Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 36: What Is A Protagonist?

’...How the hell did she get behind me?’

I thought about the possibilities, of how she managed to dodge my [Material Sight], even when she didn’t know I had the ability in the first place.

Was it because she used a General Concealment Spell? No...it had to be something simpler.

[Material Sight] was so powerful because it was able to see Logos in its purest state, allowing the user to be able to find any fluctuations in Logos.

Which meant, she didn’t use any Spell to hide...

She used camouflage.

Combined with the Mimir Database giving off erratic Logos signals, she physically blended into the room without casting anything herself and receded her Logos signature.

’So that’s how she managed to get past me...Damn it, [Material Sight] became a crutch I relied too much on...!’

But even as a Spell was pointed at my head, I didn’t really feel scared. If Tina Valentine really wanted to kill me, she wouldn’t have bothered revealing herself and just finished me off.

With [Material Sight], I saw the Spell Sequence she loaded.

[Hostile Takeover], the Spell that she probably used on all the Astaron cadets outside to follow her orders. And it was probably the Innate Spell Sequence that she inherited from her father, one of the many ’banned’ Spells for a simple reason.

It was a war crime to take over someone else’s body.

Which is why House Vanaris was so feared, not in terms of pure strength, but dominance.

Wait...but why was this Spell pointed at me? What good does taking my mind over do? If her goal really was to copy Mimir’s Database and destroy the original, she could’ve done it already like what happened in the game.

Yet, when I thought about it some more, it all made sense.

"...You’re trying to use me as your scapegoat, aren’t you?"

Even without turning around, I could feel her grinning. "It really is a shame. You and I are alike, Nolan Midgard. Both coming from families who want nothing to do with us."

"That’s why I want to recruit you, Nolan," she continued. "Why is it that only you are here? Because you’ve been used."

"The Triad could put the blame on you after I run away with Mimir. The cover story of ’it was Nolan Midgard who failed to protect Mimir’, sounds pretty plausible."

"How could you—!" Ruby surged from the side, but stopped right in her tracks as Tina raised a finger to stop her.

"Ah ah, if you don’t want my Spell Sequence to turn into [Magic Bullet] instead and blow out your friend’s skull. I would advise not doing that."

Despite myself, a small laugh escaped my throat. Her plan was so obvious that it was funny.

Tina went quiet.

"...Why are you laughing? You understand what I’m about to do, don’t you?"

"Yeah," I said, my fingers tightening around Huginn. "That’s why it’s funny."

"Funny?"

"What would you do if I refused? The exact same thing?"

"..."

The reason why Tina wanted to take over my body was clear now. I didn’t know how she knew that I had the Spell Sequence, probably because she stayed back in Muspel to observe the scene before leaving.

But she wanted me for one thing, the perfect Spell Sequence that just so happened to be the thing she needed to wrap things up cleanly.

[Overload]

That’s why Mimir hadn’t gone up in flames by now. Because she was waiting for me, to take over my body and force me to destroy it.

And afterwards, my Logos Signature would be everywhere, becoming undeniable proof...and letting her get away scot-free.

The perfect scapegoat.

Tina, sensing that I had caught onto her, decided to end things here.

"Tch...time’s up."

[Hostile Takeover]

ZZZT—!

Suddenly, my body went limp...before my legs started moving on their own.

"Nolan! Stop, get a grip on yourself!" Ruby yelled from the side, but her words fell on deaf ears.

It felt like being a puppet, or maybe like someone in a vegetative state. My mind was allowed to think but my body wouldn’t listen to anything I tried.

My right hand, gripping Huginn, slowly raised towards the Mimir Database, finger ready on the trigger to fire off what would become my doom.

"Look at that!" Tina’s voice came from the side, trembling with joy. "A main branch Midgard kneeling to a discarded Vanaris child. I wonder what your father would think?"

My muscles shook, but I realized that I was starting to regain some control back. I could feel the spell working through my head. It was an odd sensation but was one that made me realize something—

Her Spell was not as effective on me because of how high my Storage was. It was like a virus trying to infect a giant. It would succeed eventually, but that amount of time was what I needed to come up with a plan.

But even as I say that, my mind cycled through the options, all trying to answer a simple question:

’How the hell do I get out of this?!’

But that’s when an answer became clear.

I often asked myself... "What is the protagonist? Is he simply the story’s narrator?" But the more I thought about it, the more that explanation became too plain.

What separated the protagonist from everyone else?

Well, the answer was stupidly simple. It had been right in my face and I hadn’t even realized it.

The protagonist was the one who moved, the person who took the risk no one else could.

The person who reached for the impossible option, not because they knew it would work, but because they were the only one standing in the right place to try.

If the protagonist of the story hid away from all the danger—

They’d just be a...civilian? Wouldn’t they? An extra waiting for someone else to move the plot?

Heh...maybe all of this was simply justification for me to do something stupid. Something that only a protagonist could do.

I wanted to show the world, and the story itself—

That I can still play the role.

So, even if I didn’t have full control of my arm, I could still feel it. And that alone was enough for me to do one final thing.

My muscles shook in pain, as if warning me about the defiance, but it didn’t matter.

I turned the gun’s barrel to the side of my forehead, fingers trembling as I fought to control it before the Spell took over.

There was only one way I could get out of this.

Tina’s eyes widened, realizing what I was planning to do.

"No...are you insane?" she staggered forward, hand outstretched. "Just one mistake and it’s all over! Just give it up, Nolan!"

She was right...

If I failed to control my own Spell fully here, the best-case scenario was permanent damage to my Logos Cortex, rendering me completely unable to process Spell Sequences.

Worst case?

...Total collapse of my brain’s functions.

In other words—

Death.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Innate Structural Disruption Type—]

Ahh...even if I died here, it would be alright. I got to transmigrate to the world of my favorite game, meet the characters, and even live it myself...

Being the pseudo-protagonist was hard.

Honestly, it was so terrifying.

But even so...I enjoyed it.

I want to keep watching—no, keep experiencing this story.

Until I reached its grand finale.

Click—!

Even if this world was doomed to fail.

Even if the original protagonist was gone.

Even if I was nothing more than a fake replacement—

I would hold it up at all costs.

[Overload]