Evil Ones, Laugh At That Tragedy

“Harvey?! Floria, that’s the one connected to Lazaar’s shadow, right? Please, we’re short on time. I’m going after Lazaar. Help me.”

Tooyama raised his voice at the message flowing through his vision.

“T-Tooyama? Why are you suddenly talking by yourself?”

From Stolu’s perspective, it only looked like Tooyama had suddenly started talking alone.

“The shadow, this stain? Nice, Harvey. That helps.”

“The Bread Archive.”

With that, the message vanished. But just as that gray-haired glasses woman had said, a hazy black stain still remained where Lazaar had disappeared.

“Tooyama…… Um, I understand that Lazaar disappearing was a shock, but escaping reality too much is—”

“No, that’s not it. We’re following Lazaar’s trail. Let’s go, Stolu.”

“Go? You know where he went, Dis?”

“Apparently, Lazaar’s stalker is pissed as hell.”

Tooyama laughed as he pointed at the dotted black shadow stains left on the ground.

Ahead of where the stains continued, the entrance to the forest zone began, with dense trees spreading out.

---

“Stolu, this way. I found another shadow stain.”

“Understood, Dis. Tracking him is easier than expected, Dis.”

The smell of the forest was thick. Every time they stepped on the soil, the scent of greenery reached their noses.

A dense forest.

Normally, at this hour, the sunlight would still be strong, so it would not be that dark.

But on this day, the sunlight was weak, making the forest feel deep.

Even so, Tooyama and Stolu were steadily drawing closer to Lazaar. Shadow stains clung to his path like guideposts.

“Yeah. If Lazaar had used that skill in peak condition, we wouldn’t be able to chase him this easily. I’ll have to thank this Floria person…… Wait, Stolu.”

“Dis?”

Tooyama raised his hand and stopped Stolu. What he pointed to was a large—

“Look. Many of the trees around here have their bark peeled off…… From what I can see, these trees aren’t dead yet, so what is this……?”

As they advanced through the forest, the trees changed into larger, thicker ones. Tooyama was reminded of the forest on Yakushima that he had visited on a school trip in high school.

Thick trunks. Several of them had bark peeled off in strange shapes.

“Is this related to tracking Lazaar right now, Dis?”

“It is. Whatever the identity of the one who did something to Lazaar is, this is monster territory. There’s no such thing as being too cautious. ……Why are the marks shaped like coils?”

It was as if something had wrapped around the tree trunks and crawled across them.

“Dis…… Tooyama, something feels strange, Dis.”

“Strange how?”

“I sense no presence. Usually, the moment I enter this forest, I can sense the presence and gazes of monsters hiding themselves, but today, there is none of that at all.”

“That’s not good. Stolu, raise your guard.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if there are no monsters? Most likely, there will be no interference.”

“It’s the opposite. A monster habitat with no sign of monsters is an abnormal situation. Let’s share our awareness. Right now, something is happening in this forest.”

“Understood, Dis. Tooyama, there are more trees with peeled bark, Dis. And the shadow stains are over there too.”

“Yeah. And there’s one more thing that bothers me. Look at the surrounding thickets, Stolu.”

“The thickets? There does not seem to be anything in particular, Dis.”

Stolu tilted her head as she looked at the thicket Tooyama pointed to.

“Look closely. The positions where the small branches are broken and where the thicket is split. They’re about the same height as the average human height. People passed through here quite recently.”

“……Tooyama, do you have experience as a scout, Dis?”

“Explorers die fast if they don’t pay attention to all sorts of things. But these traces weren’t left by Lazaar.”

“How do you know that, Dis?”

“No matter how absentminded he was, there’s no way Lazaar would leave sloppy traces like this.”

Tooyama crouched down and carefully checked the state of the thickets and tree branches.

“Ah, I see. Certainly.”

“Let’s organize the information while walking. This forest is acting strange right now, and recently, several people have walked the same path as us. ……Ah.”

“Tooyama, what is it, Dis?”

“Am I an idiot……? This is bad. I’m panicking like a normal person. The guy we met yesterday, the Tower-Class Adventurer Yuto Wetral, said something about the forest.”

“……I really cannot tell whether you are sharp or stupid, Dis.”

“No, this one’s completely on me being stupid. I think he said something like there are a ton of adventurers who went into the forest and never came back…… I have nothing but a bad feeling about this.”

“Something existing in the forest is affecting Lazaar, who was in the plains region…… That is no laughing matter, Dis.”

“Yeah, it really isn’t. Stolu, just like you said, this forest really is strange. There are no bird calls at all.”

“……Do you think Lazaar is all right?”

“Let’s hurry. There’s another shadow stain. Whoa, seriously?”

“Footprints…… Dis. Is the ground muddy from here?”

“Yeah, even though it hasn’t rained. Stay sharp.”

“! Tooyama, stop, Dis.”

“……What is it?”

“There is something here, Dis.”

“Do not come closer, do not come closer, do not come closer. Do not approach our domain any further.”

“……Are you serious?”

“Ugh……”

Tooyama muttered, and Stolu stuck out her tongue in disgust.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

From the soft, wet soil, they began to crawl out. If one were human, most people would feel instinctive revulsion at their shape.

Snakes. Not monsters, but ordinary snakes.

That alone would have been fine.

“Stolu, how many are there?”

“……Should I count the ones beneath the ground too, Dis?”

Their number.

It was extraordinary. Enough snakes to cover the entire path began crawling out of the wet soil.

Slither, slither, slither, slither.

Black striped patterns, green, red. Many, many snakes of every color.

It was a sight that could make anyone who hated snakes faint on the spot.

“Do not come closer, do not come closer. Can you not hear her lament? Can you not hear her song? Do not approach our lady.”

“Stolu, is it normal around here for snakes to talk?”

“In fairy tales, yes. Aside from that, in several stories related to ancient species, elders.”

“That’s already the answer.”

“Do not come closer, evil one. Evil one whom her voice does not reach. Only good ones may step beyond this point. Only those who comfort her may enter beyond this point.”

“You say that, but, you know. Snakes, I apologize for entering your territory. Sorry about that. But we have our own circumstances.”

“We do not care, we do not care, we do not care about the circumstances of evil ones. Leave, leave. Otherwise, our swarm will destroy you.”

The snakes manipulated words from all around. Tooyama watched them. They sure talked well for tiny reptile brains.

And then, he quietly began preparing.

“You pests…… Your tongues certainly wag well, Dis.”

“Wait, Stolu.”

Tooyama stopped Stolu, who was already starting to snap, and stepped forward.

“Do not come closer, do not come closer. Our lady is crying. She is crying with us. She is crying in a voice only good ones can hear. Those who cannot hear it have no right to step beyond this point.”

“……Don’t say that, snakes. We’re looking for a friend. A strangely popular middle-aged lizard. White and green scales, sharp eyes, a low voice. He’s our scout. Haven’t you seen him?”

“Good one, good one, the shadow man was invited. Invited by our lady.”

“Tooyama! Shadow means—”

“Yeah, that’s him, snakes. He’s our companion. He’s beyond here, right?”

In contrast to the excited Stolu, Tooyama interacted with them in a friendly manner.

He observed carefully.

The snakes, because of their purity, did not notice. They did not notice that the man before them was by no means listening to what they had to say.

The smile Tooyama directed at the snakes, however, did not reach his eyes at all.

“A good one shares. A good one listens. A good one grieves. He shares her tragedy with us.”

“Leave, leave. The shadow man is already hers. The shadow man must listen. The shadow man must cry. To stand beside her tragedy.”

“Ah, that softhearted lizard really got targeted by something troublesome. Well, I pretty much understand the situation now. Lazaar is beyond here, and the one who called Lazaar is also beyond here, right?”

Enough information. He had confirmed that Lazaar was ahead, along the shadow stains he was following.

“This is the final warning, the final warning. Leave, leave, leave. From now on, the shadow man will become one with her. Like the others, after he finishes listening to her story, he will become one.”

“Give good ones to her. Give a good encounter to her this time. Ah, weep, cry, wail, good one. Cry with us.”

The snakes, overcome with emotion, wove words from every side. Seeking mercy from the good one, filling their voices with pity for the sorrowful lady—

“Stolu, ten seconds from now, handle any stragglers.”

But that voice would never reach this man.

“Ah, so the preparations are already done, Dis.”

“Pitiful child, beloved, pitiful, sorrowful child. No one saved her. No one loved her. Evil ones are unnecessary. From now on, she will be happy—”

“Snakes.”

“Leave.”

“Thank you for telling me so much. Thank you for stopping at warning us this whole time. Yes, you guys really were good people.”

Ping.

“But I don’t need to talk to you anymore.”

“What are—”

“The setup is already finished. I’m glad you were at a lower altitude than me.”

Number, many.

Size, small.

Movement, slow.

That horde of snakes had very good compatibility with Tooyama.

The snakes had given Tooyama too much time. Time to set up that mist.

“Do it, Relic Blade.”

“Gii?!”

The mist Tooyama had quietly set up during the conversation bared its fangs and claws. From Tooyama Naruhito’s throat, a broken blade and hilt fell out.

“Gi, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”

They writhed, writhed, writhed.

The hordes of snakes that had crawled out of the wet soil began writhing as blood flowed from their bodies.

What leaked from the broken blade was tiny blades scattered through the air.

Tooyama’s relic carved up the guardians trying to protect the good one. For those with small bodies, this easily became fatal.

“Ah, aaaaaa?! Evil one, evil one. Ah, we know, we know, we know!! The same as the power of the one with poison, the one who kills, the one who tries to annihilate us all!”

“The sweet smell of blood! The black-haired evil one has come! He has come to take her away from us, aaaaaaa!!”

“Killer of our clan! One who brings death with desire and laughter! Tell them, tell them, tell them! Our winter has come!”

Even as their bodies were carved by the tiny blades and they were being chopped to pieces, the snakes screamed.

They knew this power. They knew this white mist carving up their bodies.

“Do not come closer, do not come closer, to her, nooooooo, do not let THIS get close to her, aaaaaaaaa!”

This. This power, this mist, this pain, this man.

Only this could not be allowed. Only this must not be allowed near her.

The small snakes, battered and broken, squeezed out the last of their strength, formed a swarm, and tried to attack the enemy of the mist that brought winter to the forest. As they gathered together, they looked like a raging surge.

“Te-een seconds, Dis.”

“Peyaa—”

Slash.

A light-blue wind blew. It was Stolu Pula.

Her body, which had been storing up power while waiting for the moment, burst into motion. With the cheap sword resting on her shoulder, she used a unique sword technique, swinging it as if slamming her whole body into the strike.

“Fu, fu, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeefhoooooooooooooooook!! Mufu, aha, ahahahahahahahaha!!”

So it should be. The physical strength of that body, which could serve as a vessel for Justice, was just that tremendous. She kicked away the muddy soil, crushed the swarm of snakes underfoot, slashed them away with her sword, and a beast rampaged.

“A-Aaaaaaaa!”

Leaving even the snakes’ screams behind, Stolu trampled the horde. Her power, a single individual destroying a swarm, was by no means inferior even compared to monsters.

“Splendid, Stolu Pula.”

“Weefhook!! I will scatter them all, Dis! Tooyama, let us go! Lazaar’s shadow stains continue along this path, Dis!”

“Yeah, let’s go. We’ll kick away anything that gets in our way.”

“Understood, Dis!”

With irresistible momentum.

The evil ones widened their eyes in the excitement of battle, raised the corners of their mouths, and began running.

“Aaaaaaaaaa, do not come closer, do not approach. Do not let a frivolous will, a cruel soul approach her!”

All at once, swarms of snakes crawled out of the wet soil.

“Shut uuuuup!! You think you can get away with kidnapping our baker for free, you pests?! I’ll slaughter every last one of you, forest and all!!”

“Hahahahaha! Tooyama! You are a wicked man, Dis! Ah, those insects are coming so bravely, hahahahaha!”

As if crushing maggots, Tooyama swung his cheap spear around and cut the snakes apart.

“Akhyaaa, akhyaaaaaaaaa!! It is him, it is him! He has come! The black-haired human who brings white death! The one who brings winter to the forest! The one who laughs in a filthy voice! Name, name, name yourself!”

“H-Hihihihihi!! You talk a lot for bugs!! Yes, I’ve decided. All of you who touched my companion will die. Remember this well. The name of the man who is about to kill you is—”

As the intoxication set in and Tooyama began getting carried away, he tried to introduce himself.

“Angel Church Inquisition, Assistant Inquisitor, Stolu Pula!! I am forcing my way through, Dis!!!”

Before he could, the knight who was naturally more of an idiot spun her body as she carved through the snakes and roared.

“Stolu, Stolu, Stolu!! Stolu is coming! Do not let her near our lady!”

“Seriously, this girl?”

As the snakes fearfully chanted Stolu’s name, Tooyama, who had been slightly left behind, muttered.

“Why are you standing there blankly, Dis?! Tooyama, we are going, Dis!”

“Ah, yes. Whatever.”

They ran, ran, ran, ran!!

Rustle, rustle. On the inexplicably muddy ground, two adventurers pushed forward, kicking away the onrushing snakes.

“Oraah!! You’re in the way! Bugs! Move!”

Whoosh. Even if it was cheap, the spear had an iron head. It split snakes in two in showers, sometimes smashing them flat.

“Aaaa?!”

“We know, we know, we know! The sweet smell of blood that destroys us! Winter comes with the white mist!”

“He who hunts our great snake, he who peels our skin and gouges our eyes! Tooyama Naruhito!!”

“Tell the forest! Tell the clan, tell our lady! Tooyama, Tooyama, Tooyama, Naruhito, Naruhito, Naruhito! The adventurer who destroys us has come!”

“Shut uuuuuuuuup!! Move! And why do you know my name? Creepy as hell!”

“! Tooyama! The air has changed! Something, deeper inside, ahead of us, something is there, Dis!”

“Obviously that’s the villain! If we can kill it, we kill it! If that’s impossible, we grab Lazaar and retreat immediately!”

“Understood, Dis!”

“The snakes aren’t pursuing either! Hurry! Stolu!”

“Di— Stop! Tooyama!”

“What happened?!”

At Stolu’s warning, Tooyama obediently stopped and asked.

“……Close. It is here. Something very large.”

“Got it. We’ll check the situation.”

As Stolu looked around, Tooyama crouched and began moving slowly along the thickets and trees.

As they continued following the shadow stains, they suddenly reached an open place.

Only there, no trees grew. It had become like a clearing.

In the center of the clearing, one large tree stood alone.

“Tooyama, that……”

“…………”

Under that large tree, there was a familiar cloak, white scales, and green patterns. Lazaar stood there alone, his back against the tree.

“Found Lazaar. Why is he just standing there?”

“……What shall we do, Tooyama?”

“No, it obviously looks suspicious. This is a classic setup. When someone taken by a monster is standing alone in an open place, they’re usually bait.”

It was that familiar thing from countless works of fiction, panic stories, and horror stories. Still hiding themselves in the thickets, Tooyama and Stolu observed Lazaar.

“……Sorrowful child, sorrowful child. I heard your voice. I learned your tragedy. So please, do not cry. You are no longer alone.”

“He started talking to himself, Dis.”

“Quiet. Stolu. Keep watch around us.”

“Dis…… Hm? I hear something.”

Drip, drip, drip……

Droplets fell. That kind of water sound.

It was not raining now.

“……Stolu, has it rained recently?”

“It has been sunny for the past week, Dis.”

“Right. Then why is the ground this wet……”

“Ah…… It won’t stop. It will not stop. My tears…… Fufu.”

““?!””

It was there.

Since when had it been there? Neither Tooyama nor Stolu had perceived it.

A massive body was coiled around the large tree.

A sinuous body, large scales, a long body.

A giant snake. And one far larger than the Titanos Mares Tooyama and the others had hunted until now.

Its white scales drew the eye. A body that seemed to glow dully even under the cloudy sky.

“Ah, sorrowful child, are you crying……?”

With an empty expression, Lazaar was speaking to the snake monster coiled around the tree and hanging upside down.

Drip, drip, drip.

From the snake’s eyes, tears kept flowing.

“I, I, I, I, I. Loose and soft, we tangle and melt together. Squish, squish, it echoes. Ah, the sea is so wide.”

The white Titanos Mare, trembling lightly, spoke something to Lazaar.

After talking snakes, next was a talking snake monster, a Titanos Mare.

“Seriously?”

“Oh? Fufu, a sweet scent. Ah, the winter that kills us is near. The scent of the blood of my little friends…… Ah, they kept their promise, didn’t they?”

The snake suddenly raised its body. It began swaying back and forth and laughing.

“……Tooyama, that thing is looking at us, Dis.”

“No, looking? What do you mean? It’s just hanging there……”

“No! Tooyama, inside that thing, inside the snake’s body—”

Stolu hugged her own shoulders and looked at it with eyes that saw something truly horrific.

“Ah, a sea of tears. Cold winter person, welcome, ufufu.”

Slurp.

The white snake’s mouth split open vertically.

All three of its eyes rolled back white, and blood dripped from its mouth.

“What is that thing?”

His mouth hung open.

What emerged from the snake’s mouth was a human, her upper body. A female body with white hair, wrapped in white scales.

A woman had sprouted from the snake’s mouth. Her form was covered in mucus. For an instant, Tooyama’s eyes were stolen by her.

Her appearance had transcended something and gone beyond the limit. Divinity. He could see it.

“Hey, shadow person, kind, kind shadow person. Introduce your friends. Let’s all get along and talk.”

“……Ah, sorrowful one. If that will heal your sorrow.”

The snake woman spoke to Lazaar.

The empty-faced Lizardonian pulled a knife from his waist and turned toward the thicket where Tooyama and Stolu were hiding.

“I see, so it’s that pattern.”

“Tooyama, what do we do? Your instructions.”

“Stolu, the two of us beat that controlled lizard senseless and retreat immediately.”

“Ah, simple is good, Dis. By the way, do you have no heart?”

“Don’t praise me. I’ll get embarrassed.”

He understood the situation. Lazaar was currently under that monster’s control.

Tooyama and Stolu slowly left the thicket and showed themselves before the monster and Lazaar.

“……Sorrowful child, sorrowful child. I hear your lament. Sorrowful child, saved by no one. At the very least, I will—”

“Lazaar, enough with the softheartedness already. Sorry, but this will be rough treatment. I’ll wake you up.”

“Ah, the scent of winter. Fufufu. The winter that destroys us is trying to kill your friend, isn’t it? Ah, I was the same. They were so, so precious to me. Fufu, ufufu. How nice. You have people who will try to save you. Fufu. I had no one. I, I, I, I.”

Drip. Drip.

The female body sprouting from the snake’s mouth cried. With no sound and no sobs, she simply continued shedding tears.

The tears traveled down the white snake’s body and kept pouring down.

The soil became wet again.

“………Ah, so that is how it is, Dis. Tooyama, the plan has changed, Dis.”

Stolu twitched as if noticing something and looked around.

“Huh?”

“But now, I too have many friends. Fufu, good people, ufufu.”

“A-Aah, sorrowful person, sorrowful person……”

“Do not cry, do not cry, do not cry.”

“Let the song of lament resound.”

Female voices. As if reacting to them, from deeper in the forest, things squirmed.

Long bodies with black scales and undulating movements. Second-rank monsters, Titanos Mares, appeared.

A swarm. It looked like a great wave about to fill the forest.

“Are you serious?”

It was too much. They were surrounded by snake monsters one had to look up at, and on top of that, one companion was brainwashed.

This was bad. Panic blurred Tooyama’s mind.

“Tooyama.”

A clear voice came from beside him.

Light blue. Eyes like the bottom of a spring that wells up only in untouched springtime looked up at Tooyama.

“I am the Church’s sword, the inquisitor’s sword. Give me an order. Order this sword to fulfill its role.”

Her eyes were beautiful.

Tooyama was slightly dazed, then drew a breath. Stolu had no hesitation. In that case, he could not afford to hesitate here.

There was no time to prepare himself. He only had to execute.

“—Sorry, Stolu. I’m counting on you to handle the monsters. I’ll beat Lazaar.”

“Weefhook.”

“Aha. Bad people, yet you do not give up. Such beautiful hearts. Ah, why?”

“A farewell song for the sorrowful child.”

“Death to the sweet scent that brings winter to us.”

“Death to the winter that destroys us, Tooyama Naruhito—”

One of the black snakes, a Titanos Mare, tried to close in on Tooyama as he started running.

“I will not allow it.”

A light-blue wind.

Her hair tied into a single bundle fluttered, and blood scattered.

The snake monster whose face had been jaggedly carved up screamed.

“Stolu Pula, attendant of an Angel Church Inquisitor. For the justice of the Church, no, for the justice of the Inquisitor, I will cut you down.”

The one who protected Tooyama’s back was the First Knight, Stolu Pula.

“Ah—”

“Go! Tooyama!”

“I’m counting on you, Stolu!”

He left his back to his companion. Without even readying a weapon, Tooyama Naruhito kicked off the muddy ground.

Behind him was the onrushing horde of giant snakes. Even without turning around, he could feel the monsters’ pressure. His instincts as a living being told him of danger and fear.

But Tooyama never turned back. Because he knew firsthand the capabilities of the First Knight guarding his back.

“I will not let you touch my Inquisitor.”

“Aha, lovely.”

The snakes surged forward like a muddy torrent. Faster than that, Stolu ran up the torrent. The cheap iron sword tore through the snake’s scales.

“Lazaaaaaaar!! We’re going home!”

His gaze stayed forward. Entrusting everything at his sides and behind him to Stolu, Tooyama ran.

“Pity for the sorrowful child. Pity for a life that was never saved. I shall mourn her here.”

“Like I care! You stupid lizard!”

He shouted at Lazaar, who held his knife with vacant eyes.

Beat him up and take him home. That was the only thing he thought about.

“Shadow Guidance.”

Lazaar’s body was covered in shadow. In an instant, it hid the form of the man loved by shadow—

Ping.

“Nice! Tell the stalker woman I said thanks!”

“?!”

Splash. Tooyama jumped straight into the shadow swamp where Lazaar had disappeared.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tooyama and Lazaar both vanished from the surface.

“So he went, Dis. That man is casually interfering with the authority of a familiar skill. Thinking about it is starting to feel foolish, Dis.”

The one who watched them go was the knight, Stolu.

Even while surrounded by monsters, she looked at the shadow swamp with a somewhat relaxed expression.

“Ah, everyone, everyone likes the shadow person, don’t they? Aha, ufufu. But you are different. You, fufu, are empty. Ah, those eyes resemble my eldest sister and that child…… Hollow, and yet you are one of those born with something.”

The monster looked down at Stolu. The swarm of giant snakes writhing nearby squirmed and writhed.

They surrounded one girl.

“……You irritate me, Dis.”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“You have a strange scent. The smell of both human and monster…… You ugly monster. Ancient species, the Church will never permit an existence like you, Dis. But what irritates me most of all—”

Her small face, her fairy-like beauty, sharpened.

The wielder of Justice. Her face changed into that of an evil one who did not hesitate to kill for the sake of that justice, the face of a cursed murderer.

“That man and Lazaar are best suited to smiling and laughing carefreely. You, who would try to wound my…… my world, I will never let you live.”

“Aha, such a scary face……”

One knight faced a swarm of monsters.

After glancing briefly at the shadow swamp, she pointed the tip of her sword at the outside enemy trying to break her world.

---

Tooyama Naruhito also stepped into the shadow where Lazaar had sunk. It was the domain of a familiar, where physical laws did not exist.

His body floated gently. It felt as if he had suddenly been thrown underwater. A world without color. A black-and-white world.

Now, in the place that the Familiar of Evil Deeds had permitted only to Lazaar.

“Yo, Lazaar. Sorry, but I have no intention of fighting you properly.”

An evil one stepped in.

“That laugh……”

With his vacant expression still unchanged, Lazaar choked slightly on his words. His hand swam as if hesitating over something. But in the next instant, he thrust out the knife at his waist.

“Too slow!!”

That attack was far too slow. To Tooyama, who knew the shadow man’s true ability, it was so sluggish that he wanted to ask if Lazaar was joking.

He dodged the thrusting knife and struck the hand gripping it roughly from above.

“Gah?!”

Gently, with his grip loose, the knife slipped from his hand and floated in the shadow world.

A shadow world where up and down could not be understood. Two friends faced each other.

The good one grieved for that tragedy and bore it hollowly.

The evil one trampled that tragedy and acted however he pleased.

“Wake up, Lazaar. We don’t have time for this!”

Tooyama Naruhito grabbed Lazaar by the chest and headbutted him.

“Ah, gah?! I saw…… something sad.”

Lazaar groaned after taking Tooyama’s headbutt.

The shadow world. It was another realm where the power of the Familiar of Evil Deeds and Lazaar’s consciousness mingled.

“—!”

Tooyama saw it.

The cursed child born on the day of the new moon. The custom of an old tribe. A child born on a night with no moon was treated as one who would bring disaster.

“I heard a sad song……”

Shadow gathered in Lazaar’s empty palm, forming into the shape of a curved blade, then swung down at Tooyama.

“Too slow.”

Tooyama grabbed Lazaar’s knife, which he had just knocked away and which had been floating gently, and caught the shadow blade.

Grit, riiing.

Iron and shadow.

They strained against each other.

The shadow man’s memories flowed into Tooyama—

He was different from Tooyama Naruhito.

It was not that he did not know love.

His parents never abandoned him, even though he had been born a cursed child.

They chose their own blood family over the customs of the tribe. Though their child had been branded with a negative position from the moment he was born, the name they gave him was—

“Lazaar!!”

“Ah, I…… am—”

One who rises again.

His mother and father named him with that wish. For their child, destined to be trampled, they still put a fleeting wish into it, and gave him that name with love.

“I saw a sad life. That child is the same as me. Everything was taken……!”

“Damn it.”

A strong force. The shadow blade began pushing down the iron knife.

Through it, Lazaar’s sorrow resonated in the shadow world and into Tooyama Naruhito.

—Find the cursed child. Find the cursed child. The drought has continued, and the fields have not grown since that cursed child was born.

—Display the corpses of the cursed child’s parents. Teach those fools who defied the tribe’s laws a lesson.

—Kill that old man who protected the cursed child too. He was a strange loner anyway. Whether he’s gone or not has nothing to do with us.

—Those filthy parents who protected their child until the end. End their bloodline so that none like them are ever born in the tribe again.

His own house burned fiercely. His own parents were killed in pieces before his eyes. The young cursed child was protected and hidden by his father and mother.

The powerless cursed child could only watch.

He could only watch as the father and mother who loved him were tormented by many adults, beaten, cut, defiled, and killed.

“This world is full of tragedies. No one looks back on tragedies. No one listens to that child’s lament. Ah, the same as me back then. That child is me. So I, at least I, must take in that child’s tragedy—”

The good one stands beside others. The good one thinks of others. He even understands tragedy, even the tragedy itself.

On that day when his father and mother were killed and his home was burned, the cursed child was never found in the end.

He had been found by shadow.

The Familiar of Evil Deeds loved that cursed child. There was no reason, and the trigger was trivial. The love of transcendent beings was always one-sided.

The cursed child was kept alive by shadow.

Then he grew and gained power.

The cursed child, who repeated evil deeds and had his power recognized by the royal family, eventually became a royal covert agent.

His first job was burning down a certain demi-human settlement.

The cursed child, now a covert agent of the royal family, destroyed his own homeland in a single night with his own hands and became the Shadow Fang.

“—I was robbed. I robbed others. I, with my own hands, destroyed my homeland. No one, no one, no one, no one helped me. So I, at least I, must take in that child’s tragedy.”

The salvation that had not existed in his own time. The good one was trying to become that.

The good one thought of tragedy. The good one emptied his heart to become salvation for her as she continued to cry in sorrow—

Grit. The clashing blades cried within the shadow.

“Hihihihihihi.”

The man laughed.

At the past of the cursed child shown by the shadow world. At the life of the good one taught by the shadow world.

Tooyama laughed at Lazaar’s tragedy.

“Lazaar, you’re misunderstanding something.”

Grit. With his body surging, the iron blade slowly, slowly pushed the shadow knife upward.

“What……? Why……?”

Lazaar was bewildered.

“You’re wrong. That is not a tragedy.”

Tooyama was not bewildered.

“Lazaar, your parents perished. But that was never a tragedy.”

Infinitely arrogant, infinitely selfish, infinitely insolent.

Tooyama Naruhito stepped into Lazaar’s wound.

“Just like your name, you stood up again. You lived exactly as that name said.”

“……What are you saying……? It is a tragedy. A tragedy. I, with my own hands, my homeland……”

“That’s it. That’s the important part. Listen, Lazaar. Listen carefully. That is not a tragedy.”

Even if that idea would not be accepted by everyone.

Even if that answer would be condemned by everyone.

It had nothing to do with Tooyama Naruhito.

“You properly settled your parents’ regrets and your debt. You destroyed the bastards who deserved punishment with your own hands. I’ll say it as many times as it takes. That is not a tragedy. I do not think of it as a tragedy.”

Following his desires, he gave an answer as he pleased.

“Hold your head high. Be proud. Lazaar, that was magnificent. You took revenge magnificently and killed the tragedy.”

Grit, griiit.

The thick knife blade began pushing away the shadow blade.

The two were locked blade against blade, and Tooyama looked into Lazaar’s vacant eyes.

“Killed…… it?”

“Yes. Listen! You did not lose to tragedy. You stood up again and killed the tragedy with your own hands. That is no longer tragedy. It’s comedy!”

“Ah, I…… tragedy, my father, my mother, before my eyes—”

“They all received their punishment. You repaid the debt with your own hands. You must not fear the filth on those hands or the scent of that blood. You must not regret it.”

“—Then what should I do?”

“Laugh.”

To Lazaar’s question, without hesitation.

The ego of the evil one did not waver in its answer.

“Laugh. Remember the death cries of the enemies you finished off. Laugh at them. Laugh and say they got what they deserved.”

“Laugh……”

“Yeah. It was just some assholes dying. Things that deserved to perish simply perished. And tragedy will never visit you again.”

“How…… can you say something like that……? I saw her tragedy. This world is filled with tragedy—”

Lazaar’s eyes wavered. The Lizardonian, wounded and hoarse, yet still not forgetting pity for others, was under the monster’s influence.

Tragedy, sadness. Those things were invading Lazaar’s ego.

“Because you met me.”

“—Ah?”

Lazaar’s movements stopped.

“Remember our goal. Remember the place you and I are supposed to reach. My desire and your dream.”

That was the wedge between Tooyama and Lazaar. That day, that time, that place.

Before the dragon trial, they had shared a vision.

“La-Zaar! This isn’t the time to stumble in a place like this! This isn’t the time to sympathize with someone else! Crush another person’s tragedy! Trample another person’s tragedy! Laugh at tragedy! Lazaar!”

Expanding Ego invaded the good one.

Evil one, laugh at that tragedy.

Pity for another’s tragedy has nothing to do with an evil one.

“Ah, ah…… I know. I know you, I know—”

Lazaar knew. Even if he had been hollowed out by the ancient species’ skill, that moment was carved into his heart and soul.

The cruel, vicious, cunning, coldhearted one who shared a dream with him—

And yet, that warm voice.

“I know…… the name. Bread, dragon. I…… You are……”

Slip. The knife fell from Lazaar’s hand.

“Ah.”

“You’re opennnnnnn!!”

Reflexively, Tooyama threw away his knife and punched Lazaar in the face with all his might.

“Agah?!”

Lazaar’s eyes rolled in shock, and before long, light returned to his vertically split pupils.

“We’re going home! Lazaar!”

“Gubu…… Yeah, I understand, Naruhito.”

Tooyama grabbed Lazaar by the chest and shouted loudly without feeling the least bit guilty.

Lazaar, his face swollen, smiled weakly and narrowed his eyes as if looking at something dazzling.

Splash.

They rose, rose, and rose.

From the shadow curtain, the shadow world, the two surfaced all at once.

“You have returned quickly, both of you.”

Before they knew it, they were back on the surface.

Lazaar and Tooyama returned in a grappled state.

Stolu stood there.

“Yeah, we’re back.”

Corpses lay everywhere.

While Tooyama had been clashing with Lazaar in the shadow world, the strange Titanos Mare swarm had already been annihilated.

Amid the corpses of decapitated snakes, one lovely girl stood alone, splashed with blood.

“Well, it has been a thrilling time after so long. Adventuring may suit me fairly well, Dis.”

Spin, spin, spin, spin.

Stolu skillfully spun the sword with her fingertips as if twirling a pen.

The thickly clinging blood was shaken off with a loud whoosh of wind.

“Haha. Stolu, sorry for the trouble.”

Lazaar, who had weakly returned to his senses, smiled at Stolu.

“Good grief, Dis. Lazaar, you are a good person, Dis, but you should choose who you direct that kindness toward, Dis.”

“Stolu, did you hit your head or something? Want me to carry you home?”

Tooyama tilted his head at Stolu, who was saying something unusually clever.

“Be quiet, Dis, evil man. ……Well, I am glad, Dis. That both of you are safe.”

Stolu turned away with a pout. However, Tooyama and Lazaar saw it. Her small earlobes had turned a little red.

“Haha.”

“Hihi, yeah. Well then, let’s go home.”

“Ah, everyone loves you, Tooyama Naruhito.”

Smoothly. Without a sound, before they knew it, it had healed its wounds, lifted its body, and was looking down at Tooyama.

Its body was twisted grotesquely, and large arms had grown from its snake body.

“—Ha.”

“—No way.”

That arm, that large fist, aimed at Tooyama.

“Naruhito?! Kh!!”

He was pushed. Lazaar shoved Tooyama away. In the next instant, Lazaar disappeared from sight.

Crack.

The sound of something that must not break breaking.

One rotation, two rotations, three rotations—

Tooyama watched as the body of someone he knew well spun through the air like a drill, scattering blood.

“Gah.”

One, two, three times, that person’s body hit the ground headfirst and rolled like trash.

His limbs were thrown out limply, his neck bent unnaturally, his tongue lolled out, and he did not move a twitch.

“Ah, I made a mistake. Goodbye, shadow person.”

He did not move, did not move, did not move.

Lazaar—

“Lazaar?!?!”

“! Dangerous?! Tooyama!!”

The monster, the female body sprouting from the snake’s mouth, laughed loudly.

“Ah, what a good voice, such a goooooood voice. I hear a sad voice. I hear a sad song. It is lonely with only me, Tooyama Naruhito.”

The monster laughed. It laughed at their tragedy.

The evil one laughed at tragedy.

“Let us sing, let us sing, let us sing of a sad ending. Fluffy, soft, fluffy, it spreads. Because the sea is so deeeeep. Squish, squish, squish, squish, we spread. Now, wake up, everyone.”

“Waa, urorororo, shuro, ah, ah, as our lady…… says.”

“Wee, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, shurarararo.”

Sludge, slop.

The monsters that should have been turned into corpses by Stolu stood up.

Their large wounds, severed necks, and crushed skulls bubbled and gradually healed.

“Aha. Titanos Mare feed skill, racial skill: Ouroboros.”

It was no longer a mere monster.

The assimilation of human and monster, her special blood and talent, the blood of monsters driven into crisis, brought evolution.

“You drove them into a corner. Ufufu, everyone, everyone, all the Titanos Mares in this forest remember you. Aha, ufufu.”

An ancient species, a singularity among monsters, had overcome the knight’s slaughter.

“No way, impossible. I, I, I failed to finish them…… I cut off their heads, so why…… Because of me, Lazaar…… Ah, aaaaaaah.”

Stolu trembled, powerlessly dropped her sword, and sank to her knees on the spot. Her face turned pale, and she kept trembling with her hand over her mouth as her teeth chattered.

Lazaar did not move.

Lazaar, who had taken the monster’s blow directly to protect Tooyama, did not move.

“—Hah.”

His heart grew cold. His head boiled and seethed, and the edges of his vision began turning red.

The situation was the worst. His cards had vanished all at once.

A person’s essence rises to the surface precisely in a crisis. Ah, Tooyama Naruhito’s essence was now rising to the surface.

“Tooyama, Tooyama, what do we do, what do we do, what do we do, what do we do, what do we do? Lazaar, Lazaar, because of me—”

“Stolu!!”

“Fuh?!”

Smack!!

Tooyama struck the small back of Stolu, who had reached out to cling to him. The chain shirt under her mantle hurt his palm.

“—That is an order. I’ll buy time. Take Lazaar and leave the forest.”

He told her quietly.

Tooyama knew that they now had very few options left to choose from.

This was the only way to keep Lazaar alive. Betting on the possibility that he was not dead yet, this was the only way left.

“What are you—N-No, Dis! Alone, against this many? A rear guard should be me! I’m suited for it! I’m strong!!”

“I don’t have the legs to carry Lazaar and outrun the monsters. But you can escape.”

“Ah, b-but, but—”

Stolu’s mouth trembled. Since her mind worked well when it came to combat, she already understood.

In this situation, that choice, which was almost a gamble. She understood that her returning with Lazaar while Tooyama Naruhito acted as rear guard had the highest possibility of success.

“Stolu Pula, attendant of the Inquisitor.”

“……Yes.”

“I’m leaving it to you. So leave it to me. Your answer.”

“…………As, as you command…… Inquisitor.”

Stolu clenched her fists, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, and even so, she faced forward and burst into a run.

The knight ran toward their fallen, unmoving companion.

“Aha, I won’t let you go.”

The monster, the female body protruding from the snake’s mouth, grinned.

As if following her intention, the surrounding giant snakes blocked Stolu’s path.

“Don’t look away from me.”

Pop.

A sound like pulling a stopper from Tooyama Naruhito’s neck. It was a wedge, a stopper, a power, a blade.

““Jah?!””

“Carve them up, Relic Blade.”

The mist, stretched thin and transparent, carved into the bodies of the giant snakes trying to block the path.

“Dis!!!”

A light-blue wind cut through the mist.

Without words and without eye contact.

Coordination through Tooyama’s experience and Stolu’s senses.

Taking advantage of the gap in Relic Blade’s activation, Stolu crossed the deadline.

“Oh my, amazing.”

“Tooyama!! I will definitely, definitely come back to help you, Dis! Don’t die, don’t die! If you die, I seriously won’t forgive you!”

With a tearful voice, no, while crying, Stolu picked up Lazaar. Then, without looking back even once, she charged through the forest at a speed the giant snakes could never hope to match.

“Hihi, fast. You really are amazing, Stolu.”

She was the real thing. Stolu Pula was different from him. She was someone truly chosen.

Surely, if that girl did not have Lazaar and him with her, this situation would not even be a crisis.

It would be the same for Drako or the Dragon of Human Knowledge. Those girls would likely be the same.

But he was different. He was not the same existence as them.

“Aha, ufufu, soft and drifting, softly drawing closer. Ah, the one who killed many snakes. Winter’s name is Tooyama Naruhito. You have ended up alone.”

“Sharororo.”

“Oh, winter. Winter that destroys our clan. Devour him, devour him, devour him. Destroy him, or else we will be destroyed.”

Monster, monster, monster.

No matter where he looked, there were only monsters.

“Ah, I might die here.”

Tooyama accurately understood his own ability. He specialized in killing big game, with surprise attacks as the foundation of his fighting style. Since coming to this world, that had usually worked well.

But now was different. He was overwhelmingly outnumbered. Words and thoughts were no longer useful here.

“Aha, let us decorate your corpse. No, you should become the same as us. That light-blue child had such a good face. Ufufu. I’m sure she will cry a lot. Ah, let us cry together.”

“Ubo, rorororaro.”

“Uebarorororo.”

All at once, the surrounding giant snakes opened their mouths as if they would split apart and began retching.

Splash, splash. Vomit. What they spat out was stomach acid and scattered bones, human bones.

“Uebaroro, ah, ah, ah, adventurer power.”

“Jurororo, human power, devouring humans, our power.”

Splurt, squelch, splish.

They were incomplete human shapes. Twisted forms of the snake monsters trying to become human by eating humans, in imitation of her.

From the opened mouths of the giant snakes, scaled arms extended. Each held a different weapon.

Using the adventurers eaten by this forest as material, this was the form of evolution they had chosen. However, the ones eaten were only those who were not special.

Thus, that evolution was far too ugly and incomplete.

“Everyone will be sad when you die. Unlike me, you see.”

“……Bad taste.”

A swarm of giant snakes with arms holding weapons growing from their mouths.

A large white snake with a female body growing from its mouth.

Amid the monsters, Tooyama was alone.

Ah, he knew. Tooyama Naruhito knew.

If destiny existed, if fate existed, then it must have decided things this way.

“Well then, this is the second time since Babel’s Great Pit. Same as that day.”

A recreation of the end of Tooyama Naruhito’s modern dungeon life. Even in another world, Tooyama made the same choice.

Ping.

Fate informed Tooyama.

Do that again.

Fate issued a quest. Countless arrows pointed at every monster.