[The Origin] Chapter 37: “The First FabL”
"K-Kill... you...!"
The passion of killing intent welling up drives this body to kill him.
Al shrugged his shoulders as if troubled and said.
"Good grief. I just came to say hello."
"What... kind of... greeting is that...!"
How dare you do it.
Because of you, the possibility of a future different from now has been lost forever.
You always get in my way like that. Mocking me...!
That time too. What fate. Don't screw with me.
Kill. I'll get back at you.
"Ga, ah...!"
"...If you intend to continue useless resistance any further, I can just leave as is, you know?"
"Such a thing. Like hell I'll... allow it!"
He didn't care about me glaring with killing intent as much as possible.
As if returning the favor, he releases his power.
Black aura. Looks exactly like mine.
But both quality and quantity were on a different level.
Just by him loosening his restraint a little.
The earth shook violently, and the atmosphere trembled.
That out-of-place sense of scale tells me clearly.
If this guy feels like it, he doesn't even need techniques.
Just by releasing his power, blowing away this whole planet is nothing to him.
Was it this much? Was he such a strong guy?
It was a mass of horrifying power itself that chills to the core of the heart.
"Understand. Someone like you cannot match me no matter what."
Same as me and Vitterweitz at our first meeting.
No, I clearly felt a desperate difference far surpassing even that.
Frustrating. But I can't match him at all. For now.
But still. Only this guy.
I cannot forgive.
Struggling to move stubbornly, I was nailed down.
"I know what you're thinking like the back of my hand. Useless. You cannot learn from me."
"Wha, t!?"
This guy, why does he know my ability...!?
Seeing my surprise, he sneered through his nose.
"Hmph. Let me introduce myself again. I am Al. Let's see—shall I say, 'The First FabL'."
"The First FabL, you say."
"Well, interpret it however you like."
The First FabL.
From that grandiose title and the strange and tremendous atmosphere he emits, I felt something special.
I didn't understand anything at that time. But now I understand faintly.
This guy is definitely an existence different from me, Ena, and Vitterweitz—ordinary FabLs.
"Have you calmed down a little?"
"...Yeah."
I can't accept it at all. But only for this moment, I sheath my sword.
Al nodded and loosened the restraint.
If FabLs fight each other again. The worst result will be waiting.
This world left even by sacrificing Alice and others. I can't stand it if it gets blown away by this man's whim.
If I could win, I wouldn't mind even that.
Actually, I didn't care about such a world anymore.
Really frustrating. But at this point, I don't think there is even a one in a billion chance of winning.
It just scatters the world uselessly.
It was more frustrating than anything that calculation works at a time like this.
"What are you thinking. Always toying with my fate."
"Toying with fate? Idiot. You don't understand anything."
Al started laughing loudly as if it were unbearably funny.
Don't screw with me. What's so funny.
If only you weren't here.
Mirai and Hikari might not have died.
Alice and the others might have been able to come back to life.
Right. If only you weren't here...!
Then this guy.
Spreading both arms, he began to speak eloquently like a performer.
"Fate is determined. Whether you wish it or not, you have no choice but to walk on the decided path."
The words I feared deep in my heart.
Being slammed with them again from his own mouth. I shuddered.
"No way—"
"No. It is decided. I am merely guiding you."
"......"
"You should feel it yourself too. Who died in this world. Who survived. Think about it."
I gasped.
It's not that this guy laid his hands directly.
Ultimately, the one who killed was me. The one who couldn't save was me.
That sensation of slipping through no matter how much I tried.
Fate, you say. Decided from the beginning, you say.
Useless effort, you say.
You. Want to say that?
"Did you understand? Yu."
As if seeing through all thoughts.
Al throws a gaze at me with a fearless face.
In the depths of my heart, the suspicion that it might be so raises its head.
But admitting it was more terrifying than anything. And unforgivable.
So I shook my head.
"I won't admit it."
"Hmm?"
"Like hell I'll admit the fate you speak of."
I glare at Al sharply.
I absolutely cannot admit such a thing.
I chose to resist to the end.
"I'll change it. I'll change such fate. I will never yield to you."
"Hoh. Only your spirit is first-rate."
Saying so, he soared high into the sky.
"Al!"
"The talk is over. You want to kill me, right? Then, chase me."
He is looking down at me elegantly. As if saying that is my current standing.
And, he showed a smile as if looking forward to something.
"Everything as fate guides. You will arrive eventually."
Leaving meaningful words at the end, he disappeared.
I also decided to chase after him immediately.
I can't match him at all right now, but I'll bet on the growth potential of this ability.
Chasing him while accumulating power wherever I go.
At the end of the journey. What is a FabL, what is fate.
I felt like I would come to see.
Because he surely must know it well.
There are mainly two ways to go to the next world.
One is to wait for the time limit to stay in this world.
The other is to die.
I decided to choose death myself.
I have no regrets for this world where no one is left anymore. There was no way I had any hesitation.
No fear of death either.
Maybe because I saw Ena and Vitterweitz disappear directly.
Surely I won't "die" so easily. I "cannot die".
Because that is the fate of a FabL.
—Fate, huh. To the end.
A sarcastic laugh leaks out.
Those who got too close to me all died.
If you say that is fate. If I have to continue feeling like this from now on.
I never need companions again. I never need friends again.
I don't mind being alone.
There is no need to involve anyone in the battle against my own fate.
Right?
If I have this memory. That's enough.
I created a Qi Sword and pierced my own heart.
