[Begin, ‘War of Extinction Ragnarok’!]
[–Satisfied now?! I don’t look like a rip-off anymore now, right?!] Azathoth who now wore her hair in twintails screamed with teary eyes. The players calling her a rip-off hit her really hard, it seemed.
“Haha… to be fair, silver hair and red eyes aren’t that uncommon in online games.”
I got my silver hair and red eyes because I had chosen to randomize my character’s appearance, but many other players simply liked them. Alice, for instance.
Demon King Azathoth–or rather, the dev had likely picked the same style without much thought, thinking something along the line of “You can’t go wrong with following the trend.” Knowing them, I was sure that had to be the case.
[Kh… I’ve never been so humiliated. Yuri, I’ll kill you and no one will call me a rip-off anymore!]
“If you want to kill anyone, go kill the goddess. She’s your enemy, right?” I wryly smiled at Azathoth glaring at me.
The war hadn’t even started yet, and the Demon King’s side had already descended into chaos. Then again, I didn’t hate this idiotic and noisy atmosphere.
[—Ahem, well then, I shall now explain the rules of the War of Extinction.]
Azathoth then began to explain.
The summary was like this:
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1. For today only, the players on the Demon King’s side will log in to the city where the ‘Demon King Tomb Yuggoth’ sits and the players on the Goddess’ side will log in to the city where the ‘Goddess’ Spirit Tree’ grows. Players can’t leave the city until the War of Extinction starts.
2. The battlefield spans all across the BSO world. Once the War of Extinction starts, all mob NPCs and wild monsters will temporarily disappear until the war ends.
3. The victory condition is simple. Whichever side annihilates the other side wins. (*Defeated players will be transferred to a special area and will only be able to spectate until the end of the event. Players who log in after the event starts will also land in the same area.)
4. Once the war begins, the edge of the world will turn into a ‘Zone of Death’. Staying in the ‘Zone of Death’ will inflict continuous damage. In addition, the ‘Zone of Death’ will gradually encroach toward the center of the world. Therefore, it is not advisable to keep hiding in a remote area.
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“—I see. No wonder the city is so full of people today. It’s because of the first rule.” I looked over the crowded Helheim. The Snowy City Niflheim, the Goddess’ side home base, must be as rowdy, if not rowdier.
I was worried about Alice. She seemed to be the type of person who would get sick in a big crowd. Korin, too. She was so petite she’d likely get crushed.
“I already know that the whole world will be the stage of the war. The official website has mentioned the rule regarding the Zone of Death, too.”
It was standard in battle royale games.
But in those games, where the damage zone started and where it expanded was always random.
In this event, however, the damage zone would encroach from the edge to the center of the world. We’d have to adjust our strategy accordingly.
“Anyway, the rules are simple enough to understand. But one thing bothers me…”
I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted to her the Demon King Azathoth.
“Hey, Azathoth! So what’s your role here?! Are you going to fight with us?”
Her shoulders jumped at my question.
The other players seemed to be curious too as they said, “Are you some sort super powerful helper?”, “I wanna see how you fight!”, etc.
Under the barrage of questions, Azathoth went silent for a while before…
[A-actually, what you see now is my spirit form. I can’t really interact with the real world… s-so…]
“““““So?”””””
[S-so… all I can do is give you encouragement!]
“““““You’re pretty much useleeeeeeess!”””””
At that moment, the hearts of the players on the Demon King’s side became one…!
“Useless!” echoed throughout the whole city. Who’d have thought that after all that ostentatious display, she turned out to be nothing but a mascot?
People yelled, “Can’t you use support magic at least?!”, “All you’ve got is a pretty face?!”, “Yuri-chan is the only one worthy to be our Demon King, after all!” each made Azathoth’s face redder and redder and her body tremble harder and harder until finally…
[Shut uuuup, all of you!!! Goddess Ymir is the same, so deal with it!!!]
Azathoth snapped.
But despite how mad she was, she only looked like a puppy barking to pretend to be tough. What an adorable Demon King.
“Hahaha… it’s soothing, but this isn’t the right mood to go to war.”
Guess I’ve got no other choice… I stepped forward from the crowd and a summoning formation appeared under my feet.
All eyes instantly gathered on me. Sensing them on my back, I called out.
“Come, Vanishing Firebird.”
In response, a giant flaming bird emerged from the summoning formation.
Say hello to one of my partners, Chuntaro, a boss monster. Receiving my mental order, he took me to the sky.
He made a circle around the city, over the heads of the Demon King’s side’s players before stopping beside Azathoth.
[W-what are you–]
“Can you shut up for a minute?”
[Y-yes, ma’am!]
After silencing Azathoth, I looked around at the players.
And…
“—Everyone, it’s time to set your spirits ablaze. War is upon us.” Quietly, but heavily, I spoke.
At that moment, the atmosphere became tense. Players’ faces turned serious.
“…The enemy’s forces are more than double that of ours. To top it off, they have countless assassin players and an army of players with the same build as mine. Logically speaking, there is no way we can defeat them.”
No one objected.
Everyone understood. We were outnumbered from the beginning, and our chances of winning were almost non-existent.
But…
“Even so, you all have gathered here today…! Despite knowing we are heavily outnumbered… you cast away your fears and dare yourself to face the enemy!”
I was really proud of them.
Anyone could join a side with the upper hand. However, not many people could stand on the losing side.
I looked at the 80,000 heroes with sincere respect.
Their eyes shone with pride at their choice.
“I heard that this ‘War of Extinction’ is going to be the largest battle event in the history of online games. It will be broadcast live. The viewers will most likely think: ‘It’d be a miracle if the Demon King’s side won’.”
–So!
“So let’s make a miracle! Let’s show them we can win this! Let’s carve a new legend into the history of the online game world!!!”
“““““YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!”””””
Everyone screamed in unison!
The screams shook the earth and heated up the air.
Okay, seemed like they were good to go now! I turned to Azathoth who muttered [H-h-have I turned into a background character…?] and gave her a thumbs up.
[Fue…?]
“No, don’t ‘Fue’ me. I’ve set the stage. Do what you need to do.”
Our red eyes met.
Even if she was just an NPC—or one of the dev, rather—and even if her status as a Demon King was just a setting, there was one thing only she could do. As a ‘King’.
“…This war is something you started with the goddess, right? Don’t let your followers look down on you, then. You may have no power, but your authority is undeniable. So, give us your order. Send us to war.”
[You… All right!] Azathoth’s expression changed.
She spread her black wings and spoke with a dignified voice. [–My warriors. The time has come for the decisive battle! Like bloodthirsty beasts baring their fangs, raise your weapons of murder!]
[Yeaaaaaaaah!] Rang throughout Helheim.
The players all raised their weapons. All of them were now coated in a black metallic sheen.
Ominous blood-red magical lines ran through them. They were ‘Demon Steel Armaments’, proofs that they belonged to the Demon King’s side.
Of course, all of my weapons were like them, too. (*I got more than 100 weapons, and members of Producers’ Union almost died working on all of them.)
“Alright, Azathoth, I can’t wait any longer. Give us your blessing.”
My heart was already thumping fast for battle. Azathoth then nodded vigorously at me.
She raised her arm, and…
[Very well. Let the ‘War of Extinction Ragnarok’… begin!]
The order to open war was finally released.
Thus, the greatest war in gaming history began–!
