My ankle was sprained, and the fishy stench of blood lingered in my mouth.
Perhaps my ribs were cracked; every time I breathed, the area around my lungs ached with a bone-chilling pain.
On top of that, my stamina must have run out, because even breathing was difficult, and my mana had long since been depleted.
And everything before my eyes was blurred red, making it hard to see.
Even so.
I looked down at my faintly trembling hand.
A cold chill, sharp enough to make my bones ache, was slowly creeping up from my fingertips.
At the sight, I gritted my teeth.
Was the Frost consuming my body?
Frost—one of Astoria’s mana powers.
The weapon that had raised me to the pinnacle, and the damned culprit that had forced me to hide myself.
Yet now, it was trying to drag me down from that pinnacle.
I had resisted it, even going so far as to hide myself, but apparently that had not been enough.
Before I knew it, the Frost that I had wielded like my own body and that had protected me like a weapon was no longer under my control.
It was consuming me, even as it eroded my realm.
It had not been long since things became this way, but no method I tried could stop this damned Frost.
Not the Holy Maiden’s blessing, nor holy water.
Nothing.
So.
Ha ha. What use was any of it now?
As I laughed bitterly at myself, the frost sword in my left hand fell to the ground. The Frost, which no attack had ever been able to break, crumbled apart the instant it struck the floor.
The shattered fragments scattered, and the frost sword soon dissolved into silver dust.
The Empire had been defeated.
Duke Marshall, who had defended the north, died facing the enemy alone to buy us time.
Duke Ash, who had burned everything in her path, fell with her wings broken.
My brother united every nation and race against the destruction, but failed.
He passed the throne to me, then died.
I was tired.
Both physically and mentally.
Cough.
Blood surged out of my mouth.
This was no metaphor.
Step. Step.
Something enormous was slowly approaching through those burning flames.
A massive wolf, its white fur gleaming without the slightest scorch even amid the blazing inferno.
At that sight, I spat out the blood welling up in my throat and laughed bitterly.
The heart of the Empire had already been utterly destroyed, and what I wanted to protect was gone now.
My hands shook so much that I could no longer move them.
I could not even defeat that wolf, which I would have caught with ease not long ago.
I was too tired to move anymore.
Or was I…?
■■■■■———!!!
If I wrung out a little more mana… my heart.
Just as the wolf kicked violently off the ground and opened its enormous jaws—
KRAAAAAASH———!!!
■■■—!!!
Something burst through the wall and slammed straight into the wolf’s face.
It was a leopard.
A gigantic leopard, the same size as the wolf before me.
It was continually vomiting blood, and a huge dent had been carved into its flank by something.
Apparently thrown into confusion by the leopard’s sudden intrusion, the wolf trembled all over in alarm.
Who on earth?
Before that question could even fade, something dropped down before me with a soft thud.
A wolf smaller than the one before us, but otherwise identical.
And sitting on top of it was—
Me?
#
"Ian, what is going on?"
"Who knows…"
I could not readily answer Dante’s puzzled murmur either.
I was confused myself right now.
I had assumed that what Dreamland was recreating was the DLC prologue.
But I had never expected it to recreate DLC Dante as well…
Why was Dante here?
Did recreating the DLC mean it had recreated Dante, the protagonist, too?
If not…
At that moment, a certain message suddenly began to bother me.
The one that had appeared every time I saved one of the heroines.
[The current world is a world destined for destruction. You are deviating slightly from the route leading to the DLC.]
A warning that if I did not save the heroines, this world would become the DLC—a world that had been destroyed.
Did that mean this Dreamland was not merely a space where my inner world had recreated the DLC… but that, like when I went back five years into the past, I had truly been transported to the ruined future?
If so, what exactly were the clear conditions?
Surely it did not end with killing the wolf, lion, and leopard?
What a headache.
For a moment, I pressed a hand to my forehead at the sudden rush of questions, then sighed and shook my head.
Thinking about it would get me nowhere.
Let’s not overthink it.
Hadn’t that little brat said so himself?
No matter what insane bullshit I got up to in this Dreamland, it would have no effect on reality.
Though, judging from what he had said, if I died here, I would still be dead for real.
First, I needed to save that Dante.
I tightened my grip on Clarent and prepared to launch myself forward.
Having noticed my movement, the wolf seemed to sense my momentum. It expelled mana and began splitting its body into three.
The black shadows torn from its body wavered into individual shapes, eventually taking the forms of a lion and a leopard.
"…"
Kafka stared at the wolf, her expression hardening.
Of course it would.
A wolf identical to her former self was using the very technique she had once used. From her perspective, it had to be confusing.
But.
"It’s okay. That isn’t you."
That thing was not Kafka.
I could say that with certainty.
Because.
"It doesn’t have a collar."
There was no choker around its neck like the one Kafka had worn.
Besides, the information Insight Eye showed me contained no message saying it was being controlled.
Unlike before, it was attacking people of its own will.
Which meant the thing before us was not Kafka.
Therefore.
■■■■■———!!!!
Once I thought of it that way, I could cut it down without a care.
"Kafka, Dante, handle that leopard."
"Got it."
After giving Dante and Kafka their instructions, I leapt down from her back.
At the same time, I concentrated mana in my legs to reinforce my leg strength, then shot toward the wolf like a bullet.
Like the leopard, the wolf in front of me had grown stronger than before.
The difference was—
Unlike before, the leopard and lion it summoned as clones possessed stats equal to the wolf itself.
The lion and leopard bared their jaws on either side of me.
But I coated Clarent in sword aura and activated Mad Orlando.
A frenzied sword dance whirled forth from my hand.
In that instant, a single flurry of strikes tore away both the lion’s and leopard’s jaws.
Slash.
Without missing the opening, I immediately sliced clean through the wolf’s abdomen.
■■■■■———!!!!!
The wolf screamed and vomited blood.
Then, while maintaining the sword aura—
Phoebusail.
Using the ultimate technique of Arghalia, a Sword Master, I drove it straight into the wolf’s body.
The wolf died after only two attacks.
It collapsed without even managing to close its mouth, then soon turned to dust and vanished into the air.
Even at level 58 and three against one, it was an opponent I could take down without much trouble compared to the level-50 DLC Dante.
My level was only 50 and my realm no more than Sword User, but in terms of raw stats, I far surpassed that level. This result was only natural.
After confirming the wolf had vanished, I looked toward where the leopard had been lying.
Only dust lingered where it had fallen.
Seeing Dante and Kafka standing there, it seemed they had neatly dealt with the leopard as well.
Still no level-up, huh.
What a shame.
I had defeated two enemies in the high fifties.
The experience would have been pretty worthwhile.
【Dante de Astoria】
◈ Level: 46
【Kafka】
◈ Level: 46
Still, perhaps I should be satisfied that Dante and Kafka had leveled up.
"I can’t believe it… You looked like an ordinary Sword User."
At that moment, a voice thick with astonishment leaked out from a corner by the wall.
The owner of the voice was Dante, slumped against the wall.
A streak of red blood ran from the corner of his mouth as he panted.
At a glance, he was clearly in no condition that could be called good.
He looked so wretched that I had no idea how he had managed to kill all three beasts in the game.
But how should I put it?
Perhaps because he had a mature charm unlike the Dante beside me, polite speech slipped out before I realized it.
"My apologies. I stole your prey."
"What are you talking about? Do you think I could have killed that wolf in this state? You saved me."
DLC Dante’s eyes widened at my words, before he let out an incredulous laugh and replied.
Something about his reaction struck me as strange.
Unlike when dealing with Dolnesia, I was not concealing my face with a helmet right now.
And yet.
"That uniform… Are you a cadet of Lumea Academy? But how can a cadet…?"
The DLC Dante before me did not know me.
He treated me as though he were seeing me for the first time.
Dante did not know me?
That was strange.
Well, I acknowledged that a lot must have happened in the meantime.
Even so, how could he forget this face?
Dante, of all people?
Could this not be the future after all?
"In any case, thank you. If the Empire had still been functioning, I’d be inclined to grant you a territory, a title—anything you wanted, but…"
Dante gave a bitter, hollow laugh, glanced around at the ruins of the Imperial Palace collapsing in red flames, and continued quietly.
"…What a ridiculous state of affairs."
"…"
Then.
■■■■■■————!!!!
A great roar sounded from beyond the corridor, accompanied by a raging mana storm.
"The lion."
"Seems like it."
I nodded at Dante’s voice, which sounded certain.
The leopard and wolf had both been defeated, so the only beast left to appear was the lion.
"That one is stronger than the wolf and leopard."
DLC Dante forced out the words in a strained voice.
"So…"
"I know."
I cut DLC Dante off.
It was obvious.
With this guy’s personality, he was going to tell me to leave him behind and run.
But.
I opened my inventory.
I reached into the translucent panels unfurling before me and took something out.
A liquid giving off a gentle glow within a clear bottle.
Holy water.
When I pulled out the stopper, a gentle, warm energy spread out and filled the ruined Imperial Palace.
Though the surroundings were overflowing with savage flames, an absurd phenomenon occurred: the blazing heat was instead swallowed up by the warmth of the holy water.
"Is that… holy water?"
DLC Dante recognized the liquid and looked astonished.
All right, open up.
I immediately brought the bottle of holy water to his lips.
"W-wait!"
Before he could raise a hand to stop me, I poured the holy water straight into Dante’s mouth.
The holy water flowed down his throat as his Adam’s apple bobbed.
The effects of the holy water appeared remarkably quickly.
His external wounds vanished completely, and Dante was no longer breathing heavily.
The blood running from his mouth stopped too.
"The bleeding stopped…?"
DLC Dante examined his body with a stunned expression.
"You should be all right now—"
I was just about to say something to Dante when—
[The hidden effect of holy water activates.]
[The Holy Virgin’s holy power temporarily suppresses Frost.]
[Dante’s level is temporarily restored.]
Excuse me?
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register