My body has begun to move, albeit slowly.
The moment my fingertips twitched and I felt the sensation, I somehow knew my body could move.
Now, I focus my nerves and move my slowly responding body to reach into the Otherworld.
Just snagging it is enough.
I imagine any Potion, pull it out from within, drop it towards my mouth, and catch it with my lips.
Then, I believe in the strength of my teeth and bite down with all my might.
My mouth is cut.
Pain shoots through me, but at the same time, the liquid enters my body, and my body slowly grows hot.
“Pah, kgh, my whole body aches.”
I spit out the shards of glass from my mouth, mixed with blood and saliva.
Under the full force of the explosion, it’s a wonder I’m intact. I feel pain throughout my body, experiencing it as proof of being alive.
“Ah, geez, every joint in my body is messed up. Not having any broken bones is incredibly lucky.”
As I slowly check my body’s condition, I feel a dull ache, but there seem to be no skeletal abnormalities.
I stand up and look at my partner, still clinging to my arm.
“Yo, partner, you alive?”
“No problem.”
While my main body is battered, I envy my partner, who should have taken the brunt of the explosion, for being almost unharmed.
“That’s good. Now, I have to face reality, don’t I?”
I shift my gaze back to its original position.
“The Dragon King… is unharmed in the sky. The Uuor… well, if I’m alive, he’s alive, right?”
Even after such a massive explosion, it’s impressive that all three of us survived.
“The problem is, who was that?”
After confirming that we had both sustained injuries but were still able to fight, our attention turned to the boy standing in the very center of the crater, the explosion’s epicenter.
The fact that he didn’t attack while I was unconscious, even for a short time, suggests something is amiss.
He just stands there, looking vacant.
“Oi, Jin’ō, you awake?”
“Yeah, somehow.”
“The damage?”
“My whole body creaks. The pain… well, I can bear it.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
I want to observe him carefully, but an unsettling stillness suggests I need to deal with this quickly.
That unsettling feeling was also conveyed through the Dragon King’s telepathic call. The warlike Dragon King wasn’t attacking. He, who usually leads the charge, wasn’t doing anything at all, even if I had lost consciousness. He remained suspended in the air, observing intently.
For a moment, I wondered why, but as my gaze fell upon the center of the explosion’s epicenter, a chill ran down my spine.
“Don’t just stand there! You’ll die if you let your guard down!”
My reflexes kicked in, albeit slightly delayed, and I assumed a stance. My body reacted before my brain could comprehend what had happened.
I see, they weren’t motionless; they were feinting and countering, poised. I sense an even more dangerous presence than that of the giant. But…
“I’m going in.”
“Are you sane? If you’re going to throw your life away, I’ll gladly hunt you myself?”
“No, with how he is now, I can cut him.”
Even while sensing a life-threatening danger, I looked at the opponent and thought I could cut him. If his power surpassed ours and was in a dangerous realm that could overwhelm us, it wouldn’t be strange if the Dragon King and the Uuor had already been defeated. Yet, the offense and defense haven’t begun.
“He’s abandoned defense. That massive body was like armor protecting himself. In fact, it feels smoother to cut conceptually now than before.”
The opponent felt a risk about fighting. He’s likely going all out to intimidate and buy time.
“Perhaps, if we can land a hit, even the two of us could inflict a fatal wound…”
“Seriously?”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
However, a terribly unpleasant feeling remains, yet it feels like the right Timing, a “nothing ventured, nothing gained” situation. His durability is only as much as he appears. That’s certain.
With my words, both the Dragon King and the Uuor asked back, with a hint of disbelief.
“Proof before discussion!”
To dispel their doubt, I shouldered the Ore Tree and, without allowing them to stop me, leaped forward with all my might. Piercing through the wall of wind, and accelerating to supersonic speed in an instant, I can quickly close the distance blown away by the explosion.
“KIEIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
He must have sensed my movements. If so, I’ll raise my voice to increase sharpness and power. Exhaling all the air in my lungs, I use my entire body’s muscles for a downward overhead strike. And that attack, by the being presumed to be a god…
“!”
He dodged. He didn’t defend at all, but rather created a large distance to evade, not by elegantly sidestepping. It was the movement of an amateur, relying on physical ability rather than martial arts training. Fast, not only his reaction but also his subsequent movements were incredibly swift. He vanished from my sight in an instant. Compared to the giant, the speed is incomparable. Without Future Sight, I wouldn’t even be able to track his movements. I gouged the earth with my slash and moved my feet to pursue, jumping to the left where he had gone. And there, I saw it. My slash had caused a little red blood to flow on the white-clad boy’s arm. Even if it was a mere scratch, he was injured by my slash and hadn’t healed. Seeing this reality, I foresaw the Dragon King and the Uuor making their move. He shouldn’t be able to use that enormous Divine Sword with that body, so perhaps he wields magic primarily? As I thought this and prepared to be cautious, I saw another future.
“Fall back!”
I shouted instinctively, unsure if it would be in time. My fierce cry changed the future movements of the two, who were about to attack. The Uuor leaped backward, and the Dragon King twisted his body and ascended rapidly. As for me, I powerfully slashed the ground. Why did I do that?
“He can split, too?!”
It’s because the ground I instantly cut through, and everything else, was dyed crimson like a mountain range of sword blades. I would have been in danger if not for Future Sight. There was no flow of Magic Power, let alone any presence. That colossal Divine Sword had split into thousands of swords. Moreover, they shot up from the ground and began to hover around the god. So, he’s the type to wield them like thrown weapons, not holding them. Styles that integrate offense and defense are so difficult to break through.
“Still, I have no choice but to do it.”
It would be best if I could give up and go home here, but I have neither the time nor the余裕.
“I’m a corporate slave!”
The distance to god is still within one-stroke reach. While an ordinary person would retort that you can’t reach it in one step, if you approach in a straight line, it’s one step to reach the range of a slash. I’ll challenge him head-on. This is for a reason. If I attack head-on, the opponent’s attention will naturally be drawn to me. My spine is freezing; Future Sight shows only unfavorable futures. A storm of Divine Swords closing in on me like a Shogi endgame. Each strike flies faster than bullets and possesses great mass, and what’s more, each sword has a different nature. Some are wreathed in lightning, some emit cold air, some are hot, and some are invaded by darkness. You’re the Sun God, aren’t you?! Why can you use abilities of such different natures?
“Hold on, partner!”
I basically slash through the opponent’s attacks head-on, staying in one place for less than a second. The further I advance, the denser the Divine Swords become, restricting my ability to evade. So, what I do is a sword dance adapted from swordsmanship forms. My objective is to keep moving forward, creating an offensive flow that doesn’t stagnate by improvising a sword dance. I can’t block with my armor. I can’t stop moving. If I disrupt my breathing, my rhythm will break, and I won’t be able to keep up with the opponent’s attacks. One step forward means a descent into hell. My vision is covered by a silver wall of blades; at first glance, it seems an impassable net of Divine Swords. But I break through the encirclement by anticipating movements with Future Sight and delivering optimal slashes from within those anticipations. I continuously confirm the god’s position with conceptual vision, closing the distance. My head feels hot, my consciousness is blurring. My lungs are strengthened, forcibly sending oxygen into my bloodstream. The pounding heart, beating like a frantic drum, is annoying. I use the helmet’s cooling function to prevent my brain from overheating due to external heat. Ah, my arms are creaking, my muscles ache, my grip is failing. If I can’t handle the opponent’s attacks with my living body, the burden on the Ore Tree naturally increases.
“Do you think I, this mere lump of iron, will be defeated?!”
Seriously, my partner is reliable. It was originally a sapling, known to be slightly better than iron. Even the weapon shop Hands warned that its potential to grow into a famous sword was low, making it a high-risk gambit. But, I wonder why. In games, weapons are eventually switched to those with the highest Attack Power, but I’ve pushed forward with this one all along. Sometimes I used other weapons, but I basically continued fighting with this one. Was it stubbornness, or was I guided by something fated? Or was it just luck? One thing I can say is that I cannot imagine my partner breaking. Even now, clashing with the Divine Swords, it remains unchipped, uncracked, or even blunted, cleaving through the storm of Divine Swords. It’s because of this partner that I’ve continued…
“Then stay with me until the end!”
“Roger that!”
I was able to fight through what felt like hell. My body, no longer human, capable of impossible feats, glowed with a desire to fight at full strength, and the sweat that dripped evaporated quickly due to my rapid movements. Full of spirit. My resolve surged, and I pushed forward, but I saw something unpleasant in Future Sight. A wall of Divine Swords directly ahead, their tips pointed at me, arranged like a crane spreading its wings, a mass of killing intent about to engulf me. Even if I try to overcome it, a crossfire of Divine Swords will be shot out as I try to do so. If I try to retreat, the blades of the path I cut through will reverse, severing my escape route. The god feels my killing intent, intending to finally kill me, like a moth drawn to a flame by my overextension. However, since I see another future along with it, I don’t hesitate and push forward. The wings closed, and Divine Swords converged from all directions. The front was the most solid, and with one or two swings of the Ore Tree, I could only make a slight cut, with no gaps for a person to enter. One second remains until I am impaled like in The Iron Maiden. The blades are already too close to escape, but…
“You’re so eager, leaving me to warm up!”
“Just push forward!”
I have reliable seniors. At the last moment, 0.3 seconds, the Dragon King’s breath incinerated the front, creating a distortion in the Divine Sword’s encirclement. The Uuor shattered that distortion with a ball of iron, widening the opening, and I rushed towards the god through the gap in the Divine Swords. The god, wide-eyed in surprise, leaped backward, trying to increase the distance. If this continues, it will be a game of cat and mouse. The god will increase the distance before I can close it. The Dragon King and the Uuor are also responding, trying to hold him back, but they are slightly out of reach. They seem to be planning to chip away at him from a distance over time. Even with Future Sight, I’m slightly short of the speed and number of attacks needed. Just one more step, just one more step…
“Yo, Jiro, it’s unfair to be having fun without me.”
“Ah.”
I saw the demon, who always takes the most exciting part, swing with all his might and punch the god’s face.
Today’s word:
People often say, “Victory by perseverance.”
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