Episode 12

He drew his sword, closed the distance in a single burst, and brought down a razor-sharp strike.

The one who seized the initiative was Van.

“What—!?”

Van’s downward slash cut only air and smashed the ground.

Zeke moved faster than Van, who should have been the first to act. His target was not Van, but Feluart, who had his gauntlet raised.

“What’s wrong? Not going to use your favorite spell formula?”

“—!? Like hell I’ll hand it over to you!”

Feluart swung his gauntlet through, but Zeke caught it with his bare hand. The follow-up blows were blocked as well.

“That’s a pretty light fist, isn’t it? Stop using a weapon you’re not used to.”

“Don’t screw with me… you foreign contaminant of this world!”

The two locked hands tightly. Feluart struggled desperately to pry free, but Zeke did not budge.

“I’m pretty sure I told the trash at your place not to get in my way.”

“I’ll throw that right back at you. The world gets twisted because guys like you Lagias exist.”

They grappled and fell into a deadlock. Van rushed in.

“Feluart! Hold him like that… Flame Slash!”

Van’s specialty—an airborne flaming slash—was fired straight at Zeke. The blade of fire that tore through the air thundered as it flew, as if to show off the results of two years of training.

But it never became a threat to Zeke; without even turning his eyes, he blocked it with an ice wall conjured by magic. Van bristled at the blatant disregard, as if Zeke were saying it was not worth his attention.

“This is a waste of time.”

“Then die—! …!? Guh!”

Zeke slammed the Feluart he had grabbed into the ice wall he had just created. He smashed Feluart into it again and again as if swinging him around, and finished with a knee strike. The impact shattered the ice wall, and Feluart lost consciousness.

“Feluart! Zeke, you…!”

“…You’re truly beyond saving.”

As if answering Van’s rage, the blade glowed red and radiated heat. He hurled a full-force slash at Zeke, only for it to be caught effortlessly with bare hands.

“W-why…? I’ve got a sword!”

“Don’t blame the weapon. This is your reality. Start over from scratch.”

“What are you…? How do you become like that?”

Van wavered, but he did not let go of his sword. He kept pouring mana into it and resisted. He could not let this resolve snap—if it broke once, he would never stand again. That thought consumed Van’s chest.

“For Gramps’ sake… I can’t lose!”

“…What are you even trying to do? Don’t use a dying old man for that pathetic pride of yours.”

The raging flames were rapidly chilled. The red glow drained from the blade, shifting into a pale, bluish white.

“What is this pathetic amount of mana? Looks like the Sword Saint is bad at teaching.”

“—!? My body…”

Wrapped in Zeke’s mana, Van lost his freedom of movement. Bathed in that overwhelming power, he was forced to understand, whether he liked it or not— the gap between them.

—CRACK.

Van’s sword could not endure Zeke’s mana and shattered into pieces. Like powder snow, it scattered, fleeting and fragile.

“Go find a holy-arts caster already. —Now disappear.”

Zeke’s hand came to rest on the stunned Van.

Van took the full force of the shock burst and was blown away. Even as he flew past Glanz, his momentum did not stop; he rolled all the way to the far edge of the boss chamber. He was completely unconscious.

“Now then… you’re next, ‘Guide.’ There are others too, but if you get in my way, I’ll erase you.”

The pressure pouring off Zeke was so crushing that even the boss monster they had faced here felt cute by comparison.

“Everyone… let’s do as Zeke-san says and back away.”

“Glanz-san… back away or not, we have no reason to fight.”

“If you remain here, it means the same thing to him.”

Van and Feluart lay unconscious. Atri stood silently. Glanz looked at them, then lastly at Eris.

“Two injured, and one who is effectively unable to fight. Fighting Zeke-san while protecting them would be extremely difficult.”

“I told you, I’m not planning to fight Zeke!”

A door had appeared the moment the giant ape was defeated. Zeke stood directly on the line to it. His intent—no one would pass—was unmistakable.

“Eris-san, I’m sorry. …Zeke-san, you will tell us the circumstances someday, won’t you?”

“Hmph. If you’re still alive by then.”

Glanz began weaving magic. Mana meticulously refined, a precisely assembled magic circle, shaped swiftly and accurately into form.

Glanz’s teleportation magic targeted everyone except Zeke.

“…Sage. What did you think of that defective one?”

By “defective,” Zeke clearly meant Van, unconscious at the edge of the boss chamber.

“He was fixated on one thing, and his perspective narrowed. But… I sense something that can shine.”

“Hmph. If you believe that, then don’t take your eyes off him.”

Until five years ago, it maxed out at two uses, and only two targets—too impractical to rely on. Glanz had spent five years refining and elevating it, to repay a debt to Zeke. So that he would lose nothing.

“Hey… white-haired woman.”

Atri lifted her face when Zeke called to her. Her eyes, drained of light, were as eerie as ever.

“Find the basilisk. That might be the key to saving the Sword Saint… maybe.”

Color returned to Atri’s eyes.

With Zeke’s words as the last thing, Glanz and the others vanished, wrapped in magic.

Zeke (Hiroto) was left alone in the dungeon.

The boss chamber, noisy from battle, was now completely silent. It was as if the scene contrasted the protagonist (Van), always surrounded by companions, with the villain (Zeke), who was always alone.

‘That was close. In more ways than one…’

In the original story, the reason the protagonists challenged the Lagias Dungeon was because of Actol’s orders. Not as his subordinates, but as part of a deal… a deal that traded holy arts to treat Masfelt.

‘It was possible they’d come here, but… it’s too soon.’

He had expected Masfelt to end up bedridden, as in the original story, but he never thought they would challenge the Lagias Dungeon without Actol’s involvement. It was not entirely unexpected—he had simply assumed it would happen later.

‘In the game, it was the protagonist and the heroines. A five-person party with Ciel, Selen, and Glanz…’

In this world, Van’s group was also a five-person party, but the lineup differed from the game. He could understand three of the main cast, but one never appeared in the game, and the other had been an enemy character.

Zeke (Hiroto) had expected them to come to the Lagias Dungeon because he had become an obstacle to the plan, but he never imagined that person would be acting alongside the protagonists.

You had to defeat enemies. It was a habit burned in from countless playthroughs—an almost reflexive sensation—that made him go too far. He felt a little sorry for them, but he also thought it could not be helped. From the game’s Zeke perspective, they were also the cause of Zeke’s death.

It was the same with Dex: the moment the possibility of death surfaced in his mind, his battle instincts were provoked. Just like Zeke in the original story.

‘I get that guy, but… why is Van picking a fight too?’

Two years ago in the royal capital, he had encouraged Van.

You’re the protagonist! Ignore the villain and move on! he had told him. Yet for some reason, Van kept acting like he was bothered by Zeke—and on top of that, he had tried to cut him down.

‘In the game, sure, but I haven’t done anything. Is he hating me because of the original story’s influence? …This is the worst.’

The heroine’s behavior had clearly been off, too. She had pressed in with a frightening intensity, and afterward she had worn a blank face and empty eyes. With how beautiful her features were, it had only made her more terrifying.

Lagias and the heroine—both in the original story and in this world—shared a special connection, making her Hiroto’s natural enemy. In the game, the Lagias couple and Zeke did not recognize that relationship or role, and no one ever told them. As a result, it led to death.

‘…It’ll be fine. I gave them a hint, and if I use Actol to have Ciel and the others join up…’

The scenario’s flow differed, but in the end, everyone would gather. Fonsell (Luke) had not deviated from the original story either. …Which meant, if he did not resist, then Zeke too—

A worst-case outcome surfaced, and he shook it off.

He shifted his mind to fulfill the purpose that had brought him here.

He opened the door that had appeared in the boss chamber and moved on. What was stored beyond this room—he had come this far to obtain it.

‘So this is the key’s blueprint—“Spearize”… ‘

A cube floated in empty space. The golden cube, small enough to fit in his hand, rotated slowly as it hovered.

This “Spearize” was the pivot of the scenario; it could divide the fates of those who bore the role of “key,” and might determine where the world went.

‘Honestly, I don’t care either way. What matters is securing it.’

If the scenario was destined to proceed as written, it would not matter which option the world chose.

Because he did not know how the game’s bad ending would affect Hiroto. Of course, precisely because he did not know, he wanted Van and the others to aim for clearing the game—and it would be even better if it became a clash where they struggled against the enemy faction. Even if both sides destroyed each other and it ended in a muddle, there was no problem. That would mean… breaking free of the scenario.

In short, any ending that became a “happy ending” for Hiroto was fine.

‘The problem is who to entrust this to…’

Handing it to Van and the others was the least viable choice. The knight order and mage corps were not smart options either, and he did not have their trust to begin with. If he kept it himself—that was not an option either. If he involved himself in the scenario directly, it would defeat the purpose.

‘Which means the option is… Actol. He’s nasty, underhanded, and cowardly. …Sure, fine.’

Hiroto gave a dry, inward chuckle at his own lack of popularity.

Zeke’s influence probably played a part, but Hiroto himself always ended up watching from one step removed. They were residents of a game world—fundamentally different from him at the root.

Knowing nothing—there were times one might be blamed for that ignorance, depending on the situation, but this case was not one of them. The people of this world could live freely precisely because they knew nothing. Their actions did not come with responsibility.

Zeke (Hiroto) took the floating cube in hand. The strange texture surprised him inwardly. He tucked it away carefully so as not to drop it, and left the room.

‘Come to think of it… how did they even get this far? There were signs of fighting up to the starting area, but…’

In the area that continued from five years ago—the exploration zone of the main game—there had been no sign at all that anyone had entered. He had used his original-story knowledge to clear the shortest route, and even then it had taken time. He found himself wondering how they had cleared it without that knowledge.

‘Whatever. I won’t be coming here again anyway.’

Using teleportation magic, he withdrew from the dungeon. Back in his room at Lagias Manor, Hiroto checked his next move.

Glanz and the others returned to the dungeon entrance by teleportation magic. But Van and Feluart remained unconscious.

“Van-san aside, Feluart-san is seriously injured. We need to treat him quickly.”

“I think that one only needs basic first aid. …He gives me a bad feeling.”

Eris showed her wariness openly. The expression Feluart had worn as he looked at Zeke inside the Lagias Dungeon had been abnormal.

“…Eris-san. I do not intend to deny your concerns, but regret born from acting on assumptions becomes pain.”

“……Hah. Fine. For your sake, Glanz-san, I’ll heal him.”

Eris began treating Van and Feluart. Healing them both at once with recovery magic—her precision was high enough that Glanz was impressed.

“…Ah, I can talk. …Thank goodness.”

Atri’s voice and magic had been sealed by the boss gimmick. As Glanz expected, escaping the dungeon lifted the abnormal condition.

“The one I was most worried about was you. I’m really glad.”

While healing, Eris looked to Atri with relief. Some nasty dungeons caused long-lasting status ailments, so she had been worried, but this time it seemed fine.

“…I’m okay now. I feel better.”

“Then you help too. Van’s your childhood friend, right?”

“…No. I can’t use healing magic. And he brought it on himself.”

After one glance at the injured Van, Atri looked away. As if uninterested, she stared up at the sky. Eris found it suspicious.

“…The one who attacked first was Van. And he couldn’t correctly grasp the opponent’s strength and got beaten back. If Masfelt-san were healthy, he’d have shouted, ‘You idiots!’”

“You’re right, but… isn’t there a nicer way to say it? I feel kind of bad for Van.”

“…Zeke is the strongest. In front of the strongest, Van is the weakest. Still just a kid.”

With a weary gesture, Atri sighed. After that, she muttered over and over, “Find the basilisk, find the basilisk.” It felt deranged.

“About the basilisk Zeke-san mentioned… Atri-san, could you tell us more about Masfelt-san’s symptoms?”

“…Why?”

“I do not believe he would make pointless remarks. If there is a possibility we cannot rely on holy arts, we should establish other options as well.”

Glanz and the others decided to move back to town once.