Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 74

EP.74 Ta-da!

The Second Princess’s Escape.

Under normal circumstances, no one would harbor dissatisfaction with a member of the royal family fleeing. However, perhaps due to her position as the one in charge and the achievements she had built as a swordswoman, the thought began to spread among the students.

‘She didn’t just flee; she abandoned us.’

‘Well, it’s no surprise. It’s like the one person we thought could save us has vanished in our time of need.’

In other words, it could be said that their only hope had forsaken them. He found it amusing to see someone who should have been prioritized for protection transforming into the first to engage in battle.

“See? Whether it’s you or me, everyone’s trash.”

He reflected on how this attitude of only caring about preserving one’s own life delighted him.

He decided to command the corpse golem to rampage even more flamboyantly as he moved on to the next phase.

“Now, for the next act.”

He expanded the area of the Sanctuary Declaration he had summoned earlier, making it large enough to encompass everyone present, and activated it to suppress all those inside with his divine power.

“GAAAAAH!”

“AAAAH!”

“Help, please help!”

All of this was to stack up resentment towards the Second Princess.

He carefully controlled the situation to ensure they wouldn’t die or faint while crushing them under his power.

Soon, the area was filled with screams.

He listened with satisfaction, using his divine power to drain their mana.

Eventually, the screams subsided, and he looked around before opening a space.

‘Now then.’

It was time to begin the highlight of this event.

He pulled out Bishop Lea from within and placed a gag in her mouth that he had prepared in advance.

Even though there would still be screams nearby, it didn’t matter since he planned to stand atop the corpse golem while conducting his business.

Slowly, he climbed onto the golem with the struggling Lea and infused his voice with divine power before shouting loudly,

“Karina, the Second Princess! If you come out here right now, I will spare their lives!”

“Ugh! Mmm!”

Ignoring Lea’s struggles beside him, he shouted that all responsibility lay with Karina, questioning those who still stood by her side.

“Even if your lives are at stake, will you continue to support someone who won’t show herself?”

Of course, they wouldn’t hold resentment or ill will toward Karina just because of this one time.

Still, doubts would surely be planted deep in their hearts.

‘That’s enough.’

When doubt arises, their freedom of action might be restricted.

This restriction meant that all of Karina’s future actions would inevitably slow down. To provoke this even further, he raised his voice, emphasizing that Karina had abandoned them.

“Did she really run away just to save herself? Hah… what a wretched woman.”

Of course, there was a fatal flaw in this whole situation.

If Karina suddenly appeared and fought the corpse golem, the atmosphere he had painstakingly created would evaporate in an instant.

‘If Karina shows up, that is.’

He had already led a terror attack against Karina at dawn.

He had made sure her forces were led to a safe place.

He didn’t know exactly how far they had gone, but even if word of this reached them, it would take time.

‘Even if they hear about it.’

The people guarding her would likely assume this situation was a trap to lure her out.

No matter what choice they made, it would inevitably take time.

‘Of course, I can’t be 100% certain she won’t show up.’

He still needed to proceed with the plan, but with enough intimidation to keep things moving forward.

With that in mind, he decided it was time to kick off the final highlight.

He sent a signal to Miria, who was standing nearby, indicating it was time to wrap things up.

Miria nodded and then shouted loudly,

“It’s the First Princess! Princess Charlotte is here to save us!”

At her cry, everyone froze.

The Second Princess, Karina, had fled, but now the First Princess, who hadn’t even reached Karina’s level of swordsmanship, had come to rescue them?

This fact stirred all kinds of thoughts in their minds, but the one emotion they all shared was a tiny glimmer of hope.

‘Though it’s so small, they probably can’t see it.’

None of them believed that the First Princess, barely stronger than a student, could defeat the massive corpse golem.

Still, they remained in fear, scrambling desperately to find a way to survive.

‘Now, let’s begin.’

He decided to transfer all of Karina’s shattered reputation onto Charlotte and sent her the signal to start the “fake fight.”

‘We don’t really need to fight for real, anyway.’

Most of them were too afraid and cowering to notice what was happening.

Even pretending to fight would fool them easily enough.

Of course, someone might be watching from afar, so he had to put on a convincing act.

He unleashed divine power in all directions, destroying the surrounding buildings as if Charlotte was forcing him back.

Charlotte pointed her sword at him and shouted,

“As long as I’m here, you won’t harm these people!”

Her voice sounded awkward, like she was reading from a textbook.

If anyone listened closely, they’d easily tell it wasn’t coming from the heart.

After suppressing her body with divine power and instilling a fear of imminent death, no one suspected anything.

He couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at Charlotte’s awkward performance.

Trying to summon a sad thought, he addressed her,

“Really? Just you? Being a princess must have gone to your head, making you think you’re something special… That arrogance will be paid for with your life!”

He decided right then to prevent Miria from writing the script in the future.

He commanded the corpse golem to destroy the nearby buildings.

Although it was a shame to destroy them, they didn’t belong to him and were unrelated to him, so he opted to smash them all without hesitation.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosive sounds erupted from all directions.

Given its size, the corpse golem merely swung its hand lightly, causing the ground to tremble and massive explosions to ring out.

As he watched, in awe, Charlotte climbed up onto the corpse golem and spoke to him,

“… Aren’t you breaking too much?”

“I need to break this much. It’ll make it seem like a fierce battle happened here.”

“Even so, this seems excessive… Ah, I don’t know. So, should I start attacking the corpse golem now?”

“Yes, yes. Just wait a little longer before you strike.”

“Alright, then I’ll pretend to escape from below for a bit and come back.”

“Sure.”

He waved her off, intending for her to struggle a bit more.

Charlotte sighed and went back down.

‘This is great.’

He anticipated just how much Charlotte would rise in status and how Karina would fall because of this event.

He could hardly wait for it to conclude, but unexpectedly, someone appeared in the distance.

‘Oh, she arrived surprisingly fast?’

It was none other than the Second Princess, Karina.

Karina noticed their presence and, clenching her jaw, glared at him.

As he watched her, he contemplated for a moment behind his mask.

‘Ah, that’s a good idea.’

With a solid plan in mind, he commanded the corpse golem,

‘Stop destroying buildings. Focus on attacking the Second Princess.’

It was unfortunate for the Second Princess, but most of the people’s attention was already on the First Princess.

So, if he could take down the Second Princess before they realized her presence, it wouldn’t be a problem.

‘Even if they do notice.’

Once the Second Princess was down, if he orchestrated the scene of the corpse golem being defeated, it would yield even better results than before.

So, what was important now…

‘Time to take down Karina.’

With that decision in mind, he drew his sword, placed Lea into the subspace pouch, and dashed toward Karina.

As he approached with swift speed, Karina swung her sword, sending a wave of energy toward him.

He easily deflected it and called out to her,

“Is this how a swordsman should act?”

His genuine curiosity prompted her to clench her teeth in frustration, and she unleashed an even stronger wave of energy, shouting,

“You talk too much…”

“Isn’t it better for you that way? If you don’t talk, you’ll be on the ground in a second.”

As he deliberately provoked her, it seemed Karina could no longer hold back. She commanded the nearby guards to kill him and then declared,

“I won’t let you die easily, so you can look forward to it.”

“Only if you can catch me.”

Activating the Sanctuary Declaration fully, he suppressed them and swiftly beheaded the oncoming guards.

‘They’re slower than I expected.’

Whether it was because they were within the Sanctuary Declaration, causing their speed to significantly decrease, he clicked his tongue at the guards who fell before him without even reacting.

“Oh, by the way, did you receive my gift?”

At those words, Karina froze for a moment before unleashing a surge of mana, speaking shortly,

“… It was you.”

“Oh, so now you know? Don’t you often hear that you lack awareness?”

Her response only prompted him to tease her further.

In an instant, she charged at him, swinging her sword.

‘She’s definitely fast.’

Karina approached with a speed that made it almost unfair compared to the guards beside her, swinging her sword furiously.

However, while she was indeed faster in comparison, it wasn’t a speed he couldn’t evade. He easily deflected her strike and then thrust his sword into her lower abdomen.

Thud.

The sound of metal piercing flesh echoed around, filling him with a peculiar sense of satisfaction.

Having done this often enough, he felt a certain fulfillment as he noticed Karina looking at him in disbelief.

“You’re weaker than I expected.”

This one attack made his earlier plan to level up and take her down feel foolish.

He withdrew his sword and plunged it into her thigh, adding,

“And it’s surprisingly boring.”

While Lea screamed with every stab, Karina gritted her teeth and barely made a sound, only letting out a strained gasp.

Finding her lack of reaction dull, he contemplated for a moment before coming up with a good idea.

“Oh, by the way, I forgot to introduce myself.”

At his unexpected statement, blood trickled from her mouth as she spat at him.

He dodged it, slowly removing his mask and ring, then flashed her a bright smile reminiscent of the ones Lucia used to give.

“Ta-da! It’s your favorite hero!”