Chapter 402: t r u e

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Before entering the labyrinth.

I, Eve Speed, had been watching those being teleported.

The Takao sisters, wearing their Fly Knight masks, stepped into the teleportation room.

After exchanging a word with them, I waited for my turn.

Then, Gio Shadowblade spoke to me.

[You can manipulate magic power, can’t you?]

[Umu.]

When I answered, Gio handed me two swords.

[Take these.]

Rather startled when the swords were almost thrust into my hands. I examined them.

[Katanas huh……They seem quite old.]

[They came from a Sealed Treasury in our Faraway Country. Apparently, they’re Ancient Magic Weapons. Just a little magic power makes them lighter and sharper.]

[You’re giving these to me?]

[I’ve got these.]

Gio motioned toward the two black sheathed swords strapped in a cross behind his waist.

[I don’t need four swords. Besides, your sword looks kinda fragile.]

[This sword of mine is not without its merits. But I’ll accept your gift gratefully.”

I drew the katana and tested its grip.

As I infused a slight amount of magic power into it, the blade glowed faintly.

After a few swings to familiarize myself with its feel, I returned it to its sheath.

[What fine weapons.]

[You figured it out after just a few swings? Well, I guess that reaction proves you’ve got the knack for it.]

[And your ability to tell that shows you’re no ordinary swordsman.]

Gio shifted the topic.

[This labyrinth entry…… I heard only those ready to die were chosen for it.]

Volunteers from various nations.

Each one an elite, selected on the condition that they had accepted the possibility of death.

In other words———- they’d consented to die.

Neither the Mad Emperor nor Touka seemed to have forced anyone.

At least, not as far as I knew.

Everyone volunteered, believing it was to save this world.

Some aimed to return to their original world.

And others————- to put an end to their vendettas.

Ahead of me, the teleportation proceeded in order.

When my turn came, I began walking toward the entrance.

Gio joined me, walking at my side.

[However…… I have no intention of dying. The most important woman in my life is about to give birth to my child. Until I see that kid’s face, there’s no way I’m dying. So even if I have to die, I won’t.]

[And yet, you’re still joining this battle.]

[Of course I am. I’m doing this to protect the future of my unborn child…… and the woman who’s bringing them into this world.]

“You already knew that, didn’t you?”, Gio grumbled.

I smiled.

[I feel the same way.]

I turned to look at the familiar who was watching me from Nyaki’s shoulder.

[I’m not going to die.]

I said.

[We’re going to save our future.]

▽

[————–, …………………]

Landing on the ground, I felt a sharp pain.

A laceration ran across my left arm.

It must have been from the whip blade during the earlier attack.

(I thought I’d accounted for counterattacks…… but to land that blow to sever the neck, this injury was unavoidable. No, rather than that……)

Gio’s left arm was split.

Not just cut off———– it was split vertically.

Back when I lived among the Speed Clan, I once tried to snap a tree branch by pulling it apart with both hands. I couldn’t manage it, leaving it awkwardly split halfway.

That’s what his arm looked like————- split awkwardly in two. Like the jaws of a crocodile, perhaps.

From the gap between his index and middle fingers down to just before his elbow, it was torn wide open.

It looked brutal.

During my days as a Blood Champion, I’d seen fighters lose their arms below the elbow to an opponent’s attack many times.

In those cases, it seemed there was a certain resignation that many could come to terms with.

But for those whose arms had split like Gio’s……

Perhaps it was the incomplete nature of the injury, but they seemed unable to make that mental leap.

I once saw a Blood Champion in that condition descend into panic, eventually wailing uncontrollably.

But then———

——–Fwoosh!

[ ! ]

Without hesitation, Gio severed the split part of his left arm with the katana in his right hand.

And then———–

[Can you…… buy me just a little time?]

Clenching a cord between his teeth, Gio used it to tie off his arm near the base, stopping the bleeding.

My body——— just as he’d asked, was already moving.

I deflected the incoming whip blade with my katana and slid in front of Gio as a shield.

After quickly finishing his makeshift first aid, Gio clicked his tongue.

[I was covering my leg, so I let my guard down on my arm…… D*mn it, this Divine Servant’s speed and strength exceeded expectations. Maybe he was hiding his true power until now, and this sense of urgency brought it out.]

[……That might be the case.]

Ars’ severed head lay on the ground.

What’s more, it was split in two.

Right after severing the neck, I’d dealt another strike to the head.

I suspected the “core” might be inside.

However, the severed neck was still connected to the torso by thin threads of blood and fibrous bundles.

I saw the head slowly trying to return to its original position.

Ideally, I wanted to completely destroy that head.

But Ars’s body———- now headless yet more menacing and with fewer openings, wouldn’t allow it.

[ " Amazing, this is amazing…… Human, monster, demon, it doesn’t matter. Fighting strong opponents makes me happy! I’ll defeat you all———- and grow even stronger! " ]

(Even severing the neck and splitting the head in two isn’t enough to stop him…… Does that mean the true weak point is in the torso?)

Still———

If Ars’ speed and strength increased during Gio’s attack, then it was likely that Gio’s strike on the torso wouldn’t have gotten through anyway.

The deception created by that feint allowed my attack on the neck to succeed.

In that sense, the decision to take down the neck at that stage wasn’t wrong.

But———- —that’s not the problem.

(If we can destroy what seems to be the remaining weak point, the torso———- will we truly win?)

Doubt started to creep into my mind.

(Ars fights with a warrior’s “dialogue”…… there’s an unspoken rhythm of a fighter within this battle. If that’s the case…… even if the torso isn’t the core, wouldn’t it still protect it instinctively?)

If Ars was once a warrior, he would protect the weak points they had as a human.

A thrust toward the heart.

Decapitation.

Severing the torso.

All things a warrior’s instincts would dictate avoiding at any cost.

(Could it be…… Ars is merely protecting “vital points” based on the instincts he had as a human warrior?)

If that’s the case, even if I were to sever the remaining torso, it might not destroy the “core”.

(No…… there’s no guarantee this Divine Servant even has a true weak point, a so-called “core”……)

Perhaps having arrived at the same conclusion, Gio spoke.

[There’s a chance its regeneration has limits…… If that’s true, we’d have to keep hitting it with fatal-level attacks nonstop……]

Narrowing his eyes, Gio stared at Ars with frustration etched on his face.

I could understand his feelings.

[ " What’s the matter!? Come on! I stopped in this village because I wanted to fight you! Right now, I’m not the hero trying to save the world———– I’m just the warrior, Ars! Not enough…… I'm not done yet! You're not saying that is it, right!? " ]

Ars’ combat ability had undoubtedly improved since our first encounter.

Not only that————– even his regeneration speed seemed faster.

The slashes and wounds we’d inflicted during the battle.

The severed head and the fragments of flesh cut from the shoulder area.

They were already starting to reattach.

[ " Vysis…… I may have grown too strong. But I still want to feel that razor-thin edge between life and death again…… Like when I first became a hero…… I want that thrilling battle. And———- I want to fight and win against someone like that. " ]

[……………….]

A strange unease lingered within me.

Unless I unraveled the source of this discomfort, I wouldn’t find a way to break through this battle.

That much I was certain of.

And that lingering unease within me————-

From its nebulous outline, it was finally beginning to take the shape of something more concrete.

□

As a Blood Champion, as a warrior, what is crucial to survival is the ability to discern one’s opponent.

The power to read, observe——— and gauge.

Back when I traveled with Seras Ashrain, we sparred together.

Even in that brief exchange, I quickly saw through her.

The latent talent she possessed, “the potential to go beyond”, though it had not yet fully bloomed.

And then, during my battle with Itsuki Takao in the Golden Demon Zone.

“The nature of growing stronger through combat.”

The reason I was able to swiftly grasp Itsuki’s unique trait during that short confrontation was my keen ability to assess an opponent’s nature.

I lack the broad foresight and deep consideration to predict the future, like Touka does.

That’s what I think of myself as Eve Speed.

However———– when it comes to matters within the heat of battle……

I do think it’s okay to trust myself, at least to some extent.

▽

"The Divine Servants are designed for Anti-Deity combat."

"Which is why those who aren’t Deities should still be able to hold their own against them."

This assumption might have clouded the path to the answer.

(That's why I was able to fight reasonably well against them…… or so I thought.)

But was that truly the case?

Ars possesses extraordinary talent as a warrior.

He is a warrior chosen by Vysis to become a Divine Servant.

With someone like Gio, it might make sense……

But for someone like me———- could I really fight evenly against him one-on-one?

No.

Embarrassing as it is to admit———- when I think about it carefully……

The fact that I could hold my own even briefly during our initial encounter feels…… off.

Looking back now, I can't shake that feeling.

Could it be that Ars, wanting to enjoy the fight, was holding back?

It’s possible.

But————

(That wasn’t the fighting style of someone holding back.)

In the Colosseum, I’ve seen countless warriors.

There’s a certain tell to them———– a distinct air to the way someone fights when they’re holding back.

Ars had none of that.

(Of course, there’s the possibility he has Touka-level acting skills. But still———–)

"I want to experience the thrill of life-or-death combat."

That’s what Ars said.

(If I take Ars’s words thus far as true, then he…… genuinely enjoys battles where life and death hang in the balance. And holding back———- that would strip away the very thrill he craves……)

In other words……

For Ars, holding back is something "not fun".

If he enjoys life-or-death battles, then the thrill lies in fighting at full strength and testing whether he can win———– This delicate balance is what matters most to him.

It’s somewhat similar to the spectators who visit the Colosseum.

It’s only when warriors fight to the death with everything they have that it’s truly worth watching.

In any case————- this means Ars is probably not holding back.

[————-]

At that moment, I suddenly realized something.

The source of the discomfort——— the tangled thread of uncertainty.

An image materialized in my mind.

(There’s only one way this could be possible. But if that’s the case…… for anyone fighting Ars, it could be seen as a “trap”———–)

[……Gio.]

[Did you figure it out?]

[Probably, but this Divine Servant……]

Ars is waiting now.

He’s waiting for our next move.

I spoke.

[Could it be that this Divine Servant has a tendency to match———– or perhaps, just "slightly surpass", the fighting abilities of his opponents?]

[———–, ……The heck is that supposed to mean?]

[Umu…… I’m not fully sure of what I’m saying either. But, if I were to put it into words, that's the best I can come up with.]

"I want to fight and win against someone like that."

Ars himself said that.

The point is——— he has no intention of giving up victory.

"Even in such a close fight, he wants to win."

If that’s Ars' desire, then the conclusion I’m coming to is the same as my earlier hypothesis.

And if I’m right, the issue with this trait is——–

[So, you’re saying…… the stronger the opponent, the stronger this Divine Servant becomes?]

[Umu…… He'd just be a little stronger than the opponent.]

That is why———–

I had been feeling like me winning against him might actually be possible.

Those fighting against Ars might think they’re keeping up with him in a close battle.

But in reality, Ars is simply "adjusting" his strength.

He’s lowering his combat ability just enough to make it seem like we’re in a death struggle.

And most likely, Ars is doing this unconsciously.

[You mean to say I came in stronger, so Ars turned into an even more troublesome opponent?]

[————That's what I think. The stronger the opponent, the more he evolves…… it could be phrased like that.]

Strength.

Flexibility.

Reflexes.

The speed of his blade-whips.

Regeneration speed.

Everything.

[However…… if we use tactics like we did earlier, we might manage a temporary "win". But…… unless we can completely destroy whatever critical part of Ars exists, that win would just be nullified by his regeneration. And even as he regenerates…… he’ll continue fighting.]

Even if he's reduced to just chunks of flesh————- He’ll keep moving.

Evolving.

[……What a headache.]

[Yeah.]

We can’t find any way to deal with him.

[The true core being in the remaining torso, there's such a possibility but……]

[……Hmm.]

I weakly agree with Gio, but there’s no argument from him.

He knows it too.

Going after the torso, which might not even be the critical spot, is too risky.

(If anything, Gio’s point about limited regeneration seems like the more likely……)

Right now, both of us are injured.

Gio’s lost an arm.

The katana he was holding in the severed arm now lies on the ground.

Noticing my gaze, Gio speaks up.

[Anyway, that blade over there got a crack in it from the earlier fight. And it feels like that b*stard's body is even harder now……]

Though not as badly as Gio's, my own arm is injured too.

It’s hard to keep delivering fatal blows in our current state.

And most importantly———– there’s no guarantee we could take him down even if we did.

[Guh……]

A stronger opponent, continuing to regenerate.

Evolving.

Getting steadily stronger.

Continuing to fight against him, it was clear we would only weaken little by little.

(Even if we target this so-called "core"…… the odds are stacked against us, and we can’t even pinpoint its exact location. If there’s a chance of winning……)

For example.

We’d need overwhelming combat power, enough to slice him into pieces within moments.

(And…… frustratingly, neither of us has that power right now.)

Alternatively.

It would be good if we could come up with some kind of clever strategy———– but that idea is nowhere to be found.

I brace my legs and prepare my sword.

And then, I think.

(……Liz)

[I'm sorry, Gio. We have to retreat.]

[Ou.]

[Hm, this is unexpected…… You listened surprisingly well.]

[You got that guy's seal of approval. When it comes to fighting, I trust your judgment.]

[Can you still run?]

[You can see it for yourself———– my legs are still working.]

I look for the opportunity to flee———–

No.

There is no opportunity.

Not against this Divine Servant.

By the time I realized it, Gio and I were already running.

At this point, we can only pray.

For the chance to meet up with an ally who has the power to "slice" Ars into pieces.

From behind us.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

I feel like————- I heard his voice.

[                     ————- I will kill you. ————-                     ]

A distorted voice.

(……For the first time since we encountered him)

That wasn’t a quotation from the past.

(Perhaps———–)

It could be a voice———- words spoken by Ars himself.