The Weight of a Nameless Sacrifice
The silence stretched on, thick and suffocating.
Kayle and Fria stood rigid with fury. Erielle’s face twisted in pure disgust, as if she were staring at something filthy crawling across the floor. Why? What were they doing in Snowfield Village? Erielle had clearly said she was heading to the imperial palace and then the academy… Yet the scene before me was no illusion. It was brutally real.
Kayle and Fria, who had always shown me bright, gentle smiles, now glared at me with furrowed brows. Erielle’s expression was one of utter revulsion.
What do I do…?
I wanted to shout that they were in danger, but I had no time. Not even a minute. I needed to reach the dark mages’ gathering as quickly as possible.
Wait. I wasn’t showing my real face right now.
To avoid suspicion from the dark mages, I had put on their signature robe and mask. And neither Kayle, Fria, nor even Erielle knew that I could use dark magic. That meant they had no idea who was behind the mask. That was why they looked at me with such contempt.
“......”
After a brief moment of thought, I made my decision. Since my identity was still hidden, the best course was to flee and head straight for the gathering. Above all, that was the highest priority. If I were even slightly late, especially since Kal Vent held the rank of High Priest, the chances of immediate execution were extremely high.
“Mana Missile—!”
“Binding Vines!”
But they had no intention of letting me leave.
Vines burst from the ground, trying to ensnare me, while magical projectiles hurtled toward my vital points.
Stealth.
“.......!”
“What…!”
I immediately activated stealth to conceal my body and broke into a sprint. There were so many things I wanted to say to them, so many things I needed to say, but right now I had no choice.
As soon as I vanished, I heard Kayle and Fria’s startled voices behind me. Yet the one who remained completely silent, staring in the direction I had fled, was Erielle.
“There you are.”
Warning! Your identity may be exposed!
Warning! Your identity may be exposed!
Warning! Your identity may be exposed!
Identity detected. Stealth has been dispelled!
Crash!
The moment Erielle spoke those short words, my stealth shattered. Until now, no one at the dark mages’ gathering—except for that old man—had ever seen through my stealth. Yet Erielle had pierced it in a single instant and forced it to collapse.
Damn it… Of course Erielle isn’t an ordinary person.
She was someone destined to become a legend who would illuminate the empire, just like Cerise. It had been my mistake to assume stealth would work based on ordinary common sense.
“So dark magic includes techniques that hide one’s appearance? How utterly repulsive.”
“Prepare yourself. The sin of endangering the villagers is not a light one!”
“...........”
The instant my form was revealed because of Erielle, Kayle and Fria erupted with even fiercer rage, their mana surging violently. Erielle simply watched me in silence, her expression somehow uneasy.
“........”
It seemed they had no intention of letting me go easily. That was only natural, I supposed. Finding a surviving dark mage right in front of them and simply letting them walk away would be far from normal.
If I were an ordinary dark mage, that is.
…But I’m not.
I was the one who had protected this village. I would go on to save many more. So please, don’t look at me like that.
Without realizing it, my hand reached out and I began walking toward them. Maybe I wanted to prove my innocence. I wasn’t sure if there was another reason.
But when the ground shook from Kayle and Fria’s magic and a blazing orb of flame hurtled straight at me, I realized it was already too late for explanations. Their spells burned with clear murderous intent, filled with hostility and power.
…Stealth.
I hurriedly hid my body once more and searched for another escape route. But again, Erielle shattered the stealth and my figure was exposed.
“Why are you running?! After harming innocent people, you still value your own life?!”
“Or do you have some reason you can’t fight back, you filthy insect?!”
The curses they hurled at me—people I knew and cared for—felt like daggers stabbing straight into my heart. The mental damage hurt far more than any physical wound ever could.
The pain that had been piling up deep inside my chest finally brought me to a halt.
Goooo…
At that moment, mana resonated violently around Erielle, whipping up a storm. It was impossibly refined and pure—far beyond anything I could have imagined.
“Sever.”
The same technique that had sliced countless dark mages into pieces in an instant now rushed toward me. I instinctively knew I couldn’t completely dodge a spell that had already been cast.
Shiiiing—!
I twisted my body at the last second and barely avoided it, but the magic still sliced across my face. If it had been even a few centimeters lower, I would have died on the spot.
Rustle… Clatter.
But something far more terrifying than death had just occurred.
The mask, unable to withstand the slash, shattered into pieces and fell away, revealing my bloodied face.
The cold winter wind meeting the hot blood created a chilling sensation, but it was nothing compared to their gazes.
“…Little brother?”
“Why are you…”
“Ven…ice…?”
I tried to cover my face with my hands, but the despair in their expressions told me it was already too late.
“…Lady Erielle.”
“Y-You… Why… Why are you using dark magic…”
Erielle’s usually unwavering, upright eyes trembled violently. The girl who had always been astonishingly logical and eloquent was now speechless, as if she had lost her voice entirely.
…Damn it all.
This was exactly why I had tried to run away so quickly.
First, I needed to explain my situation. Whether they believed me or not was up to them.
“…Could you please listen to what I have to say?”
“You… How could you… Ah… Aah…?”
Erielle muttered like a broken doll, then stared at me blankly. A single tear slid down from her cold eyes.
Kayle and Fria stepped forward, shielding the shaken Erielle.
“So you approached Erielle with the intention of targeting her… Little brother… No. Dark mage.”
“…I finally thought I had found someone truly trustworthy after so long. How disgusting.”
The complete revulsion and contempt in their eyes as they looked at my now-exposed face left me unable to speak, as if my throat had been sealed shut.
I barely managed to gather the courage to open my mouth.
“I never approached you with that kind of intention—”
“Of course you’d say that. Naturally. But tell me this. How exactly are you going to explain the fact that you use dark magic?”
“That’s…”
“Something even we didn’t know. Not even Lady Erielle, who spent far more time with you.”
“........”
It was hopeless. No matter what I said, no matter how I tried to explain, it wouldn’t reach them. Their hardened expressions were already filled with deep distrust toward me. Any explanation I gave would sound like nothing more than a convenient excuse.
“Venice…”
“Lady Erielle. I…”
“All this time… you were deceiving me? Were you trying to kidnap me like the other dark mages?”
“…No. I truly never had any such intention—”
“Then… why are you a dark mage?”
“........”
There was no way to explain it. Saying that this body was actually a clone and that I could use dark magic the moment I synchronized with it would just sound like the pathetic ramblings of someone begging to be killed.
Time remaining until the dark mages' gathering begins: 38 minutes 29 seconds.
Choose.
Option 1: Spend time proving your innocence to Erielle.
Reward: The false accusations against you will be cleared. You will regain Erielle’s trust. / Survival of the clone body.
Cost: Death of Erielle, Kayle, and Fria. Destruction of approximately 15 villages. Catastrophic damage across the entire continent.
Option 2: Head to the dark mages’ gathering without claiming your innocence.
Reward: Survival of Erielle, Kayle, and Fria. / Minimized destruction of villages and continental damage.
Cost: An indelible stigma and brand upon you.
A status window appeared before my eyes. I had only thirty-eight minutes left. Even if I ran right now, it would be cutting it dangerously close, and time was still relentlessly ticking away.
The window forced me to choose between two options: my own survival and innocence, or the lives of the people before me and the fate of the entire continent.
…Ha. You call this a choice?
“…I’m sorry, Lady Erielle.”
“You… Where are you going—! Get back here—!”
“…So you were no different after all. Disgusting human.”
You have selected Option 2 (A Noble Sacrifice No One Will Recognize).
I chose to sacrifice myself for everyone’s sake.
As I turned and ran, curses and magical attacks flew from Kayle and Fria behind me. I heard the sound of someone collapsing to the ground.
There was no turning back now.
All I could do was carry out the mission that remained for me.
The blood that had been flowing down my face had already been erased by dark mana, but hot tears once again streamed down my cheeks.