Chapter 25

Dan had sold off his humanity.

Having killed Rebecca and Aria, he had now plunged the First Barriered City into the depths of hell. I could hear screams all around. Looking out over the hellscape he’d created, I could feel a deep, burning rage swell up inside me.

It was something I’d never felt before.

But I knew it was hatred.

It would be awfully nice if everyone could get along well, wouldn’t it?

That’s how I used to think. But that’s an incredibly naive way of looking at the world. Reality is ruthless. It’s entirely possible that this is all my fault. That Dan did all of this because of me. Considering that, I realised I couldn’t let this go on.

I had to kill him.

I had no other choice.

It was my duty.

I decided I would take up my sword against Dan, for the sake of all the people he’s killed.

“Good, good! I can see the hatred in your eyes!”

Dan has been rambling on and on for a while. I’ve kept quiet, though, since talking won’t accomplish anything at this point. I wanted to avoid wasting my strength, too. I decided to go all-out.

Invisible Blade’s main strength is, obviously, that it’s invisible. I can change its length at its will and use basically anything as a starting point. I can hold my knife in my right hand, activating Invisible Blade on it as well as on my left hand and both my legs. On top of its flexibility, Invisible Blade only weighs as much as a knife. Combined with Inertia Magic, I can handle it extremely quickly. If I use this magic to its full potential, I can overwhelm Dan, even in his current state. I was convinced.

“Huh…?” Dan said, stunned. After all, he didn’t know much about Invisible Blade. As a result, he was only paying attention to the visible reach of my knife. I used that to my advantage and sliced his left arm clean off. I was trying to take his head off, but he seemed to notice something was up and moved in the nick of time.

“Hahaha, not bad! But I’m not human, you know… I can do this!”

A moment after I removed his arm, the flesh on his shoulder bulged outwards… forming a new arm. He perfectly regenerated his arm.

Regeneration… The way he regenerated reminded me of that Huge Spider I ran into on my way to this city. He had the same impossibly fast regeneration. Seeing that, I concluded that there might be one of those red crystals in Dan’s body, too.

I took a deep breath. This shouldn’t take long. I’ll kill him. It’ll only take a moment.

“Fuck! What the fuck is going on?!”

I overwhelmed him. On top of my knife, I had activated Invisible Blade from my left hand and both of my feet. With my invisible swords whose lengths can change at will, it’s impossible to get a sense of my reach. I combined that with my overwhelming speed from wielding weightless swords.

Dan couldn’t keep up at all. I changed the length of my swords every time I attacked, leaving him with no way to figure out how long they were. Shorter for one hit, then longer, then shorter again… I slashed over and over again, carving into his body. I was using my knife as a decoy – which was unfortunate for him, since he was only reacting to its movement. He was probably unaware that I had blades on my left hand and both feet, too, leaving him beyond confused as to where my attacks were coming from.

“Damn you, damn you, damn you!”

He tried to resist, but my blades continued to shred his body. I had not even a shred of hesitation left. No matter how much he screamed, cried, begged, or pleaded, I was going to kill him.

First his arms, then his legs. After removing his limbs, I sliced them up into tiny pieces. He started regenerating immediately, but it was too late. His regeneration couldn’t keep up with my speed, and I sliced his head clean off.

“…That was pathetic.”

His headless, limbless body flopped sadly on the ground. His body, marked with countless wounds, fell apart, eventually disappearing like steam. All that remained was his head, somehow still alive. In that case, the crystal must be in the head. I’m surprised he can still talk.

He was still conscious and alive and could even hold a conversation, as pathetic as he looked. I checked myself for wounds. Finding none, I looked down at Dan, his head rolling on the ground to look up at me. Anyone watching this strange scene, I’m sure, would’ve been immediately aware of the difference in our positions. This time, I was on top, and he was beneath me.

I looked down at him coldly and leveled my blade at his face.

“Don’t look at me like that, you bastard! Don’t you fucking look down on me!”

I finally spoke, “Dan. This is the end. Tell me about ‘that person’ who gave you this power.”

“I can’t… I can’t tell you about him! That’s just how it is!”

I see. Even in this state, he still can’t talk about it. Is it brainwashing? Or is he just that afraid of this man… Either way, he’s done something to Dan to prevent him from talking. Well, whatever. Time to end this. Time to leave my past behind for good.

I’ve been confused ever since I got back. How should I use my power? And what should I do with the people who betrayed me? I had strength, but I was still scared. And when I met the three of them again, I remembered just how weak I really was. But now… I don’t need that weakness anymore. I have to release myself from it. Everything that happened today only happened because I was weak. Great strength requires a strong heart to use it. It’s time to get rid of my weakness. I have to face my past and overcome it.

I will end this.

Today.

Now.

”

”

That’s the least I can do.

I readied myself and pointed my blade at him again.

“…No… No, wait… Yuria… We’re friends, right? Save me… Don’t… I don’t want to die… I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die I don’t wanna die! I… I don’t wanna die like this! Don’t! Stop! I-I’ll do anything! If you want me to apologise, I’ll do it! You’re a nice guy, right? Right? Please!”

He seemed to know he was about to die. Do you have any idea how much pain Rebecca and Aria were in when they died? Sure, I didn’t like them either, but I never wanted them to die like that… getting eaten alive. I used to feel the same towards Dan, but he crossed a line that should never be crossed. I could still hear the screams around me, people begging to be saved… and dying. After plunging the whole city into hell, you have the gall to call me your friend? To ask for help? To beg to live? To apologise?

Fuck off.

Not even death is enough for someone like you. But death is the worst I can give you. So I will. I’ll erase you from existence.

“No, no, no! Please! Please don’t! Please, don’t kill me! Oh, oh, I know! You want this power, too, right? I can help you! I’ll introduce you to him! You should keep me alive! I’ll talk to him for you! I-I’ll do it for you! You can be even stronger! We’re friends, right? Right? You should… listen to what your best friend’s telling you, right…?”

“…This is disgusting. Die.”

“No, no, no!”

I pierced his head and felt for the crystal inside. When I found it, I added more strength to crush it. I heard it crack, and Dan’s head evaporated away like steam.

It’s over… I killed him.

I felt nothing. Neither guilt nor happiness. I just did what I had to do. That was all.

And so, I had no regrets.

“…Goodbye, Dan,” I whispered, walking away towards the city, still ablaze. I felt like I might’ve heard a whispered reply from behind.

But I didn’t look back. I moved forwards, to the future.