Catastrophe (4)
I sprinted toward the castle walls. I kicked off the rooftops, vaulted over the parapets. I stretched shadows like arms to soften my landing. Light immediately cleaved the wall behind me as Adelaide leaped down in pursuit. A golden trajectory poured forth.
I twisted away, and a lock of silver hair sheared off. Beyond the walls stretched the barren plain I'd seen once before. Even the riverbank where I'd washed my body seemed visible in the distance.
"……Let's do it here."
"You don't get to pick the spot."
"Still better than in there."
"Why? Worried about hurting the NPCs?"
"……."
"You just yelled it in the city. About the NPCs. Out of your own mouth."
Clang—! Light and darkness collided, gouging the parched earth. Adelaide's face was still damp. Fresh tears welled up before the old tracks could dry. Her grip on the sword while crying kept drawing my eyes.
I could just extend the shadows. Slice that throat right now. I'd done it countless times before.
"……Why are you running?"
"I'm not running."
"Then what is it?"
"……Changing venues."
Adelaide kicked off the ground and shot forward. Straight line. I dodged again, and the passing light sheared a boulder clean. The cut surface gleamed like glass.
I kept my distance somehow. Twisting her trajectory, hurling dirt at her feet. Without killing her.
……It just wasn't working out.
And so the first night passed. As the sun rose, the landscape shifted. We were still fighting.
I lost my sense of direction around the second morning. Was the direction I faced east or west?
Adelaide never paused. When her dagger snapped, she came barehanded. Even as her legs trembled, she dragged herself upright.
This NPC…… she's insane. Completely lost it.
"……Are you really crazy? Let's take a break, yeah?"
"……Shut the fuck up."
"You'll die first like this."
"Isn't that…… what you want? NPCs don't matter if they die…… right?"
"……."
"Do they?"
"…No."
"Then we're good—!!!"
Adelaide charged again. Each glimpse of her face made my body hesitate. Every time a shadow grazed her shoulder, my strength ebbed just before the finish.
Late afternoon on the second day, a brief lull hit for the first time. In the midst of the man-made wasteland, we gasped for breath. Golden haze kept rising, but her light hadn't gone out.
"……Why won't you kill me? Just throttle my neck with shadows and it's over. Why only defend?"
"……No real reason."
"Liar."
"Not lying."
"Fine. Then kill me. Right now."
I extended shadows, but they halted before her throat and vanished.
"……Knew it. Can't do it."
"……Shut up."
"Why? Uncomfortable? No guilt over the dead, not even for Zenon. But me? You feel bad?"
"Told you it's not that."
"'Cause we lived together so long? Ate meals together?"
"Enough."
"Hauled luggage, shopped for underwear, dusted you off. That it?"
"Adelaide."
"That fucking NPC, that fucking person. What? Only you're real? Don't make me laugh. Now I look human to you? —Shut up."
Shadows surged toward Adelaide in an instant. The ground around exploded, dust billowing. But they didn't touch her again. She didn't even blink. Her face said she knew they wouldn't.
"Old you would've killed me already. Like the villagers, my subordinates, everyone who followed you."
"……Quiet."
"Why should I? You're a joke, and I'm dying laughing."
This mess, huh. Fair enough. Can't even control my own shadows.
I turned and walked away without answering. Adelaide followed.
The second night dragged on. Neither of us slept.
By dawn of the third day, we were both wrecks. Adelaide's light had clearly dimmed. Her healing slowed, left arm dangling limp and broken. Only her right hand clung to the dagger.
I wasn't unscathed either. Shadows barely formed now. Light-struck spots throbbed annoyingly.
"……Adel."
"……."
"Stop. You'll really die."
"So? I'm an NPC."
"……."
"By your logic, doesn't matter. Wasn't alive to begin with."
"……Please, stop."
"Why? Just admit it. You can't kill me."
I wanted to deny it. But three days proved otherwise. I'd slaughtered every NPC in the world—except her.
"……You're an NPC."
"Yeah. Call me whatever."
Adelaide gripped her dagger again. About to charge once more. Then the sky split.
A massive mana pillar slammed down around us. Adelaide was hurled back amid rising dust as two figures descended.
One was a man in a heavy coat. Kneeling, head bowed. The other, a woman with black scales on her bare arms. Faint smile on her lips.
"Your Majesty…… at last."
"……Who the hell are you guys?"
"We serve the one worthy of the Throne of Darkness. I am Sahadin."
"Livaton. We've been waiting for you, Demon King."
"……Demon King?"
"Indeed. Your mana matches the throne's. No mistake."
"What the fuck? Why me?"
"We've waited centuries, Your Majesty."
"Wait, hold on. I'm no Demon King."
"No one mimics the throne's mana. Your shadows prove it."
"Shadows?"
"The power of darkness dwells only in the throne's heir."
"……Wordy. Pointless."
The woman who'd named herself Livaton glanced down at Adelaide.
"What's this, Hero? Still kicking?"
"……."
"Damn, held out this long? Tough bitch."
Sahadin raised a hand. Heavy darkness crushed the air, slamming Adelaide to the ground. Her light resisted, but three days of battle had weakened it long ago. Zenon's dagger slipped from her grasp, rolling across the dirt.
"Shall I kill her?"
Livaton turned to me. I didn't answer. Just stared at the fallen Adelaide for a long while. Her bloodshot eyes still fixed on me.
I turned away.
"……Let's go."
"Your Majesty……?"
"Just go."
I tore my eyes from Adelaide and turned my back. I felt something condensing, but didn't look. Yet my shadows moved on their own, piercing Livaton's throat in a flash.
Thud. A heavy weight hit the ground. I turned slowly.
Her head had separated, rolling away. Scaled arms limp. And Adelaide still lay there, gazing up at me.
"Livaton?!"
Sahadin's shout. Her sword clanged belatedly to the earth.
"Did I do that?"
"……."
"Hey, answer me. Were those my shadows?"
"……Yes. ……If it is Your Majesty's will, I obey."
I hadn't ordered it, but my shadows killed Livaton. The one trying to kill Adelaide.
"……Leave the Hero."
"……As you command."
I walked on in silence. Sahadin followed.
Ailin walked away. Far, far into the distance. With the man called Sahadin. Her silver hair shrank to a speck and vanished at the horizon.
Adelaide lay collapsed, unable to move. The golden power had faded long ago. Pain surged from her broken arm, blood filled her mouth.
Beside her, a corpse rolled on the ground. Killed by Ailin's shadow. Probably her subordinate, judging by the scene. Yet Ailin looked baffled herself.
It was Ailin who'd ordered her spared. She could've killed her any time over three days. But not her. Called her an NPC, said it was a game.
"……Why."
Adelaide's fingers brushed Zenon's dagger. But she couldn't grip it. No strength left.
She'd sworn to tear her apart. In this life, the next, forever. For Zenon, for Kairin, for Derek, for all her dead subordinates. That resolve hadn't changed.
But this feeling—it wasn't hatred, rage, sorrow, resignation, emptiness. Not loneliness, grief, fear, humiliation, regret.
An emotion she'd never known squeezed her chest.
Adelaide pressed her forehead to the dirt and closed her eyes.
I'll find you. No matter what.
And with my own hands—