Chapter 20

The next moment, when the blue sky was no longer visible, I found myself in a familiar place.

Despite the beautiful blue sky, what I saw next was a world dyed entirely in black.

*Clap, clap, clap.*

Accompanied by dry, hollow applause, a man dressed in black greeted me.

It's Kuro.

"Who would have thought you'd actually pull it off! You really are something!"

While listening to his insincere praise and applause... I checked my condition.

Sure enough, my left arm was torn off just above the elbow, and my right leg was broken at the knee.

However, despite the open wounds, I felt no pain, and the bleeding from my left arm seemed to have stopped.

Perhaps sensing my gestures, Kuro began to explain.

"I stopped the bleeding so as not to dirty this place. And I also numbed the pain, so you can talk without being distracted. But don't stimulate the wounds, okay? They'll open up again and hurt."

"You're quite the service provider."

"You did it, so I can at least do this much."

Right.

So that blue sky must mean Elaine successfully defeated the Demon King.

I did it, I pulled it off.

Feeling a bit of relief from that thought, I directed my frustration at Kuro.

"It took too long. What do you mean by five years, you liar?"

"No, no, I clearly said 'effectively five years,' didn't I?"

"That's only for everyone else, right?"

"Well, yeah, but lives were saved because of it. Like Elaine, for example?"

"......Yeah, I guess."

Elaine is safe, then.

She, like me, was destined to die.

I didn't want her to die after defeating the Demon King.

I gave her that healing potion to help... but if this place is as honest as before, then from Kuro's words, she must have been saved.

What about Rena... I hope she's safe too.

As I thought about this, Kuro laughed and said, "But you're so clumsy. Filling the last 10,000 with that method... I never would have thought of it."

"......You were watching?"

"Well, not exactly watching, but I could tell."

"I see."

"There were easier ways. For example, you crossed the bridge in Meril Village, right?"

"Yeah. I didn't choose that this time."

Crossing the bridge in Meril Village.

This is a blue text cause-and-effect that only occurs when the archer Nick joins the party.

"Actually, not crossing the bridge is the correct choice. If you don't get involved, Nick will complete it."

"Correct choice?"

Meril Village is on the Demon King's army's route. Nick receives a request to cross the bridge to evacuate the villagers.

I always completed it when I got involved...

"If you don't cross the bridge, the villagers will all die, right?"

"Exactly! That's the key! The village actually worships dragons and regularly offers sacrifices to an ancient dragon nearby. But it's not like human sacrifices; it's livestock."

Now that you mention it... there were several dragon statues and dragon-tooth carvings in Meril Village.

Dragon worship is taboo in this country.

There are dragons in the Demon King's army.

It seems that dragons were once revered as protectors of the land, but now they are banned by the country.

Maybe Nick is a 'hidden dragon worshipper' and that's why he's involved.

But the villagers appear to be ordinary people and get along well with Rena, who has different beliefs.

"I didn't know that."

"If the villagers all die, the ancient dragon will intervene in Elaine's battle with the Demon King."

"What?"

"The ancient dragon will ultimately be killed by the Demon King, but the deduction is a whopping 32,767! It halves the Demon King's health, the best blue text cause-and-effect! In other words, you should have prioritized Nick over Pharan! Deliberately letting the villagers die would have been the best route."

"......"

What's the best route?

What I understood from this statement...

He appealed to me with the 'advantage' of reducing the number of lives lost, but he doesn't actually care about human lives.

What he's saying is based on sacrifice.

It's the worst kind of thinking, one that devalues human life.

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, well, that's a matter of perspective. Besides, it's all over now, isn't it?"

And as we talked...

I began to feel a growing sense of unease.

Yes, I had a certain premonition.

Something I had experienced many times, over and over again.

No one has experienced 'it' as much as I have.

That's why I know.

The tension that had loosened began to tighten.

"Hey, Kuro."

"Hm?"

"The deal and its fulfillment are over."

"Of course, you're right."

"......Then why bring me back here?"

"Of course, to celebrate the victory we finally achieved together."

......Of course.

His victory, it's not just that the Demon King is finally dead.

Thinking back, my 110 loops were always the opposite of victory.

No one has experienced 'it' as much as I have.

──Defeat.

For these past few hundred years, I have failed and died many times.

Is that why?

Or is it because the 'Guidance' skill was unknowingly strengthened?

I can't explain the reason, but I understand, I feel it.

There is a common atmosphere I sense from those who give me 'defeat'.

And from the 100th loop, I began to feel this sensation more clearly.

And from Kuro, I feel it more strongly than ever before.

Has he been suppressing it all this time? I don't know.

So I confronted Kuro with the premonition and doubt that rose in my chest.

"Am I... about to be defeated by you?"

To my words, Kuro feigned a puzzled expression.

"Huh? Why are you suddenly saying something so off the mark? You accomplished the great feat of defeating the Demon King, even if indirectly."

"Don't try to fool me! Kuro!"

Again, I said strongly...

Kuro, as if unable to hold it in any longer,

"Ugh,"

muttered and began to shake his shoulders while looking down.

"......Ugh, ugh, ugh."

The small laughter gradually turned into a loud laugh, and Kuro raised his face.

At that moment, the unease and caution I had felt until then intensified to the maximum, as if hit by a violent storm.

The expression on Kuro's face was not the fabricated one from before, but a clear emotion—pleasure.

And a twisted smile that made me think his existence was to mock, ridicule, and laugh at people.

"Ha ha ha ha! Saying you're 'about to be defeated' is way off! What are you talking about, Elieus? There's no such thing as 'about to be defeated'..."

Kuro, excited and with a twisted smile that seemed to derive pleasure, said even more twistedly,

"You've already lost, haven't you?"