Interlayer World

(I changed the cover for this book.)

(Don't worry about monsters like Muffet, Little Ghost, and Big Cousin. They're too weak and would only get instantly killed if they appeared, so I've simply left them out. To readers who are fans of theirs, all the author can do is apologize, because they really can't appear for the time being.)

The Subsystem had only just awakened when it stared, dumbfounded, at the cascades of ice filling the sky.

[Huh?]

The Subsystem lost its composure. By its calculations, Ye Yu's chances of surviving this were zero.

Was this pawn going to have to be sacrificed here...?

No, I can't. I've already done so much. Even if I have to burn up this avatar of mine, I must make sure this pawn realizes its full value!

The Subsystem's original purpose had been to monitor Ye Yu and ensure he wouldn't switch sides at a critical moment. Providing assistance was secondary.

Now, however, Ye Yu had been completely corrupted by LOVE. There was no need to monitor him anymore.

That meant there was nothing left to hold it back.

With that thought, the Subsystem began burning through all its remaining power.

The world's power stirred, and its rules were rewritten for Ye Yu alone...

Ye Yu's hitbox became a tiny point on his abdomen.

Having done all this, the Subsystem silently vanished, concealing its deeds and name.

Ye Yu sensed the change in his body. He struggled to adjust at first and died several times before getting used to it.

His hitbox was only a tiny point. While that made dodging the barrage much easier, every hit would still cost him one-fifth of his HP.

At least he no longer had to worry about being instantly killed.

Ye Yu skillfully wove through the barrage. After taking four hits, he finally reached Sans and swung his blade again.

Teleportation.

Sans finally used the move in battle. Unfortunately, that single teleport to dodge the attack had already left him exhausted.

Naturally, Ye Yu wouldn't let such a perfect opportunity slip away. He slashed straight at him-

Crack! The crisp sound of breaking bone rang out. A very, very thick slab of bone stopped Ye Yu's long blade.

The newcomer was none other than Sans's younger brother, Papyrus.

"Sans!!! I knew it!" Papyrus ran over furiously and stood beside Sans. "Why did you go looking for a fight with this demon?!"

Papyrus was innocent and kind, but he wasn't stupid. He had noticed something was wrong with Sans from the beginning and secretly followed him outside.

Not far away, Grandpa Semi slowly approached. "Don't go forgetting about me, either..."

The moment he saw Sans and Ye Yu start fighting, Papyrus had gone to Semi for help.

The whole Bone House family had gathered.

Ye Yu gripped his long blade tightly, bracing himself.

Sans panted heavily, but his eyes held a pained tenderness. Papyrus probably still doesn't know the truth. He doesn't know we can actually be brought back...

That meant his little brother really had come prepared to die...

Semi knew the truth, of course, but he didn't reveal it either.

Papyrus shouted, "Demon, today is your last day!" Yet a trace of reluctance still lingered in his eyes.

In the end, Papyrus was simply too kind to want to kill any living being.

Semi stood calmly to one side, watching Ye Yu with a sharp gaze.

Ye Yu attacked first, charging at the three skeletons like lightning.

Sans forced himself to rally. With a sweep of both hands, countless white and blue bones shot out.

Papyrus and Semi weren't about to fall behind. They unleashed bone barrages of their own, and bones filled the sky, pelting Ye Yu like dense rain.

Ye Yu darted left and right through the concentrated assault, his steps swift and nimble, as though he had long since grown familiar with this rhythm of combat.

Every dodge was perfectly timed, every movement precise.

However, the three members of the Bone House worked in perfect harmony. Their attacks came in wave after wave, leaving Ye Yu unable to approach.

In game terms, they were "not giving Ye Yu a single turn."

However, this fighting style consumed enormous amounts of magic power and stamina. They couldn't keep it up for long.

They coordinated and covered one another, their white and blue bone barrages interweaving into an almost seamless assault.

Meanwhile, with each death, Ye Yu grew more familiar with their moves and lasted longer.

Though Papyrus still felt reluctant, he knew he couldn't afford to hold back against the cold-blooded enemy before him.

Semi calmly directed the rhythm of their attacks, his gaze unwavering. "Concentrate your attacks. Don't give him a chance to breathe!"

Just as Ye Yu began showing signs of fatigue, Semi suddenly used Orange Bones!

(The original never stated whether the Bone Brothers could use Orange Bones. In this book, they cannot.)

Not understanding the mechanic, Ye Yu simply slashed at the Orange Bones. But the bones registered his blade as a moving object, letting it pass straight through.

Then the Orange Bones struck Ye Yu, who was standing still.

HP -19

Ye Yu immediately understood the mechanic. His mind raced, and after dying just twice, he had completely mastered dodging the Orange Bones.

Just then, that familiar pressure returned. Bones were about to erupt from the ground.

At the critical moment, Ye Yu twisted sideways and narrowly dodged them. But that left a slight opening.

Several bones immediately struck his hitbox.

HP -19*3

Not to be outdone, Papyrus took out a long bone, gripped it in his hand, and swung it down at Ye Yu.

Busy dodging the barrage, Ye Yu was caught off guard.

At that critical instant, Ye Yu unleashed a surge of power, swinging his blade to force Papyrus back.

This time, Ye Yu released the full power of LOVE. It seemed to rise from an endless abyss, chilling them to the bone.

But the three members of the Bone House didn't retreat. They kept attacking.

Sweat covered Sans's forehead, but his gaze remained resolute.

The Gaster Blasters fired Gaster Shockwaves again and again. The entire plaza had long since been reduced to wreckage.

Amid this storm of attacks, Ye Yu kept searching for an opportunity to strike back.

His mind worked at full speed, calculating the angle and timing of every attack.

Time ticked by, and all three skeletons were utterly exhausted.

Suddenly, Ye Yu leaped high into the air.

The three members of the Bone House immediately adjusted their aim and fired their bone barrages at him.

Ye Yu twisted in midair, gathered his determination, and kicked off again, easily evading the attacks.

Ignoring the mass of bones before him, he dove straight down toward Sans.

Sans hurriedly reinforced his defenses, summoning more bones to block him.

Just then, Papyrus and Semi attacked Ye Yu from either side, trying to stop his advance.

Ye Yu darted aside, evading their attacks and closing in on Sans again.

Sans's heart tightened, and he immediately prepared to teleport and counterattack.

Yet just as Ye Yu's blade was about to reach Sans, he suddenly changed direction and attacked Semi.

Semi hadn't expected Ye Yu to switch targets so abruptly and was caught off guard.

Ye Yu's blade met Semi, a cold gleam flashing past...

Papyrus shouted, "Grandpa!"

Grandpa Semi was knocked back several steps, but fortunately, he wasn't injured.

However, the Chainmail beneath his clothes had been shattered.

Ye Yu gave them no chance to catch their breath, continuing his furious assault.

The three members of the Bone House resisted with everything they had, and the two sides fell into another stalemate.

Ye Yu's eyes remained cold, without a trace of fatigue or hesitation.

He launched another fierce assault, his blade flashing through the bone barrage like lightning.

The three members of the Bone House worked closely together, blocking Ye Yu's attacks again and again.

But as time passed, their stamina gradually dwindled.

Ye Yu, meanwhile, seemed unaffected. His attacks remained just as sharp.

Papyrus began to grow anxious. This can't go on.

Just then, Ye Yu deliberately left a tiny opening.

Papyrus spotted it immediately and lunged forward...

As though he had anticipated this, Ye Yu smiled faintly and vanished on the spot.

Papyrus's attack missed, and alarm seized him.

When Ye Yu reappeared, he was already behind Papyrus.

"Look out!" Semi cried.

Ye Yu swung his blade at Papyrus without hesitation.

At that desperate moment, Semi rushed forward and used his own body to shield Papyrus from Ye Yu's attack.

"Grandpa!" Papyrus shouted.

Grandpa Semi fell to the ground. He gave Sans a long, meaningful look and said, "Absorb me..."

Then, before Sans could react, Semi suddenly turned into a mass of Garbled Code and slipped into his body.

Ye Yu's LOVE didn't increase...

Unaware of what had happened, Papyrus charged at Ye Yu in fury. "Why did you... I thought there might be just the tiniest chance you'd change... But you..."

Ye Yu looked at him coldly and raised his blade again.

Papyrus hurriedly summoned a large mass of bones to block it. He knew how powerful Ye Yu's attacks were. If that slash landed, he would certainly die.

Papyrus fought Ye Yu alone. Given Ye Yu's strength, he should have been able to kill Papyrus quickly, but he didn't dare go all out.

Ye Yu kept looking around, cautious and wary of every direction.

Because Sans had disappeared.

After absorbing the Garbled Code, both Sans's body and his presence had vanished completely.

Ye Yu had to stay on guard, lest Sans catch him off guard with a sudden ambush.

Sans awoke in a strange place. There was nothing here except projection after projection of the real world.

They showed not only the Underground, but even the surface.

"The Interlayer World," Semi said, suddenly appearing beside Sans, though he looked very unstable.

Sans looked at Semi in confusion. "The Interlayer World?"

He had never even heard Linde mention this place.

"He... Well, at least the version of him I met knew about this place, but he'd never been here," Semi explained.

"Back then, I had Gaster send me into this space... I did a few things here..." Semi turned around. "Follow me."

Sans followed Semi through the Interlayer World as Semi explained what it was:

"The Interlayer World is still part of this universe. You can think of it as-the Inner World.

"It's different from the Void World outside the universe. One is outside, and the other is inside.

"When that invader dies, he respawns in the Void World. If Linde is the one controlling the timeline, he also respawns in the Void World. But if Frisk controls it, she respawns here.

"Because she belongs to this universe in the first place.

"Anyway, as long as you roughly understand that this is the Inner World, that's enough. What I'm about to explain is the important part.

"I had Gaster send me here and made some modifications to this space. Now, we can use its power to change our forms in the real world.

"For example, you can become a soul form, like Chara, who follows behind Frisk... You don't know Chara? That's fine. In short, you can become a soul form even more intangible than a ghost.

"However, this kind of soul form must attach itself to a blood relative or someone with the same soul essence. Otherwise, it will immediately dissipate.

"And not only can this soul form not be attacked, it can also grant some of its power to the person it attaches to."

Sans understood. Semi wanted the two of them to possess Papyrus and use their abilities to strengthen him.

Well, fine. Whatever works.

Sans shrugged in agreement. They were all going to die anyway. If possible, he still wanted an easier death.

With that mindset, Sans followed Semi through a rift and returned to the Surface World.

Papyrus suddenly sensed something. "Huh..."

He felt a steady stream of power flowing into his body. He seemed to have learned how to reverse the principle behind Blue Bones and create Orange Bones.

His understanding of space had also deepened considerably. He seemed to understand what Sans meant by a "Shortcut."

Papyrus's aura suddenly surged, forcing Ye Yu half a step back.

He could sense both Sans's and Semi's presences within Papyrus!

Without a doubt, a difficult battle was about to begin.

This time, Papyrus didn't prevent Ye Yu from attacking. Instead, he let him come, either dodging or blocking whenever Ye Yu slashed at him.

Then Papyrus had a sudden idea. What would happen if he used Orange Bones and Blue Bones at the same time?

He immediately put the idea into action, sending overlapping Orange Bones and Blue Bones charging toward Ye Yu.

Yes, that was right. This was a seamless attack.

But Ye Yu wasn't helpless. He swung his blade furiously, shattering the Blue Bones, then kept moving so he could remain within the Orange Bones without taking damage.

Then he spotted his chance and lunged forward.

This battle had dragged on far too long. He was exhausted too. It was time to bring it to an end.

Ye Yu poured all his determination into his blade and swung fiercely at Papyrus.

However, nothing happened.

Ye Yu did nothing more. He slowly lowered his blade and continued dodging the barrage.

Suddenly, Papyrus felt himself being slashed. Ye Yu's delayed strike landed on his body.

The Guaranteed-Hit Slash drew upon the world's rules. A single use left Ye Yu utterly exhausted. Combined with its bizarre delayed attack, that meant Ye Yu almost never used it.

Against Sans earlier, given how suspicious Sans was, there was no way he would have stayed there after Ye Yu swung. This move could only be used against the innocent Papyrus.

Papyrus helplessly closed his eyes. "Why? Where does all your murderous intent come from...?"

Then Papyrus, along with Sans and Semi attached to him, dissipated together.

LOVE rose to 21.