177 176. Battle to steal the true darkness.txt (1/2)

The all-out clash between 'the one that steals the truth of fire' and 'the one that steals the truth of darkness'.

The result was spectacular.

All that was left was a red wilderness where life had withered away. Instead of a green meadow, there was a meadow of fire, but that too was extinguished by the rain falling from the sky, and even the last of the color was lost.

There was still a vague light from the 'World Consecration Squad', but it was unreliable. Perhaps it is because life, the object of our conversion, has disappeared from the earth. It doesn't have the same radiance as it did in the beginning.

In these few minutes, the war was over.

The tens of thousands of soldiers who had been fighting had disappeared and the battlefield had to be rewritten from the map.

Only three men remained in its wake.

Maria had been careful to prevent me from being exposed to the flames until the end. Thanks to that, I'm unharmed, and I have enough MP left.

In contrast, Maria was sweating profusely and was out of breath. She used up all her MP and got down on her hands and knees on the ground.

''Defeat ......, wasn't it?''

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a palinclone, who was also out of breath. But the other side was able to stand on the ground with both feet.

Maria regretted not being able to defeat the grudge enemy.

Looking at Maria's status, her MP had been depleted and reduced to her maximum HP.

Exactly like me one day, she must have exhausted her deadly power. The price of losing your mind and using magic beyond your limits. It is no longer difficult to maintain consciousness.

Nevertheless, Maria continues to appeal to him while holding on to her distant consciousness.

”-- Kanami-san. Please don't think that this world doesn't need you. We need you. We need you. Just remember that: ......

That's exactly what I looked like when I was trying to convince Hailey.

But...far away.

Now, I can understand a little bit about how Heili felt then.

Even though she was called ”Kanami-san”, she couldn't believe it was her. It feels like someone else's problem. Heili must have felt the same way.

When I first met Heili in the labyrinth, she had laughed. She was smiling when I first met her in the labyrinth, and said she wanted to die for her friends. I was greatly irritated to see her.

But it seemed to be the same for me. When I met Palinkulon, I laughed at him. It's easy to die for someone else - in fact, I was happy about it.

No matter how strong you are, what you're doing is exactly the same. I was keenly aware of this from Maria's plea.

'Fight the Palinclones and win: ......-'

With that, Maria passes out.

'...... I know,'

I gave my verbal affirmation to Maria's appeal.

It was a plea with all my heart and soul, a plea for which I had risked my life, but the only thing that remained in my heart was a sense of loss.

The word I wanted was not ”encouragement”. So I couldn't share the heat that Maria emitted until the end.

Before I knew it, a deep gulf had formed between me and my friends.

In inverse proportion to Maria's passion, my heart was cold.

The distance between me and my companions that I thought was so close is now beginning to feel so distant.

I feel a hole in my heart.

During the battle at the fort, the wedge between my friends has been pulled out one by one. The wedge that surrounded me in the World Expeditionary Force has also melted away, and finally, the last wedge that held me together has fallen away.

There is no more one person who needs to be strong. That's all I can think of right now.

Maria had hit the nail on the head. She had seen through my mind.

But just as my words did not reach Heili, Maria's words will not reach me.

I know your thoughts. I understand logic. I know it's right.

But it's not enough.

...... Ah, I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd be able to push me around even with a magic difference of one war's worth.

Palinkron's voice echoed on the quieted battlefield.

While Maria had fainted, Palinkron had the luxury of time. Even though they used the same 'Steal the Reason' power, it seems that the difference in magic power for the 'World Consecration Squad' was large.

However, of course, they are not safe. The volume of the black liquid had been reduced by the magic that had been cut into its body. The liquid body was still bubbling and continuing to boil, and white steam was rising up. Most of the flesh in the parts of the body that were still human-like was on the verge of being charred.

And there was no sign of the injury being repaired.

And that's to be expected.

Because the head-to-head battle between extreme magic and extreme magic was won by Maria.

The current HP of Palinclone is--.

--status

Name Palinclone Legacy HP0/512 MP392/392 Class None--

--0.

As far as I can hear in 'Dimension', Palinkron's heart has already stopped completely.

Maria's fire magic has successfully defeated the magic of 'The One Who Steals the Darkness Reason'. There's no doubt about that.

However, to my chagrin, the battle was won by Palinclone, even if the match was won.

If this was a one-on-one fight, it would end with a finish to the stunned Maria.

With his HP down to 0, Palinclone moves.

While making a sticky and unpleasant footstep, it slowly comes towards us.

Then, looking around at the wasteland, he speaks to me.

'Oh well. If the continent isn't cut down, we can still get it back. In fact, it's great that we've retired the little girl with the loss of 30,000 or so people. It's a little bit of a messed up plan, but it would be great if we could retrieve Miss Smith's 'magic stone' with this - but, well, that's still not possible.

I block Palinkron's path as he tries to get to the fallen Maria.

'I know, Maria ....... Fight ......'

I'm going to continue to fight the Palinkron as Maria wishes.

However, victory is not the only thing I can promise.

It's because there's no one left to be strong, that weaknesses easily escape my mind.

I don't think we can win. To be precise, I have no reason to win.

If possible, I'd like to use my Connection to move Maria to safety, but it's going to be difficult to stabilize my Connection in the midst of the raging magic of the World Service Squad.

Above all, it's unlikely that the enemy in front of me will allow it.

”Come on, boy. We're back on track. I'm close to a dead end, even though I'm at .......

Seeing me standing there, Palinkron took a battle stance.

Then, he gouges his arm of black liquid into his own chest. It's beyond self-injury, it's suicide.

With his heart clenched, Palinkron speaks to me, ”I have no more friends to help me.

”No one can help me now, eh?　There's no one to be strong with, no reason to look good. True, only a boy. Let's see how far we can fight.

Palinkron knew me better than Maria did.

If Maria had accurately understood my feelings, she would never have left me alone.

In this situation of just the two of us, Palinclone was sure of victory.

Unlike Maria, Palinclone knows the time when I was a lone explorer. That's the difference.

After crushing his heart, the Palinclone is no longer half dead (half).

He's now a 'full-blown corpse (monster).

”This is where it gets real, you know. ”The thief of the dark.

The figure is getting closer to the Tida he once was.

Most of its body was replaced with a black liquid, and what little humanity it had left was being lost. All that's left is for the head to become a black Noh mask, and then it's the return of the Guardian of the Twenty Layers (Guardian).

The figure could only be described as a 'complete corpse (monster)' anymore.

--Stephen Star

na■nk Paris■ reason■gasy HP■/5■2 MP---/39- Klass guardian (Guardian)--

Gazing statuses are blurred. The ”view” can no longer process them all, resulting in garbled characters.

Then, the statuses are gradually rewritten and

--Monster

Twenty Guardians, the stealers of dark reason.

Rank: Twenty Guardians (Twenty Guardian) --

The display recognized Palinclone as a monster.

Thus, I face the monster, the one who steals the logic of darkness.

In order to protect my friends, I pointed my sword at Palinkulon.

But the arm holding the sword is trembling weakly.

'Come on, let's play together, boy!

Palinclone's miserable black limbs transformed. His legs curved like a beast, and his arms sharpened like wild swords.

Then it bends over, twitching its legs and bulging its thighs like a beast. It was a preliminary motion I had seen in my fight with Tida.

So I could predict his next move.

A palinclone that bounced like a beast.

It's a sudden acceleration that can't be replicated by the structure of a human leg. It was a rush because it was able to transform its body. And then, there were two deadly blades that attacked.

Palinclone crossed his arms, which had been turned into deadly weapons, like scissors and closed them vigorously around my neck.

I try to dodge it by averting my body.

Then, with the intention of slicing off Palinkron's torso, I unleashed a flash of counterattack.

The flash does indeed catch Palinkron's torso. However, there was no feeling of return.

Palinkron's torso was sliced away - but the cutting surface immediately glued together. It was as if the water from the waterfall was being slashed from the side.

After all, physical attacks cannot be understood by the 'one who steals the truth of darkness'. I reaffirm that.

Palinclone was swept around by the inertia of the rush and passed by the side. Then, raising a cloud of dust, it makes a sudden stop, accelerating rapidly and attacking me before I can catch my breath.

I try to counter again and notice that things are different than before.

One of the blades on his arm has been untied. Its speed is the beast, but its stance was that of a knight itself.

The sudden change from a beastly strike to a refined one surprised him and he missed the counterattack.

Of course, the enemy's attacks had not yet stopped.

They continue to turn back and repeat their attacks from all directions. I continue to defend against them.

The trouble is that it is a discarded body that has abandoned its defenses. And, unlike Tida, it is interwoven with 'techniques' and 'jutsu'. Because of those two things, it is impossible to strike back with ease.

However, at this level, I still won't be able to touch it.

While I continue to defend, I try to build an icy magic that is effective against the 'One Who Steals the Reason of Darkness'.

First, I need to get Maria into 'Connection'. The best way to do that is to freeze the Palinclones and stall them.

However, as if he had read my thoughts, a voice interrupts me.

'--Hey, boy. Can I ask you something?

In the midst of a high-speed sword fight, a voice sounded awfully relaxed.

It's a disgusting voice that clings to your eardrums.

''This, I'm not going to answer you. ......!

I reject it out of hand.

'But I told you what I wanted to do, okay?　So the boy would have to tell me, too, wouldn't that be fair?　Tell me. ...... Hey, boy, what do you want to do?

Despite the fact that I refused, Palinclone asks me.

Then I thought, don't ask permission in the first place.

Angry, I silently swing my sword. But even so, Palingkulon refuses to speak. Even now, in the midst of the lethal swords flying around, Palinclone is agitating me for not answering.

''Hm?　If you don't answer anything, are you fighting for no purpose?　For no good reason?

Normally, this is a reckless remark that should have been thrown out.

However, I couldn't get rid of it now.

We can't lose the will to fight, not yet. This is the only way to get Maria back into the safe zone, that's for sure.

As if to confirm, I remembered my purpose.

I speak of the upholstered will to fight that I've created from strength - a construction.

'I will save Yotaki!　Help your friends!　That's it!

That's it.

Palinclone picks up my returned words like a beast biting.

The words also intersect as the blue sword and black blade sparks.

'Is that really what the boy wants to do?　You know that already. That's the wish of the original Kanami, the founder of the world 1,000 years ago, not the boy. It's a fake, so to speak. I think you're making a mistake in your wish. I don't think you'll ever forgive me for that kind of thing.

Palinkron speaks to me happily.

It's throbbing and heartbreaking.

Oh, this may indeed be a dead end.

I'm upset, but Palinclone chases after me.

Hey, how did you feel?　After all that I said, you can't make a wish wrong!　The wish I got back, the oath I made, the impression I didn't own!

This was no longer the time for magic building.

I had to talk back or I would be swallowed (・・・・).

That's what I thought, and I shouted.

The same construction I said to Haili.

'No ......, I'm still not wrong ......!　Surely he could have mistaken someone else's wishes for his own!　But now I'm convinced of that wish!　I really want to help Yotaru.　This wish is already turning into something real!

'Really?　I can't do this without thinking that, it just looks like you think that!

I repeated the same words, but Palinclone was quick to retort.

Unlike Heili, Palinkron is not gentle. He will mercilessly poke at the vital points that he does not want to be poked at.

If he continues to talk back, he won't even be able to help Maria.

So, even though I'm trembling, I talk back.

'Oh, I'm not making an assumption ......!　Only this desire to help 'someone' should definitely belong to 'me'!　The 'Yotaki' I knew was so pitiful!　I wanted to help!　There's no lie in there!

''Heh, I see. So you believe in such thoughts that are not sure if they're yours or not, and save a child who may or may not be called Yotaki?

I could feel my taut defenses being easily torn apart.

The attack was too precise.

'But boy, you saw it too.　Aikawa Yotaki is dead a thousand years ago. Yes, he's dead. Honestly, there's nothing I can do to help him, you know?

It was you who showed it to me. ...... I'm not stupid enough to trust all those memories!

'Well, yeah. You're right. You're right. Memories are so fuzzy and unreliable, aren't they?　So, what do you think?　In the first place, did that Youtaki girl really exist?　You know.

''Hi, I wonder if Yangtaki is real or not, because ......?''

My spirit wobbles. My answering voice trembles.

The Palinclone was trying to uproot the value of my existence.

In order to defeat me, who still has the will to fight, he's trying to knock me down to 'worthlessness' where there's no excuse and no way to help me.

Even though he has prepared such a rocky battlefield, he doesn't take pride in it and thoroughly repeats his mental attack.

I can tell that Palinkulon is serious about playing. But that was too much for me to overkill.

Magic is directly linked to the mind. We no longer have the luxury of building elaborate magic at all. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get it right.

”'Aikawa Yotaki'. I'm not sure I can believe it because I've never met one. It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on it. I also have a family, but sister and sister, that's more annoying, right?　Honestly, it's killing me sometimes. It's kind of crazy to have a brother and sister who are embracing emotions close to love, isn't it?

Yeah, that's just because your family doesn't get along!　It's good to be close, I'm sure!　I believe in the existence of a girl named Yotaki!

”Skills were messing with my head, I lost my memory, and there was a thousand years ago I didn't even know. Even now, an influx of unknown memories is flowing in and out of me. Well, you're in a bad way, boy. --And yet?　And you still believe that?　Memory is a fragile thing. They change easily. Still, do you claim that there really is a 'sister who is only in memory'?　That's a bit harsh, isn't it?

He's not tired of just breaking your heart, and is painstakingly trying to grind it down.

My heart starts to leap at an unsettling rate in the face of this thorough mental attack.

Instead of the usual thumping sound, it shudders with a thud. A tightening of the muscles in my chest, as if they were grabbed, and a pain that feels as if it's being torn to shreds, spreads through me. My body is hot. My heart feels like it's about to explode, and I'm scared to death.

I don't have even a tenth of the power of thought that I'm so proud of. But even though I can't think about anything, time is moving slowly. It's probably because of my high 'monster' status.

There is room for battle.

But there's no room in my mind.

The only thing that echoes through my muddled thoughts is Palinclone's voice.

--Ah, indeed.

Maybe there is no such thing as Aikawa Yotaki originally.

After all, the existence of the Aikawa siblings has been a blur ever since I found out that I wasn't 'Boku'. I'm aware of that. I know that.

So, I don't want to hear any more about it. I don't want to hear anymore. I don't need reconfirmation.

Otherwise, your parallelism will kick in again.

The less you think about it, the more you think about it.

Once it starts, it's unstoppable.