Shard of the Soul

Valter flew into a rage at my casual remark. I hadn't expected him to take it this badly. Kinda makes me feel smug for no reason.

"You're practically begging me to kill you. Fine. I'll grant your wish."

What bullshit. He was gonna kill me anyway. That's why early-onset chuunibyou is a blessing in disguise. Valter looks like he's just transitioning from young man to middle age. No way a guy that age wearing an eyepatch and pretending to be cool is normal. Though now he's got a real glass eye!

Clack clack! I smashed my jaw together in mockery, crumpling his already messed-up face even further into a pitiful mess.

"Did you just... mock me?"

He noticed that quick. Sharp instincts! Watching Valter tremble with rage, I thought to myself: heroes have weak mental game. Just a little lip service and he reacts like that.

I'll go as vicious as possible.

I recalled the strategy and raised my sword. Tension thickened in the boss room. Then, just as my body launched forward, Valter charged at me too.

Valter's weapon was a greatsword. True to his hero title, he hefted a pretty badass-looking blade and swung it despite the distance between us.

"Light Slash!"

A skill. A hero's skill wouldn't be ordinary. Sure enough, his sword glowed white, and something came flying at me. Sword ki? Just in case, I decided to dodge cleanly.

"Dodge!"

Roll! I effortlessly evaded the classic crescent-shaped sword beam and struck a triumphant pose. You thought that puny thing could hit me?

"Too slow."

I sneered at Valter with all the mockery I could muster. But then—

"Fooled you."

"...What?"

He wasn't aiming at me. Boom! Something shattered loudly behind me. I whipped my head around and froze. A massive hole had ripped through my cozy home. Through the gap, I glimpsed the bright blue sky. Valter watched the purple poison mist escape outside and sighed in relief.

"Phew! Now I can breathe."

Me? Pure despair. No!! My house!! A huge hole in one corner of the boss room. A hole in the first home I'd ever built. The tower hadn't even been up for a full day! No forgiveness. I'll kill him for sure.

Fueled by blazing fury, I gripped the Drake Soul Sword tight. Greatsword versus greatsword. Valter fired another sword beam.

"Light Slash!"

I pondered as it hurtled toward me. Dodge again? It wasn't that fast. I could sidestep without the skill. But that would just punch another hole in the wall. Dangerous. Sunlight is my one weakness right now. He doesn't seem to know, but more holes mean light flooding in, shrinking my safe zone.

No choice. I won't let my house crumble! Planting my feet firmly, I raised the Drake sword. This slash skill slices through magic. It should cut that too. Timing is key. A slight misfire could spell disaster. I waited until the beam was right in my face.

Now!

I swung at the perfect moment. Shwick! Clean cut—the beam vanished before my eyes. Knew it would work.

"...Not bad."

Valter looked impressed as his attack failed. How's that for my slash skill! Slash is invincible, slash is god!

I grinned smugly, but Valter smirked back viciously.

"Then how about this!"

He thrust his hand forward and activated another skill.

"Light Wave!"

A burst of pure white light spawned small orb-like projectiles flying at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. Pop! Pretty fast. Each one lacked punch, but slicing them all was impossible—I rolled across the floor quick.

"Dodge!"

Roll! A heavy blast slammed where I'd stood a second ago.

"Light Slash! Light Wave!"

Endless attacks rained down, pissing me off a bit. All ranged bullshit despite wielding a sword. Plus that barrier skill. Tch. You holding that sword for show? What a disgrace to warriors!

Annoyed as I was, my mind stayed cool. Closing in is tough. Too busy dodging. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My only ranged option is bone toss, and that won't pierce his barrier. If I drag this out, he'll tire eventually—he's human. Undead me? Endless stamina. With time, I'd win.

But that's too much hassle. Who knows when this hero tires? Rolling around endlessly looks lame too. Need a smart way in. Rifling through my skill list sparked a brilliant idea.

Oh? This could work...

"What're you standing there for? If you won't come, I'll attack first!"

Seeing me pause, Valter prepped smugly, hand out for a skill. I watched, then leaped straight up, twisting midair to stick to the ceiling. Four limbs clinging like a spider—Drake Soul Sword clamped in my jaws since hands were busy.

Thud!

"...Huh?"

Valter gawked at me suddenly ceiling-bound. He never figured a skeleton could wall-climb. But I'm no mere skeleton—I'm a King Lizardman Skeleton!

That meant lizard-like traits ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too. Scramble scramble! I skittered across the wall at high speed. Faster than running? Felt that way. I closed the gap on Valter in seconds.

"L-Light Wave!"

Me scuttling with a glowing sword in my mouth? Freaky sight. Enough to rattle him. Whoosh! His attacks whiffed harmlessly. I yanked a rib bone mid-scramble and hurled it at his one good eye—he flailed to block.

"Above!"

Below, idiot. Swoosh! I slashed upward from underfoot. He jerked back with a grunt.

"Guh!"

White light burst from his neck—the barrier from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before. Tough-looking but sliced easy; my trajectory veered slightly. He barely dodged by stepping back, sighing in relief as he retreated.

I eyed him closely. Necklace on his neck, bracelet on one wrist. Even his greatsword wasn't ordinary. All his "skills" were item effects? He climbed to hero rank on gear alone. That's why he avoided melee. Total gear-whore.

Naturally, spotting his loot woke my sleeping greed.

I want them.

"...The vibe just shifted."

Valter tensed, noticing my greedy stare. Crisis dawning now? Too late. With hunger-level greed raging, nothing stops me.

Whoosh! My body accelerated insanely as I charged.

"Uwaaa!! Light Slash!"

Terror-stricken, he triggered late. Shwick! Too late—I'd already swung. I held back to sever both wrists first. Bracelet and sword claimed. Next: the necklace.

Snap! Ripped it off like pulling a weed, then beheaded him without pause.

Snapping out of it, my hands overflowed with his gear. Valter lay bleeding out, arms gone, a gruesome wreck.

"Hero my ass. All talk."

Maybe these 12 Lords aren't hot shit either. Confidence surging. But...

"Why isn't the corpse vanishing?"

Hero dead, yet no despawn. What? Last revive chance? Stab! Testing if he was playing dead, I skewered the body. Now it dissolved into blue smoke.

Left behind: "...A flower?"

A blue flower named Soul Shard. "Feels just like a Soul Stone..." Same vibe. Something important clawed at my mind. Ask Gular later. But that wasn't all.

"Knew it felt too abrupt to end like this." I checked the floating message.