The instructor, a trump card of sorts, joined the fray.
Intuitively, I thought, *This is it,* and changed what I was seeing.
The god, blindsided by a blow to the face, was flung in the direction of the impact by inertia, while simultaneously using a roll on the ground to deflect the follow-up attacks from the Dragon King and the Giant King.
The Oni, of course, didn’t miss this opening. He charged in faster than I could, delivering a brain-dead play of directly punching back the Divine Sword and closing the distance.
The god’s focus shifted away from me.
Because of that, what I could see changed.
Just for a moment, if I could do that, I could manage.
The timing for what I wanted to do, no, what I *had* to do, had arrived.
By focusing on what I wanted to see, my eyes would try to capture that very thing.
“Damn, it’s thick,” I muttered.
And then, dimly, it began to appear as a tangible entity.
A single, thick rope extending from near the god’s heart towards the ground.
To recognize it as a concept, I would need a deeper understanding, but it was a rope that was beautiful to behold, as if all imaginable colors had been mixed without mingling and then arranged.
That was the rope connecting the god and the world.
I would cut that.
Recognize it more, concentrate more.
Self-hypnosis, once you grasp the knack, can be surprisingly easy.
Even if the instructor’s repeated heavy blows and their reverberations filled the surroundings, my concentration kept them from disturbing my awareness.
I had to tell myself, *I can see it.*
And with that, the rope gradually gained distinct contours.
“Ngh!?”
In return, I experienced a pain in my eyes and a splitting headache, something I could only describe as dangerous.
*I want to blink. No, I have to endure. Don’t push any further, or you’ll die. Just a little more, that’s all I need.*
It was understandable that if a single individual managed to perceive the dense information of a concept that formed part of the world, their consciousness would waver, and they would feel as though their very being was about to disappear into the abyss of the world’s concepts.
“Hah!! Jiro! Put some guts into it!!”
Just as my body swayed and the clearly visible rope began to blur, a gruff shout pierced my ears and jolted my consciousness awake.
“!?”
I had been on the verge of losing consciousness. No, even now, with the headache, the pain in my eyeballs, the nausea, and the pain from the wounds sustained in the battle so far, my body was screaming that it had reached its limit, threatening to send my consciousness spiraling away.
But seeing that I had recovered, the instructor gave a nod of approval, a smile, and turned back to face the god, resuming their fistfight. Watching that back, I naturally thought, *Ah, I can still go on.*
A back that fought with a smile, unafraid of death, fighting bravely.
They must have rushed here as fast as they possibly could. My body, thanks to its regenerative abilities, had no remaining wounds, but my equipment was another matter. Scars marked it here and there, along with the splashed blood from those they had undoubtedly struck. The lingering scent of that battle spoke of a fierce fight, and seeing the god’s Divine Sword still gouging the instructor’s body, spouting blood, yet they continued to fight, regenerating themselves.
“Ah, honestly!” How cool!
If I were to falter here, I would be doing a disservice to that back. More importantly, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. I really need to put some backbone into it!!
More naturally, strength flowed into my body. Wiping my bloody nose, I rested my bloodshot eyes for a single blink and then charged forward. Get closer, more, more, deeper, deeper, deeper, look into the very abyss!!
The Divine Sword began to move. Perhaps because they were a god, multitasking seemed effortless. While fending off the instructor closing in, the Dragon King raining down breath attacks from above, and the Giant King fluidly maneuvering their massive body and swinging a spiked ball, one of the god’s eyes remained fixed on me. Ah, I’m so glad, God. You recognize me, your former corporate slave, as a threat!! Seeing that you’ve diverted some of your attention, even if it’s just one eye, and are on guard against me, I could feel a smile spreading across my lips. While three generals couldn’t finish them off even with a concentrated barrage, the god’s face began to show signs of desperation under the onslaught. Well, after all, we have assembled here individuals with combat prowess comparable to that of past Demon Lords. In simple terms, it’s like having four Demon Lords gathered. There are no Heroes. But still, the Demon Lords have laid siege to the god’s Honmaru. Even for a god, this is a formidable force that cannot be easily dispatched!! The Divine Sword was pointed at me and was coming, but it didn’t matter! I could see it all. Slaying the first with a diagonal cut, deflecting the second with a reverse blow, kicking away the third with a toe augmented with metal, and exploiting the opening created, I launched a new offensive from a new direction. I had closed the distance with the god compared to before. But unlike the instructor, who would try to close the distance and attack, you seem to dislike me closing the distance.
“Hahahaha!! It seems my disciple is quite terrified, isn’t he, you weakling god!!”
“What? You think I fear you?”
“That’s what it looks like from your movements!! If you weren’t afraid, you’d just crush me head-on!! All you’ve been doing are petty attacks! And on top of that, as soon as Jiro started moving, you came close to me!!”
The instinct to provoke based on those movements was clearly at play. Truly, they call it a natural talent for quarreling. Precisely hitting the opponent’s nerve is also a talent, isn’t it? With a smirk, they stepped forward without hesitation, even against the god, sending the Divine Sword flying and grazing the god’s cheek with the shockwave.
“But you know what!! That also pisses me off!! It’s like you’re saying I’m weaker than Jiro!! It feels like you think I can handle it easily!!”
Then, that smile transformed into a face of pure rage. Looking at the god’s movements, it was indeed true. It was no wonder the instructor was angry. A great Oni who loathed being looked down upon more than anyone. Faced with a compromise at their very doorstep, it was impossible to defend against the fury that erupted, turning them into an unstoppable force. Muscles bulged, their body rapidly inflated, their killing intent sharpened, and they swung a fist towards the god that made their previous attacks seem like mere child’s play.
“Bring it on!! I’ll teach you that this is the entrance to your hell!!”
The god seemed to have misjudged, judging by the grimace that appeared as a barrage of blows rained down, leaving no time to retort. “Let’s play, God!!” Fists demonstrating the ferocity of a wild beast. Into that tempest, I plunged. The fierce battle between the instructor and the god. The god, wielding the Divine Sword and preventing anyone from getting close, and the great Oni, knocking away the Divine Sword and pressing closer. Their movements were both so rapid that there wasn’t even an ant’s chance of fitting through the cracks, let alone a mouse. Invading that space, I slipped in with a sword dance. There was no room for wasted energy. Here, even the instructor’s attacks were closing in on me. It wasn’t that I had lost my reason, but demanding reason from the instructor, who was brimming with killing intent, was also misguided. Cooperating with the instructor in this state was incredibly difficult. The mental structure of someone purely enjoying a battle was vastly different from someone driven by the killing intent to absolutely defeat their opponent. In the former case, “as long as it’s interesting” could be used as a get-out-of-jail-free card, but in the latter, things became quite severe. Even the slightest obstruction could sour their mood. The notion of “for the country” provided some rational basis, making it slightly more manageable, but it didn’t excuse mistakes at work. My intrusion, and the fact that the instructor deflected my fist with an Ore Tree, had subtly increased the power of the instructor’s incoming blows, but it was not a problem. We were so focused on killing the god that it was almost a relief. There was no room for play. Hindering them directly led to the instructor’s displeasure. Our gazes briefly met. “Don’t get in the way, okay?” “You too.” A momentary eye contact, reading each other’s actions and intentions. While the instructor continued their whirlwind of powerful blows, I used the fluid movements of my dance to approach the god. Just one strike, focus only on that. Killing intent is a hindrance. Focus all your energy on just cutting. You don’t need to kill, just cutting will suffice. Step by step, I honed my focus on footwork, defense, and cutting. In a normal situation, this space, with the god and the great Oni raging, and the dragon and giant interfering, would be worse than hell for concentration. However, the danger present here served as a whetstone, sharpening all my senses. My thoughts, stripped of all unnecessary elements, sought only the methods to achieve my objective. Before doubt could even question where to step, my body moved. I extended the time glimpsed by Future Sight even further. Minimizing overall enhancement, as no extraneous power was needed, I optimized partial enhancement through magic power. My consciousness was dedicated solely to achieving the act of cutting. Pick out the most necessary sound from the noise. Pick out the most necessary movement from the impact. Pick out the necessary position from the faint scent. All the while, I continuously deepened my perception of the concept of the rope connecting the god and the world. Little by little, truly little by little, its contours became clearer, and I gained information on where to pass the blade to cut it. Blood flowed from my eyes along with sweat. But I couldn’t stop. They often say not to push beyond your limits, but the dragon’s blood remade my body stronger and stronger, as if to say, limits are meant to be broken. This was an evolution of humanity occurring at an incredibly rapid rate, something that should have been impossible. Ah, I’m truly becoming less human. I was aware that I was more than half human-less. But that remaining humanity was being remade into a body that adapted to this situation at high speed, as if it were being literally sold off. The grinding of my body finally began to subside. This wasn’t because I had relaxed, but a sign that my body was catching up to my will, forcing it to move. Ha, perhaps dragon horns will eventually sprout from my head. These minor thoughts, like background noise, were treated as breaks, and the jarring sounds of bodily change were simply ignored, as I had grown accustomed to them. If I had time to feel disgust, I could have taken another step. Gradually, as the headache subsided, I delved deeper into the sea of information, triggering further headaches, in a repetitive cycle. I would wish for results at the end of it, continuing to shed my humanity. It’s alright, it’s alright, I can manage this. The anxiety in my heart tried to apply the brakes, warning me that if I went any further, I wouldn’t be able to return, but such brakes were unnecessary. My only option was the accelerator. Further, ahead! That relentless movement grasped a single ray of light. “I see it!!” I couldn’t help but shout, though it was only for a moment. But the swordsmanship was firmly seared into my mind. From fluid, to powerful. From a gliding step, to a stomp that cracked the earth. Reading the flow, and at the perfect moment when I could reach with this distance, I threw myself into the attack. A void, as if the attacks didn’t exist there. A few centimeters, no, just millimeters short of the attack. Feeling that with my very skin, I only thought of unleashing a single strike. “KIIYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!” With a battle cry, I swung the Ore Tree. A full-power, overhead diagonal slash. An unimpeded strike, the ultimate blow delivered by my body. A strike with the conviction that it could cut through all things.
“Foolish! As expected, human blades cannot reach!!”
The strike didn’t reach the god, who had momentarily retreated, merely slicing through the space before them and resulting in the god’s cry of triumph.
“SUELLAAAAAAAAAHHHH—!!!!”
But in my eyes, I clearly saw something else being cut, and I shouted the name of the beloved woman who had been waiting.
Today’s Word
When the flow of battle changes, anxiety and a sense of accomplishment mingle.
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I am also serializing another work: Pandora Pandemic Panic – Pandora’s Box Has Been Opened Again, but we are fighting back with various things at our secret base!! Please check that out as well!!
