290 Chapter 270.

--The moment I faced Mr. Reikan, I was surprised to find that all my distractions had disappeared.

Mr. Reikan was dead. I thought I would never see him again.

I can have a match with him. I've never been happier.

But ......, after all, when we face each other like this, it seems like it's just a game.

This world is a game to me, no matter how far I go.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

"........................ No, wait.

No, no, no.

That's right, no.

I don't know what I'm giving up so easily.

This is a game, isn't it?

"Wait, wait, wait. ......

I'm on the verge of realizing something.

I turned my body away from Reihuan and brushed my hair up haphazardly.

It's a reflection. I was trapped.

I can't help it, I'm trapped. Common sense is a thing that finds a crack in my life and tries to eat away at it.

I had to get rid of it.

I need to hone my strength so that I can defy common sense.

The world's number one must always be like that.

So, let's reflect.

"Mr. Reimann.

"Hi, Second.

Do you remember him, Miroku?

Sure.

He answered immediately.

I pointed my finger at Miroku.

Yes, the one who killed Mr. Reikan.

Don't you want to get revenge on Miroku?

"Yes, I would like to. But I'd much rather do it with the second.

I knew it. I'm not sure what to do.

Even though he understands death, he can't help but stagnate.

He must have spent a long time here, but everything is still fresh, as if he died just yesterday.

This seems to be what the spirits call "stagnation.

In other words, stagnation may be akin to cryopreservation.

In other words, isn't it possible that the data from the time of death is being stored in this spirit world semi-permanently?

Why would that be necessary?

Then, what kind of existence is the man standing in front of me right now?

A dead spirit?　Somehow, that's how I understood it, but ...... is that really all there is to it?

Now, you have to think about this carefully.

I'm not sure if the "death" of this world is the same as the "death" I know. ......?

"Second, aren't you going to play?

"Yes, I will. But I need a minute.

Okay.

I'm on the verge of realizing something. Something very important.

Yes, to tell you the truth, ...... I don't want to lose you.

I don't want to lose you. It may be selfish of me, but I want to spend as much time with you as possible in the future.

That's why I'll do whatever I can to push through. That's why I ponder.

The strength to carry my ego through is not something I can acquire, but something I have to build from scratch.

Instead of relying on something else, you need to realize it and bring it into your own hands.

The ground is too loose for ready-made products. This is especially true for the top of the world.

Now think.

I'm sure they're all waiting for me to figure something out.

"............

Angolmore, you dare not speak, do you?

You're always so loud, but your quietness makes me suspicious.

...... Oh yeah, I remember now.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I think it's a good idea. I'm sure it was a joke, but from the way Ahchos reacted, it seems like Angolmore really does have that power.

The reason why Ahchath persisted so much was because he thought that if he could really become a Great Spirit, he would. And a Great Spirit is something that ordinary spirits desire so much that they keep on challenging themselves more than fifty times to a match that they can never match. For humans, it is like immortality.

If ...... humans turn into spirits, isn't it practically like immortality?

We can live in a world where we don't have to drink, eat, or sleep. It's as good as immortality.

So, the only problem is stagnation.

This is the providence of the spirit world. If this is the afterlife, then death also means stagnation.

In other words, if we can manage ...... stagnation, we can overcome death, can't we?

Isn't breaking free from stagnation called spiritualization?

Isn't the form of the person who has overcome death the spirit?

............

Angolmore crossed his arms and smiled at me, but still didn't speak.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

I'm not sure what to make of this. He's been dropping hints in a good way.

I guess there's a reason why he can't tell me directly.

But he also wants me to notice. Otherwise, he wouldn't have scattered so many hints.

Do you have it?

You do have it, right?

Then I can think with peace of mind.

I can safely think of a way to break free from the stagnation of ......, that is, a way to overcome death.

--Oh, I've been assuming all along.

Maybe I've been trapped (・・・・・・), to put it in the Anglo-Anglo style.

Those who are trapped have no choice but to do so. A dead spirit trapped in the need to excrete must excrete. As Angolmoore said, everyone who is stagnant has some kind of belief.

Somewhere in my mind, I kept thinking, "I want to do something about it. I wanted to do something to bring the dead Reikan back to life.

But at the same time, I had given up.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'm not the only one.

...... Isn't it?

You're not, are you?

No.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

Good.

Wait a little longer.

I turned my back on Reikan and began to think long and hard.

Fortunately, I have plenty of time. There is a thirty-eight-fold difference in time between here and there. What would I do if I didn't take my time here?

No, but I was already beginning to understand most of it.

Yes, it's ...... "change".

When a spirit becomes a great spirit, a human becomes a spirit. What they have in common is change.

This is something that can never happen to those who are stagnant, and that is change.

Change in the spirit world is the key to overcoming stagnation. The trigger to overcome death.

It's still a game.

I was once ashamed of my nature, but I began to feel proud of it again.

No matter how far I go, I, and this world, will always be a game. There is always a rule called providence, and everything is built according to it.

I wondered if the world I was in was actually like that.　It's too late to think about it now, but it might have been.

But even if it's too late, the fact that I've realized it now is bigger than ever.

Yes, if it's a game, you can surely conquer it - even death.

I don't know who you are, but I'm going to make you regret, or at least rejoice, that you've given me so much time.

Don't take this the wrong way, former world number one.

............ Thank you for your patience. Let's get on with it.

I wonder how many hours have passed since then.

I was immersed in it like I was studying PvP.

Everyone was waiting for me without complaining or anything.

Thanks to them, I was able to discover the path to victory. Now all I had to do was put it to the test.

"Thank you, Second.

Reikan-san bowed deeply and smiled.

I wondered what he was thanking me for. Is he even aware of what I'm about to do?　Yes, he might be.

"Angolmore.

"My Second.

Can you do it?

No. Who do you think I am?

"The master of evil.

Huh.

Just kidding.

Now, ......, please.

The samurai in Miroku, the spirits of the Eight Noble Truths, please, at this time.

On this day, at this time, Reikan will break out of his stagnation.

The only people worthy of witnessing this are those who have dedicated their lives to the sword.

I have heard your wish!

Angolmoa nodded at my words, said so, and swept his hand toward Miroku.

"!

A moment later, a large group of samurai appeared behind Miroku.

They were dressed in kimonos and had swords at their waists. They must have been the samurai Miroku had been mourning for the past several hundred years.

Without saying a word, they stared at me.

It's the face of a samurai. It's the face of a samurai who has mastered the sword and is curious about the future, the future, and the future.

Oh my gosh......!　Hidemasa, Yumekichi, Matabue......!

Reihuan took a few steps forward with a look of surprise on his face and broke out calling out a few names.

It was a reunion that was never meant to happen, no wonder.

The samurai of the past had come together in one place, across time.

They were samurai who lived in their own time. Miroku's time, Reikan's time, and until recently.

They are symbols of change. The way samurai have changed with the times is obvious when you look at them.

The type of sword, the clothes, the hairstyle, the face, everything is different. The fashions of the time, the styles of the time, the fighting styles of the time. I can feel the long, long history in all of them.

I concluded that in order to break through the stagnation, I needed to transcend this.

It's something only I can do, only we can do.

I guess that's why Angolmoa gave me the hint.

The Great Spirit, as he has been for a long time, has a soft spot for me.

I'll start with the conclusion.

"......?

I opened my mouth to Reihuan, who had no idea what I was talking about.

There is only one thing that they and you have in common and that transcends history. There is only one.

"I see. ...... Ah, let me think.

I'll show it to them. Trust that they will recognize it.

The future that Reikan believed in and envisioned until the moment of his death is connected to the present that we live in.

Showing something that transcends time is a condition for change in the spirit world.

It doesn't matter if it's a thought, an emotion, or anything else, we have to force something timeless into the present.

In our case, that something is...

I understand. This is what Watashi and Second were going to show you: ...... technology (...).

"Yes, maybe.

--Technology.

The only thing we have that can transcend time and history, that can prove itself to the Samurai, that can make Angolmoa recognize us.

The only thing we have that can break through time, break through history, prove to the Samurai, and get Angolmoa to recognize us is the study of PvP tokens and the technology that comes with them.

So, what's the problem?

It's simple.

Simple.

It's all about charm.

Sounds Good.

Mr. Reikan.

I wonder how far into the future you envisioned me to be.

I think you probably had more time than I did.

Perhaps you had more time to study your opponent.

Perhaps it will be a ...... future vs. future match.

It's a match of the future versus the future.

I realized that this is the very change that will bring us out of stagnation.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to get the best out of this.

Whether it will work or not remains to be seen.

It may all be my imagination.

But it's worth a try.

And it's worth the fascination.

We have to get the Samurai to accept it. We have to show them the future of Battoujutsu, and make them think from the bottom of their hearts. They are living in the future!

"Let's get ready for ...... each other.

At Angolmore's command, we faced each other.

In the moment, I felt a sudden warmth in my skin.

It's a feeling I hadn't had in a long time. Oh, there's no doubt about it. The man in front of me right now is the man who stole the title of first Eishou from me - 0k4NN.

He's probably the same way. He must be feeling the same way I am, even though he's stagnant.

My 29 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw.

I remember almost all the details of the match. My matches with him were so intense and passionate.

This time, he was going to win his 30th match.

...... Reikan. It's time for us to fight together again.

Hopefully, you will have a fun match.

"Let's begin!

The first move was my "Flying Car Battoujutsu".

Reihuan-san also prepared her own flying carriage in no time.

I prepared the Dragon King from the cancel, and Reikan-san closed the gap from the cancel.

You can't do that.

"~♪

With a whistling sound, we canceled.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

I'm not sure what to make of this. You're going to offset them again. He is trying to take advantage of the fact that it is difficult to connect a silver general to a silver general to limit my next move to something other than a silver general.

With this move, we diverged from the game between Akaneko and me in the 467th Summer Bishamon Tournament.

After all, it seems that Reikan has already studied the Seven System, or rather the Nana Zero System.

In other words, he died without knowing Mevion, where the Battoujutsu was implemented, and after coming to this world, he accomplished enough research to be able to assume the Nana Zero System.

"~~!

I feel a rush of excitement.

I shuddered, not only at his awesomeness, but also because I felt as if I had been proven wrong about the form of the formula I had been working out.

This was a miracle.

It's a unanimous agreement between me and Reikan-san. The ultimate form of Battoujutsu (...).

Two people who lived in completely different worlds and in completely different times were looking at the exact same future. ......!

Hahaha!

I was so happy, I laughed.

I didn't think I'd get what I wanted.

Are you seeing this, samurai?　This is the future of sword fighting. He may be dead, but his Battoujutsu is certainly alive. He is living in the future. How do you say this without calling it change?

Now, to what extent has Reikan-san anticipated and countered this? If you think about the difference in research time, it's not surprising that they've researched to the point of deadlock.

If I have any advantage, it's the years I spent in Mevion after his death.

If I don't take advantage of this, I won't have a chance to win.

At the same time, we have to look at his weaknesses.

Based on his ability, the only way he could lose to Miroku would be by careless mistake or surprise attack. Or he may have struggled to deal with the Asura form for the first time. Or perhaps there was a significant status difference between him and Miroku.

In other words, take advantage of the status difference, hit him with a first-time battle strategy, catch him off guard, and inadvertently lead him on. This is the ideal.

There is also the possibility that he is able to stretch his abilities so far because of my opponent. There is a phenomenon where you study a particular opponent so much that your record against that opponent only gets better. It's a common phenomenon among rankers.

If that's the case, I should think about adopting a joutei that is not like me.

"After the offset, the fun begins!

While I was making such a reading, the silver generals of me and Reihuan-san were on the verge of offsetting.

My brain went tingly and numb, and the scenery went into slow motion.

I'm becoming more and more immersed in the world.

It's just the two of us.

No one can disturb us.

Even if it was death.

Awesome!

This is how it should be.

It's so much fun!