Chapter 53

35

This place is a bit away from Fort Cheria, in the midst of a dark forest.

In the dim light, a boy with disheveled, patchy blond hair, Sakagami Gota, was stabbing a knife into the ground with intense focus.

"Heh, heh... hehehehehe..."

Laughing in a strained manner, he seemed to be drawing something on the mossy ground with the knife. His appearance was almost like a midnight ritual, and the madness that enveloped him was so palpable that it was almost visible.

Due to his intense focus on his task, it seemed his leg wound had reopened, and the plain cloth wrapped around his leg was soaked with blood. Despite the difficulty in moving his leg, which wouldn't obey his commands, he continued to swing the knife with a bloodshot, determined gaze.

Right next to him was the form of a two-headed wolf.

Though it was a deformity, it could be inferred that its base form was a Fire Fang. Its size was no different from the usual, but its dignified presence set it apart from ordinary monsters. Its two pairs of eyes held a glint of reason, and its long, gray fur was magnificent, exuding an aura of a king.

There were nearly ten other monsters around, but among them, only the two-headed wolf showed any sign of self-awareness. In that sense, it was almost certainly "Berta."

"Done...!"

Sakagami shouted in triumph.

In front of him was a distorted circle about three meters in diameter.

Inside the circle were complex lines. It looked like a child's scribble, but from the look on Sakagami's face, it was clear that this was no innocent drawing.

"...What are you doing, Sakagami?"

Sakagami, who had been wearing a twisted smile, suddenly looked up in surprise.

What reflected in his eyes as he turned around was the handle of a spear being swung.

"Ugh!?"

Lily, who had burst out, swung the spear, striking Sakagami's jaw. Berta seemed to have sensed the attack a moment before, but Garbella was heading in that direction. Once that happened, the situation was no longer about whether to counterattack or not. Berta's decision to retreat was the right one.

"Growl!"

From one of Berta's heads, a red flame was spewed, while from the other, surprisingly, a large amount of hail was ejected, attacking Garbella.

As a result, Garbella was enveloped in flames, ice, and a large amount of steam. Despite this, other monsters in the area attacked her as she tried to pursue Berta.

"...Get out of my way."

There were various monsters like Ruff Rabbits, Guts Glass, and Trent, but none of them were a match for Garbella. She dispatched them with ease.

However, thanks to their sacrifice, Berta had managed to escape from Garbella.

Even though I had instructed her not to pursue too far, the fact that she could avoid Garbella's attack indicated that Berta was indeed a powerful monster.

The remaining monsters gathered around Berta, who had taken a step back.

I left the task of restraining them to Garbella and turned my attention to Sakagami, whom I had secured.

"Aah... You're too late, Senpai. The ritual is just finished."

While Lily pointed the spear at him, Sakagami remained calm. Under his buttocks was the strange shape he had just finished drawing. It was clear that this was what gave him his composure.

"What is that, Sakagami?"

"Can't you see? It's a magic circle. To attract monsters."

Indeed, the shape carved into the ground with the knife did look like a magic circle. It seemed to be a pentagram. While it was a bit different from the magic circles used in this world, it was undoubtedly a magic circle.

"Another wave of the same number of monsters will come. Haha. Even though you seem to have brought a powerful one, let's see how far you can protect them."

There was a sound behind me.

It was the irritated movement of Garbella, whose nerves were on edge. I didn't need to turn around to know her feelings. I gestured to calm her down.

"Indeed. If that happens, the few survivors still in the fort will be devoured as well."

"Whoa. Don't tell me you think you can stop this by killing me? Sorry, but it won't make a difference. I can't stop it now."

"That you can't stop it, huh. I see."

I had heard this before.

"You can't control the monsters. You can only attract them with that 'magic circle.' Right?"

"Yeah, that's right. You must have defeated Jūmonji. You must have tried your best, but it's a shame."

Sakagami clutched his stomach and laughed.

The reason he was still here, even though he had escaped once, was clear. However, even if he had tried to run, it was another matter whether he could have escaped as he wished.

"...Hey, Master."

Garbella's low, restrained voice hit my ears.

Turning to her, I saw her white face staring intently at the two-headed wolf with blood-red eyes.

"Isn't it time to stop?"

Under her cold voice, I could sense a burning passion, like magma.

The injury to Aya during the rescue of Sakagami had ignited her emotions. Seeing her ready to pounce, the two heads of the wolf growled in unison.

"I understand your caution, Master, but there's no point in continuing this conversation with a fool who doesn't realize he's sitting on someone else's throne."

"No, Garbella."

Lily, who had the spear's tip pointed at Sakagami, scolded Garbella.

"It's not decided yet."

"Hmph. Once you saw that magic circle, it was practically decided."

"Still, though."

Sakagami, hearing their conversation, looked puzzled.

"What? What are you talking about? And you guys... what's going on?"

His voice trailed off ambiguously.

He finally seemed to realize that no one was paying much attention to him.

"Hey, Sakagami."

I spoke, glancing at him. Lily was right; it wasn't decided yet. I needed to confirm.

"This is important, so answer honestly."

"Why should I...?"

Just answer. It won't take much time. One word will do. Sakagami, do you—"

Sakagami, confused, snapped back, but I continued my question.

"—recognize the name Anton?"

"...Huh?"

Sakagami looked puzzled.

That was a more eloquent answer than any words could be—so I let out a small sigh.

"Of course. That's why you didn't 'ask for his help,' right? If so, that's fine. ...Stay there quietly."

I turned my gaze away from Sakagami and refocused on the two-headed wolf.

Its rational eyes reflected us. They were intelligent, almost like a guard dog.

"You can speak, right? If you have any objections, why don't you say them? If you want to make excuses, now is the time."

Berta stopped growling.

"Why..."

Instead, a low voice came from deep in its throat.

"Why did you realize?"

Though abstract, I understood what it was asking.

It seemed Berta had no intention of making excuses. Was it being honest, or did it simply not feel the need to?

"Lily said, 'Anton smells like Watanabe.' That was the trigger."

I answered, gauging Berta's thoughts.

"Kanhi said, 'The Watanabe who died on the inner wall could have been a Doppleganger's copy.'"

Kanhi's observation was insightful.

Lily's nose is excellent but not infallible. If the Watanabe there was a Doppleganger's copy, it would have been impossible to distinguish in the short time available. When a Doppleganger dies, it reverts to its original form, but if it was blown apart by an explosion, it would be difficult to confirm the body.

"However, I told Kanhi that this was impossible. Watanabe was a cheater. The Watanabe whose head was cut off was about to cast a Fifth Tier spell. A Doppleganger's copy ability only replicates appearance. It cannot cast a Fifth Tier spell."

The vast magical power that had converged there was real, and even if its power had been halved, it was enough to nearly kill Garbella. It was indeed Watanabe's trump card, a Fifth Tier spell.

"The fact that Watanabe could cast a Fifth Tier spell, which even Jūmonji couldn't, is the best evidence that it was Watanabe himself. ...But if that's the case, why did Anton smell like Watanabe? Thinking back, I noticed something unnatural about Anton's behavior."

Sakagami, trembling, asked, "Hey, what's this Anton? What are you talking about? Explain it so I can understand."

Sakagami was completely left out of the conversation.

Ignoring him, Berta listened to me.

"After killing Jūmonji, Anton was eating his corpse. This was unnecessary. Unlike Lily, a Mimic Slime, a Doppleganger's copy ability doesn't require consuming the target. Moreover, Anton was taking unnecessary risks. He said he was 'after Jūmonji's life,' but if Jūmonji was just going to die, I would have finished him off in a few seconds. There was no need for Anton to risk coming out."

Recalling Anton's mechanical appearance,

his actions seemed to be a deliberate act of desecration, but it was a characteristic of the Dopple Queen, which has a hypnotic ability.

For example, the feeling of disgust when seeing parasitic wasps or Cordyceps is a human sentiment; to them, it's just part of their nature.

It's the same here. Not inhumane, but inhuman. Insect-like and emotionless, almost mechanical. It seemed unlikely that Anton would do anything unnecessary or have the ability to do so.

That's why it's the key.

"An emotionless, machine-like being doing something seemingly unnecessary. It's more natural to think there was a meaning behind it. In other words, there was a reason for 'killing and eating Jūmonji.' Thinking about it, the reason why Anton smelled like Watanabe becomes clear."

Anton is a Queen Monster. Larger than a regular Doppleganger, he is nearly three meters tall, and his belly is swollen as if he had swallowed a human.

"The Watanabe who was killed, like Jūmonji, 'was eaten by Anton.' It's natural that he smelled like Watanabe. After all, the person was there."

Garbella's calling him a 'carrion eater' was, ironically, accurate. However, it's unclear why he was 'eating corpses' due to lack of information.

"Watanabe was indeed killed on the inner wall. He wasn't swapped with a Doppleganger. ...However, Kanhi's observation was still valuable. Even if the conclusion was wrong, Kanhi suggested that 'if someone there was Anton's master, they could have swapped with a Doppleganger.'"

I might not have noticed it otherwise. If I hadn't, I might never have found the right answer.

"Anton called his master 'King.' Even if his loyalty was mechanical, there was a clear respect. ...Yet, when Sakagami, who should have been his master, called for help, Anton, who was there, didn't respond. It was strange, but if Anton had another true master, it wouldn't be."

Additionally, the reason Berta was so easily recaptured by me again might be due to this.

In extreme terms, Berta didn't care about Sakagami. Anton said, 'The mission is accomplished' and fled, but this mission wasn't the 'diversion for Berta to recapture Sakagami.' The true master, who manipulated the powerful monsters Anton and Berta, was someone else.

—Someone who used Sakagami as a cover.

—Someone who made Sakagami misunderstand his cheater ability.

Since this 'someone' can compete with my ability, they must be a cheater. Therefore, they must be among the transfer students.

There were a little over ten transfer students in Fort Cheria. Among them, I can exclude Mihara and his companion, as they would have been killed if we hadn't protected them from the inner wall collapse or Jūmonji's Second Tier spell. If they were Doppleganger copies, Lily would have noticed when they fled from Jūmonji with Shiran.

Therefore, the 'someone' must have been among the many people who were blown away on the inner wall.

"Their name is..."

I was about to say the name, but I was interrupted.

"Lie!"

Suddenly, Sakagami shouted loudly.

"Lie! Lie! Lie!"

Repeating the word, Sakagami ran.

We were caught off guard. We hadn't forgotten about him, but our vigilance of Sakagami had significantly decreased.

If Sakagami had attacked me, we could have handled it. We were paying enough attention for that. However, he ran in an unexpected direction, toward Berta, who had been deceiving him all along.

"Wha... Fool. Come back, Sakagami!"

"Shut up!"

His cry didn't reach Sakagami's ears. With his injured leg, he awkwardly ran through the forest and fell to his knees, clinging to Berta.

"Berta! You're... You're my subordinate, right! I don't believe it, you told me! You said I was your master! You told me how to call the monsters! Why...!?"

Upon hearing this, Berta—strangely—seemed to show a glint of pain in its eyes.

But it was only for a moment.

"Enough, Berta. He's not needed. He's disrupting my conversation with Senpai. Please remove him."

The boy's voice echoed through the forest.

Instantly, as if it were a divine revelation, Berta's hesitation vanished.

With a sharp snap, the beak with sharp teeth opened and closed.

Sakagami's upper body disappeared. Blood spurted out, and the presence of monsters appeared. Dozens of monsters approached from all around.

"Master!"

"...Yes."

I had no time to be shaken by the loss of a life before my eyes. I extended Asarina around my body, forming a sword and shield.

"Good evening, Senpai."

Another master, leading the monsters, appeared.

The moment of revelation had arrived.