WE TRIED TLS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

Chapter 223 | This World Is (8)

「…Then let me ask you one last thing.」

「If you… had to pick between a guaranteed path home and a path that, while making your return uncertain, would ensure saving others, which would you choose…?」

* * *

The absence of the stubbornness she’d been holding onto for thirty years felt liberating, but more than that, it also hurt so much.

Back then, she hadn’t the strength to face it, so she’d naturally chosen to deceive herself. She’d been shielding herself from this pain, pretending a campfire she’d made was her sun.

“Haaah.”

But the situation was far too dire for her to let herself get consumed by agony.

> [S-s-snake.]

“If it weren’t for you.”

If death hadn’t come knocking, would she have been spared this pain? Or was this simply something inevitable, something she would’ve had to face sooner or later?

But so what? Berserk’s bloodshot eyes gleamed as she picked up a stone.

The pain of loss was unbearable. It didn’t matter that this was something she was always meant to endure at some point. It didn’t matter that this was a choice she made for her sister’s sake and even her own.

What truly mattered was that she was in pain right now, and there was something she could vent her rage on right in front of her.

> [I-if it gets angry, th-that’s not good.]

Berserk let out a shallow laugh as she looked at the Demon, which was awkwardly mimicking speech.

Because of its mouth’s structure, its pronunciation would remain slurred for the rest of its life, but what it lacked in verbal skill, it more than made up for in physical prowess.

> [I t-t-took good care of the t-t-turtle.]

“I’ll kill you.”

Even then, she’d kill it.

She couldn’t tell whether this fury was indeed her own or something caused by the Demonic Energy inside her. Even as her reason was getting eroded, her body obeyed her mind’s commands, leaping forward at incredible speed.

Whoooosh.

The liquid surging around her with each step gradually deepened until it even swallowed her waist. The pool’s blood, seeping in through the wounds carved into her body, fed the madness and erosion.

Dark veins bulged across her entire form and started pulsing.

> [Wh-whatever. Y-you’ll d-d-die.]

And at last, she closed the distance between herself and that massive Merfolk. Bam! Its tail slammed into the liquid, splitting the blood to reveal the floor beneath.

But of course, Berserk wasn’t caught by that.

Swish.

She evaded by a hair’s breadth, flattening herself against the ground, having noticed the liquid parting. She could now let out the breath she’d been holding.

The blood once all around her now receded, no longer binding her.

The stench of blood stung her nasal passages.

Boom!

Ignoring the stickiness of the blood clinging to her, she braced her feet against the ground. As the crimson liquid that had gone up to her waist receded, she was less limited in her movements. Her body shot several meters into the air.

Crack!

In response, the Merfolk slashed with its claws. They had been too far apart. Berserk looked at the hand that had missed its mark, then locked on to the next one hurtling toward her.

No matter whether that hand was trying to slash at or grab her, it would serve as the perfect foothold.

Thud!

Before the massive hand could close around her, Berserk landed on its fingers and used them as a springboard, launching herself further and hurling the rock in her hand.

As her body spun midair, landing on the opposite side, the stone struck the Merfolk square between its brows. Pity. She’d been aiming for its eyes.

Its slippery skin caused the rock to practically skid off, leaving nothing but a shallow cut.

Kiaaaaaargh!

The Merfolk’s tail whipped through the air, aiming to strike her down as she landed.

Berserk dodged the attack with ease and grabbed it instead. It was slippery but not unmanageably so—she’d caught a fin growing alongside the tail’s length—so she could swing it pretty well.

Despite its massive weight, the moment the veins in her arms bulged, the Merfolk’s body shifted.

“Hrrrgh!”

She spun, gaining more momentum with every rotation. She then flung it to the other side.

The Merfolk was sent flying across the blood lake, hurtling toward what looked like an island at its center.

Bam. It somehow crashed onto the middle of the landmass, barely twisting itself to avoid the jagged protrusions jutting out from it. Or perhaps it actually did collide with them, but the rocks were too hard to break from just that.

Whichever it was, it didn’t matter.

> [H-h-how dare you?]

Just leaving an enemy lying down really wasn’t her style. She sprinted across the exposed ground before the blood displaced by the impact could settle back down.

> [I-i-if the turtle… gets hurt… s-s-snake gets angry.]

Bam!

And then, the moment she leaped forward fast enough to make the very air seem to ripple from the sheer force of her movement, she instantly closed the distance between them.

> [I-I’m, g-g-getting angry!!!]

Crunch!

As if resolved not to just take it, the Merfolk sliced through the air with claws sharp enough to carve through space itself. However, Berserk was smaller than the Merfolk. While disadvantageous for attacking, it was massively advantageous for evading.

Whoosh. Dodging the Merfolk’s attack with fluid motions almost like those of an acrobat, she used the momentum to slam her fist straight into the Merfolk’s stomach. Though it wasn’t carrying eggs nor had protective scales, its slick skin seemed to disperse part of the impact’s shock, but not entirely.

The Merfolk still had bones and internal organs.

Kiaaargh!

Exposed to this dull yet undeniable pain, the Merfolk became incredibly irritated. Yet its huge body moved calmly, digging its claws into the ground before her.

Berserk shifted her feet to skillfully avoid the attack. Bam! She twisted her body and landed a sharp roundhouse kick on the Merfolk’s arm. The attack forced the joint to bend in the opposite direction.

> [Y-you can’t! Y-y-you can’t be here, g-get out!]

It seemed she didn’t have quite enough strength to snap it completely. The enraged Merfolk swung its arm to chase her down, but Berserk leaped back, evading the attack.

If only she had a weapon. Ideally, something sharp.

Her fists and feet couldn’t land clean hits due to its outer skin, so she needed some kind of tool.

“Hah!”

And then that thought cut off. A tool? A toooool??

What weak words! She already wielded the greatest weapons of them all: her solid body, her refined muscles, and her sharp senses!

She didn’t need some tool. Her body alone was more than enough to kill that thing. A weapon might speed things up, but she had no reason to rely on one just to make the impossible possible!

“I’ll show you how a Weapon Master fights, Demon!”

Weapon Master. To the world, it meant “One who can wield all weapons,” but it actually meant “One who can turn anything into a weapon.”

That also included her own body. She clenched her jaw and fists even harder. With absolute control over every fiber of muscle, she first dodged the Merfolk’s attack before driving her knuckles straight into the crook of its knee.

Kiargh!

Although Merfolk and people had vastly different body structures, as long as they had four limbs and a head, there were bound to be some similarities.

And Berserk was aiming precisely for that. The Merfolk staggered as its leg buckled slightly.

Bam!

She didn’t stop there. Using her smaller size to her advantage, she slipped into the awkward space between its legs and continued her attack.

She followed the grain of the muscles visible even on the Merfolk’s slippery skin, estimating where the bones lay beneath, and struck the joints as she thought was most efficient.

Of course, the Merfolk wasn’t just going to let her do as she pleased.

The Merfolk was huge, and the bigger something was, the more blind spots it had. Even as the Demonic Energy peeled away Berserk’s sanity, she could still dodge its attacks purely on instinct.

She shifted positions repeatedly, trampling its tail and limbs whenever she could before landing back on solid ground again. The Merfolk, supporting itself with one massive hand instead of its legs, trembled as its twisted wrist struggled to keep it up.

Then, a spinning kick struck its joints in the wrong direction, finally snapping its legs in half.

Kiaaaaaaargh!!!

The Merfolk let out a piercing scream before tilting to the side.

“Ahaha, ahahahahahahaha!!!”

Dodging the collapsing monster with ease, Berserk burst into manic laughter. Her bloodshot eyes, flowing with bloody tears, no longer showed any reason behind them.

“Die!!”

A severed leg wouldn’t be enough to kill a Merfolk. As it flailed its tail, she leaped over it, grabbed its broken limb, and tore it clean off.

The cartilage connecting the bones was torn off, the muscles ripped apart, and blood gushed out in torrents. The Merfolk screamed in agony, madly flailing its limbs.

But she already had a new weapon in her grasp. Because, after all, Merfolk had claws.

Crunch!

Tearing the foot off the severed leg, she gripped it tightly, its claws gleaming. It was the moment its own body would become its undoing.

Slash!

In an instant, its remaining limbs were sliced off and its tail split in two. Yet even now, that thing refused to die.

“Hah.”

That thing was as good as dead. Berserk let out a rough, phlegm-clogged laugh as she climbed into the trembling Merfolk. She no longer needed its claws.

Instead, she snapped off something resembling a protruding bone, gripping it like a rock.

『Y-you! What the hell are you doi—?!』

『Exactly what you wanted.』

『You damned bastard! You think I wanted this kind of fight?! What I wanted was…!』

『A sacred duel. A noble death. I know. That’s why I’m doing this.』

『…!』

『Die as miserably as possible, Squall.』

『You damn—』

Past memories flashed through her mind, only to be swallowed whole by madness.

Crack!

The bone shard, soaked in faint Arcane Power, smashed through the Merfolk’s scalp, shattering its skull.

Just like when she’d crushed her master’s head.

Splatter.

And where the blood landed, inside the hollow mound at the island’s center, something stirred.

A crack appeared along the surface of a round egg.

* * *

WE TRIED TLS

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* * *

If that’s the choice I have to make, then I… I definitely want to go home. I want to go home so badly, but…

Not if it means callously abandoning the Inquisitor or the others. If it were just a simple farewell, that would probably be fine, but this would be like just throwing them into a burning hellscape and running away to save myself.

On the other hand, if my way back home would become uncertain… that means it isn’t completely impossible. In other words, I might still be able to find my way back someday.

So I… I… definitely want to choose the path where I can save people. I truly believe that’s the right thing to do.

「Even after how much you’ve suffered?」

Well, yeah, but let’s get one thing straight, okay?

The reason I struggled so much wasn’t because of those guys. It was because of a certain someone hiding in the shadows, refusing to come out and explain anything. If they’d just cooperated from the beginning, I would’ve figured things out already and been charging ahead full throttle.

And besides, what does any of that have to do with the people of this city? Does that justify abandoning them?

No, it doesn’t.

「…」

So it’s fine.

I’ll be fine. I am fine… So if there’s a way, then use it. If you brought this up because delaying my return home means there’s a way to save them, then do it.

「…I’m sorry.」

I didn’t say anything to those words. Then, suddenly, it felt like the warmth supporting my head vanished.

My barely present vision slipped back into darkness.

* * *

Fists clenched, Deathbringer pressed the goggles Meister had given him tight against his eyes.

Should he aim for the Great Demon, the structure, or the sealed person? After much thought, he made the choice he deemed most efficient.

The temple-like structure was no longer spewing out Demons. His desperate gamble had paid off.

“What happened?!”

“The Demon nest has gone silent!”

“That’s good!”

He didn’t target the Great Demon because it was too small of a target and was highly likely to block the attack.

Aiming at the sealed person could break the seal but potentially harm them as well, and even if he freed them, there was no guarantee they’d be useful in battle.

On the other hand, what about that structure that was endlessly spewing out soldiers?

Sure, there was a risk their attack wouldn’t work, but if it did, he’d be cutting off the enemy’s reinforcements at the source. It was a manageable risk with a guaranteed payoff.

That’s why he’d chosen to do this, and fortunately, it worked.

That was some very good news

“Uhm…”

Well, the less good news was the swarm of flying Demons darting toward them at full speed, as if ordered to by that Great Demon.

“I mean, I expected it, but it looks like we’re screwed.”

“Is it the Great Demon or just some small fry?”

“The small fry. But it turns out that there’s a lot more of them than I thought.”

“Yeah, we’re screwed.”

Still, since they’d expected this, they didn’t panic. However, they weren’t exactly prepared for it—how could they? Aside from a few tricks up their sleeves, they were just ordinary people—so they were a little worried for their lives, but that was it.

“There’s good news and bad news.”

“How can there be good news in this situation?”

“I think I can fire one more shot.”

“That’s fantastic news.”

“But there’s no way I’ll be ready before they arrive. If I die, that’s the end.”

“And that’s terrible news.”

Deathbringer felt like he was getting alternately struck with ice water and boiling water, but he couldn’t just give up and die just because their chances of surviving were close to 0 percent.

Deathbringer preferred being alive, and Meister even more so.

So they grabbed their gear and moved to survive somehow.

The ground floor, the basement, the tunnels that were blocked off when the buildings collapsed; wherever they could run, that would be their escape path.

Boom!

“Fuck, they’re fast!”

“Shit. The water’s rising!”

“What?! You said blowing up the waterway wouldn’t flood this place!”

“When did I ever say that?! I said it ‘probably’ wouldn’t!”

“That’s the same damn thing!”

“No, it’s not! It’s completely different, okay?! You think 100 percent and 80 percent are the same?!”

They weren’t about to let those flying Demons rip their heads off, so they stuck to moving through spaces where the Demons couldn’t easily follow them.

Some of the tunnels were flooding due to slight calculation errors, but, well, at least they weren’t dead yet.

Clutching their life-saving Arcane devices in their arms like precious children, they sprinted through the tunnels. Demons landed on them, pecking at them with their beaks.

“What the…”

However, their escape was ultimately cut off when the flying Demons eventually collapsed a building, blocking their escape route.

The very waterway they’d blown up to help the Hero, who’d been stuck in lava, was now flooding, tightening around their throats like a noose.

The water was rising.

“There’s a hole over there. Let’s jump inside.”

“Good call.”

They couldn’t stay in the flooding tunnel. The devices getting wet would spell certain doom, and staying here would mean turning into sitting ducks for the Demons.

Right now, only the large flying Demons were chasing them, so they couldn’t get caught easily, but if some of the small ones showed up, they’d be as good as dead, right?

So they dove through the hole, entering a half-collapsed building. It looked like they were in a basement previously sealed with stone walls, but parts of it had crumbled, allowing them to enter.

Bam! Crash!

Of course, the Demons didn’t just give up, so they rampaged as soon as they entered the building. Additionally, while they weren’t aware of it yet, since the upper floors were mostly made of wood, it wouldn’t take long for them to come crashing down.

Thud, thud!

However, these houses were fortunately built close together. Deathbringer and Meister worked in perfect sync to break through the next wall. And wouldn’t you know it? The neighbor’s house welcomed them with open arms.

“Keep going, faster!”

They vaulted through the window into alleyways narrow enough for only one person to pass through—it was hard to evade the Demons’ eyes there, but it was still better than just giving their lives away—and broke through walls that often blocked their way, cutting through houses.

Fortunately, the flying Demons were still entirely focused on the building they’d first entered.

Which meant they had some time to breathe for a moment.

Finally, the two flopped down in the dusty hallway of a house, supplying oxygen to their overworked lungs.

“I never want to do that again.”

“…I don’t want to agree with you, but for once, I have no other choice.”

Seriously, why were two ordinary people like them playing tag with those Demons? Despite feeling some guilt and self-loathing, they didn’t regret what they’d done, saying stuff like, “If it was going to be like this, I’d have been better off just running away.”

“…For once, huh? I’ll admit it. Never thought I’d see the day I’d owe someone with such low mental capacities.”

“Are you insulting me or complimenting me? But, well, you did a pretty good job as well.”

What they’d just done was something only they could’ve done, their best effort, and it was something they could damn well be proud of.

“So, with that in mind, let’s do it again.”

“What did you just say?”

“You said you could fire one more shot, right?”

“You want us to do that again? Are you actually insane?!”

“The last shot did help, but it didn’t turn the tide. We need to do it again.”

“Hah, like I don’t already know that…”

Meister groaned, pressing his fingers against his temples at Deathbringer’s suggestion. His own brain had already reached the same conclusion.

“…Damn it. Sure, fine! Our chances of getting out of here alive are zero anyway, so what does it matter, right?”

If they were going to die, they might as well go down in flames. It wouldn’t change anything even if they walked away now.

Meister’s pride was still as solid as stone. This was good news for Deathbringer, who hadn’t expected to walk out of this place alive to begin with.

“Then get moving. We need to get up some tall building.”

“Don’t you worry about that.”

They hefted the things they’d carefully brought back onto their shoulders and made for the stairs. Luckily, the building they were in was the tallest one around, so they didn’t need to look for a taller one.

On the third floor, Meister took position by the window and began setting up the equipment again.

“Two of the amplifiers are fried, so we won’t be getting the same firepower as last time. And the whole thing’s really unstable, so it could misfire or, worse, just blow up in our faces. We might end up doing nothing but attract the attention of all the Demon bastards around here. Are you ready for that?”

“Damn it, I accepted death before I even got here.”

“Good.”

Every busted amplifier meant a massive drop in firepower. They only had three left, so this obviously wouldn’t even come close to their first shot.

The difference between the two would be like a sword and a toothpick.

“Will you target the Great Demon?”

“…No, let’s hit that instead.”

“What? The sealed person?”

“There’s no way we’d even make a dent in the Great Demon, so we should at least free even one person.”

“I don’t think it would be worth freeing that someone either.”

Meister clicked his tongue, looking at what Deathbringer was pointing at.

“Oh well. Let’s trust your judgment at least this once.”

However, Deathbringer’s judgment had been quite right up to this point. So he decided to trust him one more time.

Having completed the cannon, he aimed it at the person sealed inside some manner of cocoon. He adjusted the aim slightly off from where he assumed the person was trapped so he wouldn’t end up melting them along with their restraints.

“Alright, firin—!?”

Boom!

Right before Meister could fire, the entire building started to shake. “Shit! We’ve been spotted!” Deathbringer drew his cursed dagger and thrust it forward. Crack! The next moment, the wall of the building was torn off.

“Forget about me, just shoot!”

Meister could turn the cannon around and kill the Demon in front of them right away.

However, Deathbringer had already refused that option.

Boom!

So Meister had no option but to respect that choice. With the sound of a massive explosion, a blinding streak of light tore across the city.

> [Ah, finally.]

Someone woke up.

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