Student Council Vice President Diggerus.
After the last Rift raid, he disappeared following a fight with Rudion.
But seeing his face after so long wasn’t exactly a warm reunion.
Sure, he was loyal and capable, which is why he was made vice president and kept close… but his twisted side was too obvious to ignore, so I kept my distance.
In fact, the last time I saw him, that twisted side had reached its peak. So, no, I couldn’t just be happy to see him after all this time.
Especially not in this imprisoned situation.
“Vice President… no, I guess it’s just Diggerus now.”
“How disappointing. Did you kick me out of the Student Council already? Well, whatever… Long time no see, President.”
Unlike before, he exuded a thick, sticky malice, yet he smiled the same way as he used to, acting all casual.
It gave me the creeps, and before I knew it, I snapped back.
“Long time no see? It’s barely been two months.”
“To me, it felt like an eternity. I hope you can understand that.”
Nonsense. I thought about breaking out of this cage, but for some reason, my body wouldn’t cooperate.
…Why? The answer came from Diggerus.
“Oh, right. In there, even the President can only muster the strength of a frail girl. You always wanted someone to protect you, right? Now, I’ll protect you. You’ll stay with me… forever.”
It was horrifying.
I don’t know what happened to him or how he ended up like this, but if things went the way he wanted, I’d be reduced to something less than a puppet.
He didn’t seem like he wanted to harm me, but he also didn’t seem like he’d let me go.
If it had been a fair fight from the start, maybe things would’ve been different, but trapped like this, there was no chance.
I couldn’t do anything.
This level of helplessness… it’s been a while… no, wait.
‘Not that long ago.’
I felt the same way during the battle with the Demon Race.
‘…The Demon Race?’
Come to think of it, the energy coming from Diggerus felt familiar.
It was faint, but it was definitely…
“Diggerus, you…”
“Ah, you noticed? As expected of the President. Sharp as ever. That’s right. I’ve become a Demon. I even gave up my humanity to protect you.”
This guy’s insane. He gave up being human to become a Demon? He’s truly out of his mind.
Unless it was a game, there was no way that could happen.
But no matter how much he denied it, the faint magical energy emanating from the person before him forced him to acknowledge reality.
Moreover, it also meant that there was no possibility of escaping on his own.
Then. The only thing worth hoping for right now was just one thing.
The Student Council Members attacking this Rift.
He didn’t know where this place was, but judging by the energy he felt, it was certain that they were still inside the Rift.
So, though he didn’t know when, once the attack was finished, the Rift would disappear, and naturally, he’d escape…
“Ah, right. I have one Rift Stone with me. No matter what the president thinks, things won’t go as he wants.”
…Was it because his last hope had vanished so futilely? Alkiné unknowingly let her despair show.
Seeing this, Diggerus started laughing, as if something was incredibly amusing.
His head felt numb. Of course, if his disappearance became known, someone would come to save him.
Even if no one came to help, he believed that his father would definitely come running to save him.
But when would that be?
The North was far away. It would take a considerable amount of time just for the news of his disappearance to reach there.
During that long time, could he really endure without playing into Diggerus’s intentions?
He couldn’t be sure of that.
‘I’m… not that strong of a person…’
He just acted strong in front of others with his powerful force. In reality, he was nothing more than an immature student who couldn’t even control his own desires.
Because he knew that all too well, he couldn’t believe in himself.
“Someone… save me…”
But all he could do now was mutter that.
Even though he knew there was no one to hear it. He just let out a desperate wish.
…Why was it? That man’s face came to mind here.
Unable to find a reason, he just covered his ears to block out Diggerus’s laughter.
—
“Hey, is it okay for us to go this far?”
It had been a little over two hours since they started moving. The scenery around them was still the same, and the further they got from the exit of the Rift, the more their anxiety grew.
It was only natural. Rudion and Seria had come here empty-handed, and he hadn’t brought anything, thinking he’d join up with Alkiné’s group.
The Student Council president and his crew, who were originally on an exploration mission, were lugging around all sorts of supplies—food, essentials, you name it—to keep the expedition going. If we joined them, we could’ve shared the load and used their stuff too.
But nope, we didn’t end up joining them and went our own way instead.
Which, of course, meant we were totally unprepared. Like, we didn’t even have food. That’s how bad it was.
Exploring a Rift with no end in sight? How could we *not* be anxious about this situation?
So, I asked the obvious question… and got the most ridiculous answer ever.
“It’ll be over by tomorrow morning at the latest. We won’t die from skipping a meal or two.”
“If Rudion says so, I believe him.”
Over by morning? This Rift is, like, three times bigger than usual. Does that even make sense?
He sounded so confident that I couldn’t even argue. Like, was he misunderstanding something about Rifts?
Honestly, this couple is beyond comprehension. That’s all I could think.
But… it didn’t take long to realize he was telling the truth.
When he asked to use his ability again, I vaguely sensed the energy of the Riftstone.
“How about this? I think it’s either this way or that way.”
“…How did you know? It’s this way.”
“Bingo. Let’s go.”
They say showing is better than explaining a hundred times. And after seeing it once, all my doubts vanished.
But… how the heck did he figure it out?
I briefly wondered but quickly gave up trying to guess.
This guy has some unknown ability even his own traits can’t explain. Trying to understand it would just be dumb.
At this point, there’s no turning back, and with actual results in front of us, all we can do is trust and follow.
Maybe it’s the tiny bit of trust that’s sprouted, but my steps felt lighter, and there was no trace of anxiety left.
After that, everything went smoothly.
With the Riftstone’s location pinpointed, all that was left was to find it and smash it.
It took exactly three hours to destroy the first Riftstone.
And… only an hour to find the next one.
Even that was thanks to Rudion narrowing down the direction.
In the end, we destroyed two out of three Riftstones in just four hours.
Meanwhile, the Student Council spent the whole day exploring and still got nowhere.
Thinking about how they couldn’t even find a trace of it, the speed was truly ridiculous.
Of course, it was largely thanks to being able to forcefully utilize their own traits, but in any case, the speed was undeniably insane.
Whether they knew it or not, the person who had created this absurd speed was calmly deciding the next direction to move.
“Now it’s the last one. I think it’s this way, but just in case, could you use your ability one more time?”
“Got it.”
The initial resistance they felt was now nowhere to be found.
As if it were natural, they followed his words and exerted their ability.
‘Feels like I’ve become some kind of tool.’
Of course, they had always taken on this role, but until now, it felt like they were leading the exploration.
Now, it felt like they were really being used like a tool.
They didn’t particularly mind. After all, if it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t have been able to use their ability so comfortably.
Thinking that, they expanded their detection range.
They breezed past what would have normally made their head explode, and went even further.
While expanding their range, they detected some very familiar figures.
It was the Student Council members, who still seemed to be exploring this area.
For a moment, they felt a sense of joy, but soon noticed something strange.
They were clearly in a state of confusion, unsure of what to do and flailing about.
Why? There was no need to wonder.
The reason was too obvious.
‘The president… isn’t here.’
There was no president by their side.
She, who would never leave her members’ side no matter what, was gone.
Just in case, they looked around more, but couldn’t find any trace of the president.
As soon as they realized that, they withdrew their ability. They needed to report this situation quickly.
Perhaps their urgency showed, as Rudion and Seria looked at them as if asking what was wrong.
“Something seems off.”
There was no time to delay, so they hurriedly explained the situation, and Rudion’s previously calm expression stiffened slightly.
“Let’s go right now.”
And without any hesitation, he started moving forward.
Unlike just before, when he had been confident in every action, his retreating figure now showed a hint of unease.
But for some reason… it felt quite reassuring.
‘Ah, so that’s it.’
They thought they understood a little where Seria’s inexplicable trust came from.
