episode_0179

He was a similar type of guy who ran away in the original work.

The type to orchestrate things from behind the scenes in Vanity, and then, once the protagonist’s party stopped Deron, he would immediately betray them and leave.

Moreover, he would awaken a boss they had almost defeated, forcibly triggering Phase 2.

For players who had cleared Deron with immense difficulty, it was nothing short of despair.

Especially for newbies.

[Category: Free Board]

[Title: What the hell is this Painter guy?]

I’m a total newbie who hasn’t even cleared the first playthrough yet.

I’m currently clearing [EP31. Vanity], and the boss patterns are seriously infuriating.

It’s especially awful because of that Painter bastard.

No, goddamn it.

He suddenly appeared and spouted so much nonsense, then awakened the boss we worked hard to defeat and ran off.

Thanks to him, all my characters got crushed to death by Phase 2 Deron.

Thanks a lot, you bastard.

Time to go for a retry.

[Still on your first playthrough?]

-> Rare to see such a pure newbie.

-> *deep breath*

-> Smells kinda lewd.

[Why is this post so lewd?]

-> Shouldn’t it be tagged 19+?

-> It’s been a while since I felt this excited.

-> Ah, damn… I can’t. I’ll be right back after I relieve myself.

-> Someone needs to carry all these old perverts above me away.

[This must be the Dean’s grace too…]

-> Surprise worship.

-> Great Dean!

-> As expected, the Dean-Emperor normalizes the story.

[Are kids these days crazy? What’s this Dean worship meme now?]

-> What’s so good about such a frustrating character?

-> You bastard! Are you saying our Dean-nim can’t protect the academy, can’t help, can’t speak, contributes 0% to the story, is a one-trick prophet, an incompetent GOAT who only “foresaw things,” a toilet bowl Gallimard?!

-> No, I didn’t say all that ;;

-> Thorough self-awareness, as expected of the Dean-evaluation lol.

Of course.

It would have been infuriating that he awakened a boss they had almost defeated and ran off.

But what really got to them was the Painter’s characteristic ‘teabagging’.

Because he would constantly grate on the protagonist’s party’s nerves with all sorts of taunts.

In some ways, he could be said to be the most fitting villain.

A truly ‘likable’ friend, to put it mildly.

[Category: Free Board]

[Title: Stop it, you bastard!!!!!!]

How many times has this bastard appeared now?

1. The protagonist’s party beats the stage boss.

2. Suddenly, the Painter appears from somewhere.

3. He teabags like crazy, awakens the boss, and opens Phase 2.

4. Players scramble to respond to the sudden disaster.

5. While they do that, he leisurely slips away.

This pattern alone is repeating for the sixth time.

Ever since Deron, this bastard awakens every boss we meet.

And he shoves in so many magic stones that they become incredibly powerful.

How can the awakened firepower of some nobody be on par with the academy’s top-ranking students?

This is why people say the game’s difficulty is broken, damn it.

[That pattern will appear about 3 more times, enjoy.]

-> Oh, stop bullshitting.

-> No use denying reality lol.

-> If you don’t like it, buy premium. You can skip from the second playthrough.

-> But that means I still have to clear the first playthrough.

-> Did someone hold a knife to your throat and tell you to play the first playthrough?

-> That’s really too much ;

[The Painter part is indeed a bit frustrating.]

-> But the catharsis when you clear it, after all that struggle, is insane.

-> The Fox piercing the Painter’s heart is truly exhilarating.

-> For players, it’s one of the most memorable scenes.

-> Despite all the talk, it’s still a fun game.

[The Painter-gay was definitely annoying.]

-> What kind of shitty nickname is this now?

-> Painter-gay, my ass.

-> But he’s officially gay in the settings.

-> ?

-> ?

-> Why is this true?

-> No, it’s really official?

-> Oh, Painter-gay bro…

Moreover, this guy wasn’t a one-time thing.

After the Vanity episode, he appeared many times and tormented players.

Whenever the protagonist’s party subjugated a cultist branch, he would suddenly appear from the shadows.

Subtly awakening a cleared stage boss, or subtly ambushing one of the supporting characters.

In short, he would cause a ruckus and then leisurely leave the scene.

‘He was annoying.’

Even I, personally, had to reset my playthrough more than once because of him.

It was obvious what other players’ reactions would have been.

Since he popped out everywhere like this, in the unlikable character poll held in the community, he even achieved the feat of surpassing the Dean to take first place.

He was that sensational of a troublemaker, you could say.

“Gasp···!”

But.

Even that infamous guy.

Couldn’t escape the Night.

“You seem to be in pain.”

A leisurely spoken remark.

I was smiling with the Painter’s heart pierced.

His eyes, once sneeringly playful, were now clouded with horror and trembling.

The Painter, unable to even utter a taunt, only let out shallow breaths.

A twitching sensation transmitted through my fingertips.

Thump, thump, thump···.

Slowing its beat, then stopping.

The final pulsation from a wretched creature.

I was momentarily savoring the sense of depravity and retribution it offered.

A babbling that couldn’t become a scream stained my ears.

“Uh, ugh, uh···.”

“Hmm?”

I tilt my head.

Despite having his heart pierced, he showed no sign of dying easily.

Is it because he’s one of the Seven Apostles of the Demon God?

Eyes tainted with sin glared this way.

But that was all.

“How rude.”

Crunch-!

A simple clenching of the fist.

Following that movement, the loaded shadow stretched out.

The jet-black, sharpened like thorns, ripped apart all organs, including the heart, from within.

His body simply became a meat sack, holding what had been ground into a smoothie.

Even the life that barely persisted was crushed.

“Sometimes people get the wrong idea, you see.”

Splat-!

The Painter’s body sprawled onto the floor.

His limp form looked like a ruptured water balloon.

I wore a chilling smile.

“Just because I played around a bit doesn’t mean we’re on the same level, you know.”

The Painter.

Originally, he must have intended to make Deron rampage and then escape himself.

It was a pattern that had worked many times in the original story.

But, precisely because of that, I was able to respond perfectly.

One of the villains considered main in the original story.

I’ve killed this guy over 1900 times, even in my past life.

The killing I just carried out was merely adding one more stroke to that number.

No grand narrative was needed.

“Did I look like your friend?”

I questioned the minced meat at my feet.

Of course, there was no reply.

Because corpses are silent.

“It’s truly over.”

The most bothersome enemy in the original story.

He died perhaps most futilely, achieving nothing.

I didn’t even want to give this hunt the name of ‘judgment’.

I easily wiped off my blood-stained hands.

‘Perhaps it’s because I hated him so much. I feel like I put in unnecessary emotion.’

It didn’t matter.

Compared to what he did to Vanity, it was an infinitely merciful end.

I calmed the slight heat that had risen within me.

Then, I fiddled with the crystal ball in my other hand.

It was something I had snatched from the Painter’s pocket earlier.

I whispered chillingly into it.

“So··· what were your impressions of spying?”

As expected.

A red light was on in the crystal ball.

It had been watching the entire situation until just now.

I spoke softly towards the sinister gaze of the person who must be sitting beyond the light.

Though suppressing my murderous intent.

“Didn’t I tell you last time? That you would all pay the price.”

This target is Vanity.

Next will be the Businessman.

And finally, to uproot all of you.

I covered my ominously twisted mouth.

Nevertheless, my viciousness wasn’t hidden.

“Despicable creatures, indeed.”

A heavy silence settled.

Subsequently, a voice returned from the crystal ball.

It was a voice filled with black static.

-{······This is, frankly, surprising.}

His tone was stiff.

The other party didn’t reveal their identity, but I could roughly infer it.

The Seven Apostles of the Demon God. Because he was the one called the Second among them.

I spoke with a refreshing smile.

“Conductor.”

-{Hoo.}

“Surely··· you weren’t trying to catch me with a trap of this level, were you?”

-{Of course not. I did think it would be nice if it worked, but to think you’d be this far beyond its level. Truly worthy of a masterpiece imbued with that person’s power. Though now it is merely [censored].}

“You should prepare your neck. I’ll be visiting soon.”

-{Pffft, I really do like your confidence.}

A voice that didn’t lose its composure, even after my murderous intent was revealed.

Should I say, fitting for the cult’s second-in-command?

He didn’t lose his composure.

On the contrary, he merely provoked me, as if it were amusing.

It seemed he was quite the higher-up, and he even seemed to know my identity.

-[Ah, now that I think about it.]

The man beyond the crystal ball nonchalantly spoke.

As if he had just remembered.

-{Aren’t you worried?}

-{You led the academy’s troops and invaded Vanity, didn’t you?}

-{If you and some of the faculty are gone··· the academy would be as good as an empty house, wouldn’t it?}

-{It’s not as if we’d miss an opportunity like this, is it?}

A sinister echo spread.

It was like an ice pick stabbing an unexpected spot.

It flew smoothly and pierced my neck.

The silhouette beyond the screen smiled.

-{Didn’t you expect this much?}

-{That since the academy is on high alert, we wouldn’t be able to enter.}

-{Unfortunately.}

The voice continued.

His subtly mocking yet not quite tone was precarious.

Emilia, who was listening to the conversation beside me, had her pupils dilate.

Could it be that even she hadn’t predicted the possibility of being ambushed in return?

The Conductor seemed particularly pleased.

-{The academy must have already received their benefactor’s grace.}

Content implying an academy invasion.

Despite hearing such words, I···.

“Is that so?”

I was still smiling.

-{Hmm···?}

“In that case~ shall we find out what the situation is like at the academy?”

I took out another crystal ball from my coat.

The screen already lit up.

Receiving the communication, I raised the volume so everyone could hear.

Beyond the clear audio quality, only one voice could be heard.

-{Commander-nim.}

-{As you arranged, the cultists have arrived here too.}

-{The scale appears to be roughly 3,000. They seem to have swarmed in through a subspace barrier.}

-{Please, your next command.}

A deep, resounding voice.

While uttering ‘3,000 troops,’ there wasn’t even a hint of tremor in his voice.

His usual lighthearted demeanor had settled into cold composure.

The Conductor, who had been silent for a moment, soon let out a blank murmur.

-{······Impossible.}

Yes.

Even if it was just a voice, he would have recognized it.

After all, they had clashed several times on the battlefield.

He was also the arch-nemesis who had cut off his lower body.

“Then, shall we go?”

I enunciated clearly.

My sharpest sword, hidden until now.

“Sir Kyle.”

The Red Sword Saint.

My lips spoke to the killer.

A faint thrill flowed through me.

“Sweep them all away.”

-{Everything as you wish.}

The star began to move.