“I’m not done yet! I won’t stop hitting you until you die! Die, you bastard!”
…I don’t know how many times I hit him, but I’m getting tired, so I’m going to finish him off with a blow infused with penetrating waves aimed at his medulla oblongata!
“Take this! This is… the end!”
The man’s body rolled away flashily, like a rag doll. His head was completely misshapen, and his body was only spasming.
“Haa, haa… Is this enough? After dying and regenerating so many times, you surely can’t regenerate anymore… How is it? Are you still alive?”
There was no reply, nor any sign of movement. It seemed I had killed him completely. Geez, he was persistent… I thought he was dead when he stopped moving, but he just wriggled and regenerated. This repeated more than ten times, but finally, he stopped regenerating. That kind of endless death and rebirth would break anyone’s spirit.
I give him one last kick to the head, but it didn’t feel like bone; it was a slimy, repulsive sensation, like kicking a water pillow. Ugh, his eyeballs were popping out, and some weird fluid was leaking from his ears… Gross! Activating my internal mosaic filter, I saw nothing!
Whatever… he’s done for. He was reviving right in front of me just moments ago, but now there’s no sign of regeneration. And I’ve thoroughly destroyed his head. I’m sure he’s dead this time. Stomping on him again might make him explode, but I don’t really want to do that…
It was starting to get me down, but I shook it off! He looked like a boss character, but being beaten to death without being able to do anything is almost comical! He’s become a fresh, mangled corpse! This is really off-putting, but he just wouldn’t die. Even with his head caved in, he was still moving. If I had fought him properly, I probably would have struggled to kill him.
Now he’s just a human-shaped piece of trash. When I carelessly kicked him, the man formerly known as Gizai just collapsed and lay there limply. His handsome face was unrecognizable. His head, which I’d beaten to a pulp, was dented, his hair was all gone, and his arms, which he’d desperately tried to guard, were crushed without mercy. There was nothing left intact. Truly, this requires a mosaic. You can’t show this! I don’t want to die like this, through blunt force. I regret nothing, though I did a terrible thing.
Still, I’ll offer a prayer with my hands clasped.
“…Forgive me. My instincts just told me to kill you without question. I don’t know who you are, but showing off your preamble in front of me in battle mode was pretty arrogant. Well, after such arrogance, dying instantly is a rather sad end for a villain… You looked like a boss character, but in death, you’re just garbage… I’ll at least return you to the sea, so you can become food for the fish.”
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve killed someone so human-like and capable of speech. But that was my impression. I had killed a mysterious thug from Japan before that, but that was just me playing defense. It was a total accident, but I don’t really care. He probably intended it as some kind of dramatic flair, but I ruined it. Serves him right. I suspect he thought he’d mock me, weeping about how he couldn’t kill, how he hated killing people. That’s how most Japanese people reincarnated in other worlds act. They kill people they should kill or make slave girls do it for them, all while living in sweet fantasies. They indirectly cause massacres but then claim they didn’t kill anyone directly. I was like that too, actually.
But all those sweet thoughts have completely vanished. Fools only learn by dying, but a hundred deaths will cure any fool. Sweet, sweet sentiments… My mentality is like steel now. I have no trace of those pathetic, isekai-light-novel-protagonist feelings left. Moreover, I even managed to open with a cliché male-villain kill. Ah, I’d always wanted to do that just once, and my dream came true, leaving me feeling incredibly refreshed!
His defeat was sealed the moment he showed himself. He was clearly going to be a menace if left alive, and his tone and voice were irritating. Negotiation was out of the question. Rather than listening to his nonsensical psycho-speech, killing him without question was the best course of action. This is the best of the best approach. I might have even broken the mold of non-killing protagonists and clichés. This is all thanks to Lady Seleneis’s training. “I can’t kill humans.” I used to say those pathetic words, but I was forced to experience the consequences. In short, I was killed countless times. If I showed mercy and left them alive, they’d somehow revive and strike me from behind. If I broke their limbs and thought I was safe, they’d self-destruct with a bang. They’d beg for help, and when I hesitated, they’d self-destruct again. There were also battles with assassins in crowds. A child vendor would suddenly explode, or a florist would stab me from behind with a poisoned dagger. That was awful. I was so terrified I feared I wouldn’t be able to reintegrate into society, having experienced every kind of ambush and assassination method. I even suffered a curse. If I made eye contact with an old woman passing by, I’d die instantly. The countermeasure was to throw something and kill her before our eyes met. I had to memorize the curse’s activation magic pattern and kill the target without question if I detected that magic pattern. In short, if I felt even the slightest killing intent, I had to react instantly and kill without question. That was my assassination countermeasure… Hesitation meant death. If you hesitate to kill an enemy just because it’s human-shaped, you will die. Enemies show no mercy, tolerance, or compassion. If you don’t want to be caught in a mutual destruction, you must deliver the final blow. That was the lesson Lady Seleneis taught me. In battle, without question, even if the enemy is your own brother… that is the warrior’s way. I used to think that talking things out could lead to reconciliation, even with enemies… But when it comes down to life or death, diplomacy is far beyond that level. No matter how sweet your words, if you die, it’s game over. If you face an enemy, don’t hesitate. And eliminate them for sure, to remove any lingering concerns. If you can’t do that, you can’t survive. Lady Seleneis’s teachings are correct. That training… was precisely for survival in actual combat. From what I’ve heard, modern soldier training begins by relentlessly drilling the ability to shoot at human silhouettes reflexively. Daily practice of this training allows soldiers to pull the trigger upon seeing a human with a gun before they can even think in a real war. Lady Seleneis’s training was exactly the same. Killing before thinking… that’s how you become capable of killing people on the battlefield. In fact, even though the opponent looked human and was talking, I acted entirely according to my training without any emotional attachment and killed him with ease. I thought I would hesitate more in a real situation, but that wasn’t the case. By the way, I learned my wrestling moves while practicing on human-shaped targets. Watching wrestling matches on late-night TV was a secret pleasure during my night shifts! I secretly wanted to use wrestling moves on enemies and dominate them! Real wrestling moves are designed to minimize injury to the opponent, even if they look flashy. In my case, the diving DDT was adapted into a killing move where I fall first, then slam the opponent headfirst onto the ground, with me acting as a cushion. During training, I often decapitated or smashed the heads of human-shaped targets. Enemies ending up in gruesome and gory states is natural in a fight to the death. Lady Seleneis’s only advice was, “Get used to it. But don’t enjoy it.” I did get used to it. The training in Seleneis’s dimension was far more realistic than VR. The flying blood and guts, the pain, the fear of death, the despair… all of it was as real as it gets. Killing cleanly is only possible with a vast difference in ability. Humans are surprisingly resilient. If they move, destroy them completely… that’s how brutal a fight to the death is. Well, her other command, “Don’t enjoy it,” was spot on. Murder should not be the goal… it is merely a means. If you mistake that, you become just a murderer. Regardless, the fact that he didn’t die instantly even in that state shows he possessed extraordinary vitality, surpassing that of an ordinary human. Being able to kill such a person with a surprise attack without question is something to be proud of. Fair fight? What’s that? But well, this time… it’s a complete victory, isn’t it? Given his condition, his brain is mush, and his neck is snapped, so he’s probably dead instantly. His recovery ability has its limits… exceeding those limits means normal death. I don’t even know his name, and I don’t care. He’ll just become sea debris anyway. “… Latrie, can you hear me? I’m done here. Yes, I defeated Leviathan, and I casually killed the guy controlling him without question. I also dealt with the apparent mastermind. This is a complete victory, right? I’m exhausted, so could you send the Kenturi over here? For the return trip, how about a graceful boat ride and a dinner of Magluf assortment? We seem to have no shortage of ingredients, so it’ll be an all-you-can-eat tonight. Let’s include all-you-can-drink alcohol too.” I called Latrie using long-distance magic. My magic power is almost depleted… My muscle mode will be forcibly canceled soon. Even with fuel-efficient magic, it can’t be maintained constantly. Well, it looks like this battle is over, so it should be fine. Now for the ending credits. A victory feast back in my hometown, Convenience Store Village. “Yes! I understand… However, Lady Seleneis said you’re not finished yet. Leviathan was being controlled… What exactly is happening there? There’s a black mist around Husband’s location, so I can’t get a clear picture of your situation! Regardless, don’t let your guard down! We’re rushing over, so maintain your combat readiness and maximum alert!” What black mist? I don’t see anything like that… Was it the blackish soot I saw earlier? The whole area is like that… I can’t see it. But the Kenturi, which should be at sea, is nowhere to be found. It looks like an endless blue sky and sea… but what is this? The waves and clouds seem to have stopped… It’s as if time has stopped.
