9:21 A.M.

February 23

Frostmonth 25

Saint Shepherd Church, Limeroom, Veotera

It had taken roughly three days to get Delilah to come out of the boarding house. Something about what Seraphina de Lys had said clearly upset her to the point she didn’t even want to see Gary’s face. The Inquisitor was thankfully absent this morning as the blond had come into the church Gary had called home for nearly two months now, her mood visibly depressed even as she dressed immaculately in what was probably her finest clothes. There was an air to her that set Gary’s hairs to stand on edge, and he didn’t like it.

“Gary, can we talk?” Her voice echoed into the otherwise empty main hall of the church. Remmy was already in his cloak and heavier robes, heading for the door when he heard her speak and looked back towards her. Gary was in his cassock and had been intent on manning the building while Remmy went to speak to Count Parrid about arrangements for his son’s funeral. The old man looked to the young Delver, Gary looked to the priest. A woman speaking with that tone meant something serious, and both men understood that.

Without a word spoken, Remmy left. Gary waved Delilah in further to the building and towards one of the front pews. She walked up to Gary and planted a long, lingering kiss on his lips. It lacked her normal flirty passion, and that set Gary’s alarm bells ringing even harder. Finally she broke the kiss and sat down on the offered pew. He chose not to sit but instead knelt on one knee before her, holding her hands in his.

“I..” She started to speak, but lost her voice to some internal hesitation. A deep shuddering breath was taken in before she just decided to spit it out. “I’m going to die soon.”

Gary blinked slowly at that pronunciation of doom. His gaze shifted towards the door and thus towards Remmy, but she squeezed his hands to draw his eyes back to her. A sad shake of the head was given; a bitter smile without any teeth showing curled her lips.

“He can’t cure it. Not now, at least.” The bitter tone was back. She shook her head and looked at him with those amber eyes of hers. “I’m almost nineteen, Gary. I’m unmarried, almost nineteen, and I.. I’ve had womb fever.” Gray eyes blinked slowly again at this statement. His confusion was clear and evident, earning him a confused look from her in turn.

“..I’m sorry but what the fuck is ‘womb fever’? And what does it have to do with you being an unmarried nineteen year old? I know plenty of unmarried people that age or older. It’s not a death sentence.”

Her bitter smile grew a little in a way that made Gary regret the words he’d spoken instantly. Her voice was quiet as she replied to him. “If only I could live there, then. I’m.. I’m barren, Gary. Do you understand that? I’m barren!” She spat the last out in a burst of rage, her chest heaving at the sudden anger in her tone. “I’m a barren woman in this world, and the System hates me!”

The System. Gary’s look immediately went stern at that. He didn’t like the way this was going; not at all. “What do you mean the System hates you? So you can’t have children. So what? You can still live a long healthy life! If you want kids, you can just adopt! I’m sure there’s orphanages around somewhere…”

Her look told him that she suddenly understood that he didn’t know something. Her eyes were starting to glitter with tears. Gary surged forward and hugged her, and he felt her give in and cry. It quickly turned into sobs, and wails, and her pounding her fists against his back in powerless frustration. Her form was shaking with terror at his ignorance and the unwitting blows she’d been struck with. In the end, she just fiercely hugged him as she worked out her sorrow loudly in the echoing chamber of God.

Deep in his heart, Gary thought a very dark thought about the System she was so afraid of. If there had been any doubt left in him that it was somehow benevolent that thought had vanished with Delilah’s first tear. His resolve hardened to a mountain of steel.

As she finished her burst of overwhelming sorrow, her voice weakly spoke into his ear as she held her face against his shoulder. “The System will kill me when I turn nineteen. That’s in a few days.” Gary felt like every organ had just gotten suckerpunched. She felt the flinch and hugged him tightly as she continued speaking. “It’s alright. I knew this was coming for a long time now. I.. I’m at peace with it.” That sounded like a goddamn lie but Gary chose to be diplomatic about it.

“I don’t understand, Delilah. Why would the System kill you just for being unable to have chil..dren…” She hugged him tighter as he came to the understanding he’d answered his own question. He felt his pulse quicken in anger. It made a wicked sense. If the System wanted to ensure its existence, the easiest way would be to assure those under its sway made more people under its sway. It was brilliant in the draconian simplicity of it. Nineteen must be the cutoff point. Pass that without kids, and it removes you as a drain on resources.

With her pressed against him like this he found the unfolding horror of it to be nearly mind-numbing. How many millions on Earth would die instantly? Would there be a grace period to fulfill the conditions? What about divorced people; did those who had kids both enjoy safety or was only the parent with possession of the kids safe? Those who couldn’t have kids were probably doomed to die, if Delilah’s reactions were anything to judge by. The scale of implications was horrible beyond words. All he could do was hug her more fiercely.

His mind raced. Was there something he could do? If she didn’t want him to get Remmy then it wasn’t something that could just be magicked away. His thoughts immediately went to his most powerful Skill but a mental review of the wording and what he knew from using it twice meant that it was simply an execution rather than a cure. The way he was thinking must have been loud enough for her to guess, or she’d come with the intention in mind.

“I didn’t want to burden you with this, Gary. I truly didn’t. She just asked that and I.. I lost it.”

“I’ll make sure she’s scolded for it,” he offered weakly earning him an amused huff despite the impending doom. She leaned back a bit out of the embrace and looked towards his face with puffy amber eyes and a sad toothy smile. Gary felt he knew where this was going now. Unrequited Tragic Love was in full swing now. Mentally he cursed the System deeply. Delilah booped him on the nose with her left index finger as she clearly saw whatever look he had on his face, and the playful motion brought his attention back to her.

“She didn’t know so don’t be harsh on her. But I have a request to make of you.”

“..Anything.”

“I want you to kill me.” Another startled blink answered her. She looked up and past him towards the altar before she spoke in clarification. “It’s considered a sin against God to commit suicide, and dying by this deadline is considered as such. People who are in my situation tend to go on long walks in the wilds but I’m afraid of getting eaten alive by some wild beast or monster. It’s silly, isn’t it? To be afraid of death even as I know it’s coming for me?”

“It’s not,” Gary said quietly. “Death isn’t what you’re afraid of. It’s dying. Death is inevitable, but you don’t want it to be now. It’s why things live and want to continue struggling to live. There is no shame in wanting to live, Delilah. Don’t ever think that.”

Her slender fingers traced his jawline before she cupped his cheeks in her hands. She leaned back in and gave him a closed-eye kiss. This one was soft, tender, and full of the need of the desperate. He silently pressed into it as his arms went back around her to hold them close. This one lasted far longer in the quiet of the church before she broke it off again.

“I’m serious about my request, though. You’ll do it correctly; I know you will.”

Gary lowered his head as he struggled with his own thoughts. Without looking at her he spoke. “Doing this is a crime and a sin back home, as well. But I understand why you ask for this. I… We.. We’ll go back to that hill. No one will disturb us there. We can spend time together before…” His voice broke and she patted the back of his head as the hug resumed. This was too much too fast; he’d been blindsided and she felt sorry for doing this to him.

“Thank you, Gary. I know this is too much to ask of you. Just think of this as the end of my dream… You warned me it might turn into a nightmare, right?”

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Remmy came back a couple of hours later to find Gary packing his camping supplies in his room with a blank look on his face. At the sound of his room’s door opening, Gary didn’t look up from his preparations.

“You could have told me, Remmy.” The hurt tone in his voice made the old man flinch. “I suppose I can understand why you didn’t tell me about the time limit, though. I already have so much to do. Knowing I was racing against another clock would have been too much. I don’t blame you for anything, but it should have been you who told me.”

“The girl, then?” A single nod, Gary still refusing to meet the man’s gaze. “Something must be wrong, then. She’s still young enough that-”

“Womb fever, and she’s almost nineteen.” Gary felt the man recoil more than saw him. The pack was cinched shut, the small brazier fastened to the outside of the pack and strapped down properly. Only then did Gary look up. Gray eyes were rimmed in red, showing he’d been crying for a while and now simply felt numb. “I’m going to take her out to where we were before for the time she... For the time she has left. I will return when her time is over. And at that point we will have a discussion about what expectations this fucking monster requires of those under its sway. And you will tell me everything.”

Despite the venom at the end, Remmy nodded. “I know your heart is heavy from this. I presume she wishes to have her end by your hand?” Gary gave him a look but nodded silently. “Good. I know you’ll do it properly. Be sad, be mournful, grieve her; but do not pity her. It will be the greatest insult you can give her.” The isekai’d teenager stood up; his armored form something to behold for the old priest as the young man closed his eyes against the pain in his heart and slowly breathed in and out for a half-minute before he trusted himself to begin moving.

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

As he moved past the old priest, he stopped just past him and stopped again as he shouldered his pack and threw his crimson cloak over the assembly. The hood remained down as Gary’s head turned back towards Remmy. “Is it wrong that I hate the fact that my first human kill is going to be a murder of someone I love, but that I’m happy she asked me to do it?”

“It’s regrettable, but ultimately a sign of ultimate trust from her. This isn’t something you just ask out of the blue sky to some random stranger. A murder requires evil intent. This is a mercy she’s asked you to deliver. Killing is killing, but it will not be a murder in the eyes of God. Do not let it burden your heart too greatly.”

“..Forgive me if I don’t draw too much comfort from that last bit. I’ll see you in a few days, Remmy. Don’t wait up.” With a soft flutter of fabric, Gary moved away.

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Reaching the hill, Gary had kept up his speed until they got to the spot under the tree, only releasing his female passenger when they were safely in position. Gary unslung the pack from under his cloak, then took the cloak off after the pack hit the ground. He quietly wrapped her in the crimson garment before turning his attention to getting the tent up and secured.

“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

Gary flinched a little at the words as she watched him erecting the cloth structure. He moved back to the task as he fastened one of the guidelines to a tent peg in the ground. It took him a few more moments to work up the nerve - the courage - to trust his voice. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Delilah. I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at the System. I’m angry at this ‘womb fever’. I’m angry because of Veotera’s fucking bullshit!” He roared the last as he turned away from her; his arms angrily thrust down against his sides as he screamed his rage into the afternoon air. It took him a few moments after the sounds had faded before he let the tension slide out of his stance and he grasped his forehead as he tried to ward off a headache.

She slowly walked up to him and hugged him from behind. Her warmth didn’t transmit well through his armor, but he patted her hands that locked around his lower chest and held herself to him. He took a couple of minutes and managed to calm down some more before he patted her hands and she let him go. He went back to the tent and finished putting it up before stepping back and admiring his work. Despite his mental distractions he still did well. Gary knew without the random prompts from his Virtual Network flicking up articles in his mind’s eye that he was engaging in self-distraction to a worrying degree.

“It’s just sad. Someone like you would have a whole life ahead of you in a decent world. You could find love, you could nurture others. What’s the use in having these powers if the cost is so high?”

“The cost is too great, but we pay it anyway. For everyone like me who’s powerless there’s someone like you who can give hope to others. You’ve seen the way that people look at you; even in their fear there’s respect, and in their jealousy there’s admiration. People who look at strength like yours and remember to worry about the little people are rare. That’s why I love you, Gary.”

He turned to look at her. Her amber eyes were looking right into his gray ones with a steady serene expression. His crimson cloak around her shoulders was an odd color choice given her dress, but something about it didn’t upset him. A little smile crept across his face as he walked back over to her and ran fingers through her honey blond hair.

“It frustrates me that Remmy was right.” She tilted her head at the statement quite cutely. “He warned me not to pity you. Here you are at the twilight, and I’m the one that feels like I’m dying. Is this what they call ‘survivor’s guilt’? Because I don’t like it.” Despite the situation she giggled at his admission.

“There’s nothing left but courage, Gary. I don’t have time for fear or anger any more. All I can do is live and keep living every moment, right to the very end. Now enough of this moping about. I want to do something fun!” She shrugged off his cloak and let it fall to the ground. Delilah then walked over to Gary and stared up into his face before looking down to his belt of weapons and drew his simple dagger from among his collection. Gary decided to simply let her do whatever she was going to do, and found himself looking at her with confusion as she grasped the top hem of her dress with her off hand.

He’d sharpened the blade to a fine edge, so the metal made short work of her fabric dress as she ran the blade carefully down it’s length and finally ended at the bottom hem of her dress’ skirt. The garment was still clinging to her arms but she severed the bottom hem with a triumphant sound before doing away with her undergarments in a similar manner by shredding them into uselessness. With a gentle flourish Delilah handed him back his dagger before shrugging her arms free of the dress’ remnants and letting it too fall to the ground. She then turned with her back to him and in her now-naked glory gave him a wonderful showing as she scooped up the ruined garments, bundled them together, and threw them as far down the hill as she could manage.

Gary sheathed the dagger in disbelief at the display as the young woman turned back to him and sat her hands onto her hips with a triumphant and doubtlessly exaggerated jiggle of now-freed flesh. Her skin prickled a little with goosebumps as she regarded him with a cheeky full grin.

“Won’t need those things anymore! I trust you know how to keep a girl warm in these situations!” Her face was deepening to an incandescent blush as he stepped around her and scooped up his discarded cloak. He slid it back over her frame as he stepped back towards the tent, sliding a finger across her cheek as he did so. She shuddered; be it from the air, the embarrassment, or the anticipation his touch promised she probably didn’t know or care. Stopping at one side of the entrance, Gary undid his weapons belt and lowered it to the ground.

A now-sharp gray eye glanced aside at her. He began unfastening parts of his armor as he didn’t break eye contact. “Question is this, Delilah. Hide and Seek, or Tag?” A portion of his armor joined his belt of weapons. She shuddered again at the look she was getting and the liberation she felt from him seeking to make this a memorable last few days. His top came off, and he slid each gauntlet off very slowly so it joined the growing pile. “Either way, you have a head start. I suggest you use it.”

Getting his meaning, she twirled off his cloak and threw it at his face. A naked woman ran laughing down the hill towards the woodline, both of them knowing she’d never make it. Gary smirked as he watched her go after pulling the cloak off his face. Uncle Thomas would tan his backside for this. Uncle Thomas would never hear a goddamn breath of this.

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As it turned out, Delilah was surprisingly good at Hide and Seek. Even without the benefit of clothing to match the terrain and Gary having 「Perception」, he still had trouble tracking her down through the area. Each time he found her there were deep kisses, deeper caresses, or deeper still touches. They spent the days exerting themselves to exhaustion then eating some nearby small game he caught to fill their bellies, and the nights staring up at the stars in each other’s arms when they weren’t fucking like rabbits. They both stayed in a state of slightly sore contentment until there was a change in Delilah’s attitude.

He’d revealed his status to her, and her to him. Her stats were nothing special: all Novice with the standout being Dexterity at Adept. Her Class was Seamstress at the Novice level, which was one of the reasons why she’d chosen to be a barmaid. The other she admitted was that she enjoyed the attention of men gazing at her with lust in their eyes as she swished and jiggled around the tavern doing her job. He’d simply patted her on her bosom with both hands and faux-innocently stated he had no idea that she’d been so lovely of a figure.

It was a surprisingly liberating feeling to just be with someone without much of a care now that he’d gotten over his hangups about her dying. The effectively bottomless sex didn’t hurt matters, since she was more and more eager as the few days left had gone on. Something about her impending doom drove her to greater desires. Death brought out a desire for Life it seemed. But at the end of it all, she was snuggled up against him looking up at the stars.in the transition of dusk to night.

He ran his fingers through her hair and enjoyed the sensation at his fingertips. She practically crooned at the attention. It wouldn’t last, however; soon enough she sat up and leaned back on her hands to look up at the darkening sky. Final rays of sunlight seemed to bathe her in a fading glow as Gary senseed the shift in mood. Without looking at him, she spoke plainly.

“It’s time.” He sat up with her, leaning back onto his hands too as he regarded her expression. He’d never seen someone so calm. It was like talking about the weather, or stating that water was wet. The truth of it stung him a bit.

“How do you want it done?” He’d been mentally preparing for this. She looked over at him with the last rays of sunlight glittering her amber eyes into a luminescent display.

“I want you to use that Skill on me.”

Gary frowned. “That is the single most painful way I have to do it, Delilah. There’s no way to ease anything about it.”

She shook her head. She leaned forward further and moved her hands to hug the knees that came up. Her cheek placed itself on the bare knees as she freed a hand long enough to throw her hair aside to get a clear view of him before going back to her knees. “I’ve thought about it since you showed me and we talked about what it does. It’s how I want to go. It doesn’t matter that you’ll hurt me with it, since it’s payback for the pain I’ll leave you with. And I like the idea of you having something to remember me by; of you having a piece of me with you on your journey. You’re going to do great things and if I can help it’ll be worth it.”

This was the one scenario he’d been dreading the most. Without saying anything he pulled her over to him, settled her against his lap, and looked her right in the eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Just promise me you won’t fail. Succeed in life, and make it all count for something. Maybe name a child after me when you find your wife?” Gary smiled ruefully at her.

“That would just be creepy… But it’s a reasonable request. I’m sure she’d understand.” He gave her a final kiss before he planted his face in her bosom. “Forgive my cowardice but the scream alone’s going to haunt me forever.”

“Of course, my love. Go ahead.” With a final shuddering breath, Gary triggered 「Quintessence Vivisection」. He felt a torrential draw on his Mana Reserves, felt the Skill claw itself into the woman he embraced, and squeezed his eyes shut at the sound he knew was coming.

The Ripper Rabbit had been horrible, the dungeon rift had been tortured. The sound that emitted right next to him made his soul hurt. He listened to it in its entirety even as he felt the flesh crumble into disintegrating ash against his skin and she was simply gone. He felt the Skill return triumphant sensations into his own body, and numbly looked up at the expected System Notification.

Hello again! It seems you’ve gained two new Skills at once! Congratulations on a successful use of your Origin-grade Skill to acquire them. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Sewing You have gained a Passive Skill with the ability to design and assemble garments with a professional touch. Stitches you make are unusually durable, and you can disassemble garments with laughable ease. This Skill does not grant you the ability to make the supplies you need to assemble clothing, such as weaving cloth. This Skill improves with Intelligence.

Manslayer This is a common Passive Skill granted to those who have willingly taken human life. You gain a bonus to damage dealt with intent to humans. This bonus stacks with any other Skill that gives you extra effectiveness to your attacks.

Gary looked at the notifications, then waved them away with disgust. The System was not his friend. The System was not his ally. It was a killer. It was a killer he needed the help of to save lives. He felt numb at the moment.

Was this what people meant when they talked about choosing the lesser of two evils? Because he was sure that was just evil being pedantic. And he was complicit.

“Damn you, System,” he murmured into the deepening night all alone on a hill.