I repeatedly simulated the battle in my head as I ran.
I had one objective.
To slash and kill the monster named Arti.
I was certain I couldn’t escape this place unless Arti was dead.
She was prepared to die. She wouldn’t stop until she did.
Therefore, I had no choice but to kill her. I had no intention of saving someone who was trying to die.
I knew my conscience would ache, and I would regret my choice—but even so, I would kill her.
Arti leaped backward, swallowing the surrounding flames and attempting to compress them.
This action indicated that, unlike Teeda, Arti was not skilled in close-quarters combat. Even when we fought together in the labyrinth previously, her Fire Sword and physical strength were immense, but her swordsmanship wasn’t particularly refined. Compared to Teeda, her movements were several ranks slower.
Just as I expected, I felt that “my chances of winning were high.”
If my chances weren’t high, I wouldn’t have stayed behind alone.
I had confidence.
The confidence from rescuing Rustiara now gave me the mental leeway I needed.
That pride fueled my resolve to save Maria too.
Killing Arti, restoring Maria to her senses, and then it would be over.
Fortunately, there was a precedent for cold air calming Maria’s confusion.
I was about to close the distance to Arti at full speed—
“Master—!!”
Maria, wielding a Fire Sword, attacked me, stopping me in my tracks.
My sword and her compressed Fire Sword clashed, blade against blade.
The residual heat burned my hand, and when the Fire Sword changed shape to attack me again, I was forced to retreat.
As I pulled back, I pleaded with Maria.
“Maria, don’t interfere!! Don’t be fooled, those emotions are a lie! You’re just being manipulated by that monster over there!!”
However, my pleas were in vain as Maria intensified her flames and shouted.
“This is a lie!? That can’t be! You’re the liar, Master!!”
Maria turned her raging emotions into flames. Flames erupted from her feet, transforming into two Fire Snakes. It was the Midgardsblaze she had shown during a previous Dungeon Exploration. It was a magic that had once exhausted her with a single snake, but now she conjured two without incantation—forming them instantly.
“Wha—!?”
I was shaken by Maria’s heartfelt cry and, furthermore, surprised by the quality of the magic.
Then, the violently writhing, twin-headed Fire Snakes opened their jaws.
“Leaving me behind! Keeping secrets! Lying all the time!!”
Maria screamed, swinging her Fire Sword horizontally and unleashing the Fire Snakes at me. I dodged the attacking Fire Snakes and shouted back.
“There are things I haven’t told you! But I haven’t lied!!”
“You lied! You hate me, Master, so you lied and are trying to push me away! You’re trying to leave me behind!”
While writhing the twin-headed Fire Snakes, Maria continued to blame me. The heat of the flames made me sweat. She was no longer the weak Maria of the past; she had transformed into a Fire Mage capable of dealing me a fatal blow.
Ideally, I wanted to ignore Maria and fight Arti. However, if I didn’t stop Maria’s actions, I wouldn’t be able to easily close the distance to Arti behind her. The division of roles between front and rear was functioning perfectly.
“I’m not leaving Maria behind! Never! And I won’t lie!!”
If possible, I wanted to end this with persuasion. I wanted to avoid pointing my sword at Maria. Such a naive thought crossed my mind, and my mouth moved on its own.
“No, you’re lying! For starters, that name is a lie! Every time you call yourself Christ Eurasia! Every time you’re called Christ! Master treats it as something distant! You keep deceiving yourself with a false name, not revealing yourself at all!!”
As I dodged the Fire Snakes, Maria lunged at me with her Fire Sword raised. I managed to block it with my own sword. It was an attack that had clearly anticipated my movements. The skills [Keengan] and [Kari] were guiding Maria on how to approach me appropriately.
“That’s not true! While the name is an alias—”
“S-See! It was an alias after all!! Master!!”
The moment I admitted it was an alias, Maria’s Fire Sword gained more power. The Fire Sword changed color from red to blue, burning with such intensity that it threatened to melt my sword.
I instinctively parried the Fire Sword and created distance. Then, I regretted my tactical mistake. My previous response had confirmed that Maria was not conversing rationally. She was merely listing things she suspected, driven by emotion. It seemed she hadn’t truly known about my alias, but merely suspected it. And by my admitting it, Maria’s fervor had intensified.
I took a deep breath, cooling my head, which had become heated from arguing with Arti. Trying to persuade her during combat was counterproductive. Maria could say whatever she pleased, but I had to choose my words carefully to calm her down. In the midst of life-threatening magic, selecting the optimal words was an almost insurmountable task.
More importantly, the environment was terrible. This fiery hill had been burning all the air for some time, continuously raising the temperature. Even though my body was sturdy due to my level, if the temperature rose further and I lost oxygen, I wouldn’t be able to think clearly.
—Even as I assessed the situation, Maria’s flames raged on.
“Your name is a lie, and so is your origin!! You lived in the boondocks of Fanian, that’s a lie, isn’t it!? Because there’s no place more remote than where I lived!! And yet, you didn’t even know about the Christmas festival! That’s absolutely impossible!!”
The intensified Fire Snakes attacked me with increased speed. I dodged them with ease. It seemed I still had the advantage in speed. However, if this battle continued, that wouldn’t last. Sweat poured from me. Even without being hit, my stamina was undoubtedly draining.
—I gathered all the information and made a decision.
I abandoned the idea of persuading Maria and aimed to knock her unconscious. A bit of rough handling was unavoidable.
“Maria, hold on for a moment!!”
I charged at her with my martial arts, intending to incapacitate her. However—
“No, Christ. Listen to Maria more.”
Arti from behind coldly refused. Arti raised condensed flames above her head and began to chant.
” ‘Blazing Flare of Glory’ ‘Of the World Serpent’s Innermost Core’… —
Instantly, a chill ran down my spine. I stopped approaching Maria and instinctively leaped backward. Something passed between Maria and me. It was fire. A thin, white flame, like a line cut through space, remained suspended in the air. It was a flame like a thread. It extended from the flames floating above Arti’s head and pierced the ground. The area around where the white flame struck melted like lava, bubbling furiously. The temperature of this white flame was unpredictable. However, I intuitively knew that a direct hit would cause serious injury. The white flame trembled. I detected a part of the ground behind me transforming into lava with the magic
“You lied to me so much! You said you didn’t like Rustiara-san! But you did! You went to save her! You left me behind! You went to your beloved Rustiara-san, leaving me, whom you don’t love!!”
As I twisted my body to its limit and lost my balance, Maria attacked me. I met Maria’s Fire Sword with my own, and with the recoil, I flew backward. However—the ground where I landed melted away with a sloshing sound.
“—!”
A flash of light shot out from the collapsing ground. Faced with this relentless barrage of attacks, my face contorted. I narrowly dodged it by turning my body sideways, but I clearly felt that I was cornered. I wouldn’t be able to withstand the onslaught of Maria and the white flame forever. I would be toyed with and defeated. Therefore, I reached out my hand to the white flame that passed by me. I concentrated all my magic power into my hand and constructed Ice Magic.
“—Magic
The casting range was about the size of my palm. I deployed the magic space of “Midwinter” on my palm, interfering with the white flame. Magic
“—!!”
I felt dizzy trying to comprehend the flame magic, which was built upon meticulous calculations. But what was more terrifying was the resentment contained within this magic that made it possible. The magic, constructed from various negative emotions such as hatred, grudges, jealousy, and loathing, overloaded my brain’s processing power. However, if I failed, my hand would melt away.
“Disappearrrr—!!”
Roaring, I attempted to steal the heat from the white flame. It should have been impossible under normal circumstances. However, by concentrating all my magic power onto my palm and channeling several times the usual amount of magic, I succeeded in forcibly dispersing the white flame. By dispersing the white flame, I saw a chance of victory. My magic had a good compatibility with Fire Magic. I was certain of it. Fire Magic, which generates heat through vibration, could be considered to have my magic, which suppresses vibration, as a weakness.
“Alright!”
Feeling my chances of victory increase, I turned my face towards Maria. And, intending to disperse all of Maria’s flames—my foot tripped.
“—Huh?”
“Fufu, it’s surprising you interfered with my flames… Surprising indeed, Christ. But tell me, how much magic did you lose just to extinguish one of my spells?”
Arti laughed. I quickly checked my status.
【Status】
HP 286/372 MP 91/657-200
I was stunned. The trade-off was overwhelmingly unfavorable. Just by extinguishing that white flame, my MP had decreased by about 200. Roughly one-third of my total MP.
“—Don’t ignore me! Master!”
As I stood dumbfounded, Maria’s Fire Snakes attacked me. I reached out to disperse them, then stopped myself. If I extinguished these flames here, my MP would run out. If that happened, I would lose the means to counter Arti. For one thing, it was highly likely that physical attacks wouldn’t work on Arti, just like with Teeda. There was a good chance that only Ice Magic would work due to an amorphous body. If I didn’t reserve a minimum amount of MP, the battle itself would be doomed.
Sensing that my chances of winning in combat were diminishing, I immediately retorted to Maria. Even though I knew it was futile, I appealed with words rather than force. The high temperature and my impatience were robbing me of my judgment.
“Maria!! Just calm down! If this continues, I’ll die! If that flame hits me directly, I won’t survive!!”
“It’s alright! Even if your limbs burn away, I’ll take care of you…! Even if you lose your hands and feet, you’ll be fine with me… I’ve become stronger, thanks to you, Master. With this power, I can even earn money in the labyrinth. There’s no problem, at that house! Let’s live the rest of our lives just the two of us…!!”
Saying this, Maria pointed at a house on the verge of collapse and showed a beaming smile. Fighting in this scorching hot field, a chill ran down my spine. There was no hope of persuasion. Seeing Maria’s smile now, I understood that. Losing my words, I moved solely on physical ability to restrain Maria. However, Arti from behind would not allow it.
“—’Sprout Birth Flame’ ‘All Calamities of Primordial Sin’s Sacred Fire’! —
Simultaneously, a flower of flame bloomed from under Maria’s feet. I clicked my tongue and leaped back again. The flower of flame unfurled its lily-like petals and attacked me. Consequently, I had no choice but to distance myself from Maria. Furthermore, the flower of flame writhed, and something scattered from the center of the flower. It drifted down like pollen, fell on the surrounding ground, and bloomed new flowers. I was certain it was Wide-Area Magic and tried to distance myself further, but a wall of flames blocked my path behind me. Surrounded by flames on all four sides, I had completely run out of escape routes. Faced with the flower field of flames spreading exponentially, I brainstormed for a solution. I reviewed all my available options, searching for a viable means. I experimented with various combinations of my hand, but I realized that none of them could break through the current situation. My rapidly spinning brain foresaw my death. Along with it came the sensation of something crawling up my back. —The skill [???] was approaching me. I would not accept it. I would absolutely not accept that. If I accepted and allowed that, I would have nothing to say to Arti, Maria, or Rustiara. With that thought in mind, I searched for a breakthrough. And then, I noticed one option I hadn’t yet utilized.
“—All skill points to Ice Magic!!”The display appeared on my retina.
【Skills】
Ice Magic 2.06 + 1.10
All my unallocated skill points were added to Ice Magic. Furthermore, I canceled the magic
“Freeze!! Freeze——————!!”
I dispelled all other magic and focused solely on the cold air. An unprecedented amount of cold air was being refined. I clad myself in this cold air like a robe, preparing for the approaching flames. One might call it Magic
“—Guh, Aargh!!”
The flame petals clinging to my back burned me. The cloth on my back burned away, and the flames directly scorched my flesh. I no longer felt the heat. There was no pain. Only danger signals echoed in my brain. Ignoring all of it, I ran. Along the way, Maria, walking freely through the flames, stood in my path. But I couldn’t afford to care. My shoulder was torn by her Fire Sword, but I ran past her and headed straight for Arti.
“You’re here! Christ!!”
Seeing me charge at her recklessly, Arti laughed. It was the same smile as Teeda’s from long ago.
“Arti—!!”
I screamed. My mouth burned, my throat burned, my insides burned, and as everything burned, I screamed.
” ‘All-powerful flames that shake the world’ ! ‘A crimson will fueled by the passion of all things’ !”
Arti screamed and chanted. Like me, burning everything to ash, she screamed and chanted her magic. It was likely that by the time I reached Arti, her magic would be complete. Nevertheless, I had no choice but to advance. My dwindling life urged me that this was the only moment.
” ‘Blood Spurting Burning Flame’ ‘Discordant Form of Crimson Wind Flowers’ ! ‘The World Is Burning Now’ —!!”
I ran as if intending to dive into the completed Fire Magic.
“—
The completed flame was a spherical body like a miniature sun. The moment it shone like a light, my entire field of vision was engulfed in flames. My sensory organs ceased to function, and I felt my entire body charring. Yet, I pushed forward through it. I knew I had to push forward to protect myself. I forced my burned limbs to move, shielded my head with my left hand, and with my right hand, I slashed through Arti’s torso. Then, with the momentum of the slash, I passed behind Arti and continued forward. As a result, I received the heat of a small sun on my back—I concentrated the cold air backward and attempted to flee. However, the heat and impact surging from behind were tremendous. I was flung across the ground like a ball, unable to brace myself. Although my coattails were burned to ash, the enhanced Ice Magic had prevented me from suffering a fatal injury. And the sensation remained in my hand. I had indeed cut Arti. Slowly, I got to my feet and checked Arti’s condition behind me. Arti, slashed diagonally from shoulder to waist, was standing. She pressed a hand to the flowing blood and looked at me, smiling. Her blood was burning. Despite sustaining a cut that would be a serious injury for a human, Arti was smiling. It was a smile that sufficiently conveyed that the battle was not over.
Instead of my depleted MP, I used my life to cast magic.
“Magic
【Status】
HP 246/372 MP 0/657
【Status】
HP 238/366 MP 0/657
It was decreasing… But not yet. It wasn’t over yet. Recalling my past battle with Teeda, I quietly watched my dissipating life.
