Ch.125Chapter 125

As soon as I crossed over into the space, I was momentarily stunned by the scene before my eyes.

I was greeted by a space completely filled with dolls.

If one knew this world setting was Snow Castle, such a cheerful space shouldn’t exist.

Obviously, it must have changed due to coward mode.

Was it related to an Outer God then?

Or was the original scenery too gruesome?

While I was pondering this, I stared blankly at the deputy commander as he spoke.

“…I sense this is by no means a safe space.”

“Oh, yes.”

Hmm.

If it doesn’t feel like a safe space, does that mean these dolls are somehow related to an Outer God?

Then I should be careful not to step on them.

But how can I avoid stepping on them?

The clear floor space is too narrow, making it almost impossible not to step on them if I make the slightest mistake.

As I was thinking this with a slightly furrowed brow, the deputy commander pursed his lips and said:

“Hmm, it seems even this atmosphere doesn’t threaten you.”

Was it because I maintained too calm an expression?

I wished I could show the deputy commander my perspective, but since that wasn’t possible, I decided to go along with his words.

“Um… no. It does look… sufficiently dangerous.”

Nothing was harder than denying an obvious truth, so I stammered through my response. Suddenly, I noticed Marenne looking at me with a pleased smile.

No matter how I looked at it, she seemed to be misunderstanding something.

I was about to explain myself, but the deputy commander simply turned his gaze forward again.

“Let’s move ahead.”

“Yes!”

I had no choice but to follow along.

And seeing him openly stepping on the dolls, I became convinced they weren’t particularly dangerous, so I followed the deputy commander, stepping on the dolls as we advanced.

I casually asked the deputy commander for food and continued forward while filling my stomach.

The deputy commander was looking at me like I was some kind of monster, and I kept thinking there must be something about these dolls.

“Don’t be too hasty. The presence of so many corpses means there must be something here.”

Only then did I understand why the deputy commander had been looking at me that way.

Ah.

I suppose anyone would look like a monster if they suddenly started eating in front of corpses.

I should have checked what these things were before acting.

As I was regretting my behavior, I noticed something ahead.

A male figure and a female figure were fighting as if neither was willing to give an inch.

The deputy commander and I quickly approached and hid behind a pile of dolls to observe them, and I could tell their combat abilities were evenly matched.

An incredible clash of power against power.

The impact sent the surrounding dolls flying into the air.

Now that I knew these were corpses, I could roughly imagine how gruesome the scene actually was.

When I caught a glimpse of the man’s face, his appearance seemed familiar.

Thinking of who it might be, I said to the deputy commander:

“Isn’t that… him?”

He strongly resembled the Warrior God I had seen in the deputy commander’s dream.

Even down to the dual axes he wielded.

In my knowledge, the Warrior God was the only one who would fight with such inefficient weapons.

At my words, the deputy commander’s eyes widened, and he immediately rushed toward the man.

He moved so quickly that I couldn’t even think of stopping him.

Ting!

The deputy commander’s greatsword easily blocked the woman’s attack, and I could see them recognizing each other’s faces.

“Oh, oh?! Who do we have here!”

The man spoke to the deputy commander in a gruff voice, seemingly delighted.

“Isn’t it the deputy commander?!”

It was indeed the Warrior God.

#

Clang, ting!

The deputy commander deflected the woman’s attack.

If the deputy commander could block her attack without even having time to think, it probably meant she was an Outer God too.

However, what was strange was that both the woman and the Warrior God wore cheerful expressions, as if they had been enjoying their battle.

“Warrior God…!”

There was a slight tremor in the deputy commander’s voice.

Perhaps he was happy to find another of his cherished knights.

The Warrior God struck the deputy commander’s shoulder strongly with his fist.

“Hey, deputy commander! Don’t tell me you’re making that face just because it’s been a while? You’re built like a mountain!”

“…Kuhehe, nothing compared to your build.”

“What are you saying! Deputy commander, you’re taller than me!”

Though they must not have seen each other for a long time, the deputy commander conversed casually as if they had been close friends until yesterday.

The senior knight known as the Warrior God was the same.

But it was clear this wasn’t the time for such pleasantries.

“…It’s good to see you after so long, Warrior God. But let’s save the reunion for later. We need to deal with that one first.”

“Haha, of course! I almost killed it already!”

As I was unconsciously smiling at the Warrior God’s confident declaration—

“Almost killed it already!”

Suddenly, the Outer God repeated the Warrior God’s words.

With the exact same intonation.

What was this?

Was it mocking the Warrior God?

The Warrior God was supposed to be one of the crazy knights with combat ability equal to the deputy commander.

In contrast, the Outer God before us didn’t seem that strong.

At best, below Nutriche’s level?

Or was it an Outer God with a playful nature?

But it was repeating the Warrior God’s words plainly, without any sense of mockery.

I felt something was off, but the deputy commander was already advancing toward the Outer God alongside the Warrior God.

Boom!

The Warrior God’s dual axes and the deputy commander’s greatsword swung at the Outer God simultaneously.

The Outer God hurriedly tried to block their attacks with its weapon, but there was no way it could withstand their assault.

The Outer God’s weapon shattered into pieces.

Having lost its means of attack, the Outer God stood with a blank expression.

“Haha, deputy commander! The finishing blow is mine!”

“Is mine!”

See, it copied again.

But since I seemed to be the only one who could hear the Outer God’s voice, the deputy commander didn’t notice anything strange and watched the Warrior God’s amazing movements with a serious expression.

With his massive build, the Warrior God leaped into the air, spun five times, then bent his waist and raised his axe until it nearly touched the back of his head.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

A fierce roar enveloped the area, and with the added centrifugal force, he brought his axe down on the Outer God’s skull.

Thwack!

To my eyes, the Outer God’s head comically caved in for a moment before bouncing back up.

The meaning of this was unmistakable.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

The Outer God let out the same kind of roar as the Warrior God, trembled, and then collapsed to the ground.

It signified death.

The Warrior God carefully observed the Outer God’s condition until the end, his shoulders rising and falling as he breathed.

And finally, when he confirmed the Outer God was dead.

“Kahahaha! Victory is ours! The knights of Rondan shall be eternal!”

With those words, he raised both axes high into the sky.

#

“Warrior God, how have you survived all this time?”

“Come now, deputy commander! It’s me we’re talking about! As if I would die to mere blizzards or Outer Gods!”

The Warrior God and deputy commander were resting, savoring their victory.

I sat beside them, feeling awkward.

Honestly, it had taken me quite some time to feel comfortable around the deputy commander, and now another big shot had appeared, which was rather overwhelming.

If I had to compare, it felt like becoming friends with a senior sergeant who had been broken on my first day of transfer.

The Warrior God shifted his gaze to me, then pointed at me and asked the deputy commander:

“Deputy commander, who is this young man?”

“He’s a knight who was recently promoted to regular knight status. He’s remarkable. Doesn’t even think about harming his own body for Rondan’s sake.”

“Huh? There’s a knight who moves like that at his rank?!”

The Warrior God looked at me with curiosity.

The deputy commander’s shoulders were raised high, as if he’d just heard praise for his own child.

“And his mental strength is extraordinary. He had Outer God particles implanted in his body without any damage. A normal human would have died from that alone.”

“Outer God particles?”

“Yes, such things exist. You’ll learn about them as we work together.”

The deputy commander smiled at the Warrior God’s curious expression.

I understood why the deputy commander was acting this way, as I wasn’t unfamiliar with the feeling of meeting an old friend after a long time.

The deputy commander was excited.

Perhaps not wanting to show it too much, the deputy commander stood up and walked toward the portal connected to our world.

“That’s enough talk for now. I want to get out of this dreadful place immediately.”

“Couldn’t agree more. Let’s hurry back to Rondan! I survived thanks to you, deputy commander!”

“When we return, The Princess will likely commend you. Be prepared to receive it.”

“Got it!”

With those final words, the deputy commander went through the portal first, and the Warrior God and I stood up almost simultaneously.

I was planning to follow after the Warrior God.

“Hmm, I see.”

But instead of going forward, the Warrior God suddenly muttered and turned to look at me.

Was it my imagination?

For a moment, I thought I saw the Warrior God’s eyes glow red.

“You and I have something in common, friend.”

I froze at that eerie aura.

His face was clearly smiling.

It was a friendly-looking smile.

But those eyes were revealing unmistakable killing intent toward me.

A second of silent confrontation.

The silence was broken when the Warrior God gave me an incomprehensible gesture—a thumbs up.

Then, as if nothing had happened, the Warrior God quickly ran after the deputy commander.

“Hey! Let’s go together, deputy commander!”

“You crazy bastard! I told you not to put your arm around my shoulders so roughly with that build of yours!”

“What’s the big deal! Deputy commander, you’re sturdy!”

I watched the back of the Warrior God as he laughed boisterously and leaped to put his arm around the deputy commander’s shoulders, listening to the deputy commander’s grumbling.

Hmm.

Was it just my imagination?

There were many questions, but since I couldn’t confirm anything right away, I quietly followed the two of them.