LS – Chapter 358: Thus, challenging

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— “Dreams are what you forge ahead of yourself, wishes are what you desire of others. Strength resides in things you value. Ofaro, you said you had no dreams, but you didn’t lament this. Even if you can’t make your dream come true, you can still grant the wishes of others. People may differ in their ways of living, but they find their path.”

What my grandfather, who I don’t remember the face of, told me when I said I don’t have dreams.

I didn’t have parents for as long as I remember, and the only ally I had was an old man that felt his last days approaching.

But that grandfather of mine died all so easily.

That’s the conclusion of humans who lost their country, lost their place to live in, and lost the people they can rely on.

What I had left was my name, and the cursed words that were etched into me from a young age.

I was picked up as an orphan in the village that I drifted into.

There’s no adults that would protect me anymore. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to do anything aside from starving and dying if I were to be chased out of the orphanage, so I was living while understanding my own position.

I must not stand out more than someone else. I must not do something that would destroy the reputation of others. Be a convenient existence for others.

It is not like I didn’t have my thoughts about it, but being a convenient existence means to be needed. I didn’t dislike that in itself…is how I misunderstood.

— “I saw it. Ofaro opened the pen and let the livestock escape!”

There’s no human that respects a convenient person. What they needed was just people who they could pin the blame on when things got sour.

The man that was told was lazy was angered and committed a crime to vent. But that man dirtied his hands without the determination to pay for his crimes.

He smeared the crime onto me who was a convenient tool.

Even though I didn’t do it and just wanted to live in peace, everything I had built up until now had been destroyed by unreasonable evil.

— “You are evil. Accept that.”

The adults continued telling me this when I didn’t admit to the crime.

I was tied up on top of a hill, had my eyelids opened by force, and they continued desiring me to be evil until my heart broke.

The sun that was illuminating me the whole time ate away at my heart. The heat, brightness, the thirst; all of those things were taking away a lot of things from me.

Aah, so that’s how it is. This is the world, huh. This treatment is normal, and it is normal to just accept it.

This was my mistake. The world was crueler than I imagined, and I wouldn’t be able to even live if I didn’t accept it.

— “W-What in the world is this madness?! Did you go crazy, you bastard?!”

What a strange thing to say.

Isn’t this what you wished for?

You wanted me to become evil.

I am simply granting that wish of yours.

I have no dreams. I have never thought about what I wanted to be. But with such fervent calls for me to become evil, I should answer that desire, or I would become a cold person, right?

I didn’t have the talent for evil. That’s why I thought for years, and years, and years; planned, practiced, and carefully and calculatively performed evil.

I am sure I wouldn’t be able to grant your wish if I don’t go that far after all.

The results were decent.

The first man I killed made a face that left a strong impression on me, and I have seen it in my dreams countless times.

I had a hard to describe sense of achievement for being able to bring about results from my own efforts.

But that’s not good enough.

I am someone who was made an example of evil.

I would feel bad for the people who wanted me to be evil if I were to leave it at just killing one person.

That level of evil surely wouldn’t satisfy them.

Doesn’t that make sense? The evil I committed would look like child’s play compared to what they did to me after all.

That’s why, please don’t worry. I will continue being the evil that you wish me to be. Fulfilling that wish is my path.

◇◇

“Hahaha, those are nice moves.”

Ofaro used his earring demonic tool to change his own heat into beams and shot them at me.

I won’t be able to avoid them by the time I see them, but it is possible to divert the trajectory by observing the signs of the attack and his gaze.

The attack that spreads out is troublesome, but the area of effect from each one of them is narrow.

I purposely let it pierce me just as Dyuvuleori told me.

My regeneration would be hampered by his mana if I just leave it at that, so I cut off the meat around the pierced spot with my chains before regenerating.

This broach demonic tool that Nora gave me is boosting the activation speed of my abilities.

There’s certainly consumption of mana, but my regeneration speed can’t be compared to before, and it doesn’t hamper me in battle.

It seems like I am properly making use of the power of Dyuvuleori.

“It looks like you are running your brain here, but it is painful to watch you.” (Ofaro)

Ofaro has not moved from where he stands.

He is protecting his surroundings with heat and shooting the beams endlessly from long range.

He is currently half-awakened. The heat itself is emanating naturally from his body.

There’s no signs of his mana running out no matter how many beams he shoots because of this.

I feel like this is a stance that specializes in an endurance battle, but it is not really the case.

Ofaro certainly does have a weak point.

This is something that not only I noticed, but Ukka and Maya also noticed this faintly.

It seems like this guy excels in deceiving and setting people up, but it is not like he excels in close combat.

He wasn’t in a job that revolved around battles to begin with, and he most likely didn’t do close combat even after he became a demon.

A style where he one-sidedly pushes his own power should have openings I can take advantage of.

“I will be using my brain from here on. I have finished preparations.” (Ekdoik)

I was running around Ofaro because I was burrowing my chains underground. I have leveled most of the terrain around and have chains creeping about.

I cast a spell on a spot and lower the weight.

I pick that up and throw it above Ofaro while undoing the spell.

Ofaro saw this attack, clicked his tongue, and jumped back.

He could melt a rock the size of a hill in an instant with his heat. But even if he can melt it, he can’t go as far as evaporating the liquid originating from that in an instant.

A massive amount of liquid came down. That has its own respective power.

It is not transparent like water, so it also takes away vision.

It was enough to make him realize it would be more troublesome to deal with it than moving from where he is.

I continue throwing the ground I cut off towards Ofaro.

He found this annoying and tried to shoot a powerful beam, but he couldn’t aim properly.

“So sneaky…!” (Ofaro)

“A beam that concentrates on one point is certainly strong, but it seems like it is no different from an arrow as long as you can’t get your aim right.” (Ekdoik)

Ofaro avoiding my projectiles means to move away from the heat source. In other words, the projectiles are not melting completely.

Differences in elevation were happening around him one after the other. Now all that’s left is to hide in his blind spots and not enter his vision.

This terrain is a weapon for my attacks and also a shield that stops his heat.

It also serves as a wall to block his vision.

“?!”

“It reached.”

The sweep of the chains that were scattered on the ground reached the body of Ofaro.

The chains melted the moment they made contact, but I succeeded in a direct hit.

I imbued a spell that takes away heat on the chains instead of curses.

This is small when in the face of his heat, but I can lengthen the melting to more than an instant by lowering the temperature of the chains and the ground around beforehand.

Also, if I attack him in a way that overlaps with the rock projectiles, I will be able to protect my chains from his heat until the limit.

This attack reaching is pretty big.

He was supposed to be able to harass me one-sidedly from a safe spot, but he was made to forcefully move from his place, and I have managed to imprint the fact that annoying retaliation will come his way.

This development must be beyond unpleasant for Ofaro who thought of me as inferior and looked down on me.

“Even if you make a satisfied face from a mere attack like that… The punch of the woman from before was several times more effective, you know.” (Ofaro)

“And yet, I see change in your face. Feeling bad about attacks that are coming from outside your expectations?” (Ekdoik)

“You were flaunting that you reached complete awakening, and yet, you are just doing petty tricks here after all. How about showing your power already? Or are you telling me you are scared?” (Ofaro)

Anything’s fine. Just think of things that would anger Ofaro.

If I don’t, he won’t be using that technique.

He drags the target along with the space around into his own zone, turning into his complete awakened state in a space where he has altered the laws.

The benefits of this is that he can return to his original state even if he steps into complete awakening.

It is peerless and most living creatures wouldn’t be able to endure that power.

But making Ofaro use that technique is also the way to defeat him.

In the past, he showed that technique after demonstrating interest in the chains of my True Eyes of Blindness, but…the burden of that power is also big on Ofaro.

He is most likely hesitating in using that technique against me as someone who needs to work in order to tilt the tides of war in their favor.

The new technique I learned is effective against that move, but it has low effectiveness on long range exchanges.

Right now I have to squeeze my brain and make him get serious.

Think of ways to provoke his emotions just like Comrade.

“Scared…huh. So you are scared of becoming a sun, Ofaro. You must be scared, not about becoming the symbol of your fear, but to lose your sense of self. That’s a feeling that’s proof of you being human at your core.” (Ekdoik)

“!”

“You are wicked. You don’t care about the lives of others and try to strike their nerves. But I feel like your evil is empty.” (Ekdoik)

“My evil…is empty, you say?” (Ofaro)

“Ofaro, why are you trying to be evil?” (Ekdoik)

Greed, controlling others, personal satisfaction; no matter the reason, the people who choose the path of evil should have things they obtained at the end of it.

Misdeeds are just a means to an end, not the result and goal in itself. And yet, I feel evil in the actions of Ofaro, but I don’t see what he is trying to achieve from that.

“Reason? The reason is simple. Evil was desired from me. I am granting their wish.” (Ofaro)

“Then, you can become good if you want to?” (Ekdoik)

“If I wanted to. It is already too late. I have already decided to fulfill that wish of becoming evil. That wish of yours won’t be reaching me anymore.” (Ofaro)

Ofaro’s environment must have been similar to mine.

Someone else desired a future for us. We had no choice but to believe that was the correct path since we didn’t know what else to do.

“…I was also desired something in the past: to become a murderer. I was drilled in the techniques to achieve that while his wish was instilled in me. I assumed that was right and didn’t doubt there were any other choices. But the person that wished that of me died all so suddenly, I lost the path to walk on.” (Ekdoik)

“I have no interest in your upbringing.” (Ofaro)

“I don’t know your past, but the people who wished that of you are not in this world anymore, right? Is there a point in fulfilling the wishes of people, who didn’t have much worth, for the rest of your life?” (Ekdoik)

“There is! Souls remain even if the person dies! I want to show everyone for all eternity…that I have fulfilled their wish so perfectly!” (Ofaro)

Ofaro opened his eyes wide and laughed loudly.

I tried to choose my words to see if I could shake him, but…judging from his reaction, he most likely already had the answer for this inside of himself.

He has already finished worrying and suffering from it.

He has concluded that he has no regrets in choosing the path of evil.

But people have feelings in the parts that make them emotional.

“—I see. You had to aim for evil.” (Ekdoik)

“…What?” (Ofaro)

“You had a reason to be stubborn about everything. Ofaro, you had to be evil. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have been able to endure the weight of the sins you have committed, right?” (Ekdoik)

I didn’t need to hear the answer.

I certainly felt the emotions of Ofaro shaken by my words.

I thought the death of Leishia was my fault and I had to atone to Melia by suffering even before I heard her own words regarding this.

The feelings of Ofaro must have been close to that.

He was demanded to be evil by others, and he instinctively realized the weight of his own sins.

Ofaro was not seeking punishment, but justifying his crimes. It is like telling yourself it is not your fault. That you simply acted as told.

Ofaro’s heart is already on the verge of breaking.

He has the fear that if he were to look back, if he were to stop in place, he might end up being crushed by the weight of the crimes he committed. This has been driving him into the path of evil.

“…What…are you saying?” (Ofaro)

“No need to worry. I have no intention of arguing with you about that. Your past is the path you walked on. I have no intention of denying it.” (Ekdoik)

I wouldn’t be here now if not for Comrade.

I would have either killed or been killed by Rakura while still imprisoned in my desire for revenge.

Even if I were to survive, I would continue adhering to the words of Beglagud, and would have killed a lot of people as a being who exists for that sole purpose.

Ofaro is the me who had no savior.

He thought about how to deal with it in his own way, and managed to maintain his sense of self until now.

I really am not good at touching the nerves of someone like Comrade does.

I now feel like facing this man from the very front.

I now feel like showing him there were other paths he could have taken.

“Worry? Who is worrying about what…” (Ofaro)

“People walk on different paths and there are times when they would clash. You could say it was fate that we ended up as enemies.” (Ekdoik)

“I don’t care about that. Who—” (Ofaro)

“You are certainly playing your part as a villain, Ofaro. But if you want to annoy the other party, you have to deepen your comprehension of them and—” (Ekdoik)

“Shut up!” (Ofaro)

Ofaro’s attacks grow in intensity.

This is weird.

I wanted to face him straight on, and yet, he ended up getting enraged.

For some reason, the face of Blue when she gets unreasonably angry popped up in my head.

Could it be that I have messed up like usual?

I think I have grown since I can at least understand this, but…it is not a technique you learn after living for a long time alone, huh.

Now then, no matter how it ended up this way, Ofaro is serious now.

My way of dealing with this situation won’t change no matter how intense the attacks get.

I try not to get in his vision and aim to attack in his blind spot.

“! You have been jumping around for a while now…!” (Ofaro)

“A sentence straight out from a villain. You’ve really got the act down.” (Ekdoik)

“—!”

His killing intent was rising.

Looks like praising him thoughtlessly is having the opposite effect.

The heat reaching me is increasing even though I am hiding in his blind spot.

Seems like he can’t hold back his power.

The scale of the beams being shot was growing in intensity, and the scenery ended up full with holes in the blink of an eye.

I feel chills thinking about the possibility of allies being here.

“Fuuh, fuuh, fuuh! …What am I doing? Getting all annoyed and losing myself against an enemy like this…!” (Ofaro)

Ofaro must have regained his composure after lashing out for a while, he stopped attacking and held his head.

I attacked him a number of times in between, but his mana strengthening is commendable.

I managed to deal scratches, but he already regenerated and it is far from being a deciding move. But they do have an effect of their own exactly because the attacks are like that.

The sweeping strike of the chains that came from his blind spot again struck the head of Ofaro.

The damage dealt was negligible, but the speed in which it was melted was far slower than before.

He must have lowered his own heat.

“What’s the matter? I can feel the sun waning.” (Ofaro)

“—!”

The shaking of emotions I could peek at in the eyes of Ofaro have disappeared.

It is a bit different from the face of before which I couldn’t read any thoughts from.

Anger takes away composure and heats them up, but excessive anger takes away even that heat.

His face says the unnecessary emotions have thinned, and the feelings he had towards a lower being like me are gone.

“Looks like you want me to use my power without caring about anything.” (Ofaro)

“…”

“Do you think I didn’t notice? I read your aim from the very beginning. Looks like you have a lot of confidence in the power you obtained when you awakened completely. No, you would have used it a long time ago if it really was an overwhelming power. You not doing that means your new power is pretty restrictive.” (Ofaro)

Hot wind blows.

The heat around Ofaro began to go crazy and the air was crying in pain.

My skin and eyes dried, and the inside of my lungs felt like they were being cooked with fire.

The world is dyed red.

Looks like I have been dragged into his personal world.

It is still going as planned.

Now all that’s left is to use this power, endure his sun, and…!

“Fine, I accept the challenge! But don’t think it will be the same as that time! I will be burning you down until the very end! I will erase your very existence from all worlds, without leaving even ashes behind!” (Ofaro)

“Yeah, I shall face you. I am also different from that time after all!” (Ekdoik)

——

Protagonist: “He is better at stepping on landmines when he acts the way he normally does.”

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