Chapter 25
Chapter 25
‘…Ugh, don’t tell me things that are obvious.’
Fear made my past flash before my eyes like a series of visions.
A past filled with nothing but endless suffering.
A past in which I had never been happy—not even once.
For an instant, anger flared inside me.
‘I’ve never even had the chance to be happy. I can’t die like this!’
That was when it happened.
The Gambler’s Judgment made an additional assessment of my odds of victory.
-If you perform a miracle against your enemy: ??% (Undetermined. Your odds of victory will vary depending on the kind of miracle you perform.)
‘…What does this mean?’
I swallowed hard.
‘What kind of miracle?’
It was as if the message were giving me a hint, telling me to perform a miracle.
But I had no idea what kind of miracle I was supposed to perform. And there was no guarantee that performing one would let me win.
I looked at the message again.
-Your odds of victory will vary depending on the kind of miracle you perform.
‘It means I can’t just perform an ordinary miracle.’
In truth, performing miracles wasn’t difficult for me.
Everything I did with my Grandmaster of Magic Ability was practically a miracle.
‘I have to accomplish something that puts everything I’ve done so far to shame.’
I bit down hard on my lip.
It was absurd.
‘…But I have to do it anyway.’
I turned the problem over in my mind.
‘First, I have to figure out what kind of miracle I should perform.’
That was when it happened.
A sinister voice suddenly wormed its way into my ears.
-Do you… need power?
My eyes widened.
It was the voice of the Grimoire I’d seen in the library earlier!
-Offer me your soul. And I will… give you power.
It was an offer I absolutely must not accept.
If I let that wicked Grimoire take my soul as collateral, I’d be better off dead.
But—
‘Wait. What if I use that Grimoire?’
A thought came to me.
A gamble of an idea, so dangerous that it could hardly be more reckless.
It was a method that couldn’t possibly succeed unless I performed a ‘miracle.’
‘But I don’t have any other choice.’
Just then, Puppet let out a laugh.
[Heh heh. Simply killing you would be too dull, so how about we play a little game? The goal is to stay still for as long as possible! I’ll torture and kill the first person who moves. Now, do your best to hold out.]
Everyone froze at Puppet’s warning, as if they had turned to stone.
[Heh heh. I wonder who will move first? I can’t wait to find out. Hee hee!]
I swallowed hard.
‘What do I do?’
The moment I moved, Puppet’s attention would be drawn to me.
I’d hoped that someone might come to our rescue, but there was no way that could happen.
Puppet’s Barrier had already cut this place off from the outside.
Even if, by some tiny chance, someone powerful enough to shatter Puppet’s Barrier came, Puppet would take all our lives in an instant and escape.
‘Damn it. I have no choice.’
Even if I stayed right where I was, I was as good as dead.
I took a gamble.
I took a step forward.
Thud.
In the deathly silence, the sound of my footsteps rang out like thunder.
“!!”
Everyone gasped.
[Oh? The first one to be eliminated is Young Master Ban the Wretch.]
To my surprise, Puppet recognized me.
It wasn’t important at the moment, but apparently Ban’s pathetic reputation was so well known that even a dark mage from the Abyss knew who I was.
I pretended I hadn’t heard and took another step.
I had to walk a full ten paces to reach the library where the Grimoire was.
It felt as far away as the Moon was from the Earth.
[Hmm?]
Puppet let out a strange sound.
[…Are you insane? Can’t you hear what I’m saying?]
A chilling aura surged over me.
My knees nearly buckled, but I forced myself to endure it.
This was the crucial moment.
I had to make my move.
‘Black Flame Dragon, help me.’
As always, the Black Flame Dragon braced me and held me firm.
“Shut up, you insolent fool. Who do you think you are, daring to order me around? You’re nothing but a shabby coward hiding behind a puppet.”
[!!!]
“!!!”
A tidal wave of shock swept through the room.
“B-Ban?! Have you gone mad?”
Emily shouted in outrage.
I’d ignored Puppet’s warning, but Puppet didn’t say anything to Emily, either.
All of Puppet’s attention was focused on me.
[…What did you just say? Did you call me a coward?]
A murderous aura, far more intense than before, came crashing down on me.
It was because of the word ‘coward.’
The word ‘coward’ was Puppet’s ‘trigger’—in other words, I had deliberately hit a nerve.
But I didn’t stop provoking him.
“What’s wrong with calling a coward a coward?”
[Ha… You really must want to die.]
“Then kill me if you can. At least I won’t tremble in fear like you do.”
It was a lie.
Of course I was afraid.
But the ‘Black Flame Dragon’ lent me its immense dignity.
“After all, the only thing you can do is torment the weak. When it comes to real ‘strong ones,’ you’re so craven and servile that you can’t even look them in the eye.”
[!!]
By ‘real strong ones,’ I meant the Level 8 ‘Transcendents.’
Level 9 ‘Ascendants’ felt like beings beyond humanity altogether.
[…Shut your mouth.]
“If that’s not true, then will you make a bet with me?”
[…A bet?]
“Give me ten minutes.”
The Black Flame Dragon shaped my face into an arrogant expression.
“Ten minutes is all I need to destroy you.”
[Ha…!!]
Puppet reacted as if it couldn’t believe what it was hearing.
And it wasn’t just Puppet.
Everyone in the room was looking at me as though they thought I’d gone insane.
Even Hans, who had seen me countless times by now.
Emily’s gaze was especially fierce.
It was a look that seemed to say that, if she’d been standing beside me, she would have gagged me on the spot.
“Are you afraid to give me ten minutes? Just as I thought. You’re a coward.”
[…Shut up. Fine. I’ll give you ten minutes. But you’d better be prepared when they’re up.]
Puppet’s blood-red eyes flickered ominously.
[I’ll make you regret ever being born, in a pain that will leave you neither dead nor alive.]
It worked. It worked!
I’d barely managed to buy some time.
‘The real crisis starts now.’
That sinister voice sounded again.
-Quickly. Quickly, take me. I’ll give you power. You’ll be able to crush that pitiful puppet in an instant.
The Grimoire was tempting me.
It was a dangerous voice that anyone could tell they absolutely mustn’t give in to, but right now, I had no other choice.
I walked over to the study and opened the Grimoire.
-Kehehehe!! So you’ve fallen for it! Your soul is mine now! I’ll take over your body and… Hm?
The Grimoire had been laughing maniacally in delight, but then it suddenly stopped.
Because I was perfectly fine.
-W-Why? Unless you have a powerful mental barrier, my bewitchment should…?!
It seemed to be thanks to the Grandmaster’s ability.
‘Good. It’s working just as I expected.’
Since I could see through the essence of magic, it seemed I wasn’t susceptible to bewitchment, either.
I started reading the Grimoire.
‘I have to find a way to defeat Puppet in this Grimoire.’
That was right.
This was the plan I’d come up with.
To study the Grimoire and come up with a way to defeat Puppet on the spot.
Outrageous.
Something that only I in this world could do.
But soon, I wore a dismayed expression.
‘This is total garbage.’
So much for Reversal of Heaven and Heavenly Rank.
What was actually written in it was nothing but empty boasts.
It was a fraudulent Grimoire, full of dazzling phrases meant to tempt its reader’s soul.
‘It’s full of traps designed to shatter the opponent’s mind…’
That was when it happened.
I blinked.
A thought had occurred to me.
‘…With this, I can bring Puppet down.’
I swallowed hard.
Tick.
Silence settled over the room.
The only sound was the ticking of the clock.
And then came the rustle of a page turning.
Everyone gazed at the study in utter disbelief.
Ban, who had boldly made an insane declaration to Puppet, was reading a book.
And not just any book—one called Principles of Commerce, completely unrelated to the situation at hand.
‘…Ban, you lunatic.’
Emily’s face went pale.
She couldn’t understand her former fiancé, whom she’d met again after so long.
At first, she’d thought he was crazy, spouting delusions and nonsense.
But when she learned that it was true he’d warned the Altran Company, she realized that Ban hadn’t gone mad—he had changed.
And now…
‘He really is crazy.’
Otherwise, there was no way he could be reading in a situation like this.
Was it because of his handsome looks and that inexplicable air of refinement he had?
Leaning against the bookcase as he read, he looked like he belonged in a portrait.
[…What are you doing right now?]
As if voicing everyone’s thoughts, Puppet asked in disbelief.
[Why are you suddenly reading a book about commerce?]
“Puppet, does this look like a book about commerce to you, too? I see.”
A faint sneer crossed Ban’s face.
“If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then keep quiet. You’re distracting me. You just interrupted me by speaking, so I’m adding three minutes.”
[…What did you say? How does that make any sense?]
“Don’t talk back. I’m adding another two minutes.”
[!!]
Ban turned his gaze back to the book.
Whether or not Puppet glared at him as if it were going to kill him.
He maintained a lofty bearing that was simply breathtaking.
Tick, tick.
Time passed, so stifling it felt hard to breathe.
The instant exactly fifteen minutes had passed, including the full five extra minutes he’d added—
Snap!
Ban closed the book.
‘What on earth is he planning?’
Emily bit down hard on her lip.
Then Ban’s eyes came into view.
They were filled with resolve.
A sudden thought struck Emily, and her face turned white.
‘Could it be that Ban is… going to sacrifice himself for us?’
It seemed that way!
All of his insane behavior up to now had been deliberate bravado.
No matter how powerful the Barrier Puppet had created was, the longer they could stall, the more likely it was that a rescue party would arrive.
‘And I didn’t even realize.’
She’d mistaken him for a madman.
Far from being crazy, he had changed for the better more than anyone else—and was even willing to sacrifice himself.
All at once, an inexplicable anger welled up inside Emily.
It was different from the anger she’d felt before.
‘Who said you could act so noble and die all by yourself?’
Ban wasn’t the only one of noble blood.
She, too, was a direct descendant of one of the Four Great Ducal Houses.
She had a duty to sacrifice herself alongside him.
‘I’ll die with him, too.’
Just as she clenched her fist tightly—
Her eyes met Ban’s.
His gaze was firm.
As if to say—
-Don’t worry. Trust me.
“!!”
‘What on earth…?’
Emily’s eyebrows trembled.
Ban turned his gaze toward Puppet’s doll.
“I’ll make one more wager. I’ll give you this book as a present, so go ahead and take it.”
[…Huh?]
It was another bizarre act that made absolutely no sense.
Ban went a step further, raising the corner of his mouth in a crooked smile.
As if he were mocking it. As if he were looking down on it.
“If you’re afraid to accept my gift, then don’t. It’s too much for a coward like you to handle.”
[…Shut up and hand over the book.]
An angry aura emanated from the doll.
[I’ll peel off your flesh one piece at a time and preserve it between the pages of this book.]
Ban walked toward Puppet’s doll.
Step. Step.
His footsteps seemed to overwhelm everyone in the room.
“Here. Take it.”
Smack!
The doll took the book.
It wore a wary expression for a moment, but soon gave a derisive laugh.
[So that’s what you were up to. It was a Grimoire. With a pathetic Grimoire like this…]
But that was the moment.
The puppet’s mouth snapped shut.
Its body went rigid, too.
Like a machine that had broken down.
“It’s over.”
Ban declared.
“In the name of Ban Ecclesia, I command you.”
A miracle took place.
“Collapse.”
Crash!
Puppet’s doll crumbled into pieces.