༺ Monologue (7) ༻
With Dorothy’s interference, the trial was recalibrated and the hidden truth was revealed.
This was the 2nd Round.
This wasn’t the first time I had experienced this freshman life since transmigrating into ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
I had lost my memories when everything was initialized.
As I reached the threshold of forgotten truths, one after another, the regret I felt in this world overwhelmed my heart in its totality.
Not all my memories came rushing back, but the significant ones that had brought me down were returning one by one.
I failed to save Dorothy. She left me a single word of gratitude and faced her end with the Floating Island.
I remembered myself blankly gazing at the statue of Dorothy, erected in Märchen Academy. Overwhelmed with helplessness, an unbearable wave of remorse had washed over me.
I couldn’t protect the Imperial Princess, the Priestess, or Kaya; I couldn’t protect any of them.
The mere thought of protecting everyone in hell difficulty was utterly absurd.
‘Hell difficulty?’
Hell difficulty… In a flash, that expression felt intensely out of place to me. Almost as if Gestaltzerfall had occurred, the consonants and vowels in my mind scattered separately, giggling.
In the first place, difficulty levels doesn’t matter when hell is everywhere.
I quietly took a deep breath to calm my feelings which were as warped as a twisted bread stick.
I remembered boasting like a fucking idiot about how I grew strong, just because I had some meaningless enlightenment. Well, it did have the effect of making my mental strength more robust, the more I did so.
At the very least, I could keep moving forward.
With that, as I solemnly eliminated my enemies and finally reached the very end of the scenario.
And in the end, I was defeated by the Evil God Nephid.
And…
‘A system window appeared, saying that the Evil God’s magic bid the demise of ‘all worlds’.’
Never in my dreams could I have known that it included the world I had previously lived in, Earth.
A massive secret was hidden behind the scenes of my possession in this world. I still couldn’t figure out what exactly it was.
However, the overwhelming burden of whether someone as worthless as me could handle such a secret… weighed on me like a boulder.
“How disappointing…”
At that moment, Luce’s low lamentation echoed into my ears.
“I really wanted to marry Isaac, though.”
“…What?”
What is she saying out of nowhere?
My attention became focused on Luce.
“I had that daydream. A daydream where you and I lived… in harmonious joy with one another.”
Even though I used [Psychological Insight], I couldn’t read her mind, perhaps because I was in the middle of a trial.
However, Third-Year Luce already knew I was the Black Monster. I knew all too well that she liked me.
“Do you want to hear it?”
Luce gazed at me and smiled sweetly.
She seemed to have accepted my silence as an affirmation, as she began her story with a small smile and a gentle voice.
“Do you know Asverika? The city of magic and education. Apparently, if you bring a Märchen Academy diploma there, your life as a wizard is set. After graduating, we would go to Asverika together and buy a house… I would be diligently perfecting practical work at the Magic Tower. And you would work as a wizard in some place like a guild. When we both finished our daily work and returned home, I would give you a kiss. I would say ‘You did well today as well, Isaac’ and while I hugged you, I would whisper into your ear. You’re so weak to my voice, after all, hehe.”
Luce’s fingers weakly squirmed, as she tapped the back of my hand.
“We would eat delicious meals together, share small talk with each other in the same bed before falling asleep… And then, I would propose very simply and modestly on the bed and we would dress up all nicely at the church and get married… And even after that, we would repeat the same daily routine. At that time, it might be a bit embarrassing, but we would also call each other differently. Like… ‘You did well today as well, dear’.”
With her head bowed, Luce continued.
And I silently yet attentively listened to her story.
“Maybe five children would’ve been nice? Isaac’s body is very robust, so a healthy baby would have surely been born. The child would have cried energetically without a moment’s rest. It might be a bit exhausting… but still, I would have been truly happy because I would have loved those children so much. There definitely would be tough times. But, we would get through them, right? We would depend on each other, sometimes openly share difficulties over a drink, and comfort each other… And in the end, find things to smile about. That… that’s how we would live. That’s how I imagined it.”
It was only then did I realize that the reason why I didn’t have to worry about Bad Ending 「Bird Cage」, even after resolving the Evil God issue, was because of this.
Luce… wished to build a future with me.
However, I couldn’t say anything right now because I could tell why she had brought up this story to me.
I felt a terrifying mana outside the cave. The Black Flame horde, the Evil God’s minions, would soon break into this place.
That was why Luce had brought up such a story as the final thing she wanted to say.
Realistically speaking, she had likely judged that there was no hope.
“Aren’t you a little sad? You didn’t get to marry me.”
Even in this kind of situation, hearing Luce’s incessant tease made a laugh trickle out of my mouth.
“That’s what you want, thou-”
Click.
Suddenly, from my wrist, a metallic sound was accompanied by the sound of mana resonating.
Startled, I stopped speaking and looked down on it. A handcuff imbued with Luce’s mana was fastened on my wrist, firmly affixed to the wall.
Did she touch my hand in order to put a handcuff on me…?
My memory was still hazy, so I had not been able to prepare for this.
“You let your guard down.”
“…What is the meaning of this?”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be released after some time passes.”
Only then did Luce sit up from her seat. A strong sense of unease enveloped my entire body.
“What are you going-”
I swallowed my breath at the fight of Luce’s figure standing before me
I couldn’t see her right arm. Even in this dim cave, I could tell that blood was dripping down from an empty stump.
Of course. There was no way Luce had easily managed to save me. She would have lost many things along the way.
Luce knelt on one knee, matching our eye levels. A close distance. A dark shadow was visible beneath her eyes and her lips were turning pale blue. Her complexion was extremely pale as if she was someone on the verge of death.
I held my breath.
With her remaining left arm, she gently caressed my cheek while wearing a smile as faint as moonlight.
And then, she spoke.
“I love you, Isaac.”
As if she was certain that she would never be able to say such words again.
As if she had left the last words she so dearly wished to say.
With such a sad voice, Luce quietly whispered.
“I like you. I love you, I really do love you…”
Luce carefully swept back my bangs before kissing my forehead.
As if time had stopped for her, for a long while, she enjoyed the warmth of my skin with her blood-stained hands and chapped lips.
And then, she pulled away from me, revealing an elegant smile.
“Stay here quietly. I’ll be back soon.”
With those words, Luce began to limp out of the cave.
“Hey, Luce? Luce!”
I tried to rush toward the departing Luce, but the handcuff prevented me from moving any further.
Even when I pulled on it so hard that it made my wrist bleed, the cuff refused to snap.
I was in a state of mana depletion, so I couldn’t even cast proper elemental magic. In the first place, if I used mana, the Black Flame Legion outside of the cave would perceive it and break inside.
“Stop, hey!!”
Even at my call, Luce didn’t stop. She continued to trudge out of the cave without any hesitation in her steps.
In no time, she was out of my sight. It was because the cave had a bent structure.
Luce’s reason for leaving was clear; The dark mana that could be felt outside the cave. She was aiming to sacrifice herself; she would fight the minions of the Evil God before they could invade this space.
Luce had put the cuff on me, probably fearing that I would sacrifice myself in her place.
Lost memories resurfaced.
During the 1st Round.
Right before the initialization finished loading, I had left the cave as soon as the cuff had automatically released.
And I had witnessed her die in agony as she was devoured by the black flames.
The guilt of leaving her to die a painful death, the despair of hearing the eerie laughter of the black flames surronding her…
Engulfed by the Black Flame Legion, she had to hear their eerie laughter alone while I could only stand by and watch; The remorse I felt… The utter helplessness I felt…
It pierced my heart, as if it was tearing into pieces, and even at my end, I felt as though I was sinking into an abyss.
“Luce!! I said stop!!”
When the initialization occurred, the transcendental power, in the form of the so-called ‘Status Window’, would reset everything to the beginning.
Although I may not know which fucker created this Status Window, I was certain that the god-like bastard would do it no matter what.
So, I begged her not to leave.
I screamed repeatedly, but Luce did not return.
My mana was already exhausted. Even the Frostscythe within me had depleted all its strength.
How would I remove this restraint? What did I need to do?
「Ice Generation (Ice Element, ★1)」
A small piece of ice appeared. Even in my mana depletion state, I was still slowly recovering my mana. At the very least, creating small chunks with [Ice Generation] or [Rock Generation] was more than possible.
It didn’t matter whether the Black Flame Legion percieved my mana or not. I had to run to Luce immediately. I didn’t want to have any more regrets.
The fingers of the hand that was fastened to the cuff gradually turned into stone. With [Ice Generation], I made an ice chunk bundled with high-density mana, before slamming it down onto my now stone thumb.
Kwajak──!
“Keughhh…!”
My thumb crumbled into pieces.
My carpal bone had not transformed yet, so pain surged, almost rendering me unconscious. Even so, I couldn’t take my hand out of the cuff. As such, I even shattered the metacarpal bone connected to where my thumb once was.
This much was enough. Immediately, I yanked my hand from the cuff and jumped up from where I was seated, before sprinting out of the cave.
“Ah!”
However, I couldn’t balance myself like I was used to. I only realized when I checked my legs. There was only an empty space below my left knee.
I was not able to feel it because it had turned to stone. It seemed like I had lost my leg while fighting the Evil God.
I hopped with one leg. Whenever I fell, I got up again and sprang forward like a spring.
While repeating these actions, I barely reached the exit of the cave. The exit led upwards.
At some point, one of my arms had turned into stone and while the other had not been petrified as much, I had obliterated a part of it with the ice chunk earlier.
My palms were still usable.
I tightly held the irregular surface of the wall with my palm, hung my arm over to lift myself, and used my teeth to firmly bite the protruding rocks.
As if I was rock climbing, I did whatever it took to keep ascending and ascending upwards.
“Keuhak, Haaah…!”
Then, after finally exiting the cave, I laid on the ground, panting for breath. I spat out my broken teeth. It was fortunate that the exit wasn’t too high.
As I lifted my head, the scene of devastation filled my vision as ash scattered underneath a sky enveloped with rock mana.
It was a shockingly vast area; a landscape created when the Evil God’s magic evaporated the sea. It seemed the place where I had been was originally an underwater cave deep in the ocean.
Beyond the horizon, a gigantic eye exuding ominous mana contemplated the world. It was the Evil God’s minion, Angra Mainyu.
Black flames blazed fiercely throughout the land; chunks of high-density mana that could annihilate anything it touched.
Then, I turned behind me, where a tremendous amount of mana could be felt. Luce was standing alone, facing the Black Flame Legion.
Now that I could actually see Luce in a brighter place, instead of the dimly lit cave, it was immediately clear how serious her condition was. It wouldn’t be strange at all if her already battered body collapsed at any moment.
Numerous magic circles had unfolded above Luce’s head. It seemed that she also had nearly no strength left to spare, as the magic circles flickered unstably.
She was facing off against bizarrely-shaped demons made up of black flames.
A tremendous number of black flames created infinitely by the Evil God formed a legion, as they targeted Luce.
High up in the air, a gigantic three-headed dragon let out a grotesque roar; It was the Apocalypse Dragon-Azhi Dahāka.
Hwarererereuk────!!!
Shortly after, the Black Flame Legion spewed black flames. A storm made of flames raged.
“Luce!!”
[The demon has been recognized as an enemy.]
[The unique trait [Hunter] is activated!]
[Your level and stats are temporarily greatly enhanced!]
[Your skill tree temporarily becomes +10!]
With [Rock Generation], I pulled up rocks from the ground to forcibly push my body forward. Then, I immediately flung my body towards the storm of black flames.
I had very little available mana left. However, I could unleash at least one useful attack.
I poured out all the remaining strength into my ruined right hand, condensing the ice mana within it, and swung my arm to unleash [Frost Explosion].
Kwaaaaaaaaah─────────!!!!
The explosion of pale blue ice mana cut through the black flames. The chunk of ice that was created in a short time was burnt instantly, but at the very least, it diverted the storm of black flames away from us.
Now, I was entirely drained of my strength. There was nothing more I could do.
Horrifying pain washed over me, as my body powerlessly fell to the ground. With a Crack, a ghastly sound echoed. Even if I hadn’t fallen from such a height, the sensation of my ribs fracturing couldn’t have been avoided.
I didn’t even have the strength to groan in pain. I could barely breath..
“Isaac!!”
Luce rushed towards me and knelt on both knees, desperately trying to lift my body.
“I-Isaac…! Isaac! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! Ah ah…!”
Luce’s voice completely broke. She was wailing. The very same voice that was always as upright as her aloof persona.
It seemed like she felt guilty because the cuff that she had fastened ended up ruining my hand, causing me to barely get out of the cave.
There was nothing to be sorry about, though.
As I had no strength left in my body, I had no choice but to rely on Luce. It was because I had abused my mana.
Luce embraced me tightly. I didn’t even have the energy to lift my head, burning my face in her slender shoulder. Her nape smelled like blood.
Ash scattered. The Black Flame Legion was slowly closing. The threatening roar of the Apocalypse Dragon made the ground tremble.
What should I say?
I didn’t want to leave you to your lonesome.
The reason I adored you was because you were more than lovable to deserve it.
I didn’t want to espouse such shabby things, as if I were in a romance movie.
“Luce…”
I just wanted to respond to her sincerity.
“…Thank you for loving me.”
I couldn’t know what was going on in Luce’s mind right now. Her only reaction was her quivering breath, as if she was barely holding back tears.
Soon, terrifying and heavy mana pressed against my entire body. It was because of the dark mana held in the mouth of the Apocalypse Dragon-Azhi Dahāka. It seemed like it was planning to unleash it upon us.
Luce took a deep breath.
“…Isaac, it’s a bit of a funny thing to say, but…”
A gentle and benign voice, like moonlight.
Luce caressed my head and whispered in a low voice.
“If… I’m reborn… I’ll recognize you no matter what.”
I could feel a weak tremble from her always tender voice.
“I’ll find you again. I promise… I’ll find you again…”
Suddenly, I remembered the first semester of my 1st Year.
When Luce had asked me to be her friend.
Despite her frequent strong aversion to others, Luce never had those sensations only when it came to me.
From the outside, I didn’t look like anything special. However, solely because she saw how diligently I trained, she told me it made her want to keep watching me. Looking back at it now, her explanation didn’t make sense at all.
…It was a bit too romantic, almost excessively so, to think that a small part of the emotions Luce was feeling at this moment had somehow carried on to the 2nd Round. That was why I couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter.
It was certainly a funny thing to say.
“See you later.”
Luce left those words.
Somehow, I felt relief in Luce’s arms.
From the very beginning, my goal had never diverted, not even a bit.
My mind became organized.
I had always been that way. As long as a goal was in sight, I would keep on going no matter what..
From being the Academy’s Weakest, I would become a Demon-Limited Hunter; To completely eradicate those legions and kill the Evil God.
And to finally welcome a happy ending, putting an end to this shitty story.
Soon after, the Apocalypse Dragon spewed black flames.
When the pitch-black clumps of flames engulfed us…
[99%…]
[100%]
[Initialization Start.]
[Moving onto the 2nd Round.]
Chieeeek…
Click.
Within the sense of annihilation, my field of vision was covered in noise before turning off with a click.
“Haah.”
I exhaled deeply.
The portions of my body that had turned into stone began to gradually return to their original state.
It all started after my hand touched the hilt of the greatsword that was at the center of the swirling light brown mana and plunged into the ground.
By meeting my end together with Luce, I had successfully overcome the Trial of Sandstone. Because most of my body had turned to stone, I struggled to ceaselessly crawl all the way here.
But now, I could finally be at ease.
A tremendous amount of rock mana permeated into me. The yellow stone fragments floating around had simultaneously transformed into their powder form, before getting absorbed by me.
With my legs that had regained their sensation, I stood up and tightly gripped the hilt of the great sword with my right hand.
A firm grip. Immediately, I pulled the greatsword out of the ground.
And the yellow-jade rock mana ferociously swirled around, welcoming its new master.
Gormos’ Obsidian Blade.
The ultimate rock weapon was now in my hands.
[You have passed the Trial of Sandstone with an iron will and a tenacious mentality!]
[Congratulations, you have acquired the trial reward [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Earth Breaker]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Heavenly Rock Strike]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Rock Sovereign’s Barbican]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Stone Breathing First Form]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Stone Breathing Second Form]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Stone Breathing Third Form]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Eclipse]!]
༺ Monologue (7) ༻
With Dorothy’s interference, the trial was recalibrated and the hidden truth was revealed.
This was the 2nd Round.
This wasn’t the first time I had experienced this freshman life since transmigrating into ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
I had lost my memories when everything was initialized.
As I reached the threshold of forgotten truths, one after another, the regret I felt in this world overwhelmed my heart in its totality.
Not all my memories came rushing back, but the significant ones that had brought me down were returning one by one.
I failed to save Dorothy. She left me a single word of gratitude and faced her end with the Floating Island.
I remembered myself blankly gazing at the statue of Dorothy, erected in Märchen Academy. Overwhelmed with helplessness, an unbearable wave of remorse had washed over me.
I couldn’t protect the Imperial Princess, the Priestess, or Kaya; I couldn’t protect any of them.
The mere thought of protecting everyone in hell difficulty was utterly absurd.
‘Hell difficulty?’
Hell difficulty… In a flash, that expression felt intensely out of place to me. Almost as if Gestaltzerfall had occurred, the consonants and vowels in my mind scattered separately, giggling.
In the first place, difficulty levels doesn’t matter when hell is everywhere.
I quietly took a deep breath to calm my feelings which were as warped as a twisted bread stick.
I remembered boasting like a fucking idiot about how I grew strong, just because I had some meaningless enlightenment. Well, it did have the effect of making my mental strength more robust, the more I did so.
At the very least, I could keep moving forward.
With that, as I solemnly eliminated my enemies and finally reached the very end of the scenario.
And in the end, I was defeated by the Evil God Nephid.
And…
‘A system window appeared, saying that the Evil God’s magic bid the demise of ‘all worlds’.’
Never in my dreams could I have known that it included the world I had previously lived in, Earth.
A massive secret was hidden behind the scenes of my possession in this world. I still couldn’t figure out what exactly it was.
However, the overwhelming burden of whether someone as worthless as me could handle such a secret… weighed on me like a boulder.
“How disappointing…”
At that moment, Luce’s low lamentation echoed into my ears.
“I really wanted to marry Isaac, though.”
“…What?”
What is she saying out of nowhere?
My attention became focused on Luce.
“I had that daydream. A daydream where you and I lived… in harmonious joy with one another.”
Even though I used [Psychological Insight], I couldn’t read her mind, perhaps because I was in the middle of a trial.
However, Third-Year Luce already knew I was the Black Monster. I knew all too well that she liked me.
“Do you want to hear it?”
Luce gazed at me and smiled sweetly.
She seemed to have accepted my silence as an affirmation, as she began her story with a small smile and a gentle voice.
“Do you know Asverika? The city of magic and education. Apparently, if you bring a Märchen Academy diploma there, your life as a wizard is set. After graduating, we would go to Asverika together and buy a house… I would be diligently perfecting practical work at the Magic Tower. And you would work as a wizard in some place like a guild. When we both finished our daily work and returned home, I would give you a kiss. I would say ‘You did well today as well, Isaac’ and while I hugged you, I would whisper into your ear. You’re so weak to my voice, after all, hehe.”
Luce’s fingers weakly squirmed, as she tapped the back of my hand.
“We would eat delicious meals together, share small talk with each other in the same bed before falling asleep… And then, I would propose very simply and modestly on the bed and we would dress up all nicely at the church and get married… And even after that, we would repeat the same daily routine. At that time, it might be a bit embarrassing, but we would also call each other differently. Like… ‘You did well today as well, dear’.”
With her head bowed, Luce continued.
And I silently yet attentively listened to her story.
“Maybe five children would’ve been nice? Isaac’s body is very robust, so a healthy baby would have surely been born. The child would have cried energetically without a moment’s rest. It might be a bit exhausting… but still, I would have been truly happy because I would have loved those children so much. There definitely would be tough times. But, we would get through them, right? We would depend on each other, sometimes openly share difficulties over a drink, and comfort each other… And in the end, find things to smile about. That… that’s how we would live. That’s how I imagined it.”
It was only then did I realize that the reason why I didn’t have to worry about Bad Ending 「Bird Cage」, even after resolving the Evil God issue, was because of this.
Luce… wished to build a future with me.
However, I couldn’t say anything right now because I could tell why she had brought up this story to me.
I felt a terrifying mana outside the cave. The Black Flame horde, the Evil God’s minions, would soon break into this place.
That was why Luce had brought up such a story as the final thing she wanted to say.
Realistically speaking, she had likely judged that there was no hope.
“Aren’t you a little sad? You didn’t get to marry me.”
Even in this kind of situation, hearing Luce’s incessant tease made a laugh trickle out of my mouth.
“That’s what you want, thou-”
Click.
Suddenly, from my wrist, a metallic sound was accompanied by the sound of mana resonating.
Startled, I stopped speaking and looked down on it. A handcuff imbued with Luce’s mana was fastened on my wrist, firmly affixed to the wall.
Did she touch my hand in order to put a handcuff on me…?
My memory was still hazy, so I had not been able to prepare for this.
“You let your guard down.”
“…What is the meaning of this?”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be released after some time passes.”
Only then did Luce sit up from her seat. A strong sense of unease enveloped my entire body.
“What are you going-”
I swallowed my breath at the fight of Luce’s figure standing before me
I couldn’t see her right arm. Even in this dim cave, I could tell that blood was dripping down from an empty stump.
Of course. There was no way Luce had easily managed to save me. She would have lost many things along the way.
Luce knelt on one knee, matching our eye levels. A close distance. A dark shadow was visible beneath her eyes and her lips were turning pale blue. Her complexion was extremely pale as if she was someone on the verge of death.
I held my breath.
With her remaining left arm, she gently caressed my cheek while wearing a smile as faint as moonlight.
And then, she spoke.
“I love you, Isaac.”
As if she was certain that she would never be able to say such words again.
As if she had left the last words she so dearly wished to say.
With such a sad voice, Luce quietly whispered.
“I like you. I love you, I really do love you…”
Luce carefully swept back my bangs before kissing my forehead.
As if time had stopped for her, for a long while, she enjoyed the warmth of my skin with her blood-stained hands and chapped lips.
And then, she pulled away from me, revealing an elegant smile.
“Stay here quietly. I’ll be back soon.”
With those words, Luce began to limp out of the cave.
“Hey, Luce? Luce!”
I tried to rush toward the departing Luce, but the handcuff prevented me from moving any further.
Even when I pulled on it so hard that it made my wrist bleed, the cuff refused to snap.
I was in a state of mana depletion, so I couldn’t even cast proper elemental magic. In the first place, if I used mana, the Black Flame Legion outside of the cave would perceive it and break inside.
“Stop, hey!!”
Even at my call, Luce didn’t stop. She continued to trudge out of the cave without any hesitation in her steps.
In no time, she was out of my sight. It was because the cave had a bent structure.
Luce’s reason for leaving was clear; The dark mana that could be felt outside the cave. She was aiming to sacrifice herself; she would fight the minions of the Evil God before they could invade this space.
Luce had put the cuff on me, probably fearing that I would sacrifice myself in her place.
Lost memories resurfaced.
During the 1st Round.
Right before the initialization finished loading, I had left the cave as soon as the cuff had automatically released.
And I had witnessed her die in agony as she was devoured by the black flames.
The guilt of leaving her to die a painful death, the despair of hearing the eerie laughter of the black flames surronding her…
Engulfed by the Black Flame Legion, she had to hear their eerie laughter alone while I could only stand by and watch; The remorse I felt… The utter helplessness I felt…
It pierced my heart, as if it was tearing into pieces, and even at my end, I felt as though I was sinking into an abyss.
“Luce!! I said stop!!”
When the initialization occurred, the transcendental power, in the form of the so-called ‘Status Window’, would reset everything to the beginning.
Although I may not know which fucker created this Status Window, I was certain that the god-like bastard would do it no matter what.
So, I begged her not to leave.
I screamed repeatedly, but Luce did not return.
My mana was already exhausted. Even the Frostscythe within me had depleted all its strength.
How would I remove this restraint? What did I need to do?
「Ice Generation (Ice Element, ★1)」
A small piece of ice appeared. Even in my mana depletion state, I was still slowly recovering my mana. At the very least, creating small chunks with [Ice Generation] or [Rock Generation] was more than possible.
It didn’t matter whether the Black Flame Legion percieved my mana or not. I had to run to Luce immediately. I didn’t want to have any more regrets.
The fingers of the hand that was fastened to the cuff gradually turned into stone. With [Ice Generation], I made an ice chunk bundled with high-density mana, before slamming it down onto my now stone thumb.
Kwajak──!
“Keughhh…!”
My thumb crumbled into pieces.
My carpal bone had not transformed yet, so pain surged, almost rendering me unconscious. Even so, I couldn’t take my hand out of the cuff. As such, I even shattered the metacarpal bone connected to where my thumb once was.
This much was enough. Immediately, I yanked my hand from the cuff and jumped up from where I was seated, before sprinting out of the cave.
“Ah!”
However, I couldn’t balance myself like I was used to. I only realized when I checked my legs. There was only an empty space below my left knee.
I was not able to feel it because it had turned to stone. It seemed like I had lost my leg while fighting the Evil God.
I hopped with one leg. Whenever I fell, I got up again and sprang forward like a spring.
While repeating these actions, I barely reached the exit of the cave. The exit led upwards.
At some point, one of my arms had turned into stone and while the other had not been petrified as much, I had obliterated a part of it with the ice chunk earlier.
My palms were still usable.
I tightly held the irregular surface of the wall with my palm, hung my arm over to lift myself, and used my teeth to firmly bite the protruding rocks.
As if I was rock climbing, I did whatever it took to keep ascending and ascending upwards.
“Keuhak, Haaah…!”
Then, after finally exiting the cave, I laid on the ground, panting for breath. I spat out my broken teeth. It was fortunate that the exit wasn’t too high.
As I lifted my head, the scene of devastation filled my vision as ash scattered underneath a sky enveloped with rock mana.
It was a shockingly vast area; a landscape created when the Evil God’s magic evaporated the sea. It seemed the place where I had been was originally an underwater cave deep in the ocean.
Beyond the horizon, a gigantic eye exuding ominous mana contemplated the world. It was the Evil God’s minion, Angra Mainyu.
Black flames blazed fiercely throughout the land; chunks of high-density mana that could annihilate anything it touched.
Then, I turned behind me, where a tremendous amount of mana could be felt. Luce was standing alone, facing the Black Flame Legion.
Now that I could actually see Luce in a brighter place, instead of the dimly lit cave, it was immediately clear how serious her condition was. It wouldn’t be strange at all if her already battered body collapsed at any moment.
Numerous magic circles had unfolded above Luce’s head. It seemed that she also had nearly no strength left to spare, as the magic circles flickered unstably.
She was facing off against bizarrely-shaped demons made up of black flames.
A tremendous number of black flames created infinitely by the Evil God formed a legion, as they targeted Luce.
High up in the air, a gigantic three-headed dragon let out a grotesque roar; It was the Apocalypse Dragon-Azhi Dahāka.
Hwarererereuk────!!!
Shortly after, the Black Flame Legion spewed black flames. A storm made of flames raged.
“Luce!!”
[The demon has been recognized as an enemy.]
[The unique trait [Hunter] is activated!]
[Your level and stats are temporarily greatly enhanced!]
[Your skill tree temporarily becomes +10!]
With [Rock Generation], I pulled up rocks from the ground to forcibly push my body forward. Then, I immediately flung my body towards the storm of black flames.
I had very little available mana left. However, I could unleash at least one useful attack.
I poured out all the remaining strength into my ruined right hand, condensing the ice mana within it, and swung my arm to unleash [Frost Explosion].
Kwaaaaaaaaah─────────!!!!
The explosion of pale blue ice mana cut through the black flames. The chunk of ice that was created in a short time was burnt instantly, but at the very least, it diverted the storm of black flames away from us.
Now, I was entirely drained of my strength. There was nothing more I could do.
Horrifying pain washed over me, as my body powerlessly fell to the ground. With a Crack, a ghastly sound echoed. Even if I hadn’t fallen from such a height, the sensation of my ribs fracturing couldn’t have been avoided.
I didn’t even have the strength to groan in pain. I could barely breath..
“Isaac!!”
Luce rushed towards me and knelt on both knees, desperately trying to lift my body.
“I-Isaac…! Isaac! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! Ah ah…!”
Luce’s voice completely broke. She was wailing. The very same voice that was always as upright as her aloof persona.
It seemed like she felt guilty because the cuff that she had fastened ended up ruining my hand, causing me to barely get out of the cave.
There was nothing to be sorry about, though.
As I had no strength left in my body, I had no choice but to rely on Luce. It was because I had abused my mana.
Luce embraced me tightly. I didn’t even have the energy to lift my head, burning my face in her slender shoulder. Her nape smelled like blood.
Ash scattered. The Black Flame Legion was slowly closing. The threatening roar of the Apocalypse Dragon made the ground tremble.
What should I say?
I didn’t want to leave you to your lonesome.
The reason I adored you was because you were more than lovable to deserve it.
I didn’t want to espouse such shabby things, as if I were in a romance movie.
“Luce…”
I just wanted to respond to her sincerity.
“…Thank you for loving me.”
I couldn’t know what was going on in Luce’s mind right now. Her only reaction was her quivering breath, as if she was barely holding back tears.
Soon, terrifying and heavy mana pressed against my entire body. It was because of the dark mana held in the mouth of the Apocalypse Dragon-Azhi Dahāka. It seemed like it was planning to unleash it upon us.
Luce took a deep breath.
“…Isaac, it’s a bit of a funny thing to say, but…”
A gentle and benign voice, like moonlight.
Luce caressed my head and whispered in a low voice.
“If… I’m reborn… I’ll recognize you no matter what.”
I could feel a weak tremble from her always tender voice.
“I’ll find you again. I promise… I’ll find you again…”
Suddenly, I remembered the first semester of my 1st Year.
When Luce had asked me to be her friend.
Despite her frequent strong aversion to others, Luce never had those sensations only when it came to me.
From the outside, I didn’t look like anything special. However, solely because she saw how diligently I trained, she told me it made her want to keep watching me. Looking back at it now, her explanation didn’t make sense at all.
…It was a bit too romantic, almost excessively so, to think that a small part of the emotions Luce was feeling at this moment had somehow carried on to the 2nd Round. That was why I couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter.
It was certainly a funny thing to say.
“See you later.”
Luce left those words.
Somehow, I felt relief in Luce’s arms.
From the very beginning, my goal had never diverted, not even a bit.
My mind became organized.
I had always been that way. As long as a goal was in sight, I would keep on going no matter what..
From being the Academy’s Weakest, I would become a Demon-Limited Hunter; To completely eradicate those legions and kill the Evil God.
And to finally welcome a happy ending, putting an end to this shitty story.
Soon after, the Apocalypse Dragon spewed black flames.
When the pitch-black clumps of flames engulfed us…
[99%…]
[100%]
[Initialization Start.]
[Moving onto the 2nd Round.]
Chieeeek…
Click.
Within the sense of annihilation, my field of vision was covered in noise before turning off with a click.
“Haah.”
I exhaled deeply.
The portions of my body that had turned into stone began to gradually return to their original state.
It all started after my hand touched the hilt of the greatsword that was at the center of the swirling light brown mana and plunged into the ground.
By meeting my end together with Luce, I had successfully overcome the Trial of Sandstone. Because most of my body had turned to stone, I struggled to ceaselessly crawl all the way here.
But now, I could finally be at ease.
A tremendous amount of rock mana permeated into me. The yellow stone fragments floating around had simultaneously transformed into their powder form, before getting absorbed by me.
With my legs that had regained their sensation, I stood up and tightly gripped the hilt of the great sword with my right hand.
A firm grip. Immediately, I pulled the greatsword out of the ground.
And the yellow-jade rock mana ferociously swirled around, welcoming its new master.
Gormos’ Obsidian Blade.
The ultimate rock weapon was now in my hands.
[You have passed the Trial of Sandstone with an iron will and a tenacious mentality!]
[Congratulations, you have acquired the trial reward [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Earth Breaker]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Heavenly Rock Strike]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Rock Sovereign’s Barbican]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Stone Breathing First Form]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Stone Breathing Second Form]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Stone Breathing Third Form]!]
[You have acquired the unique active skill of [Gormos’ Obsidian Blade], [Eclipse]!]
