MISSION: 80/100
"...Do I really have to do this?" muttered the nervous young man, staring at the interface before him.
A sword was clutched tightly in his hand. Before him, his teammates battled against Tier 3 mutated beasts, each clash a chaotic blur of survival. They were on a mission — not one mandated by school or duty, but one taken voluntarily for the experience. The job was simple: clear out the mana beasts plaguing Marcelia.
[KILL THE PROTAGONIST AND YOU WILL FINALLY BE FREE]
[YOU CAN GO BACK TO YOUR WORLD]
[DON'T YOU WANT THAT?]
His grip tightened. Ahead, at the center of it all, was Jason — the so-called protagonist — locked in fierce combat with a Grenox.
Four of the heroines were nearby, fighting at his side.
"Jason! Are you alright?!" one of them yelled while slashing at a beast.
"Don't worry about me, Jessica! It can't kill me!" Jason shouted back. His sword erupted into flames as he charged forward.
"...I don't want to do it. I can't..." Eren's voice trembled. His hands wavered, blade hesitating. It wasn't the first time the system had forced him to cross lines that shattered his conscience — all for the promise of returning home.
[THIS IS YOUR LAST TASK, EREN. IF YOU FAIL TO DO THIS NOW, YOU WILL NEVER GO HOME. EVER AGAIN.]
He fell into silence. His breath shuddered. Then, slowly, he closed his eyes.
When he opened them, they burned with grim resolve.
He charged, blade in hand, silver hair fluttering in the wind. His blue eyes locked onto Jason's unguarded back.
He knew — this wouldn't kill him. Jason was the protagonist. A mob character like Eren couldn't possibly end him.
But still, he ran forward.
SHINK!
Blood sprayed.
"Ah..." Jason gasped, even as his sword cleaved through the Grenox's neck. He stumbled, blinking in confusion.
A blade jutted from his abdomen.
He turned, eyes wide. Not in surprise — but fury. "Eren? YOU FILTHY BASTARD!"
SHINK!
Steel flashed from every direction. Blades pierced Eren's body like a pincushion.
"Urgh!" He coughed blood.
BAM!
A boot slammed into his chest. He hit the ground hard, gasping.
The girls surged past him.
"Jason! Are you okay?!"
"Here! Take this!" one handed over a healing potion.
"We need to get you treated! Now!"
"...Ugh," Eren groaned, coughing more blood.
But no one looked his way.
He chuckled — bitter, hollow.
Jealousy twisted inside him. Jason had it all — admiration, affection, love. Things Eren had never tasted.
But he'd accepted it long ago.
He was just a mob.
"...System, send me home," he whispered, eyes fluttering shut.
Nothing.
"System." His voice rose slightly.
Still nothing.
"SYSTEM!" His eyes flew open.
Nothing.
The presence was gone.
"No... no... NO!" he screamed, anguish rising like bile in his throat.
The truth hit him.
The goddess. She had used him.
He was never going back.
The system had only been a leash, guiding him to play his pathetic part.
"...Haa..." Tears streamed down his cheeks as the last threads of hope unraveled.
His blurred vision sharpened.
Someone stood there.
Pink hair. Pink eyes.
He knew her.
And in that instant, he prayed — begged — for death to take him.
Anything but her.
"Don't think you're just going to die so easily," she said, her voice hollow. "Oh... how much you'll beg for death."
Her empty eyes said it all.
His true torment was only beginning.