I lightly extended my left arm toward Gary as he closed the distance, gauging our relative range.
The moment my fingertips brushed him, I used his own rushing momentum against him. Parrying his charge, I pivoted and circled around to his rear.
Just as I attempted to pin him to the ground, several sharp, wooden branches burst from the earth once more. I leaped back to clear the area while dodging the wooden spikes.
Our positions had effectively been swapped.
That meant the shrub that had sprouted earlier was now right beside me.
Vines extended from the plant, lashing out at me like whips.
“...Tch.”
In the split second I diverted my focus to the vines, Gary was on me again. I tried to prepare for an intercept, but the constant interference from the vines prevented me from launching a proper counterattack.
Having closed to point-blank range, Gary slammed a kick into my side.
I blocked the strike with my left forearm, but the force was too great to brace against. I was sent tumbling backward.
I took a breakfall and immediately cast Recovery Magic on my arm. As I did, I noticed something like autumn leaves fluttering through the air around me. For a fleeting moment, my eyes were drawn to the out-of-season foliage—until they suddenly detonated.
Fortunately, the blasts were weak, and I escaped without significant damage.
I blew away the lingering smoke to clear my vision, only to find Gary looming directly in front of me, in the middle of a heavy swing with a massive wooden hammer.
“—!?”
I instantly activated Reflective Wall, bouncing the hammer back.
With the weapon’s trajectory suddenly reversed, Gary was thrown violently off balance. I gripped the Magic Sword Schwarzhase in my right hand and sheared through both of Gary’s arms still gripping the handle.
Maintaining my momentum, I drove a roundhouse kick into Gary’s abdomen, forcibly widening the gap between us.
(...What am I hesitating for? This Gary isn't the Explorer I once respected. He is an enemy belonging to the Cult.)
I muttered the words in my heart, trying to convince myself.
Even if he reflected the traits of a Deep Floor Boss, he was a sham in the end. A far cry from the original.
If Gary’s consciousness had remained intact, he would have been a terrifying opponent combining human intellect with Magic Beast abilities. However, I couldn't sense the slightest hint of a living soul from the creature before me.
I’d had plenty of opportunities to finish him during our exchange. And yet, some part of me was balking at the final blow.
『—Please, just... kill me...』
I was about to take a deep breath to purge these useless thoughts when Gary’s voice echoed in my head, much like Selma’s Telepathy ability.
『I... did that to Warren...? Why... why would I do something like that...』
Gary’s voice rang through my mind again. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but the weight behind it was undeniable. The tone was thick with repentance, as if he were mourning his own actions.
“Gary...?”
I called out to him, but there was no response. Instead, new limbs were already sprouting from the mangled stumps of his shoulders.
Having regenerated his arms, he charged again.
I parried the incoming punches and kicks, dodging the magic he cast to cover his openings, all while Gary’s inner voice continued to spill into my mind.
—The awkwardness of watching his comrades perform so brilliantly while he lagged behind, even though they insisted they needed him.
—The day Amunzaas murdered his friends, and how he had cursed his own weakness.
—The decision to distance himself from Warren and Albert, believing his lack of strength would only hinder the revival of Golden Echo.
—The moment a person claiming to be a subordinate of the one-eyed swordsman who had saved them appeared, recruiting him into the Cult.
—The time spent being looked after by the Cult, where Philly Carpenter—who had joined around the same time—became his only confidant.
—The way his inferiority complex toward his former comrades had slowly festered, driving him to prove his worth by serving the Cult’s interests.
—And finally, the murder of the King of the Nohitant Kingdom and Warren, the acts that made war between the Kingdom and the Empire inevitable.
In stark contrast to Gary’s body, which fought relentlessly to kill me, his heart was begging for death, reciting an endless litany of regrets.
What Gary had done was unforgivable. There was no changing that.
And yet, I couldn't help but feel a flicker of sympathy. If the voice of his heart was true, then he had spent a considerable amount of time with Philly Carpenter. It was the same situation as Marquis Forgas, the lord of Tsutrail.
If that was the case, then the primary catalyst for his spiraling inferiority complex was likely Philly Carpenter’s Perception Alteration. He had simply been a tool, his negative emotions harvested and magnified.
The true evil was Philly Carpenter—and the Cyclamen Cult.
My vow was “to become strong enough to lose nothing, no matter how unreasonable the world becomes, and to be able to protect what is precious to me in any situation.”
However, I am not a god.
More than ten years have passed since I lost everything and made that vow. Countless things have happened, and the list of “precious things” has only grown. I know I cannot protect them all.
That is why I have to make a choice.
The footsteps Gary Orail left behind as an Explorer were what influenced me more than anything else. In that sense, his legacy was something precious to me too.
But as long as the current Gary continued to rampage against his will, he posed a lethal threat to everything else I cared about.
This choice might be the wrong one. But I will make it nonetheless.
To protect the things I love. And above all, so that the Explorer I respect doesn't have to suffer a moment longer.
“Heh... this is completely selfish of me. I really am weak...”
Letting out a self-deprecating murmur, I slipped through Gary’s relentless barrage and plunged Schwarzhase deep into his chest.
I let go of the hilt, and Gary collapsed onto his back, the strength draining out of him.
For the first time, the eyes of the mutated man shifted, his gaze finally locking onto mine. Once he caught me in his sight, his face softened into a smile.
『Ah... I see... so it was you... Thank you.』
Gary’s gentle voice echoed in my mind.
“I haven't done anything worth thanking,” I replied. “I’m just forcing my own convenience on you.”
Whether my voice actually reached him or not, Gary looked surprised by my answer.
『I see... So Selma was with the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky... Hahaha... This is going to be a real miscalculation for you, Stieg... and you, Philly.』
I didn't understand what he found so amusing, but Gary was laughing at the irony of the situation. Once his laughter subsided, his expression turned grave.
『Can you still hear me?』
I nodded. He was trying to leave me his final words. I had an obligation to see them through.
『I don't have much time, so I’ll be brief—』
As Gary spoke, his feet began to dissolve into black mist, the same way a Magic Beast does upon death.
『Find the head of the Downing Trading Company, Christopher Downing. Make contact with him. But if the Cult finds out, it’s over. Use as few intermediaries as possible. Tell no one else about this.』
The Downing Trading Company was one of the most powerful merchant houses on the continent, with branches everywhere. What could he possibly mean by telling me to contact their leader?
Gary’s intention was still unclear. However, he was a man who had nearly reached the rank of a Cult Executive. If a man who knew the secrets of the world said this, it had to have weight.
『And one more thing. You encountered Philly about ten years ago.』
“............Eh?”
A stunned sound escaped my throat at his unexpected words.
(I met Philly ten years ago...? The only time I should have seen her was the day after the Guided Exploration last year, at the Guild during the report on the Black Dragon. I have no memory of her before that. If this is a fact, then—)
『You understand what I’m getting at, don't you? Question your own common sense. There is a high probability that your truth has been distorted.』
“...Ugh... ah...!”
The moment Gary finished speaking, a headache more violent than any I had ever known tore through my skull. It felt as if my head were being split open. It was as if my own brain were physically rejecting any attempt to follow that line of thought.
『Don't think too deeply on it now. But I recommend you keep it in the back of your mind.』
“Why... why are you telling me this? Based on what you just said, isn't this information... a disaster for the Cult?”
『...Well, I wonder. I don't really know myself. Maybe I just wanted to respond to someone who looked straight at a person like me.』
Most of Gary’s body had already dissolved into black mist; only his face remained. He wore a peaceful smile as he wove his final words.
『Please, don't ever break. I’ll be cheering for you from hell. Good luck... junior.』
With that, Gary vanished into the mist.
His legacy and his final warning remained etched into my soul.
The intense headache persisted. Even speaking felt like a monumental task, but I told myself I had to say it. Ignoring the throbbing in my skull, I forced my mouth to move.
“I’ve received your words. I’ll keep moving forward, no matter what lies ahead. So please... watch over me, senior.”