Outside the window, the air felt heavy with oppression. Village Chief Rizlut's torture of his son Darga continued. It seemed that they were no longer aware of my presence, and the torture would go on even without me.
I wonder if my revenge is finally over. The anger and grudges I had carried for so long seemed to have dissipated. I felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. However, at the same time, I felt a sense of loneliness.
The saying "Revenge brings nothing" holds true, but I had no regrets.
"I've killed many people," I muttered suddenly. If you kill this many, you're bound to become a wanted criminal. I had killed many in the name of revenge and to help the puppeteer's growth towards becoming human. Well, the puppeteer had killed far more than I did.
Yes, I should check on the puppeteer's progress. Maybe it has finally become human. But before that, there's one place I want to visit. So, I got up.
◆
When I stepped outside, it was eerily quiet. However, in the distance, I heard screams. It seemed that the puppeteer was still wreaking havoc. The apparent calm was probably due to the villagers hiding indoors to avoid being found by the puppeteer.
Amidst this, I walked toward my destination.
"There it is…"
Before me was a small grave made of stones, Namia's resting place. As a condemned criminal, I couldn't attend her funeral or burial. So, I sat down and clasped my hands.
"Damn it…"
Suddenly, tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn't hold them back. I was finally coming to terms with Namia's death. Revenge had been my driving force all this time, and now that it was over, I needed to move forward. After all, revenge is something you do to settle past humiliations. Nevertheless, Namia's death remained a sad reality, so let me cry here for a little while.
I wondered how much time had passed. I had spent some lonely moments with Namia.
"It's time to go to the puppeteer's location…"
With that thought, I stood up, and then—
"Gugoooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh!!!!!!"
A deep, thunderous noise reverberated, rattling my eardrums. I turned toward the source of the sound.
There, a colossal egg-shaped black object had manifested. It was larger than a tower. I immediately recognized it as the puppeteer. The egg cracked open, as if hatching, and the dark shell turned into a muddy stream, rushing toward the village.
I knew that the moment of the puppeteer's transformation into a human had arrived.
"Puppeteer!"
I shouted as I advanced through the black muddy stream. The puppeteer's dream was to become human. If it had achieved that, it was undoubtedly a cause for celebration. Therefore, I needed to meet the puppeteer and celebrate the moment.
I wondered if the puppeteer had become a man or a woman in the end. Not just the gender, but I was also curious about its appearance. Was it tall or short? What color was its hair?
Besides, if it had become human, it felt strange to still call it the puppeteer. Perhaps it would be better to give it a more human-like name.
As I continued through the black muddy stream, I spotted a figure in the center. It was clear that this figure was the puppeteer. So, I was about to call out from behind—
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The screaming pierced my ears. It was a high-pitched, anguished scream.
"What happened, Puppeteer?" I shouted.
In response, the Puppeteer seemed to notice my presence. It turned towards me and said,
"It's different."
"What's different?" I was about to ask, but—
"Different, different, different, different, different!"
Overwhelmed by the puppeteer's words, I was left speechless.
"W-what I wanted to become was a human, not this! I'm not a… a monster!"
Saying that, the puppeteer broke down in tears.
The appearance of the puppeteer was such that the right half was that of a human girl. With fair skin, a cute young face, and long hair, she had a look that made it easy to believe she was a human girl.
However, the left half was different.
A monstrous, dark, and glossy skin clung to the outside of the human half. Moreover, tentacles, and reptilian-like eyes sprouted from various parts of the body. At the tips of the tentacles, there were jaws with shark-like teeth.
"Kill me…"
"Huh…?"
"Kill me, please!"
"Even if you say that…"
"But, but, there's no point in living in this form! So, please… kill me!"
Even when begged with tearful eyes, I couldn't bring myself to do something like that.
"No matter what form you're in, I think it's okay."
"Lies! Don't lie like that!"
"It's the truth."
"Then… can you love someone like me?"
When asked that, I froze for a moment.
Even if I were to say "I can love someone like you," those words felt too shallow, and I couldn't bring myself to say them out loud.
"Guess it's impossible after all."
Interpreting my silence as rejection, the puppeteer muttered these words.
"Well, I mean, it's natural, right? I look like a monster."
Saying this, as I saw the sorrowful expression on the puppeteer's face, I acted instinctively.
I had to help her, that's what I thought, and so I held her tightly.
"I like you."
"Don't lie…"
"It's not a lie."
"Don't be kind… Ah… Ahhh… Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
After that, I just continued to embrace the crying puppeteer. I think I was crying along with her.
A few minutes passed in that state.
Then, just when I thought the puppeteer had stopped crying, she pushed me away with one hand.
Pushed away, I released the arms that had been holding her and took a few steps back.
"Thank you, Master."
She smiled, and in the next moment…
A massive black jaw descended from above, swallowing her whole.
"Huh?"
I was left dumbfounded.
The black liquid that had covered the village until a moment ago was gradually disappearing.
There was no trace of the puppeteer anywhere.
She had chosen to end her own life.
"What is this…"
I collapsed, feeling utterly powerless.
A sense of profound emptiness washed over me.
Was all the fighting I had done up to this point for this kind of ending?
"Oh… Ohhh…"
Without any clear reason, I knelt there and wept.
After crying for a while, I slowly got up.
My legs felt unsteady, but I still forced myself to walk.
"Is it still there, I wonder?"
Saying that, I opened the status screen.
▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽
Name: Kiska
Skill 1: Save & Reset
Skill 2: Provocation Lv.3
Skill 3: Swordsmanship Lv.3
Skill 4: None
Skill 5: Appraisal Lv.3
The skill "Parasitic Sword Puppeteer Master" had disappeared with the puppeteer's death.
However, what I wanted to confirm was the "Save & Reset" skill.
As long as "Save & Reset" was available, I could start over as many times as I wanted.
Believing that, I threw myself off the cliff.
I was certain that I hadn't worked hard for this kind of future.
So, if I wanted to achieve the future I desired, I had no choice but to start over as many times as necessary.