I’m an M, So I Took the Hits for My Party and Somehow Everyone Ended Up Becoming Yandere - 60

Chapter 60: Before Long, the Disciple Has Surpassed the Master

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

I had never thought I was underestimating him. I would not deny that I had some composure, but I did not believe I had been careless. I had reacted in time. But everything had been beyond my expectations.

That the thrown spear had been far too fast. That the wind barrier had been broken without even resisting. That, within my life, I felt the sensation of death I had not experienced in a very long time. That I could do nothing.

Stunned, I could do nothing but obey what I was told. I had been shielded. I had been protected. I had been protected… by him.

My beloved disciple—the disciple I had left behind because he was not special—had exhausted himself, stepped to the very brink of death, and saved me.

『Ugh! Gaaah! GyaaaaAAAAAHHHHH!!!』

That scream clung to my mind. The great spear that had blown away his entire abdomen was thickly smeared with blood and flesh. Marianne desperately healed the wound. Her movements were practiced, yet there was no room for ease.

I realized that this was not something unusual.

“…………”

Vasily touched the bloodstain stuck to her cheek. It was Finn’s blood, splattered there when he shielded her. It had already dried completely and came off just by rubbing it. Finn’s action had been perfect for a shield-bearer.

He shielded his companions who excelled in attack power, took what should have been a fatal blow but limited the damage to a range that was not immediately fatal. In that brief opening, the monster was slain, and he was healed, reducing the damage to zero. Ideal—yes, he was an ideal shield. If there was a problem, it was that no shield-bearer who could embody such an ideal should be able to survive.

If someone constantly received fatal wounds, no matter how exceptional their skill, the time would inevitably come when they failed. The fact that no other Gold-rank shield-bearers existed proved that point. No matter what party it was, no matter how capable its members were, the survival rate of the shield-bearer—the one who received the monster’s attacks first—was low. Otherwise, an absurd figure like an eighty percent casualty rate would never exist.

With a hazy mind, Vasily thought to herself.

Why was Finn able to do it?

That was something she could understand. From a young age, Finn had always pushed his body to its limits.

Bruises, fractures, compound fractures, cuts, pain to the organs… in other words, he had constantly experienced the fear of death. Having endured it with his innate mental strength, Finn’s mind had reached the realm of the transcendent. Otherwise, there was no way he could have kept doing something like that for so long.

Fear of death? Perhaps he had it.

Aversion to pain? Perhaps he had that too.

But those were not enough to stop his steps. Because he believed that otherwise, he would be left behind.

Why had he come to think that? Because he had been left behind.

By whom? By me.

Why? Because I thought he would die a meaningless death. I left him behind because I wanted to protect him.

And the result? We were the ones protected. Protected by the boy who had exhausted himself to avoid being left behind.

“…………It’s my fault.”

That time, when I whimsically handed the <Holy Sword> to Aria. Finn’s life had been thoroughly thrown off course. The one who caused it was not Aria.

(It was me.)

Because Vasily Vul Barbarossa did not want to die.

A woman who encountered a <Reincarnator>, learned of her own fate, and used the world to overturn that fate… that woman changed Finn.

“…It’s my fault.”

Vasily knew the world where she had not struggled. A world filled with nothing but misfortune, where happiness existed nowhere. A world so terrible it could only be described as hell on earth. The fact that it had not become that was something to be glad about. But there were people who became sacrifices for it.

I knew that. It was not as though I had turned a blind eye. I knew it, and still chose the path forward. But… I had never imagined that the one I believed I had saved was walking toward an even deeper hell. Why had it not occurred to me?

Was it because, on that day three years ago, I only thought about how I had been saved and never considered how much suffering Finn had endured? Had I been so preoccupied with the fulfillment of my own wish, thinking it was enough that we survived, that my thoughts stopped there?

A disciple who had exceeded my expectations could not possibly have avoided pushing himself beyond reason. This bloodstain was nothing more than a single drop compared to the amount of blood Finn had shed until now.

“…………Marianne.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Has Finn always been like that?”

“…Yes. He has not changed since the time we first met.”

Hearing that, Vasily bit her lip tightly.

“Originally, we were not a perfect party. Me, who could barely use proper healing magic. Carla-san, who tried to defeat monsters even if it meant hitting her own allies. Astrea-san, who acted however she pleased without thinking about coordination… and Finn-san, who fulfilled the role of shield all by himself. We were a distorted party.”

Memories of when they first met passed through Marianne’s mind. He had been the same age as her, and clearly from an unfortunate background. Yet he became a shield-bearer using a shield he had just bought. Day after day, attacks from both allies and monsters carved themselves into his body. Unable to receive proper recovery or care, he became more wounded and dirtied. The sight was pitiful beyond words, and yet at that time, Marianne—who had no strength—could do nothing.

“Even so, Finn-san never uttered a single complaint… he always protected us. Even now, that hasn’t changed.”

“…I have no right to say anything about that. If Finn had not protected me this time, I would have died.”

“We are the same. In that place, we cannot even fight without Finn-san.”

A land not recorded in <Knowledge>. Had it appeared because Vasily was here? Or had it always existed, and Johann simply had not known about it? She did not know which was correct. But one thing was certain: within the <Abyssal Forest>, everyone became equal. Since every special talent was rendered meaningless, that was the only way to describe it.

Vasily looked at Finn, who was walking while carrying Aria on his back. Was continuing like this truly a path of happiness for Finn? Shouldn’t he be made to stop? Even if they kept challenging this place, someday he would simply die, and nothing would remain.

She did not know what lay beyond this forest, but unless it was some crisis that threatened the world, the forest had shown no change. Even though powerful monsters lived there, they did not come out, and the forest’s very existence was treated as a state secret.

Was there really any meaning in forcibly conquering such a dangerous area?

“There may be no meaning.”

“…………”

“Even so, we decided that someday we would conquer that place. We lamented the current situation where we relied entirely on Finn-san, and even though we had the option of stopping… we chose to recklessly continue challenging it.”

Because… We are adventurers.

And above all, because Finn himself wished for us to continue being that way.

“Even if it has no meaning, that is never a reason to stop. We may not be able to save the world. We may not become a light. Since we did not participate in the war against the Demon King’s army, we will probably never become heroes in the truest sense. But that is not a reason to avoid staking everything we have to fulfill our duty.”

Even if we cannot catch up, we will never give up on trying to catch up.

(…Finn really hasn’t changed at all.)

He had always been like that. 

Finn Debyura was far too dazzling for Vasily. Honest and straightforward to a fault, yet flexible as well—and the strength of his core surpassed anyone else. How many times had she wished he were special? How many times had she lamented, asking why he was not?

No matter how amazing the people around him were, no matter how strong they were, Finn never wavered. At the very least, when it came to mentality, his was the strongest among all the humans Vasily had ever met. An absolute strength of will that compensated for his physical shortcomings.

Even so, she could not help but think about it. After seeing him suffer like that right before her eyes, how could she not? The belief that Finn would be fine, and the anxiety that someday he might break. No… perhaps, in truth, Finn’s heart had already broken. Back when he was young, when Aria ran him over that time… Perhaps it had already broken then?

She was worried. Even though she had once driven him to the brink with training that made him cough up blood, Vasily found herself thinking that.

“…Have I been left behind before I even realized it?”

Strangely, it made sense. Five years ago, she had left Finn behind. Now, five years later, Finn was the one who had gone ahead, leaving them behind. Bringing his companions with him, he was advancing to a new stage.

(I see. Ever since the day I was saved, Finn had already left me behind.)

She had once been in the position of protecting him. Now she was in the position of being protected. Both mentally and physically, Finn had grown and gained strength that far exceeded Vasily’s predictions.

“…………”

Once, Vasily had fought a lonely battle. Her three-thousand-year struggle against <Knowledge> had been brought to an end by none other than Finn’s hands.

Now, Finn was fighting. Together with his companions, he was fighting the <Abyssal Forest>. He was not alone—but he was advancing ahead of everyone else, protecting his companions as he went forward step by step. Accepting the risk that he might die, clenching his teeth through the pain, and continuing onward.

“…So the disciple has surpassed the master. It’s a lonely thing.”

“…Vasily-san?”

Right before her eyes, she had seen Finn nearly die. She had been drenched in blood… In his blood. The sight of organs and flesh scattering was burned into her eyelids and would not leave. Even so, Finn would not stop.

At this point, even if she tried to stop him, it would mean nothing. Because Finn was already an adventurer in his own right. He was a fully grown man.

“…Um, excuse me. Marianne-chan, could I ask you something for a moment?”

At that moment, Alicia spoke up.

“What is it?”

“Well, um… I heard that Finn-kun has always been like that. Does that mean he always takes attacks like that and ends up almost dying?”

“Yes… that’s right. He hasn’t changed since long ago.”

“…………I see. And screaming in pain like that too…?”

“Yes. Even if he knows he’ll be healed, he says that pain still hurts.”

“I… see…”

“…?”

Marianne found it strange as she looked at Alicia, who murmured with distant eyes.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー