Only I know that this world will end – 124 | Sousaku – 創作

VS Necromancer

"No way――――"

Seeing that mark, Akira finally realized why Arthur had been relentlessly targeting Nao.

"Killing Nao-san…… You're thinking of sacrificing Nao-san to a demon you don't even know exists in order to make your wish come true?"

Arthur adjusted his rumpled clothes to hide the mark on his neck and smiled slightly at Akira's words.

"Yes, that's right. I will do whatever it takes to make my wish come true. ……That's why I tried to kill the young lady."
"Why……? Why? ! How could there possibly be a demon king?! It's ridiculous to kill someone for that…… That's unbelievable! ! "
"Even if it's unbelievable, this is all I have."

Arthur quietly opened his mouth, as if responding to Akira's cry.

"Monsters appeared in this world, and my wife and daughter were killed by those monsters and died. My wife was brought back to life through 『Necromancy』, but how does she look to you? Can you really say that my wife has come back to life? I can't say it. Olivia is definitely here. She responds to my words. But I'm exhausted! I can't touch her, I can't hug her! ! "

The words he uttered gradually grew heated.
He was finally revealing his true feelings, which he had kept hidden until now. For the first time, he exposed himself to Akira.

"What's more, my daughter is still dead! ! Only one soul can be materialized through 『Necromancy』. My daughter's soul is not here! ! I can no longer see her smile or hear her words! ! "

Having said that, Arthur exhaled slowly as if to calm his emotions.

"――――If it means I can hold them in my arms once more, I would gladly sacrifice my body and soul to the devil himself, or even a demon lord. I'm willing to do anything to achieve it. That is my resolve to live in this world."

Saying that, Arthur took a knife from his pocket and got ready to fight.

"Move out of the way, Ichijou Akira. Even if you try to restart this world many times. I will kill the young lady to fulfill my wish. For Olivia and my daughter's sake, the young lady must die here."
"…………Why Nao-san? Why are you so obsessed with Nao-san?! You and Nao-san had no connection, right? If you were going to sacrifice someone, it didn't have to be Nao-san! ! "
"If you want to know why, why don't you stop me first? ――――『Stealth』."

The moment Arthur uttered those words.
His body faded away as if it were dissolving.

"Damn it! "

Screaming, Akira raised his hatchet and immediately rushed toward Nao, quickly scanning the area around him.
However, looking around, there was no sign of him anywhere. The effect of 『Silence』 continued, and all the sounds Nao made were muted, creating the illusion that she wasn't even there, even though she was.
In such an eerie silence. Akira just stared intently at his surroundings, preparing for a surprise attack.

(……Damn it. If only I had 『Danger Detection』――――)

That was what Akira was thinking at that moment.
――Whoosh. The sound of something sharp cutting through the wind reached his ears.
Akira quickly moved his gaze and caught sight of it.
Something rushing through the wind. It was the knife Arthur had been carrying.
At the end of that blade cutting through the air at high speed, Nao stood.

"...! "

His body moved reflexively.
Akira swung the axe in his hand to knock down the flying knife, then immediately turned his gaze in that direction.

(There! )

Apparently, if you try to attack while 『Stealth』 is active, the effect will be canceled. Akira kicked the floor and lunged forward toward Arthur, twisting his hips and delivering a kick.

He was not going all out. Or rather, he couldn't.

If he did, he would kill Arthur without asking him why he was targeting Nao. For the same reason, it was impossible to attack with the hatchet.
Even so, the difference in status was clear.
Arthur couldn't react to Akira's lightning-fast attack and just watched silently.

――A hit!

Akira reduced the power of his kick so that Arthur could survive what was sure to be a fatal blow.
It was immediately after that.

"Olivia."

Arthur called out her name sharply.
In an instant, Akira's legs, which had been kicking away, were stopped dead in their tracks by an invisible force.

"...! ? "

Surprised, Akira instinctively pulled back his legs.
However, his legs would not move. Looking behind Arthur, Olivia was reaching out her hand and clenching it as if she were trying to grab something in the air.

"Hmm, here's a thing. An advice from an older person. When you think you are in an overwhelmingly advantageous position, it is precisely then that you must remain vigilant and give it your all until the very end. Otherwise, it would be like this. You will likely receive a painful counterattack from an opponent you thought was inferior."
"Tch! "

Desperately, Akira tried to move his legs, which had been stopped.
However, even with all his strength, his legs would not move. Akira broke out in a cold sweat from the sheer abnormality of this force.

"I told you, didn't I? Olivia's stats are all allocated to strength. ……And if you have your own unique skills, you probably know this already, right? The existence of 『quests』."
"――――ah! "

He had considered that possibility. At that time, he even asked Arthur. Back then, he said that the only way to earn points was to level up, but looking back now, those were the words of this man. Those words carried no credibility whatsoever.

"My quest is one where I get points based on the number of monsters I defeat. The total number of points earned so far exceeds 50."

Akira's leg bones screamed as an invisible force was added to the blow.

"Guh……"
"Olivia. Crush it."

Akira winced in pain, almost at the same time as Arthur ordered Olivia to do so.
Olivia nodded at Arthur's words and clasped her hands together, and immediately after, a tremendous force struck Akira's right leg.

"Ga-aaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Akira screamed as the sound of flesh being crushed and bones being broken filled the air.
It was like been crushed by a vise. His right foot, crushed, was not reduced to pieces of flesh, but the skin was torn and blood flowed, hanging limply as if it had lost all its strength.

"With this, the mobility you were so proud of is as good as gone."
"――Ahhhg! ! "

Screaming to ease the intense pain that seemed to pierce his entire body, Akira swung his fist at Arthur with all his might.
However, his fist did not land. This was because his posture was off due to having one leg crushed.
Arthur dodged Akira's attack and activated 『Stealth』 again to disappear.

"G-uh……"

Akira stood with his hatchet stuck in the floor like a cane, covering his crushed right foot.
Then, quickly looking around to make sure Arthur was completely gone, he let out a frustrated click of his tongue between heavy breaths.

(Damn it! Why? Something seems wrong.…… Even though I was holding back, my speed is 177. When I checked earlier, his speed was 28, and with that kind of speed difference, normally he wouldn't even be able to react! ! )

Akira continued to think while searching for Arthur's hidden presence from his 『Stealth』.

(Why? What is happening, what on earth is happening――――?)

Akira thought to himself, and suddenly remembered.

(――――That's right, 『Analysis Interference』. Among the skills, there was one that prevented others from analyzing you. If that's the case, then there must be some skill that allows you to fake other people's 『analysis』……)

It was possible.
Even if it was not displayed in the skill list at first, 『Analysis Interference』 became available after raising 『Analysis』 to a certain level. In the same way, perhaps the unknown skill of falsifying analysis screens actually existed, but he simply didn't know about it.

(――――If that's the case.)

If that was the case, Arthur wasn't the small fry he appeared to be on the screen. He was always a weirdo, acting and talking strangely. Even the words he used to say about himself being weak were not believable anymore.

(Even if Olivia's unique skill allows her to fight against a horde of monsters, unlike me, she cannot repeat this world, so unless she has a skill that doubles her experience points, it should be difficult for her to exceed my level at this point. In that case, it would be difficult to break my endurance just by putting all the level-up points into strength. …………If that's the case, then what he just said about having a “quest” must be true.)

With quests, you could earn a lot of points in a short period of time.
If you have points, you can acquire skills. Just like Ichijou Akira now.

(…………No need to hold back anymore.)

Akira muttered to himself, raised the axe in his hand, and exhaled softly.
There was no room for complacency anymore. The man he was dealing with was just like him. He desperately wanted to know why he was targeting Nao, but if he held back because of that, he would end up getting killed.