The Victory You Granted Me

—

The Death Butterfly before him now had only one wing left. Its other wing, made of bone, had turned to ash after being severed. It possessed almost no “intelligence,” but seemed to act on instinct, or perhaps, as a BOSS, “battle intellect.” For instance, now… it “removed” its other wing. It deliberately severed its own wing, plucking out what looked like a rib from the part connected to its body first. The other bones scattered to the ground, but unlike the bones of its other wing, they didn’t vanish.

“Something’s not right.” The entire process took less than five seconds. And it truly acted like an “inanimate object,” feeling no pain.

“Huh…?!” Instantly, Will saw the bones scattered on the ground coalesce. They formed another weapon, like a scythe! Then, with the high agility of its now minimal body, it charged straight at Will.

“…Is it pure melee now?” He guessed it. If the person who wanted to kill him knew him well enough, they would ultimately choose a monster focused on “speed” and “agility.” Facing such a monster, he, whose physical constitution was his biggest hindrance, would likely be the most helpless.

But… he shifted his staff from his right hand to his left, and his right hand gently brushed the collar at his neck.

“I’m counting on you, then.” The attacks from its two weapons, too fast for the naked eye, surged like a tide. The instant the enemy approached, Will felt a chilling sensation from his neck, like a hand, cold from building a snowman, gently and softly stroking his neck in winter. Like the love of that small maid, always wanting to take a step forward but repeatedly hesitating.

Will extended his arm. He heard the crisp sound of it clashing with the opponent’s blade, like a sharp sword striking thick ice. Though it looked like ice armor, it was actually one of Rimefrost Phalanx’s most basic uses: erecting ice walls around the protected target to block attacks.

“Thank you, Eir.” In his heart, Will thought, “Because of you, I realized I, too, was immersed in this love, unwilling to ever leave it.”

Now! He fired an instant spell from his ring, aiming directly at its body, blasting it—

“And because of you, I always have a reliable backup.”

Hit! The quick spell lacked the full power of a chanted one, but it still blasted the insect several meters away. The enemy, now just an ugly insect with two legs and a pair of tiny wings, had to use the scythe it had made from bones to support itself after the blast.

Again! Several attacks, during which Will couldn’t afford to worry about “defensive dodging” and “blasting offense,” were all blocked by the lowest-tier Rimefrost Phalanx magic from his collar. It also gave Will a chance to observe—

“Is it recovering quickly? Right… monsters like insects are often linked to rapid regeneration… Wait…” While Will was still thinking, the opponent attacked even faster. And just as the sword was about to strike Will’s arm and head, it was blocked by Rimefrost Phalanx’s almost fully automated defensive stance. Whether it was the sword the opponent wielded, or the new scythe it had just formed, Will could hear them striking effortlessly against the thick ice walls surrounding him.

“Its damage output isn’t high; it’s just incredibly fast. Its agility is pushed to the limit, and at the same time…” Will, able to free his mind from “dodging,” could blast more easily and see its design more clearly.

“It really doesn’t belong in this dungeon… I recognize it. The patterns on these corpse-like stone fragments on its body… it’s from…” Will’s mind flashed with countless memories from his “past life,” from his gaming company, the “art style” they had set when implementing an infinite tower climb… Perhaps because the switch for his past life memories had been flipped recently, some things he thought he’d forgotten were now exceptionally clear in his mind.

This is… a “withered” Lycoris Radiata, its petals scattered with blood droplets. It was… a decorative motif designed for all monsters in the Death Sanctum at the time.

It… it’s from the deepest, undisputed number one dungeon in the world, the Death Sanctum?!

“If that’s the case, it’s no surprise at all—Blazing Inferno!” Will seized the opportunity to blast it several meters away. It used its sword to prop itself up on the unstable sand, rising once more. Like most “zombie” monsters, it had no “consciousness,” couldn’t speak, felt no fatigue, and simply acted on instinct. The parts that were blasted were “repairing” at an incredibly fast rate. No, rather than “repairing,” it was more like reassembling “corpses.”

Will understood. If it truly was a “Death Sanctum” monster, then death was its source of nourishment. The vast number of corpses stored in its belly as a larva were preserved as nourishment for its adult form when it finally coiled up. To defeat it, he needed to stop its unorthodox regeneration, then unleash a full-power attack. Sounds difficult, but…

Will twirled his staff. He knew clearly that all of this required a certain white magic “blessed” by a goddess. And conveniently… his original profession was the strongest Priest in the party.

“It moves too fast to apply the Goddess’s light debuff on it. So, I’ll have to… try the most dangerous method.” Next attack. Calculating its movement distance, estimating based on previous attack patterns, then… the instant it charged, Will’s free right hand shot forward with a powerful punch!

It landed. As expected, though not a “game setting,” no matter how much its body “repaired,” it was still a decaying corpse. So, this strike… allowed his right hand to embed itself within its body.

“Ooom—” It made no “emotional displeasure” sound; like a monster’s AI, it acted according to its combat logic. And as Will expected, it didn’t try to “free itself.” Instead, it raised the scythe in its hand—because, to it, this was the perfect moment to sever the enemy’s flesh.

At that moment, Will deactivated Eir’s protection.

“If I could win without taking a single hit, it wouldn’t be my final death-level, would it?” Will felt no regret from the pain or severed limb. Instead, a smile played on his lips. The instant his arm was severed, the corner of his right lip, uplifted in a smile, was stained with his own blood.

Will created distance, raised his black-and-white “Tai Chi Staff,” activated the protection granted by his “witch’s blood,” and began to chant.

“Ooom…?” The worm, standing still, seemed to finally discover the opening. Just as it was about to “restore its severed section” and continue upwards… it found it couldn’t regenerate. Will’s severed arm glowed with an intense white light, as if to illuminate all death, inhibiting its use of corpses. So…

“Ooom—” It chose to kill its opponent. It charged towards Will.

—Just as expected, it would do that. This too was within his predictions. Because Will, holding a staff with one hand and a severed arm, appeared to be an extremely vulnerable enemy, easily exploited. So… it would definitely close the distance. And it would believe that by killing Will, it wouldn’t need to dodge that attack.

And this played right into Will’s hands—

Will opened his violet left eye, still glowing with demonic purple light, and… with the power of “black magic” bestowed by the “Empress,” he stared fixedly at it.

Thump. Its attack didn’t strike Will’s softer neck or more fatal head. Instead… it was blocked by Will’s “right hand.” That right hand, from the severed, still blood-stained sleeve, had regenerated.

“My apologies. You’re not the only one who can ‘regenerate’…”

This was Will’s gamble. Will had never realized the true strongest function of his staff, with its “black and white magic reversal” and most miraculous abilities. This was a problem easily discovered from the perspective of a “game numbers planner” himself.

Black-to-white conversion. On the surface, the most useful magic seemed to be “converting white magic into offensive black magic,” because damage output trumps all. But that wasn’t it. Magic defined as “black magic” often represented attacks on “enemies” and “death,” especially after Will gained his demonic left eye, excelling even more in “attacking enemies.” While “white magic” usually only had well-developed healing, with a few Holy Light attacks mostly used for special attacks.

It’s simple. Enemy attack values are always much higher than “self-healing” values, right?—Isn’t that common sense for a numbers planner?! It’s only fun when enemies have more health! What if you converted the “offensive black magic property” into “white healing for yourself”? Then magic that was originally just “speeding up recovery”…

Will looked at his right hand—it seemed a bit weak, but it was covered by a layer of the hardest ice defense granted by the “maid.” The enemy couldn’t break through it; it was the best shield.

—It would turn into an astonishing ability for rapid physical regeneration.

—The calculations were smooth, the conversion at maximum power. Indeed, he could regenerate an arm in such a short time.

—Of course, for now, only he, with this staff, could use it.

The strange staff, with its black-and-white orb, emitted a white light that aimed directly at its head. Together with the severed arm inside its body, now filled with Holy Light magic, they presented a fireworks display for this scene in the desert. As a BOSS born from the “Death Sanctum” and brought here, its death was sealed at this moment.

“This is the—”
“—victory you granted me.”

Before Will’s eyes, the light capable of devouring and incinerating this disgusting insect burst forth, shining brightly. Like a scorching future.

…

…………

In the moment of victory, Will instead recalled his conversation before coming here.

“So, fundamentally, you want to live for them, right?” Before Will left, fully prepared, Shuna looked at the still-dark sky and asked this question.

“Not entirely.”

“Then it’s still for…”

“…for you too.”

“Be serious~”

“This is the most serious truth. I’m doing this because of something you told me…”

“What?”

“If I truly died—died how I always knew I would. They would be heartbroken, just like when you cried to me with a knife.”

“We… sigh… can we not bring that up again?”

“Before that, I never realized what my death would mean.”

“Hm, as expected. And then?”

“The old me, I had no impact on the world or its fate. I was insignificant. Even my death was just because the Creator didn’t need an extra supporting character…”

“Correction. You are not a supporting character—at least not in my heart.”

“The longer I live in this world, the more my fear of death changed. It’s no longer about my own future disappearing. It’s about not wanting the people I’ve formed bonds with to fall into

regret and pain after I’m gone—regretting not spending more time with me, suffering from not seeing me again.”

“Hmm… I get it, now that I think about it. But simplify it.”

“So, I want to see the future beyond my death event with my own eyes. Perhaps… it’ll be just like what I wrote… their future with me.”

…

“Now, I’ve fulfilled my promise.”

“This is the victory you granted me.”

“As long as I win this level, and there’s nothing left that can ‘kill’ me, then…”

“…it means I can see how the story will unfold from here, right?”

Gasping, Will looked up, confirming the “monster” before him again with his demonic left eye. It had completely vanished. No reaction whatsoever. Like all defeated BOSSes, it disappeared entirely, body and all.

The only difference was… nothing left behind. Nothing.

—Why?
—How could defeating a “monster” leave nothing? No… wait. There’s one possibility. For instance… this dungeon wasn’t the first floor of “Dustbone Corridor” meant for adventurers to clear at all.

—He had seen such situations before: “layers” within a dungeon! The “situation” Leah had demonstrated to him, where the entire dungeon wasn’t a simple “vertical descent” as they imagined.
—It possessed layers that allowed “witches” to move, and naturally, it would expand into more spaces like a net.
—So there would be no drops, because this wasn’t a place for adventurers to clear at all.
—If that’s the case, he had guessed correctly on some points…

At that moment, he heard, alertly, “footsteps” from behind him, as if appearing out of nowhere, and also… the sound of the revolver spinning in his hand.

“Are you celebrating too early?”

“Young Master Will Hysterm—”