Chapter 552: Artificial (side: Volk)
“If you pursue swordsmanship to the limits, you will find laws that cannot be perceived through the senses. My skills are the starting point for twisting those laws.”
“What are you saying…?”
“The deviation is small enough that most can live their lives without ever noticing something is off. But if you thrust into that gap and force it wider, the deviation grows. The world mistakes nonexistent slashes as though they exist, forgets about the restrictions of gravity, and can even forget the effect of impacts on the body.”
I can’t understand what Howgrey is saying. But, it is undoubtedly the truth behind his three strange techniques.
“This is the hidden truth that I have reached as the world’s strongest swordsman. This world is an artificial creation.”
“…Th-this world is artificial?”
It’s not an idea I can obediently believe right away. But, I can sense his conviction through the sadness in his voice.
Howgrey is famous for having learnt to respect life as a result of war, and for eating the monsters he kills, while refusing to kill monsters he cannot eat. He probably arrived at that truth during the journey of the sword that he has devoted his life to.
All the life that he had come to respect was artificial, and the consequence of mastering his swordsmanship was to know the flaws of the world. It’s easy to see how it could be a double-layered denial of his life.