One-way traffic

With a smile on her face, the girl gently protected the young man in front of her.

So... let me come with you.

"If it's Ryo, I'm willing to share all of this with you, because I... can't accept a world without Ryo."

"Liuli...!"

This is the story of Fuyukawa Ryo.

Despite being a solitary individual, she was forced into involvement in other worlds, only to find that her beloved people were also dragged into the mess.

What happened after that... was something Accelerator and the others knew all too well.

The second world we arrived in was this one, and then, due to exhaustion, I collapsed in the forest.

"So, that's it?"

After listening to everything, Accelerator, who was sitting opposite him, calmly asked a question.

"So, in the end, you and that woman are both just newcomers to a gentle and harmonious world?"

"Uh...that's true, isn't it?"

"That's utter nonsense."

Accelerator had no idea what kind of stupid things the Soul System was doing.

They actually threw two newbies who'd only experienced one world into this team-based battle world? What kind of nonsense is this? Are they just going to let them die?

Regardless, after hearing about Fuyukawa Ryo's story, Accelerator and Hatsune Miku were both deeply moved.

However, there is something even more important to say next.

"Anyway, that's how it is."

He crossed his right foot over his left and gave a wild, arrogant smirk.

"After listening to all that you've said, there's only one conclusion we can come to."

"Neither you nor that other woman can be of any help to me."

"In other words, you can't do anything, you're completely useless, you idiots."

Chapter 143 Unilateral Choice

What…?

"Hey, what did you say..."

"You're not even cannon fodder. If you go head-to-head, you probably won't even be able to withstand the enemy's first hit."

This is indeed true.

Ryo Fuyukawa himself was well aware of this. Although he had gained his own ability after experiencing a world, it was still an unawakened power that he could not control freely.

Even so, a feeling of displeasure still lingered in my heart.

"...That shouldn't be said."

Fuyukawa Ryo spoke without thinking, uttering these words before he even realized it.

“Look! Even wild beasts in the mountains, if Liuli and I work together, we can easily take them down. Although the process is a bit tedious and troublesome, our power is even greater than that of soldiers with guns—”

He hasn't finished speaking yet.

Accelerator, who was standing to the side, raised his hand and poured out all the tea from his cup.

The liquid passed over his fingers in mid-air, and his fair index finger gently touched it.

For an instant.

The tea transformed into blades, shooting directly out of the open window.

boom----! ! !

He heard a sonic boom.

Fuyukawa Ryo looked stunned, and even a little sweat dripped down his forehead. Even without looking, one could hear a series of explosions in the distance.

As a result, half of the mountainside was almost torn in two.

That casual flick of the hand, made of tea leaves, was powerful enough to cut the American Zeus ship in two.

Then it really is just liquid that was casually poured out of a teacup.

"You can't help with anything."

Accelerator spoke calmly, without even glancing at the other person's expression.

Because there's no need to care.

"This is not a place for guys like you from the start. Besides, I've already encountered enemies of similar strength before. Or are you confident you can withstand that attack and survive? Or that you can put in the same effort as someone of the same level? You yourself might not even believe that."

"I…"

That's right, that's right.

Fuyukawa Ryo shouldn't have forgotten this point. He knew from the beginning that the combined power of himself and Hiyori Ruri was only this much.

If they can barely cope with wild beasts, how could they possibly exert such terrifying effort?

…wrong.

"No...you misunderstood me."

Fuyukawa Ryo's goal was not to fight.

His plan was the opposite.

"Liuli and I never intended to get involved in this kind of struggle in the first place. We just wanted to live a simple life and have a peaceful existence!"

Team battles were not what he wanted at all; in the end, Fuyukawa Ryo's goal was really simple.

They simply wanted to live a peaceful and warm daily life with their loved ones; they never wanted to enter this battlefield in the first place.

All of these were acts of coercion.

If he could, Fuyukawa Ryo would not hesitate to give up participating in the team battle, but unfortunately, there is no option to forfeit on the battlefield.

Regardless of his intentions, he had to face the so-called team battle.

If you can't even survive, how can you talk about protecting those beautiful everyday things?

He couldn't help but fall silent.

What belongs to youth is just such small and simple wishes.

Not everyone wants a system, and not everyone wants to participate in battles.

Some people just want to spend their beautiful and peaceful daily lives with the people they like. They don't want to fight at all. They only join in because they are forced to.

The Soul System is indeed a system that can allow its holder to rise to the top in one step, and even obtain the perfect power that is most suitable for them.

However, not everyone wants to gain power.

For Fuyukawa Ryo, all he really wanted was to live a peaceful and happy daily life.

"So this is your choice, right?"

The white-haired monster sitting opposite him lowered his voice.

"Alright, this is your own life, make the choices you like."

"But now that you've already joined this battlefield, do you think you have any choice but to retreat?"

As expected...

Fuyukawa Ryo couldn't help but close his eyes, the uncontrollable trembling in his heart amplifying his inner sorrow.

I had no choice; no matter what, I had to fight.

In any case, they can only drag those around them into this crisis; there is no way out.

That's right, he only had one choice...

Even if you don't want to fight, you have to fight.

Then, ultimately, with a high probability of death, they met a tragic end on the battlefield, and so it went, little by little…

"Just behave yourself and stay in the back."

“——Huh?”

The young man couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"What? Isn't this what you're supposed to do?"

The white-haired monster sitting directly opposite him widened his eyes.

"A desire for peace and an ordinary life—with such a wish, you were never meant to fight in the first place."

"Do you understand? The real battlefield is prepared for guys like me who live in the shadows, not for spineless cowards like you. Do you understand?"

So, that means—

"The battles that follow are none of your business."

Regardless of whether the other party was a member of the team or not, and regardless of whether the other party actually had power, the white monster announced all of this in a one-sided tone.

“From now on, I’m in charge of the fight. You want to go fishing with that woman over there? Go ahead. People like you who have no backbone and always yearn for peace have never been qualified to stand on this battlefield.”

"So, I will take care of resolving all this fighting, and you who can't do anything can all hide behind the battlefield and enjoy your hopeless peaceful daily lives."

Accelerator coldly recounted all of this.

But any normal person could understand what he meant.

"You mean you want to protect us and let us survive until the end of the team battle...?"

That's just a one-sided declaration of protection, protecting Fuyukawa Ryo and Hiyori Ruri, two people who don't have extreme combat abilities.

But, but why?

"Why would you go to such lengths for us...?"

"Don't get me wrong, this is a team fight. Who knows what kind of crazy things might happen if two people suddenly die in the middle of the fight?"

But that's not the only reason.

There must be other reasons that would justify Accelerator saying such a thing.

"Neither of you were suited to stay in this dark world from the very beginning."

Those are words that only darkness, which reigns supreme over all evil, has the right to utter.

"Look at what you're saying. No matter how you look at it, you're just a ridiculous guy living in the light... You shouldn't have been in this dark battlefield from the beginning, so the task at hand is quite simple."

correct.

He will not allow those who do not wish to be immersed in darkness to be implicated.

"I will bring you back to the light that is rightfully yours."

He simply recounted everything, degrading himself to the status of a villainous monster who prided himself on being at the pinnacle of darkness.

“Guys like you don’t deserve to stay on this battlefield, nor do you deserve to stay in this level of darkness. So, I will kick you out of this darkness without mercy and send you all back to the ridiculous world of gentle peace.”

“I won’t let you go any deeper into this dark battlefield, so I’m sending you all back to where you belong… Do you understand?”

Neither Fuyukawa Ryo nor Hiyori Ruri should be on this dark battlefield.

If this is a choice made unilaterally by the soul system, and they are forced to be unwilling to intervene in this dark battlefield no matter what, then it is simply a joke.

On his path, only he can make the choices unilaterally; no one has ever been able to distort his path.

If fate has forced them to fight, then let him unilaterally shatter this ridiculous, bullshit-like destiny.

These two people should never live on the dark battlefield, so Accelerator will make them leave intact and return to the warm, happy, and peaceful world of light.

He would drag out all those who shouldn't be dragged into the darkness and send them all to the gentle world of light. That's what he, the evil one at the pinnacle of all darkness, would do.

Since you can't stay in the darkness, then don't stay there. Go back to your own world of light.

"Why…?"

Fuyukawa Ryo couldn't understand it.

They had only met once, no, they hadn't even met in person.