They clashed again, and the 99th floor shook.
This was it, the decisive moment for both Seldra and me. We understood each other, so neither of us would back down.
After an initial kick and a punch, a grounded, slugging match naturally began.
I swung my heavy, enlarged “Dragon Arm” like a club. Seldra, with his own “Dragon Arm,” deflected it as if it were a club.
With every contact, heavy, immense vibrations filled the space, making my vision warp.
“My martial arts are refined through cutting-edge education and techniques,” I thought.
However, Seldra, with his abundant experience and knowledge, lightly kept pace with my movements.
As I had learned from our repeated sparring matches, a simple “Martial Arts” battle between Seldra and me was almost equal. Direct hits were rare.
And with each impact of Seldra’s attack that I absorbed, my “Dragon Flesh” grew accustomed to it. This was a physical characteristic of “Dragon People”: attacks that have been taken once are harder to inflict. Thus, my flesh, subjected to immense strain, instantly evolved and grew larger. I immediately tensed that “Dragon Flesh,” condensing my blood and flesh—and repeated this process.
The more I continued this head-on slugfest, the faster I grew stronger.
Still, Seldra didn’t stop. The one who had previously advised me to “take the hits” now launched counter-punches like a perfectly aimed lure, deepening his smile.
“Kuhah—”
It escaped my grasp, as if I couldn’t hold it back. Then, Seldra couldn’t stop his laughter, which had burst through like a dam.
“Kuhah, kuhahahaha! Kufuh, kah, ahahaha! Ah-hahahhahahah! Hihahahahaha!! Ahh, Snow!!”
He called out my name with a strange laugh that seemed fitting even with repeated expressions of laughing, sneering, and chuckling. Unlike me, struggling to keep my breath, Seldra had plenty of room to speak.
“What a beautiful name, Snow! Such a beautiful name! It reminds me of the shit ceremony back home! Now, what meaning was put into it? Or rather, it’s easy to imagine, isn’t it? Unlike a thousand years ago, it must have been a name given because of peace! Beautiful like the ‘Demonic Poison Snow’ that occasionally falls from that clear blue sky! Beautiful, soft, and graceful! It must have been wished for as the end result of peace-addled complacency! Kuhaha—!!”
“――――!!”
While exchanging blows, he spoke unilaterally. I couldn’t retort, as I was unable to breathe properly.
“You grew just as wished, Snow! You were carefully protected and grew splendidly, Snow! But unfortunately, the one you will finally fight is another ‘Dragon Person’ like me! You’ve been diligently working for your country, Snow, and have finally started to be recognized as a ‘Hero’ by those around you! They’ve started to see you as the ‘Strongest’ of the Allied Nations! And now—!!”
The intensity grew. Not just the battle, but also the conversation.
“You will be completely reaped by me!! All the ‘Honor’ and ‘Glory’ you’ve amassed until today will be devoured by me at this ‘Final Festival’! As long as the people on the ground exist, it will be so! When this ‘Final Festival’ ends, your challenge will be deemed a mad, foolish act, and everyone in the Allied Nations will reconsider!! After all, Snow Walker is just a hero of an era, still immature! You can’t reach the true ‘Great Hero’ who has been spoken of for a thousand years! In history, everyone will be deceived into believing that I was the ‘Strongest’ of all time!! Kufuh, fufuh ha! Ah-hahahaha Hahaha!!”
What was continuously spoken in a triumphant tone was something I couldn’t mentally tolerate, even if I was tactically superior. Simply put, it was infuriating. Therefore, even sacrificing the time I would have used to grow stronger by taking hits, I saw through Seldra’s monotonous fist movements and grabbed both of his wrists.
Stopping the unfocused slugfest, I took a breath. Then, consuming that precious breath, I retorted.
“I don’t care!! If you want such things, I have plenty!!”
Seldra was surprised by my response and reply. Then, he immediately laughed with admiration, baring his canine teeth and sneering.
“Haha, you’ve grown stronger… Kuhfufu, that’s why…! Fighting you is truly fun!! Just imagining you breaking down from now on is truly enjoyable!! Ah, thanks to Kanami, my ‘Adaptation’ has weakened, and I’m so happy, so enjoyable, so fun!!”
After sneering, Seldra applied force to both my arms, which he was holding. Although he could have easily broken free, he began to move them bit by bit, as if to flaunt his strength.
I couldn’t stop him. As our hands were forced apart, his unilateral monologue continued.
“Snow, your innate talent for leadership is probably the pinnacle of ‘Dragon People.’ Historically, you’re top-class among ‘Demons.’ But ultimately, that’s all you are. You’re just a ‘Dragon King’.”
“Th-that guy…?”
At that moment, Seldra’s eyes held a gentle gaze. He looked at someone else through me, his face filled with nostalgia.
“Because you’re just a ‘Dragon King,’ you can never reach this ‘Evil Dragon.’ …To be blunt, we’re on different levels from birth. Unlike you, I am not a product of chance, but a gift of necessity. I have piled up history, accumulated wisdom, increased sacrifices, experimented again and again, and again! Verified crossbreeding, verified, verified! Carefully selected offspring, selected, selected! The ‘Strongest’ being finally reached is me!! There’s no way someone like you can win!!”
As he finished speaking, my hands, which had been held, were finally forcefully broken free. Then, Seldra grabbed my wrists in return and spun me around like a top. I countered by applying force to both my arms, but I couldn’t break free. My body, despite its great mass, was easily swept away like an unspooling thread. As my vision blurred, it inverted and I realized I had been slammed onto the 99th floor.
The impact on my back made me understand I had been thrown using “Martial Arts.” My blurred vision shimmered, flickering black and white, and wavered unsteadily. However, within that unsteady vision, I could clearly see Seldra standing above me.
“Ku, kufuh, fufuh—”
He was laughing. Seldra placed his right hand over his mouth, swept his blue short hair with his left hand, and his laughter swelled. Even with his enlarged arm from “Dragonization” covering his mouth, his voice echoed throughout the space.
“Kuhahahaha! Ah, this is fun!! It’s fun to overpower someone on a different level with overwhelming power!! It’s even more fun to crush someone strong and win overwhelmingly!! It’s twice as fun to devour what they’ve painstakingly accumulated!! Isn’t that natural!? That’s what it means to be a living creature, to live!! In the era of dark clouds, it was common sense, the most common sense!! Ah-hahahahaha!!”
He staggered backward from laughing too hard. Despite being in the middle of a battle, he almost collapsed from laughter. This was the first time I had seen Seldra like this. It was quite unique, but this was likely his true self. Perhaps, with this ‘Final Festival’ as a catalyst, he was revealing everything with emotions like “since this is the end,” “since it’s a good opportunity,” and “as a memento.”
Ignoring the pain in my back, I placed both hands on the ground unsteadily. As I tried to stand, I offered my own answer to Seldra’s one-sided speech.
“…Yes. A thousand years ago and now, I believe predation is the rule of living things. That’s precisely why even someone like me could become Commander-in-Chief, and why you were appointed General-in-Chief a thousand years ago. You’re not wrong, Seldra.”
“……?!”
He probably didn’t expect to get an agreement.
From Seldra’s reaction, it was clear that he was expecting me to answer “You’re wrong.”
And Seldra, clearly flustered, stopped his light-hearted chatter up to this point.
I was also speechless with shock.
The gap in my heart was too large.
I could be sure that his weakness in this bizarre verbal sparring was no different from other “Thieves of Principles.”
However, the trouble caused by that weakness would also be the same as other “Thieves of Principles.”
Seldra, flustered, observed me as I swayed and stood up with narrowed eyes, then looked at someone else and began to speak with a completely different tone.
“……Your insolent mouth, that face. Without a doubt, Snow is my descendant. ……She looks just like that cousin of mine. You could say they’re identical. However, she also has traces of her. She sometimes resembles my King even… ”
I don’t know who this “ane” is.
However, if it’s “my King,” I could guess who he’s referring to through me.
“Is that ‘my King’ Titty onee-chan?”
I was happy to be told I resembled someone, but I also wondered if they could mistake me for them.
Is it these clothes? It’s true that today I’m wearing the light armor Titty onee-chan gave me. However, according to my guild companion, Alivace, the ‘Luifenhrit, the Light Armor of the Flying Green Stone’ wasn’t exclusively for her, but a hobby project she made in advance.
So, is he saying I resemble someone based on my face and demeanor?
Seldra answered me as I tilted my head.
“Yes, it’s about Lord Titty… …Speaking of which, that girl. She went by the name Titty at first, didn’t she? She kept bragging about how good her name was, and her face was so beautiful… because I liked her, I swayed… swayed?”
He then began to obliviously rummage through his memories right in front of me.
Although less severe than other “Thieves of Principles,” Seldra also had parts of his memory blurred by the effects of traveling through a thousand years via “Summon.”
After mumbling to himself, he arrived at an answer on his own.
“No, Titty wasn’t a ‘Winged Human’ from the dragon village, but just a half-harpy. She was far from the chosen legendary ‘Dragon People’ like me or Snow. A different species altogether. It has nothing to do with it. It couldn’t possibly.”
He shook his head.
And then, he arbitrarily concluded that Titty onee-chan and I had no connection.
That was unacceptable to me.
I countered that such a coarse way of reaching a conclusion was unreasonable.
“Seldra, that’s probably wrong. It’s not about whose descendant is whose. Because, it’s been a thousand years, a thousand years.”
Just because I am a “Dragon Person” doesn’t mean I only have a “Connection” with you, a “Dragon Person.” Just because I am an aristocrat doesn’t mean it’s only with aristocrats.
“Do you think bloodlines connect beautifully in a single line? My Walker family’s blood is all messed up. As Mother-in-law said, bloodlines are complexly intertwined. Of course, sometimes they split. But a “Connection” that has been born once rarely disappears, for better or worse.”
“Bloodlines intertwining complexly? …… No, that’s true. That’s true… ”
In a closed place like a hidden village, marriages between close relatives are common.
Perhaps because Seldra’s acquaintances and friends were not often married, and the only examples were people like Kanami and Nosfy, his perspective was skewed, and he hadn’t considered that possibility.
“So, I’m sure I have a connection with Titty onee-chan. And also, with that Rowen Aleis, whom I dislike a little. Even if it’s a very roundabout connection, I think I’m connected by the blood of many people.”
“Lord Titty, my King, and Knight Rowen Aleis… ”
Seldra frowned, saying the two names together.
On the other hand, as I recalled the two people I had interacted with, I spoke of their magic.
“At least, I’ve inherited one of my sister’s magic. ——《Kukuru Bayonet》”
I gathered wind around my right arm.
And then, I solidified it with magic—which I couldn’t do skillfully, so it was a mimicry with “Dragon’s Wind” only when I was “Dragonized.”
Seeing me construct a bayonet with wind, even if it was in my own style, Seldra smiled.
“That’s the King’s Wind Sword…!”
He seemed to recognize it and understood its meaning at a glance.
And then, I immediately flew high.
I retreated to the distance where this bayonet would exert its greatest power.
As if following, Seldra also flew with his wings.
However, perhaps conscious of the bayonet’s line of fire, he didn’t chase directly.
He seemed to have memories of being shot by this familiar bayonet a thousand years ago.
As Seldra detoured, I naturally flew in a curve as well.
Two “Dragon People” with enormous wings.
Using the depths of the labyrinth as the sky, we began an aerial battle.
“——《Flyshouts》”
I fired projectiles at Seldra, who was chasing me.
However, they didn’t have the same power as Titty onee-chan’s.
If I had a magic stone of a “Thief of Principles of Wind,” it would be a different story, but I don’t have one on hand right now.
Including the bayonet on my arm, this is just a reproduction of magic trained in the era when magic stones existed, using “Dragon’s Wind.” It’s far from the real thing.
However, perhaps remembering the threat of Titty onee-chan, Seldra was cautious and chose to attack from a distance.
He formed something resembling a bayonet on his arm with “Dragon’s Wind.”
However, it wasn’t exactly the same.
Seldra was more proficient in wind magic, and its completion was higher. On top of that, the shape was unlike anything I had seen before.
My bayonet is long and thin, but Seldra’s is close to a cube.
And he had two of them, one in each hand. From their muzzles, he fired projectiles smaller than mine—but with abnormally high ejection speeds.
“——……!?”
While I could fire one shot with a single breath, he unleashed continuously, scattering more than a dozen bullets.
Furthermore, Seldra moved both hands, attacking not with points but with something close to lines. My bullets, being condensed “Dragon’s Wind,” would explode the moment they touched his lines.
It was a gunfight in the air. If I shot ten bullets, Seldra fired a thousand. Both of us dodged them with high-speed flight.
However, upon closer inspection, only my bullets were cleanly shot down and didn’t reach anywhere. Moreover, Seldra still had plenty of room. While firing a thousand bullets, he dexterously prepared nearly a hundred additional magic orbs, about the size of a fist, near his spread wings, keeping them floating.
By the time I identified the orbs as the attack magic 《Dragoon Arder》, they had already been released onto the aerial battlefield. Since they didn’t pass through the gun-shaped magic in my hands, their flight speed was slow. However, they clearly moved according to Seldra’s will, guided towards my fleeing form.
I chose to retreat with all my might, with no choice but to imitate Seldra. I added the concept of ejection speed to my bayonet. Then, efficiently avoiding unnecessary shots and accurately shooting down the slow guided missiles 《Dragoon Arder》 while fleeing.
Furthermore, I prepared multiple special 《Dragoon Arder》es near my wings and immediately released them onto the aerial battlefield. Among them, I mixed in “transparent bullets” and “wind masses that automatically explode when reacting to magic.”
A giant storm of explosions and shockwaves erupted on the 99th floor. A gunfight, a gunfight, a gunfight, and a field of colorless explosion flowers spread out everywhere.
Fireworks surpassing the “Final Festival” on the ground flickered for mere seconds, created by just two people.
And like “Martial Arts,” direct hits were few in this aerial battle.
This wasn’t getting us anywhere. Just as I considered weaving our earlier brawl into this aerial exchange, a great vibration coursed through the battlefield.
It was Seldra’s magic.
“—Kuh, guh! GuhahaHahahaha! Snow, you’re not just all talk! You’re more capable than I expected! It’s true, it’s not just the power of the “Dragon Person” tribe! You have the tactical theories of the aristocratic Walker family! I can feel the teachings of the “Thief of Principles” too! Diverse experiences and magical knowledge are packed into your fighting style! Ah, magnificent!! You’ve become even more worth destroying!! Hahaha!”
Over the past two months, Seldra and I have sparred countless times and discussed national tactics and strategies.
Even so, to be praised by an enemy for hiding my strength from my teacher.
However, I regret to say, I have no intention of praising my enemy.
“—You’re all talk, though.”
I amplified my voice with magic and retorted.
Not only a exchange of magical projectiles, but a exchange of words began.
“Huh? What are you talking about, me? All talk?”
“I’m a pro at being spoiled, so I know. Seldra, you’re just all talk when it comes to spoiling.”
I declared, fighting.
There were many reasons.
Even now, while saying “worth destroying,” he has a sweet face, like an uncle from a distant relative.
He threatens with harsh words, but in the end, he’s prepared to spoil.
I was good at seeing through that kind of opponent.
In fact, Kanami was exactly that type, and Seldra was definitely of the same disposition.
Seldra increased his flight speed and retorted even louder than I did.
“Me, all talk when it comes to spoiling…? That’s a joke that’s not very funny. Don’t you know anything about me? Before I was a general, I was a pleasure killer. I used innocent “Demons” as experimental subjects, and turned Fanian’s thousand years ago into hell… I enjoyed killing good people, and incited promising villains to spread tragedy! Surely, in history, I am the greatest sinner, the one who spread the most “unhappiness”!! Undoubtedly, the villain who should die first, before anyone else!! That’s right, the true “Evil Dragon” is me! Even our god acknowledges it!!”
He declared this and fired an exceptionally large projectile.
From that bullet, I could feel Seldra’s wavering heart.
Dodging the opponent’s increasingly monotonous bullets, I calmly returned words and projectiles.
“A villain who should die? Is that what Kanami said? Kanami, really? Even though Kanami has a taste for thinking “Evil Dragons” are cool, he would never say someone should die, right?”
Kanami was the type to believe that any villain must have a reason behind their actions.
Even if the villain had no reason, he would overlook them, expecting them to reform.
That leniency wouldn’t change even if he himself was a victim. For example, even with that great villain as an opponent, he only disliked them in words.
“…”
“If it were Kanami, knowing everything, he would say, ‘Seldra was the best hero. You worked really hard,’ and praise you.”
Amidst the explosions of gunfire.
A brief silence filled the air.
After a sufficient pause, Seldra’s loud excuses were mumbled back.
“Don’t mess with me… How can a murderous villain be the best hero? The fools on the ground are deceived by me… The ground itself is undeniable proof that an evil person has deceived them. Stop with the jokes that only an evil person like me can scoff at, Snow.”
“If you’re going by who kills people, then I am too. Big Sis Titty also killed a lot.”
“Th-that’s different!! Don’t lump me in with you!! When a soldier kills for their country, the responsibility lies entirely elsewhere! You only fought to protect someone! Especially Rowen, Big Sis Titty, was a king who stood up for the long-oppressed “Demons”! There was a just cause! Noble aspirations! And a kind spirit inherited! Don’t you ever compare me, who enjoyed killing for pleasure, to them again—!!!!”
Here, Seldra became enraged and shouted.
And his attacks became even more sloppy.
His fastidiousness was as skewed as Kanami’s.
On top of that, he possessed a loyalty comparable to that of an idol.
“…!”
I could feel Seldra’s heart becoming exposed.
However, it was too blatant, and I was a little troubled on how to react.
It felt like an invitation to exploit his weakness, if I were to break him.
However, it’s because “Thief of Principles” are “Thieves of Principles” that this is a weakness rather than a trap.
Seldra, like other “Thieves of Principles”—no, perhaps, inversely proportional to his combat power, he might be weaker in conversation than anyone else.
However, engaging in this kind of “Talks,” like a clash of hearts, with Seldra during an aerial battle is not an easy feat.
Perhaps that’s why no one exploited that weakness a thousand years ago.
And now, with so many “Thieves of Principles” gone, there are very few left who can have “Talks” with Seldra—
That’s why it has to be me.
I, who am sturdy, loud, and more determined than anyone, will shake the exposed part of Seldra with vibrations.
Even while fighting, even while exchanging fire—!!
“That Big Sis Titty believed in you until the end…!! Seldra, you are brusque, but you’re a good-hearted person who always tried to help the weak!!”
“In front of her, yes!! I acted that way and deceived her!! But where she couldn’t see, I killed and killed and killed, I ran around killing!!”
“Even so! Big Sis Titty certainly relied on you as the Commander-in-Chief! She was proud of you and grateful! That’s why, until the very moment we parted, she was worried about your illness!!”
“She’s someone easily deceived!! When I lied that it was a fleeting illness, she believed me completely!! Ahh, she was truly an idiot, a clumsy woman!!”
“No matter how much you try to act tough with your words! The fact that Seldra was kind is proven by Big Sis Titty, who spoke with me! …Or rather, even if your heart is wicked, if you never show it, it’s as if it doesn’t exist.”
“…, N-no…”
Every time I repeated, “Big Sis Titty was like this,” Seldra’s movements grew sluggish.
His legendary flight “speed” became a “speed” that left all the bullets behind.
From a “speed” that could barely be followed by the naked eye, to the “speed” of an ordinary small bird flying.
The more we spoke, the slower he became, until he finally stopped in mid-air.
Seldra floated in the air, his gaze fixed in an unintended direction, and absorbed all the bullets I fired without defense.
I was surprised and stopped my attack—but I didn’t let up on my words.
“I believe in Commander Seldra, whom Big Sis Titty believed in. As one of the “Dragon People” a thousand years later, I trust you immensely.”
Amidst the smoke of magic particles, Seldra mumbled in a loud voice.
“So… I’m telling you not to be deceived… I’m just pretending to be a hero, deceiving you…”
“Seldra was kind. He taught me many things. Your admirable appearance was in no way shameful to a legendary hero. You spoiled me just as much as Big Sis Titty—”
“That’s why, that’s!! It’s for this pleasure!! To overwhelm you, who have grown so strong, and enjoy it!! You and Fafnir! All of you!! Just because you were spoiled a little, you all grew attached so quickly!! You were all prime prey!! I just didn’t want to eat you right away, so I raised you well! What kind of prey gets attached to the predator waiting for it to fatten up!! You great idiot!!”
Seldra raked at his short blue hair and screamed.
His appearance clearly showed the damage. He had taken a bullet that could blow away an army of tens of thousands with ease. Even Seldra, as powerful as he was, had his skin torn and bleeding in places.
However, he seemed to be in more pain from my words than from his physical injuries. He hovered in the air, covering his ears with both hands, trying to cancel out my vibrations with a Dragon’s Roar.
“You’re naive! You’re all so, so, so, so, so naive!! Your heads are filled with a carefree, flowery optimism!! You only say things that people born into privileged circumstances would say!! It must be nice to have an easy life because you don’t have to face reality, huh!? Some people can’t even afford to eat and have to commit evil deeds just to survive, you know!? And among them are the truly irredeemable villains!! They were born without anything to lose! They had everything they wanted to lose! Such people are inherently drawn to evil and willingly commit wicked deeds! There are countless people who can only be killed!!” Seldra shouted at Snow. “Snow, understand! Understand, quickly!!”
His unusual screams had become a kind of defensive barrier. The unintentional Dragon’s Roar had erased all magic and bullets remaining on the 99th floor.
It was truly terrifying. However, what was terrifying was not the intensity of the vibrations from his screams, but the inherent instability of a Thief of Principles. The unstable and terrifying Thieves of Principles I had encountered were Rowen, Aid, and Ragune. Seldra’s current state was similar to theirs.
“Ah, I am one of them!! The villain who tormented Titty, Aid, and Fafnir a thousand years ago is me!! Do you know why!? Because from birth, I found pleasure only in the suffering of others! Ordinary pleasures are boring!! So, I spread ‘misfortune’ with a laugh! That was the only thing that brought me joy! Kuhaha, just existing is a nuisance! The worst of the worst! It’s truly laughable! Ah, I can laugh!! I am the kind of person who laughs!!”
Seldra asserted. He told me not to be deceived by villains. He warned me to be careful because he was unstable and dangerous. Especially, he claimed, villains who called themselves ‘heroes’ should be killed immediately. He worried about me, even if it meant abandoning himself. But I couldn’t go along with that self-destructive behavior, because I am myself.
“—Seldra. You think if you act like a villain, someone will eventually stop you, don’t you? I absolutely won’t do that. There’s no such convenient ‘hero’ anywhere. They won’t come.”
I resolutely pushed away Seldra, who looked at me with a desperate gaze.
“……Ah, ah.”
At my response, Seldra’s momentum, even his screams, stopped. However, he forced out a voice with self-mockery.
“Snow…, well, if there’s a ‘hero’…, they will come…. If you wish for it, a god will become one…. No, one already has. A god stopped me, the evil me who tried to make two worlds war. I wish you could have seen it. He and I together… spun a romantic ‘dragon-slaying’ story… That was undoubtedly a battle between an ‘Evil Dragon’ and a ‘Hero’…, it was…, it must have been… Such beautiful light… Kuh, kuhaha, hahahahahaha—”
Saying “must have been” while laughing suggested he no longer had confidence in his memories. As he continued to let himself be carried along by the flow, he no longer felt like he was alive. Therefore, Seldra couldn’t complain even if his precious memories were overwritten by magic without him realizing it.
He was truly weak. Despite his overwhelming power, Seldra was overwhelmingly weak. It pained my heart to see him, reminiscent of my and Rowen’s despair in the past.
That’s precisely why, at this greatest opportunity, I quickly stated my primary objective.
“Seldra, you should know by now. Stop relying on others and let’s go together. I want to go with you to save Kanami.”
I reached out my hand. However, Seldra looked at my hand and showed a frightened expression.
He probably understood. This was not a hand of salvation. It was only a temporary offer of help to get him to walk on his own two feet.
“Me too…? To save Kanami…? That Kanami…?”
Seldra, who heard this, trembled his voice in the sky of the 99th floor. However, it wasn’t because of the Dragon’s Roar. Seldra was simply trembling with instinctive fear.
“I-it’s useless…! It was all, all for nothing! I tried to help and fought, but I already failed! While everyone else succeeded! Only I, from a thousand years ago, have failed and failed and failed, and ended up like this! A month ago, because I cornered Kanami, this happened, didn’t it!? This!!” Seldra spread his arms wide, trying to force Snow to reconfirm the situation.
This wasn’t just about the 99th floor, where this Dragon’s Wind was raging. It also included the Final Festival on the ground. More than anything, he screamed about the ceremony taking place in the Deepest Part.
“Because I failed, this is the result!! Ah, ah, ha, hahahahaha, hahahaha…!”
The failure must have referred to the Eightieth Ordeal that took place in Nihon, Kanami’s hometown. Kanami and Seldra had been saying for a long time that “the Ordeal is over.”
—However, I had a slight doubt.
Was that the Eightieth Ordeal truly fought with full earnestness? It was a battle that no one saw except for the two involved parties. Moreover, unlike the other Thieves of Principles, Seldra showed none of the refreshing feeling after an ordeal was concluded. I doubted Seldra’s sincerity.
Seldra, feeling my gaze, moved his hands from his ears to cover his face and screamed as if trying to escape.
“I-it was serious! It was completely serious! I imposed the Eightieth Ordeal with all my might! I used everything I could! I earned their trust, deceived them, and attacked them when they were asleep! I even took hostages! I involved the other world and utilized firearms and weapons! Despite being the Strongest, I did all that—and still failed!! It’s beyond the realm of strong or weak!! Kanami is invincible! It’s not even a battle! There’s no enemy! Not that they don’t exist, but the concept itself is gone! Why is that!? Because the dimensions are different! What do people call beings from different dimensions!?—’God’!! How can I, ‘Seldra’, kill the god that we ‘Seldra’ prayed to!?”
As if recalling the Eightieth Ordeal, Seldra shrank into himself, his wings, tail, and entire body trembling. He was completely imprinted with the trauma of defeat. Seldra, who was so unfairly strong, was trembling like a newborn bird. It was evident just by watching that this trauma was on a different level from the ones I had experienced.
“I… received a ‘Miracle’ from that god… My life was ‘revised’ with Magic [Reading Shift]… That damned ‘adaptation’ was overwritten with ‘evasion’! Don’t you think it’s a wonderful ‘Curse’!? ‘Evasion’ being good means I’m allowed to live! From now on, I’m allowed to be ‘happy’ normally… Hah, haha. I-I’ve been forgiven… Even though only the person killed can forgive a murderer! Even though murderers can never be forgiven! Escaping that Rule, I’ve been pardoned! If there’s such a being, it can only be God!! Only God can forgive and heal me now!! By becoming God’s vanguard, my heart is finally at peace… So, it can’t be helped… It’s inevitable that I pray, right…, Snow…”
Faltering, swaying, and trembling.
Seldra, delusionally clinging to the sky on Floor 99, was more deeply ensnared than any of their believers on the ground.
However, I deny such a one-sided relationship.
“Healed and ‘at peace’… Do you really think so? You’re shaking that much.”
I pointed to Seldra’s trembling fingertips.
Drawn in, Seldra looked. Then, slowly, they raised their hand to eye level, displaying their own tremor.
“You understand perfectly well, Snow… This is awe of the gods, and trauma. There’s no way I, shaking like an idiot, can fight the gods again, is there? I can’t grab your hand, can I?”
“It depends on how you think about it, Seldra. It’s not just about regretting past mistakes and cowering in fear. You can learn from mistakes and make sure not to repeat them. That trembling can even become strength if you embrace it…! So, even if you fail, one more time!! One more time, Seldra, seriously challenge Kanami! With us!!”
“O-one more time? It’s impossible. If I’m serious again, I’ll fail again—”
“Failure is fine!!”
I shouted, cutting off Seldra, who was repeating the same words as my past self.
I’m tired of hearing those excuses from myself.
The answer has already been found.
So, I’ll skip the preliminaries and tell you.
“Probably, from now on, I will lose to Seldra!! But when I wake up, I will fight you again! No matter what I lose, I will fight as many times as it takes! Because I decided not to give up!! No matter how many times, how many times, how many times, I will fight until I win!! Because I decided not to run away, but to accept everything, devour it, and soar!! Aren’t you the one who taught me that?! Seldra!!”
“Ah… ah…. Se, ‘Seldra’…?”
I condensed my life and flung it at them.
And Seldra was rendered speechless.
I’m… surely… swaying them.
Without a doubt, through the clash of souls, I’m shaking Seldra’s heart.
However, perhaps it was too much of a shake.
Seldra, at the height of their confusion, suddenly averted their gaze.
Even though their name had just been called, they only moved their head and looked behind them.
As if they were not ‘Seldra’.
As if the one fighting me now was a different ‘Seldra’.
As if there was no ‘Seldra’ in this world.
Sensing they were starting to ‘escape’ reality, I stopped shouting.
“S-Seldra!! We are the strongest race, ‘Dragon People’! What is there to give up on!? Praying, wishing, clinging! None of that will change anything!! No one is coming to help! So, with me—”
I encouraged them and reached out my hand further.
However, Seldra—
“Th-that’s right, ‘Seldra’… Praying, wishing, clinging… Why were you killed by me? Even without a heart, wasn’t there a way to survive? My King Rowen moved even with his heart crushed. The little guy mixed with a ghost did too. And yet, why? Why did you, the proud ‘Dragon Person’, give up? Praying in the mountains like that, waiting, help would never come. The ‘Evil Dragon’ couldn’t be ended unless a ‘Hero’ killed it. And yet, why? Why, cousin…? Why didn’t you try to defeat me for real? Hey…, HEY—”
They agreed with me, saying, “That’s right.”
For a moment, I thought I had gotten through to them.
But then I quickly realized I was wrong.
Seldra was talking to someone behind them.
They were calling that someone ‘Seldra,’ and the two of them were ‘together’ for a long time.
Is it a mind-interfering magic? Or is it simply because they’ve been with Kanami for too long?
It’s clearly similar to Kanami’s ‘hallucination.’ They were clearly experiencing ‘auditory hallucinations’ as well. This means—
This is bad.
I felt the same way with Diplakla, but it’s truly the worst that Kanami, who claims to be a god, is spreading the effects of ‘constriction.’
Moreover, Seldra, who is already facing a double layer of ‘adaptation’ and ‘escape,’ is now facing a triple layer—!
Just as I was convinced of my own failure, Seldra suddenly turned around.
And changing their expression from that of a kind uncle to that of a sworn enemy, they glared at me and shouted.
“Ah, ahhh!! Argh, a cowardly trick!! A cowardly trick!! Because you couldn’t win fairly! ‘Dragon King’!! Truly a cowardly trick!! Roweeeeeen—!!!!”
Seldra’s vibrations exploded upwards.
It transcended the realm of mere sound.
The surrounding space warped and the vision turned white from the acoustic pressure alone.
Furthermore, by calling me “Rowen” and pointing at me, the ‘Dragon’s Wind’ and ‘Dragon’s Roar’ filling Floor 99 all gained directivity. They enveloped me, who was trying to distance myself out of danger, from all directions.
I was surprised.
More than this powerful, incantation-less magic—I was surprised by Seldra’s terrible mental state.
It’s understandable that they would call me “a cowardly trick” for exploiting the gaps in my heart.
However, Seldra was clearly scolding someone else through me.
They were mistaking me for someone else, even though we were just talking.
In a terrifyingly powerful ‘illusion,’ Seldra continues to dream an unceasing dream.
“— ‘Born from greedy blood,’ ‘Greedy seeds shall perish’! ‘Devour until you hunger’!”
Even though their ears were not functioning properly, their morbid ‘incantation’ struck my eardrums.
Instantly, Seldra’s magic power became incomparably denser than before.
“—Ancient Composite Magic: Dragon Slayer’s Dragon Blade—!!!!”
This was the first time I had heard this magic’s name. The name “Ancient Magic” reminded me of the term “Demonic Poison” from a thousand years ago.
But that wasn’t all.
Furthermore, a second type.
I felt a ‘poison’ entirely different from the ‘Demonic Poison.’
It was mixed within the ominous ‘Dragon’s Wind’ that was raging.
My instincts recognized this as a ‘poison not of this world.’
My memories identified it as ‘wisdom Seldra found in another world.’
A ‘small, tiny, grain-like poison,’ similar yet different from ‘Demonic Poison,’ penetrated my tough scales and skin along with a special vibration, circulating into my flesh and blood vessels.
My limbs, flying through the air, were caught and enveloped by the vibration, wind, and poison.
They were bound in mid-air, unable to move—and then, they exploded.
With me as the center point, Floor 99 detonated.
*Next week’s installment will be shorter, so it will be posted on Friday at 8:00 PM, followed by another post on Saturday at 8:00 PM.
Please be aware of this.*
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