Aaaargh!
Oh, come on!
You've really done it now!
I knew they'd pull something, but I didn't think they'd interfere this brazenly.
Well, I mean, from D's perspective, letting things play out as they were wouldn't be any fun, right?
So this outcome was within expectations.
Within expectations — but that doesn't mean I'm not pissed off about it.
When someone tells you "I'm gonna punch you now! Here it comes!" and you brace yourself, and then you actually get punched, it still hurts and you still get mad. Obviously.
My ideal scenario was for everything to stay quiet, for me to keep pulling strings behind the scenes, and for the result to just… happen.
Basically, if I could destroy the system without anyone noticing, that would've been my win.
By the time people realized what was going on, the system would already be collapsed. The shockwave would kill tons of people, sure, but the world and the goddess would be saved.
To humanity, battered and bruised, it would feel like some catastrophic disaster had struck out of nowhere, with no warning whatsoever. But from my standpoint, that would've been the easiest path — no obstacles.
But would D let me get away with that? No way.
Sarcasm, by the way.
If this were a game, it'd be like the final boss scheming in the shadows while the protagonist, having received zero hints, suddenly hits a game over out of nowhere.
What a garbage game that would be.
In every game, there's always some hint somewhere — "The final boss is up to something! You have to stop them!"
And then the heroes rise up to crush the final boss's scheme!
But if there are no hints at all and a time limit gets dropped on you out of nowhere, and you're off on some unrelated adventure when suddenly — game over — that doesn't work as a game.
Though, from the final boss's perspective, that would be way easier.
Why would you hand hints to someone who might turn out to be your enemy?
Staying quiet and scheming is obviously the better play.
Games are way too disadvantageous for the villain's side.
And anyway — this world has Status screens and game-like elements, but it's still reality.
So why bother making it play out like a game?
Scheming from the shadows. Scheming, scheming, scheming.
Fufufu — by the time you realize it, it'll be too late!
That's what I wanted. Man…
This world isn't a game.
But it is the God's game board, isn't it?
Annoyingly enough.
So now all the conditions for this to work properly as a game have been met.
Well then.
If I'm the final boss of this game, who are the forces that oppose me?
First — the Pope.
The Pope is working for humanity, and especially for the human race. You could even call him humanity's guardian.
I, on the other hand, am planning to do something terrible to humanity. So we're definitely going to be enemies.
Don't even bother trying to convince him. That won't work.
As the Demon King once called him — a monster of willpower. Breaking that will is impossible.
A stubborn old man who's been set in his ways for ages won't listen to a single word.
The troublesome thing about the Pope is that he possesses one of the Ruler Skills: Temperance.
It's one of the Ruler Authorities — the back-end menu of the system, one of the keys to system collapse.
I could probably force that key open, even now.
But I can't predict what kind of fallout that would cause afterward. And that's a fact.
So if I'm playing it safe, I'd want to secure all the Ruler Authorities for myself first.
The fact that one of them is in the hands of the enemy is supremely inconvenient.
To obtain the Ruler Authority of Temperance, I'd have to either convince the Pope to hand it over — or eliminate him.
So I already told you — convincing him is impossible!
And that settles the Pope's future.
Next, someone who's definitely going to oppose me: Bart.
The man who's been assisting the Demon King all this time.
Surprised? It's really not that surprising.
Bart has been grinding himself to dust for the sake of the Demon race.
The direction is different, but he shares something in common with both the Pope and Agna, who also fought tirelessly for the Demon race.
Bart followed the Demon King because he judged it to be the best path for the Demon race.
Rather than opposing the Demon King — an absolute threat — he chose to comply and steer those fangs away from the Demon race.
If this is truly a matter of the Demon race's survival, then Bart would resolve himself to oppose me — the root cause.
He's the kind of man who could make that agonizing choice: challenge the Demon King and face annihilation, or go to war with the human race and endure massive casualties while barely surviving.
…My stomach might genuinely develop a massive ulcer over this, though.
And then there's the biggest problem of all: Kuro.
That guy — he's a coward, but he'll definitely oppose me.
Because what I'm trying to do is something the goddess herself — the very person who'd be saved — doesn't want.
Kuro, who lives only for that goddess, would never go against her wishes.
Sigh.
Yeah… that's the issue, alright.
The one making this whole thing the most complicated is that goddess.
Here I am, doing all of this to save her, and she doesn't give a damn about herself — she's trying to wipe out her own existence for the sake of humanity.
The person I'm trying to save doesn't want to be saved.
And on top of that, the method of saving her involves massacring humanity en masse — which goes against her will.
Of course the goddess is furious about that.
From an outside perspective, what we're trying to do does look evil.
But I'm doing it anyway.
Because the Demon King wished for it.
Even if the entire world turns against us — even if the very person we saved resents us — the Demon King decided this was the path. And that's that.
It's only fair that the Demon King gets to have allies beside him.
So my resolve is set.
Whether D pulls more tricks or whoever becomes the enemy.
But man…
Was this really the timing for it?
The teacher is giving me a harsh glare. …Yes.
Aaaargh!
Oh, come on!
You've really done it now!
…What am I supposed to do about this?