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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: A World of Dolls, The Only Other Human
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"Author, what is that...?"
"W-whoa... What a scene...!"
"We can talk about that later, just answer me quickly! What is that?!"
Unintentionally, I shouted roughly at the Author.
The Author had clearly said it. That the protagonist wouldn't win.
So, as soon as I somehow managed to separate the tiger, I hurried over, but...
The sight before my eyes was quite different from the Author's words.
Far from being instantly defeated by the villain, Yoo Siwoo was evading all the attacks the flustered villain threw at him.
"What is that?! You said he wouldn't win!"
"Yeah, who knew? Siwoo's stronger than I thought!"
"...What?"
"I thought he'd just die without even landing a single hit. This way, it might be worth looking forward to!"
It wasn't that the Author knew everything.
I knew that better than anyone.
After all, the Author was always causing trouble, as if on cue.
But the Author I knew wasn't as foolish as I thought.
Of course, they often did foolish things, but they poured a lot of attention into the protagonist.
Because he was the novel's central figure. Because he was the protagonist.
There was no way the Author wouldn't know about Yoo Siwoo.
If so, there was only one conclusion.
The setting that was hastily added to save the protagonist was stronger than expected.
I couldn't think of anything else.
"...Ah, I see. Author, you should have told me."
"Huh?"
"You added a setting to Yoo Siwoo, didn't you? What on earth did you add to make him like that...?"
"I didn't do anything like that."
"...What did you just say?"
"I never added any settings."
Wrong.
I was wrong.
The only inference I could make was wrong.
...What is this? What on earth is happening?
Countless thoughts swirled in my mind, then began to vanish.
Even at this moment, Yoo Siwoo was slowly approaching the villain. Evading all the numerous attacks, sometimes batting them away.
That can't be.
Yoo Siwoo, as I'd seen him until now, wasn't that strong.
Dorothy. I thought of Dorothy for a moment but dismissed it. Even with Dorothy's enhancement, it was the same.
I'd already seen it once. That enhancement had side effects, and it didn't make him that strong.
In the first place, it wasn't that Yoo Siwoo was dodging the attacks; it felt more like the attacks were dodging Yoo Siwoo.
It couldn't be something achieved through enhancement. There must be something more...!
"Hmm, perhaps the variable was bigger than I thought..."
"...Variable?"
"Well, the protagonist couldn't be modified. I wasn't planning on changing much anyway, but it was a bit inconvenient."
A single remark the Author casually let slip.
As soon as I heard that one remark, my thoughts ground to a halt.
What on earth had I just heard?
The Author's light remark made me feel as if the world was collapsing.
As if the world was collapsing and being reassembled.
As if I had realized that what I had taken for granted all this time was, in fact, not so obvious.
"...Yoo Siwoo, can't be modified?"
"Yes. Hmm, I don't really know why. It's never happened before."
I stared blankly at Yoo Siwoo, who was fighting the villain.
It was clearly an unwinnable fight, and he looked half-crazed, but he was slowly advancing.
Even when the flustered Dragonkin, caught off guard by the unforeseen situation, desperately unleashed attacks with all his might, it was the same.
He was constantly, relentlessly, moving forward.
"Normally, he would have lost without even getting close... But, isn't this cool too? I think it's fine! A protagonist should overcome adversity, after all...!"
The Author began excitedly chattering about how cool the scene was, but their words didn't register.
All I could see was Yoo Siwoo.
With his eyes closed, he stumbled, looking like he'd collapse at any moment, yet he didn't fall.
In a world where the Author twisted things as they pleased.
In this world, everyone was influenced by the Author.
In a world where a person who had lived faithfully their entire life became a villain with a single, light setting change, and a villain, with a light setting change, was actually good but had a tragic backstory.
In a world like a puppet show played by a child. In this world where everyone was a doll, I thought I was the only human.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from his figure, advancing towards an enemy the Author had declared unbeatable.
It was dangerous. He would clearly lose.
I had to help him right now.
The Author was delighted, calling it a scene where the protagonist shined, but he would clearly lose.
His condition looked dangerous. The protagonist wasn't invincible. He might die.
...Yet, even thinking that, I couldn't bring myself to move.
Was what I was thinking truly the truth?
What if I was mistaken?
And then, the sight that banished my hesitation filled my eyes.
"...He hit him."
"He really did! Wow, I got a good scene out of that!"
He launched an attack.
Even though I thought he clearly couldn't win.
Even though the Author had said he would lose without even getting close, let alone attacking.
Listening to the Author's voice, who was pleased, saying this was good in its own way, I laughed.
"Ah, ahaha. Ahahaha...! Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
"W-whoa, what's so funny? ...It was cool, but is it a funny scene?"
"Ah, ahaha! Ahahahahaha!"
My laughter wouldn't stop. I felt like I couldn't bear it without laughing.
Only one.
Just one.
I had been certain that I was the only human existing in this world.
Others were merely dolls in human form.
Dolls dragged around by a child's playful power, pulled by the strings of fate.
I thought the protagonist wouldn't be any different. No, rather, I thought he was a doll precisely because he was the protagonist.
I thought he was a being differentiated from other dolls, but more like a cherished doll.
...I was wrong. All of it was wrong.
He's no mere doll. He can't be compared to those things.
The Author said it.
That he would lose without even getting close.
Yoo Siwoo moved.
He approached the villain and swung his sword.
His steps faltered. Despite his blood-soaked body.
Even in the worst situation, Yoo Siwoo moved. Not forced to move by the strings of fate the Author had attached, but by his own will.
"...Ah, he's amazing, Yoo Siwoo is."
"Right? Don't you think a protagonist should have this kind of spirit?! This development isn't bad either!"
The smile on my lips showed no sign of fading.
Because I had found him. In this world of dolls, a human.
***
"A-are you kidding me...? What, what is he...?!"
I clutched my throbbing head, which had been struck, and cried out.
He was clearly an utterly weak fledgling.
A fledgling I could easily dispatch even with the woman's enhancement by his side.
For a moment, I felt my life threatened.
If this brat had lasted just one more second, I would have...!
"How dare you, how dare you...! I was in a good mood and only meant to play around for a bit, but...!"
I looked at the fledgling lying there, covered in blood.
To this guy, to merely this guy, I actually thought I was going to die.
To a fledgling with no combat experience, still attending the academy.
"...Dangerous."
I almost died to a kid who hadn't even fully grown yet.
I couldn't let him live.
Because the fledgling with a hero complex, still enrolled in the academy, might interfere again someday.
What if we met again after he had grown even a little stronger?
I could have comforted myself by saying it was dangerous because I had been careless, but Mir decided not to.
I had to admit what needed to be admitted. This guy was dangerous.
Mir humbly acknowledged that if he were left alive and they met again after he had grown, then she might truly be unable to win.
"...I was lucky. Not you, but me."
Perhaps the interference from Arachne all this time was actually so that I could survive this moment by sheer luck.
Calming my chilling heart, Mir condensed wind in her hand.
To kill that dangerous brat.
He'd be dangerous if he grew stronger. Given how he evaded even my invisible attacks as if he could clearly see them, a surprise attack wouldn't work either.
It'll be too late then. I have to deal with him now.
"Die...!"
"...What are you doing, you doll?"
"?!"
At the voice in my ear, I hurriedly released my ability, intending to attack my surroundings.
But perhaps it was because I'd been struck in the head. A momentary opening appeared, and my opponent didn't miss it.
"A-aah! Aaaah...!"
"Do you even know who you were trying to kill? You're not someone to touch a person like that."
"Guh, kuk...! You, you...!"
It was a surprise attack, and though there was only a brief opening, my right arm was instantly severed.
What, what is this...!
With my arm severed, I struggled to maintain the wind that wouldn't gather, and looked at the enemy who had ambushed me.
Her tattered clothing. And the threads visible around her.
With threads, a tool utterly unfitting for a battlefield, I could easily deduce her identity.
"Those threads...! It's you, Arachne! Rang was supposed to stop you!"
"Rang? ...Ah, that guy? I don't know, he's probably dead. I don't care."
Arachne seemed to have no interest in me whatsoever.
Her gaze was directed solely at the person who had just collapsed.
To disregard me, even with mortal wounds.
Annoyance flared up at the humiliation I had never experienced before.
"Don't, don't disregard me...!"
"I'm not disregarding you, Übermensch. You're dangerous."
Suddenly, threads flew towards my body, and just as I was about to use my ability to counterattack.
Again, the world reeled, and the wind veered off in a strange direction.
At that moment, I realized. This was the end of my fate.
A fatal mistake: I'd let my guard down, unable to contain the excitement of finally obtaining the object I'd pursued my entire life.
With that one mistake, everything ended.
"...Gah."
"Dolls shouldn't hurt people. You've crossed the line."
Through my blurring vision, I saw Annie frantically running towards me with something in her hand.
Sorry, Annie.
I wanted to create a new world.