Bonus chapter...
"...Good grief, I thought I was dead. I'll never gamble like this again."
I breathe out deeply, patting my closed chest wound.
I reach into my pocket and find that the item I had in my pocket is shattered.
Although it was already shattered... what was inside was the 'phoenix egg' that I had equipped as an accessory. It is an item with a revival effect.
In the past, Shinya Kushinagi had used this to revive himself in Margarita canyon, and I had the same item as a turnaround item.
"I have to thank Shinya. Thanks to his role as a test subject, I could use it without any worries."
The phoenix egg is a resurrection item... but to tell the truth, I was not sure how effective it was.
In the game, it automatically revived characters who had been disabled in battle, but I wondered if it was really effective enough to revive a dead person in real life.
Even if it could bring the dead back to life, I did not know if it could repair even severely damaged bodies.
I wanted to try it before using it, but... an experiment that risks my life is not so easy to do. Just as I was wondering what to do, I saw Shinya using this item.
With this item, Shinya was able to revive himself even after he had been beheaded by Nagisa.
Seeing this, I was convinced. The phoenix's egg can bring the dead back to life, and to some extent, physical damage can be restored.
So... as a trick to defeat my father, I decided to equip myself with this and go into battle.
The 'phoenix egg', the resurrection item. Equipped with this item, I pretend to be dead, and use it to catch Garondolf in the nick of time.
In addition, I made Urza learn the [Intimidate] skill, just in case Garondolf's consciousness does not shift even if he kills his son.
Given Urza's character, if I am stabbed in front of her, she will be furious and attack Garondolf immediately. If she activates her intimidation skill, Garondolf's attention will be drawn to Urza.
For Garondolf, it was a double surprise.
He was intimidated by Urza, who was not paying attention to me, and I, who had been pretending to be dead, came back to life and slashed at him.
If he can handle even with this trick... there is no way to defeat Garondolf anymore.
"A one-on-one duel... with a little help from my friends, but they didn't 'touch' you. That's not against the rules, is it?"
"..."
I asked in a derisive tone, but Garondolf remained silent and did not answer. He is kneeling on his knees, breathing heavily from a large cut to the chest.
He has narrowly escaped a fatal wound, but if left unchecked he would have died within minutes.
"Hmph... boring."
I snort, disappointed at my father's unresponsiveness.
It would be better if he made a more regretful face, but his reaction is boring.
"Goshujin-sama!"
"Zenon-sama, are you all right?
My friends rush over to me after they see that I have won.
The first one to jump into my chest is the oni girl named Urza.
Seeing that I was safe, Urza recovered from her berserk state and rushed toward me with tears streaming from her eyes.
Of course... she's still chained up, so it hurts me a lot. The horns on her head are also stinging.
"Now... you're going to keep your promise, father. You will give me the reigns of the Baskerville family. Wasn't it you who said, 'The head of the House of Baskerville must be the strongest'? As a loser, you don't deserve it."
"..."
"You're not going to say that you didn't lose because I used a cowardly method, are you? A win is a win no matter what means I use, right?"
"...Fine. I lost."
After a long silence, Garondolf murmured.
He kneels on the ground and looks up, staring straight down at me.
"And... from this day on you are the head of the family, the 'Baskerville's Demon Dog'."
"Demon dog...?"
I've heard this word several times before.
What does it really mean?
"Father, explain it to me. What does it mean...?"
"Why are you so careless? I'm still alive!"
"...!?"
I was about to ask for details when suddenly Garondolf, who was kneeling on the ground with a deep wound, moved.
He grabs the end of the sword I'm holding, moving with such agility that I don't believe he's injured to the point of death.
"Ggh..."
"Huh...!?"
Then, Garondolf pulls the end of the sword strongly.
The unexpected movement makes my eyes widen for a moment.
Because, the next moment, the sharp point of the sword cut out Garondolf's left chest.
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