Only I know that this world will end – 125 | Sousaku – 創作

My only happiness

"――――――"

Holding his breath, Akira focused all his senses.
With his right foot crushed, he couldn't move like he used to. That's why the goal right now was to launch a counterattack with all his might.

(Since he's targeting Nao-san, he's bound to attack in some way. My chance will come at that moment. The moment when 『Stealth』 is removed by the attack. I'll attack him before his attack reaches Nao-san.)

Akira waited silently for Arthur to make his move.
Then, as if mocking Akira. A voice could be heard from nowhere.

"……I see. A counter? Indeed, as you saw earlier, if you attack while in 『Stealth』 mode, the 『Stealth』 effect will be canceled. ……However, that is just the case for me. Did you forget? I am a necromancer, remember? "

As he said that, Akira's left hand was suddenly gripped with tremendous force.

"What! ? "

The enormous force crushing his left arm slowly but surely would break Akira's bones.

"Crush it."

Arthur's words echoed throughout the store.
At the same time, the pressure broke Akira's endurance, crushing and shattering his flesh and bones.

"Ah, guh――――! ! "

Akira desperately suppressed the scream that escaped his lips.
He didn't have time to scream. From those words, he knew where Arthur was in the room.

"Damn, you! ! "

Screaming, Akira clenched the hatchet in his right hand, gritted his teeth, and leaped toward the voice with only his left foot.

"――Uh! ! "

The impact sent a jolt of pain through his crushed right foot, and he almost let out another scream.
Even so, he couldn't stop.
If he lost track of where he was here, this time it really would be over. Nao might be killed by Arthur.

"Wooooooooooooo! ! "

Akira screamed, tearing through the air. He swung the Hatchet of the Raging Bull in his right hand with all his might.

"Nuh……! "

The blade caught Arthur.
A red line appeared in the empty space, and blood dripped onto the floor.
A solid feeling. But still not enough.
Akira immediately realized this based on his combat experience.

"Ugh! "

Once again, Akira pulled back his right hand to swing the hatchet.
Seeing this, Arthur must have understood Akira's intention.

"Olivia! ! "

Did the pain interrupt the skill activation? Arthur appeared, covered in cold sweat, and stared at Akira, shouting.

"Break it! ! "

Olivia reacted immediately to his words.
Akira reached for the hatchet in his hand and grabbed it tightly.

――――Crack.

Suddenly, pressure was applied to the Hatchet of the Raging Bull, causing cracks to appear across the entire blade. Olivia's strength value exceeded the endurance value of the Hatchet of the Raging Bull.

"...! "

Exhaling sharply, Akira let go of the broken hatchet.
At that moment, he must have realized that Akira's attention had strayed from him for a moment.

"Stealth."

Arthur tried to hide himself by activating his skill again.

"Like hell I'll let you! ! "

To prevent that, Akira desperately reached out to Arthur.
His presence had almost disappeared, but his outstretched hand caught hold of Arthur's clothes.
Akira pulled Arthur toward him with all his strength, grasping the fabric of his clothes with his fingertips.

"What the...! ? "

Pulling him toward him must have interrupted the activation of his Stealth skill. Arthur, who had regained his senses, stared at Akira with a look of astonishment.

"Uraaaah! ! "

Akira raised his voice at Arthur and headbutted him.

――Snap. With the sound of breaking bones,

"Gah! "

Arthur's face recoiled with a strange cry.

Looking closer, one could see blood gushing from Arthur's nose.
Akira pushed Arthur to the ground, rolled him over, and grabbed him by the chest while pinning him down.

"Haa, haa, haa, haa, haa………… I won't let you get away this time."

Breathing heavily, Akira glared at Arthur and stated.

"Why are you targeting Nao-san!? Why are you so obsessed with Nao-san? ! "
"Fu fufu…… Why am I so fixated on the young lady? The demon king Vine prefers high-ranking blood. ……I hope you understand what I mean. "

Arthur wiped his broken nose and replied to Akira, who had raised his voice.

"High-ranking blood—that means blood of a high level. Analysis confirmed that her level is 40. One high-level sacrifice is better than multiple low-level ones. Your stats are certainly impressive, but…… Vine seems to be only interested in levels. With your high status and difficulty to kill, you're out of the question."
"For that reason alone, you're going to kill Nao-san――――!? "
"Hahahaha! Just because of that? That is incorrect. For me, that means a great deal! "
"I won't let you! "
"Why must my wish be denied!? How can YOU possibly understand me?! I'm just trying my hardest to make my wish come true for my own happiness! ! "
“That's what I'm saying is wrong! ! "

Screaming, Akira clenched his fist and punched Arthur in the face.

"……uh."
"I totally get why you're after Nao-san. Sure, I feel sorry for your situation. If I were in your position, I'm sure I would have believed in anything, even a cult, just to cling to something! ! However――――"

With that, Akira grabbed Arthur by the chest again, lifted him slightly from the ground, and glared at him.

"That doesn't mean it's okay to kill someone! ! "
"……Yes, that is certainly true. What you say is correct. It even hurts to hear it. ――――But the happiness I seek can only be obtained by getting my hands dirty. What right do you have to deny my happiness? ! "

Saying that, Arthur clenched his fist and punched Akira in the side. Strangely enough, this was the same spot where he had been attacked and slashed by the werewolf, and the healing effect of 『Auto Regen』 was instantly disrupted by the impact, causing blood to spurt out.

"Gah――! ? "

The intense pain caused Akira's grip to loosen slightly.
Without missing a beat, Arthur punched Akira's broken left hand again, jumped out of Akira's hold, and kneed Akira in the face as he got up.

"Ugh! ! ! "

His vision blurred. The impact shook his brain, causing him to drift in and out of consciousness and his body to sway.

――――Even so.

Akira clenched his back teeth so hard he almost broke them, desperately trying to stay conscious.
He couldn't afford to fall.
This bastard killed Nao. Many people have died because of this guy.
As long as this man was around, Nao would be exposed to danger time and time again.
I can't allow that future to happen! He thought to himself.

"……Ugh, ahhh! ! "

Akira, unable to think straight, clenched his fists desperately, focusing only on that one thought.

"Then, you bastard……! ! Do you have the right to take away someone else's happiness? ! "

Akira shouted and swung his fist at Arthur.
The fist swung in a crouching position hit Arthur's lower left leg, cracking the bone with a crunch.

"Guh! "

Arthur's movements stopped.
There was no way he could pass up this opportunity.

"Haa! "

Breathing out, he clenched his fist again and struck the same spot.
A crackling sound and a feeling of the crack spreading.

" ! "

Akira hit him again.
There was a crack, and then the sound of breaking bones.
In response to the pain, even Arthur, who was usually so calm, struck Akira as if to fight back, but before he could, Akira quickly pulled Arthur's arm away and grabbed his wrist. Akira swung his fourth punch at Arthur's lower leg.

“Ah-h-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ? "

――Crack. With a nasty sound, Arthur's lower left leg bone shattered.
Arthur screamed in pain, lost his balance, and collapsed on the spot.
Akira rolled across the floor to pick up the hatchet he had dropped, then used it as a support to quickly stand up.
Then, approaching Arthur, who had collapsed, he pressed the broken blade of the hatchet against Arthur's neck.

"Haa, haa, haa…… Ahh…… It hurts, doesn't it? This is the pain of possibly dying. This is the pain that Nao-san has endured until now. This is the pain that everyone who has been killed in this world has felt! ! Dying is like this, Arthur. It's so painful, agonizing, and miserable! ! "

Screaming, Akira put all his strength into his hands.

"...! "

The broken blade slowly sank into Arthur's neck.
His skin was cut, and red drops fell onto the floor.

"Even with this, do you still want to kill someone? Do you want to lay a hand on someone! ? "
"Ku-kuku…… I wondered what you were going to say…… Are you giving me a lecture now? If you want to kill me, kill me. However, at that time, you will also be officially one of us."
" ! "

Those words caused Akira to hesitate slightly.
Even though he had fought countless battles, everything Akira had ever killed were monsters.
Knowing that they were monsters that devoured humans, he hesitated at first, but soon all hesitation disappeared from his hands.
But now, the man standing before him is a human being.
He knew he was a hopeless man, but he was still human.
That hesitation caused Akira to show a momentary opening.

"――You're too naive. You shouldn't listen to what your enemies say, you know? "

With a smirk on his face, Arthur moved.
Akira was startled by this movement and immediately shouted these words.

"『Herculean strength』! ! "

At the same time, swinging his arms.
――Clink. There was the sound of a blade shattering completely.
However, the blade was unable to reach Arthur's neck, as he had already begun to move.

"Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! ? "

The scream, like a cry of agony, came from Arthur.
Akira swung his hatchet, breaking the blade but catching Arthur's right arm and cutting it off.
Shards of blade and bright red blood scattered around, and his right arm, thrown high into the air, fell to the floor.
Arthur held his injured right arm with his left hand as if to protect it, and wobbled heavily.

"Tch! ! "

However, Arthur did not fall.
Breathing heavily, he held down his right arm, which was bleeding profusely, and stood firmly with both feet planted in the pool of blood, glaring at Akira with a look of determination that seemed almost insane.

"I'm not going to die…… I can't die. If I die, who will help my wife and daughter? I'm Olivia's husband. I'm my daughter's father. I have to help them."
"Your wife and daughter are already dead! Even if you kill Nao-san, they won't come back! "
"Fufufu, hahaha…… How can you say that with such certainty? In a world where monsters appear and the souls of the dead are manifested in this way, how can you say that the dead will not come back to life? Yeah, you're right…… You can try again and again, so you probably don't understand. Even if it is a lie, you cannot possibly understand how I feel, clinging to that lie."

Saying so, Arthur asked Akira.

"…………Then, Ichijou-kun. Let me ask you something. This means that if you knew about my plan and prevented it, then in the version of the world you knew, I must have killed the young lady, right? At that moment, did you give up on the young lady? Did you just accept it as inevitable? Tell me! ? Ichijou Akira! ! "

At first, the words were spoken quietly, but with each repetition, the voice grew louder and louder, eventually exploding into a loud outburst of emotion.

"――――――."

Akira couldn't say anything.
Or rather, he couldn't find the words to respond.
Seeing Akira like that, Arthur laughed softly.

"……See? You are just like me. You were unable to accept the murder of the young lady, so you used the power you were given to reset the world. You trampled on the happiness that could have been mine in that world. You are trying to take away my happiness in this world that you have restarted for your own happiness."

His lost right arm was probably bleeding profusely. Arthur smiled fearlessly, even though the blood drained from his face.

"My approach to pursuing happiness is just different from yours. ……Well, at that time, I had no other choice."

Arthur muttered and stared at Akira's face.

"It's about time we put an end to this battle."
"――――."

Akira bit his lip tightly.
Because he understood his point of view.
He realized that he was just struggling to survive in this world, desperately trying to achieve his own happiness, just like him.

(But, that doesn't mean……)

His partner (the Hatchet of the Raging Bull) was broken.
The only weapon he had left was his battered body.

(I don't approve that way of doing things.)

Firmly.
Akira clenched his right hand tightly.

(I don't approve of a way of doing things where more people become unhappy for the sake of just one person.)

"――――Olivia."
Arthur muttered softly.

(Even if it means taking away someone else's happiness, I ――――)

Looking ahead, Akira gathered strength in his remaining left leg.

"Crush him with all your might."

(For the sake of my loved ones and to live in this world.)

"『Dash』"

Releasing the power he had stored in his left leg, Akira leaped.
Akira kicked the floor and lunged forward, closing the distance between himself and Arthur in one swift motion, like a bullet fired from a gun.
For a moment, Akira and Arthur's eyes met. Olivia's open hand shifted slightly, as if to exert invisible pressure on Akira. However――――

"If you're going to take someone else's happiness just for yourself, then I won't accept that! ! "

Before Olivia could squeeze her hand.
Ichijou Akira's fist reached Arthur's abdomen.
His strength, enhanced by Herculean strength, crushed flesh and broke bones.
Furthermore, the impact of the fist pierced Arthur's body, leaving a large hole in his abdomen.

"Ah――……? "

Arthur's voice came out in a garbled mess.
He probably didn't even know what had happened.
With a blank expression, Arthur looked at Akira standing in front of him, then looked down at his own stomach, which had a hole in it.

"…………Gah."

Spitting out a large amount of blood, Arthur staggered and collapsed.
……A fatal wound. A lot of blood spilled. With a wound like this, he won't be able to run away, let alone stand up.
Seeing Arthur like that, Akira swayed and collapsed to the ground as if he had lost all his strength.