“Always adapting.”
I can’t erase who I’ve been until today.
I continue to defend the time I’ve lived, clashing with Kanami’s magic.
This defense of my life resembles a fleeting panorama—
“—Seldra, there’s no need to worry! If there’s anyone who can overcome the ‘curse,’ it’s the ‘Thieves of Principles.’—”
From the “black threads” within my body, I felt the voice of a boy mixed with a ghost echo.
Within ■■■, it vibrated, strong, deep, and vast.
Is it because of this situation? Memories related to the “curse” flashed through my mind, making me wonder if there wasn’t a better way to “adapt”—
When I was traveling with the boy, three “Thieves of Principles” had been born into the world.
Each was burdened with a “curse” as they stole their unsuited principles by apostles.
Teeda bore “Distrust.”
Arti bore “Oblivion.”
Titty bore “Absence of Mind.”
At that time, I understood the mechanism and cursed the apostles as “shitty.” But a thousand years ago, Fafnir’s eyes sparkled, and he began to praise the apostles as “wonderful!”
“—Isn’t that right!? Beyond overcoming that ‘curse,’ one day for sure!
The ‘Thief of Darkness’ will find truly trustworthy friends.
The ‘One Who Steals the Logic of Fire’ will find a person they can never forget.
The ‘One Who Steals the Logic of the Wind’ will find themselves they can never lose.
They can obtain them. That’s why it’s also a ‘blessing.’ Let’s become ‘Thieves of Principles’ together someday, Seldra!”
The fanatic who loved “ordeals” clapped his hands and rejoiced.
At that time, I frowned and offered a perfunctory “escape” with a casual agreement…
Now, I feel like I understand what he was saying, just a little.
Perhaps it’s because, in this world a thousand years later, everyone has moved on, looking satisfied…
Perhaps it’s because “adaptation,” which should have been a “curse,” has become my last resort…
If it truly were a “blessing.”
As I continued to adapt, a part of me began to wish.
If I can overcome this, will I be able to obtain something I’ll never truly get used to? Or am I different from everyone else, burdened by a “curse” that is intricately and complexly intertwined?
I want to know.
To know, I have no choice but to continue adapting for now.
I have no choice but to adapt, continue resisting, and continue overcoming.
Therefore, I continue to latch onto and swallow Kanami’s “Black Shift Overwrite Life” with “God-Slaying Evil Dragon” again and again. The clashing, as if devouring each other’s concepts of “erasure” and “adaptation,” was magnificent—but the concept of time had already been devoured, making it vague, like chasing a fleeting panorama—I adapt, and I am erased; I adapt, and I am erased—repeating this. In the end, we finally—
“Haa, haa, haa…!!”
“Haa, haa, haa…”
We were not in the “interdimensional rift,” but in front of the throne on the 100th floor.
On the stone path laid out in the shallow water, two men were on all fours, their shoulders heaving greatly.
It was me and Kanami, gasping for breath.
When I realized it, we had returned.
Not just to the place, but to our forms.
Shifting my gaze slightly to the side, I saw my body had returned to that of a normal “person.” It was close to the usual state of a “Dragon Person.” However, the dragon characteristics on my right side were completely “erased.”
My right horn, right wing, and tail had injuries as if they had been forcibly torn off, and blood was overflowing from them endlessly. And yet, despite being a “Dragon Person,” these wounds showed no signs of healing.
In contrast, Kanami’s body in front of me had “half-magic” characteristics missing, as if eaten by insects. Many of the patterns that appeared on his limbs were not functioning as “spell formations.”
The seam between the “person” and “half-magic” parts was like a normal laceration, and blood was flowing, just as it was from me. Purple magic particles were spilling from his entire body, but there was no sign of recovery magic taking hold.
—Both of us were severely depleted.
In other words, miraculously.
The clash between “God-Slaying Evil Dragon” and “Black Shift Overwrite Life” had resulted in a stalemate.
Considering the scale of the collision, this situation could be described as a clean “magic nullification.”
However, the aftermath alone had brutally stripped away the strengths of both of us, leaving our bodies highly unstable.
The accumulated damage was immeasurable, and naturally, both of our magic was empty.
I continued to inhale air with my ragged breath, trying to recover even a little.
“…Haa, haa, haa!”
But it was painful.
I absorbed the surrounding oxygen and magic power, but it was nowhere near enough for recovery.
However, it was the same for Kanami in front of me, who was desperately trying to regulate his breathing.
“Haa, haa, haa…”
My lungs, like those of a normal “person,” craved air.
Neither Kanami nor I looked like we had been fighting as the “True Evil Dragon” and the “False Evil God” just moments ago.
Due to the clash of special enhancement and weakening magic, both of us were weakening in a strange, deep-rooted, and abnormal way.
However, if asked which one of us had taken less damage, the answer was already clear.
Kanami’s breathing was noticeably steadier.
“Haa, haa, haa…”
“Haa, haa, haa”
This is bad.
I hurriedly scanned my surroundings.
Various dimensions had likely been warped by the clash between “Black Shift Overwrite Life” and “God-Slaying Evil Dragon.”
Because Kanami disliked the fight itself, time had likely been particularly distorted.
That’s why we were returned to the front of the throne on the 100th floor, before the fight began.
However, no matter how much I looked around, Snow, whom I had brought from the 99th floor, was nowhere to be seen. Noi must have taken her. And given her personality, she would surely continue to hide until I was completely gone.
In other words, it was just the two of us here—me and Kanami.
No one else would get in the way—if that’s the case, whoever gets up first wins.
“Gaaahhh!!”
I mustered my voice and strength.
I had decided to stand up again and again.
As I put strength into my legs, stood up, and tried to fight—
Light flashed.
A shining blade of magic power rushed through the dark 100th floor.
“Haa, haa…, M-, ‘Magic Power Solidification’… Haa…”
“Ku, kusso—! Haa, haa…!”
With several tendons in both legs cleanly severed, I was forced to my knees.
Unlike me, Kanami had constructed a sword with “Magic Power Solidification” before standing up. He must have poured all his strength into “swordsmanship” that required no spell formation and swung it while crawling.
My skin had none of the defensive power of a “Dragon Person,” being cut as easily as paper, increasing the number of bleeding spots.
Then, in front of me, Kanami took a deep, long breath to regulate it.
“Haa—…, Haa—…, Haa—…”
Furthermore, he used his magic sword as a cane and slowly stood up.
Stumbling, he walked across the stone path, closed the distance to where I could reach him, and made his magic blade flash again.
“Gu—, Aaah”
Then, the sword solidified by “Magic Power Solidification” returned to magic particles like snowflakes.
Instead, the tendons in both of my arms were cleanly severed, leaving them limp.
From the shoulder down, they fell, becoming completely unresponsive along with the bleeding.
The pain was not the issue.
The problem was that Kanami, wary of the “Dragon Person” characteristics, had confirmed it with minimal attacks. Seeing me unable to move from mere severed tendons and showing no signs of recovery, he finally began to speak.
“Haa, haa…, Fuu…. Seldra…, that was a good fight. This ‘Eightieth Ordeal’ was a battle, no doubt. But, I win.”
Kanami’s breathing had completely stabilized first.
However, I was still not there.
“Haa, haa, haa…!”
My breathing was still ragged.
I was still absorbing my surroundings, but it was still not enough.
It was as if all the strengths of my species, including my left side where the “Dragon Person” characteristics remained, had been overwritten by the recent ■.
“You resisted fate, you surpassed my ‘threads,’ and survived…. It was truly amazing. I was moved. It was painful. It was cool. It was sad. It was happy. That’s why I also became serious. To the point where I had to interrupt the construction of ‘Magic Kanami’ and divert that ‘spell formation’…”
Kanami praised his opponent.
The praise continued.
“My ‘plan’ was completely off…. Splendidly, Seldra surpassed the ‘plan’…. Thanks to that. If I obtain the magic Stone of the ‘Thief of Nothingness’ who splendidly survived, I will gain the power to surpass my original ‘plan’…. That true ‘strongest’ power will support my journey beyond the ‘Deepest Part’ of ‘Rustiara’…! Ah, in other words…, thanks to you, Seldra, I’ve taken a step closer to ‘Rustiara’! Everything is according to ‘plan’! I remain the cool protagonist of ‘Rustiara’! Everything is going smoothly! No matter how complex and difficult the path may be, everything is proceeding smoothly!! Hahaha, hahahaha!”
Having overcome the battle of our lives, Kanami congratulated himself.
As he had said long ago, Kanami did not consider being able to exceed the “plan” to be a negative.
I grumbled at his carefree and convenient “plan” that relied on others.
“Haa, haa…. Well, for you who will ultimately take all the magic Stones…, it’s a convenient development, isn’t it….”
I squeezed the words out of my throat.
Kanami did not deny it, nodding apologetically and saying, “Yes, it’s the best development.” But his gaze, which showed no signs of letting up, looked at his own arms.
In the short exchange just now, his “half-magic arm” had been completely repaired.
Kanami, his arms glowing purple, approached me.
He intended to start taking everything as he declared, aiming to obtain the magic Stone of my “Thief of Nothingness,” which had been fully sublimated.
“Seldra, dimensional magic doesn’t affect you. You even resist and return ‘erasure’… Furthermore, it’s probably impossible to resolve your overly complex ‘lingering desire’ through the correct procedure…. Therefore, I will follow your rule and prey upon you now. I will eat and inherit everything you have consumed…. I ‘promise’ you.”
After a moment of thought, Kanami used the word “promise.”
While I appreciated his sincerity in his own way, there was nothing I could trust less than his “promise.”
“Not yet…. I won’t let you…. ”
“I will surely ‘bond’ with you. I will never forget that you were a precious friend. Seldra Queenfilion will continue to shine within me. As a great hero who surpassed the legendary ‘Evil Dragon’ and became the true ‘Strongest,’ forever—”
He’s truly kind, that infuriatingly doting man.
Even though he’s likely not at his best, he’s still thinking of his opponent and choosing his words carefully.
He’s even willing to go along with the rule of predation.
Therefore, I felt no fear towards the approaching “half-magic right arm.”
Soon, Kanami’s arm would pierce my chest and consume my magic Stone.
However, this was exactly the “flow of dying after entrusting it to someone” that I had originally wished for, and it was my own “happiness.”
But precisely because of this, every cell in my body rejected it.
“Haa…, Gaaahhh!!”
I leaped.
I could no longer use my arms or legs.
So, I opened my prideful jaw wide, twisted my body as if to wring myself out, and bit down.
Kanami instinctively tried to protect his throat and heart, arching his upper body backward.
However, my bite was aimed at his arm.
I swallowed his “half-magic right arm,” which he had presented defenselessly, deep into my mouth and tore it off.
“……!?”
Kanami was surprised.
Not that I still had some strength left—but that I, after using my last bit of power, was aiming for his arm instead of a vital point and trying to swallow it whole, surprised and smiling.
“—Ha, haha, ha, you’re going to hell? All talk, Seldra. …As everyone says. You were born the weakest and kindest ‘Demon’ in this Other World. Hahaha.”
“Haa…, Haa…, Haa…”
My breath was ragged, and I couldn’t retort.
I had exhausted all the sustenance within my body and was busy chewing the part of Kanami’s forearm I had ingested.
“It’s futile. No matter what you eat, a comeback from there is impossible…. Let’s end this. I don’t want to see the kindhearted Seldra suffer….”
Kanami extended his other left arm, as if to deliver the final blow.
The purple glow was a sign of the unblockable instant-death magic, “Distance Mute.”
I had no choice but to evade, but I had no margin to move right now.
It easily pierced my chest.
My weakened body’s skin was truly soft, offering no resistance.
With his arm inside me, I was grabbed.
—His kind and warm hand held my magic Stone.
Then, lightly, Kanami brought his right arm, which was now missing half its forearm, around to my back.
Perhaps it was because this was the end.
Kanami knelt down and hugged me, pitying the foolish “Dragon Person.”
“Farewell, Seldra…. I’m sorry…. I could see this ‘last page’…. From the beginning….”
It was a victory declaration befitting Kanami.
But there’s no need to apologize.
For me too, it was from the beginning.
Even if I couldn’t see the “future” like you, I knew from the start.
I would definitely lose, and I anticipated failing again.
This includes you, who are too kind, pitying me at the end and wanting to see me off up close—
As that premonition foretold, my soul was now being extracted.
In my flickering vision, a fleeting panorama rushed by.
Familiar faces floated in my mind—
“—I want to become a ‘person’ like you—”
It’s him again.
Meeting that boy, the “Demon,” was indeed the turning point of my life.
Being able to deceive him so easily was the beginning of Seldra Queenfilion.
Remembering the admiration I had received from him, I immediately—*scraped*.
With a vibration like something being ground away, I shook off that persistent fleeting panorama.
—It’s not the time to be looking at nostalgic faces.
My soul had been extracted.
I immediately lowered my gaze.
In Kanami’s left hand, which had pulled my magic Stone from my chest, was my magic Stone—shining transparently.
The magic Stone of the “Thief of Nothingness” was held in his hand.
Through this mere pebble, all souls were connected to their bodies.
I knew this. As the last “Thief of Principles,” I was well-versed in Tiara and Noi’s “spell formations”—and I had been anticipating this moment.
This long-awaited moment.
“—————-”
“……? My body… it’s not turning back into ‘Demonic Poison’?”
Kanami, still hugging me, voiced his doubt.
It’s understandable.
Pulling out the magic Stone means there is no soul left.
In the “Labyrinth,” all living beings are converted into “Demonic Poison.”
Yet, I, who have no soul, am not disappearing, thinking I have “no soul.”
There are various hypotheses.
But ignoring them all, I believe only in my own “magic” and my throat trembles.
“Aa, aa—”
I had been waiting for this moment of annihilation, which transcends even death.
I was accustomed to repeatedly dying mentally. That’s why, I had expected from a thousand years ago that the moment of physical annihilation would be an intensely fresh and unbearable pleasure.
That’s why, now—
From both death and annihilation, I will absolutely not “escape.”
I believe in what lies beyond overcoming Fafnir’s “curse.”
—What I should truly “adapt” to.
—What I must not “escape” from.
Facing those two, my true “magic,” “God-Slaying Evil Dragon,” is sublimating—an “ancillary magic” that supports it. I feel from Kanami the “magic” of indiscriminate enhancement, shining with a white rainbow.
Ah, I see.
I had told him repeatedly not to stop at just lacking a heart.
There was no way I could stop at just lacking a soul.
“Kuhah…, Ka…, Na…, Mi…!!”
I try to hug Kanami, who is embracing me.
My arms should have been unresponsive. But now, inside me, I had the “half-magic left arm” I had consumed in the “interdimensional rift” and the “half-magic right forearm” I had just chewed.
That last meal, digested by “God-Slaying Evil Dragon,” turned into power, moving not only my severed arms but also causing “half-magic” patterns to appear on my left arm and right forearm.
As I embraced him, I sank my “half-magic arms,” which were not real, into Kanami’s back. Although it was a pseudo-effect, “Distance Mute” was in effect.
“…Your hand? Your hand? Seldra’s hands are getting into—”
It won’t last for more than a few seconds.
My “half-magic arms” were uneven in length and incompatible in quality.
However, I will not waste those few seconds. I cannot.
“Fo—, for this…. I have lived…. Beyond ‘God-slaying’…, to save…. Not as an ‘Evil Dragon,’ but as a ‘Hero’…. With everyone…, the ‘True…—”
I mumbled, manipulating Kanami’s “contents.”
While Kanami’s soul was now the widest and most complex in the world, there was only a moment’s grace.
There was no time to think.
Besides, even with my “half-magic arms,” I couldn’t do much, as I didn’t understand the “spell formation” of “Distance Mute.”
So, I aimed for the souls that had a connection with me and were easier for me to grasp.
Two people with two hands—could it be my King and the Chancellor?
However, I intuitively denied it: “Different.”
Those two were too kind.
It had to be a more direct combat power.
Thinking about what power was needed now, something else came to mind—
—When sword meets sword, the ‘True Hero’—
That phrase.
The “prophecy” of Saint Tiara Fuziaze.
No, it was the “prophecy” of Glen Walker, who had defeated me.
Through the “black threads” on my back, he recommended it.
The two people who defeated Glen, who defeated me—
It was an impulse.
It was a reflex.
I chose.
I grabbed the two—
“Kuh—!”
Kanami groaned and recoiled backward as if to escape.
He maintained the distance of a few meters, holding my magic Stone in his hand.
Then, he fell to his knees on the stone path.
I also knelt down.
We both collapsed again, facing each other.
My gaze fell on Kanami’s left hand, which had extracted my magic Stone.
Kanami’s gaze fell on my hands, which had extracted two magic Stones.
As we looked at each other, Kanami understood what had happened and brought his left palm to his mouth, suppressing a wave of nausea.
“……!?”
He must have lost his balance when two of his important “Thieves of Principles'” magic Stones were suddenly ripped out.
Kanami had been gathering magic power for the ritual on the ground, using the magic Stones as vessels to maintain his “half-magic” body.
It was clear he was receiving the greatest damage of the day, as the source of power that formed his foundation had been disrupted.
—Divine power is lacking.
More accurately, the power that masquerades as divine.
Whatever it is, Kanami is no longer a “Thief of Stars.” He is insufficient.
Like a waning crescent moon, should he be called a “Thief of the Principles of the Moon”?
Kanami, whose mind and body were now crumbling, shook his head.
He negated the greatest achievement of my day.
“U-, useless, Seldra…. I will return soon…. That is meaningless….”
Kanami, with his hand still on his mouth, began to restore his broken balance.
He could do this because he had devised all his “spell formations” himself.
As the “Shiso” praised a thousand years ago, he had the skill to improvise with original magic spells, no matter how much his structure was broken.
In contrast, I—cannot recover anymore. It seems impossible to do so again.
No matter how good I am at magic, I am not in a state to effectively utilize the “Thieves of Principles'” magic Stones I took from Kanami.
Therefore, Kanami, who will recover immediately, will likely take back the two magic Stones I hold.
No matter how I struggle, my defeat is irreversible.
So, my actions now are futile, meaningless, and worthless—
“I…, I…, I’m not saying it was all… futile…”
I will never think that.
I will keep flailing.
Even if I die, I have no intention of admitting defeat.
I will continue to live, recite, and call out—
“‘That young dragon continued to devour’… ‘until starving for atonement.’… However, I realized. ‘Humans are forgiven by no one, only by themselves in the end.’… Even so. ‘As long as the voice of the dead that shakes the soul does not disappear, I cannot die easily’…”
I returned the vibrations I had heard earlier with vibrations of my own.
They will definitely come.
Until then, endure death.
Until death, live desperately.
“What are you saying…—!?”
Just as Kanami was about to retort.
—*Scrape, scrape, scrape*.
Another vibration, like something being rubbed and ground away.
It echoed in the pitch-black 100th floor.
Although the vibration was messy, compared to the sounds of the abnormal battle so far, it was realistic.
It was a truly ordinary sound.
The reason Kanami hadn’t noticed it until now was probably that it was too ordinary and harmless.
Trusting the source of the vibration, I turned my head backward.
From the depths of the stone path, a man appeared, being dragged along.
—*Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape*.
With the sound of stone and metal grinding, the man walked.
He had been following me, the path I had taken.
The transparent legs were those of a “ghost” “Demon” character, obtained from Fanian’s experiment.
His white attire remained unchanged, and his heart was also still missing.
However, he was not wearing his usual black hair and red eyes. He wasn’t the boy with blond hair and blue eyes from when we first met. His black long hair and golden permed hair were mixed unevenly, and his pupils were red and blue odd eyes.
Furthermore, both of his hands were bright red like “blood dolls,” and his skin was peeling in places. This distorted appearance was also reminiscent of a “blood beast.” It was a state I had never seen before. But I wouldn’t mistake him.
—This man was Fafnir Helvishein, who should have fallen into hell.
Fafnir, shedding tears, wobbled.
However, guided by some “thread,” he walked straight ahead.
Looking at the greatsword he was dragging, I had a vague idea of what had happened to Fafnir.
The greatsword dripped blood, appearing red and long.
It was the same height as Hermina of the Demonic Impediment Research Institute, whom I knew.
This sword, called “Hermina’s Heart,” had a very distinctive shape, resembling a cross.
And at its center, her heart should have been beating—
There were two hearts.
They nestled together, their pulsations of “throb, throb” synchronized.
Fafnir appeared, dragging the true “Hermina’s Heart.”
Like a ghost, he arrived, sobbing just like me.
Following the path I had inherited from Glen, the boy from the past—
“Seldra-san…. Kanami-san….”
Fafnir smiled happily.
While dragging the cross and walking, tears overflowed endlessly, yet his eyes sparkled, and he spoke joyfully.
“I want to become like you, too….”
Ah…. As always….
Whether in a “dream” or “reality,” this person alone remains completely unchanged— no, not entirely.
Even at a time like this, I found myself thinking one thing idly.
He had grown, and I sincerely rejoiced in the boy’s growth.
A thousand years ago, after parting ways to the north and south, Fafnir’s and my lives had diverged far apart.
Yet, even without meeting, we had always admired each other.
We had continued to aim for each other.
Those separate paths now intersected at the pinnacle of our lives.
It was a true “connection.”
This is a short chapter, and another one will be posted at 0:00 four hours later.
It will be just one short chapter.
