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Azure God’s body was flung into the hyperspace beyond, a void without stars or planets. He tumbled out of orbit like a drifting satellite, shrinking into the distance until he vanished from view entirely.

“Tch!”

Azure God was gone, but I was still caught in my Berserk state, teetering on the edge of losing control. Desperate to stay conscious, I bit into my unguarded right hand. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before my sanity slipped completely. And since this whole mess had started from blood deprivation, wasn’t the solution obvious? There was fresh virgin blood right here—mine. It was a ridiculous, last-ditch idea, but I had no other choice. I acted on it… and instantly lost all reason.

What in the world…?

“Delicious… absolutely divine!”

The taste of my own blood sent shivers through me. It wasn’t just hunger exaggerating the flavor, this was in a league of its own. Rich, mellow, and smooth, it rolled across my tongue like snow melting under sunlight. I was so enchanted by the taste, I caught myself wishing for more. But wait… I was my own supplier. That thought alone felt indecent, like I’d crossed into something weirdly self-indulgent. Still, I kept drinking, lost in the taste, until I went too far.

I overdid it. I drank until I made myself anemic, my vision spinning from the blood loss. That shock finally snapped me out of the trance. Groaning, I pulled away and took out a wine bottle filled with blood from my inventory. It wasn’t classy, but I drank straight from the bottle anyway.

“Hmm… not bad, but kind of bland.” Items in the inventory were supposed to stay in perfect condition, and this blood had probably come from a noblewoman or at least some lively young maidens. But next to mine, it tasted flat, almost like cardboard. I hadn’t expected my own blood to be so… sublime.

Well, I learned something new about myself today. Thinking back, I remembered the way Maroudo, Kagerou, and even Lubbock and Tamegoro sometimes stared at me with oddly intense gazes. Now I understood why. Those weren’t looks of affection, they were hunger. Makes perfect sense now. I set the now-empty bottle down on the floor without much thought.

“Alright, next step…destroy this room. Eliminate the source, and no more Azure God. Simple enough.” Then I paused. “Wait, I should probably figure out how to get out first. Otherwise, I’ll be stuck here for eternity.”

Blowing up the room was my last resort, my silver bullet against the so-called omnipotent Azure God. My attacks had barely scratched him, so if killing wasn’t an option, destroying the space he existed in was the next best thing.

Once I realized I couldn’t win in a direct fight, I’d set my sights on hurling him into hyperspace. The only way to pull it off was by entering my Berserk state, which boosted my stats enough to make up for my relatively low strength.

On the flip side, if I’d lost control, I would have charged him head-on, and that would’ve been checkmate, especially with Amadeus in his hands. I got lucky. I managed to hold on to just enough reason to think tactically.

Now my biggest problem was figuring out how to escape. Azure God had mentioned that this hyperspace existed a dimension above the normal world. I guessed it was something like the dark void where Sky Garden floated. Either way, I was completely stranded.

“If only there were a teleporter… Maybe I can contact Sky Garden. If we’re in the same hyperspace, they might be able to reach me.” I was muttering to myself when a voice called out from behind.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The voice caught me off guard. I tried to leap back instinctively, but I was half a second too slow. A shockwave slammed into me like a freight train, spinning me through the air before I crashed into the wall. Before I could even process the impact, a second blow shattered the wall completely and launched me out into the void beyond.

I braced for the suffocating chill of the void, but instead… I landed back at the entrance of the room.

“…What the hell?!”

Still disoriented, I looked around and spotted Azure God standing five meters away, his eyes half-lidded with disinterest.

“This is a sealed space,” he said. “Think of it like a whirlpool in the Dirac Sea. You’re caught in the current, and until you defeat the one sustaining the vortex, me, you’ll stay trapped. No one can enter or leave. Everything external gets filtered out. It’s similar to that Duel Space Otomaru used.”

Otomaru…? The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I let it go.

I muttered a healing spell and raised my weapon, Gilles de Rais.

“Haa… I can’t say I didn’t expect this outcome. Honestly, I’d be more surprised if you actually died that easily.”

As much as I had anticipated it, it still sucked to be right.

With no hope of backup from either side of reality, I had to rely entirely on myself. Not ideal. Things had spiraled out of control fast.

“Why keep struggling? You’re fighting a battle you can’t win. There’s no need to put on this act. You’re scared, trying to bluff your way through it.”

“…And what if I am?”

“Come now. Be mine, like I said before. Maybe then I’ll be kind enough to share half the world with you.”

Whoa, what is this, some kind of final boss proposal? And seriously, does he have anything other than these cringy lines in his script? Man, the way he said it felt like a trap. If I slipped up and said yes, I’d probably be stripped of all my powers and reset to a level 1 noob.

“Well? What’s your answer?”
“Why even ask? It’s a hard no.”
“Tch. I figured. But I’m curious…why deny me?”

Should I tell him I’m just instinctively rejecting the game’s script? That might break him.

“There are two reasons,” I replied, scrambling to put my thoughts together. “First, this world isn’t yours to control. Maybe it was at the start, but now, its future belongs to those who live in it.”

Whoa. That came out surprisingly well. Good job, me. Keep the momentum going.

“And second… I just can’t stand you. You know what it means to suffer, to be crushed. And yet you still turn around and hurt others the same way. I could never follow someone like that.”

I pointed straight at him. Maybe I was stringing my words together as I went, but they were honest. Strangely, after saying it all, I felt calm. I had one…no, two possible moves left. Riskier than even going Berserk. But if I wanted to break free of this so-called perfect trap, they were my only shot.

If this world really was based on Eternal Horizon Online, then yeah, I couldn’t just override the system and beat down Azure God, the former admin. He might be all-powerful now, but he wasn’t all-knowing. The game’s transition into reality had twisted the rules in ways that never should have been possible.

“How noble. As I thought, words won’t reach you. I’ll have to try a different method. But first… I’ll sever your limbs and make you a doll. It’d be unfortunate if our little clash triggered your Berserk—or worse, Berserk Countess—state.” Azure God spoke lazily as he walked toward me, swinging Amadeus with a casual grace.