Only I know that this world will end – 127 | Sousaku – 創作

Temporary group

After leaving the bar, they returned to their city while explaining what had happened. Akira's party encountered Ayaka, who was returning down the road in a rage.
Ayaka immediately called out to Akira's party when she saw them.

"Hey, you guys! ! Where's that old man! ? That jerk tricked me! ! "

Hearing this, Akira looked at Nao and told her about Arthur's true identity.
Ayaka was even more furious when she heard Arthur's true identity. According to what she said, Ayaka was only acting with Arthur because she wanted to help him defeat the boss monster.
As a result, Ayaka's abilities were used by Arthur. That was probably the reason for the misleading actions taken this time.

"Come to think of it, it was strange that he had Yukka's smartphone. Yukka was definitely killed by a monster, so why did he have it?! "

Ayaka bared her teeth and muttered.

"……He definitely killed Yukka and the others by posing as a monster! That's why he had Yukka's smartphone."

Considering Arthur, those words were certainly not impossible.
Lilith Laila seeks a sacrifice.
It didn't seem so surprising that someone would disguise themselves as a monster and kill someone.

"――――He ran away."

Akira lied to Ayaka.
He didn't even think to publicly admit that he had killed someone.

"Haa! ? Ran away……? Aren't you guys chasing after him! ? "
"It was close for me too. I almost died."

Saying that, Akira turned his gaze to his limbs, which had been crushed by Arthur.
Ayaka probably guessed what had happened when she saw his hands and feet.

"……I see. You guys had a hard time too, didn't you?"

He bowed apologetically.

Watching Ayaka, Akira muttered quietly.

"……Hey, Hanayagi. What are you going to do now? "
"From now on? "
"Is there anywhere you want to go? If you're free, why don't you come with us? It's better than being alone, right? "
"With you guys? "

Ayaka said, looking at Akira and Nao.
Then, with a slightly pensive expression, she quietly asked a question.

"With you around, can we do something about those monsters? "
"I don't know. But I'm still going to keep challenging the bosses."

Because if I don't, I won't be able to live in this world, he thought to himself.
Ayaka pondered over Akira's words.
Then, as if she had made a decision. She nodded briefly and looked at Akira's party.

"……Yeah. All right, that's fine. I'll follow you guys. ――Even so, with your condition, it seems unlikely that you would be able to fight monsters properly…… By the way, should I take care of that wound? "
"What? I mean, how? "
"With my unique skill, that is."

Saying that, Ayaka turned to Akira and spoke the name of the skill.

"『Healing』."

Suddenly, light overflowed from Ayaka's hands.
The light enveloped Akira's entire body and healed his injuries with a speed that surpassed Auto Regen.

"What――! ? Hey, wasn't 『Self-healing』 your only healing skill……?"

Watching his crushed limbs and werewolf wounds heal, Akira stared wide-eyed at Ayaka.

Seeing his expression, Ayaka laughed and cleared her throat.

"Oh, that. I just lied. I didn't trust that old man for some reason. I lied on purpose. Actually, I could have used it on other people, but if I had only used it on myself, it wouldn't have been unnatural to call it 『Self-healing』, would it? "

Saying that, she smiled smugly.

Looking at that smile, Akira couldn't help but let out a big sigh.
Ayaka's revelation made Akira realize something.
That is, none of the people gathered at that bar were telling the truth.

Akira, hid the 『inventory』 and 『scenario』.
Nao hid the unique skill given to her by Akira.
Arthur hid his true identity.
And Ayaka hid the true effect of her skill.

No one was telling the truth, yet they were trying to organize a makeshift party.
In the end, however, it quickly fell apart at the hands of Arthur. Even if nothing had happened, sooner or later, somewhere, the group would have become fractured.

Everyone told lies.
Not that lying itself was wrong. A lie was simply a matter of how you used it.
Sometimes it was a lifeline, and sometimes it was a path to madness.
For Arthur, that lie was a temporary salvation.
After all, he loved his family so much that he was willing to stray from the right path. When his wife and daughter were killed by monsters, he would've probably given up everything and died soon after.

The tragedy for him was that the people who misled him were members of a cult.

If only he hadn't encountered that cult.
If only his family had been safe.
Akira, who had repeated this world countless times, couldn't help but think about such convenient “what ifs”.

Author's note:

This concludes Chapter 3.
Once I finished writing it, it turned out to be more of a pseudo-mystery than a action-packed story. (Mystery fans will probably shout at me and say that it's complete nonsense.)
In episodes with foreshadowing or the presentation of mysteries, I may have left you feeling somewhat confused.
The next chapter will return to the usual style, so please look forward to it.