Creak—
I dropped the sword that I had just finished wielding, hearing the sound of something being definitely… broken.
My left arm hung slackly, as if to imitate my right arm.
The sound of a sword that fell to the ground followed suit.
“Ha- Hahaha… Hahahaha…”
I couldn’t even muster the energy to shout.
I stood with my feet on the ground.
The fact that I was able to maintain myself in this state was a miracle in itself.
“I… won. I really… won…”
I was so exhausted that I felt like letting go of my consciousness while standing still.
I ruminated over it again and again, as I repeated the same words incessantly, intoxicated by my victory.
I imprinted it on my mind.
I had won, and that was a fact.
“Haa— Ahhhhh…”
Looking up at the sky covered with darkness, I felt the tension, anxiety, pressure, and elation along with the air I had stored up.
I let it all out.
Right next to me, there laid the corpse of the ogre, whose torso was cut into pieces.
In addition to that, an unending line was carved deeply and distinctly into the earth.
…Shooting Star
I could only laugh at that technique, even though I was the one who unleashed it.
Its power was that shocking.
What was left behind was a crack that stretched in a straight line, so straight that one might have wondered if the earth had been split open.
But despite its power, this Shooting Star was probably less than 20% as complete as the one released by the “Star Slayer” swordsman in my dream.
My inferiority was as bad as it could get.
But even such inferiority had boasted such tremendous power and shattered the wall that stood in its way.
I reaffirmed in my heart why I was a life-long admirer of that swordsman.
“At last.”
As if savoring each and every word, I let it out of my mouth.
“At last, I felt as if I really had made a step forward.”
I was sure that I wouldn’t have been able to feel this emotion if I had just been waving a stick around selflessly.
“I’m truly grateful— ogre. Thank you for being my sustenance. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to take a step forward.”
Words were no longer necessary.
So I spun around on my heel and turned my back to my rival, the ogre, who was still smiling at me.
“The subjugation rate for an ogre ranks at a B, but this one, who can speak, is a mutant, so he’d be one rank higher among other ogres. Probably a B+, I wouldn’t even argue if he got rated as an A.”
Then abruptly, I heard a thick voice of a man that shook my eardrums.
I urged my battered and exhausted body to return to the village, and as I turned on my heel, I saw two figures appearing before my eyes.
I had felt the presence of people during the battle earlier, so I immediately understood that it had to be them.
As soon as the battle was over, the duo appeared.
And as to who they were, I already knew the answer.
***
Reaper Scans
***
“Let me ask a question. Just who the hell are you?”
I guess I wasn’t too flustered about all this, that was probably why he asked me with such pressing, murderous intent, as though he’d cut me down depending on my answer.
And I figured that the reason he asked me such a question was because of his perception of me being “abnormal.”
Human beings tended to be different from others, so in other words, people were relentlessly seeking reasons for being unique, being “abnormal.”
The swordsman I saw in my dream was no different and was perceived the same way too.
Most of what he said and did was always considered beyond comprehension.
And for that reason, I laughed.
I made the best laugh I could with the carefree look I had on my face.
“…”
The man in front of me raised his eyebrows dubiously.
I was certain that was because he didn’t know why I did so.
I was perceived as “abnormal” just like the “Sword Demon” whom I admired, an amazing individual who devoted his life to “Slaying the Stars” all his life.
If he were ordinary, he would definitely not be able to slay the stars, and he was more aware of that fact than anyone else.
Therefore, I couldn’t help but be happy.
I was considered to be an abnormal being, just like him, who had deviated from the norm.
This fact brought me more joy than ever.
I felt as if I had finally made it to the starting line to becoming a “Star Slaying” swordsman.
Even though I was aware of my distorted perception, my joy persisted.
“Ha- Ha… Haha.”
Each laugh opened a wound.
Every time I shook, blood was lost from my own body.
But…
If I didn’t laugh now, when would I laugh?
As one would expect, my voice had lost its spirit.
But I still laughed and tried to be honest about my feelings, even if it meant making the people in front of me suspicious.
I wanted to laugh just for this moment.
“Who… am I? …I’m still the same person as I was that very day 4 years ago. I couldn’t change anything, no matter how much everyone in the village laughed at me.”
The question he asked was not my name by mistake.
But my true identity.
In other words, my real nature.
“I’m a ‘Star Slayer.’ A swordsman who’s longing to be a ‘Star Slayer.’”
I already had a sword in my hand.
An actual sword, not a piece of stick, and wielded it as a swordsman would do.
That was why I called myself a swordsman.
“A… ‘Star… Slayer,’ you say?”
“Yeah, a ‘Star Slayer.’ As the name implies, it means to slay the stars. I want to slay the stars, and I want to prove to everyone that the sword of the person I admire is the strongest. So… I’ll Slay the Stars.”
Perhaps it was because I was exhausted.
I said all this much more quickly than I’d normally do, as though I was about to give up my consciousness.
Slowly, I moved forward.
Step by step towards my home, the village.
But the more I moved, the more pain attacked my whole body.
The wounds widen further and blurred into a reddish blotch, especially the wound on my chest, which was cut in an exaggerated manner, attacking me relentlessly with a piercing pain.
It was extremely difficult to see in the darkness, but one thing I could make out was that the clothes I was wearing were being coated with sticky blood.
Everyone who saw it, without exception, peeled their eyes.
I was so badly injured that it was a wonder that I, myself, was still standing, and the wounds that I had, kept on throbbing.
“Aahhh…”
My vision blurred out.
I was losing the feeling in my legs, and my world was shaking.
I must have pushed myself too hard.
Too much blood must have been lost, and my body was not as strong as I would have liked it to be.
I was supposed to be walking, but I was worried if I was really walking forward.
All of my thoughts weren’t functioning properly.
“Tell Sofia that… I’m going to take a short break, so I’m going home—”
They must be… adventurers…
If they came to me, then it must mean that Sofia was safe and well, so I told them to relay a message for me.
…But my body was so heavy that even my mouth wasn’t moving properly. My throat should’ve been doing its job, but my voice wasn’t coming out.
…Aahhh…
Let’s take a little rest, then.
I could go home right after I rest.
If I rested a little, my body would surely recover.
With such an unfounded wish, I put my hand on the trunk of a nearby tree.
“…Aahhh… I’m… really tired…”
I didn’t even have the energy to tell them what I really wanted to say.
I wished to tell those two adventurers to tell Sofia that I did well against the ogre, but I ended up telling them that I was tired and that I wanted to rest at home.
“I guess I really… pushed myself too hard…”
Leaning my body against the tree trunk, I slumped to the ground, unable to resist the pull of gravity.
I let go of my consciousness and melted into the darkness, as if to escape from the prison of pain that covered my entire body.
——
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