Chapter 303: Shu and Shuna

Right.

One by one, the things that had felt off since he arrived in this world were finally falling into place.

Why did the game data he’d personally entered match this world’s magic systems so perfectly?

Why did that strange green stone—an item he’d designed—suddenly appear here?

And why… why did the weapons he’d named and conceptualized look exactly like their in-game artwork?

But what he hadn’t expected was this—

Shuna.

The Shuna who exchanged letters with him.

The Shuna who replaced the original protagonist.

The Shuna now pressing a dagger to his throat.

She was the final answer.

“Three.”

Shu…
Shuna…

Yes.

In this world, where the language leaned closer to Indo-European roots and the setting was more Western fantasy, the two names—in writing and pronunciation—seemed unrelated.

But…

What if viewed through the lens of his original world’s language?

If he translated the names in the most natural and aesthetically pleasing way—

What he’d get was…

Shu.
Shuna.

Names he hadn’t written or even thought about in years surfaced in his mind.

Heh.

Just… just a single character’s difference.

Fitting for the “make players suspect a connection but never confirm it” approach.

That copywriter he’d hired really had a knack for messing with people.

So that was the name they’d chosen.

Well…

It was a good name.

“Two.”

Why had “fate” deviated so much?
Why, as the original story’s starting point—and his prophesied death—approached, had so many things broken free?

The magic matching his game data.

The items appearing out of nowhere.

Even Shuna—who should’ve only existed in the game.

This wasn’t just the novel’s world.

This was…

A hybrid.

A world built on the original novel’s foundation—but fused with the game he’d created.

The characters he’d designed.

The weapons he’d named.

Only one question remained.

Will lifted his gaze to Shuna.

Seeing this scene—her pose—alive before him, after only ever glimpsing it as an unfinished sketch before his death…

He didn’t suppress the surge of emotion.

He hadn’t lived to see her realized.

But here she was.

A privilege he’d never expected.

His nose stung. Tears welled in his right eye—the one that always cried first—but his expression…

Was a smile.

So then…

Why had he forgotten this—the most important moment—until now?

Because…

He knew.

His past self’s death had been pathetic.

That one image—the one that made his heart race—had been the spark that overloaded his exhausted body.

So, reincarnated here, he’d locked the memory away.

Because he couldn’t accept that the “heroine” who’d lit up his life…

Had also killed him.

Because—

Like Lucifa showed him in the 10th Demon Castle—

What he feared most, what he avoided most…

Was that death.

But now?

The result of his past life’s efforts—the one he’d poured his soul into—stood before him.

Offering him a choice.

Live—

Like he always had.

And…

Come to think of it…

Wasn’t he—the one who’d twisted these girls into yanderes—

The real monster all along?

“One.”

Shuna kept counting, her eyes locked on Will’s face.

She saw—

His shock when her dagger touched his throat—as if he’d uncovered the world’s greatest secret.

She saw—

The momentary daze that followed—like he’d lived ten years in a second—before tears fell.

She saw—

His lips curve. A smile.

But not relief.

Not bitterness.

Not resignation.

This was…

The smirk of a schemer.

Someone plotting victory.

“Zero.”

Wait—

Will said it first.

Grabbing Shuna’s wrist before the dagger could slash, he pulled her close.

“No need. I’m leaving—with you.”

He tilted his head, shadows hiding his eyes.

“…Are you okay?”

“Heh. Better than ever.”

Shuna sheathed her dagger.

That tone—

The Will who was always a little unhinged but unstoppably passionate—

Was back.

Brought back by her death threat.

But…

She grabbed his chin, forcing his face up.

“Really? Then why hide your eyes?”

He shook free.

“I’m fine. Just… thinking of how to punish them. Step one—escape under Eir’s nose. Make sure they know I left.”

“Hah?!”

His shift was…

Not just sudden.

He…

Shuna watched as Will stood, straightening his shirt, grabbing his coat, adjusting his monocle.

He looked like…

Someone who’d already died once.

Someone who no longer feared anything.

Thud-thud-thud.

Footsteps. Fast.

Eir was coming.

Shuna had lured her away with scents, but—

Eir was smart. She’d realize Shuna’s target was Will.

She’d guard him.

“Take this dagger. Phase through the wall. I’ll hold her off—”

Will didn’t take it.

“Wait.”

Calm.

Even as Eir’s heels clicked closer—

Even as a cleaver-wielding maid descended—

He didn’t panic.

A fire spell blasted the lock.

Then—

His hand touched a long-dormant pipe.

“Careful, Shuna.”

“This steam… is really hot.”

“Three… two… one—GO!”

BOOM.

The room reverted to its original purpose—

A sauna.

Scalding steam erupted, purging every trace of scent.

—