Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 41: Not Too Bad

Tina had probably resigned herself long ago. If her Spell really did destroy Mimir, the Logos residues left behind would’ve found her complicit.

...And there would be no path back.

No version of this where Tina Valentine disappeared and Nolan Midgard was made the scapegoat existed.

The original White Noise plan of burning the place down physically was off the table as well.

At this point, destroying Mimir only accomplished one thing:

To get rid of any evidence of the article she so hated.

It was like her final message, a desperate act to destroy the parts of her past. Whether it be to save the Vanaris or her own selfish desire of wanting to see that part of her gone.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

Not anymore.

And just like Colette predicted, the [Glacial Lance] which was now heading toward Mimir, was swiftly intercepted.

With a few presses on her Bracelet-type Spell Driver, the anchor which had been embedded in Tina’s wall of ice, suddenly sprung out and embedded itself onto the ceiling.

Colette stepped backward, revealing the two other anchors underneath her feet. The three anchors, which now had direct access, connected to each other.

[Edel Veld]

A barrier formed between them, creating an impenetrable wall that stopped the lance of frost right in its tracks.

CRASH—!

The ice tore itself into a thousand pieces, turning into dust and floating down like snow.

Clang!

Tina’s Spell Driver hit the floor as she coughed up even more blood. That last Spell clearly deteriorated her body.

I rushed forward, picking up her Spell Driver and taking it away before she could make any attempts to reach for it.

I knew I was supposed to knock her out right now. That had been my part of the plan. But seeing the state she was in...

It wasn’t necessary anymore.

Colette approached slowly, staring down at Tina’s body with a look I couldn’t really make out.

"Are you disappointed in me?" Tina asked softly.

But instead of an answer, Colette surged forward...

And hugged her.

The both of them stayed like that for a while before the princess pulled back, holding up Tina’s arm and examining it.

"Just hold on...we’ll get someone to treat whatever that drug did to you. You’ll be fine, nothing will happen..."

"...Why?"

"Because I told you, didn’t I?"

"You’re still one of us...and a senior I admire."

A hiccup formed from Tina’s throat as droplets welled from her eyes. And without being able to contain it any longer, the tears finally spilled over.

Sigh...

Seeing that the situation was handled over there, I decided to rush over toward Ruby, who was still unconscious.

Most of her wounds had already closed, not perfectly, but just enough that she wasn’t bleeding out anymore.

The effort must’ve pushed her past her limit. Her breathing was shallow and it was likely that her Logos Cortex had forced her body into a shutdown state from ECS, preserving what little energy she had left.

"Damn it..."

I crouched beside her, carefully brushing a strand of pink hair away from her face so I could check her complexion.

"Sorry...You had to cover for me again."

But a soft click that echoed in the room managed to catch my attention. At first, I thought it was Tina’s Spell Driver.

Though that would’ve been impossible, knowing that I had her wand in my pocket. Yet, when my eyes moved toward the sound, my blood ran cold.

A man stood beside Mimir’s lower terminal, the same one that had just tried to stop me from getting here a few minutes ago.

The Commander.

"Your friends outside are surprisingly competent."

’What—what the hell is he doing here? Did the Triad fail?!’

He stood calmly in the battlefield filled with ice, reaching toward the database and pulling out what looked like a black data shard.

It was no larger than a thumb, but I immediately recognized what it was:

The half-completed copy Tina had taken from Mimir.

"Unfortunate that she couldn’t stall until this finished downloading," the Commander said, slipping the shard into his coat.

"But oh well, just half is enough."

"You—!"

I raised Huginn trying to force a Spell, any Spell at all. But my Logos Cortex screamed the moment I tried to initialize another sequence.

However, it wouldn’t have mattered if I got a Spell off or not, because the Commander simply moved past me and up to Tina and Colette.

The princess’s eyes widened as the man appeared beside her, before her entire body was sent flying from an unknown force.

CRASH—!

Colette slammed into the nearby wall, coughing up blood.

"I had great expectations," the man simply said softly as he looked at Tina, whose eyes were just barely opened.

"We even planned to give you a nickname upon successful completion of the mission—The ’Seer’. It would’ve been oh-so-beautiful to have you join our ranks."

He then sighed softly into his hand. "But alas you’ve failed. Given in to your emotion...truly unprofessional."

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 3 Condensing Force Type—]

[Needle]

"I hate to stain my hands. But ahh...please reincarnate into a more reliable person next life."

Tina’s eyes widened, yet there was nothing she could do. Her body was wrecked and even the act of moving her arm a tiny bit was impossible.

All she could do—

Was embrace death.

I raised Huginn, begging my Logos Cortex to work, to be able to just fire off one more Spell. I would’ve given whatever it took.

But before I could even begin to process the spell...

Someone else finished theirs.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Innate Reality Manifestation Type—]

[World Frame]

A man’s voice suddenly emerged from the entrance, deep and loud. "All within my domain shall cease any hostile actions."

Suddenly, the red Logos which had been traveling towards Tina had suddenly stopped just inches away from her forehead.

"Tch..."

I turned to look at who it was, but it didn’t matter really, as there were only two people who could do something like this.

Nathan Midgard stood with one hand resting on his cane. His single visible eye looked colder than even the ice scattered across the floor.

"Had fun bullying the children?"

"Ha...first the son and now the father. But, whatever."

The Commander was already stepping backward, the black data shard disappearing behind his coat.

"I already have what I came for."

With a flick of his Wand-type Spell Driver, the air suddenly distorted. It was like light had created a mirage that slowly blended him into the background.

Nathan tried to surge forward with his own Spell, but by then—

The man was gone.

"Tch..." Nathan clicked his tongue. "A preinitialized displacement sequence...he knew I would arrive."

A dozen questions appeared in my head, like—

"How did Nathan get here?" and, more importantly, "Why didn’t he arrive sooner?"

But well, just the thought of the threat disappearing was enough for my body to unconsciously relax again.

The adrenaline that had been keeping me going through the pain receded, and my body caught up all at once.

And before my eyes closed, sending me to the darkness, a cane entered my vision, followed by something I never thought Nathan Midgard would say.

"Not bad, kid."