The Six Apostles of the Evil God (Finale)

I considered it for a moment, then spoke.

"Yeah. I did it."

"NOW you remember?! You dumped it on me like ten years ago, so you just forgot about it?! No — wait!! You sent a letter asking me to bring it and that was barely a few days ago!!"

I nodded at Number 4, who was huffing with sheer injustice.

"I did it. But I didn't do it."

"Huh? ......Huuh?"

The rage drained out of her in a single beat.

"W-what is that supposed to mean......?"

She clutched her head and groaned, as if the words themselves refused to assemble into sense.

"Ugh."

How this girl had ever made it into the Six Apostles of the Evil God when she couldn't parse something this simple was beyond me. I needed her to actually understand if I was going to get any answers, so I stretched both hands toward her.

"Hey."

"Y-yeah?"

"Face this way."

"......I-I'm scared. I don't wanna."

She meant it. Her face had gone paper-white, and she was inching backward one small step at a time.

......Well. Fair enough.

Number 4 had always been the most fragile of the Six Apostles. She had survived on madness alone, and from a certain point in the original story she had shown up completely, irretrievably insane. The madwoman she became was strong and cruel enough to kill several of Rania's companions.

But this was still the early part of the original.

"I-I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Please just don't kill me. P-please."

Once the madness had passed through her, Number 4 was nothing more than a frightened girl.

So there was no other choice.

"Guess I'll just have to be nice about it."

I set one of my outstretched hands on her head and stroked her hair with all the gentleness I could muster.

"Face this way. Face this way. Face this way. Face this way. Face this way. Face this way. Face this way. Face this way. Face this way. Face this wa—"

"HERE!! H-here!!"

"There we go."

A sound, emphasized and repeated, can turn even a madness-stricken villain into a well-behaved child.

"Alright. Shall I explain it again?"

"Y-y-yes — I mean, yeah!!"

I caught her cheeks, turned her face to mine, and offered her another kindly smile.

"Okay. I said I did it, right?"

"...R-right?"

"But I also said I didn't."

"H-hiiik! Y-your eyes — those are a psycho's eyes!!"

There she went, changing the subject again.

"Okay. From the top. I said I did it, right?"

"I-I get it!!"

"But I also said I didn't."

"Nngh — s-stop already!! I don't know what it means but I said I really, really get it!!"

That's the stuff.

I'd finally gotten through to her.

"By human standards, this is gentle."

I dismissed Dark, who was nodding along with a look of grave enlightenment, then tugged Number 4 over and sat her down beside me.

"Why?! Why all of a sudden!?"

"I've got some thinking to do, so sit there quietly and wait."

"W-why should I!!"

"Once I've sorted my thoughts, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠think I'm going to have a lot of questions for you."

"That's exactly why I'm asking why!!"

So noisy.

I rummaged through my pocket as I spoke.

"Ah."

"......?"

"Do as I do. Ah."

"......Ah?"

Click.

I fished out the last remaining honey candy and popped it into Number 4's mouth.

"Hwah! P-poison!! It's poison......"

Clack, clatter, clatter. Slurp.

"......It's sweet."

The honey candy seemed to roll into every corner of her mouth the instant it went in.

"I-it'th thweet."

"Good girl. Wait quietly."

"......Mm."

Number 4 finally settled down. This was my chance.

Time to get things straight for good.

I started sorting, one by one, through everything I'd learned from running into Number 4.

First.

Rania is safe.

If Eugene had brought that brooch here ten years ago, then it didn't belong to Rania at all — it belonged to someone of House Vulcanus. And if that was the case, the brooch's owner was almost certainly Vulkan Vulcanus, the current head of the house, who was rumored to have gone into seclusion.

I didn't know the exact reason, but I could always wake him up and ask. Either way, my next objective after Villainess Yuria had just come into much sharper focus.

Second.

Hype-man Eugene is not an extra.

He was, in fact, Number 2 among the Six Apostles of the Evil God — one of the named bosses who appeared all the way through the final battle of Protect the Academy!. He had been so buried in secrecy that not even his identity, let alone whether he was alive or dead, had ever been clear.

To think that was Eugene.

I had, without warning, become a named boss and a double agent. But it wasn't all that bad. The cultists — especially the Six Apostles of the Evil God — were a shadow organization wrapped in layer upon layer of mystery. Even a fully awakened Rania had struggled to track their movements.

I saved Yuria. The future has already changed. They're bound to act differently from the original.

And in the middle of all that, I had become a double agent. A key figure, no less — which made preparing for their attacks considerably easier. Of course, I would need to gather information on "Eugene" and play the part of "Number 2" to perfection.

Ah~ He really is unique, they said.

He had originally been described as an unusual person, so as long as I didn't stray too far, I wasn't likely to get found out.

And besides.

"Uwaah!! I-it's getting smaller...... It's getting smaller the more I eat it......!! Why does this thing keep shrinking!?"

I had also acquired a convenient idiot who would leak information for me. If I could pry this and that out of Number 4, acting like Number 2 would be easy.

And next.

The last point, and the most important.

Kyaa. Number 2 really is the most handsome.

I am handsome.

"Thrilling. Always fresh. Being handsome is the best."

"Lunatic. Problematic. Handsome guy. Please."

I had always wanted to know what it felt like to relate to a line like that. I never imagined I would actually get to live it. Didn't this mean that once I saved the world, I could live happily ever after with the cool beauty rumored to be the prettiest girl in Protect the Academy! — who also happened to be an S-Rank powerhouse?

"What?"

"What was that, you little shit?"

Anyway. That wrapped up the recap.

Rania is definitely safe.

Which meant what I needed to do right now was—

"Ah...... I finished it."

—extract information from Number 4.

I can't just ask her outright.

She hadn't fully awakened as a madwoman yet, but the current Number 4 was still, without question, a powerhouse of the cult. The cultists — the Six Apostles especially — possessed a loyalty to the organization that bordered on the unnatural. The moment she realized something was wrong with Number 2, she would bolt and report back before I could pry a single scrap of information out of her.

But if there was a special backstory between Number 4 and Number 2 — that is, between Number 4 and Eugene? And if, because of that backstory, Number 4 voluntarily chose Eugene over the cult?

I could gain a reliable ally on the cult's side.

The moment that thought settled, Number 4's end from Protect the Academy! drifted faintly into my mind.

......Right. What Number 4 had wanted was, without a doubt—

Having recalled everything, I turned a sad smile on Number 4.

"How hard it must have been for you all this time."

"......Number 2. Has the madness gotten you too?"

This brat, interrupting me right as I was getting into character.

"......As if."

I shifted the smile that had nearly wavered into something even more benevolent, then gently drew Number 4 into an embrace.

"It's quite the opposite, actually."

"......The opposite?"

"That's right. Seeing you enjoy that candy, it looks like the madness that's been tormenting your big brother has disappeared."

"......So that was candy earlier."

Number 4 went quiet.

Just the finishing blow left.

Number 4, who had carried a storm of madness inside her and had, in the end, become a madwoman. What she had wanted, right up until the moment she lost her life, was—

"Ah......"

Just her name. That was all.

Number 4 of the Six Apostles of the Evil God.

She had only ever wanted one thing.

To reclaim the name she had forgotten.

The reason was simple.

Whenever someone called her by her name—

—the madness she had accepted in order to survive, this loathsome thing that rang through her head every single day, would recede.

Only for a very brief moment, of course.

Like letters written in the sand before a wave, she would only return to her senses in the instant she heard her name. As time passed, the madness would surge back in, and she would forget it all over again.

And so that day—

—the day Eugene oppa, who had been with her since childhood, had coldly abandoned her.

"......What's this all of a sudden?"

She could never forget it. No matter how much she wanted to.

Yeonhwa, who had returned to her senses for the first time in a long while, quietly picked up her scythe and asked,

"Who are you."

There are two ways to make a person angry.

"Who are you."

"Yeonhwa. It's me. Eugene oppa."

The first is when the person who abandoned you suddenly comes back and acts like the two of you are close.

"That's exactly it. You told me not to act like you knew me — so why are you suddenly acting all familiar?"

"Haa...... I tried to hide it because I was afraid you'd be in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠danger. But now that it's come to this, I have no choice."

The second is—

"The Salvation Cult is trying to kill us."

—when you find out that the reason they left was actually for your sake.

Of course, that second kind of anger isn't directed at the other person. It's directed at yourself, for having known nothing.

Yeonhwa's expression hardened in an instant.

"......What?"

She had every right to look like that. To the Six Apostles, the Salvation Cult — the cult — would have been something like a sanctuary.

But this is the truth.

What they had actually tried to kill wasn't "us," but only Yeonhwa, who had been pushed from Number 3 down to Number 4. Still, if I could use that fact well—

"At first it was just me. That's why I left — to protect you. But now they're planning to wipe out all six Apostles."

"W-what are you even......!!"

Turning Number 4's heart around was easy.

Alright. Time to act.

I, Eugene, had turned cold in order to save Yeonhwa. I had tried my hardest, hit my limit, and was now laying everything bare.

Good. Emotional immersion complete.

The next moment, fat childish tears rolled down my face.

"I'm sorry, Yeonhwa...... I tried...... I tried to carry it all by myself, but I can't take it any— sniffle-wail!!"

"Uh, uhh......"

"I'm sorry, Yeonhwa!! This is all because your oppa was too incompetent!! I might as well just go string myself up somewhere and die already!!!"

"N-no!! O-oppa...... I mean, Number 2, you worked so hard for me!! But I...... I didn't know anything......"

I discreetly lifted the finger I'd been pressing near my eye to check. Yeonhwa was angrier than I had ever seen her.

Did I get her?

The moment I thought that and lifted my head—

"...Still. I should confirm it myself first."

Yeonhwa stood up from her seat.

Yep. Did I get her? is definitely a forbidden phrase.

But I shook her.

Yeonhwa was doubting the cult now. With her level of skill, she would easily find out that they had tried to kill her.

So until then—

"Yeonhwa."

"...What."

"If something dangerous happens."

I raised my hand the way Cheolsu had.

Crrrk-k-k......!

Using aura, I drew in iron, imbued each portion with yang energy and yin energy, and split them into an orb and a dagger.

It was a far cry from Cheolsu's — a rank so low I wasn't even sure it could properly detect anything. But it was more than enough of a performance to look like an older brother worrying about his little sister.

"Use this dagger to smash the orb."

"...It's for tracking."

"Not tracking. Protection. ......It's bound to still be hot, so take it carefully."

Yeonhwa let out a small laugh despite herself.

"You could be lying. I still don't completely trust you, Number 2."

That was only natural. The original Eugene — Number 2 of the Six Apostles — had left Number 4 on a whim.

He had only shown up right before Number 4 died, called her name, and left. The point at which I had possessed this body was also long after he had abandoned her on that same whim.

And so I—

"Yeonhwa."

"......W-what?"

—pulled her into an embrace without a word. Very gently, yet fast enough that she couldn't push me away.

And I whispered.

I bit my lip to swallow the sob, but I let the tears flow as they were. Because that was the only way I could deceive Yeonhwa.

"...No. I still don't believe you."

Oof. She was ice-cold now that the madness was gone.

But.

"It won't take long."

Tap tap.

The way she reluctantly patted my back told me she was almost all the way over.

Yeonhwa gently pushed the crying me away, then started walking without another word.

"Oh, right."

"Hm?"

As I stood there waving, Yeonhwa carefully turned back.

"I don't know the details yet, but that family. You're trying to protect them, right?"

What she pointed at was the brooch of House Vulcanus.

"That's right."

"...You know it's tonight, don't you?"

"Huh? What is?"

"Haa...... Please just read the secret missive."

Yeonhwa sighed, pulled a sheet of paper from her clothes, and tossed it to me.

Before I could even unfold it to look—

"What?"

My original next plan of saving Rania's dad.

"Number 6 is handling it, apparently."

Had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just acquired a time limit.