Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Just before Morganaik’s sweeping strike reached Calcedonia—

Tatsumi’s body moved instinctively, shoving Calcedonia aside.

Suddenly shoved from the side, she couldn’t withstand the force and collapsed to the ground.

But Tatsumi had no time to spare for her.

As Tatsumi found himself replacing Calcedonia where she stood, the “Free Knight’s” deadly blade struck.

A searing heat shot straight through his chest. At the same moment, his own blood gushed out.

Feeling the strength drain from his body along with the flowing blood, Tatsumi dropped to his knees and slowly collapsed forward.

.

Morganaik, consumed by madness, stared down at the man lying in a pool of blood with what little consciousness he had left.

This man is a bug. A pest that has been plaguing *his* precious *flower*. If left alone, he would eventually wither *his* precious *flower*.

But it’s all right now. The extermination of the foolish pest that defiled the flower is complete.

With the pest that had been plaguing her gone, *his flower*must surely be delighted.

Thinking this, he turned his gaze toward *his* *flower* lying on the ground, a smug look on his face.

But then, he felt something was off.

*His* *flower*, staring at him with a beaming smile—that was the scene he had imagined, yet for some reason, *his* *flower* had her eyes wide open, staring intently at the pest lying in the pool of blood.

*Ah, I see.* It all made sense to him.

Seeing the dead pest must have made *his* precious *flower* feel sick. To a delicate flower, the hideous carcass of a bug must surely be a repulsive sight.

*That’s okay. I’ll have the carcass cleaned up right away.*

He looked around, intending to order someone to clean up the carcass. But there was no one in the temple garden except him and *his* *flower*.

Then he remembered.

He had asked his fellow soldier priests not to let anyone enter the garden. For the sake of someone’s honor—someone he knew well—he couldn’t allow strangers to come near this place.

He couldn’t remember who that person was now. It had to be someone he’d known for a long time, someone who’d looked after him on many occasions.

But that was a trivial matter to him. What mattered most to him was protecting *his* *flower*.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Without caring that her white priestess’s robes would get dirty, she dropped to her knees and reached out toward the fallen insect’s corpse.

“H-hold on!! I’ll cast a recovery spell right now…!!”

His flower began chanting a spell. Looking closely, he could see the chest of the pest—which he had thought was dead—rising and falling ever so slightly.

True to its nature as a pest, its tenacity was extraordinary. Thinking this, he approached *his flower*, who was lifting the insect to its feet.

Noticing his approach, *his flower* glared at him fiercely while continuing to chant.

The severity of that gaze was as if she were looking at her sworn enemy. He had expected her to thank him with a smile, so he felt a bit let down.

With just a glance, *his flower* told him not to come any closer.

Faced with the *flower*’s attitude, he began to feel increasingly irritated.

*Why? Why are you looking at me like that? I thought of you, worried about you, and exterminated the pest for your sake.*

His irritation grew exponentially.

He thought he heard someone chuckling merrily right next to his ear, but the sensation vanished from his consciousness almost immediately.

His frustration reaching a boiling point, he grabbed *his flower*’s hand and yanked her toward him with all his strength.

Something warm and soft collided with his body. It was, of course, *his flower*’s body.

At the same time, there was a thud. It must have been the insect *his flower* was holding that fell to the ground when he pulled her toward him.

“Let go!! I-I have to hurry and heal Master or else…!!”

*His flower* struggled desperately to break free from his grip. Without even looking at him, she fixed her anguished gaze on the fallen insect.

*Why? Why is she so desperate over a mere insect, when she’s been glaring at me with such hatred?*

The question only fueled his frustration.

*—That’s it. Make her understand your feelings. Just force her to realize it.*

That soothing voice echoed in his ear once more. And it was right. He couldn’t help but think how right it was.

Earlier, he had been able to resist that voice. But now, he had no way to resist. No, there was no need to resist. Just as the voice said, he should simply use brute force to make her truly his.

The crimson light in his eyes grew even brighter.

He clasped both of her hands in one of his own, then reached with his free hand toward her chest. Toward her cleavage, torn open to reveal a deep valley.

He gripped the torn edge of her priestess robe firmly and tore it apart with all his might.

*His flower* screamed out once more.

Two large, shapely white fruits. Those defenseless fruits, wrapped only in thin white cloth, were exposed to the light of day.

.

The torn priestess robes were ripped even wider, leaving her upper body nearly naked.

Yet she made no attempt to cover her exposed upper body, twisting her body with single-minded determination to rush to her beloved boy.

Under normal circumstances, she might have been able to remain calm and cast an offensive spell.

But now that her beloved boy stood on the brink of death, she had lost all composure.

She had to heal him with a recovery spell quickly. At this rate, he would breathe his last before long.

That thought raced through her mind, and she didn’t even consider attacking the Free Knight who had been bewitched by the specter with magic.

Tears streamed down her smooth cheeks like a waterfall, yet she didn’t even notice.

The tattered remnants of her priestess’s robes, barely clinging to her from the waist down, flapped with every movement she made.

Was he bothered by that? Or was he driven by even more base desires? The Free Knight’s free hand now reached toward her lower body.

She didn’t notice that either. All she could see right now was the figure of the beloved boy she had dreamed of reuniting with for so many years, and whom she had finally been reunited with.

And finally, the Free Knight’s hand reached the remnants of her priestess’s robes. Just as the Free Knight’s arm attempted to tear the remaining clothing from her body, her resistance had, for some reason, ceased.

She stopped the frantic movements she had been making until then and simply stared intently at a single point.

.

Suddenly, the fact that *his flower* had stopped resisting made the last shred of reason he had left feel a sense of doubt.

Had she finally given up on resisting? Thinking this, he peered into *his flower*’s expression.

The anguish she had shown until then had vanished, replaced by utter astonishment.

Wondering what was going on, he followed her gaze, only to find it fixed on the insect lying on the ground.

“N-NO…!! M…Master, if you move, your wound will!!”

A faint yet desperate voice escaped *his flower*’s lips.

Right now.

The insect lying in a pool of blood was slowly trying to raise its body.

.

He heard a voice.

It was the anguished cry of his beloved family. That voice held onto his consciousness at the very last moment, just as it was about to plunge into the pitch-black darkness.

Blood continued to flow from his lacerated chest, steadily expanding the pool of blood around him.

Yet, in order to answer his family’s anguished cries, he struggled desperately to stand.

His outstretched fingertips casually brushed against a short spear lying on the ground. He clutched it tightly, using the spear as a crutch to try to stand—only to collapse once again into his own pool of blood.

Over and over again.

He would try to stand, only to collapse; he would try to stand, only to fall.

After repeating this countless times, he finally managed to stand.

Though unsteady on his feet, he scanned the area and, through his blurred vision, managed to spot his beloved family.

However, the upper half of the priestess’s robe had been savagely torn away, exposing her white, beautiful breasts, barely protected by her undergarments.

Seeing this, he was driven more by rage than by lust. Yet that rage was not directed at the Free Knight admonishing her from behind, but at himself.

It was his own inadequacy that had put her through this ordeal.

Even though her undergarments remained, having her breasts exposed in broad daylight must be an unbearable humiliation for a girl of her age.

*—I’m sorry. Because I’m so weak, I’ve put you through this.*

Apologizing to her in his heart, he took a step toward her.

His feet felt as if he were walking on a sponge, and he felt as though he might collapse at any moment.

Still, to keep from falling, he concentrated every ounce of strength he had left into his hips and legs as he moved closer to her.

*──I can’t take it anymore. I absolutely can’t. I can’t lose any more family members.*

The memory of his parents and younger sister’s deaths flashed through his mind.

Lying in the hospital bed where he’d been taken. When he finally regained consciousness, the police and hospital staff delivered the heartbreaking news.

The sense of loss he felt back then. An overwhelming despair, as if the world had crumbled.

Yet the only reason he managed to find the will to live was thanks to her—who was just a small child at the time.

The last family he had left. His precious little family.

He decided to live on with that little family. But the time came to say goodbye to even that last little family.

His little family had lived out her natural lives. Left completely alone, he even considered suicide, if only for a moment.

But then, a ray of hope shone upon him.

His little family, who had been reincarnated as a beautiful woman in another world, had summoned him there.

His beloved little family, reunited in this other world. She was no longer the little being he knew so well, but she was still her.

And so.

And so, he made up his mind.

He would live in this other world with his family. This time, no matter what happened, he would protect his precious family.

Sure, being suddenly summoned to another world was confusing. He felt anxious, too.

But as long as she was by his side—as long as his precious family was there—he could survive in this other world.

But that was only possible if she was there.

Right now, she’s going through a hard time. So there’s no way I can just lie here and sleep. I can’t just sleep.

*—Sure, I’m weak. Forget the Free Knight, I might even be weaker than an ordinary person. But even so, I’ve decided to protect you no matter what. Because I never want to feel the pain of losing my family again—*

One step. Then another, his steps unsteady, but he’s steadily getting closer to her.

And finally, his feet reach her.

.

“……go of……iiko…let go…of……”

An incredibly tiny voice. A feeble voice truly befitting an insect.

The insect stood up and staggered toward him.

*A half-dead creature. Just what I need. It’ll finish the job right here.*

He tossed aside the flower he had been clutching and drew his beloved sword from its sheath once more.

Now, the insect was completely defenseless—swaying unsteadily as it approached. Determined to split its body in two this time, he raised the sword held in both hands high above his head.

The insect’s legs entered the range of his sword. Seizing that moment, he brought the sword down vertically from his high guard.

Just as his sword was about to touch the insect’s head—

Suddenly, a burst of light erupted, and the insect vanished.

.

Thrown to the side, she forgot to cover her exposed breasts and gazed upon the scene.

Her beloved boy staggered toward her. The Free Knight swung his sword, held high in a high guard, down toward him.

For a split second, she envisioned the boy split in two from head to groin.

But just before the Free Knight’s sword touched the boy’s head—

*It* overflowed from the boy’s body.

“I… I can’t believe it…”

Now, through her eyes—her eyes as a mage—she could see it clearly. The vivid, blinding glow of mana overflowing from the body of the boy she cherished.

“M-Master’s mana… and the sheer magnitude of this power…”

She understood. As an accomplished mage, she could grasp the sheer magnitude of the mana overflowing from his body.

It was enough to easily surpass even the mana she herself possessed. And yet, that wasn’t the only thing that startled her.

“…G-golden light…? I-impossible…isn’t that…?”

As she muttered in a daze, the boy’s figure suddenly vanished from her line of sight, and the Free Knight’s sword sliced through the air.

And behind the Free Knight, who had lost his balance after swinging his sword with all his might only to miss, her beloved boy appeared.

The sound of the boy’s shoes grinding against the ground echoed.

Having taken the Free Knight by surprise from behind, the boy gripped his short spear tightly with both hands and slammed the shaft with all his might into the Free Knight’s head.