Ch.204203. Diary (1)

# 203. Diary (1)

Seir’s second unique skill, [One-Hit Kill].

[One-Hit Kill], a skill that enlarges weapons and maximizes the user’s strength, insanely increasing attack range and destructive power.

Seir in this state, even if just for a moment, is considered equal to the Emperor using [Transcendence].

And now, Seir in that state was right before my eyes.

“You’d better prepare yourself.”

Even with his stomach pierced in the current situation, Seir didn’t abandon his characteristically sinister smile.

He looked like a genuine psychopath.

“You’re still holding back somewhat, aren’t you?”

I could see that enormous scythe, a weapon easily exceeding 10 meters in length.

Despite the fact that [One-Hit Kill] could be used even while [Invisible Blade] was active.

Seir explained the reason like this:

“You need to see it first so you can try to dodge or block, though of course you won’t be able to do either.”

“In this situation… can’t I surrender?”

“It would be troublesome if you ran away now, wouldn’t it?”

Seir maintained that smile as he raised the gigantic scythe high into the sky.

It was so large I couldn’t even understand how he was holding it.

Yet Seir’s expression remained incredibly relaxed.

With that relaxed expression, Seir swung the massive scythe at me.

-Swoosh!!-

It was fast.

Not something to be underestimated just because of its size.

I hurriedly drew my sword and pointed it toward the scythe.

‘I don’t think I can block this…’

Even with [Transcendence], Seir’s power was on a completely different level.

But it felt too wasteful to try to create distance here.

So I gritted my teeth.

And put all my strength into the two hands that would determine my future.

-Crash!!!-

“Ugh..!!”

It felt like it would break.

Like it would shatter at any moment.

Whether it was my hands, my sword, or my will.

That’s how destructive it was.

And contrasting with that destructive power was his relaxed expression, which was truly infuriating.

“I held back a bit… but you still blocked it?”

“…”

“But now it seems impossible.”

He was right.

It was impossible now.

In this perilous situation, I frantically thought of options.

‘What can I do…?’

At that moment, what caught my eye was the balance between our two weapons.

Currently, the two weapons were somewhat maintaining equilibrium.

It seemed to be thanks to Seir moderately holding back his strength.

I would use this situation to my advantage.

‘If I tilt it just right…’

I slowly tilted my body and sword bit by bit.

As I did, cracks began to form in that balance.

Perhaps because of this, the pressure pushing down became even stronger than before.

‘This is really impossible now…’

Enduring any longer in this state was beyond my limits.

It was simply impossible.

I used [Swift].

Then, while withdrawing my sword, I spun my body sharply.

And then…

-Crash!!!-

With that sound, Seir’s scythe struck the ground.

In that brief moment, the scythe instantly dug into the earth, creating a hole large enough to fit at least one person.

‘If I had been hit by that… ugh…’

I really didn’t want to imagine it.

But now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

Belatedly realizing this, I hurriedly turned my body and head.

However…

-Grip!-

“It’s certainly an eye-catching skill, I’ll give it that.”

At that moment, I felt an indescribable pain in my neck.

It was agonizing, and I couldn’t breathe.

The world turned white, and my consciousness grew hazy.

I needed to do something.

Somehow, anything to escape.

But my body wouldn’t move an inch.

‘Ah… shit…’

There was nothing I could do.

If I had to find something… it would be accepting the current situation.

And I did what I could do now.

***

He eventually collapsed like that.

However, those who witnessed it didn’t think negatively of that fact.

Rather, they viewed it more positively than he himself did.

“He certainly doesn’t lack ability. If there’s a problem, it’s that he sometimes pushes himself too hard, but from what I’ve seen now, it only appears as a strength.”

Andres’s high praise.

And the thoughts of others didn’t seem much different, as they all nodded at those words.

Especially Seir.

“How did he even block that… I was hitting pretty hard.”

“It must be thanks to that skill.”

“But how does he have that skill?”

Seir shifted his gaze to her as he posed that question.

Receiving his gaze, she pointed to the sky with the palms of both hands.

Then, with a rather brazen expression, she said:

“I don’t know either. We’ve never talked about that sort of thing.”

“Is that so? That’s a shame.”

However, even after saying that, Seir didn’t take his eyes off her.

In response, she looked at him, still collapsed, and said:

“If you’re that curious, ask him directly. It doesn’t seem like something I should talk about.”

“My lady, you’ve become quite bold while I wasn’t looking?”

“Have I? That’s good then. I’ve been trying hard to be that way.”

She was quite different from the person in Seir’s memory, but Seir didn’t think badly of it.

Rather, seeing her like this, he wore a faint smile.

Then, with a brief comment…

“I thought it would take a bit more time… but it’s faster than expected. I wonder who’s responsible~”

He left the arena naturally after saying those words.

It seemed unavoidable as there were other rounds to come, and the other examiners followed behind Seir.

With all the examiners gone, only four people remained in the arena, including him who was still collapsed.

“I’m glad he doesn’t seem too injured today.”

“Yes… he seems less injured than expected… less than last time.”

“That… that’s…”

The Emperor couldn’t continue his words.

He also quietly turned around and left the place without further comment.

The Empress looked at him and scolded him.

“How cold, right?”

“It’s okay. Albert would be fine with it too.”

“Ah… I wanted to stay until our son-in-law woke up… Well then, Ellie, see you at home later?”

“Yes, Mom.”

After that conversation, the Empress followed him with elegant steps.

She watched that scene with a pleased expression.

“They always get along so well.”

She didn’t take her eyes off her mother until she was no longer visible.

Was it because she thought they would be like that too? Or because she wanted to be like that?

Whatever the reason, she was watching that scene.

“We’ll be like that too, right?”

***

I regained consciousness with a fragrance like a beautiful flower and a soft touch that felt like my body would sink into it.

I carefully opened my eyes.

An unfamiliar scene greeted me.

“Where… am I?”

I raised my body to solve that question, and quite easily at that.

It was unexpected.

Normally, even just getting up would have been difficult.

“I’m surprisingly not that injured…”

As soon as I got up, I checked my physical condition.

Contrary to expectations, I found my body abnormally intact.

So I immediately looked around.

“This is…”

It was my first time here.

But I could make a guess.

A room with an interior that was modest yet luxurious and dignified.

And numerous books were placed here and there.

“Ah… could this be…?”

I got up from the bed and looked at the small desk beside it.

The hat I bought on our first date, and a small frame containing the photo we took then.

Looking at it made the corners of my mouth rise involuntarily.

And next to it, asserting its presence, was a book.

It caught my eye.

“That is…”

I had seen that book quite a few times.

She carried it occasionally, and it was also one of her possessions.

So I knew what kind of words were written in it and what stories I could hear from it.

‘But it must be different.’

What I know is the diary written by her in my previous life.

And that is the diary written by her in this life.

As soon as I realized that, I instinctively reached out for the diary, because I was curious.

Not a childish design, but just a plain book without even a pattern.

It doesn’t look like someone’s diary, more like a notebook.

I turned the first page of the book.

-Flip!-

On the first page, these words were written.

In a handwriting completely different from now, messy and disorganized:

-Year 666, January 1st, I finally turned 10 years old… To commemorate, Father… no, Papa gave me a new staff as a gift. And I also, to honor that, for my mental health, started doing something fun.-

Something fun…

It was certainly an interesting wording.

But I wasn’t particularly interested in those beginning parts.

I had already seen them all.

I hurriedly flipped through the book.

‘One page… another page… and another.’

As I kept turning, I eventually reached the year just before I entered the academy.

There, I found something different from my memories.

It’s a newly realized fact, but this diary is ‘different’ from the one in my memory.

In this diary that I could say I’m seeing for the first time, I found content I had never seen before.

-Year 674, October 15th, Today I saw a very interesting child…-