Chapter 6 Part 26
Translator : PolterGlast
A
shadow ran through the back alleys of the residential area, slightly away from
the hustle and bustle of the commercial district.
After
running for a while, the shadow looked behind it several times and then dropped
its shoulders in relief.
"Good
grief, they got me. I never thought I'd be spotted by the military police at a
place like this..."
The
shadow figure was Zonne, who had been taken away by the military police
officers due to a slight misunderstanding.
However,
it could be said that he deserved it because of his usual behavior.
The
old man looked up at the sky with a strangely serious face as he brushed the
dust from his clothes.
"I
had a hard time shaking off my pursuers, but it's all right now. Anyway, now is
an important time. I must hurry and find that boy."
His
eyes were so dignified that it was hard to imagine from his usual words and
deeds. He had the same atmosphere as when he sent the Metal Dragon to Nozomu
and his friends in the forest.
"I
have a bad feeling about this. I hope nothing bad happens..."
With
an indescribable strong will in his eyes, the old man quickly disappeared into
the streets of Arcazam.
It
was as if he was being rushed by something.
===================================
The
betrayal of her childhood friend and her own mistake. Before Lisa could accept
it, the battle began.
The
battle between her childhood friends unfolded in front of her eyes. Ken's face
was distorted into a hideous shape as he slashed at Nozomu. His appearance was
so hostile and full of murderous intent that Lisa had never seen before.
On
the other hand, Nozomu was exchanging blows with Ken with almost no change in
his expression. However, despite his non-existence-like expression, there was a
glimpse of a strong will in Nozomu's eyes.
It
was the very image of Nozomu that she had been attracted to back home.
Such
Nozomu's figure also pierced Lisa's heart sharply. She was faced with the fact
that she hadn't seen Nozomu at all this whole time.
She
wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to cover her ears. She wanted to pretend
she never saw him.
But
she couldn't turn her eyes away.
Lisa's
body was completely stiff, her legs were shaking and she couldn't move, and she
couldn't even take her eyes off the battle unfolding in front of her.
The
battle in front of her went on continuously, and Lisa was tossed around like a
bamboo boat swallowed by a torrent.
As
the high-pitched sound of blades colliding against each other echoed in her
ears, she could only stand stunned.
In
the meantime, the battle between the two was gradually gaining momentum.
"Zeeeii
!"
The
longsword swung down along with Ken's angry shout. Nozomu tried to parry Ken's
blade to the side and step in at the same time. However, the longsword that Ken
swiftly pulled back restrained his movement.
Nozomu
gave up on stepping forward and quickly stepped back, aligning his katana with
Ken's slash. The longsword that was swung horizontally was deflected by the
direction of the force.
*Clang*
It
passed right in front of Nozomu while making a deafening sound.
"Fuh~!"
At
the same time, Nozomu stepped in again and swung his katana. This time, Ken
turned his head away as quickly as he could, and Nozomu's katana blade passed
right in front of his eyes.
The
wind pressure from the blade brushes Ken's hair away, and the katana blade
swept across his cheek.
Ken
gritted his teeth at the tension running down his spine and the discomfort and
hatred stirring in his chest.
"Take
this!"
Ken
stepped forward again, trying to get rid of that sticky discomfort.
"I'm
the one who should be by Lisa's side! If I defeat you here, I'll be by Lisa's
side this time ......!"
Ken
continued to swing his longsword with a cornered expression on his face. The
words that came out of his throat were cold and pitiful.
However,
with each blow, Ken's longsword blew through the air, giving off a sense of
intimidation that made Nozomu's spine tense up.
Ken
was a third-year and first-class student and someone who had received an
A-rank. Not even many school graduates were given A-rank.
Ken's
swordsmanship moved without stopping.
Even
to the untrained eye, he displayed a level of skill and strength that set him
apart from other swordsmen.
But
.......
"Fu~,
ha~, shi~!"
Ken's
swordsmanship couldn't reach Nozomu's body at all.
The
slash he fired was easily avoided, and the blow, which he swung with all his
momentum, only cut through the empty air.
"Damn,
this bastard ..."
Ken
quickly pulled back the longsword he had swung and launched it again into a
diagonal slash while putting his weight into it. At the same time, Nozomu
lowered his hips and stepped forward to parry Ken's attack.
Nozomu's
katana was unable to completely parry Ken's sword, and the two clashed in a
fierce fight.
"~!"
"Alright!"
Ken's
face broke into a smile as he realized it was a contest of strength. The
difference in physical ability between Nozomu and Ken was obvious.
He
was going to push Nozomu over the edge and cut him down. With that thought in
his mind, Ken tried to push Nozomu away by force while their weapons were still
locked together.
But
just as Ken was about to put in his strength, Nozomu relaxed his arms.
The
longsword blade, which was glistening with the intent to kill, quickly closed
in on Nozomu and tried to crush his head.
However,
just as the approaching blade was about to touch Nozomu's face, Nozomu's figure
disappeared from Ken's sight.
"Wha~
... Gua!"
At
the same time, a wind rushed by Ken's side, sending a sharp pain through his
arm.
While
biting his lip and enduring the pain, Ken looked down at his arm and saw that
his arm had been slashed and his pure white uniform was starting to turn red.
And
behind Ken, Nozomu was standing at the situation while being alert.
The
moment his head was about to be crushed, Nozomu lowered himself to the ground
and activated his [Instant Move -Curve Dance-]. In the blink of an eye, he had
run past Ken and struck him in the arm.
The
human eye had a harder time discerning targets that are moving up and down than
left and right. It was even more difficult when the target was at close range
and moving up, down, left, and right at the same time.
However,
what should be noted more than that was Nozomu's boldness and concentration to
take this measure without hesitation and succeed in a situation where his head
could be crushed if he missed it even for a moment.
"~!
... You bastard!"
The
wound itself was not deep, but the pain and humiliation due to the wound on his
arm made Ken's face distort.
An
opponent with overwhelmingly inferior physical abilities than him.
A
blow delivered by an enemy who should be behind him in terms of ability.
The
image of Nozomu exchanging blows with Jihad came back to Ken's mind.
It
was a fight that all the people in the arena had admired. And the pain in his
arm clearly pointed out a fact to Ken.
(In
close-quarter combat, Nozomu is far superior to Ken.)
As
if to shake off this fact from his mind, Ken sent his magic power into his
longsword and stepped towards Nozomu with all his might. For Ken, it was
unacceptable to be even slightly inferior to Nozomu.
He
strengthened his entire body with strengthening magic.
With
a burst of sound as if the air were popping, Ken accelerated instantly. He
closed the gap with Nozomu at once and swung his longsword which was
strengthened with magic power.
A
longsword clad in a dazzling blue magical light. The blow that came from a body
that had been strengthened to its fullest potential had the power to slice
through even a well-honed steel sword.
"Fuh!"
"Wha~!"
But
to his surprise, Nozomu intercepted Ken's blow head-on.
In
an instant, Nozomu's katana was covered with a blade of Qi. With a light
enveloping its entire blade, Nozomu raised his katana without a moment's
hesitation.
The
two blades collide in midair.
Nozomu's
blow, which was swung up to match Ken's slash, made a high-pitched sound and
scattered blue magical light in the air. Ken's slash did not reach Nozomu's
body and deflected to the side.
"Tch~
!"
Biting
his lips, Ken didn't give up and launched two or three slashes.
However,
Nozomu quickly intercepted Ken's slashes.
Nozomu launched his own slash in time towards the slash that approached
him, deflecting his opponent's attacks and causing his body to flow sideways.
"This
is……"
When
Ken saw Nozomu's movement, the battle of a few days ago at the martial arts
garden came back to his mind.
It
was a trained concentration, sense of balance, and mastery of the katana
technique. It was a technique Nozomu had used when he fought against Jihad by
using the power of his opponent's slash to parry.
"I
think I got the hang of it."
"Kuh
!?"
Perhaps
he had learned something from the combat training with Jihad, Nozomu was able
to pull off a series of skilled moves that no ordinary swordsman would ever be
able to pull off with the ease of a wave of his hand.
"Nozomu
!!"
Ken's
slashes increased in speed as he shouted wildly. But in Nozomu's eyes, he could
clearly see the trajectory of Ken's slashes two or three moves ahead.
A
slash at his left shoulder
A
diagonal slash at his right shoulder
A
lateral slash at his right side
Certainly,
there was a huge gap between Ken and Nozomu in terms of sword speed, power, and
magic power. Ken's sword technique itself was also equivalent to that of an A
rank.
However,
the fact that Lisa learned the truth about his trickery and his hatred for
Nozomu had caused him to explode, and his face was clearly showing his inner
emotions.
On
the other hand, the current Nozomu was extremely calm and collected. There was
not a hint of agitation he had shown when he fought Ken in the past.
Nozomu's
eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and he could see Ken's movements in the blink
of an eye.
His
muscles flexed like a whip, working in tandem without any stagnation,
concentrating all his strength into the tip of his katana, which he wielded without
a shred of waste.
And
the katana blade that was raised was sometimes as light as a willow, and
sometimes as wild as a storm, warding off the calamity that fell upon its
owner, Nozomu.
"Damn,
damn, damn!"
Ken
gritted his teeth as he looked at Nozomu, who kept on parrying the slashes he
launched.
The
two of them continued to exchange blows, barely moving from their place.
The
sound of metal colliding resounded around them, and the two of them were
surrounded by glittering sparks and blue magical light.
Yes,
it was only the magic light that was flying in the air!
Ken's
magic power was overwhelmingly larger than Nozomu's.
So
it wouldn't be strange if Ken's attacks, which should exceed that of Nozomu's,
one-sidedly pushed Nozomu's katana.
However,
in reality, what happened was the opposite. Nozomu's blade continued to chip
away at Ken's magic sword.
The
Qi blade, adjusted by Nozomu's outstanding control, became a strip of light
that struck Ken's blue magic sword, which was covered with a thick layer of
light, and with a high-pitched sound, the magic in the longsword was blown
away.
"Kuu!"
Every time he received
Nozomu's attack, Ken increased his magic power to keep his magic sword from
fizzling out, but every time he did, he definitely lost the ability to maintain
his magic sword. In contrast, Nozomu's Qi blade consumes very little Qi.
Ken's magic sword was
gradually becoming unstable. At the same time, Nozomu gradually increased the
amount of Qi in his katana blade, and further increased the compression of Qi.
Ken's cheeks twitched
as Nozomu's blade became even sharper than before. It was far more swift than
the blade he had just fought before.
Contrary to Ken's
agitation, Nozomu's facial expression hadn't changed. Although he created a
blade that was far sharper than Ken's magic sword, Nozomu still had many hidden
cards.
Qi was extremely
compressed at once, and another Qi blade was attached to the already existing
Qi blade. That's right, it was his Qi technique [Phantom].
"Haa~ ...!"
While exhaling and
with a burst of energy, Nozomu threw a slash with his katana.
Nozomu's Qi, which
could cut even Jihad's shield into pieces, drew a circular trajectory and dove
like a meteor in a straight line toward the longsword that was swung down.
At the same time,
Nozomu and Ken heard a clear, squealing sound. A clear sound echoed in Nozomu
and Ken's ears. Nozomu's katana sliced through Ken's magic sword like it was
paper, slicing the blade in half.
"Wha~!"
Ken shouted in
agitation as his beloved sword was reduced to its hilt and half-body. But in
that split second, the tip of Nozomu's katana was already at Ken's throat.
"Uu……!"
“…………”
Ken groaned and Nozomu
remained silent.
"This is a lie...
It can't be ended up like this..."
Ken was shocked when
confronted with the reality that he tried to deny. But his face was immediately
distorted by humiliation, and he turned his pitch-black hatred that was as
murky as dirt, toward Nozomu.
"... It's over,
Ken. Be quiet."
While being exposed to
Ken's hatred head-on, Nozomu nonchalantly announced it was the end.
Having caused so much
commotion, his nearby friends and the military police officers would be rushing
over soon.
There was no way Ken
could escape now that the criminal had already been identified. Even if he
managed to escape, he would never be able to get out of this city.
However, Ken didn't
care what Nozomu said, he was still clinging to his own delusion.
"There's no way!
I've been protecting Lisa up until now! She and I will continue to be
......"
But Ken, who insisted
that he had been protecting Lisa without realizing his own "escape,"
made Nozomu's face distorted at once.
"~! Do you really
think that Lisa wants to be with you now?! Do you really want to make her make
that expression?!"
As if prompted by
Nozomu's words, Ken turns his gaze toward Lisa.
Lisa had been shaking
her knees and was just dumbfounded watching the battle unfolding in front of
her. Lisa and Ken's gazes cross
" ~!"
"A……"
At that moment, Lisa's
body shook with fear. The blood drained from her face, which had turned pale
with fright and regret.
Her weakened
expression pierced Ken's heart.
At the same time, Ken
was reminded that their relationship, which had been built on lies, had
completely collapsed.
"It shouldn't be
like this. It shouldn't be ..."
"I thought our
promise was to protect Lisa's dream. What you did was no way to protect
Lisa!"
Ken was confronted
with the fact that he had been hurting the people he cared about the most, and
he backed away in dismay.
However, Ken, who had
escaped into a world of delusion until now, could not accept this fact. He just
shook his head and continued to turn away from the truth in front of him.
There was no trace of
Nozomu's best friend, who had once vowed to support Lisa's dream.
"Lisa has to be
with me. I'm the one who has to protect her. That's right, not Nozomu, it's
me..."
"Ken ...!"
Nozomu had a
complicated expression on his face when he saw his best friend had completely
lost his way, even though it was Ken himself who dropped himself that low.
Anger, hatred, pity, sadness. A variety of emotions hit Nozomu's heart.
However, contrary to
Nozomu's feelings, Ken did not reflect on his own actions but rather locked
himself away in his own closed world.
"That's right, it
was all because of you ... If it wasn't for you, none of this would have
happened!"
Originally, Ken's fear
of losing Lisa, his jealousy of Nozomu, and most importantly, his belief that
Nozomu couldn't get any stronger, were the things that led him astray.
But now that he was
faced with Nozomu's strength, which he himself had denied, his jealousy of
Nozomu grew even greater, and his fear of losing Lisa grew to an extreme level.
And his narrow and
weak mind couldn't stand the jealousy and fear that were coming over him.
That was why Ken
couldn't get rid of his anxiety because he was convinced that he could get rid
of it by defeating Nozomu, the cause of his problems.
" ~!"
Ken tried to leap
backward to escape from Nozomu's katana, but, of course, Nozomu wasn't going to
let that happen.
Nozomu stepped forward
with his katana, which was still enveloped in Qi, to make sure Ken didn't
escape. He aimed for Ken's feet.
The impact of the
burst of Qi stopped Ken in his tracks, and he was pinned down. Even if Ken
tried to use magic, the pain would make it difficult for him to cast a
technique.
Although Nozomu's Qi
techniques had too much killing power, there was no problem as long as the
target wasn't the opponent himself.
Ken was trying to
convince himself that Nozomu was inferior to him. If Ken were to fall behind in
a head-on fight, and if he were to be knocked down and made completely unable
to resist, Nozomu might be able to completely break Ken's will to fight.
It would completely
shatter Ken's false delusion.
Ken has done so many
evil deeds that he deserves this. It was obvious that his future would be
bleak.
But still, Nozomu
didn't hesitate.
The katana blade that
drew a flowing curve was about to release a flying Qi blade attached to its
body.
"This is the end
... gah~!"
But at that moment, a
thunderous pain shot through Nozomu's brain. Nozomu's movement was delayed for
a moment, and in that gap, Ken had jumped backward and out of Nozomu's attack
range.
"~! You ..."
(………)
Tiamat's face appeared
in Nozomu's mind.
The eyes of the giant
dragon that stared at Nozomu seemed to ask, "Why don't you kill the enemy
in front of you?". But Nozomu ignored Tiamat's protests and stepped
forward.
There was no way he
was going to listen to Tiamat right now.
While gritting his
teeth and enduring the headache, Nozomu tried to close the gap with his instant
move.
Ken had started
chanting, holding up the long sword that had been cut in half. Nozomu thought
it might be [Icicle Dance] or [Piercing Water Fountain], but the sight of Ken
raising an object that was already useless as a sword raised a question mark in
his mind.
"Fuh~!"
Ken thrust out his
longsword. The next moment, blue magic light gushed out, and an ice sword
extended in a straight line toward Nozomu.
"Wha~ ...!"
Nozomu immediately
jumped to the side to get out of the way of the approaching ice sword.
Fortunately, the ice sword did not catch Nozomu's body.
The ice sword was as
clear as crystal.
As he left the place,
a spear-like blade shattering the stone floor behind him, Nozomu glanced over
at Ken and saw Ken swing his outstretched arm.
The ice sword, which
had been extended like a spear, had countless knots in it, and then it snapped
like a whip and came at Nozomu again.
Nozomu quickly lowered
his body and threw himself down to dive under the ice sword that was being
swung at him. The ice sword passed over Nozomu's head with a paper-thin margin
and then returned to its owner, Ken, like an obedient dog.
"What is ...
that?"
"Snake-like Sword
..."
Lisa and Camilla
looked at Ken with wide eyes and surprised expressions. It was clear that they
didn't know about the magic sword that Ken had just used.
Nozomu had also never
seen the magic sword that Ken was now wielding.
Magic Sword [Crawling
Snake Fangs]
A snake-like sword in
a form of a whip with water running through its countless blades formed of
freezing ice. It was Ken's trump card that he had never shown even to Lisa and
Camilla.
While not only Nozomu
but even Camilla and Lisa were looking at Ken in surprise, Ken swung his arm
wide and launched his snake-like sword at Nozomu. The rattling ice blade
scraped the stone floor and leaped at Nozomu's face like a snake.
"Tch~!"
Ken's magic sword
grazed Nozomu's cheek as Nozomu twisted his head and Ken clicked his tongue.
But despite the
stinging pain, Nozomu kicked the ground just as Ken was about to swing his
sword.
Certainly, Ken's magic
sword was a very impressive weapon. The blade of the sword consisted of
lined-up blades that resembled fangs and shark teeth.
The magic power that
leaked out of the fangs, which seemed to be able to easily gouge out human
flesh, was entangled like a blue mist, making its majesty seem even colder.
But even so, Nozomu
did not hesitate to leap into the group of fangs.
Contrary to its power,
the snake-like double-edged sword had a fatal flaw as a sword.
In its current use as
a whip, its length made it hard to engage in close-quarter combat.
In addition, the
half-hearted construction as a sword and a whip were not enough to withstand a
direct confrontation, even if the whip were to be changed back into the shape
of a sword.
Nozomu lunged at Ken
in a straight line. Ken's magic sword was still in a stretched-out form.
What Nozomu did was
the same as before. He closed the distance and brought it into close quarter
combat.
But as soon as Ken
twisted his wrist, the surface of the magic sword rose up like a hedgehog in
Nozomu's vision.
Sweat broke out all
over his back, and Nozomu, rushed by his own sense of danger, leaped as fast as
he could and threw himself to the ground.
The moment Nozomu left
the place, the blade of Ken's magic sword exploded. It scattered countless ice
blades to the surroundings.
The ice blades
mercilessly attacked Nozomu who could not escape from the blast radius.
"Ugh~!"
Despite the anguish
expression on his face, Nozomu immediately used the momentum of his leap to
stand up and regain his position. But Ken was not going to miss such an
opportunity, and he immediately took a stance for a follow-up attack.
Ken raised his arm,
and the ice snake raised its sickle-like head accordingly.
Nozomu decided that it
was impossible to continue to avoid it, and decided to go on the offensive.
He sheathed his katana
and released a Qi blade at once at the flying snake-like sword. The moment the
Qi blade touched the snake-like sword, the Qi technique [Phantom] that was
released cut the sword's body almost in half.
"It's
useless!"
However, the water,
which was the core of the severed sword instantly reconnected the severed sword
body together. Then, in return, the ice blade turned its fangs toward Nozomu
and exploded.
Nozomu used his legs
to get out of the ice blade's range, but Ken saw where Nozomu was going and
immediately sent the snake-like sword towards him.
And even if he dodged
the tip of the snake-like sword, the ice blade released from the sword would
attack Nozomu again.
It was a magic sword
that combined a direct to a long-distance attack. In the face of such a
continuous wave of attacks, Nozomu was unable to close the gap.
"Haha! Nozomu
hasn't changed! It's true that you've gotten a lot better at close combat, but
when it comes to ranged attacks, you're at a disadvantage just like now. You
can't protect Lisa if you can't handle all distances like I can!"
Arrogants words came
out of Ken's mouth. It was as if he had completely regained his composure.
But when he witnessed
Lisa trembling in the face of the truth, the way he turned away from reality
was inexplicably hollow and cold.
Frowning, Nozomu
leaped backward in a single move. He got out of the range of Ken's sword
attack, let alone the range of his [Phantom].
The only way for
Nozomu to find a way out from this fight was through close-quarter combat. That
was why it was hard to believe that Nozomu, who could only find his way out in
close combat, would go out of his own attack range.
"What's wrong
Nozomu, are you giving u-..."
Ken was about to sneer
at Nozomu, thinking that Nozomu had lost his will to fight. However, Nozomu's
spear-like eyes pierced him. There was not a hint of resignation in Nozomu's
eyes.
As he stared at Ken,
who had fallen silent, Nozomu slowly opened his mouth.
"Ken, this is the
last warning. Drop your weapon and atone for your sins."
Ken tilted his head as
if to say, "What are you talking about?
"Anyway, Jihad
and the teachers already know about this. After everything you've done this
time, do you really think you can go to school like you used to?"
As Nozomu had said,
Jihad and the others had already found out, and Ken had been cornered.
Then something
happened that pushed Ken even further over the edge. From behind the darkness
that enveloped the street, multiple footsteps could be heard coming closer.
"W-what is it now
...?"
"They're
here."
"Somia, are you
okay !?"
"Ane-sama!"
Irisdina and the
others who were patrolling the northern section came rushing towards them. In
their back were Mars and the others as well as Anri-sensei who were patrolling
the commercial district.
"Good grief, that
was a close one."
"Leave
Camilla-san and the others to me~."
Anri took over the
treatment of Camilla, who had injured her leg, and Mars and the military police
officers quickly blocked Ken's path of retreat.
Ken's face was
distorted in annoyance. The look of arrogance on his face was once again tinged
with anger and hatred. Maybe Ken himself already knew what was going on.
"Well then, I'll
have you arrested quietly. I've got a lot of questions for you."
"Shut up!"
The military police
officers surrounding the area called out to Ken to surrender. But Ken answered
with the magic sword in his right hand.
The swung [Crawl Snake
Fangs] swuped against the legs of the military police officers surrounding Ken.
The military police
officers, who saw Ken's intention to resist, drew their swords at once. Mars
and the rest of Nozomu's friends surrounded Ken, each with their own weapons at
the ready.
"Tch~, you don't
know when to quit, do you! ...... Nozomu?"
In the midst of this,
Nozomu stepped out of the encirclement and confronted Ken again.
"No-zomu
~~!"
Ken distorted his
handsome appearance into an ugly mess and shouted a vengeful voice that sounded
like it was coming from the depths of hell. As Ken let out a blood-curdling
scream, Nozomu only frowned in a complicated expression. He accepted Ken's
murderous intent without hesitation.
A strange atmosphere
filled the surroundings, and even Mars and the military police officers, who
had pulled out their weapons, watched Nozomu and Ken in silence.
(What are you doing!
Why are you holding back! You should be the one to judge this fool!)
Tiamat was still
slamming a tightening pain into Nozomu's head.
When did it start?
Nozomu felt that this dragon, who hated everything, had recently been giving
off a different vibe.
However, Nozomu didn't
know exactly.
The only thing Nozomu
knew was that, unlike before, his heart was not influenced by Tiamat's hatred,
and he was strangely calm. He wondered if he had developed a tolerance after
being interfered with so many times before, or if there was some other reason.
At least, there was
still too much he didn't know to guess the reason. Not about himself, and not
about Tiamat either.
"You ... this
happened because of you!"
"... No, I
didn't. It's all of us who caused this to happen."
There was something he
had to do now. Nozomu, who had changed his way of thinking, denied Ken's words
as if he were squeezing them out of the pit of his stomach.
Whether it was Nozomu,
Ken, or Lisa, all of them had run away from facing their loved ones.
As a result, Nozomu
and the others had fallen apart. Nozomu simply told them this fact.
However, Ken was still
unable to admit his weakness.
He used his need to be
by Lisa's side as an excuse. This was because he believed that he was stronger
than Nozomu.
"I can understand
why you resent me. But why did you drag Somia and the others into it! If you
wanted to target me, you should have targeted me alone!"
"S-shut up, shut
up, shut up! Shut up!!"
However, Ken still
wouldn't listen. Even when faced with the consequences of his actions, even when
faced with the fact that there was nothing he could do about it, he simply
screamed like a child.
A former best friend,
whom he once trusted, and his former lover, who had become like a little bird
in chains.
Vows and promises that
no longer had any meaning. They were no longer noble things to create the
future for, but only things that stubbornly bound them to one another.
In his head, Nozomu
understood this, but he couldn't stand to see them like that any longer.
“The promise we made
at that time is no longer something that helps us achieve our dreams. It has
become something that destroys our dreams instead...!"
There was only one
thing left for Nozomu to do.
He clenched his teeth
against the aching in his chest and ignored the words of the giant dragon
bellowing in his head.
"If you
stubbornly continue to distort the promise you made, then, I will cut it all
off. That's what I have to do ....... That's all I can do now."
He will end this fake
relationship completely. He will completely destroy the fake world that Ken and
his friends have been locked up in. Even if the result was they will never be
able to get back together.
Nozomu activated his
[Instant Move].
While his friends are
watching, he rushed head-on toward Ken.
"Die, die!"
As soon as Ken swung
his arm, and as if to answer his murderous intent, countless ice blades
exploded and rushed at Nozomu.
When Nozomu saw the
ice blades raining on him, he mobilized every muscle in his body to change the
direction of his rush.
However, that was not
enough to avoid them. A shower of ice raining on him like a shower. Nozomu's
physical ability was not enough to escape from its attack range.
The corner of Ken's
eyes smiled as he pictured Nozomu being pierced by the ice blades and covered
in blood.
Ken thought that was
the end. Ken's eyes shone with anticipation as he felt a slight sense of
satisfaction, but in the next moment, his eyes were colored with shock.
"W-what the
f*ck?"
The rain of ice blades
slammed into the ground. Nozomu appeared as if he were breaking through it.
His body was slightly
injured, but his momentum had hardly diminished.
The sound of
explosions echoed again as Nozomu re-accelerated with his blinding speed. He
lunged in a straight line toward Ken.
"Ku~! How!"
(How on earth!? How
did he get through that rain of ice blades?)
A series of questions
came to his mind as he witnessed the unexpected scene, Ken swung his magic
sword two or three times, shooting down a rain of ice blades towards Nozomu.
"Fuh~!"
Judging that he
couldn't avoid it, what Nozomu did was quite simple. It was to break through
the center of the ice rain.
Once again, Nozomu
used his [Instant Move -Curve Dance-] to develop a complex curved movement. He
ran through the gaps in the ice rain, escaping as much as possible from the
area of effect of the falling blades ice.
However, that alone
was not enough to break through the swarm of ice blades unscathed. Some of the
blades that rushed in were sure to reach Nozomu's body.
"Sei~!"
The moment Nozomu saw
the ice blades approaching him, he swung his Qi-enveloped katana. A layer of Qi
was formed in front of Nozomu. The fan-shaped layer of Qi formed to block the
approaching ice blades and repel them.
It was, without a
doubt, a Qi layer created by the Qi technique [Fan Shaped Sail].
Originally, the [Fan
Shaped Sail] technique involved swinging the katana in a circular motion to
form a Qi layer, but the Qi layer could not be maintained for long.
In addition, there was
a gap when he swung his katana, and judging that it was impossible to overcome
the continuous rain of ice blades, Nozomu chose to swing his katana slightly to
minimize the gap as much as possible and form a fan-shaped layer of Qi.
However, this would
result in a smaller layer of Qi being formed. Therefore, Nozomu decided to
avoid the opponent's ice blades with [Instant Move -Curve Dance-] and to block
the ones he couldn't avoid with [Fan Shaped Sail].
It wouldn't be enough
to block magic with great penetration power, like [Icicle Dance], but if it was
just a few blades of ice then it would be enough to repel them using [Fan
Shaped Sail] without releasing his ability suppression.
Using [Instant Move
-Curve Dance-] originally required a high sense of balance. And [Fan Shaped
Sail] was also a Qi technique that needed to be used carefully due to its short
duration.
However, Nozomu had
mastered such Qi techniques and continued to repel the storm of ice blades.
"N-no way......
but!"
Ken was agitated to
see Nozomu able to break through his attacks almost unscathed, but regained his
composure when he saw that his opponent was almost inside the snake-like sword
attack range.
In addition to the
rain of ice blades, Ken thought that he could use his sword to attack in waves,
which would help him fight Nozomu back quickly.
The moment Nozomu got
into Ken's attack range, Ken found the right moment and launched his [Crawling
Snake Fangs].
Along with a launching
sound, the tip of the snake-like sword lunged toward Nozomu, ready to plunge
its fangs into him.
Nozomu's eyes fixed on
the tip of the approaching snake-like sword.
He held his katana out
as if to thrust it out.
In the blink of an
eye, the two approaching blades intersected.
At that moment, Nozomu
took another step forward, while swinging his katana to the back to deflect the
path of the snake-like sword. His plan was to close the distance between him
and Ken.
"It's
futile!"
However, as if to
block Nozomu's thrust, the snake-like sword expanded.
The sword seemed to be
about to explode at any moment. Countless blades of ice stood upside down,
waiting for the moment when they would be unleashed in search of the blood of
their prey.
But the next moment,
Ken's eyes widened at the sight that jumped into his eyes. With a twist of his
wrist, Nozomu had entangled the blade of the snake-like sword, which was about
to explode, with his katana.
"Foolish!"
In less than a second,
the snake-like double-edged sword which was fully infused with magic will
explode. Nozomu's act was suicidal.
There was no way for
him to escape at that close range, and even if he were to deploy a layer of Qi,
it will not be able to withstand such a close-range explosion.
There was nothing
Nozomu could do. Ken was sure of that.
However, that
conviction was soon overturned.
The explosion was less
than half a second away. Nozomu sent his Qi into the katana and compressed it
extremely fast in a moment that exceeded a second. The Qi on his katana blade
exploded into countless needles.
Qi technique [One Billion
Severance]
The blade of Qi that
exploded at such zero distance pierced Ken's snake-like sword, which was also
swollen and about to explode, and crushed it from the middle.
"Wha~ !!"
Shortly after Ken made
a surprised voice, Nozomu filled his legs with Qi and released it. The
explosion was so close that Nozomu was pierced by the exploding ice shards. He
was bleeding, but he didn't care.
Ken's trump card was
shattered, and before he could recover, Nozomu quickly closed the gap.
"Fuu, fuu ...
haa!"
At the same time, he
sheathed his katana and sent his Qi into it, and started compressing the Qi
extremely again.
He had already used a
lot of Qi and was starting to breathe heavily, but Nozomu had no intention of
retreating at this point.
Nozomu, who had completely
caught his opponent inside his attack range, was about to pull the katana out
of its sheath.
Ken still had a hint
of impatience on his face.
He was convinced that
Ken was not going to move at all from [Phantom] attack range even if the
distance was shortened
(Ken can't move while
using his [Crawling Snake Fangs].)
However, if he thought
about it, it was reasonable. A magic sword that could enable long-range attacks
and direct attacks at the same time. It took an incredibly high level of concentration
to maintain such a high level of magic.
As Nozomu had
discovered, when Ken was deploying this magic, he was so busy controlling it
that he could barely move.
Starlight illuminated
the blade peeking out from its sheath, and the shining blade glowed in the
moonlight.
And just as Nozomu was
about to draw his katana, Ken's mind reflected himself being cut down by
Nozomu.
The figure of himself
crawling on the ground.
The figure of his
beloved Lisa disappeared into the darkness.
He tried to raise his voice,
but his voice could not reach her as she was roped and trapped in narrow
prison.
He felt a sense of
emptiness and loss as if a hole had been left in his heart. It was the same
feeling that he had felt since he saw Nozomu and Lisa first start walking
together.
"I don't want
it"
The sense of loss that
he remembered again fueled Ken's sense of crisis about losing Lisa. It was like
the magma of a volcano, raging and exploding at once.
"I-I don't want
it ... I don't want it!"
A burst of emotion and
the sound of something snapping echoed in Ken's head, and Ken's senses were
sharpened all at once.
A feeling he had never
experienced before. He felt as if he were floating on water. Ken could see
everything with his eyes, and even the magic power surrounding his own body.
The [Crawling Snake
Fangs] that was crushed by Nozomu.
The magic sword that
he had struggled so much to control was now as comfortable in his hands as if
it were his own limb. He could feel everything about the flow of magic power
inside it.
It was very similar to
the time Nozomu was immersed in extreme concentration.
Was it the result of
his delusion, or was it a miracle of his fear that things would fall apart?
Either way, Ken had exceeded his limits at this very moment.
In an instant, he
understood the inner structure of the magic sword and repaired it. In addition,
to avoid being noticed by Nozomu, he moved the sword using only magic power and
launched a surprise attack from outside Nozomu's field of vision.
The half-shattered tip
of Ken's [Crawling Snake Fangs] lifted up and lunged towards Nozomu's
defenseless back.
(This is over!)
Ken was convinced of
his victory and his mouth lifted up.
However, Nozomu went
even further than that.
As the snake-like
double-edged sword was about to pierce the back of Nozomu's head, Nozomu's eyes
squinted. The next moment, Nozomu's body, which was about to draw his katana,
spun on the spot.
"Eh~……"
Nozomu turned around
in an instant, leaving Ken's dumbfounded words behind, and used the sheath of
his katana to brush away the snake-like sword that was about to pierce the back
of his head.
He then stepped
forward again. This time, he drew his katana as if to cut off everything in his
path.
Ken tried to pull the
magic sword back, but it was too late, and Nozomu's katana blade sliced deep
into Ken's right arm and chest.
"Agh~……"
A moment of silence.
Then, along with the
sound of something dripping down, a red flower blooms on the white stone floor.
"A-,
aaaaaaaaa!"
Ken's scream echoed
through the air.
At the same time,
Ken's [Crawling Snake Fangs] shattered with a cracking sound and vanished like
a haze.