A hot energy rose from below my belly button, and the speed and power that surpassed my expectations were transmitted through the sword.
Slice.
The mana-infused sword cut through Knight's neck as if cutting through cloth and passed by.
"Awakening."
The timing was truly incredible.
It seems the daily sparring sessions with Nickel after his evolution were helpful.
I kicked away the collapsing Knight and drew the sword embedded in my shoulder.
Even in that moment, the undead continued to swarm incessantly.
Clang.
With the last handful of mana, I shattered the Warrior's jaw.
Fortunately, the urgent flames were extinguished thanks to piercing the barrier, but the awakened mana was meager at best.
After dealing with the Warrior, the mana from the depleted barrier quickly lost its strength.
"But this will be enough."
The oncoming undead suddenly stopped their movements.
And desperate cries for help could be heard.
"P-Please, save me!"
In an instant, Nickel appeared, his sword pressed against Pyman's throat, waiting for me.
Did Bloody Dan kill him?
Looking at the place where Nickel had fought, I saw Dan's neatly decapitated body and his equipment.
Of course, I expected Nickel to win, but seeing it with my own eyes, it was impressive.
I approached Pyman, still holding the sword in one hand.
"How do you feel?"
"S-Sorry. Please, spare me."
"Where is the ring?"
"I-It's over there! It's at my house! Please, spare me."
Trembling, I forcibly lifted Pyman, who was clutching his severed arm, and stood him up.
Then I pushed him forward and led him towards the cabin.
"Quickly summon the undead."
"Understood."
But why has Nickel been using informal speech since earlier?
I stabbed his abdomen with the hilt of my sword.
"Ugh, why?"
"I don't like your way of speaking."
"I-I'm sorry."
Once inside the cabin, I found out the location of the ring from Pyman.
Fortunately, he hadn't lied.
"So, you've been keeping it. I thought you would have sold it."
"P-Please, spare me."
Putting the ring back on my finger, I instructed Nickel to take Pyman outside again.
I brought Dan's corpse along while I was at it.
I also took the mask, an artifact Dan used, just in case.
At first glance, the mask seemed ordinary.
Dan's mask, which covered the entire face in white, had the ability to change the appearance of the wearer.
"Ah, Lord Adrias? P-Please, spare me. I will be your servant. If you want me to lick your feet, I will, and if you want me to bark like a dog, I will. Please, just show me mercy..."
Swoosh!
"Urgh."
I pierced Pyman's heart with Dan's sword, which I brought along with the corpse.
Pyman, with his heart, pierced, twisted his head and let out a scream of injustice.
"There's no need to keep unnecessary factors."
Even if he wasn't an unsettling factor, I would have killed him anyway.
I'm not the kind of person who forgives the first attacker for no reason.
I made sure he was truly dead and then stood up from my seat.
"Nickel, take care of the guards outside."
Nickel tilted his head.
Then he pointed at himself and made a motion of slitting his throat.
When did he kill them?
I hadn't given any orders to do so.
Reading my thoughts, Nickel pointed to a direction.
There, the body of a guard who had entered the cemetery was lying on the ground.
Well, considering the chaos, it's likely he came to check.
"Bring that body too."
While Nickel brought the body, I consumed a potion.
A burning pain, as if my left shoulder was being pierced by fire, spread from the torn flesh.
"I've done enough, and in the end, I won."
Thanks to that, I even awakened the Dual Core.
It wasn't my original purpose to come here, but thanks to Pyman going berserk, things worked out well.
With this, I have prevented the large-scale war caused by Dan.
Even if the future changes, I will always avoid war.
"I've died dozens of times in games due to war. If I can prevent war, I will do it without hesitation."
While Nickel brought the body of the guard, I carefully placed it in the right position and direction.
Then, using Dan's sword, I created a wound on the guard's body.
I did the same with Pyman's corpse.
I shattered Dan's shoulder with the skeleton warrior's mace and placed Knight's sword next to Dan's body.
Finally, I put the Poison Zombie next to them.
Given enough time, they will be naturally infected.
"I wonder if this will be enough to hide them."
Even if they weren't unsettling factors, I would have killed them anyway.
I carefully planned the scene to make it look like Dan and Pyman fought each other as much as possible.
I don't know if they will be discovered, but at least they should buy some time.
The sun was setting, and the training ground of the Knight Academy's Knight Division was quiet.
It was partly because it was the weekend, but there were no students training in the training ground in the first place since there were private training rooms.
However, from some time ago, a certain student had been consistently using the training ground.
"I thought it wouldn't last long, but it's impressive."
"Yeah, it's been about a month, right?"
"Yeah, it's about time."
"But why is she suddenly training here?"
"Is it because of me? Try talking to her."
Even with the voices coming from the side, Vivian Velocan didn't blink an eye.
No, she was so focused on her training that she didn't even realize that someone was watching her.
Swish!
She swung her sword at a speed three times slower than usual.
She strained to feel every muscle movement, every strand of movement, as she continued her imaginary battle with her virtual opponent.
Both the imaginary opponent and herself fought at a slower pace than usual, performing their attacks and defenses.
As their movements were slower, she could read all the opponent's attacks and defenses.
On the other hand, her attacks and defenses were all easily penetrated.
Thanks to that, a fierce battle took place in her mind, and her hands, which held the sword, produced various changes that bewildered her opponents.
"It's not enough."
More! More!
Her talents shone.
This is not the end of it.
The movements of her wrists and fingertips approached their limits.
Then, her amazing sword seemed to dance as if it had escaped from her hands.
"It's here!"
"Wow, she's really amazing."
It was the Ghost Dance.
The students who passed by and saw her performance all called her swordsmanship 'Gimu', meaning ghost dance.
"We should train like her every day, too."
"I can't even last a week. I'd bet my entire fortune on it."
"Well, yeah. It was too much to train all day, except for eating and sleeping."
At that moment, other Knight Division students appeared from somewhere and noticed Vivian.
"Hey, she's incredible."
"She might be the first place in this year's tournament, right?"
"That could really be the case. How did she suddenly awaken like that?"
One by one, they shared their thoughts while greeting the students who had come to watch.
"Are you here to watch?"
"Yeah, we were just about to leave."
"Is that so? Oh, Vivian reminded me of something. The Magic Division student who teamed up with Vivian and defeated the Black Mage last time, what was her name?"
"I don't know her name either. Why?"
"Well, she went to the private clinic on Alven Street. I just thought of it when I saw Vivian."
As the wind blew for a moment, someone suddenly interrupted the conversation.
Greenish hair fluttered in the breeze.
"Adrias Cromwell's clinic?"
The students who were surprised by Vivian's sudden appearance scattered in surprise.
And the person who spoke nodded and said,
"Uh, well, I don't know exactly, but it seems like he got injured somewhere."
Upon hearing those words, Vivian fell into deep thought.
Since the incident in Borolik Territory, she had been closely observing Adrias Cromwell.
The voice that resembled the fairy from her dreams.
But he showed no interest in her whatsoever.
If he really was the fairy, he should have shown some interest in her.
"Is it just a coincidence that our voices sound the same?"
It bothered her that they happened to be in the same place.
So one day, after all the classes were over, she went to look for him.
Surely... surely, if he really is the fairy, he wouldn't have ignored her.
But Adrias Cromwell completely ignored her.
He seemed more puzzled as to why she was following him.
So she stopped following him and focused on her training.
For the sake of her shining talent, as the fairy had said.
"....?"
As Vivian's thoughts came to a halt, she suddenly found herself on a train.
"When did I get on?"
And her footsteps naturally led her to the clinic on Alven Street.
As if drawn by something, she entered the clinic without realizing why she had come here.
"Adrias Cromwell."
"Yes? Oh, if you mean the patient Adrias, he's in the trauma treatment room over there."
She followed the clinic employee's directions and headed towards the trauma treatment room.
When she arrived at the door of the treatment room, she couldn't understand why she had come there.
"I should be training..."
At that moment, the door swung open.
"Vivian?"
It was the voice of the fairy.
The wound on my shoulder didn't heal completely with just the regeneration potion because I had pushed myself too hard.
As soon as I returned to the academy and before going back to the dorms, I headed straight to the clinic on Alven Street.
If it had been a weekday, I would have visited the clinic within the academy, but it was closed on weekends.
"Huh?"
As I got off at Alven Street, a Knight Division student I didn't recognize pretended to know me.
Who is that? I don't know that face.
Ignoring him, I went to the clinic.
Fortunately, there weren't many customers, so I was able to undergo surgery immediately.
"Eh, tsk tsk. How did it end up like this?"
"It just happened."
The bald therapist who saw my wound clicked his tongue.
I endured the pain and underwent his surgery without anesthesia.
"You held up pretty well despite the pain. Be careful using your arm for about a month, and you can pay the fee outside."
"Thank you."
I expressed my gratitude and walked out.
No, I tried to leave.
As I opened the door, I saw someone's forehead right in front of me.
"Vivian?"
Surprised by the unexpected presence, I called her name.
She looked up at me and suddenly struck me in the stomach.
"Oof."
Caught off guard by her unexpected attack, I doubled over in pain.
She hugged me while laughing.
"Hehe. It's good to see you like this."
I couldn't even argue with the therapist's words.
I ended up leaving her alone for a while, unable to push her away because of the memories of the young Vivian that flashed in my mind.
"Sorry."
After some time passed, Vivian stood up, surprised by her own actions.
Bowing slightly, she waved her hand, signaling that it was okay.
I wondered why she suddenly did that. I was curious about the reason for her visit.
"But why did you come here all of a sudden? How did you know I was here?"
"I heard it from the others."
I recalled one of the Knight Division students I had encountered on the train mentioning something.
So he told her.
"So, you came to see me?"
At my question, Vivian tilted her head and said,
"I don't know."
"If Vivian doesn't know, who would?"
Vivian hesitated for a moment, lost in thought.
Since she had never interacted with Vivian as a character, I didn't know much about her.
In the game, she was just a villain to be defeated.
Thus, I didn't expect her to show any interest in me.
So, by chance, we ended up returning together on the train.
"This stop is Rios Dormitory...."
Due to the train arriving at the Knight Division's dormitory first, Vivian got off the train before me.
While we had not said a single word to each other during the journey, we awkwardly shook hands.
"Go inside."
"Okay."
She nodded and waved her hand lightly.
That was how she disembarked, and as the train departed, she gradually disappeared from my sight.
"Maybe it's because of the Nexus of Sloth?"
Perhaps she suspects that my voice is similar to the fairies.
But I'm glad that she seems brighter than before.
Maybe, unlike in the game, she won't become a villain.
"That's a gain. I don't intend to use future information to provoke incidents. I just want to survive. Even if it means sacrificing the positive future."
And if possible, I want to live happily with my family, even if it's a small but significant wish.
With that in mind, I gazed outside the train.