116 – It’s Always a Cliché in the End. (3)
Clang!
The sound of swords clashing resounds. Now, even this sharp noise had become familiar. Thankfully, it wasn’t the sound of a broken sword. It meant I was growing.
How many times has it been? I don’t know.
So much time has passed that I’ve given up counting.
Even if it’s just a thousand times, I probably haven’t died.
Lost in such thoughts of virtue, I finally saw the figure of the one who unleashed a sharp and powerful sword strike.
Oh, distracted.
At the same time, I felt a sharp sensation passing through my neck. Only after my head spun around did I realize that my neck had been cleanly cut.
Indeed, a thousand times are not enough. It seemed like he was declaring that.
– Do you think you can devour me with such mediocre skills?
He didn’t say it out loud, but the crystalline eyes of the one caught in my spinning vision seemed to speak those words.
…It seems like this might be some form of madness. Well, not being affected is the odd part. How many people can maintain their sanity after dying a thousand times?
I closed my eyes, enveloped in such thoughts.
Upon reopening my eyes, the familiar scenery of the bedroom I had seen countless times greeted me.
– This time was a waste.
“It was. Quite a while ago.”
– No. If it was a waste, then it was. Now, you’ve proven yourself sufficiently. Just grab me and leave this room, that’s all there is to it!
The voice of the restraining sword almost screamed like a plea. However, I had no intention of following the sword’s opinion.
For some reason, this space seemed to be created by my own will. The restraining sword had explained various things in a complex manner, but I only listened with one ear and let it flow.
What did it say? Something about a space created purely by my mental strength… It seemed to say something like that. Also, it wasn’t taking me to meet my future self. It happened because my will wished to meet my future self… or something like that.
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Anyway, the conclusion was this:
As long as I didn’t want to leave, the restraining sword had no choice but to stay here.
– Growing continuously even after dying a hundred and thirty-one times is an impossible feat for ordinary humans. Even now, while doing that, you still maintain your sanity. You have enough qualification to hold me, so there’s nothing more to see. So, please, just grab me and leave…
“I’ve come this far, it’s too regrettable to end it like this.”
– What?
“Until I strike the neck of my future self, I won’t leave. After all, time doesn’t pass anyway. In the world of dreams, time may pass for a long time, but in reality, it doesn’t flow. So, I can’t just let go of this opportunity.”
Honestly, it was partly resentment. I didn’t want to end up losing to my future self, especially a loser who couldn’t even do their job properly… I didn’t want to end up losing to such a loser.
What use would it be to defeat a loser who had lost to a loser? At the very least, I should be able to overcome that damn loser and win against the future.
The latter part of the original work, about being manipulated so much in the future, or whatever, wasn’t important.
What mattered was that I had to defeat him.
If I were to lose to a mere loser, how could I face those dreadful beings in the latter part?
So, I was determined to defeat him. It’s only the 1,031st time now.
But he’s surprisingly kind. Isn’t he keeping track of every single one of these?
Alright. Since I’ve surpassed a thousand times, should I aim for ten thousand next?
Ignoring the constraints of the sword urging me to grasp myself, I turned towards my future once again.
***
As I opened my eyes, I was facing my future self. That doll-like face even started to seem somewhat familiar to me.
Of course, the other side didn’t seem pleased at all.
I raised the sword. It had become so familiar, almost a habit. When my future self came into my view, I raised my sword and he drew his as well.
And the next step goes without saying.
We would eagerly fight each other. Even though he wouldn’t be eager at all.
Maybe it’s because I had been beaten and killed by him for so long, but now I could see the sword movements he made with eerie clarity.
I might have missed a few things before… Well, now, even if I wanted to miss them, I couldn’t.
It wasn’t just a matter of seeing it.
Clang!
I, before I knew it, could parry his sword without any difficulty.
Yes. I’ve died a whopping 1,031 times. I can’t lose to this extent.
Now, I could continue the battle with him on more equal footing.
Clang-clang!
The harmonious clash of identical longswords resonates through the empty world. As he takes a step forward, I take a step forward as well.
Without an inch of retreat, we kept exchanging blows.
The intricacies hidden within the empire’s swordsmanship, which I gradually acquired little by little, seemed to have led me to swing my sword in the same manner, with the same principles, as that guy.
Being hit so many times, it unknowingly became a principle I acquired as well. After seeing the same swordsmanship a thousand times, I unknowingly became familiar with it.
As the force applied to the sword increased, the surrounding ground began to crack and burst out fiercely. No, it wasn’t just the ground.
Behind me, blocking the guy’s attacks, the space was already splitting apart, revealing inexplicable gaps. It seemed as if the space itself called out for emptiness.
Perhaps it was because he survived in the crazy inflation, but I couldn’t help but marvel at his ability to cut through space with his sword.
In the end, the techniques performed by those who reached the limit of the sword were mostly similar.
Bellator pierced through the sky, while that guy was cutting through space itself.
The limit of the empire’s swordsmanship, no. It didn’t seem necessary to focus on the aspect of swordsmanship. Whether it was a sword or any other weapon.
In the end, when you reach the end, it all converges into one.
It simply seemed like the path that humans have walked in the future country.
The empire’s swordsmanship is nothing more than the shape of the tower that guy built. What I should pay attention to is not just the simple shape… but rather the substance that makes up that tower.
The structure of the tower, the principles on which it was built, the materials of the tower…
I continued to gaze at the tower that guy built, and I just had to build a tower that suited me.
And so, perhaps unknowingly, I wanted to defeat that guy.
Because I hadn’t completely dismantled and analyzed the tower he built.
Even while lost in contemplation, my body instinctively countered his movements, either blocking or pressuring him.
The sharp sword strikes cut through space. It was as if the surrounding space was severed when that guy attacked my sword.
Could it be because of the tremendous pressure contained in a single sword strike?
Quaang!
Just by taking one step forward, the ground trembled.
Chooooo!
The surrounding space is sliced apart with a single swing of the sword.
At some point, my vision reached the direction the sword was going, and it felt like the sword became a part of my body.
It’s as if the sword and I have become one, that kind of sensation.
There is no hesitation in the sword’s movement. No hesitation at all. I had the thought that there must be something at the tip of this sword.
But it’s not just that.
Swoosh!
The opponent’s sword strike towards me slowly starts to become visible. It’s strange how a fast sword strike like that is coming so slowly.
Curious, I swing my sword, and then I realize.
My movements have also become slower.
In that moment, my sword moves towards the spot where the opponent’s sword is heading.
Kaang!
Then, as if time had stopped flowing sluggishly, it starts to accelerate again.
Normally, at this point, my neck should have been severed, but strangely, I was able to withstand it for a long time. The opponent’s swordsmanship far surpasses mine, so in a battle like this, I should have been defeated a long time ago.
I see a thrust coming towards me. It was clearly incredibly fast, but I react to its speed and catch the opponent’s sword with the gauntlet on my hand.
As I catch the sword, the opponent’s fist comes flying towards my face, but I also evade it, and I swing my sword towards the opponent’s arm.
A close-range sword strike. But the opponent won’t be defeated by just this.
As I expected, the opponent distances themselves, leaving their sword behind. It felt like, for the first time in our battle, I gained the upper hand.
But this advantage won’t last long. If the opponent truly is the future version of “me,” then their martial arts must be at the pinnacle.
And sure enough, even though they let go of the sword, the opponent’s momentum didn’t diminish. No, it became even more intense.
……What’s this?
In a force so intense that it can’t be compared to before, my body trembled instead. Then, the guy threw a punch.
Kwaaang.
Simultaneously with the booming sound, a distant pain weighed down my entire body. I knew this sensation very well, what kind of sensation it was.
It was the sound of my body being defeated.
