Chapter 175: Realization (2)

As I rose from the ground, piecing my body back together after being dismembered yet again, I couldn’t help but smile. I wondered how many times I’d faced death now.

It wasn’t that I’d gone mad from the excessive pain, nor had I grown numb to it. The sensation of a blade slicing through my body and tearing up my organs was still terrible and nauseating. But the realization that I grew a little stronger with each fall and subsequent attempt made me grin.

“Alright, let’s try this again…”

As I lifted my head to charge at the creature once more, I blinked in surprise at an unexpected change. My doppelganger and the Swordmaster, who had been confidently positioned a short distance away just moments ago, were nowhere to be seen.

Thinking they might be on the opposite side, I turned my head, but all that greeted me was a stark, empty blue sky.

“What’s going on now?”

Had they realized my Baldo was about to evolve beyond their expectations and decided to flee? No, that couldn’t be it. The one who had been so relentlessly belittling me and my technique for the past year wouldn’t give up over something like this.

As I was looking around, thinking they must be nearby, I noticed something.

“Huh?”

Across from me stood a face that, while unfamiliar, stirred an indescribable sense of nostalgia.

A red ponytail reminiscent of autumn leaves rather than blood, and a deliberate cross-shaped scar on the cheek. Though the facial features were nearly identical to mine, that distinctive trait evoked the very origin of my obsession with Baldo techniques. It pointed to only one conclusion.

“You… You’re…!”

The words I was about to utter were mere speculation without any real evidence. Even to me, it seemed like nonsense, but my instincts screamed that this was the truth.

“You’re… the embodiment of my Baldo.”

The concept of Baldo techniques within me, taking human form. Even as I thought it, it sounded absurd, but there was no other way to explain this man’s identity.

My speculation seemed to be correct. The man, who had remained silent since his appearance, nodded and spoke.

“…That’s right. As you say, I am the collective concept and ideology of the Baldo within you.”

“I knew it!”

I didn’t know how this had happened, but if he was the embodiment of the Baldo within me, there was only one thing to do.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s go together. We need to slash the doppelganger and the Swordmaster with our technique!”

I reached out my hand as I spoke, but the embodiment of my Baldo just stared at me blankly, not taking it.

“…You’re still willing to reach out to me?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You know, don’t you? I am weak. Even if I go with you, I can’t protect you. Instead, I’ll only end up hurting you…”

“No, when did you ever—”

“Take now, for instance. How many times have you been wounded by your doppelganger who doesn’t even use Baldo techniques?”

“Well, that’s…”

“This isn’t limited to the current situation. Every time you insist on using me, you end up in grueling battles, spitting blood against opponents you could easily defeat otherwise. And that’s not all. Your reputation has been falling day by day as you defend me, and the respect you should have received has turned into contempt.”

I could only stare at his face, unable to respond to that resentful voice. I knew that empty words would only reopen his wounds, so I kept my mouth shut.

“I thought I should distance myself from you for your own good… That’s what I’ve been thinking all this time.”

Contrary to his previous negative words, he grasped my hand.

“…But that wasn’t right. I should have believed in myself as much as you believed in me…!”

“Does that mean…!”

“Yes, from now on, I’ll believe in myself as much as you believe in me. Until now, I’ve forced you to fight alone, but that changes now. Let’s fight together.”

With those final words, his body transformed into warm particles of light and began to seep into my body.

Enveloped in a comforting warmth like basking in sunlight, an indescribable power coursed through my veins and spread throughout my body.

‘This is the heart of Baldo…’

I no longer felt like I could lose to anyone. If the strength of Baldo techniques was a lie, then I would make that lie a truth.

With that determination, I opened my eyes again, only to be greeted by the cold cement floor.

“…So you’re back.”

As I got up, brushing off the blood and dust on my body, the Swordmaster glared at me with an even more displeased expression than before.

“You’ve been face-down on the ground this whole time. What nonsense are you spouting?”

“That’s how it might have looked to you. But I just experienced my inner world…”

“Inner world? What frozen hell of an inner world? What you saw was all just a hallucination from hitting your head too hard.”

“Heh, even if you try to deceive me with such words, the bond I’ve formed with my Baldo won’t…”

“You idiot… Think carefully. What’s the last thing you remember seeing?”

“The last thing I saw?”

If it was the last thing I saw before losing consciousness, it would be the blade of Jinta swinging down towards my head.

I tried to dodge it at the last second, but I couldn’t avoid it and lost consciousness…

“That’s right. You ended up in an awkward state, neither dead nor alive, because you tried to dodge unnecessarily. I could have fixed it right away, but you seemed to be dreaming something, so I left you alone. And here you are, babbling about some ridiculous dream…”

“Then the conversation I had there—”

“You hit your head too hard and hallucinated. Even if such a thing really existed, do you think it makes sense to gain some new power just by holding hands with your imaginary friend?”

“…You’re lying.”

“What did you say?”

“I said you’re lying!! Did you think you could sever my bond with my Baldo with such a lie?!”

“No, what…!”

The Swordmaster was about to add something but frowned deeply and let out a long, heavy sigh.

“…Test it with your body if you don’t believe me.”

Probably for the first time, my doppelganger and I rushed forward almost simultaneously.

As always, my doppelganger thrust Wolffang forward, unleashing a wave of blades at me.

It was an attack I had seen many times before, and the sheer number of attacks was threatening enough on its own, but that was only true until a moment ago.

“…You dodged?”

For the first time, the wave of blades aimed at me failed to pierce my body and sliced through the air instead.

‘You’ve shown me too much.’

If you understand the timing of the blade’s expansion and contraction, it’s not that difficult to duck and avoid the attacks, even if there are many of them.

However, I couldn’t dodge all the incoming attacks. Wolffang’s blade grazed my arms and legs, drawing blood.

‘No tendons or muscles were damaged. This is as good as not being hit at all.’

Even a doppelganger seemed to have emotions. When I avoided the attack for the first time, it paused for a moment, stunned like the Swordmaster.

But that lasted only for a moment. The doppelganger quickly regained its composure and tried to raise its blade to unleash Wolffang again, but realizing it was too close, it gave up and retreated significantly.

At the same time, it began to build up friction by scraping Jinta against the ground, all while keeping Wolffang pointed forward.

Which one would it swing at me? The answer, amusingly, was both.

From the front, Wolffang’s blade expanded and contracted repeatedly, becoming thousands of blades raining down on me, while from the side, Jinta’s blade, sparking with built-up friction, waited for me to approach.

If I didn’t dodge, I’d be skewered; if I did, I’d face Jinta. Was this what they called being caught between a rock and a hard place?

No, I couldn’t block all of Wolffang’s blades, but Jinta, no matter how fast, was just one blade. There was only one path left for me.

“Huff…”

After a short, deep breath, I threw myself towards the only remaining path.

As Jinta’s blade, infinitely accelerated by friction, came within a hair’s breadth of me, time seemed to slow down, and my Jinta was drawn from its scabbard.

With an impact that felt like heaven and earth had been flipped upside down, transmitted from my hand to my shoulder, my Jinta clashed with my doppelganger’s Jinta.

“Tch…”

As the swords collided, sparks flew, and with a distortion of space and time, my consciousness began to fade away.

“…”

When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted by a familiar ceiling and beloved faces looking at me with disbelief.

I thought for a moment that I might be hallucinating again from hitting my head too hard, but the final scene etched in my mind denied that possibility.

‘…I succeeded.’

Just before my vision went dark, I saw it.

The doppelganger’s blade crumbling with a distortion of space-time and a thunderous roar.

And lastly, I clearly remembered the Swordmaster clicking his tongue as he watched that historic moment.

“I have reached the pinnacle of Baldo.”

“Thank goodness…! He’s normal!!”

Hearing Jessica’s voice in my ear, I turned my head to look at her.

I’m sorry, Jessica.

I’ve been hiding it all this time, but the truth is, I am normal, just as you said.

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