Chapter 143 - Awakening (6)

Survival is about choosing your priorities and focusing on them. What do you give up, and what do you choose? The more rationally you solve that dilemma, the better your chances of survival.

But this time, I hadn't managed it.

“Ghk, cough!”

Three injured people and one top-tier potion.

The best move would actually have been to give Rotmiller the entire bottle. I needed to revive him as quickly as possible so he could retrieve the potions from [Treasure Room]. Then I should have treated myself with the high-grade potion and given Dwalki the remaining top-tier potion.

But...

'Dwalki would have died if I'd done that.'

It was hard to choose rationally. My mind already knew the answer, yet my body hadn't hesitated for a second before giving Dwalki half the potion.

As a result...

“Please, both of you, hold on! We're all getting out of this damned place alive!”

The one certain future had vanished. Because I couldn't give up on Dwalki, I could no longer guarantee even Rotmiller's survival. Half a bottle would have sufficed if I'd given it to him immediately, but the problem was that I'd been too late.

Simply put, high risk, high reward. Because I wanted the whole team to survive, I'd made an irrational decision that could get the whole team killed.

“B-Bjorn...”

I approached Rotmiller and kept checking his pulse and breathing, praying that he would hold on. If this man died here, all five of us were as good as dead.

'Ten minutes.'

That was about how long it would be before that Dragonslayer bastard woke up. And right now, the dwarf was the only one in decent shape. If he couldn't hold the bastard off, it was all over.

“Ah, yes! The stone chamber! Bjorn, what was that chamber for?”

The dwarf looked at me from Dwalki's side, asking about the chamber we'd spent twelve hours searching the maze to find. His question was laden with hope.

“An elixir? Potions? Does it have something like that inside? Ah, no, you'd have taken those already, wouldn't you? Then is it a healing spring or something?”

“... That's not what that chamber is for.”

“Then what is it? We went to all that trouble to find it! Surely there must be something!”

The dwarf asked, desperate for one particular answer. I knew it was best not to answer questions like these, but...

After a brief pause, I spoke.

“That chamber is a trap room.”

“A trap room...?”

“Yes. Opening the chest sends you back to the starting point.”

If the bastard and the priest had shown up together, I'd intended to abandon Plan A immediately and use it to escape through the portal. Nothing we did could have given us a chance in that situation.

“R-right! Then let's hurry back through it! That will do it!”

“Hikurod Murad, get a grip. Even if we could return to the tower, nothing would change.”

Going to the tower wouldn't make potions appear. Besides, getting back was impossible to begin with.

Sneaking in while it was unguarded would have been one thing. But heading for the portal while injured? That was practically suicide. A priest of Carui would be guarding it—one I suspected had changed classes while retaining a high priest's level of Divine Power.

“Ah, yes! A priest! Wasn't there an old man with them who looked like a priest? Let's find him.”

“Stop.”

“From what I saw, he clearly seemed to be following that man against his will. If that's true—”

“Stop, Hikurod.”

“How can you tell me to stop? They're both dying! We have to do something!”

The dwarf shouted as though crying out against his own helplessness. I answered coldly.

“There's nothing more we can do. Nothing but watch.”

“Is that... really all we can do?”

“Yes.”

There were three possible outcomes.

We all lived. We all died. Or some died and some survived.

Every minute, every second passed like an eternity.

Then...

“That man... what happened... to him?”

Dwalki regained consciousness.

* * *

“Dwalki! Don't speak!”

“That's right. Stay still. As soon as Rotmiller wakes up, we'll get you a potion—”

Watching us pour out words, Dwalki asked again.

“That man...”

“...?”

“What happened to him?”

As if that mattered more than his own life, he had asked about nothing else since opening his eyes.

I considered it for a moment. Should I tell him the truth?

I didn't deliberate long.

“He isn't dead.”

“Ah...”

“But thanks to you, we're out of immediate danger. Leave the rest to us and rest.”

“I-I can't do that.”

Dwalki shook his head desperately.

“Th-there's... no time.”

“Didn't you hear me? Once Rotmiller wakes up, we'll get a potion—”

“Th-this isn't... something a p-potion... can cure.”

Silence followed his words, and I calmly accepted reality.

“... I see.”

I didn't know what method Dwalki had used. But he would know his condition better than anyone. He would want to live more than anyone.

There was no point denying what he said.

“What are you saying? It's a t-top-tier potion!”

“That's right, nyah! You know what these things can do, nyah! S-so stop talking nonsense—”

“Miss Misha.”

Dwalki opened his eyes and gazed at us.

“Hikurod, and... Bjorn.”

He had merely called our names one by one. But having spent my childhood in a hospital and witnessed countless deaths, I knew what he was trying to do.

“Go ahead. I'll tell Rotmiller for you.”

“... Thank you.”

A candle flickering as its wick burns out. As though wishing to leave something in this world. To become even a memory. Shining brightest in its final moment.

“There's something I must tell you all.”

The trembling left Dwalki's voice.

* * *

Mother had loved the sea. That unknown thing she'd only heard stories about, never once seen.

I hadn't understood as a child, but as I grew older, I came to understand.

“There are things... we want all the more because we cannot have them.”

Sometimes, such things exist in this world. Things that shine all the brighter because we don't know them, because they have been denied us.

“For me, that was all of you.”

I'd been lucky. More than I deserved.

I'd met good people and gone exploring. We'd shared many stories and comforted one another. At last, the empty space I'd thought could never be filled had been filled.

That was why I had to say it.

“Thank you, all of you, for being my companions.”

Words he'd always been too embarrassed to say. Words he'd kept putting off until later. But words that would remain buried in his heart forever if he didn't say them now.

Dwalki slowly looked ahead through his dimming eyes.

“Waaah! Don't say that! Please? Dwalki, please... nyah...”

The woman he loved was crying. That wasn't what he'd wanted.

Slowly, his gaze moved to the side.

“I should be thanking you... for being my friend. For joining... the team I put together.”

His dear friend was looking at him with a smile. He was grateful for the kindness behind that smile, offered with a trembling beard.

And he was sorry.

He'd promised to visit his friend's smithy one day. He wouldn't be able to keep that promise either.

Slowly, he shifted his gaze again.

“Leor Wuerv Dwalki.”

Last was his rival in love, the companion he admired. Unlike his cowardly self, this warrior had always fought to the very end to protect everyone.

The warrior regarded him with calm eyes.

“I owe you an apology. I misjudged you. You were a finer mage and companion than anyone. And the choice you made was noble and sublime.”

The man who had always been sparing with praise, the warrior who never offered empty flattery, spoke.

“It was an honor to have you at my side.”

He was overwhelmed, yet somehow relieved. For the first time, he had earned the man's recognition. A great warrior who lived like a hero from a story had called it an honor.

He, a mere half-baked mage, had adorned a page of the journey that warrior would follow.

That should have left him with no regrets. Yes, surely it should have...

'Why do I...?'

He felt bitter. Cheated. Afraid. Empty.

'Why...?'

That was death. Being erased from someone else's next page.

“Don't you have something more to say? I'll give you some privacy if you want.”

Only when the warrior spoke did Dwalki realize the reason for these feelings.

“Waaah! Dwalki! Don't die! Please, won't you stay, nyah?”

Sometimes, there are people in this world who shine. For me, that person was you.

He still hadn't told her that.

But...

'That would be selfish.'

He struggled to put his selfishness aside. He knew that if he didn't do it now, he would never have another chance. But her journey wouldn't end today.

He mustn't remain a dark shadow over the life she would go on to lead. If he truly cared for her, that was the right thing to do.

And so Dwalki spoke.

“Bjorn.”

“... You have something to tell me?”

“Yes.”

The only thing one departing this world could leave behind.

“You're a perceptive man. Please, don't turn a blind eye any longer.”

The warrior didn't ask what he meant. He must already understand. He was far too intelligent and wise to be called a barbarian.

“Answer... me...”

“I will.”

Having finally secured an answer, Dwalki smiled brightly, from the heart.

But perhaps that was all the time he'd been allowed.

“... He's awake.”

The warrior's eyes turned cold. At that, Dwalki's failing heart throbbed.

The Dragonslayer, Ligar Vagos. An enemy he had given his very life to fight, yet had never been able to defeat.

But...

“Can you... win?”

“Don't worry. I'll make sure everyone gets back alive.”

At those words, Dwalki let go of all his anxiety. He set aside even his fear that his death would be meaningless. If this dependable warrior said so, surely it would come to pass.

So now, he could let everything go...

Slowly, he closed his eyes. Sounds grew distant, and the darkness deepened.

As his thoughts gradually dulled, he wondered: If I'd lived a heroic life, and my life were recorded in a book, however briefly, what would its final sentence be?

A rather fitting phrase came to mind. It might not be the most appropriate way to describe a mage's end, but...

'Not bad at all.'

Leor Wuerv Dwalki, mage of the Outcast Team.

After protecting his cherished companions from Ligar Vagos the Dragonslayer, a member of Orculus—

Fell gloriously in battle.

* * *

「Achievement Accomplished」

Condition: First companion character death.

Reward: Mental permanently increases by +1.

* * *

There is no paradise at the end of an escape.

The Dragonslayer, Ligar Vagos.

The more I learned about his identity, the firmer that conviction grew. He belonged to Orculus, a group that held even the king in contempt. We hadn't exchanged names, but finding us wouldn't be difficult.

If he wanted revenge, I believed we would never be safe, even in the city.

That was why...

New Plan A.

I'd devised a plan to kill him. While Guardian of Balance was active. I had decided that if we missed this moment, we'd never have another chance.

But what had come of it?

THUMP!

The warrior's heart beat low.

New Plan A had failed. The battle with him still lay ahead, but I hadn't saved everyone.

There had been no paradise in standing our ground and fighting, either.

It wasn't as though I hadn't known. No such place, pretty as it sounded, could possibly exist anywhere in this world.

THUMP!

Unlike my own quietly beating heart, his no longer beat.