Chapter 31 – My Nemesis, My Soulmate

The forest path was a perfect stage for a betrayal.

Gnarled roots snaked across the dirt, practically begging for someone to trip. The trees were thick, their branches forming a dense canopy that cast long, ominous shadows. It was the kind of place where a party member would get “accidentally” left behind.

I walked a few paces behind Siegfried, my eyes scanning for opportunities.

My plan was simple. I would create a series of small, believable accidents. Each one would make me look weak, clumsy, and utterly useless. A liability.

Siegfried, the pragmatic and secretly evil hero, would see this. He would realize that carrying dead weight like me would only endanger the party.

He would make the logical choice. The ruthless choice.

He would betray me.

It was a beautiful, elegant plan. A classic trope executed to perfection. My revenge arc was about to get its official launch party.

I just had to play my part.

“Watch your step.”

Siegfried’s voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. He pointed with his sword toward a particularly nasty-looking root.

“Thanks.”

I gave him a weak, grateful smile. He didn’t look back.

This was my chance. Betrayal Flag #1: The Inopportune Stumble.

I waited until his back was fully turned. I took a deliberate step, catching my foot on the exact root he had pointed out.

I went down hard. My hands scraped against the dirt and loose rocks.

I let out a pathetic yelp. It was a masterful performance of pure incompetence.

I looked up, expecting to see a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. Maybe a sneer. The first sign that he was losing patience with me.

Instead, his entire body had gone rigid.

He stood frozen, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword so tightly his knuckles were white. He wasn’t looking at me.

He was scanning the trees, his eyes darting back and forth like a cornered animal.

He thought it was an ambush. He thought my stumble was a signal.

This was not going according to plan.

“Are you okay?”

His voice was a low growl. He still hadn’t looked at me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just clumsy.”

I scrambled to my feet, brushing the dirt off my pants. The moment was lost. I had failed to raise the flag.

Okay. Plan B.

Betrayal Flag #2: The Careless Weapon Drop.

I fumbled with the cheap sword at my belt, a piece of junk the mayor had given us.

With another theatrical grunt of effort, I “accidentally” let it slip from my grasp. It clattered onto the rocky path a few feet away from him.

I was now unarmed. Vulnerable. The perfect target.

“Oops.”

Siegfried spun around, his own sword half-drawn from its sheath.

He didn’t look at me. He looked at the sword on the ground.

Then he looked at the path ahead. Then the path behind.

His face was pale. A thin sheen of sweat had broken out on his forehead.

He thought I had thrown my weapon to him as a test. A test of what, I had no idea.

Maybe to see if he would pick it up and stab me with it.

This guy was so paranoid. It was kind of ruining my whole vibe.

I shuffled forward and picked up my sword, my shoulders slumped in defeat.

Two attempts. Two failures.

Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this whole “mastermind engineering his own downfall” thing.

A low growl echoed from the trees ahead. It was a sound that promised violence and bad hygiene.

Siegfried’s head snapped up.

“Dire wolves.”

He said the words with a grim finality.

Finally. A real opportunity.

Nothing highlights a party’s weak link like a life-or-death monster fight.

This was my time to shine. Or, more accurately, to cower pathetically.

A beast of muscle and matted grey fur burst from the undergrowth.

It was huge, the size of a small horse, with teeth like daggers and eyes that glowed with a feral, red light. Two more followed it, flanking it on either side. They fanned out, circling us, their growls low and menacing.

Siegfried took a defensive stance, his shield up, his sword held ready.

“Stay behind me.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice.

This was perfect. Betrayal Flag #3: The Useless Coward.

I let out a high-pitched scream. It was a genuine work of art. The kind of scream that makes birds fly out of trees a mile away.

I scrambled backward, tripping over my own feet, and dove behind a large, moss-covered boulder.

I peeked over the top, my eyes wide with fake terror. I was the very picture of a liability.

The lead wolf lunged.

Siegfried met its charge with his shield. The sound of the impact was a dull, wet thud.

He grunted, his boots sliding back in the dirt. He was strong, but the wolf was stronger.

He was being pushed back. Toward me.

The other two wolves started to move, circling around to his exposed sides. He was going to be overwhelmed.

This was it. He would have to make a choice. He could try to defend the useless coward hiding behind the rock, or he could save himself.

The choice was obvious. He would abandon me. He had to.

One of the flanking wolves broke into a sprint, its target Siegfried’s unprotected left side.

It was going to get him.

I had to do something. Not to save him, of course. But to make my own cowardice even more apparent.

I screamed again, louder this time. A pure, uncut shriek of absolute terror.

The wolf, startled by the sudden, piercing noise, faltered for a split second. Its head turned in my direction.

That split second was all Siegfried needed.

He pivoted, his sword a blur of silver. It sliced through the wolf’s neck in a single, clean arc.

The beast collapsed in a heap, its red eyes going dark.

Siegfried didn’t even look at his kill. His eyes were locked on me.

There was no gratitude in his gaze. There was only a new, deeper level of horrified understanding.

He thought I did that on purpose.

He thought my scream wasn’t a sign of fear, but a calculated tactical move. A sonic weapon used to create an opening.

This was a nightmare. I was failing at failing.

The remaining two wolves howled, a sound of rage and grief. They attacked together.

Siegfried was a whirlwind of steel and desperation. He parried a snapping jaw with his shield, sparks flying as teeth scraped against metal. He ducked under a swipe from the other wolf’s claws, the talons missing his head by inches.

He was good. But he was outmatched.

He was getting tired, his movements becoming slower, more frantic.

I had to do something. I had to fail harder.

I looked around wildly, my eyes landing on a small, loose rock near my hand.

Betrayal Flag #4: The Friendly Fire “Accident.”

I picked it up. My aim was to throw it at Siegfried. It wouldn’t hurt him, but it would distract him. It would be the ultimate act of incompetence. The final proof that I was a danger to my own party.

I drew my arm back.

Just as I was about to throw, the last wolf, the pack leader, saw its chance. It ignored Siegfried and charged directly at me.

At the useless baggage cowering behind the rock.

My brain went blank. This wasn’t part of the plan.

Siegfried shouted my name.

He threw himself in front of me, a human shield of shining armor.

The wolf crashed into him. The force of the impact sent them both tumbling to the ground.

Siegfried grunted in pain as the wolf’s jaws snapped shut on his shoulder, tearing through the metal plate.

He was protecting me. He was sacrificing himself to save the useless coward.

Why? Why was he so determined to ruin my perfect revenge plot?

He shoved the wolf away with his shield and scrambled to his feet, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

The wolf gathered itself for another attack.

I was still holding the rock. My plan was in ruins. My villain was about to be killed by a random mob.

I couldn’t let that happen.

Fueled by a surge of pure, selfish desperation, I threw the rock.

I wasn’t aiming for Siegfried anymore. I was aiming for the wolf.

The rock sailed through the air and smacked the beast right between the eyes.

It wasn’t a powerful throw. It probably didn’t even hurt. But it was unexpected.

The wolf shook its head, confused.

Siegfried didn’t waste the opportunity. He lunged, his sword finding its mark.

The last wolf fell.

Silence descended on the clearing, broken only by Siegfried’s ragged breathing.

He stood over the dead wolves, his chest heaving, his arm bleeding freely.

He turned to look at me. His face was a mask of pure, unadulterated terror.

He didn’t see a clumsy ally who got lucky.

He saw a mastermind who had controlled the entire battle from behind a rock.

A puppet master who had used screams and pebbles to direct the flow of combat.

A monster.

I had to get out of here. I had to get away from this guy before he had a complete mental breakdown.

I scrambled to my feet.

“We should go.”

I started to back away, toward the edge of the clearing.

That’s when I saw it.

A faint, blue light was pulsing from the ground near the base of an ancient, twisted oak tree.

It was a rune. A magical circle etched into the earth.

A teleportation trap. A one-way ticket to a dungeon.

An idea, so brilliant, so insane, so utterly perfect, bloomed in my mind.

This was it. My last chance.

If I couldn’t get him to betray me out here, I would force his hand. I would trap us together, alone, in a place where he had no choice but to see me as a liability.

“Siegfried, look out!”

I pointed behind him, my voice filled with fake panic.

He spun around, his sword raised, expecting another attack.

While his back was turned, I broke into a clumsy, flailing run.

I ran straight toward the rune.

“Ryuuji, no!”

He saw what I was doing. He thought I was running into a trap out of sheer, idiotic panic.

He lunged after me, trying to tackle me, to pull me away from the danger.

He was trying to save me again.

I let him catch me.

His arms wrapped around my waist just as my foot touched the edge of the glowing circle.

The world dissolved into a blaze of pure, silent blue.