--- The time goes back a little bit ---
One of the Maniacs bosses, Poorman.
A poor man in every sense of the word, bottomlessly greedy.
An old man who is the head of the world's largest bank, Locksmith, which invests in media, the military industry, and major companies around the world.
One of the troublesome Maniacs who dominates the world's industries from the shadows.
As an individual, his combat ability is not particularly remarkable, but his magic eye is one of a kind.
He hires a mercenary group with his abundant assets, making him a powerful opponent.
This world is one where nobles and aristocrats walk around. Except for some dictatorships, they are people who have authority but no real power. They reign but do not govern.
They are symbols of their countries, and their value is more on a branding level rather than as a ruling force.
Kings or emperors are not a threat when it comes to conquest. Even if you decapitate them, it will not affect the outcome.
In this world, it is not so easy for a monarch to start a war with a single decree. Small countries are under the protection of larger ones, while others cooperate with each other through military support agreements.
Mutual cooperation by combining forces and deterrence by strength create a peaceful and harmonious world, albeit a precarious one. They monitor each other to counter threats.
The world order that has been maintained on top of such a history where many lives were lost in the struggle for freedom.
Even if a crazy dictatorship provokes a fight with the enlarged alliance countries or superpowers by mutual cooperation, the country will turn to ashes, and the tyrant will be beheaded.
No foolish tyrant who starts a war with such an obvious result exists.
However, there are those who manipulate behind the scenes to cause such a reckless development. They are demons who wear human skin and the demon lords.
People who mock, deceive, and incite others in this world.
That's what maniacs are.
The maniacs who seek to destroy this world are even more cunningly infiltrating into the world.
Some infiltrate the heart of capitalism, like the poor, and conspire to create disputes originating from the domination of the people by capital and the struggle for money.
Others implant the idea of chosen people, create conflicts through racial discrimination, and conspire to increase hatred.
Some use their unique beauty to captivate kings and nobles, infiltrate the heart of the state, and use religion as a cover to implant messianic complexes, proclaiming that "death is salvation" or "death is the glory of heroes" and inciting suicide and war.
Others artificially create food shortages and energy problems from the shadows, implanting nonexistent crises in people's minds and enjoying watching them kill each other like pieces on a board game.
And then there are the superior, direct, and overwhelmingly violent knights of the apocalypse, the Chevaliers, who possess individual combat capabilities.
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.
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One of the unique abilities possessed by the "poor man" is the "clairvoyance" or other name "Sharigan".
I was in a hurry to conduct my investigation. I snuck into a secret underground space through a dark culvert in an alley, which was like a giant underground sewer system spiderwebbed with pipes running through the Onogoro underground.
After walking through the dimly lit sewer for a while, I emerged into an open space and found myself standing before a massive underground drainage tunnel, which looked like an underground temple with numerous pillars.
There were many corpses of assassins scattered around.
"They must be the mercenary troops of the 'poor man'... just like I saw in the game," I muttered.
These were the dead bodies of enemy characters that I had seen in the game, and they were quite strong.
I was struck by the sight of the bodies swarming with maggots and flies, and with the stench of decay. What was also puzzling was that there were bodies that appeared to have just been killed, intermingled with others that looked like they had been dead for over a week. All the bodies were dressed in the same clothes.
"What's going on here?" I wondered, as I approached one of the unnaturally preserved corpses and alternated between examining its dog tag and ID photo.
I noticed the head and body of a man whose neck had been severed - presumably, the same person - with the head looking freshly killed, while the body looked as if it had been decaying for over a week.
It was like time had been warped.
"Is it poison magic... or maybe not?" I hesitated.
Could poison magic replicate such unnatural corpses?
I had no idea.
"I need to be cautious... and I may even need to retreat immediately," I thought, as I carefully moved forward while checking the area for any hidden enemies.
"What's ahead? What happened?
It's highly possible that Clairvoyance was looking at this place.
It's too unnatural.
"62 minutes left... I need to hurry back."
Time is running short, but I'm not going to skip the social event.
I'm not planning on being late either.
Even so, I'm going to proceed with caution.
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A secret room connected to the underground waterway. This is a space located underground the school, not marked on the map.
It's where the school's Colosseum is located above ground.
There, I could only stand still in amazement.
"You're joking. She's dead."
One of the Maniacs had already been killed.
"You were already killed, huh?"
The Necromancer, one of the Maniacs route bosses.
The witch Messiah had already been killed.
The master of the beast lurking in the secret room being investigated.
The leader of the Cathedral Tenno Oto of the Fraternal Love Society.
The decapitated and rotting head of the witch was rolling on the ground.
Flies were buzzing around the head. Maggots were crawling out of the eye and nose sockets.
"A space without sunlight. Decay has progressed quite a bit."
With the growth rate of the maggots, the condition of the decaying head, and the environment of this underground space, we could estimate the time of death if we perform an autopsy...
"I don't feel like doing it"
The severed headless body was melting into a gooey mess, perhaps to prevent regeneration.
"Flies haven't gathered here," he said.
It was acid, and a strong one at that, dissolving everything into mush.
"Ugh."
I grimaced as I approached the corpse.
A sour odor filled my nose, a mixture of meat, crustaceans, eggs, and cheese, a potent stench of decay.
The surrounding area showed signs of intense fighting, with walls, floors, and ceilings cracked and torn as if from a natural disaster in the underground space.
"Observe."
What's the temperature in the underground space?
It's not particularly hot or cold.
Based on the extent of the damage to the body and environmental factors, it's certain that the person died three or more days ago.
It takes half a day to a few days for maggots to hatch from eggs.
It takes a week for maggots to turn into pupae.
It takes a total of about two weeks for adults to emerge from eggs.
Judging from the growth rate of maggots and the condition of the flies, it's between three days and two weeks.
There is still some flesh left on the head.
It's reasonable to estimate the time of death as one to two weeks ago, with some margin of error.
However, given the unnaturalness of the corpse, even determining the time of death may not be helpful.
"Who did it?"
Make a guess. Kazane? No, that's impossible. He could never have pulled it off in his current state.
One of the other maniacs? That's entirely possible. But would people with the same goal fight against each other?
At least, that wasn't the case in the game's story.
At last, a third party other than me...
The image of the suspicious Move-Men crossed my mind.
"I need to investigate that suspicious person a little."
Let's keep this matter quiet from Kakko and Hisui.
I will investigate the person alone.
"It's too dangerous."
Megashuva has three magic eye holders.
One of them is Homura Komachi.
Thanks to this magic eye's characteristic, Komachi has been raised to the highest level of five-star characters.
So, what about the other two magic eye holders? Of course, they are also at the highest level. One of them is Poor Man.
These three great magic eyes each have their own abilities.
1️⃣ The ability to completely cancel one skill, art, or magic of choice.
2️⃣ Complete imitation of skills and arts.
3️⃣ Complete imitation of magic and weapon arts.
To put it simply, that's all there is to it.
The magic eye that Komachi possesses corresponds to the first ability.
The more she faces a strong enemy, the more her true value is revealed.
So, what about the second and third abilities?
This is a cheating ability that can increase its power the more experience it gains against strong enemies.
Body techniques, weapon techniques, and magic warfare.
The eye of reversal that can disrupt them all.
"That guy."
The one who was doing the suspicious Move.
I thought I remembered seeing his eyes somewhere before. They are probably magic eyes.
"Who is he? Is there a character I don't know about? Or is history starting to change dramatically?"
The suspicious Move-Men. It's also possible that he is Poor Man.
The last one. The last magic eye holder's line is impossible...
That's a person from the past.
A gacha-limited character who only appeared in past event story flashbacks. I don't think that a character who died in the past would be implemented and exist in the real world...
Therefore, we want to know the fate of these two people. That's why we were investigating the whereabouts of the remaining two magic eye holders. The suspicious Movement may be another possibility.
There is a possibility of a third party. That cannot be ruled out.
<
"There is someone similar to me who is secretly manipulating the future to change it." It might be natural to make such a hypothesis.
I hope it's just needless anxiety.
Unknowns in the past, present, and future. Information I don't know.
In the past, there was someone called the Aurora Knight. There was no such person in the game.
Who is this guy?
An impossible situation in the current axis. The killing of one corner of Maniacs in the early stages. And if you add to that, it probably includes Kaiser Magus, whom I buried.
What will happen in the future? "Do you mean an unknown enemy will appear?"
This world follows the story of Megashuva, but cracks are appearing everywhere.
"I don't know about my history or strong opponents... Currently, it seems like it's either Maniacs turning on each other, or those suspicious Movements. If they're strong enemies, I don't know what to do."
All I could do was give a dry laugh.
The life or death of these two individuals. I want to know the results.
Therefore, I had the whereabouts of the remaining two magic eye holders investigated.
The suspicious Move-Men could be the cause, but there is also the possibility of a third party that cannot be ruled out.
<
If someone has both eyes, it may be easy to kill the maniacal demon king alone. The existence of a monster, as suggested in Game Megashuva, was not present.
"There is someone like me, a mirror image of the opposite sex, who is secretly plotting to alter the future."
It may be a natural hypothesis to make, but I hope it is just groundless fear.
Unknown factors in the past, present, and future.
Information I don't know.
In the past, there was a being known as the Aurora Knight, but such a person did not exist in the game. Who is this person?
A situation that should not exist in the current axis.
Killing a corner of the maniacal demon king so early in the game, and also including the Kaiser Magnus that I buried.
So what will happen in the future?
"Do you mean an unknown enemy will appear?"
This world is based on the story of Megashuva, but there are cracks everywhere.
"Unknown history and strong people I don't know... what stands out now is the split between the maniacs or the Move-Men. If they are strong opponents, I'm at a loss."
All I could do was smile dryly.
There are only three knights left, and six maniacs... if Poorman has been killed, there are five, but they are all powerful opponents.
If there are enemies stronger than Move-Men or Aurora Knights implied, then...
---Game over, you're dead---
"Even so, I'll win in the end... well, before that, are you watching me?"
I asked above without making eye contact.
Hyakume Oni.
A monster lurking in a secret room.
Eyes that make you want to point out that its entire body is weak.
Checking my watch, I saw the ogre with eyes all over its body crawling in the sky and watching me through the glass.
It's already past 7 PM...
"It's about 50 minutes left... Hmm, sorry, but I'll defeat you in 180 seconds!"
I closed my eyes and took out my weapon with my ninja arts.