I stared at the hole in the wall and thought.
Ah.
I was about to mention it.
Scaramuccia’s gimmick.
Just as I was wondering how to explain it naturally, Professor Luke couldn’t wait even that long. He smashed through the wall and vanished outside.
Well, since Professor Luke had gone himself, that side should be fine.
Wait.
At that moment.
Something suddenly crossed my mind.
Come to think of it, why hadn’t the headmistress and Professor Luke intervened in the defeat event?
Professor Luke had at least shown up later to land the finishing blow, but I hadn’t seen the headmistress even once until the event ended.
Why?
I had never given much thought to why Professor Luke and the headmistress had been unable to step in.
In a game, there would be all sorts of reasons—developer constraints, the need to advance the story—for why they did not intervene.
But this was reality. Wasn’t it different here?
And while these people were insane, it was still strange for them to simply invade an academy where the headmistress was plainly present.
It was not as though they could have put their faith in the Liberation Army members sprawled out over there, either.
Had I missed something?
Kwooooom—!!
Explosions continued to ring out.
They should not still be audible by now, with Professor Luke having gone over there.
Yet the explosions continued, as though to say it was not over yet.
I had to go take a look.
I looked at Kafka.
Of course, riding him would be faster than running there myself.
"Kafka, let’s go."
"But what about the princess?"
At my words, Kafka pointed to Eileen, who had collapsed at the mouth foaming.
Perhaps the wrecked state of the clubroom had shocked her that badly. Even with the explosions now resounding like an orchestra, Eileen still could not wake up.
It would be fine if Angelica stayed here, but every bit of fighting strength counted right now.
If Angelica was absent while we faced a Sword Master, we were seriously screwed.
But I could not leave Eileen alone in a clubroom full of Liberation Army members, either.
Couldn’t be helped.
"We’ll take her with us for now."
We could drop her off at the dormitory on the way.
#
The explosions continued until we left Eileen at the dormitory.
And by the time we returned, they had vanished as if they had been a lie.
I wondered if he had been defeated, but.
Judging by the fact that the [Oath of Chivalry] had not ended, the event apparently was not over yet.
But the biggest problem was that I needed Isabella.
We had more than enough Aura users.
We had Angelica, of all people, and me as well.
But.
Two Aura users could not take down Scaramuccia.
We did not necessarily need to catch him, but even dealing damage to him was difficult—and if we got it wrong, we might not even be able to damage him at all.
Should we go find Isabella, wherever she was?
Or should we go first and stop Scaramuccia from rampaging?
It was funny to say that a Sword User would stop a Sword Master, but I had [Flower of Chivalry], a trait that made me strong enough to trade blows with him.
Or should I bring Dolnesia or Silves along?
Kwooooom—!!
Damn it, it wasn’t giving me time to think!
Another explosion rang out.
It was too late to search for Isabella or Dolnesia.
First, I needed to restrain Scaramuccia so he could not rampage any further.
Having made that decision, I sent Kafka a telepathic message.
Receiving it, Kafka turned toward the source of the explosions.
The source of the continuing explosions was the library.
Judging by the enormous hole punched into it, he seemed to be rampaging inside.
Just before we entered through that hole, the explosions stopped again.
As the explosions that had been erupting so wildly suddenly cut off, anxiety burst forth from deep inside me.
Why had they suddenly stopped?
Was it already over?
No.
It was not over yet.
The [Oath of Chivalry] was still ongoing.
Then, surely not...
I forcibly swallowed down the anxiety rising within me.
There was no point in worrying. It would not change anything.
What I had to do was stop Scaramuccia from rampaging any further.
That was all.
As if responding to my feelings, Kafka accelerated even more.
And after running and running.
Amid the chaos of shattered floors and smashed bookshelves.
I spotted the back of a man riding an ash-gray horse, holding a golden spear.
He must have rampaged terribly; the golden color of his spear had long since been dulled by dust, while its tip was painted red with blood.
Whose blood was that?
Could I have been too late?
As I approached him, one step at a time.
The scenery obscured by the dust began to come into view.
Three people lay sprawled across the floor, drenched in blood.
Asdel, Charles, Ars.
The Iris fan club trio.
Could that blood be...?
I quickly activated [Insight Eye].
Praying those three were not the owners of that blood.
They could not die here.
【Charles Karl】
◈ Level: 38
◈ Status: Unconscious.
【Asdel Solaris】
◈ Level: 36
◈ Status: Unconscious.
【Ars Getia】
◈ Level: 37
◈ Status: Unconscious.
Thankfully, they were not dead.
Just as I took another step forward, considering that a relief.
"E... Ede... Open your eyes... please...."
I heard a sobbing voice.
A voice desperately calling for someone.
When I stepped closer, I saw Iris sobbing as she held someone in her arms.
And the person in her embrace was.
【Haede Mercedes】
◈ Level: 31
◈ Status: Deceased.
Haede was cold and still, a hole pierced through the area around her chest.
[Insight Eye] told me without reservation.
Haede was dead.
Which meant.
That red staining the golden spear belonged to Haede.
‘Ris doesn’t want to see anyone die before her eyes, and she’ll be equally sad no matter who dies.’
Fuck off.
How was that being equally sad?
‘Do you know?’
"............"
‘The craziest thing a person can do while living in this world is let themselves die without killing anyone.’
I knew.
Because you had taught me that.
‘What’s even crazier is knowing full well that someone will grieve if you die, yet having the person who tells you not to die die in your place.’
I could not think of anything anymore.
Why had I forgotten?
The gimmick that, as long as you and Iris were together, Iris would never die first.
Because you would die first.
Because you would take the attack aimed at Iris in her place.
A saint must know how to sacrifice herself for others. And to do that, she must first learn the pain of having the person she cherishes most sacrifice themselves for her.
I had forgotten that the developers created the despair route with that idiotic logic.
The easiest route for Iris to awaken as a saint.
And the despair route that could never reach the true ending.
It was the route where Haede died in Iris’s place, right before her eyes.
Then Iris could awaken as a saint.
But from that moment on, Iris’s expressions and dialogue were portrayed as profoundly dark until the end of the playthrough.
If she did not end up with anyone, or if there was no male lead with a sufficiently high affection level.
As I recalled, it ended midway through with a suicide ending.
In a sense, that was Iris’s bad ending.
Of course, if there was a male lead who ended up with her, it would not go to the bad ending.
This was also one way to defeat Scaramuccia.
Because Iris’s holy power could break through Scaramuccia’s gimmick.
But.
‘So don’t die.’
Fuck off.
You, who told me not to die.
What the hell were you doing lying there cold and lifeless?
Iris’s body began to shine.
Proof that she had awakened as a saint.
The saint who had lost something precious had gained the power to protect what was precious.
"Ah... ah... ah...."
But it was already too late to get that precious thing back.
No matter how much holy power she poured into her.
Haede would not open her eyes.
Fuck.
A curse burst out of me.
Was it directed at the fool who had thrown herself away for Iris?
Or at myself for arriving too late?
If only I had at least told Iris about the ring’s ability.
Would Haede have survived?
‘So don’t die.’
Again and again.
The words she had said to me swirled through my mind.
‘Win and come back. No one wants you to die here.’
Fuck off.
No one wanted you to die, either.
Iris was grieving because of you.
I told you that Iris would definitely be sad if you died.
[Flower of Chivalry activates.]
Was it revenge, or anger?
I did not know.
I just...
So that Haede’s life would not be in vain.
Whipping myself for being late and for thinking too lightly of it.
I drew out white sword aura and swung it toward Scaramuccia.
Kwooooom—!!!
His golden spear collided with my sword, sending out a violent shockwave.
The library interior, already in ruins, could not withstand the impact and began to fall into even greater disarray.
Hummm—hummm.
The golden spear vibrated more fiercely with every collision.
Perhaps because of those vibrations.
A fishy scent rose up from within me.
One thing was certain: it was dangerous to keep making contact with that thing.
My sword’s durability was being drastically worn down by the vibrations of his spear.
It did not even feel like I was properly blocking it.
In the game, it had been described as ignoring defense.
So this was why it ignored defense.
Kafka and I pulled back for a moment to get out of the golden spear’s range.
Then Angelica shot forward, as though we were switching players.
Drawing out red sword aura, she used [Mad Orlando].
A raging storm crashed down upon him.
Perhaps because he was not at full strength, he could not completely ward off her storm. With his face twisted, he exchanged blows with her sword.
It did not seem as though she had dealt any damage.
Still, fortunately.
【Scaramuccia】
◈ Level: 77
◈ Cannot use Aura Blade.
◈ His arm has been severed, reducing his combat ability.
He was currently suffering from one nerf after another.
He could not use Aura Blade, the hallmark of a Sword Master.
And just like in the game, someone had severed his arm, leaving him unable to display his full strength.
So his effective level was 70.
Going purely by levels, he was a mountain far beyond reach.
But right now, my stats had been drastically increased by [Flower of Chivalry].
Perhaps because my opponent was a Sword Master, I was incomparably stronger than I had been when I fought the lion.
And most importantly, the eye currently open was his left eye.
The worst gimmick—and evil eye—that had earned him the name newbie crusher.
When both eyes were shut, he was stealthed.
When his right eye was open and his left eye shut, he became physically invincible.
And when the reverse was true, he became immune to all magic.
Originally, it had been a ring, but they said it had changed into an evil eye.
And since, once he activated an evil eye, he had the penalty of being unable to switch it for a while.
There was no time but now to defeat him.
"Kafka!"
I grabbed Kafka’s mane like reins and had him charge forward.
As if responding to my heart, Kafka kicked off the ground even harder.
Just as I had back then.
I held my sword straight ahead, as though wielding a magic spear.
What were the odds this would land?
Back then, my opponent had been a mindless monster, but this one was a Sword Master beyond comparison.
I swallowed once.
And looked at the possibility of this secret technique landing.
[Insight of One Who Has Seen the End activates.]
[Predicting one thousand possibilities.]
[Identified possibilities: 0]
Just as expected, the possibility was zero.
Angelica had at least had one.
The notification window was telling me that success was absolutely impossible.
So what?
Was I supposed to tuck my tail between my legs and run away?
Fuck off.
If it was zero.
I only had to make it one.
I let Kafka keep charging ahead.
And, recalling that memory, I unfurled the story.
[The opponent and the user are both mounted.]
[Requirements fulfilled.]
I charged straight ahead.
To drive this magic spear into that masked body.
[The story of the peerless knight dwells within your sword.]
—[Blancart].
The technique that had silenced the body of the Lionheart Knight.
The strongest skill I could use right now.
I charged to drive it into Scaramuccia.
"A magic spear?"
The man also raised his golden spear and charged.
The first thing I saw was the red color at the tip of that golden spear, stained with Haede’s blood.
The moment I saw it, my mind turned cold.
Was this what they meant by cold anger?
It did not matter.
That was not important.
All that mattered was driving this spear into him.
"But."
His golden spear collided with my secret technique.
And.
Within that shockwave, when his golden spear grazed my body.
[You have come into contact with Galifron’s Golden Spear.]
[Mounted status is dispelled.]
"As long as I have this golden spear, you cannot defeat me from horseback."
With his mocking laugh, strength drained from me, and I fell from Kafka’s back.
Scaramuccia’s spear pierced through my chest.
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