Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Utmost
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[Defeat the protagonist 'Klaus' with everything you've got.]
[Complete the quest to unlock the unique trait 【Calamity of All Realms】.]
"Adel."
Klaus calls my name softly, his back to the sunlight.
- Flash!
A brilliant light stretches out in a graceful arc.
Klaus moves, and on reflex, I draw 【Leviathan】.
- Boom!!
Sword clashes against sword.
A single collision, a single impact.
'...Damn.'
The 【Leviathan】 in my hand is pushed away, flying off into the distance.
...My hand throbs and tingles.
"I'm going to beat you."
There's no more hesitation in Klaus's eyes, no trace of the fumbling extra he used to be.
[ 'Klaus's unique trait 【Growth-Type Protagonist】 reacts. ]
Klaus grows by breaking free of the chains that once bound him, one by one.
He's no longer collapsing in weakness like before, no longer doubting himself and hanging his head.
[ 'Klaus's talent grows to the next level. ]
"The me you affirmed, when I denied myself."
A boy who blamed himself, who thought his very existence meaningless.
The one who acknowledged that Klaus as the protagonist was me.
"The you I came to admire."
Klaus no longer turns away.
He's advancing, confronting every weakness surrounding him.
"To prove it, I... have to surpass myself."
With those words, Klaus's sword shines brilliantly once more.
The light is no longer just a backdrop enveloping him—it has become him.
"So... fight me, Adel."
[No refusing?]
"...Yeah. I told you already, right? Your refusal is refused."
Klaus nods with an innocent smile.
I sigh and grip 【Leviathan】 once more.
What a perfectly scripted turn.
A side character fighting the protagonist.
'...Am I the side character?'
The protagonist of this story is Klaus.
I might just be a minor character with a few lines of description, orbiting around him.
'Or maybe just some random passerby A?'
And that random passerby A is now in the ironic situation of having to fight the protagonist.
And...
[You've reached a branching point.]
[The story ahead will change dramatically based on your victory or defeat.]
'The system sure is chatty today.'
The system, usually silent, is unusually talkative now.
...It wasn't like this before.
"Here I go."
Klaus assumes his stance.
At the same time, I attune my mana, weaving my hand firmly with 【Leviathan】.
- Flash!
We both kick off the ground simultaneously... and abyss collides with brilliance.
"Urgh... Adel! You wouldn't know this, but what you said that day matched my parents' dying words exactly, not a single character off...!"
As the radiant sword comes crashing down, I twist my body to deflect its trajectory.
"Miracles come to those who never give up...!"
Lines I'd heard over and over in 'Aka Calamity.'
Words that were mere script, mere text... now alive and breathing right in front of me.
"I thought about giving up thousands of times... But that's when you appeared, Adel."
All I did was reawaken the conviction the protagonist had forgotten.
All I did was nudge someone's story back onto its original path.
"And even now... I've never... not once until this moment... given up."
Miracles respond.
To those who don't give up.
To the hero who never surrenders.
The world grants him its light.
"So... give it everything you've got, Adel."
The excited expression fades, replaced by clear eyes that meet mine without a flicker.
"I'm not weak enough to fall just because you're holding back."
And with those words...
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Meteor Light Dance】
Like a falling meteor, your sword dances in brilliance.
: Deals absolute damage to 'evil' along trajectories of light.
Light will surely dispel the shadows.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
Light whirls into a frenzy.
Klaus swings his sword, leaving trails of light, and in an instant, the ground splits, trees shatter into pieces, scattering into the air.
'...Give it everything, huh.'
There's a fatal contradiction in Klaus's words.
I've always given everything.
In this wretched world, in this filthy place where I'm trampled the moment I falter even slightly.
Every day, every moment, to avoid death, to survive.
I've always given my all to live.
"...You just don't know, Klaus."
Blood floods my mouth.
Amid the twisting agony of my boiling insides, I barely force out the words.
And... even as I do, in that instant.
One word lingers in my mind.
'Contradiction.'
'...Have I really given my all?'
That contradiction stretched longer than the pain.
"No."
Maybe... I've just been struggling to survive.
Not to achieve anything.
Not to defeat anyone.
Just to not die. Just to endure.
Maybe that's all it was.
"The Adel I saw... never once put his heart into his life."
No will to move forward, no desire to change the story.
Maybe I've just been enduring day by day as a survivor, not a player.
'Ha...'
Was my 'all' truly solid enough not to waver at a single word from someone else?
The reason Klaus's words sounded like a contradiction... was because that contradiction fit me perfectly.
It wasn't Klaus who denied me.
I've doubted myself the most, believed in myself the least.
[Defeat the protagonist 'Klaus' with everything you've got.]
The system's message etches itself into my mind once more.
'No.'
I revisit the question I asked myself, and my own answer.
Yes. I've given my all.
But... there was no conviction.
Anxiety that even my all wouldn't let me survive, resignation that it was pointless anyway, inferiority that I'd never reach it because I'm not the protagonist.
All of that made me hesitate.
'Is this okay?'
'No matter how much I struggle, isn't it meaningless?'
'Is it okay to live like this?'
But right now, in this moment, I can be certain.
The protagonist of this story is Klaus.
He is the light of this world.
The being who will dispel the darkness and illuminate a brilliant path for the world.
'......'
Before that light, I stand my ground, bearing the weight of my own life.
I might be passerby A, or a nameless extra.
But this life—no one else can live it for me.
I am the protagonist of my own life.
"Yeah... that's it, Adel."
Right now.
At least in this moment, as the protagonist of my life, I give my all at the end of the contradiction.
"Let's clash with our true hearts, our true best."
[ 'Klaus's unique trait 【Growth-Type Protagonist】 reacts. ]
[ 'Klaus' acquires the unique trait 【Adaptive Protagonist】. ]
I still don't know what to give my all for, what to stake my life on to obtain.
But I don't need to know.
Just like always, I'll give my all to survive, clawing my way up, stumbling, enduring.
***
- Step.
Lev quietly steps forward, reaching the edge of the cliff.
【Oh, it's Mask Guy.】
"...."
Lev gazes at the scene without responding.
- Clash!!
Swords collide, mana ripples, and a brilliant trajectory cuts through the air.
【Huh... Mask Guy... something's different.】
"...Different?"
【Yeah... he's more sincere, maybe?】
"...What does that mean?"
The place Lament's hand points to.
Adel's fighting form is definitely... different from before.
【Our Mask Guy always lacked something when he did anything.】
"...Lacked?"
【Yeah. He looks like he's trying hard, but... there was always an emptiness somewhere.】
"...."
【Yeah... it looked like his best on the surface, but it was always 50% short of a true best.】
"...How is that the best?"
【Exactly that. Just the best for survival—never more.】
Lament's shadow quietly approaches, gently embracing Lev from behind.
【But... look at him now.】
"...."
【Must be some change of heart... he's giving 100% now.】
"...How do you know?"
【Oh, Lev? No one surpasses me when it comes to emotions.】
"......You're way too talkative lately."
【Hee hee... isn't that good?】
"...No."
A brief silence passes between them, then the sound of hurried footsteps approaches from somewhere.
Students are swarming in groups.
Seizing the opportunity.
Vile selfishness of the masses, aiming to end it in one blow by exploiting the exhausted pair's gap.
There must be at least dozens.
But...
"Don't interfere."
Klaus swings his sword.
Trails of light slice through the air, disqualifying several approaching students on the spot.
"Scram."
Adel's curt word.
The power in that short phrase spreads, and the rest vanish before their eyes.
...Truly, the shrimp's back exploding in a whale fight.
【So? Who do you think wins, Lev?】
"......Adel."
【Ehehe... you're totally an Adel fanboy now?】
"...No."
It was a short denial... but her eyes unwaveringly followed one person.
***
[ 'Klaus's unique trait 【Adaptive Protagonist】 reacts. ]
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Adaptive Protagonist】
Always behind, always lacking.
But never stopping.
: Gradually adapts to the opponent's abilities.
: Acquires temporary skills or traits.
Even crushed, even trampled.
He rises again.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
'Ah, shit.'
[ 'Klaus' temporarily acquires the trait 【Magic Resistance · Extreme】. ]
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
【Magic Resistance · Extreme】
Resistance to magic reaches its limit.
: Magic resistance increases by 100%.
✦━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
'That's trouble.'
The situation has gone straight to hell.
I can't wield a sword.
Not like the others, with graceful arcs and efficient techniques.
To me, a sword is just a stick with a handle.
Swing it to cut, cut to end— a simple tool.
Nothing more, nothing less.
My attacks start with magic... but now, that magic won't work.
'Isn't that cheating?'
Magic resistance +100%.
That's way too much.
'Think.'
My brain throbs.
'Can't use sword. Fists are out. Head-on won't work.'
I eliminate possibilities one by one in my head.
All meaningless.
One left.
'...Unique magic?'
It's possible.
Unique magic could tear through magic resistance or whatever.
But... can I create that magic?
Can I scale that high wall?
"Hah, I can see it all, Adel—your anxious eyes!"
No time to breathe, sword arcs come crashing down.
'...Ha.'
Changed my mind.
Unique magic or not.
I just want to smash my fist into that grinning face.
Smash that smiling mug.
- Whoosh.
I reach out.
Attune mana, draw a line in the air.
Then, on it, engrave words.
In that moment, a question arises.
'What words to engrave.'
Unique magic encapsulates the person's entirety.
Their life, convictions, existence.
All condensed into one sentence.
But...
'No way.'
I've only moved to survive until now.
I don't know where I came from, who I am, nothing to prove.
Just to live.
That's all I've endured with.
'Then, what to engrave?'
My life is empty.
Lacking compared to anyone, drifting without purpose, no dreams, no ideals, no convictions.
Only one thing I can engrave.
'Emptiness.'
An endless void holding no claims, no justice, no wishes.
- Whoosh...
On that single line, I engrave nonexistent meaning, silence not words.
- Crackle... crackle...
Space wavers.
The surrounding air sinks, even sound gets sucked in.
"Wha...!"
Klaus shows clear panic.
He stops his advance, cautiously stepping back.
- Sizzle...
Space twists, a scream pierces the void.
On the verge of activation... or not.
But I'm certain.
The cheat key 【Word of Command】.
I point my index finger at Klaus, the other hand stroking the mask's mouth.
"...Event horizon."
In that instant—
A single point appears before Klaus's eyes.
《Space / Unique Magic》
「Event Horizon」
Centered on that one point, space infinitely expands and warps.
"Crazy...!!"
Klaus swings his sword immediately.
Light arcs spread to slice the warped space.
But...
- Zzzzzzt...!!
Where the sword arc touches, it's swallowed—no tear, just vanishes.
No sensation of cutting anything; the moment the blade tip grazes the air, it loses all meaning.
"Whoa... insane."
The law where existence ceases to exist.
Klaus can't hide his helplessness... and leaps upward.
...But up no longer exists.
"Like this...!"
The space Klaus occupies now is inside a singularity where up and down have collapsed.
The more he struggles, the deeper into the void he's pulled.
"Ahaha...."
[ 'Klaus's unique trait 【Adaptive Protagonist】 reacts. ]
[ ...! ]
[ Failed. ]
Even adaptation is not permitted.
"As expected... you're strong, Adel."
To adapt, there needs to be a standard.
A proposition of 'what I am,' one definition proving existence.
But that... never existed.
***
Above the spot where space collapsed.
In the middle of the trampled grass field, Klaus lies sprawled.
I crouch down in front of him.
And... pull out the whiteboard, scribbling a short sentence.
[My victory]
"Huh... I concede."
With that short laugh, Klaus's body scatters into light.
Disqualified. He was out.
'Ah.'
Only then do I realize.
I forgot to plant a fist in that smug face.
A bit regrettable.
Really...
Just a bit.