Chapter 30: Beautiful Ending
Some time before, when Noel stepped out of the first store with the pocket watch in hand, a small thought crossed his mind — maybe he should keep it in his pocket. Just in case.
He did that with the quiet notion that maybe... he should be careful.
And now, as he stood at the center of a ring of mirrors — locked in a sudden fight against an opponent stronger than him — he couldn’t help but feel like he had made the right call.
He also made a mental note for the future.
’Always keep ten Null Points on hand. Or at least leave one free simulation.’
Why was he thinking about that now?
Some might wonder.
But if one were to see the current state of things — mirror-like walls surrounding him, Gavin’s reflection flitting from surface to surface, a dagger flashing from multiple angles, while Noel stood in the middle, blood trailing from shallow cuts, barely able to dodge — it’d be clear.
The situation was completely different than it was at the start.
At first, Noel had thought the recoil — the reflective force — was the real danger. But that turned out to be only part of it. After reaching a certain limit, the recoil didn’t increase. Instead, the true threat came when Gavin’s attacks emerged from the mirrors the moment Noel tried to strike them.
Each punch, each attempt to escape, was met with a counter — sharp, well-timed slashes that pushed him deeper into defense.
Even so, Noel smiled wildly.