episode_0131

Lawless City.

Pickpocketing is just the basics here. It’s a place so swarming with assassins that you never know when or where you’ll be stabbed in the back. A den overflowing with crazed pleasure killers who charge at you head-on. If a regular person steps in, they’d be stripped bare within minutes—corpse included. It’s so dangerous that even a hero’s party could get taken down in ways you wouldn’t expect.

’Looking at our party’s current state, it’s almost pitiable for anyone who dares challenge us…’

Anyway.

It’s a complete mess thanks to the countless criminals. Something like a welcoming greeting? Unheard of. And a bunch of guys wearing matching uniforms, moving in perfect unison? Doesn’t exist here.

But then… what’s that?

A welcome?

Welcoming the hero’s party?

What’s going on?

The lawless city I knew wasn’t like this. Whether you’re a hero’s party or whatever, they’d hit you with the full course—pickpocketing, robbery, threats, assassination attempts.

What the hell is this situation?

“Hmm…”

I took a moment to observe the figures standing before us.

A group clad in black robes.

Their movements were somewhat synchronized, like a knight order, but their formation was embarrassingly sloppy compared to a real one.

But.

Even this much was impressive.

Because the crime-ridden city is the abyss itself, where only the truly ruthless gather. Everyone here is confident in their skills, a den of prideful bastards who bow to no one. A place where even if they die, they’d take one last slash before going down.

So, there was no such thing as a criminal ’organization’ here. Just subduing one person is hard enough. How the hell would you control ten, twenty people and turn them into an organization?

Of course.

There were a few who dared to try.

But.

They all failed.

Because in this place, the only people you’d find were insane bastards who’d rather die in a blaze of defiance than live under someone else’s rule.

’It was definitely that kind of place…’

Yet here those bastards were, dressed in uniforms and moving in perfect sync.

What’s going on?

Bugenga?

“Sigh…”

Looking around, it wasn’t just the guys in front of us wearing black robes.

Every single person in the city was clad in black.

‘No way…’

Did they not just subdue the group in front of us, but the entire city?

Is that even possible?

As I stood there dumbfounded, the guy at the front spoke.

“The Boss has been awaiting your arrival.”

“Boss?”

“The Boss has instructed us to welcome the hero’s party—especially a man named Cain.”

“…Me?”

“Indeed. We were told Cain is the Boss’s dear friend and that we must treat him with utmost respect.”

“Dear friend?”

What?

Just who the hell is this guy?

‘Hmm…’

Thinking for a moment, there weren’t many who could realistically become the boss of a crime city.

‘First, exclude all the NPCs from the Prophecy RPG.’

None of the game’s characters fit the bill.

‘The only possible candidates are the hero party trainees who were influenced by me…’

There shouldn’t be any male characters capable of taking over this place. They’re all busy with the tasks I assigned, reporting back dutifully. If someone had pulled off something as big as conquering the crime city, they would’ve reported it immediately.

So.

Not a dude.

Then?

The last recruit—the feline assassin girl—was she the culprit?

‘No way.’

She’s not the type to lead an entire faction. Sure, she got a complete translation of the shadow arts manual, making her ridiculously strong now. But strength and leadership are entirely different stats.

She could slaughter every criminal in the city, but ruling them? No way.

So.

Not the assassin girl either.

Then?

Who could it be?

‘Obvious.’

Someone not from the original Prophecy RPG.

One of the four transmigrators.

Alright?

Which one?

‘First, exclude Goldsun and Muscle Gorilla.’

Heard those two were messing around near the Demon King’s castle. So them being here is near impossible.

‘That leaves the TS girl and Dark.’

The madman obsessed with transforming into a ’TS beauty,’ slathering on gender-change and appearance-boosting items.

And Dark, an incurable eighth-grade syndrome patient.

Between the two, which one fits the crime city boss role?

So obvious it isn’t even a contest.

‘Dark, obviously.’

Dark, the chuunibyou ’Black Flame Dragon Master’ high school girl.

Only her.

The moment I realized that, I felt at ease.

‘If it’s her, this kind of spectacle makes perfect sense.’

She was always into that villainous syndicate aesthetic.

But.

She wasn’t the type to create an actual evil organization.

Her taste was more about looking like a dark syndicate while secretly being the good guys.

No world domination, no mass slaughter—nothing extreme.

So.

No need to freak out over her controlling the crime city.

‘Even if she did try to conquer the world, it wouldn’t be a problem.’

Ria could just wipe everything out with a single spell if it came to that.

With that in mind, I relaxed and looked around.

‘The city itself has changed a lot.’

In the original Prophecy RPG, the lawless city was such a dumpster fire that development was a nonexistent concept.

But now?

Not the case.

The central district was packed with new buildings. Other areas were slowly being repaired or rebuilt, transforming into something befitting a proper city.

There were stores selling food. Stores selling weapons or armor.

Sure, the quality was worse than a backwater village’s, but the fact that stores even existed here was a miracle.

Because if you needed something in the old crime city, you’d just steal it first and ask questions later.

The mere existence of commerce meant order had taken root.

“[Over there.]”

“Whoa… there’s even a castle?”

The Prophecy RPG’s lawless city did have a castle.

It was originally a ruined kingdom that degraded into a criminal hive over time.

The old castle still remained.

But.

The one in-game was half-collapsed.

Not this—a meticulously restored, pitch-black fortress straight out of Dark’s aesthetic fantasies.

‘An outsider would easily mistake this for the Demon King’s castle.’

Well…

The actual Demon King’s castle is a dump on the verge of collapse anyway.

Regardless.

The castle looked awesome.

“[Open the gates.]”

“[Yes, sir!]”

The gates creaked open dramatically—super cool.

“[This is where our Boss awaits.]”

The boss room gave off heavy final villain vibes.

“[You’ve arrived.]”

“[Dark, right?”]

“[Kukuku… Been a while, old friend.]”

“[Yep, that’s Dark’s dialogue alright.]”

Inside, just as I expected, was Dark.

Chuunibyou high school girl.

She was a third-year when she vanished—now a 20-year-old adult.

But.

Eighth-grade syndrome doesn’t just disappear with age.

Especially not when she actually wields black flames in a fantasy world.

Dark was still deep in her chuunibyou phase.

No.

She might’ve gotten worse.

And yet.

It suited her.

Black robes, short black hair covered by a hood. Black flames swirling, dark mana dominating the surroundings.

She looked every bit the Demon Queen.

Every bit the final boss.

So I asked:

“[I doubt it, but… you’re not planning to fight us, right?”]

“[Ahahahaha! We are the ones who shoulder this era’s darkness—who dominate it—who tear into darkness within darkness!”]

Dark proclaimed theatrically.

“[Though our convictions differ, against the demons—the common foe—we stand as allies.]”

She grinned.

“[An alliance, until the day the last demon vanishes.]”

“[I see.]”

“[And what of you?”]

“[Me? Honestly, as long as we don’t get in each other’s way and you don’t cause global havoc, I couldn’t care less what you do.]”

“[Is that so.]”

“[But if you do disrupt the world, I won’t stand by. As Serena’s friend, I’d have to step in.]”

“[To call the Goddess of Light, Creator of this World, Serena, your friend… You truly are something else, Cain.]”

“[Oh—just to clarify, that’s not a bluff. It’s real.”]

“[…..?!]”

“[Did Goldsun not tell you?”]

“[You’re… serious?]”

Her chuuni persona momentarily shattered from sheer shock.

But she quickly recovered.

”[Ahahahaha! Of course my rival would achieve such heights! Even I wouldn’t dare claim such a feat! You do me proud, Cain!]”

Rival?

Uh…

Not sure when we became rivals, but whatever.

Better play along.

If Dark’s theatrics fell apart here, who knows how these crime city maniacs would react?

“[You’re the impressive one. To tame a land where no one bows to kings? Truly, my greatest rival.]”

“[Ahahahaha! Such praise is premature. This is merely the start of my grand ambitions.]”

“[Oh?”]

“[This is but the first step. The true beginning lies ahead.]”

What exactly does she plan to do with these guys?

Well…

As long as she doesn’t do anything too insane, it’s fine.

Dark is a veteran Prophecy RPG player.

She knows exactly what happens when Serena gets genuinely angry.

She wouldn’t dare make a move that’d provoke divine annihilation.

So.

For now, I’ll cheer her on and excuse myself.

My goal here is recruiting our feline assassin comrade.

Once that’s done, I’m out.

But then.

One of the lawless city guys suddenly blocked my path.

“[Hey, tough guy. Let’s test your skills.]”

“[?]”

“[Everyone’s curious just how strong the ‘Boss’s rival’ really is.]”

“[So… you wanna see?”]

“[If you’re really the Boss’s rival, you should wipe the floor with guys like us, right?”]

A muscular man smirked, drawing his sword.

You not controlling your underlings?

I wanted to say that.

But backing down here would make both Dark and me look weak.

So I smirked back—utterly confident.

“[Feel free to try your luck.]”

Because I’m confident.

It’s about time I ditch that weakest in the hero party title anyway.