“Leave...?”

Muen’s eyes widened as he turned to the door.

That oppressive sense of being sealed in was gone. The door before him—

looked like it could truly open now.

Without thinking, he grabbed the handle and pushed down.

Click.

It opened.

Through the narrow crack, he could see the bright corridor outside.

A rush of joy lit up Muen’s eyes.

If the door was open, then he could escape!

But—it wasn’t that he wanted to abandon Celicia.

He just needed to find help.

Only by calling others could he have any hope of saving her!

“Wait...”

His footsteps halted.

Something wasn’t right.

“The assassin outside should’ve known this would happen too.

So why... would she let me leave?”

“She said... ‘It’s almost over’?”

Almost over?

What... was ending?

Muen turned sharply.

And then—he saw it.

The maid, her hand grasping the burning dagger, like Death itself raising a scythe—

ready to strike and reap a proud soul refusing to bow, even in despair.

Forward was life.

Back was death.

Time seemed to freeze.

And in that moment, Muen thought he heard the fluttering of pages—

As if the story had reached a turning point,

and now waited for his hand to write the next line.

****

Reflected in Celicia’s eyes were fire and steel.

Despair smothered her completely, so heavy she could barely breathe.

Everything in her vision slowed down, like the world had been put on pause.

But she knew—

It wasn’t time that slowed, but her thoughts that accelerated.

The brain’s final burst before death.

In other words: a life flashing before her eyes.

“How pathetic... to fall in a place like this...”

“Damn that Muen Campbell...”

Celicia cursed the man she hated most.

But the fury from before had long since burned away.

There was no room for anger now.

“He’s probably run off already...”

“Good.

He shouldn’t die here...”

Celicia closed her eyes.

Calmly.

Accepting the end.

Shnk.

The sound of a blade entering flesh arrived right on cue.

Hot blood sprayed across her face.

But—

She didn’t feel pain.

Instead, she felt something familiar.

Warm.

Surrounding her.

“What...?”

She opened her eyes in shock—

And met a pair of bright blue, clear, yet dimmed eyes.

Just like back at the banquet...

When he had asked her to dance.

“Cough... Giving up now feels kinda premature, don’t you think, Your Highness...?”

Muen collapsed on top of her, laughing bitterly through the pain.

Then he coughed, hard, a mouthful of blood staining Celicia’s pure white dress a horrific red.

“Why...?”

Celicia stared in disbelief, her cold gaze cracking.

Her expression softened into one of raw confusion—

Like a lost, frightened girl.

“Muen Campbell... why did you save me...?”

“Why? Cough... Hell if I know...”

Muen gasped for air.

That dagger—the one meant to deliver death—was still embedded in his back, skewering through his lungs.

The fire blessed by a god blazed within his body, tearing through him with unspeakable agony.

“If I had to say...

Maybe it was just... a moment of impulse.”

“Impulse? Who does something like this on impulse?”

Seeing Celicia clearly not buying it, Muen could only give a helpless shrug.

But he wasn’t lying.

He had taken a step toward the open door.

He could have walked away.

But the moment he looked back and saw that dagger raised—about to fall—

Everything else vanished.

His guilt toward Celicia.

His regret for being weak.

His fear of dying.

His desire to live.

All gone.

He just didn’t want Celicia to die.

He didn’t want this girl—the one he’d once adored as a fictional character,

who now stood before him as something so real, so vivid, so beautiful—

to die.

Especially not like this.

Especially not because of him.

And so, he chose to turn back. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

He stood in Death’s path.

So this was what they called obsession.

Maybe... it had just been self-deception all along.

“Guess I really do have intermittent idiocy syndrome...

Always flaring up at the worst times.”

Muen chuckled bitterly.

Like that time at 2AM, when he’d blown all his savings on a gacha pull—

And, too hyped from pulling five golds in ten rolls,

got hit by a cement truck.

“So... is this the same ending?”

Well—

Having died once, it wasn’t nearly as scary the second time.

“But before I go...

Let me act cool one last time.

Otherwise it’d be a waste...”

Clenching his teeth against the pain, Muen forced himself to straighten up, to look composed.

With the grace of a duke’s son, he smiled down at Celicia.

“So...

Do I look like a real man now, Your Highness?”

“You...”

But Muen never heard her answer.

Darkness swallowed him whole.

****

【......】

【Loading...】

【Pride: 50%】

【Envy: 99%】

【Greed: 0%】

【Lust: 0%】

【Sloth: 0%】

【Wrath: 0%】

【Gluttony: -90%】

【......】

【......】

【Keep struggling.】

【Muen Campbell】

【My ■■■■】

Deep in Muen’s unconscious mind, the Black Book ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) trembled faintly.

****

“You—fucking—bastard!!”

The maid’s voice trembled with fury, her eyes blazing as she stared at Muen,

now collapsed between her and her target.

He had just blocked the fatal blow with his body.

So close—

She had been this close to succeeding.

And Muen Campbell, of all people, had ruined it at the last second?

“Tch... Did I just... zone out for a second?”

She clutched her forehead, instinctively sensing something strange.

But there was no time to think.

“You think this’ll stop me?! Even if you blocked that strike—

With the blessing of the divine, Princess Celicia is still just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered!”

“Fine! I’ll just stab again!”

She gripped the dagger tight—

And pulled.

...Huh?

It wouldn’t move?

Confused, the maid looked down at Muen.

And saw it.

Golden sparks flickering faintly across the spot she had stabbed—

His luxurious attire shimmering subtly,

holding the blade in place.

“So that outfit’s enchanted...”

The maid sneered.

Of course the son of a duke would have some life-saving gear.

Still, it was just clothing.

It couldn’t hold her back for long.

She summoned her strength—

And sure enough, the dagger came free easily.

But—

Something was off.

“Huh?”

She stared at the blade.

Still sharp.

Still gleaming.

But—

“Where’s my fire?”

The divine flame—the sacred fire gifted by her god—

That roaring inferno from earlier...

It was gone.