Feeling the onset of pain, I tightly shut my eyes.

Like a child bracing for a needle, I prepared myself for the agony that was sure to come.

Yet, the stabbing pain from the weapon I had glimpsed before closing my eyes never arrived.

"...?"

Confused, I cautiously opened my eyes, blinking in disbelief at the scene before me.

Siwoo was bleeding, right in front of me.

He had shielded me from the attack that I couldn't defend against.

He took the blow in my place.

"Why... Why... No, how..."

"Sss... Ah, this hurts a bit..."

Despite the attack that pierced his shoulder, he smiled at me.

It had to hurt.

It had to be more excruciating than the bruise on my side.

But he didn't seem to care at all; instead, he was worried about me.

"I'm glad I made it in time, Arte. I wish I'd gotten here a bit sooner. You look like you're in a lot of pain."

"How... How did you get here..."

"I told you, Arte. I'll always be by your side."

As he said that, the bracelet on Siwoo's wrist caught my eye.

"You shouldn't go to dangerous places alone. Got it?"

"Who are you? Don't interfere. If you do, I'll..."

"Watch out!"

Just as the girl transformed her hand to strike Siwoo again, a swift, sharp sound echoed, and she was sent flying.

"Hey! You can't just leave without saying where you're going!"

When did she get here?

Amelia, who hadn't been visible until moments ago, had suddenly appeared and struck the girl with her spear.

Then she turned on Siwoo, yelling.

"Where do you think you're going without a word?!"

"Sorry. I felt I had to be here."

"Had to be here? What do you..."

Amelia's voice trailed off as she looked at me.

"Oh, having a good time, are you? You have quite the taste."

"It's not like that, Amelia. You know that."

"Fine, fine. Why are you so serious over a joke?"

"Because this isn't the time for jokes."

Ah.

...Come to think of it, I'm naked.

The pain had overshadowed my embarrassment, making me forget.

"Here, Arte. Wear this for now. Sorry, it's a bit dirty with blood."

"...Thank you."

Something was strange.

My heart wouldn't stop racing.

Was it the excitement from the battle?

Or was my body releasing chemicals to suppress the pain?

As Siwoo covered me with his own clothes, my heartbeat grew louder.

Thump, thump.

I could hear the author's voice faintly, but my heart wouldn't stop pounding.

Thump, thump.

"...Hey, Yoo Siwoo. Is that the target? The one we're supposed to kill?"

"Yeah. Probably."

"Wow, disgusting. Is it even human? I hit it with the intent to kill..."

The girl who had been sent flying started to approach us again.

Not only her arm, but her entire body seemed to expand and contract irregularly.

She was becoming something that could hardly be called human anymore.

"...So? Do you have a plan to win?"

"No."

"What?! Then what do we do?!"

"What else?"

The girl crouched down like a sprinter ready to take off.

A crouching start.

As soon as she moved, Siwoo grabbed me and turned.

"We run."

-BOOM!

Unable to control her speed, the girl crashed through the wall, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.

"Running is fine! I'm good at that! ...But what do we do if we keep running?! Everyone's busy fighting off those spiders! Dorothy is busy helping people! There's no one to help us right now!"

"Who said that?"

"...What?"

"That there's no one to help. That's not true."

-BOOM, BOOM!

As Siwoo and Amelia talked, the girl charged at us again, but failed each time, ending up crashing into the walls.

...Someone to help?

Who could he be talking about?

"They should be here any minute now..."

"AWOOOOOOOOOO!"

"?!"

"Oh, they're here."

Frustrated by her repeated failures, or perhaps realizing that this wouldn't work, the girl transformed her body again to strike us, but a large wolf suddenly appeared and bit her neck.

It seemed to have no effect, as the girl casually swung her fist, forcing the wolf to retreat to our side and transform into a human.

"...Why is she so tough? My teeth hurt."

"What... What are you? I thought you were dead... And what's with that form?"

"That's how it is, rich girl. This form... Let's just say it's an ability."

"...Oh, whatever! You better explain everything from start to finish later! My head's hurting right now!"

"Sure, sure. I'll tell you everything later."

...Why is Lyra here?

Did she notice I was staring blankly?

She looked at me and smirked.

But I knew it wasn't a mocking smile, thanks to the time we spent living together.

Lyra just wasn't good at smiling.

"You look like a mess."

"...Why are you here?"

"I'm here to save you."

"Why would you..."

"Why?"

I couldn't understand.

Lyra had no reason to help me.

Even though I forced her to be my subordinate, I had tried to kill her.

Even disregarding that, I had ruined her life.

She had been living a normal life until I drove her to a villain's organization out of my own inferiority complex.

So why would she come to save me?

Maybe because of the ever-changing situation, I couldn't notice how incomprehensible my words would sound to her.

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have joined a villain organization out of inferiority."

"...Huh?"

"If it weren't for me. If it weren't for the author, you could have lived a normal life as a hero."

Yes.

If it weren't for me.

If it weren't for the author.

Given she was considered a potential heroine, she must have had some potential.

She could have become a hero, living happily and interacting with people.

But I twisted all of that.

I had suggested to the author to use her differently.

To turn her into a villain.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"What do you mean... Your life was changed! You could have lived a normal life, but now..."

"So what if it did?"

I was at a loss for words.

She completely denied my premise.

"So what if it did? I know my life is a mess."

"But, but... You could have lived normally..."

"That's not me."

She declared firmly.

As if she couldn't understand what I was talking about.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm the one who reached out to the villains out of jealousy."

"But that was because of the author's changes... If the author hadn't interfered, you could have lived normally..."

"I never wanted a normal life."

Which is why I turned out this way.

She said, stroking the wolf ears on her head with a bitter smile.

"Have you ever seen me before I entered the academy? Why do you think I would have lived normally?"

"Because..."

"Do you have some prophecy or something?"

I couldn't say anything.

Because it was true in a way.

She was destined to be a heroine.

"...Is this for real?"

"It's similar."

"Huh. So, I could have not become a villain?"

A sharp voice pierced the air from behind Lyra.

It was Amelia.

"Hey, how long are you going to talk?! Didn't you come to help?!"

"There's a snake girl over there! Just wait a bit!"

"This woman is useless! You're much better!"

"That's harsh?!"

"Kill her first! Kill her! Aaaah!"

"Eek! I almost died! What are you doing!"

"As long as you survived!"

"You trash! Do you even call yourself a hero?!"

Lyra scratched her head, thinking for a moment before speaking to me.

"So, originally, I was destined to be a hero?"

"Yes."

"And you twisted it to make me a villain? That's basically it?"

"...Yes."

"So what's the problem?"

"But..."

"I never deeply wished to be a hero."

Despite saying that, she seemed unsettled and started asking me more questions.

"One thing. Just one more question. When did you twist that prophecy or whatever? Elementary school? Middle school?"

"Around two weeks after entering the academy. I don't know exactly..."

"Did you know me before I entered the academy?"

"No."

"The first time we met was at the place where you were learning swordsmanship after joining the academy?"

"...Yes."

"And you already knew about that prophecy when we first met?"

"That's right."

"This girl really had unnecessary thoughts..."

"?!"

I was so taken aback by her reaction that I could only be swayed by her.

...I thought she would throw me to that monster, demanding her life back.

"The first person I met predicted my past and future. This is... Our leader is dumber than I thought."

Lyra tapped my head with her finger.

"Don't judge people solely on first impressions. Got it?"

"How does that have anything to do with this..."

"It does. You thought I'd be a hero the moment you saw me. I've been jealous since I was young."

"But that's because of the author's settings..."

"Look at this?"

Lyra poked my side, seemingly annoyed.

"Agh..."

"How can you confirm that's true?"

"...There's no way to confirm."

"Listen carefully, dumb leader. I've lived this way my whole life, and this is my life. I'll say it one last time."

Maybe she thought I was really struggling.

Lyra, who kept looking back, finally spoke to me.

"I am like this because of my choices. Not because of your silly prophecy. If you want to understand a person properly, you need to watch them for a long time, not just once."