Can Someone from a Tradition-Ridden Village Pull Off a Narou-Style Story in a Modern Dungeon? ～The Higher Being Behind Me Is Way Too Much of a Final Boss～ - Chapter 122: A Will Sprouts

-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and Cannedbread
Follow me on Patreon via Linktree https://linktr.ee/Mnotia-

The burning world, the darkness peeling away, all of it was nothing more than occurrences inside a fiction.

The outside world remained unchanged at daytime, the sun beating down and a lukewarm wind blowing.

Though it was autumn by the calendar, this year's summer had gone on quite long.

However, the young man didn't know that heat.

Because every day he had been forced into a regulated life where a fixed temperature and wind brushed his cheek.

"Wh- what is this..."

That day, Yoshinori recognized the world for the first time.

"Welcome to the outside of the world. To the seat of freedom where you can look down on the cage called ZONE."

Ruu cackled.

The top floor of a high-rise with no windows.

The place where the calamity-lord-class had been entrenched was now empty.

That said, the burned corpse that had been Aratsuba remained.

"Man, controlling Aratsuba-kun at the same time was rough. Senano-chan and the others really don't hold back, you know. They even dealt with Muscle-chan in an instant. I panicked and pulled an Aberrant Entity out from the back side, but that looks like it's about to be dealt with too. ...Are you listening?"

"Wh- what is this building? Ruu, is this what you wanted to show me?"

"Not exactly. Seeing is believing. So, I'll show you."

As she said this, Ruu made a frame with her fingers and placed Yoshinori inside it.

Closing one eye like a photographer deciding on an angle, what she playfully etched into his brain was——information about ZONE.

"!? Agh!?"

"Since you were originally data, giving you facts as data is the most efficient. It probably hurts, but relax and surrender yourself to the pain. That is a blessing for you."

"Ah, ngh... Wh- what is... ugh"

Clutching his head, tears streaming, he writhed on the ground, forgetting even that someone was watching him.

The cause of it all was the enormous amount of truth poured into his mind.

The world called ZONE, about Aberrant Entities, the role of an Enri Bearer, and——who he himself was.

A mass of information far too intense to give all at once.

It was a reckless act equal to trying to pour all the water of the sea into a cup.

Naturally, his body was screaming.

However, the reason his existence did not collapse even so was entirely thanks to Ruu.

"Today is a lucky day for you. Now that you know the truth, freedom will finally be given to you. ...Wait, are you okay?"

"...Ugh, ah"

"Wah!? H-hey, no no! I chose you after all, so try a little harder!"

Ruu rushed over and placed her hand on Yoshinori's forehead.

He had been foaming at the mouth with his eyes rolled back; he shuddered once, then exhaled heavily and coughed.

It seemed he had regained consciousness.

"...Hahh, hahh, hahh"

"Okay, good, good. You can take your time."

Ruu stroked his head and calmed Yoshinori.

His consciousness, still at the mercy of lingering confusion and pain, was as if he were in a dream.

"I... wasn't human?"

What barely escaped his mouth was a clinging question.

But what came back was a merciless affirmation.

"That's right. You are data of ZONE. To put it more simply, an NPC. ...Ah, do you play games? Do you know what an NPC is?"

"........Yeah, I know."

"Oh, okay! Then good!"

"...What's good about that?"

"Eh?"

"Everything, everything was a lie!"

Was his intoxicated consciousness because of the information poured into him?

Or because the foundation of his existence had crumbled?

Before he knew it, he was looking up at Ruu with tears streaming down his face.

"Who could accept being told that friends, mom, dad, everything was a lie! And Nene and the others too...!"

"This ZONE was activated for the sake of those children after all. It's laughable that you even had the lie of being childhood friends. ...Hey, hey, you're a created existence, and your whole life up to now was completely pointless——"

As if imprinted onto his wavering consciousness, Ruu's words seeped into Yoshinori.

"Doesn't the person who did that to you piss you off? Creating a person and arbitrarily deciding their life and role. I think you'd feel better if you punched them in the side of the face just once."

Was that the temptation of a devil, or the last spider's thread?

Ruu, with her unchanged smile, held out her hand to Yoshinori.

"Meaning to you, purpose to your life. If you take my hand, I'll give you everything. A world where everything remains as free as you wish. Don't you want to see it?"

"...What happens if I refuse?"

"Nothing, really. You'll be reset and return to your daily life. You won't know about this, and you won't doubt your purpose. You'll mechanically spend each fixed day."

"That's not giving me a choice at all...!"

Yoshinori took Ruu's hand, his face still tear-streaked.

The white, soft hand felt as if it had no warmth at all.

"Good, well said."

Ruu pulled him up and stood Yoshinori upright.

Then she gently wiped his tears with a handkerchief.

"You took a step forward! That's something only a being with will can do! Happy birthday!"

"...I feel terrible. Honestly, I still haven't accepted it or come to terms with it."

"That's fine. Let's slowly get used to this shitty world. I'm here too."

Like a magician dealing with a child, Ruu deliberately held out one hand and snapped her fingers.

Then the wall behind her quietly crumbled.

The light of the flames shining into the lightless floor was like a spotlight illuminating him.

"Let's say goodbye to this world one last time. From now on, you'll set out on a journey. A journey you'll never return home from, an endless journey."

Pushed by those words, he advanced to the edge of the broken wall.

Spread out below was the familiar town lit by the raging flames.

No matter where he looked, memories easily surfaced.

The stream at the foot of the mountain where he often played as a child, the park his parents took him to, the convenience store built a few years ago, and Nene and the others' house.

There was nostalgia in all of it, and memories existed there.

Told that all of it was a lie, how could he possibly accept it right away?

"...Ahh, I really don't get it."

The overflowing tears distorted the scenery.

He even thought it would be better if he simply could no longer see anything.

If he took one step forward, that wish could easily come true.

If he jumped from one of the few high-rise buildings in this town, his data would be reset immediately and he would return to the daily life where nothing had happened.

However, the reason he didn't do so was that he had already taken the girl's hand.

"...Who should I punch?"

Looking into the eyes of Yoshinori as he turned around, Ruu gasped softly and applauded.

As expected, it was a gesture that seemed to mock people.

"Don't get the wrong idea, but Senano-chan and the others aren't enemies. Those children are also just puppets being used by the god inside them. Same as you."

"Is that so? Then the one controlling them is my enemy."

"Yes! How clever! So then——we're going to crush the Enri Agency."

With the same smile as when she offered him an ice candy under the sunlight that day, Ruu said this.

This was the beginning of the human named Yoshinori.
(TL Note: I wonder if Sora's gonna let this slide or if its gonna get nipped in the bud)

-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and Cannedbread
Follow me on Patreon via Linktree https://linktr.ee/Mnotia-