Ch.390390 – Your Greatest Enemy is Yourself

<390 – The Greatest Enemy is Oneself>

Dobby changed his approach.

“Why are you so obsessed with one-hit kills? You could have been plenty strong without such ridiculous restrictions, and could have done so much more with that strength.”

“Obviously to see the ending branches faster.”

“Ending branches…?”

“The way a world ends. When you become the final survivor and witness it, the world rewards the player. So you can enjoy the next game stronger and with more advantages.”

“The next game? Just for something like that…?”

In this ruined world, where could there possibly be a “next”?

After civilization is rebuilt and humanity flourishes again?

If so, how many tens of thousands of years in the future would this “next” be!

Terrifying.

This cruel Dragon is terrifying.

Not understanding the human heart.

Not understanding human time.

Not understanding human life.

Incomprehensible to human eyes.

This unfathomable being is so frightening.

“You’re wrong. Both you and this world.”

“This DLC character is quite annoying. Did they program a stubborn personality data into it?”

The eyes atop the Strength Marine’s massive body glinted eerily like those of a reptile.

Clang!

The sword broke.

Someone had blocked the path in front of me.

I only realized this after the wind had rushed past.

“W-why…?”

“If you were sent by the me who remembered Dorothy, you would surely know what righteousness is. Even if challenging the Marine is foolish, if you pointed out that this path is not righteous, I would follow it.”

The man with his lower body gone, Rockpell, spoke his last words before his breath ceased.

“Ha. This is ridiculous. I somehow raised the loyalty stat to 100 for these NPCs that never increase their affection, and it breaks in an instant? This is such bullshit.”

Emperor Yayoi shouted at the Strength Marine who had crushed the resistance member with his own hands.

“How could you kill our comrade? Does this mean we’re no longer useful to you?!”

“You know about it, don’t you? The restriction that I lose half my power if I can’t kill in one hit. If he blocked my path knowing that, wasn’t he prepared to be killed in one blow?”

Internal conflict erupted.

I wanted to create change, but not like this.

Like a small crack bringing down a massive dam, everyone turned hostile toward the Strength Marine.

“You’re insane.”

“Weren’t you the ones who wanted to use this madman’s power for your revenge? I even pushed through side stories for you, wasting my precious time, and this is the thanks I get?”

“That’s why we came this far together. No further.”

Irene’s grand magic, Yayoi’s holy incantation, Mandela’s celestial sound—everyone’s attacks triggered the doomsday switch like a nuclear war already in progress.

A barrage of attacks where everyone had to kill each other in one hit rained down.

“Arghhhh!”

Dobby rolled across the stone floor until he slammed against a large boulder, finally stopping his momentum from the shockwave.

The Strength Marine was incredible.

While withstanding all those attacks, he managed to defeat every resistance member with his own hands.

Of course, the resistance was destroyed.

The Strength Marine couldn’t hide his frustration.

“Ah. This is such bullshit.”

“Bullshit?”

“Being unfairly treated. Being wronged.”

“Wronged? This is all the result of your own actions!”

“I finally blocked the gods’ eyes, and now some moral compass character shows up? This is driving me crazy. Was there some time travel foreshadowing in those lectures I skipped?”

Normal conversation was impossible.

Though it had a human form, it didn’t possess a human heart.

I need to change tactics.

I need to find a way to kill this monster.

I have a “next” chance.

Dobby deactivated his mana barrier.

But the Strength Marine forcibly reapplied it.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“Making a mess and trying to escape by dying?”

To start the next cycle, I need to die.

If I deactivate the mana barrier, the Bloody Super Moon would drain my blood and kill me.

But now I couldn’t die.

“Let me see what’s inside that head of yours.”

“No, don’t come near me!”

His futile resistance ended as the Strength Marine grabbed his head with one hand, dangling him in the air.

“Memory scanning.”

Everything penetrated.

All the memories accumulated until today.

His past.

Dobby couldn’t even resist from despair.

The Strength Marine said he had obtained enough information, but didn’t crush his head.

“Oknodie? Are you okay? You’re not dead?”

“…?”

“What is this? Could it be…?”

The man suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.

“I see. That strategy was definitely mine. Something I never shared with anyone, mine alone. No doubt about it. My eyes cannot be deceived.”

“Y-you’re just a byproduct of memory synchronization… You can’t touch Oknodie!”

“Do you know this saying? A future that has been observed gains some possibility of manifesting.”

“That’s a lie!”

“I’m looking forward to it, Oknodie. Whether this new possibility can provide new entertainment to me, who devours route branches. Ah, this is a gift. Since you showed me something good, I’ll give you a gift in return.”

His body freezes.

He can’t move a finger.

This is a world of memories.

A fake summoned through synchronization.

Not reality.

The difference in understanding overturned common sense.

Dobby’s body petrified while still alive.

“I’ll specially allow you to watch. My training.”

The strength monster began ominous research to escape his fate as a mere fragment of synchronized memory.

Dobby couldn’t stop him.

All he could do was watch.

The man was persistent.

Whenever the petrification mana weakened, he periodically reinforced it.

Dobby’s blood couldn’t leave his body, and only his consciousness continued.

“I’ve found a clue.”

The strength monster finally said what Dobby least wanted to hear.

It was escaping beyond the synchronization space.

It had gained the possibility of manifesting in reality.

“When you go ‘outside,’ make sure to tell him. This is the first time. When it happens the third time, I will definitely come for him.”

I shouldn’t have been so curious.

I shouldn’t have meddled.

I’ve caused something terrible.

I see.

The reason people fear precognition and prophecy.

Was it to guard against moments like this?

I’m sorry.

I’m so ashamed.

To Oknodie who gave me this opportunity.

To all humans who will suffer because of this.

The price for rashly trying to judge the apocalypse was a massive violence flowing back into reality.

Perhaps the disaster that would eventually come to reality will arrive much faster this time.

‘I must stop it. This time for certain.’

‘I have to do it. By any means necessary.’

The voice echoing like doom finally ended after the man destroyed Dobby’s petrified body.

[The Synchronization Gate has been destroyed.]

Dobby’s final memory was of the Strength Marine crossing the gate he was supposed to open, wearing a chilling smile.

* * *

“Dobby. Are you okay?”

When he opened his eyes, a fair-skinned, youthful face was looking down at him.

“Gasp!”

“Why are you sweating so much?”

“It’s, it’s nothing.”

“Nothing??”

“Ah, I mean it’s nothing, sir. Just a momentary confusion in my memory.”

“Hmm~ Really?”

Oknodie narrowed his drowsy eyes.

“Dobby. You saw something strange, didn’t you?”

There was much he wanted to say.

Much he wanted to ask.

What was that fragment of apocalypse transmitted through synchronization?

Who passed those memories to you, who didn’t even exist in that world?

But remembering the disaster brought by his hasty attitude, he developed the habit of thinking before speaking.

“I have a question. Do you know someone named Vladimir?”

“Huh? Of course. Cassia’s friend.”

“Cassia?”

“The leader of Group C in the senior class!”

“Senior class… Could it be they’re in the same 981 class as us?”

“Yes. That’s right?”

Now it was certain.

What he saw in the synchronized memory wasn’t a baseless falsehood.

Even the perpetrator of the catastrophe clearly exists in reality.

“Rozini, Sandcooker, Rockpell. Do you know them too?”

“Rockpell is in the same senior class, and the other two are members of my organization! Of course Rockpell is also in the organization. Cassia doesn’t attend much but her name is on the organization roster too!”

“I see… So you were trying to prevent the catastrophe from a place no one knew about…”

“Huh??”

“I apologize. I thought you were just a talented, fun-loving kid I envied. I was even jealous, thinking you’d be nothing without your Foundation background.”

“Suddenly?? Well, you’ve never harmed me or made me feel bad, so I’ll forgive you. But why did you suddenly feel like apologizing?”

“Because I peeked at your memories, the fragments of apocalypse engraved in them.”

Oknodie blinked in surprise.

There was no trace of that demonic man in his appearance.

Finally, Dobby gathered his courage and asked.

“Then do you also know about the Strength Marine?”

“…I don’t know!”

He does know.

But he doesn’t want to talk about it.

Is he really connected to the Foundation?

Dobby nodded.

Whether intentional or not, he wanted to respect the wishes of the person who had shown him the fragment of apocalypse.

But he shouldn’t forget the message.

“He warned me. This is the first time. When it happens the third time, he will come looking for you.”

* * *

This was truly surprising.

The memory synchronization hadn’t lasted long, yet in that brief moment, he had uncovered such deep information.

This Dobby person.

He might have a natural talent for synchronization magic.

But this is troublesome.

Saying he saw my memories, the future apocalypse, means he saw me from the <I Love One-Hit Strength Characters Marine> era.

If someone realizes that a 2m30cm giant has become a 133cm baby Nodie, and this rumor spreads throughout the school…?

‘Big sister Arcadia, Irene, and everyone else might not like me anymore!’

Should I forcibly burn his memories?

No, if he’s a synchronization magic genius, some trigger might restore his memories on its own.

The most secure secrets are kept in the grave.

Should I kill him?

I was startled by the evil thought that instinctively arose.

Killing a newbie? What am I thinking!

“Then do you also know about the Strength Marine?”

“…I don’t know!”

Seeing him play along despite my obvious lie made me feel more generous.

People come in all types—there are ungrateful newbies who cause trouble despite being treated well, and there are precious newbies like Titosoga who follow you crying even when treated harshly.

I can’t harm such a precious child who’s not even a sophomore by staging an accidental death!

“I don’t know anything about that!”

“I see… If that is your wish, I will gladly keep it secret.”

Dobby bowed his head.

And then he delivered the most important message.

“He warned me. This is the first time. When it happens the third time, he will come looking for you.”

A mere fragment of memory that was me left a message for the real me.

What an interesting story.

Does this mean if I open the synchronization magic three more times, I can meet my player-era self?

‘This must be an anti-cheat system that prohibits the world’s secrets from being directly transmitted to others!’

But when told not to do something, the veteran player in me wants to try it even more.

Judging by his mention of Vladimir, the moment of apocalypse Dobby witnessed must be the Bloody Super Moon Disaster.

The bad ending route where vampire blood magic dominates the world and absorbs all life forms without resistance into the blood moon—me with the specs to clear it in one hit.

Facing such a version of myself manifested in reality.

Isn’t that extremely tempting?

As it happens, Academy graduates have an obligation to complete a graduation project.

‘I’ll make defeating my past self my graduation project!’

My goal until graduation is set.

The objective: Build specs that surpass my bad-ending route self!