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Enjoy~
ED: LonelyMatter
Part 3
With Iris-san and the others holding back the god soldiers, the battle between Shu and I entered its final phase.
Putting our beliefs on the line, we clashed with all our might.
Due to the influence of Shu’s Divine Power, Sage-san’s weapons had no effect.
Therefore, I simply slashed at him with only my own skill.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uooooooooooooo!”
While neither of us retreated, I focused my attention more and more.
A slash from the right, a thrust, and a diagonal slash…
I no longer paid attention to what was happening around me and just stared calmly at the sword coming at me.
And while I watched the attack, I absorbed the technique.
Cut like this. So I lower my foot half a step. Accelerate without turning my heel.
While responding to Shu’s attack, I absorbed the technique, and when I put it to the test, I suddenly felt Shu’s attack waver.
“What… What is this? What are you…!”
“!”
I emerged from the sea of consciousness to find Shu looking at me as if I were a monster.
“Why?”
──A diagonal slash. I’ll take it.
“My attack!”
──Thrust. I ducked and attacked him as well.
“In such a short time!”
In the face of this barrage of attacks, I just stared straight at Shu’s sword.
Unconsciously, I gathered all my strength into my eyes and brain.
The benefits of all the physical enhancements were gone, and I was already cutting with Shu in the flesh, without any enhancements.
Under normal circumstances, the overwhelming power difference would have pushed him over the edge and knocked him down.
However, by looking beyond my extreme concentration, I would be able to win the battle against Shu with skill alone.
“I won’t admit it…! I will not be outdone…!”
“───”
Shu erupted Divine Power from all over his body, increasing the output even more.
But that didn’t matter to me at the moment.
All I had to do was take Shu’s attack, absorb it, and return it.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!”
Shu slashed at me with all his might.
Even in the face of such a powerful attack, I calmly stared at it and tried to return it.
──It was at that moment.
“Wha…?”
“!”
Suddenly, the power drained from Shu’s body.
Seizing the opportunity, I slashed at Shu’s body.
“!”
“Aaagh!”
Shu couldn’t help but move away, his eyes widening.
“R-ridiculous… Why is the Divine Power…?”
The Divine Power that had filled Shu’s body was gone before he realized.
“Nya~”
“Wha…?”
“…Stella?”
While I was surprised by this, I suddenly heard Stella’s distracted voice.
The state of concentration I had been in was lifted, and I turned my eyes to Stella and saw──.
“Huh?”
To my surprise, a rainbow-colored light was emanating from Stella’s body.
No matter how you looked at that rainbow-colored light, it was Divine Power…
“W-what? How can a cat have Divine Power?”
Shu opened his eyes at Stella, who had become divine.
Then I noticed that the god soldiers had also disappeared before I knew it.
Iris-san and Meiko came over to me with puzzled expressions.
“Iris-san, what in the world is going on…?”
“I don’t know either…”
“Maybe Stella-sama did something to them…”
That would be the case.
If not, there was no way that Stella’s body would look so divine.
On top of that, Stella probably caused the disappearance of the Divine Power from Shu’s body.
“More importantly, I was able to save Usagi and Odis.”
With the disappearance of Shu’s Divine Power, the cage that held Master Usagi and Odis-san also disappeared, and Iris-san was able to rescue them quickly.
In the middle, with the tables turned, Iris-san said quietly.
“Shu, give up. You’ve lost.”
“…..!”
Even after hearing Iris-san’s words, Shu still seemed to have not given up, and he grabbed his sword again and rushed toward us.
“Not yet… I haven’t lost yet!”
“Shu!”
“Iris-san, this is my…”
Iris-san tried to answer Shu, who was still trying to attack us, but I stopped her and stepped forward.
Seeing this, Shu barked even more.
“If only you… if only you weren’t here…!”
“……”
──Concentrate.
I dove back into the sea of consciousness and calmly stared at the oncoming Shu.
The momentum was nothing compared to when he was using his Divine Power.
However, his energy was more than when he was using his Divine Power and could not be underestimated.
Therefore, I just focused all my attention on Shu in front of me and raised my sword.
And then──.
“──Idle Strike.”
I slashed away Shu’s sword.
Shu realized that his sword was broken and knelt down on the spot.
“I… lost?”
“…Yes. You lost.”
Iris told Shu, who was staring at his own hand in dismay.
Then Shu laughs to himself.
“Kukuku… Is this the end of the road for those obsessed with revenge. As a result of seeking power for revenge, he neglected his swordsmanship and lost. Now you can laugh.”
“…..”
Shu said so, but no one tried to laugh.
Seeing us like that, Shu laughed through his nose.
“…Hmph, well, that’s okay. The world is no longer going to be able to rid itself of negative emotions because of your actions. What do you think? Satisfied? Now, you will have a future full of hardship, just as you have wished for.”
“I won’t let that happen. That’s why we, the Holy, are here.”
Iris stares straight at Shu.
Shu accepted this gaze and quietly closed his eyes.
“──Kill me. I have lost.”
Shu sits there as if accepting his fate.
But…
“I won’t kill you.”
“…What?”
Hearing my words, Shu opened his eyes in displeasure.
“What is that? Mercy for the losers?”
“Don’t get me wrong. Both you and I believed that our ideas were correct, and we both fought for it. That’s why I have no mercy for you.”
“Then──.”
“──But I know what you’re thinking.”
“!”
“Yuuya-kun?”
I smiled wryly at Iris-san, who gave me a dubious look.
“I know what you’re thinking, that if the world were free of suffering, as you describe it, everyone would be happy. But it’s not something that can be given to anyone; it’s something that we all have to search for.”
“…..”
“I understand your thinking, even though you went about it the wrong way. That’s why this time, instead of taking away people’s will… please change the world in the right way.”
“──Even if it’s futile?”
I met Shu’s sharp gaze and nodded.
“Yes.”
Shu and I exchanged glances for a while, and eventually, Shu quietly closed his eyes.
“──Is this also the duty of a loser?”
“Huh?”
At that moment, a wind suddenly blew through the air between us.
The wind rose high into the sky, blowing up the dust around us.
And when the wind passed by, Shu was already gone.
I was surprised for a moment but fearfully turned my head toward Iris-san.
“U-um… I’m sorry I made that decision on my own.”
“…I know. It’s very unforgivable, considering what Shu did.”
“Ugh…”
I did what I thought was right, and it was arrogant of me.
In fact, Shu had done something that could not be undone.
Regardless of his background, he had killed many people.
I realized the folly of what I’d done and slumped my shoulders, but Iris-san smiled bitterly.
“Well, but I can understand how Yuuya-kun feels.”
“Eh?”
“He was a radical. But his feelings for the people are real. That’s why I hope Shu will use this opportunity to use his power in the right direction.”
“…..”
“Besides, it was originally our problem, and I’m the one who brought Yuuya into it. I have no right to complain. We need to be stronger, too.”
“…I, too, will become stronger.”
This battle made me realize it strongly.
It was not good to seek too much strength, but you could only carry out your will with strength.
Luckily, I was able to beat Shu this time, but if a stronger opponent, one with a similar ideology, appeared again, this time, the world would be controlled.
As I was thinking about this, Iris-san gave me a dumbfounded look.
“Yuuya-kun is getting too strong without knowing it, though.”
“E-ehh?”
“What, that attack you just delivered? I had to work hard to be able to produce it, too…”
“Ha-hahaha…”
I could only smile dryly at Iris-san’s words.
“Anyway, let’s go home, shall we?”
“Yes!”
After a hard-fought battle, we were heading home.
👍🏻
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