The Final Sacrifice
Seeing Roderick's face as he charged in, I unconsciously clenched my teeth. I'd managed to shake him off somehow, but he'd caught up in the end. The first time I'd faced him above ground, I'd known this wouldn't be easy. And just as expected, things had unfolded exactly as I'd feared. Because of Roderick's interference, I'd lost track of one of the enemies. I'd wanted to chase after them immediately, but Roderick wouldn't allow it. For a long while after that, I was forced to endure his relentless attacks. I barely seized an opening, using the magic traps I'd installed inside the house beforehand to finally slip away from him. Yet here he was, having caught up once more.
…What a monster.
I'd even collapsed the underground passage on my way here, but he'd still followed. It was ridiculous enough that he'd broken through it at all, but what was even more absurd was the speed at which he'd done it. Even though I'd brought down a significant portion of the tunnel, it had only slowed him for a moment. And despite all that, the bastard wasn't even sweating. It was clear he hadn't used his full strength.
"Have you finished your desperate struggle?"
With an expression utterly devoid of emotion, Roderick asked me.
"It was rather fresh, as far as desperate struggles go. You even managed to kill one of us along the way… Your skills are quite impressive."
Roderick rarely acknowledged others, so receiving his recognition should have been an honor. But I felt no joy at all.
"However… there's one thing I don't quite understand."
With a look of genuine puzzlement, Roderick glanced around.
"There doesn't appear to be any exit here…. What exactly were you thinking? Have you simply given up?"
To that question, I replied vaguely.
"…Who knows."
"Hmm."
As if trying to read my intentions, he stared at me with those inscrutable eyes. Then—
"…Well, it doesn't matter either way. No matter what desperate tricks you try, it will all be meaningless."
The moment he finished speaking, I sensed presences approaching. Dozens of them, at least. There was no need to guess—they were forces from the Order. We were outnumbered and outmatched. Even if I gave everything I had, I couldn't defeat even Roderick alone. It was a perfect dead end.
Yet my expression remained calm.
The three girls—Alice, Lana, and Julia—also didn't look utterly hopeless. Their faces were stiff with tension, but there was no despair in their eyes.
"It's strange when you think about it logically," I began, keeping my voice perfectly even. "Why would I run all the way to a dead end with no exit?"
"……"
Roderick's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
"Obviously, I had no intention of letting myself be captured quietly."
Still keeping my gaze fixed on Roderick, I took a step forward. I walked slowly until I reached my destination. Then I reached out and touched it.
The statue standing alone at the far end of the cavern.
"Do you know what this is?"
"……"
At the sudden question, Roderick's eyes shifted to the statue. It was carved in the shape of a human. This statue was the reason we'd deliberately taken refuge here. Or, to be more precise, the reason we'd chosen to make our stand in this exact location.
The reason I'd gone out of my way to purchase the villa in these woods.
Because it was secluded? If that were all, I could have chosen a deeper part of the mountains. If I'd gone to a truly remote area, it would've been easier to avoid the Order's eyes, and housing would've been far cheaper. There were plenty of better options if secrecy was the only concern.
The reason I'd settled in these particular woods was this statue.
Keeping my eyes locked on Roderick, I slowly began channeling mana into the statue.
Vrrrr—
The statue began to vibrate with a low hum, reacting to the mana. Only then did Roderick seem to realize something was wrong. He drew his sword and charged toward me.
But—
Vrrrr!
A transparent barrier suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his advance.
"……"
Roderick frowned and immediately swung his sword.
Clang!
"……!"
The barrier didn't break. At that, Roderick's eyes widened in genuine shock. It was a reaction he clearly hadn't expected. Given his level of power, that response made perfect sense. The man could slice through house-sized boulders and solid steel with ease. Most barriers wouldn't even slow down a single strike from him.
Yet his sword had been stopped.
It was only natural that he'd be shaken. Instead of mocking his reaction, I continued pouring mana into the statue.
Vrrrr—!!
Soon the statue, now saturated with mana, began to glow brightly as it vibrated even more intensely. That was when I revealed its true nature.
"I wonder if you've heard of a Teleport Stone."
The Teleport Stone. That was exactly what this statue was.
An artifact capable of long-distance spatial transportation—something impossible with modern magic. It was a relic of an ancient civilization from a time when magic had reached its zenith. Only a handful remained in the world today.
"……!!"
Even as shock spread across his face at the statue's identity, Roderick immediately began drawing on his full power. He'd realized what this meant—that he might actually lose us. But I remained perfectly composed.
That barrier was also part of this ruin. Even against someone like Roderick, it could hold for a little while.
Boom!
As expected, even when Roderick swung his sword with all his might, the barrier remained completely intact. And at that moment—
Vrrrr!
The statue vibrated once more, signaling that it was ready. Alice, Lana, and Julia were already standing around it, just as I'd instructed them to do in case a day like this ever came.
Now all I had to do was activate the statue, and everyone near it would be transported somewhere across the continent. Even I didn't know exactly where. The Teleport Stone was designed so that only those who understood ancient magic could control its finer details.
Once the spatial transfer was fully prepared—once the moment came when they could escape this place—I took one step forward.
"Mister…?"
"Gunter…?"
Voices filled with confusion called out from behind me.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and come over here."
Alice urged me. Knowing the Teleport Stone would activate soon, her eyes were filled with urgency. But—
"No. I can't go with you."
I shook my head with a smile.
"……! What are you—!"
Alice's face twisted in anguish. She immediately stepped forward, reaching out toward me. It was a reflexive reaction—her body moving before her mind could fully process my words.
But—
Tap—
Her hand never reached me. It was blocked by a transparent wall that had appeared in the air.
"……!!"
Alice's eyes widened.
"Mister! Mister…! What are you doing?!"
Lana, who was usually so gentle, shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Gunter…?"
Julia's normally serene eyes were shaking violently.
I simply watched them with a faint smile.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Alice screamed, unable to comprehend.
It wasn't just her voice. Her expression, her eyes—they were all asking me the same thing. What are you doing?
I kept my expression unchanged as I spoke.
"This Teleport Stone has one flaw."
I'd already explained to the three of them what kind of object it was. But I hadn't told them everything. I'd hidden one fatal weakness.
That weakness was—
"It's designed to record the coordinates after executing a teleport."
"……!!"
Horror settled over Alice's face. As someone with magical knowledge, she understood the implications instantly. When activated, the Teleport Stone randomly sent nearby objects to some location across the continent and recorded those coordinates internally. In other words, it wasn't a perfect escape tool. If the coordinates remained, the Order could resume their pursuit based on that data.
Therefore, for a complete escape…
"Someone has to stay behind and erase the coordinates."
When I'd taken the children in, I'd anticipated this. That one day, the Order would catch up to us. I'd hoped it wouldn't happen, but I'd known the chances were slim. That's why I'd chosen this place—the place with the Teleport Stone. And from that moment on, I'd always kept this possibility in mind. I'd decided long ago what I would do when this moment came.
I had chosen to remain here.
"What… what are you even…"
Alice's eyes and lips trembled. The shock seemed too great for her to form proper words.
"…Mister? This is a joke, right? You're just messing with us, aren't you?"
"……"
Soon, Lana and Julia seemed to grasp my meaning as well. They began to tremble. I took in their expressions slowly, then spoke. There was no time. The barrier holding Roderick wouldn't last forever. The time for farewell had come.
"Once you teleport, you'll need to hide your identities first. Change your hair color, change your eye color. Your appearances stand out too much. Oh, and change your names too."
So the Order wouldn't be able to identify them. Illusion magic would be necessary, but Alice could handle that.
"Don't trust people too easily. Understand?"
Not only would they have to live in complete secrecy, but they'd need to be suspicious of everyone. Even if it wasn't the Order, their talents and beauty would inevitably attract those with ill intentions.
"You must endure quietly, keeping your identities hidden. Until the day you can protect yourselves."
It wouldn't take long. Their talents were likely greater than anyone else's in this world. Surely within a few years, those talents would bloom, and then even the Order wouldn't be able to touch them easily.
"Mister!! No, Mister…!!"
Thud. Thud. Lana pounded on the wall, tears streaming down her face. She hit it so hard that both her hands turned bright red in an instant.
"Lana has a weak body, so you must always be careful. And don't push yourself trying to control high-level spirits."
I looked straight at her as I left those instructions.
Clang! Clang!
Next, I turned to Julia, who had drawn her sword at some point and was striking the barrier relentlessly.
"Julia, don't train too hard until your body has fully matured. When you fight someone, you must observe carefully and think things through."
Finally, I looked at Alice, who was staring at me with trembling eyes filled with despair.
"Alice—"
"…Don't."
Alice cut me off.
"…Alice."
"I said don't!!"
She shouted. Tears had begun to flow from her eyes.
"Why? Why! Why are you trying to die on your own terms?! Why did you save us however you wanted, and now you're trying to die however you want?!"
Her voice was filled with resentment as she cried out. It was the first time I'd ever seen Alice cry. Unlike the stoic Julia, Alice was full of emotion, but she'd never shown tears before.
"…Alice—"
"I don't want to hear it!!"
"……"
Alice cut me off again. Her anger had already turned into sobs.
"Open this right now!! If you do… if you do…"
"Then… I'll forgive you… okay…? Please…"
Watching Alice beg like that made my chest ache. I wanted to run to her right then and comfort her. Not just Alice, but Lana and Julia too. I wanted to hold them and tell them it was all a joke. That I was coming with them. I wanted to say that so badly.
But I couldn't.
"…Alice, I'm sorry, but please take care of the other two."
Lana and Julia were smart, but they were still too young to navigate this harsh world alone. Alice would have to fill that role. So instead of words of worry, I made a request of her.
"I don't want to! I don't want to…!!"
Alice shook her head violently, tears flying everywhere. But I knew. Even if she said that, she would take good care of the other two.
After giving those final instructions, I decided to say my last words to the three of them.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you until the end."
Two years ago, on that day when I'd decided not to kill them, I'd vowed to protect them. But now I could no longer do that. That fact weighed heavily on me with regret.
If only I'd been stronger. If only I'd been more capable. Then these children wouldn't have had to shed these tears.
Bitterness rose within me, but I quickly shook it off. There really was no time left.
So finally, I had to tell them what I wanted to say. The words came naturally, without any need to think.
"All of you… must be happy."
I smiled as I gave my final farewell. I truly wished for their happiness from the bottom of my heart.
"No…!! No———!!"
"Mister…!!"
"Gunter…!!"
At my final words, they opened their mouths as if to say something. But—
Flash!
Their words never reached me. A brilliant light burst from the statue, erasing everything. Their attempted words, their figures—everything was swallowed by the light.
When the light finally faded, there was nothing left around the statue.
"……"
I glanced once around the now-empty space, then dispelled the barrier and approached the lonely statue. I raised my sword and swung.
Crack!
The sword, wrapped in aura, split the statue apart. As a relic imbued with the magic of an ancient civilization, it was far harder than ordinary stone, but that meant nothing before aura. I kept swinging. Until the statue was completely shattered into dust. So it could never function again. So not even a trace of the coordinates would remain.
When the statue was finally reduced to unrecognizable fragments—
"……"
Only then could I truly reflect on my farewell with the girls.
To be honest, I never thought I'd go this far. I never dreamed I'd end up sacrificing my life for someone else. I'd always been the type who clung to life with a fair amount of attachment.
But even so, I had no regrets. I was simply sorry, and worried. Because now I wouldn't be able to watch over them anymore. My role ended here. There was nothing more I could do. All that remained was to hope they would be happy.
They'll do well.
They would. They would endure, and they would live well. If it was those children, they definitely would.
Having settled my heart, I turned around. What I saw was Roderick glaring at me with eyes dripping with pure rage.
"You bastard…"
His voice, usually so cold and composed, trembled with fury. It was understandable. The fact that he'd gotten involved at all meant this was an operation the Order had invested heavily in. And I'd completely ruined it. According to my memories of the setting, this man had never failed a mission before. In other words, this was his first failure. It was only natural that he'd be seething.
"…I won't let you die easily."
As expected, he spat out a chilling declaration.
"I'll rip out your soul and make you suffer for eternity."
It wouldn't be an empty threat. Given his personality and abilities, he could probably make good on those words. However—
"How terrifying."
I smiled calmly. Was it because I was some great man who could laugh off the torment of a soul? Hardly.
"But……"
It was simply because I knew such a thing would never happen.
Snap!
I flicked my fingers. Then—
Rumble—
The ground, the entire cavern, began to shake. As I'd said before, I'd anticipated this situation. I'd even predicted being chased by the Order's forces all the way here. There was no way I wouldn't have prepared something.
Of course, it wasn't a means of survival. If that had been my goal, no matter what I did, escaping the grasp of that man and the Order would've been nearly impossible. So I'd chosen a different path.
"You…!"
Roderick, sensing something suspicious, kicked off the ground. He seemed intent on eliminating me before whatever I was planning could take effect. His speed was like a streak of lightning, but—
"It's already too late."
It was already too late. My preparations had already been activated.
Rumble!
The cavern groaned once more.
Roderick, huh.
Not a bad final companion for the road. The Order's forces were practically limitless, but few were as troublesome as him. In other words, his death here would meaningfully reduce the chances of the girls being captured by the Order. That alone was enough for me.
So with a smile on my face, I said—
"Let's go together."
Snap!
I flicked my fingers once more. Then—
Booom!
With a massive explosion, brilliant bursts of light erupted from all directions, swallowing everything. And like that, I died.