Ch 2 - Isekai Start

“What is this?”

I widened my eyes at the computer screen.

“No way, no way, no way! This can’t be the end, right?”

My game character was there, standing above a mountain of corpses.

The problem is, it wasn’t just corpses of monsters.

The screen moved and showed the pained faces of my allies.

From the headless body of the sword saint, the bloodied mess of what I assume was once the hero, to the saintess, dragon lord, the princess.

Everyone lay there, unmoving.

And not just them.

From the protagonist’s hometown all the way to the demon continent.

Everyone was dead.

Everyone I loved, the people of this world who helped me, went through the difficulties in life. They looked at me through the screen with dead eyes as if blaming me, the player, for leading them to this conclusion.

“No… There was a mistake. There must be.”

With trembling hands, I moved the mouse and checked my game log.

Even the last screen congratulated me for reaching this true ending no player had ever reached.

Surely, it was a perfect run.

Of all the thousands of playthroughs I did over 10 years, this is definitely the best.

The #1 game that was called the world’s absolute hardest strategy game, [Isekai Defense].

I became the only player to defeat the notorious final boss and even achieve 100% completion with this game.

It should be a happy day for me, and yet–

“The true end…? This…?”

It was the moment my patience snapped.

“Are you kidding me!?”

I slammed the table.

“Why…? I did everything I could. So why…?”

It was painful.

“Why…?”

I clenched my chest.

“Why is everyone dying…?”

And then, silence.

To be honest, I expected this result. The enemies were strong, and the death flags were many. Even the allies’ behavior was unpredictable due to the hyper-realistic AI.

But even then, to not even have a single good end.

Is this world doomed from the start?

Is it too much to ask for a perfect happy ending for these people?

“I feel sick.”

My gaze met the protagonist. But the grief I saw in his eyes was probably the same as what was reflected in mine.

“Yeah, you suffered a lot too. We worked so hard together.”

It was a truly long fight.

“You have done your part… Now it’s my turn to act.”

I posted my clear video on the forum and opened the browser to email the developer.

If nothing can be done in-game, I can at least do something on this side.

Some people on the forum mocked me for being too immersed in the game. But they didn’t understand. To me, who grew up lonely, was bullied, and has been saved by [Isekai Defense], this is not just a game.

This is my reason to live.

“Alright. I sent it.”

It was when I was about to turn off the PC.

“Hm?”

A notification rang.

Was it the forum?

I checked, but besides the raving praise from players who saw my clear record post, I don’t think there’s anything special.

Then, I heard it again.

It was from the game window that I forgot to close.

What is it?

I opened it and saw the protagonist talking to me.

“Huh…?”

That’s right, I didn’t hear wrong. He was talking to me, the player.

As I listened to his desperate plea, I realized he remembered all the playthroughs we went through, not just this timeline.

“Please…”

It was a plea that only brought harm to the player.

Before I was able to answer, an email came from the dev.

[“We want to help you, but… we can’t. However, you can. If you have reached the true end, then you can definitely do it. The protagonist should have told you what to do if you want a happy ending. Please accept it and save the world in our stead.”]

It was unreasonable. Not just the shameless dev, but also what I heard from the protagonist. Higher dimension? Transmigration to another world? Really?

Then again, if what he said was true, everything makes sense.

No wonder the AI was so life-like, damn it.

I replied to the email and said to the protagonist.

“Fine.”

It was the moment I decided to throw away the world I live in. It’s not like I have anything to live for in this world.

“I’ll do it.”

The deal was sealed. The screen turned bright as if to swallow everything that exists.

In fact, it definitely swallowed me.

And, was it a dream? In a world of light where everything else was gone, I felt I was standing face-to-face with the protagonist.

“Thank you.”

He said that before disappearing into particles of light.

I widened my eyes at that.

Wait, does me transmigrating mean he will cease to exist?

‘You idiot.’

Just because you usually don’t die, does it make sense to do that!? Why do you keep sacrificing yourself like that?

He only smiled as if having read my feelings.

As I was about to reach out to the protagonist in anger.

The world crashed, and my consciousness turned black.

Ah, really.

Until the end, he was an incorrigible bastard.

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