[Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!][Warning!]
My entire system screen is screaming in crimson alerts. I know I shouldn't have done this. I should've kept pushing through, tried to run. But there's no changing what's already happened.
I reach into the system screen and pull out a black scythe. No skills. No battle potential. At least, not that I know of. Yet the moment it appears, a few members of Glorius's party instinctively step back. …What's going on? I glance around, confused, but it's enough of a distraction to give me that tiny sliver of time to move first.
I swing at Glorius like I'm cutting grass on a blazing summer afternoon. All I'm missing is the straw hat. The joke lightens my mood for a second—but I force myself to focus. Ahem…
Glorius's eyes gleam with mockery. He doesn't even bother with a proper defense—just reaches out with his fingers. And suddenly, my scythe stops dead in its arc. It won't move. It's stuck.
Then the air around me turns cold.
Ouch! Something icy slices my cheek from above, and it doesn't stop. One cut becomes many, sharp as needles, washing over me like a freezing rain. Each one steals more heat from my body. The cold feels endless, crawling into my bones, ready to snuff me out where I stand.
It's coming from Glorius. His eyes are eternal ice, locked on mine with killing intent so intense it's hard to breathe. My chest grows heavy. My knees weaken.
But before I collapse, I force myself to stand, clinging to the last thread of my will.
I must resist. I can't fall. This is not how my story is supposed to end.
"You're a nobody."
The words crawl into my ears like venom. I look up, and our eyes lock again. You know, being looked down on like you're some worthless scrap… it cuts deeper than any blade. It seeps into your bones. It lingers. But it also sparks something in you. At least, in me.
I can feel an unfamiliar heat rising within me. The fire of defiance. The fire of craving power.
"You will die a nobody. You will give me back what you stole. A simple NPC… standing against us? What a joke."
NPC… the term feels both familiar and foreign. Like it doesn't belong here, like it came from somewhere else entirely. And yet, it's clung to us ever since.
I try to rise, my mind telling me my body must be bloody and broken. But when I glance at my knees, I see nothing. No blood at all. The fire in me is burning through the ice.
How?
Was everything I felt just… the difference between us? Was it all pressure? Or was it his sheer desire to kill me?
It's similar to what I once felt from Roxy, but hers never ran this deep. Which means she didn't truly want my life. Glorius does. This… this is true killing intent.
And I understand it now.
The fire inside me swells until it's all I can feel. I push myself up, standing tall. You should see the look on his face right now—not just Glorius, but all of them. They can't believe it.
A piece of trash like me… standing against them.
I use every ounce of strength I have to pull my scythe. It trembles in my grip; I manage to drag it an inch closer, but then his hold tightens. Come on!
"Interesting… maybe I did underestimate you." Glorius chuckles, yanking the scythe toward himself. My body lurches forward, and before I can react, his thick fingers clamp around my neck, cutting off my air. My vision begins to blur.
"Boss, let us take care of him. You shouldn't dirty your hands, not when you're the hero who's meant to lead the kingdoms against the demon nation." A feminine voice comes from my left. Through the haze, I catch a glimpse of a girl with bright green hair stepping forward. She places a hand on his arm, and a green light shines from her palm. My mind clears slightly… but in Glorius, rage only seems to burn hotter.
"Bitch! Piss off!" He hurls my body into hers. Pain explodes in my ribs. I'm certain one cracked. And she doesn't get away unscathed either, her body smashing into the wall.
"Glorius! What are you—?!" The whole party erupts into panic, but the man holding me in his mercy isn't interested in their voices.
"Anyone who speaks next… will join this trash in the afterlife." His tone is low, dangerous, dripping with the hunger to kill.
"Are you threatening us? If the goddess hears of this, you won't escape punishment." Auror steps forward. I can hear the tremor in his voice, but he stands his ground.
"You think I won't dare?" The words land like a blade. The room freezes. Not a single breath follows.
I did not expect this development. This guy is genuinely mentally unstable, I swear.
"F-fine. Let's go, everyone. And bring Luna—she needs immediate healing…" Auror mutters, pushing the door open. The group hesitates, clearly reluctant, but in the end, they obey.
Now it's just the two of us.
Maybe that's for the best. I might actually have a chance if I can use my quill in secret. There were too many eyes before.
"Now…" His low voice seeps into my ears. I'm almost completely out by this point; I can barely even see him clearly. "You're going to tell me everything I ask… or I'll make sure you end up in the graveyard of abandoned side characters."
W-what did he just say? I must be imagining things. He can't possibly know he's inside a book… right? Yeah… impossible. He probably just has that protagonist disease—thinks he's the most important person in the world.
"I-I don't u—cough—understand what you're talking about…" I mutter, feigning innocence.
A moment later, I share the same fate as the green-haired girl. My back slams into the cold wall, and I'm forced to spit out the air in my lungs. A sharp, stabbing pain erupts along my spine, rattling through my body in waves.
"I see… feigning ignorance… good." His voice drips with malice. I hear a sword slice through the air—the sound alone makes my heart race. "Then fight. Fight me, and show me you haven't wasted the powers you stole from me!" he screams, voice cracking with hysteria.
A heavy—thud—follows. My scythe skids across the floor, kicked to land just inches from my helpless body.
Shit… I'll cut you to pieces… and then I'll die along with this entire book. Fuck you, Glorius.
I grip the scythe's handle, forcing my broken body off the ground through sheer willpower burning in my veins.
"Die!" I charge.