Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Side Story - Coincidence (2)
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[1. I draw the enemies' attention.]
A hastily assembled team and a reckless plan, but now that they had come this far, there was no other way.
At the very least, they couldn't afford to hesitate.
-[I'm going to set this place on fire. The end goal was to burn them all anyway.]
-[Then they'll all die!?]
-[That's why I'll start with a small fire just to draw their attention for now.]
First, he sprinkled the weapon-maintenance oil he always carried around the area, focusing on the passageways and using only the minimum amount he judged necessary.
Sizzle...
Then he lit a match and set the oil ablaze.
Whoosh!
Naturally, smoke rose along with the heat and light, exposing Leo himself.
"Intruder!!"
"Fire!! Put it out quick!!"
But that was the point of the plan from the start.
'...Buy as much time as possible...'
He threw all the daggers he had. He couldn't be sure they'd land against these pros at assassination, but right after the sudden fire, his odds were a bit better.
Clang! Clang! Thud! Thunk...
Four thrown, only one hit.
At least it was fortunate that it struck between the eyes.
"Kill him!!"
What flew back were their daggers. In a fire like this, poison powder or smoke bombs were off-limits. Plus, he'd completely blocked the other passages with fire, so he could buy some time.
'...Phase two... Hurry up...'
For now, all he could do was trust the girl who had stabbed a hole in his chest. This plan depended on the fragile trust between them—and a bit of luck, too.
Shring!
A strange sound—not the usual clash of metal, but the screech of a blacksmith cutting steel.
In a place like this, only one person would make that noise.
[2. Meanwhile, you cut through all the bars. (*All the guards have the same key type and number, so there are no other barred cells here.)]
The girl stared at the note with the plan scribbled on it, looking flustered. She never imagined she'd run into that crazy boy again.
'...Jehard did say he was a weird kid mentally.'
In fact, most people, including Ariasfil, called Leo a crazy kid. And honestly, that was half-true.
From her perspective, this was the mad boy who'd suddenly paraded through the city streets with a severed human head on a noose. Then he'd picked a fight with her out of nowhere, tried to resolve it peacefully but ended up going berserk and taking a sword to the chest.
Even dying wouldn't have been surprising, but right before death, the crazy kid started spouting nonsense she couldn't comprehend.
And then, the moment he tried to use her hand to kill himself—
'I'll pass.'
The boy pulled his hand away from hers and cauterized the wound with a nearby lamp. There were potions for healing, so why choose such a dangerous method? She had no idea.
So Jehard had just explained him as a mentally unstable kid and said it was best to forget him.
Just as that weird kid was fading from memory, she ran into him again in a place like this.
In truth, she had just chased after a bad guy who suddenly kidnapped a child, with no real plan.
She was confident she could handle simple bandits on her own.
But when she successfully infiltrated by luck, she despaired.
"Kng... Huuung..."
"Uaa... Aah..."
"Euu... Euu..."
People barking like beasts as they ate feed, and others casually killing them.
At that moment, Ariasfil unconsciously thought of that weird kid. There was no context. For some reason, she slightly understood his antics.
Because it was her first time seeing people die so meaninglessly.
'...Uaa... Ah...!'
Ariasfil lost her mental composure. Maybe that's why she wanted to deny this dark side of reality and tried to kill those bastards.
Grab.
At that instant, someone covered her mouth and sword. While doing so, they mouthed words at her.
(You'll die if you go out.)
She nearly screamed. Part from surprise, but mostly because of who was mouthing it.
'Why is this kid here...?!'
It was that weird kid from before—the one who'd decapitated a man and hung him from a tree, strung up the guards on pikes, and done all that madness with her.
If she hadn't known it was that kid quietly conveying the message, she really would have screamed.
Once the guards left, the girl finally moved her mouth.
(Why are you here?)
The answer came from a scratched-up metal tag and a shabby notebook.
That weird kid was calm. He quickly chose the fastest way to convince her and communicate safely, holding them out immediately.
Without even asking why she was there, the kid analyzed and explained the current situation as best he could.
Like a general from a treatise on warfare, he devised the best strategy and informed her.
-[What if you betray me?]
She suspected the kid. The methods he'd shared so far had fatal flaws.
That was true. If during phase one, when the kid started the fire, she had moved—
The timing favored her.
-[I get it. It's hard to trust a crazy bastard like me. So don't trust me—trust the situation.]
-[Trust that this gives you the biggest gain.]
As the paper ran out, the kid looked at her and mouthed:
(Then I'm going.)
The kid dashed off, tussled for a bit, and soon bright light and heat filled the dark basement.
If the kid acted as bait and she escaped alone, she could really get out safely.
But—
-You all will worry tomorrow about how to live...
-...I... every day... worry about how to die...!
Why did those words, delayed by a month, now pierce her heart?
Before she knew it, her sword was drawn. Aura flared along the blade.
Shring!
The sharp cutting sound echoed off the bars. The rusted iron sliced cleanly with each touch of the sword.
"Euh... Euuuh..."
But even with the path open, the people turned livestock didn't even think to flee. They had already lost their human dignity.
'...Why does even this part go exactly as that kid predicted...?'
As that doubt arose, the flames grew fiercer. Hearing the bars cut, the weird kid had moved to phase three.
[3. I set more fires. Meanwhile, you move the hostages out of the basement.]
The kid was worried about burns or suffocation from smoke. Not for himself, but for those crawling people.
-[Doesn't matter.]
-[What doesn't?!]
-[Smoke rises because it's hot. Those people are used to crawling.]
That would minimize suffocation. Plus, in their beast-like state, they'd naturally seek the exit upon seeing the flames.
The girl would move them amid the chaos.
Meanwhile, Leo accelerated the fire by setting more blazes.
"Got you!!"
A man charging through the flames grabbed Leo's arm and tried to stab a dagger in.
Slash!
At that moment, what Leo hurled was flour.
Plain flour, with no chemical or magical processing.
Whoosh!
"Aaaahhh!!"
But that was enough. A dust explosion from the flour boosted the firepower plenty.
Boom!!
A chain explosion—probably the assassin's poison gas canister detonating too. Other assassins caught in it fueled the blasts.
It was possible because most poison powders and smoke bombs were flammable.
Now he covered his mouth with a wet cloth. He kept throwing flour into the passages to accelerate the fire.
"Uuuuh...!!"
In the meantime, he spotted the girl with the cloth he'd given her over her face. Herding the crawling beast-like people, she looked just like a shepherd girl with her flock.
"Let's go!! This way!!"
Grabbing her, Leo pointed out the escape route. The marks he'd left at every junction guided the group along the best path.
Almost there. Just exit here, and the plan succeeds. They could escape this damned basement.
But something was off. Even on a dark night, moonlight should filter in toward the exit.
Why was there no breeze at all from the exit?
The answer lay at the blocked exit.
Bang!
"Damn...! It's locked...!!"
For some reason, the basement door was firmly locked. A kick or two wouldn't open it easily...
Boom!!
The sturdy oak door flew off entirely. The hinges ripped free, and the door itself shattered on impact.
"Good? Let's get these people out first."
"Uh... Yeah...?"
That's when he recalled the monstrous strength the girl beside him possessed.
"...Uuh..."
"Kuhng..."
Under her guidance, they safely navigated the narrow path. Now only Leo's group remained.
"Uwaa!! You insolent brats...!!"
A voice rang out suddenly. Instinctively, he sensed it—the one yelling over the flames wasn't an assassin.
"Dodge!!"
"...Huh?!"
Leo shoved her out.
Turning, he saw a warlock deploying a magic circle.
'...Magic?!'
He instinctively raised his sword to guard his face. In this environment, they couldn't use fire or lightning, he judged.
Bang!
It was a misjudgment. A stone wall conjured by magic sealed the basement door.
"Keehee! Now you're trapped too...!"
"You fucking bastard!!"
Leo hurled a dagger. The warlock cackled and deployed a barrier.
"Idiot."
Behind the dagger was a sack of flaming flour. It exploded, turning the inside of the barrier into a scorching oven.
'...Killed him, but... now what about this?'
The magic stone wall would be several times tougher than those flimsy bars. Especially considering the thickness.
"...Hey!! Can you break it...!!"
Clang!! Kaang!! Clang!
Before he could finish, the girl slashed at the stone wall. The impact echoed inside, but the magic wall steadfastly blocked the exit.
"Can you hear me!? If you can, answer!!"
Leo nearly opened his mouth to reply. But he closed it again.
'...Should I just stay here...'
He'd already saved who he came to save. The girl had escaped safely. Wasting time having her rescue him might bring any lingering stragglers.
He had no regrets about living anyway. He'd abandoned his hometown on his own feet long ago, and the goal he'd pursued to the point of exhaustion was now forsaken.
The one who might have talked him out of death was long gone.
So.
The boy remained silent in the inferno...
Chaaang!! Kaaang!!
The moment he tried to stay silent, the blade sounds continued.
"Snap out of it!! Answer me!! Don't just die like this...!"
The sword strikes and ringing voice were loud enough to hear through the stone—almost like choked sobs.
"Because of me...! You're dying because of me...!"
Finally, the girl burst into tears. For a boy she'd seen only twice, tied by this bizarre fate, she willingly shed tears.
For some reason, hearing that cry, he thought:
This girl crying is a problem.
Before he knew it, a sword was in his hand.
The scar on his chest throbbed from the heat, but it didn't matter.
-The place you wish to go... will vanish the moment you give up...
The strange old woman's words echoed in his mind as he swung the sword.
It was an odd sensation.
For an instant, the sword took root in his hand. The blade's breath harmonized with his lungs'.
In that moment.
The sword was him, and he was the sword.
Crack.
The stone wall split. Through the cracks and debris, the girl's face appeared.
Her tear-swollen face and soot-matted, heat-singed hair stared at him.
To the point where he thought coming out was the right call...
Thud.
"...Huh?"
At that instant, the stone wall collapsed. It fell endlessly toward him below. The impact was immense.
Was it that monstrous swordsmanship from earlier? His body wouldn't respond. Even tumbling painlessly under the rubble pile was probably why.
As he fell into the inferno unthinkingly, words slipped out.
"I... wanted to live..."
He closed his eyes. Surprisingly, his body wasn't hot.
Instead... it felt comfortable.
Is this death?
I hope Mother passed like this too...
"Rise, boy."
Someone called him. His eyelids trembled, eyes opening.
"You didn't die. Exemplary warrior."
The one holding him was a white-haired, blue-eyed woman like the girl, but exuding a more mature, profound allure.
"...Who..."
"Chris Reinhardt. Also called Black Rock."
Hearing the moniker Black Rock, Leo murmured as he closed his eyes.
"That's... so cool... Black Rock..."
With those words, Leo passed out.