I'll Become a Righteous Murderer
"Melek...?"
Is Melek still alive? …No, that's impossible. There's no way to revive Melek after he's been reduced to ash. "Melek's mark, and Isabel... Isabel?"
It all came back to me. "Why did I forget this...?"
Isabel von Arcadia. —She was the name of the witch who had contracted with the demons during the demon attack in the early second semester.
…Piece by piece, the puzzle was falling into place in my mind. In the game, Isabel contracts with the demons and summons Belphegor, Melek's master. That triggers the demon invasion event.
"So she wasn't contracting of her own will—she was branded with the Demon Mark and enslaved...!"
…Originally, Isabel would have been branded by Melek, fallen under his control, and only then risen from her sickbed. In that case, the Count wouldn't have poured all his attention into her, the goblins wouldn't have built up their forces like this, and the Goblin General never would have appeared.
"Killing Melek completely derailed the story."
The Demon Mark is a curse that persists even if the demon who cast it dies, unless that demon personally lifts it. By killing Melek earlier than the story intended, I'd created this butterfly effect.
…Once branded with the Demon Mark, the victim slowly loses life force. When their vitality can no longer withstand the mark, they are reborn as a demon's thrall. Depending on the individual's life force, Kien's younger brother and Isabel probably wouldn't last long. Since the demon who cast the mark had died by my hand, their only ending was death.
"Hey, Kien."
"…?"
"How long has your brother been bedridden with the same symptoms as Isabel?"
"…Not long. A month?"
…Why had Melek taken an interest in Kien's brother? Isabel was an academy student, so that made sense, but why him? In the original story, Kien's brother was simply fated to die of illness. …Not by becoming Melek's subordinate.
"Did something happen that made Melek decide to let him die instead of enslaving him?"
The Demon Mark isn't something a demon hands out indiscriminately. Casting it places a considerable burden on the demon as well, and the target can resist.
"Louis, how did Isabel end up bedridden like that...?"
"…After the academy semester ended, she went into a dungeon for experience. The young lady was perfectly fine when she returned..."
She must have encountered Melek in that dungeon. …Her memories of it would have been erased, though.
First things first—I needed to remove the Demon Mark. Ordinary holy magic from priests couldn't dispel it. Especially not one cast by a high-ranking demon like Melek.
"At the very least, the Saint herself—or someone with her level of holy power—would have to perform the purification..."
…Or I could use an elixir or a curse-removing artifact. The necklace I'd given Liana wasn't powerful enough to remove the [Mark] status ailment. I'd need at least a legendary-grade artifact.
I dug through my memories, trying to recall any artifacts capable of lifting the mark.
"…Maria's Cross is in the basement of the Grand Temple, so that's out. Maria's Holy Relic, though... that could be risky."
Maria's Holy Relic could be obtained through an auction in Ebron's black market, outside the academy. But the black market itself was dangerous, and the price was steep. There was no legitimate way to acquire it without stealing.
"I'll have to raid the black market with Sane and Kien..."
…Wait? I remembered the reverse cross necklace hanging around my own neck. It had the simple but powerful effect of [Resurrect once upon death].
"In the game, when a character dies and revives, all debuffs disappear..."
Aside from Maria's Cross, both Maria's Holy Relic and elixirs were single-use. Considering I also had to save Kien's brother...
…I'd made up my mind. I would become a righteous murderer.
. . .
Honestly, there was no real reason to save Isabel. We had no connection, and now that Melek was dead, she wouldn't summon Belphegor during the demon invasion anyway. But leaving her to die weighed too heavily on my conscience.
"The sight of Isabel being beheaded by Hero was just too pitiful..."
Isabel smiles and sheds tears in her final moments before death. …I'd thought it was because she regretted contracting with the demons, but it turned out there had never been a contract at all.
Besides, it wouldn't hurt to earn her gratitude. Even before demonization, Isabel's stats were extremely high. "There were people who said she was even more troublesome than Melek..."
Isabel von Arcadia. The eldest daughter of a venerable count's family, yet she fought like a mercenary or street brawler—sword in one hand, axe in the other. A berserker who never stopped swinging her blade and axe until her platinum hair was drenched in blood.
Even before her demonization, she'd been quite famous on the community boards. During the academy ranking matches held at the start of the second semester, that crazy girl wielding a sword and axe in each hand kept bisecting Hero. After it was revealed that Isabel was the one who summoned the demon, chaos erupted. Someone on the forums had even posted—
"No way that crazy bitch summoned Belphegor. How does a girl who beats demons to death with her bare hands summon a devil lolololol"—and it got a ton of upvotes.
"…I must have been out of it lately. I didn't even remember Isabel's name right away..."
How could I forget such a striking character? Too many things had been happening recently.
"Hey, Louis. Can I meet your young lady?"
Louis pondered my words for a moment before asking, "It's possible, but... what's the reason?"
"I think I know how to cure her."
I picked up one of my spears lying nearby. Louis stared at me in disbelief.
"Is that... really true?!"
"It is. I need to see her first, so lead the way."
"I'll report to the Count and come back, so wait just a moment."
With that, Louis hurried out of the treatment room. Sane leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"Do you really have a way to remove the Demon Mark...? You're not plotting something again, are you...?"
When I shot her a cold look, Sane coughed awkwardly and turned away.
…This girl. I'd have to teach her a lesson someday. Meanwhile, Kien also looked at me with wide eyes.
"Really... a way... exists...?"
She must have seen hope in my claim that I could cure someone with the same symptoms as her brother.
"You don't have to believe me."
"No... I... believe you, Logue..."
"…Thanks. Don't worry—I'll find a way to cure your brother too."
It would be a rather difficult method, though. …It looked like I wouldn't be attending academy classes for a while.
"At this rate, won't I get expelled...? I'll have to come up with some excuse for being sick."
…If I said the wounds from fighting Hero had reopened, the professors would probably understand. They weren't particularly interested in me to begin with.
Not long after, Louis burst back into the treatment room, out of breath.
"The Count has given permission! I'll take you to the young lady right away!"
I tightened my grip on the spear.
***
We were guided up to the second floor of the Count's mansion, to Isabel's room. …Unfortunately, I couldn't bring the spear inside, but Kien lent me a dagger for self-defense.
"If you open this door and go in, you'll find the young lady. …These days, she has fewer moments of lucidity."
Louis's eyes reddened. He must have cared for her deeply.
"Does this guy... like Isabel?"
…At least twenty years apart in age. I harbored reasonable suspicions as I opened the door and stepped inside.
Soft lighting illuminated the room. Antique furniture was arranged throughout, and Isabel lay on a large bed in the center. She wore a white dress and lay peacefully, as if asleep. …Her slightly short platinum hair framed her face. Her eyes were covered by beautiful double eyelids.
Isabel's platinum hair shone like starlight in a quiet night sky, her skin a faint white, and her lips like pale rose petals—creating a strangely captivating charm.
"…Sorry, but it's better if she stays lying still."
In the game's CGs, aside from the scene where Hero killed her, she was always depicted with slightly rolled-back eyes, fighting like a madwoman... The gap made her current appearance seem even more beautiful.
While I was admiring her, Count Arcadia entered behind me.
"I heard you said you could cure my daughter..."
His face was gaunt. He looked more like the patient than Isabel did.
The Count took my hands and pleaded, "Please... save my daughter..."
Feeling the weight of the dagger hidden in my clothes, I answered.
"Understood."