Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode Chapter 20

I sprinted away without looking back in the direction Outcast God was pointing.

As I kept running until I was sure that the smiley plants the Gardener controlled were no longer chasing , I felt my breath quickening and my legs starting to ache.

“Are they still after us?”

Seeing the Outcast God peek out of my pocket while shaking her head reassured that nothing was following.

At last, I could pause for a mont and catch my breath.

“Hah, phew…”

On the surface, I looked perfectly fine, but I was gradually losing my energy, and I couldn’t tell what state I was really in.

Thanks to the Super Coward Mode, there were no visible injuries, but the fact that I had no way to assess my physical condition was becoming a significant problem.

For now, I was still able to move my body, but it worried that my insides might be completely twisted.

Imagining the worst-case scenario wasn’t going to help, so I decided to push those uncomfortable thoughts aside and think smart.

I couldn’t confront a Gardener as hostile as she was on my own.

That ant all I needed was so serious firepower to go against her.

If only I had the tricks of a Hunter, I could have dealt with this in no ti.

Unfortunately, I had none of those options available, so it was impossible.

“Hey, friend, can you pull out so candy for ?”

The Outcast God dove back into my pocket and retrieved three lollipops sequentially.

Physical enhancent, ntal enhancent, and… suicide.

For , who had ntal immunity, the most useful would be the physical enhancent, but I wondered how significant and lasting the increase would be.

As a first-tir, there was no way for to know that.

“This won’t be enough to take down the gardener.”

Unless I had a weapon.

There was no way they would hand over a precious Outsider-hunting tool to a criminal who would just be discarded.

To break through this situation, I also needed…

“I need Muyun.”

The force that smashed the ground in the underground prison.

An axe that could split wood like paper.

The story I’d seen in the community about the daughter of a god.

If I had Muyun, everything would fall into place and get resolved.

But if she had already escaped, it would all be aningless.

“Friend.”

As I called to the Outcast God, she soared up to et my gaze.

“Can you show where Muyun is?”

But the Outcast God shook her head.

Could it be that, unlike with the escape plan, she couldn’t sense people?

…Thinking back, the way she pointed to the gardener when I asked about the escape route suggested there was sothing more complex at play than I realized.

“Then can you fly up to find the pink-haired woman for ?”

At that, the Outcast God nodded eagerly and shot up into the sky.

I was worried she’d catch the gardener’s attention in her vulnerable state, but perhaps the gardener couldn’t interfere up there, given her na.

Fortunately, the Outcast God returned to my shoulder without any issues.

“Did you find her?”

She nodded, but her expression was visibly darker.

Could it be that sothing had happened to Muyun?

“Lead the way. Let’s hurry!”

#

Following the Outcast God’s guidance, we arrived at a place with a main gate.

As expected, it seed that Muyun fled in the direction of the exit…

But the exit was blocked off by a trunk, making escape impossible.

Yet, this ant that Muyun was trapped here…

Having been the underdog, I felt the urge to complain a bit as I looked around, but my mouth just went shut.

“What the hell is this?”

I had thought the flowers looked beautiful right up until I noticed them crawling out from the ground, making their way toward one area.

The flowers, moving with their tiny stems and leaves, began to jump and surround sothing.

Their intertwined, abnormally thick stems ensnared sothing inside.

And there, I spotted Muyun, trapped within a cage of petals.

“Snap out of it, Muyun!”

No matter how I looked, she seed to be in serious condition.

I dashed over, trying to pull the stems off with my hands, but they felt as sturdy as wood.

After a struggle, the Outcast God handed a lollipop of a different color.

Right! Physical enhancent!

She pointed to the red lollipop.

Could this be the one that boosts physical abilities?

“But is this candy really supposed to enhance physical function?”

Thanks to the Super Coward Mode, all the candies looked similar, so I couldn’t rember which one was the one I wanted.

Since one of them contained a suicide potion, if I picked the wrong one, I’d be leaving this world without even getting a chance to try anything.

The Outcast God was pointing towards a candy, but I couldn’t shake off my doubts after rembering where she had guided to before. My skeptical look seed to urge her, and she jumped around as if to prove it was genuine.

…I hope this doesn’t kill .

Well, considering the urgent situation of almost dying, I figured I might as well pop it in my mouth.

After all, dying from this candy or at the hands of the Knights isn’t that different.

I ripped open the candy wrapper and placed it in my mouth, filled with a spicy yet sweet flavor.

What can I say? It had a flavor that was almost overwhelmingly delicious—like delectable cherry sweetness.

If candies like this kept coming, I’d gladly eat them nonstop.

Ah, right.

This wasn’t the ti to be lost in such thoughts, so I ground it with my molars and swallowed.

As soon as the candy made its way down my throat, I suddenly felt like it vanished into thin air.

Maybe because it was made from Outsider body parts, it seed to be absorbed into my body without any digestion process.

Did I really eat it properly?

Perhaps out of anxiety, I started to feel cold sweat trickle down from my head.

A few seconds passed.

Still, there was no sign of any reaction.

Could it be that I accidentally ingested a ntal clarity drug?

When I turned to glance at the Outcast God, she had a furious emoji-like expression, pointing excitedly at the flowers as if to prompt to act.

No, wait…

I don’t really feel any stronger, and trying might be pointless.

As I contemplated this, I grabbed the flowers entangling Muyun and pulled.

With a crunch!

Though the stem that had felt immovable suddenly started to budge, it still felt heavy.

If the effects were showing, shouldn’t there be so visible change? Why am I feeling nothing?

This is confusing.

“Hang in there, Muyun! I’m coming to save you!”

Seeing Muyun’s life force diminishing, it didn’t feel like I could afford to waste any more ti.

I hurriedly tore the flowers off her, realizing so of them had wrapped around her leg.

These must be what’s threatening her life.

The flowers seed just as determined to kill her, as with each one I removed, they’d stick back onto her like glue.

But thanks to my enhanced physical abilities, I could move faster than the speed of the vines, and for a brief mont, Muyun was free from the flower’s grasp.

Seizing that opportunity, I grabbed her arm and pulled her away, just as the stems lunged sharply toward where she had been.

Brring!

The sound was adorably cute, but the underlying intent of stabbing sothing into Muyun made it all the more grotesque.

“Excuse , Muyun!”

Holding her in my arms, I sprinted like a madman.

Conversation could wait.

With the source of nourishnt gone, the stems suddenly started leaping towards .

#

As the effects of the candy began to wane, I felt my strength fade rapidly.

“Is it safe enough now?”

After running for a while, I noticed the vines had stopped chasing .

Do they also have their own territory like any other plants?

Finally reaching a flowerless stretch of land, I found a place to rest.

Gently laying Muyun down, I pulled out the ntal stabilization candy that the Outcast God had given and placed it in her mouth.

That was all I could do for now…

Letting out a sigh at this absurd day, I looked at Muyun, and where the flower stalks had been pulled away only left slight marks—as if nothing ever happened.

Even so, I could tell how incredible her regeneration abilities were as those traces swiftly faded.

“Muyun, please wake up.”

I called softly but received no response.

“You’re already awake, aren’t you?”

Since she remained silent, I shouted.

“I won’t bla you for running away, so just please wake up.”

Slowly, she started to open her eyes.

Her expression, filled with an overwhelming sadness, made quietly solemn as well.

Eventually, tears began to flow from Muyun’s eyes.

“…I’m so sorry. I was scared and wanted to escape because of the orders…”

“Don’t cry, just tell .”

“I’m grateful for you saving , but it hurts so much to deceive you, and I’m so sorry—I feel so ashad…”

“Oh dear, calm down already.”

Her words were a jumble, mixed with sobs.

I absentmindedly put my hand into my pocket and suddenly felt sothing like a handkerchief, which I promptly handed to Muyun.

Wait, was this there from the start?

Thanks to the Outcast God’s abilities, it felt so weightless that I had no way of knowing.

What on earth is the current state of my pocket?

As I carefully dabbed at Muyun’s tears with the handkerchief, helping her blow her nose, we finally found ourselves able to et each other’s gaze.

That’s when I noticed her staring at with wide, surprised eyes.

“W-What’s wrong…! Hold on a second…”

With a shocked expression, she scanned and burst into even more tears, to the point where my efforts seed in vain.

“Tanton, your body… it’s…!”

She was pointing exactly where I had felt pain before.

Maybe I had been all right thanks to my Super Coward mode, but was there sothing wrong after all?

“Ah, this is…”

“There’s a hole… visible… cough!”

No way. Did I get hurt that badly?

It seems people do only trust what they can see. Even after hearing that, I didn’t imdiately collapse from the pain or anything.

Perhaps shocked, I gently patted Muyun on the shoulder to comfort her as she continued to sob.

“Muyun, I’m fine. Just stop it.”

But since she still wore an expression of shock, I let out a deep sigh.

“…Muyun, calm down. The scary stuff is all gone now. I totally understand because I’m a huge coward myself.”

I thought I had done a decent job of soothing her.

“…That’s not it!”

Suddenly, Muyun forcefully cut off her sobbing and shouted loudly.

I quickly placed my finger over my mouth, signaling her to lower her voice.

She then managed to hush herself, still taking raspy breaths.

“…I was scared… but more than that, Tanton, you got hurt so badly saving , and I… I feel so sorry for that… I hate myself for it!”

“I get it, but please calm down for a bit.”

While reassuring her with gentle pats on the back, I decided to wait until she stopped crying.

A few minutes later, she was still sniffling, but she started to speak with a slightly improved voice.

“…Actually, the reason you all were ordered to capture the Outsider was because of the Deputy Director’s hidden intentions.”

“Hidden intentions?”

“The other two knights, besides , are criminals. Do you rember the jade ball we used during rock-paper-scissors? It steals luck from the opponent, giving its user an advantage in battle. They committed various cris under the pretense of being rookie knights. But, well, they are knights, after all.”

Ah.

So it really was a set-up.

But then what was that voice from the ball?

Since it wasn’t urgent, I decided to erase it from my mind.

“The Deputy Director treats only those whom he can manage. If they’re unmanageable or problematic, he judges them as useless. So sending along with the captured criminals to be killed makes sense as a ans of disposal.”

…I had thought it could be sothing like that, but it turned out to be true.

From the Knights’ perspective, they were dangerous elents due to their serious cris, so it made sense to eliminate them along with the criminals.

I understood that, but was it really fair to throw them to the Outsiders so casually?

“…So, what about you, Muyun?”

“…The Deputy Director told to co back alive. I had to take charge of this task because of my father’s excellence, and the fact that I’m a disciple of the White Mask. But I’m just a coward who couldn’t even handle this ss. The Deputy Director always says that those who can’t adequately fulfill their orders are useless and need to be disposed of. …So, I’m probably no different from those two knights. Like them, I might have been sent away under the pretext of being dealt with, tarnishing my father’s na. I wish it could have been….”

She was completely engulfed in negative emotions.

To keep her from trailing into more dark thoughts, I put my finger to my lips and shushed her.

It was true that Muyun had made so actions that could easily anger from my perspective.

But she had only followed orders from above, and I personally thought her actions were justified treatnt towards criminals.

Of course, I felt wronged for being labeled a criminal, but that wasn’t sothing that concerned the general public.

So I held no feelings of resentnt towards Muyun.

Now that I had found her, all I wanted was for her to do sothing for .

“Muyun.”

“…Yes?”

“There’s a way for you to get rid of that guilt over and beco capable.”

A coward understands the heart of a coward the best.

So, in a way, I was the one who knew her heart best.

Muyun looked at with an expression full of curiosity.

Seeing her like that, I gave her a slight smile.

“How about it? Want to give it a shot?”