Chapter 158 : Chapter 158
Chapter 158 - Absurdity (2)
Even I couldn't understand my own decision, so how would The One, who was watching me, feel?
With that innocent expression still on his face, The One tilted his head and asked back.
“Why?”
Of course, it was impossible for me to give him a satisfactory answer to that question.
As I said before, I didn't know either.
“⋯⋯.”
For this reason, I remained silent, merely glaring at him with eyes full of hostility.
“It's hard to believe that the you I saw just moments ago was a lie⋯⋯.”
Yes, he must be confused. Considering the descriptions in the original <Arche>, he should have been able to read people's emotions, at least roughly.
From his perspective, my attitude would have changed in the blink of an eye, so there was no way he wouldn't be bewildered.
Seeing the being who, in the original work, only showed the appearance of a mysterious and suspicious mastermind, looking flustered, I threw another remark that came to mind.
“You call yourself a god when you can't even see through the heart of one lowly human.”
That was the story.
When The One revealed himself to his followers, he disguised himself as a god.
He actually possessed abilities closest to a god in this world, and the identity I learned of could perhaps be called a god in a way⋯⋯ but I knew. He was not a god.
He was just a being who, like us, was accidentally thrown into the world and born.
Hearing my words, The One’s eyes narrowed. It was the first proper change in emotion he had shown me.
“But, you'll die.”
The words that The One uttered next were of that nature.
“The children aiming for your life right now are powerful, and merciless. Whatever abilities you may have⋯⋯ you won't be able to escape.”
That statement was an undeniable fact. Beyond the world of stopped time, there were only the three First Astros, here for the sole purpose of killing me.
Nevertheless.
“Even so, I will survive.”
I would survive.
My mind had already been set in that form.
Why, despite the preceding despair, did I choose to confront him?
The reason for that was still a mystery, but⋯⋯.
Who cares.
The ultimate goal was no different from when I first fell into this world.
To survive.
And, that was all I needed to know.
“⋯⋯.”
The One’s eyes were still full of a questioning look that even I could easily notice, but he didn't continue the conversation any further.
He just turned his body and walked in the opposite direction.
With every step The One took, the gray curtain draped over the world was lifted, and at the same time, his form grew blurry.
“If you truly survive, I'd like to talk more next time.”
And as his form completely disappeared. A boy's voice echoed faintly in my ear.
“⋯⋯Goodbye.”
It was such an empty farewell.
The curtain of gray time is lifting.
This meant that I was returning to the scene of death once again.
The reason for doing so was still unknown, but the objective was clear.
To say it again, that was enough.
***
The conversation with The One was a reprieve, and a time to think of a plan. Of course, at first, my heart was so full of wanting to give up that I didn't make full use of it.
But a method had certainly come to mind.
‘No, perhaps I already knew.’
To confess, it was actually a plan that had been slowly forming even before I met The One.
A plan to escape this situation.
Then that statement would bring back this question.
Then why didn't you execute it?
The reason was simple.
It was a method as painful and headache-inducing as dying ten thousand times with my eyes closed, or perhaps even more so.
The initial pattern of the loop was always constant, and that was the situation where Grændal's sword strike, located closest to me, came flying in.
[ System : Skill, 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』 has been used! ]
[ Strength : D > B+ ]
[ Agility : C+ > A ]
[ Stamina : D+ > B+ ]
[ Intellect : B > A ]
[ Magic : C- > B- ]
[ Proficiency : A > A+ ]
Clang-!
I activated 『Moment of Decisive Battle』 without hesitation and barely managed to block Grændal's incoming sword strike.
Yes, barely.
Even creating a situation where I could display my maximum proficiency, at least temporarily, was only enough to barely block it.
It was a given. Although my stats might seem quite high, they were fundamentally less than Elwin's at this point, given the high-power balance nature of this world.
With stats of only this level, I couldn't break through the situation. At the very least, my overall base stats would need to be in the mid-A rank to even attempt an escape.
However, what if the goal wasn't escape or victory?
The story could change a little.
Crunch-
The physical abilities boosted by 『Moment of Decisive Battle』. When I gripped the sword with, literally, 'all' of that power, I heard the sound of my joints being strained.
That act itself was no different from self-harm, but I didn't stop there.
Thump.
As if performing the preparatory motion of an act to explode everything of myself, all the muscles in my body contracted beyond their normal tolerance.
Crack-
But I still didn't stop.
Holding the sword with both hands, I leaned my body and pulled my arms back.
A stance that didn't consider the next move, such as a combo or defense, but only put everything into a single strike.
In that very stance, with all my might, beyond the limits that this weak body would allow⋯⋯.
I simply, swung the sword down.
Kaboom-!
“⋯⋯!”
As Grændal’s astonished expression proved, that strike was certainly powerful.
It was so powerful that it produced a roar unimaginable to have come from my weak body.
But, that was all.
Creak, creak-
As a result of unleashing power unfitting for my body, my joints were dangling. The arm joints were probably dislocated.
My muscles had gone beyond screaming and were already ruptured.
That wasn't all. Blood was even seeping from the hand that had exerted too much force.
It wasn't just a problem with my upper body. Swinging a sword means using the muscles of the entire body. The lower body couldn't have been safe either.
Yes, my body was already a wreck after delivering just a single attack.
Truly a life-and-death strike that put my life and lifespan on the line.
“⋯⋯Hah.”
However, belying my desperate strike, Grændal remained as sturdy as ever.
Because it was an unexpected blow, his sword took some strain, and he was pushed back because he couldn't deflect it, but it was safe to say there was no damage at all.
“I was somewhat surprised, but⋯⋯ are you giving up?”
Grændal, who had received my attack, fixed his posture and said that to me. Perhaps it was a mumble.
“⋯⋯.”
I didn't bother to answer him. No, I wasn't in a situation to answer.
With that last strike, I had lost most of the power to swing my sword. I didn't even have the strength left to reply.
Therefore, I remained silent, but my eyes were still glaring at him.
With infinite hostility and killing intent.
Crack-!
What followed was needless to say. Having fallen into a state of virtual combat disability, I couldn't withstand Salvatio's subsequent attack and was crushed.
***
The reason for such an act was very simple.
To grow.
That was the judgment of me, who had been training without missing a single day until now.
‘It seems that stat growth in this world depends on how much the mind and body have been consumed.’
Training basically prioritizes sustainability. If you train with high intensity beyond your permissible range today, there's a high chance you won't be able to train properly tomorrow due to the aftermath.
In other words, it is common not to push the body's functions to their maximum during training.
But what about actual combat? If you die while preserving your full strength, there is no next time.
You have to pour out everything, and for that reason, you naturally push your body's functions to their maximum possible extent.
And my experiential conclusion was that actual combat overwhelmingly improved physical abilities much more than training.
There was plenty of data. After all, I had fought over several hundred times.
Yes. That was the conclusion. How far you push your body to its limits was the key to growth.
Therefore, during that short, single life out of ten thousand, I had to push my body to the maximum.
I had to accumulate that, and again, and create the result called growth.
The result was this.
Putting all my strength into one strike to swing down, consuming my entire body.
Releasing the unconscious limits on the use of strength, meant to protect one's own body.
What was prioritized even more than the attack itself resulting from that was precisely that consumption.
The concept was simple, but actually applying it was another story.
Basically, the human body has a braking mechanism.
Because if you unleash all the power you possess, your body can be damaged by your own strength.
I don't know how it is on modern Earth, but at least at the academy, I was taught that.
In other words, it's not much different from the survival instinct. No, it would be safe to say it is the survival instinct itself.
I had to consciously release that survival instinct and destroy my own body.
Was that a task that could be done immediately just by wanting to?
[ System : deaths have been overcome. ]
‘I unconsciously relaxed my strength in the process of swinging down. I need to remain conscious until the end.’
[ System : deaths have been overcome. ]
‘Even though I'm staying conscious, if it feels dangerous, my body automatically eases up. I need to control it a bit more.’
[ System : deaths have been overcome. ]
‘This time, I put in too much force and my hand gave out before I could swing down properly.’
It took nearly 100 deaths just to properly execute that all-out strike.
But, naturally, it didn't end there. What remained after mastering that strike was an even longer and more arduous time of endurance.
In addition to the pain of being cut, pierced, and crushed to death, there was the pain of destroying my own body.
An ascetic practice more akin to a nasty torture, I just repeated it.
Without even realizing why I was doing such a thing to myself.