124: Vol. 2 - Epilogue

Vol. 2 - Epilogue

{Tamira} 

Bringing the Unity Trials to Earth was one of her best decisions yet. 

In just a little over a year, this world had provided her with more entertainment than any other had. 

And all of it came down to how balanced humanity as a species was, relative to other civilizations. Some worlds were so fond of killing each other that they used the Unity Trials as just an excuse to do that more and, as a result, their trials came to an end far too quickly. 

Others were the opposite. Completely peaceful, pacifist societies that did nothing but curl up and die as the Unity Trial's monsters knocked on their door. 

Earth, however, had struck a middle ground that was so sweet that these days, if Tamira couldn't see everything at once, then this would be the world she would choose to spend her time on. 

Thankfully, however, she could. 

[Hm, I wonder what this floor's going to be like,] Neve thought as she stepped into the 5th Floor. Tamira heard her thoughts as closely as though the girl had whispered them into her ears. 

"Hehehe," Tamira muttered as she spun in circles, flying over the healer, invisible. Neve couldn't hear her. "Thomas's group had quite a bit of trouble here. This was the first real wall they encountered after implementing their low-level speedrun strategy. How will you fare, now that you've made the decision to push yourself to the limit?" Tamira wondered.

As she thought about that, she looked through Neve's inventory and status. 

"Level 62. A little too strong but, oh well. That's being remedied. Besides, you'll probably ask me to buy some levels off you in a little bit, won't you?" 

[Tamira?] On cue, Neve called out to her. 

"Yes?" The interdimensional being let go of the veil that kept Neve from seeing or hearing her, and shrunk down to a smaller size so that she would seem that much more innocent in the healer's eyes. 

"Will you still buy levels off me if I offer a few?" 

Tamira held back a laugh. 

"Sure. How many do you wish to sell?" 

"Uh, I didn't mean right now. Just... Later," Neve said, turning away from Tamira. "I'm still thinking about it." 

"Hmph. Hopefully, you won't think about it for too long," Tamira said though she used that veil to keep Neve from hearing her. 

Coldly, Neve just walked away. Tamira got the hint and retreated into her personal space. 

"Hehehe, this is shaping up to be quite the encounter that'll happen soon. Once you're done with this floor, I wonder how you'll react to the surprises lined up before you." 

There was a lot to look forward to. So much so, that Tamira was considering reducing the number of enemies Neve would fight to get her through each floor as quickly as she wanted to. 

There were mechanics that would halt her progress anyway, of course, as she'd soon discover on this floor, but Tamira wanted to make things just the tiniest bit easier for her. 

And then, once she arrived at Thomas's position... 

"That's when the magic will happen~ Ah, I can't wait." 

Speaking of the other human, he had just finished killing another of his teammates, so Tamira went to check in on him. 

In the blink of an eye, she popped up before him, as Thomas wiped the blood off his knife. 

"Ah, Tamira. It's a pleasure to see you again," Thomas said politely. 

Tamira ignored his greeting, taking it for what it was. The man was just cozying up to her, trying to score points with his "assistant". Sure, her ego appreciated the gesture, but personally, Tamira preferred Neve's approach to their relationship. Or, at least, she respected her more for it. 

"Well, this just leaves two more teammates left," Tamira said with a grin, looking down at the player who'd been stabbed in the back. "You've really surpassed my expectations." 

"I made a promise," Thomas said. "I plan to keep it." 

Oh, and what a promise that was. 

After getting that little girl killed back on the 5th Floor, Thomas made an interesting proposal to Tamira. Knowing that she and her superiors wanted to be entertained, he made the following offer: 

In return for some hints as to where to find good loot, monster level reductions, and just overall aid, he would kill every single other player in the Final Challenge. 

It was an interesting proposition. However, Tamira felt she could spice it up a little more. So, she'd added the following restrictions: 

1. From now on, he would only gain EXP from killing players. He was not allowed to kill any monsters. If there was no way to talk his way out of a fight, he could help, but never be the one to land the killing blow. 

This restriction actually ended up helping him keep the others from finding out that he was a murderer. Because he couldn't fight monsters, his level was always kept lower than everyone else, and then, through one quick player kill, he'd close the gap. Rinse and repeat, and now he was level 41, just like his two remaining teammates. 

The second restriction was: 

2. Everyone except for him needed to be dead before the 10th Floor. 

Naturally, the first restriction would be lifted as soon as everyone was gone. 

Now, there were just two more people left and two more floors to cover. 

Or, so he believed. 

"Say," Tamira spoke to him flying closer. His body betrayed the distrust he tried to hide from her, as the hand holding that knife tightened its grip. "Are you absolutely certain you will not need these players to help you face the tasks ahead?"

"... Of course, not,"  his smile left his face. "However, that's what our deal was for, no? I kill these players in interesting ways, and you make the path ahead of me easier, right?" 

"Right, but fighting monsters isn't the only kind of challenge you can expect. Take the keys on the 5th Floor, for example! If it wasn't for that one mage who figured out how the keys were meant to be found, you might still be on that floor. And then, you killed her. Are you sure you won't come to regret this decision?" 

"No. Everything I've done has been because I believe this will give me the highest chance of completing the Final Challenge. If I still fail, if someone who has sacrificed as much as I have here fails, then that means the Final Challenge is unfair and unbeatable. That's all." 

Tamira grinned, hearing that. 

It was cute how he was so close to convincing himself that he was right. But, he hadn't quite managed to do so just yet. 

"Well, I certainly do hope you pull it off. It would be interesting to see it happen! That said..." Tamira leaned in close, whispering into his ear like a lover would, "are you sure you can kill  all  of the remaining players?"

"It'll be difficult," Thomas said, backing away from Tamira. "Once I kill the next, the last one will probably guess what I've been doing. So, I'm thinking I'll have to kill her immediately after I'm done with the next guy before she finds out." 

Tamira giggled. 

"Interesting, but that's not what I meant." 

Thomas stopped. The polite look he had left his face. What replaced it was a look of confusion, a look that was subtly quite threatening. 

"What?" 

"Thomas, Thomas~," Tamira laughed. "When was the last time you looked at the player count?" 

It had been quite a while since Thomas was running with a group that he thought was composed of every single player still remaining. Why did he need to check the player count when he could always see how many players were left back at the camp, in person? He never needed to check if a player had died or not either, as he had seen them all die personally. Some at the hands of monsters, or traps, or some because he killed them. 

So, he checked the player count for the first time in a long time, and what he found made his eyes widen with shock. 

Player Count: 4

[This...] Thomas thought. Tamira listened in. [H... How? Did I fail to...?] 

With satisfaction coating every syllable, Tamira asked: 

"What? Feeling a little bit perplexed? I understand. It's been a while since you've seen her, after all, but aren't you forgetting someone?" 

The moment he heard "her" Thomas knew of who she was speaking.  1

"... Neve?" 

"Indeed," Tamira giggled. 

"But... We left her." 

"And she survived," Tamira said. "Well, she didn't just survive. She's doing quite well for herself, actually. She's really strong! As she is right now, she could probably wipe your whole team. Pretty easily, too!" 

Tamira could feel how cold Thomas's heart became thanks to this new information. It felt so sweet. 

"You wanna know the best part, though?" Thomas remained silent, waiting to hear what Tamira would tell her next. "She's climbing through the floors, killing all sorts of monsters, and getting as strong as she can, specifically just so she can kill you." 

Thomas took a step back. Then another, and then he stumbled, falling on his butt, into the pool of blood made by his dead teammate. Tamira hammered this point home by producing a holographic screen in front of him. 

On this screen, she played the moment when Neve had decided to go on her journey, just so Thomas could fully understand what was happening. 

"… He has to pay," Neve muttered through gritted teeth, on the holographic screen. "He has to pay. I don't care if humanity gets their break, or if his followers all have to die first before I can get to him, but he *has* to pay for what he's done."

"Want a replay?" Tamira asked, before playing the moment back again. "I got chills when she said this. Loved it, loved it, loved it." 

Thomas swallowed. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. 

"Where is she now?" 

"Good question! She is currently about to begin the 5th Floor. Her plan is to try to make it through to the 7th Floor in less than a week. If she does, the enemies your teammates killed will not have respawned yet, and thus, she will be able to run straight through to the 8th floor, uninterrupted. Quite a decent scheme, if I do say so myself." 

Dread embraced Thomas's heart. 

So much so, that Tamira thought it suitable to give him a tiny bit of hope. 

"There is one thing you could do to weaken her once she inevitably arrives at your position, though." 

"What is it?" Thomas asked, dropping the polite act fully. "WHAT IS IT!?" 

"See, she has a couple of helpers with her. One of them is functionally immortal, but the other isn't. There's this girl called 'Ahlakan'. I have a few ideas for you..." 

Hope suddenly sprouted amidst the darkness that covered Thomas's soul. 

"I apologize, Neve," Tamira said to herself. Thomas couldn't hear this part. "But, this whole thing is going just a little too smoothly for you. I'll make it up somehow, though." 

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