Only I know that this world will end – 126 | Sousaku – 創作

Disguise

Akira lost consciousness for a few seconds.
When he opened his eyes, Arthur was still lying on the floor.

"Ahh……"

Grimacing with pain, Akira slowly got up.
Then, sitting down and staring at Arthur, he muttered.

"……I was fooled by the analysis screen. I never thought you were this strong."

Those words were more like a monologue.
Nao, who was still under the effects of 『Silence』, couldn't hear those words.
Therefore, it was a remark that did not expect a response from anyone.

"Fu, fufu……"

But then he heard a voice.
When he looked, he saw that it had come from Arthur.

"Y-You're still alive……"

Confirming that Arthur was alive, Akira struggled to stand up.
Then Arthur spoke to Akira in a hoarse voice.

"Fu, hahaha. Don't worry…… I'm as good as dead. I can barely breathe anymore."

Arthur coughed and spat out a lump of blood.
Then, with a smile that seemed to twist his mouth, he slowly continued speaking.

"You're curious, aren't you? About my stats…… Feel free to take a look. I've disabled 『False Display』."
"False display……?"
"Yes, that's correct. The name of the skill that falsifies the display screen itself when analysis is performed."

Hearing those words, Akira stared at Arthur and muttered softly.

"『Analysis』."

――――――――――――――――――
Arthur Noah Hyde ５４ years old Male Lv１２

Stamina：１７１
Strength：１６３
Endurance：１７９
Speed：１７８
Magical power：１２【８２】
Luck：１５

Points：３２
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Individual information
Human race of the current world.
Ratio of magical element internal binding：０％
Physical condition: Loss of body parts 【right arm】【abdomen】, Lacerations 【chest】, Fractures 【nose】【cheek】【left thigh】. Massive blood loss.
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Possessed Skills
・Necromancy
・Vine's Favor
・Analysis Lv１
・Magic Circuit Lv１
・Magic regen Lv１
・Stealth Lv１
・False Display Lv５
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The screen displayed before his eyes was completely different from before.
Among the familiar skills listed, Akira's eye was caught by one.

(Vine's Favor……huh?)

Vine's favor showed no level. In other words, it was one of Arthur's unique skills.

(Wasn't each person supposed to have only one unique skill? )

The name Vine definitely related to Lilith Laila.
Unless Arthur was a follower of Lilith Laila from the beginning, it was most likely a unique skill given to him later on.

(Is there someone else who can give unique skills like me?)

Akira let out a deep sigh at this fact and furrowed his brow.
Considering Arthur's relatively low level when compared to his stats, it seemed certain that Vine's favor was a skill that raised stats.
It was unclear from the analysis screen, which did not show skill effects, whether this was a simple boost or if there were other factors involved, but considering Lilith Laila, these conditions did not sound very beneficial.
Akira shifted his gaze and looked at the skill that followed.

(……False Display. This one?)

His 『Sixth Sense』 also whispered that this skill was the right choice.

(……With all these numbers, why……? Why didn't you use that power against the monsters?)

Akira muttered this under his breath, then turned off the screen with a violent wave of his hand, giving in to his anger.
Then, exhaled deeply to calm his emotions.
Akira muttered to Arthur.

"…………Hey. In the middle of this battle――No, I guess from the beginning. You didn't intend to kill us, did you?"

It was in the midst of the battle. Those words had been puzzling Akira for quite some time.

"Fuhaha! I wondered what you were going to say…… Why do you think that? "
“If you could attack with Olivia while using Stealth, you should have done that from the start. Olivia's strength surpasses my endurance. First, you should have smashed my head or something, and then taken your time going after Nao-san. ……On top of that, there's your stats. You didn't need to rely on Olivia. You could have used Stealth yourself to target Nao-san. Why didn't you do that? "
"Well, I wonder why."

Arthur smiled.

"…………That's right. Looking back now, I think that…… Maybe you wanted someone to stop you."
"To stop me? That sounds like you're saying you didn't want to kill me."
"Yes, that's correct. I'm actually such a coward that I even hesitate to kill insects."

Arthur laughed at Akira's words.
Then, exhaling slowly and deeply, he gazed blankly into midair and said.

"I know Lilith Laila is abnormal…… Even so, there are those who cannot find meaning in life unless they cling to that abnormality. Even so, you…… Will you continue to condemn those who have strayed from the path, as you have done to me? "
"…………"

Akira couldn't immediately respond to those words.
Then Arthur looked at Akira, laughed, and muttered as he slowly exhaled.

"If you're going to kill someone in the future, you'd better be prepared. Once you set foot on that path, there's no turning back. Like me, you won't be able to turn back. Once stained with blood, those hands can never return to their original state. ……Just like me, right?"

Arthur said this with a self-deprecating smile.

"But as you get older, you shouldn't do anything reckless…… I'm tired of lying to myself and putting on an act."

Olivia slowly approached Arthur.
Arthur looked at Olivia and whispered.

"I'm sorry, Olivia…… I couldn't bring you back to life, nor could I bring our daughter back. Please forgive me for being so useless……"

Olivia smiled slightly at his words and slowly shook her head.
Then, as if to comfort Arthur, who was on the verge of death.
Gently, she reached out her hand, knowing she couldn't touch his body, and hugged him.

"――――――"

Olivia whispered something in Arthur's ear.
Those words did not reach Akira's ears. It was something only Arthur could hear, something only he could understand.
Arthur laughed.

"…………Seriously. You're always so kind."

And then, gently. Arthur reached out with his left hand, as if to embrace her body.
With those last words whispered softly, Arthur Noah Hyde quietly breathed his last breath.

◇ ◇ ◇

"What happened? "

After a while, Nao, whose Silence spell must have worn off, approached quietly and spoke softly.
Nao asked for an explanation of what had happened. That was to be expected. When she woke up, she was about to be killed, and Akira and Arthur, who had been talking about defeating the boss, were trying to kill each other.

"……I'll explain everything. First, let's get out of here. Hanayagi will probably come back eventually…… There's no need to show this to Hanayagi when explaining about Arthur."

Nao nodded slightly at Akira's words.
Akira stood up with Nao's help, used the broken hatchet as a cane, and slowly began to walk.
He didn't look back.
No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he couldn't look back.
It was the guilt of killing not a monster, but a human being for the first time in his life.
Those dark feelings continued to linger. He couldn't face them.

(……I had no choice.)

Akira told himself.

He couldn't let Arthur live.
If Arthur was still alive, Nao would definitely be targeted and killed someday. Unable to accept this, Akira, who had returned from death, had no choice but to kill him.

"I'm sorry……"

Just before leaving the store. Akira muttered in a soft voice.
That was the best apology he could muster at that moment.

――――That's why Ichijou Akira didn't notice.
Just before they left the store. Arthur's fingertips moved ever so slightly.

◇ ◇ ◇

It was a while after Akira's party left the store.

"…………Did they leave? "

Until then, Arthur had been holding his breath as if he were dead, but suddenly he uttered a word and opened his closed eyes with a blink.
Then, as if responding to his words, Olivia, who had disappeared, reappeared.

"Oh dear, what a predicament…… I'm a mess."

Arthur grimaced in pain as he sat up, rubbing his stubble with his left hand and looking down at his gaping stomach.

"You really went all out, didn't you? I knew I couldn't kill the young lady, so I just wanted to test his strength a little…… Fuhahahaha! At one point, I seriously thought I was going to be killed. Yeah, seriously."

Arthur slowly exhaled and continued speaking as if talking to himself.

"『Acting』 and 『Deception』…… If I hadn't acquired these skills, I wouldn't have been able to pretend to be dead so well. That said, it only worked out because I was seriously injured. A dying body and the loss of my right arm……。 It was a mistake to get involved with them, as it resulted in a painful retaliation…… Will my severed right arm be regrown with 『Auto Regen』……? "

He muttered under his breath.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just have to raise my 『Auto Regen』 skill level…… ――――Status."

As Arthur spoke, the status screen opened.

――――――――――――――――――
Arthur Noah Hyde ５４ years old Male Lv１２

Stamina：１７１
Strength：１６３
Endurance：１７９
Speed：１７８
Magical power：１２【８２】
Luck：１５

Points：３２
――――――――――――――――――
Unique Skills:
・Necromancy
・Vine's Favor
――――――――――――――――――
Possessed Skills
・Analysis Lv１
・Eloquence Lv３
・Acting Lv２
・Auto Regen Lv１
・Magic Circuit Lv１
・Magic regen Lv１
・Deception Lv３
・Stealth Lv１
・False Display Lv３
――――――――――――――――――

The screen opened right in front of Arthur.
It was a screen that showed skills that had been intentionally hidden, different from what Ichijou Akira had confirmed with his 『analysis』.
Arthur extends his left hand to operate the screen, consuming points to increase the skill level of Auto Regen.
Then, he exhaled deeply, turned off the screen, and slowly got up.

"Umu. This should keep me alive for a while. They probably think I'm dead, and if I go after the young lady again, he'll kill me for real this time. ……Olivia. It seems we have to leave this city. It's hard to leave this place filled with so many memories of you…… I'll just have to be patient until we get our daughter back. Is that okay? "

Olivia smiled and nodded at Arthur's question.
Seeing her smile, Arthur smiled back and mumbled as they left the store.

"…………You're too naive, Ichijou-kun. I already told you not to listen to what your enemies say. I'm sorry, but I can't die yet."

Saying that, Arthur staggered over to the bar window and opened it.

"――――『Stealth』,"

And so he muttered.

Just like that, he disappeared.

Some of Arthur's Skills Details

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Vine's favor
・Passive Skill
・Skill holders have increased Stamina, Strength, Endurance, and Speed. The strengthening value depends on the quality of the sacrifices made so far.
・Skill holders are awarded points separately from level-ups each time they offer a sacrifice to Vine.
――――――――――――――――――

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Stealth Lv１
・Active skill.
・Consumes your own magical power to completely erase your presence for one minute. However, when attacking, the skill will be canceled.
・Currently, the amount of magical power consumed when using this skill is 10.

50 points can be spent to upgrade to the next level.
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False Display Lv３
・Passive Skill
・Skill holders can disguise the screen displayed when 『analysis』 is performed on them. The scope of disguise depends on skill level.
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Prerequisite: Deception skill level 3 or higher.