Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

”I wonder if you all have noticed something. In ’Antonista’s Diary,’ there’s a passage that goes like this.”

”’...A day worth celebrating. Distributed some fresh fruit to display the grace of the Star Family.’”

”Some of you might think this sentence is nothing special, and to be fair, it is rather unremarkable. But don’t forget, this was the day Antonista’s wife’s condition improved. And on this one day, Antonista still thought of his people.”

”Even if he did it to display the Lord’s grace, at least he thought to do it. And judging by the dried fruit pits found in some of the townspeople’s homes, he most likely really did hand them out...”

”Of course, the Storyteller wouldn’t make a definitive judgment based on this point alone. There are several other pieces of evidence to support this.”

”First, have you all noticed one of Antonista’s titles, ’Sea Monster Slayer,’ the name of his Weapon, ’Demon-Slaying Lord Blade,’ and the ’Siren Skull’ in the burial pit?”

”The description for the Siren Skull item reads, ’The Sea Siren that plagued the coast, beheaded by the valiant Lord.’ He beheaded it *because* it was plaguing the coast, not to show off his valor.”

”Second, coming from another of his titles, ’Red Harbor Cage Blade.’ Those of you with good memories have probably already remembered the Talent of the Gray Wolf Followers—’Horn Cage Killing.’”

”Combined with an important sentence from the third book from the right on the second shelf on the left in the Lord’s study—’Red Harbor is a place to vent one’s sins’—we can corroborate Anthony’s character while also roughly deducing the story between him and the Gray Wolf Followers.”

”Without a doubt, the Gray Wolf Follower, Vico, was brought back by Anthony from that place, ’Red Harbor.’”

”Let’s put the Gray Wolf Followers aside for now and move on to the next piece of evidence.”

”Third, the ’Blacksmith’s Will,’ the ’Sta Ancestor’s Warning,’ and the ’Handmade Clay Sculpture’ accessory.”

At this point, the Storyteller displayed the contents of the will directly, then gave a brief summary of the Sta Ancestor’s Warning.

”...The key point here is, ’I don’t know why Lord Anthony became the way he is today.’ I’m sure the sharp-witted viewers have already figured it out.”

”That’s right. In the eyes of the townspeople, Anthony must have once been a competent Lord. Even in the will, he is respectfully called ’Lord Anthony,’ not ’that damn Lord’ or something similar...”

”Seaside Town was also clean and tidy. The townspeople didn’t live in thatched huts or mud hovels, but in sturdy brick houses. The town even had its own long-distance fleet, and so on...”

”Furthermore, we can see from the Sta Ancestor’s Warning that the Star Family had a strict code of conduct. And... would a man who was cruel from the very beginning have his child’s ’Handmade Clay Sculpture’ buried with him as a funerary object?”

”What’s even more obvious is that both before and after the Fusion, whenever Anthony sees a player take out an item, he will be stunned for a moment. The Spirit Candle was designed to make this very clear.”

”So, regarding Antonista’s character, I believe all you viewers have your own judgment by now. There’s no need for the Storyteller to say any more.”

”As for the rest of the story, it’s not hard to understand. With his wife sick, Antonista’s bloodline Curse became uncontrollable. Just as the fleet brought back dire news, he was terrified, helpless, and insecure. This allowed the Blood Robe Priest to take advantage of his weakness. Antonista tried to use the mad Priest to cure his wife, but he never imagined the Blood Robe Priest had a much grander scheme. And so, the Madness spread throughout all of Seaside Town...”

”Of course, the Storyteller isn’t trying to whitewash him at all. I’m just digging up these game details to share with everyone. After all, to put it bluntly, this Antonista is just a game character.”

”*Ahem*, speaking of which, the Storyteller would like to recommend a...”

At this point in the video, the bullet comments were flying like crazy. No one even cared that this guy was taking the opportunity to slip in a sponsored ad.

”Holy shit!”

”Damn, Storyteller, you’re incredible! You even remembered the exact position of a single book. You were born for this!”

”Fuck it, it’s just coins, right? Here! Wait, why can I only give this much? Take it, take it all!”

”Whoa, no wonder I felt like I’d seen these terms somewhere before when I first saw them. What kind of brains do these game developers have?”

”...So we really did misjudge Antonista. If his wife hadn’t gotten sick, he’d definitely have continued being a wise Lord. But the moment his wife fell ill, the Blood Robe Priest snuck in, and on top of that, this disaster of unknown origin... My god, how tragic.”

”Hahahaha, I don’t get it, I don’t get it! I’m a Blood Robe Priestess of Fire player! Gonna kill ya, gonna kill you all!”

”Tragic or not, it’s an undeniable fact that he caused the deaths of so many townspeople. And... what kind of fucking Lord is he, being mentally ill? He’s just a menace!”

”Did the poster above me get their brain rotted by a pus-filled sore? The game is set in a Middle Ages-like background. What are you nitpicking for?”

”Are you sympathizing with a murderer?”

”...”

Both the comments below the video and the bullet comments erupted into heated discussion, with some people even starting to argue directly with each other.

Luo Ge couldn’t help but fall into deep thought as he listened.

He could only sigh in his heart over Antonista’s story.

’To the players, he’s just a game character, but to me, these were all real people who once existed in this world. Tragedy doesn’t just exist in stories.’

Secondly, this also brought another matter to Luo Ge’s attention.

’Judging from the contents of ”Signs of Extinction” and ”Gray Crow Ocean Navigation Bay Record,” it seems the people of this world already had some inkling of the disaster before it arrived.’

’So where did this terrible disaster come from? Is it related to the Primordial Fire in the Eternal Holy Altar, or is there another reason?’

While Luo Ge was thinking, the Storyteller’s ad was just about finished.

”...Alright, let’s get back to the main topic. Now that we’ve figured out the root cause of what happened to Seaside Town, let’s go over some of the more noteworthy monsters one by one.”

”We won’t spend much time on cannon fodder like the fishermen. The game doesn’t reveal much information about them, so they were probably also a result of the Blood Robe Priest’s ritual.”

”The Lighthouse Keeper!”

”This guy’s distinguished appearance might not compare to the Flower of Drowning from before, but he’s got his own special flavor. The first time seeing him made many of us viewers jump out of our skins.”

”Good lord, is he cosplaying Kennedy? His Skull Cap is blown wide open, with his brains flying everywhere. The searchlight that applies status effects actually comes from this guy’s eyeballs. It’s a real SAN-drainer just to look at him.”

”However, there isn’t much about it in the game’s descriptions, and the Storyteller couldn’t find any related lore. Same goes for the Mad Meatball. It was probably brought by the Blood Robe Priest.”

”Compared to it, the collar on the dog’s neck below is much more likely to make viewers smile in recognition...”

At this, the bullet comments were instantly flooded with a ton of Lady of Tyranny’s lines, like ”My little dog~” and ”Good doggy~,” followed by a cringey kissing emoji. Each one was more outrageous than the last...

”Next up is the ’Blood Robe Priest.’”

”Compared to Antonista, this one is a pure, unadulterated villain.”

”It came from an organization called ’Whisper of Liberation.’ For some unknown reason, it went around handing out promotional pamphlets and ultimately chose Lord Antonista. It then used the townspeople of Regga Town for a sacrifice in a cruel and insane ritual.”

”Perhaps its only redeemable Quality is a shred of respect for contracts? After all, most villains end up betraying their partners. But this thing actually did cure Anthony’s wife, although her Spirit seems a little... concerning down in that underground space...”

”’A little concerning’?”

”This one’s the lowest of the low!”

”Hey, just tell me, is your wife cured or not?”

”I think she was faking it. The way she whips me hurts like hell.”

”Even a total scumbag like the Blood Robe Priest knows to honor a contract, but the person who borrowed money from me doesn’t! (Angry)”