TFWSDW 09

Chapter 9

“What do you think you’re doing, Usher Tatum?”

Usher was barely blocking Derrick’s greatsword with a small dagger.

“…Well, well. So the hero who was rotting away in the prayer room is standing here now?”

Usher laughed, his hand trembling.

“The former legend—why are you here?”

He looked calm, but I could clearly see a flash of unease in his eyes.

“Dad!”

Derrick glanced at me briefly before turning his attention back to Usher.

His eyes had softened slightly when he looked at me, which gave me a strange feeling.

“…I’m the Pope candidate’s ‘Guardian.’”

“You mean Dad!”

“…Right. Dad.”

Why did he sound so reluctant? That’s not how you talk to your baby!

Usher backed away, roughly brushing off Derrick’s blade.

“Ha! So the rumor was true—the corrupted holy knight who became a guardian… was you?”

He rubbed his chin in disbelief.

“I thought it was nonsense. But seriously? She picked you? A failure who wasn’t even on the list?”

“Who are you calling a failure, jerk!”

You’re the cultist, you freak!

I tugged on Dad’s robe hard, pointing right at the guy.

“Dad, aren’t you mad?! Bite him! Bite him now!”

“…I’m not a dog.”

Even so, Derrick moved with sharp precision.

He looked like he was going to swing his sword—but it was a fake. He spun around instead.

WHAM!

A clean kick landed right on Usher.

“Ugh…!”

Usher staggered and clutched his mouth.

‘Ugh… I’m so dizzy.’

Even I felt my head spinning from all this.

…Should I teach Dad how fragile babies are?

But my dizziness vanished when—

Spit.

Usher spat out bloody saliva and glared. I felt a chill instead of fear.

Wait, what’s with that face?

“Ha… Haha. Hahaha… No way. So that little kid… was a genius who could already use Guardian Summon without training?”

…Not wrong, but—

Looks like trying to survive just made this creep even more interested.

As I started feeling grossed out, our eyes met.

“I like you even more now.”

My whole body froze like I was bound in chains.

Was that… killing intent?

I felt myself tremble instinctively. Derrick pulled me into his arms tightly.

“It’s okay. Keep your eyes closed.”

I couldn’t see anything, buried in his arms.
But I heard his voice—blunt, yet gentle.

“You told me to bite, right?”

His voice turned cold and sharp when he spoke to Usher.

“Where should I start?”

I was stunned.

‘Wait… weren’t you the self-loathing, depressed guy?’

I didn’t want to say this about my new “dad,” but—

‘This is… kind of awesome.’

Because Usher was someone who should absolutely not be allowed near me.

I admit it.

You think I didn’t try choosing him as a guardian in the game?

I was fooled by his looks and picked him multiple times.

And each time:

<Oops, sorry, Your Holiness. I forgot to mention who I really am.>
<May the evil god bless you.>

Ending 1: Usher reveals his identity and kills the Pope.

<Thank you for trusting me with your secret, Your Holiness. I’ll protect it with my life…>
<Just kidding!>

Ending 2: I reveal my identity, he mocks me, then kills me.

<You really should’ve told me sooner.>
<Maybe then I wouldn’t have hurt so many people… or killed them. Haha.>

Ending 3: Usher tracks me down and kills me after figuring out who I am.

…No need for more detail.

Bottom line: he’s a poisonous mushroom.

Avoid at all costs!

“This is so unfair.”

I turned my head slightly.

And was shocked by the dark blue aura gathering around Derrick’s sword.

‘Whoa. That’s dark!’

Holy knights usually have white aura on their swords.

A blue aura is rare and marks a powerful holy knight.

But if corrupted, the aura turns black.

Derrick’s aura was burning like dark blue flames.

Usher looked alarmed at the sight—but still spoke smoothly.

“I was just trying to appeal to the Pope candidate, that’s all.”

“……”

“As one of the ten official guardian candidates, I have the right to introduce myself properly.”

“I didn’t see anything about your ‘appeal’ that looked proper.”

Derrick growled, his voice low and threatening.

“I only believe what I see.”

“Agh! You’re such an old fossil! So frustrating!”

Usher raised his hands as if surrendering but smirked.

Then he smiled slyly.

“Alright then. Let’s ask the Pope candidate directly.”

The moment our eyes met, I felt a cold shiver run through my body.

‘No way. Is he…?’

[Danger detected! Cultist ‘Usher Tatum’ has used a hidden skill on you!]

The longer I stared into those calm, glowing blue eyes, the sicker I felt.

[Warning: Don’t be brainwashed by cultist Usher Tatum’s words!]

Ugh, I knew it!

The major villains in this game all have their own hidden abilities.

Game Category [Post] [Strategy Guide]

[List of Lunatics for Beginners, Part 1]
Usher Tatum

• Second-in-command of the evil god’s cult.

• Hidden skill: “Persuasion.”
  Don’t laugh at the name—it’s basically mind control.

I suffered so much in the game because of that power!

He’s one of the top reasons people never reach the good ending!

“Now, Pope candidate? Look at me~”

His voice was so gentle.

“Have I ever threatened you? Scared you? No, right? I haven’t done anything, have I?”

I turned my head away instantly.

‘I’m fine. I didn’t look at him for more than 10 seconds.’

I know how to handle this. Not falling for it.

You think I’ll just go along with it now, you manipulative freak?

I called him out instantly.

“You did threaten me! You held me and wouldn’t let go! You forced me to choose you!”

“…Huh?”

Usher’s face went blank for a moment.

It felt amazing.

“You hurt my hand! You’re a bad guy!”

I slapped Dad’s strong arm and pointed right at Usher.

“Dad! He’s bad! Bite him! Bite his ugly face off!”

Dad, you hear that? Go wild.

‘At this point, I can handle whatever mess comes from it.’

So go! Attack!

“Understood.”

“Huh? Wait—hold on! This isn’t fair—!”

Usher shouted.

BOOOOM!

The rest was drowned out by a massive explosion.

Uh-oh.

“…Hiccup.”

I hiccupped.

‘Uhh… I think something big just happened?’

A giant cloud of dust rose up in front of me.

Cough cough.

“…Are you okay?”

I looked up. Dad had an anxious, gloomy look on his face.

“I… I didn’t think you’d cough from just a little dust. I really didn’t…”

“Cough! I’m fine! cough cough!”

“What do I do? Is she dying?”

…Dust won’t kill me, okay?

“I’m sorry! Don’t die…”

“Koff! I’m not dying!”

He looked like a giant puppy who broke something and panicked when the owner got mad.

‘Though I did tell him to attack…’

I stared blankly through the fading dust.

The last thing I saw was him swinging that giant sword effortlessly.

The keyword being “effortlessly.”

But now the wall in front of me… was gone.

‘Wow…’

Usher had flown down the hallway through a massive hole in the wall, collapsed like trash in the rubble.

‘I told him to bite—and he wrecked the whole room!’

I quickly turned to look at Dad.

‘Wait a sec… Aren’t you supposed to be the “washed-up” knight right now?’

Was it the purification? This wasn’t how I remembered it.

‘I want to check his stats so bad!’

Even if he hadn’t been on the front lines in a while, there’s no way he should still be this strong.

And yet—this is the result?

‘This is… crazy lucky.’

Usher coughed and raised his head from where he lay slumped against the hallway wall.

His eyes were glowing with fanatic fury.

“Tch… You’re a monster.”

He wiped blood from his hand, glaring at both me and Dad.

“Cough… So you’re not afraid of punishment anymore, now that you’re not a has-been?”

It was a mocking tone, full of contempt.

But maybe he hadn’t completely lost his senses—he calmed himself and stood up, swaying.

“I haven’t felt desire like this in a long time…”

His icy, deadly eyes locked onto us.

“You two… are just a pairing that’s doomed to die soon anyway.”

A curse-like declaration. A parting threat.