DBOFS 13

Chapter 13

The loud gunshot deafened my ears, and the recoil jolted my upper body. My unconscious action, beyond my comprehension, was utterly disorienting.

But what mattered was—

“…D-Did I hit it?!”

What I had aimed for was the chandelier, swaying and creaking above the magical circle on the ceiling.

More precisely, it was the fixture connecting the chandelier to the ceiling.

‘If I destroy that fixture, the chandelier will fall straight onto the magic circle.’

Then the circle would break, and the summoning spell would be canceled!

According to the lore, summoning magic was extremely delicate—any slight disturbance would cause it to fail.

‘But to think I actually hit it…’

Was it just luck?

Still, no matter how I looked at it, “Jade’s” body seemed very familiar with guns.

‘Jade… were you secretly a max-level genius sharpshooter all along?’

How could someone that skilled end up being a nameless, slaughtered slave no.1…? Then again, maybe being anything less than an S-class esper meant you were basically cannon fodder.

That part of the setting always felt a little questionable, but I tightened my grip on the gun once more.

Bang!

The finger not pulling the trigger naturally cycled the lever action to chamber the next round. My arms didn’t shake as I took aim again at the chandelier’s fixture.

One shot. Two. Three.

Bang! Bang! Bang—!

Step by step, I advanced and unloaded bullets into the fixture one after another. Each shot hit precisely, and the metal creaked and groaned as it broke.

Creeeak!

The heavy chandelier began to tilt, and finally— CRASH!!

It really fell onto the magic circle!

“I did it!”

My body trembled from the unfamiliar recoil, but I jumped and cheered.

KABOOM—!!

The light erupting from the shattered magic circle burst outward in all directions, accompanied by a deafening roar.

* * *

Harris watched it all without blinking.

The horrific sound waves knocked everything down around him as the circle broke, and light exploded from its core.

It was shockingly clean—almost elegant—in how it resolved everything.

While Harris had been momentarily distracted by the monsters charging at him, Jade had managed to assess the true cause in seconds and found a physical solution.

And then had gone on to eliminate the cause personally.

It was incredible. Unbelievable for a mere slave.

‘How did someone like that end up as a slave?’

No—was this person even really a slave? Or had they come targeting him under the guise of one…? These suspicions churned in Harris’s head.

“…Wow. That was amazing.”

His sharp senses picked up Jade’s quiet murmur.

As Harris’s eyes narrowed with a mixture of awe and wariness, the girl looked up with a clear, beaming expression.

“I’m seriously so cool.”

Jade marveled at herself.

“I’m honestly insane—how did I pull that off? I might be a genius.”

“……”

Right. She was always a little off from the start. Trying to reason about her like she was normal was foolish.

Whether Harris was speechless or not, Jade remained blissfully lost in self-admiration.

“Ahhh~ someone should have seen that! What a waste!”

Of course, most of the credit went to the original owner of this body’s specs.

She didn’t seem to have inherited the host’s memories, but at least the body’s physical memory remained—thank goodness…

“Huh?”

Only then did she notice Harris’s gaze. She looked startled, but her wide eyes quickly curved into a smile.

‘Hehehe, I had a witness~’

Someone had seen her glorious achievement! Be amazed!

Jade’s face sparkled with triumph and joy.

‘Why?’

That radiant smile short-circuited Harris’s mind.

‘Why are you smiling?’

People usually twisted their faces in disgust when they saw him. Or avoided his gaze. Or frowned.

To Harris, others were always beings who hated or oppressed him.

So why…

Why did she look at him like she was happy to see him, relieved, with such a transparent, radiant smile?

‘Why?’

People understand others based on their own experiences. So Jade was someone Harris couldn’t understand.

Faced with someone beyond comprehension, Harris’s reason short-circuited. His nerves froze.

Why… you…

That’s why—

Click— When Jade pointed the gun at him, he didn’t react in time.

“Harris!”

By the time he snapped out of it, it was already too late.

Bang!

The trigger was pulled, and the bullet flew straight at him.

Even then, the question lingered in his mind.

‘Why?’

Why are you doing this to me?

Ironically, it was that moment that made things click.

Yes. It had all been a ploy to harm him.

She gave him false hope, claiming to help him escape.

Acted erratic to lower his guard.

‘And once I was defenseless—she tried to assassinate me.’

That was the true goal of this suspicious “Jade.” That was her essence.

It had to be…

WHACK—!

But despite this realization, his body didn’t move. Frozen.

Even as the bullet flew toward his face.

“Harris!”

It grazed his cheek—and exploded the head of the beast behind him.

“……”

A rush of hot blood splattered over him.

His frozen body, fully aware of everything, still wouldn’t move.

As he braced to be drenched in blood, an unfamiliar hand pulled him back.

“Are you okay?!”

A pair of large blue eyes met his. A face filled with worry and shock.

It was the slave, Jade.

Only then did Harris realize just how defenseless he was—how even as she touched him freely, he hadn’t resisted at all.

“Why didn’t you move? I was so scared!”

There was a monster behind you! Why didn’t you dodge? Don’t tell me you stood still just to test my skills?

Despite her urgent questioning, Harris didn’t reply.

No—he couldn’t.

“…You.”

Why didn’t you shoot me?

When he thought Jade had attacked him, two emotions surged.

Betrayal.

And relief.

It would’ve been easier to accept that she was just a manipulative person sent to hurt him.

Easier than… realizing that, deep down, he’d believed she never would.

That’s why the betrayal had crushed him—why it had stolen his breath.

‘Why?’

He couldn’t accept it. He didn’t understand.

But when he looked into her clear, worried eyes, the emotion that hit him was something far beyond what he could grasp.

Why do you go this far for me? Who am I to you?

I don’t trust you. You’ve nearly died because of me multiple times.

So why…?

‘It is the instinct of a Guide.’

Suddenly, a voice from the past echoed in his mind.

‘A Guide instinctively shows infinite mercy and affection to their Partner.’

‘It’s a bond even deeper than the Espers’ inability to reject their Guides.’

Those words had been repeated often by someone trying to convince him of a Guide’s necessity.

He hadn’t believed them. Hadn’t even bothered listening.

‘Then how exactly is this amazing “Partner” supposed to recognize me?’

He had once scoffed, asking sarcastically.

‘They just do. Like a beast recognizing its mate—it’s instinctive.’

Instinct. Imprinting. Guide and Partner.

Those words spun endlessly through his mind.

“Harris?”

And everything came to a halt in Jade’s clear blue eyes.

…Could it be you?

* * *

‘What’s he thinking about now?’

His expression looked strange. I tilted my head in confusion.

BOOM—!

That’s when the ground shook above us.

“…!”

My jaw dropped.

Out of the shattered magic circle… came the summoning spell’s messy, half-formed wizard.

‘WHAT?!’

Wasn’t the summoning canceled?!

Apparently not. Even in that broken state, the summoning had somehow gone through.

“Move.”

In an instant, Harris’s expression turned into full attack mode.

‘Damn, he looks good.’

My favorite as always—I couldn’t help admiring him.

Harris pulled me behind him protectively, then immediately launched his attack.

Whoosh—!

Dark energy, swirling like particles around him, condensed into bullet-sized spheres.

BOOM—!!

Then those spheres began to fly at the summoned wizard like missiles.

“Wow.”

I forgot the situation entirely—just dazzled.

‘He’s so good at adapting…’

When his powers first awakened, Harris had used brute force—an overwhelming blast of energy.

He probably didn’t know how to control it back then. Or maybe he just had so much power he didn’t need finesse.

‘Honestly, I’d vote for both.’

But now, after this battle, his attacks had grown more precise. His use of mana more efficient.

To witness my favorite’s growth arc this close—what an emotional experience.

So moving, and yet…

‘…Why is Harris protecting me?’