I apologize for the delay.
I was delayed because I was thinking about how to connect to the final scene.
Now that it’s done, I’ll post it.
The awakening of my partner, the Ore Tree, is good news for me, and of course, for God.
After pointing the tip of my sword, we both sprinted with all our might.
We cut through the wind, crushed the floor, and swung my partner, leaving traces on the ground.
“!”
The clash between my partner and God’s Holy Sword.
Before the metallic sound echoed, a new sound overlapped, creating a high-pitched clang.
In the space of battle, where sparks danced wildly, I could see God’s expression contort.
Seeing that expression, and catching a glimpse of the Holy Sword’s blade, I felt joy surge within me.
“How fragile, how weak, how brittle! These Holy Swords!”
My partner also expressed joy at this.
“No, you’ve just become abnormally sharp,” I thought to myself, but I didn’t deny his words.
Despite being swung around, my partner was quite verbose.
However, I could sympathize with the reason for his joy.
I saw nicks on the Holy Sword’s blade.
Yes, it was chipped.
And this, on a Holy Sword that should have been completely unharmed by any ordinary means.
“Shut up!”
And at my partner’s provocative words, God became agitated.
He was forced to fight indirectly through the vessel of a human, or rather, a hero, which was an inconvenience.
Perhaps because of this, his initial impassive expression had vanished, and he was now clearly directing his hostility towards me.
“You seem to be in quite a hurry, God?”
The roles had reversed since the beginning.
Thanks to my partner, the Ore Tree, which had evolved its future sight and accelerant senses, absorbing the surrounding magic particles scattered by God and supplying me with them, I could use them almost inexhaustibly.
The Stop Barrier, which I could initially only use two or so times, now…
“Again!?”
“Yeah, again!”
I could re-activate it after a short interval.
I deliberately didn’t dodge, and instead used the Stop Barrier to receive the flash of God’s Holy Sword, forcibly creating an opening for myself.
This was the third time.
God was starting to be cautious, and this feint was being prevented more often now, but for that brief moment, the barrier that wouldn’t budge no matter how much he pushed or pulled must have been unbearable for him.
And most importantly, for me, as time passed, the arrival of the worst possible opponent for God was confirmed.
In other words, time was on my side, and I had a mental calm.
The difference in psychological余裕(yoyu – composure) had reversed the tide of battle.
But.
“I have to return the favor for you messing with my wife!”
Even if it was something that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t forgive that nightmarish future outcome.
To an outsider, it would look like a complete act of venting frustration.
However, I was confident that God would definitely do it, so I would not hold back at all.
My heart became hot, but my hand, wielding my partner, remained steady as if ice had been poured into my head.
All the sparks were emitted from the Holy Sword.
Gradually, God began to focus on dodging rather than being attacked.
Dodging sounds good, but it becomes difficult when you have to counter-attack.
The former requires more speed to attack before the opponent can sense your intent, while the latter, if refined, allows for surprise attacks, which is ideal for keeping the opponent unaware.
But doing this in a high-speed battle is not easy.
First, to dodge, you must predict the opponent’s attack, and second, you must maintain a speed equal to or exceeding the opponent’s, or temporarily comparable to it.
Without these two conditions, dodging and attacking simultaneously is impossible.
Just dodging can lower the difficulty somewhat, but in either case, continuous dodging becomes difficult.
“Damn you human! What nonsense are you spouting!”
“You probably don’t understand! To you, it’s clearly just taking it out on you!”
But God had no choice but to keep dodging.
He probably felt the sharpness of the Ore Tree more acutely than I did.
He must have felt the force of my swings even more than I did.
And he undoubtedly knew the strength of Valse-san, the High-ranking Spirit of time and space.
For God, a series of unexpected problems were accumulating, strangling him.
Pride is the downfall of man.
I wanted to say the same to our President, but I couldn’t figure out how to phrase it and let the thought go for a moment.
“I’m angry!!”
After all, if I had time to think about such things, I would want to cut down the God before me even a split second sooner.
The women I loved were hurt.
My beloved child was almost taken.
That fact made my anger skyrocket.
My partner was swung not with 20% more power, but with 2000% more.
Beyond the dull thud, past the high-pitched sound, leaving sound behind, overlapping in an instant, the Ore Tree created multiple afterimages, as if it had multiplied.
Normally, attacking in anger is forbidden, but somehow, as long as it meant I could cut down the being before me, my brain was working at its peak.
I wasn’t just wildly attacking the opponent; I was constantly searching for ways to cut him down and inflict fatal damage.
“So! More! Partner!”
“Ouh!”
Not only my battered body answered that feeling.
My partner converted the magic particles absorbed from his surroundings through his connected roots into magic power, and with that highly purified magic, he supported and strengthened my body.
That’s why I could still move even in this state.
I didn’t think about what would happen after the battle.
“Hah!?”
I didn’t have time to think about such things.
Even to my eyes, God’s movements were fast.
I couldn’t afford to look away for even a moment.
However, in God’s expression, there was no attempt to hide the harsh emotion.
Still, sharp attacks grazed my face.
In addition to the swordplay that demanded killing, slashes were added that made my physical movements inconvenient.
“Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!”
God cried out like a tantrum-throwing child, but I chuckled inwardly, gripping the hilt of my partner firmly, thinking, “I’ll definitely beat you up.”
We clashed, and large sparks flew, chipping the Holy Sword further.
Still, the Holy Sword’s sharpness didn’t decrease, which was perhaps its strength, but if I had time to be impressed, I’d increase the number of times I swung my weapon.
“A mere human, neither a hero nor a Demon Lord!”
God’s arrogance was irritating, but seeing him flustered like this was comical.
Feeling a sense of relief, I flashed a smile learned from my instructor.
When things are tough, just smile.
That’s what I’ve always done in dire situations.
“Yeah, that’s right! I’m a human! I’ve deviated quite a bit, but I’m still human! And it’s a human who’s cornering you!”
With a smile, I moved freely around the entrance, occasionally receiving support from Valse-san, and swung the Ore Tree with all my might, aiming for God’s neck.
A brief glimpse showed me Valse-san holding Eshlee and the others.
Kawasaki wasn’t within reach yet, but that was only a matter of time.
And, even in the midst of battle, a strategy suddenly occurred to me.
We ran around the now unrecognizable entrance, measuring each other’s distance.
In terms of length as a sword, the Ore Tree was superior, but in terms of weight, the Holy Sword was superior.
This naturally changed the range of engagement.
A turn from direct combat to a battle of positioning, and the number of blade clashes decreased.
Frankly, this situation was not favorable to me.
Although I was masking it with magic, my body was severely injured.
I had stopped the bleeding, but blood still seeped out with every clash, and I was slightly anemic.
However, I was so excited that it didn’t matter much.
“Channel the magic!”
“Ouh!!”
Still, the sooner the objective was achieved, the better.
My instructor had always taught me that physical limits were meant to be exceeded, and I had adhered to that, but in truth, I had rarely crossed the line into truly dangerous territory.
I was feeling like I was in a chicken race, heading towards that line.
Then, I should enjoy that sense of crisis.
Surrendering to the feeling of being chipped away second by second, I transformed anxiety into joy.
If there was no time, then I just had to defeat him within that time.
I chased God, increased the frequency of my attacks, and inflicted wounds on his body.
What I was about to do would be considered a dishonorable act by others.
After all, there was no evidence that Ishan was actively helping God.
There was a possibility that his body was being possessed.
However, I ignored that possibility and prepared a certain magic.
Sealing Magic.
This is a magic that fixes all phenomena and prevents them from activating.
It can even seal powerful magic and overwrite it.
“Partner.”
“What is it!?”
When I entered the preparation phase, my partner called out to me with slight dissatisfaction.
“We’re in the middle of a battle,” I replied with a wry smile.
“You can activate that, but before that, do something about the Holy Sword in front of you.”
He also gave an order.
“I can’t accept it remaining in its current form.”
My partner was asking the impossible.
Did he want me to break the Holy Sword God was wielding?
But if it were something I could simply fix in place, I would cut through it.
However, the opponent was a sturdy Holy Sword being swung at high speed.
Break it?
That’s asking too much.
“Well, that’s just as well.”
But I smiled wryly, thinking, “That’s okay too.”
While preparing the magic, I might as well cut it in my spare time.
“To cut down the Holy Sword? You’re joking!”
“Too bad! It’s not a joke, because it’s about to happen!”
In reality, although it was chipped, it hadn’t cut through the core of the Holy Sword.
It was understandable that he would be indignant, thinking that cutting the Holy Sword itself was impossible.
But, in my senses, it wasn’t impossible.
I could cut it.
The sensation and feedback were undeniable.
To respond to my partner’s request, I honed that sense.
With each clash, it became sharper, and even if God changed his fighting style because he disliked that sensation, the sharpness of the sensation only grew.
“What, you said not to joke, but you’re not attacking? You’re pathetic.”
“No, you call that being scared!”
“Hmm, I see. It is more accurate to describe it as being intimidated.”
Meanwhile, provoking God was quite effective.
“Did I say I feared you?!”
“Yes, you did! You cowardly God!”
“Can’t deny it.”
It was obvious from the start that he had a high pride.
Even though he had only sent his soul to another world, a world where physical distance was irrelevant, he looked down on us.
God had absolute confidence in his power.
He couldn’t possibly lose.
Such words emanated from him.
That’s why he must not have expected to be pushed this far.
If I were a Demon Lord like the President, it would be a different story.
“I won’t forgive you.”
But for a human who had simply deviated, being told such a thing caused another kind of emotion to drain from God’s expression.
“Simply die. You don’t even deserve to be in my sight.”
“I refuse. If you want to do it, do it by force!”
He had truly snapped.
The pressure God emitted intensified.
God began to show disgust towards me, which was convenient for me.
It was easier for me if he attacked aggressively, as I wouldn’t have to chase him.
God’s magic enveloped the Holy Sword, and I could tell its quality was higher than before.
God probably considered using his full power against me to be a disgrace, but he still did it.
“Then, die.”
After I taunted him to “Do it,” God’s attack did indeed become sharper.
But there was also a clear element of complacency in it.
An attack that wasn’t hesitant would certainly be sharp and possess incredible power.
But, conversely, it could also be seen as being overly eager.
A strike from the Holy Sword, enveloped in excessive magic to kill a single human.
Seeing a slight spurt of blood from his veins, I knew it was a power-up that strained his body.
Combined with its speed, if I received this attack, I would surely die.
But the excessive power.
Within the intent of that attack, there was a slight hint of complacency.
He believed he could definitely defeat me with this single blow.
“Kah.”
A smirk spread across my lips.
Foolish, how utterly foolish.
For an attack executed with perfect preparation, there would be no such extraneous emotions.
One would simply swing.
Hesitation is an extraneous emotion.
Yes, just like this.
One only needs to focus on cutting.
“Wh-what?”
God’s eyes widened in disbelief at the culmination of the downward swing of the Holy Sword.
Ah, I had been watching and waiting with my future sight for this very moment.
This attack.
If swung with full force, its power would naturally be immense.
However, it also served to boost my attack in comparison.
Countering a downward swing with an upward swing might be the height of foolishness, but let anyone who dares say that when they see the Holy Sword, its blade cut in half.
The severed blade of the Holy Sword spun through the air.
And then, directly towards God’s face, which was clearly visible, I unleashed the magic I had prepared.
“Grin and bear it!”
A magic circle unfolded on my elbow.
There were ten of them, overlapping like springs, symbolizing the power of the attack that was about to be unleashed.
Excessive power for excessive power.
I unleashed what was, in a sense, my ultimate strike.
The name of that magic is.
“Pile Regret-o-o-o-o-!!”
The magic, named Pile Regret, unleashed an explosive sound that should never have been heard, and demonstrated destruction commensurate with its sound.
Allowing no one to defend against it, my left fist pierced through the white flames and landed a blow on God’s cheek.
Today’s word: Emotions that build up must be released.
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*The first volume of the novel has been published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.*
*It was released on October 18, 2018.*
*The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year.*
*The second volume was released on December 19.*
*The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.*
*The content is a revised and expanded version of the story posted on Shosetsuka ni Narou, with the addition of unreleased interlude chapters.*
*Please check out the new release as well!*
*A manga adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.”*
*We hope you will enjoy that as well.*
*We appreciate your continued support of this work.*
