Prologue: Did I Do Well?
Thwack! Thud-thud-thud!
Needles of pure mana pierce the duke’s back in a single instant, severing every channel through which his power flows.
The man standing before me lurches, joints creaking as he turns.
“Wh-why…?”
“I’m sorry, Father. But this will make you happier. At least you’ll die by your daughter’s hand. Well—you won’t really die, anyway.”
A magic circle blooms across the floor. Light surges upward.
KRA-KOOM—
Along that pillar of radiance, Father’s body vanishes without a trace. Flesh and blood spray outward as if flung from the impact, soaking everything in red. Clots of it cling thickly to my shoes and trousers.
“Father will be glad, too…”
My body sways.
I’ve clearly pushed myself too far.
“Haa… Just a moment. Just a little rest.”
I collapse into the head of house’s chair, dumping my heavy body into it. Everything burns. Forcing mana through circuits already in ruins only tears them further; they scream as they catch fire. My left leg, ruined long ago, barely moves. My right arm has gone completely numb. One eye sees only a blur.
But this is the last time.
That thought alone lets me lift my head and look at the people who have somehow already reached me. I spit the words out with the copper taste of blood.
“Aaah, you disgusting things. How far do you plan to chase me? No matter how many times I crush you, you just keep coming back—like weeds. How tiresome.”
What was once a beautiful voice is nothing but a cracked, metallic rasp now.
“It’s over. I’ll kill you here. This time none of you will survive—I’ll burn every last one of you. Burn you, tear you, freeze you to powder. Even weeds die that way.”
Magic circles flare to life in both hands. I plant my staff like a cane and force myself upright, careful not to stumble. Like a Demon King. From the head of house’s chair, I look down on them exactly as a final boss should.
“Why did you do it?! All those atrocities—what were they for?! Do you have any idea how many people died because of you?!”
I glance at the knight raging at the front of the party.
Giselle van Pride.
The protagonist of the world I transmigrated into.
She’s truly beautiful. Or handsome? Either way—she’s gathered so many good companions around her. I’m so glad.
I possessed this damned villainess and burned everything for the happiness of the hero and her heroines, knowing I was going to die anyway. Looks, ability, body, mind, honor—nothing left intact. My magic will last ten minutes at most. After that, even the remaining mana circuits will burn out completely.
I remind myself of that and laugh.
“Why should I care about the circumstances of insects? Insects like you exist for nobles like me. You’re the strange ones.”
Fitting for a villain. Fitting for a final boss.
“If only insects like you had never existed! That would have been enough! I would have lived on as a duke’s daughter without being ignored! It’s all your fault!”
I scream in a voice that sounds ready to tear, and cast.
Dozens—hundreds—of magic circles bloom in the air. The blackened night sky is swallowed by light in an instant. The circles detonate, and the already ruined ducal mansion begins to collapse all over again beneath the storm of magic.
“Haa… haa…”
My body is broken. No—past broken. It’s so shattered I’m almost embarrassed to call it a body. My vision is cloudy. One eye won’t even open; it may have burst. My left arm’s mana circuits burned out and failed. My right arm hangs in tatters where a spear punched through the shoulder. The muscle in my left leg has necrotized past any use. My right is studded with arrows I don’t remember taking, throbbing with every heartbeat. Worst of all, a gaping hole has been torn through my stomach.
And still, I feel no pain.
“I’ll hear your last words, at least.”
Giselle approaches the chair I’m barely draped across. Her golden eyes look down on me with pure contempt.
“Haa… Last words…”
What should I say? That I really liked her? That I wanted to be friends? That I wanted to play with them too? That I was never really a villainess? That everything I did was to help them?
“Pfft.”
They say your mind races right before death. This is exactly that. Regretting the past at this point? I’m dying either way. Still—this is a happier ending than the original.
I am finishing the thought with that little victory when—
Congratulations! The novel is complete!
The forced Plausibility has been lifted!
Restrictions on character information have been removed!
The Filters have been removed!
Prejudice toward the transmigrator has been removed!
Enjoy your happy transmigration life!
The Plausibility that had bound me finally disappears.
Right before I die, of course.
Still—since this is the end, maybe just one more thing.
“I… did good… right?”
Giselle stares at me as if struck, her expression blank with shock. I’ve never seen that look on her face before.
Clang!
The Holy Sword slips from her hand and hits the floor with a sharp, ringing cry.
“W-wait!”
“Giselle! Something’s wrong!”
“H-healing magic, now—!”
Even the hero’s companions rush to my side. Every one of them looks at me in total panic. The Saintess frantically pours recovery magic into me.
It’s too late.
My consciousness fades by degrees. And still, a smile finds its way onto my face.
At least, at the very end—
they’re looking at me properly.
…
..
.
“Huh?”
Somehow, I didn’t die.
“From now on, I’ll stay by your side and take care of you.”
“No—she likes being with me best.”
“Want me to bring you something delicious?”
“Weren’t you the one who liked me most?”
“I know the young lady’s condition better than anyone. Everyone, step back.”
“That’s right. Big sister and I know her best, so please all of you step aside.”
“Master! I brought meat!”
“Forget the meat—I brought the head chef. You’re having soup.”
And for some reason, the protagonist and every last heroine are completely obsessed with me.
Congratulations! You have met the conditions for the Hidden Ending!
What the hell is this.
Shit.