Chapter 16

“Damn it, what is this!?”

I panicked as my vision was suddenly plunged into darkness.

The room’s actual brightness hadn’t changed.

I knew that through 《Dimension》.

However, my perceived sense of darkness had increased by a staggering degree.

It felt as if my very standard for light and shadow had been tampered with.

Because even the information gathered by 《Dimension》 was covered by a thin black curtain, I realized this wasn’t a physical darkness, but a psychological one.

“My other name is ‘The One Who Steals the Dark Principle.’ However, I am not called that simply because I manipulate shadows. What I excel at is manipulating the darkness in the human heart. I am a monster specialized in status ailments and mental interference.”

Teida’s boastful voice echoed from deep within the gloom.

He didn’t reveal his weaknesses, but I was grateful for his loose lips. My irritation was rising, but there was a chance I could find a path to victory through his constant chatter.

Darkness. Status ailments. Mental attacks.

I immediately began digging through my memories for game-like solutions to these keywords.

“Heh… you’ve touched me far too much…”

Teida pointed out my carelessness.

At that moment, the black liquid clinging to my body began to wriggle. I brushed off what I could reach, but in that time, Teida appeared to have finished repairing his body.

I saw a silhouette deep within the thickening darkness.

My vision was useless now. 《Dimension》 only faintly felt that there was still some distance between me and the figure.

The game-logic I had unearthed dictated my next move.

I focused on myself rather than the shadow in the dark.

Just as I thought, it’s that kind of ability…!

“Now, boy. Round two…!”

I wanted to analyze my status further, but the voice and the shadow drew near without giving me a moment to breathe.

“I can still see the shadow!”

I had no choice but to slash blindly at the silhouette.

“Hmph. A lackluster strike.”

Naturally, I felt no resistance from cutting through the shadow.

Instead, a searing heat ignited in my left shoulder.

Realizing I had been sliced by an enemy attack, I groaned.

“Guh—!”

“Now, the conditions are met once more. I’ve found my way in. After stealing your experience with darkness, shall I take your legs next? —Magic: 《Variable · Paralyze (Destitute Feet)》.”

Teida made a sound like snapping his fingers.

In that instant, I felt as if my legs no longer belonged to me—and my knees buckled.

“—What!?”

I didn’t understand what had happened.

The moment Teida declared his spell, I hit the floor.

I immediately tried to force strength back into them.

But I didn’t know how to apply pressure—I didn’t know how to stand up anymore.

As I confirmed the meaning through “Display,” Teida’s shadow slowly approached.

“A magic this potent is difficult to pull off unless my ‘mud’ is attached to you… but with this, it’s over for you.”

I had no means of counterattacking.

My MP was nearly depleted from the previous continuous assault.

—I’m scared.

I was deathly afraid.

An abnormal terror dominated my entire body.

The darkness clinging to me accelerated it.

Teida said he stole my “experience with darkness.”

It was as if I had reverted to a child who cries in the middle of the night for no reason. Fearing the dark every night, becoming anxious thinking about death. That massive, unidentified darkness filled my heart.

“—U-waaaaaaaah!! D-don’t come any closer to me!!”

I screamed like a child.

“So you’ve succumbed to ‘Fear’ as well. It seems you have a weak heart destined to be swallowed by the dark… I had high hopes for your talent, but your spirit is unworthy of praise.”

A cold voice replied.

It wasn’t the gleeful voice from before; it was the voice of someone who wouldn’t hesitate to slit the throat of livestock.

“《Flame Arrow》!!”

A flash of light tore through the darkness, cutting off his voice.

It was Dia’s magic.

“Christ, are you okay!?”

Concerned for my shattered state, Dia rushed to my side.

Of course I wasn’t okay.

I couldn’t fight like this.

Dia couldn’t win alone.

I had to break Teida’s magic somehow.

I knew it in my head.

But the trembling in my body wouldn’t stop.

“Ah, the lovely one is still here. Your tactics are reliant on others, and you’re a one-trick pony with your magic. You aren’t a threat alone. I suppose for that magic, I only need to steal about three syllables to end you. I don’t even need to take your whole voice.”

“What are you babbling about!? Stay away from Christ! 《Fla— …gh!?”

I could tell Dia was flustered in the darkness ahead.

If Teida’s words were true, Dia had been hit with ‘Silence.’

Against a boss specialized in status ailments, a magic-specialized fighter like Dia was a terrible match.

I have to hurry…

I have to do something about this mental magic, my mind…

Mind…? That’s it. If this is acting on my mind… then—

“《Fla… Fl… damn it, I could say it just a second ago! Why can’t I say just one word!”

“A mage who can’t even use chantless casting is no opponent at all.”

It’s dark.

So dark. I’m dark right now. Dark, dark, dark.

Dark Dark Dark Dark—! Dark Scared Scared Dying Dying I’m gonna die I don’t want to die I don’t want to end here, in this remote place, the family I left behind, my sister! Dying alone and leaving nothing behind! It’s unreasonable, don’t mess with me, don’t mess with me DON’T MESS WITH ME—!!

—Then, I just had to accelerate my anxiety on purpose to trigger that skill.

Along with that “Display,” the curtain of darkness thinned, and my mind stabilized.

The “experience” of my legs hadn’t fully returned, but I forced them to move anyway.

As long as my will to fight returned, there was still a way.

I slammed my trembling feet into the ground and lunged at Teida.

“Get away from Dia!”

“What!?”

Teida was startled by my sudden recovery and failed to dodge the thrust from behind.

My one-handed sword sank into Teida’s back.

“Magic: 《Ice》! 《Freeze》!!”

I unleashed every bit of freezing magic I possessed into the wound.

I visualized rapid glaciation erupting from the tip of my sword.

I imagined ice crystallizing inside Teida’s body, freezing everything solid.

I poured in all my remaining MP. Naturally, it hit zero instantly. But the magic continued. In the first place, I had never actually confirmed that I couldn’t use magic if my MP was zero.

And then, I realized.

The missing MP was being drawn from my ‘Life’—my ‘Maximum HP.’

Amidst the dwindling numbers, I roared.

“Freeze! Freeze, freeze, FREEEEEEEZE—!!”

I bet everything on this magic.

Squeezing out every ounce of my strength, I channeled the image of absolute freezing.

With the intent to manifest a cold wave that could blanket the entire Antarctic continent—with the intent to suppress every vibration at a molecular level—I let the image of freezing this monster Teida, myself, and everything else explode!!

Ice began to form inside Teida.

The temperature in the room plummeted, and slowly, the black liquid began to transmute into a black solid.

In the aftermath, my own wounds began to freeze over.

Sparks danced in my vision, and the taste of iron filled my throat.

Then, Teida’s swinging arm struck my defenseless cheek.

“—Guh! Not bad!”

The distance between Teida and me widened.

Having been blown back, I steadied my stance and glared at him.

Perhaps thanks to the skill ‘???’, both my vision and my mind had cleared. My legs were gradually recovering as well. Aside from my remaining HP and MP, I felt like I was returning to form.

I really owed it all to that ‘???’ skill.

“Hehe—khahaha! You… you’re truly magnificent…! Why can you still walk? Why can you still stand against me? Ah, it’s wonderful…!”

As Teida spoke, his body emitted a series of sharp cracks and pops with every awkward movement.

I could see from his gestures that the freezing magic was working. However, it didn’t seem to be a decisive blow. Despite his clunky movements, he was still trying to walk toward me.

Feeling like I’d finally dealt him a blow he couldn’t just shrug off, I spat back a retort.

“It seems your specialty magic… doesn’t work on me anymore…”

I feigned composure, but in truth, I was dizzy with a fatigue so intense it felt like the blood vessels in my brain were about to burst. Even so, I maintained my bravado with everything I had.

“Oh, is that so…? You were panicking just a moment ago. I suspect that even if you can nullify it, it takes you quite some time.”

“Well… I wonder which it is…”

Teida approached with a laugh.

During that brief exchange, I finished checking my status.

My MP was at 0.

Even though I hadn’t taken a direct hit, my HP had dropped by nearly half. The reckless freezing magic from before must have severely damaged my body. However…

“Magic: 《Dimension》!!”

I shaved off even more of my maximum HP.

Using what little magical support I had left, I moved to intercept the laughing Teida.

“Haha, here I come! Now, how will you respond!?”

The lethal blade lunged at me.

I caught Teida’s blade on the flat of my sword by the narrowest of margins. My power from 《Dimension》 had weakened, but Teida’s movements were also sluggish from the freezing magic. I could still do this.

“You stopped it! But if I touch you, my mental magic is unavoidable! Next is your ‘Hand’!”

While keeping one hand as a blade, Teida liquefied the other and flung it at me.

Occupied as I was parrying the blade, some of the liquid splattered onto my skin.

True to his word, the sensation in my “Hand” went haywire.

The sword I held in my “Hand”—

I’ll die.

If I drop my sword, I’ll die.

I’ll definitely die. I’ll die instantly. Die. Die. Die. Die. I don’t want to die yet!

Utilizing the terror of death, I regained my grip on the sword.

Then, tightening my hold, I…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!!”

I slid my blade along the top of Teida’s arm-blade.

I aimed to slice straight through the enemy’s frozen neck.

“Guh—!”

Teida solidified his other liquefied hand, trying to block me.

But he was too slow.

In the moment he threw the liquid and activated his magic, there was a definitive opening.

I slashed through his arm before it could fully solidify.

I severed Teida’s frozen forearm.

The severed limb went flying through the air.

Realizing what happened, Teida leaped back a great distance to retreat. He caught his own severed arm as it tumbled through the air.

“Impressive! Hahaha, does my magic really not work on you?! This is why I can’t get enough of this!”

Teida tried to liquefy the severed arm to reattach it to his body. However, the frozen parts wouldn’t liquefy; he could only reabsorb about half of it.

He discarded the frozen remains, which hit the floor with the sound of clinking ice.

“It seems that once it’s frozen, those parts don’t come back…”

“Hehehe, I wonder? Feel free to find out for yourself during the fight.”

“Yeah! I intend to!”

Sensing a chance for victory if I pressed the attack now, I lunged forward.

“But even I am used to people resisting my magic. Mages like that usually can only resist specific types…!!”

Saying this, Teida readied his blade and threw more liquid from his other arm.

I decided that even if I fell into an abnormal status, the skill ‘???’ would handle it. Prioritizing the approach, I let the liquid splash over me.

“Your strength is one thing… but more than anything, that ‘calmness,’ those ‘feints,’ that ‘judgment,’ and that ‘observation’… they’re in the way.”

Teida laughed while keeping his distance.

Then, an abnormality hit me.

Suddenly, the dizziness vanished, and my head felt incredibly clear.

I considered triggering the ‘???’ skill but thought better of it.

I wasn’t in a fatal mental state. Even if I triggered it, it would create a slight opening, so there was no need to force its use. Deciding that, I roared with the surge of impulse rising within me.

“One more time!! I’m going to carve you to pieces!! Teida!!”

I unleashed a barrage of sword strikes.

I slashed again and again, but the one-armed Teida parried every single one of them.

“How simple!!”

Finding an opening, Teida kicked me away.

Being sent flying just when I was so close made the blood rush to my head. Driven by that emotion, I charged at Teida again, preparing to swing my sword—

“Christ! Calm down!!”

Diablo, who had moved to the rear, screamed.

But his voice was just a nuisance. I was so close to shredding that monster; I didn’t want him interfering.

“I am calm!!”

“You’re clearly becoming predictable! You’re not yourself because of his mental magic!”

Not myself?

Supppressing my irritation at the last possible second, I checked my status.

I confirmed Mental Pollution and Exaltation.

I clicked my tongue and filled my heart with the fear of death to induce anxiety and trigger the ‘???’ skill.

But even then, the sense of exaltation wouldn’t subside.

The refreshing clarity in my head wouldn’t go away. The heat of my battle spirit continued to boil my brain.

Exaltation 2.02 wouldn’t disappear.

My skill ‘???’ wasn’t trying to cancel out the exaltation.

Wait, does it not recognize this as a negative status?

To begin with, the idea that it canceled “bad” statuses was just my own inference and wishful thinking. A mysterious skill that just increases Confusion and leaves it at that.

Perhaps relying on this skill as the core of my strategy was too much of a gamble when I didn’t even understand its true nature.

“…As I thought, you can’t cancel it. And I won’t give you time to settle down!”

Teida lunged at the bewildered me.

Splattering black liquid with one hand, he attacked with the blade in the other. It was impossible to fight while dodging the raining liquid. I ignored the liquid and focused entirely on the blade.

“Is that alright? Magic: 《Variable · Paranoia (Closed Tranquility)》.”

The magic seeped into my body.

My excitement peaked, and all my inhibitions vanished. My blood boiled; I wanted nothing more than to keep trading blows with the powerful foe before me.

“Guh!”

“Now there’s the look! Humans must be like this!”

My body moved forward on its own.

I felt too good; there were no brakes left. My simmering brain screamed at me to kill the enemy.

Indeed, my sword speed was increasing…! My power was rising too…!

But I couldn’t think of techniques or tactics…! Swinging my sword just felt too good…!!

Sword and blade clashed repeatedly, ringing out through the chamber. And all the while, Teida’s black liquid continued to erode me.

“Isn’t it?! Isn’t it the best?! The clashing of swords! The exhaustion of every ounce of strength! This is what it means to be alive!!”

Teida spoke as if chanting a song.

And I found I couldn’t deny him. Right now, I was having the time of my life fighting. Even if I knew this was exactly what Teida wanted, I couldn’t stop.

This head-on clash—I never wanted it to end.

Even though I had no HP or MP left, I couldn’t even conceive of retreating.

“Hehehe! Khahaha!”

Teida’s laughter and the black liquid eroded me further and further.

It washed everything away. It didn’t feel harmful; on the contrary, it felt like a pleasant rinsing. It was comfortable, purifying my heart.

Plans, calculations, consequences—it erased all those tasteless things.

Social graces, profit, harm—such shackles were unnecessary.

There was only the battle before me.

“—No, Christ! At this rate, you’ll—!”

“Don’t get in my way! DIABLOOO!!”

I heard a restraining voice from behind.

But I reflexively rejected it. I couldn’t help but feel that anything interfering with this blissful time was an enemy.

“Christ!!”

The voice drew closer from behind.

Still, I couldn’t stop swinging my sword. My life was being shaved away. The longer this dragged on, the more my sword lost its edge, and the tide of battle turned against me.

Yet, I couldn’t stop.

Teida’s blade continued to block my sword, and gradually, only his blade drew closer to my body.

Finally, I reached the limit of my reckless, mindless assault.

Teida swung his decisive blade at my neck.

The price of my reckless charge had come due; my body had no strength left.

I was wide open.

Aiming for that opening, Teida’s blade was sucked toward my throat—

And before it could reach, Dia’s body threw itself in between.

Unable to keep up with the blindingly fast exchange, Dia had lunged with his entire body to protect me. I saw him right in front of my eyes.

—Next, fresh blood danced in the darkness.

The first strike slashed across Dia’s torso diagonally.

Even so, Dia tried to swing his own sword back at Teida.

Naturally, his slow blade met only empty air, and the second strike severed the right arm holding that sword.

Having lost his arm, a helpless Dia collapsed.

“Ah… aah…”

The exaltation that had dominated me was extinguished in an instant.

Instead, a chill like an icicle thrust into my spine ran through me. In slow motion, I watched the ‘pillar of my heart’ being destroyed.

Amidst that, the words I had been telling myself this whole time echoed in my mind.

Dia is a person from another world.

He’s just to be used.

A shield for emergencies.

The wise choice is to treat him as disposable—

NO!!

The thing I held so dear, the person I didn’t want to lose, was being broken right now!

Because of that, I could not forgive Teida for cutting Dia.

I could not forgive myself for being protected by him.

A double surge of rage shook my throat, and I screamed his name.

“DIABLOOOOOO—!!”

In that moment, for just a split second.

For just one tiny moment, my eyes met Dia’s.