The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

Gripping his sword slackly at his side, Ruvian slowly approached the driver. The man had fallen onto the road and was kicking his feet against the dirt, scrambling backward. His face had turned pale, and each breath left his mouth in a broken gasp.

Yuzuki moved beside Ruvian, though his gaze kept straying to the road at their backs. He had already caught sight of the faint shadow creeping near the broken carriage. He noticed it, of course, but decided not to ruin the surprise.

”Wait, please, we can talk about this... Y-you have my words, I will give you anything you want,” the driver begged, raising both hands before his face. ”You came for the goods, right? Take them, take the carriage too, I... I won’t speak a word about what happened here. Just spare my life.”

Ruvian stopped in front of him, the dark bags beneath his eyes making his stare appear even colder. There was no anger in his expression, but there was no mercy either, which was somehow far worse.

He lifted his sword and pressed the edge closer to the driver’s throat.

When the driver saw his own terrified image trembling across the blade, his throat moved with a loud gulp. A bead of sweat rolled slowly down his cheek.

Then, for some strange reason, the fear on his face began to fade. He smiled before his eyes flicked past Ruvian’s shoulder and a spark of hope appeared within them.

Behind Ruvian, Gullard was rushing forward with his body lowered and his short blade raised.

Yuzuki watched the guard approach with a tired sigh.

”If I were you, I wouldn’t try that,” he murmured, a feverish gleam entered his eyes as Gullard closed in. ”But then again, you’re not me.”

Gullard kicked off the ground and swung his blade toward the back of Ruvian’s neck. The strike was quick, silent, and perfectly aimed.

Ruvian, however, did not turn around, nor did his eyes leave the driver. His sword moved once, drawing a cold silver line through the darkness.

Then, a second later...

Blood sprayed across the road as Gullard stumbled past him. The blade slipped from his fingers, and his body collapsed beside the driver with a heavy thud.

The driver stared at Gullard’s corpse, his smile frozen on his face. Slowly, his eyes rose toward the blood running down Ruvian’s blade. Whatever hope he had found died even faster than Gullard had.

Then, in a glacial, remorseless voice, Ruvian asked:

”The key to the compartment. Where is it?”

*****

A short while later, Ruvian was already inside the broken carriage, rummaging through the scattered goods.

Yuzuki walked beside him, incapable of touching the physical world or offering the slightest bit of help. Even so, that did nothing to stop him from running his mouth. If anything, being ignored only seemed to make him talk more.

”Ey, you know, I am starting to think you have become even more terrifying than before. Do you want to know why? No? Not even a little curious?”

Yuzuki leaned closer, waiting for a response that would never come.

Ruvian pulled open another wooden box without sparing him a glance. The box held nothing but dried meat wrapped in rough cloth, so he shut the lid and shoved it aside.

”Hah, fine, suit yourself,” Yuzuki continued, folding his arms. ”I will just keep the answer locked inside my skull until it rots. Oh, and I was not planning to tell you anyway!”

Ruvian moved on to the next crate, his face remaining blank as his hands searched through the cargo. Yuzuki watched him for several seconds, but the silence quickly began to gnaw at him. His eyes narrowed as he paced behind Ruvian like a restless ghost.

”Alright, alright. I understand why you can’t talk, so I suppose I will just stand here while you do all the work. Not that I have much of a choice, do I? Hah, no, of course I do not, because apparently I have been cursed to spend eternity watching you brood!”

He tried to kick the wall, but only to end up with his leg went phased through it.

Ruvian ignored the endless noise he could not hear and crouched near the back of the carriage.

He brushed his fingers across the wooden floor, feeling the dirt, cracks, and uneven edges beneath them. Most of the boards were buried beneath dust, but one of them was strangely clean around the edges.

His fingers stopped.

Then, he pressed down on the corner, and a soft click came from beneath the floor.

Click!

”Oh, wait... did you find it already?”

Yuzuki leaned closer, his grin growing wider as he stared at the board.

”You did. You actually did. Hah! Good job.”

That had been quicker than he expected, but they could not afford to waste time regardless. The next escort unit would soon arrive to check on the shipment, and finding the carriage like this would put the entire area on alert.

So they needed to take what they came for and leave before that happened.

Ruvian placed the key into a small hole hidden beside the board and turned it once.

The floor panel rose slightly, revealing a long, narrow compartment beneath it. Its inner walls were covered with dark cloth, while thin silver marks ran around the edges to protect whatever had been placed inside.

From their previous cycles, when they had tried to raid the Ashway Bazaar only to fail and die, this was the hidden compartment that held the scroll they had been searching for.

Ruvian lifted the entire hidden compartment from beneath the floor and tucked it beneath one arm. It was surprisingly light despite its size.

Without another glance at the carriage, he turned toward the exit.

Clunk!

Suddenly, a dull sound echoed somewhere behind him.

Ruvian froze on his way out.

Even Yuzuki’s playful expression disappeared. His head slowly turned toward the rear of the carriage while his eyes narrowed into thin slits.

”...What was that?”

Silence answered him.

Neither of them moved.

The night beyond the carriage remained deathly still, broken only by the distant sound of insects and the gentle rustling of leaves. Yet inside the cramped compartment, every breath and every heartbeat seemed extremely loud.

Clack!

The sound came again. It was subtle. Like something had nudged one of the wooden crates inside the carriage.

Ruvian slowly lowered his center of gravity without making a sound. His grip tightened around his sword while his gaze swept across every crate stacked inside the carriage.

Clack!

The sound came a third time.

Then, a long wooden box suddenly slipped free from the stack above. It struck another crate on the way down before crashing onto the floor with a heavy thump.

Yuzuki’s eyes widened.

”...Huh?”

Ruvian, meanwhile, lifted his eyebrows in wonder.

Then, his grip around the sword slowly tightened. Every muscle in his body remained ready as he watched the box without blinking.

Nothing happened.

For one long second, the carriage remained completely still.

Then, a soft scrape broke the silence.

The wooden box slowly dragged itself across the floor. There was nothing beneath it and nothing pushing it forward, yet it continued to inch closer to Ruvian all on its own.

Yuzuki let out a dry laugh that echoed inside the cramped carriage. His hand slowly covered the lower half of his face.

”...I think I have finally gone insane.”

He tilted his head, his grin growing wider with every passing second. His eyes stayed fixed on the creeping box as though it were the craziest thing he had ever seen.

”No, wait. I forgot that happened a long time ago.”

Another laugh slipped out of him.

”So what does this make me now?” He spread his arms with a helpless smile. ”Someone who has gone insane twice? Is that even possible?”

Ruvian remained where he was for another moment, his eyes never leaving the wooden box.

Then, curiosity slowly won.

Without another thought, Ruvian stepped forward.

If opening it killed him on the spot, then so be it. He could simply return a few seconds, or perhaps a few minutes before it happened, and just walk away.

Yuzuki’s smile faded.

”...You really are going to open it, huh?”

Ruvian did not hesitate.

For some unknown reason, he suddenly felt strangely compelled to open the box. His fingers wrapped around the edge of the lid, then he slowly began to lift it open.

Ruvian’s hand stopped halfway for just a brief moment. Then, he lifted it the rest of the way, revealing what had been hidden inside the box all along.

It was a sword.

Or, to be more exact, it was a pitch-black blade with a long, gently curved shape. The sheath, the hilt, even the guard were as dark as the deepest part of the night, swallowing what little light entered the carriage.

The moment it came into view, Yuzuki’s grin vanished.

His pupils shrank.

”...No way.”

His breathing grew uneven as he stared at the sword without blinking. The laughter from only moments ago had disappeared completely.

Then, something suddenly clicked inside Yuzuki’s mind.

His eyes widened even further.

”That’s right...”

He finally remembered.

The reason he had followed this vision from the very beginning had never been to watch Ruvian’s regressions.

No, he was here for this sword.

More precisely, he was here to learn the truth.

What had happened to this blade?

And why had it stayed silent all this time, even though the Great Spirit said it was supposed to be able to talk?

However, the instant Ruvian touched the blade, a cold, sepulchral voice echoed from the depths of Yuzuki’s soul.

[The Current has reached its limit.]

[The remaining records are inaccessible.]

[’The River of Time’ can no longer sustain your presence.]

’Huh? Wait... what the hell?’

After that, everything slowly wavered before it went dark.

[The Fable: ’The Beginning After The End’ has reached the limits of your witness.]

──────── ✦ ────────

[Chapter 280: The End of the Vision]

A/N: To readers who have read till this far ↓