Chapter 421

Chapter 421

“Slow down, you quadrupedal turd!”
“Bam bam bam!”
I cried out desperately, but Sita2 wouldn’t stop.
The marten was like a black meteor as it ran along the ground. Its tail was straight up from the moment it started running, never once touching the ground.
“Holy shit, what the hell was that influenced to pop up?”
I’m not kidding, it was much faster than any Sita or ghost horse in the original world. I wondered if it had gained speed in exchange for its ability to fly. I liked being in a hurry, but this was hard to keep up with.
“Hey, come with me.”
“Huh?”
Then I heard a familiar voice behind me.
I barely had time to turn my head. Ronan2, still looking a little groggy, fell in beside me.
“What, you’re awake already?”
“Haaaahhh–I slept too long, I hear you say. Why don’t you help me catch that Akasha or whatever the fuck she is?”
Ronan2 yawned. Unlike me, who was running like hell, he seemed quite relaxed at this pace. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a faded handprint on his left cheek, clearly not there earlier.
“What are those handprints? Who did that?”
“Instructor Nabiroze. Aww, that stings.”
“You’re so full of yourself, I’d beat the shit out of you if you had that much spit on your shoulder.”
“That’s not true—— because I was just asking her why she’s so hot today and what’s wrong with her. Fuck—I thought she was my sister.”
“Erai asshole.”
I laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all. Given my sister’s personality, I’m willing to forgive her for still having her head on my shoulder. Ronan2 asked a question.
“So. How strong is this Akasha guy?”
“A lot.”
“Hmm, you must be really serious to say that. How’s that for an analogy?”
“If you fight Akasha, who only uses her toes, I’ll bet my fortune on her.”
“Nimi. Don’t you think it’s a bit much to put it on your toes and not your fingers?”
“I’ll pawn my panties if the guy who pays me doesn’t run.”
I meant it. I don’t know how strong Ronan 2 became, but he was no match for Akasha.
“—— is getting an error.”
But he seemed to be spurred on by my words. Ronan2, who had been stroking his chin, outran me and took off running.
“You must be crazy.”
I don’t blame him. When you’re growing up, it’s easy to lose sight of your surroundings. But Akasha was different from her previous enemies.
“May you not be late.
I could end up with a dead body. I muttered something under my breath and picked up the pace. The pale castle in ruins was now within sight.
****
『■■■.』
Akasha’s three eyes bent like crescent moons as he faced Asel, bent at the waist in a grotesque fashion. A ragged mask reflected Asher’s pale, worn face as if it were a mirror. His claw-like fingernails pressed lightly against Asher’s cheek.
“Oh. Ahhh… Aaaah…”
Streams of water flowed from Asel’s eyes without resistance. He couldn’t even breathe, let alone speak. Akasha’s fingers were unbelievably cold, too cold to be a living organism.
‘I die. What happened? It’s clearly collapsed. I die. I’m going to die here. Why didn’t anything happen? I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.’
It would have been easier to pass out, but even that wasn’t easy. Asel rolled his eyes and looked around. No cracks, no chained rocks.
Just as I was wondering if I’d fallen under a hallucinogenic spell, the ceiling caught my eye. The ceiling, half-embedded with statues, was covered with thousands of cracks like mosaic tiles.
“—that’s ridiculous.”
A chill ran up and down his spine. What he saw was no hallucination; the ceiling had indeed collapsed, just as Asel and Didikan had planned.
It’s just that Akasha reverted it all back to the way it was.
He’d undone the collapse with telekinesis and brought them together with incredibly sophisticated spatial magic. Realizing this, Asel gave up trying to think.
『■■■. ■■ ■■■.』
Akasha repeatedly poked Asel in the cheek as if she were playing a prank.
It seemed to say something in between, but I couldn’t make out the meaning. It was almost as if he was mocking me, saying, “Given the circumstances, you could only catch me with something like this. Asel’s body winced as the curled cheeks dipped slightly and then returned to their normal shape.
“Move.
Didikan watched the scene, stiff as a board. Akasha’s nails looked like they would tear into his cheeks at any moment, digging in and popping out the other side.
His tail curled between his legs. His teeth were clicking together like he had a fever.
‘Move. I need to move. Move—!’
It was the first time he had ever felt such fear. The day the cave giants swept through the forge, Gran Cappadocia. Even the day Doron lost his inspiration was not this desperate.
My instincts were telling me. You’re as good as a bug in front of that wizard.
An overwhelming sense of helplessness and frustration weighed on Didikan.
“Asel.
At this rate, it was all over. The absorption that Asel had tried to stop was still going on, and the dimensional rift was only growing wider. Suddenly, Doron’s face flashed before his eyes.
A teacher who is no more. The last words of the old dwarven man who had guided him through his grumblings were his very reason for living.
‘Move. I am the last embers of Gran Cappadocia.’
Before he died, Doron called him the last ember. A flame must never be extinguished in the face of hardship.
To live to shit the bed and keep the Empire’s best forge alive.
It was Didikan’s mission to create a sword that would one day be used by swordsmen like the Man in the Coat.
Slowly inhaling, Didikan opened his gaping maw and roared.
“Crack! Move!”
The voice echoed. The paralysis lifted. Didikan roared like an animal and lunged at Akasha, sharp fangs flashing inside its gaping maw.
“Kaaaaaah!”
“Dee, Mr. Didikan! No!
Asel snapped back to his senses. Akasha was unperturbed by the Didikan’s onslaught, and he curled his index finger slightly and flicked it as if he didn’t have a care in the world. An intangible shockwave slammed into the Didikan’s abdomen.
“Ouch…!”
Didikan’s eyes widened, and he bounced wildly like a man run over by a cart. Flying in a straight line, his body stopped flying only when it slammed into the wall at the far end of the hall.
“Ugh. Cuck!”
“No!!”
Asel screamed. Akasha slowly lowered his hand. He stared at Didikan for a moment, then clicked his tongue.
『■■.』
It was unintelligible again, but it sounded like a sneer. Asel’s legs gave out and he sank to the ground.
He looked up at Akasha and shouted.
“Dude, why in the world are you doing this?!”
『——.』
“Please, please stop, you shouldn’t be using your power for this—huh?”
Akasha did not answer. He turned toward Asel again and bent at the waist. Asel’s face emerged once more from beneath the smooth mask. His mood was different from Narawa’s. The three eyes staring back at him felt like arrowheads aimed at his heart.
“—hypothetical.”
Asel’s eyes rolled back in his head. Fear had finally crossed the threshold and blocked his consciousness.
The slender body leaned forward. Akasha slid the instep of her foot out to rest her forehead against Asel’s.
『■—■■■■?』
A grotesque sound escaped from beneath the mask. But with one of them fainted and the other on the verge of passing out, there was no one to react.
Akasha cocked her head from side to side, then turned to face Ceniel. The strange spell resumed. The boiling life force began to flow through the chains once more.
“No–no.”
Didikan sat up and lifted his head, blood dripping from his nose and down his muzzle. He should have saved Asel now, but his shocked body refused to move.
The rift that seemed to lead to another world was widening.
‘That’s it.
There was nothing left to do. The demonic temptation of despondency was about to overtake Didikan. A rustling sound came from the door.
『■?』
He and Akasha turned their heads almost simultaneously. It was an alien noise, one he hadn’t heard before.
But there was nothing beyond the broken door. The silence in the hall was as thick as ever. He turned his gaze toward Asel, hoping he hadn’t heard wrong.
“Nothing much.”
“Huh?”
A man who wasn’t there earlier appeared in front of him.
It was as sudden as the darkness that comes when you close your eyes.
A man in the uniform of Phileon Academy sat on one knee, smiling. A longsword, stained with blood, was clutched in his hand.
The man said.
“Hey, Mr. Wolf. Are you okay?”
“Da, you are—!”
Didikan’s hair stood on end. He had seen the man’s face once before. He was dressed differently, but it was the same swordsman who had slaughtered the giants in his coat. Before he could question what had happened.
『■■.』
Akasha spun around quickly, frozen in place. Hundreds of slashing lines dizzyingly drew across his body. Before he knew it, a circle of sunset-colored mana had formed around him.
“Fuck you. You monster.”
『——!!!』
The man said, as if finishing a sentence. But contrary to his expectations, Akasha didn’t react.
“—Eh?”
There was no cutting line, no shredding of the cloak, no explosion of blood. Sensing something was wrong, the man turned around.
Slash marks covered Akasha’s cloak, but not a drop of blood leaked from it.
“What the fuck.”
It was unprecedented. The man was about to make his next move.
Akasha silently pulled out the index finger of her right hand.
Quack! An intangible force gripped the man.
“Kaaaaah!!!”
The man screamed in agony, and before he could say anything else, he was thrown from the ceiling and back to the ground. The dust settled. The man’s buttocks were held high, revealing a stunned figure.
“Oh, my God.”
Didikan closed his eyes tightly.
It was an ugly posture, but it was enough to kill any hope I had. It was the end of everything, the end of the man who had sliced and diced giants.
『■■■■. ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■?』
Having subdued the man once and for all, Akasha walked over to him. For some reason, she seemed a little angry. It didn’t take much explanation to realize that it was for a confirmation kill.
Akasha was about to reach out her fingers again. Asel, who was still sprawled out, grabbed him by the hem of his cloak.
“Don’t —, don’t.”
Akasha lowered his head wordlessly. Asel stared back at him, her face covered in tears and snot. Her fern-like hands were shaking.
A squeezed voice escaped from between his lips.
“And then—ugh, we’re all dead.”
“Ah, Asel—.”
Didikan sighed. I can’t imagine how much courage it took to do that. I felt so pathetic. He gritted his teeth to get up.
“Nice work, brothers with no names.”
“What?”
The voice from earlier echoed through the hall once more.
Didikan looked toward the source of the sound and was stunned.
“What, what—! Why one more—?!”
There stood a man with a sword. He looked exactly like the man who had fainted upon entering, but this time he was wearing the coat you had seen. He wondered if the first man had already woken up, but he was still face down on the floor, stunned.
Ronan stomped the ground and leaped.
“Your courage just saved the world.”
His black coat fluttered like wings. Ronan, who had passed Akasha in a flash, tugged at the hilt of his sword. Akasha stretched out her fingers urgently.
『■■!!!』
It was a different kind of seriousness. But Ronan’s actions were already over.
The blade sliced through the half-moon, breaking the chains that bound Ceniel. The pent-up life force that had been absorbed by Akasha, unable to escape, burst forth in an explosion.