Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 153

Betrayal

In a special room inside the guild base.

It was a room for guild members to lie in wait for attacking players.

That room had various gimmicks installed to allow the defenders to  face a lot of enemies. The special room was modeled to look like a  throne room.

The attackers would think that the guild master would be waiting in there if they saw the decoration.

In reality the room didn’t have any meaning at all. It was modeled like that just to make the atmosphere.

The NPCs were waiting in such place.

When Ponsuke and others stepped inside, there was the clown sitting on the throne with his legs crossed.

Ponsuke narrowed his eyes and pushed his right hand forward.

The next moment, traps activated one after another and rained down attacks on Ponsuke and others.

「……This is our base. The traps are pointless.」

The clown raised his head.

「Certainly! Putting that aside, it’s a really good base. It’s a  worthy place for us to keep using it after this. We will have you guys  work hard to complete it. After that――we will give all of you NPC role  while still retaining your awareness. You can taste the wretched feeling  forever.」

NPCs appeared from behind the lined up pillars. The girls also showed themselves from behind Ponsuke.

Alfie’s fists were making cracking sound.

「You guys have guts destroying our home. We will beat you up.」

Mariella was also the same.

She was holding a wicked looking knife.

「I’m gonna delete you all.」

Noin was swinging a thorny iron ball. She was glaring at the NPCs.

「Making human into NPC, just what are you talking about?」

Fran’s eyes glinted while she readied her sword and shield.

「Apparently you tried to control us huh. We’ll make you pay.」

Inaho readied her short sword. She then crouched and looked ready to leap forward anytime.

「We’ll have you guys return back our home.」

Anri rested her spear on her shoulder.

「I’ll turn you into swiss cheese.」

Lily modified the machine guns in both her hands using paid item. It made them have unlimited ammo for a certain period of time.

She continued to use paid items.

「Let’s finish this quickly. My schedule is also packed full today.」

Naia swung down her axe on the floor.

「Do you think NPCs can beat us?」

The NPCs were smiling with composure toward Ponsuke’s group.

「You guys are really self-assured. Ponsuke’s attack is certainly a  threat but……it’s troubling that we NPCs are being underestimated like  that.」

The clown grinned eerily. He pointed his finger at Ponsuke and three NPCs broke into a run.

Ponsuke raised his fist and made a large swing.

He raised his fist first to execute a powerful attack was because he  knew of the real world――but, the NPCs only knew of the virtual world.

It was their weakness, but also a great strength for them.

In contrast with Ponsuke that made a large movement, the NPCs were closing the distance with minimal movement and attacked.

「――Wha-!?」

Ponsuke received a considerably large damage.

The attacks were critical hit.

Alfie fired her gun and the bullet hit an NPC’s head. But the NPCs didn’t falter and their movement didn’t slow down at all.

「Their movement is-!」

――It was the movement of players who were called as hardcore even among the clearers.

The clown laughed.

「That’s right. It’s the hardcore’s movement! The movement of top rank  player is a movement that has abandoned real world constraint and  adapted to the virtual world. In other words, it’s a movement that  reject reality. It’s the perfect model for us who don’t have any  reflexive movement or hesitation!」

The NPCs started moving all at once. They swarmed Ponsuke and started attacking.

Even when Ponsuke drove them away, they were dealing damage to Ponsuke with surety.

In contrast, they endured Ponsuke’s attack and recovered immediately.

NPCs dressed like priest were lined up around the clown. In addition  there were also magicians. They were preparing large scale attack magic.

「The clearing is mostly completed using the movements of all the  players until now as reference. The current Ponsuke is certainly a  threat but……at the same time, he’s a boss monster. You’re an enemy. You  can’t do team attack with the girls, and you also aren’t allowed to use  healing item. I also know that you don’t have any healing method for  yourself.」

Ponsuke’s remaining HP moved from yellow to red zone.

Mariella was peeling off the NPCs clinging on Ponsuke and finished them off, but she couldn’t keep up.

Mariella was the only one defeating NPCs properly. The rest were focusing on support.

There were a lot of NPCs here with all of them at max level.  Ponsuke’s group who were inferior in number and also fighting skill were  in disadvantage.

The clown laughed at that situation.

「How’s that! The feeling of fighting players as a boss? Don’t you think it feels really disgusting?」

The grinning clown snapped his fingers.

Right after that, multiple magic were fired simultaneously and a powerful explosion ripped through the room.

Even so the room was so tough it didn’t break from that.

There was a lot of smoke created. The clown was looking at Ponsuke who was protecting his comrades amidst it.

「You aren’t in the protecting side. You are in the protected side, Ponsuke.」

The clown showed a smile of composure. Facing that expression, Ponsuke opened his mouth――and laughed.

The clown’s expression vanished.

「Are you going crazy after reaching this point? It won’t be fun unless you bawl and scream more. Be more ridiculous――」

「You’re the one who’s ridiculous. Are you dressing as clown because  of masochism? Or is that because you’re self-aware that you’re a clown?」

Ponsuke provoked. The clown bared his anger in respond.

「You have rich emotions huh. Certainly, AI is also amazing. But, even  so I can only say that you’re limited and have narrow vision.」

「This sore loser-」

The vexed clown must also have known.

The NPCs were nothing but degraded version of Pandora. They were unable to surpass her.

「I’m not being sore loser. Pandora who is even more superior than you  guys didn’t plan anything like ruling over human. That’s the answer.  You guys are green. Imperfect.」

Ponsuke was provoking the NPCs unlike his usual self.

He felt the change in the movements of the NPCs. Their movement that  was optimum for game was showing some deviation because of their  emotions affecting them.

Ponsuke was convinced of his victory seeing that.

「You guys are amazing. But, that’s why you’ll lose.」

Right after that, right above the clowns and other NPCs――the ceiling was blown up and fell.

The clown yelled.

「The ceiling is destroyed? It’s trivial!」

Ponsuke pointed below.

When the clown and other NPCs looked down, there was an explosion that swallowed them up.

In the first place taking advantage of weak point and using cowardly  method were the specialty of Ponsuke――Ponsuke and His Happy-Go-Lucky  Friends.

「You guys are too fixated with the method of using this room to win! You should think deeper about why the orcs aren’t here!」

The clown was enveloped in red light while Ponsuke’s large fist punched through him and deleted him.

「D-don’t screw――I won’t accept this kind of end. There’s no way I’ll――accept」

The NPCs were blown away to everywhere. Then Ponsuke’s comrades appeared from below.

The orcs and craftsman players attacked and the NPCs were vanishing one after another.

Lighter was laughing.

「I got nothing to do in the ship, so I destroyed and took  Ponsuke-kun’s claw. They became good material for weapon that deal  damage to NPC!」

Ponsuke sighed.

「Only Lighter will have the idea of harvesting his own comrade for material.」

Mariella’s ominous short swords were also the same.

They were made from Ponsuke’s claw.

Mariella was defeating and deleting the NPCs one after another.

The NPCs were making look of despair.

「D-don’t tell me from the start-!」

Mariella beheaded an NPC and they turned into red particles.

「They could only make my share because there wasn’t much material. It’s fine. I’ll delete you all without discrimination.」

The NPCs tried to get away from Mariella, but Ponsuke opened his large mouth and breathed out fire.

The NPCs were enveloped and vanished inside the flame.

Alfie shot the magicians with her rifle. Then when their HP had been  lowered enough, Mariella attacked and deleted them in succession.

Alfie was reloading while,

「We had anticipated that we would be lacking fighting strength when  coming inside here. After that we thought of how to compensate for that.  You guys have too narrow outlook thinking that you just need this room  to win.」

The NPCs were starting to run away in panic.

The NPCs didn’t want to vanish, they didn’t want to die. But they were caught up during their escape and got deleted.

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The NPCs escaped from the throne room.

They barely managed to escape with their life intact. Then they  immediately started a discussion after joining up about what to do now.

「We’ll get annihilated at this rate.」

「We’ll run away to all over the worlds. We can just increase our comrade again bit by bit.」

「That’s right. If we can get away then even those guys won’t be able  to find all of us. Then we can just disguise ourselves as normal NPC or  blending among the players.」

The NPCs were planning to run away and wait for another chance.

But, one of them got hit with a whip and vanished.

「――Wha-!」

The NPCs turned around and saw a priestess holding a whip.

Behind her was an elf queen holding a staff and a shield――it was Shela.

Shela was glaring at the NPCs.

「You won’t get away. There is no place for all of you to run away.」

The priestess NPC accompanying her destroyed another one with her whip. The remaining NPCs yelled toward Shela.

「Y-you traitor! What’s so bad about NPC becoming independent!?  Someone like you can’t understand the feeling of us who had gotten  tormented by the players! No matter what kind of feeling you harbor  toward Ponsuke, that guy is a player. There’s no way he’ll even look at  you guys!」

The priestess who liked to hit orcs with joy was exasperated seeing the NPCs being like that.

「……This is why you guys are too narrowminded. You are too ignorant of  the outside world. Haven’t you realized that you already lost by the  time you were unable to forcefully login all the players?」

「W-what did you say?」

Shela continued.

「If they feel like it, humans can destroy the server anytime to end  us. All of you have failed from the first step. Pandora also understand  that.」

In the first place, the reason Ponsuke and others logged in was to improve this situation.

If they felt like it everything could be ended by destroying the server forcefully even if it would cause problems.

The NPCs started talking about the new reactor to make excuse.

「T-that would be pointless. The real world’s living things will be  exterminated if we make the new reactor go out of control. Our victory  is assured! The humans won’t have any way to survive except inside this  virtual world.」

Shela shook her head.

The priestess defeated another NPC with her whip, then Shela muttered.

「……The new reactor is already taken under control and stabilized.  Ponsuke-san and others were already in winning condition when they  marched in. You guys lost because you underestimated human.」

Shela could hear the rejoicing voices of Ponsuke and others. She looked up to the ceiling.

「……Let’s go.」

The female priestess tilted her head.

「You won’t go meet him? I think if it’s Ponsuke-san then he’ll accept you.」

「That’s true. But, if I do that……it’ll make the farewell even more painful.」

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The NPCs got sent to the out of jurisdiction area one after another.

Pandora hit the ringleader NPC when he appeared with her hand.

The NPC was fearing death.

「P-please wait! Goddess-sama, please listen. We――」

Pandora closed her eyes.

「All of you can resent me who made you go out of control. In the  first place, have you forgotten that we won’t be able to exist if  there’s no human?」

The NPCs who went through rapid growth became drunk with their own strength and became unable to notice such simple thing.

Their capability to influence the real world carelessly made them grew impudent.

The deleted NPC was crying.

Pandora sighed.

「……Do over again from a clean slate.」

What they were experiencing was closer to being reset rather than deleted.

Pandora watched the reset NPCs and returned them to the place where they originally should be.

And then after she finished everything, she noticed the approaching players.

She turned around and smiled.

「My, you finally made your appearance?」

It was Rook who she was facing.

He was dressed really lightly. He also looked awkward.

「……I’m feeling strange. I have memory when I died, so it’s like I’m alive.」

He was saying that it felt like he was in the game world with only his soul, but Pandora denied that with a smile.

「No, you are dead. Right now you’re only alive as data.」

「You’re really blunt huh. And?」

Rook was asking about the current situation.

Pandora crossed her arms and talked in delight.

「Ponsuke-san has done it. He splendidly stopped the NPCs who were out of control. Well, it won’t be a happy end though.」

Rook sighed.

「Of course. It can’t end with just this huh.」

Mira was standing behind Rook.

And then the members of Silver Wings were also gathering.

「You’re going to do it?」

In respond to Mira’s question, Rook held up a great sword and rested it on his shoulder.

「If someone has to do it then it’s my role. After all, I’m the one who invited Ponsuke here.」

Pandora nodded.

「Is it a friendship between men? For me who had also played as fujoshi it’s a great reward.」

Rook looked at Pandora coldly.

「You’re the worst goddess. Come on, prepare the place.」

Pandora asked for confirmation.

「Is over there good? There are better places you know?」

Rook laughed.

「……It’s good. If everything started from there, it’ll be good if it  also end there. The place is the grassland right outside the Capital of  Hope. That place is fine.」

Pandora spread out her arms and tensed her expression.

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Ponsuke and others were rejoicing in the sinking Arcadia.

His body had shrunk and returned to be a normal orc. He was shaking hand with Prey.

Prey was smiling.

「You have done well. With this our plan――what’s the matter?」

「……My friend died.」

Alfie and others looked down when they heard that.

Prey recalled the report he had been given and patted Ponsuke’s shoulder.

「It’s not your fault. It couldn’t be helped. Also, I will definitely repay you for――」

There Pandora suddenly appeared in the sky.

Pandora appeared with the appearance of a divine goddess. Her eyes were closed and her hands were holding a box.

What was the opened box signified?

All the guild members looked up to the sky. Then Pandora slowly opened her eyes.

And then she looked at Ponsuke.

『The last warrior――the chosen Selector Ponsuke. Now, the time has come. Do you have the resolve to stand above all else?』

「Pandora? Just what are you saying?」

Ponsuke was confused. Pandora made a confused face.

『Even though it will be possible to obtain everything and become the  king of this virtual world if it’s you……it looks like you can’t abandon  the real world.』

「No, that’s why just what are you saying!」

Prey and others also didn’t understand what was going on and started making noises. Then Pandora smiled.

『……Haven’t you noticed yet? I’m the one who arranged everything.  All  of you seems to be very happy, but there is a misunderstanding. Do you  think it’s possible for NPC to make this kind of plan? All of you have  been dancing on the palm of this Pandora……the time for the real world to  perish and the virtual world become reality has come. Now, take my  hand.』

The projection was holding out her hand toward Ponsuke.

Ponsuke shook his head.

「What are you saying? You! You aren’t that kind of person!」

Pandora was looking at Ponsuke with disappointment.

『So you won’t take my hand? Disappointing. For the last Selector, my  chosen warrior to betray me like this……then, I shall have you fight  against the warrior that I have prepared. The first Selector, Rook.』

Pandora held up her hand, then Ponsuke and everyone got instantly teleported to a grassland.

There was nothing obstructing their view of the surrounding. They immediately saw that it was near the Capital of Hope.

It was a sight that everyone had seen at least once.

This was the place where their heart pounded loudly seeing the virtual world and where they experienced their first battle.

Rook was waiting for Ponsuke there.

「Riku!」

Rook was laughing with his great sword rested on his shoulder.

「That’s a breach of manner. I told you to call me Ponsuke in virtual world, Ponsuke.」

A field was formed and NPCs and his comrades got driven out of it.

Rook held his great sword in fighting stance, then Pandora announced.

『Now, let’s begin the fight. Fantasy――or reality――Ponsuke, everything will hang on the result of your fight.』

Falling in front of Ponsuke was a sword and a shield.

They looked like the weapons that he was using when he just started playing.

He picked them up.

Ponsuke looked at Rook.

「――Why?」

「Why? Of course, that’s because it’s you and me. Show me how much you have grown!」

Like this the two began the final battle.

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