152: Theft, Error, Change
'This bastard?'
Despite the strike aimed straight for my heart, the Frantic Osam (★★★★★★) opened his chest wide, as if daring me to stab if I was going to, and kept pressing the assault.
Contrary to the label of "frantic," Osam was surprisingly cunning. The heart was clearly a vital point, the ultimate weakness. How many people would willingly pass up such a perfect opportunity to end an enemy in a single blow?
But this was the trap the monster had set.
The moment I thrust my blade into his chest, the long halberd in his grip would swing down and sever my neck. We would both die.
A mutual life-or-death chicken game.
Osam had played this game countless times without pause, emerging victorious every single time.
To others, a single life was priceless. But not to him. For Osam, life was something to be discarded at will.
There was only one reason: Osam was a monster bound to the dungeon.
Even if he died here today, a new challenger would appear tomorrow, and Osam would resurrect. That was why he could afford to play a strategy that inflicted fatal damage even at the cost of his own life.
'But the same goes for me.'
From Osam's perspective, this opponent—me—was the worst possible rival.
Why?
Because I could resurrect too!
In a life-or-death chicken game, only Osam could play the stronger hand.
"....."
'Using even life as a weapon.'
Whish—!
But I pulled back the sword I had been thrusting with and rolled sideways. The halberd passed harmlessly over the spot where I had been standing.
Krooooooo—!
The monster roared and chased after me, having dodged to the side. It felt as if he was mocking me for having pulled back first.
"Be careful, Alan!"
"Master!"
"Uwaaaang~! Master! Don't get hurt! If you come back without getting hurt, I'll let Oralisa lick your back again!"
"?!"
Outside the arena, the party members cheered enthusiastically. Kanisia stared at Oralisa's promise of back-licking with eyes full of shock.
'Tsk, it's noisy.'
Because the [Lust Release] skill was active, the party members' voices grated on my nerves more than usual.
But right now I had no time to spare for such things. I focused solely on Osam charging straight at me.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
My sword and Osam's clashed relentlessly.
Osam deliberately left openings, taunting me to stab if I was going to, but I ignored his seduction and only tracked the direction of his blade.
Clang—!
Krooooooo—!
"... It's noisy, so shut that big mouth of yours, you monster bastard."
Another clash.
*****
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
"I'm hungry. Anyone got food?"
"Umm... Master... H, hang in there!"
"Huaaam~! Master, when will it end? Oralisa is so bored."
Outside the arena, the party members who had been cheering so enthusiastically now watched our fight with faces full of boredom. At least Aquaril was the only one barely holding back her boredom to cheer for me.
That was only natural, since three hours had already passed since the fight began.
In the long battle, neither I nor Osam had taken a single wound. All because I had focused entirely on blocking his strikes.
Kro, kro, krooo...
Osam, sensing he was tiring, no longer roared like he had at the start. Though he was a monster, he wasn't infinite. If he had been an undead monster, he would still be fine, but unfortunately he wasn't.
Clang—!
"Hahaha. Already tired? Your sword's slowing down."
Osam's blade had become noticeably sluggish.
Meanwhile, I was still full of energy.
It wasn't because my stamina stat was high.
I had the Molt skill, an absolute recovery skill that consumed a staggering ten million gold (1,000 gems) every single use. I had used it in the middle to restore my depleted stamina, reapplied the [Lust Release] debuff, and kept fighting.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
"You bastard, is this all you've got? Show some guts! Otherwise that name 'Frantic Osam' will be a lie! Come at me with everything you've got and try to kill me!"
-.....
Clang—!
"Huh?"
While mocking him during every clash, Osam suddenly retreated. Then he abruptly dropped his sword and lay down on the ground.
"Hey, why are you doing that? Not fighting? Hey, get up."
Kro—!
When I poked his leg with my sword, Osam nervously waved his hand as if to say "don't touch."
"... Did you get angry because I was mocking you?"
-.....
Osam turned his back on me and lay down, as if he couldn't even bear to look at me. It felt like he was saying, "If you don't want to fight anymore, go ahead and kill me if you want."
"Hey, what if a monster gets angry like that? Really not fighting? Really going to die like this?"
-.....
I poked his back with my sword, but Osam remained unmoved, no reaction at all.
"Tsk. Can't help it."
Seeing a monster get angry was something I probably wouldn't have witnessed even on the Gaia-rium continent.
"Tsk. Oh well."
Since no matter how much I poked he wouldn't respond, I clicked my tongue. It seemed he was being sincere.
'I was trying to squeeze out more... but it's a shame. This much will have to do.'
The reason I had dragged out the fight with Osam for three hours was to learn his fighting style.
In truth, I could have ended it the moment he opened his chest at the first clash. I would have died too, but I could resurrect, couldn't I?
But I didn't because I thought his fighting style suited me perfectly.
A battle style that disregarded life itself.
As long as I had enough gold to resurrect infinitely, there was no better style for me.
So I had dragged out the fight. To steal his fighting style.
As a result, I had thoroughly learned Osam's fighting style over the three hours.
To master it completely, I would need to fight other monsters or people, but since he had lost his will to fight, it was time to end it here.
"Hey Osam. One last time. I'm going to finish this for real now. Okay? I promise with my name."
-... Kro?
Did he sense my sincerity? Osam, who had been lying with his back turned, looked back at me.
"Yeah, really. If I block your sword again this time, I'm not a person anymore. Just a monster. Or maybe just a eunuch. So in this final round, let's do it."
-... Kro.
After some thought, the monster stood up from his spot. Then he picked up the sword he had dropped far away.
Krooooooo-!
This time, Osam raised his halberd high as if to say "don't run," letting out his final roar.
"Come."
I took a defensive stance and pointed my sword at Osam.
Krooooooo-!
"Krooooooo-!"
Roaring, Osam charged at me. I charged back in response to his roar.
Our swords swung simultaneously.
Swish—!
"Hah...!"
Osam's blade not only sliced my shoulder but split my heart in two.
-Kro...
And my sword severed Osam's neck. The severed head fell to the ground with a sound as if it had finally been satisfied. Because of the iron helmet that completely covered his face, I couldn't see his expression, but I felt he had died smiling.
My vision darkened, and before long the familiar notification window appeared before my eyes. When I used the Molt skill, my vision returned.
SYSTEM ERROR!
SYSTEM ERROR!
SYSTEM ERROR!
"... Huh?"
I tilted my head at the repeated notification windows. What was this?
*****
"You're really a crazy bastard."
"Mm... is that a compliment?"
"Compliment my ass, you crazy bastard! Why do that at the end if you could just fight!"
"Whoa, you startled me. Why are you yelling?"
When I returned to the party, Kanisia shouted with a face full of genuine anger. I flinched, having intended to brush it off as a joke.
Kanisia was extremely furious right now.
"....."
"M, Master... Master..."
And Aquaril and Oralisa were the same.
Aquaril's face was stiff, and especially Oralisa had a dazed expression as if she had received a huge shock, muttering the same words.
'Now that I think about it, has Oralisa never seen me die and revive?'
When I thought about it, Oralisa had never witnessed my death and resurrection. That was why she was so shocked.
I had told her I could revive, but the shock of actually seeing it would be immense.
After all, she was a fairy.
If I wanted to torment a fairy the most, there was only one way: cut the master's head right in front of her.
Nothing was more painful for a fairy than watching her master die right before her eyes.
'This... I'll have to comfort Oralisa later.'
I needed to soothe the shocked Oralisa. Otherwise, she might develop a negative trait later.
"Anyway, I won. And did you forget? Any wound on me, as long as I don't die, I can heal with the skill..."
"Say it, you bastard!!!!!"
"Whoa, why yelling...?"
Clatter—
Kanisia's fist trembled as if it was about to knock out my jaw. But what was more serious was the tears welling in her eyes.
'Kanisia... mocking me?!'
Ah, this wasn't it.
Was Kanisia crying?
The strict Kanisia?
"Hey, I'm fine. Really fine. Look! I'm completely healthy and fine? Look! I can even backflip!"
"....."
I backflipped to show Kanisia I was fine, trying to comfort her. But it was no better than doing nothing.
"... Yeah, you did well. You did really well, damn it!"
"Hah! Y, you even swear?"
Kanisia shouted and roughly wiped away her tears, turning her body. She disappeared into the tent where Abraham was resting.
"Whoa. That's too dangerous."
I watched Kanisia's back and covered my mouth with my hand, muttering. I couldn't stop my lips from curling up.
'This is too dangerous. If I do this, I can't use Kanisia as consumable.'
When I first recruited Kanisia as a companion, I had only thought of her as meat-shield material. It was better now, but back then I had been in extreme fear of death.
But as I spent more time with her, sharing bodies and time together, my thoughts about her gradually changed.
From meat-shield to companion, from companion to someone I could rely on, from friend to love...
"Ah..."
'Fuck, it's over.'
Only then did I realize.
I no longer saw Kanisia as consumable. And I had reached the point where I could throw away my own life for her.
The me of the previous life, the me who first opened my eyes in this world, and the me now.
I was changing.