Story of a Cannon Fodder who Firmly Believed He was the Protagonist, Misunderstood the Actual Protagonist as the Cannon Fodder, and Ended up Victorious
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Derpy
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 49 – VS Exorcist Family [A]
Round Table Heroes ―― Original Timeline
Dark clouds were gathering in the sky. The withered grass and barren soil of the wasteland spread out beneath her feet. A dead atmosphere on a dead landscape. Barbara stood in a plane where she couldn’t tell whether it was a dream or a reality.
“…Huh? I…”
She forgot what she was doing and who she was briefly before suddenly recalling them. She had used the Sword of Exorcism and received power from Baragi. In exchange, her body was taken over.
She thought it was fine as long as she could protect her brother, best friends, and comrades, but loneliness soon welled up.
“I wonder if everyone is doing okay.”
With her body taken away, she no longer knew what would happen to her. Even so, she was still worried about others.
The scene changed to a corner of the Free City. There, Baragi, who had taken over Barbara’s body, was doing a physical examination of her new mortal cage.
“Fumu, I see. I guess it’s just as expected… It is a worthy body of a descendant of the exorcists.”
Be it the amount of art, physical fortitude, or flexibility, they were all close to Baragi’s original body in her prime.
Right now, black brands appeared all over her body. Even on Barbara’s beautiful face, a pattern appeared from her eyes to her cheeks, and special art exuded from them.
“It adapts quickly too… Such a good body. It’s a shame, if this girl lived a normal life instead, she would have been happy. Don’t you all think so as well? You hear me?”
Two men and a woman appeared from the shadow behind Baragi, as if responding to her voice.
They were also descendants of exorcists just like Barbara and Rhine. Barbara’s clan was treated like the main family of exorcists, but there was also a clan that was like a branch family. They once served the main family in the past, but there were barely any exorcists present now.
However, there was still one law among the exorcists — it was to protect the Sword of Exorcism. Should the sword ever get stolen, and the wielder was taken over by Baragi, they were to kill its wielder and reseal the sword as quickly as possible.
That was why they came for Barbara, or rather, Baragi.
“That’s no good. Barbara-san… despite being from a family of exorcists, you actually pulled out the Sword of Exorcism. Well, we’ll take care of it now.”
Of the three, the white-haired, smiling man’s name was Zaizai. He was a descendant of the exorcist’s branch family, and the three families that were derived from it. He was a swordmaster, an expert of ryuei bokusatsu ken. 1 2
“Yes, as long as we work together, it should be easy to seal and dispose of her.”
The name of the monk-like man was Toppo. He was also a descendant of the exorcists and specialized in close combat where his art focused on developing his body.
“Stop your idle chatter. We have work to do.”
And the one who wore flying shoes and looked down from mid-air was another descendant, Mimia, a woman who buffed allies and debuffed enemies.
“Fumu, so it’s three, no- four people?”
Just as Baragi said, other than the three in front of her, there was Polan, a girl who watched the battle from afar and gave instructions to her comrades through telepathy. These four people were descendants of exorcists just like Rhine and Barbara.
“However, it seems you misunderstand one thing, so let me correct you. All of you couldn’t defeat me even if I fought you upside down. I intend to slaughter all exorcists… but seeing how weak you people are, I no longer feel like it. There, go ahead and escape. If you do… I wouldn’t mind letting you go, you know?”
Baragi said that, but it seemed that the three had no intention to escape. Seeing that, Baragi snorted and lightly clenched her fist.
“I see. Then die.”
Baragi’s strength was beyond their imaginations thanks to her high compatibility with Barbara’s body and Baragi’s own capabilities. They had managed to survive, but they were thoroughly trampled over.
Without anyone knowing, Barbara disappeared from the Free City.
As Rhine heard the news, he had no choice but to make a painful decision. His kind sister was no more. In order to let her remain kind and not pile up any more sins… Rhine set out to subjugate Barbara.
He became the leader of Romeo and formed the subjugation force. Aliceia also joined the team.
From then on was a mountain of sacrifice and he lost a lot along the way. Luckily, he managed to recover his sister’s body. Romeo paid a heavy sacrifice, but they managed to defeat Barbara. One thing that was unnatural was the fact that Baragi was already injured the moment they arrived.
As if she had fought a fierce battle against something just earlier, Barbara, or Baragi was already at the end of her rope. Even so, they couldn’t avoid the damage which was more than they expected.
However, that didn’t matter.
Rhine had lost too much to care anymore.
He no longer had his family — no father, no mother…
And his sister, Barbara, was also dead.
◆◆
――Alternate Timeline
Barbara looked at a half-naked Fay with a flushed expression. The exorcist’s brand was on the back of his hand, making her worry whether Fay’s body would be taken over by Baragi.
She was examining Fay’s body for any abnormalities through an exorcist’s perspective.
“Ah, err, I don’t see anything out of the usual.”
“Of course.”
“You sure have an amazing body. Your body is full of scars… Do all paladins have bodies like yours?”
“I dunno.”
Barbara couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and awkward at seeing the naked body of a man other than her brother. On the other hand, Fay seemed so used to it that he didn’t seem to mind.
There was nothing wrong with Fay’s body from Barbara’s perspective, but she couldn’t help but think it was bizarre, thus making her opinion contradictory. He certainly didn’t seem like he had his body taken over by Baragi, the former exorcist and the worst being.
Even though there was an exorcist brand on the back of his hand, Fay said he didn’t feel anything from it. Barbara didn’t doubt that. However, she couldn’t help but question her own eyes.
Fay’s body wasn’t normal, as it was muscular and full of scars. In addition, the amount of wounds was strange. It was too much for a person of his age, be it small or big.
I wonder how many times he has been slashed and stabbed…?
“Fu-chan, what are you aiming for with all those scars?”
“…Is there any point in talking about it?”
“I want to hear about it.”
“…If I say no?”
“It couldn’t be helped then.”
“…It’s for the end of the world, or to be at the top of the world, no, I guess it’s both of them.”
“It seems the scale of your goal is huge.”
“I dunno.”
“I like people who are hardworking, but I don’t want you to be too reckless.”
“Why are you worried about me? I don’t think we’ve interacted much.”
“U-hn, we might not be close… but you see, I like people who work hard. Seeing people like that makes me want to cheer for them.”
“People who work hard, huh. There are tons of people like that out there. I didn’t stop at just working hard though.”
Fay answered calmly while getting dressed. His eyes seemed to see completely different things beyond her.
He must have been working really hard, more so than anyone I’ve ever met…
As soon as he got dressed, Fay put his hand on the door and left. Only Barbara was left in a room at the base of Romeo, the largest legion, which was an organization like a coalition of adventurers.
“He’s cool yet also a hard worker, it makes him even cooler.”
She inadvertently spoke to herself. Barbara took a deep breath as she sat in a chair in her room. She was at a loss as to how she should act as an exorcist.
The other descendants should have already found out that he obtained the Sword of Exorcism. What should I do?
According to the law, he should be eliminated… but I don’t want that to happen.
“Chief!”
“Uwah! Wh-what is it?!”
While Barbara was lost in thought all alone, a female member of the legion suddenly came to her room with a loud voice, making Barbara panicked.
“I-I’m sorry. T-there are people who want to meet the chief. They are exorcists.”
“…Can you let us in?”
So they came after all. Barbara couldn’t help but sigh at how quickly information spread at a time like this. After that, four descendants of the exorcists appeared. Barbara and Rhine belonged to the main family, while these four belonged to the branch family.
“Oh my? You have a very nice room, don’t you, Barbara-san?”
“It’s been a while, Natsu-chan.”
They were a group of four, with two men and two women. The one who looked like a monk was Toppo, a warrior who specialized in close combat, striking his fist against an opponent who entered his range.
The second person was a smiling man named Zaizai. He was a master swordsman and a master of ryuei bokusatsu ken that was passed down to exorcists.
The third one was Mimia, who buffed her allies and debuffed her enemies. She was a woman who wore flying shoes.
And the fourth one was a girl named Natsu. She was about 160 cm tall, with white hair that was slightly reddish extended to her shoulder, with good proportions and a beautiful face. She was a peerless beauty, but she had a somewhat arrogant and combative face. 3
“Yes, it’s been awhile. So? Have you already eliminated the paladin named Fay who took the Sword of Exorcism?”
“I didn’t.”
“Oh my? Isn’t that strange? According to the law, he should be disposed of immediately though?”
“That’s how it should be, but I’d like to monitor him a little while more… is that no good?”
“Hah?”
“After all, no problem has occurred even as he wields the Sword of Exorcism. His mentality is stable and his ego is still maintained.”
Hearing Barbara’s words, the fellow exorcist Natsu sighed. Natsu couldn’t understand what Barbara was getting at.
“You know that this is not the situation to say such a thing right? Oh well, I never expected much from you to begin with anyway.”
“Eh?”
“The fact that you are close with the paladin named Fay is already known. That’s why all you need to do is not interfere with us.”
“…Do you intend to kill him?”
“That’s the law. Besides, even if you say his mentality is stable, how long would that last? Also, you said that he maintained his ego, but it’s possible that he is just acting. He may be trying to make us lower our guard then stab us in the back.”
“…That… might be true.”
“That’s why I’ll have you stay here with me. As for Toppo, Zaizai, and Mimia, you target the man.”
The three exorcists went outside following Natsu’s instructions. They would carry out the execution. That was the law after all.
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Good luck.
*Shuts the door*
You’re trapped in there with him.
Lol. Come at him and become food for his growth. I can’t wait for the day MC actually defeats Arthur..he’s a serious threat at this point to big dark forces, the likes of the 7 ABYSS, the professor and that guy who ruined the gaheris.
Arthur and Tlue got destroyed by Utsu and mental, Fay ain’t got no such weakness. I swear I’m a fan of him like the gods at this point.
Woww they re introduce the wrong name?
Thx for update
maybe to differ the game version and fay version