Only I know that this world will end – 049 | Sousaku – 創作

Conclusion

There were many who watched the battle.

Some were from inside a house, through a window.
Some ran outside to the far end.
Some with onlookers who rushed to the scene.

Everyone was shaken by the roar of the screaming monster, everyone was amazed at the sight of the man fighting the monster on equal terms, and at the same time, everyone instinctively knew that when the man was defeated and killed by the monster, it would be their turn to die themselves, by seeing the rampaging monster.

Nao Nanase was one of the onlookers watching the battle.

She had been secretly following Akira as he left the office.
This was partly because she sensed something suspicious in Akira's words and actions when he said "kill," and partly because she was surprised to see Akira's expression change to one of grim determination, clearly different from the one she had seen just a few moments before, and she felt an unspeakable stirring in her heart.

――He is about to do something outrageous.

With this in mind, Nao followed Akira as he left the company, determined to stop him immediately if it involved a crime.
And so, in the pursuit, Nao witnessed a man fighting a monster.
When the monster swung its arm, the wind pressure caused by the force of the swing caused gusts of wind, and when the battle-axe in its hand was swung, the ground cracked with the impact, and pieces of stone scattered.
Obviously, this was not an opponent that a person should challenge.
Each of those attacks was a killing blow.
It was a sight that even Nao, who knew nothing about monsters, could fully understand that he was risking his life to fight an out-of-this-world monster, and at the same time, this understanding was a sight that showed that he could have easily died the next moment he blinked as he faced the monster.

"――――"

She tried to shout his name, but her voice did not come out. The roar of the monster made her cower, and the pressure of the out-of-the-ordinary battle made her afraid to even breathe.
It was not only Nao but also the people around her.
The police, who had also arrived at the scene after being called, could only stare at the scene in horror.
Everyone present could only watch the battle with bated breath.

◇ ◇ ◇

The battle between Akira and the Minotaur was intense.
Dash, a skill that Akira acquired just before the battle with the Minotaur, had the effect of increasing his Speed status at the cost of consuming one Magical power.
Its increased value was: the value of his Magical power status post consumption x Dash's skill level x 10.
This increased Akira's Speed from 71 to 121, well above the Minotaur's Speed of 110.

"...! "

Akira ducked the battle-axe wielded by the minotaur and dove into its bosom.
Immediately, the minotaur attempted to kick the ground to gain distance, but Akira, who was closing in on it, was moving faster.

"Take this!! "

With a shout, a kick swept out and flicked off the battle-axe in the minotaur's hand.
Akira did not stop moving, spinning around in a circle on the spot and striking the minotaur's body further with his fist as if to swat it away.

"Gah."

A voice filled with pain escaped the minotaur's mouth, as its body staggered and shook.
However, the minotaur did not fall.
Stepping forward, it quickly adjusted its faltering stance and swung the battle-axe in its hand.

"Buuuuoooooooooooh!! "

With a cry, the minotaur swung the battle-axe at him.
The deadly blade, illuminated by the moonlight, became a silver flash, shimmering in the darkness of the night.
Akira predicted its trajectory from the minotaur's stance and then crouched down to avoid it. It was because the attacks were already familiar, almost like deja vu.
In this battle, Akira poured out everything he had worked for up to that point.

Turning the memory of many deaths into experiences.
Turning that sight, which he had seen many times, into knowledge.
Replacing the repeatedly murdered past with a future.

From the Minotaur's every move, he predicted its attack pattern, anticipated it, and evaded it.

"Haa!! "

Letting out a breath, Akira punched the minotaur's hand, which gripped the battle axe as if to unleash a counter.
The minotaur shrieked in pain and reflexively brushed its arm away.
Anticipating that move, Akira had already leaped to his rear and fled, then immediately jumped forward to get another hit on the hand.
The damage that continued to be inflicted in this way steadily accumulated and ate away at the minotaur's body.

"――――."

After what seemed to be the umpteenth assault, the minotaur suddenly dropped its battle-axe.
The relentless damage that kept on being inflicted must have caused it to lose its grip. The battle axe left the minotaur's hand and rolled on the ground with a sound that made its sheer weight felt.

(A chance!!)

Akira did not let the opportunity pass by and put more strength into both legs to deliver another follow-up strike. ――It was that moment.

"...!? "

A chill. Chills spread throughout his entire body.
Akira's skin was full of goosebumps from the killing intent that leaked into the air.

――――This is bad!

Akira, sensing it instantly, stopped his pursuit and jumped back.
Immediately after, a shock struck Akira's body.
The minotaur, having let go of its battle-axe, clenched its fist tightly, just as Akira had done, and struck Akira's body with its bare fist.

"Da――mn! "

Even though he jumped backward to avoid the impact, it was still a tremendous shock that still dug into his body.
The sound of his own bones snapping, and the clots of blood that rose into his mouth and were spit out showed that Akira had sustained critical damage.

"Ichijou!! "

Akira heard someone shout his name.
At the same time, Akira heard someone utter a piercing scream that seemed to echo through the city.
Blown with tremendous force, Akira crashed through a block wall, destroying the house and rolling into its interior.
Then, with a gurgle, Akira spat out a mouthful of blood and turned his blurry gaze in the direction of the voice.
There, for the first time, Akira realized that his fight was being watched by many people.

"Zee, zee, zee………… I fucked, up…………"

Until now, the residents had taken shelter from the monsters that appeared, so he never cared because he was fighting monsters in a residential area where the populace had disappeared, but now, this was before the public was aware of the existence of monsters.
In such a situation, if one fought the Minotaur without thinking, people would be attracted to the area.
The minotaur who blew Akira away also seemed to notice the people gathered around him. Grinning, an ugly smile on its mouth, it took its gaze away from Akira and turned its body around.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuoooooooooooo!! "

The minotaur then bellowed to intimidate the people gathered around it.

"Ehhhhhhhhh!? "
"It's coming here!? "
"Run, run away!! Leave this place!! "

In no time at all, the surroundings were filled with panic, as if a beehive had been poked.
Among them, there was only one person who stood up to the Minotaur. One of the gathered police opened fire at the minotaur while yelling.
However, such a toy would not work on this monster.
The discharged bullet hit the minotaur's body and fell to the ground with a plop, without hurting it.

"The gun doesn't work!! "

Such a sight was enough to make people even more horrified.

"Shit…………"

Gritting his back teeth, Akira strained his trembling body as he stood back up.
The intense pain caused his vision to flicker, and a haze of thought-disrupting fog shrouded his mind.
As soon as he coughed, a blood clot was spat out, staining the floor of the destroyed house bright red.

(…………I knew it. It was not enough.)

He thought he was on the right path.
The 『Dash』 skill he acquired certainly helped Akira.
Yet, it still wasn't enough.
Akira smiled in self-resignation.
It was then that he caught sight of her.

(Eh!?)

Akira knew her as she desperately tried to advance toward him among the crowd of fleeing people.
No, there shouldn't be anyone there who he knew in the first place.

(Nao-san?)

Why is she here?
No, that's not important now. What is more important now is――――

"Stop."

That if she did not, for sure, she would die.

"STOOOOOOOOOP!! "

Shouting, Akira ran off at once, putting all his strength into his trembling legs.
Faster. Much faster!!
If this continues, she will die. She will die!!

"『Dash』!! "
――Ding.

――――――――――――――――――
Skill：Dash is in use.
Remaining effect time: 13.96 seconds.
――――――――――――――――――

"――――！ ! "

Akira bit his lip hard at the screen that appeared.
Overlapping was not possible.
In other words, it was nothing more than an indication of the current speed increase time limit.

"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! "

The minotaur cried out and raised its hand.
Beyond it, there was Nao, with the fleeing residents, trying to move toward him―― trying to move forward, struggling to reach him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! "

Raising his voice, Akira kicked off the ground.
Just a little bit faster. He put all his strength into his body, trying to reach that spot as fast as possible, even if it took only a second less.
But even so, it was not enough to make it. No sooner than Akira reached Nao, the Minotaur's outstretched fist slowly descended toward her――――

――Bang!!

It was then that a single gunshot resounded.

"Eat this, you monster!! "

Akira knew the owner of that particular voice.
It was that middle-aged policeman who one day in one of his lives had interrogated him. Perhaps he had rushed to the scene after receiving a call that a monster had appeared. The middle-aged policeman who raised the cry was trembling with fear, but was ready to fulfill his duty, holding his gun to protect the city's residents.

――Bang! Bang, bang, bang!!

As if spitting out all the bullets, he fired repeatedly without a pause.
All the bullets that were fired were blocked by the minotaur's thick muscles and did not do any significant damage, but one of them happened to hit the minotaur's eye.

"Uuuuuuuugaaaaaaahhhhh!! "

It seems that even the high Endurance of the Minotaur could not block the impact to the eyeballs. The minotaur, screaming in pain, stopped its movement, grimacing, and turned its anger toward the middle-aged policeman.
Seeing this, Akira immediately switched his thoughts.
The minotaur was distracted. There was no other way out of this situation but to kill it, right here, right now.
His body is full of wounds.
If he relaxed, his body was in such intense pain that he felt as if he would lose consciousness at this very moment.

(……Still!)

I'm not dead yet. I am still alive!!

"『Dash』"

Akira muttered to himself to see how long the skill would last.

――――――――――――――――――
Skill：Dash is in use.
Remaining effect time: 5.96 seconds.
――――――――――――――――――

Akira quickly ran across the street and picked up a fallen minotaur's battle axe.
The weight of that thing made his wounded body scream, and blood gushed into his mouth.

"『Dash』"

――――――――――――――――――
Skill：Dash is in use.
Remaining effect time: 2.96 seconds.
――――――――――――――――――

――About three seconds left.

"...!! "

Akira, who carried a battle axe, clenched his back teeth and put all his strength into both feet, kicking the ground and leaping.
At that moment, the sound of snapping and ripping muscles reached his ears.
Even the minotaur, who was roaring with rage, seemed to notice Akira's behavior.

"Oooooooooooo!! "

Raising its voice, the minotaur swung its hand wide to knock Akira, who leaped up in front of it, to the ground.

"『Dash』!!!! "

――――――――――――――――――
Skill：Dash is in use.
Remaining effect time: 0.96 seconds.
――――――――――――――――――

As soon as Akira saw the screen, he reflexively swung his battle-axe with all his might.
Immediately after that, the effect of the 『Dash』 skill was interrupted, and his movements slowed down as if a weight was pressing down on his entire body.
And the difference in Speed led to an opening to be exploited by the Minotaur.

"――――"

Akira's hand felt the sensation of tearing through something hard.
At the same time, the sensation of cracking bones and crushing flesh was transmitted through the core of his body where the Minotaur's fist had struck him.

"...!! "

Akira clenches his back teeth tightly together in a desperate attempt to hold on to his fading consciousness.
The battle-axe stuck in its neck did not shake loose.
The Minotaur's Endurance had stopped the blade in mid-stride.

"Ahhhh!! "

Not yet. I am not dead yet. I am still alive!!
If so――――

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! "

Akira, this is the time to give it all you've got.
He swung his battle-axe with all his strength into his arms, even willing his own body to be destroyed.
Akira was blown away and the minotaur's head was dislodged from his body almost simultaneously.
Bouncing and rolling on the ground, Akira saw the headless minotaur fall to the ground in his fading consciousness.
At that moment, new screens opened before Akira's eyes one after another.

――――――――――――――――――
Level has been raised.
Level has been raised.
Level has been raised.
……………………
…………
……

Eight points were awarded.
There are points earned that have not been spent.
Please distribute the points earned.
――――――――――――――――――
Class C quest: Minotaur in progress
Number of minotaurs defeated １/１

Class C quest: Minotaur completion confirmed. Rewards will be given.
As a reward for completing the quest, 50 points were awarded.
――――――――――――――――――
Conditions have been met.

Silver Trophy: Giant Killer was obtained.
Silver Trophy: Giant Killer will give you the following benefits:

・Stamina＋２０
・Strength＋３０
・Speed＋２０
――――――――――――――――――
You have overcome the difficulties that have been etched into your soul.
Unique Skill: Return from Hell A new effect will be added.

Unique Skill: Return from Hell The following system functions have been unlocked as a result of the additional effect:

・Inventory
・Scenario
――――――――――――――――――
A boss monster has been confirmed to be defeated.
Decreasing the progress of world inversion.
――――――――――――――――――

Each of those screens was a celebration of Akira's accomplishments.

"……Thank…………god."

――――Now, it is safe. I can get through tomorrow.

Akira's eyelids slowly drooped as these words remained unspoken until the very end.
In the darkness, Akira felt the presence of someone rushing to his side, but he finally surrendered his consciousness to the darkness, unable to open his eyes.