《Death to Isekai》


 Chapter Two: Villains

    ¡ª In which our villains vanquish a hero. ¡ª


    ¡ª Fanservice introduced. ¡ª


    ¡ª The fourth wall. ¡ª


    ¡ª A food episode. ¡ª


    ¡ª Cliffhanger. ¡ª


    <hr>


    ¡°Release!¡±


    Rhyx pulled the pin out of the mechanism, and the trebuchet shot up and released the rock from the sling. It arched beautifully as it raced towards a group of men surrounding a lone figure. He stood calm in the center as five armed men approached carefully with their swords drawn, and appeared utterly unconcerned about the impending menace. The leader of the band smiled an evil grin, and braced himself for an attack.


    The rock hit the lone figure squarely on the head, and crushed the body into a pulp, splattering blood and gore all over the five surrounding bandits. The bandits stood there dumbfounded for a second, then another, and then bolted in all directions away from the mess.


    ¡°And that¡¯s a job well done,¡± Actaion said. ¡°Now we can dismantle the trebuchet, and return to the city.¡±


    ¡°You mean I get to dismantle the trebuchet,¡± Lanissa said.


    ¡°Well, if we get technical about it,¡± Actaion said, ¡°it¡¯s your magic that does it.¡±


    ¡°Hmmph!¡± Lanissa replied.


    She waved her hands in the direction of the machine, and wooden logs, iron bolts and other bric-a-brac floated in the air away from the trebuchet, and settled neatly into the chest of holding nearby.


    Rhyx stared dumbfounded. Her movements looked like a dance, and her glistening naked flesh covered with only tiny glittering pieces of metal here and there transfixed him.


    Actaion put his hand on his shoulder. ¡°So, how do you like the fanservice so far?¡± he said.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Rhyx turned to Actaion, ¡°what? What¡¯s a fanservice?¡±


    ¡°Never mind¡±, Actaion said, ¡°we¡¯ll get to it some other time. What does your pool read?¡±


    Rhyx went back to his scrying pool, and peered into it. ¡°Nothing so far. Looks like the isekai is completely dead. But what do we do about the bandits?¡±


    ¡°They are not our problem,¡± Actaion said.


    ¡°But?¡± Rhyx said.


    Actaion shrugged. As the last piece of the trebuchet settled in the chest, he picked it up. ¡°Time to get back, it¡¯ll be a long walk.¡±


    <hr>


    Back in the bustling city, our three villains discuss their concerns.


    ¡°So,¡± Rhyx started, ¡°about those bandits.¡±


    ¡°What about them?¡± Actaion asked.


    ¡°Well, shouldn¡¯t we have done something?¡± Rhyx said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not in our charter,¡± Actaion replied. ¡°We have to live by the code.¡±


    ¡°But ¡ª¡± Rhyx started.


    ¡°Drop it,¡± Actaion said sternly.


    Rhyx shoulders dropped, but he remained silent.


    They walked past the food vendors lining the street.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Lanissa said.


    ¡°Well, first thing we do is report our actions to the garrison commander,¡± Actaion said, ¡°then we have a few days until our next assignment.¡±


    ¡°I can report to the commander,¡± Rhyx said.


    ¡°Oh sure,¡± Actaion said. ¡°Then we can all meet by the main gate at sunrise, five days from now. We should have a new location by then.¡±


    Rhyx brightened up. ¡°I¡¯ll head to the garrison now,¡± he said and took off.


    After he was out of sight Lanissa spoke up. ¡°You know he¡¯s going to offer his services to the captain, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Actaion replied. ¡°Why do you think I gave him five days off?¡±


    Lanissa smiled. Then she pouted a bit.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.  ¡°What was that fanservice you spoke about earlier?¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s about your clothes,¡± Actaion said.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t wear any,¡± she said. ¡°I only have these golden decorations.¡±


    She pointed at the golden leaves decorating her ankles, hips and pelvic area, neck and upper chest. All of it was very strategically placed for rating purposes.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± he said, ¡°that¡¯s the fanservice that sells the book.¡±


    ¡°The book?¡± she said.


    ¡°Yes, the story we¡¯re in is published as a book.¡± He hesitated. ¡°Of sorts.¡±


    ¡°So, my decorations, they¡¯re not about me being an exhibitionist then?¡± she said.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s your character background,¡± Actaion said, ¡°your upbringing in the temple of Ne?t and the source of your magic.¡±


    Lanissa stared into space for a few moments.


    ¡°Oh yeah, now it¡¯s all coming to me,¡± she said. ¡°Weird that I didn¡¯t remember before  .¡±


    Her stomach growled. She looked around the food stalls, her mouth watering.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat something,¡± Actaion said. ¡°This may as well be a food episode.¡±


    ¡°A food episode?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah, a break in the story where the characters gather around and eat something delicious, and nothing horrible is happening,¡± he said.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make for boring stories?¡± she said.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve only been in this one.¡±


    Lanissa looked over the nearby food stalls, and wondered where she¡¯d like to eat. They hadn¡¯t been in the country for long, and she was not used to the local cuisine.


    ¡°What about that one?¡± she said, and pointed at a stall with pictures of chickens and buns.


    ¡°Oh, those are nice,¡± Actaion said. ¡°They put a piece of chicken in a bun so you can eat and browse the market at the same time.¡±


    Lanissa smiled brightly.


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± she said.


    After Actaion had paid for two chicken buns, and they stood there waiting, Lanissa got thoughtful again.


    ¡°You said we¡¯re in a story, right?¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this conversation break the fourth wall?¡± she said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± he said. ¡°This story doesn¡¯t have a fourth wall.¡±


    The vendor finished preparing their chicken buns and handed them over. They went on their way to explore the bazaar.


    Lanissa looked up and read through the previous scenes.


    ¡°Wait, why does it start at chapter two?¡± she said.


    ¡°Huh, you¡¯re still on about that?¡± Actaion said. ¡°Well, it just happens that prologues are boring, and some authors cheat and rename the prologue as chapter one instead. Here, we skip all of that and jump right to chapter two.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that weird?¡± she said.


    ¡°Sure it is,¡± he said. ¡°And the author doesn¡¯t care if it scares away potential readers. After all, he¡¯s not getting paid.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± she said. ¡°I thought my outfit was meant to sell the story.¡±


    ¡°In a way,¡± Actaion said, ¡°but this story is a Royal Road exclusive, so it doesn¡¯t have an income.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± she said.


    ¡°It¡¯s some sort of web novel platform,¡± Actaion said. ¡°I don¡¯t know the details as I¡¯m just a character in this story.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± she said.


    <hr>


    At the Isekai Task Force continental headquarters, alarm bells started ringing. The monitoring personnel looked over in panic at the incoming signals.


    ¡°There¡¯s an invasion of isekai protagonists going on,¡± one of them said.


    ¡°Where?¡± another asked.


    ¡°The entire continent,¡± the first one replied. ¡°All of the alarms went off. Some even on the nearby continents.¡±


    ¡°All of them?¡± the other asked.


    ¡°Yup, all of them,¡± the first one replied. ¡°It¡¯s a really big invasion.¡±

 Chapter Three, Part One: Rhyx

    The tower loomed over Rhyx. The setting sun cast a long shadow over him, and Rhyx had a hard time making out the details having spent all day in sunlight. The evening gust sent a shiver down his spine. He wasn''t afraid. Not really.


    Definitely not. The tower was just an ordinary guard structure, after all, and he was here on official business. He approached the front door gingerly, and went inside. The guard on duty was grubby looking and it didn''t reflect well on the city.


    Did he come off some sort of punishment duty?


    "What do you want?" the guard asked sourly.


    "Oh, erm," Rhyx hesitated, then pulled himself up and said in a clear voice, "I''m Rhyx of the Isekai Task Force, here on official business."


    The guard raised one eyebrow speculatively.


    "On official business, indeed?" the guard said.


    His tone was quite mocking. Rhyx flustered, then steeled himself.


    "I''m here to report the destruction of an isekai protagonist, and the presence of a few bandits," he said.


    The guard rubbed his chin.


    "Death of an isekai protagonist?" the guard said. "Yes, that would normally go to the commander himself. And bandits? Are they dead too?"


    "No," Rhyx replied dejectedly. "We left them alive."


    The guard''s eyes lit up.


    "Ah, so you do things properly, aye?" he said.


    Rhyx only nodded.


    "Follow me," the guard said and stood up.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Surprising Rhyx, the guard did not head upstairs, but out back into the city. Rhyx followed him in silence. The guard''s grubby armor now showed marks of recent scuffles; something Rhyx has missed in the dim light inside. It was quite obvious even in the fading daylight of the city.


    Not far off, they came to a well tended private residence, and the guard knocked on the front door. A well dressed man in civilian clothes opened the door.


    "Sir, this is Rhyx of the Isekai Task Force, here to report," the guard said.


    "Ah, well." The man looked Rhyx up and down. "Well, you better come in then. See you tomorrow sergeant."


    The sergeant saluted, and went on his way. Rhyx followed the man inside, all the way into a neat home office, with military literature on the bookshelves, and maps on the walls.


    Having seated himself behind his desk, and Rhyx likewise in front, the man introduced himself.


    "I''m Commander Worth, and you are again?" he said.


    "Rhyx, here with Captain Actaion."


    The commander nodded.


    "And you defeated an isekai protagonist?" he said.


    "Yes sir," Rhyx said.


    "Tell me everything."


    <hr>


    "And then we hit him on the head with a trebuchet, and splattered him all over the bandits. They just ran away." Rhyx concluded.


    The sun had long since sat, and the office was now lit with candles.


    "I see," the commander said. "What can you tell me about the bandits?"


    "Well," Rhyx hesitated for a bit. "There are only five of them. They live in a cave nearby, and usually waylay travelers at the imperial highway. They have a hiding spot next to it."


    "And you know all this from scrying?" Worth said.


    "Yes, I found, and observed them for a few days once the isekai protagonist said he''d ''fix the problem.''"


    The commander raised both eyebrows quizzingly.


    "Oh," Rhyx continued, "it wasn''t hard -- I just used a different scrying pool while continuing to monitor the protagonist."


    "And do you know where they are right now?" the commander asked.


    "No, but I can show you. I just need a metal bowl with some water in it."


    The commander rang for a servant. Rhyx looked around the room, trying to discern the maps and book titles in the flickering candle light.


    "Ah, you like my book collection?" Worth said.


    "I, I don''t know," Rhyx said in honesty. "I''m not sure what they''re about."


    "Military tactics, and history of the region, mostly," said the commander. "The other books are encyclopedias of various kinds, and who''s who."


    "Erm --" Rhyx hesitated "-- I usually read books about magic, and stories of adventurers," he said.


    "Not much of that here, I''m afraid," the commander said. "Only an encyclopedia of magic, and I''m sure you know all of that."


    "Probably," Rhyx said.


    A servant girl entered the room.


    "You rang?" she said.