The Lion King's Resolve
The Power of Manifestation was, in truth, an incredibly difficult ability to wield. To maintain a manifestation, one had to keep the thought alive without interruption. Anyone who has fought on a battlefield knows just how impossible that is. Tangible objects were at least manageable. Especially if the user had spent half their life wielding that very item. That was why the Isaac from the original story had only ever manifested a sword. But manifesting an abstract concept was an entirely different ordeal. And the ones who could manifest the concept of strongest fell into one of two categories: those who had truly been the strongest once, or those who were simply insane.
The fists of two men who had cast everything aside collided head-on. There were no tricks, no feints—only a pure contest of strength against strength.
From afar, Zarin gritted his teeth. To think there was a human capable of fighting the chieftain on equal footing. He had believed the only exception in the last sixty years had been the former commander of Nemea Fortress. And now another such monster had appeared!
“Lord Zarin, shouldn’t we help the chieftain right now?”
“Help him? Us? And how exactly would we do that?”
“That’s…”
“That fight has already gone far beyond anything we can interfere with.”
The lion warriors possessed enough power to easily overwhelm ordinary humans, but they were nowhere near the level required to step into that. If they got too close now, their bodies would likely be torn apart.
How powerless I am. Once again, all I can do is watch.
He had wanted to be even the slightest bit of help to the chieftain who carried everything on his shoulders. Yet whether in the past or now, he had never been of any use. The only thing he could do was pray.
The Lion King let out a roar, steeling his faltering will. Even dying was not something he could do easily. There was simply too much resting on his shoulders. That was why he earnestly wished for it.
Please. Defeat me with everything you have.
The Lion King’s fate had been placed in Isaac’s hands.
What could the man who had clashed with him head-on without retreating even an inch be thinking right now?
Is there a cool name for this technique?
Yes. Shockingly, that was exactly what he was thinking about. After all, shouting out technique names while fighting was one of the exclusive privileges of fictional characters.
Eventually, Isaac settled on one.
ZERO IMPACT
Cruelly enough, the answer to that childish dilemma brought him victory. Anything given a name became affected by the Power of Manifestation. What had no name could not exist. More precisely, it could not be perceived. But by naming it, he had clearly recognized it, allowing him to fully manifest that power into reality.
Just like right now.
The overwhelming force began to overwhelm the Lion King. He clenched his teeth and tried to endure, but in the end he could not hold on. The impact contained within the fist turned into a sharp spear that pierced straight through the Lion King’s own fist.
“……Magnificent, hero.”
Having exhausted every last ounce of his strength, the Lion King smiled as he finally collapsed.
Isaac let out a rough breath. This time, his opponent had truly not been an easy one. He frowned.
Fuck, that hurts.
Though Isaac had overpowered a White Knight-level opponent in pure hand-to-hand combat, the Lion King had never been a pushover. The beastman’s monstrous strength had been strong enough to pierce through Isaac’s Power and inflict internal damage. Thanks to that, Isaac had felt excruciating pain several times throughout the fight. Yet he had never backed down. Not because he had truly felt the Lion King’s emotions through their fists, but simply because of his concept.
Isaac was the kind of man who would stake his life for the sake of his concept. Of course he could laugh off the pain of broken bones. Though that didn’t change the fact that it still hurt like hell…
“You look satisfied.”
“I fought with everything I had and was defeated. I have no complaints about the result.”
“I see.”
“Yes. Now, hero, do what you must.”
It would be a lie to say he had no lingering attachments. But since he had lost after giving his all, he had no intention of dragging things out with a pathetic story. Rather, the Lion King had secretly hoped for an ending like this. There had been too many burdens and too many regrets to simply take his own life, yet his pride would not allow him to lose on purpose. A monster must die at the hands of a hero. That was the ending he had chosen for himself.
And so the Lion King prepared himself for death.
But no matter how long he waited, the end did not come. Sensing something strange, the Lion King opened his eyes. Isaac had not delivered the final blow. He simply sat down nearby and stared quietly at him.
Was he mocking him? But there was no sign of that. Then why?
At last, Isaac spoke.
“In your fists—excluding that final one—I felt lingering regret.”
“And what of it?”
“Family.”
“……!!”
“For a man like you, that must be the only thing worth clinging to.”
How surprising. Had this man truly discerned that much from their brief exchange of blows? It seemed he had not simply brushed off the story he had heard. He was truly trying to face him directly.
The Lion King let out a small laugh.
“So you wish to face the monster, hero?”
“A man who blames himself, regrets the sins he has committed, and worries for those he will leave behind.”
“……”
“We do not call such a person a monster. Urcan.”
“You really are too much.”
It had been a very long time since anyone had called him by his true name. Not the monstrous Lion King who had plunged the fortress into terror, nor the chieftain who supported the tribe. Just his own name.
Urcan gave a weak smile. This man had seen through everything. And so, without realizing it, he began to hope.
“Tell me everything. From beginning to end, without leaving anything out.”
The faint, foolish hope that perhaps he might still be saved.
Urcan invited Isaac and Zeek into his own hut. For a chieftain’s dwelling, it was remarkably humble. Yet Zeek’s eyes sparkled as she looked around.
“Is this your first time seeing a hut?”
“It must be. She’s a country girl, after all.”
“Ah, um… I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I don’t dislike that side of children.”
Surprisingly, Urcan was very fond of children. In the novel, this side of him had been described as him unconsciously overlapping the image of his own child—who might one day come into his arms—with the children around him. Having read the original story from beginning to end, Isaac naturally knew this. To outsiders, however, it probably looked like something had been transmitted through their fists.
Thanks to that, Urcan had resolved to tell his secret to Isaac, a complete stranger. Perhaps this man could make it possible.
Thinking that, Urcan handed it over.
Continue attacking the fortress without capturing it. If you disobey, we cannot guarantee your son’s life.
At the classic blackmail letter, Isaac clicked his tongue. Yes, this was the reason Urcan had begun attacking Nemea Fortress in the original story. But Zeek, who didn’t know the circumstances, tilted her head in confusion.
“Aren’t you the chieftain of the Lion Tribe?”
“I am.”
“Then how are they holding your son hostage?”
“Because my wife is human.”
At the completely unexpected answer, Zeek fell silent. Urcan, however, wore an expression that said he had nothing to hide. If anything, he looked somewhat refreshed.
Isaac nodded. “I see. So the human who gave you such a hard time sixty years ago was your wife?”
“Correct. She was also the former commander of the fortress.”
“How did a fortress commander and a tribal chieftain end up meeting each other?”
From the knowledge Zeek had learned at school, it was impossible to understand. A commander and a chieftain were each the highest authority of their respective communities. How could the two have met? What if one of them had been killed?
“It’s natural to react that way. I felt the same at the time.”
“Pardon?”
“She came here alone.”
He still remembered the shock of that moment clearly. At the time, the relationship between the Lion Tribe and Nemea Fortress could not have been called good even as a joke. The hatred and resentment passed down from previous generations had piled up until they had become the greatest of enemies. From the Mikas Kingdom’s perspective, expanding into the northeast would allow them to reach the coast. Conversely, the Lion Tribe could not afford to lose the homeland they had lived in for generations. A clash between the two was inevitable.
Yet in that very situation, the commander of Nemea Fortress had come directly to the Lion Tribe. And not with soldiers—completely alone.
“She believed that the Lion Tribe and humans could coexist. Looking back now, it was incredibly reckless.”
“It was only possible because she had the power to back up that recklessness.”
“Indeed. Though she was still inexperienced compared to now, I—the strongest in the tribe at the time—was thoroughly defeated by her.”
Urcan, drunk on power and drowning in arrogance, had suffered a complete loss. Since even I, the strongest of the tribe, have been defeated, the fate of the Lion Tribe is over. He had fallen into despair.
It was a complete mess with zero logic, yet for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to hate her. Perhaps he had unconsciously been drawn in by that absurd charm of hers.
“We talked about many things. From ways for the kingdom and the tribe to coexist, to our favorite foods and training methods.”
“The longer you spend together, the deeper you naturally sink into each other’s hearts. Even if you belong to different races.”
……Again.
Just hearing the word “love” made her heart pound. She didn’t even know why she was reacting this way. The moment she came to her senses, her gaze had already fixed itself on Master and refused to move.
“……I wondered if this was really okay. I even suspected she might be trying to seduce me to swallow the tribe whole.”
“And? Did you eventually part ways?”
“No.”
Urcan shook his head firmly. There had been times when they couldn’t trust each other, and they had hurt one another as a result. But their feelings had grown so strong that even those worries and suspicions could no longer stop them.
“We loved each other.”
But that time did not last long. Ten years later—that is, fifty years ago now—she was suddenly summoned back to her homeland. He could still clearly see the smile on her face as she said everything would be fine.
“After that, all contact was cut off. And what arrived next was this letter and a necklace.”
“That’s quite a unique necklace.”
“Of course it is. I made it for her myself, following the traditions of our tribe.”
“When exactly did the necklace and letter arrive?”
“Three years ago.”
No matter how much the letter had come with the necklace, its contents were hard to believe. She might have already lost her life long ago. Considering the passage of time, that was actually the more likely possibility. But how many parents in this world could coldly weigh their child’s life on a scale like that?
What if she really was still alive? What if the traces of her and their child still remained in this world? Then what?
He could not let go of that single, faint possibility. And so he had stained his hands with blood.
“Still, telling someone else makes me feel a little lighter. You can forget my story now.”
“Don’t give up! Nothing has been decided yet!”
“Decades have passed. Even counting only from when the letter arrived, three whole years have gone by.”
Perhaps because he had let go of everything during the fight with Isaac, Urcan was now able to make the coldest judgment of anyone. And the conclusion that judgment reached was the answer he had always refused to accept.
“She and my son are already dead.”
“But we still haven’t confirmed anything…!!”
“How would you confirm it? So much time has already passed. Or are you saying you will find my son for me?”
It was not a serious request. It was the voice of someone who had already realized everything and given up. A voice that carried nothing but sorrow. Even Zeek closed her mouth at the sound of it.
However—
“Understood.”
Isaac answered that voice.