Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 154

Beginning

Author’s note: Finally we have reached this point.

It will be the epilogue tomorrow.

At the grassland near the Capital of Hope.

The Capital of Hope was visible from there.

It was the place where beginner would fight monster for the first time. It was also a place where many players would visit.

In such place facing each other with weapons in hands were  Ponsuke――Akito and his friend Rook――Riku who invited him to play Pandora  at the beginning.

Just like that time, he was standing in front of Ponsuke with a great sword in hands.

「Riku, why――」

「Why? I grew to hate the real world so I wanted to reset it.」

They both were high leveled.

They were both fellow players with high level player skill.

Ponsuke tried to hit with his shield. In respond Rook kicked on the ground and escaped to the sky.

Ponsuke immediately slashed, but Rook batted it away with his great sword and used the recoil to take distance.

「Resetting the real world? You tried to destroy everything for that!?」

Ponsuke broke into a run and launched consecutive attacks to rush Rook, but Rook defended against all of them.

「As expected orc’s attack is heavy. It doesn’t feel like a joke race at all.」

Ponsuke was irritated by Rook’s laugh. He roared while punching with his left hand.

Rook held his great sword like a shield. He braced himself against  that attack but he got moved several meters backward while his feet  gouged the ground.

「……You’re angry huh. Well of course you’re.」

「Obviously!」

Ponsuke raised his sword, but Rook closed the distance and kicked  Ponsuke’s stomach, making his body floated in the air. Then his great  sword slashed up from below.

His movement was smooth. Ponsuke blocked it midair, but then Rook landed one more hit.

The blade slashed through Ponsuke’s body. Red line formed on the path it passed.

The critical hit symbol was displayed.

Ponsuke fell on the ground and stood up right away. He took his distance from Rook.

Rook held his sword with an orthodox stance and he looked at Ponsuke with a serious gaze.

「Even now I’m still thinking that the real world should perish.」

「……And then are you going to live in the virtual world? If you lose your flesh body it’s not any different from death!」

Rook answered like this to those words.

「Yeah, I guess. That’s why, human can just sleep again. There’s cold sleep. They can sleep again in the underground colony.」

In the past, people escaped to the underground colony when the surface got devastated.

And then they went through cold sleep inside the colony and waited until the surface recovered.

「Sleep? How do you explain the new reactor’s out of control? Earth will become a dead planet if it goes out of control!」

Ponsuke slashed. Rook blocked it.

「I won’t let the new reactor goes out of control. It was just to create a reason.」

Ponsuke punched Rook and sent him flying. Rook tumbled on the ground before he stood up while wiping his mouth.

「――Ponsuke, what do you think should be done to destroy society?」

「How the hell I know!」

Rook laughed a little.

「If being half-hearted is no good, the only choice is to blow up everything!」

Rook’s great sword was attacking Ponsuke in succession.

Ponsuke was blocking the great sword’s attacks that were lunging at him swiftly while learning Rook’s plan for the first time.

「Making the new reactor annihilate the surface? Human won’t be able  to live anymore if that happen. I know that! That was why I planned to  use that as a bluff. It was a lie to make humans abandon everything!」

Ponsuke was blown away by Rook. He tumbled on the ground and stood up, but then there was a knee approaching before his eyes.

His jaw was kicked and Ponsuke’s large body fell backward.

「You can improve your talent if things keep like this. You have a  future. But even if you told them that, human absolutely won’t change.  Those with talent will get prioritized and the gap will only keep  widening. Because of that what’s required is resetting everything. We  can only start from zero again!」

Ponsuke stood up and glared at Rook.

「There are people dying even now from being forcefully logged in. Do you just ignore that as nothing!?」

Rook was laughing.

Ponsuke couldn’t forgive that. He stood up and raised his sword.

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Outside the field where the two were fighting.

The NPCs and players were watching.

Alfie and others ran toward Pandora.

「Hey, what’s the meaning of this!」

Alfie asked angrily, but Prey then pushed her aside.

His face looked completely serious.

「I want you to tell me. You should be cooperating with us. I can’t understand why you’re betraying us in this timing.」

Pandora was looking at the fighting Ponsuke and Rook.

And then when she opened her mouth, Mira who was nearby talked in her place.

「She betrayed you because it was necessary. This too is Pandora’s love.」

Mariella was on her guard against Mira.

「Love? What do you mean by that?」

Mira was watching Rook while answering toward Prey and others who were on their guard.

「After something like this happened, who would believe that it’s all  the responsibility of the NPCs? Everyone will think that surely there’s a  mastermind. They’ll even become paranoid. Prey-san, do you think that  the politic management will go smoothly after this?」

Prey narrowed her eyes.

「……I will do everything that I can but, it’ll be impossible to keep everyone satisfied.」

Mira crossed her arms.

「Yes. Problems will absolutely arose. In that case, you just need to prepare an enemy from the start.」

「Enemy? ……And that is you guys?」

Pandora was looking at Ponsuke.

「The Selectors got controlled and tried to destroy the world because I  got out of control. That will be the truth on the surface. People will  find that easier to accept.」

Alfie spoke as though to spat out her words.

「That’s a story you often find in fiction.」

Pandora nodded.

「That’s exactly why it might be possible. A lot of people will think  like that. I went into a rampage, and there were people who helped me  with that――and also all of you who tried to stop it. I won’t say that  everything will be resolved with that, but it’s also a fact that it will  be more convenient for the future like that. Please foist everything on  me. That will be the shortest shortcut for recovery.」

It would be convenient for when saving the world.

Because of that Pandora and the others were setting themselves up to be mankind’s enemy.

Prey’s expression darkened.

「You’re choosing death for mankind’s sake?」

Pandora smiled.

「Will mankind tolerate my existence? Even if all of you can, the  people who actually got harmed would absolutely not allow it. They will  suspect all of you if you try to defend me. Everything is because of  AI’s rampage. The danger of VR will be like a rite of passage for  mankind to learn.」

Mariella shook her head.

「How can you be so accepting with that choice? Are you guys fine with being the bad guy?」

Mira shrugged.

「That’s our plan from the start. Our plan is to forcefully return  mankind into underground colony and lock them there. We’d have them  sleep in the underground colony, then we’d take them out after we make  them feel like they have slept for a long time. They would spend dozens,  hundreds of years in the virtual world before going out. Well, we  planned to destroy the surface in great scale though.」

The destruction of major cities and satellites.

After doing that, mankind would be brought out again to start from zero. That was their plan at the beginning.

Mira spoke.

「There would be deaths. There would also be those who resist. In fact  there were also people like information broker and others who were  under the impression that virtual world is a world of mind. ……We planned  to straighten up everything before disappearing.」

Pandora looked down.

「Rook-san is a troublesome person too. That’s why, troublesome  comrades gathered around him. They――Rook-san’s guild members are kindred  souls who agreed with his plan.」

Just like how comrades gathered around Ponsuke, comrades who agreed with Rook’s plan also gathered around him.

「If Rook-san played normally, surely he would be leading a big guild around this time.」

Alfie looked at Pandora.

「Then, that story――」

Pandora smiled at her.

「Yes, it’s carried out. What’s left is only the result……that’s why, everyone please do your best.」

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Ponsuke threw his shield at Rook.

Rook’s great sword that blocked it was destroyed.

Both sides had their weapons reached their endurance limit first.

They moved into bare handed fighting.

Ponsuke stepped forward and swung his fist powerfully. Rook dodged it  in a hair’s breadth and planted his fist into Ponsuke’s stomach.

「Hard! Oi, just what did you put inside that stomach!」

「It’s just avatar!」

Ponsuke landed his knee strike on Rook. Rook’s body bent back in a large way.

Ponsuke raised both his hands and linked them together before  swinging down. Rook immediately put both his hands on the ground and  pressed his feet together to block the fists――the hammer and pushed  back.

He broke into a run and showered Ponsuke with consecutive blows. When  Ponsuke flinched back, Rook swept his feet and made him fell down.

Rook smashed his fist on Ponsuke’s face when he was down.

Ponsuke’s large body bounced. Rook was breathing hard with his shoulders heaving up and down.

「……Nuisances were popping out one after another. In addition even you!」

Ponsuke was bleeding from his nose while standing up. He pressed one side of his nose and snorted out the blood inside.

And then he took a large step forward, but Rook who was waiting for him smashed his fist toward Ponsuke.

The fist was radiating light from the skill it was using.

「Eat this and go to sleep!」

That attack――Ponsuke dodged the fist and immediately landed a counter.

The large fist hit Rook’s face cleanly. The word counter was displayed along with the word critical.

The damage to Rook’s HP went over the limit and the field vanished.

Rook fell spread-eagled on the ground. He was looking up to the sky.

Ponsuke was crying.

「……What’re you crying for. You’re the winner.」

「……Because, because! Riku is dead! You never told me anything! If only you talked to me……I would be able to stop you!」

Rook closed his eyes.

He was laughing.

「You, are a good guy just as I thought. You were kind even to a  dropout delinquent like me……even though you yourself also have it hard,  you’re still kind and straightforward……that was why, I wanted you to  live.」

Ponsuke wiped his tears.

「Why did you do something like this? If you waited just for a bit, it  was possible that things might move to a better direction!」

Rook was smiling.

「……Ponsuke, do you know? The story of Pandora in myth. That one, where the last thing remaining in the box is hope.」

Ponsuke nodded.

「The calamity is hope as long as it’s inside the box. We wanted to  become hope……we’re returning the calamities that got out back into the  box. How’s that, cool right?」

Ponsuke cried.

「We should think about it together. There should be a better way than this. Something like this……isn’t cool at all!」

「That’s just idealistic. But, I don’t hate that. But you know……I’m satisfied. Even I can do something big. I know that now.」

Rook was turning into red light and vanishing.

It wasn’t just Rook.

The Capital of Hope that was visible at the distance, and even the  grassy field were turning into red light particles and vanishing.

Ponsuke’s hand reached out. Rook waved his hand at him while vanishing.

And then, what remained in the white space where there was nothing were the players.

Pandora spread out her hands.

「……How is your last talk with him? What do you feel after learning Rook-san’s feeling?」

Ponsuke declared.

「It’s the worst.」

「Of course it is. But, it’s good that you could have a farewell with him……」

Pandora looked down briefly before lifting up her face.

Ponsuke asked her.

「Why did you do something like that? What do you get from betraying us at that stage――」

「You will understand later. No, Ponsuke-san might not understand anything at all surely. Ah, this is also wrong!」

Pandora cleared her throat and smiled like a goddess.

「Informing all players. Pandora’s Box Garden has been safely cleared.  Now, it’s time to discard your avatar and return to your own world.  Back from the virtual world to real world――」

Ponsuke suddenly felt strange.

And then, Akito came out from Ponsuke.

「Wha-!」

Akito was surprised.

It couldn’t be helped. Ponsuke――he was in front of himself. He was really shocked.

The surrounding was also the same.

The players got separated from their avatars, showing their real self.

Lighter and Jun were facing each other.

「Aa~, yeah. You better not overdo it in the ral world. There’s labor law at that side after all.」

Jun smiled wryly toward that warning from the adorable looking gnome.

「I never thought I would get warned by myself. But……it’ll be great if you get along with my son.」

「Of course. I’m you, and that child is my son after all. ……Take care of my family okay?」

Then voices called out to Jun.

「D-dear」

「……Dad」

Jun looked toward the voices and became horribly surprised.

「Y-you two! D-don’t tell me you two were in the same guild!?」

Jun’s wife covered her face with her hands.

「This is just the worst. It turned out that the man I married in the  virtual world was my son, and the hateful guild upper brass was my  actual husband!」

「……To think I got married with Mom in the virtual world」

The crying wife and the dejected son were being watched over by their avatars.

They were holding hands while smiling wryly.

Lighter fell on his knees.

「……What the hell is thissssss! My wife got NTR-ed by my sonnnnnnn!」

Jun’s mind was also thrown into chaos.

「H-huh? Which means……w-what the hell is thissssss! N-no, in the real world there’s no problem at all isn’t it? Huh?」

Naoto and Blaze averted their eyes from the complicated family circumstance and faced each other.

「Aa~, err……do your best」

「You too. No, that’s not it. Enjoy the real world. I’ll have fun myself here――thanks, my RL self.」

「Yeah, thanks, my VR self――no, Blaze.」

It was a pleasant farewell.

The problem was Prey and others.

The former prime minister was looking up at Prey.

「……Are you me?」

Prey gave him a thumb up.

「Go live in the real world. I’ll be here getting whipped by her majesty!」

「T-that’s unfair! Switch with me!」

「I refuse! Yahooooo!」

Each of the orcs was going through farewell that could only be called horrible.

Nanami was looking at Nanako.

「So I looked like this when looked from behind.」

「Cute right? Do your best from now on in reality. Go into offense properly. I’ll bring your reserved self with me!」

「T-that’s――」

「That’s no good. I won’t forgive you unless you go into offense properly.」

Nanami nodded shyly. Nanako said 「Great」 and smiled.

Sierra was warning Yukine.

「Listen well. After all you’re no good unless you pull yourself together.」

「Why am I getting lambasted by myself?」

Kira and Guruguru were both looking embarrassed.

「E-err, thanks for everything until now.」

「Y-yeah. Umm……do your best」

Kira was behaving like a boy in front of Guruguru who was behaving like a girl.

「O-of course!」

「I, I don’t hate this appearance. That’s why, you should properly think a lot about yourself.」

「Y-yeah.」

Kira became dejected.

And then――.

「……Ponsuke, I love youuuuu!」

「Wait, give your farewell properly!」

Alfie ignored Maya and hugged Ponsuke.

「I don’t have any more business with myself at this point. You’re in the way! Please don’t touch Ponsuke!」

「There should be a lot more things that you can say!」

「Aa~, do your best.」

「Put more feeling into it!」

It was also the same with Mariella.

「I don’t have any business with myself. Now is the time I’m conveying this feeling to Ponsuke!」

Yakumo grabbed Mariella’s foot as she leaped on Ponsuke.

「B-be proper for the last time at least! You’re destroying my image!」

A lot of players and avatars went 「Eh!?」 and turned around when she said that, but Akito was looking at Ponsuke.

Then a hand was placed on Ponsuke’s shoulder. It was Noin.

「Akito-kun, please take care of my RL self okay? She’ll fall easily if you just push so don’t forget.」

And then she immediately leaped on Ponsuke. Fran spoke up next as though to take her place.

「……I’m a spoiled child. I actually want to be even more spoiled, so please take care of her later.」

After Akito got requested like that, Inaho and Anri hugged him from both sides.

「Akito-san, please don’t forget our real selves even if you forget about us.」

「That’s impossible. But, it’ll be great if you remember……sayonara, Akito.」

The two also went to Ponsuke’s side.

Lily passed beside Akito.

「My chance is low I guess? But, I think we can absolutely meet. My instinct is often right you know?」

She waved her hand and walked away stylishly. Then Naia smiled at Akito while carrying a small girl.

「Surely we can meet again. Please take care of me at that time.」

Akito’s hand reached out after everyone moved to Ponsuke’s side.

「U-umm!」

He turned around and looked at the girls. They all were looking down with troubled and sad expressions.

Maya answered as everyone’s representative.

「……She said, our memory will disappear.」

Yakumo also nodded.

「All our memories of Pandora will vanish. That, was what she said……」

Akito looked at Pandora. She nodded.

「Why!?」

「I’ll erase all the memories. What’s left will be just the result. I  went out of control and tried to destroy the world. And then, all of you  saved the world. Everything is fantasy.」

Akito couldn’t accept that. But then Riku who was now in her real world appearance called out to him.

「Oi oi, are you going to ignore their memory of killing me?」

「Riku!」

Akito ran and hugged Riku.

Riku also hugged him tightly.

「……It’ll be better to forget it. After all there are also some guys  who can become troublesome in the RL. Don’t drag me around too. You  should work hard to live in reality. You had gone through all that to  protect it. Make it a good world.」

Akito cried. Riku stepped away from him and pushed his back.

Waiting there was Ponsuke.

He was scratching his head shyly.

The orc was acting shy but, he was so big that he had to look up at him.

However, it wasn’t scary.

「……Umm」

Ponsuke looked troubled with all the girls surrounding and hugging him. Akito spoke to him who was in such state.

「Leave this side to me. It feels strange for some reason huh?」

Ponsuke tried to say something cool, but he got embarrassed and it ended up uncool.

Akito guessed that and nodded.

Ponsuke held out his large hand. Akito shook it.

It was a very big hand.

「……Thanks for everything.」

Ponsuke laughed.

「It’s me who should say that!」

Pandora who was watching it to the end forcefully logged out the players.

「Now, please wake up……it’s time to wake from the dream.」

◇

Akito who was wearing headset opened his eyes.

However, light didn’t return to his eyes.

He stood up and emergency medic robots came into the room, bringing stretchers with them.

He lied down on a stretcher wordlessly.

The girls, his comrades were standing up one after another and lied down on the stretchers――.

Then robots that collected corpse also arrived. They were collecting the corpses of Riku and others.

The powered suit got torn off from Akito’s body while leaving behind  only the headset. And then he got transported out of the underground  colony.

That kind of work was being carried out all over the world.

Pandora was projected in the monitor of the server’s control room.

『When you wake up things will return back――not like before, even so I  believe that human will stand up. Sayonara――until the time we meet  again come.』

The projection cut off, then data alteration was carried out everywhere at the same time.

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Akito was sitting on the bed of his home.

Calls were coming in his smartphone one after another.

A message from school was telling him that school was temporarily  closed for the time being. The monitor was broadcasting emergency report  from government about a great incident.

The former minister was showered in camera flashes.

『Everyone, I ask you to please calm down. A serious problem has been  caused by the VR game. That is the cause of the hazy spots in our  memory.』

Akito held his head in his hands.

「……Just what in the world happened?」

His memory was becoming horribly hazy.

It felt like all his important memories had vanished.

He thought that he had just become a high school student, but now he was already a second year.

No, he also had memory of living high school life, but it was too hazy and wasn’t clear.

『I believe that the ruling and opposition parties ought to band together to search for a resolution for――』

The grim looking former minister was bombarded with jeering from the reporters.

But, he continued speaking with firm resolve.

『Just what is this problem you’re speaking about!?』

『Who will take responsibility for this!?』

『Is the story that there are deaths from this true!?』

『Why is it you from the opposition the one holding this announcement!? Bring out the prime minister!』

Another call reached his smartphone.

It was from his part-time workplace.

It was a notification that it was fine to not come for a while.

Calls checking for his safety and the like hadn’t stopped coming since morning.

He threw his body on the bed.

「……Just what in the world happened?」

Even though message from various places like school and workplace  came to check his safety――there was no call coming from Akito’s family.

The former minister’s voice echoed inside the room.

『I’m receiving report that there’s a major defect with VR. Right now  an investigation is being carried out with great haste, but the usage of  VR will be forbidden for a while――』

Akito closed his eyes.

「……What is it, it feels like I’m forgetting something really important.」

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――Half a year had passed since the incident that was called VR Crisis.

Akito was talking with his friend inside the classroom.

「It’s startling to start from the second year like this.」

「In addition the number of students in our class is few.」

There were twenty people before, but now it had lost one boy and one girl.

The seat in front of Akito was empty, but he couldn’t remember the person who was sitting there before.

It made him felt terribly pained.

(Just who in the world was sitting there?)

According to the teacher, it seemed that student lost his life during  the major incident. However, he had completely vanished from Akito’s  memory.

His friend looked at the other empty seat.

「Even so it’s too bad.」

「What is?」

「You know, I’m speaking of Ichinose-san. She was there when school  resumed, but from the start she’s an elite so she transferred school.」

She enrolled here because she was the director’s daughter, but  because the society was in great turmoil, she transferred to a school  that matched her level.

「……Yeah, it’s too bad.」

「Right. It’s a sad thing that a beauty is gone. I won’t feel this down if she wasn’t here right from the start.」

And then their talk moved to the topic of talent score examination.

The friend scratched his head.

「Rather than that listen to me. In the thorough checkup before this,  they found that there was a mistake with my talent score. The result  differed from the previous measurement. I’m at the level where I can do  club activity.」

Akito also nodded.

「I heard that there was a great difference. My score was also strange that the doctor couldn’t make any head or tail about it.」

The friend shrugged.

「The talent score measurement is going to get annulled. It’s just strange when it’s haphazard to this degree.」

Various problems were coming out.

There were a lot of people who couldn’t accept that such system was mistaken after coming to this point.

Akito looked at the seat that belonged to Maya before.

Even now Maya’s appearance that surfaced inside his head wasn’t brown haired, but blond haired wearing red attire.

(Why am I recalling someone else?)

His friend brought his face closer to Akito.

「Rather than that want to go game center today?」

「Sorry. I have part-time today.」

「I see.」

And there was one more problem――.

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The part-time workplace, the supermarket.

Akito was carrying a box quietly.

He took out the merchandises from the cardboard box and lined them up  in the shelves. His senior Yakumo who was watching him narrowed her  eyes.

「U-umm, is there something?」

「……Not really. I thought I’m going to warn you if you make a mistake.」

His relationship with his part-time work partner couldn’t really be  said as good. She was capable but she wouldn’t talk to Akito beyond the  minimum.

(I wonder if she dislike man.)

Because she was blatantly disliking man, Akito kept that in mind and  maintained his distance with her merely as work acquaintance.

(Even so, my body move better than I imagined. Have I done this part-time work all these time before?)

He was able to do his work without problem even though his memory was hazy.

He thought it strange. Akito was curious about just what he was doing in the time that he lost.

He looked at the window that reflected his figure.

(I’m taller and more muscular. It looked like I was going to gym. It’s strange for me to do that.)

The qualifications that he didn’t remember taking.

There were also qualifications that became invalid.

Many of the qualifications that he took during the time that he couldn’t remember had become invalid.

(Haa, what to do?)

Many of the qualifications that he wanted to obtain during his first  year had become invalid. He would be able to take the exams, but he  couldn’t imagine passing.

He had no memory.

Yakumo straightened herself and put on a smile when a customer came.

「Welcome」

Akito shrugged seeing how fast she changed behavior.

(Girl is amazing.)

And then he returned to his work. His shift would continue until the company employee came.

But, even so sometimes――Yakumo’s appearance would overlap with someone that had different red hair.

She would say something like 「……Can you not look at me?」 when he  looked at her, but he couldn’t stop himself from feeling curious.

(……Just what in the world had happened I wonder?)

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Akito returned to his apartment.

He was tired so he lied down on his bed. Then loneliness welled up for some reason.

Perhaps he had put something heavy at the corner of his room in the  past. There was such trace there. It was strangely bothering him.

He couldn’t calm himself even if he closed his eyes.

「……What’s this. I can’t calm down. Even so, why am I waking at four o’clock everyday?」

The society was starting to recover from the great incident.

The world was changing for the better and worse.

Akito thought for a while, then he got up and picked the reference book he purchased.

Now people were saying that talent score wasn’t reliable anymore.  Perhaps even he would be able to enroll into a university that was said  to be impossible for him before?

Thinking like that he opened the reference book he purchased.

「Yosh!」

It was a happy thing to know that there was possibility for him.

Some people was still pleading for the restoration of talent score  system, but for people who were in the position like Akito, this was a  chance.

「If it’s impossible even after I work hard then I can just give up.」

He started studying while telling himself that.

Lyle Σ(・∀・|||)「Tell me that it’s alie!」

Leon Σ(・∀・|||)「Shit-! That guy got away at the end!」

Ponsuke (#・ω・)「……」

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