This is the third post of the day.
Finally, I confirmed my own feelings and reaffirmed my objective. My body’s condition was not only unchanging but worsening by the second. Yet, strength began to surge through my entire body, and my walking speed increased.
Ah, finally… As a ‘Thief of the Principles of Light,’ I am finally reaching the same domain as the friends I saw in Viais. I understand this well. Entrusting myself to this new power, I passed through the familiar 45th Floor and proceeded to the 46th, 47th, and 48th Floors, finally reaching the 50th Floor.
This is finally the top floor of Fuziaze Castle. Just a little longer… With joy that my final duty would be fulfilled soon, I walked along the wall in the final corridor and opened the door to the ‘Senate’ room.
The room was redder, deeper, and more vibrant than any place before, overflowing with blood. The moment I opened the door, the blood accumulated in the room flowed out into the corridor, and I nearly stumbled.
“–!!”
And then, I was attacked. The grotesque monster waiting in the room moved. The moment I entered the room and recognized it, it was already a flash. One of its tentacles swung towards me from the ‘Something’ in the center of the ‘Senate’ room. I, who was already heavily depleted, couldn’t defend. It wasn’t that I hadn’t predicted it. It was just faster and more horrific than I had anticipated.
The waiting ‘Something’ was many times larger than normal, and its shape was exceptionally abnormal. A primal disgust unparalleled until now ran through my entire body, and my body froze. The blade at the tip of its tentacle passed through me. My defense with the flag in my hand was not in time.
“Gu–, AaaAAAH–”
My torso was severed, easily splitting into my upper and lower body. The moment I entered the room, I was hit by a sense of floating and fell to the floor. My face was buried in a shallow pool of blood. However, at this point, the pain in my body made no difference. I calmly assessed my situation and thought about what to do next.
Somehow, I managed to move my hands and tried to move my upper body. However, as I raised my head, the ‘Something’ that attacked me was looming directly in front of me, about to swing its bloody tentacle again. My thoughts spun at a speed comparable to when I fought the ‘Thieves of Principles’ a thousand years ago.
I should counter with my flag—no, close combat is impossible in this state. I must activate a different magic. Even a wild outburst would be fine. I need to somehow push the opponent away with magic, and then—
However, in the midst of these thoughts.
*Squelch*.
A sound came from behind. Hearing the sound, I moved only my head and looked behind me. There stood another enemy, a ‘Blood Doll,’ holding a blood sword in its hand, raised above its head.
I was caught in a pincer. Even if I blew away one of them with a wild magic outburst, it would be useless.
—This is bad. This is bad, bad, bad. If this continues, my limbs will be torn apart. I won’t die, but I’ll become immobilized. I don’t care about the pain. Frankly, I don’t need my lower body anymore. However, I need at least one arm to head to the rooftop. I have to leave just one and crawl through the blood pool—
“—!?”
As I was contemplating how to leave one arm and deal with this pincer attack, all my worries were blown away. The ‘Blood Doll’ behind me sprinted forward, leaped over me, and severed the tentacle of the ‘Something’ with its blood sword.
Furthermore, without yielding to the ‘Something,’ it attempted to cut it in half with its sword. In the narrow ‘Senate’ room, a swordplay of blood against blood began—
“Eh…? …N-no, now is—”
Before I could even be surprised, I crawled across the floor to my lower body and began a makeshift mending with healing magic. However, even with my abilities, it wouldn’t be a complete recovery. Using the characteristics of my body, I was only able to gather enough magic power to move for the rest of the day.
“Haa, haa, haa…!!”
The moment I finished suturing, the battle between the ‘Blood Doll’ and the ‘Something’ was over. The ‘Blood Doll’ had defeated the superior ‘Something’ and reduced it to mere blood.
This is abnormal. The ‘Something’ that was waiting in the room was clearly special. It must have been Fafnir’s final stronghold prepared to protect Ragune. This ‘Blood Doll’ that defeated it possesses a strength comparable to the ‘Seven Knights of Heaven’ on the floors below, though not quite on par with the ‘Thieves of Principles.’
The ‘Blood Doll’ that finished the battle turned towards me and stood perfectly still. It was as silent and gentlemanly as a knight serving someone. It seemed to be waiting for me to make a move.
Who is this ‘Blood Doll’? Fafnir summoning knights using magic from the past without discrimination—no, perhaps in order of strength. Then, is this one of the knights who served me a thousand years ago? Is someone who owes me a debt ignoring Fafnir’s command? No, that’s impossible. If it were possible, many more ‘Blood Dolls’ would have rebelled.
Presumably, this knight has followed orders and is assisting me. Then, what was its given order? ‘Kill the enemy’? ‘Do not let anyone pass to the rooftop’? Or perhaps, ‘Protect Ragune Kaikuola’—
*Squelch*.
I heard the sound of blood splattering again. The ‘Blood Doll’ hadn’t moved, but its head had turned. It was looking not at me, but at the stairs leading to the rooftop. Although its face was completely obscured by blood, I felt an emotion from it, as if it were worried about something. However, without knowing its name or seeing its face, I could not grasp its true intentions.
“No… Let’s go… ahead…”
Unable to fully comprehend the direction of its emotions, I gave up on discerning its identity. More importantly, I needed to fulfill my own role. Moving my newly joined body, I bowed to the ‘Blood Doll.’ Although walking was still difficult, I managed to reach the stairs leading from the top floor to the rooftop by supporting myself against the wall.
This is not the movement of someone who was just cut in half. No, I am probably no longer human. I knew this without checking my body. With the preceding damage, I had finally completed my ‘half-corpse’ transformation.
“Haa, haa, haa…—”
Moving my lower body, characteristic of a serpent, I ascended the narrow stone stairs. Leaning against the wall, exhaling bloody breaths, losing blood from my wounds, and continuously expending my life, I climbed step by step through the blood.
And at the end of it, I arrived. Above the ‘Senate’ room. The rooftop of Fuziaze Castle. To the ‘Summit’ of this world. The moment I emerged from the stairs, the wind blew past me from the side. It was the wind of the sky mixed with clouds. The night wind, which froze my entire body, swept through my bangs and simultaneously stole the heat from me. The combination of night and altitude made the cold numbing to my skin.
It had been a long journey. Not just the time, the battles, or the stairs—but the entire path leading here had been truly long. But finally, I had reached the ‘Summit’ of my life. There was nothing beyond this. This was where my end would be.
The place of my end was very dark. With the Great Holy Capital now devoid of light, the rooftop was truly dark. Mud-like darkness swirled in the sky, clouds like burnt charcoal drifted by, and the entire field of vision was turbid, like the inside of obsidian jewels. The sound of the wind cutting through the darkness, combined with my blood-stained footing, sounded like a call from the underworld. A weak-hearted person might associate death with simply standing here.
Of course, I was fine. Certainly, there were times when I was terrified of darkness. Even when I illuminated my bed with “Light,” my soul continued to tremble. There were times I cried uncontrollably, not understanding the meaning of being alive. But now, I was fine. On the journey here, I had confirmed various feelings. Even without “Light,” I could feel the light in the world.
“—Magic, ‘Banner of Light’.”
And then, I constructed a banner of light. Using it like a torch, I walked across the rooftop. My target was not my father—my final objective—but Ragune, who was beside his corpse. Ragune was also looking at me. Sensing my appearance on the rooftop, she interrupted some magic and withdrew her arm from my father’s body. Then, she began to walk towards me. Her face looked different than it did this morning. Given Ragune’s stance, I had expected no pointless questions, only a battle to the death to take everything from me. However, her current expression held no killing intent; on the contrary, I could sense even the will to dialogue. As I, with all my might, advanced a little, Ragune swiftly took about five steps. Gradually, Ragune and I drew closer. Just as we were at a distance where we might exchange greetings, her mouth gaped open in astonishment.
“—Eh?”
She stopped, her eyes widening, looking not at me—but behind me.
