MMORPG: Surviving a Death Game with a Glitched System

At long last, Ash had a grasp on the situation.

And now that he no longer needed to listen, he let his anger flow. Particularly toward one person...

Ash turned and faced the Silver Prince.

"Stand, Cross."

[You have equipped [Sealed Fate]]

The haggard, half-dead prince gasped.

"Huh...?"

"You heard me. Arise."

Grumbling, Cross begrudgingly obeyed.

"Were you not listening...? Kill me and none can stop Winter; humanity would be doomed." Cross’s eyebrows furrowed. "Of course, if you can, that is."

Ash made no move to attack. Instead, he asked:

"Answer me, Cross... I see a simple solution here. Kill Vera. Why haven’t you? Why not take that route?"

A stone stake formed above Cross’s hand.

"..."

Ash pressed on.

"And if that isn’t an option, why can’t you simply kill the wolf?"

The stake settled into Cross’s grasp.

After a long silence, the prince replied:

"There are a few types of seals in this world... The one Fire and Father created is called a Purpose Seal. Its purpose is to contain Winter. If she dies, the seal will have no purpose left to sustain it and will crumble. Everything contained within it will spill into the real world, destroying Evercrest below."

’Hmm...’

Ash narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing.

"I learned from Vera that consuming a spirit allows you to use its power for a short time, correct?"

"Yes... It seems you understand now. I could use Winter’s power to stop the destruction... Why do you look at me that way? What confuses you? What irritates you about me?"

Ash gripped the sable blade as purple sparks crackled across its surface.

"A lot, but mainly... just as Vera can’t handle a contract, I doubt you could handle the wolf’s power."

Cross stayed silent.

The bound king smiled, then said:

"Actually, that’s what I wished to discuss with him. Cross—"

Ash glared at the king.

"Shut it."

Idolan fell silent, visibly stunned. For someone as powerful as he was, being dismissed so casually by someone as weak as Ash seemed to leave him at a loss for words.

Ash turned his attention back to Cross.

"Be honest. This isn’t really about saving the kingdom, is it? It’s about something else. Or rather..."

Ash didn’t know much about seals, but one thing had begun to make sense.

"Vera. Idolan said Winter sealed Vera, not herself. Is Vera’s seal a Purpose Seal?"

Cross was silent for a moment, then replied:

"No..."

Ash immediately asked:

"Then what type of seal is it?"

"That matters not."

"Answer me. Then explain it."

"...It is a Sacrifice Seal."

When Cross offered nothing more, Ash asked:

"And what does that mean?"

"Just what it sounds like. If the seal’s creator dies, the one sealed within it dies."

"What if the sealed one dies? Does the caster die? What happens to everything inside the seal?"

"Part of Winter’s spirit would shatter, along with the seal."

Ash didn’t know exactly what that would mean for Demitra, but one thing mattered more.

"And...? Would everything inside spill into the real world?"

"...No."

’Ah, I was right.’

Ash closed his eyes for a moment as his tail flicked furiously back and forth.

"Answer my earlier question."

"Huh?"

Clenching his jaw, Ash screamed:

"Answer me! Do not dodge the question! Why not simply kill Vera?! Do so, and the wolf will have nowhere to hide!"

Vera’s seal would crumble, forcing Demitra into Fire’s seal.

Cross swayed slightly before catching himself.

"She’d still live within Fire’s seal... Her very existence would permanently threaten the capital."

"So?"

"’So?’ Are you mad to treat that as trivial? We are speaking of hundreds of thousands of lives!"

"You’re saying that you and your nation would simply sit idle instead of finding a way to defeat her without suffering losses? I may be ignorant of this world and your situation, but I’m no idiot. Without Vera, Winter’s strength would remain stagnant, and she could neither kill the Seal Guardians nor destroy the chains. She’d be trapped for as long as your father lived, and whatever he has become, it certainly isn’t human. I doubt he’ll die of natural causes."

Ash was sure of it. He might not have had enough evidence to prove his claim or a complete understanding of spirits, but Demitra clearly couldn’t manifest properly without a contractor.

’Unless she tricked me... but I don’t think she did. Even if she had, there were clearly restrictions on her power. Otherwise, she would’ve tried to escape when Cross was younger and weaker — not now.’

As for his claim about Idolan...

Cross replied:

"It’s simply too great a gamble."

’He isn’t denying any of it. My hunches must be right.’

"Cross... I can see it in your eyes. Call it a gamble, but you don’t seem like one to lose such a drawn-out hand... Eventually, you’d win. So be honest and tell me the real reason. Why not kill Vera?"

"What does it even matter to you, outsider?"

Ash clenched his teeth. Lowering his voice, he asked:

"You... What right do you have to sacrifice yourself for her?"

"Huh...?"

"Doing this would kill you, wouldn’t it?"

Cross froze. After a few seconds, he nodded slowly in grim acceptance.

"I don’t know much about your ability, but you seem to believe you can save both her and the capital before Winter’s power claims you. Am I wrong?"

Cross stayed silent.

Ash continued:

"Why sacrifice yourself? Kill one girl — one brainwashed, cursed girl who would have no place in society even if she were freed — and you’d get to live. Disregard my involvement! Before I appeared, that’s all you had to do!"

Judging by the state in which he’d found Vera — on the brink of death — it was clear Cross possessed the means. Yet if Cross had been the one to leave her in that state, it was obvious he had deliberately chosen to let her live.

"..."

Ash was from the modern age, not an age in which murder was treated so callously. He wasn’t condoning it, but even he could recognize the obvious solution.

Ash’s fingers curled tightly around [Sealed Fate]’s hilt.

"...Vera never asked you to save her, did she?"

"..."

Cross didn’t move.

Ash sneered and shouted:

"What right do you have to sacrifice yourself for her?! She didn’t ask to be saved!"

Swaying slightly, Cross growled:

"If my life can save my sister and bring solace to the hearts of thousands, I’d be a fool to keep it."

"That is the height of arrogance!"

"Chimera, I know not why this angers you so, but I cannot allow myself to die before my goal is accomplished. And speaking of my goal... it requires your death. Thank you for your assistance, but it seems this is as far as you go."

Ash spat the challenge back at him.

"Do you really believe you’re capable of that in such a sorry state?"

Idolan broke his silence.

"Cross, stand down."

Cross swept his hair back, then took his stance.

"Father, look at this man... Look at his face... He has no intention of backing down."

Ash lowered his voice and spoke harshly:

"Answer me, Cross. What gives you the right?"

Cross shook his head, then said:

"Love."

Ash scoffed.

"The wolf said something similar — that she loved Vera. It may seem odd to say... but it truly sounded genuine at the time... Is your love the same as hers? Warped and one-sided, yet overshadowed by your own self-righteous desire?"

"Naturally..."

"Despicable."

’No wonder the wolf was able to make such a threat... Even if it would doom herself, it seems she knew Cross would stay his hand so his sister would be spared.’

Ash looked over at Idolan. He, too, had chosen to sacrifice himself. Though the due had yet to be collected, that choice had already caused irreversible consequences. Ash added:

"You as well."

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