[Title not provided]
Benjamin hid in the shadows, watching Aiden carve through the enemy with a single blade strike.
It was like slicing butter through flesh.
“...Why.”
It wasn’t fair.
How could one mere stigma grant such power?
Benjamin had awakened his own stigma long ago and trampled countless lives beneath him without a second thought, yet he only felt the sting of injustice as he rubbed his arm.
“It’s impossible.”
He had always been number one.
He had always been praised.
Because that was what made Benjamin Frick, or rather, the object that was Benjamin, unique.
People better than him deserved no mercy.
From the start, he had been different.
He was born to stand apart from these ordinary creatures.
His father had said so, and he believed he was perfect.
When had this all changed?
Thinking back, the problem had always been the other guy. The way the bastard’s aura shifted, the words he spat out.
“That’s why you’re doomed to be abandoned by your family. Idiot. Your parents must feel so sorry for you.”
The voice sounded like it was digging into Benjamin’s soul.
It started scratching his back. The surgical scars there itched fiercely.
Yeah. Aiden Starfive knew everything. Better than anyone. Those scars, his true form, his flaws.
But how?
Where? What method?
The tone that saw through everything, the presence that mastered it all, and worst of all, a voice that allowed zero lies—
“Ugh…!”
Annoying. Itching everywhere. I’m going to lose my mind.
Benjamin twisted his hand behind his back and clawed at his own back madly.
He scratched and scratched, but the itch never stopped.
Just as he thought he’d go insane, his hand brushed something hard. Only then did he realize the itch had vanished.
Yes. People are supposed to grab their spine.
Grab it, and the itch disappears.
Why hadn’t he ever thought to do this before?
It’s all Aiden Starfive’s fault.
—Squish!
His hand tore out everything except the spine.
—Crack!
He gripped it and yanked with all his strength.
Finally, the source of the itch was removed. The itching stopped, but straightening his back became impossible. Another mistake by Aiden Starfive.
Gripping the spine, Benjamin lowered his body. Now it was time to erase the itch in his heart.
Benjamin ran. Running on two legs was too slow and awkward, so he switched to four.
This way was better. How far had he gone? The enemy appeared in his sight. The man who had humiliated him. The man…
—You!
The instant he shouted, the man turned his head and looked at him. Those eyes—always calm, always knowing everything, yet treating it all as beneath him.
Benjamin knew he had ambushed him, yet there was no trace of surprise in that gaze. The moment their eyes met, Benjamin’s body froze.
Fear. Instinctively, his body locked up. It was as if he could see straight through his flaw, his weakness.
A gaze devoid of any emotion stared back. Benjamin was gripped by an indescribable terror just from being looked at.
It can’t be. He already knows me completely. He knows my stigma, my origin. Fighting means nothing. There’s no chance of winning.
So Benjamin changed his thoughts. Thinking about it, the problem wasn’t him at all.
His gaze shifted elsewhere. A brown-haired girl with both hands clasped together, staring at him fearfully. Yeah. Everything was the fault of that girl.
If she hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have gotten entangled with Aiden and wouldn’t have had to endure this humiliation.
—If only you weren’t here!
Benjamin sprang forward like a spring. The girl shouted something, but he paid no attention.
She was going to die anyway. He would tear her apart and escape. That would complete his revenge.
Logic and reason no longer existed for Benjamin, who was already consumed by an unknown impulse.
Before him appeared a massive shield.
—Bang!
His body slammed into it. Get out of the way, don’t get in my path.
His vision turned red as he stared at the shield blocking him, but the wall it guarded proved unbreakable.
Even after his attack failed to penetrate despite the absurdly solid defense, the shield slid away. What the— Benjamin thought.
In front of him stood the brown-haired girl again.
Eyes squeezed shut, she thrust her hand forward. This time, he would tear her to pieces. As he swung his prideful claws at her—
—Huh?
Before he could react, his neck was already severed and rolling on the ground. The last thing he saw was Aiden Starfive pulling out his sword and shaking off the blood.
It wasn’t fair.
Far too unfair. Yet that clean swing of the blade was beautiful. When he thought of it, Benjamin’s consciousness had already vanished into darkness.
“...”
He stared at the monster that had lost its head. No, he had to call it Benjamin. Aiden had been so ruthless he’d accidentally bisected him with a single slash.
Why did I even bother pulling out my spine? My stomach was already churning from the sight.
Benjamin lowered his gaze at the monster. “…Ugh…”
Lydia covered her mouth and gagged, while Gerd stared at the corpse with a complex expression.
Benjamin. Normally the protagonist dies, but the after-death description was always the same. No one grieved his passing, not even his parents.
That was how the character vanished from existence. In the game itself, there was no aftermath after killing Benjamin. He should remember that. Maybe the ending was hidden or he missed a sub-story. “...”
With that thought, he took one step back. A throbbing pain surged through his leg.
At the same time, the status window appeared.
Ankle Sprain
[Light ankle sprain debuff from overexertion. Recovers over time. Extreme sprain will occur if movement continues in this state.]
His ankle throbbed quite painfully now.
Was it a side effect of Cursed Swordsmanship? Or simply because his stamina had run out? Either way, it was fortunate it ended well. The goal had been achieved.
He hadn’t expected Benjamin to go berserk and attack, but if Benjamin had been the death flag of the prologue boss, he should have taken him down first.
Negative traits usually flared after or during combat, so removing the combat entirely should have been fine.
Wait, was he punished for killing Benjamin? No, he hadn’t.
Why was his mind so calm? As if killing the bastard was natural.
Even as a monster, wouldn’t he feel some resistance if he killed a person? Like Lydia?
Just then, footsteps sounded from behind. “Eh?”
A bright, innocent voice. He turned his head.
Three people were staring at him. A girl with black hair and an unpleasant expression. Her eyes widened, then locked on his before she looked away.
A woman in a white-haired witch hat. His death flag. She also averted her gaze.
“Ah… Aiden Starfive.”
And a red-haired man muttering as he looked at him. Right. He was there too.
“How did you…?”
“…”
What should he say? When he turned to the red-haired man, the black-haired girl yanked him back.
“S-stop it…! You’re staring at me like you want to kill me!”
“Ah, no, I…”
“Shh…!”
He hadn’t said anything, but he had been worrying about the future.
What if he killed Benjamin? Why was his sanity so clear?
When he stayed silent, the black-haired girl shifted her gaze to Lydia.
“…What, Lydia Straw?”
“…”
Lydia fell silent in response. The black-haired girl grinned ear to ear while staring at Lydia.
“Where did you leave your team and come here?”
“…”
Unlike her earlier tone toward him, she spoke sharply and looked down on others.
“You abandoned them? Or did you run away?”
“Ah, th…”
“What? Why don’t you speak? Didn’t the Pope’s church teach you how? Is that why you’re always being knocked around and still spouting nonsense?”
The black-haired girl covered her mouth and laughed. That woman was truly something.
Even in this situation, she maintained hierarchy and completely ignored anyone below her.
“…”
It was strangely annoying.
He didn’t dislike the character Lydia Straw. He disliked her only because she raised his blood pressure in the game.
The character Lydia Straw herself was a good person. Her past and background were tragic too.
It was just that the way she spoke was so horrifying and the world she broke was too much.
So why—
“Hey, you.”
Without realizing, power entered his voice. The girl’s smile froze as she looked at him.
“...What.”
“What?”
“...Why…”
“Why?”
“Why… why?”
“Why?”
“...What’s wrong?”
Yeah, that was better.
“You came to clean up trash, yet you’re still alive.”
“…”
“Shut up and get lost. Otherwise—”
Just as he bared his teeth and prepared to snarl—
“Kyaaa!”
A scream rang out. A scream? Here?
He jerked his head around. An ominous premonition struck him. Continuous events? Even for a prologue, this was too much. No?
He turned around out of curiosity.
“Kyaaaa!”
“Snap out of it!”
The girl in the witch hat was sitting and screaming. Why? Benjamin had already taken down the prologue boss, so why was this happening? Wait, screaming meant…
He quickly looked back at Lydia.
“Hey, you.”
“…”
Lydia stared blankly at the girl who was still screaming. She was in shock.
“Lydia Straw!”
“Y-yes!”
Only now did Lydia look at him.
“Heal me!”
“W-where?”
“My ankle!”
“N-no!”
Lydia hurriedly bowed and started treating his ankle. Throughout this, she never took her eyes off the screaming girl.
What was going on?
He had already killed the prologue boss and its negative trait should have flared, killing Aiden Starfive. Why fix it by killing the boss instead?
Or was the trigger different? Because he had killed Benjamin? Or…
He had no time to ponder.
“Uwa… ugh…”
The girl clutching her head mumbled something incomprehensible. It was similar to the signal Lydia had shown earlier. The beginning of turning into a variant.
“It’s done!”
Lydia’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. The warm aura that had wrapped his leg vanished.
Good. Let’s keep going.
Wasn’t he completely healed last time?
With that thought, he stepped forward and felt a sharp sting. Not healed at all?
Did Lydia treat him right? Something was off.
Even if Lydia Straw was a minor saint candidate, she wasn’t a quack.
The instant he thought that, the status window appeared.
Cursed Swordsmanship Debuff
[The debuff from Cursed Swordsmanship cannot be healed with holy power.]
Why tell him this now?
Just as he thought that, the girl’s voice grew louder while she crouched and mumbled something incomprehensible.
Their gazes turned back to her.
“I-I don’t… don’t come. I don’t… I can’t listen anymore…”
She mumbled in a voice full of fear, staring into empty air.
“...”
His head spun wildly.
Once a negative trait manifests, it becomes hard to stop.
There were a few ways to resolve it: hope it passes naturally, kill the host, or use an item.
But he had no item right now.
“...”
Maybe he should just kill her before she changes. He recalled the variants from the prologue. Should he fight one more time?
His hand slowly reached for his sword hilt. At the same time, sharp pain shot up his ankle.
“…Tsk.”
Using Rapid Slash again would be irreversible.
If one slash turned this girl into a variant, could he kill her? No, impossible.
If there was even a power-up, maybe, but he had used it on Benjamin. Or…
He pondered while looking at the status window.
Should he use another technique? A more powerful one than this…
“…”
Maybe Combine Slash. But that would have even greater penalties.
His throbbing ankle and the girl’s groans grew louder.
No choice. Not now.
With that thought, he pulled out his sword and walked toward her.
“Ah, Aiden Starfive. What are you doing?”
Her party members muttered in confusion while staring at him, but none tried to stop him as they backed away.
No choice. If he didn’t choose now, everyone would die.
Thinking that, he approached the girl already radiating pure darkness while drawing his sword.
The status window opened.
Stigma: Dread activated!
[Your oppressive aura suppresses the other party’s aura!]
At the same time, the status window appeared and the situation changed.
Even he could feel it. His presence grew thicker, pouring out as if to crush everyone nearby.
“Guh…!”
Gerd groaned beside him, and the others looked terrified.
The girl’s body began to seep black aura as if trying to escape his oppression.
It was like repelling a ghost, or fleeing in terror of his aura.
As the swirling aura emerged outward, it seemed to disappear.
“…!”
It started being sucked into his body. Wait, this is bad.
He frantically touched near his heart, but nothing happened.
Instead, the change was happening to the girl in front of him.
“...”
Her condition stabilized. She breathed peacefully, eyes closed as if sleeping deeply.
Everyone looked at him as if unsure what to say.
Of course, he himself, the one involved in the incident, had no idea what to say either.
Just then, another status window appeared.
Isolation intensified!
[But your strong mental strength resisted!]
[Respect rises!]
[Respect: 25%]
Cursed Swordsmanship whispers to you! [But your strong mental strength resisted!]
The other party whispers to you! [But your strong mental strength resisted!]
The other party’s power resonates!
What the—