For I Am A Side Character - Zetro Translation

Tomorrow was the day that the second event would start…before that ever happens, I needed to claim the next item needed to complete the mission.

[The Brass Elven Linking Chains]

I still had a lot of time on hand, but the sooner I claim the item, the better chance I have with not having to deal with some expecting enemies.

The time was midnight…

And judging by what I know, its possible that this item is located in one place only…

The next location set up to be was a place outside of the city.

A region just south of the city, a province called the ‘Tail-Back Dorm’. a thick land of forest consisting of over a 100 plus villages set apart from one another.

It was in this place that I obtained access to the S-rank gate and defeated it.

And coincidentally, it was also the location where the event for tomorrow would take place.

Based off of what I read in the story, tomorrow’s event would at least last for a total of five days. It consisted of all the candidates from each class, and it would play out with different sorts of events.

Unlike the City, this forest was crawling with Dungeons, meaning that the risk were higher here than what would be found in the city because of just how dangerous the monsters were inside each dungeon. I mean for God’s sake…there was a S-ranked dungeon here and no one knew it existed.

There was no mention of the location of the item specifically, but judging on how the story of this world revolved around Jason and the other characters, its not far fetched to imagine that it wouldn’t be in that place.

The problem now lies with how I can find it with such a limited amount of information.

When thinking back to the volume of this story, there was never a mention of the demon cultist ever being confronted by the protagonist or any sort of character…

But knowing the cards I had on hand, there’s a certain someone that might tell me where it is.

As of now, it was midnight…and as for me, I wasn’t in my home. Instead, I was in the middle of the city.

As the rain poured heavy on this day, I could only hide inside an abandoned apartment, looking in front of the only possible person that could lead me to the item.

“Khk-!…fuck, who are you people!?” said the boy who had his eyes blindfolded and his entire body chained to a chair.

“You know who we are…don’t think you can fool us, you bastard.” said Tyen with an irritated tone.

“Y-you think I know?! I’m just a student from the academy, why did you guys kidnap someone like me?! I’m no one special…for fuck sake, I’m in the E-class. The lowest class there is!” he said.

And true to his identity, he was the person who we were supposed to safeguard under the orders of the principal.

He was the rusted knight I encountered during the event…The bastard who created the problem where he turned his own classmates psychotic…

And I might know how he did it.

Seeing his affiliation with the Purity Cult, its not hard to assume that he might not even be aware of what he’ done wrong.

Just as what I’ve learned during my time fixing John’s issue with his nightmares in the night, Gypsy told me that it was possible for the cult to infiltrate a person’s mind and take over it.

It might be stupid to assume this, but maybe the cult has already infiltrated a mind once…despite its unpresentable relevance, this boy in front of us was probably another victim to this effect.

And seeing him panic right now yet he doesn’t seem to be resisting so much, only one thing is possible.

He’s being kept hostage not by us, but by the cult inside his mind…and right now, he’s acting as if he’s trying to resist the chains strapped around him, but I can tell if a person can easily break through a chain…this boy is perfectly capable of freeing himself.

Now, to what reason did we even bring him here in the middle of the city?

Well, all of this effort is just for the bait.

We don’t have a lot of time left, so the easier we can lure in a cultist, the easier it is for me to find the item I need.

With me wearing the light aranean armor set to hide my identity and with Tyen hiding her face with the shadow garm set, it was one of the way to secure our identities from the cultist if ever there was a way for them to come here.

“Please, just let me go…you don’t understand what you’re doing!” he said as tears started to fall from his eyes.

“…Don’t cry. Now, here…I have something with me that might attract your attention.” from here on out, I pulled out the acrylic elf core from my storage and I let it be heard in the boy’s ear.

“W-what?” said the boy as was curious.

“Take off his blindfold.” I said to Tyen.

And to this order, Tyen complied.

When Tyen-lin pulled down his blindfold, all but immediately, I can tell that the boy’s expression showed familiarity with the acrylic elf core.

“You know what this is, don’t you?” I asked.

*Gulp*

“Now, despite all the things that has been happening in your cult, you couldn’t have expected to find the one item that you’ve been looking for all this time, to be in front of you. Well, here it is…a fallen angel may have died as she failed to obtain this, but nonetheless, I have it.”

‘W-what are you doing?’ asked Tyen.

‘I’m luring them in.’ I said in a whisper.

“Now, I’m pretty sure that you guys are listening in to his ears, its not heard to figure it out. So, here’s a proposal for you dorks. You can try and take this away from my hands, there’s nothing stopping you from claiming what you need right? I’ll be waiting here. You have an hour…after that, you will never be able to see it again.”

As I said this, soon enough…something about the boy changed all too suddenly.

His eyes started to water even more with tears…tears that suddenly turned red.

“…Geez, what a gruesome look. They must have really heard me.” I said as I put back the blindfold around the boy’s eyes.

“Were you serious about it?” asked Tyen.

“Of course I was. And don’t worry…if another person as strong as the fallen angel were to come here, I wouldn’t be alone.” and to me saying this, I had confidence in the back up hiding in the shadows.

“O-okay. What do we do now?” she asked.

‘Keep the boy safe. Despite all that’s happening, I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t even have control over the situation. He’s a hostage by the cult…and right now, he still has some uses for them as a tracker for our location. It won’t be long for them to take action.’

‘And you’re sure that they’ll come here?’

‘Of course they will…they’re cultist, its already a guarantee that whatever it may be, they’ll take what they need in order to secure their mission in life. It’s laughable really just how easy it can be to lure out those bastards.’ I said in a whisper.

And to my assumption, I was right…after thirty minutes of waiting, already I can feel over a hundred cultist making their way here.

“Get ready, it’s going to be a battlefield from here on out.” as I said this, out from the shadows appeared brother Cecil.

“Hmph, this is a pretty reckless plan, do you think we could have done this in another way?” asked Brother Cecil.

“I’m pretty sure we could have thought up of another plan, but I don’t have the time for something like that.”

As I brought up my sword, all but immediately, cultist dropped from the ceiling and the windows…all came from every direction just to reach my way…

One by one, each carried a different weapon that was hidden in their black cloak.

From daggers to spears and swords, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it felt like a festival of a blood bath.

As the cultists poured into the room, a wave of dark energy followed them, the energy crackled in the air like static. In the sight of their arrival, their eyes were glowing with malevolent intent as they locked onto the acrylic elf core in my hand.

Brother Cecil, standing tall with a grim expression, drew his sword—a weapon forged from the bones of a fallen beast, shimmering with a dark aura.

“Be ready, we’ll cut through them like the scum they are.” he said.

I nodded, gripping my own weapon, a curved blade humming with latent power. The cultists moved in unison, their steps synchronized, as if driven by a single mind. The room felt smaller with every passing second, the walls closing in as the dark-cloaked figures surrounded us.

Because of this many expecting enemies, I had Tyen carry the boy out before they could arrive. As such, I didn’t really had much to worry about.

One of the cultists lunged at me with a jagged dagger aimed at my throat. I sidestepped, parrying the strike with a swift motion, and countered with a slash that severed the cultist’s arm clean off. Black blood sprayed across the floor, but the cultist didn’t scream; instead, he laughed, a chilling, distorted sound, before collapsing. Seeing his reaction, it seems as though their minds were twisted to control their own emotions against pain. They must have done this to secure their win against us.

Brother Cecil was already in motion, his blade a blur of lethal precision. He decapitated one cultist with a single swipe, then pivoted to impale another through the chest. One after the other, it wasn’t that much of a difficulty for him against these cultist.

“You call this a challenge?” he taunted, his voice steady and cold.

A group of cultists charged at him from behind, their weapons gleaming under the dim light. Without missing a beat, Brother Cecil spun around, his sword slicing through the air in a wide arc. The cultists fell like puppets with their strings cut, their bodies hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

As Brother Cecil did his part, I deflected a spear thrust aimed at my side. The cultist holding the spear growled, pulling back for another strike, but I was faster in all accounts. I twisted my blade and drove it through his chest, feeling the resistance give way as he crumpled at my feet.

As we kept killing one cultist after the other, more cultists flooded in with their dark robes swirling as they summoned shadowy tendrils that snaked across the floor, reaching for our legs. I leaped back, avoiding the grasping tendrils, and channeled my energy into the blade, unleashing a wave of light that severed them.

Brother Cecil wasn’t one to be outdone. He raised his sword high, and with a roar, slammed it into the ground. A shockwave of energy erupted from the point of impact, sending cultists flying through the air like ragdolls. The floor cracked and splintered under the force, and the remaining cultists staggered, momentarily disoriented. This force of power alone could have wrecked the entire apartment that we were standing on, but with how controlled brother’s Cecil’s skill was, the apartment still stood on its base.

Cecil grunted as more and more cultist came charging forward with the ferocity of a beast unleashed. He was a whirlwind of destruction, his blade cleaving through cultists with brutal efficiency. Each swing was precise, calculated to maximize damage, leaving no room for escape.

I joined him, my movements synchronized with his, our blades weaving a deadly dance of steel. We fought back-to-back, cutting down cultist after cultist, their numbers thinning as the floor became slick with their blood.

But just when I thought we had the upper hand, the room darkened, a suffocating aura descending upon us. The cultists that remained began chanting in a low, guttural tone, their voices merging into one. The shadows around them thickened, coalescing into a massive, grotesque figure that towered over us. It wrapped itself in all places…from the wall to the windows and even the very furniture of the space of the apartment.

It was a demon—a twisted amalgamation of darkness and rage, summoned by the cultist’s dying breaths. Its eyes burned with hatred, and its mouth stretched into a wide, unnatural grin as it let out a deafening roar.

“We’ve got a big one,” I muttered, gripping my sword tighter.

Brother Cecil glanced at me, a smirk playing on his lips. “You ready for this, Soril?”

“Always.”

The demon lunged at us, its claws ripping through the air with terrifying speed. We dove to opposite sides, narrowly avoiding the strike. The demon’s claws tore into the ground, leaving deep gouges where we had stood.

I didn’t waste a second. I charged forward, channeling my energy into my blade until it glowed with a blinding light. With a powerful slash, I aimed for the demon’s leg, hoping to cripple it. The blade connected, cutting deep into the flesh, and the demon howled in pain, black ichor oozing from the wound.

[Heavy Slash!]

I kept on throwing heavy slashes down on the best, making sure that he would stagger as much and in pain as he could. Like a wolf, the demon howled in pain.

Brother Cecil followed up with a powerful upward slash that carved through the demon’s torso. The creature staggered, but it wasn’t down yet. It swung its massive arm, catching Brother Cecil across the chest and sending him crashing into the wall.

“?!” I was a bit shocked that it caught Brother off his guard, but he was already back on his feet with not a single scratch on his body.

“I’m fine! Focus on taking this thing down!” he growled, wiping the sweat away with the back of his hand.

The demon reared back, opening its maw to unleash a torrent of dark energy. But I was faster. I summoned the power within me, focusing it into a single point, and released it in a devastating blast that collided with the demon’s attack. The two forces clashed, creating a shockwave that rattled the entire building.

Cecil used the distraction to his advantage. He dashed forward, his blade humming with dark energy, and plunged it into the demon’s chest. The creature let out a final, agonized roar as the dark energy exploded from within, tearing the demon apart from the inside.

As the pieces of the demon crumbled to the ground, disintegrating into black ash, the room fell silent. The cultists were gone, the demon defeated, and all that remained was the faint crackling of energy dissipating into the air.

“Is this it?” asked Cecil as he sheathed his sword with a satisfied grin.

“Yeah, but we’re not done yet,” I replied, scanning the room for any remaining threats.

Out of the hundred of cultist found lying on the ground, there were still a few breathing agonizingly as their wounds were open and dripping with their black blood.

“I can sense that five out of the hundred are still alive, we need to bring them with us back to the dojo to have them interrogated. Is there a way to keep them alive if ever they plan on commiting suicide?” I asked.

“There are a few options, just leave them to me and by morning, you can have the information about the Brass Elven Linking Chains by then.”

“Good, I’ll be waiting.” from then on, I left the remaining survivors to brother Cecil.

And as we left the abandoned apartment, it didn’t take long before Brother Cecil completely destroyed the building by burning it down until not even their bones would be left alive.

While brother Cecil was taking care of the situation with the cultist, I had to call upon Gypsy again to ask for a favor.

With how the boy that we used as bait might be dragged into something dangerous by the cultist, we had to keep him safe. And because this matter required the expertise of an Ex-angel’s skill, I just hoped that she could do something about it.

“So, what do you think?” I asked Gypsy as we sat in a diner that was open 24/7.

It wasn’t just Gypsy, with me was the boy who was being kept guard by Tyen-lin.

“Don’t you think it will be suspicious to still have him with us? What if the cult finds him again and finish him off?” asked Tyen-lin.

“Can I ask for your name?” I said as I turned to the boy.

“W-Will…Will Tucker…and your face, you’re Soril Remus right?” he said as he looked very troubled and tired. Seeing as how we were at the diner, I didn’t really have ot wear a mask right now.

“…Hmm, can I ask who you were before the cultist were able to grab hold of you?” I asked.

“I-I’m just a student from the academy! There’s nothing else about me that I could tell you!
He said angrily enough.

“Keep your voice down, we’re at a diner in the middle of the night.” I said as I glared at will with a bloodlusted gaze.

“Tsk..” having clicked his tongue, Gypsy turned to me with a rather curious gaze.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Will here is in the same kerfuffle as John was, except the cultist were actually able to take over his mind. Despite the free will he has on now, he doesn’t actually have full control because of how the cultist are keeping their eyes on him. Seeing as how we were able to take down a hundred of them, it wont be long before he loses his use to the cult.”

“Oh really? And what kind of use did he had on the cultist?” asked Gypsy.

“I don’t know…that’s for him to say.” I said as I looked to Will.

“I told you, I’m just a student at the academy! I know nothing about some cult.”

“Keep trying to run and we can’t help you, you bastard. Now, thanks to Tyen’s efforts, we were finally able to gain the records of your history.” I said.

“It was hard…but my master finally gave me permission in the end.” Said Tyen as she pulled out a piecce of a scroll handling Will’s information.

“It says here that you’re not a student…if anything, you’re not a kid at all, instead, you’re a…nomad?”

“!?” Will Tucker felt fear upon hearing me say that…

The revelation of Will Tucker’s true identity hung in the air, thickening the tension in the small diner. His reaction was telling—eyes wide with fear, his breath caught in his throat. Tyen-lin, who had been cautiously observant, tightened her grip on the boy’s shoulder, ready to act if he made any sudden moves.

Gypsy leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she studied Will. “A nomad, huh? That explains a lot about the air around him.” she mused, her tone laced with suspicion.

“Nomads are rare, especially ones that infiltrate a magical academy. What’s your story, Will?” asked Gypsy.

Will’s face paled. He knew there was no use in denying it any longer. “I… I was sent here to gather information. My people, the nomads, we have our own ways of tracking magical disturbances. The academy was a prime target. But I never expected to get caught up in all of this.”

Tyen-lin’s eyes widened. “So the cultists… they used you because you were a nomad?”

Will nodded slowly, his voice trembling. “They wanted my ability to locate ancient artifacts, powerful relics that could shift the balance of power. I tried to resist, but they got inside my head. I don’t even remember how long they’ve been controlling me.”

“That explains why you went to the academy. Because of the hidden vault that was filled with artifacts, it attracted your senses to it. And so that also explains as to why the cultist were able to find access about artifacts…” I said.

Gypsy sighed, rubbing her temples as she absorbed the information. “This complicates things. If the cult was using you to find artifacts, they won’t just give up now that you’ve been captured.”

“Which is why we need to make sure he stays under the radar, to protect him. Right now, he’s just as important to the cultist as he is to us. We can’t let the cult get their hands on him again. Gypsy, is there a way to sever their connection to him permanently?” I asked.

Gypsy thought for a moment, then nodded.

“There is, but it won’t be easy. It requires a ritual, something that will bind his essence to a protective barrier. If we are able to do it right, the cultist will never be able to find him again. Its going to be in the same situation as John.”

Will’s expression wavered between relief and hesitation. “If it means getting these bastards out of my head, I’ll do it,” he said finally, his voice resolute.

“Then it’s settled,” Soril said, leaning back in his chair. “We’ll set up the ritual as possible. Our time limit is up to sunrise. Do you think you can do it that fast Gypsy?”

“I can…but we need an open area. This diner won’t do.” she said.

As they made their plans, the door of the diner swung open, letting in a gust of cold wind. A figure in a long cloak entered, moving with a deliberate, almost predatory grace. Soril’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the aura of someone not quite human.

The figure approached their table, pulling back the hood to reveal a woman with sharp, piercing eyes and an air of authority. She glanced at each of them before focusing on Soril.

“So, this is where you’ve been hiding,” she said, her voice smooth and commanding. “I’ve been looking for you, Will.”

“And who might you be?” I asked as I stood up from the diner and approached the woman who came.

The woman smirked. “I am one of the high commanders of the Purity Cult. I’ve come to reclaim what belongs to us.” Her gaze shifted to Will, her expression darkening. “And to ensure that he doesn’t cause any more trouble.” she said with a threatening tone, but despite this, Soril’s gaze remained calm.

“Does that imply of you being one of the fallen seats?” I asked.

“How do you know that?!” asked the woman who felt confused that a boy was able to figure out about this sort of rankment.

Feeling a bit threatened, the woman tried to slowly bring out her sword out of caution…but before she could even reach to touch her handle, Soril had already grabbed her hand with a strong and unnoticeable touch.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“?!” she felt fear.

“Lets move, I don’t want to bother the diner anymore than we already have.” I said as I grabbed her hand and forced her out of the restaurant with a calm step.

“Let go of-” the woman tried to fight back, but before she could, she instantly felt pain under her hand.

In but an instant, her arm was crushed by Soril.

“khgk!”

“Be calm and still…like I said, I don’t want to cause a commotion in the restaurant.” I said.

“Who do you think you are!”

In her raging question, I simply turned to her with a soft yet deadly gaze.

All but immediately, I warned her again not with my words, but with my own sheer presence.

[Dominion Overload]

It was a soft activation of a skill that could have shook the entire restaurant, yet despite so, all of the pressure was pointed into the woman.

“!!??” she couldn’t breathe nor say anything.

All she could do was follow suite to what I intended to do.

Slowly but surely, she followed me out of the restaurant while Gypsy, Will and Tyen watched.

The moment we stepped out, I grabbed her by the throat and I carried her into the sky.

She couldn’t imagine the factor of just how fast she was brought into the clouds.

“…Khk, who are you!?”

“Hmm, seeing as how weak you are compared to the 10^th seated fallen or whatever, it means that you’re rank is not as impressive as I thought.” I said.

“You- how do you know that?!” she asked as she dangled at the strength of my arm holding her throat.

“I killed her…now, I’m going to kill you too.” I said

“Wha-”

And with a single swipe of my hand, I decapitated her head in the middle of the sky. All but immediately, I threw her head and body into the distance where the sea was about, like a baseball.

After that, I went down to the ground and we proceeded with doing what needed to be done.

Seeing as how we required an open area for Gypsy’s ritual, we had to go to the dojo.

After the ritual, everything was finally settled with ‘Will Tucker’ against the cultist.

But his service to us wasn’t over.

“You want me to still attend the academy?” he asked.

“I need your help with finding a certain artifact. Since you were the one who was responsible for locating the artifacts that the cultist were needing all along, you can just transfer your services to me.” I said.

“I’d be happy to help since you took the cult off of my back, but who are you anyway? Its obvious already that you’re not just some student from the academy.”

“I work for someone greater than just some cult. And its in your best interest to cooperate with me as well.” I said.

“Ah, okay…fine, I’ll do it. As long as you keep me safe from the cultist, I’ll help as much as I can.” he said.

“Good, we have a deal then.” from then on, we shook hands.

Now I don’t have to worry about finding the artifacts. Since I have the help of a nomad now, it won’t be long before we can complete this mission in a breeze.

“So, you don’t need the five cultist anymore?” asked brother Cecil who was supposed to be in charge of gaining information from the cult.

“Sorry, something more valuable just happened to drop on our hands. You can just dispose of them, I don’t think we need them anymore.” I said.