Chapter 154
Chapter 154
The sky quickly darkened, and heavy snow began to fall.
Under normal circumstances, Ren and the Princess would have held a small party to celebrate passing the ‘Finders’ interview.
This snow should have been celebratory fireworks for that joy.
But now, this snow was…… only falling down with cold cynicism.
Everyone’s gaze gathered on Lapin, who was standing with the clock tower’s soft lighting behind her.
After hearing that Villed was dying, they had climbed all the way up here, to the top of the clock tower.
However, there wasn’t even the slightest trace of Villed to be found here.
In other words, Lapin had lured them here with a lie, with some kind of intention.
……It meant a trap.
But.
“……Lapin, please answer us.”
Ren spoke up, his eyes filled with a desire to believe in hope until the very end.
However, Elined drew a sabre out of thin air.
The Princess also quietly opened a magic tome and summoned and grasped her staff.
If they were ordinary students, they would have simply thought Lapin was strange.
But Ren and everyone present here all knew.
That during the Comprehensive Exam, there had been an incident where a cadet attacked another cadet.
……That there was an enemy inside the Academy.
“You should prepare yourself as well.”
Elined answered in a cold tone, as if she no longer had any leeway.
But Ren shook his head.
“No. That can’t be it. She’s Villed’s friend…….”
“After seeing those eyes, you can still say that?”
Ren swallowed his breath and looked, just as Elined said.
Lapin’s emerald-colored eyes had disappeared at some point, replaced only by pitch-black pupils that looked as if they had been burned away.
“…….”
Ren’s hands trembled, then he steadied his breath and grasped the air.
A translucent, green blade shaped from wind was caught in his hand.
……At that moment, a woman’s laughter was heard.
Since Lapin’s mouth was closed, it wasn’t hers.
From behind Lapin’s small back, as if by magic, someone revealed herself.
It was a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat adorned with black lace.
“Are you at peace, Your Highness Arlhardt.”
Arlhardt could instinctively tell the moment she saw the woman before her.
At last, they had met.
This woman was the one Clara unni had warned her about…….
“……A Witch.”
The Princess answered, her breathing trembling.
Unlike the Princess, the woman called a Witch spread her fan and held back her laughter.
Arlhardt gathered her composure and spoke clearly.
“……I want to ask. Why are you targeting me? What’s the reason?”
“And what will Your Highness do once you know?”
The woman folded her fan and smiled brightly.
“You’ll be dying soon anyway.”
The woman snapped her fingers.
“Your Highness, do you like magic?”
A white curtain appeared, covering Lapin.
Overlapping with the soft lighting, only Lapin’s silhouette could be seen beyond the curtain.
“Now, don’t be surprised. There’s no trickery involved.”
It was at the moment the Witch said that—
Crunch, crunch, a sound rang out as Lapin’s body began to twist.
“…….”
Everyone watching couldn’t hide their shock.
Lapin’s once-small height had grown several times over. Wings, a tail, and large claws began to appear.
A moment later, even by silhouette alone, it was clear that it was no longer Lapin.
“Ta-da.”
When the Witch snapped her fingers, the curtain disappeared.
Now, there was no trace of Lapin left to be found.
A gigantic body that looked to be around four meters tall.
Dark black skin and ominously glowing red eyes.
A mouth revealing sharp fangs opened menacingly.
Huge wings spread from its back, and its tail writhed like a snake.
The gentle, soft-spoken Lapin from before was nowhere to be seen, replaced only by a ruthless beast.
“Mon……ster……?”
Ren, the Princess, and Elined could no longer continue speaking.
“Did you enjoy the magic performance? The admission fee…… is Your Highness’s life.”
Just as the woman folded her fan and seemed to take a step—
……She instantly moved to stand right in front of the Princess.
The moment the woman’s eyes flashed.
Paang—!
Two people shoved their way in between the woman and the Princess.
Curio of the Shade, who had been hiding in the shadows.
And Narrow-eyed Luga.
Curio held the Princess and retreated backward, while Luga raised his sword and blocked the Witch’s fan.
The Witch stepped back several paces, grinning.
“……Oh my, an interruption during a secret rendezvous with the Princess.”
“I’m sorry, but I tend to get jealous easily.”
The Witch moved back to Lapin’s side.
“So it was you? The Empire’s number one sword, the brat who stayed by the Princess’s side.”
“I handed that title over to someone else quite a while ago.”
Luga clenched his fist and struck the air.
“The stage is too small for us to decide a victor, so I prepared a venue that would suit both you and me.”
A fissure large enough for about two people to enter opened there.
“Before approaching Her Highness, it would be best to defeat me first.”
“An insolent brat. Fine, I’ll play along.”
The Witch and Luga disappeared into the fissure.
And what remained were the monster and Ren’s group.
Thud, thud—!
The gigantic monster advanced toward the Princess, baring its hostility.
I lifted my head and looked up at the clock tower.
Within the pitch-black sky.
White snowflakes were falling endlessly.
The moment they touched my face, they melted and flowed away.
There is an Animal friend within a 50m radius!
Hurry and find them before they get farther away!
The system message flashed painfully bright.
To find an Animal friend, you must go on an adventure!
It was the usual, familiar message, but it felt as if it were asking me to save Lapin.
I went inside the clock tower.
Inside the tower, the smell of old oil mixed with the scent of metal.
In the center of the brick-enclosed space, iron stairs continued upward in a square spiral shape.
There was almost no light. A few old lamps hanging on the walls flickered weakly, distorting the shadows of the stair railings against the walls.
When I looked up through the gaps between the stairs, I could see endless darkness, and between it, a faint brass-colored glow.
I passed the railing and climbed the stairs.
When I reached the top, the entire scene came into view at a glance.
It was a scene that matched exactly what I had seen in the game.
Lapin, transformed into a monster, and Ren’s group confronting her.
Elined was also there.
Elined was the first to notice my presence and turn her gaze.
“You’re alive!”
That voice immediately led to Ren’s reaction.
“Thank goodness……!”
“……What are you talking about?”
Did they think I was going to die or something?
When I asked, Ren shook his head, seeming too pressed for time to explain.
“Ah, no. This isn’t the time for that. Lapin is like that…….”
I could no longer continue speaking.
Elined spoke in my place.
“Did she turn into a monster, or…….”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Was she a monster from the very beginning.”
“…….”
I closed my mouth for a moment, then joined them and spoke again.
“There’s also a chance she’s being controlled, like with Kunking the Explosive. Before attacking, let’s try everything we can first.”
I took out the water container with Spirit Grass from my chest.
“Ah, that purification ability the Spirit of the Wind told us about……!”
“Yeah.”
If I used my purification ability on Lapin, there was definitely a chance.
After all, I possessed an ability that could completely erase even the infamous Hetarion Black Plague or potions that destroyed internal organs.
“You draw Lapin’s attention. I’ll try applying this medicine in the meantime.”
“I don’t know if it’ll work…… but I’ll try!”
Ren deliberately approached the monster and began luring her.
Just as Lapin tried to attack Ren—
Her foot moved forward, creating a brief opening where her body stiffened.
It was a chance to approach and make contact.
I sprinkled water onto my palm and quickly approached Lapin.
‘Pau!’
Thud—!
As Lapin’s fist slammed into the ground, vibrations traveled up through my feet.
Aiming for the moment she was attacking Ren, I placed my hand on Lapin’s leg and activated my ability.
……But.
‘It’s not working?’
The sensation was completely different from when I purified Kunking or the Black Plague.
Something unknown was preventing her from being purified.
‘Something’s different, something…….’
Ren drew her attention once more, and I used that opening to try again, but the result was the same.
Pau’s ability didn’t work at all.
My thoughts began to grow tangled.
The standoff dragged on for a long time without any gains.
“At this point, we have no choice! If we don’t attack, we’ll all die!”
Elined was right.
If we continued only defending without attacking, we’d be the ones to collapse from exhaustion first.
‘……I have to kill her, but.’
Lapin—someone everyone would have killed if this were just a game.
There was absolutely no other way.
‘I have no choice but to kill her…….’
That was when it happened.
Lapin’s tail came flying toward me.
I couldn’t dodge it. In a panic, I raised Boogie’s card.
Bang—!
A tearing pain spread from my abdomen throughout my entire body.
I couldn’t completely block the damage with Boogie’s earth wall.
“Guh!”
Thud—!
After being struck by the tail and sent flying, I rolled across the ground. Maybe I’d hit my head too, because an intense pain surged up.
It felt like everyone was calling my name, but I couldn’t hear them clearly, nor could I focus on it.
All that kept surfacing in my mind was the blue tree I’d seen in the game.
And along with it—
“I’ll protect you.”
The words I’d said to Lapin echoed in my head again and again.
‘……Damn it, I shouldn’t have made such a promise.’
Trying to save Lapin might end up getting me killed instead.
Even in the game, killing Lapin was the canon outcome, and there wasn’t a single way to skip it.
‘Yeah, this is ridiculous. Lapin’s fate was already decided as death. And yet I’m thinking about saving her.’
There was absolutely no reason to risk my life on a gamble where I couldn’t even tell if there was any benefit.
I didn’t blindly trust others.
I trusted only myself.
I avoided uncertain variables as much as possible.
That was how I’d lived until now, and how I intended to continue.
……But.
Special Recruitment Quest!
Lapin’s recruitment condition: Please free the 50 spirit beasts living in Lapin’s heart!
My vision was completely filled with this system message.
It looked as if the system itself was asking me to save Lapin.
The spirit beasts living in Lapin’s heart.
The bug-created location I’d seen in the game.
The blue tree Lapin had spoken of.
Those three things kept circling in my mind.
‘……This really isn’t like me.’
Letting out several deep sighs, I slowly got up.
The group that had been holding the standoff shouted.
“Villed, are you conscious?!”
“Ren.”
Blood seemed to be running down my head; the vision in my left eye was blurred. I didn’t mind it and continued.
“Just so you know, my mind is perfectly clear. So listen to me. I think I might know a way to subdue Lapin.”
“What?! What kind of way is that?”
“I’ll let Lapin eat me.”
“……?”
The hopeful expression on Ren’s face twisted instantly.
But there was no time.
“Even if I get eaten by Lapin, don’t attack. Just keep watching her condition carefully.”
Elined shouted in horror.
“Are you insane?! What are you even saying—!”
“I’m not insane. I’ll say it again, I’m making a rational judgment right now.”
Everyone here looked at me as if they couldn’t understand.
“Villed, don’t tell me you’re trying to sacrifice yourself for us—.”
“Shut it.”
I cut Ren off.
“I’m the Second Son of the Dedenkman Family. Do I look like someone who’d sacrifice himself for others?”
I stared straight into Ren’s eyes and said,
“Just shut up and watch quietly.”
With those words, I dragged my barely moving body and tried to approach Lapin—
But a massive shadow was already looming over me.
“……What great service, Lapin.”
Lapin was already right in front of me.
Chomp—!
A gigantic abyss swallowed me whole.
I opened my eyes.
Shwaaah—.
The fresh scent of soil, warm sunlight, and endlessly spreading grasslands,
Under a sky so clear it made my eyes ache, the wind gently swayed the blades of grass.
Yellow wildflowers and orange-tinted blossoms leaned with the wind, rippling like waves.
In the distance, a gigantic tree stood alone.
Green leaves rustled in the wind, casting cool shade beneath it.
This place felt like pure tranquility, without a trace of impurity from the world.
“……I really made it.”
Standing there, I looked at the blue tree.
A place I’d only seen in the game.
A place people would have dismissed as just a bug.
‘……And even though it hurt like my body was being torn apart, I don’t feel any pain anymore.’
As I looked around, I sensed a presence near my feet.
Lowering my gaze, I saw two long, fluffy ears twitching.
Their owner was wearing a silk hat and had a watch hanging around its neck……
“……A rabbit?”