Flugel spoke to the informant as they stepped back to avoid the rats.
"What are you doing? Hurry and log out!"
"I'm trying, damn it!" the informant cried out. He pressed his back tightly against the wall behind the counter.
"I've been trying to get out for a while. I couldn't even escape back in Mac Anu! It's like the black forest six months ago. It's started again. Damn. I can't return to the real world…" he cried out once more.
"What?"
In front of the onlooking Flugel, a logout effect spread over the informant's character. However, the effect disappeared and the informant still remained. The logout command had no effect.
There was a pressure closing in on the @HOME, perhaps even the entirety of Net Slum.
The whole store was ringing. The sound that was gnawing at objects rang out from everywhere.
"It’s no use. We can’t stay here," the informant cried out.
"We have to get out soon!"
The informant immediately climbed over the counter and tried to get through the exit. However, Flugel put out his arms and blocked the informant.
"Wait a second…"
Flugel put Brieler Roessel at the ready and observed the rats running around. He estimated that about fifty to sixty rats had invaded the shop. All of were baring their little fangs and were squeaking loudly. However, Flugel realized that not a single one of them was attacking him or the informant.
Flugel called on Kusame in Whisper Mode.
"The rats activity will soon be over. It's almost sunrise."
"What?" Kusame replied in a whisper. He had opened a spell and considered setting a magical attack on the rats at that moment.
"They’re just running around like mad. They haven’t been given the command to attack us. It’s their job to scare their prey away from its nest."
Kusame looked at Flugel with a relieved expression.
"Are they ambushing us? Trying to get us out of the @HOME?"
"Probably. The @HOME is likely surrounded by the rats."
"What should we do?"
Flugel closed Whisper Mode and spoke to the informant out loud.
"Do you have a back door?"
"Of course not!"
"I see. Then I’ll make one now."
Flugel shot the grinder on the counter.
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
The informant raised his voice in protest, but his mouth fell wide open when he saw the grinder turn into a small warp point.
They went through a sudden warp point and arrived at the main square by the Chaos Gate.
There was garbage data piled there and it looked like a small hill. Behind it, the vermillion torii stood, tilting slightly.
From that spot, they were able to see through the streets of the city that they had just snuck out of.
The informant spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Hey, I don’t believe it. What a joke…"
Roads, walls, and buildings were moving as though swelling. Flugel thought for a moment on this optical illusion. The hordes of rats moved together, pushing one another, as though they were a wriggling mass. The streets were painted with mixture of venomous purple and black colors.
Residents of Net Slum were running down the street screaming. They were sprinting with all of their power. The rats were clustering all around them. Their field of vision must have been low, because they would strike walls or stumble into something and the rats would flood in from all directions. The horrible flock devoured some of the residents, and the residents melted like butter on a frying pan.
The city was overflowing with rats. The frenzied masses swirled around.
"My oh my. You’ve gone and done it, Yuri Seto…," muttered Flugel.
He had anticipated an ambush by the rats.
However, he never thought such a large group of rats would come into play. From previous experience, Flugel estimated that the number of rats possessed by Yuri Seto was about one thousand.
Right now, the rats that were here in Net Slum clearly exceeded that number. There was an unbelievable amount of them. Tens of thousands, perhaps even millions. This was a dark realization. It was like an overwhelming energy that drives people mad. How much mental power is needed to create such a tremendous number of rats?
No, it can’t be possible, though Flugel. This was beyond the level of a human being. There was no way that a Schicksal PC could produce such a huge number of rats.
"…It’s no use. I can’t log out. I also can’t return to Town."
Kusame, who was fiddling with the Chaos Gate, shook his head.
"We’re trapped in this garbage heap…"
At that moment, the informant started to collapse and groan.
"Ow, ow…. ouch ouch ouch."
Suddenly he stood up and shouted.
"That hurt!"
The informant put his hands behind his head, forcefully grabbed the rats that had attached themselves to his head, and pulled them off of him.
"Those little bastards! They bit my head!"
He screamed with a squeaking voice and struck at the ground.
The rats scattered from the informant’s hand, then they made a big jump and landed a few meters away.
Kusame’s spell had exploded on them. The light of Lei Zas tore through the plaza and slowed down the rats. Then the rats evaporated without making a sound.
The rats’ defense and hit points were very low. A normal attack could defeat them without much difficulty. That’s if there’s only a few of them, however. Knowing this is not much consolation in a situation like the one that just transpired.
"That rat-bastard. He’s doesn’t do things half-way, does he?" Flugel said as he looked around.
He made sure there were no signs of anyone in the area, and he then pulled out the "Trojan Rat" from his pocket.
It was a rat that had been modified to be harmless and had been equipped with a tracker. The rat looked up at Flugel with friendly, innocent eyes. Flugel squat down and gently put the rat on the ground and, after it twitched its nose a few times, it ran off toward a mountain of garbage.
Alright. That’s good. Flugel stood up. Now he just had to wait for the "Trojan Rat" to infiltrate into the group of its fellow rats. Then it would guide him to the location of the main group. Then he could strike the rats and their boss all at the same time.
The only problem now was how to get out of here. How to get out of Net Slum which had been turned into a city of rats.
Flugel once again looked around at his periphery.
He stopped halfway. His whole body was tense.
Before he knew it, a shadow appeared on the torii before him. The shadow placed itself about five meters away from Flugel and Kusame. Like the shadow itself, the figure who had appeared made no sound. He was also no longer wearing a cap.
The man, who couldn’t be further from a system admin, positioned himself across from them, pretending to be system admin.
It appeared as though he didn’t see Flugel and Kusame. He walked a bit, stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky as though it was nice to look at. Of course, it was not. There are not many people who would climb a torii in the middle of a walk.
"Oh my. My oh my."
Flugel looked up at the torii and called out in an attempt to grab the figure’s attention.
"What’s going on? Why are you so far away? Come over and have a chat. That’s a silly place to stand."
Flugel spoke cheerfully so as to disguise his unease.
Was he able to see the release of the rats? If he had seen it, things were as bad as they could be. Perhaps Seto would easily discover what Flugel and Kusame were planning to do.
"So that’s Seto. Fooling around like a typical hacker," Kusame said to Flugel in a loud voice.
"I remember when I was a child. Decades ago now. My father took me fox hunting."
The man spoke as though to himself.
"When hunting foxes, hounds would veer the fox towards the hunter. They purposefully give the fox only one place to go. However, sometimes there are foxes that don’t go in the direction you intended, and they end up getting away. Such foxes you have to pursue with force. So in most cases, you end up brutally wounding them, but then the fur is no longer usable…"
Flugel applauded this monologue by tapping his left hand against his right hand wrist since his right hand was holding a gun.
"Oh, what? How surprising, I thought the open-air opera had started up again," he said.
"May I go home to get my opera glasses?"
"Brieler Roessle. Its ability is amazing. Its use can be trickier than you think."
The man lowered his eyes and looked at Flugel for the first time since they started their chat.
"However, I think of it as omnipotent, but it isn’t. It cannot create anything. Isn’t that right? After shooting a bullet and freezing the target’s data - is that right? - it’s comparable to an RPG video game. ‘It infects and replaces the object’s parts’ - does that closely describe the gun’s ability? In other words, the object you modified is made to conform to the game’s specification."
The man smiled.
Flugel did not respond. He changed the subject.
"I want to ask you something. What is the purpose of that silly herd of rats? I think there’s a limit, but just how many rats did you bring into this world?"
"I have been chosen for a trial and I want to overcome it," replied the man.
"In that sense, the rats are separate from my will. They are determining the trial. Is that the sort of answer you’re looking for?"
"Oh, I see."
Flugel nodded.
"I understand now. Thank you."
"This conversation is not very engaging," Kusame muttered in amazement.
Needless to say, there was no reason for Flugel to continue throwing out meaningless words. As he stood there, he thought of ways to get out of this situation.
Even if Flugel quickly shot Brieler Roessle and was able to hit the man standing on the torii, he probably still wouldn’t get past the area. That man probably was not the real PC of Yuri Seto. He was likely just a fake created by the rats. Yuri Seto was likely manipulating the rats from a safe distance.
"By the way, Flugel, did you call me a rat-bastard earlier?"
The man’s voice changed.
Or so Flugel thought. He noticed that some sort of emotion was in the man’s voice. The voice was low, as though it were suppressed.
"You heard me? I thought of many things to call you, but in the end I figure it’s best to keep it simple. Doesn’t it describe you perfectly? You didn’t like it? Rat-bastard."
Flugel said the last word slowly to be provacative.
The man looked back up at the sky once more.
"At Mac Anu’s port, I said that I don’t care for the name of this PC. I told you to call me whatever you like. However, let me make two things very clear…"
His voice was harsh. It seemed as if he were forcibly surpressing his rage. His voice trembled faintly at the ends of his words.
The man put up the index and middle fingers of his right hand.
"Number one. It’s easy to associate the word ‘sewer’ with ‘rat.’ It lacks imagination. That will be a fatal problem in both of our trials. Your crude imagination will invite foolish mistakes and bring about an unexpected defeat. You should change that now."
The man had a tone like a teacher coaching a poorly performing student.
"Number two. But, despite that…"
The man turned his face towards Flugel. His face was shining with delight.
"It’s the best name. Just superb. Absolutely wonderful."
Flugel and Kusame looked at each other.
The man began to speak gently.
"The network that mankind developed was the drainage system; a sewer. That’s the theory anyway. Christians in the early Roman period used sewers to escape persecution and spread the doctrine. In other words, the sewer was the newest network at that time which allowed civilization to spread to the Roman Empire."
"Pardon?" asked Flugel in confusion, but the question was disregarded.
"And nowadays, in this modern era where the internet, like a sewer, drips filth and pollutes the world, you call me - I who wish to abandon the internet - by a historically significant name. Do you understand what that means? That’s right, I was chosen. Indeed, you chose me."
The man kept talking euphorically.
"Of course, you likened me to a low form and shallowly abased me. Yet, that’s why the name is noble. It’s because the inevitablility that we were born at random is an undeniable truth. The name that you called me gives me a strong feeling of unprecedented happiness as I walk in my trial. I withdraw the foolish words I said about not caring about names. I must admit my lack of wisdom. It’s all thanks to you. You have cast light on my ignorance…"
The last word gradually became wet as his mouth accumulated spit. The man’s pupils dilated and his face took on a strange expression as his eyes slowly looked upward to the sky.
"From today onward, I shall be called Drain."
In addition to the loud proclamation, Flugel heard war cries come from the outskirts of the city. Like a chorus of countless little goblins. The cries could only mean one thing. The herd of rats that tried to overrun Net Slum were about to start on their main course. In response to Drain’s invitation, they were now moving towards the plaza.
Flugel shot at the ground with Brieler Roessle. After a moment, he shot the ground a few more times around the group, rewriting the ground’s data, resulting in a damaged floor.
However, this was just a drop in the bucket. This only bought them a little time.
A sound similar to groaning drew nearer. The rat’s voices were twisted and grew louder, swelling to a dreadful level.
Finally the rats reached the plaza’s entrace and rushed in like roaring waves.
"Ah, ha, hehe."
The informant immediately twisted around and fell on his back.
The rats were so crowded together that they were crawling all over each other. There was no break in the mass. They invaded the square one after the other. This was no longer just a mass of rats. It was a single, giant, evil organism of some unknown nature.
Suddenly, a roar echoed out and a pillar of fire rose up in a corner of the square. Then a ball of fire, swelling in yellow and orange colors, burst forth with a loud bang. A rain of fire poured down on the area, swallowing up the rats, blowing some up and driving others away.
Flugel and the others stood frozen in place, but they got caught in a blast and were knocked to the ground.
Then a second explosion struck inside the mass of rats. Then a third explosion and a forth.
"Up there," said Kusame, who had rolled on to his stomach and looked up at the sky.
Flugel looked up at the sky and saw several shadows whirling high up in the sky.
During the explosions, the man named Drain continued to stand on top of the torii.
A thorough destruction commenced. Not by the rats, but by the new arrivals.
Drain took notice of the beings who flew in the sky like birds. There were eight in all. They descended in a line formation and threw something down. It reached the ground and, like a blaze of hellfire, flames burned the rats.
Drain had given a surveillance command to twenty-two rats beforehand and sent them to various parts of Net Slum to check out the stat of the city.
The surveillance rat-team had reported that there were Flugel and two colleagues in the square. Three people altogether. Four if Drain included himself. There ought not to have been anyone else in the square.
Therefore, it was inconceivable to Drain that there was someone who could escape detection by the rats.
"What are you? Your presense cannot be detected. Could you be…"
He didn’t get to finish his sentence.
A single beam of light shot down from the sky and penetrated his abdomen. The beam easily divided Drain in two and he fell from the torii and struck the ground.
The air around where the laser had been released was strangely distorted.
Suddenly it seemed as though a smooth substance like mercury was born. The next moment the substance took the form of a person. It shone with a golden light.
Drain’s upper half lay on it’s stomach and it clawed at the ground with both hands in an attempt to reach his lower half which fell farther away.
Before he could reach his other half, the golden assailant came down and landed soundlessly.
Drain ceased his struggle and looked up at the adversary. The adversary had a feminine body. It was a metallic PC body like an android, with a helmet that had a visor like a bird’s beak.
He remembered seeing this somewhere before. That’s right, it was a Sophia. The "Sophia System Security," also known as the SSS version. The Sophias were a commercial computer virus removal software.
But at this moment, before Drain’s eyes, this Sophia was acting beyond the abilities of an automated program. She was being operated by a player.
"How do you feel? Rat-user," she said.
"I feel awful. Recently I’ve been constantly agitated. It seems this was caused by you, rat-user."
There was a sound like spitting in the real world.
"I don’t like how you’ve been talking and acting, and I don’t like what you’ve been doing to The World. So, please disappear from this place."
"That ability. I see. It was you."
Drain smiled thinly.
"You’re the bitch who killed the rats I sent on reconnaisance…"
"Excuse me?"
Her beautiful face became greatly distorted and her mouth formed a malicious grin.
"A grovelling piece-of-shit rat like you is in no position to speak to me like that."
Drain focused his mind and summoned a rat to him. The rat jumped at the Sophia’s face from her blind spot and exploded a "Deadly Flash" at close range.
But the Sophia remained cool and collected.
"Give it a rest. Your flash won’t work on me."
Small pupils behind the visor looked down at Drain with disdain.
Then she lazily kicked his face with her right foot. Drain gave a muffled grunt and his upper half turned over on its back.
The Sophia bent down and brought her visor close enough to Drain’s face to touch his nose.
"Can you hear me, Yuri Kazinsky Seto? I’m not just some worthless mimic like you. You’re hiding around here manipulating this thing, you asshole. Do you hear me?"
She spoke to the person in front of her as if he were a phone receiver.
"As I said before, I really don’t like you. But to be honest, I love your rats. Do you know why?" she whispered.
"Every time I kill one hundred dirty rats, I receive a monetary reward. I get a bonus every 2000 kills. I earn plenty of money that way. I work as hard as I can to exterminate the little shits. I put all my strength into turning their assholes inside-out. Gahahaha."
She bent over laughing.
"I’ll come back to hunt them again when it’s harvest season. Bahahahahahahaha."
The hunt was over at the plaza. It had been a one-sided massacre. Without being able to receive commands from their conductor, the rats had massed together, becoming easy targets for the slaughter.
The eight Sophias who had been flying in the sky were then able to skillfully drop napalm bullets right on the masses of rats so as to prevent their escape, ensuring that the rats burned.
The smell of burnt carcasses reached Drain’s nostrils.
Fanned by hot air, his black hair fluttered and covered his face. His hair waved as though it had a life of its own. Through a gap in his hair, the Sophia could see that Drain was still smirking and his eyes burned with hatred.
It was a hatred that dishonored his baptismal name, a hatred that burned like his precious rats.
"You…"
"Huh?"
"This is not a test," Drain said softly.
"You are not worthy to stand in this place. Leave at once."
A ghastly smile, different from before, crossed the lips of the golden Sophia.
"Hmmm?"
She stood up slowly and pointed the index finger of her right hand at Drain.
A laser shot out from the finger’s tip, burning Drain’s upper half. A scream rang out.
The burning figure twisted and distorted, then burst into a multitude of rats which scurried away. However, they could not outrun the flames that consumed them, leaving them dead and charred only a few meters away.
"I give you the gift of peace," she said as though spitting, and then she burned Drain’s lower half.
Suddenly the square fell silent.
The mass of rats had been crushed and a few remaining rats scurried off and disappeared. The square had become completely still, except for the group of Sophias who were flying overhead.
Flugel, Kusame, and the informant stood in a corner of the square as though they had been forgotten. In order to avoid the explosions, they had hid themselves behind a mountain of garbage.
This was no longer a battle in a fantasy world. It was a modern war and the three of them were now akin to scared civilians caught in the fray.
"What could this feeling be?" said Flugel.
"It seems we’re in supporting roles when I thought we were the leads."
"The… Sophia Squad, was it? We should meet again someone," said Kusame in admiration.
"Her power is in a different league. She annihhilated those hordes in less than an hour."
"Hey, you guys. Over here!" yelled the informant.
The golden Sophia, who destroyed the mimic Drain, walked towards Flugel and the others.
The other Sophias landed one after the other and followed behind her.
The vanguard of the Sophia Squad was gold while the other eight were all clad in silver. Gold must be the color for the commander. There stood nine goddesses of gruesome destruction. Beautiful godesses of death who reap souls. Their smooth bodies shined elegantly as it reflected the flames enveloping the burning rats in the plaza.
When they came in front of the three standing there, they stopped moving.
The commander looked upon the face of Flugel, then Kusame, then the informant. Through her visor, her eyes shone brightly at the three men.
"I am Urania of the Sophia Squad," she said.
"Which one of you is Flugel?"