◇◇◇◇
“Kehi!! Hii-hyahhahahahahahahahahahaha!!”
A white arrow approaches me.
A red light burns me.
A black melody robs me.
Gathered here are curses powerful enough to destroy the world—
The three knights whose curses even threaten gods.
—It’s no problem.
“Huh?”
—Too slow.
I strike the white arrow with my fist.
I twist the red light with my cursed power.
I block the black melody with the same force.
“Wha—how?”
“Why…?”
Their movements come to a complete stop.
Stopping just because your attack was blocked won’t do.
“BUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
A horse shaped from cursed flesh swings its hooves to stomp on me—
“Kehi, what’s wrong? Did something get stuck in your hoof?”
“Blumoare!?”
Raising both arms cloaked in cursed power, I block the attack.
“No way…”
“Impossible…”
“Why… why isn’t he dead?”
The three knights, drunk on the power they were wielding, snap out of it, stunned by the abnormal situation.
“What’s wrong? Is that all the cursed power that can destroy the world has to offer!?”
Belly, neck, belly again.
I crush the skull faces, shatter their armor, and twist the necks of their horses.
Punching and kicking the three creatures in tatters, riding their steeds.
Riding horses in this cave was a bad idea.
You’re not maneuverable enough here.
“You’re too slow, all of you.”
“Ah…”
“Ga-hah…”
“Eek…”
The monsters are blown away and slam into the walls.
The horses they were riding dissolve into mist.
Their skull-faced expressions stare at me in disbelief.
“No way… without using magic or a gift… with just physical techniques… so heavy…”
My body feels so light.
It’s warm and pleasant.
In this state, I keep punching and kicking.
Before I know it, they stop counterattacking.
“Huh? Is this really the end? Looks like your concerns about destroying the world were needless.”
《…Your level and skills are not enough to defeat those judged by the Apocalypse… Irregular…!》
The navigator’s voice trembles as well.
Heh, heheh. Heheheheh.
Oh, crap.
I can’t keep going.
I just realized—I’ve already reached my limit.
My legs are trembling, my body feels heavy.
That last attack was it. If I move again, my body will fall apart.
—Final combat technique concluded. Initiating resealing… This is about what I expected.
Was it the backlash from controlling my cursed power?
I must’ve pushed myself way too far.
But—
“So… strong…”
“Unbelievable… you’re beyond any ranked adventurer or even the Gifted…”
“Heh… Is he really… mortal?”
They’re reacting just as I hoped!
The navigator, these knights, all reacting in shock and awe!
They’re astonished, terrified, trembling before me!
At this moment, I’m the ultimate villain!
I’ve just overpowered the rampaging villain with overwhelming strength.
This is the kind of villain play I live for… it feels amazing!
No way they can find out I’m barely hanging on now.
No way I can admit this was just a lucky win!
I’ll see this through! I’ll play the role of an unfazed, powerful villain!
“…How did you obtain the power of dominion?”
The white-haired knight mutters in disbelief.
The skull mask crumbles off piece by piece.
Whoa, that visual is sick…
A cracked mask looks seriously cool.
“It’s simple. Your ability merely triggers a deliberate magical overload, controlling the target’s mind. Magic rampaging in the brain… or in my case, cursed power. All I need to do is manipulate that.”
“That’s… possible…?”
Thanks to the navigator’s analysis, I understand the threat they pose.
Honestly, I’m amazed I even won.
A guaranteed one-hit kill ability used by someone with top-tier stats is just unfair.
“It can’t be… my War… the power to end worlds… can’t reach you?”
“Well, I was a bit surprised when you started generating gunpowder, but that’s about it. Forming things with magic… no, altering reality and summoning, huh? Well… it’s manageable.”
The elf-eared, red-haired knight called “War” keeps summoning all sorts of weapons.
By the end, didn’t she even summon a machine gun or something?
Does her concept of war evolve the longer the fight goes on?
If so… that’s terrifying.
“Heh… so much magic, it’s bottomless… an endless hunger…”
“Tch, you’re really something… Forced magic extraction with a balance scale? Give me a break. But it’s nothing. If I’m drained, I just forge more.”
That black-haired, sharp-fanged knight, “Famine,” is absurd too.
With each swing of her scale, my cursed power vanishes from within.
If I hadn’t practiced solidifying and storing cursed power during my time as a farmhand, I’d have been in real trouble.
It’s absurd… an unavoidable debuff just for being around. That’s cheating.
These guys are far from ordinary.
But I can’t let them see my weakness.
Time for another round of villainous might!
“In the end, you’re all too ordinary.”
“We… are ordinary?”
“This is… the first time someone’s said that to us…”
《Skill check: “Gamer” activated》
《You have seen through the threat posed by the three knights of the Apocalypse》
《”You realize they still have bottomless reserves of magic”》
My instincts as a life-field player whisper to me.
These guys are hiding something, even from themselves—something dangerous.
If I kill them carelessly, that power might go berserk.
I’ll scare them off instead.
“What a bore. Mere creatures who live and die, nothing more.”
“Huh…?”
“That’s all we are…?”
“Just… living and dying…?”
Nice. They’re stunned.
Being treated like background characters hits hard.
One more push.
Let’s go for a smart, villainous mastermind move—demoralizing them with words.
“Destroying the world? Laughable. Your vision is pitifully narrow.”
“Are you… not afraid of us?”
“Afraid? Tell me, what should I fear? You’re nothing but a flock of sheep before me.”
Heh, scared yet?
Being treated like harmless sheep by someone this powerful.
“We… we are cursed by the world… this power will consume us…”
“Heh, even if you’re consumed, it won’t amount to much. You couldn’t even lay a finger on me.”
Great, keep pushing. Break their fighting spirit!
“Even the curse that binds us… spins endlessly…”
“Curses are worthless. If the world can be destroyed by curses like yours, it was never worth saving.”
Almost there.
《Skill check: “Cursed Life (Second Time)” activated》
“You… you can’t understand the terror of being consumed by a curse! No one can understand that fear, that sadness—”
“Ah, enough. I’m not interested in your sob story.”
“Wha—huh?”
The white-haired girl trembles.
Hmm, her mask’s half broken, and she looks incredible.
This girl’s got some serious dignity.
I can’t let her show me up.
“Don’t misunderstand. You’re not special. You just didn’t know about the curse that is me.”
“…!”
Nailed it! Feels like I’m the true conqueror here.
All three knights collapse to their knees at the same time.
Being treated like nobodies really broke them.
Maybe I overdid it?
“Hence, you’re no longer of any interest to me.”
No, half-hearted kindness is just self-satisfaction.
Looking back, this was probably the best way to wrap things up.
“Wait!! Please…”
“…What is it?”
Really? What now?
Just let me go home.
My legs are trembling like crazy.
No way I’m doing a round two, or fighting some powered-up form.
“We must die… but you say we don’t have to…?”
“…”
“Huh?
Were we talking about that just now?
Um, um, what? What did you say?”
“… We came here to die. Only the power of the Goddess of Death had the potential to kill us. But now, we understand that’s not the case.”
“… What do you mean?”
Oh, wait, I have a bad feeling about this.
“Oh, terrifyingly strong traveler. I want you to end us.”
This conversation is starting to get complicated.
“Please… I want you to end us here and now… I know it’s a presumptuous request, but we—”
Damn, these guys are completely lost in their own world.
What a fantastic role…
But I can’t kill you right now.
I want to avoid trying to kill you here and then ending up losing due to some kind of runaway power!
If I mess up my ultimate villain play, it’ll be a disaster!
I’ll deceive you with all my might!!
“Ridiculous. You are not even worth killing.”
“““Huh?”””
“If you want to die, go ahead and do it where I can’t see you.”
“That’s… not good…! You saw it, didn’t you? That form… We are monsters—”
“Keh, heh, hehehe.”
“W-Why are you laughing?”
“What are you…?”
As the three of them stare in astonishment, I manage to suppress my laughter.
“Ah, sorry, sorry. It’s just so ridiculous. … There are no monsters in front of me.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“Weak ones.”
《Using skill ‘Curse Manipulation: Enhancement’ activates intimidation roll.》
《‘Knight of the Apocalypse’ failed resistance roll.》
《Your curse power instills a state of fear in the surroundings.》
“Ugh.”
“Ahaha… What is that magic power…”
“Huh… It surpasses that of mortals…”
The expressions of the three freeze.
They seem to have noticed my curse power.
It looks like I can use my curse power for intimidation when I circulate it through my whole body like this.
“—The world is vast.”
“… You are… No way.”
“You want us to live. Is that what you’re saying…?”
“H-How… I’ve never been told such a thing before.”
Huh?
This isn’t the reaction I was expecting.
I was thinking something along the lines of ‘the world is vast, so feel free to die where I can’t see you’…
“I’ve said it many times, but to me, it doesn’t matter whether you live or die.”
“Ah…”
Why do they look so sad?
Aren’t they the ones who wanted to die?
I really don’t get it.
“But don’t worry. You won’t destroy the world.”
“What do you mean…?”
“In the end, you’ll arrive at my curse. This world is… my garden. My possession.”
I still have many things I want to do.
It’s a fantasy world full of magic and all that.
It would be unbearable if the game I just started was ruined this early.
“Garden…”
“How arrogant… But, oh, how pure.”
“Heh, maybe I’m more suited than anyone in my clan.”
And the expressions of the three harden.
I should head back while I can!
“Knight, bearing the overflowing curses and fate, —you commoner.”
“Commoner… Ah, are you calling us…?”
“You’re calling this kind of monster a person?”
“Heh, heh. I’m a person, I’m okay with being a person…”
“You can suffer as many times as you want, as a person. You can struggle to the end. No matter what path you choose, don’t worry.”
《Skill check ‘Cursed Life (Second Time)’ generates special options.》
“At the end of that path, I will be there. The destination of your curses will not be the world, but me.”
“… W-We can live?”
“It’s up to you to decide.”
No, seriously, do whatever you want.
Death is heavy.
“If we were to become the Apostles of the Apocalypse? Not in this half-hearted state?”
“Now is not the time for that.”
Wait… am I still going to get stronger?
“… Heh. What if we do destroy the world?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll kill you.”
I will definitely not lose.
Once I get back, I’ll resume my training right away.
I need to get even stronger!
“““…”””
Shaora!
Finally, they’ve gone silent.
Heh, what incredible villainous talent.
Now, let’s head back.
Let’s keep this charisma of evil going before I slip up.
“Um! W-Wait!”
“What is it…?”
Damn! A second time being stopped?!
I won’t play along with their death wish roll anymore!
“I don’t intend to continue this pointless exchange. And I won’t meet you again.”
“Please… tell me your name…”
“Name…?”
Ugh, absolutely not.
My name stands out way too much in this world…
Hmm? But wait.
I can assert control over the situation with overwhelming power, break their spirits with rational conversation, and make a swift exit.
And then, to be asked for my name…?!
Hey, hey, hey… that’s—
Very villain-like!
