Chapter 111: Paradox Paradigm Paraseism (2)
Chapter 111: Paradox Paradigm Paraseism (2)
Like grains of an hourglass falling downward, my consciousness began to plummet into a dark void.
Toward the dark dreams that were my only sanctuary—the only thing I wasn't immune to, unlike almost all drugs and Mental Magic.
Within that void, a silver flash struck down.
It was the massive, silver-tinted Silver Spring-loaded Cutter used by the Black Head Nurse.
Originally, it was a tool meant for cutting small bones, but in the nurse's hands, it was large enough to take off a head entirely. It plummeted toward me, aiming for my neck.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that I perceived the attack and took a step back to evade it.
Though my consciousness was gradually stiffening, I wasn't the type to be taken down by such a simple attack.
With that thought, I twisted my body sharply.
I had been tripped up by this Black Head Nurse many times. And many times, she had been a help to me.
She was the nurse who had followed and assisted me during my stay at the branch.
My waist, which I had twisted back, snapped forward with the recoil.
That force traveled through my extended arm, and the end of that arm, laden with power, flew rapidly toward the opponent in front of me.
The Hammer, carrying all my strength, flew toward the Black Head Nurse's face.
The Black Head Nurse stared at The Hammer with an expressionless face, as if knowing that evasion was impossible.
Poof.
Another nurse exploded and scattered, vanishing from the battlefield.
Of the hundred or so nurses, only about ten remained.
With solemn expressions, they all held their weapons and surrounded me in a circle. Their posture as they hemmed me in looked threatening at a glance, but…
They could no longer influence this battle.
Their skill was simply too lacking.
The only reason they were still alive was that they hadn't traded blows with my hammer as often.
The Black Head Nurse who just vanished was the last one capable of engaging in even a somewhat meaningful exchange.
“…As expected, the nurses aren't enough.”
Oxymoron, who had only been providing covering fire from the rear, stepped forward.
Clang. Clang.
She was in a combat stance I’d never seen before, with scalpels attached to every belt dragging on the ground and a saw held in one hand.
Seeing her hold a saw, it seemed she truly intended to engage me in close-quarters combat.
“Why don’t you… surrender now…?”
When I opened my mouth, a voice so sluggish it felt uncontrollable flowed out.
I was so sleepy I could hardly bear it.
I had expected to be immune to Oxymoron’s drugs after completely discarding my physical body during the last incident, but it seemed her drugs didn't act on the flesh.
It felt as though they acted on the will itself…
Black…
And black…
…No, I can’t sleep.
It felt like I would drift off if I let go of my consciousness for even a second.
I steadied my body, which had been swaying left and right the moment I momentarily lost focus.
“The sedatives seem to be working well. Everything is going according to plan.”
According to plan, huh…
“Yawn. Do you think… just because I’m a little sleepy… I can’t beat you…?”
Letting out a massive yawn, I thrust my hammer toward her.
“…You won’t know until you try.”
She shot back with a slightly excited voice.
Her childish personality was coming out again; I thought she’d matured and become calmer lately.
More importantly, why was Oxymoron so obsessed with this fight?
Deploying minions, injecting drugs, even provoking me. Why did she want to beat me so badly?
“Why… yawn… do you want to beat me so much?”
It was a question I’d asked before the battle started, but there had been no answer then.
At my words, Oxymoron took another step closer and spoke.
Skritch.
The sound of scalpels scraping the ground reached my ears.
“I’ll tell you if you win.”
“When you’re aiming for my vitals and I’m in a situation where I can’t kill you?”
“It’s an appropriate penalty.”
An appropriate penalty, she says.
It didn't seem like Oxymoron was trying to kill me or looking down on me.
The fact that she was aiming for my vitals meant she wanted to win that badly.
Because I was an opponent she couldn't defeat unless she gave it her all.
Then I should respond in kind.
Suppressing a rising yawn, I took my stance again.
I planted my legs to fix my swaying body to the ground and hoisted The Hammer onto my shoulder—The Hammer that was dragging on the floor because I couldn't put proper strength into my grip.
I’ll end this quickly.
I can’t hold out any longer.
Even now, the sensation in my fingertips has been fading bit by bit.
My consciousness will vanish soon. Therefore.
“Here I come.”
Boom.
I was the first to kick off the ground and charge.
A thick white fog began to block my vision, which was darting forward like an arrow.
The ruins of the Operating Room, a broken world.
The plaza began to crumble.
The space around here must have already reached its limit.
From the battle between the nurses and me.
And with that kick just now, everything began to shatter into pieces.
Creeeeeak—.
Spatial collapse caused by sheer force.
The tower behind us crumbled down.
The soft ground that had cushioned the patients began to scatter.
The white fog began to turn into gray particles.
The Operating Room was forcibly dispelled, and the world began to reclaim the colors of ruin.
Amidst it all, Oxymoron, maintaining her pure black hue, began to move.
Charge.
Interception.
Mid-range combat after a backstep.
Counter.
Re-summoning nurses.
Countless actions Oxymoron could take were simulated in my head.
But the moment she moved, those simulations lost all meaning.
A jump from a standstill.
Followed by a mid-air somersault.
Oxymoron spun her body in the air as if performing a stunt.
Not a horizontal spin from left to right, but a bizarre rotation where her head pointed toward the ground.
It was an action that made it impossible to predict what she would do, but I didn't hesitate and kept moving forward.
Whatever she did, I was confident I could block it.
Before Oxymoron could even finish a single rotation, we entered each other's attack range.
She, who was tall with a short weapon.
And I, who was short with a long weapon.
Both of us were within the range where we could definitively kill each other.
Inside the reach of Oxymoron’s black belts that had spread wide in all directions.
The black belts embroidered the world as if trying to seize me.
A spiderweb.
The moment that word crossed my mind, an ominous chill washed over me.
There was something I had missed.
Something I, who only knew the Oxymoron of the past, couldn't know—a trump card held by the currently grown Oxymoron.
I thought until the very end while extending my hammer toward Oxymoron’s shoulder, but my consciousness, falling toward the abyss, couldn't come up with anything. I simply thrust The Hammer toward her.
To do what I was most accustomed to, what I was best at.
To crush Oxymoron’s body.
Clang.
A crisp sound rang out.
A sound that echoed in my ears, familiar yet impossible to place.
Silver flashes closed in from all sides.
Silver tools attached to each of Oxymoron’s belts flew in.
Tiny nurses, with wings like fairies, manipulated scalpels coated in transparent liquid and swarmed toward me.
Her sharp scalpels.
An attack I, having already lunged in, could not evade, flew in from every direction.
It was a perfect trap.
If my body had been whole.
If I hadn't lunged in recklessly.
If the sticky remains of the nurses hadn't slowed me down.
Perhaps…
Perhaps…
Self-reflection continued endlessly.
At the same time, admiration for Oxymoron bloomed in my mind.
Had she not designed everything for this one move?
My personality, my behavioral patterns, my combat style, my… everything.
As a Magical Girl, I sensed my defeat, but I didn't stop The Hammer.
Even if I had fallen into a checkmate, I hadn't lost yet.
The scalpels were created by her ability, so I should be able to stop them by striking her body.
I never stop, no matter the situation.
Because I promised.
In that split second.
During the ensuing confrontation.
Just before The Hammer reached her body.
Before The Hammer and the shockwave could shake her frame.
Squelch.
Her scalpel was faster.
The belts that flew in with the scalpels struck me, slowing my movements.
My arm was sliced by the saw.
My neck was pierced by a scalpel.
The Hammer, which I had held onto until the end despite my weakening grip, was severed along with my right arm and vanished behind me.
Through the thick mist of blood, I saw her face.
Her expression as she finished her rotation, smiling as if she had won.
Her face, which had been hidden by the Gas Mask throughout the battle.
Her face, smiling brightly because she had finally defeated me.
…How amateurish.
You shouldn't smile when the battle isn't over yet.
Now… it’s my turn as a Hero.
Clank.
A metallic sound rang out.
A metallic sound that seemed to come from a place far, far away in my left ear.
My consciousness was drifting as far as that sound, but the end hadn't come yet.
With my left hand, now encased in a metal gauntlet, I grabbed the belts fluttering around me and pulled.
“Ah?!”
At the last moment, Oxymoron, who thought she had won, was dragged in.
Pulled by an immense force, she tumbled across the ground.
Looking at her collapsed at my feet, I continued my thoughts with my blurred consciousness.
Clang.
A dull metallic sound of metal meeting gauntlet echoed.
My vision was dyed black.
Black Particles emerging from my body began to suck in everything around me.
The Black Particles, possessing physical form, materialized and deflected the scalpels that flew at me once more.
The battle flipped in an instant.
A red rod appeared in my blackened hand, and I swung it down toward Oxymoron’s head.
Thump. Crunch.
Along with the sound of something shattering, the matter was settled.
“…Kiiiick.”
I opened my mouth to ask why she had done such a thing, but all that came out was the sound of rushing wind.
Were my vocal cords damaged?
I thought I wouldn't be able to have a conversation like this, but…
“…I lost.”
She spoke while staring at the Pry Bar that had landed next to her head.
The strike that had collapsed the surrounding ground instead of crushing her skull.
“Even after all that research, even after using my base, the Operating Room, for my own ends, and even with all the nurses helping me… I lost.”
“…Kishik.”
Save the lamentations for later and tell me why you did this.
I’m dying of sleepiness as it is.
Of course, only air leaked from my mouth, but Oxymoron seemed to understand me and spoke.
“…I wanted to show you.”
What?
“I wanted to show you. That I can fight like this.”
She continued.
“In the place where you helped me, Uncle, I wanted to show you that I can stand on my own now.”
Wanting to stand on her own now—did she have a late-onset puberty?
Was she not already a Hero more dignified than anyone else in this world? A Hero who had held the front lines for a long time.
I wanted to tell her that, but only the sound of wind came out.
I couldn't do anything for her, and my consciousness only drifted further away.
“Yes, I know. That it’s strange.”
Oxymoron’s words continued.
“It must be strange for me, a Hero who has fought for a long time, to act like this.”
You… know well….
“But, Uncle, you don’t acknowledge me, do you?”
I don't… know what you mean.
My head lolled as my strength failed.
“Could you not have consulted me about the Black Marauder even once?”
Emotion began to seep into her voice.
A complaint, like a child throwing a tantrum.
A high-pitched voice that soared with her emotions.
“I thought if I spoke up, you would at least consult with me.”
That would be dragging others in. To an old Hero, to her who had lived a miserable life, another burden…
“And yet, you never contacted me at all.”
She paused to choose her words.
To me, sinking into sleep, it felt like an eternity in a split second.
“It’s because you don’t trust me, right? Just like in the old days.”
That’s… not it.
“So, I want to be acknowledged by you. Not by anyone else in the world, but by you.”
She brought her face close to mine.
“So, can’t you rely on me? Now… it’s my turn to protect you.”
There was no way she didn't know my throat was ruined. And yet, she was demanding an answer.
As if rebuking me for failing to take her hand in the past.
Therefore, I gathered my strength.
To answer her with the last of my power.
Throb.
My throat glowed, and the pain vanished.
A physical body… is unnecessary.
The moment I strongly desired it, black light began to gather not only at my throat but also at my wounds.
My right arm manifested, glowing with a blackish-purple light, and I became able to move it.
It was a hand that flickered faintly as if it would vanish at any moment, but I could move it.
I reached out with that fragile hand and patted her.
“You did well.”
“Pardon…?”
“Pushing me into a corner like this… Oxymoron, that was entirely your own strength.”
For some reason, it started to feel like I was dealing with Linshua.
“You really… did well….”
My consciousness drifted away.
Was it because I had used up the last of my strength?
A dark void consumed me.
“Number 23! Number 79! Come quickly!”
I heard Oxymoron’s panicked voice rising.
Squish. Squish.
The sensation of the nurses rushing over and grabbing me.
And Oxymoron taking off her Gas Mask and looking down at me with worry.
That was my last memory.