Baron Vector’s castle stood tall, surrounded by dense forests and towering trees, complete with a grand fortress and a meticulously maintained garden.
Even though it was the same location, it looked so different from what I had seen in the game that I simply assumed my presence in this world had caused some sort of variation…
But the moment I activated my Eyes of Truth, I was struck speechless by pure shock.
What lay before me was nothing but an empty clearing.
The castle, the gardens, the trees, the forest, the fences, the stone walls, even the guards that had just been there—none of it remained.
Standing within this vast, barren space, just as I had seen in the game, were only my party members and Baron Vector before us.
And the sight of Baron Vector himself was even more grotesque than the sudden desolation of the castle grounds.
Though his silhouette was human, his entire body—where his hair, skin, eyes, nose, mouth, and clothing should have been—was nothing but a pitch-black shadow.
It wasn’t just that his skin was dark.
His entire being was completely engulfed in darkness, like the shadow spirits I had seen at the Goblin Camp.
And on that pitch-black, human-shaped form, countless eyes and mouths had appeared.
The sheer size of these eyes and mouths was nothing remotely human.
One eye stretched across half his face, while another coiled around his arm like a serpent.
The mouths were the same—twisted and scattered across his body.
This grotesque being, covered in nothing but eyes and mouths, was no longer Baron Vector.
No, this was the Deceiver, Vector.
And in that moment, I realized with horror—this was the very Underground Worm that Linian had been searching for.
I let out a shocked cry.
“Underground Worm?!”
The Deceiver, Vector, reacted to my words, turning his head toward me.
“…What did you just say? Who are you?”
I instinctively leaped backward to widen the distance.
Sensing a shift in Vector’s demeanor, Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis also flinched and stepped back.
“There’s no way you could have called me that by coincidence. If you know something… I’m afraid I can’t just let you leave.”
“Baron Vector…?”
“Everyone, be careful! Something’s wrong!”
“Baron Vector! What’s happening all of a sudden?!”
Lenis pulled down her hood and shouted.
Vector turned to look at her—and smiled.
To everyone else, it might have seemed like a normal, friendly smile.
But to my Eyes of Truth, the dozens of mouths scattered across his shadowy form all grinned at once.
The sight sent a shiver down my spine.
“Well, well, isn’t this a surprise? Lady Lenis, of all people. I heard you had gone missing, but to meet you again like this—what a delight. Thanks to you leading my soldiers to their deaths, the furious kingdom has finally resolved to wipe out Liberta completely. The blood, the flames, the endless screams… You wouldn’t believe how magnificent it was. You played your role as the perfect spark. I truly must thank you.”
Hearing Vector speak so shamelessly, not even bothering to conceal his true nature, Lenis trembled with rage and shouted.
“Baron Vector…! So you really just used me?! Was all that talk about rising through the ranks just a lie?!”
“Of course it was a lie. What does trivial worldly power matter? It is nothing but fleeting dust in the wind.”
Lenis’ face turned red with fury.
“You used me? Baron Vector! Just because my family bought our title and people call us fake nobles, did you really think we’d just sit back and take this?!”
“Used you? I merely pointed a desperate girl, starving for recognition, toward a well of validation. It was you who willingly walked toward it.”
As Lenis seethed with rage, Vector smirked again.
“You were nothing but a catalyst, a pawn meant to ignite the flames. Now that your role is complete, your life or death is of little concern to me.”
Then, he turned his gaze toward me.
“But since you brought along such an unwelcome guest, I’m afraid I can’t let you live.”
“How dare you…!”
“Everyone, be on guard! This bastard is the Underground Worm Linian told us about!”
“!!”
Hearing Linian’s name, Ravi and Elfin immediately readied themselves for battle.
Vector, however, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“You’ve met Linialas, have you? I wonder what possessed that wretch to reveal the truth to an outsider… No matter. Now that you know, I definitely can’t let you live. This complicates things. If Arbones’ elder’s granddaughter, the princess of Carat Dutchy, and the count’s daughter of the Pratea Kingdom all disappear at once, it will be troublesome to cover up… But what I truly don’t understand is…”
As he spoke, a dark and ominous aura billowed from his body. He took a step toward me.
“Who the hell are you? How did some unknown fool hear about us from Linialas and recognize me?”
The moment he finished speaking, his black aura suddenly transformed into sharp spears, hurtling straight toward me.
I quickly summoned my lightsaber, striking back.
Though it appeared to be mere black smoke, it clearly had a physical form—it clashed against my blade with a loud impact before dispersing.
“Urgh!”
I swung my lightsaber at Vector, sending a radiant slash of light his way.
Clang!
Vector widened his many eyes and swung his arm, his dark aura forming a blade to block my attack.
The brilliant light collided with the black energy, scattering into fragments.
In that moment, my companions gasped in shock.
“The space… changed?!”
“What the—?! It was a garden just now…!”
“There’s… nothing… How is this even…?”
“Save the questions for later! We need to take him down first!”
At my shout, the three immediately sprang into action.
Ravi, the fastest among us, charged forward first.
But Vector sneered and released a surge of black mist that engulfed her.
Ravi stumbled, disoriented, as if she had suddenly gone blind.
“I… I can’t see! I can’t hear either… What is this?!”
“For a Bunnyfolk so reliant on their senses, taking them away is enough to render them helpless.”
Elfin, crouching with her hand on the ground, stammered in disbelief.
“What’s going on?! There are so many trees and plants around… Why can’t I feel them?”
“In an empty wasteland, a child of the forest cannot wield the power of nature.”
Lenis summoned a massive sphere of crackling electricity and hurled it forward—only for one of Vector’s mouths to swallow it whole.
“My… My magic…?”
“A mere fledgling, too obsessed with appearances to grasp true skill—your magic is little more than a snack for me.”
Vector had neutralized all three of them with ease.
Then, his many eyes locked onto me with a fierce glare.
“But you… You are different. I have been searching for the fragment the Goddess stole, and yet, here you are, walking straight to me. I should thank you.”
“What the hell are you rambling about?!”
Slash!
I swung my sword again, but once more, it collided with Vector’s black energy and dissipated.
“A truly troublesome power… It was useful before, but now it’s an annoyance.”
“So what? You plan to run away? Now that I know you’re the Underground Worm, there’s no way I’m letting you—”
“You’re mistaken, servant of the Goddess.”
Vector unleashed more black mist toward Ravi.
Dark energy coiled around her body, twisting her limbs against her will.
“Ugh… My body…!”
“You do not decide who gets to leave alive. I do.
And fortunately for me… you’ve brought me the perfect tool.
The princess of Carat may be useless otherwise, but with her raw strength, she’ll be more than capable of tearing you apart.”
Ravi struggled to resist, but Vector’s power had taken hold—forcing her to move under his control.
“Ravi! That damn bastard, where the hell…!”
Elfin once again focused all her strength and placed her hand on the dirt ground, but in this ‘Deceiver’s Domain,’ there was nothing. Just like I had seen in the game.
“Let go of Ravi, you damn fraud!”
Lenis immediately fired a spell, but just as Vector had said, she had only learned flashy magic that looked impressive, yet lacked fundamental strength.
Her spells were sucked into Vector’s mouth and disappeared.
With that, both Elfin and Lenis were completely neutralized.
“Alvis! Watch out!”
BOOM!!
Ravi’s fist, controlled by the black energy, came crashing down at my position.
I barely managed to step back just in time, but the spot where I had stood moments ago was now deeply dented by Ravi’s attack.
Ravi already possessed exceptional physical abilities as a member of the Bunny Tribe, but with the amplification of power due to the black energy, a single hit from him would be enough to snap my spine in half.
Seeing me barely dodging his attacks, Vector smirked mockingly.
“I just saw your swordsmanship—it’s absolutely pathetic. With skills like that, you won’t even be able to cut through the power I have wrapped around your companion. You should be grateful for the foolishness of the goddess who chose some worthless nobody like you.”
BOOM! BOOM!
“Tch…”
“Ah, Alvis…”
Ravi, despite being controlled by an unwanted force, was crying because he was being forced to try and kill me.
“So, what will you do, worthless crusader? You don’t have the luxury of attacking me without cutting down your own comrade. Will you kill your ally to defeat me? Or will you refuse to strike her and run away until you meet your inevitable death?”
“Alvis…! Cut me down!”
Ravi shouted at me with a determined expression.
“I… I can’t shake this off no matter what! If this continues, I’ll end up killing you, Elfin, and Lenis! If cutting me down is the only way to stop him, then do it!”
BOOM!
I barely dodged another attack.
▶ Due to choosing not to cut down your ally and leaving Vector alive, you have received Stage 1 Rebound. ◀
“!!!!!”
A sudden surge of pain struck me like a knife twisting inside my gut.
My legs lost strength, and I collapsed onto one knee.
THWACK!
“Guaaagh!!”
Ravi’s attack landed squarely on my stomach.
I spat out blood as I was sent rolling nearly ten times across the ground.
“Alvis!”
Ravi, who had just attacked me against his will, along with Elfin and Lenis—completely helpless—cried out to me in desperation.
“Kuhahahaha! So, you’ve chosen to die by your comrade’s hand instead. Well, it doesn’t matter either way. This is simply the fate that befits someone of your caliber.”
Hearing Vector’s mocking laughter, I stabbed my lightsaber into the ground and struggled to stand up.
Ravi sent another kick flying toward me.
I barely managed to block it with the blade’s glowing edge, but the sheer force sent me tumbling across the ground again.
As I barely managed to fend off more attacks, an even greater wave of pain crashed over me.
▶ Due to continuing to refuse to cut down your ally and leaving Vector alive, you have received Stage 2 Rebound. ◀
▶ ‘Eyes That See the Truth’ remaining duration: 00:00:59 ◀
A searing pain, as if someone was wringing out my internal organs like a soaked rag, gripped my entire body.
“Ghh—!”
My legs gave out again, and the next moment, Ravi’s kick smashed into my face.
“Guhh…!”
A sharp crack resonated through my skull as my nose collapsed under the force.
A ringing sound filled my ears, my brain rattled from the impact.
I spat out blood and was sent flying.
Ravi, in tears, called out to me.
“Alvis, please stop! Don’t make me kill everyone! If you just kill me, this will all be over! Kill me and get rid of him—”
“Shut… the hell up.”
I gritted my teeth, seething with rage at the cursed message floating in my vision.
So, you’re telling me I’m taking damage because I refused to kill Ravi and let that bastard Vector live?
Then, to fulfill my supposed destiny of resisting fate, I have to personally kill Ravi?
Then what was the point of everything I’ve done?
Why did I go through all this hell dragging Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis along with me?
Because I refused to let the future I saw in that godforsaken game, Crusader Bryden NX, repeat itself in reality.
If I kill Ravi just to get rid of Vector, then what’s the difference between this and all those miserable, garbage endings from the game?
Up until now, I followed the path that the messages guided me towards because I believed it would lead to the “true happy ending” I wanted.
But not anymore.
The moment I kill Ravi, this world becomes just another trash heap, no different from that damned game.
I’d rather have a ridiculous forced happy ending than a beautifully crafted tragic one! In the happy ending I want, there’s no place for the heroine’s death!
“Screw you! That choice doesn’t exist for me! No matter how much you try to force it, I refuse to accept it! I’ll smash this so-called destiny to pieces!”
I screamed at the invisible message that only I could see, gripping my lightsaber tightly once again.
At that moment, a new message appeared before me.
▶ ‘The One Who Defies Fate’ has awakened a new power through sheer will. The Lightsaber’s power and effectiveness have increased. It can now also heal those whom the wielder considers allies. This effect does not apply to the user. ◀
I steadied myself, preparing to strike, and shouted at Ravi.
“Ravi! Close your eyes!”
Ravi stood right between me and Vector.
Thinking I had finally resolved myself, Ravi closed his eyes with a resigned expression.
Meanwhile, Vector grinned mockingly, using Ravi as a human shield.
“Kuhahaha! So much for breaking fate! In the end, you’ve decided to kill your comrade to eliminate me. Fine, I’ll even make it easier for you!”
“I TOLD YOU, THAT CHOICE DOESN’T EXIST FOR ME!!!”
BOOOOOOOM!!!
I slammed my lightsaber into the ground, unleashing a shockwave of light several times more powerful than before.
The ground shattered as the massive surge of energy tore toward Ravi and Vector.
Ravi, expecting death, clenched her eyes shut—but the raging wave of light passed through her harmlessly.
Instead, the black energy surrounding Ravi hissed and sizzled as it was completely erased.
The shockwave, continuing forward, rushed toward the now-panicked Vector.
“W-What…!”
SLASH!
Vector desperately summoned more dark energy to shield himself, but the enhanced power of my lightsaber cut through it like nothing, slicing straight through his body.
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