ve been in all along isn’t on land, but…
「So this place is the sea…!?」
Sea
It is heavily contaminated with pseudogravity metal. This causes it to have a higher viscosity as a liquid than normal and makes it less prone to evaporation. Additionally, through catalytic reactions using pseudogravity metal, some of the water coordinates with the metal or is converted into hydrogen and oxygen rather than remaining as water. In Ver2.00 and earlier, it was still manageable, but in the current version, both water and organic matter are in extremely short supply. The contaminant metals vary by region, resulting in different colors. Therefore, when viewed from space, Earth’s oceans appear to be a muddy, mysterious color. This is why Orange was unable to locate Earth in Ver-1.00.
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