Chapter 5
Benjamin hid as he watched Aiden cleave through his enemy with a single stroke.
The way he sliced through the enemy's body as if cutting butter.
“...Why?”
It was unfair.
Could someone really be this strong just because they'd awakened a single Stigma?
Without even thinking about how many people he'd looked down on and trampled after awakening his own Stigma, Benjamin could only feel that it was unfair as he fidgeted with his arm.
“Impossible.”
He always had to be number one.
He always had to be praised.
Because that was the kind of person Benjamin was—no, the kind of object he was.
He couldn't forgive anyone better than him.
From the start, he was different.
He was perfect, born different from people like them.
His father had said so, so he had to be perfect.
When had things become like this?
Thinking about it, that guy was the problem.
The problem was that guy's change in demeanor, and what he'd said.
‘No wonder your family cast you aside. You idiot. I feel nothing but pity for your parents.’
That voice felt as if it were scraping away Benjamin's soul.
He began scratching his back.
The surgical scars etched into his back itched.
Right. Aiden Starfive knew.
He knew Benjamin's secret better than anyone. The surgical scars, his appearance, his imperfections—he knew it all.
But how?
Where, and by what means?
That tone, as if he saw through everything; that air of someone who knew it all; and above all, that voice that allowed not even the slightest lie—
“Ghk...!”
It was stifling. His back itched. The itch was driving him mad.
He reached behind himself and frantically scratched his back.
No matter how much he scratched, the itch wouldn't go away.
He scratched frantically, and when something hard touched his hand, only then did he realize the itching had stopped.
Right. People should be able to grab their own spine.
If I grab my spine, the itch will stop.
Why had I never thought to scratch my back and dig out my spine before?
This was all Aiden Starfive's fault.
-Crack!
His hand, having torn away all the flesh, grabbed his spine.
-Krrrk!
Then he put his strength into it and pulled out his own spine.
At last, he'd pulled out the spine causing the itch.
The itch was gone now, but he could no longer straighten his back properly.
That, too, was Aiden Starfive's fault.
Holding his spine, Benjamin Frick lowered his body.
Then it was time to soothe the itch in his heart.
Benjamin ran.
Running on two legs was far too slow and awkward, so he started running on all fours.
This was definitely more comfortable.
How long had he run?
The source of all this appeared before Benjamin's eyes.
The man who had humiliated him.
That man...
-You!
He shouted, and the man turned to look at him.
Those eyes were as ever, seeming to know everything while looking down on it all.
Though he'd clearly ambushed him, there wasn't a trace of surprise in those eyes.
The moment their eyes met, Benjamin's body went rigid.
He was afraid.
His body stiffened instinctively.
As if the man could see through his sins, see through his weaknesses.
Emotionless eyes stared straight at him.
The man had merely looked at him, yet Benjamin was gripped by an indescribable fear.
He couldn't.
That man already knew everything about him.
He already knew everything, from his Stigma to his very origins. There was no point in fighting.
There wasn't the slightest chance of victory.
And so Benjamin thought of something else.
Thinking about it, the problem hadn't been him in the first place.
His gaze shifted elsewhere.
A brown-haired woman was looking at him fearfully, her hands clasped together.
Right. It was all that woman's fault.
If she hadn't been there, he wouldn't have gotten involved with Aiden, and he wouldn't have had to suffer this humiliation.
-If only you weren't here!
Benjamin sprang forward like a released spring.
The woman shouted something, but he didn't pay much attention. She was about to die anyway.
He'd just tear that woman apart and run. Then his revenge would be complete.
Logic and common sense no longer existed for Benjamin, already consumed by an inexplicable impulse.
As Benjamin charged with that thought, a massive shield appeared before him.
-Bang!
His body slammed into the shield.
Move. Get out of my way.
He glared through his blood-red vision at the shield blocking him, but it wouldn't budge, like a wall standing firm.
Benjamin's attacks couldn't break through its defense, which was far sturdier than he'd expected, until...
The shield was pushed aside.
What was that? He had barely time to wonder.
The brown-haired woman appeared before Benjamin again.
The woman had her eyes squeezed shut and her hand held out in front of her.
This time, he would tear her apart.
He said that as he swung his prized claws at the woman—
-Huh?
By the time he realized it, his head had already fallen to the floor.
The last thing in his sight was Aiden Starfive, drawing his sword and shaking the blood from it.
It was unfair.
So terribly unfair.
And yet, the way he swung his sword without a single unnecessary movement...
Was beautiful.
By the time he thought that, Benjamin's consciousness had already vanished into the darkness.
*
“...”
I stared at the monster whose head had been cut off just like that.
No, should I call him Benjamin?
He'd charged at me with such a frightening intensity that I'd reflexively cut him down with Swift Slash.
Seriously, why'd he pull out his spine and charge at me? I have a weak stomach—I nearly threw up.
I thought that as I looked down at Benjamin.
“...Ugh...”
Lydia, covering her mouth and retching, and Gerd, looking at the corpse with a conflicted expression.
Benjamin.
He usually died at the protagonist's hands, but the description after his death was always the same.
<No one mourned Benjamin's death. Not even his parents.>
That was the only thing written about him before he disappeared.
In the game, there was no fallout after killing Benjamin, either.
I should keep that in mind. Maybe there were endings I hadn't seen, or side stories I'd missed.
“...”
As I thought that and took a step, I felt a sharp ache.
At the same time, a status window appeared.
[Debuff: Ankle Sprain]
[You have strained your mildly sprained ankle further. It will recover over time. Moving in this condition will worsen it to a severe sprain.]
My ankle was aching quite a bit now.
Was it a side effect of Cursed Swordsmanship?
Or was I simply lacking stamina?
Either way, I was glad it had ended well.
With that, I'd achieved my initial goal.
I hadn't expected Benjamin to go mad and attack me, though.
If the death flag was raised because I defeated the prologue boss, then I'd take out the boss first.
Negative traits usually flared up because of negative events during or after battle.
So if I eliminated the battle altogether, it should be fine.
Wait, I wouldn't be reprimanded for killing Benjamin, would I?
Hold on, why was I so calm? As if cutting Benjamin down had been the obvious thing to do.
Even if he was a monster, shouldn't I feel some revulsion at cutting down a person, at least like Lydia did?
While I was thinking that,
I heard footsteps behind me.
“Huh?”
A bright, innocent voice.
I turned around and saw three people looking at me.
A black-haired girl with a rude-looking face.
She widened her eyes, but when our eyes met, she immediately looked away.
A white-haired woman wearing a pointy hat.
My death flag.
She, too, was looking somewhere else.
“A-Aiden Starfive.”
And a red-haired man, looking at me as he muttered.
Right. He was here, too.
“How did you get here...?”
“...”
As I wondered what to say and looked at him, the black-haired girl grabbed him and pulled him back.
“D-Don't provoke him...! He's looking at you like he's going to kill you!”
“N-No, I...”
“Shh...!”
I hadn't said a word.
In fact, I was worrying about the future. Like, what if I killed Benjamin? Or why was my mind so clear?
When I kept silent, the black-haired girl turned her gaze to Lydia.
“...What, Lydia Straw?”
“...”
Lydia fell silent at her words.
The black-haired girl stared at Lydia, then smiled so widely it looked as if her mouth would split.
“Where did you leave your team and come here?”
“...”
Unlike the way she'd spoken to me earlier, the black-haired girl spoke in a much sharper, more contemptuous tone, as if looking down on people.
“Did you abandon them? Did you run away?”
“Ah, um...”
“What? Why aren't you saying anything? Didn't they teach you how to speak at the Papal See? Is that why you just stammer like that even after being picked on all the time?”
The black-haired girl laughed behind her hand.
That girl was something else.
Even in a situation like this, she maintained the hierarchy, completely ignoring anyone she considered beneath her.
"..."
She was a lot more irritating than I'd expected.
I didn't like Lydia Straw as a character, but that was only because she got on my nerves in the game.
Lydia Straw herself was a good person.
Her past was tragic, and so was her background.
It was just that her end was horrific and she wrecked the world.
Maybe that's why,
“You there.”
My voice took on a force of its own before I realized it.
At my words, the girl's smile froze as she looked at me.
“...What?”
“What?”
“...Why...”
“Why?”
“Why... why?”
“Why?”
“...What is it?”
Good. That's more like it.
“You've got quite a mouth for someone who came here to scavenge scraps.”
“..."
“Shut up and get lost. Otherwise—“
I glared and was about to say something harsh, when—
“Aaaah!”
A scream rang out.
A scream? Here?
I hurriedly turned my gaze.
A sudden ominous premonition.
Could one incident really happen right after another like this?
Even for a prologue that goes out of its way to screw you over, this was ridiculous.
No, right?
I turned around, thinking no way...
“Aaaah!”
“Get a hold of yourself!”
The woman in the pointy hat was sitting down and screaming.
Why on earth?
I had definitely defeated the prologue boss, so why?
Wait. If she was screaming...
I hurriedly turned to look at Lydia.
“Hey, you.”
“...”
Lydia stared blankly at the woman screaming.
She was out of it.
“Lydia Straw!”
“Y-Yes!”
Only then did Lydia look at me.
“Heal me!”
“W-Where?”
“My ankle!”
“Yes...!”
At my words, Lydia hurriedly bent down, touched my ankle, and began healing it.
Meanwhile, I kept my eyes on the screaming woman and sank into thought.
What had she seen to end up like this?
Aiden Starfive died when his negative trait flared up after defeating the prologue boss.
Wasn't the solution to that to defeat the prologue boss myself?
Or was the trigger different?
Was it because I cut down Benjamin? Or...
I didn't have time to lose myself in thought.
“Aah... Uh...”
The woman clutched her head and muttered incomprehensible words.
It was similar to the signs Lydia had shown earlier.
The beginning of the process of becoming a Corrupted.
“I'm done!”
Lydia's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
The warm feeling around my leg disappeared.
Good. Let's get moving.
Is it going to be just as ineffective as last time?
I thought that as I stepped forward, and a sharp twinge shot through my ankle.
It hasn't gotten better at all?
Did she even heal it?
Something was off. Even if Lydia Straw was a half-baked candidate for sainthood, she wasn't a quack.
The moment I thought that, a status window appeared.
[Debuffs gained from Cursed Swordsmanship cannot be healed with holy power.]
Why are you only telling me that now?
I had barely had the thought when the woman's voice grew louder. Still bent over, she was muttering something incomprehensible, and our gazes turned to her again.
“N-No, don't come closer. No... I don't want to hear any more...”
The woman muttered in a voice full of fear, staring into empty air.
“...”
My mind raced.
Once a negative trait begins manifesting, it's hard to stop.
There are a few ways to deal with it: hope you're lucky and can overcome it, kill them, or use an item.
But I didn't have that item with me now.
“...”
Should I kill her before she changes, after all?
I remembered the Corrupted I'd seen in the prologue.
Should I fight one more time?
My hand slowly moved toward the hilt.
At the same time, a sharp pain shot through my ankle.
“...Tch.”
If I used Swift Slash one more time, it felt like there'd be no going back.
If one use of Swift Slash turned that woman into a Corrupted, could I kill her?
No. Impossible.
Maybe if I had Empowered Strike, but I'd just used it on Benjamin.
Or...
I looked at the status window, lost in thought.
Should I use a different technique?
One more powerful than this...
“...”
Should I try Iaijutsu?
But that would have an even worse penalty than this.
My aching ankle throbbed, and at the same time the woman's groaning grew louder.
It couldn't be helped. This wasn't the time to be picky.
Thinking that, I drew my sword and walked toward the woman.
"A-Aiden Starfive. What are you doing?"
Her party members looked at me, muttering in bewilderment, but none of them seemed inclined to stop me; they were backing away.
It couldn't be helped.
If I didn't make a choice here, everyone really would die.
Thinking that, I approached the woman, who was already emanating a pitch-black aura, my sword drawn.
[Stigma: Intimidation activates!]
[Your intimidating aura suppresses the Outer God's aura!]
At the same time, a status window appeared before my eyes, and the situation began to change.
Even I could tell.
The aura I gave off grew even heavier, pouring out as if it would crush everyone.
“Ghh...!”
Gerd groaned beside me, and the others wore expressions of terror.
And, as if being pressed down by my aura, the pitch-black energy began to flow out of the woman's body.
The black energy left the woman's body as if it were being exorcised, or as if my aura had frightened it out.
The writhing energy seemed to vanish the moment it got outside, but then...
“...!”
It began to get sucked into my body.
Wait, isn't this bad?
I hurriedly touched the area around my heart, but nothing happened.
Instead, the change took place in the woman in front of me.
“...”
The woman began to settle down.
She breathed with her eyes closed, as if peacefully asleep.
Everyone looked at me as if no one knew what to say.
Of course, even I, the person at the center of this incident, had no idea what to say.
While I was thinking that, another status window appeared before my eyes.
[Negative Trait: Isolation has intensified!]
[However, you resisted with your formidable mental fortitude!]
[Awe increased!]
[Awe: 25%]
[Cursed Swordsmanship whispers to you!]
[However, you resisted with your formidable mental fortitude!]
[The Outer God whispers to you!]
[However, you resisted with your formidable mental fortitude!]
[The Outer God's power resonates!]
What is this?