The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me

“Are you saying that if you lose in a duel, you’ll stop everything?”

“Yes.”

I stared at the Blood Demon with wide eyes for a moment.

This was beyond shocking.

A man who had been drawing upon the Void with the force to destroy the continent was now saying he’d stop everything?

The efforts he must have accumulated over 300 years to create this situation—was he really saying he’d throw it all away based on the outcome of a one-on-one duel? It was impossible not to be bewildered.

As if reading my confusion, the Blood Demon spoke.

“We both fought with everything we had. Even for me, summoning the Void consumed a considerable amount of energy. The Void Beings that you nearly wiped out were most of my remaining forces. Of course, I still retain my divine presence.”

The endless waves of the Void had been relentless. It seemed as if they would never cease. But now, with the last ones my comrades and I had taken down, it was finally over.

The cult leader was calmly revealing his power, as if even without it, he could still take over the continent.

“Of course, the same goes for you, doesn’t it?”

“… Me?”

“Yes. You, too, have built up quite a force. The Empire, several guilds, even a faction of the Saint of Holy Constantine—I am well aware that your power is not insignificant. The forces that have gathered under your will. In fact, I think it’s remarkable. People’s wills are all different, yet you managed to unite them like this.”

The cult leader was complimenting me.

To the extent that it almost felt like we were equals.

And strangely enough, he wasn’t wrong.

I was standing here, facing him in a one-on-one confrontation.

My comrades who had helped me get here—their strength was certainly comparable to his.

“You and I—each gathered the world in different ways, and now we’ve come to this point.”

The cult leader summed up our relationship in a single sentence.

I nodded in agreement.

For the sake of my comrades, there was no reason to be overly humble or polite. Standing face-to-face like this meant we were on the same level.

“Never thought I’d be facing the Final Boss as an equal.”

“You should consider it an honor.”

“Oh, what an honor it is?”

“… That sounded sarcastic.”

“Seems like you still have some modern sensibilities.”

“I admit it. For some reason, when I look at you, my inner peace wavers.”

“Did I get under your skin?”

“How childish.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t provoke him any further.

Maybe I seemed pathetic for trying, but what else could I do?

Against overwhelming foes—especially ones stronger than me—I had to create an opening somehow.

Did he notice my strategy?

The cult leader chuckled and said.

“I do not underestimate you. If you give your all, you could probably reach half my strength.”

“Half?”

“Yes. After all, you have mastered the secret arts of Bloodstone Cult.”

Suddenly, I realized something.

This was the prelude to our duel.

A silent battle had already begun, where we were measuring each other, considering strategies and judgments.

“I wouldn’t call it mastering—just a quick read-through.”

“Even that is astonishing. It took me over a year just to read through it once. When I gave it to you, I didn’t expect you to even finish half of the first book.”

“Then why did you give me three volumes?”

“I was hoping to see you struggle against an insurmountable wall and fall into Energy Deviation.”

He calmly admitted his sinister intentions.

So, he had expected my head to explode trying to comprehend those books?

… This bastard.

“Don’t glare at me like that. In the end, didn’t you master all three? It was unexpected.”

He was being so casual about it that it felt ridiculous to get mad.

I clicked my tongue and asked.

“If we’re being technical, I’ve stolen all of your cult’s secret arts. Doesn’t that make you angry?”

“On the contrary, I’m grateful.”

“… Grateful?”

“Through your enlightenment, I, too, have ascended another level. I don’t care what happened in the process.”

Even though I had essentially stolen the very essence of the Bloodstone Cult, he wasn’t even upset.

That alone proved he wasn’t an ordinary human.

“… I can’t tell if you have a big heart or if you’re just insane.”

“It doesn’t matter. Under the value of strength, everything else is insignificant.”

Right.

Calling him insane was probably more accurate.

A man obsessed solely with strength, leading an entire cult of similar lunatics—it made sense.

But I still had one question.

“But I’m also the one who shattered your Dantian.”

“Yes. That was quite painful.”

“… Then why don’t you care?”

“Because soon, I will transcend human flesh and become a god. What meaning does a broken body have?”

“You talk as if it’s already decided.”

“If you do not stop me, it will be.”

His voice remained emotionless, but his words were an undeniable provocation.

A sign that it was no longer a time for words, but for battle.

Swish.

The cult leader stood up.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he gazed at the plum blossom tree.

Even his long, flowing white hair swayed in the wind like a painting.

If this were a game, this would be the moment where a freeze-frame appeared with the words 『Final Boss: Bloodstone Cult Leader』 written.

Even the text would probably be in an elegant brushstroke font.

He spoke softly.

“What will you do?”

“What?”

“The rules. If you wish, we can stop when one of us is rendered unable to fight. That way, at least your life will be spared. If you desire something more intense, we could settle it by taking a leg or an arm instead.”

“Are you saying we should set the rules?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

From where I stood, I could only see his back.

His expression was unreadable, and only his calm voice reached me.

“You and I—we are both outsiders in this world who have built something. Though our methods and forms differ, the scale of what we’ve created cannot be called small. You, too, must want to see how this world ends, one way or another. So, choose. How shall we fight? As a fellow outsider, if you desire it, I will at least allow you to keep your life.”

The ending.

The conclusion to all these storylines.

Of course, I wanted to see it.

The only reason I stuck with Fantasy X Academy, even though it was a garbage game, was because I wanted to see how it all ended.

But.

“No.”

I shook my head.

The cult leader asked.

“You don’t want to see the ending where you lose? Hah, I suppose you aren’t as much of a hardcore player as I thought.”

“I still want to see the ending. But now, there’s one more condition. There’s an ending that I must see with my own eyes.”

“And what would that be?”

I hesitated for a moment.

It was such a cliché that I felt embarrassed to say it out loud.

But I spoke anyway.

“Everyone lives happily ever after.”

Because that was the only ending I truly wanted now.

No matter how embarrassing, I could be proud of that desire.

And to make it happen, I had to give it my all.

I had to defeat the Blood Demon with everything I had.

Which meant there was only one option.

“Therefore, what I want from you is a fight to the death.”

I stood up.

I wanted to do it in a cool way, but my knee hit the table. Pretending it didn’t hurt, I continued.

“We fight until one of us dies.”

The cult leader was a powerful foe.

I had to fight with the resolve to die in order to have a chance at victory.

That was my best advantage.

Step.

The cult leader turned, his robes fluttering as he moved.

“Good.”

Did he like my answer?

A smirk played on his lips.

“The one who survives shall claim the continent.”

And with that heavy declaration—

—Swwwwosh!

His energy surged forward.

◆

There was enough distance between us.

And the cult leader wasn’t in perfect condition.

After all, I was the one who shattered his Dantian.

So the moment he raised his hand toward me—

I had enough time to reflexively extend my arm and take a defensive stance.

But…

—Craaaack!

The instant his attack shot toward me in a straight line, I realized it.

‘If I hadn’t blocked that, I would’ve been reduced to dust.’

I immediately pulled upon the great elemental forces within my body.

Pouring a ridiculous amount of mana into my reinforced arms, strengthened by my body-enhancement techniques—

Only then could I withstand the attack.

Rumble!

By the time I regained my senses, I had been blown back nearly 100 meters from where I had originally stood.

My legs were half-buried in the cold ground.

I deliberately spoke in an annoyed tone.

“A sneak attack? That’s a bit underhanded, don’t you think?”

“That wasn’t an attack. I was simply assessing the extent of your defenses.”

“Even your probing attacks are disgustingly strong.”

“I appreciate the compliment.”

We exchanged short words, using the moment to recover.

I intentionally lowered my voice so that the cult leader would instinctively move a little closer to me.

That damn bastard.

I expected something like this, but I didn’t think he’d immediately go for such a quick strike.

Then again, maniacs always tend to choose the most underhanded tactics by instinct. It’s just how they operate.

“I’d appreciate it if you at least fought with some dignity, considering this is a boss fight.”

“Ah. So from your perspective, I am the Final Boss? Haha. I never thought about it that way.”

He laughed, amused.

That was my chance.

Fwoooosh!

Beneath his feet—

His shadow quivered before chains shot out.

A technique from the Bloodstone Cult’s secret arts—the Shadow Chains.

The same technique I had used to restrain the Four.

The sharp chains snaked toward him, coiling like vines.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The chains sprouted from the ground, winding around him like twisting vines.

And in that brief moment—

I saw curiosity flicker in the cult leader’s eyes.

Crunch!

The chains violently engulfed him.