I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

The interior was surprisingly bright and cool. It was distinctly different from the ant tunnels in Werner’s memories or the iron mine where he had to fight Gawain. Whether this coolness was due to the actual low temperature inside the building or for some other reason, I couldn’t tell.

Of course, the sudden breaking of the barrier made a surprise attack impossible, and the lobby was filled with the forces of the Black Round Table, ready to intercept intruders. But… that didn’t matter much.

“Black Wing Break Palm, First Form – Severing Heaven.”

“Phantom Magic – High Card.”

“Lightning, slither like a serpent.”

After all, they were facing us. Frankly, how could ordinary people with some training stand a chance against the Celestial Mage, the continent’s greatest phantom thief, and a grand magician? The synergy between a martial artist, a thief, and a mage was so broken it didn’t even need to be explained.

The difference between us and those underlings was like that between sewer rats and grizzly bears. Unless they were high on some strange drug, they couldn’t possibly defeat us.

“This is just a one-sided massacre.”

We stepped over the piles of corpses lying around. Honestly, these trash weren’t even worth my effort to watch my step.

“…Well, it’s not like this is the first time we’ve committed a one-sided massacre. It’s nothing surprising.”

Sure, even back in Dragnity Fantasy 1, unless it was a demon lord-level boss, most enemies were depicted as being defeated easily. Of course, as with all games, the actual difficulty didn’t always match the narrative difficulty.

“Shall we head underground then?”

A momentary sense of unease, one I didn’t want to dwell on, flashed through my mind. The missing children from the capital. Even for the Black Round Table, it would have been conspicuous to transport so many children to other regions. Yet, there was no such information reported from other areas.

The facility we were now standing in was located in a wilderness not far from the capital. Enclosed by a barrier, it was hard to access—perfect for hiding ‘something.’ If I were… no, the thought was sickening, but if I were one of them, this is where I’d imprison the children.

But why would they imprison the children? Was it to subject them to that wretched training I once endured? If it were that, it would almost be a relief. In that case, we could rescue them, return them to their families, and send the orphans to trustworthy institutions that I’d personally support.

But there was one hypothesis I desperately wanted to reject. A hypothesis about the true nature of this facility, hidden so secretly near the capital and used to abduct children.

No… it couldn’t be. I wanted to believe I was just overreacting.

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If someone asked me what the cruelest thing in the world was, how would I answer? Massacre? Dictatorship? Murderers? War? Disasters? Certainly, all of those were disgustingly cruel, but if someone asked me that, I’d say: reality.

Reality is always crueler than you’d imagine. It mocks those who desperately wish to deny a certain possibility, presenting that very possibility with a sneer. Reality always drags along war, dictatorship, murder, rape, and disaster in its wake.

And now, reality was standing in front of me, shaking the deformed bodies of children subjected to human experimentation.

Children dried up like mummies. Children grown massive and howling like bears. Children whose bodies were half-transformed into monstrous forms. Children so disfigured they could only plead for death, repeating the same words over and over.

I, who thought I’d seen everything the world had to offer, couldn’t hold back my nausea at this sight. It wasn’t the pitiful children that made me sick. It was the Black Round Table that had turned them into this. It was my own inability to protect them that revolted me.

“Urgh…”

Squall patted my back, while the Celestial Mage elder began examining the children. Yes… even though they looked like this now, if we focused on treating them, they could return to their original state. It would cost a fortune, but Werner’s amassed funds would suffice.

But reality was still merciless. After checking the children’s pulses, the elder broke the devastating news.

“Regrettably, treatment is impossible.”

At those thunderous words, I instinctively grabbed the elder by his collar.

“What do you mean it’s impossible? You’re an expert in these situations. How can you say you don’t know? That’s not even funny…”

“Calm yourself. I would not joke about such matters. If the children were like water, they are now tea. Turning water into tea is simple, but turning tea back into water is impossible.”

Then, what could we do for these children? Leave them like this? Send them back to the capital in this state? Either option would bring unimaginable pain.

So there was only one answer. But I couldn’t bring myself to make that choice. Yet the elder had already made his decision, and even Squall nodded with a bitter expression.

“You’re still struggling with this, aren’t you?”

“If it’s too hard, we’ll handle it ourselves. Just turn your head away and cover your ears. We’ll take care of everything.”

The elder clapped his hands to capture the suffering children’s attention. And with a solemn, sorrowful voice, so unlike his usual tone, he spoke.

“In such a state, even the act of breathing must bring unbearable pain…”

The Celestial Mage Elder focused his magical energy at his fingertips, while Squall shuffled and spread out the cards she had brought.

“So, we’ve decided to grant you peace in the form of death. If you have any objections, resist in any way you can. We won’t kill anyone who wishes to live.”

“Sorry for coming too late, kids…”

“At the very least, I’ll make sure your final moments are without pain. Please, in your next lives… live happily.”

The children did not resist. On the contrary, they seemed relieved, their faces peaceful as if they had finally found solace in death.

I could give them nothing—neither salvation nor rest.

All I could do was stand helplessly and watch their end.

I couldn’t bear how pathetic and foolish I felt.

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“The children in that room…”

The Elder stroked his beard as he spoke.

“No matter how I look at it, the traces left on their bodies don’t seem to belong to this continent. They resemble techniques from the East where I live—corpse manipulation, acupuncture, even sorcery—all mixed together.”

“Then does that mean some martial artists might be involved with the people connected to this facility?”

“Yes. Of course, that’s not the entirety of it, but it means I must face this properly without underestimating anyone.”

There were too many variables. Werner’s old party had a spy, and now there were martial artists within the Black Round Table’s hideout we were searching. To anyone listening, it might sound like drunken nonsense, but reality was far from that.

“And I don’t know who the traitor is, but…”

If that person allowed all this to happen, or at the very least knew about it and did nothing…

“I’ll kill them when I catch them. It doesn’t matter who it is. Just the fact that they tolerated this abominable facility makes them deserving of execution.”

Squall pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped my forehead. Her soft, delicate movements helped calm my anger, if only slightly.

“You’re right. Betrayal is betrayal, regardless of their circumstances. They won’t get to die easily.”

“You’re absolutely right. No matter what happens, a traitor must be dealt with severely.”

With that, the conversation ended. We fell into silence. The frozen atmosphere didn’t thaw, and the chilly air inside brushed against my cheeks.

As we continued to descend deeper and deeper, we eventually came to a fork in the path.

“Hm… One of these is probably a trap.”

It wasn’t as if they’d paved the way to a children’s ball pit.

The Elder stroked his long beard and spoke.

“We have no choice but to split up. Sticking together and checking every path would only waste time.”

Both Squall and I wholeheartedly agreed with this. The issue was, who would go alone…?