Chapter 271 - Inverse World

"I'll be honest with you, Fai."

"Huh?"

"I don't care about this mission. Though I'm an Argonaut, I don't share their values...the only reason I'm standing here right now as your enemy is because I want to. This power I've been born with…is nothing more than a curse. I've been so bored; nothing has challenged me, stimulated me—I've been frozen in this stagnant world for so long. That's why I took this mission: I knew I'd find a worthy opponent; someone that could make my dull world just a bit brighter.  It's my own personal desire; not born of hatred or malice. Do you understand?"

Without hesitation, as he spoke, Avdima grabbed his right arm--tugging on it with an abrupt force as a pop sounded out, fixing his dislocated shoulder as his breaths came out sharp and slurred, clearly feeling the effects of his critical points being taken advantage of. 

"...You're fighting because you want to?"

"Yeah...it probably sounds remarkably stupid from an Argonaut, but--you're a proper rival. If I should be the last face you see, I don't want you to hate me or think you were killed out of contempt. You should have a proper death."

"How sweet of you."

Fai sarcastically responded as he raised his hands into a stance ready for battle once more, the glimmer in his eyes was one that his foe recognized--the same resolve for a good fight he held. 

"Ah...you're not one of many words, are you? I guess that makes two of us."

Even now, this is the most I've spoken to someone of my own volition in...I can't even remember when last. That's the kind of man you are, Fai Meng! Avdima thought. 

I don't plan on dying, but if I fall against the almighty Argonaut of Destruction himself--I don't think I'll be too unhappy about that. I chose the path of a warrior, but foremost...I'm the guardian of the Outlanders. If it's not my fists that'll protect them, it'll be my body, if it's not my body, it'll be my life. 

I'm content with what I've experienced in this lifetime. If my death earns them another day breathing, I can't complain. My life on Earth was a failure; I was nothing, I accomplished nothing, and I destroyed the life given to me. 

This second chance to be someone remembered as a "good person" to those I care about--I cherish it with all of my being. 

That's the resolve you're fighting against, Avdima. I'm prepared to die, but I don't doubt you are too, Fai thought. 

Even if there was some level of courtesy born between the two warring fighters; the intent to kill wasn't diminished--as much was ever-hauntingly present in those hazy, chaotic spirals born into Avdima's eyes as suddenly, the surviving evergreen fell to rot in his presence. 

"I'll use it…"

"Huh?"

"I haven't been this happy in so long…! You brought me down to a knee; I felt that pain so sharply, ingrained in my flesh—I thought I was really going to bite it! You've earned the right to see it, Fai Meng! Please, bring me closer to death's threshold again!"

To hear Avdima yell so passionately was enough to kick Fai's defensive instincts into high gear as his stance was raised in preparation. Embracing himself, Avdima's head slumped down as his tied-up hair came loose--his jet-black locks draping down as an aura of boundless malevolence sprouted forth from the pale figure. 

All of the emotions I keep bottled up inside me; all of that burning, freezing contempt! Avdima thought. 

Distracted by the sight of the harrowing Argonaut as he rapidly muttered unintelligible words, Fai looked up to see the true source of the layer of horror coating the air: veiling the full moon that inhabited the stars, a sable entity masked it. 

Sprouted from the unseen boundaries of the sky, a murky, sable stygian substance spilled over as if spreading itself across an invisible barrier that surrounded the Valley of Grandeuve, encompassing the outskirts of the grandiose domain made up of a wall of mountains and ancient oak--the sable sphere that replaced the moon acted as the anchor of this chilling curtain. 

The sound of the sickening sludge which had no right to birth itself into this world filled Fai's ears as all he could was watch as a biting cold took hold of his body.

"Devour The Moonlight and Emerge, Inverse World.." 

Discernible words finally sprouted from a grin perched on Avdima's lips as he finally looked up--meeting Fai's horrified, fear-frozen self with his unstable, spiraling eyes. 

It's like a barrier has been placed all around Grandueve...but why? This is his ability? Fai thought. 

It was only when the drapes of a black, enigmatic quality settled completely did the harrowing reality set in--the space apparent to Fai's eyes suddenly shifted; every tree in sight was withered and coated in an ivory powder, the soil beneath had dried up to a deathly state. 

"...This world sits just beneath the veil of our own reality, I can simply coax it forth…"

"Huh? What did you do?! Tell me!"

"What exists here are the antithesis of humans; creatures of utter malevolence with no place on Gaia--born of our fears, hatred, and transgressions. It's that which humans are too scared to see, even if it sits just under their noses."

In place of the leaves that hung onto the lifeless oak, sable limbs, arms and legs both, protruded from the many limbs of each tree, swaying in the passing, chilling winds. It was a nightmare that superseded the reality just before Fai in a single moment; such a jarring shift was enough to lag his brain as he took it all in. 

"...Here they come. Those birthed by the malice of mankind. Can you hear their hunger?"

Laughs; deep, high, rough, and ear-piercing. Groans; pained and full of sorrow. Screams; harrowful and in pain, elated with the prospect of bloodshed. 

Seems like releasing his innate ability also released his repressed emotions...I'd prefer it if he didn't smile at me like that, Fai thought. 

It was the wicked ambiance of the Inverse World, and those who inhabited its nightmarish bounds. 

"…You should know, nobody has ever seen my ability and lived."

If I should be the one to kill the Outlanders--those recognized by Mastorn as devils, even if I don't see them as such...I'll be a hero. Illya, your brother will be a hero! Together, we can revel in this legacy! Avdima thought. 

In the face of the unknown, standing before the dread-seeping manifestations of human fear, a single, long and sharp breath was brought through the Outlander's lips before he replaced his shocked expression with a smile. 

"...Huh?"

Avdima questioned that look in such a place as his released, unkempt hair veiled his pale face. Adjusting the bands that wrapped around his wrists, Fai rolled his shoulders before turning that radiant smile of his straight to his foe. 

"Didn't I tell you? It's in times like these with impossible odds stacked against me that I do my best. That's what it means to be the main character in my story--if this is the tailend of my epic, I'll make it one hell of a climax!"

"You…"

"Prepare yourself, Avdima! I'll show you what one-hundred and ten percent of The Self-Proclaimed King of Divine Flames, Fai Meng, looks like!"

As I said, even if it costs me my blood, flesh, and life--I'll win! That's my resolve--I'll use it all, right here, right now! If it's the one task I was born for, the center of the story of Fai Meng, then I'll be the one to stop you, Avdima--your fangs, your claws--they won't reach my precious friends!  Old Man, I'll finally make use of those martial arts you taught me, even as you coughed up blood, even when you could hardly stand upright! I'll engrave into this bastard's brain the sight of Meng-Style! He thought. 

Fai flexed his entire body all at once as the golden veil of his natural qi coated his body; pressing his veins to his skin as his steel-forged muscles bulged out. 

"Embody the Tales of My World: Sun Wukong!" 

Just then, Fai's gray eyes shifted into a seraphic gold; irises that discerned evil. Bountiful, golden locks of flowing, flourishing fur sprouted from his pores; raising his hand to the air, an obsidian pole decorated in many gifts of many tall figures manifested into his grip. 

I hate to admit it, but he's too much for me. Even if I reached the supposed summit of mortal strength--he's reached into something beyond that. A pit of darkness, or into the reaches of the heavenly domains--I don't know, demon or god, he's achieved something beyond human. But, I'm not alone. That's why I'm the record keeper, the ambassador of Earth in this world. Let's finish this together, Sun Wukong. 

Even though their eyes held such opposing shines, one of a celestial benevolence and one of an abyssal madness--the same, honest desire was shared between their smiling irises. The same thought and resolve flowed through their minds and hearts in unison, "I'll win, even if it costs my life!" 

For you, Illya, I'll win and crown you the sister of the greatest! I'll die for that legacy to be born, Avdima shouted with his heart. 

Are you watching, Gramps, Granny...Qui? The wildest Meng is about to set off! I'll do what I failed to do for you all--this time, I'll be the first one to fall. Even if I can't die surrounded by them, I can still remember all of their stupid smiles! Fai screamed with his heart. 

Between the raging, golden coated flames that cheered the fur-clad man on in his smiling glory and the endless darkness that shouted out from the unseen, abyssal depths of the Argonaut's soul, the world awaited the conclusion between the two who stood at the pinnacle. 

It was only for the strongest that the threshold of death existed as their greatest adrenaline; only the will of such people could push beyond the grasps of the horizon beyond life and continue on. When it came to men like this, words didn't suffice--or at least, they didn't need to. It was by the callused fists they threw with their beating hearts throbbing with passion that they understood and respected one another. A bond that couldn't be forged by words, and one strengthened only by departure. 

The duel of two maniacs with little regard for their own lives neared its riveting conclusion.