Deathbringer urgently ran through the inside of the secret passage. Having seen the Demon Knight's face before entering, he had to move as fast as possible.

"Ugh, this is killing me."

Still, if there was one fortunate thing, it was that they wouldn't be able to easily enter the secret passage.

Of course, how could they possibly know and use an entry method that even the current Lord's family didn't know, one that only he knew?

If they tried to enter by breaking the wall, it was designed so that a part of the entrance passage would collapse, so he likely wouldn't run into them here.

He placed a hand on the wall of the secret passage, gasping for breath. His stamina wasn't bad, but trying to sprint out of a two-hour secret passage without resting felt like it was going to kill him.

"Who knows if there'll be priests swarming the place once I get out."

If that happened, he would just have to give up then. It was a one-way passage—the entrance he came through was structured so it couldn't be opened from the inside—so there was no way to go back either.

"Phew."

Still, there's no way they'd be there the moment I step out, right? He picked himself up, thinking that if anyone heard him, they'd say he was 'setting up a massive flag'.

His physical training up until now hadn't been for nothing; catching his breath for just a moment made it bearable again.

"Still, I'm out of the city now, so..."

That damn lingering scent of demonic energy was a worry, but he'd heard that it had a time limit too. He didn't know when it would end, but if he kept running, it would work out somehow.

With those thoughts, he approached the slowly appearing end. Since it was camouflaged with dirt, he would need to break through it to get out.

"Oops."

Before digging through the dirt wall, he briefly fumbled over his body. It was to check if there was a group of priests nearby just in case.

And the moment he held up an item to check the situation beyond the wall, something familiar yet the last thing he wanted to see entered his vision.

"Shit."

A gaping hole, as if carved out. It was the distinct trait of the Demon Knight.

"No, what the...!"

It was even observed from extremely close by. Close enough to believe it was right beyond the dirt wall.

What was more, the hole was even getting bigger, as if approaching this way. Deathbringer's eyes widened.

CRASH!

By a hair's breadth, he dodged the collapsing dirt wall. In the spot where he just stood, stones, sand, and grass roots were now piled up in a messy heap.

Instead of the faint light emitted by the luminous pearl, blindingly bright sunlight poured in.

"So you were here."

At the same time, a black silhouette blocking that light stood before him.

Was it because the shadow was cast too clearly? The single part that could shine vividly even with the small light of the luminous pearl—the eyes—flashed with an unparalleled eeriness.

Deathbringer's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Speak."

Just how many words had this person, who never spoke more than five words a day unless hunting a demon, already spat out today?

"Why demonic energy has entered your body."

Normally, he would have quipped, 'Boss, you were capable of speaking more than ten words?', but he couldn't bring himself to do that right now.

Even if it was forced, was it because he made a contract with a demon? Because it was pure terror itself, he simply couldn't muster the urge to joke around.

Deathbringer's gaze lowered automatically.

"Boss..."

Well, in this case, it wasn't just because he was afraid of him.

He didn't want to personally witness that hostility directed at him, regardless of the Demon Knight being filled with murderous intent.

It was a separate matter from fear.

That hostility, that murderous intent. And beyond those emotions, if an emotion like disappointment were to ever surface in those eyes...

"Boss."

Ah, what a ridiculous thought. Who was the one that tried to kill him first, that he now didn't want to see the other person look disappointed?

Even a mere beast knows how to distinguish between the person who saved them and the one who harmed them. Therefore, as a human being, he shouldn't be having such shameless thoughts.

He brushed away all his useless thoughts.

Instead, he reminded himself of his own place once again. That no matter the circumstances, it didn't change the fact that he was a useless human being. Having been helplessly defeated despite being a member of a party gathered to stop the Demon King, he must no longer have a place in this party, no matter the conclusion.

He replaced his crumbling emotions with a feeble smile. It wasn't that he wanted to laugh; it was an act to endure the shittiness of the situation.

"I—"

Still, I should at least tell him this before I go. He smiled and tried to confess something, but raised his hand before he could even finish his sentence.

Drip.

A nosebleed suddenly burst out.

"Cough."

Even coughing up blood.

"... You."

He had merely tried to say 'I can't say anything'. To think even that would be caught by the restriction.

He coughed up blood a few more times from the pain that struck him directly. It didn't feel like he would die, but it hurt just as much. It felt truly fucking awful.

"Heh."

Yet a laugh popped out rather easily. Perhaps he was slowly finding his absurd fate funny.

Deathbringer's lips drew a faint curve.

"Just, Boss. Cut me down."

It was a curve too sorrowful to be called a smile, and somewhat too relieved to be called grief.

"Because talking is a hassle too. Just... just cut me down."

Deathbringer's hands spread wide and went up on both sides. It was a posture declaring surrender.

Plop.

His nosebleed continued to flow, soaking the inside of his hood. Drenched enough that the stain was visible from the outside despite it being dark green fabric.

"Isn't that your job, Boss?"

For a brief moment, the Demon Knight's breath seemed to falter.

"So just..."

"You."

The Demon Knight tried to say something. But he didn't finish his sentence.

His face, obscured by the shade, made it impossible to tell what kind of expression he was making.

"You..."

However, the Demon Knight did not easily move his sword-holding hand. Even though he was someone who could kill him with a single slash if he was the Demon Knight.

"Boss."

Through that, Deathbringer realized one fact.

My existence did hold at least a little meaning to the Demon Knight. Maybe I was somewhat acknowledged as a comrade too. It was that kind of realization.

"If you don't cut me down."

Yet why did such a little thing make him feel happy?

"I'll stab you."

Seriously, why did such a little thing...

"I'm not joking around."

But despite all those realizations, Deathbringer knew.

If he was destined to die anyway, it was better to not be remembered. The joy of being acknowledged as a comrade was fleeting, but the sensation of a comrade dying would remain forever.

"I'm serious."

That was why, instead of making excuses, he gauged the right timing deep within his heart. Upon reflection, he figured he didn't necessarily need to be killed by the Demon Knight.

Of course, it was a restriction designed to cause death if he conveyed specific information. When he had something so efficient, was there any reason to go out of his way to be killed by the Demon Knight?

If he ended his life through the restriction, the Demon Knight's hands wouldn't be dirtied, nor would he have to carry the sorrow of being attacked by the Demon Knight.

It was a win-win situation.

"So—"

SWOOSH!

But the Demon Knight swung his sword before he could even gauge that timing.

Perhaps it was a given, but he felt a little, or endlessly, sad. He didn't know the reason. He just, just felt a little heartbroken. Truly without any reason at all.

So he searched for a single memory amidst his overflowing life flashing before his eyes and knelt before it.

Because if this was the last thing he could recall, he thought a memory with someone would be a little better than a heart-wrenching pain.

Also, if he had to pick just one out of countless memories, it would undoubtedly be Emit. It was only Emit.

The friend he had lived half his life forgetting, whom he hadn't thought of for a long time, rather than all the villains he hated and all the absurdities he raged against, Emit—whom he loved most in his innocent days—was the most fitting for his final moments.

HALT.

"...?"

Yet pain and death did not come even after a long time had passed. The friend he had recalled after such a long time merely stared down at him nobly with those same eyes as always, showing no intention of approaching.

And so, when he briefly opened his eyes, there was a trembling blade right in front of him.

Looking at the blade that couldn't bring itself to touch him, failing to cut even a single piece of fabric, Deathbringer raised his gaze a little further.

"Why..."

CLANG. The blade fell to the ground and struck the gravel.

"Why are you making that face—"

SMACK!

A resounding blow struck his solar plexus, instantly severing his consciousness.

.

.

.

"Gasp."

His consciousness returned quickly. Wait, did it return quickly?

Deathbringer broke into a cold sweat as he looked at himself securely tied to a chair and the drastically changed scenery around him.

An interior built with precious marble or the whitest stones possible. Even if he looked while doing a backward somersault, it was a Temple.

"Oh! He's awake!"

What was worse, the surroundings were filled with entities radiating an unpleasant sensation, suffocating his breath.

It was as if even the air was hostile to him. His entire body felt heavy as if it were being crushed, and his breath was being choked out of him.

Furthermore, when he examined the faces of the people, a few wearing priest robes felt particularly unpleasant. Judging by their attire symbolizing high rank, they all seemed to be possessors of divine power.

Deathbringer blinked, wondering if this was the revulsion caused by the demonic energy.

If so, the Demon Knight experienced this every day... He didn't know how on earth he endured it.

Pressure aside, in the case of the Inquisitor who had the most divine power, didn't it bring up a feeling of repulsion like looking at a corpse swarming with all sorts of bugs—cockroaches, centipedes, larvae, and the like?

Thinking about seeing this every day already made him sick to his stomach.

"Are you awake?"

However, his contemplation on the matter did not last long. After all, with his entire party staring down at him, how could he even afford to have such idle thoughts?

"W-What is it..."

Save me. Wouldn't it have been better if they just killed him while he was passed out? Then he would have died without pain, without idle thoughts.

Or was it an interrogation? Was he dragged all the way here unavoidably because of questioning? Even so, the expression the Demon Knight showed at the end was a bit...

"What is it? Is that what you have to say right now?"

In the midst of this, the snob took issue with his remark as if laying down a threat.

He didn't know what they wanted from him. If she was going to pick a fight, she should at least tell him why he was here first. If they were going to interrogate him, they should ask proper questions.

"What. Then isn't that the right thing to say?!"

"You bastard!"

"Stop it. You should stop too, Inquisitor."

Still... still, this current situation of bickering like usual was better than that damn snob looking down at him with cold eyes.

Regardless of the truth, seeing the snob make those eyes would likely shatter something that truly shouldn't be shattered. Just like how he hadn't wanted to receive a disappointed look from the Demon Knight.

"You..."

Ah, in that regard, it really would've been better to die earlier.

He debated whether he should just force a contract violation right now and end his life, timing be damned.

If he had to go, he wanted to take only the times they spent bickering, instead of memories of their betrayed eyes or reprimands.

Even though at the very end—not now, but the last time he saw them before contracting with the demon—they had shouted and fought. Still...

"Did you make a contract with a demon?"

At that moment, the Archmage asked carefully. It was something he couldn't answer. In truth, even if he could, he wouldn't.

Of course, the facts he could confess were limited, and the words he could speak clearly wouldn't be able to persuade them, would they?

"Answer."

"What do you want from me? You already know."

Because of that, he took it upon himself to be the villain instead.

Perhaps this was actually better. For a sinner who caused dozens, hundreds of people to die in the name of avenging a friend, didn't this kind of death suit him perfectly?

"Are you really..."

"Just send him to the torture chamber. He is not even admitting it himself. It is clear that he joined you under the instigation of a demon."

A death completely devoid of meaning, framed as a traitor, indeed.

"He is not!!"

In an instant, a ringing voice tore through the room. It belonged to the Inquisitor.

"He is not!"

"If you're going to send the young Hunter to the torture chamber, you'll have to deal with the Berserker first. I won't allow it."

It was the same for the Berserker. She sat in the corner with a bored expression, toying with her halberd. Everyone knew that was meant as a threat.

"But, that man is..."

"Ah, whatever, whatever. The Berserker has warned you."

"O, companion of the Proxy..."

"It is an extreme remark... but I share a similar opinion."

"O Proxy?"

Seriously, he didn't know why they were acting like this. Since he was a highly replaceable manpower, they could just throw him away.

That would be comfortable.

A person like him was an existence whose value didn't warrant being this stubborn over.

"I-I, of course, have no evidence, nor anything else to be certain of. However..."

In the meantime, the snob continued speaking, stammering.

"I know the kind of person he is. That idiot is definitely shameless and less moral... but not to the level of joining hands with a demon."

It was a funny thing to say. She claimed she knew him, but from his perspective, she knew nothing about him. Still, and forever.

"He has sincerely lent his strength to our journey to exterminate demons up until now."

Even so, you...

Deathbringer clenched his teeth, recalling what he had previously thought.

When his contract with the demon was revealed, he had picked the Demon Knight and the Inquisitor as the ones who would kill him without hesitation. He believed those two inflexible people would be the ones to execute evil without being bound by affection.

"And the way I saw it, there was not a single speck of deceit in all those moments."

He was wrong.

"Having watched him from his side, I can swear to it."

That prejudice was the most incorrect judgment of all.

"But Proxy..."

"There must be a proper reason why he isn't speaking! That fool... that fool has a lot of secrets. But that doesn't mean it's something harmful to us! At least, I believe so!"

The two people he thought would move with the least hesitation were the ones who, most of all...

"Therefore, please postpone the torture and execution. An investigation must certainly be done to resolve this incident, but it does not need to lead to torture!"

Most of all...

"Who... who are you calling a fool..."

Watching the one defending him most fiercely, he finally shed a tear.

He cried over the one standing indifferently in the back, yet remaining silent despite having heard he made a contract with a demon.

It was the same for the Berserker, who defended him for no other reason than simply wanting to, and the Archmage, who looked down at him warmly.

Uncontrollable emotions surged up in waves.

"You're the fool yourself..."

If he had to die anyway, he had wanted to die as a villain so they wouldn't feel uncomfortable, but he didn't know why they wouldn't cooperate even at a time like this.

"Hmph! Wipe your tears before you speak!"

"Untie my hands before you talk, you stupid snob..."

He knew they were people who wouldn't listen to a terrible degree, which was why he had followed them so they wouldn't just charge in and crash.

"From how I see it, this young man doesn't truly seem like a traitor."

"Even you, Archmage..."

"Think about it. If he were truly a mole, he would have tried to remain an ordinary person to the end and stay by our side. That way, he could be with us until the end without receiving an ounce of suspicion, right?"

"But, the contract..."

"On the other hand, he has been targeted by an entity presumed to be a demon recently. What if it set a trap and forced him into a contract... isn't there a possibility of that?"

"I have never heard of a method to forcefully form a contract."

"Just because it didn't exist in the past doesn't mean it won't exist in the future. You know it too, don't you? That a cursed jar spreading plagues was recently developed."

With tears dripping down, Deathbringer watched the sight of the Archmage persuading the Bishop.

Every time they said a word, the tears that were about to stop continued once again. It was truly agonizing. So agonizing...

"Even so, if that is true, why is he not speaking?"

"As the Inquisitor said, doesn't he have his circumstances? According to the Demon Knight, he vomited blood the moment he tried to say something. Perhaps this is a new curse taking the form of a contract."

He was happy.

"Excuse me, Sirs."

That was why he resolved himself for death and opened his mouth. Whether this would kill him, or if he would manage to pierce through the contract's loophole and succeed, was unknown.

"Believing it is up to you, but..."

In the first place, he didn't even know if they would believe this. Right now, he was nothing more than a suspicious person remaining completely silent on the parts he needed to speak about.

"I, know it."

Even so, he decided to pass it on. Drip. A little blood spurted out of his mouth.

"The demon's, location."

He said it.