Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Axiom's Bloody Origins
-----------------------------------------------------------------
If she hadn't been driven to the brink, I wouldn't have had any reason to come this far either.
When Axiom was first formed, it was a group solely obsessed with the 'Blood Cell'.
Honestly, I didn't want to bring this up. It wasn't a good story from my perspective.
But it was something everyone knew. Hiding it wouldn't change a thing.
A secret everyone knew wasn't a secret anymore.
"Is that true?"
Stella's eyes widened round.
"No way. Then what? You're saying they created the Blood Cell?"
I had no choice but to explain.
"The world's in a lot of chaos right now."
"......Yeah."
"In that chaos, the strong ones banded together."
"But why kill people to make it?"
"Because they needed to."
"Needed what......?"
"Ingredients."
"Ingredients mean blood, right......?"
Stella's pupils dilated. Her expression showed instinct rejecting it just before understanding set in.
"I see......"
It was less an answer and more a sigh.
"Do you still do that?"
"No."
My tone was so firm that Stella hesitated for a moment.
"No? Then... is Axiom done for?"
"Done, scattered—call it what you want."
I shrugged.
"People with goals like that weren't going to stick together forever. They lusted after the stones, betrayed each other, killed. Eventually, the early Axiom fell apart."
Stella blinked cautiously.
"So what's Axiom now...?"
"Just a name."
It was ambiguous to say it was just a name, but it was all I had for now.
Axiom was still not to be underestimated. Their goals had simply changed.
And that was exactly why I'd been reluctant to bring it up.
This backstory existed.
Most of the original Axiom members were gone. Being an old group, some had fallen to blades, others to old age.
But I was still alive.
Asrania. Axiom #4. The fourth to join.
Anyone could tell I was from the early days.
So, how old was I?
Who knows.
Was I even human?
Thinking of my power made it hard to insist I was human.
Normal humans didn't end up as game characters anyway.
What was even more of a headache was that Asrania didn't appear in the original story.
'Could Asrania be a boss mob?'
Her settings were strong enough that it wasn't impossible.
'Nah, probably not.'
It didn't feel bad. Just strange.
Like someone reading an old setting document aloud beside me.
Of course, I was the one doing the narration.
"......"
Stella had been keeping her lips pressed tight, lost in thought since earlier. She looked like she had a lot to say but was holding it back.
Anger? Fear? Something in between.
I didn't know what tail this story might drag in later.
Villain must die! Monster! Humanity's enemy! She might say things like that.
Her mother might chime in and throw everything off.
The plan could shake because of it.
"Don't overthink it."
Stella snapped her head up.
"......Huh?"
"How rotten the world is, who's the bad guy. Worrying about it now won't change anything right away."
Best to let this story slide off.
Even if she learned later that I was Axiom, the anger would be less then.
"But... the people in our village......"
"They're dead."
I didn't turn away.
Empty words like 'everything will be okay' didn't suit me, and they wouldn't help Stella either.
I looked at Stella's mother.
"The important thing is you protected her."
Stella's eyes shook violently.
"......Me?"
"Yeah. You held on to what might have been lost—what was most precious—with your own hands."
The future without my intervention.
If she hadn't been driven to the brink, I wouldn't have had any reason to come this far.
The IF of the original game.
I was here thanks to a story only I knew.
Of course, Stella had no idea why I was saying this.
It was vague what I'd meant by protecting.
I slowly lowered myself to meet Stella's eye level.
"Don't just see what you lost. Feel the warmth still in your arms right now."
From the perspective of someone who knew the original tragedy, this was the best I could offer.
Stella stared blankly at me before carefully shifting her gaze aside.
Her mother was there. Eyes still shadowed with anxiety. But warm hands gripped Stella's tightly.
Something heavily bottled up inside seemed to loosen bit by bit with that warmth.
"Yeah. So lift your head."
I placed a hand on the child's head with a light tap. I didn't stroke it.
'......I'm such a busybody.'
It was embarrassing, but necessary.
I wanted to cut off the ending where Stella became a vengeful spirit and burned the world.
That's when the uninvited guests arrived.
The presence unique to the well-trained.
"......Someone's coming."
Esira lowered her voice.
From the village entrance. Footsteps fell in steady rhythm.
"The ones who attacked the village?"
"No."
I swallowed once.
"It's the ones who set this whole thing up."
"......The masterminds?"
"Yeah."
Several figures emerged.
Here to finish off the survivors.
Stella flinched and hid behind me. Her fingers gripping her mother's arm turned white.
"Why...... why chase us all the way here?"
The child's lips trembled.
"We didn't do anything...... we just ran......"
"They plan to use us as ingredients."
I clicked my tongue.
'I was gonna track them down and crush them later.'
They'd just been lower priority. I fully intended to make them pay someday.
But here they were, walking right into it.
I wanted Stella to see me as a normal human, at least.
A regular savior, anyway.
'It'll come out eventually......'
Especially right after telling her about Axiom—I wanted to hide it for now.
She was just a kid now, but in the original, she was one of the final bosses.
'On the bright side, less work for me.'
I reached back with one hand.
A greatsword gripped in my hand.
Esira clutched Blackjack's sword and stepped forward.
"Asra...... no, I'll take the right, you take the left. You'll punch through the center—"
"No."
I raised one hand to stop Esira.
Even in this moment, she avoided calling my name to the end. Quick on the uptake.
"I can handle it alone."
"What? There are that many?"
"That's why you stay back."
I glanced at Stella and her mother.
"Even one bug getting through would be a headache."
"......"
"You protect the mother and daughter."
"But......!"
"You know me."
Esira's lips moved, then she nodded grudgingly.
"......Got it. Don't worry about the rear."
She positioned herself in front of Stella and her mother, ready to defend.
Now nothing was in the way.
I lightly twirled the wrist gripping the greatsword and turned.
My left hand was empty.
"What about the other one? Not using dual swords?"
Esira asked.
Asrania's main weapons were dual greatswords. Normally, I'd draw both and shred them.
I deliberately slung the greatsword over my shoulder leisurely.
"Against that level?"
"Huh?"
"Total small fry."
They were just low-rent mercenaries at best.
"This one's enough."
The moment I finished speaking.
"Small fry......"
A voice laced with killing intent, and the group parted to the sides.
Like when announcing 'His Majesty arrives!'—that kind of vibe.
A hulking man strode forward.
Scarred face, heavy plate armor. Looked like your typical mercenary captain.
"Even seeing this body of mine, you call it small fry?"
His swagger was a sight to behold.
"What? You think you're somebody?"
"Wha......?"
"That's why I'm asking. Who the hell are you?"
He furrowed his brow. Like it was weird I didn't know.
"Ahem."
After a couple of coughs, the man bellowed.
"Listen up! I am Axiom itself!"
Sorry, but that's way too cringy.
A stifled gasp leaked from Esira's side. Not surprise. Probably disbelief.
If she found the situation funny, I found the man funny.
The real Axiom was right here, and this guy was impersonating Axiom.
Especially in front of me.
I set the greatsword's tip on the ground with a thud and asked.
"Axiom?"
"Finally scared?"
"No, just curious."
I tilted my head slightly.
"What's your number?"
It was an unexpected question; his face stiffened instantly.
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Your number. Axiom has numbers. What's yours?"
Asrania was #4, like that. All Axiom members had numbers.
"What do you need to know that for?!"
"Boring."
As I turned away like I'd lost interest, he shouted urgently.
"Seventy-one! Yeah, I'm Axiom #71!"
#71, huh.
I nodded slowly, then said flatly.
"#71 is Blackjack."
"......!"
"And Blackjack doesn't look like you."
Plus, she's a woman.
Of course, Blackjack kept such a low profile that she avoided revealing herself.
The man's face flushed red. Rage spread through his veins.
At that level, it was too earnest for mere acting.
His shamelessness was Axiom-grade.
"What does a punk like you know to yap like that! You think you can fathom Axiom's mystique?!"
"......Pfft."
Esira hurriedly covered her mouth. Face on the verge of bursting into laughter.
First time I'd seen her hold back a laugh like that.
His underlings nodded with eyes saying 'as expected of the boss'.
Yeah, it'd work on them. They'd never seen Blackjack in person.
But that shamelessness didn't come from nowhere.
To step up like that, he had to have some backing or trick up his sleeve.
I readjusted my grip on the greatsword.
"True. The mystique, I admit. Axiom doesn't care about each other. Doesn't give a damn if someone next to them dies or what they do."
"R-right! So you do know!"
Not what I meant.
As his lips curled up again, I cut in.
"But."
I lifted the greatsword just a bit.
"There's one common rule."
The leisure vanished from the man's face.
"......What's that?"
"Impersonation."
I raised the greatsword, aligning the tip precisely with his throat.
"Is handled on the spot."