Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

“Ugh, don’t joke around! Why does everything happen when I’ve finally achieved everything…!”

The interrogator began to ramble as she gazed at the black hole that had suddenly appeared behind her.

What on earth caused that space to materialize?

It didn’t feel like the record keeper had done anything just yet.

My mind was failing to grasp it.

Yet my heart insisted that it was all her doing.

No way.

This can’t be the awakening of a super coward mode, right?

No, that doesn’t make sense.

If it were an awakening, I wouldn’t be feeling this ambiguous.

Typically, someone who has awakened could wield their power freely.

This was some kind of defense mechanism.

Like a trick boss in a game meant to stop a player trying to break away from the predetermined story.

I had no idea who had activated this defense mechanism.

But it wasn’t as if absolutely nothing had happened.

I could feel the space in my mind occupied by outsiders expanding significantly.

“…As expected,” muttered the record keeper quietly.

What?

I wanted to ask, but looking back at the previous events, I was sure she wouldn’t provide a detailed explanation.

Some kind of voice had been heard.

But whose voice was it?

As of now, I couldn’t tell.

But it wasn’t a time to worry about that.

The fact that the interrogator was so flustered indicated that there was something that could hit her hard.

Of course, she wouldn’t just sit still.

“If I had known it would come to this, I would have been more cautious sooner…!”

She seemed to be focused only on her own safety, ignoring her surroundings as if to immediately withdraw.

She probably thought I wouldn’t be able to move right away because my throat was constricted.

But she underestimated me too much.

That’s why she got careless.

“Eh, huh?! Ugh!”

As soon as I stood up, I swung my arm toward her face, and my fist, powered by Meditatio, hit the interrogator squarely.

Having taken a hit, it seemed the interrogator felt anxious about her failure to escape, her face now filled with fury.

But had she gone beyond the threshold of anger?

Her expression blanked.

“…It seems you want to lie down forever. I’ll grant you the wind,”

The aura radiating from the interrogator changed.

An overwhelming aura, one I’d never felt before, emanated from her.

It felt like I was being crushed against the floor.

The interrogator started to move as if she was about to do something, so I lowered my stance to respond.

The problem was that the moment she moved, she vanished instantly, leaving me unable to track her with my eyes.

I strained to keep the tension, sensing all the presences around.

But by the time I pinpointed her location, she was already too close behind me.

“Ugh?!”

I couldn’t react.

With a swift kick to my side, I felt my body twist, rolling along the ground.

Once the flow was interrupted, they say you lose your initiative.

Just as I managed to stop due to friction, the interrogator approached and jabbed her heel into my back.

Unable to make a sound through the pain, she grabbed the back of my neck and aligned her gaze with mine.

“You’re even sturdy. But judging by your condition, it looks like your time is running out?”

“Hrgh…”

I still had some threads left.

So I would not give up until I fell.

When I stared at the interrogator with determination, she laughed derisively and began to gather red energy in her hand.

“This is the final blow. See you later.”

I had to avoid that.

I absolutely had to…

But held by her grip, I could only feel her hand moving closer.

Could I endure the blow?

No, that would surely knock me out.

After all, just as I finally caught a break, I’d have to wait for the next chance?

Who knows how much stronger I’d be next time?

Such complicated thoughts were clarified the moment I saw the interrogator’s arm swinging toward me.

As her palm faced me, I felt an intense buildup of energy.

“Wh-what?!”

With her palm thrust into the air, a tightly condensed force of pain shot upwards, allowing me to escape her hold.

The interrogator’s face displayed confusion.

Surely, something hadn’t gone according to her plan.

“Y-you record keeper! You too!!!!”

What on earth did the record keeper do?

It felt like something had happened that I couldn’t comprehend, but on my level, it was beyond my recognition.

Could it be that the interrogator simply failed to hit me at this close range?

Anyway.

She had been filled with rage, but I understood.

The excessive buildup of pain she had accumulated meant she was now in a much weaker state than before.

Gripping her wrist with both hands, I forced it to twist—a slightly difficult task, but I could feel her joint giving way.

“Argh!”

Still holding her pained wrist, I summoned the gardener’s vines to wrap around her arm.

“Do you really think this will stop me?”

I didn’t reply to her taunt.

The vines rapidly enveloped her entire body.

The interrogator, now wearing a serious expression, calmly began to tear away the vines, nearly slipping from my grasp.

But I managed to refocus and hold on, pulling out more and more vines.

“Quit being so pathetic! You’ll never win against me anyway!”

I remained resolute, unaffected by her words.

I was simply doing everything I could.

Again managing to pull out all the vines as the interrogator retreated, I used the dragon’s wings to reach her at the same speed, surprising her with my sudden appearance.

Once again catching her arm and summoning vines.

“What are you doing?! What is this?!”

I could keep this up endlessly.

I still had plenty of seeds dedicated to the noble ones who sacrificed themselves for Rondan.

Seemingly deciding that dodging wouldn’t suffice, the interrogator frowned and began hurling orbs towards me.

I felt I might lose consciousness at any moment.

I almost released my grip on her.

But I endured.

If only I survive this brief moment.

Rondan would regain peace once again.

“Stop it! I said stop!”

The interrogator, who had been desperately fighting off the vines, couldn’t manage to do so as they almost completely enveloped her.

Finally, the vines covered her entirely, rendering her immobile.

I wished to throw her into that black hole, but I lacked the strength.

“W-what…?!”

The interrogator’s expression revealed her astonishment, yet I ignored it.

Simply, I only threw her as far as my power allowed.

Thud.

The interrogator flailed helplessly to break free from the unyielding vines, displaying an expression of anger.

“Ughhhh!”

She was being slowly drawn into the black hole.

Had she truly lost her mind?

Suddenly, she smashed her head against the ground, staring blankly up.

Then she quickly scanned her surroundings, glancing at the black hole, and looked at me with a pitiable expression.

“Don’t!!! No! Master!!”

Suddenly claiming to be a slave, it was pitiful enough to think she might die at any moment.

Her voice dripped with despair, filling me with satisfaction.

So had she finally resigned herself?

With her mouth tightly shut, she merely twisted her body.

“Master.”

Asti, who had finally regained consciousness, approached me.

Thinking she would be badly hurt after taking a solid hit, I was relieved.

“Asti.”

“In the end, we were victorious.”

Asti greeted me with a polite smile.

Yes, we won.

Though there was a slight sense of emptiness, we managed to save Rondan today once again.

“That’s right. It’s all thanks to you, Asti.”

“Not at all. It was your achievement as well.”

Her humble demeanor made me feel deeply proud.

So I reached out to pet her head.

“Master, now let’s return and rest…”

Asti seemed to close her eyes to feel the sensation of my hand.

However, instead of gently petting her, I grabbed her by the neck and flung her toward the black hole.

“…?”

Asti gazed at me, confusion written all over her face.

Could she not accept what had just happened to her?

Her panicked expression only made it all the more satisfying.

“Asti, I’m sorry.”

I walked toward the black hole.

And then I walked over to the interrogator lying on the ground.

“I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Saying this, I smiled at what had been Asti.

I could see her expression twisting in extreme shock.

“Just as the dragon slayer imbued me with the power of the dragon, it appears that with the movement of strength, elite outsiders can switch bodies like this.”

Though the time spent was short, I knew her unique nonchalance well.

Asti had never spoken to me in such a polite manner.

She had spoken with the childish innocence typical of young kids.

“Don’t! Noooo!”

The interrogator, now in Asti’s form, screamed as she was sucked into the black hole, and with that, the black hole sealed itself.

As if it existed solely to consume her.

I let out a sigh.

Yes, it’s finally over.

I looked at the interrogator’s body, now bound by the gardener’s vines, staring blankly at me as Asti.

Perhaps due to the loss of the elite outsider’s power, the red energy she possessed faded completely, leaving only a pure white albino girl form.

However, by doing this, we’ve eliminated the outsider that governed ‘pain,’ right? Is that alright?

“If the interrogator had directly fallen into that, things would’ve been a bit tricky, but… Thanks to the body switch, it turned out positively,” spoke the record keeper’s voice.

“No matter how much she loses her elite outsider powers, the concept of pain can still be maintained due to the existence of her physical body. In summary, from this point, Asti will become the outsider overseeing pain. Of course, it will feel like a mixture since she’s still a human soul.”

So, what the interrogator struggled for her life ended up yielding a better result?

“Master… What on earth…?”

Asti looked up at me with her moist red eyes.

Was she questioning how I recognized her and took action so quickly?

I extended my hand to pet her head.

“Asti, even if you find yourself in peril, I will always save you. Just like when I rescued you from that illegal slave dealer.”

“…!”

“This situation was merely a means to prove that fact, if you would kindly think so?”

At my words, tears began to flow from Asti’s eyes.

So many emotions must have been swirling within her.

The sense of finally being liberated from ‘mother.’

The gratitude towards me.

And many others.

So I decided to let it be.

It was finally the moment for this girl, who had always buried her emotions, to unleash them.

I couldn’t possibly interfere with such a noble act.

After giving Asti some time, I stood up to assess the situation.

In my scanning, I noticed someone standing not too far away.

“Oh, Hunter!”

Despite the chaos, it seemed he had survived.

Right, as the protagonist of this world, it wouldn’t make sense for him to die.

Feeling delighted, I waved my hand towards the hunter.

BANG!

If it weren’t for the bullets zinging past me, that would have been great.

“Don’t come closer.”

…What?

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