The deepest chamber of the ancient ruins.

The ceiling had collapsed, and moonlight streaming in from above illuminated despair.

Beyond this point sits the Primordial Majin.

A black mass of flesh as large as an apartment building. Countless eyeballs and innumerable arms. A living calamity.

It has no consciousness. It does not speak. It does not think.

It simply devours people, kills them, and continues destroying nations. The worst kind of being.

It has already been eighteen years since I reincarnated into DWS.

If this were the story, we’d be around the middle. Several countries have already fallen, but even so, this is considered holding out well.

I’ve fought it several times. Of course I have. The first thing you do after reincarnating into a game world is try clearing it with orthodox, original-knowledge strategy.

But yeah, impossible. Physical attacks don’t work. Magic doesn’t work. Mental attacks and curses don’t work either.

So what do you do? You destroy its eyeballs one by one. That’s the garbage mechanic.

And of course, after a certain time they regenerate. Each eyeball has durability greater than a top-tier monster. And if you dawdle, laser beams start flying.

If they touch you, it’s not just ‘it hurts.’ You disappear. In fact, my left index finger is gone.

Still, it’s a living thing. If you destroy enough of it, it retreats. For now, all you can do is repel it—and that only works with a full-force, firepower-specialized all-out assault.

In the original, you can clear it by capping your level at 999 and maxing every stat. Otherwise, the only way to win is by sacrificing all your companions. A garbage system.

Of course, there is no salvation route for the three older heroines.

I’ve confirmed that the official heroines exist in this world.

But since the original protagonist isn’t here, they’re all acting independently, living their lives without being drawn to anyone.

The only reason I approached Lesley and the others in the first place was because if I did nothing, the only route left for them was death. Seriously, the devs can go to hell.

The Majin becomes active at night.

I’m the only one who knows it’s in these ruins. In a few hours, it’ll awaken and obliterate the nearby country. Fifty thousand dead, was it? And as a bonus, mock-Majin monstrosities. The remaining twenty thousand turn into monsters and die. Absolute trash.

And yet… DWS is fascinating.

Even though I knew it as a game, everything I see and touch here feels new.

If this operation succeeds, Lesley and the others will live happily.

I left a note at the inn. That I was afraid of the Majin and ran away.

They’ll be disappointed. But maybe, in some way, they’ll understand.

If this plan works, they won’t have to suffer over me anymore.

“—Binding Leaf.”

Just as I was about to take a step forward, light shaped like a hand wrapped around my body.

The shock felt like my heart had been seized. Cold. Painful.

I can’t move. This is—

“…Sophia-san.”

From behind the rubble emerged Saint Sister Sophia.

Translucent white hair. Red eyes. Dressed impeccably in black and white formal clerical attire. A priestess who wields cheat-tier holy magic.

She’s glaring at me like I killed her family.

When she’s angry, she’s genuinely terrifying.

“Today, I received a revelation from God. That you were planning something wicked. For the first time in my life, I doubted God. There’s no way Ray-kun—kind, adorable, impossibly good Ray-kun—would do such a thing. I know you better than anyone. And so I wondered if perhaps, for someone else’s sake, you had resolved yourself to something.”

Ah, seriously. Too overpowered.

Sophia possesses one of the most absurd abilities in DWS.

Future Foresight. It activates randomly while she prays.

I anticipated this. But there’s nothing you can do about RNG.

At first I considered destroying the church. Actually, I did try it once. 'I truly regret it.'

But it doesn’t matter where she is. As long as God recognizes it, the ability triggers. No avoiding it.

So this is the worst-case scenario.

Which means, naturally—

“—Ray, trying to outmaneuver us is a hundred years too early. I will not allow you to challenge the Majin alone.”

“Ray-kun, we share one fate. There’s no way we’d let you die alone. Don’t worry. We’ll fight together.”

So Lesley and Eleanor are here too.

Yeah. They aren’t naive.

Do they have any idea how much thought I put into this?

I simulated it over and over, took absurd detours so I’d leave no footprints, no scent, no trace.

But this is DWS. A mob like me can’t win cleanly.

“You really are amazing. No matter how much I plan, I can’t outsmart you.”

The three of them smile faintly.

But I anticipated this pattern too.

The impossible is impossible. That’s DWS.

I’m sorry, but I had to use a terribly underhanded method.

Still, Sophia’s Future Foresight really is ridiculous.

She even nailed the part about me plotting something. Unfair.

The invisible hand binding me begins to weaken.

Eleanor notices first.

“Eh, Sophia-san? Sophia-san!?”

Sophia’s eyes grow unfocused.

She collapses, caught by Eleanor.

After meeting them, I deliberately became a Supply Porter.

So I could always supply them.

Using potions instead of healing magic has advantages.

No magic cost. No chanting required. Instant use.

Effect varies, and you can even splash them directly on wounds.

For this moment, I calculated their limits perfectly.

I’m deeply sorry, but for the past month, I’ve been giving Eleanor and Sophia a magic-suppressing compound.

Timed to take effect at this exact moment.

Yeah. Being a Supply Porter wasn’t pointless.

Eleanor collapses next.

Neither fully unconscious, which is terrifying. I definitely administered enough to knock them out cold.

“Ray-kun… why would you do this?”

“Ray-kun… no… no… what are you…”

They’ve realized.

Damn.

But this is where the real fight begins.

“Ray, poison doesn’t work on me.”

Right. Of course.

Lesley is immune to everything.

She has no magic to suppress.

Sleep, poison, paralysis—none of it works.

Thanks to the horrific way she was raised, constantly forced to ingest near-lethal substances as a child, she’s a genuine sword monster.

So I raised my sword.

“I’m sorry. There’s no time.”

This, she hadn’t expected.

Our record: 24,257 matches. 24,257 wins. Zero losses.

She’s never lost.

And I’ve never won. Obviously.

But this is the only way.

If I don’t win here, I can’t save you.

Please understand. This is the optimal solution. This is the only one.

Lesley was incredible.

Most people would hesitate. She didn’t. Not a tremor, not a shift in stance.

The eyes of someone challenging an undefeated opponent.

God, she’s amazing. A true swordswoman.

—That’s why, just this once, I can win.

“…Kah… how… Ray… stop… don’t go…”

“Thank you. For everything.”

It ended in an instant.

She moved at a speed beyond sight. I dodged, predicted the angle, struck once.

Did I see her blade? Of course not. For a split second, her sword exceeds the speed of sound.

I had to read it completely. The angle. The trajectory.

There was a trick. A setup.

This one win was pure cheating.

But meaningful.

I pass the three of them.

I wish they’d lose consciousness. They won’t.

But damn it, I’m fired up!

Step by step.

At the seventy-fifth step, the Majin loomed.

A black mass the size of a building. Countless eyes and arms. Living calamity.

No greetings necessary. You don’t address a typhoon.

I sprinted straight at it.

It automatically eliminates life. A slaughter machine.

—Time until Majinization: 3 minutes 44 seconds.

I poured over half my magic into strengthening my body.

A reckless charge Lesley would call idiotic.

Eyeballs rolled open. Magic condensed and fired.

One hit and I’d vanish.

DWS is a death game. Die, retry, learn.

But this is one try only. At least if I fail, no one will realize.

Right, left, right, right, right-right-right, left, up.

I can’t dodge this on reflex. I drag memories from the past and align them with the present. One centimeter off and that part disappears.

One millimeter off. My right ear is gone. Blood sprays. My eardrum ruptures.

Nausea. Headache.

If I fall now, it’s meaningless.

I adjust.

All this risk just to approach.

This is DWS. This trash masterpiece.

I start laughing.

Death is all I have left. The only choice is how.

Right, left, up, right, right.

A step. Half-step. Two steps. Retreat.

Within meters, I planted my sword and leapt.

A hundred eyes locked on.

Magic surged.

—That’s whyyyyyyyyyy!

I flooded my left hand with magic and plunged it into my own heart. Tore it out.

My body convulsed. Blood sprayed. Consciousness fading.

I died.

More accurately, I was barely alive—but to the Majin, I became something else.

This is a hidden mechanic.

The condition for Majinization.

Lose your life at close range, and if your magic qualifies, it auto-judges.

I detonated my magic at the brink.

And it recognized me as worthy of Majinization.

Eyeballs burst from it and latched onto me.

They chewed.

It hurts.

Hot. Hot. Hot.

I underestimated Majinization.

This isn’t a status ailment.

It’s predation.

Remember.

You chose this.

Accept it.

Break it all.

Kill the Majin.

* * *

Undergo Majinization. Kill the Majin.

That was my Salvation route.

A thread thin as a hair. But I passed through it.

I devoured the Majin. Erased it.

At least, I thought so.

What I saw next were the three of them.

My hearing was distorted.

But they were there.

And I was lying down somewhere.

My body wouldn’t move. Agonizing pain.

Especially my right arm. Crushing pressure.

Why am I alive?

“Ray… don’t move. Your wounds will reopen. Ray… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… But don’t worry. I will never let you hold a sword again. I will devote my life to staying by your side. So rest.”

“Ray-kun, you’re a bad child. Trying to leave your teacher behind. I didn’t raise you that way. The outside world only hurts you… so you don’t have to go out anymore. I’ll handle your meals. Your care. Just sleep.”

“I’m sorry… my prayers weren’t enough… But I’ll take responsibility. I’ll devote my life to atone. I’ll stay with you forever.”

Aren’t their eyes… clouding over?

Hey. Hey, DWS.

I didn’t ask for this salvation route!