[LN] Volume 4: Chapter 8.2

Volume 4 Chapter 8.2

Risking One's Life Till One Burns Up Part 2

Translator : PolterGlast

In the darkness, Ken stood silently before the childhood friend he had captured. Seeing the anguished expression on her face, his thoughts, which had been hazy just moments before, quickly became clear.

(Ah......)

He felt a sense of loneliness in his heart.

Then, he finally realized. What he desired was something else.

[Let me go, let me out of here!]

In his head, the Mefi he had absorbed was desperately pleading with him, but he ignored the voice and suppressed it, saying that he did not care. The voice of one who no human should ever be able to resist was easily hushed.

[Kill. Devour. Their ...... source of life.]

Instead, this time, the beast's voice echoed. The existence that kept him alive. The will of the heretical demonic beast.

He was forced to understand, whether he wanted to or not. Without the power of this demonic beast, he would not be able to live, and eventually, this demonic beast will crush his soul and devour everything that lives in this land.

(In the end, this is no different from when I was being used by Mefi......)

"Lisa......"

Once again, he called out the name of his childhood friend. A scene from his childhood flashed back into his mind. The first friends he made after being neglected by his family. The one he had been longing for.

[In the end, neither you nor I could support Lisa. We both gave up our right to do so.]

The voice of his other childhood friend came back to him. He felt his gut churn with anger upon hearing those words, but at the same time, he also felt a sense of understanding.

"......It's too late now."

Yes. Everything is already too late.

Then there is only one thing he could ...... hope for.

"You've come......."

His heightened senses detected that man's presence.

The cold sensation from before has disappeared, and in its place is a feeling of elation.

This is the last. Knowing that naive guy, he might be a little indecisive. But if I use this extra thing I've captured as bait, I'll be able to fire him up.

There is no hope. And that's fine. The future doesn't matter anymore.

I'll kill him....... I'm willing to sacrifice anything for it.

And so, he turned his back on his beloved childhood friend and muttered "good-bye" in his heart.

†

Nozomu ran out of the medical facility, ignoring the staff members who were flustered by the sudden appearance of the hemisphere.

A sticky humidity began to entangle his entire body.

Shaking off the air that clung to his skin, he ran ahead to see a huge shining wall and a huge black hemisphere.

Perhaps the erosion had progressed further than before, the wall of light flickered erratically and seemed to be gradually fading away.

And about 30 meters away from the wall of light, a large number of city personnel had gathered, who had rushed to the site after learning of the situation. Among them were people Nozomu knew well.

"Nozomu-kun!?"

"You woke up!?"

Jihad and others were surprised to see Nozomu rushing toward them.

Among them, Irisdina was the only one who seemed somewhat absent-minded.

"Nozomu......"

"Iris......"

When her eyes met Nozomu's, she shuddered for some reason.

Her eyes were filled with bewilderment and ...... guilt. Nozomu was wondering why she had such a lonely look on her face, but before he could ask her, Fadrey stepped in between them.

"Sorry, but we are in an urgent situation. Let me continue. As I said before, before the Isolation Barrier is breached, we will make the underground magic circle that is deploying the barrier go out of control and blow it up. There will be some damage to the facilities in the surrounding areas, but that can't be helped."

The City Isolation Barrie is deployed by infusing the source elements drawn from the dragon veins into the magic circle that is spread out beneath the city. This was planned and installed at the time of Alkazam's construction as a prototype ritual magic city, and is still being expanded and adjusted throughout the city.

With such a super-large scale magic circle, the power stored in it is extraordinary.

If it were to explode, the buildings on top of the magic circle would be obliterated without exception. Naturally, the lives of the people there would be annihilated like dust. The aftermath alone would cause significant damage to the adjacent areas.

"If you do that, Shina-san, Lisa-san, and the others will die~!"

[You damned old geezer!]

"There's no other way. The Isolation Barrier won't last much longer. Once it is completely eroded, it will be impossible to even make it self-destruct. It is better than the city itself collapsing."

Naturally, the teachers, including Anri, and Razward protested, but Fardrey dismissed their arguments with a firm stance.

Jihad, the representative of the school side, was silent. He stared at the jet-black hemisphere in frustration, perhaps torn between his position as a teacher protecting his students and his position as a representative of an organization.

Nozomu, too, was feeling a rough discomfort at Fardrey's words. His breathing became shallow and a strong urgency came over him. Irisdina looked at him with a somewhat uneasy expression.

"Nozomu?"

Nozomu walked past the arguing adults and went straight to the Isolation Barrier.

The words of the old man who had just made contact with him came back to his mind, followed by a strong sense of unease.

The risk of going out of control, and a dragon that has been in the city before he knew it.

Having been made aware of so many important things, the future became ...... tremendously scary.

(But even so......)

It is okay to run away. That was his Master's words that saved him.

Also, the people who rescued him when he was consumed by the rage of anger. That's why.......

"Would you please ...... undo the barrier?"

Quiet but determined words.

While everyone present was surprised, Fadrey, under Nozomu's intense gaze, spoke up solemnly.

"I can't do that. That black hemisphere is unilaterally devouring even the City Isolation Barrier. Naturally, once caught, one won't even be able to escape, and both body and soul will be devoured. You are no exception."

Following Fadrey's words, the guards guarding him surrounded Nozomu.

"Nozomu! Fadrey-dono, please stop!"

Irisdina raised her voice, but Fardrey ignored her words and raised his hand to order the guards to restrain Nozomu. But before he could bring his hand down, an unexpected voice echoed around them.

[Nozomu, you won't come?]

"Ken......."

A low, yet provocative tone of voice. With a clear and rational voice, Ken provoked Nozomu.

(Was what that dragon said true?......)

[She's been deceiving me all this time, so it's nothing to fret about. And also, the old man who has been using me is probably scratching his head right now. Just imagining it makes me feel better.]

"The old man who has been-......?"

Before Nozomu could finish his sentence, the jet-black tree shook with a loud tremor.

The entire village of illusion turned reddish-black, and then the same-colored source elements converged on the tree. The black tree devoured the gathered elements. Tubes reminiscent of blood vessels emerged from the thick trunk and began to throb. The sucked-up source elements become a huge crimson mass inside the giant tree.

"That's ......."

[It is a mass of source elements absorbed by the Predatory Barrier. This tree is the center of the barrier. Once it reaches a critical point, it will have enough power to blow away Arcazam along with the entire dragon veins.]

A brilliant colored light overflowed from Ken's left chest, followed by a burst of black source elements from his entire body.

The gush of source elements covered Ken's entire body and eventually transformed into full-body armor that radiated a dull luster.

[Nozomu, I finally have the power I've always wanted.]

Spirit armor. The armor that Ken previously wore by assimilating with Mefi. Compared to before, it looked more sinister, and from both eyes of the distorted helmet, blood-red eyes were peeking out. Its features were the same as those of the Abyss Grief that Nozomu had defeated before.

With the power of a spirit and a deformed demonic beast in his hands, Ken pointed the tip of the long sword at Nozomu.

[This time ...... I will definitely kill you.]

The sharp, piercing eyes and murderous intent that made one's whole body shiver. A determination to completely ...... oppose him.

In Nozomu's mind, he recalled the scene in the sewers, when he was about to be swallowed by the raging water, how Ken brushed away his hand.

"Ken, just what the hell did you really want? Are you ...... really serious about this?"

Nevertheless, Nozomu still asked. Because he wanted to know. No, he had to know.

There must be a way to turn back. Even after committing a great crime.

But what came back was still rejection.

Ken's jet-black long sword swung out, the blade split and extended like a whip, attacking Nozomu.

"~!?"

Nozomu drew his [Mumei] and reflexively slashed away at the oncoming serpentine sword.

[Even after reaching this stage, you are still pestering me with every little thing. I don't give a damn about your feelings.]

A strong impact was felt in return. Ken spat on Nozomu's words with a look of contempt and disgust on his face as he grimaced at the numbness running down his arm.

[Fight me. Kill me, with everything you've got. That's all you can do now.]

Many questions came to Nozomu's mind. But there was one thing he was sure of.

Ken would not stop unless by force.

"Nozomu......"

Making up his mind after hearing Lisa's mutter, Nozomu put his hand on the invisible chains that wrapped around his body and tore them off.

[Roaarr―――――!]

Along with Tiamat's roar, an enormous amount of Qi erupted from Nozomu's body. The enormous amount of Qi swirled and surged, blowing away Ken's source elements that were floating around inside the barrier.

"I get it, Ken. Let's end this. Everything, about us......"

As if in response to this declaration, [Mumei]'s pattern of ripples shone brightly.

The blade lifted, leaving a shimmering white trail, and Ken also readied his black serpentine sword.

Then they both kicked the ground at the same time. In the blink of an eye, they reached each other and swung their weapons.

A darkness that devoured even the soul. A roar that blew away the darkness. The final battle has begun.

†

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