Danjo felt everyone’s gaze press in on him and began to tremble. However, despite everything, it wasn’t Albert and Fate he was most afraid of. It was Prota. Small, unimpressive as she was, she made him scared. She didn’t look mad. Her face was as neutral as always. But somehow, that made it worse. Something felt different about her. It was the feeling that there was no common sense in that brain, but rather a desire to get what she wanted. If something went wrong, he could very well die right here.

The pressure was getting to his head.

“I- I’m not the spy! I swear!” Danjo exclaimed suddenly, looking back and forth, trying to find an ally, but finding nothing. “Why- what makes you think that?!”

“There’s a lot of-” Albert started but stopped as Fate put his hand up.

“He’s not the spy.”

Albert turned to Fate. “What? What makes you say that?”

“Lie detector,” Prota muttered, still looking at Danjo. Fate nodded silently.

Albert stared, not sure whether to be amazed or annoyed. “You had that ability this whole time?”

Fate looked away. “I wanted to keep it a secret. People don’t react well when they find out you’re a walking lie detector. And it’s not so simple as a normal lie detector.”

He looked at Prota, a little upset. “I thought we had an agreement.”

“...easier.”

“...fine. It is easier this way. I just- I wish you’d warned me in advance.”

Albert nodded. “I presume you don’t want any of us talking about this?”

“Yeah. If you could.”

Danjo was still on the edge of a panic attack. “So what’s all this about a spy? Why am I the spy?”

“It just… can’t be any of us,” Fate said quietly, looking around. “So by process of elimination…”

Albert patted the trembling dwarf on the shoulder. “If he’s not the spy, though… who is?”

Everyone looked at each other.

“...John?”

Prota frowned at Fate, who’d offered the suggestion.

“It’s possible. You don’t know where he is at all times, right?”

Prota’s frown got slightly deeper, but it was more out of annoyance and frustration than anger.

If they knew who John was, they wouldn’t have even considered the possibility. But how was Prota supposed to explain everything? That the world was a [Story], and that they were nothing but [Characters]? Would they even understand? She herself didn’t understand, and she’d seen John prove that the world wasn’t what it seemed multiple times.

She knew John. He didn’t care about this situation. She understood that. She didn’t like it, but she understood. John was just trying to get closer to Fate. He’d explained that to her multiple times. He didn’t care about the end goal, or saving people, or anything like that. He just needed to gain Fate’s trust, and obtaining that meant going through all this. So why would he give up on everything he’d built up so far?

“...like we said earlier, there’s no point in this. We’re just breaking ourselves apart. We need to keep going. There’s nothing we can do now except move forward,” Albert said in a low tone.

Fate grimaced internally. It was true that John technically couldn’t report anything, but what about his intuition? No, that didn’t make sense. If John could’ve guessed Fate’s movements, he would’ve never teamed up in the first place.

“Let’s keep going.”

~~~

“Boss. We’ve tied her up. What now?”

“Bring her in,” Doctor said in a sing-song tone.

Two men went out and came back in a few moments later, carrying a girl bound by multiple ropes. There was some kind of collar around her neck, presumably some kind of anti-mana restraint to prevent any desperate measures.

“Put her next to the boy.”

The girl was roughly thrown to the floor next to John. She grunted in pain but didn’t react otherwise. Chains were wrapped around her limbs, then attached to the floor, pinning her down and ensuring that she wouldn’t be able to escape. The two men left the room, but not before whispering nervously. John caught something about their numbers shrinking.

“...you know, sacrificing too many pieces doesn’t work. Eventually, I’m just going to win the game, Doctor,” John called out.

“I have more than enough pieces to win against you. You have an army of pawns. I have a queen.”

“We’re just gonna stalemate. Is that what you want?”

Doctor scoffed. “I have a lot more than just a queen, you idiot. You forget. I’m in control here.”

With that, he got up and left the room.

John eyed the doorway, watching for movement, but it really did look like no one was coming. That was fair. He was tied to a cross, helpless, and the girl beside him could barely move. Guards weren’t necessary.

“You seem rather friendly with him. Playing games now, are we?”

Unexpectedly, the girl spoke. Her voice was raspy and dry, but it was still defiant. Still strong.

“That guy is some kinda freak. Kinda like a basement dweller with nuke codes. I’d rather not be associated with him.”

“Then why speak with him so casually? Do you know what he’s done?”

John sighed. “Who are you? What’s with the sudden barrage of conversation?”

The girl didn’t answer, momentarily taken aback. She looked up at John, and he got his first good look at her.

Her facial features probably would’ve been beautiful had they not been cut and bruised, but her golden hair seemed to help cover some of it. Her body was frail and thin, but there were hints of a body that was once strong. Her body was barely covered, so John was trying not to stare that much, but she probably would have been attractive if he could judge something like that.

John would’ve assumed that she’d be some kind of female lead given her appearance and circumstances, but as soon as he saw the pointy ears of an elf, he knew what was happening next. He sighed, mildly annoyed by what he anticipated was to come.

“Why should I tell you anything?”

“Do you know a kid named Danjo? Dwarf, small, does some tinkering-”

“Danjo?” The girl lashed out, pulling with unexpected strength at the chains. “What did you do to him?! I swear, if you touched him, I’ll-”

“Shut the fuck up!” John yelled. “You wanna hear me out or not?”

“How dare you!”

“Yeah? How dare I? Let’s do some thinking here! If I was buddy buddy with the freak, then why would I be tied up to a cross? Huh? You think I’m into this? I’m some kind of masochistic pervert? Damn, I’m offended! I sure as hell don’t get off on this!”

The girl had been about to retort, but was so stunned by John’s strange manner of speech that she just closed her mouth silently.

“Holy shit… great. We can talk now. Isn’t that cool?”

The girl nodded slowly.

“Now. Danjo is… uh, well, he’s probably safe. He's coming here right now, actually. I think.”

“Here?”

Over the next five minutes, John explained what’d happened. The other lab, the adventures, Danjo’s involvement, everything. He tried to summarize it as well as possible but there was also quite a bit to say.

“They’re coming here to end it all,” John finished. “And… you’re his sister, right? He said he couldn’t let you die. It was rather nice of him.”

“Danjo…”

The girl started tearing up. She couldn’t raise her hands to wipe her face, so she had to sit and let the tears pour down her cheeks. John watched awkwardly, incapable of being moved by the emotions Danjo’s sister was feeling.

“That fool shouldn’t be coming here. He should be safe, at home…”

“So. Again. Who are you?”

The girl tried to sit up but found that she couldn’t. She grunted and looked up at John.

“I’m Olivia Berem. A rank adventure. And Danjo’s older sister. Nice to meet you, John.”

“Yeah. Same here.”

“...so how did you end up in these adventures if you’re manaless? Forget that, how are you sane? …if you can call the way you act sane.”

“Don’t ask questions you’re not getting answers to.”

“I think that was a pretty valid question.”

“Yeah, well, suck my dick. How about you? How are you holding on?”

Olivia’s face crumpled at that question. “I’ve been through… so much… I don’t know how long it’s been. How many days, weeks, months… that man just runs us through everything he can think of. He treats us like livestock- no, less than that. Like bugs. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Mm hm.”

“Like we’re objects to be used… I watched friends tear each other to pieces. I watched the most cheerful of people turn into… these dolls, these lifeless beings that do whatever that man commands.”

John sighed. He wasn’t interested in this. His brain told him that it was something to be upset about, but he just couldn’t muster up the emotion.

“So how did you even end up here?”

Olivia seemed to snap back at that.

“It was bad luck, I guess. I was out looking for missing adventurers. They must’ve gotten lost. Young ones, probably F or E rank. I don’t know whether this could be considered lucky or unlucky, but I caught some men in the act of kidnapping the young ones. …I wasn’t a match for the kidnappers.”

“Did you know Danjo even came after you?”

“...no.”

John sighed. “Well. Unlucky, I guess.”

“Unlucky? That’s all you have to say?”

“Is it not unlucky?”

Olivia stared at John. In all her days, she’d never come across someone as odd as him.

“You’re a strange one.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“You’re awfully calm. About everything. It’s almost as if you simply don’t care.”

John let out a small laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.”

He was trying to find places to look that weren’t Olivia’s location, but it was starting to get awkward. In the end, he decided on looking straight ahead.

“Danjo. What was he like? When you lived with him, I mean.”

“...he was shy,” Olivia started, her voice taking on a melancholic tone. “I found him struggling. I never meant to take him in, but… I don’t know. He was just a young boy. Initially, I just wanted to help him, but… it turned into more than that. I didn’t want to dump him off somewhere. I’d been living alone, so I guess you could call this a selfish act rather than one of generosity. I just wanted someone to live with.”

John frowned. He’d been so calm, so stoic, but the story had hit too close to him. Taking someone in out of selfishness. Wasn’t that what he had done? No, everything was fine. Prota wasn’t coming. It was all fine.

“Danjo… he was always innocent. He always wanted to help people. He said that one day, he’d make something that would be able to protect everyone.”

She let out a quiet laugh.

“It sounds impossible. But I believed him. Danjo… that boy would do it. I was his older sister, but it would be more accurate to say that I was his mother, I guess. I tried to get him out, get him into the world, but he always stuck to me. Always wanted to stay by my side.”

John closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

“Did you ever consider? Maybe his traits… he got them from you.”

“What?”

“From what he told me, you were sweet. Kind. That he could never repay what you did for him. Everything you’re describing about him, other than the shyness… it sounds like it comes from you.”

Olivia turned her head to look at John. “Hm. There’s a little empathy in you after all.”

“It’s called common sense, idiot.”

Olivia grunted. “I take back what I said.”

John opened his eyes. Something didn’t add up.

Danjo was the spy. Initially, he’d thought that maybe the whole family was in cahoots, but based on what Olivia was saying, that wasn’t possible. Then again, it was possible that she, too, was tricking him, but he didn’t think the [Author] was smart enough to do that.

Then why? Why was Danjo the spy?

“...Olivia.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Yes?”

“Do you… have any suspicions that Doctor is trying to keep you alive? That he’s been treating you better?”

“What?! If you knew-”

“Just answer the goddamn question!” John yelled. “I’ve gone through a lot of bullshit too! I get it! But I also just do not care! So answer the question, or I swear to god-”

“What? What could possibly be so important that your stoic mind couldn’t give an ounce of sympathy for one-”

“Your brother is a fucking spy! And I’m trying to figure out if you’re one too, alright?”

The room went quiet. John was realizing that he’d just tossed his entire plan in the trash, but it was fine. Depending on how she reacted, he’d get his answer.

“You take that back. Right now.”

“I’d love to, but unfortunately, I watched your brother give Doctor a very nice update on our party’s status, so I’m inclined to think in a certain way.”

“It must’ve been a trick, or a-”

“It’s not! Get over it! That’s why I need to know. It’s possible Doctor made a deal to spare your life. So one more time. Have you been treated any better?”

Olivia glared at John. “I have not. I’ve nearly died many times. It was my skill that got me through.”

John grit his teeth. Was Danjo being blackmailed? Were they both spies? It didn’t seem like either option was true. Maybe Doctor was threatening Danjo with nothing but his sister’s life? But then why not treat her better in hopes of keeping her alive?

He turned his focus to the chessboard one more time. The position still looked unwinnable. He thought he knew all of Doctor’s moves. He thought he knew that his loss was inevitable, and that he just had a few more moments to spare. After all, the path to victory was obvious.

But maybe… maybe Doctor had even more tricks up his sleeve.

Then what?

What was he missing?

~~~

“Fate! To your left!” Danjo yelled.

Fate ducked and swung his sword, decapitating a final shadow wolf. He lowered his mask and wiped the sweat off his brow, swinging his sword to clean it of the blood and fur.

They’d been fighting for a while now. Everyone was tired.

“How close are we?” Danjo muttered as he packed up his gear.

“I don’t know. Everything from here on is unknown,” Albert said in a low voice, but even he was tired.

“...let’s take a rest.”

No one argued. Everyone was ready to sleep for one more night.

“Danjo, can you take the first shift? Wake me up in a few hours,” Fate said as they got the camp ready.

“I got it,” Danjo nodded.

There was a quick dinner, followed by an inspection of gear, and then everyone fell asleep. Danjo was doing a good job of keeping watch, tending the fire and making sure nothing got by. An hour later, though, his movement stopped. He stood up and moved robotically, walking as if he knew where to go. He walked deeper and deeper until he reached a door.

Knocking in a certain pattern opened the door for him, and he walked right in toward the room John and Olivia were being held in.

“Ah, my little canary!” Doctor exclaimed as Danjo came in. “What song will you sing for me now?”

“The girl came. We are almost here. They are currently resting. They will be in peak condition by the time they arrive.”

“Very good. Their moral status?”

“Fine.”

“Hm… that’s a little unexpected. Very good, then. Go back.”

Danjo marched back the way he came, leaving Olivia struggling against the chains.

Despite her clear appearance in the room, Danjo hadn’t even mentioned her.

“What did you do to him?!” she roared. “What did you do?”

“Just a little mind control. Don’t worry, it’s nothing permanent. I’ll be turning both of you into dolls soon enough.”

“You- I’ll crush you! I’ll rip your dick off and shove it down your throat!”

“My, my how scary. The soft and delicate girl is really a hidden tiger, hm?”

Doctor just laughed and left the room. Olivia’s outburst had distracted both her and Doctor, meaning neither had noticed John. His eyes were wide and shaking. A sinking feeling in his gut made him clench up, his hands trembling as he verified what he’d heard from Danjo.

“Hey, no, no, you came? I thought- you weren’t supposed to come. You’re going to die. No, you’re not supposed to be here…”

~~~

Everyone was well rested by the next day. They’d had no issues during the night, and they were ready to press forward.

“I have a feeling we’re almost there. Is everyone ready?”

They all nodded.

“Good. And you. Prota.”

Albert turned to Prota. “Remember. We’re here to save your brother, but the primary mission is to destroy this organization. If you get in the way…”

Prota shook her head, but inside, she didn’t care. She was getting John out, one way or another.

“Very good. Let’s go!”

They continued down the tunnels, keeping an eye out for threats, but nothing came. No mana beasts. No mercenaries. Nothing. It was almost concerning.

“We must be getting close,” Albert said in a low tone. “It would make sense that they’d clear their area of mana beasts.”

Just as he said that, they turned a corner and were greeted with an obstacle of sorts.

“You.”

Breaker was standing in the way.

“B-Breaker? What are you doing here?”

“Did you think I was dead?”

“Wh- of course! You and Elena, you both-”

“Good. Then you can’t claim ignorance for what’s coming next.”

He ran up before any of them could react, put his hand on Albert’s shoulder, and they both vanished.

“What the-” Fate started, but he couldn’t do anything.

The party just stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do next. They’d just lost a massive part of their attacking force.

“Wh- what now?” Danjo stammered.

Fate clenched his sword.

“I guess we keep going.”

~~~

The two men were teleported to a large, empty room. The floor was flat and smooth. In fact, the area was similar to the training room at the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Breaker, I-”

“You. You abandoned me, Albert.”

“What? How? Breaker, what are you doing here? How are you alive?”

“You know damn well what I’m doing here.”

Breaker unsheathed a massive mace from his back.

“Say it. You know the answer.”

“Don’t play games with me, Breaker!”

“Say it!”

Albert clenched his fists. “You… you’re working with them.”

Breaker smashed his mace into the ground. It was a different weapon from the broadsword he always carried around, but it was the correct one to use.

“Damn right I am.”

“Why? Don’t you see what these people are doing? Breaker, we fought for the people! This goes against everything we did!”

“Damn the people!” Breaker roared. “I’m alive because of Doctor! Elena… didn’t make it. I can’t waste my second chance, Albert. I won’t let my life go to waste this time.”

“I-”

“Not a word out of you. I don’t know how you survived that poison, but you did. The antidote. It was in the village, Albert. They could’ve given it to us. But they didn’t. Because we didn’t have the money for it.”

Rage dripped from Breaker's voice as he remembered what’d happened.

“They could’ve saved her, Albert! They could’ve saved me!”

He lowered his voice.

“They could’ve saved you.”

Albert shook his head. “Then why do we stoop to their level? Breaker, we were never spoiled nobles. We worked our way up! Since when were we entitled to anything?”

“Entitled to what? Since when were those cowering fools entitled to our work!? We worked day after day for them, and when push comes to shove, they won’t move an inch to help us if we don’t give them what they want. Aren’t we entitled to what we fought for? For all our hard work? Why are the nobles entitled to what they haven’t moved an inch for?!”

Breaker picked up his mace. “No more, Albert. I’m done doing things for the good of the people. Who works for me? Who helps me out when I’m stuck? No more.”

“What would Elena think?”

Breaker froze. “She’s dead, Albert. She can’t think anymore.”

“She was a healer. She healed others. What are you doing?”

Breaker laughed. “Me? I was the tank, Albert remember? Me, you, Elfin, Bren, and Elena. We were such a great party. You were the bruiser. Elfin was the dealer. Bren was an assassin. Elena, the healer. But I wasn’t just any old tank, Albert.” He slung his mace over his shoulder. “I broke things. It’s how I got my name.”

“...then there’s no convincing you?”

“I was hoping for the same thing.”

Albert grit his teeth and pulled his axes off his back.

“I heard you were affected by the poison.”

“Hah, right. You know just as well as I do. The poison of a venom spitter affects mana directly.”

“Hmph. Then we both have the same condition.”

Albert’s eyes widened. “Then, you-”

“That’s right. No magic.”

Albert exhaled through his nose as he narrowed his eyes. “You know, I always wondered who was better. Me or you.”

Breaker laughed as he gripped his mace. “I did, too. Guess it’s time to find out. Did you really earn the title of Blood Berserker on your own?”

With a massive roar, the two giant men charged at each other, and the battle began.

~~~

“Good, good.”

Doctor was staring at the map, watching Breaker and Albert fight. “The one possible hindrance is gone. It’s just the children, now.”

He turned to John.

“How does it feel? To play directly into my hands. You knew it was coming, didn’t you?”

“...no.” It was subtle, but a bit of John’s bravado was gone.

“Oh. Interesting. Regardless. Surely, you don’t think those three fools can beat me, do you?”

Olivia struggled with her chains in the corner, but it was useless.

“Manaless boy. Come, now. Admit it. You were outsmarted. For all your talk, you were just another piece to be used.”

John closed his eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

“False hope. There’s a difference between optimism and delusion, you know.”

“Yeah, and there’s no difference between a fucking dumbass and you.”

John flipped Doctor off with his limited movement.

“Kill yourself.”

Doctor didn’t even hit John this time.

“Very well, then. I’m off. We shall see how this chess game plays out. For your sake, I hope it doesn’t turn out like the one on that board.”

He left the room one last time, leaving John and Olivia alone to stare at the map. Watching as their precious ones got closer and closer into the trap Doctor had set.

“Come on! Surely you can do something!” Olivia grunted.

“Me? Like what? Sing a song?”

“Anything!”

John shook his head. “I got nothing. Oh, but just in case. What kind of fighter are you?”

Olivia stopped struggling. “I’m a caster, specializing in earth and water magic. And-”

She hesitated but then realized that there was no point in keeping secrets.

“And I’m a healer. It’s how I’ve stayed alive for so long.”

“A healer?”

“We’re rare. Healing isn’t really an ‘element,’ but a few people in the world are born with an affinity for healing. This collar on my neck suppresses mana, but doesn’t remove it, so I’ve been keeping myself healthier than the others through my healing. Although, it’s strange that you haven’t heard of it.”

John nodded slowly, but as he looked at the map, then back to Olivia, he knew. Trauma. The source of a [Character’s] growth. It was unfair to ask this question of anyone, but John had to do it.

“Have you ever thought about dying?”

“What?”

“Just, you know, in general. In case things go wrong.”

“Well, yeah. Especially here.”

“Do you have anything you’d want to say to Danjo, if you had to?”

“Well, I’d-”

“Ah, I don’t want to hear it. It’s good you have something ready, though.”

Olivia frowned. “What do you mean?”

John sighed and looked away.

“Hey, what do you mean?”

He turned back and looked Olivia in the eyes.

“Well, it’s just… we might die, right?”