Ch.164164. Two Protagonists (5)

“■■■■.”

Could that even be called a voice? Could it be called language? Rather, speaking monsters seemed more human, and the roar of a giant walking over the mountains sounded more like a voice. I felt a chill that crept up from my heels through my legs and touched my spine. Two instincts were clashing within me—the urge to rush in with my sword and cut it down, and the intuition that if I charged in now, I wouldn’t survive.

“What the hell is that? Do you know anything about it?”

Could this be one of those evil gods I’d only heard about? Aryen didn’t answer and just stared at the gathering darkness. His one remaining arm gripped his sword, and his pale fist was trembling. Anxiety and uneasiness that had never surfaced before were now emanating from Aryen.

“Darkness… no, something darker than darkness.”

Aryen muttered. His eyes, his shoulders, his seemingly unbreakable spirit—all were shaking. I grabbed Aryen’s shoulder as he looked ready to charge toward the darkness. I could feel him flinching under my hand, trying to break free. I firmly held him down.

“No.”

“We need to kill it now.”

“If anyone goes, I’ll go. You just follow behind.”

Aryen twisted his face and shook off my hand. An ominous aura rose from his feet, and his form blurred away. I clicked my tongue and quickly followed behind him. The sword in Aryen’s left hand had already half-split the curtain of darkness. Behind Aryen, I immediately drew my sword and cut through the shadows that were trying to close.

“…!”

I thought there would be no sensation of cutting, but the feeling at the tip of my blade was incredibly vivid. The texture, like slowly cutting through human skin, traveled up the blade. An unbearable chill came over me, and darkness clung to my blade like blood.

“Get back.”

Aryen’s sword and left wrist were half-entangled by the darkness like tentacles. I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him with force. Even though his right arm had been cut off, which should have made him lighter, Aryen’s body was still quite heavy. It happened almost simultaneously—Aryen collapsing behind me with a dazed expression and the shadow lunging at me.

“Just making things difficult.”

The speed at which the darkness flew at me couldn’t even jokingly be called fast. Perhaps it didn’t need to move quickly at all. Even if I cut it or blasted it apart, it would never stop. I thrust my sword forward. A sound of tearing air accompanied my thrust. The darkness, cut like fabric, didn’t separate when sliced but multiplied instead. The falling fragments of darkness weren’t dead.

“■■■■.”

With each cut, unknown sounds leaked from the darkness. The sounds came from both the cut fragments and the source of the darkness. I couldn’t advance forward while cutting through the darkness. At best, I could only stay in place and fend off the approaching darkness.

“Ilroy!”

“Don’t come close!”

Aryen wasn’t in a state to fight properly right now. I roughly barked at him while swinging my sword again. Like a net entangling a fish, it wasn’t easily cut—rather, the more I cut, the more it seemed to wrap around my blade. I wanted to grab and tear it off with my hands, but who knows what would happen if I made contact with that thing.

Breathe, focus. I have to do this. I swung my sword in an inward motion. No light came from the Holy Sword’s blade. Don’t think. Don’t hope for someone’s help right now. I repeated these words to myself like a mantra as I deflected the darkness that flew at me like a spear.

Whoosh!

The cut darkness grazed my cheek as it passed. A chilling sensation, as if all the hair on my body was standing on end. As that sensation swept over me, a voice echoed in my head.

“How sad. How unfortunate. Are you fighting without even knowing who you are?”

Slash. Words not worth answering. I swung my sword again. Who I am—I know that better than anyone. I cut through the flowing darkness. I took one step back. The darkness immediately filled the space I had retreated from.

I looked up at the writhing darkness. It had already become space itself. That meant the vast spaces beyond this mental world were completely, seamlessly occupied by that ominous, squirming thing.

“Huff….”

My physical and mental strength were slowly being eaten away like rot. If I stopped even for a moment, the multiplying darkness would reclaim the space I had slashed through. Then I would have to take another step back, and when I did, the darkness would advance again in an endless cycle.

“Fine, let’s see who wins in the end.”

I was confident in my endurance. Even if it attacked my mind, I could withstand it. I bit my lip to sharpen my dulling senses and weakening sword strikes. The metallic taste of blood that should have risen didn’t come. It felt like my five senses were slowly being stolen by the darkness.

“Get a grip.”

The voice came from behind me. I flinched and turned around. Aryen was standing behind me, holding his sword with his one arm. It was irritating how he now looked more composed than anyone, when he had been the one most out of his mind earlier.

“It’s been eyeing your back.”

“Creepy. I didn’t know you could utter such vulgar expressions.”

My brow furrowed at Aryen’s joking remark. Aryen let out a dry laugh, then put his back against mine and aimed his sword at the darkness.

“This seems beyond what you can handle now. It’s a scale I can’t handle alone either.”

I snorted at Aryen’s seemingly relaxed words.

“Could I handle it even if I brought out all my power? It seems to multiply the more I cut it.”

“Who knows? With your power and the Holy Sword’s power, you might be able to cut it all down.”

Aryen said this as he swung his sword. Perhaps talent wasn’t just talent for nothing—in the short time that had passed, Aryen seemed to have somewhat mastered the knack of wielding a sword with only his left arm.

“…Wasn’t all that originally parasitic in your body?”

Suddenly struck by a disgusting thought, I turned to Aryen, who shook his head with an expression of revulsion.

“It wasn’t that massive.”

Sword strikes exchanged like dialogue between words. The darkness was continuously being cut. The space where Aryen and I could move was gradually becoming narrower. It felt like a vague task, as if cutting down a giant or a comet would be easier.

“…It keeps growing.”

“Save your breath. Use that energy to swing your sword one more time.”

“Look who’s being heroic.”

With my sarcastic remark, the conversation disappeared. The only evidence that Aryen was still standing behind me was the constant sharp metallic sounds. Would there be an end? Would we have to continue this mechanical battle forever, trapped in darkness?

Creak.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, something grabbed my ankle. A grip as cold as ice and as hot as molten iron. I reflexively looked down at my feet.

“Pitiful, oh so pitiful soul. No, ‘soul’ isn’t even the right word for you.”

Contrary to the word “pitiful,” the voice was mocking me. I twisted my face in disgust and cut down all the darkness at my feet with one slash. The weight on my leg didn’t disappear.

“Do you want to deny your manufactured existence?”

Manufactured? Despite my determination not to respond, a question burst from my heart. As if hearing my question, the voice burst into raucous laughter.

“I had my suspicions, but you really don’t know! How amusing, how amusing.”

Damn it, damn it. It has nothing to do with my will. Reading thoughts that made no sense, the voice began to spout answers on its own.

“Have you never questioned your existence? Where you came from, who you are, and why you must wield something like a Holy Sword and stand against the world to save it?”

Because there was no reason to question it.

“Saying there’s no reason to question is an amusing statement, ‘hero.'”

The voice emphasized the word “hero” particularly. Don’t stop the sword. I must cut and split the darkness. I swung my sword, but I no longer felt it wrapping around my blade. I no longer felt like I was cutting anything.

“Wondering why it’s not being cut? That’s truly a foolish question.”

The sword had stopped at some point. Even when I looked back, I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t tell if Aryen had already been devoured, or if I was the one who had been devoured.

“I find you pitiful. Can something with no real purpose be called life, existence?”

My teeth clenched involuntarily. Do these transcendent beings get sick and die if they don’t speak in riddles? I stopped trying to hold my immobile sword and opened my mouth.

“If you have something to say, say it straight instead of beating around the bush.”

“All the answers are in what I’ve told you. But then again, how could you understand anything when even your memories and past are fabricated, false things?”

Then came a chuckling laugh. But that laughter didn’t reach my ears.

“Manufactured…”

“I Won’t Return? What an impudent and amusing book title, don’t you think? You must have gotten clues from my minions, but you still haven’t realized it.”

And then, my tongue stopped as I was about to say more, and my thoughts followed suit.

“No matter how one might come up with a title, to create one like that. And contrary to that title, to make you return here again. Isn’t that truly malicious behavior?”

The voice’s words weren’t properly registering in my ears. I wanted to stagger, but even that was impossible as the darkness firmly held my body.

“Feel free to be shaken as you listen. Sometimes there are truths that must be heard.”

The voice’s words were poison. A deadly poison killing me.

“Why should I be shaken when I don’t even know what you are?”

“I am the voice of ■■■■.”

At the part where the name was spoken, I felt pain as if my head was being scraped with brass.

“One of those you commonly call gods.”

The word “god” came out so casually.

“Perhaps you’d understand if I said evil god. I don’t dislike that term. Rather, I quite like the word ‘evil.'”

The voice added playfully. I struggled. I achieved no effect whatsoever. I was still wrapped in the darkness’s embrace. Only the sensation of the sword in my hand was the driving force keeping me from going insane.

“Do you still believe? In the power of that so-called Holy Sword. The power of that thing parasitizing the sword. You believe in it desperately as if it were your parent.”

The voice is irritating. It was irritating before, but now it’s more irritating than ants gnawing at my brain.

“Possession? What’s that? Do you remember your name?”

“Shut… up.”

I cut off my words. It feels like my body is burning.

“I’m trying to concentrate.”

I have no intention of depending on anything, even now. What I believe in and depend on are only the words left by the Holy Sword. The sword can reach anywhere. The stars, the moon, even gods. The voice doesn’t come anymore. I waited and waited in silence, pouring all my nerves into the sword as I tried to move.

Crackle.

My body stirred. My arm twitched and moved forward. Absoluteness doesn’t exist. If it did, this world would have perished long ago. If what’s binding me isn’t absolute,

I can destroy it.

I can’t hear my battle cry. Little by little, very gradually, the sword moved forward. At the same time, the edge of the darkness slowly began to split.

“…This is somewhat surprising.”

The evil god spoke as if amused.

“Even I cannot perform such powerful brainwashing. It feels like something that already transcends the realm of will.”

Crack.

And then, my sword stopped midway. The darkness that had been splitting into two slowly began to merge again. I watched the healing scar with a feeling of despair.

“Your struggling looks cute.”

Crunch. Crunch. The scar seemed to be healing like that, then,

Tick.

It suddenly stopped just before closing completely.

“…Huh.”

“[It seems the filthy one was about to break free.]”

My body became free. I opened my eyes wide and turned toward where the voice came from. Beyond the torn darkness, a pure white space was revealed. And, illuminating the path with bright light, a woman with silver-white hair walked forward with the sound of her shoes.

“It’s been a while. The crown suits you well.”

Ignoring the evil god’s words, the Holy Sword looked at me. Those ruby-like eyes were now shining beautifully, almost precariously. The darkness scattered at her feet, and a white road was being laid along the path she walked.

“[I’m sorry, Ilroy.]”

The Holy Sword extended her hand to me. The darkness binding me scattered. The Holy Sword firmly held me to prevent me from staggering and falling.

“[Resent me. Hate me. Despise me. Harbor killing intent toward me.]”

The Holy Sword simply repeated the story of hating her.

“[And, live. Happily, enjoying everything you’ve won as a hero so far.]”

Everything is scattering, everything was scattering. The black hemisphere that had embraced the world, the writhing fragments of the evil god, the evil god’s voice in my head, and the voice of the Holy Sword holding me.

“You’re insane, insane.”

“[The war will not happen again. Give up your vain hopes.]”

The Holy Sword retorted to the evil god in a cold voice. Then, she looked at me again.

“[Ilroy.]”

I couldn’t answer that call.

“[I will always be watching over you.]”

Flash!

In an instant, the world was dyed with light. And slowly, the world regained its original form. I was sitting in the middle of a collapsed mountain. Beside me, Aryen, with one arm cut off, was buried in a pile of dirt, unconscious.

“Holy Sword?”

I looked down at my right arm and carefully called out. My voice echoed within me several times, creating ripples. I waited and waited in silence, but,

No answer came.