NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24
“Is Ricardo really going to show up, having made a deal with a demon?”
At Windy’s question, Mas paused for a moment, deep in thought.
“…To be honest, I’m not so sure about that myself. When I think about everything we’ve been through, just look at Leana, Rain, Cindy, and Elia—if you replace Marcus and me in that mix, it all fits perfectly.”
But then he continued.
“The thing is, I have never seen anyone who fits the role of Ricardo up until now… so, honestly, I have no clue who might show up. The biggest difference between Marcus and me is that I’ve never been disbanded by trusted party members like he has.”
Before joining the Two-Handed Sword party, Mas had jumped from party to party, getting kicked out without regard for ranking, and had never really experienced a bond of trust with fellow members.
“But even if there’s no one like Ricardo who made a deal with a demon, we can’t let our guard down. Here we have the situation of needing to rescue Leana, but… luck is really essential for this.”
Mas flipped open to a page in the Support Disbandment Book Volume 9 to show Windy and Elia.
[What are these scales…? Le-Leana!]
[Marcus! The dungeon is collapsing! If you go that way…!]
[Leana is right in front! I-I won’t abandon my party members!]
[Master..!]
It was the scene where Marcus accidentally discovered Leana’s scales and immediately rushed out.
After that, Marcus finds Leana amidst the crumbling dungeon and barely manages to carry her out to safety.
“Marcus ran out of the dungeon with Leana on his back, but that’s something I can’t do.”
Unlike Marcus, whose body reflected the results of his continuous training to maintain good health, Mas was closer to the appearance of a boy than a young man.
With his small stature, even picking up Rain to run would likely be a struggle, and his slower running speed would surely prevent him from escaping the collapsing dungeon.
“This is probably… something the author has in mind.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t really comprehend the author’s grand design, but… I’d guess it’s something like ‘I’ll open this path for you, so you solve the rest with your own strength’? Or maybe what was permitted by the goddess was just this much…”
“…You might have a point.”
“Right? So, let’s solve the rest with our own strength!”
***
“Mages! Ice magic, as far as you can, over there!”
“Ice Shot!”
“Blizzard!”
“Ice Age!”
“Cold Pierce!”
Before long, Mas and his party had entered the dungeon’s heart, smoothly dispatching dark mages they encountered along the way.
Despite the sudden appearances of dark mages, Mas dealt with them as if he already knew how, allowing the mages, dwarves, and the Two-Handed Sword party to easily handle the dark mages in turn.
“All taken care of!”
After dispatching the dark mage they had just encountered, Mas wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the book in his hands.
“We’ve made it to the center already… now what’s left…”
In Volume 8 of the Support Disbandment, a deal with the demon was made, and in Volume 9, there’s an individual who almost kills Marcus, the protagonist.
Ricardo.
“Everyone, don’t let your guard down. We don’t know who might show up.”
Having never encountered someone like Ricardo in his life, Mas understood that the current situation was technically the most dangerous since they had no clue who would take on that role.
As they stepped into the one safe area in the dungeon—void of creatures, an ominous moment occurred.
-KABOOM!
The ceiling of the safe zone crumbled with a horrendous noise.
“Everyone, cover above!”
At the chief mage’s command, the mages immediately deployed defensive magic over their heads.
Even under the protective magic of the mages, Mas stared up at the collapsing ceiling.
‘Who is it? Who’s…’
At that moment.
“Why is it like this!!”
-THUD!
A long-haired old dark mage fell from above, resembling a tentacle in rage.
For some reason, he seemed furious, and the dwarves pointed their pickaxes, while the mages readied their staffs.
“Where is Ricardo! Where is Ricardo?! If it were me, I would’ve better harnessed the power of the great one!”
“…Elia, Windy.”
Mas called out the two, still keeping an eye on the furious dark mage.
“It seems that dark mage has relied solely on the book to get this far, just like us.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems he’s been waiting for the moment Ricardo shows up to make a deal with the demon. But for some reason, there’s no one here presumed to be Ricardo. That must have ruined his plan.”
“…So, are you saying that Ricardo isn’t here?”
“Don’t let your guard down, Windy. I sense an unsettling aura of death coming from that guy.”
Mas murmured as he pulled out a dagger from his pocket.
“I won’t regret this, author…”
Thus, the battle between Mas’s party and the dark mage began.
***
“Um… Hero.”
“What’s up, author?”
I lowered the newspaper I was holding and said.
“Should I just go to the Holy Kingdom?”
[Leana from the Two-Handed Sword party returns!]
[The party’s supporter, Mas, says ‘It’s all thanks to Check Writer…’]
[Even the dark mages are reading Check Writer’s book? According to information Mas gathered…]
[The Holy Kingdom is considering Check Writer’s book not just as a novel but as a prophecy…]
[Marcus is a character made by Check Writer to aid Mas…]
[Check Writer received divine revelations? This can no longer be deemed a coincidence…]
“I’m starting to look like a person who receives prophecies from the goddess and writes prophetic books.”
How did it end up like this?
“Honestly, I think you are more loved by the goddess than I am.”
“Oh, please.”
If you look at how I ended up here after dying on Earth, I guess it’s true that I’m loved.
The issue is that I never wished for that kind of love.
“I don’t know. I just want to wrap up Support Disbandment quickly and take a vacation.”
“Heh, work hard.”
“Fine…”
Yeah, I just need to crank out one more volume then I can go home.
If they don’t send this out, I might as well threaten to swallow a pen.
“…But really, what happened in that dungeon.”
“Hmmm… If you’re that curious, why not call the Two-Handed Sword party and hear their side?”
“Well… I guess I’ll call them.”
***
“Thank you for calling, Princess.”
“It’s nothing, just a favor from my fiancé.”
With Eve’s help, I was quickly able to summon the Two-Handed Sword party to the Imperial Palace.
As I linked arms with Eve again, we stepped through the door opened by the maid.
Immediately, I could see the Two-Handed Sword party.
‘Is that girl next to Mas the infamous Rain?’
What are those two doing, glued together like that?
There I was, a 40-year-old virgin standing before them.
“!! Uh, Author!”
When Mas saw me as the door opened, he immediately broke away from Rain and stood up.
Then, like a rubber band, he bounced right in front of me and exclaimed,
-THUD!
“All thanks to you, author! Really, really appreciate it!”
He bowed deeply to me.
“Hey, what’s this about? Get up, Mas.”
Not a fan of getting a deep bow from a shota, I quickly grabbed Mas by the shoulders and pulled him up.
“Everything that allowed Rain to return is all thanks to the author—”
“Hold on, let’s sit down and talk first.”
“Ah, understood!”
Finally got Mas seated.
‘What should I ask first?’
Let’s see…
“Mas, can you tell me what happened in the dungeon?”
“Ah, yes! That’s…!”
To summarize Mas’s explanation:
They had read Volume 9 of the Support Disbandment, familiarized themselves with the countermeasures against the dark mages featured within, and entered the dungeon.
As expected, the dungeon was filled with the same types of dark mages from the book. Since they were already prepared, they dealt with them easily, making their way to the dungeon’s center.
And then, just when the much-anticipated Ricardo was supposed to show up, an old dark mage appeared instead, falling down in rage.
This dark mage was a ‘high-ranking’ dark mage, whose intent was to interfere at the moment Ricardo was supposed to sign a deal with the demon, effectively trying to take Ricardo’s place.
Yet, there was no one like Ricardo, making it impossible for him to contract with the demon, and thus in a fit of rage, he attempted to kill Mas and his party.
However, Mas’s party comprised dwarves with superhuman strength, along with elite mages.
In fact, it was a recently promoted A-ranked party.
It looked like it was going to be a fierce battle, but the enraged old dark mage ultimately lost far too easily.
With his relentless black tentacles, the dark mage was pushing Mas’s party to the brink of death, but at the last moment, Mas threw a makeshift bomb he had crafted from the debris, triggering an explosion.
At that instant, Rain leapt from the rubble and split the dark mage in half with her great sword.
After handling the dark mage’s remains, they joyfully reunited with Rain and exited the dungeon.
“Hmm…”
‘There are so many questions here.’
Why did the dark mages appear just like in my book? Why did they think the events would unfold exactly as I wrote? How did Mas manage to throw a bomb precisely where Rain was in the debris? And above all, why did the dungeon even collapse in the first place?
“This is driving me crazy…”
It feels like my book might actually contain something real…