66. So It's Pure Love After All
66. So It's Pure Love After All
The troll's awakening
Entering Phase 2
By then, I was already caked with all sorts of buffs
Seugagagagak!
Guooooog.....!!
"Hoo....."
The troll, without even offering much resistance, was gradually turning into a bloody mess.
On top of having already grasped all its attack patterns,
with my stats pumped to double, losing was now impossible even if I tried.
"[Double Step]"
I mixed skills in between and shredded the troll's body, and before long the dungeon floor was soaked with troll blood.
Geu...uuk.....!
"You're slow."
Stamina driven to the point of running on fumes
Geuweeeek....!
"Even collapsing—"
The troll staggered and finally dropped to one knee.
Bright blood trickled from its mouth. Vomiting dark dead blood, the troll gnashed its teeth and glared at me.
"Yeah~ pissed off, are ya? Mad, are ya? Still can't hit me, can ya? You don't know my address, do ya, you fucking bastard!"
A self-indulgent soccer kick
I kicked its face with all the resentment for making me suffer like a dog, and a large fang immediately flew out of its mouth.
"Hoo... now that's some stress relief."
...............
"What, you punk. What. Not gonna open your pretty eyes?"
Guk! Gu, weeeek.....!
I clubbed its temple with the pommel of my dagger.
The troll's jaw dangled loose as if dislocated.
Unfortunately, I didn't feel one iota of pity, so I just wanted to kill it fast and clock out.
"Seriously... we met and it was filthy. Let's never see each other again."
Today, we both had bad luck.
You, and me.
A fucking shitty encounter it was.
I put strength into the hand gripping the dagger to finish it.
'Sseuuu──hurts'
The moment I judged the fight was over, pain gradually crept over my body.
I figured after this battle I'd probably be bedridden in the infirmary for about three days.
Seriously.
From now on, I'd just get straight to the point, never mind the kids watching.
I realized that rather than suffering like a dog because I was worrying about others' eyes, it was better to avoid the hassle even if I got found out a little.
In the first place, the Apostle of Time going around without ever using time stop? That alone was nonsense.
Deep in my heart, I swore to absolutely use time stop from now on, and drove the dagger down at the troll.
Thus, just as the blade was about to pierce the troll's body—
Shwiiiiiiik.....!
"...Huh?"
A changed breathing sound
At the same time, something struck the dagger and deflected it, and the inside of my stomach hurt immensely.
Udeuk, deuk....deudeuk....!
"Keuk....geu, eek....!"
Teolsseok, I collapsed to my knees
A fist. The troll's fist was lodged in my gut.
'Breath... is....!'
The inside of my lungs shrank tight.
The troll pulled its fist back and prepared to target me again, but my body was in no state to dodge.
Somehow, I had to pull myself away...!
Guoooooooooo!!!
"Kheub───!!!"
Deudeudeuk, ppagak!
The troll's club then slammed across my body.
The sound of vital things inside my body breaking.
My gravity-defying body was tossed to the floor, rolling and crashing into the wall before barely coming to a stop.
─Ppiiiiiiiiii
"Cough! Keok....kheub, kkeuyuk.....!"
My vision was dizzy.
Breathing was difficult.
A loud tinnitus rang in my ears.
Even when I tried to somehow recover my breathing, the slightest effort brought pain sharp enough to chill my bones.
"......Cough!, keub.....geueeeek..."
A lump of blood came out of my mouth with a dry cough
A thick taste of iron swirled inside my mouth, while a breath of cool air entered my lungs.
"......Peuh..."
My vision cleared, if only a little.
Only then could I check the troll's state.
"Fuck."
Reddened skin
Primal tattoos vividly gleamed over its skin
Only then could I grasp the situation.
"Phase 3 is fucking crossing the line...!"
I leaned my back against the wall and rose precariously.
No, I tried to rise.
Guooooooooo!!
"Kkeuyuk, eut!"
A club smashing down over my head
I hurriedly rolled sideways to dodge, but the club came chasing right after as if to bat me away.
I urgently raised my dagger to block, but it was no use.
Like a golf ball struck by a club, I flew into the air again and rolled on the floor.
"Cough!...keub...tweet!"
I spat out the lump of blood filling my mouth once more.
Get a grip. At this rate, I'd really die.
I somehow mustered my will, screamed with survival instinct, and tried to get up, but the troll's continuous attacks only choked the breath out of me.
Nothing improved at all.
Kung! Kuung! Kwadeudeudeuk, kwajik!
"Kkeuyuk....keub, euyuk.....!"
Attack, attack, and more attacks
A frenzied assault. The shock made every joint in my body ache.
Before I knew it, my dagger's edge was chipped and rattling loosely.
My wrists no longer even felt pain.
Continuous hemoptysis welling up. A blurring vision.
A mind that would fall asleep the moment I let go of reason for even an instant.
Gu, ooooooo!!
"Ah───"
The troll raised its foot high
An area-of-effect stun skill
I knew it was coming, but I couldn't dodge.
────Kuuuuuuung!!!
"Geeup....euyuk......"
The sensation of my organs turning to mush from the shockwave
The sensation of my whole body's tension snapping tight and convulsing
Stun. Rigid state.
Before I knew it, the troll's club was poised to strike my head, and I unconsciously raised my dagger and called out.
"[Counter]"
With this, I should be able to block.
The dagger soon met the troll's fist.
The moment [Counter] was about to activate──
──Guik!
"......!"
A sinister smirk
As if the troll had known I'd do that, the club reversed and aimed for the dagger──
──Kaaaaaaaang!!!
"Ah.......!"
It shattered Ur's harp, my last bastion.
The one hope I had left. The key to my final resistance.
"Eut....euyuk....!"
The moment the harp shattered, the song also stopped.
Since the instrument to play was gone, the performance stopping was only natural.
Because of that, my buff-less body became so feeble that even standing was a struggle──!
"Ee, aaaaaaak!!!!"
Until the end, a strike screamed out without giving up
"[Youth──Straight Punch]"
I gathered every last bit of remaining strength into my right fist and struck the troll's face.
Gu....uuuuk.....!
Ppagak, gagagak
The sound of something breaking
A sense no longer felt
Bone fragments protruding between my knuckles
And at the end of it───the troll's smiling face
".....Uh, uh...?"
What shattered was my right hand.
Then a crudely colored club engulfed my vision
─Kwajik
'────Ah...'
The sound of something breaking
At the same time, my sight dyed black
My consciousness cut off, my body growing distant
"──,─...──"
Tung
Tudung
Bseuaaaaak, peok
A sound like being blocked by something echoed inside my head.
"........?..."
It didn't hurt.
I just had trouble breathing.
Something deep inside my throat came up and clogged my airway.
A foul, disgusting taste. Even when I tried to spit it out, it mixed with saliva and stuck thickly to my airway, refusing to leave.
A suffocating and severe pain
The moment I moved my tongue and throat and spat out the stuff filling my throat, my black-stained vision flashed open.
".......Ah...."
I was collapsed on the ground.
I had rolled across the floor and collapsed.
Surprisingly, there was no pain.
What I felt was only a terribly heavy sense of exhaustion.
Even trying to lift my body, strength wouldn't come.
No, perhaps I just didn't want to use strength.
'It's hard.....'
In my blurred vision, I could see my arm.
My arm had become a small flowerbed before I knew it.
A flowerbed where white blossoms and red blossoms bloomed in disarray.
At the same time, the pain gradually climbing up my arm mingled disgustingly with a pleasant sensation surging from my brain.
My whole body trembled violently, and without realizing, I soaked my pants.
Guik....guuuuuuk!
"..............."
The troll smiled as it approached slowly.
I had to run. If not that, I had to fight back.
'It's... okay'
Even though my body hurt quite a lot, it was still okay.
Even though my buffs had been cut off, it was okay.
Even though all my weapons were broken and even my right arm was shattered, it was okay.
It's okay.
I'm used to it.
Enduring is my specialty after all.
"In...justice... I'm"
I'm used to it, so
Even if I get hit a bit,
Even if it hurts a little,
Even if it's tough, shitty, filthy, and makes me want to die,
"I'm used... to... keuk, haaah....!"
Something hot
Tuk, fell from under my eye.
A deep sigh accompanied by a trickling hot droplet
Tears
It flowed down without my knowing, made me sob without my knowing,
"Oo....ooo, euk.....!"
I couldn't.
I couldn't do that.
Crying only provokes more, nothing else.
I had to endure.
I had to act.
I had to wear a mask.
I could at least do that much.
That much, that kind of thing, I was used to.
Guik! Guweeeek!
"Keheup! Kkeueup, kollok! Eut....heuu....eu, aaaaa....!"
My stomach was kicked.
I was okay. I was used to it. This much, I was used to it.
Guoooo! Uo! Ooook!
"Kkeuyuk! Keu, ah....ah, aaaak.....!!!"
Even having my head stomped,
Even becoming a laughingstock,
Even being spat on and rolled around at will,
I was used to it.
I could overcome it.
I could endure and withstand it.
But why?
Why?
Fuck,
Why the hell....!
"Fu-uh...ck......!"
Fuck! Fuuuuck!!!
Why did I have to suffer this shit?
Why did I have to endure, why did I have to suffer, why did I have to be stepped on, why did I have to end up like this?
'I tried this hard...!'
I did my best.
I struggled and flailed with everything I had.
I thought that by this point, I would win.
But it wasn't so.
I was hopelessly lacking.
As if to say it still wasn't enough, it came on stronger to kill me.
The more I held out,
The more I resisted,
To win,
To survive,
The moment I raised my head and tried to make a sound, even stronger violence trampled me.
'What the hell did I...!'
What
Did I do wrong?
'I endured'
I endured and held on. I held on and held on, I thought I'd overcome it, only to find I was being mocked.
Even so, thinking it was right, thinking it was the only answer, thinking it was the only answer there could be,
"Cough! Geuk, geueut.....uweeeeek....!"
Injustice was familiar?
No, it couldn't be familiar.
Every single time it happened, it was shitty;
Every time I experienced it, it was fucked up;
I always wanted to tear to pieces those fuckers who gave orders from behind;
I was utterly pathetic for not being able to do a single thing myself.
And above all,
"S...save me......"
I was scared.
I was scared,
It hurt,
I was scared,
And even if I wanted to run,
I couldn't run away.
"Save me... please... save meeeee!!!"
I didn't want this.
I didn't want any more.
I didn't want to hurt.
I didn't want to fight.
I didn't want to endure.
I didn't want to hold on.
'Why do I...!'
Why did I have to go through this?
For what reason?
Why?
What the hell for....!
Guik....!
"Ah.......!"
Before I knew it, the troll was raising its club over my head.
Gu, uuuuuk!
"Ah....aa, ah......!!!"
It rose up gradually,
Up.
Higher still.
The club that finally rose above the troll's head—
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
I was going to die.
I was dying.
I would die.
A death I could neither resist nor refuse.
In the face of a reality that wouldn't even permit shrinking away,
───Kaaaaaaaang!
....Guuuk...?
"....Eue...?"
A translucent red barrier wrapped around my body.
Warm, and warm. And always by my side.
─Kiiiiing....!
"This is... what Mars gave me..."
A single sword that had been hanging at my waist since some time ago.
The sword Mars handed me, calling it a 'talisman.'
Kung, kugung, kugugugung
"............"
The troll, filled with rage, tried to break the barrier.
A crack slowly began to form in the protective shield.
A strange metallic hum resonated from the sword, yet despite that, the barrier held troll back to the very end.
".....Heu."
In truth, strictly speaking, it was a time of merely a few seconds.
"It's pure love."
But for the current me, it was enough time to change.