<532 – Not Dead!>
If the heroes had strong souls, they wouldn’t have gone crazy or succumbed even after seeing my strategy guide.
But even the remnants of their souls turned into empty vessels, and the fake personalities that filled them couldn’t withstand the self-destructive waves emanating from the [Book of Mental Suppression].
[Hero <‘Terius’> is stiffening.]
[Hero <‘Bahamut’> is stiffening.]
[Hero <‘Dominator’> is resisting stiffness.]
Not all—the vessels with physical composition superior to that of ordinary heroes succeeded in resisting.
[Katarina’s Unique Domain Expansion]
[Tea Time, Declaration of Forced Peace]
Head Maid Katarina deployed her domain, blocking the approach of the fake heroes.
While the heroes’ levels were enough to surpass Katarina’s domain, what was needed now was just a moment’s time until I opened the next book.
Katarina’s domain already bought me sufficient time by its mere existence.
[Class 981 Year 3 Strategy Guide]
As I opened the third strategy guide, the high-ranking vessels of the heroes, which had been sparsely attempting to resist, suddenly stood still.
If they were warrior-level vessels, they might have resisted the Year 3 guide, but they had already exploded their bodies of their own will before their souls were destroyed.
All 65 heroes came to a halt.
[Hero <‘Dominator’> is attempting to break free from stiffness.]
[Hero <‘Cool Cat’> is attempting to break free from stiffness.]
A few persistent beings struggled to escape stiffness, but at this point, the game was already over.
“Head Maid Sister, close your eyes!”
[Class 981 Year 4 Strategy Guide]
As I opened the last book, the heroes gave up resistance, eyes devoid of vitality.
[In the face of the evil magic of the [End Prophecy] of the [Strategy Guide], all the heroes’ vessels have been neutralized. Who would consider you a magic swordsman? You are a proper Dark Princess!]
[Dark Corruption Experience Points +300]
[End Prophecy Experience Points +300]
[Echoes of Destruction Experience Points +100]
“Yap!”
As I brought the book closer, the hero’s vessel trembled and writhed in agony.
“Hmm…”
Even after closing the book and turning away, there was no sign of anyone attempting a surprise attack.
“Okay, domination complete!”
“…Is it all over now?”
“Yup. You can open your eyes!”
The Head Maid sister, startled by the ominous magic of the Strategy Guide, cautiously opened her eyes.
“What on earth is that book? It’s a forbidden book that might be on par with the copy of the Book of Mental Suppression prepared by the Crown Prince, possibly even greater.”
“Ugh… If I explain, I might take damage… Do you really want to know?”
“I apologize. There are some things in this world that don’t need to be known, so I will drop the matter.”
I wrapped the book in a sealing magic ribbon and neatly stowed it away in my backpack.
Behind the seemingly humble Head Maid sister were the Homunculi destined to be sacrificed, bustling around.
Despite suffering from the double torture of the [Book of Mental Suppression] used by the high official and the [Strategy Guide] I utilized, the Homunculi hadn’t faced a mass death solely thanks to the Head Maid sister’s attentive defense.
“Thanks to that, I woke up comfortably!”
“What I did is nothing compared to what Oknodie did. If it’s a forbidden book that can overwhelm the heroes’ vessels, the burden on the one who opens it must be immense, yet you held it open for over a minute… I am truly in awe of Oknodie’s mental power and boldness.”
“Oh, come on! Normally, understanding it fully or having made the forbidden book means I don’t take much damage!”
“…You handcrafted the forbidden book?”
Suddenly, Katarina had a look of disbelief at her own ears.
Gasp.
While it was natural for [Muscle-All-In-One-Character-Loves-You] to do so, it sounded so strange coming from Oknodie that it raised suspicions!
“Don’t get me wrong! It’s not because I’m a bad child or a scary child; I just wrote down the experiences I went through!”
Katarina covered her mouth.
“I-it’s a diary!”
“To have lived such harsh days at the mere age of 11 to the extent of overwhelming heroes’ bodies…”
“Excuse me? Are you paying attention to what I’m saying?”
“I know the Chairman is a merciless person, but what you did to Oknodie is really harsh…”
I could feel Katarina’s sympathy gauge shoot up to maximum.
Consequently, Papa’s reputation took a nosedive today as well.
Papa, I’m sorry.
I thought you were my Dark Attribute daughter, but I guess you also had some Fire Attribute.
An 11-year-old like a raging storm of dark flames.
The daughter of darkness is feeling guilt today as well!
But isn’t it Katarina’s fault if she only wants to hear what she wants even when I explain it properly?
I’m innocent!
“But you sure stirred up quite the situation. Causing such a commotion in the palace controlled by that emperor.”
“Hehe. That’s fine; I sent Reap to handle it! I told her to let me know immediately once the emperor shows signs of finishing up his enhancements at the Internal Enhancement Facility.”
The emperor aims for at least a +20 on his enhancements, a mythical gacha. He, more than anyone else, is serious about enhancing and equivalent exchange to obtain divine artifacts to defeat Omoshiroi Principal, making thorough preparations for the enhancement ritual.
It’s a given that he isolates the Internal Enhancement Facility from other dimensions to prevent interference during the ritual.
During that time, while he cannot interfere with the outside world, we can’t disrupt him either.
Once the emperor has voluntarily sealed himself in a moment when he possesses the power to blow someone to bits with just a flick of his hand, it was natural for me to take action.
‘After all, I set something up so he’d have no choice but to enhance!’
I dropped a hint to raise the probability of success for the divine artifact gacha, so the emperor had no choice but to get all excited and hole himself up in the Internal Enhancement Facility.
However, it seems like the only one getting all hyped up and abandoning everything isn’t just the emperor.
[You have consumed an excessive amount of mental power potions in a short time.]
[Due to a triple-decker side effect, one or more of the following conditions will activate: [Lethargy], [Exhaustion], [Dizziness], [Headache], [Chills], [Shortness of breath], [Seizures], [Respiratory arrest], [Blackout].]
A drug side effect kicked in.
“Yikes! I’m done for! My activity time is over!”
“Huh?”
“I sent a mosquito to bring Reap, so just help me with the way out! Masugaki is with the monster army, so just head there!”
“Oknodie? Your complexion doesn’t look too good, what do you mean…”
“Oh, right! Please tell Jiang and Titosso not to worry. I’m fine!”
━━━
[Status Ailments Activated]
Respiratory Arrest – 1 minute 37 seconds
Blackout – 1 hour 37 minutes 45 seconds
Lethargy – 137 hours 45 minutes 59 seconds
━━━
Respiratory arrest means just that.
Blackout refers to a state of fainting whereby consciousness is cut off.
Lethargy results in an 80% reduction in combat power.
How did it work in the game?
During [Respiratory Arrest], characters suddenly collapsed and could neither input orders nor be controlled.
Well, since [Muscle-All-In-One-Character-Loves-You]’s spec demanded that health be high as much as muscle, the high health made the duration of status ailments short, resulting in a meaningless faintness!
[Blackout] made the time just fly by like a blink of an eye.
[Lethargy] is the only one that felt real, but even with the combat power reduced, my base attack was strong enough that it hardly mattered.
In summary, it means I got lucky with the status ailments!
I’m glad I managed to get my words across before fainting.
With a sense of relief, fatigue hit me all at once like cramming for an overdue assignment.
I’m okay, I’m not dead.
The status ailments will disappear once the duration ends.
So stop running over all panicked, Katarina!
*
Oknodie hung limp like a puppet with the strings cut.
The imposing presence of the Dark Princess, who skillfully handled a malevolent forbidden book that appears only once in a century, evaporated as she collapsed.
Thinking it was just a moment of exhaustion, Katarina felt her heart drop at the shocking realization.
“Breath… not being caught?”
No doubt about it.
This was beyond [Playing Dead] or [Fainting].
She was completely breathless.
No breath.
A state of cardiac arrest.
It was enough to declare a ‘death sentence.’
[Electric Shock]
Even after projecting electricity carefully onto her heart to stimulate her muscles, her pulse didn’t return.
Katarina’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat.
She had thought she could help.
But in reality, she was of no help whatsoever.
How was she supposed to face the children who were forcibly deported now?
She would rather not have come in at all, at least that way there might have been a bit more time before the children heard of this sad news.
Unlike the curious and gentle Titosso, like a capybara, Jiang the assassin was not the type to cry himself out and return home from exhaustion.
Bang!
“Oknodie!”
Jiang shattered the sealing magic placed at the entrance of the Forbidden Research Institute and came in.
Just the sight of the blood dripping from her hands and the blood-stained dagger exuding a sinister aura was enough to tell.
Her personality, as someone who doesn’t hold back sacrifices, matches that of Oknodie.
“Oknodie…?”
Approaching the pale-faced Oknodie, who was devoid of a pulse, Jiang inquired, “What happened to Oknodie?”
“She’s in a state of cardiac arrest.”
Jiang’s expression crumbled as if the world had ended.
