Chapter 29
Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Vector Baron (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Vector Baron's castle was surrounded by abundant forests and trees, complete with a grand manor and a meticulously tended garden.
It was the same space, but it looked so different from what I'd seen in the game that I'd chalked it up to variations in this world caused by my mere presence...
Activating Eye that Pierces Truth, I was struck speechless in shock.
What appeared before my eyes was an empty lot—nothing else.
The castle, the garden, the forests and trees, the fences and stone walls, even the guards—none of it remained. Not a single trace.
We were standing in the barren lot exactly as it had appeared in the game, accompanied only by our group and the Vector Baron standing before us.
And the Vector Baron's form was even more grotesque than the suddenly desolate castle grounds.
His silhouette was human-shaped, but his hair, skin, eyes, nose, mouth, and clothes were all engulfed in pitch-black shadow across his entire body.
It wasn't just dark skin—his very existence was shrouded in complete darkness, reminiscent of the dark spirit I'd seen in the goblin camp.
Crowded atop that inky humanoid form were countless eyes and mouths.
They were far too large to pass for human eyes and mouths.
Some eyes spanned half a face, while others coiled around his arms like serpents. The mouths were the same.
That black entity covered only in eyes and mouths across its body—Vector Baron... no, the deceiver Vector—was one of the Underground Vermin that Linian had been desperately searching for. Realizing this, I shouted in shock.
"Underground Vermin?!"
The deceiver Vector reacted to my words, turning his head toward me.
"What did you say...? Who are you?!"
I leaped back to create distance, and Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis flinched, sensing the shift in Vector's aura, retreating as well.
"No one stumbles onto that name by chance. If you know something, I'm afraid I can't just let you go."
"Baron Vector...?"
"Everyone, be careful! Something's off about his vibe."
"Baron Vector! What's going on all of a sudden!?"
As Lenis threw back her hood and shouted, Vector glanced at her and grinned broadly.
To others, he might have looked like an ordinary man, but in my eyes, dozens of mouths on that black silhouette smirked in unison—a sight so chilling and bizarre it defied description.
"Well, well, if it isn't Lady Lenis. I heard you'd gone missing, so it's a pleasure to see you again. Thanks to you leading my soldiers to their deaths, the furious kingdom finally resolved to wipe Libertà off the map entirely. The blood, flames, and screams never stopped. You made an excellent spark. Allow me to express my profound gratitude."
Lenis bristled at Vector's unmasked true colors and yelled.
"Baron Vector...! Did you really just use me?! Were all those talk about wanting to rise in the world nothing but lies?!"
"Of course they were lies. What do I care about petty worldly power? It's nothing but fleeting dust anyway."
Her face flushed crimson as she shrieked.
"You deceived me...? Baron Vector! Even if my family bought our title with money and we're treated like fake nobles, you think we're pushovers who'll just take this lying down?!"
"Take what? I merely pointed a thirsty girl lost in her craving for validation toward a well. Wasn't it you, Lady Lenis, who walked there of her own accord?"
Vector smirked again at the fuming Lenis.
"You're just a pawn meant to serve as catalyst and fuse, so now that the deed is done, whether you live or die is of little consequence...
But since you've brought unwanted guests, I can't let you leave alive."
"How dare you...!"
"Everyone, watch out! This guy's one of the Underground Vermin Linian told us about!"
"!!!"
Ravi and Elfin, having heard Linian's words firsthand, immediately dropped into combat stances. Vector gnashed his teeth in irritation.
"You've met Liniaras? I don't know what wind blew that wretch to spill our secret, but now I absolutely can't let you live. This is a disaster. If the elder's granddaughter from Arborness, the princess of Carrot Duchy, and the daughter of a Pratea Kingdom count all vanish at once, even we'd have a hard time covering it up. Which makes this all the more baffling..."
He exhaled a menacing black aura and took a step toward me.
"How did a nobody like you learn about us from Liniaras and recognize me? What are you?"
At that moment, the ominous black energy he emitted sharpened into spears and hurtled straight at me.
I hurriedly formed a Light Saber in my hand and countered.
It looked like mere black smoke, but it had a definite physical form—colliding with the blade of light, it let out a sharp clash before scattering into wisps.
"Hup!"
I swung the Light Saber at Vector, unleashing a radiant sword beam straight at him.
Clang!
Vector's myriad eyes widened as he swung his arm, shaping black energy into a blade that parried my strike.
The brilliant light clashed with his darkness and dissipated, scattering in all directions. At that instant, the other three cried out in surprise.
"Th-the space... it changed!"
"What is this?! It was a garden just now...!"
"There's... nothing here... How...?"
"Save the commentary! We need to take him down first!"
At my shout, the three sprang into action.
Ravi, the fastest, charged forward first.
But Vector scoffed, conjuring black energy from his hand that enveloped her.
Ravi staggered to a halt mid-charge, as if suddenly blinded.
"Ah... I can't see! Sounds too... Wh-what is this...?"
"Bunny Tribe folk who rely so heavily on their senses lose their prized weapons the moment those are sealed away."
Elfin, pressing her hand to the ground, stammered in panic.
"Wh-what is this?! The trees... the plants aren't responding? There are so many around, why...?"
"In an empty lot like this, even forest folk can't unleash their vaunted power of nature."
Lenis conjured a massive, crackling sphere of lightning and fired it, but it got sucked into one of Vector's countless mouths.
"M-my magic..."
"The flashy but substanceless spells of a novice fixated on appearances are mere snacks to us."
Having effortlessly neutralized the three, Vector glared at me with his savage eyes.
"But you... you're different. I've been searching for the scraps the goddess spirited away, and here you crawl right to me. I should be grateful."
"Quit spouting your nonsense!"
Slash!
I unleashed another sword beam, but it collided with his black energy once more and mutually annihilated.
"A truly annoying power. Useful when you were on my side, but a real pain as an enemy."
"You planning to run? Now that I know you're one of those Underground Vermin, there's no way I'm letting you—"
"You're under a delusion, pawn of the goddess."
Vector unleashed more black energy at Ravi.
A black aura bloomed around her body, and she began jerking unnaturally, like a puppet on strings.
"Ugh... M-my body..."
"The choice to spare you isn't yours—it's mine. Lucky for me you brought such fine company. The other two are useless, but the Carrot Duchy princess has enough physical prowess to tear you apart."
Ravi struggled against the black energy, but Vector's power overrode her, puppeteering her every move.
"Ravi! You damn bastard, how dare you...!"
Elfin poured her strength into the dirt once more, but this 'Deceiver's Lair' held nothing, just as in the game.
"Let go of Ravi, you filthy con artist!"
Lenis fired off spells immediately, but as Vector said, her training emphasized spectacle over fundamentals—they were weak.
Her magic vanished into his mouths, leaving Elfin and Lenis completely neutralized.
"Alvis! Get away!"
Boom!!
Ravi's fist, controlled by the black energy, smashed down where I stood. I dodged by a hair's breadth, but the spot cratered under her blow.
Her Bunny Tribe physique was already formidable, amplified further by the black energy— one hit would snap my spine in two.
Vector sneered leisurely as I kept evading Ravi's assaults.
"Your swordsmanship is laughably poor. You can't even slice away my power cloaking your ally. Thank the goddess for her folly in choosing such a halfwit."
Boom! Boom!
"Tch..."
"Ah, Alvis..."
Tears streamed down Ravi's face as she was forced to try killing me against her will.
"Well, halfwit holy warrior? No room to attack me without cutting your comrade first. Will you kill her to get to me? Or keep dodging till she kills you?"
"Alvis...! Cut me down!"
Ravi screamed at me, resolute.
"I can't shake this off...! If this goes on, I'll kill you, Alvis—not to mention Elfin and Lenis! If slashing me lets you take him out, do it!"
Boom!
I dodged once more.
"!!!!!"
Agonizing cramps hit instantly, buckling my legs—I dropped to one knee.
Thud!
"Gahhh!"
Ravi's attack capitalized, slamming my gut. I vomited blood and tumbled a good ten rolls backward.
"Alvis!"
The puppeted Ravi who'd struck me, and the helpless Elfin and Lenis, all called out desperately.
"Kuhahaha! Chose death by comrade's hand? Doesn't matter either way. This fate suits your skill."
Hearing Vector's mockery, I jammed my Light Saber into the ground and staggered up.
Ravi's kick flew at me next; I blocked with the flat of the blade, but the force sent me rolling again.
I barely endured a few more strikes when even greater pain assailed me.
It felt like someone wringing my organs like a soaked rag.
"Guhk...!"
My legs gave out again, and Ravi's kick smashed my face.
"Pffft...!"
My nose crumpled, the impact rattling my brain with tinnitus.
I flew back spewing blood, and Ravi wept as she called to me.
"Alvis, don't! Please don't let me kill everyone here! Just kill me—it'll solve everything! End me and then him—"
"Shut... your damn mouth."
Furious at this cursed message only I could see, I rose again.
Backlash for not killing Ravi to get at Vector?
So to fulfill my destiny resisting fate, I have to kill Ravi myself?
Why was I dragging Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis through this hell?
To avoid repeating the garbage future from that shitty game, Holy Warrior Brayden NX.
But if I kill Ravi to get him, what's the difference from those trash bad ends I saw?
I'd followed this message's nudges because I believed it led to the 'right' ending I wanted.
Not anymore. The moment I kill Ravi, this world becomes no different from that shitty game by my standards—a garbage heap.
I prefer contrived happy endings over well-made sad ones! My happy ending has no dead heroines!
"Screw your bullshit! I don't have that choice! No matter how much you manipulate me, I won't budge on this! I'll shatter that crap fate myself!"
I cursed the message—visible only to me, not even a living thing—and gripped my Light Saber anew.
Then a new message appeared.
Staggering, I readied my swing and yelled at Ravi.
"Ravi! Close your eyes!"
Ravi stood squarely between me and Vector.
Thinking I'd resolved to strike, she shut her eyes calmly. Vector smirked, using her as a shield.
"Kuhahaha! Gonna shatter fate by cutting your ally after all? Fine, I'll position her perfectly for you."
"I told you—that choice doesn't exist for me!!!"
Boom!!!
I slammed the blade down fiercely, unleashing a light shockwave several times larger than before. It pulverized the ground as it roared toward Vector and Ravi.
Ravi squeezed her eyes shut, sensing death—but the massive, ferocious wave passed through her harmlessly.
Instead, only the black energy shrouding her sizzled and vanished completely. The shockwave continued unimpeded toward the aghast Vector.
"Wh-what...!"
Slash!
Vector hastily conjured black energy, but the vastly empowered Light Saber beam obliterated it and cleaved into his body.