CRACK-KKSSH
Lightning crackled at a distance.
RUMBLE... RUMMMMBLE
Thunder followed with a deafening roar.
Days like these reminded me of the times I curled up inside my blankets.
I was afraid of the loud noise.
It was embarrassing to be afraid of such things as an adult.
But today was different.
Drip…drip…
I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
'My' reflection wasn't mine.
I watched as water dripped down the messy black hair.
It went past scarlet-red eyes.
Down the ghostly-pale skin.
And finally plopped on the ground.
It was an unmistakably familiar face.
"...did I transmigrate?"
The red eyes stared back at me with silence as the answer.
"Hah…"
It was ridiculous, but the only logical conclusion.
I transmigrated into the game I last played.
[Lutherium Chronicles: The Great War]
But.
"...Why?"
Absurdity of the phenomenon aside, the image in front of me was harder to take in.
This face…these features…
All of this belonged to the infamous character of the story.
Eldrinn Caius Valden.
An extra who died at the hands of the protagonist.
An extra who was dubbed as the Empire's "Traitor Bastard."
An extra.
Extra.
"Haa…"
I ran a finger through my hair, feeling sick to the stomach.
'...out of everyone…'
Why was it him?
Just then—
A soft chime echoed through the room.
A blank, golden interface flickered into existence between me and my reflection.
'This…'
The Mission window from the game.
The interface remained blank for a moment, before words slowly materialized onto the screen.
But.
「Main Mission Activated」
「Save Adelina Ruelle Hearthorne」
「Completion Requirements」
◈ Prevent the Seven Tragedies that will bloom The Glory Villainess.
◈ Ensure Adelina Ruelle Hearthorne survives until the end of Phase 5.
「Failure Condition: Adelina Ruelle Hearthorne dies before the end of Phase 5」
「Reward: ???」
「Penalty: ???」
I stared at the words, my heartbeat hammering in my ears.
'Huh…?'
HUHHH???
***
It took me an hour to calm down.
I don't know where it went wrong.
Let's start from the beginning.
I had just completed Phase 4 of the game.
The last thing I remembered was clicking 'Continue' to proceed to the next phase.
Then—the screen went dark.
Then—so did my vision.
When I woke up, I was staring blankly at an unfamiliar yet familiar reflection.
I had somehow ended up in the game.
To make it worse, I had possessed a character doomed to die.
And to make it even worse—
A ridiculous mission floated in front of me.
I rubbed my temples, my eyes returning to the golden text floating in front of me.
「Save Adelina Ruelle Hearthorne」
A dry laugh escaped my lips.
"This is absurd."
Adelina Ruelle Hearthorne.
Genevia Empire's one-in-a-five-thousand years genius mage.
The Hearthorne Dukedom's youngest and most beloved child.
The only mage in Miroha's history to possess a 'blessing.'
And…
The glorious villainess of the game, who was doomed to die.
She had been a popular character even before the game's official release.
Aside from being one of the most beautiful women in the cast—perhaps even rivaling the Heroine—she was also one of the strongest characters in Lutherium.
'A beautiful woman who can fight? Count me in!'
Her popularity only skyrocketed after the game launched.
However.
Adelina's popularity wasn't associated with her beauty, or her strength, though those had a determining factor during pre-promotions.
The true love for her character came from the fact that she was a—
Yandere.
A woman so deeply, maddeningly obsessed that she lost herself in love.
In the world of Lutherium Chronicles, a yandere like her could only ever be one thing—
A villainess.
After all, her target of obsession and possessiveness—
It was directed at the Hero.
The main character.
The protagonist meant to save this world.
Of course, being obsessed with the Hero alone wasn't what turned her into a villainess.
Her descent into madness was a key aspect of the game's storyline.
In fact, it was so well-developed that you would think—
The developers had loved creating her the most.
Explaining her backstory in detail would take too long.
But long story short, her obsession with the Hero led to her demise.
At first, it was bearable.
She was just a harmless girl in love.
Players adored her loyal nature, and she delivered on that front.
Until the Hero met the Heroine.
Then, all hell broke loose.
Her jealousy drove her to hurt the Heroine, which infuriated the Hero.
This eventually led to her death.
Even after dying, she remained one of the highest-ranked characters in the game.
It wasn't surprising.
After all, players clung to the delusion of "I can fix her."
But.
It's a fact that she was a character that was meant to die at one point.
A character that would end at the hands of the Hero after being confronted.
It was a fixed event, written into the game's very core.
Adelina was doomed.
So, then, why…
「Save Adelina Ruelle Hearthorne」
There had never been a 'save Adelina' ending before.
Why is the game asking me to save her?
Me, of all people?
How am I even related to thi—
Wait.
Hold on.
What if…
No. It couldn't be, but—
This isn't a logical thought, but—
What if…
My mind raced back to my final thoughts before ending up here.
What if there had been another way?
"...."
Did I really end up here because I wanted her to have a different ending?
A ridiculous thought.
Yet, it made the most sense.
Did the developers—or some kind of god—hear my fleeting thought?
A thought I would have soon forgotten?
A thought I never even put much thought into?
"Haa…"
I didn't want to believe it.
But my reality—and the interface before me—told otherwise.
My eyes returned to the mission window.
「Completion Requirements」
◈ Prevent the Seven Tragedies that will bloom The Glory Villainess.
◈ Ensure Adelina Ruelle Hearthorne survives until the end of Phase 5.
"Prevent the Seven Tragedies…"
Adelina's transformation into a villainess was gradual.
Certain 'Events' triggered her descent, aside from her love for the Hero.
Assuming that's what this means…
I'll have to stop each one of them.
But in the game, those triggers changed based on the player's choices.
Her route always ended up in death, but the path to each of those was different.
I'll have to think about this later.
Since the main mission is to save Adelina, sub-missions should eventually reveal the path.
My eyes skimmed to the next line.
"Ensure her survival…until Phase 5…"
Adelina always died by the end of Phase 4 - Act 35.
To ensure her survival until Phase 5…
…But wait.
Right now, the game was asking me for two things.
Stop her from becoming a villainess.
Save her from death.
But—
In the first place—
Didn't she die to the Hero because she was a villainess?
If I prevent her downfall…wouldn't that naturally save her?
「Failure Condition: Adelina Ruelle Hearthorne dies before the end of Phase 5」
Then why was this a separate condition?
"...."
I stared at the mission window, my mind tangled in confusion.
It didn't make sense.
It wouldn't be a lie to say I was at a loss.
"Haa…I don't know anymore."
I exhaled heavily, dragging a hand down my face before turning my gaze back to the mirror.
The penalty for failing the mission was left ambiguous.
But I wasn't naive.
There was only ever one punishment for failure in this kind of situation.
Death.
At first, I didn't understand why I had been thrown into this body.
But now—
It all made sense.
It just didn't click until the mission appeared before me.
The character I had possessed was one destined for death.
And the reason for his eventual demise was Adelina.
Eldrinn Caius Valden.
The prodigal second son of House Valden.
The closest aide to the Glory Villainess.
The man fated to die alongside her.
And—
More than anything—
Adelina's childhood friend.