"You absolute fool!! Do you even understand what you’ve done?! No, I don’t even want to hear it! I have no words left for you but ‘absolute fool’!!"
Lamy’s shrill, high-pitched voice tore through the air.
Breathless with genuine fury, she poured every ounce of her rage into the man standing before her—Egos.
"To commit such violence against an exchange student from Yamato—and one of their renowned Warrior Shrine Maidens, Utsusemi-san, at that! Then to try and violate her... It is an act of unbelievable depravity!"
"N-no, you’ve got it wrong! That was—"
"How could I be wrong?! There is no room for misunderstanding here!"
Egos struggled to spin the conversation in his favor, but Lamy wouldn't give him an opening. He grew frantic as he realized his "protagonist's charisma" was failing him entirely. Panicking, he watched as Lamy reached a boiling point.
"Utsusemi-san and the others were merciful enough to keep this from going public, but your actions could have sparked an international incident! Oh, why did I ever recommend a student like you to them...?"
"I-I’m sorry, Professor..."
"An apology won't fix this! My reputation and credibility are in tatters! What were you thinking, doing something like that?!"
As the coordinator for the exchange students, Lamy was the one left holding the bag. While a conflict with Yamato had been averted, the situation was still catastrophic. With a deep, weary sigh, she turned her cold eyes back to the source of the chaos.
"Egos Cutman... I am handing down your sentence. You are expelled."
"...What?"
"Expelled. Breaking into another student’s room while under suspension, attempting to silence a witness when you were caught, and your history of appalling behavior... you have failed as a candidate for the Magic Knights. Leave Luminous Academy at once."
"Wait! Please—!"
"I will not wait. All your Magic Items are hereby confiscated. This is final. Now, get out! And never set foot on this campus again!"
"Ah... ugh..."
GAME OVER. Egos Cutman, GAME OVER.
"Shut up... shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up! SHUT UUUUUP!!"
Egos screamed at the voice in his head, a message only he could hear. Passersby on the street glanced at him for a second before giving him a wide berth, recognizing him as someone best avoided.
(How did it happen? Where did my plan go wrong?)
Stripped of his equipment, his uniform, and his status as a Hero Candidate, Egos slumped his shoulders. Before his reincarnation, the "Otherworld Cheat" novels always featured middle-aged salarymen like him being transported to another world to live their best lives.
When he realized he’d been sent to a game world he knew—even if he was just a light gamer—he expected to be the star. So why was he here? Why was he an outcast, kicked out of the story entirely? Miserable and desperate, feeling as if the whole world was laughing at him, he fled into a dark back alley to escape the shame.
He leaned against a wall, his voice dripping with venom.
"I won't give up...! This isn't the end. I don't care about a 'Game Over.' I'll make a comeback, and then... I'll destroy that Shitty Yugo once and for all."
Everything had gone south the moment Yugo punched him. Yugo was a prologue boss, a character who should have disappeared ages ago. He had no right to interfere with the "protagonist."
"I'll make them all pay. Yugo, his friends, everyone who turned their backs on me. This is where my true story begins. I'm the lead in a 'banished' story. When I show them what I'm really capable of, they'll regret—"
"You’re really something, aren’t you? I’m impressed an old man in his late thirties can still have such embarrassing delusions."
"...Huh?"
A girl’s voice, thick with contempt, rang through the alley. Egos tried to turn, but his world suddenly went black. He collapsed in a heap.
Drop, the gothic lolita girl, stared listlessly at his body. She looked toward her partner, the man in the black hood.
"Lost, you owe me for this. I can't believe you made me deal with something so tedious."
"It was a big help, Drop. I'm glad you chose that skill. I invested in something else."
Lost kicked Egos's limp body, tossing him into the encroaching darkness of a void.
"So? What's the plan for this guy?" Drop asked. "Turning him into a Magic Armor Beast?"
"Hardly. Why would I waste power on a piece of trash like him?"
Lost’s mouth twisted into a smirk beneath his hood.
"Right now, the story is moving faster than we ever imagined. This man’s actions helped accelerate the narrative."
"I guess so. He did let Ryuga see 'that' secret."
"Exactly. The 'Hero Candidates' are panicking over Level 2 Magic Armor Beasts and trying to power up, but they're struggling. If the story accelerates even further... wouldn't that be fun?"
Drop caught his drift. "I see. You're using him as a catalyst."
She didn't ask anything else. Watching Lost work was always more entertaining than talking. Lost stepped into the darkness after Egos.
"Look forward to it. I'll make sure it's a development worth your time."
"Drop-chan doesn't really care," she shrugged. "As long as this guy ends up miserable, I'm happy!"
The two vanished into the shadows. The rift in space sealed shut, leaving the alley in silence once more. No one knew what had happened there. Only the masterminds pulling the strings from the shadows could feel the coming storm.