The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: The Protagonist is…

Thanks to Joanne’s subtle guidance, I was able to escape to a location about two kilometers away from the city center.

However, even keeping a distance from the battle between Executives, the entire area was a battlefield where blood, dirt, and magic flew in all directions.

Spells like stray bullets rained down from the sky, and with every blink, civilians were blown away, scattering their lives like trash.

Roars, screams, and booming sounds numbed my ears.

Pushing aside the dirt and blood falling from above, I aimed for the outer gate, trying to get out of the city.

“Defeat the horde of zombies here! Don’t let them get to the back!!”

“We are the ones who will protect the people!”

“Noun-sama is holding back the other areas all by herself!! We must continue too!!”

In the area from the main street to the outer gate, Pork’s zombies were fighting with the orthodox soldiers. The zombies, due to their automated movements, were sloppy, but they knew neither pain nor fear.

They were like soldiers of calamity, spreading only death and poison. The orthodox soldiers were desperately trying to hold them back, but no matter how many they took down, new zombies would arise, so the overall situation remained unchanged.

The aftermath of the battle between the Executives caused bombings to erupt here and there.

Just as the cobblestones and debris of the city seemed to scatter and rise, I found myself tossed dozens of meters into the air and slammed into the ground.

I wasn’t told there would be so much magic flying around…

Stella, Pork, Aaros, and the like are probably aiming to increase the damage to the city—but because I kept my distance from the Executives, I ended up getting caught in the crossfire.

I can’t tell who’s friend or foe. While being tossed around by explosions, I finally made it near the outer gate.

By that time, my clothes were smeared with blood and mud, and I was so exhausted that I couldn’t tell whether I was injured or unscathed.

The sounds of the Executives’ battle faded into the distance, and the zombies were wiped out by the earlier explosion.

In front of the outer wall, a crowd had gathered, packed like a full train, apparently waiting their turn at the gate.

It seems I can at least get out if I stay here.

Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, having finally escaped the fear of death, a beautiful woman clad in armor came flying over my head.

Regenerating her head and the part beyond her left shoulder, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed female knight, Pomett, was followed by Shadiq and Pork.

I shuddered as I slid into the house.

(Ugh, could my luck be any worse… Just let me have some peace already…!)

Just when I thought I could finally escape the city, this happens.

I hurriedly dove into the house and held my breath, but in a battle between Executives, a building is as fragile as a wafer.

Just like the city’s outer walls, this house would likely be easily destroyed soon.

Pomett’s ability is to wield a special sword that can convert mental energy into a blade.

The length of the sword can be freely controlled depending on the consumption of mental energy, and the sword will never break.

When Pomett swung her sword with determination in a horizontal slash, the house where I was hiding collapsed while sliding sideways. Being crushed by debris means death.

Once again fleeing from the house, I stole a glance at Pomett’s situation.

“I have no intention of letting you scoundrels pass! I will protect everyone in the city!!”

With a single stroke, Pomett cuts through Pork’s thorny sword and fends off Shadiq’s entwining blade.

Behind her, a multitude of people watch with bated breath.

Perhaps it was this dire situation that gave Pomett the strength as she began to completely deflect the heretic Executive’s attacks with her incredible swordsmanship.

However, she is gradually worn down by the two Executives pressing against her.

It would be bad if Pomett were to die. If an Executive of her level were missing, a drop in combat strength would be inevitable, and the balance between the two sides would become a mess.

Looking around for a way to assist Pomett, my gaze lands on a crumbling tower.

If not now, then when to use this trained body?

There are no zombies of Pork around, and my location is in everyone’s blind spot.

I pull out a piece of timber buried in the rubble and thrust it into the weakened part of the tower’s wall, lifting with all my might.

Whether it was adrenaline-fueled strength, the principle of the lever, or both—the tower, just as I aimed, came crashing down toward Shadiq and Pork.

“Whoa!?”

Shadiq, with his foresight abilities, quickly dodged, but Pork was caught up in the tower that fell from an unexpected direction.

Just in time for the tower’s mass to be blocked by the concentrated thorns, the holy knight’s flash flew at the defenseless head of Pork.

A sword of standard size suddenly transformed into a blade with a range of twenty meters.

The energy blade, stretching straight towards Pork’s mouth, shattered her teeth and pierced through to her brainstem.

The man-clothing beauty’s eyes rolled back as she grimaced, and with the caster losing consciousness, the control over the spikes throughout the city withered away.

In a few seconds, she would likely resurrect, but those few seconds changed the tide of battle.

“Tch, we’re really not good at this team play…”

It seems their goal was to wreak havoc in the city of Daskell while ensuring everyone returned safely.

Shadiq carried Pork’s body and retreated towards the center of the city.

At the same time, the crowd began to surge towards the outer gates like an avalanche.

Pomett found me collapsed at the base of the ruined tower and bowed deeply.

It appears she hasn’t realized that I am a Heretic.

“Did you save me? I am grateful.”

Standing before Pomett, I find myself at a loss for words.

A double punch of anemia and fatigue sends chills throughout my body, and there isn’t enough oxygen reaching my brain.

Should I say something?

What should I do?

Should I kill her?

Should I ask for her protection?

My judgment is clouded.

I don’t know what to do because my mind isn’t working properly. But an opportunity to speak with a proper Executive like Pomett on equal footing might not come again.

I decided to ask about Alfie.

“…I’m looking for someone. Do you know a boy named Alfie?” (TL/N: He’s using a boy (少年) instead of a girl like in chapter 19.)

“Alfie? I’m sorry, I do not know him.”

“I see… Well, never mind. Take care, Pomett.”

“…? Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Pomett looked puzzled as she leaped high into the air to pursue Shadiq and Pork.

(…Everyone except Celestia is unaware of Alfie’s whereabouts… It’s understandable since he’s just a child and not famous at this point.)

After the fall of Metashim, Alfie must have taken refuge in this city.

Judging by Celestia’s subtle reaction, it’s probably safe to assume that…

If that’s the case, it feels problematic not to have a grasp on Alfie’s location within the city.

It would be fine if he has already escaped outside the city, but what if he’s been left behind?

What if he’s been caught in the crossfire of the Executives’ battle and died?

(If that were to happen… my plans would be completely ruined. Maybe I’d even go insane from the heartbreak. But Alfie will surely survive. After all, he survived the fall of Metashim, too, with his inherent luck and mental strength he’ll survive this tragedy as well.)

I approach the crowd gathering near the outer gate and collapse among them as if to blend in.

Just by mixing in with the evacuating populace with a look of grim determination, lo and behold, Oakley Mercury has quickly become one of the pitiful commoners.

Wearing tattered and blood-stained clothes, I must appear to ordinary people as either a commoner or someone from the orthodox side.

Near the outer gate, where the threat of zombies and stray magical bullets has passed, I blend in with the relieved faces of the people and make my way out of the city.

Riding the flow to escape the city, I collided with a young girl.

With a surprised yelp, she fell on her behind, and in doing so, her hood that had been hiding her face came off.

I gasped my breath at the sight of a face I recognized.

“Ouch… I’m sorry…”

My heart skipped a beat. The face I recognized… there was a specific reason for that description.

Soft brown hair. Red eyes.

An adult-like aura amidst her youthful appearance—the girl’s face was the spitting image of the protagonist’s childhood friend, Marietta Valliere.

The ambient noise faded away, and all I could hear was the sound from within my own body.

—You were supposed to be dead. Why are you here?

My mouth opens and closes, but not a single thing I want to say comes out.

Barely, a name spills out.

“…Alfie?”

“…Huh?”

The girl’s eyes widened in confusion, just as I had thought she knew Alfie.

Ah, of course. She’s Alfie’s childhood friend, after all.

“You… you know Alfie, don’t you?”

“…Uhh, ah yes. I know him…”

“Where is Alfie?”

Hearing my strained words, Marietta pursed her lips.

From her expression, filled with a sense of tragedy, I could easily guess what she was about to say.

I didn’t want to hear it. But I had no choice but to ask.

“That… Alfie is… in the town of Metashim…”

There were no words beyond that.

The only sound dominating the scene was the wind swirling like a roar.

Someone…Please, tell me it’s a lie…

A shiver ran through my body, and my knees grew weak, almost collapsing on the spot.

But I felt that something would end the moment I fell, so I barely managed to hold myself up.

Then, whose corpse did I see at that time?

That day, I witnessed the hellish scene in the fiery Metashim.

That day, my heart nearly broke, and I was on the verge of madness, clinging to the hope called ‘the protagonist’—nd then, just around the corner leading to Marietta’s house, I found a burnt corpse, dressed in familiar clothes.

The child’s body was lying on its side, curled up as if hugging its knees, burnt to a crisp.

Who was that child?

The corpse was identical to the full-screen image of the charred figure displayed on the monitor while playing the game.

It was clearly depicted as Marietta’s dead body.

Did I see it wrong? No, that can’t be true.

I definitely saw it. At that moment, I saw a corpse that looked exactly like the one in the game.

(…This world is just like a game… but it doesn’t exactly follow the script of the game itself. As for the possibilities that come to mind—)

—Did Alfie save Marietta and take her place?

No way, no way, no way—

You’re not going to tell me that the corpse was not Marietta, but you… right, Alfie?

Indeed, the body shape of a child, regardless of gender, doesn’t differ all that much.

It’s easy to imagine them curling up in extreme pain, enduring and bracing themselves in such a posture.

But of all things…that corpse turned out to be you, Alfie…

The one who could have been the savior of the world, Alfie Judgment—

Having understood everything, I began to feel a bleak heaviness like a wet cloak clinging to my entire body.

My head started to feel foggy as if it were filled with rotten mud, and I could no longer keep my neck steady.

How easy would it be if I could just die like this?

Such a thought crossed my mind when a part of the exterior wall came crashing down from above.

“!? Oniisan, from above—!”

Marietta screamed. I was ready to accept everything and closed my eyes.

However, my body reflexively dashed forward.

Holding Marietta, I slid through the debris to avoid it, and I was assaulted by an unknown number of regrets.

(Hehe… hahaha….hey, why can’t I die?)

As I set Marietta’s small body down on the ground, I came full circle and wore a refreshing smile of resignation.

(Ah, that’s right. It starts from here… from here… I have to do something about it… That’s my determination. Don’t underestimate the seriousness of an ordinary person, Aaros…)

Even in this state, being able to face forward might actually be a sign of me stopping myself from thinking and expecting anything.

Suppressing a chuckle, I met Marietta’s gaze.

“Thank you for saving me, Oniisan.”

“You’re welcome… What’s your name?”

“…Marietta.”

“Marietta huh… My name is Oakley.”

“Oakley-san?”

Marietta repeated my name, tilting her head. After murmuring it several times, she said, ‘Let’s escape together’, and pulled my hand.

I gently shook off Marietta’s hand and pushed her back.

“…I have things to do. You run away.”

“But…”

“Come on, hurry. You’ll get caught up in this.”

Pushed by me, Marietta hesitated for a moment, then understanding my intent, she ran off into the dark night.

“I won’t forget you! We’ll meet again somewhere!”

Leaving those words behind, Marietta vanished.

She was likely heading to the nearest town for refuge.

That direction was filled with many people who had fled from the town of Daskell.

If she went with the flow of people, she should somehow manage…

(…)

After seeing Marietta off, I leaned against the trunk of a tree and hung my head.

“Alfie is… dead, huh…”

In terms of power, The Orthodox forces without him are nothing but a shadow of its former strength.

Now, what should I do?

….

TL/N: The Protagonist is…dead 🙁