Chapter 101 (1/2)

Chapter 101

【”Ugh…”]

After confirming that Vincent had fallen, Harold dropped on one knee, like he had lost all the strength in his legs. The wounds he had received were not very serious, but the battle had lasted for a long time, and it was only natural that his bleeding body was depleted of its strength after he used a combo of over a hundred hits.

Moreover, his mind was exhausted from being continuously exposed to Vincent’s fierce attacks.

But he had won. Even Vincent would not be able to withstand the attack he had just received. It would not even be surprising if he died from it.

The last technique Harold used, “Lightning clash”, was undoubtedly his most powerful special move. But due to its immense power, charging it was a long process, and it was very difficult to use.

Even in the game, it was clear that the skill was not suitable for combat, to the point where it was considered as a sort of joke skill that was always interrupted before it could be fired. The game was set up to be played in parties of four, so it seemed obvious that a skill that would take this long to charge would end up being cancelled by an attack from the enemy.

In this fight, Harold’s use of the skill was a wise decision only because he was in a one-on-one fight, in a situation that would never have happened in the game.

(And it’s thanks to that that I won.) Thought Harold.

As Harold was looking down to the ground and struggling to catch his breath, he suddenly heard something.

He stopped breathing. One thought took over most of his brain (This can’t be happening).

However, at the same time, he was also thinking (This is Vincent so maybe…).

He did not want to believe it, but Harold raised his face to look straight at the reality that was likely taking place.

As he looked in front of him, he let his thoughts escape his mouth.

【”…He’s a monster…”]

His armor was smashed up, and his body was riddled with wounds and dyed with blood. Despite that, Vincent stood up. It felt like he was a ghost, back from the dead.

Probably because he did not have any strength in his arms, he dragged his huge sword on the ground while staggering as he stepped forward. His body made it look like he was on the verge of dying, but oddly, there was a sharp glint in his eyes.

【”Harold… Stokes is… the top priority… elimination… target…”]

【”So you’re just a puppet now? To think you’re supposed to be the leader of the saint knight order; how the mighty have fallen.”]

In the original story, Vincent was deceived by Justus’ words and lost sight of himself, but now, he had completely lost his self-consciousness through some sort of brainwashing. Therefore, his current state was even worse than it was in the game.

When he thought about it, Harold realized that he and Vincent were in the same position. He was a boss character, and the stage was set for him to be brought down by the protagonist. Vincent’s death had not been clearly depicted in the game, but it could be guessed that he died based on Cody’s dialogue with the protagonist.

In other words, Vincent also had death flags on his path. This twist of fate that had made two such people fight to the death would have made Harold laugh if his life was not on the line. And he wondered, was it their destiny to keep fighting here until one of them died?

【”This is such bullshit….”]

This felt horrible. Harold had possessed this body without knowing why, and since then, he had been constantly struggling with his fear of death, every single day.

This world closely resembled his favorite game, and yet it was impossible for him to merely enjoy it. Because, while enjoying himself had helped him slightly reduce the burden on his mind, that was very limited due to the fear and anxiety that came with knowing his future and the future of this world.

However, he felt like Vincent was also quite unfortunate. He was currently in wrecked state, hurt everywhere, but he did not know anything about what was happening or why it was happening.

He had lost his family and hometown, he had to become a mercenary and to dye his hands with blood in order to survive, however, in order to protect his friend; in order to protect everyone he could, he became a knight. Then, by relying not only on his talent but also on his continuous and considerable efforts and his strong and straightforward personality, he was able to ascend to the rank of leader of the saint knight order.

And yet, this was the final result.

In the original story, he lost a lot of his subordinates, and his dream and pride, the saint knight order, was destroyed. This had weakened his heart, and the one responsible for all of that, Justus, made use of Vincent’s weakness to make him point his sword at Liner and his party. In the end, he was defeated and killed by his close childhood friend, Cody.

And now, he had been brainwashed and turned into nothing more than a puppet that could only faithfully execute Justus’ orders. Moreover, the result of fulfilling those orders would be a massive disaster that was going to swallow the whole continent, taking with it all of the people that Vincent was trying to protect.

If Vincent was not considered unfortunate, then there was no such thing as misfortune. In any case, his life was full of hardships.

【”…Are you seriously satisfied with such a life?”]

Asked Harold, before he was aware of it. Even though he knew that it was useless to speak to Vincent in the state he currently was in, Harold still could not help himself from speaking the feelings that were twisting and turning in his mind.

【”Being unable to accomplish one’s own goals, and being used for someone else’s plans…”]

That unreasonable reality was enraging.

【”Such a shitty existence is worthless. Can you really call a life that you can’t live for yourself a “life” ?”]

At the same time, he still craved for life. There was no way he would accept to die as a mere tool for a story.

【”Is your current pathetic state really the so called ideal justice that you were targeting, Vincent?”]

Naturally, Vincent did not give an answer, but Harold was not really expecting any.

He merely wanted to speak. He was rebuking his own self, selfishly pitying Vincent for being like him, and resenting the fate that surrounded them both.

Thrusting his sword to the ground in order to use it as a cane, Harold managed to stand up. His strength was almost at its limit.

The moment when he mistakenly thought he had won, Harold had lost his tension, which was likely what allowed his weariness and fatigue to surge. He barely managed to lift up his sword, but he had no confidence that he could fight properly in his state. Vincent also had suffered some heavy damage, but given how he was able to disregard his own injuries, Harold’s chances of success were low.

Still, for the sake of his own survival, Harold had no other choice than to keep a grip on his sword.

(I’m in a pretty bad spot, aren’t I?) While thinking that in a corner of his mind like it was someone else’s problem, Harold shouted powerfully.

【”You bloody idiot, you’re letting someone else manipulate you! Your will is yours to control!”]

Immediately after Harold screamed that, a change occurred in Vincent.

He stopped his slow walk and dropped his large sword.

【”…Haaah?”]

Harold unintentionally voiced out his dubiousness. He noticed the tone he used sounded pretty bad, like he was some small time yakuza or hoodlum, but that was the result of his bewilderment as he was faced with this sudden turn of events that he did not understand.

Harold hesitated about whether to exploit this opportunity for a quick attack or to just observe the situation, but in the end, he picked the latter choice.

If he failed his attack, that would spell his defeat; the pressure from knowing that was keeping his feet from moving.

【”I need to… I… Harold…!”]

Then, Harold noticed something. Compared to earlier, Vincent’s strange way of speaking was becoming more normal.

What was the meaning of that change? Harold found a thread of hope in the conclusion that he immediately reached.

(Could it be that he’s getting rid of his brainwashing?)

Although had no real proof of this, Harold still felt like the robotic aspect of Vincent’s voice was fading and making way for a hint of humanity.

If Vincent really was getting rid of his brainwashing, then what was the reason? Was it due to the damage he received from being attacked? Was it because of Harold’s actions? Or was it simply due to the passing of time?

However, none of that mattered.  The important part was that there was a chance for Vincent to turn back to normal. If he could do that, then there would be no need for he and Harold to kill each other here.

In a sense, that train of thought was due to Harold being soft. At the end of the day, the personality inside him was that of a college student who had been living peacefully in Japan until eight years ago.

After possessing the body of Harold, whose path was full of death flags, he had experienced many battles against monsters and humans alike. And the whole time, he had been living his life while being careful not to make any mistakes that would lead to him killing someone or being killed. In other words, he had never killed a human being so far.

There would be no coming back after stepping over that line, it was a clear boundary. Hence why he had been continuously hesitating to cross it, both consciously and unconsciously.

That was the reason he chose no to attack Vincent right now, but to shout at him instead.

【”Wake up already! Is this farce really the end you want?!”]

【”Ugh…!”]

In response to Harold’s words, Vincent held his own head and let out a painful groan.

Harold was certainly driven by the selfish thought that it would be best for himself if the fight stopped. However, right now, the words he was shouting also came from the bottom of his heart.

That was because Harold, or rather, Kazuki Hirasawa, sincerely wanted the man called Vincent Van Westervoort to survive. He may have been just a game’s character back in Kazuki’s world, but the Vincent that he was facing here and now was a real human being, made of flesh and blood.

Harold was not close to him. He had barely even had any actual conversations with him. He merely one-sidedly knew Vincent’s personality and circumstances due to the game.

But it was precisely because of that that he knew that Vincent deserved better than to die here. He wanted to save him if there was any way to do it.

That was the manifestation of Harold’s kind and soft side.

【”Hurry the hell up and come back, Vincent!”]

【”…Ah, aaah… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”]

Vincent’s very loud scream resounded inside the cave. Then, he fell to his knees like he was about to collapse.

He stopped moving and stayed in that position.

【”Hey….”]

Harold tried to call out to him but got no response.

(Was the brainwashing wiped away or did he just pass out?) As Harold wondered that, he carefully approached Vincent while staying cautious in order to be able to react if he was suddenly attacked.

And the moment the distance between the two of them became lower than two meters (6 feet), Vincent made a move.

Harold took some distance right away.

As for Vincent, after starting to move again, he did not pay any attention to Harold and took something out instead. It was a transparent, cylindrical container with a sky-blue liquid inside.

Seeing that, Harold immediately became pale.

(The astral potion!)

This was the potion that Harold had taken in the original story. It was a dreadful item that could grant strength to its user only to ultimately kill him due to being too potent for the body to handle.

But now, it had been given to Vincent instead of Harold.

Harold had thought that, by simply not taking the potion, he would be able to avoid dying like Harold Stokes did in the game. However, what was going to happen if Vincent drank the potion in the current situation? The temporary power up would likely allow him to kill Harold before he himself would die as well.