Chapter 11

Boom, boom, boom, boom─

While Evan was cornering the demon, Laurel hurriedly tended to Lucian and Theo.

“Lucian, your hand─”

Laurel was momentarily at a loss for words.

His arm, as if trampled by something enormous, was stained purple and grotesquely twisted.

Blood trickled steadily from wounds where sharp stones were embedded.

“I am fine.”

Lucian, seemingly unconcerned with his own pain, approached Theo and checked his condition.

It was faint, as if it could stop at any moment, but he could feel a shallow breath.

Ah─ he’s not dead. God, thank you!

Along with relief, guilt burst forth. Tears began to well up, one drop, two drops, from the unbearable emotion.

The demon had appeared to kill Lucian, the hero. But why on earth did his senior and Theo have to get caught up in this? Blood finally started to seep from his tightly bitten lip, but it was of little importance to Lucian.

“I’m sorry this happened because of me.”

“Huh? Lucian, why is this your fault? I was the one who made a complacent decision. As long as I was taking you freshmen, I should have unconditionally gone with a professor… I overestimated my own strength. I firmly believed that nothing would happen.”

At Laurel’s words, Lucian slowly shook his head and gripped the holy sword tightly.

You are the descendant of the hero─ the demon had said clearly. In the end, the demon had appeared in this dungeon because of him. He was the one who had put Theo, his senior, everyone in danger.

“Ugh-”

Along with relief, a familiar sense of despair seized Lucian.

The feeling that he had returned to the self who could do nothing, who could only helplessly endure violence, oppression, and abuse─.

Incompetent Lucian! Dangerous Lucian! Horrible Lucian! The cursed Lu─ who puts everyone in danger, who should never have been born.

“Hey, are you crying? You’re crying over something like this?”

He lifted his head at the voice he suddenly heard.

Lucian’s eyes widened at the sight of Theo, who had opened his eyes at some point.

“Theo…?”

“Ugh! Hey, what’s with your right hand? Are you okay? Does it not hurt? That crazy demon bastard did this, didn’t he?!”

Theo, who had jumped up from his spot as if in shock, leaned his head against Laurel, suddenly feeling dizzy.

“…Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just got dizzy from trying to move suddenly.”

Theo raised his barely-moving arm and needlessly scratched his cheek.

* * *

So this is how I die.

The thought of a perfect end where even resistance was not permitted brought a wave of emptiness and resentment.

If you wanted me to do something a little more plausible… shouldn’t the difficulty not have been like that?!

Anyway, I resisted death with all my might.

I guess I broke my promise to survive, but still, I have no regr─ as if I wouldn’t have any regrets!!!

“Uwaaaah!!! This is so unfair!!!!!”

Why is the final boss-level enemy appearing here!!!

In the darkness, I thrashed about like a fish out of water.

It was then.

Tiring!

+++

<Sudden Quest> [Complete]

The King of Demons, Living Death, can no longer bestow death upon you.

You have survived death.

We send our highest praise to your strong will that has overcome even death!

-Reward : Self-Heal

+++

“Huh? Didn’t I fail the quest?”

What is this? There’s no way Baal didn’t kill me….

Did I succeed in holding out until Laurel brought my father!

Nice!!! My cheers were short-lived, as I felt my body endlessly plummeting in an instant.

Nice, my foot! Why can’t my life ever be peaceful!!!

When I opened my eyes, I saw my father driving Baal into a corner, firing off magic so flashy it hurt my eyes.

So this is why I was able to survive.

Sending Laurel was the right choice…!

“Ugh─”

From my side, I clearly heard someone’s familiar, small sob.

Beyond my still-blurry vision was Lucian, shedding tears as if blaming himself.

“Hey, are you crying? You’re crying over something like this?”

Ugh, I can’t see properly.

As I blinked several times, my vision slowly began to clear.

He has a long way to go in many ways, and if he cries over something as small as this, Lucian won’t have any tears left in the future.

“Theo…?”

Ah, now my eyes can finally see proper─

“Ugh!”

Why is the protagonist’s arm that color! And no matter how I look at it, it seems to have been flattened from 3D to 2D!

“Hey, what’s with your right hand? Are you okay? Does it not hurt? That crazy demon bastard did this, didn’t he?!”

The moment I jumped up in surprise, my head spun, maybe because of anemia.

Oh geez, hold on. I think I’m going to puke.

Unable to bring myself to lean on the disheveled Lucian, I hurriedly leaned against Laurel-Senior.

“…Are you okay?!”

It was Lucian who, startled, came over to me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just got dizzy from trying to move suddenly.”

At the same time, I barely swallowed the blood that surged up again. A metallic taste lingered in my mouth, making me frown instinctively.

As I carefully controlled my breathing and calmed my churning stomach, I saw tears falling drop by drop from Lucian’s eyes.

It’s obvious what’s on his mind.

He’s blaming himself.

Because the demon appeared to kill Lucian.

“Hey! It’s not your fault.”

“But….”

“I got hurt because of that damn demon bastard, so why is it your fault?”

“Because I am the hero─”

Ugh, that frustrating guy. However, I was a possessor who loved satisfying, clear-cut resolutions.

“I got hurt because my body is too weak, so I should be the one who’s sorry.”

“That’s not it─”

“Looking at your condition, you were the one who held out until my father came, right?”

There was no answer to my question, but that was enough.

“Thanks for holding on. I survived thanks to you.”

“…….”

Lucian remained silent, without an answer.

“And, I’m more or less okay, better than I look.”

Thanks to the Self-Heal skill I got as a quest reward, it was less serious than it looked. If I hadn’t had Self-Heal, I might have died from excessive blood loss.

Well, it was only the difference between dying in 5 minutes and dying in about 1 hour, but I survived anyway.

“By the way, Father is no joke.”

Well, it was only natural to be amazed by my father’s magic.

With a deadpan face, my father was silently and perfectly attacking Baal, incapacitating him. With attacks pouring down without even giving him a chance to counter, Baal was truly nothing more than a giant punching bag.

“Ah, Senior or Lucian, do you happen to have a handkerchief or something?”

“Use this.”

Laurel promptly handed me her cape.

Isn’t this an Academy cape…? Well, I guess I can just wash it later.

Taking her cape, I wiped the splotches of blood from my face.

The blood had dried, so it didn’t wipe off well, but I had to make my face a little cleaner before Lucian blamed himself even more.

“Is there any water?”

“Wait a moment!”

This time, Lucian brought his bag and managed to hand me a water bottle with one hand.

I took the water and splashed it on my face, and it mixed with the blood, sending bloody water streaming down.

Now I feel a bit refreshed.

“Are you really okay?”

At Laurel’s question, I lightly checked my condition. Thanks to the skill, my body was slowly but surely getting better. What I was really worried about was Lucian’s condition.

“I’m fine. Lucian, shouldn’t you be getting some kind of treatment?”

“It hurt at first, but it doesn’t even hurt now.”

Oh, for someone who says that, the blood on your clothes is no joke.

“Are you really okay?”

“I’m tired, but I’m really fine.”

I had used up so much mental energy waiting for Laurel to come that I felt like I could sleep for two straight days when I got back. To be honest, my eyes were starting to droop.

Just as I was thinking of leaning on my senior and closing my eyes for a moment, a huge light exploded in front of me.

Ugh! So bright…!

After casually landing the final blow, my father returned to our side in an instant and checked my still-damp cheeks, turning my head this way and that.

My head throbbed along with my father’s touch, but I kept my mouth shut and quietly let him do as he pleased.

“Is your body feeling a bit better.”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

In fact, I was lucky. If it had been a boss I didn’t know at all instead of Baal, it would have been impossible to even hold him down. No, was it bad luck that Baal appeared at that point in the first place?

“Did you annihilate him?”

“He fled.”

My father answered, clicking his tongue lightly, as if dissatisfied.

I had expected it. The opponent was Baal, the Demon King known as Living Death.

Rather, just repelling Baal was an incredible feat, enough to be called an achievement. After all, Baal was a very, very old demon who had existed since ancient times, with everything about him shrouded in a veil.

“However, he has lost his power, so it will be difficult for him to cause any mischief for a while.”

That was enough. I slowly nodded my head.

Ugh─ as the tension completely left me, blood gushed out before I even had a chance to swallow it. The bright red blood I spat out splattered on my father’s pristine white clothes. Damn it, why did it have to splatter there of all places.

“…Let’s return to the Academy for now.”

The preceding silence was somehow frightening.

“Yeees.”

However, his words weren’t long.

I really couldn’t endure it anymore. Limply, I let the strength drain from my body and leaned completely against my father.

Just before losing consciousness, I turned my head and said to Lucian.

“I survived, so don’t worry anymore.”

So, this is just, a normal faint.

Now I didn’t even have the energy to lift a single finger. I didn’t want to utter a single word.

I just want to rest. I closed my eyes as they were and obediently entrusted my body to the overwhelming drowsiness that washed over me.

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