'...What the hell is this?'
Behind my back is a black chair with a layered exterior like some kind of trilobite, and centered around it, the surroundings are filled with nothing but black and red things. No, to be exact, this entire place is like that.
There are strange tentacle-like things and walls made of flesh. It's terrifying.
Normally, seeing such a sight, I should instinctively flinch or be overcome with fear in an instant... but no. Compared to the emotions I'm feeling, my physical state is far too peaceful.
That disharmony causes extreme dizziness, yet my body remains tranquil, as if nothing is wrong.
"..."
When I stretch my hand out in front of me, a bizarrely twisted dark red hand—clearly not human—comes into view. On the back of the hand, there are even rough, bumpy scales like tree bark.
Wondering if it might belong to someone else, I turn my wrist, but the hand spins halfway around at my will and soon shows its palm—slightly lighter than the back, but no less grotesque.
And what's even sadder... is that this grotesque hand feels somehow familiar, as if I've seen it somewhere before.
"How dubious..."
...?
And why does my voice sound like this?
It definitely sounds like a human voice, yet it isn't one. It's too hollow and chilling.
No, more than that, I don't have any memory of trying to say such words? My manner of speech is totally like an old man's.
What... what the hell is going on right now?
...I need to see my face. Where's a mirror?
Pwish—
Just then, a giant crystal—unsettlingly transparent—suddenly appears before me, only to turn pitch-black in an instant. It feels like watching dye dissolve in water sped up several dozen times.
While I'm bewildered, wondering what suddenly happened, the crystal—having lost its transparency—ignores my confusion and fulfills its duty for which it was summoned here.
Like the well-maintained hood of a black car, the black crystal reflects light like a mirror, showing my face.
"..."
And the face reflected in that crystal... is incredibly grotesque, but I definitely have a memory of seeing it before.
It's a human face at least, but the skin is deathly pale, the whites of the eyes are pitch-black, the irises are yellow, and they radiate a baleful light.
On my head, I'm wearing a black helm that one might mistake for a crown at a glance, and even on the sides, there are dark red horns curving forward like those of a bull—though somewhat different in that they're elongated.
This guy is... Faust.
He's the next Raid Boss to appear in Noah, the online game that I—no, we—were running.
..........
'...We'd only roughly drafted the concept art and key story.'
『Faust, who had made a name for himself as an Archmage in the past, made a contract with a devil, promising his soul in exchange for having his wish granted.
But the devil had no intention of properly granting such a wish and twisted it like a monkey's paw.
Faust despaired and raged greatly at this outcome, claiming the contract with the devil was void, but since the devil had acted according to the contract's contents, Faust found his soul being seized by the devil through the magic of the oath backed by his soul as collateral.
However, while his soul was being absorbed, Faust fell into devilhood due to the Archmage's endless despair and, in turn, absorbed that devil, eliminating the contractor and erasing the contract itself from existence.』
—...That is, for now, the skeletal story of Faust that we made.
The specifics—what wish Faust made, which devil granted it, or why a former Archmage carries a sword—don't exist yet because a proper story hadn't been created.
Under the Director's strong request—no, demand—that the exterior had to be unconditionally imposing, we had started with the concept art first and were fitting the story to it.
I know too, that the way the work was progressing was too amateur.
But this industry basically runs like amateurs anyway, so what can you do.
Above all, Faust was a character that wouldn't be made until at least 24 months later, after going through four new Raid Bosses and new stories, so this much was fine, right?
It was right to pay more attention to other things first.
[Director, the art team is begging you to let them live... We're already on the 11th draft of Azrael's design alone... The music team is also making an average of five BGM drafts per phase, so there's a ton of resentment...]
[No, make them. Make several first, then pick the one with the right feel.]
[What do you mean by feel... If we follow the roadmap, we'll die... Please...]
[We announced the roadmap, so we have to follow it to keep our promise with the users.]
[No... then why did you announce such a roadmap... Please save us...]
[Stop babbling and get to work. We have to give the users their money's worth.]
No, I'm not like an amateur.
Just remembering that time, I can still almost taste MonXter in my mouth.
Worrying about the patch that needs to be done right now rather than a raid coming out 24 months later is obviously the right call. I'm a pro.
'But what is this?'
Anyway, that's why our team had roughly only set up the skeleton for Faust, whose schedule was still far off, and was sequentially handling immediate matters like the Azrael raid first.
Nothing had been decided in detail for Faust—what shape of helm he wore, whether his appearance should be skeletal or humanoid, what armor he wore, whether he should have wings on his back or not, or what the sword design should be like.
But Faust's current appearance is truly close to perfection. It's completely different from the Faust who only had many concept arts with similar vibes and no finalized design.
'...He came out cool and imposing.'
Even a faint black aura is spreading like mist, creating an atmosphere truly befitting a final Raid Boss.
If only I hadn't become that Faust, I would have greatly rejoiced that a future task was unexpectedly finished. How sad.
Usually when absurd things happen, they're all... no, about 70% of the time it was a dream. This is probably... a dream too, right?
'But it's too vivid for a dream.'
The fact that I can move my body freely as I please, that my thoughts don't just flow aimlessly but can think toward a purpose, and the surrounding scenery—is it too high resolution, should I say? Anyway, it's too vivid.
I can even touch this grotesque wall that looks like some kind of crustacean, can't I?
...The texture is gross. It feels like rubbing the back of a thoroughly boiled shrimp.
"For now, we must examine what has transpired."
Having intuitively realized this isn't a dream, my inner self is boiling over, nearly going mad, but contrary to that inner self, my body—Faust—is still far too calm.
I tried to scream about what the hell was going on and grab my head with both hands, but Faust goes against my will, keeping his head stiffly fixed like this and speaking composedly, doesn't he?
What the hell is this...! It's like he wouldn't even blink if someone died right before his eyes—
Kiiiiing—!!
'...?'
Just then, my head suddenly trembles faintly, and before long, it subsides. Along with the emotions that were extremely agitated just moments ago.
The calming of my emotions is like a sea violently shaken by a typhoon just moments ago becoming as still as water in a cup in an instant. A silence so complete it feels unpleasant.
...Well, nothing will change if I just stay here. Shall I move?
..........
What the hell kind of place is this...
It's wide. Insanely wide.
I remember a marathon being roughly 40km; this is definitely well beyond that.
No matter how much I walk, is this a cave? A building? Anyway, I can't see any way out of here.
There's not even a shred of light. So far, the only light I've seen is the baleful radiance in my eyes.
...How the hell am I seeing? There's no light at all.
Don't think about it. Thinking makes it bothersome. Giving up is easier.
'By the way, I've completely gotten used to it.'
Now I don't have the slightest doubt that I am Faust.
It's not something I accepted after sufficient thought.
As if forcibly cramming garbage into a trash can, the concept [I have become Faust] has been shoved into my head, making it this way.
Naturally, I should feel terrible, but strangely, I don't feel any such emotion.
Because I believe without a shred of doubt that I am Faust.
...Fuck.
I'm really going to go insane.
'Anyway... if that's the case, this must be a raid map.'
Connecting me, who has become Faust, with this place that gives off an oppressive feeling to the point of unpleasantness, there's only one answer.
This is the raid map used by Noah's players when they fight Faust.
'...Then does that mean I can't get out of here?'
Where in the world is there a Raid Boss that breaks out of the raid map?
Could it be that until another person—a player—enters here, I'll never be able to meet anyone else?
...That can't be allowed to happe—
Pwaaah—
"—?!"
Just then, an intense red light begins rising from beneath my feet.
Wondering what's happening, I lower my head, and there, a red magic circle is literally being drawn as if a laser is bending and moving forward.
Following the line-based magic circle, runes used in Noah are appearing as well.
Anyone could see that standing still here would be bad. I need to jump out of the magic circle immediately. It feels like someone is forcefully grabbing me by the hair, which feels very unpleasant.
But... strangely, I felt no desire to jump out at all.
Because I had a hunch.
If I stay still like this, I can get out.