"Mm..."
Murder woke from the duck (meaning Dark) once again.
After waking Killer, who had also been fast asleep beside him, he discovered a letter in front of them.
"Killer, do you think we should read it?"
"Read it."
"Don't read it."
"Read it."
"Don't read it."
To stop the author from padding the word count... ahem, to stop reading this thing from wasting time and interfering with their subsequent redemption efforts, Murder resolutely threw the letter away.
The two passed through the Ruins and Snowdin once again. This time, beyond the bridge Papyrus had built, they encountered a somewhat taller woman in orange-brown clothes, holding a cigarette.
"..."
Swap Papyrus's expression darkened the moment she saw them.
"Wait, neither of us wants to fight."
"You don't want to fight?"
Swap Papyrus was a little surprised. These two had outrageously high LV-especially this girl, whose LV seemed to be a full 999999. Surely she was cheating!!
Yet they didn't seem to like fighting.
How was that possible? The higher your LV, the easier it was to stray from your true self. Everyone understood that.
Having such high levels while remaining kindhearted was astonishing to a skeleton.
Still, recalling their time inside that giant P.a.p.p.y., when these two had tried to redeem them rather than attack them relentlessly, she felt reassured.
"All right... I believe you..."
Seeing how easily the woman trusted them, Killer cupped a hand beside Murder's ear and whispered.
"This lady probably isn't the one I ran into back in Stage 2..."
She had done terrible things to them during Stage 2. That woman should have hated her guts.
But this one showed no particular reaction, so she was probably from a different universe.
"So... you came here... intending to keep going?"
Swap Papyrus questioned the two of them.
"That's not great... our king demands that we worship it."
"Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh."
Papyrus gave a few dry chuckles.
"You don't sound very willing."
Murder's powers of observation were as sharp as ever.
"You think I don't sound very willing?"
Papyrus's pupils turned black-a sign that she was being serious now.
"Around here, nobody acts that way."
With that, Swap Papyrus took a shortcut and left.
"Nobody acts that way...?"
Killer picked up on the key point.
"Looks like there's some bastard up ahead who not only calls itself king without any right, but can't stand anyone defying it."
"Ugh... these multiverse types are such a hassle... I'd spend all that time reading or sleeping..."
The two continued onward and encountered Swap Papyrus at the ice rink.
So the woman had taken a shortcut ahead of them.
"You're getting closer and closer to the king's residence."
"Looks like you two are pretty lucky?"
"But in this place, luck won't do you much good."
"After all, just like they say... oh, right!"
"Hail the Skeleton King."
Papyrus nodded at them, then vanished once again.
The two kept walking. Along the way, Killer saved at a Save Point.
After crossing the great bridge, they ran into Swap Papyrus again on the other side.
"Oh my, looks like we're magnets today?"
Papyrus regarded the two lazily.
"If I were you... I'd probably give up."
"Whatever happens... you have my blessing."
"Here, take this."
Murder took the cigarette the woman offered. Swap Papyrus glanced around and lowered her voice.
"This thing... is that guy's weakness."
"Hope to see you on the other side."
After Swap Papyrus disappeared, Killer began pondering.
"Murder... I've got this feeling."
"Go on."
"Doesn't this feel like... we're about to fight the final boss? Whenever that happens, there are always a few NPCs in various places warning the protagonist. One or two of them will even hand over some item that counters the boss."
"...It does feel a bit like that."
"But... neither of us is protagonist material, right?"
Killer smiled.
"By the way, Killer, do you smoke?"
"No, I've never smoked."
"Then I'll hold on to this. I do smoke occasionally."
Before you continue