Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

After trudging through a narrow path, we finally arrived at a room that looked to be about one pyeong (a traditional Korean measure of area).

Agartha, who was relatively thin, didn’t seem too concerned, but the Hunter, dressed in thick clothes, and the hefty Saint looked like they had it rough.

In fact, the Hunter was breathing laboriously, while the Saint was groaning…

“I’m sorry for dragging you along.”

I apologized to them, who looked exhausted, but the Hunter just let out a pfft, and the Saint shook his head as he approached.

“Sir Tanton, you shouldn’t say that!”

The Saint pointed at some red-stained writing with a serious expression, exclaiming, “The human quest! Never ends!”

His loud voice made the Hunter scrunch his face momentarily.

But in that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of hope.

My seemingly endless purpose and goal had progressed further than I thought.

I shouldn’t let my guard down at moments like this.

Yet, still, humans take a step forward.

I nodded at the Saint.

“Thank you, Saint.”

“I did nothing. It’s all due to Sir Tanton’s mental fortitude.”

I gave the Saint an encouraging smile, while the Hunter was staring at the writing with a hmm.

“…There’s a familiar vibe to that script similar to what I felt from that mutt.”

“It gives me a headache, even just skimming over it.”

Listening to the Hunter, Agartha also clutched her head, groaning about a headache.

I looked at the text.

I instinctively felt that the ominous energy I sensed was the last line in this cave.

To think a mere phrase could emit energy comparable to that of an Elite Outsider!

No matter how you cut it, recording might be an Interrogator’s power, but the Saint’s description of it as the strongest of Outsiders seemed no exaggeration.

What could it be hiding that imbued such potent power?

Taking a deep breath to calm my racing heart, I steeled myself and approached the inscription.

Having withstood a mental assault from Nutricha, who had an energy akin to an Elite Outsider, I believed I could surely read this.

And as I began to focus on the writing, it gradually became clearer, revealing its content.

The first line.

– Leydan Tanton.

“…!!”

The moment I saw the phrase, I was struck with shock.

Not only was it startling that my name was written there in red, but more stunning was that the Record Keeper hadn’t made a single mistake in writing it.

Previously, I felt as though the phrases were tailored just for me, and this confirmed my suspicion.

The Record Keeper wanted me to ‘discover’ these phrases.

“Sir Tanton! Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine. Please stand back.”

I replied loudly to the Saint, who was about to come closer out of concern for potential mental contamination like that of an Elite Outsider.

It seemed they thought something went wrong, perhaps due to my startled retreat.

Like when I first met the Gardener.

I can smell the Interrogator and the Record Keeper.

And here, the Record Keeper has bluntly inscribed my name.

Which means the Record Keeper had continuously been watching me from the start.

Why?

What on earth does a mere human like me have that’s worth watching?

Swallowing hard, I turned to read the final phrase.

– You must awaken the forgotten. She must never be forgotten. Absolutely.

‘This is my last gift for you.’

And as I finished reading that phrase, the moment I read the emphasized sentence, I was hit with a sharp pain, as if someone was squeezing my head.

“Ugh…!”

“Sir Tanton!”

“Mr. Tanton?!”

Suddenly, an unbearable pain crashed into my head like a tidal wave.

I lost my balance and fell, with the Saint and Agartha rushing over to support me.

Yet, I couldn’t get up.

With the pain came flashes of unfamiliar scenes.

– There was a woman crying.

The image of a woman suddenly came to mind as I was talking to the White Mask on the train about the day we went after the Dragon Slayer.

– Tanton was facing the crying woman.

And there stood ‘Leydan Tanton’ facing her.

Was this the Record Keeper’s manifestation?

No.

I adamantly deny that it’s ‘Leydan Tanton.’

– The woman moved her lips as if saying something, caressing Tanton’s cheek.

Who is this woman?

‘Someone you can’t forget.’

The shape of her lips clearly came to mind…

‘This is my last gift for you, Leydan.’

“Ah, ahh.”

“Sir Tanton, please! Pull yourself together! Why are you crying?!”

“S-Saint! Is it alright to let Mr. Tanton like this?!”

“Damn it. No wonder I felt something was off; we need to get out of here….”

I gently pushed away the hands of my companions who were trying to help me up.

The moment they looked at me with bewildered expressions.

“Mr. Tanton! Are you okay?”

“Thank you, Agartha. I’m alright now.”

I had no idea why tears were flowing.

The moment I heard the words of that unfamiliar woman who suddenly came to mind, tears uncontrollably poured down.

What on earth did the Record Keeper wish to show me?

What could they possibly want to say, that even though it was something I had never heard before, it felt so familiar?

As my overloaded brain churned, suddenly, another red letter began to etch itself beside that.

“This… can it be? It can write something with such intense energy so carelessly?!”

“…Tsk.”

“Mr. Tanton!”

Perhaps it was seeing the Record Keeper engraving the letters in real time, the Saint became entranced, while the Hunter and Agartha got into a defensive stance.

But what good would it do?

This was the Idea Level, an Elite Outsider.

Besides, they weren’t the type to attack anyway.

They were simply writing because they had been watching me and believed it was the right moment.

The words, carved into the wall, seemed to have reached their completion, and I strained to look at the writing.

– If you have seen this, then the time has come. We shall meet soon, Leydan Tanton. I look forward to that meeting.

Soon, huh?

An Outsider with quick execution; I like it.

I had a mountain of questions I wanted to ask.

How much do they actually know about ‘me,’ Leydan Tanton?

And why do they seem to subtly take care of me?

“Mr. Tanton! Please focus! Mr. Tanton!”

“You’re such a bother…!”

“…Sir Tanton, what exactly did you see?”

For now…

All I could think of was wanting to cool down my dizzy head.

My consciousness began to blur.

#

A quiet room belonging to Tanton.

In the usual Tanton’s room was a brown-haired girl.

Her expression was always blank, but today, she seemed unusually dark.

As if she were about to make a bad decision, she tightly clutched Tanton’s blanket as if it were about to tremble.

In her eyes, there was a mixture of denial of reality, yet also a determination to go through with it.

“…Master.”

Eventually, the girl made a decision.

It was something she had to do.

She didn’t want to burden her master any longer.

That was her thought.

She returned to her room.

She had packed all her things.

‘She’ responds to the positions of the believers.

And the one who qualifies to be their leader was fully within the girl’s grasp.

After all, she was a piece of ‘Mother’ that had grown.

The believers had no reason to dislike her.

She planned to relocate the believers to another domain.

So at the very least, for Rondan.

So that her master would not suffer due to her.

That was her intention.

“…Thank you for everything.”

Thanks to Tanton, her previously empty life sparkled for a moment.

Now, she could no longer afford to delay.

The time had nearly come.

With that thought, the girl began to move swiftly.

#

The Hunter, Agartha, and the Saint were watching over the collapsed Tanton.

The Hunter was uncomfortable with Agartha’s attitude, which was evident from earlier.

By this time, she should have been making a fuss and causing a stir.

Yet now, she could only look at the fallen Tanton with sad eyes, doing nothing.

But he said nothing.

For the thoroughly self-centered Hunter, ‘others’ were elements of concern he could ignore.

First, they needed to escape from there.

That was the Hunter’s priority.

The path to go was narrow.

Given the situation, he figured he should attempt to gently nudge Tanton aside as they made their way out.

Just as the Hunter was about to carry out his rough plan,

Thud, thud, thud.

Footsteps echoed, a sound that surely didn’t belong to humans.

A sense of déjà vu washed over him.

Yes, it felt like the déjà vu he had experienced in the Underground Prison.

He let out a hollow laugh, feeling annoyance towards the Saint.

Right; there wouldn’t be an Elite Outsider in such a mysterious space.

He had foolishly forgotten the principle of Rondan that stated ‘never step into unknown realms.’

Why?

Was it because Tanton’s words led him to unintentionally believe?

Recently, he felt he hadn’t been as level-headed as he used to be, the Hunter thought.

“Thief.”

“…I’m aware.”

“Is that so?”

The thief nodded a few times before heading toward the passage they’d entered.

“I’m going first.”

“Wha?!”

Agartha looked surprised at the Hunter, but the Hunter merely glared at the thief.

“In this narrow space, getting found by Outsiders would be a death sentence. It’d be far better to face them in a wide area.”

“We still have no assurance we’ve been spotted…!”

“Are you really willing to stay in here with an injured person just because there’s a slim chance something could happen? That’s laughable.”

As he spoke, the Hunter pressed his gun against his side and moved into the passage.

Watching the Hunter, Agartha formed a meaningful smile.

“…Usually, you would take care of yourself first, but Mr. Tanton seems to be your priority?”

Perhaps Agartha only intended to lighten the heavy atmosphere with a joke.

However, hearing that caused the Hunter to forcefully solidify his thoughts.

Tanton would play a significant role in the upcoming campaign against the Outsiders.

Thus, Tanton was essential.

The Hunter rationalized that it wasn’t due to any other feeling, merely a logical conclusion.

“I’m going.”

“I’ll follow you.”

Agartha stood up.

The Hunter was about to tell her to stay behind, thinking she would surely slow them down since she used to tremble in the presence of the Watcher, but Agartha raised her mechanical arm.

“I wouldn’t have made it this far if I were just going to sit back. I need some degree of power to come this far. Plus, this prosthetic is quite helpful.”

With that, Agartha’s characteristic playful smile finally resurfaced.

The Hunter snorted at Agartha.

“Do as you wish.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll also go with you, Lady Agartha.”

As the Saint spoke, expressing surprise, both felt something strange.

Maybe they thought it was an unfamiliar Outsider.

The Saint’s face seemed particularly flushed with excitement.

Why did this feeling, that Leydan Tanton’s charges linger on the Saint, confuse them?

Carrying that emotion, Agartha and the Hunter cast cold glances at the Saint.

“What have I done wrong…?”

With no response, the two headed toward the passage.

The Saint followed behind with a question mark on their face.

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