Antagonist Protection Service

Six Memorials remained until the Protagonist was permanently dead.

DONG~~!!

Gazing down upon the city from atop this tall-standing bell tower, there was no place of greater prominence in the vicinity.

Of course, turning around, there was already one Memorial right there, just under the giant bell.

SMASH--!!

"Next."

I hadn't even been here for that long, comparatively, and yet, the length of this Contract was unable to breach the top three. It was about number five, though.

The more I thought about it, the more suspicious I grew.

It really was just too easy―that is, after the initial trick of the Protagonist's continuous respawning was figured out. Was that alone enough to raise the Difficulty so high?

Since I had the time, I voiced my concerns to the Librarian.

'Can you tell me what criteria was taken into account to rate this as five stars?'

At the same time, I appeared in a medium-sized hallway within a partially collapsed building.

SMASH-!!

"Next."

[Certainly! As you already know, I don't determine the Difficulty myself, but the system that does takes into account eeee~verything! Enki, don't you remember?]

'I do, but it's been a long time since then. I want to make sure there's nothing weird going on. Can you confirm that everything will really be over when these Memorials are destroyed and the Protagonist is killed?'

[Mmm, yep!]

Her answer, stated with full confidence, only somewhat relieved my worry.

Before I could voice my next question for her, the Gravetender and I emerged in a tiny, closed room, with just one door on either side, and one window in between.

SMASH-!!

'Then, can you tell me how something so easy was listed as 5-star?'

"Next."

[Yeah! Assuming even just one of his Memorials remain unbroken, the Protagonist is permanently reviving, and because the Protagonist will only ever see you as an enemy, in addition to the fact that his combat ability is not to be underestimated, all of this provides a biiiig increase to the Contract Difficulty!]

'I can understand if you take his dodging into account for combat ability, but even then it's not that big of a deal. That can't be all there is to it.'

[Certainly! Umm, the environment surrounding the Protagonist is also considered! This place all seems reaaaally dangerous, and because the Antagonist doesn't know you're on their side, they might consider you a potential threat, I suppose!]

'I don't know...'

The black fog faded, and beyond its veil, a dark cobblestone street was revealed.

SMASH-!!

Two Memorials remained.

"Nex--"

[You Died]

Abruptly, the Protagonist died again, pausing the world momentarily.

"Take us to the next one quickly."

"Understood."

Taking hands once again, the Gravetender summoned the fog, and we were transported to what should be the penultimate respawn point of the Protagonist.

Regarding the confusion around the Difficulty, I, frankly, had absolutely no idea.

I didn't know if there was some kind of mistake, or if I really had just managed to cheese a win out by making a deal with the Gravetender.

Either way, there was no way for me to know for sure, at least not until all Memorials had been destroyed.

Thus, as we moved to the next, that lingering thread of anxiety coiled tighter around my heart, and the fog dissipated, revealing another, relatively small, windowless room.

In the very centre, the expected Grave Cross came into view.

Swiftly, I acted.

SMASH-!!

Before he could respawn, the Protagonist's Memorial was neutralised.

And, just one beat later――

[The Memorial Room]

'That's not the Streets of Young... Well, I guess it's because it's only a small location.'

We were already in the homestretch now. Wanting to wrap things up as quickly as possible, including the doubt of whether this was really it, I turned to face the Gravetender.

"Hey, do you know of a place called the 'Memorial Room'?"

"Indeed. It is said to be the chamber from which innumerable restless souls come forth to fulfil their unfulfilled pre-mortem purpose. The Veiled Lamb, to my knowledge, is also a recipient of the Memorial Room's rousing."

Her contextual words, though unnecessary, only confirmed my belief.

The final location for us to visit, and the place of the Protagonist's origin.

"Take me there. Hopefully, this is our last stop."

"As you wish."

For what was believed to be the conclusive time, I held the Gravetender's hand, and black fog encompassed us both, separating us from the outside world completely.

I waited, the silence between us heavier than any of the previous times 'til now... Or maybe that was just my own perception.

Of course, even if it felt like it was dragging on, it could have only ever lasted as long as it always did, and eventually, the Gravetender opened her mouth.

"The Memorial Room."

Alongside our curtly-announced arrival, the fog waned, revealing a rather simple stone brick tomb, exceptionally small in size and containing nothing but a single, open coffin, made of stone and enshrined with the same black flowers that had accompanied all of the Memorials until this point.

Assuming it was the Protagonist's, it was only natural to find that the coffin was empty, and that wasn't particularly a surprise either, knowing that he had already spawned a short while prior.

Regardless, finding him was not the most urgent of tasks here.

Raising the Divine Sword in repeated fashion, I thought of nothing, bringing it swiftly down again.

And thus, the Last Memorial.

SMASH--!!

Destroyed.

"..."

Nothing happened, but I suppose that was only to be expected.

After all, it was only now, at this point, that killing the Protagonist was pertinent.

"Thanks for everything. I'll make sure there's enough of him left for you afterwards."

Turning around and leaving just those words behind, not waiting for a response from the quiet Gravetender.

I exited the singular doorway, finding it to lead into a much wider chamber, lined with rows upon rows of the same stone coffins, so many in fact that they stacked on top of one another, piled up all the way until reaching the ceiling.

There were no audible footsteps, no detectable presences, and so I walked right on through to the next, and up one flight of stairs, a second vast chamber almost identical to the first was discovered, and then another, and then another after that.

Before long, I finally began to sense someone ahead of me, and at the same time, words appeared in my vision.

[Streets of Young]

'...There.'

The final large chamber exited out onto a raised barrow that overlooked a small portion of the city streets, meaning the entirety of the Memorial Room was in fact underground.

Managing to escape the completely harmless burial ground after a delay, it seemed I was already a certain distance behind the Protagonist, who evidently must have sprinted his way through unconcerned.

In fact, thanks to the design of the map, or rather the layout of the Memorial Room and the Streets of Young, I was provided just enough of a vantage point to get sights on the Protagonist running through the open streets, at least until he made it further in and reached cover.

Normally, I would have had to chase him even here.

However, needless to say, I was already prepared for such situations.

'You're done.'

The White Death replaced the Divine Sword in my hands, and with a heart I attempted to calm as much as I could, I forced myself to think about something different.

As the reticle of my scope landed on the back of the Protagonist's vulnerable head, it occurred to me.

Chased all the way from one 'End of the World' to the other. Relentlessly. Mercilessly.

Who would do something like that?

You would have to be insane, or otherwise have something else wrong with you.

It would probably be pretty stressful, right? I'm glad I didn't have to deal with that.

...At least, when I return, I planned to make sure it wouldn't happen again. If this really turned out to be all there was to a 5-Star Difficulty Contract, then why not give it a go, right?

I might be more powerful than I thought.

In that case, I was extremely fortunate that my pursuers had limitations.

And... I guess that's what made the guy in front of me more unlucky than anything else.

'Even if someone tries to pursue or hunt me, they'll never make it far. Then, once I'm able, I'll just kill them first.'

That's what I'll do.

This time, and should anyone dare to do it again, I'll do it then too.

In the end.

[You Died]

I wasn't the one who should fear something like that.