I clasped Ravenwood’s outstretched hand. As we shook hands, her grip seemed to tighten for an instant, and I sensed a peculiar smile from behind her mask.
“Provide me with knowledge, and I will cooperate, Ash. ……However.”
The atmosphere, which had conveyed absolute goodwill toward me only moments ago, suddenly became as sharp as a blade.
“You—what exactly are you? We will have to settle that first.”
Ravenwood’s voice was chillingly cold. At the same time, her hand clamped around mine like a pair of steel pincers, squeezing with enough force to make me feel as though my bones would be crushed.
‘Urgh, how can an old hag be this strong!’
It was no exaggeration. The pain was intense enough to make even a fully grown man lose consciousness if he let his guard down for a moment.
Meanwhile, the red lenses of the raven mask glinted beneath the night sky.
“A law is like a statue hewn from the starlight scattered across the night sky. However, the power you displayed was different. It erased those twisted creatures…… It was an exceedingly alien and dangerous power. So answer me. Are you also a ‘being’ like those in the night sky?”
A cold shudder ran across my entire body.
That damned old hag. Had she watched me use my power from the shadows the entire time and only revealed herself when the timing suited her?
The hand clasped with Ravenwood’s felt ready to shatter at any moment.
This could only be called intimidation.
“Answer.”
Ravenwood demanded a response with a single word.
At the same moment, a spike as sharp as a serpent’s tongue emerged from inside the glove covering the hand she had clasped with mine.
It made no sound.
A dull pain followed as the spike pierced my wrist. A single drop of blood fell onto her black glove.
“If you cannot pay an appropriate price, then unfortunately, our transaction cannot be concluded. I am referring to the knowledge inside your head.”
Just as I had expected.
Ravenwood was an ancient monster who would do anything to accomplish her objective.
When the pain of the sharp spike digging through my flesh spread throughout my body, the corners of my mouth rose instead of a scream escaping me.
A quiet chuckle slipped out.
Perhaps she saw it through the lenses of her mask, because Ravenwood’s body shifted slightly at that brief expression of mockery.
“Ah, right. I forgot…… Trust is important. People with a Chaotic Neutral alignment are always exhausting, aren’t they? They test others, assign them a value, and attempt to seize the upper hand.”
I sensed Ravenwood’s gaze waver behind her mask.
“What are you――”
It hurt.
Even through the pain, I raised the wrist pierced by the spike and brought it directly before her mask.
Then I spoke in a taunting voice.
“Listen, you should stop. If I die, you’ll spend what little time you have left regretting it for the rest of your life. Your lifelong wish—the person who knows its answer is probably me and no one else.”
That was a lie.
She would probably find the answer eventually if she searched hard enough.
However, reaching it within the time she had left would be impossible. Without the assistance of Ash, the protagonist, Ravenwood was destined to die before she uncovered the information.
Perhaps the provocation had worked, because the strength in Ravenwood’s grip loosened slightly.
It suggested that she was willing to hear me out.
Now.
This was the moment to present the decisive evidence that would shake her confidence.
“Surely you aren’t planning to strike a bargain with the Archive of the Heavens? The party on the other side makes that deal doomed from the beginning.”
“…I am not quite sure what you mean. Did you believe I intended to make a deal with the Archivist?”
Ravenwood’s voice trembled slightly.
Of course.
I knew all about it.
Admittedly, I had learned that the method was flawed only because of my foreknowledge.
“You intended to discover the method through the Archivist’s knowledge, but unfortunately, it covets souls. A flawed contract will not make you young.”
I spoke coldly while clearly presenting the answer that would draw a response from her.
“The moment your body changes, it will seize the opportunity and rejoice that it has acquired a new book called Ravenwood.”
“That… cannot be true!”
Ravenwood’s voice was filled with bewilderment.
It seemed she had picked up the information from somewhere without properly understanding it.
Either that, or she simply had no idea what happened when someone came into contact with an Outer God.
“There are several things you absolutely need to preserve your existence while borrowing the Archive’s power. The University probably has one of them in storage…….”
I leaned toward the ear of the motionless raven mask and whispered quietly.
“The Ring of Cycles. It was in the museum at Vallian University, was it not?”
Ravenwood had probably understood everything from that alone.
She must have been wondering how someone living in an outlying region could possess information known only to those holding the rank of professor or higher.
Furthermore, I had not revealed everything I knew.
“Ha, haha…… Ahahahahaha!!”
SHNK――
The spike buried in my wrist withdrew in the blink of an eye, and the crushing force around my hand vanished as though it had never existed.
Ravenwood took two steps backward and covered the lenses of her raven mask with one hand.
Despite her aged body, her laughter sounded faintly youthful and filled with madness.
“You said your name was Ash Gray, did you not? Never in my entire life have I encountered such a fascinating man! You are interesting enough to make me want to cast aside all my research!!”
As though she had never threatened me, Ravenwood adopted a courteous posture and bowed her head.
“A test…… No, that is not right. Very well. In accordance with the Law of Equivalent Exchange, I, Ravenwood, shall provide you with all my medical knowledge! Therefore, I beg you. Fulfill my lifelong wish.”
I could sense sorrow from behind the raven mask.
It seemed her objective was not merely to regain her youth.
Perhaps she possessed some hidden reason that had never been revealed in the game.
“No, that isn’t right. You’ve left something out, haven’t you? We should settle the account properly. Your alchemical knowledge is included as well.”
“You knew even that much about me……? You truly are an astonishing creature.”
Ravenwood answered with a weary tone.
“The Law of Equivalent Exchange.”
“Tsk, there is no need to say any more.”
When I quietly reminded her, Ravenwood pulled a container of orange-tinged liquid from inside her coat and held it over the hole in my wrist.
“This should close the wound.”
HISS.
The liquid quickly sealed the puncture left by the spike.
Once the hole in my wrist had closed sufficiently, I wiped the bloodstains away with my clothes and spoke.
“Phew, that feels better. Now, to celebrate your becoming my ally, shall we solve our first problem, old hag?”
Apparently displeased by the way I addressed her, Ravenwood grumbled in response.
“Do not call me that. I did not expect you to begin issuing orders immediately…….”
“Be quiet and listen.”
As I spoke, I pointed at the floor.
“My house wasn’t infested with the Guilty from the beginning. Someone sent them here. In other words, they were bait.”
“Bait?”
The moment Ravenwood finished speaking, a sound came from beneath the house.
I had forgotten amid the chaos, but the player’s residence consisted of a ‘basement’, a first floor, and a second floor.
DONG― DONG―
“Damn.”
The ringing bell made me smile bitterly before I could even finish explaining the situation.
Thinking about it, there had been an early-game event in which the Guilty invaded.
I had simply never experienced it at the ‘residence’.
I had never imagined that I would receive such a grand welcome on the very first day.
“It appears the one who set the trap has come personally.”
I continued speaking calmly.
‘Isn’t it against the rules for a boss-class enemy to invade the residence directly through the basement?’
After all, the creature I suspected was one of the bosses of the Lower Court.
Under normal circumstances, it would never leave its own territory.
I had not yet seen its appearance, but I could make a reasonable guess.
I also knew that wrestling with a hundred members of the Guilty would be easier than confronting that creature.
“Young man, you know something, don’t you?”
I nodded slightly at Ravenwood’s question.
“It is probably one of the three creatures responsible for the Lower Court.”
“Good heavens…… Young man, are you an astronomer or something? Did you divine it from the stars? I would have mistaken that for a prophecy.”
“Stop talking and prepare yourself.”
The footsteps in the passage connected to the basement steadily drew closer.
CREAK, CRASH!
The wooden hatch leading to the basement shattered, and something emerged from the darkness.
It possessed a humanoid form, but it was not human.
It had the head and upper body of a mountain goat, but the lower body of a human. It gripped an executioner’s axe in both hands, and a rusted bell hung from its neck.
Its body was even decorated with repulsive ornaments fashioned by weaving together the heads and pieces of flesh belonging to the Guilty.
There was no mistaking it.
It was the creature I remembered.
“That creature is…… one of the wardens of the Lower Court, the Toller of Execution!?”
DONG― DONG―
Before Ravenwood had even finished speaking, the sound of the rusted bell filled the house.
Its horizontally elongated pupils, whose focus was impossible to determine, watched us.
More precisely, they were glaring directly at me.
It was unpleasant enough to irritate me.
‘Damn it. I can’t believe I encountered that thing without having time to prepare properly……!’
The only object I could call a weapon was the crude chair leg in my hand.
I truly possessed nothing else.
The more experienced someone was, the more thoroughly they normally prepared, but there was nothing I could say when the enemy had come directly to me.
‘This is troublesome…… Do I have any other choice?’
I had no option but to somehow manage with what I could use immediately.
《Baaaaa.》
The Toller of Execution released a low goat-like cry and approached us.
“Objection!!”
I pointed directly at it and shouted.
However—
[System : Objection does not activate.]
[Judgment : No trial proceedings are in effect.]
[‘The Absolved’ Ash Gray has failed to activate ‘Turnabout Trial’.]
Nothing…… happened.
The system logs floating before my eyes proved it.
It was an undeniable reality.
“Listen, young man. Shouldn’t an objection be made after you’ve been dragged into an actual trial?!”
“Damn it!! Be quiet! My head already hurts enough!”
I had failed because I had not had time to confirm the activation conditions of my abilities.
However, the failure allowed me to understand them.
My abilities, Objection and Turnabout Trial, could be chained only after the opposing party had initiated a trial.
In other words, they were powers I could use only once the methods of Salus, the City of Law, had been invoked.
‘Then I’ll ultimately have to force it to initiate its judgment pattern on its own.’
Had I possessed even a single useful Vanguard, I would not have needed to worry about this.
The creature’s sheer size was absurdly unfair.
An ordinary human stood less than two meters tall.
However, the creature openly disregarded that principle. It was an enormous monster standing easily three meters tall.
The pressure it exerted was entirely different from what I had experienced through the game.
“We’re getting out of the house first, old woman!”
“Who are you calling an old woman?!”
Despite her words, Ravenwood and I immediately fled from the decrepit house.
Anyone who claimed that fighting such a creature inside a building was advantageous because it restricted its movements was likely an idiot.
It would almost certainly demolish the entire house. If that happened, we would be fortunate not to be crushed flat by the first wave of falling rubble.
《You… can, not… escape…!!》
The low bleating of a mountain goat began reaching my ears as human speech. A sensation that seemed to erode my sanity wrapped itself around my entire body.
“Damn it, tell me what I’m supposed to do! Young man!”
Ravenwood watched me carefully as she spoke.
The creature was crawling out from the interior of the building.
A strange tension settled over us.
I could not afford to delay, but neither could I hesitate.
Every second mattered.
I had to formulate a plan before the Toller of Execution fully emerged from the house.
“Ravenwood, check whether you have the items I’m about to name.”
“……I do not know what you are planning, but tell me, young man.”
In games like this, insufficient companions could be compensated for through the use of various items.
Strictly speaking, the method I intended to use exploited one of the creature’s weaknesses.
I immediately named the items I needed from Ravenwood.
“A Poison Mist Flask, a Dark Glass Bottle. A torch. Three items in total.”
“I always carry materials in preparation for emergencies, but surely……!”
Yes.
That was exactly what I intended.
“You truly have lost your mind.”
“We’ll have to go that far if we want to stop that thing immediately, old hag.”
“Who are you calling an old hag? In any case, most people would avoid such a method unless they had completely succumbed to madness.”
Despite her words, Ravenwood retrieved the items I had requested from inside her coat and handed them to me.
“Are you ready?”
“Very well, young man. Buy me three minutes—no…… one minute!”
Ravenwood quietly moved to the side, pulled alchemical materials from inside her coat, and began crafting something at remarkable speed.
‘For a moment, I thought she was a bartender.’
Her movements were so skillful that I found myself staring in fascination.
At that moment, the wall of the house shuddered.
Just as expected, the Toller did not disappoint. It drove its shoulder through the wall, demolished it, and charged outside.
‘I have to deal with it somehow.’
Until its domain was activated, I would ultimately have to handle it myself.
Ravenwood was a support specialist vulnerable in close combat.
‘Should I try using that?’
I tightened my grip on the chair leg and imagined it.
‘Imagine it…… Remember it……!’
What could I possibly do against that creature?
What could someone who had possessed nothing do?
However, I recalled everything that had happened earlier.
The method I could choose now was……!
[Skill ‘Noble Gavel of Judgment’ manifests.]
The object in my hands became the enormous hammer I had used to dispose of the Guilty.
It remained remarkably light.
‘With this, I might be able to do something!’
It was confidence without any basis, yet my courage continued rising without limit.
《I execute. I execute the guilty. Execute. Execute……!》
The goat-headed giant gave me no time to think.
The moment it found me, it lowered its shoulder and charged ferociously.
‘I’ve never fought someone head-on before, but…….’
The creature closed the distance in an instant and raised the axe clutched tightly in its hands.
It was an unmistakable signal that it intended to bring the weapon down.
I immediately gripped the enormous hammer with both hands and swung it upward, striking the descending axe along its trajectory.
CLAAANG―!
A tremendous roar erupted as though heaven and earth had been shaken.
My hands did not sting, nor did they become numb.
The Toller was the one forced backward.
‘I did it!’
With this, I could block it as many times as necessary!
The moment that thought entered my mind, the creature moved faster than I had anticipated.
“Guh?!”
Its fist immediately struck toward my lower abdomen.
It was a sudden attack that slipped through before I had even been given time to react.
Had this been a game, it would have followed a standardized pattern.
However, this was a cruel reality.
My body was lifted from the ground in an instant. The hammer in my hands returned to an ordinary chair leg, and my eyes met Ravenwood’s at the same time.
“Damn it, you held out well! You sly young man!”
Ravenwood praised me as she spoke.