“K… K… KING?”
I instinctively took half a step back. My eyes widened until they felt like they might burst out of their sockets.
My gaze swept from the frames of that “scholarly girl’s” glasses all the way down to her face—calm and expressionless as an instruction manual.
…No way. A KING?
Targeting someone like me—a pathetic Tier 4 small fry—for a duel felt a bit like an adult barging into a kindergarten to snatch a lollipop.
And doing it with complete self-righteousness, no less.
“Mm. As you can see.”
Ameno Yotsuba nodded. Facing the arrival of another KING, he showed no hostility.
The corners of his mouth even curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile—not warm, not gentle. More like a monarch confirming that the person across from him was at least qualified to sit at the negotiation table.
“Moreover, PROGRAM TAMPER is one of the ‘old-school KINGs’ from the same generation as me.”
“Old-school…?”
The new term hit my brain like a water gun spraying full force—splatter splatter—pouring straight into my cognition.
To be honest, back when I first entered ENDLESS WORLD, I never took KINGs or territories seriously at all.
For someone labeled “trash” like me, those things felt about as distant as “becoming president.”
But now—
Because of Ameno Yotsuba, because of the way DEATH LORD carried himself with that unspoken “you’ll stand on my side sooner or later” attitude, I was suddenly developing an unwanted interest in BHAO’s history.
It was like wanting nothing more than instant noodles, only for someone to force a full Michelin-starred course menu down my throat.
“PVE KING.”
Kiyama Yune abruptly tossed out the term.
Her voice was light as a cat’s paw, yet it landed in my ears like the toll of a bell—clear, cold, and carrying an irritating certainty.
“Ah, yes.”
Ameno Yotsuba picked up naturally, as though he had already prepared this entire “history lesson” just for me.
“The so-called ‘old-school KINGs’ are best explained using the term PVE KING.”
“PVE means player versus environment—player against computer-controlled monsters… but that’s not entirely accurate.”
I reflexively contradicted him, then immediately felt like the slacker who raised their hand without doing the homework.
“After all, at its core, BHAO is a fighting game. It encourages PVP. Becoming a KING through PVE… that sounds as absurd as becoming student council president by cleaning the classroom.”
I stared at Ameno Yotsuba’s seemingly “amiable” face.
That perfectly measured warmth, that perfectly restrained expression always gave me the illusion that if I let my guard down even a little, the next second he would logically pin me to the ground and grind me into dust.
“Mm.”
Ameno Yotsuba’s response was soft—so soft it felt like he was simply marking my retort as “read.”
Then he continued, tone still gentle yet carrying a spine-chilling certainty:
“Yoruichi, have you ever considered—”
“That the rule stating ‘you cannot become a KING without defeating other KINGs in duels’ was only suddenly changed in the mid-stage of BHAO?”
“Suddenly changed?”
He was clearly smiling, yet the surrounding temperature inexplicably dropped several degrees.
Combined with the eerie atmosphere of N3 District, the air itself seemed packed with the unspoken warning: You’d better not move recklessly.
“More importantly.”
Ameno Yotsuba lowered his voice slightly, as though placing a secret in the palm of his hand and calmly offering it to me.
“The rule itself has a loophole.”
“If we trace all the way back to the original KINGs—the so-called great predecessors—how exactly did they become KINGs?”
Oh!
It was like a live wire suddenly connected in my brain—crackle—and every confusion lit up at once.
How to put it… I used to think “rules are rules.” Only now did I realize—rules are things that can be written by people. And changed by people.
Who wrote the rules?
And who changed them?
…Suddenly I wasn’t so sure I wanted to know the answer.
“So a portion of KINGs—”
I followed Ameno Yotsuba’s reasoning and voiced the conclusion.
“The key condition for them to become KING wasn’t fighting other players, but fighting monsters inside ENDLESS WORLD?”
“Correct.”
Ameno Yotsuba nodded. His tone was steady, as though recounting a battle report.
“They were the pioneers.”
“Their trials were far harsher.”
“What they faced were lord-class BOSSes.”
He deliberately raised his volume, as though trying to evoke some grand, epic atmosphere.
And then—
“Pfft.”
Kiyama Yune suddenly laughed.
The sound wasn’t mocking. It was more like the delicate crackle of ice melting—clean, cool—and in an instant, it flushed Ameno Yotsuba’s carefully constructed “epic mood” straight down the drain.
“I never expected that the legendary DEATH LORD would feel such nostalgia for old matters that he could rival an old grandfather. I am shocked and cannot help but laugh.”
“…You can laugh at that?”
I sneaked a glance at Ameno Yotsuba.
Honestly, I was a little curious what his style used to be like. Because right now—even standing still—he resembled a polished throne: calm, rational, oppression output steady and constant.
Yet Kiyama Yune could laugh in the face of such a presence.
Either this girl’s courage was absurdly huge, or her brain simply lacked a “fear” module.
The atmosphere did lighten a little.
I was just about to breathe a sigh of relief—
The next second, both my cheeks were suddenly pinched.
“Mmph! Mmph mmmph mmph mmph?! (Wh-what are you doing pinching me?!)”
“Ahahaha, sorry.”
Ameno Yotsuba’s voice carried a faint trace of genuine amusement, as though he had discovered some fascinating new object.
“I was a little surprised. I pinched you without thinking.”
My cheeks hurt from being pulled, but an even more terrifying thought popped into my head first:
—Isn’t this guy supposed to be super calm and rational?
—Isn’t a monarch supposed to maintain dignity?
This behavior is exactly like the type of person who passes a convenience store, sees a cute plushie, and just has to give it a couple of squeezes!
“Pinching my face out of nowhere—isn’t that way too rude?”
“Sorry.”
Ameno Yotsuba released me quickly, as though realizing he had overstepped. In the next second, he neatly packed that “overstep” back into proper etiquette, his tone returning to that restrained and steady cadence.
Kiyama Yune, standing to the side, delivered the finishing blow without mercy:
“Apology invalid—DEATH LORD’s lolicon tendencies confirmed.”
“Complete misunderstanding.”
Ameno Yotsuba sighed, raising a hand to lightly trace the edge of his mask, as though sealing some emotion back inside his armor.
“I simply found it strange.”
He took one step closer to me. The pressure followed— not threatening, more like scrutiny.
“Your real-world and virtual appearances are excessively similar.”
“Yoruichi, are you a victim of that BUG?”
My throat tightened.
That “being seen through completely” feeling returned.
Like standing under the podium while the teacher instantly realizes you didn’t do last night’s homework.
“Let’s set the BUG matter aside for now.”
Kiyama Yune spoke up, cutting the topic off cleanly and decisively.
“I must clarify my purpose for coming here.”
“In that case, I will also set aside my curiosity.”
Ameno Yotsuba smoothly stepped back half a pace, as though granting me a moment to breathe.
I let out a long, silent haaa in my heart.
I shot Kiyama Yune a grateful look.
Whether she understood it or not, I didn’t care—I had already sent the thanks her way.
“I’ll get straight to the point.”
Kiyama Yune raised a finger, as though finalizing a motion.
“DEATH LORD, your goal is to become the lord of N3 District, correct?”
“Correct.”
Ameno Yotsuba answered without even half a second’s hesitation.
The moment he spoke, every trace of earlier casualness and relaxation vanished like a switch had been flipped. His entire aura cleanly “switched to monarch mode.”
“N3 District will become my territory.”
“Lord is only an intermediate objective.”
“The ultimate goal remains the highest position in BHAO—KING.”
He looked toward Kiyama Yune.
His gaze neither evaded nor flinched—like the formal exchange of glances between two rulers before a negotiation.
“You came here to cooperate?”
“No room for denial.”
Kiyama Yune nodded.
“Indeed.”
“And it will not conflict with your goals.”
With that, her fingers flew across the interface at blinding speed, moving like someone typing code.
The next second, a short message was sent to Ameno Yotsuba.
“This is a nightmare that no KING dares to touch.”
Kiyama Yune’s voice remained calm.
“The N3 District lord BOSS—EVIL MASK DIVISION.”
“All of its data.”
I received the same message.
HP, skills, behavior patterns—even hidden parameters like aggro values were written out crystal clear.
The layout and font formatting… were exactly the same as posts on the BHAO forums.
“…You really are one of the forum creators, huh.”
I suddenly understood why those people who wrote攻略 on the forums had managed to survive this long.
“The resources I can provide are limited.”
Kiyama Yune added.
“But every member of THE G FOREST will fully assist you, DEATH LORD.”
She finished speaking and stopped, like someone who had laid their chips on the table and refused to say another word.
I originally thought Ameno Yotsuba would ponder for a while.
Instead, he answered immediately. Only two words:
“Conditions?”
No pleasantries. No detours.
Like a king asking: What do you want?
“As expected.”
Kiyama Yune’s reply was equally direct.
“I require one piece of equipment that drops from the first kill of EVIL MASK DIVISION.”