CH 59

I haven’t seen Lily since this morning.

We were staying at the same inn, and we always had breakfast together, but that day Lily never came out of her room no matter how much time passed. 

I’ve been searching for her all this time, but I can’t find her.

Run, run, run.

I searched everywhere. I asked various people, but they all said they hadn’t seen her.

Anxiety kept growing, and before I knew it, it was time for the sun to start setting.

If I can’t find Lily by the end of today, I’ll ask Luke for help. He will probably refuse at first, mocking me, saying how I can’t even do something like this, but in the end, he’ll help me somehow.

If I tell him directly, he’ll definitely deny it, but I know. Luke is actually a very kind person.

“Black-haired, red-eyed. Just as the information said. You’re Abel, right?”

She’s still not found. So I’ll go meet Luke and ask him to search for Lily. With that in mind, as I turned on my heel, someone called out to me.

There stood a rough-looking man with a scruffy beard.

“Who… are you?”

“No questions. Follow me. You won’t refuse, right?”

“…”

In that instant, I understood everything.

This person knows where Lily is.

…Am I going to lose everything again?

I clearly realized that within my heart, a dark emotion was stirring… I’m really fed up with it.

All the “happiness” in this world exists on thin ice, and it wouldn’t be strange if it breaks at any moment.

I should have known. I knew it very well.

But happiness deceives me.

It deceives me into thinking it will last forever, like sweet nectar, and that’s what makes it truly wicked…

“…Hey, don’t get strange ideas, okay?”

“I won’t do anything.”

“…”

I’m no good.

I let my emotions go high.

I need to stay calm in times like these.

…If it were Luke, he surely wouldn’t let his emotions get even slightly disturbed.

Guided by the man, I arrived outside of Gilbadia. It’s a wilderness near the Ispirit Great Forest, a place frequently visited by adventurers.

“I brought ’em here, you guys.”

“…”

The man who was guiding me suddenly raised his voice.

And then, people started appearing one after another from the shadows.

There were ten, no, maybe fifteen of them…

“Sorry, kid. Well, there’s a request, but to be honest, this is a personal grudge.”

“…I think this is our first meeting.”

“You know Luke, right? That brat. We’re remnants of the mercenary group he crushed.”

“──!”

What’s happening right now?

I couldn’t understand immediately.

A mercenary group crushed by Luke?

What are they talking about…?

“Well, it’s revenge. We haven’t actually seen it, but we can tell how dangerous that brat Luke is by looking at the state of our hideout. Our leader couldn’t defeat him. We wouldn’t be able to either. That’s why… we thought we’d destroy everything that’s precious to him.”

──Ah. Why do these “garbage” exist so comfortably in this world?

Darker and darker.

My heart is being enveloped by darkness.

“He took away the most precious person in my life. Hey, can you forgive that? Can you understand the despair you feel when you come home and everything has been destroyed!?”

“…Luke doesn’t show mercy to his enemies. But he’s generally indifferent to anyone else. Did you guys do something to Luke?”

“Shut up. Die.”

Dodging the sword without any coherence, I performed a backstep.

First, create distance.

Contrary to the burning anger, my thoughts are clear, and I can see the opponent clearly. My senses are heightened.

It’s fine, I’m in good shape.

“Is Lily safe?”

“Who knows? You worried about her? Take ’em down, boys!”

──”Physical Reinforcement.”

“What?! He’s fast!! Be careful!”

First, the first step. 

There are too many of them. If I handle this wrong, it’ll be over. 

I don’t have the wide-range attack capabilities like Lily or Luke. So, I have no choice but to engage in one-on-one battles repeatedly.

I accelerated towards the man at the end again. But──

“──《Physical Reinforcement》 《Slash》”

“…”

The man also accelerated. Moreover─ faster than me.

I narrowly dodged and created distance.

“Don’t underestimate me, kid! All of us here can use such basic skills!”

──Skills.

It was an unfamiliar term to me.

Isn’t it magic?

But I felt a connection in my mind.

The sword skills Luke showed in the battle with the Ice Dragon.

And the power swirling within me, different from magic.

I felt that power from these men too.

I see, no matter how much I practiced, I couldn’t do it.

Because, it wasn’t about magic.

Luke is truly amazing.

“Come on, struggle as much as you can! Once I kill you, it’ll be the next one. I’ll kill all of that brat Luke’s friends, family, and lovers.”

“……You scum.”

Anger surged through my entire body, to the point where my head felt like it was going to explode, and my limbs trembled.

I want to kill them right now.

These guys should definitely die.

They have no value in living─

“──Kukuku, how foolish of you, Abel, to let your emotions get disrupted over something like this.”

“…Haha.”

I felt like Luke was laughing at me.

Yeah, I’m truly an idiot.

I mustn’t lose sight of what I should be doing right now.

I exhale slowly, pushing all unnecessary thoughts out of my head.

I would never say it because it would be off-putting, but whenever I hit a wall, I always think.

──What would Luke do in this situation?

“Hey, what’s wrong?! Is that all you’ve got?”

“…Damn.”

Dodge. Deflect.

But it’s all on a knife’s edge.

One wrong step, and it’s over.

The battle continues like that.

Each person is strong. Very strong.

At this rate… I’ll lose.

Once again, I can’t protect anything─no, who would give up?

“Haa… haa… think, think. In a situation like this, what would Luke do──”

“What the h**l are you saying? I’ll give you credit for your persistence, but I’m getting tired of this. Just die!”

I’m not good at magic.

These people are too flawless, and I can’t activate “Physical Reinforcement” any further.

I gather my strength and leap backward.

“It’s over.──《Slash》”

“…!”

Another man who had been waiting there swung his sword.

Instinctively, I know──this can’t be avoided or blocked.

In the midst of being stretched to the limit, various memories flow into me like a torrent.

I realize that this is what they call a flashback. Am I going to die… here?

Without doing anything…

Without being able to protect anything…

──No, I can’t die.

I have to save Lily.

If I’m going to die, at least let it be after saving Lily.

──I won’t let it be taken from me again!!

“Abel, the catalyst is always something trivial. So don’t rush. That moment will surely come──”

…As my master’s words resurface, I feel an electric surge in my brain.

Luke’s swordsmanship, which I have been watching closely, flows rapidly through my mind.

“──Kukuku.”

At the brink of death.

For some reason, a laughter like Luke’s spilled out.

The sensation of everything I’ve accumulated up until now taking form in an instant.

And a sense of omnipotence, as if I can completely control what I couldn’t grasp before.

This is it, a conviction.

Infuse this power, different from magic, into the sword. Flow it into the sword──

“──《Slash》”

My strike shatters the man’s sword and cleanly beheads him.

Amidst the rain of blood, swirling like a fountain, I probably was laughing.

Astonishment, fear, anger.

People around me look at me with various emotions.

Unnecessary information fades away from the world.

Yes, let’s try enhancing this power.

“──Physical Reinforcement.”

Just once.

Yet, a power several times greater than magic surges within me.

At that moment, I clearly understood.

I can’t imitate Luke’s splendid swordsmanship. No matter how rough it may be, I should observe the opponent well, predict, and seize the slightest opening to deliver a decisive strike.

I must sharpen this to the utmost.

Because I’m clumsy, I can’t afford to be wrong about the direction of my efforts.

“──Kukuku. Shall we?”

Once again, I find myself laughing like Luke.

Luke’s face, wearing a genuinely displeased expression, appears in my mind.

But to me, he’s a symbol of victory to that extent.

I kick the ground with all my might.

With a resounding explosion, the distance between the enemy and me rapidly diminishes.

“Wa──”

I decapitated him.

I feel like I can do anything now.──Next.

“Gyaaaahhhh!!”

“Wait, st──”

“Ugyaaaahhhhhhh!!”

“I’m sorry!! Just spare our lives──”

I continue harvesting lives one after another.

Luke wouldn’t show any mercy either, I’m sure.

With scum like them, I can’t afford to show even the slightest opening. Be thorough to the very end.

Three more left.

I can  leave one alive to extract information about Lily. While thinking such a thing──

“──Stop right there. You’ve passed.”

From somewhere, I heard the voice of a woman.