Labyrinth and Puppet (4)
“Hoo…”
I let out a deep breath, casually ignoring the skill window crammed full of bullshit except for one single line, and sheathed my sword with a satisfying shink.
The lukewarm spar with Nana hadn't satisfied me at all, but after so long, I'd finally had a truly gratifying duel.
And to top it off, I'd ended it with that Sword Master technique I'd always admired. There couldn't be a more satisfying outcome.
I was totally like Battore there.
No one who saw the technique I unleashed just now could deny it.
Basking in the thrill of victory, I clutched my aching gut and glared at the wall where the loser of this duel had been smashed.
His waist was twisted at an unnatural angle, and like some insect, he writhed desperately to pull himself free from the wall.
“Need a hand?”
“Nah, I think I can get out soon.”
True to his word, the guy kept struggling and soon yanked himself free amid a shower of debris.
His body, emerging from the rubble, had its abdomen half-torn open and swayed unsteadily, as if a mere puff of breath would send him toppling.
“In this state, I can't fight anymore. Congratulations. You win.”
With a composure that belied his shredded guts, he declared my victory.
His nonchalant attitude toward defeat pissed me off for no reason, so I snapped at him coldly.
“……If you're gonna lose, at least act like a sore loser for once?”
“Huh? Kakakat! You were worried about that? You won this match. Just bask in your victory like it's nothing!”
“Tch…”
I'd hoped he'd show some ugly desperation at the end, but even now, he refused to drop his dignified facade.
Thud. As I clicked my tongue in annoyance at his poise, one of his knees—the one propping him up—suddenly buckled to the floor.
“Looks like they're calling me back from over there.”
His other knee hit the ground next, the grip on his katana slackened, and the fierce glint in his eyes faded away.
“It was a real pleasure after so long. Next time, let's go bare-handed…”
I grabbed at his collapsing form as his consciousness slipped, yelling down at him on the floor.
“Your name!! You said you'd tell me if I won!!”
“My name? Oh, right…”
He let out a faint chuckle, pondered for a moment, then rasped in a voice like a dying old man.
“Ganryu. That's my name right now. See you next time, uh… what was it? Oh yeah…”
See you next time, Battore.
With those final words, his body went limp and crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
And hearing Ganryu's last words, I couldn't hold back my shock.
That name he'd uttered was the moniker of a Sword Master known to anyone with even a passing interest in katanas.
Ganryu Sasaki Kojiro, the genius swordsman famed for his duel with Musashi on Ganryu Island and slaying swallows in flight.
No way it's actually him, right?
He might just be pretending, but Ganryu didn't seem to know about the skill window that we possessors were familiar with.
That meant he wasn't a possessor, but given the bizarre reality of people from novels entering this world, it wouldn't be all that strange if a historical figure had reincarnated here.
Nah, even so, it can't be the real deal.
There was one thing I'd overlooked: the real Sasaki Kojiro wouldn't laugh in some dumbass way like “kakakat.”
“Hoo…”
Since it wasn't him, he must be a character modeled after the historical figure.
In this novel, while katanas showed up with me, the katana-heavy nation of Hinomoto only appeared in the setting, so info on it was scarce.
If there'd been any hint he'd show up, the comments section would've exploded…
I could still vividly recall the backlash: “Japanophile,” accusations of glorifying Japanese militarism, even before anything had happened.
Even if I went to the library and dug for info on Hinomoto, I doubted I'd find anything substantial.
“I'm kinda beat…”
It had only been a few minutes, not hours, yet my body felt like it'd been through days of exhaustion.
Leaning against the wall to rest before anyone showed up, I sank to the floor for a quick break.
But before I could even settle, there was a sharp crack—like something splitting—and a rift tore open in midair, spilling out Marina's icy mana.
“…She sure got here fast.”
Just like in the novel, she always showed up after everything was over. I couldn't help snarking.
The rift widened into a massive hole, and Marina burst through amid shards of spatial debris.
She landed gracefully on the floor, her body enveloped in pure white mana.
Scanning her surroundings warily, she spotted me and rushed over.
“Student Ian!! Are you alright?! Where's the intruder…?!”
Instead of answering, I pointed to Ganryu's fallen body—or rather, the flesh he'd been inhabiting.
Seeing the gutted, shattered corpse, Marina nodded and synchronized her mana with the labyrinth.
A moment later, she sighed in relief and turned back to me.
“Looks like there are no other intruders. You did incredibly well. I'm so relieved to see you unscathed.”
“Nah, it was nothing…!! Gahk!!”
As I tried to brush it off, thick blood gushed from my mouth.
That gut punch from Ganryu earlier must've damaged my internals.
“St-Student Ian!!”
Seeing me vomit blood, Marina hurried to my side and began casting healing magic on my organs.
Feeling my damaged insides mending, I told her,
“…Compared to Hori's poison, this is nothing. Don't worry about it.”
“H-Hori? Poison? I don't know what you're talking about, but stay still!”
Once my internals were healed, she mended all the minor wounds on my body too.
“Now that I've healed your injuries, if you're feeling up to it, could you tell me what happened?”
“……Sure, but right here?”
“Yes, right here. When Student Jessica came to me, I reverse-summoned all the students from the labyrinth. They're under protection now, so no need to worry.”
Jessica… So that's where she went—ditched the exam to find the headmaster.
“…But why wasn't I reverse-summoned?”
“It's not that we didn't. We couldn't.”
That meant a mage of higher caliber than the grand magus Marina had interfered with the recall.
“There's definitely something sinister behind this incident.”
“……Yeah, probably.”
Recalling Ganryu's sword aimed at me just moments ago, I had to agree.
This unidentified entity, absent from the original story, commanded not just Sword Masters like Ganryu, but grand magi surpassing even Marina.
And the scariest part? They weren't even trying to hide it.
They've got the confidence they won't get caught showing off like this… or they just don't care if they do.
Mulling the gravity of it all, I recounted everything to Marina, skipping only the possessor details.
“Headmaster. Did something like this happen last year too?”
“No, nothing like this last year. At least since I took over, this is the first intruder at the academy.”
“I see…”
“To me, this seems targeted at you, Student Ian. The odd part is why you. Any guesses?”
“None at all. I don't even know who's after me.”
They knew my old nickname, so it was definitely a group of possessors, but beyond that, zilch.
“Guess we start by investigating them.”
As I said that, my gaze fell on the body Ganryu had possessed.
We stood and approached it together. Marina and I lifted the corpse and began stripping off its armor piece by piece.
“…It reminds me of a marionette inside.”
Under the armor was a mechanical body straight out of sci-fi or steampunk—nothing like fantasy.
Its limbs were jointed like a doll's, giving off an eerie vibe just looking at it.
Though I'd wrecked the abdomen, the rest was intact enough for easy inspection.
“I'm no expert in magitech, but checking the parts should yield some clues. I'll commission the Royal Magitech Institute later.”
“Sure. But there's something that's been bugging me. Mind if I poke around a bit here?”
“Fine, but… don't damage the doll further.”
“I'll try.”
That heartbeat sound during and after the fight—it had nagged at me.
Probing around the chest, I felt a pulsing from the center.
“Headmaster. Know any see-through magic? If you do, take a look here?”
“……”
Whether blocked by anti-scrying spells or not, Marina stared at the chest, murmuring an incantation before clamping her mouth shut.
“What? Something wrong?”
“No… There was a complex magic formula, but I unraveled it. However…”
“However?”
“………Inside is a human heart. Still beating. And…”
“And…?”
Marina hesitated, as if reluctant to say it, but glanced at the fallen doll and steeled herself.
“The head too… has a brain. Just like the heart, still functioning…”
Still functioning brain?
That instant, images from movies and games flashed in my mind, and my face hardened.
“A still-functioning brain means…”
“……Yes. Exactly as you're imagining. This doll—no, this person—is still alive.”