Chapter 230: I Will Test That Life of Yours (5)
Sometimes, there are people like Baius. People who can use both hands freely, but act as if they are one-handed.
There’s no noticeable difference between their left and right hands, but they create a preconception with their posture and strike with an unexpected blow.
Baius grinned.
“Think of it positively. I don’t use my left hand that often either. To make me use my left hand, you’re quite something.”
Al stood up, dusted off his hands, and moved his head a little. It seemed like he was fine moving his body and his vision, even though he took a direct hit to the face.
He took his stance again.
“Now this is starting to get fun.”
The fact that his opponent was extraordinarily strong began to ignite his fighting spirit. The martial arts he started practicing as a way to become equal to Lucy gave him a competitive spirit.
He developed a desire to compete against strong individuals whenever he encountered them.
Baius Extoria was the ideal strong opponent he had been thinking of. He is extremely difficult to defeat, and the reward is greatest when you win.
Al moved his body again. This time, he filled his heart with the determination to properly fight.
Pak!
His feet kicked the ground hard.
At that moment.
Rumble rumble rumble……
Levidian thought for a moment that the building was shaking from Al’s stomp. Then she realized the entire building was shaking.
“Wh-what is this?”
Baius quickly took the reasonable action of lying down on the floor. His hometown was a region where earthquakes were quite frequent.
Al and Levidian, while maintaining their balance, looked blankly at Baius, who was lying on the floor during the duel, even though the ground was shaking.
Since there were no windows where they were, they couldn’t see the reddened sky. However, they could see Baius’ reddened face.
***
“Haaaap―!”
Pakaang―!
I clashed swords with him.
Pagagak! Kirik?!
Aila said it. He has mastered almost every skill that exists in the world. As you can guess from those words, his swordsmanship is also quite advanced.
He entangled his sword with mine while they were crossed and attacked my wrist. It’s quite an advanced technique.
I’ve been beaten by Levidian many times, so as soon as I noticed the sign, I quickly created distance between us. But this wasn’t a very good choice either.
He was a high-level mage, a shaman, and a top-class superpower user.
“Thorn of Ice!”
As soon as I created distance, Artshever made ice thorns sprout from the ground. If I hadn’t sensed it and moved first, I would have faced a rather unpleasant injury, or even death.
In the end, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and close the distance between us.
“Damn you! Are you trying to rupture my rectum?!”
“That sword is cheating!”
Thanks to me holding Brandione, the spells he was casting had no effect. So he attacked by making things sprout from the ground or creating things in the sky to drop.
He seemed to prefer making things sprout from the ground. But suddenly, ice thorns rising between my legs?!
“If I’m not careful, I won’t be able to have children!”
“You won’t be able to have them anyway if the world is destroyed!”
“Like I’ll let that happen!”
Pakaang! Kaang! Chaang!
His and my swordsmanship are truly similar. Even if the teachers are different, the foundation is the family swordsmanship, Dance of Nine Swords, and since we are guys with similar personalities, it’s inevitable that our fighting styles would become similar.
I struck my sword towards his legs, then tried to swing it upwards. Artshever cleverly moved his sword to block mine and tried to step on it, but I thrust my head forward before he could.
“Eek!”
With an unsightly sound, he retreated, and I retrieved my sword and this time thrust it forward. If I create distance and give him an opening, he’ll use magic.
I struck as fast as I could. Small, precise, and fast. He blocked all the blows and said. My voice, and his voice, resonated between the sparks created by the clashing swords.
“Does it, even, make, sense, to, save, the, world, like, this?!”
“You, know, my, heart! I, love, this, world, as, much, as, you, do―!”
How difficult it is to talk while fighting. I put a lot of strength into my last words and delivered a strong diagonal downward strike. As expected, he blocked the blow by placing his hand on the blade and lifting his sword.
Damn it! What is that sword made of? Brandione, which can cut steel, can’t cut his sword!
I pressed down on the sword with all my might and said.
“You…… by any chance…… did you also learn, blacksmithing?”
“I worked, at, Iperfect, for, 30, years, ugh!”
“No wonder……! It felt familiar!”
I momentarily released the force from my sword, causing his arm to rise abruptly. I didn’t miss the opportunity and tried to kick him in the abdomen, but it was blocked by his hand, which had already anticipated my move.
I retracted my foot and stepped back two steps. It’s a distance where I can run away if he uses magic. Artshever held his sword with both hands and met my eyes.
“You’re saying you can’t let it die because you love it? Who knows, you might become like me!”
“No. I won’t. Even if I go through thousands of resets like you, I won’t become like that.”
At my quick rebuttal, the other me bit his lower lip and retorted.
“How can you guarantee that?!”
“Levidian guaranteed it. So I believe her.”
She said it. She said I wouldn’t become like that and she believed me. How could I dare betray her faith?
And I’m confident I won’t become like him.
Because I’m guessing the hidden feelings he hasn’t realized himself.
“Besides, even if I can understand you, I don’t intend to accept it.”
“What do you mean?”
His eyebrows shot up. It’s a prelude to anger. A pair of green eyes demanded an explanation, and I decided to comply.
I raised my sword and pointed it at him.
Honestly, facing him makes me irritated. And remembering the things he said makes it even worse.
“I told you. You love the world. You didn’t answer. Ha! The guy who’s going to destroy the world loves the world, how funny is that? No, I should be more precise. You don’t love this world……”
“Please stop.”
“You still remember the happiness you felt in this world, don’t you?”
“……”
Artshever’s expression, in other words, the face that’s identical to mine, hardened coldly. And proportionally, I smiled. If anyone saw us, they might say our personalities have switched.
Usually, it was him who wore a triumphant smile. But today is different. Today, that’s my expression.
“I know my personality well. I’m, you know, quite a petty bourgeois. Of course, considering the things I’ve done so far, there might be a petty bourgeois the size of a city inside me. Anyway, I’m grateful for small happiness, I feel the greatest happiness in my lover’s smile, and I enjoy the unparalleled pleasure of drinking with friends. Power? Wealth and glory? To me, that’s nothing more than a cloud across the Sair River. Hey, Artshever, isn’t that right for you too?”
“No.”
That’s a lie. The hardest thing in the world is to deceive yourself, so are you going to keep pretending you don’t know?
I continued.
“I don’t know what kind of relationships you had in your life. But this is certain. I can guarantee it. Even in your life that might have spanned tens of thousands of years, there was happiness. Tell me, Artshever, no, Arisein Herduke, were you unhappy when you met Ibi in your life?”
The sword is still in my hand, but he looked as if he had been stabbed by it. This confirms it. He, even he who has lived for tens of thousands of years, still has something he hasn’t realized.
The reason he loves this world. That is……
“Small happiness, little joys, the warm embrace of people who comfort your tired body and mind. It was this world that gave you all that. So you can’t help but love this world.”
“That’s…… sophistry. Are you saying you know me…… inside and out?!”
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Hey, look here, Artshever! You couldn’t decide anything because of your love-hate relationship with this world! Even though you could have done it! Even I can understand that much!”
That’s the cause of all this.
No matter how much time passes, no matter how many lives I live, my personality won’t change. Just like it was predetermined, the personality that can appreciate small things and gladly accepts small happiness is the same for him.
But at the last moment, this world took all that away. And offered a new foundation.
To start all over again.
Just like a wave sweeping away a painstakingly built sandcastle, the same thing happened to him, and it repeated.
Didn’t he say it himself?
It felt like building a sandcastle on the beach!
In the end, Artshever came to hate this world more than anyone else. But he still couldn’t let go of his love for it.
Even if it took it away in the end, this world gave him joy and happiness. In the repetition of misfortune and precious small happiness, he couldn’t make a decision in the end.
Whether to destroy this world, or to die alone while holding onto precious memories.
That’s why he created this complicated and grand stage. While becoming a clown himself, he gathered people and made it so that ‘someone’ would make the decision for him, even if he didn’t like it. Because a clown can’t end the play.
Artshever remained silent. And he shook his head. His heart wavered slightly, but he soon calmed down.
“You don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“You don’t understand my desire to escape this hell of a life, even if it means doing this.”
“Of course I don’t. And I don’t want to. And I don’t have a hobby of making decisions for ‘others’.”
“Others?”
A sneer is about to twist his face. Does he want to talk about that again? That I’m his origin.
I raised my hand to stop him from speaking. And I said.
“Don’t be mistaken, Artshever. Even if you were born from me! Does that mean you and I are the same person? There’s a decisive difference between you and me.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve been making my own decisions!”
I straightened my chest and stood proudly. I’m different from him. It’s a phrase often used as a poor excuse, regardless of the era, but I’ll say it proudly now.
“I’m different from you. I made my own decisions. Ever since I started over after experiencing death, I’ve decided everything myself. I was satisfied with the fruits of my labor, set new goals, and moved forward! And I will continue to do so. The last decision you made was just to follow whatever others decided, even if you didn’t like it, because you wanted someone to put an end to your love-hate relationship! It’s nothing more than a pathetic piece of resolve that’s embarrassing to even call a decision!”
That’s right. This is the difference between me and him, and the reason why I can understand him but not accept him.
And I made a decision.
Regardless of his will, I will kill him for the sake of this world’s existence, because I love this world.
I decided my own path.
A person who decides their own path and a person who doesn’t. Can they really be called the same person?
I grinned and slung Brandione over my shoulder.
“It’s okay. Whether you decide or not, I’ll kill you for sure. Biologically and psychologically, you and I are the same person. I can’t define whether it’s suicide or homicide, but there will be a contradictory death that can’t be explained by anything other than those two. Contradiction is an error, and I can definitely put an end to your life that was created by error. Don’t worry.”
“Aren’t you too confident? You don’t even know if you can kill me or not?”
“Do you know what’s harder than dying?”
He didn’t answer. It’s a simple question anyone can answer.
Life is harder than death.
I’ve been walking my path to live, and he’s been walking his path to die.
I guess I can skip the answer. I said.
“The one who walked the harder path is much stronger. It’s the law of nature.”
Creak!
That’s not the sound I made. This must be the sound of his molars breaking.
He covered his face with his hand, then removed it. Then, a face similar to mine, but not mine, the face I’ve seen before, appeared. It’s much better to look at.
‘Artshever’ said.
“Then, let’s see how strong you are…… I will test that life of yours.”
Without another word, he grabbed his sword with both hands and charged at me. I also grabbed Brandione and charged at him.
The duel, where each of our existences and lives were at stake, began once again.
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