“Those words are meaningless, intruder. This time, you will die.”
“Try saying that after you’ve actually killed someone.”
“Bravado, is it…? Next, I’ll tear your body apart!”
Alice begins unleashing the killing intent to fire off another [Afterimage Void].
I slowly push Reina out of the line of fire, so she doesn’t get caught up in it.
“…Reina. I’d like you to leave the rest to me.”
“…Will you be alright?”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of losing at all.”
Reassured, she steps out of the line between Alice and I.
From here on, it’s a conversation just between us two – a sacred space that only we are permitted to join.
I know, Alice.
Your convictions aren’t so weak as to be defeated by some cheap [brainwashing].
“I’ll wake you up right now, Alice…!”
“…You’re a persistent man. Didn’t I tell you? My name is Chris Ragnica!”
The shock wave of her power-driven strike extends in a straight line.
In order to reach her, I must first close the distance.
///
scene transition
///
Then the choice I must make is to advance!
“[Limit Transcendence – Hardness]”
I channel a surge of power into my right arm all at once.
The resulting rapid circulation of copious blood and power turns my arm a dark red-black, granting it hardness surpassing even steel.
The cellular damage is intense as a result…but now is not the time to consider such things.
I must focus solely on our conversation.
“[Blade Flow]!”
Timing it with the shock wave, I fire my fist.
The high-pitched clashing of metal on metal sounds as I immediately rotate my arm inward.
The added twisting force causes the diverted shock wave to flow behind me.
“Using such a strange technique…”
“It’s a technique I’ve been considering day and night to defeat you.”
It’s not that I’ve been losing to her in every sparring session.
I’ve been searching for a way to overcome her.
“–There, I’ve made it this far.”
My body is already enhanced by the world’s power.
If I redirect the [Limit Transcendence] force I’ve focused in my right arm into my legs, what will happen?
With explosive bursts of speed, I shatter the floor and rush at Chris Ragnica like a bullet.
“[Magical Burial]”
Thrusting upwards with my right palm strike.
In response, Chris tries to block it with her sword without letting her hand touch me–which is when I use my left hand to stop the movement of my right arm.
This throws off Chris’s rhythm.
“!?”
When an attack doesn’t come at the expected timing, a tiny opening is created,
as the brain demands processing time to handle the unexpected.
But the role of this left hand isn’t just to disrupt the tempo.
By restraining the movement of my right arm, I’ve built up tension. This will further accelerate the release of my right arm!
“[Magical Burial]…!”
“Gah…!”
The palm strike finds its mark in Chris’s abdomen, blasting her away.
If your consciousness had been Alice, you could have prevented this attack. You know what kind of a man I am, and I know what kind of a man I am.
But now you’re Chris.
Against a new opponent, my feints might work.
The question is, will this bring her back?
I couldn’t pour my full magical power into [Transcendence] and [Magical Burial] simultaneously.
But the effects were clear, even if limited.
“Ugh…! Guh…!”
Chris began suffering in a way I’d never seen before.
The power of [Magical Burial] was weakening the mind control, allowing the true Alice within to resist.
So now, I can reach her through my fists, speaking to her.
“Alice! How long are you going to keep sleeping?! Are you content to be manipulated like this?!”
“Manipulated…? No, I am Chris-Ragnica, the sword of Lord Jude-Andraus…”
“…Not enough yet.”
That’s fine. As many times as it takes,
I’ll keep pounding my fist into her, the fist that made her believe in my future.
“Hyaa!”
“Ngh…!”
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With the mind control faltering, Chris’s movements were unsteady.
Now’s the chance to press the attack!
Closing in again, I unleashed a barrage of punches at Alice, using both fists to the fullest.
My right hand, empowered by [Transcendence], broke through her defenses, while my left delivered [Magical Burial] strikes to her body.
“With your sloppy sword work now, I have no need for you! I can’t believe such a brittle, weak sword could be trusted!”
“Shut up! I’m continuing the legacy of Captain Lily… continuing… but who am I?”
“Captain Lily! So that’s the superior officer you admired! How sad, though, that the one she entrusted her sword to turned out to be such a weakling.”
“N-no, that’s not right! Captain Lily, before she died, she was smiling… why? Why did the Captain die…?”
Yes, good!
Even if each strike lacked power, the repeated blows were gradually weakening the mind control.
Alice’s consciousness was slowly returning.
“…I see. The Captain was being controlled by someone, and I… I was meant to defeat that person…”
“That’s right, Alice! Weren’t you sworn to become Ouga-Vellet’s sword, to vanquish evil?!”
“…I, I am… Ouga-sama’s… sword… my name…”
Chris repeated my words like a mumbling mantra.
The mind control was breaking, and Alice and Chris’s consciousnesses were becoming intertwined.
This was my chance to push through to the end.
“── [Look this way, Chris-Ragnica]!”
“Tch…!”
Chris’s head turned towards Andraus’s direction with a jerk.
That bastard… So he still had enough magical power left to use dark magic!
I desperately stretched out my right arm to keep her line of sight from aligning with them.
Looking that way, I saw Father and Reina pouncing on Andraus to restrain him.
“I’ll give you all my remaining magic power! [Kill Ouga-Vellet, Chris-Ragnica]!”
Please, no… Let it fail, somehow!
But my desperate wish fell on deaf ears.
“──── “
A flash.
The keen overhead slash cut deep into the arm I’d raised to block.
“Ggh…AAAARGH!”
Enduring the searing pain, I poured all my focus into controlling the magic.
Her sword stopped its motion just after severing half my arm.
That was close…! If the activation of [Transcendence] had been even a little delayed, I would have been cut through.
But now her sword is fixed in place!
Well then, I suppose I should gamble on one thing here…
“I’ll be taking that sword now!”
“…!”
I yanked my arm, pulling her and the sword towards me.
This would bring us into close-quarters combat, where the sword’s long reach would be a disadvantage.
But she refused to let go of the sword.
“Heh heh heh! Finally, you’re facing me head-on!”
I placed my other hand over hers, gripping the sword’s hilt.
But Chris neither pushed it away nor released the sword.
She was desperately trying to wrench the sword out of my arm, single-mindedly.
“…Looks like even under mind control, this sword is still important to you.”
The name she uttered when the mind control faltered – Captain Lily – was likely the superior officer she had once admired, as she had told me before.
And this sword must have been entrusted to her by Captain Lily.
That’s why she had protested when I belittled it.
So it must be precious to her, as both Chris-Ragnica and Alice.
My guess had hit the mark perfectly.
“My bad. Looks like the core of you hasn’t changed, even under mind control.”
“…………”
“What’s wrong? You’re not saying anything like before.”
“…………”
No matter how much I asked, she wouldn’t give me an answer.
She was simply desperate to wrench the sword free.
Earlier, Andraus said he would grant her all his magic power. Could it be that as a result, the [Brainwashing] became stronger, stripping away even the faint remnants of her own will?
This action may not be driven by her feelings for the sword, but merely an attempt to reclaim the weapon to carry out orders.
… Andraus! Just how much must you trampled people to be satisfied…!
“…It’s alright, Alice. I’ll free you from this torment.”
Suppressing the anger welling up like a spring, I speak to her gently.
The magic has permeated so deeply, to such profound depths.
To undo that, I’ll likely need to exert my full power.
Which means I’ll have to release the [Transcendence Might] restraining the sword.
After a moment’s hesitation, the conclusion is swift.
“Alright. I’ll give you my right arm, Alice.”
With resolve, I gradually channel my magic into [Magical Burial].
The sword within my arm begins to stir with a squelching sound.
Each time, a searing pain as if digging into my flesh runs through me, nearly causing me to black out, but I grit my teeth and endure.
… The agony of being denied one’s very self, reduced to a mere puppet under control, must be infinitely more agonizing.
Thinking thus, I must bear this pain with a straight face…!
If I truly am the man who can grasp the world Alice promised me, I won’t utter a single weak whimper at this!
“You promised me that day, didn’t you? That you are my sword.”
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