By the time he reached this point, Furukawa Hirozawa was already quite powerful.
Basically, the magic he used could insta-kill any monster with low lightning resistance or that wasn't immune to lightning damage.
Entering the final Hellgate, Diablo appeared in the void.
Its body was covered in huge, sharp spikes, and the demon horns on its forehead looked exceptionally massive.
In comparison, this Lord of Terror had an elegant posture, a slender waist, and a streamlined physique.
Honestly, this Diablo's body and posture were actually quite feminine.
Before Furukawa Hirozawa could react, a ring of flames erupted from Diablo's body.
Fortunately, his resistances were very high now, and combined with his life steal, Diablo's attacks against him were almost negligible after he cast a couple of spells.
After fighting for about 3 minutes, Diablo fell at Furukawa Hirozawa's feet.
Hmm...
Is this the final boss?
So undignified?
Hirozawa Furukawa even started to doubt it.
If he had to say something, it probably wasn't that Pokeni's numerical design was bad, but rather that he had farmed his gear too intensely before, and his skill combinations were very well optimized.
The final battle ended, and Hirozawa Furukawa successfully defeated Diablo.
The Demon Lord's body dissipated, transforming into the body of Princess Leora.
The princess had fair skin and a beautiful, moving face, with her eyes tightly closed.
On her head, however, was a hole where the Soulstone had been inserted.
Because the evil power of the Soulstone still existed, the hero had to make a swift decision to find a way to seal the Demon Lord.
If he didn't seal it, Diablo would eventually return to the human world.
To seal it, the hero inserted the Soulstone into his own head, temporarily sealing Diablo within.
[The demon's soul has been sealed, and although you have become very powerful after passing through countless trials,]
[You can certainly feel it attempting to break through the blockade of your body at any moment to return to the human world.]
[To stabilize the seal, you must travel to the distant East... to seek answers, or... redemption.]
On the screen, the protagonist stands hunched over, wearing a black cloak.
In the distance, the setting sun and crimson clouds.
Rolling black mountains stretch endlessly, setting the entire background in deep darkness.
Sorrowful background music plays.
There is an indescribable sense of desolation.
Seeing this, Furukawa Hirozawa couldn't help but put down the controller in his hand.
His chest is filled with an unspeakable melancholy.
Although "Diablo" is not a galgame, and it has very few vivid stories or characters, with actual narrative parts being scarce, requiring players to explore more on their own.
Yet, when he saw such an ending, he was still deeply moved by it.
The immortal Diablo and the short-lived humans—it seems like a mismatch in strength, almost impossible to defeat.
The Lord of Terror's power comes from the dark side of humanity; it always lures you, causing humans to fall again and again, and then using the hands of these fallen ones to reappear in the human world.
Every time Diablo appears, it brings despair-like fear.
But—
Under such circumstances, it has been sealed again and again.
Simply because, although humans are small, they still have goodness deep within their souls, a side untainted by darkness.
And the hero, in order to seal the Demon Lord, is willing to sacrifice himself, using his own body as a vessel, thrusting the Demon Lord's Soulstone into his own forehead.
Such a spirit, wave upon wave, how can it not be moving?
By the time Furukawa Hirozawa realized it, the credits were already rolling on the screen—
[Producer: Aoki Haruhi]
[Writer: Ishino Mika]
[Level Designer: Mikami Shinji]
[THE END]
[THANK YOU]
Huh?
Seeing the three big characters "Aoki Haruhi", Furukawa Hirozawa didn't react at first.
It actually wasn't Kogahara Tsubakiaki?!
No wonder, I thought to myself, why this installment felt so eerie, yet so novel and different.
Although he hadn't really approved of this guy called Aoki Haruhi back when "Noble Academy" came out, overall, "Diablo" was truly excellent.
A rookie like Aoki Haruhi actually managed to make a game of such high caliber?!
Furukawa Hirozawa couldn't help but look at him with new eyes.
It seems Aoki Haruhi has really grown during this time.
Finally, he had beaten the game.
But after clearing it, what Hirozawa Furukawa felt wasn't the joy of victory.
No, there was still joy, because he could get some pretty good gear drops from Diablo, and it also unlocked a higher difficulty level.
However, there was an endless feeling of loss in his heart.
All in all, it could be summed up in one sentence—
Pokeni is truly amazing!
A week later, the colleagues around me had also more or less finished experiencing Pokeni's take on Diablo.
"This game is actually pretty discouraging at first," Kinoshita pouted and said, "You have no idea how many times I died at The Butcher's."
"The Butcher is nothing. I found the minor mobs to be the truly disgusting ones." Hayamigawa recalled the scenes of being tortured to death by the mobs in the labyrinth, and even now, it made him feel a bit nauseous.
"I've lost count of how many times I've died; I've never played such a hardcore game before."
"I don't even know if this game from Pokeni is well-made or not.
You say it's well-made?
I, for one, have died hundreds of times; I've lost count, anyway.
Just those three little dogs that appear on the sixth floor—their chains burned me to death no fewer than 10 times. I can even dream about them at night.
Sometimes the elite monsters have things like fire walls that just burn me to death directly.
This game really is '100 Ways to Go to Hell'.
And if you say it's not well-made? Well, it's incredibly addictive. Once you start picking up loot, you just can't stop.
Sometimes the more afraid you are of an elite monster, the more excited you get, because you know it's going to drop good stuff."
"Do you guys get that feeling?" Hayamigawa wiggled his fingers, shooting a look at Kinoshita and Furukawa Hirozawa.
"I get it. You're scared to death, yet incredibly excited at the same time. You can't suppress the urge to go up there and take them down, but you're also terrified that one impulsive move will get you killed. It's a miracle these two contradictory feelings can exist simultaneously."
"But then, once you clear the game and see the ending, you actually feel a bit moved," Kinoshita said.
"Yeah, yeah," Hayamigawa took over. "And just when you hit the end, there's this lingering sense of wanting more. You know the story ends there, that playing it again would just increase the difficulty without changing the outcome, but you still feel like you want to keep going."
"Honestly, I'm starting to suspect this producer, Aoki Haruhi, designed it this way on purpose. He must have had a really miserable childhood to make a game so heartbreaking yet so moving."
"Mm, agreed." Furukawa Hirozawa nodded in deep agreement.
"Agreed."
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