"Strange... Why is this main quest so strange?"
In a slum tucked away in a corner of the city, a pitch-black figure suddenly emerged from the shadows.
The person was dressed entirely in black. Even the few accessories on his body were pure black, and every patch of exposed skin was as dark as a shadow.
It was as though a shadow had come to life.
[Main Quest: Eliminate the Enemy]
[Mission Objective: Kill the invader.]
[Mission Description: This world has been invaded. The world consciousness has issued a mission to kill the invader.]
[Mission Reward: 400,000 System Points.]
[Note: During the mission, the Host will receive assistance from the world consciousness while within this world.]
The shadow-like man frowned as he stared at the mission window that had appeared before him.
An ordinary person would have been delighted by such a generous reward, especially with the promise of assistance from the world itself.
However, he felt that something was terribly wrong.
There was no penalty for failure, the reward was extraordinarily high, and he would even receive assistance from the world consciousness.
This could only mean that the invader was so powerful that even with the world consciousness assisting him, the System could not guarantee a one hundred percent chance of victory.
The moment he realized this, he suddenly felt the urge to abandon the mission and flee.
The reason he had survived until now and had even been fortunate enough to advance to the Fourth Rank was that he had always remained true to his guiding principle.
As the saying went, live to fight another day.
Even the path of growth he had chosen was Shadow, an attribute exceptionally suited for hiding and escaping.
"Can't I forcibly withdraw? This mission is unusually strict. The System hasn't given me the right to refuse, and the mission-completion vouchers I saved up can't be used during this special mission."
"This clearly means I'm being forced to fight that powerful enemy to the death."
Shadow frowned, although his entirely black appearance made it impossible to tell where his eyebrows were.
"Since that's the case, the first thing I need to do is conceal myself and gather as much information as possible."
"I need to determine exactly what kind of existence the enemy is, what power system they use, and what interests or habits they have. Then I must analyze whether they possess any weaknesses and confirm whether those weaknesses were deliberately exposed for me to see."
"This is a world of magical girls, but because the world's overall atmosphere leans heavily toward desire, I should treat it as an adult setting."
"However, worlds like this are especially likely to contain unreasonable items or powers that defy common sense."
"I should search for tools or beings capable of hypnosis, stopping time, or rewriting cognition, then find a way to make use of them."
"The magical girls are even more unusual. These girls may appear delicate and helpless, and they are often portrayed as victims in all kinds of erotic comics and bizarre works, but many magical girls can gain even greater power when they approach corruption."
"These highly unstable beings, whose power depends heavily on their minds and emotions, may also be worth contacting and turning into a source of strength."
After establishing a preliminary plan, Shadow merged into the darkness.
He then split off countless shadows, which moved through the darkness and spread across the entire city.
To prevent the enemy from detecting him through an existence-based system or some other highly unusual method, every shadow travelled through the pitch-black Shadow Plane.
Each individual shadow was exceptionally weak and had been transformed from the local world's darkness into a surveillance unit.
This ensured that even if one was immediately discovered, the enemy would be unable to trace it back to him.
His true body then used a treasured item he had kept in reserve, completely concealing himself within a small pocket dimension isolated from this world.
This way, even if the enemy possessed powers related to time and attempted to manipulate or trace the timeline, they would still be unable to find him because he had effectively removed himself from the world.
Only after completing every possible precaution did Shadow begin his initial intelligence gathering.
...
Caelus removed the identification documents prepared for him in this world from the inner pocket of his coat.
After checking them and confirming his current identity, he asked, "System, have you discovered anything unusual?"
When they had first entered this world, the System had told Caelus that it sensed something deeply unnatural.
There was a subtle but persistent feeling of disharmony, as though the world had been artificially altered.
The System was currently conducting a thorough investigation to locate the source of that strange disturbance.
The main quest, however, had already been issued.
[Main Quest: Equilibrium]
[Mission Objective: Balance the darkness and light within this world's collective human consciousness.]
[Mission Reward: 40,000 System Currency.]
[Note: Something seems to be wrong with this world.]
["I haven't found the source yet, but I've already confirmed that this world has definitely been interfered with."]
["I simply don't know whether it was done by an existence above the Seventh Rank, whether something went wrong during the world's natural development, or whether one of my classmates or seniors was responsible..."]
["In any case, I need to investigate carefully. If necessary, we can simply withdraw. I don't issue penalties for failing missions."]
Caelus nodded.
If they truly encountered an enemy they could not resist, he would abandon his current path if necessary and completely embrace Nihility.
He would then transform everything he possessed into the power of Remembrance and entrust it to Cyrene.
Once the two opposing halves had been separated, the power of Finality would unite them.
When the two eventually merged into one, the Finality of Unity would be fully born.
This was a plan that would only be used when there was no other choice.
Once he followed that path, there would be no turning back.
For an extremely long period afterward, Caelus would be unable to leave the universe in which he ascended to godhood.
The moment he entered another universe, he would involuntarily transform it into a part of himself.
The side effect, or perhaps the price, of using this method was that he would one day become part of Azathoth.
To avoid that cost and its consequences, he would probably have to seek help from God or the System when the time came.
Caelus returned to the apartment assigned to his identity in this world.
Just as he stood outside the door searching his wallet for the key, a series of strange sounds reached his ears.
"Oh?"
Something seemed to be happening in the neighboring apartment.
The people inside kept making strange cries.
By analyzing the emotions contained within the sounds, Caelus determined that the neighbors were engaged in the act of creating a child.
However, the noises sounded more like exaggerated sound effects added by authors to heighten the intensity of a scene.
During ordinary sexual activity, the woman generally would not make such strange sounds.
Caelus had no intention of disturbing them.
After finding his key, he opened the door and entered the apartment.
The moment he turned on the light, Cyrene emerged from his body.
She listened to the sounds coming from next door and said, "Oh! Partner, the soundproofing here doesn't seem very good!"
"Partner, with all that intense activity next door, didn't you receive even the slightest emotional response from it?"
"If I wanted to experience that emotion directly and intensely, I would have to consume it. Wouldn't doing that right now be somewhat unethical?"
"But they were the ones who disturbed us first, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with it, right? In other words, they were the ones creating a public disturbance!"
"...That does seem reasonable."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)