Chapter 50 – AND THE HERO GETS THE… TRAUMA?

【Reina PoV】

The dust from the explosion was still settling.

It swirled in the air like angry gray ghosts, catching the faint light from the remaining magical crystals. The cavern was a wreck. The Golem was now just a crater surrounded by shattered stone. The air smelled sharp, like ozone after a lightning strike. It was the smell of a job done efficiently.

The noise had been regrettable. But it had served its purpose. The path forward was clear. Now, to find the rat.

I closed my eyes, filtering out the lingering energy of the explosion. I expanded my senses, searching for that specific signature of fear. He was close. The Golem had been the final guardian of this section. Siegfried was trapped. He was cornered. He had to be just beyond this chamber.

There.

A faint trail of terror, like a snail’s slime, led down a narrow passage to the right. He had fled the moment he heard the Golem activate. Predictable.

A slow smile stretched across my lips.

The game was almost over.

I walked towards the tunnel, my steps silent on the debris-strewn floor. The darkness inside was absolute, a thick, inky blanket that would scare a normal person. It felt like a warm welcome to me. This was my element. A place where intentions were clear and actions had consequences. My prey was close. I could feel his fear growing stronger with every step I took.

He was holding his breath, trying to will himself to be invisible.

It was a legit adorable effort.

“Oh, Siegfried.”

My voice echoed in the narrow passage. It was a playful, sing-song tone. The one I used when I wanted something.

“The big scary monster is gone now. It’s safe to come out.”

A tiny spike of terror shot through the stone walls. It was so much more satisfying than a scream. I let the silence hang in the air for a moment, letting him marinate in it. He thought he could hurt Ryuuji. He thought he could stand in the way of my hero, my perfect, flawless Ryuuji. He had tried to manipulate the situation, to cast doubt on the one person who was genuinely good in this entire messed-up world.

People like Siegfried didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as Ryuuji.

“It’s weird, you know.”

I started walking again, my pace casual. I let the heels of my boots click against the floor. Each sound was a tiny hammer blow against his composure.

“You look the part. The golden hair, the fancy armor. You have the perfect hero vibe. But you’re just a fake. A cheap knockoff.”

I paused, tilting my head as if listening. I could hear his heartbeat now. It was a frantic, terrified drum solo in the quiet dark.

“Ryuuji, on the other hand… he tries so hard to look like a cynical loner. But he’s the real deal. He’s a genuine hero. He just doesn’t want anyone to know.”

My hand began to glow with a soft, pink light. It wasn’t a warning. It was a promise.

“And I’m the one who gets to protect him.”

The tunnel opened into a smaller, dead-end chamber. It was filled with those creepy glowing crystals I’d seen before. The light cast long, dancing shadows that twisted and writhed like living things. It was the perfect stage for what was about to happen.

He was crouched behind a large shard of crystal. It was a terrible hiding spot. His polished, stupidly heroic armor reflected the light, giving him away instantly. He was trying to make himself small, pressing his body against the rock. He was shaking.

I stopped in the center of the room. I didn’t look at him directly. That would spoil the fun.

Instead, I examined my fingernails, which were still glowing with that soft pink energy.

“Come on out, Siegfried. Let’s talk.”

A choked, strangled sound came from behind the crystal. It might have been a word. It didn’t matter.

“You see, you made a big mistake. A really, really big one. You assumed Ryuuji was just some random guy. You thought he was an obstacle. An easy target to make yourself look better.”

I let out a little laugh. It sounded sharper than I intended in the enclosed space.

“You didn’t realize that Ryuuji isn’t just a person. He’s a concept. He’s an ideal. And when you threaten an ideal, you get a very… enthusiastic response.”

I flicked my wrist. A bolt of pink energy, no bigger than a marble, shot across the room. It didn’t hit the crystal he was hiding behind. It hit the one next to it. The crystal exploded into a thousand glittering shards.

He screamed. It was a high, pathetic sound. Music to my ears.

“Oops.”

I brought my glowing hand up to cover my mouth in mock surprise.

“My hand slipped.”

He scrambled out from his hiding place, falling onto the stone floor. He was a mess. His perfect hair was matted with sweat and dirt. His face was pale, his eyes wide with a primal fear I found incredibly satisfying. He looked like a cornered rat.

“Please… don’t.”

His voice was a pathetic whimper. It was so disappointing. I expected a little more fight from someone who called himself a hero.

“Don’t what? Don’t talk? Or don’t do what I’m going to do to you anyway?”

I took a slow step forward. He tried to crawl backward, his armor scraping against the ground. It was a pathetic sight. He was leaving little scratch marks on the pristine dungeon floor. How rude.

“You’re a disgrace, Siegfried. You give heroes a bad name.”

Another step. He was breathing in short, ragged gasps now. Hyperventilating. It was a good look for him.

“You wanted to get rid of Ryuuji. You wanted him banished. You wanted him to suffer.”

I crouched down, bringing my face level with his. My smile was gone. My eyes were cold.

“Do you have any idea how much that pisses me off?”

“I… I didn’t know! I made a mistake!”

He was practically sobbing now. Tears and snot ran down his face. It was totally gross.

“A mistake? Calling for the torture and probable death of the single greatest person in existence is a ‘mistake’?”

I reached out and tapped his shiny breastplate with one glowing finger. A spiderweb of cracks appeared on the metal. He flinched back as if he’d been burned.

“That’s not a mistake. That’s a declaration of war. And you just declared war on the wrong girl.”

“I’ll do anything! I’ll leave! I’ll never show my face again!”

I tilted my head, considering his offer. I pretended to think about it for a whole two seconds.

“No. I don’t think so. A loose end like you? That’s just sloppy. Ryuuji is a perfectionist. He wouldn’t approve of sloppy work.”

This was a lie, of course. Ryuuji was a mess who tripped over his own feet sometimes. But Siegfried didn’t need to know that. He needed to believe Ryuuji was an all-powerful god of vengeance and that I was his avenging angel. It was a much better story.

“I’m not going to kill you quickly.”

I stood up, brushing some imaginary dust off my skirt.

“I’m going to take you apart. Piece by piece. I’m going to use magic you didn’t even know existed. I’m going to make you regret ever being born.”

I raised my hand. The pink glow intensified, swirling into a complex, beautiful pattern of pure energy. It was a spell of my own design. It was designed to deconstruct matter at a molecular level. It was slow. It was painful. It was perfect.

“This is for Ryuuji.”

He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact. A pathetic, whimpering sound escaped his lips.

My spell coalesced into a sharp, glowing needle of light, aimed directly at his heart. This was the moment. The culmination of my protective instinct. The ultimate act of devotion.

Just as I was about to unleash it, the room was flooded with a brilliant, blinding white light.

It wasn’t my magic.

It came from everywhere at once, erasing the shadows, silencing the echoes, and overwhelming every single one of my senses.

The dungeon itself seemed to be dissolving into pure, unadulterated light.

My spell vanished from my fingertips.

Siegfried’s terrified face was the last thing I saw before the world disappeared.