It was burning.
My blood welled so badly that I felt as if my whole entirety was burning.
My emotions, my soul, my everything at this moment.
The longing, the thirst, and my fighting spirit— all on fire.
“…Haha.”
What distress I was in.
My whole body was screaming, and if there were a limit, it would definitely have passed long ago.
All the danger signals were clearly lit.
I steadied my feet, disregarding the danger of the crisis I was in right now.
I was standing on this ground.
Why was that? Why was I standing here?
That was a given.
I already knew the answer to that question, I was more aware of it than anyone else.
I was afraid to no end… The sole feeling of “fear” enveloped me.
I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to achieve what I’d set my heart on, to let go of the longing I had.
I couldn’t not ignore all of the life-threatening cries that were going in and out of my brain even if I wanted to, and what I was more afraid of was dying without being able to become a “Star Slayer.”
“How… unbearable.”
I spent my days constantly swinging a stick, hoping to be a “Star Slayer.”
I would slay them someday.
But the repetitive act that I was doing towards a vague desire had somehow led to a small doubt that even I, myself, was unaware of.
To put it simply, it was far away.
My dream of being a “Star Slayer” was just so far away.
So far away from where I was standing now, that I was doubting if I will ever be able to reach it myself.
The way to do so didn’t exist.
There wasn’t any room for improvement for me to do so.
That’s why it was unbearable.
I encountered a wall, one that someone like me could overcome.
That, more than anything, was more unbearable than anything else.
“……”
He stares at me skeptically.
The ogre reflected in my eyes is a fighting maniac who sees the value of life in a fleeting glimpse of death, so he must have instinctively understood that our natures are completely different.
Despite that, I still laugh at him.
I was laughing as if I was having a good time, hence probably the reason why he finds me skeptical.
“It’s simple. I’m laughing because I’m having fun, so why are you wondering about something so obvious? Huh? HUUUH?!”
The exuberance took over, and I shouted as I pleased.
And in the meanwhile, the fierce battle continued.
And my eyes, narrowed like those of a cat’s, caught every strike from the ogre, sparks flying everywhere as I parried them all.
“…Kgh— Hahaha…”
The ogre’s mouth twisted into a smile and let out a giggle.
His face was painted with glee, hardly seeming to feel any pain, despite the fact that one of his eyes had been crushed and his right arm had been cut off.
He kept swinging, swinging, swinging his sword.
Our swords struck each other, slashing the atmosphere to shreds in all directions.
I was fighting for my life.
Despite the fact that we were killing each other, we were both laughing as if were fun and unbearable.
“I’m really glad it was you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here right now!”
I’d grown because I met you, Ogre.
I would gladly shout out and say that I was able to grow because of you.
I was sure that if it weren’t for this hardship, I wouldn’t have a sword in my hand.
It was you who gave me the chance.
So I will shout it out, and thank you.
I will thank you— and swing my sword in gratitude.
That would be the greatest return I could give you.
“In order to be a ‘Star Slayer,’ I must always keep challenging the walls that stand before me! And it was you, out of all others, who made me realize that!”
From the very day I saw that dream, I longed to be a swordsman.
I had a thirst that no one could understand, and I continued to train in a foolish way.
But it wasn’t good enough.
That level of training wasn’t good enough.
I lacked everything, nothing I had sufficed.
But there was one thing that I needed, and that was to keep pushing myself.
All I had to do was to break the wall down and exceed my own limits… and reach what I would normally have never reached.
…I wanted to prove that I was the strongest.
It was a word that seemed extremely cliched, but it was the heaviest thing that was weighing on my mind.
A word that had never been easy to achieve.
“That’s why—!!!”
I had already acknowledged it.
From the moment I saw him, my instincts had recognized it.
The ogre in front of me was superior.
A much higher being than me.
“That’s why… I’m going to surpass you and move on!”
***
Reaper Scans
***
I put my heart and soul into the wall that I had to overcome and distanced myself from the ogre.
We’d already crossed swords with each other dozens of times.
And no matter how stout I acted, no matter how much I tried to look good, the end was near at hand.
Both of us had long passed our limits.
But yet, we stubbornly continued to wield our swords.
“H- Haaah—”
I inhaled the chilling air as much as I could and took it into my lungs.
Then, I bent down and stared with my eyes, which had been getting used to the dark night, bloodshot, and exerted all my strength.
Sweat gushed out of me.
Knowing that there wouldn’t be a next time, I stood with only my willpower.
This would really be the last time.
No matter whether I cried or laughed, this would be it.
“CUT— THROUGH!!!”
A desire, a longing, and a hope.
With all of my thoughts and emotions, I began to close in again.
My right arm was still dangling down, therefore, my left arm was the only one I could rely on.
I took one step.
And the more steps I took, the more I felt as if my life was being drained away, so I pressed down hard on the ground.
I was under the impression that I was hearing something get ripped off.
I put all my strength into my left arm, even though I knew I wasn’t hallucinating about it.
And so our swords crossed once again.
My plan was to take his strike and deliver a sure-kill counterattack…
But—
“Ah- Ggh…!!”
After a moment, I heard a shrill scream.
It echoed so clearly in my brain that I could not even disguise it as my imagination, and I immediately understood the cause.
And that was not only my right arm, but also my left, which was holding the sword, had been broken.
I still somehow managed to get a grip on the sword, but that momentary gap was too fatal at this moment.
It was probably because I was unable to properly channel the power that was being directed at me and put into the ogre’s great sword.
At the same time, with a snap, the sword in my hand cracked open, and soon after, the blade broke in two.
A part of it was thrown into the air.
And the ogre’s emotion when he saw it… was joy.
The victor emerged clearly, smiling triumphantly.
My body was full of wounds, and I had lost my only means to protect and fight for myself.
There was only one way left for me to evade his impending sword strike.
— And that was to dodge it.
Pull back, leap, and then run.
Fortunately, my limbs were moving faster than my brain was prompting my body to do so.
My body was moving in an effort to retreat from the spot.
But…
“Thish wash… fun.”
He was convinced.
No matter how much I struggled to avoid it, he knew that his sweeping attack couldn’t be avoided.
Thus, he let out a roar as if it was the last time.
“—Kgh…!!”
I desperately attempted to overcome this predicament with my body, which had been overworked until it was exhausted and battered.
But even so, time was running out.
Then— a red splash appeared in front of my eyes.
The blood spurted out from my body in an exaggerated manner.
My consciousness was fading away, and so was my body, and my unsteady vision.
The sight in front of me made me realize that I had been cut down.
And the sight of my enemy, the ogre, who seemed to have lost interest in me, turned his back on me.
Oh, no…
Don’t go, I can’t have that.
I was still going to cut you down and slay you.
So I won’t let you walk away from me.
I can still fight.
I should be able to, that’s why.
I just kept on repeating these words in my fading consciousness.
Move.
This couldn’t end here.
I had to cut him down.
So move… Move.
I didn’t care what came afterward, so…
…Just… move.
Thump.
Before I knew it, I found myself making a sound by stomping down on the dirt.
And the ogre, who must have turned around to see what was happening, stood wide-eyed in astonishment.
It was as if reality was lying to him.
He was startled as if he had seen a ghost.
(“It didn’t reach my internal organs…”)
Perhaps it was fortunate that I jumped back as quickly as I did, and the earlier strike did not reach my organs.
I confirmed this and breathed a sigh of relief.
Pain.
Pain was taking over my whole body, and I could hardly hear the voice of my body writhing in agony anymore.
(“I can reach him… from here.”)
The distance was about 5 meters.
I was sure that my sword would be able to reach him from here, or so it seemed to me.
“I won’t let you go away this time.”
I told him in a voice that had lost its spirits.
In my left hand was a newly created sword, and I slowly raised it.
I could only use it once more.
I thought I could only use it once, but for some reason, I felt as if I could use it again this time.
So I exhaled, not even looking at the broken sword as the particles gathered and formed the shape of a sword again.
“—!!!”
The ogre hurriedly held up his greatsword.
But such a thing wouldn’t be of any use at this moment.
Why?
It wasn’t a surprise.
“The fact that you didn’t even try to ensure finishing me off at the last moment is your defeat.”
The blow that I was about to deliver is a “Star Slaying” technique, one that I mimicked from the swordsman in my dream.
Half-hearted attempts at defense would be blown away as helplessly as ashes in the wind.
Take it.
Take this blow.
Not as a stick-swinger with a stick-like piece of crap.
But as a swordsman, with a proper sword in my hand, I’d unleash this technique.
I wouldn’t be needing to do this technique on you the next time.
This was the end, and I released it without thinking.
I used both my arms and legs, unleashing it all, even though my entirety was broken.
With all my might, I deliver you my “Star Slaying” blow…!
“CUT THROUGH—”
It was an out-of-the-ordinary technique that slashed off a log-like arm with a mere stick.
It was the only “Star Slaying” technique that struck fear into the ogre’s instincts.
I would deliver this very blow to the stars.
“—SHOOTING STAR—!!!!!!”
——
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