Bad Ending (1)

Haviel moved without the slightest hesitation.

"This way."

"Alright."

He guided me without a shred of doubt, as if he had been preparing for this for a very long time. And that was not all.

"Lord Haviel? And the gentleman beside you…?"

"A follower."

"Ah! Well, I suppose it was about time for you too, Lord Haviel. Congratulations!"

His standing in the Vulcanus family was so unshakable that he had a free pass wherever he walked. Still, one worry kept gnawing at me, so I asked as casually as I could.

"No chance of getting caught?"

"Of course not. I borrowed Vivian's name and ordered that no one enter until tomorrow morning. I even stuffed a dummy under the blankets, so there's nothing to worry about."

His own orders ranked below Hestia's — but borrowing Vivian's name made them absolute. In that short span of time, he had read the situation and carried out exactly what I wanted.

"So that's why Vulkan dotes on you."

"…You flatter me."

If things kept going like this, I could finish everything and return to being Eugene.

Of course, I'll have to deal with Haviel.

But that would be handled by the Vulkan I had saved, so there was no need to worry too much.

So just stick to the plan.

I would follow Haviel like this and make contact with Vulkan before the other Apostles. Of course I could not afford to become a Dullahan, so I would reveal my identity honestly and offer my help. Then, together with the recovered Vulkan, we would subdue the remaining two priests, and I would saunter back as Eugene.

A truly perfect plan.

In practice, Vulkan would be doing more of the work than I would, so it was not even that difficult.

"Hey. High Priest Haviel. How'd you end up throwing in with our Salvation Cult?"

"…The truth is, I—"

"Don't care. Shut it."

"…Yes."

"So how much farther down?"

"Ah — we've arrived."

Chatting with Haviel like this, we had reached the destination before I knew it.

"So this is the…"

The what, exactly?

A secret space far below even the basement of the Vulcanus Count Estate — we had walked a long way down to get here.

"That's right. This is the place."

"Right. That place."

"Yes, that's correct. This is it."

"Yeah. The place I know, right?"

"Precisely. This is that place."

So WHERE is it, you lunatic.

If I admitted I did not know, I would definitely be suspected, so I gritted my teeth, pretended I knew, and muttered under my breath.

"Hoh. Seeing it in person, the exterior is even more impressive. The name of this place is probably…"

I let the sentence trail off, and Haviel, who had already sidled up beside me, quietly filled in the blank.

"The Resonance of Iron and the Song of Fire."

"Was that the name?"

"No. The designation is simply 'the Tomb.'"

I want to punch him.

"I want to punch him."

"Pardon?"

"…Nothing."

Hastily burying that thought, I slowly scanned the entrance of the secret chamber we had arrived at.

Letters roughly carved with chisel and hammer — old, yet still vivid. That was when it came back to me.

The Family Head's Tomb.

In the original, after her family died, Rania ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠buried them all here. Originally it had been a sanctuary of the Vulcanus family, a place where only the heads of the house could rest.

By then she had already been alone, so she proceeded as she wished, with no one left to object. But that was not the end of it.

During the final battle the entire estate had collapsed, and even this tomb had become unreachable. After that she began losing her companions as well, and she ended up completely alone.

You're giving Rania an ending like THAT?

Rage boiled up from deep in my gut, and I immediately turned to look at Haviel.

"Hey, you son of a bitch."

"Pardon?"

"'Pardon?' Look at this guy. Get over here. Stick your head out. People like you need a beating."

Whack, whack, WHACK!

"Ugh, ughh! W-why are you suddenly doing this?!"

"Huh? You still don't know why you're getting hit?"

You're the one who put Vulkan under, which means everyone dies in the end, you bastard.

"Ack! Aaack! I know! I think I know!!"

"No. You don't."

"Ack, ack! Aaack! Th-then at least tell me the reason!!"

"Just take the beating."

Thud, crack, WHAAACK!

Hitting him with pure physical strength — no aura at all — seemed to improve my mood a little.

"Exercise really is important."

"Guhhh…?"

"You too, pal. Straighten your back once in a while. Take a walk. Got it?"

I offered that bit of friendly advice as I held out my hand.

"…?"

"Grab on, get up, and open the door."

"Y-yes sir!"

Haviel hurriedly scrambled to his feet and was rummaging at his waist for the key, rattling it, when—

Saaaah…

The air around us sank, turning cold.

"Ah?"

Haviel, sensing something wrong a beat ahead of me, spun around in a panic to check — and flattened himself on the floor.

"F-for the Mother of the Apocalypse!!"

At the same time, I understood.

"Ah, this guy's so slick, I love it. Don't you think, Number Six? Hey. Blue-head. I'll kill the Guardian for you, so how about you come work under me?"

"…Number Three. Wait. That's… Number Two."

My plan had gone completely, thoroughly off the rails.

The Blue Magic Tower, located in the imperial capital.

KRAAAAAANG!!!!!

…Or rather, what used to be.

"A-an attack!!"

"Highest-level emergency!! All the high-grade barriers the Tower Master laid down have been shattered!!"

"All Blue Magic Tower disciples of the 3rd Circle and above, gather at the gate!!"

Everyone in the Blue Magic Tower was surrounding the one who had attacked it.

"Been a while, Old Man Blue."

The Blue Tower Master, who had appeared at some point, slowly approached Vivian.

"…Yes. It has been a while, Vivian."

"Whatever. Just open this for me."

"Still as high-handed as ever."

"I don't have time to hit you."

"…Fine. Where shall I send you."

Vivian answered immediately.

"The Vulcanus March."

It had not even been an hour since she had left that place.

Before the tomb of the family heads, I swallowed even the urge to sigh and silently despaired.

Too late.

I had ended up meeting the other Apostles before I could meet Vulkan.

And Yeonhwa isn't even here.

The numbers that had been called were Three and Six. Better than the veiled Number Five — but this was absolutely not a welcome situation. I was frozen by the unexpected turn of events when—

"…Number Two. It is you."

A woman with deep green hair had approached at some point and was looking up at me.

Stay calm.

Right now I was not Eugene. I was the 2nd Apostle.

The personality tags revealed for the 2nd Apostle in the original were: Cold, Overwhelming, Overpowering, Silent.

There had not been many conversation scenes with the Apostles, so I would keep my words to a minimum. With all my preparations complete, I tossed the line out.

"To think you'd arrive later than me. I should've just killed you and ground you up after all."

The next moment—

"H-hey, Number Two. W-what's with the sudden attitude?"

"…Number Two. Calm."

Number Three and Number Six both froze. Cold sweat trickling down. Pupils trembling. Even the fine hairs standing on end.

They're not acting.

They were genuinely terrified.

Survived one turn, at least.

With this, I had confirmed that everyone except the 1st Apostle feared Number Two. But the next part was the real problem.

The original plan had been to meet Vulkan and help him before encountering Number Three and Number Six. Then, like in the Backstreets, I would hide my identity and subdue those two together with Vulkan.

And that failed spectacularly.

Just like when I had used Preview, I had met Number Three and Number Six first. If I met Vulkan like this?

My head would come off.

And I could not exactly drive off Number Three and Number Six, who had come on the 1st Apostle's orders. I would be suspected and killed before I could even play double agent.

What do I do?

How on earth was I supposed to meet Vulkan and talk to him before they did. I was wracking my brains when—

Kuuuuung…

Something had fallen on the surface. A tremendous boom, and then the ground shook.

Don't tell me…?

I hurriedly turned my head.

"What was that?"

"…Vibration. Large."

Then I issued a short command to Number Three and Number Six, who were still trying to grasp the situation.

"Get to the surface immediately."

"Have you lost it?"

"…Impossible."

They refused at once. Well — they only feared me as the 2nd Apostle because I was strong. The 1st Apostle governed them with 'something' beyond fear.

Of course Number One's orders take priority.

But you see.

"What just landed on the surface is highly likely to be Tyrant Vivian."

If an enemy had appeared who could crush even the 1st Apostle's 'something' with sheer terror?

"What? D-didn't you say you'd driven her off?!"

"…Number Two. Why. Together?"

Their judgment was bound to cloud. And deceiving people like that was—

"I'm in the process of recruiting her."

Child's play for a Korean trained by countless game chats and talking shit. Sure enough, the moment I finished speaking, Number Three and Number Six asked back with startled eyes.

"R-recruiting her?!"

"…Vivian?"

I nodded.

"I've almost succeeded, actually."

Using a natural shift of gaze, I looked at Haviel, who was still sprawled on the ground.

"Th-that's right! Vivian, that monster, couldn't even twitch in front of the 2nd Apostle!!"

"…Hey. If that's a lie, you're dead."

"As a believer, a child of the Mother, how could I speak falsehoods!!"

"…Eyes. Truth."

Having completed their cross-verification, Number Three and Number Six looked at me with somewhat calmer eyes.

Time to wrap this up.

I continued speaking as calmly as if every word of it were true.

"But I haven't fully recruited her yet. She shows little sign of coming to enlightenment, so I was planning to seize the opportunity and force her to receive a 'baptism.'"

"Fuck, Number Two!! I knew you were a crazy bastard, but you've got THAT much guts?!"

"Quiet. Anyway, for that, I still can't reveal my identity."

Number Six stroked her chin and muttered.

"…Understood. Number Two. Identity hidden. So. Me and Number Three. Distract Vivian. Then. The Guardian?"

"I can handle him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠alone."

"…Convinced."

Got them.

"Okay! Fuck it, let's do this. With my 'Restriction,' at least I won't die."

"…My. Restriction. Suited. For escape."

The two of them quickly grasped the situation and prepared to head to the surface.

"Hey, Number Two! Want us to wait?"

"…We. Flee. Vivian. Returns. Number Two. Alone. Faces Vivian. Number Two. Life. In danger."

Number Three asked once as a courtesy. Number Six was genuinely worried about me. But the 2nd Apostle of the original Protect the Academy! would have answered like this.

With that, I turned my body.

"You get lost too."

"M-me as well?"

"You already said Vivian ordered it. You gonna be okay? If my identity gets out, I'll kill you first."

Only then did Haviel get up from the floor. Number Six seemed more well-disposed toward me than Number Three, so I made a request of her.

"Take him somewhere he won't be found."

"…Understood."

That was the end of it.

"Hey, Number Two. Don't go dying on us."

"…Be careful."

The two Apostles sprinted toward the surface, and Haviel followed after them.

Tadadadak…

Even after their footsteps faded, I stood holding my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠breath for several more minutes. Only when even those vanished traces had receded far into the distance could I finally let the tension go.

"…How'd that Wind Release: Big Mouth Technique taste, you naive fantasy bastards."

The moment I said that and leaned against the entrance door—

Creeeak…

The door opened out of nowhere.

"…This plot is some real bullshit."

What is this, Tom and Jerry? But a moment later, I realized.

"Huh?"

I was not the one who had pushed it.

Someone had pulled it from the inside.