As Nobunaga threw her tantrum, the King spoke with chilling clarity.
"To rely on borrowed power and trample others just to stand at the center? Hmph. Fool. That is the very definition of the 'trash-tier' works that have littered history since time immemorial. You have misunderstood the very premise of what it means to be a protagonist."
"What...?"
"The role of the 'lead' is not something to be stolen or clung to; it is a radiance to which the world is naturally drawn. It is judged by who shines the brightest, and whose actions move the heart most deeply. The breath of a story that even the author cannot predict—that 'Heaven's Decree'—is what determines the world's protagonist. —To you, who seeks a hell of convenience where you are worshipped, pampered, and unchallenged... I shall grant you a new True Name!"
With a sharp gesture, the Hero King—the man who is humanity's oldest story and the weaver of its newest epic—pronounced judgment upon the fool.
"Your secret name is Mary Sue!! The cancer of creation that rots, corrupts, and degrades the narrative! I shall sever your delusions and your grudges here and now!! And do not think so highly of yourself!! No matter what form you take, no matter what hardships arise, we shall always overcome!!"
The Hero King, the protagonist of the supreme literary work that is the origin of all heroes, shattered the dregs of creation with words filled with absolute conviction.
"The Princess chosen by the heavens! The Master loved by the heavens! And I, the great epic of the original source! To prove the value of the countless stories that follow in our wake—Mary Sue! I shall crush your pathetic scheme into dust!!"
"Guh-haaaa!! The 'Word-Soul' of the protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh—the story so grand that even the Bible is said to have cribbed its plot—is just too damn unshakeable—!!"
Oda Nobunaga—or rather, the Mary Sue—was struck down, overwhelmed by the sheer difference in narrative weight.
"B-But I won't give up! I won't! Only I should be praised! Only I should be pampered! Yes... only me—!"
As the "Oda-Sue" struggled to stand, a voice rang out.
"—Your idiocy has reached its limit, 'Evil Me'! A story made with that kind of mindset is what they call the 'lowest of the low'! Take this! My finishing move: Mt. Hiei Enryaku-ji CRASH!!"
A lone revolutionary descended, brandishing a mysterious weapon—the Heshikill Hasebe—and slammed it down with everything she had!
"Gwahhh!!"
There she was—the one half of Koha-Ace who actually pulls through when it counts, the surprisingly popular character who somehow loses all solid book sales to Okita, wearing a tragically uncool T-shirt: Our very own Idiot of Owari—!
"It's Nobbu—!!!!"
"That's right!! The kind of 'What If' development you only get in fanfiction! The Rock 'n' Roller of the Beach, hijacked straight from the Summer Event! It's Nobunaga THE Rock 'n' Roller!!"
"It was important, so she said it twice. I get it!"
Clad in a dorky 'Buster' T-shirt and wielding a trendy weapon, the high-spirited Oda Nobunaga—the real Nobbu—had entered the fray.
"Where have you been all this time!?"
"Umu! I was tied up in the bathroom, but someone rescued me!"
"Wait! Then what happened to that other Nobbu!?"
"She's a total fake... or rather, she's the 'bad heart' inside of me. My vanity, my ego, and all my petty, childish thoughts were separated by the Grail. If it were just that, it wouldn't be so bad, but as you can see, she's been consumed by the grudges of countless 'Original Characters' from fanfics that vanished without ever being noticed."
"How tragic," Nobbu remarked. She had no wish for the Grail. Her life was one lived without room for regret.
"Now that she's become that thing, there's nothing left but to kick her back to hell. Won't you lend me a hand, everyone? —And, Rikka-senpai."
She spoke quietly, her back turned to Rikka.
"The script got a little messy... but I truly wanted to give you that reward. I enjoyed our journey, and I've taken a liking to you. —At least believe me in that much, won't you?"
Rikka replied with a simple thumbs-up.
"It can't be helped! Nobbu, let's fight together!"
"Rikka-senpai...! Bwahahaha!! I don't feel like losing at all now! From here on out, the world is ours!!"
The protagonists stood side by side—the weavers of a story that sparkled like a sea of stars.
"Let's go, Goldie!! We're going to hammer it into her: a good story is woven from mutual respect and the spark of originality!!"
"Hmph. Very well. It is time to show a 'Gorgeous Move' that my original canon role would never allow!!"
"Everyone, let's go!!"
"Yes, Senpai! I hate the idea of a story meant to praise only one person!"
"Let's move, Okita. Forget the details. The Flag of Sincerity is immortal—!!"
"Yes!! I'm coming with you—cough, wheeze!"
The Final Strike
"You are a 'me' that could have been. A 'me' who drowned in the power of kings, clung to royal prestige, and fell into the trap of overconfidence."
[ Heroic Princess—! You Original Characters are just like us, yet you get all the praise! Unforgivable! Enviable! How I hate you...! That radiance... give it to us—!!! ]
Air quietly leveled her sword, Ea, at the approaching grudge.
"No. I will not fall as you did. Because I have something you lack."
[ What...!! ]
"—Yes, it is...!"
Every star in the sky seemed to align as they pierced through the discord.
"—Invaluable, charming comrades! Each and every one of them is a unique character who carved out their own story with their own strength!!"
"Let's go, Angra Mainyu!!"
"Hell yeah! Clumping together to spam finishers is the golden rule, after all!!"
Taking in all the 'Evils of Humanity' thrust upon him since birth, Angra Mainyu transformed into a colossal, sixty-meter-tall humanoid dragon—!
"■■■■■■————!!!!"
"The Evil of Humanity makes its debut!"
"Then I shall show you the foul play, the forbidden move allowed only in this story! Behold, restless spirits! —Come forth! 'The Golden Hero-God Who Tears Heaven and Earth: MARDUK'!!"
Responding to the King's call, the Hero-God descended. Within the original text held by the King, the newest God—the culmination of human wisdom—manifested!
—Fou! Mini-Nobus! Let's go! Here is the bond I've forged with all of you, reached precisely because I stayed true to myself!
"Yeah! Let's show them the true form of your journey's answer! A height that a mere power-tripper could never hope to reach!"
『『『『『『 NO—BBU—!! 』』』』』』
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