Chapter 131: Chapter 131 - Adventurer Party(Part 15)

"W-was...was there really no other way to resolve this?" Mumbled Ilex, a shell-shocked look on his face.

"I’m kinda surprised...considering that maniacal rampage you went on, I’d have assumed that seeing people kill each other wouldn’t be too jarring for you, I might’ve even guessed that you’d enjoy it. But you’re a total mess right now," I remarked in bemusement.

"This is different...just yesterday, you were all joking and drinking together, and in the blink of an eye, they turned on you and tried to kill you. I...I don’t blame you for killing them, when they alternative was to let them kill you instead, but...but still, it was really painful to watch that play out," He grimaced as he hugged his knees to his chest, seated against a wall.

"My mistake was agreeing to their proposal in the first place...it’s true that I didn’t have much of a choice, but I should’ve gone with my gut and figured out a way to turn them down," I sighed wistfully.

"I...I don’t think you deserve to take any blame in this. Even if you weren’t here, they still would’ve carried this out with me...and all four of us would probably have died at the hands of the Dragonoid. They survived that because of you, I almost definitely couldn’t have killed that Monster on my own...they owed you their lives, but they forgot all about it the instant that they found out that you’re a Heretic. It’s like you said at the end...they brought it on themselves," He grimaced with a sad look in his eyes.

"What about you? Don’t you hold any resentment towards Heretics?" I inquired curiously.

"Why should I? Among Commoners, I’ve experienced both good and bad, kindness and malice. I came to realize that it isn’t as simple as ’Commoners are good and Nobles are bad’, things aren’t so black and white."

"Huh. This kind of mindset is quite the scarcity, considering what counts as common sense to most people. So, when I come across people like you, I feel a great sense of appreciation and respect. And as much as it sucks to say, you should keep your opinions and point of view to yourself...just as these three threatened you, sympathizing with those who are prejudiced against may well be a death sentence," I informed him.

"Yeah...I already know all that. Today was the first time I voiced those thoughts...their responses were distressing, I really hoped that they would understand," He sighed desolately.

"I can’t fault your optimism, it’s only natural to hope for the best of people...but I’ve come to expect the worst from them, no matter how good or open minded they might seem upon first impression. To be frank, I’d honestly intended to kill you too...but you gave me reason not to," I stated bluntly.

"If I had helped them to try and kill you...I would have deserved it. So...what now? Are you going to run away from this town?" He asked me.

"No way, I’ve still got plenty I want to do in the Labyrinth, I’m not done here. And besides...so long as the Guild and other Adventurers don’t find out that I killed these three, or that I’m a Heretic, I have nothing to worry about," I shrugged in response.

"Huh? But how are you going to avoid suspicion?" He glanced at me, his eyes looking kinda dead.

"Actually, I was hoping you’d help me with that. You don’t have to do much, just play along and back up the story I give the Guild," I remarked, as I stood up and headed over towards the Dragonoid corpse and dragged it towards the bodies of the three Adventurers.

"What story?" He inquired with a frown, as I began slashing at the corpses with the Dragonoid’s claws.

"Well...we were attacked by the Dragonoid, and about to be killed. That’s when these three oh so heroically stepped in and protected us, sacrificing themselves so that we could live. And in the process, gave us the opening we needed to finish off the Monster.

A tragic, yet heroic tale of three great Adventurers. I have no regrets about killing them, but if nothing else, I can appreciate the message and objective they stood for, minus the prejudice against Heretics and Demi-Humans.

For clarification, I’ve never actually met a Demi-Human, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to assume that they’re all the same...and besides, from everything I’ve learnt about the history of this world, I’m firmly of the opinion that the Demi-Humans were wronged by humans.

They’re more than justified in being prejudiced against us, while we have no right in being prejudiced against them. Anyway, I’m kinda ranting here, back to the matter at hand...

You don’t have to say a word, just nod along and confirm my story. I’ll flesh out the details on the way back up, just in case we’re put in a position where we need to avoid contradicting the story.

But it all depends on you...whether you decide to help me or not, I’ll accept it, I won’t try to kill you or anything. I’ll put my fate in your hands, you get to decide if I continue on as if nothing happened down here, or if I have to spend the rest of my life on the run and in hiding," I surmised, as I dropped the corpses into my Pocket Dimension, having made it look like the Dragonoid inflicted all their injuries.

That’s a lie. If he decides that he won’t help me, I’ll just literally backstab him on the way back. My explanation of what happened down here will be less convincing without another person present to back me up, but I’ll just have to take that risk if that’s what it comes to. So...how’s he going to respond?

"I-...even though I was really opposed to joining their party for these three days, I...I started to enjoy being in their company, and yours too, in spite of myself. Their deaths...I feel like there could have been another solution if only they’d been willing to talk things out.

But they weren’t, and as much as I lament their deaths, revealing the true nature of what happened wouldn’t do anyone any good. It would only strengthen the resentment towards Heretics, and who knows what else it could lead to?

Instead, if everyone thinks that they died because of a noble sacrifice to protect others, it’ll inspire others to strive to be better. So...I’ll help you. I’ll corroborate your story," He nodded after a brief pause, before adding in alarm as I raised the claws of the Dragonoid and slashed my right forearm, "Wh-what are you doing!?"

"Making it more convincing. It’ll definitely be suspicious if we return completely unscathed," I pointed out, as I inflicted cuts across the parts of my outfit that were torn or damaged, grimacing slightly.

I then walked over towards my arm that Ekspen had blown off and tossed it into my Pocket Dimension. Maybe I can use it as bait or a distraction against a Monster later, but I shouldn’t leave it here.

If, by chance, another Adventurer comes across it and recognizes the sleeve as my armor, my cover will be blown.

"Oh...okay, that’s a good point. I’ll do it too," He responded, as he got up and walked over as I put the jaws of the Dragonoid over my left shoulder and pressed, imprinting bite marks around that spot.

"By the way, why didn’t you get all berserk and maniacal this time?" I asked him.

"I wish you’d forget about that," He sighed in response, before adding, "The Dragonoid didn’t feel like an opponent...it felt like a predator and I was its helpless prey. Even before I saw it, I felt the fear, it was instinctive fear...I’ve never felt that hopeless before. I can’t get excited over fighting something that I really don’t want to fight."

"Hm, yeah, fair enough. I felt that fear too, I would’ve run away if I thought I could...but turning my back to that thing would’ve been suicide. Though, well, if things had turned truly hopeless, I could’ve just hidden inside the shadows," I replied with a shrug.

"Was that the Shadow Walk Skill you used? Actually, why didn’t you use it against the Dragonoid?" He inquired in bewilderment.

"First, no, it wasn’t a Skill. It was a Spell, one that only Heretics can cast...I’m pretty sure I might have invented it. Well, at the very least, no one taught it to me, I discovered it myself. And as for your second question, it wouldn’t have been particularly effective against a flying Monster," I pointed out objectively.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

Once we had sufficiently inflicted damage on ourselves, I put the Dragonoid corpse into my Pocket Dimension and we began heading back up the Labyrinth.

We were both quiet, Ilex looking like he had a lot on his mind. Can’t blame him, anyone who experienced that would have a lot to think about...even setting aside the whole encountering a Catastrophic Grade part of it. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I’ll give him some time to get his thoughts in order, it’s the least I can do after he agreed to help me cover up the truth of what happened down here. I can get into the details of the cover story later, it’ll be at least a couple of hours before we’re out of the Labyrinth, after all.

Ugh, gotta say though, all these injuries really hurt. But I’ll just have to bear it, it might be suspicious if I made them too shallow. This has been one hell of a shitty experience, but at least I can say this much for certain, regarding this whole teaming up with strangers crap...I’m never doing it again...

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