“Yes. I’m ready. The rules are to stop just before dealing a deadly blow, right?”
“Indeed. We have a referee as well. Let’s fight to our hearts’ content.”
We’ve come outside to a sparring area for our match. Apparently, the ogres also practice here. Looking around, there’s a ring of eager onlookers surrounding us. They’re all watching us excitedly. They’re definitely a race that enjoys fighting, I thought.
“Chief, don’t lose to the human!”
“Good luck, Chief!”
“Human, you should fight hard too!”
As the crowd cheers loudly, the ogre referee gives the signal to start the match. “Begin!”
At the same moment, I heard the sound of someone heavily kicking off the ground. He’s coming from the front.
Edgar’s sharp blade is aimed straight at me. Judging by his stance, he’s aiming for my shoulder. I analyzed his attack calmly, taking a step back to dodge. I can tell he’s skilled from the confidence and speed of his attack. Of all the demons I’ve faced in the Twilight, he’s likely one of the strongest. However, I can follow his movements. I can definitely capture his movements with my eyes and deduce how he’s going to attack.
This past year, I would’ve died a hundred times over without these skills: to know the current state of the battle and to quickly and accurately decide what to do next. They sound incredibly simple, but they are the most important skills you need to survive in the Twilight. In the Twilight, you’re always only one mistake away from death. If you have those two skills, you survive. Those who can’t manage it simply die.
And I am still alive. I’ve survived for a year in the Twilight – a place considered uninhabitable by humans. However, I am not arrogant. In the future, too, I will not become arrogant. Compared to the vastness of the Twilight World, I’m just a speck of dirt. There are many people stronger than me who live in this world. So I decided – in order to regain a brilliant world of light for humanity, I will become even stronger.
“…Not bad, Yuria.”
“You have quite fearsome skills as well. In that case…”
I take a knife out from my worn-down coat that I made myself.
“You use a knife? Is that alright? Won’t the short reach be an overwhelming disadvantage?”
“Don’t worry about it. Come at me.”
“Hmm…”
Edgar grins and approaches again. This time, though, it looks like he’s going to approach until his sword is just in range, then thrust. He seems like the kind of man who fights all-out, no matter who he’s facing. However, I do know that he’s a good person. I’m not going to lose to him, though. I’ll go all-out… and my victory will be my reward.
“Wha-” shouted Edgar, upon noticing that I had intercepted his strike. He was clearly surprised that I could stop his attack, even though the knife is not physically close enough to reach his sword. Of course, this was because I had used [Invisible Blade] to lengthen my knife to the same length as his sword. Theoretically, I could probably make the sword even longer… though I doubt I have the skill for that. I’ll have to fight with this.
“A transparent… sword… Very strange, indeed. I’ve never seen such magic… but it’s interesting. And what’s more, your inertia control is splendid. The Duskmarked are truly quite incredible. Very entertaining, indeed.”
Edgar steps back from my blade, grinning. In that moment, I exploited the slight gap in his defenses to unleash my next attack. However, Edgar had not only determined the length of my blade, but he also predicted my attack from the movement of my body. My back-to-back strikes, aided by inertia control, cut in vain through the air.
“…You’re quite strong.”
“That would apply to you as well. Now, let us enjoy ourselves to the fullest!”
30 minutes passed. Time seemed to slow down as we fought. The two of us fought, putting every card we had into play against each other. Chief Edgar fought without using magic, facing me with only his swordsmanship. I, on the other hand, was using lots of magic. Not just [Invisible Blade] and inertia control, but also magic to strengthen my body. And yet, we were still evenly matched.
Perhaps it was because my concentration weakened for a moment, but all of a sudden I saw my knife dancing through the air. As I expected, demons have much greater physical strength than humans. Our difference was not in skill but rather in pure physical strength. However… this was within my calculations. The enemy is most vulnerable when they’re convinced that they’ve won. I’ve experienced that myself countless times and paid for my carelessness in blood.
I saw a slight glint in Edgar’s calm, rational eyes. They were the eyes of someone who was convinced of their victory.
“Yeah!!!” cheered the crowd.
Wielding the last of his strength, Edgar swings his sword. Unarmed, I have no way of defending against this attack. But there’s no need to defend against it. All I have to do is make my own attack land before his.
The next moment, I can hear the referee announcing my victory. “The winner is Yuria!”
There was a thin stream of blood flowing from Chief Edgar’s neck, and he held his blade frozen, mid-swing. My attack landed first, and the referee judged that it could have been fatal. I actually could have killed Edgar with that attack… and I’m sure he realises it as well.
“Yuria.”
“Yes?”
“I’m impressed. I would like to attribute your victory to your Duskmark… but in truth, you won because of the skills you earned fighting alone in this cruel world. I shall honestly praise and respect your abilities.”
“Thank you.”
I felt just a little bit like crying. I’ve never been praised like this. He genuinely recognises his opponent’s strength. And he even shakes hands with and bows his head to a child like me. He’s no ordinary man – I truly felt that he was a man of strong character.
“However, Chief Edgar, I thought you weren’t fighting seriously?”
“The same goes for you. No, rather, if you had been serious, my neck would long have parted from my body. That last attack of yours – I’ve never seen it before. The world is indeed quite large. But that’s what makes it enjoyable.”
“Thank you for the match.”
That night, the ogres held a grand feast. All of the ogres were very friendly and good to me. To them, my victory against their Chief was probably a very big deal. I slept in the village that night.
The next morning, I was fully prepared to leave. I had a large number of new clothes that they’d given me, and they’d even repaired my worn-out coat in one night. It looked brand-new. They also gave me a map, a compass, the books, food, and water. They even gave me some armour, as well as twenty knives. I tucked the knives away into my coat and bowed my head.
“Thank you all so much for everything you’ve done for me.”
“Yuria, come visit us again!”
“Your fight was great! You’re so strong! See you again!”
“Yuria, you’re the best!”
“Hahaha, thank you.”
Everyone spoke to me as I was leaving. Finally, Edgar comes forward and reaches out his hand.
“Yuria. I’m certain you will return to the Barriered Cities. With your strength, you can certainly cross the continent again in a year.”
“Thank you. Really… for everything you’ve done…”
“It is alright. I have respect for humans… well, really just the good ones. And you are, indeed, such a distinguished person. You survived in this Twilight World. Despite experiencing despair, you looked forward and marched ceaselessly until you reached this village. I cannot deny your strength. It has also been quite a while since I had the chance to fight with one of the Duskmarked. Truly, you made my heart dance with excitement.”
“I feel the same way. I had a lot of fun.”
“In order for us to maintain full cooperation with the humans, we have taken on a great number of burdens. However, Yuria, I am confident you will be able to cut open the path to a bright future. These are trite words, but I will say them nonetheless: I wish you the best of luck.”
“…Yes.”
I was crying. This time, I just couldn’t stop the tears. I’ve been through so much. No matter how strong I was, there were many days where I felt like my heart was going to break. Will I die tomorrow? If I sleep, will I never wake up again? Caught up in those fears, I simply pressed on, on, and on, only ever looking forward. I never gave up, only because I wanted to make it back home one day.
Then I met the ogres, and I finally felt rewarded for everything I’d done. I know this only happened because I was lucky. I know that, but I just can’t stop crying.
Wiping away my tears with my right arm, I faced forward and proclaimed, “Thank you all for everything! I’ll get back to the Barriered City, for sure! I’ll never forget everything you’ve done for me!”