Episode 42

Metal scraped fiercely against metal, and sparks floated in the darkness.

Villains crossed blades at a speed too fast for an ordinary person’s eyes to follow. A climactic showdown that had never existed in the original story was unfolding.

(Even if they’re villains, the other guy’s the final boss!)

Zeke’s poker-faced expression did not change, but inside, Hiroto was breaking into a cold sweat. He had thought this might happen someday, but he had not expected that day to be now.

In the original story, Zeke’s words and actions born from his own ambition did stand out, but basically, he committed evil deeds while being guided along by Pariaach. The struggle over the “Spearize,” the key blueprint, and the assassin who targeted Masfelt. Behind his repeated clashes with the protagonist’s party, Pariaach’s shadow had always been there.

Of course, Zeke himself had never intended to remain just a pawn. Pretending to cooperate with Pariaach and the others, he had planned to betray them in the end and become the “Wisher (Diabalet)” himself.

(Is this some dream matchup? Nobody asked for this……)

The protagonist’s father and the master of the Freak Trading Company. The swordsman praised as the next Sword Saint, and Masfelt’s son. His true identity was Elzen Freak, leader of the organization working behind the scenes in the Kingdom of Diabalet, and the final boss of Wish Soul.

(I thought someone like Dex would show up, but for it to be Elzen of all people……)

In terms of pure combat ability, Masfelt had been the strongest in the story, but Elzen’s own potential, his obsession with achieving his goal, and one certain circumstance were what made him the final boss.

The protagonist’s father being the final boss…… in a way, it was a classic development, but I still remembered how shocked I had been when I learned the truth.

His master, his grandfather, had been killed, and his father had been the one pulling strings in the shadows. After learning everything, the protagonist had become reckless and nearly fallen into darkness. Even so, his companions had never abandoned him, and had stayed by his side and supported him.

(When he learns the truth, will that protagonist…… will Van be okay?)

Classic developments had a certain excitement to them, but that was only in games. If something like that happened in real life, I could not imagine anyone keeping a sound state of mind.

Because Hiroto was an outsider, he could watch them from a step removed, but for the people directly involved, like Van and the others, it had to be unbearable.

(It doesn’t matter to me what happens to Van and the others…… but if they don’t do something about Elzen, that’ll be a pain.)

Elzen was the kind of man who would use any means necessary to achieve his goal. Now that he had become aware of Zeke as an enemy, Hiroto could not imagine he would simply leave things alone.

He was not some third-rate villain who would get crushed once and learn his lesson.

The heat and cold dwelling in their swords collided.

Baring their fangs, they tried to erase each other’s very existence.

(This bastard…… just because he can’t die, he’s attacking completely recklessly and throwing himself into it.)

The strongest foe he had faced so far had been the Yaksha he met in a foreign land. It had taken everything he had to stop that war demon who had gone berserk after being swallowed by a curse, but the former Sword Saint candidate in front of him far surpassed that.

Even though there was no need to hold back to avoid killing his opponent, their sword fight remained dead even. Since he could not die, the other side could abandon defense entirely. That difference was far too important a factor in battle.

“……For all your talk, you use a very refined sword style.”

“Ha, and you, who denied the Sword Saint, are going to talk about swords?”

Elzen closed the distance and launched sword techniques at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

Zeke handled them with precision and sought an opening to counterattack.

Elzen on the offensive, Zeke on the defensive. Elzen wanted to settle the match with swordsmanship that rivaled the Sword Saint’s, while Zeke wanted to pull away and incinerate everything with overwhelming magic that froze all things solid.

The turning point of the battle was whether Zeke could cast magic or not. That was the focus——normally.

“I take that back. It seems you are not just some young brat after all.”

“Of course not. I’m nothing like your son (defective product).”

He tried to gather mana to chant a spell, but Elzen immediately closed the gap and swung his sword. He was reading the flow of mana and interfering so Zeke could not fire off magic.

“I do not understand. With that much power, why do you obstruct us?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. When did I ever show you the bottom of what I can do?”

If his magic was going to be canceled so persistently, then all he had to do was surpass his opponent by other means.

Elzen sensed a flow of mana different from magic and reacted. He rushed at Zeke like a flash of light, but the villain went beyond even that. Strengthening his body with an enormous amount of mana, he unleashed a slash faster than Elzen’s sword.

(……This feels bad. It really does.)

Zeke’s sword had pierced Elzen’s heart.

Elzen’s eyes widened. After violently coughing up blood, he seemed to understand what had happened. An attack that came from outside his awareness. An instantaneous slash impossible to defend against.

“Blow away——Shock Pulse.”

Elzen took the full brunt of the directional mana burst and was blown away. His heart, a vital point for any living thing, had already been pierced, and the follow-up blow sealed it.

In an ordinary battle, that would have been the end, but Elzen was a being outside the laws of reason.

(He really is immortal, just like they said.)

Counting the initial surprise attack, this made the third time he had killed Elzen. When he carefully observed Elzen collapsed in the distance, the same change as before appeared.

A crest like a magic circle unfolded over his heart. Forming as though it were writhing, it healed Elzen’s body in the blink of an eye.

Elzen stood back up as though nothing had happened.

He was looking at Zeke with obvious interest.

“What are you? You seem well versed in our circumstances.”

“There’s no need for you to know. ……You’re sick of this already, aren’t you? Why not just let go of life already?”

“I cannot do that. I need to meet the spirit (god). ……I will repeat the same thing as many times as necessary. Even if I fail again and again.”

Now that the distance had opened, there was more than enough room to go for a spell. High-speed spellcasting was Zeke’s signature move.

In the story, it had been a storm of magic that had burned the party members again and again. Most enemies could be dealt with that way, but right now the odds were bad. Even Zeke, who possessed near-bottomless mana, had his limits.

“If you are a Lagias, then you should understand. You should know this world, warped and filled with deception, is worthless.”

“Are you an idiot? Every last one of you keeps spouting the same kind of nonsense. ——You’re no different from a child throwing a tantrum.”

(Zeke might have wavered, but I’m a different person.)

“——I see. Then I will destroy what is precious to you. That should make you understand.”

“No such thing exists. If you want to use the lord of Lagias Domain as a ‘watchman,’ then go ahead. Well, in that case, I’ll use your son as one of the ‘keys.’

The one who will become the ‘Wisher (Diabalet)’ is me.”

He could clearly tell that a wicked smile had risen on his own face.

Proof of that was how Elzen’s expression distorted for just a moment.

One of the story’s greatest villains and the immortal final boss.

They threw off sparks for the sake of the worlds each of them desired.

“This is kind of anticlimactic~. I thought you’d have a little more to offer……”

Glanz and the others lay collapsed on the ground. Due to the effects of the space Pariaach had deployed, their use of mana had been completely restricted.

It was truly a situation where they could do absolutely nothing. Some were desperately trying to get up, but gravity magic kept them from moving.

“To have four people and still be unable to do anything…… Hmm, or maybe your balance is just bad? You’re all mostly mages, after all.”

Floating lazily in the air, Pariaach struck a pose as though thinking.

“Well, whatever. It won’t really trouble me if you all disappear. I’ve already got the ‘key’ sorted out, and the ‘Guide’ doesn’t seem like much either.”

The black sphere that appeared in Pariaach’s palm grew larger as it swirled. Inside that sphere spread a void filled with darkness.

It was the destination of ruin, connected to the abyss.

“If you go in here, you won’t be able to maintain your existence. You’ll be severed from causality.

Everyone except the ‘Guide,’ that is.”

Pariaach’s face twisted with ecstatic delight, and the black sphere swirled violently as if responding to it.

“I’m sorry. This is all happening because of me.”

“Don’t be stupid. What are you saying? I don’t regret any of the choices I’ve made.”

Ciel, the only one who could still use mana, was crying.

She had gained power in order to change this unreasonable reality. She had mastered sacred arts so that tragic endings could become happiness where everyone smiled.

She had believed sacred arts, specialized in healing and defense, could make that happen.

“My life is what it is now because I met you. My life changed because I met you.”

Selen had been born a noble in the Kingdom of Anishing. In order to protect her family, she had laid hands on a forbidden taboo, but the very family she had protected rejected her.

All that remained for Selen, driven from her country, was a curse.

“Selen……”

“I have no regrets. I won’t look back. Because isn’t that right? We were saved by him.”

Ciel and Selen thought of the same person.

If he opened his mouth, a storm of abuse came out. If he drew his sword, it cut through everything, and his magic was a calamity-level force that destroyed all.

His cold mana and cold words stood out, and yet somehow, his presence warmed the heart.

“No matter what happens, he will never stop moving forward. Then we should be the same. ——Right, Glanz?”

“That insight of yours…… is a frightening thing.”

Glanz had been especially quiet all this time, without offering any sort of counterattack. Selen had thought it strange that a lofty mage called the Sage would remain so still.

——And her prediction had been right.

“Hmm? What’s this? If you want to chat, do it inside this!”

Pariaach hurled the sphere. It had already expanded to a size more than sufficient to swallow Glanz and the others whole.

Drawing in the ground itself, the end approached.

“Until the day I repay my debt to Mr. Zeke…… this old man cannot die.”

The noble he had met in the unexplored dungeon. The boy hated across the land as the son of the House of Lagias.

Even Glanz’s own subordinates had kept their distance from him and rejected him. Even so, he had not abandoned Glanz and the others when their lives were in danger, and had saved every last one of them.

Behind his words, there had been kindness that cared for others.

“Mr. Pariaach. There is one reason for your defeat. You gave this old man far too much time——Reverse World.”

While everyone else remained unable to move, Glanz alone stood up. Resisting gravity, he cast magic while ignoring Pariaach’s domain.

Pariaach’s expression shifted from ecstatic delight to shock.

“Spatial transfer——allow me to return the favor.”

“!? No way—!?”

The black sphere that had been closing in on Glanz and the others was sent flying behind Pariaach, where it began to swirl as if to swallow Pariaach instead.

“H-how can you use magic!? D-don’t tell me…… you analyzed my ancient magic in this short a time!?”

“The longer one lives, the more experience one accumulates. Human life is finite. That is precisely why it shines so brightly.”

Pariaach resisted by smashing back with the same power. He struggled desperately not to be swallowed.

“There’s no way I’d lose to some senile old ma——!?”

“You looked like you were having quite a bit of fun earlier, didn’t you? Ready yourself.”

“……I’m ready. This ends it.”

Selen held her magic gun in both hands, and Atri gathered mana. Their two different kinds of mana intertwined and brought about a miracle.

Selen’s magic gun was wrapped in rainbow-colored light.

““Final Blaster!””

The rainbow-colored bullet they fired became a laser and blasted Pariaach away. He was swallowed just like that into the sphere connected to another dimension.

“N-not in a place like thiiis—!?”

A rainbow miracle illuminated the abyss.

After violently going out of control, the sphere dispersed like mist.

“Farewell, pitiful spirit (god).”

As the battle between Glanz’s group and Pariaach reached its climax, a change was also about to come in the fight between Feluart and Van’s group.

“That Pariaach bastard looks like he’s in trouble. ……Guess I’ve got no choice, I’ll go.”

“……Why are you looking away?”

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”

Eris and Van were covered in burns all over their bodies from the flames. Eris knelt with a dagger in one hand, while Van supported himself with his sword stabbed into the ground.

Both of them were in a state that could only be called battered to the limit.

“To be honest, I didn’t really care whether you lived or died…… but I guess I’ll finish this here. Just make it easy on yourselves already.”

“That’s what applies to you, Feluart. ——No, I’m not going to let you off easy at all.”

“Hah? What are you sa——!? M-my bo—”

The flames wrapped around him suddenly vanished, and Feluart crumpled to his knees.

He could not even stand back up, as though his body would not move.

“Y-you bastard, what’d you do to me?”

“Looks like it finally took effect. Don’t get it? If you’re an adventurer, I’d think you’d have some idea.”

Eris looked smug.

“That spherical thing I threw at you. It was a delayed-action paralysis pellet.”

There were many types of items adventurers used, but what Eris had brought along for this adventure was a support item called a “paralysis pellet.”

Originally it had been called a “paralysis smoke bomb,” and had been something closer to a set trap, but over the past few years, development had progressed and it had been made into a new kind of support item.

“If you’re an adventurer, you need the adaptability to fight in any environment. Your weapon breaks, your mana runs out. Monsters don’t listen to excuses like that……”

Dagger techniques, support magic, attack magic, healing magic. Eris had devoted herself to mastering many different options.

——All so she could get even a little closer to the highest-ranked adventurers.

“There’s a famous story about an A-rank adventurer in the royal capital from before he became an adventurer. The item was a little different, but the story of how he used a similar item to slay the venom dragon basilisk is well known. ……Every adventurer knows it.”

Eris took a small object from her pouch and threw it at Feluart. The instant it struck, a net for capturing monsters spread out and restrained him.

“Paralysis pellets are something every adventurer knows too. All the more so for a B-rank adventurer. ——So why didn’t you dodge back then?”

“Guh, I’m numb and can’t move. M-me, done in by a toy like this……”

Feluart tried to summon flames, but the paralysis kept him from moving the way he wanted.

“Everything you say is a lie, and there’s nothing inside it. That B-rank thing you mentioned before, and even being an adventurer, were all lies. ……Even what you said about helping Van.”

“Y-you third-rate adventurer, don’t look down on me.”

“You’re the one crawling on the ground because that third-rate adventurer outplayed you.”

Because of the attack two years ago, the trust placed in the royal capital’s adventurers had fallen to rock bottom. The reason Eris, who lived in the capital, had chosen to continue down the path of an adventurer in the face of that backlash was because she never wanted to go through that same thing again.

She never wanted to see her homeland trampled by monsters without anyone being able to do a thing.

“In a way, it’s thanks to people like you. Adventurers working in the royal capital changed. No, they had no choice but to change.”

She had dreamed of becoming a knight or a mage too. Even so, the reason she chose to become an adventurer was because the person she admired was an adventurer.

“That doesn’t mean I’ll forgive you, though. You people are enemies of the royal capital’s citizens. Great villains who turned the peaceful royal capital into hell.”

“That’s just the price you pay for living without knowing anything. You brought it on yourselves……”

“You don’t get to decide that. ——Right, Van?”

Van staggered to his feet. He was battered all over, but his eyes were fixed squarely on Feluart.

“After getting beaten up by you, I can’t even hold a sword anymore.”

Van left his sword where it was and broke into a run. He was not fast, but he ran straight toward Feluart.

“But, you know…… the one thing I’ve got more than enough of is mana. No matter how many years pass, I’m still bad at magic.”

Van did not usually use magic. Part of that was because he was poor at it, but he also believed that rather than wasting mana, it was more efficient to pour all of it into physical enhancement and swordsmanship.

Even so, compared to actual magic, that used far less mana, and as a result, he often had too much left over.

“Brace yourself, Feluart. I’ll show you——my flames.”

Van blazed brilliantly. Giving off heat like the sun, he shone with a red light.

With Van’s level of skill, accurately aiming at his opponent was nearly impossible. ——So he charged in himself to make sure it hit.

“Damn it, st—op……!”

“Finisher—! Sunburst!”

Scorching hellfire swallowed the two of them and exploded.