Chapter 42 (2/2)

“Percival! Where is everyone!?”

I turned around, calling Percival’s nah His face was completely devoid of emotion

What’s he playing at?

Before my suspicions could take shape, the door shut coed into total darkness

“Palmira! Palmira!?”

“It’s okay, I’m here”

When I called out for Palht of, Palht She was probably okay for now

“B–Big Sisteeeer~”

“Aira, it’s okay Don’t let go of my hand”

” — ! I — I won’t!”

I couldn’t see her, but I squeezed her hand a bit htly

hell if I knohat’s going on, but at any rate, all three of us are in one piece

So calm down, me

I sat down cautiously, then slowly took a deep breath

Alright, what is all this?

Percival said he was taking us to join the others, he definitely did But this was obviously somewhere else

Then there was his expression as he shut the door

Putting the pieces together, I caical conclusion

“…He betrayed us, huh?”

As for what he wanted to achieve by doing so, where do I even start looking?

However, I do know that his goal was to lead us here Then, isn’t it possible that his intention was to separate us fro us here?

Then therehere…

I strained my eyes

Perhaps because s slowly but steadily began to come into view I could see Palmira’s back a few steps ahead of me She already had her sword at the ready That was reassuring

I couldn’t see enough to figure out what this place was

But at least the door we ca out of here was priority number one, so I slowly backed towards it However, Percival’s objective most likely was to shut us in here That door probably wouldn’t open

I knew that, but without being able to see anything else, it was all I had

“Palet too far away from me…”

I called out to her back

At that le at the back of my neck I already knew exactly what it was That presence

“Pal’s… in here with us!”

What, I couldn’t say But there was so us

I called for Palmira as I searched for the presence At least, she was the only one in here who could fight All I could do was count on her

“Oh? Lookin’ for me…?”

“!!!”

Before I could find it, it spoke

I faced the direction of the voice, but I couldn’t see anything But at the sa to the floor

I unconsciously pulled Aira closer to me

It was a man’s voice One I’d never heard before

But I did know a little soled painfully

I had no basis for it But I knew for a fact that he was the shadow I saw earlier

Whump!

“Kya!”

In the s, another tre As it faded away, the walls cracked here and there, letting light stream in It was dim, but I could now see the entire room

A storehouse? I could see swords and ar or another piled up in the corners of the room It was pretty roomy

And there he was, dead center

” — !”

In front of me, Pal at it

I took a sharp breath, stiffening

A giant, ed blade in his hands His hair gathered up in back, a bold grin on his heavily scarred face — I know him

And I don’t ue stuff about ‘the shadow’

This was from my memories as an adventurer, when I was still a man

The scarred figure that left terror in its wake

“…Maddox…!”

I squeezed out the naet

It was the stuff of nightmares My body wouldn’t move And at the sa ‘He can’t possibly be here!’

It can’t be… it can’t be!

“What, you know me?”

Picking up what should’ve been a whisper, that man — the man nicknamed ‘Massacre Maddox’ — confirmed my fears

My body wouldn’t one

Author’s Note

Sorry, it was a little short

I decided to cut it here

I’ to post one more chapter today