174 173. Those who wanted each other.txt (1/2)

Palinclone jumped lightly.

And then, with the flowing swordsmanship he showed me when we first met, he attacked me to cut my head off.

Smooth and seamless sword flashes. A rational technique backed by training. This is exactly the ideal sword for a knight - but it's just not enough.

The degree of perfection (...) as a person and a knight is so slow that it is lacking.

I crawl my sword into the belly of the approaching Palinclone's sword.

The swords touch each other, but no sparks fly. There is no such thing as a rivalry, and my sword slides away. This is an art that can be done because there is a world of difference in ”swordsmanship”.

The blades crossed, but the two swords were swung out without any resistance.

The result was obvious. Palinkron's sword struck out and only my sword sliced through the flesh of my enemy.

Three of Palinclone's fingers flew in the air. However, even though the fingers gripping the sword were dropped, Palinclone tightened his grip on the sword again. And as it is, he tries to cut my neck with his return blade.

But vainly, that return blade is also too slow.

It is fatally lacking in speed and skill at all.

Before the return blade can reach me, my sword gleams.

Next, the Palinclone's right arm was detached from its torso.

With one arm slashed off, Palinclone loses his body balance.

It would be a pain and loss that an ordinary person would not be able to endure. However, he grabs the flying arm while breaking his stance. The sword was still in his grip on the one arm that was slashed off. He wielded it with his other arm to forcefully use that sword.

Of course, there was no way such a bullshit blow could reach me, and on the contrary, Palinclone would take my counterattack on his body.

I let the crystal sword rush in a straight line and slash both eyes.

Blood splatters fly, and both of Palinkron's eyes are crushed.

That's when Palinclone finally cowered and retreated.

Then he stops and begins to shake his shoulders.

Heavy wounds upon heavy wounds, and yet Palinclone was still laughing.

''Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!　Hahahahahahaha!

The fight lasted a little over two seconds. In that short time, I got both eyes and one arm as declared.

By all accounts, it was a one-sided fight. There was an absolute difference in sword speed.

Only the party involved, Palinclone, laughed at the merciless reality of the situation.

''Haha!　Are you kidding me?　You don't last ten seconds!

He said he thought he could do a little more.

To break that illusion, I recommend that he surrender again.

'Give it up, Palinclone ....... I'm not the old me anymore ......!

I'm on the verge of becoming a ”monster” more than a guardian (Guardian).

It's a natural consequence of the fact that I can see the display.

No, not yet. I'm not giving up yet. Next to 'Half-Monster'.

Palinclone happily declares to continue. Then, in a leisurely motion, he thrusts his sword into his own throat.

The self-inflicted wound is painful to watch.

However, the person in question remains laughing.

Purple magic power leaks out of his stabbed throat.

The magic power increased in line with that self-injury, and one could see that he was becoming more energetic.

The sticky magic power envelops your body and turns into a sludgy liquid. The flowing blood turns from red to black, getting closer to the guardian I saw one day.

The black liquid writhed like a living thing, entangling itself into the severed elbow tips and arms. Then, by aligning the severed surfaces, it made the arms stick together like a strange art.

Both slashed eyes were also repaired by the black liquid. But they are not back to normal. The entire eyeballs were dyed black, and their humanity was fading.

This is the 'Half-Corpse (Half-Monster)' of 'The One Who Steals the Dark Reason' -.

Here comes the second round.

Palinclone's mouth twists into a half-moon.

It rushes towards us in time with a horrifying smile.

An ordinary person would probably freeze at the horrifying smile and transformation.

But I was able to move to intercept it without much of a surprise. I knew it was coming, and I had taken all the necessary measures. And this is the second time I'm fighting this one.

Palinclone waved his arms and sent a black liquid towards us.

Those little water bullets are over a hundred in number. It's a spray of black water droplets.

But I don't even let all of them graze my clothes. This is because of the grasping ability I gained in the Dimension Decisive Operation and the status-enhanced body language.

I'm not going to be the only one who has to deal with this, but I'm going to be the only one who can.

I couldn't do it when I fought Tida, but I could do it now. I can now perform feats that I once thought were divine, but now I can do them as a matter of course.

Dimension Decisive Operations and physical abilities have grown to a different level - no, I don't think they have grown at all. I can see that they have been transformed.

Palinclone sprays black liquid and also swings his sword.

My hand count has increased hundreds of times, and I can no longer afford to put out.

''--Ice magic 'Midgalls Freeze'!

As I had thought of it beforehand, the liquid attacks were responded to with freezing magic.

The ice snake swallowed all the liquids that seemed to be impossible to avoid or dispel, the ice snake swallowed them all.

Of course, the ice snake's role doesn't end with defense alone. As it swallowed the black liquid, it swam directly through the air and attacked Palinkulon.

When Palinclone saw the great ice magic, his eyes widened and he jumped to the side in a hurry.

However, that doesn't help him escape the threat of the 'Midgall's Freeze'. The ice snake turns and tries to bite into Palinclone's body.

Realizing that there was no point in escaping, Palinkulon coated his sword in a thick layer of black liquid. The sword grew in size, swelling to many times its size.

With his great sword, Palinclone attacked the ice snake.

The ice snake's agitator and the black demon sword clashed, creating a special form of brinkmanship.

It's a snake versus a sword, but in effect it's a contest of magic and magical power.

With a chirp, the black liquid turns to ice.

Even so, Palinclone didn't retreat and swung his sword out with all his might.

The ice snake shattered as if the glass had broken.

Of course, I didn't lose the competition in the contest of magic power.

I only dared to do so for my next move.

I'm not going to be able to get rid of it.

With a high-pitched sound, the famous sword held by Palinclone was flung away.

The Palinclone has lost its weapon, but it tries to use the black liquid to scramble. But I calmly cast more magic.

That's the end of it.

The image is a stake.

A spear of ice to stab a sinner in the back--

Magic 'Winter in the Dimension (Di Winter)--......, The Last Frost'

There's no water in the surrounding area, but thanks to the shattering of the 'Midgals Freeze', there are pieces of ice scattered around it. Based on that, the ice pillar, which resembles a spear, is completed. Like a trap (trap), multiple ice spikes extended from the foot of Palinclone.

It would no longer be 'Dimensional Winter (Di Winter), Last Frost (Frost)' but a different magic. But I didn't give that new magic a name. Normally, I would have thought of it in a flash, but today I couldn't think of any fun words or rubrics.

Without adding any particular magic name, he silently increases the number of ice spears rising from the ground.

Unable to handle them all, Palinclone receives several of the ice spears on his body.

Not just his clothes, but his hands and feet are pierced, and the black liquid is frozen with all his magic. The body is hardened and the countless ice spears make it impossible for Palinkron to move.

I thrust the tip of my sword at its throat.

It was an offensive and defensive move that lasted just about ten seconds. That was the end of the battle.

Defeated again, Palinclone laughs.

''Oh, come on ....... Isn't this kind of a match?　We have 'magic stones' over here too. ......

They had some confidence in the battle in ”Half-Monster”.

However, I coldly tell him the difference in strength.

''I'm stronger now. I kept hiding and fighting in the labyrinth for a long time. Nothing has changed since that day, you can't win against me. ......

Yes.

Palinclone hasn't changed. But I've grown stronger.

So (...), here we are (・・・・・).

Palinkron writhes and shrugs his shoulders dexterously, unable to move.

'Ah, I guess. My fault for slacking off. I was too scared (...) to level up. No, it's really great, kid. You're like a mythical hero.

I would have even clapped if my hand had moved.

But it's not the praise I want.

To make a point, I bring the tip of my sword closer to Palinkron's throat. If this is the case, I'll have no choice but to pierce it.

So, Palinkulon.

But first--

'--I can't help it (・・・・・). Let's talk a little bit about it, in spite of all that training. Fine. You can ask me whatever you want.

Palinclone gave up on something and said he would speak honestly.

I'm stunned.

It's a situation I wanted it to be, but didn't expect it to happen.

This aloof man doesn't talk seriously unless he's willing to give up something in exchange. Have I been able to offer something worthy of the current fight? I don't feel as if I did.

'Don't doubt it. Originally, we were promised that if we beat the guardians of the thirty layers, we would teach them the 'memory thing'. For what it's worth, I'm a man who never breaks his word, you know?　You see, you can ask me anything 'about memory'.

He brings up an old promise.

That promise was fulfilled by Mr. Rail, so I didn't expect it at all. But apparently it was different for Palinkron.

He looks at the crystal sword held at his throat and is happy that his promise has been fulfilled.

He was good enough to defeat the guardians of the thirty layers and Rowen's magic stone. In front of it, he's trying to speak as if he has no choice - it looks like he has no choice.

Palinclone said meaningfully, 'A memory thing'.

Undoubtedly, it was not only referring to the memories that had been erased by Palinkron, but also to memories from a thousand years ago.

It's the situation I was hoping for. It would help in many ways if I could draw out some information here. So I'm going to ask as much as I can.

But I'm not going to go along with what Palinkron wants. Frankly, I don't care about the past anymore (・・・・・・). I want to hear more than that.

I'm going to ask about a completely different memory than the one I would have been pointing to.

'Then I want to know what 'you' remember. Hey, Palinkulon. Is this ”World Service Corps” really what the Apostle Legacy--or is it what you want?

I felt heat and chills down my back at the same time.

It wasn't the fault of the Palinkron in front of me. It was the pressure of Maria, who was watching behind me.

I could tell she was telling me to just finish it.

But I really wanted to hear it. I stared at Palinclone, defying the pressure.

It's more important to me now than my memory.

...... Hey, hey. You don't want to know your memory, you want to know my memory?　Haha, that's really crazy. That's okay. Fine, I'll tell you what. It's not something to hide anymore.

To my twisted request, Palinkulon did not change his previous words.

He begins to talk lightly, as if he were making small talk again.

'You want. Broadly speaking, ......, yes. I'd like to fulfill the unfinished business of this Apostle Legacey guy inside me.

And then he mentioned the name of the apostle.

His manner of speaking was as if he was in the same situation as me and Dia.

But his unrequited love was something that could only come true a thousand years ago. That's why I've decided to create the same situation as I did a thousand years ago. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future. ...... Part of it is that I myself long for that mythical era.

His tone is the same as always, but there are no jokes mixed in. Here, we are finally seeing a bit of Palinclone's true intentions.

''Is that Apostle Legacy guy's unfinished business over when he returns to the past?

No, he wants to come back and play with us. By the end, he was really regretting his decision to wait and see, wasn't he? I've heard that nothing is as empty as a fisherman's profit.

'I want to play with you.' That childish unrequitedness left me speechless.

But now that I think about it, Tida and Rowen's regrets were similar.

The real regrets that remain at the end of one's life may be trivial in comparison.

I'm going to have to be very serious about this.

”If ...... says I'm going to help you with that 'play', do we have to fight?

Kanami-san!

When I started to talk about something different than I had planned, Maria's reprimand flew at me.

I won't allow that to happen, Maria intensifies the flames behind me. It's almost as if she's going to set fire to the Palinkron with me. No, if she's in her natural habitat, she might try to set it on fire at any moment.

Looking at Maria and I, Palinclone smiles.