I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

Chapter 0 - 1,943rd Attempt, 46th Ending

There are countless subcultures in the world.

No matter how rational humans may claim to be, we are undeniably creatures driven by the pursuit of pleasure.

As society evolves, so too does the culture of entertainment.

People seek fun.

They indulge in whatever suits their tastes and soothe the monotony of life.

I was no different.

"Stay calm... Don\'t get excited..."

Anime, genre novels, comics, and more.

There were plenty of ways to pass the time, but among them, what I chose was \'games.\'

There wasn’t any special reason.

I just liked that I could take the lead in guiding the story.

"Parry here, then switch characters... and then bind curse."

An action RPG notorious for its brutal difficulty.

\'The World Seen by the Little Prince\'

Contrary to its hopeful title, every route in this insane game leads to a bad ending.

So far, a total of 45 endings have been discovered.

And of those, 100% are bad endings. In other words, all 45.

It’s truly a perverse concept for a game.

To think they’d devise so many branching points and conclusions, yet not include even a single happy ending.

\'No matter how I look at it, they’re out of their damn minds.\'

Did they collectively get hit in the head or something?

I couldn’t understand these lunatics.

While muttering a small curse at the developers, I refocused on my monitor.

On screen, a blond boy stood.

Half-lidded eyes, a mischievous smirk, and a flicking tongue.

He had the classic appearance of what people call a "squinty-eyed character."

"...Finally, I\'m back here again."

With a tense breath, I widened my eyes.

The hidden mastermind who serves as the final boss in every route. The betrayer who turns on the protagonist’s party in every single route.

With a sly grin, he opened his mouth.

[So you’ve made it all the way here.]

[I’d like to commend your courage, but sadly, there’s no time for that.]

[He’ll be resurrecting soon.]

The short dialogue flashed by.

Soon after, the dark surroundings brightened, signaling the start of the real fight.

The pitch-black shadows crawling from all sides made my skin crawl. Gripping the mouse tightly, I focused on the figure approaching.

"Alright... Let’s do this."

A boss that’s theoretically impossible to defeat.

Even after a ludicrous 1,942 attempts, this bastard remained unkillable.

[Time to die now.]

[My dear traveler. My foolish, pitiful friend.]

But I never gave up.

Because I desperately wanted to see a happy ending in this world.

With nothing but that determination, I moved my hands.

Click, the sound of the mouse starting the screen recording.

"Recording started. 1,943rd attempt."

I calmly parted my lips.

All for the desperate struggle to find that hidden 46th ending. I wanted a happy conclusion.

"Bring it on, you bastard."

I glared at the squinty-eyed character on screen.

This time, I would kill him and forge a new ending.

***

I shouldn’t have done it.

The game called life turned out to be far more spectacular than I ever imagined.

Yeah. It’s exactly what you’re thinking.

"I really shouldn’t have tried to see that ending."

I got transmigrated.

Fuck.