55 – Fissure (7)
“…Huh?”
Seemingly unable to grasp the situation, the monster let out a bewildered sound.
Yet, even as he showed such a reaction, the outcome remained unchanged.
The fact that he was now missing half of himself, looking down at his lower body.
“That can’t be….”
The monster’s voice continued.
“The transcendent body bestowed upon me by the great one….”
Whether he couldn’t accept reality or simply didn’t want to.
Approaching the monster muttering in a feeble voice, I slowly drew nearer.
“You…!”
Only then did the monster break out of his soliloquy and glare at me.
Of course, whether he did so or not, my legs did not stop.
“What kind of trickery is this…! How did you obtain this body…! This power…!!”
The unmistakable doubt was evident in his eyes and voice.
From the monster’s perspective, he might truly be unable to understand the situation at all.
He must have thought he completely overwhelmed me.
However, that was merely how it appeared.
Undoubtedly, the monster’s power was immense.
Based on the magnitude of his power alone, one could easily say he surpassed me by far.
But.
Even a legendary sword capable of cutting through all creation would be useless in the hands of a child unable to contain even their own body.
The image of the monster I saw was precisely that.
While possessing the power to shake the world, his way of utilizing it was incredibly immature.
Lost in his arrogance on this matter, he did not guard against his opponent.
Therefore, delving into that gap was simpler than I thought.
If I were a monster, I wouldn’t have given me any chance at all.
They would have kept their distance, engaging me only with telekinesis and ice from afar.
If the fight had gone on like that, it would have been difficult for me to inflict any significant damage on the monster.
But the monster was overconfident, careless.
They were convinced that I wouldn’t be able to break through their attacks, that my sword wouldn’t cut through their body.
The price for that was this situation.
Well, I suppose I should consider myself lucky.
If the monster had been fully accustomed to their power, relaxed or not, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat them.
On the other hand, it could be said that the monster was unlucky.
If there had been a little more time, or if the opponent hadn’t been me, they wouldn’t have lost.
If someone else had been the opponent, it would have been difficult to penetrate the monster’s defenses.
Perhaps, I wouldn’t have even been able to cause meaningful damage.
If it had been a martial artist or a swordsman of some sort as the opponent, the story would have been different.
“…You.”
The monster, glaring at me as if to kill, finally seemed to realize my intentions, and their expression hardened immediately.
“Do not come any closer.”
They seemed to be trying to maintain composure in their own way, but the tremor in their voice remained unerased.
“I said, do not come…!!”
Thud—
With the monster’s shout, a strong pressure crushed my body, and numerous ice spears once again filled the air.
However.
Swish!
“aaargh!”
As I swung my sword again, a large wound appeared on the monster’s body, and their telekinesis and ice shattered immediately.
Perhaps it was because the monster’s mind was clouded by pain.
“D-Don’t come…!”
The monster, barely recovering from the pain and regaining their senses, tried to make another move, but by then, I had already arrived in front of the sinner.
Facing the monster’s eyes filled with terror, I ended their life.
To my surprise, tentacles were growing from the severed part, healing the wound.
If left like this, even the severed body parts would return to normal.
So, I had to finish this quickly.
“S-Stop…!”
The monster desperately tried to shout something.
Swish!
“Screaam…!!”
The emerging scream devoured their words.
“S-Stop it—”
They tried to shout something afterward, but once again, their words were drowned out by the scream.
How many times did that process repeat?
“Above, O great one….”
Whether realizing that shouting at me held no meaning, the monster ceased its cries.
Instead, as if about to extinguish any moment, the monster gazed at a certain spot.
The focus of its gaze was none other than a crack in the empty air.
“Aid….”
As if someone beyond that point existed, the monster spoke with an earnest voice.
However, that voice dissipated into the void, changing nothing—
Chills ran down my spine!
Swiftly!
My head turned towards the crack.
It was the feeling.
The gaze.
Beyond that crack, something was staring this way.
“….”
A cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Just by that gaze.
Just by recognizing that gaze.
A premonition went wild.
Run away immediately, or you will die.
My throat screams.
In that eerie and suffocating moment, I realized.
The unease I felt before arriving on the island, the chilling discomfort from the monster, all stemmed from ‘that thing’ beyond the crack.
“Above, O great one….”
Seemingly acknowledging that gaze, a faint hope crept into the monster’s voice.
As if pleading for salvation, the monster addressed ‘that thing’ beyond the crack with desperate eyes and words.
“….”
Amidst that, I kept turning my head incessantly.
Though I hadn’t directly faced the opponent, I knew without a fight.
‘…Unbeatable.’
Something beyond that crack was an entity I couldn’t confront.
Just the gaze itself made it impossible to move freely due to the pressure.
I couldn’t even fathom the extent of its power, but I simply couldn’t think of winning.
Given the circumstances, since it seemed to be supporting the monster, if ‘that thing’ sided with the monster, fleeing immediately from here would be the right decision.
Failing to finish off the monster was regrettable, but not as crucial as preserving my life.
While organizing such thoughts.
────.
Suddenly, a voice echoed.
No, not just heard, but resonated within my mind.
…Perhaps even that expression might not be fitting.
It was a voice, and simultaneously, a message.
At that moment, I instinctively knew.
Who the owner of that voice was.
─────.
It was him.
The voice beyond the crevice.
──?
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Then, the tone of that voice changed.
────.
He, looking at me piercingly, smiled.
“…!”
Just that made my whole body tremble uncontrollably.
Apart from the biological aspect, I felt a pressure suppressing my soul in a spiritual sense.
Through my gaze, I felt like I caught a glimpse of a part of ‘it.’
It was… Yes, if I were to liken it, like ants and humans.
‘It’ was an immensely colossal existence.
Truly, humans appeared like ants… no, like mere specks in comparison.
While feeling my soul chafing under that pressure, I immediately prepared to move away.
Because the thought that it was too risky filled my mind.
However, before I could act on that thought.
────.
‘It’ spoke to me.
I didn’t exactly know what it was saying.
But its meaning came across.
‘It’ was saying this.
Don’t worry, I have no intention to harm you.
‘What…?’
I couldn’t understand.
I was the one who intended to harm and even kill the minion of ‘it.’
Yet ‘it’ had no intention to harm me.
It was a puzzling statement.
However, at the same time, I felt that the words were not false.
Indeed, even ‘it’ voice carried a hint of kindness.
“Great one…! Please, help us…!”
Then, the giant shouted again.
‘It’ turned its gaze towards the giant.
“P-please… Save your humble servant, and deal with that pest…!”
Perhaps regaining some strength in the meantime, the giant shouted with a voice more spirited than before.
Yet, in ‘its’ gaze fixed on the giant.
There was no hint of interest or concern.
In a manner of speaking… Yes, it was like looking at a broken toy through a child’s eyes.
“Above, O great one…?”
Perhaps sensing the temperature conveyed through that gaze, a sense of puzzlement crept into the giant’s eyes.
“Why, why do you stand there watching silently… while your servant is being tormented by those wretched pests….”
As if unable to comprehend, the giant’s words continued.
His demeanor was so extreme and courteous, resembling a subject pleading for mercy from a king.
“Please… have mercy…!”
Could it be that his earnest plea had reached something?
Hum─
Finally, ‘it’ stirred.
There was no visible change to the eye, yet it was discernible.
Vibrating. The space. The world.
“Oh…! O great one…!!”
Realizing this fact, a sense of ecstasy filled the giant’s eyes and voice.
It seemed he harbored no doubt that the one he served, his master, would come to his aid.
There was no inkling of doubt that he would turn those pests that harmed him into a mere handful of blood for himself.
However.
“If you would kindly bestow punishment upon these wretches─”
Crack!
“Upon me……?”
The force of ‘it’ was not directed at me.
“O great… one…?”
With a gaze that seemed utterly incomprehensible, filled with a lack of understanding, the giant looked at ‘it’.
Yet, seemingly paying no attention to that gaze at all.
‘it’ moved.
Crack! Crack!
The giant’s body shattered into pieces, beginning to compress.
“Halt─”
The giant tried urgently to shout something, but the words never materialized.
Crack!
After the final echo of sound faded, all that remained in the place where the giant had been were fist-sized spheres of the same color as the tentacles that had clung to his body.
“……”
I watched that spectacle somewhat dazedly.
I had thought it was something akin to a master-slave relationship, but I had dispatched the giant who appeared as a subject with my own hands.
And even after committing such an act, I felt no sense of guilt or sadness from ‘that’ entity.
Just like clearing away something bothersome with my hands, I felt no emotions whatsoever.
I simply couldn’t comprehend that action, those emotions.
And so, I found myself gazing blankly at the giant who had now become a mere sphere.
─────.
Once again, ‘it’ spoke in a voice distinct from the one directed at the giant, a voice filled with clear benevolence.
Once again, I could clearly understand the meaning.
‘I will anticipate it.’
Clearly, “it” was saying that.
What on earth could it mean?
What could it mean to anticipate?
In a situation that didn’t quite fit, I began to strongly feel such a question.
Almost unconsciously, I felt the urge to ask “it.”
However.
In reality, I couldn’t ask that.
Clunk!
Before I could ask, the crack that had opened in the sky closed.
And the sense of presence and tension that had been pressing down on me until a moment ago disappeared completely in the blink of an eye.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
“…What on earth….”
What could be the identity of “that”?
Here, what on earth had happened?
What is the identity of the monster, and why did the crack appear?
And… the expectation left by “it.”
What could that mean, expecting something from me?
Various questions swirled through my mind.
“….”
Feeling restless with these rising questions, I soon shook my head.
‘…It’s meaningless to think about it.’
No matter how much I think, there’s no answer to these questions.
So, just standing still and pondering is nothing but a waste of time.
Although things have been wrapped up in a completely unexpected direction here, the situation is not entirely over yet.
Not only are the monsters still around, but I still don’t know what happened to the others, including Edan.
There’s no time to waste like this.
That’s why I pushed the questions to a corner of my mind and turned to leave the island.
“Ugh….”
But in the process, my body involuntarily staggered.
I already knew the cause without needing to search for it.
It was too much of a strain.
In the battle with the tentacled wolf, I had already depleted my magic and mental strength to the limit, and then I had to fight the monster in that state.
Because of that, I overexerted myself, used the dark power, and scraped my magic and mental strength to the bottom.
The recoil was what had come now.
“…Phew.”
Taking a deep breath, I shake my body.
I wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest, but of course, I couldn’t.
I calmed my breath and focused my mind, then began running towards the villa once again.
Outer God?