207. Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand (一人之下 萬人之上) - (9)
207. Second Only to One, Above Ten Thousand (一人之下 萬人之上) - (9)
***
"This shall be both a trial that befalls you and a tremendous opportunity."
A trial and an opportunity.
Even as Daji spoke of these two contradictory things as one, Serin could only stare at her blankly.
The composure she had settled into after awakening her Divine Blood was being shattered—that was how deeply shaken she felt right now.
'She can get this much stronger?'
Just hearing the transformed Daji's voice, she could feel a tremendous presence clearly different from before.
But the more she looked directly at her, the more it felt like falling into a bottomless pit—she couldn't even tell where the limits of that power lay.
And so, staring blankly at Daji, Serin ended up harboring a sentiment she shouldn't have.
Heaven Beyond Heaven.
The saying that above the sky, another sky exists.
Right now, Daji had gone beyond even that—the sheer degree of her strength was beyond reason.
No matter how powerful an Awakening Skill was, it normally only made you stronger than your original strength—it couldn't make you this explosively stronger.
To put it in terms, it was like adding 5 to 10. Depending on the type, the concept was like adding 10. But the Daji she saw now felt like she had added at least 20 to 10—no, more than 30.
An increase in power that went beyond doubling.
That the degree of strength could change this drastically was something Serin couldn't even comprehend.
"..."
Daji's vivid crimson eyes, steeped in thick killing intent, seemed to hold another abyss entirely, and Serin found herself gazing into them as if entranced.
This was not the level of killing intent one gained from the experience of having harmed someone.
The killing intent she carried was, in a way, like a familiar emotion.
Eyes that held killing intent obtainable only by killing at least dozens—no, hundreds or more.
Daji could carry killing intent that thick in an instant, as if it were nothing.
In that supremely well-honed command of emotion, the traces of countless experiences Daji had endured, the weight of ages passed.
Serin could feel those fragments vividly.
'So this is her full power.'
And Serin could feel it clearly in her body—that Daji was entering this decisive battle at full strength.
There were times when senses too extraordinary instinctively perceived even things that should not be perceived.
Like right now.
The pure-white cord in Serin's hand kept trembling faintly.
'...I'm.'
Staring at the hand gripping the Crescent-Moon Weight, Serin couldn't understand it.
She couldn't comprehend that this hand, trembling ever so slightly, was her own.
Daji, who had transformed once more—the power she now held.
Her body understood instinctively just how much power that was.
But even so, this was wrong.
"...Ha."
With a laugh bordering on resignation, Serin gripped the cord of the Crescent-Moon Weight hard enough to crush it.
Creeeeak!
The white cord stretched to its limit, letting out its distinctive sound, and she forcibly erased the faint trembling that had been in both hands.
Now the remaining time on Divine Blood was only 6 seconds.
For better or worse, the situation was steadily approaching its end.
No matter how heavily the odds of defeat loomed.
Even knowing she would lose, she had no choice but to clash.
Even if the outcome was decided, if she didn't move forward, she would simply meet her end right there.
No matter how faint the possibility, there were times when you had no choice but to gamble.
And so Serin began to erase the emotions within her, all at once.
As if erasing even her own consciousness, she calmed her mind completely and resolved to stake everything in this decisive battle on her next technique.
Just before unleashing the technique, Serin held onto a small hope.
'Maybe.'
Because it might be possible.
With that thought, she unleashed the technique.
—Dance of the Heaven-Filling Slaughtering Ghosts - Heavenly Demon.
Immediately after. Even though she had used the Dance of the Heaven-Filling Slaughtering Ghosts, Serin's body, awakened with Divine Blood, did not become stained red. And she did not launch herself forward, extending the Crescent-Moon Weight as before.
No blood-colored energy burst from her form, and no other visible transformation appeared either.
Serin simply held her Crescent-Moon Weight and slowly closed her eyes—a strange action.
From the outside, it looked as though she had given up on everything.
And at that moment, multiple notifications filled the screen simultaneously.
Ding.
*
————
Divine Blood's duration has ended, and its effect has been dispelled.
————
*
As a notification appeared announcing the dispelling of Divine Blood, even the distinctive aura of Divine Blood that had rested upon Serin's body gradually faded and vanished.
Ding.
—『The broadcast has ended.』
An abrupt stream-end message appeared, announcing the end of the broadcast.
But even so, Serin kept her eyes closed and showed no reaction whatsoever.
......
About ten seconds passed.
Daji, who had been waiting for Serin to act, saw that Serin's technique had been completely dispelled, and despite carrying thick killing intent, she couldn't help but feel deep disappointment.
'...So you, too, end here.'
In truth, the gap in power between them was felt even more keenly by Daji herself than by Serin.
Even at the most conservative estimate, the gap was at least fivefold. The difference in power between Serin and Daji was that immense.
There was no such thing as "moderation" when drawing out the true power of the Moon Dancer.
Because the technique called True Moon Princess was akin to a technique that placed one among the ranks of transcendents.
To become an existence with the power to save the Chaldea Empire from the countless crises of destruction it had faced in the past, Daji had ultimately had no choice but to transcend humanity.
And so what Daji had chosen was to become the Moon Dancer passed down from ancient myth.
'But.'
This situation was clearly a tremendous trial for the one called Rin, no matter how much Daji had considered the gap between them and tried to account for various factors.
Between them existed a vast difference that could never be closed.
'...I believed that you, of all people, would show me something until the very end.'
From the moment they had exchanged a few clashes, Daji had acknowledged Serin.
That was why, even if Serin had realized the difference in power, the idea that she would give up easily made no sense to Daji.
Whatever end she met, she was someone who would show a fitting display.
Daji had rated Serin that highly.
But even with such thoughts, Daji had never once considered that she herself might lose.
Because she felt a difference so vast that she couldn't even entertain such a thought.
Seeing Serin continue to keep her eyes closed, Daji parted her lips.
"I believe you are an existence who will not disappoint me."
Daji's calm voice, with her thick killing intent fully suppressed, resonated directly in Serin's ears once more, cutting through the space between them.
Flinch.
And as if reacting to it, Serin slowly began to open her closed eyes.
"...'This lady,' is it."
Opening her eyes, Serin's lips moved, and the corners of her mouth curved up sharply.
"How dare you call yourself 'this lady' in front of me?"
Serin's answering voice, layered with a deep tone, carried an extremely sharp edge, and she asked Daji as though she had heard something that should never have been said.
When Daji looked at Serin, Serin's fully opened eyes met Daji's gaze with a look clearly different from before.
And it was a gaze that looked at Daji as if she were an equal—no, as if she were looking at something beneath her.
"...?"
Only then did Daji notice something was wrong. She studied Serin once, then her crimson eyes flew wide open as if she had realized something.
"You are... not yourself."
As Daji spoke with a look of astonishment, Serin smiled a radiant, captivating smile she had never once shown before.
Then she swept her gaze over Daji once, as if appraising her.
"Being addressed as 'you' is not as bad as I expected. And for a mere Dancer, your power has reached a level where calling yourself 'this lady' is at least justified. No—now that I look at you, your level is... quite astonishing."
Serin, who had been speaking to Daji as if evaluating her, showed a flicker of surprise at the end, her eyes gleaming with interest as she looked at Daji.
'To reach this level as a dancer.'
It was almost unbelievable that a mere dancer had reached such a high realm.
The power she sensed from her opponent was so superior it couldn't even be compared. But even so, Serin turned her gaze away as if unconcerned and examined her own appearance.
Seeing the revealing red light armor she was wearing, Serin let out a scoff.
'How bold, going around dressed like this.'
It certainly didn't suit that one's personality.
In that brief moment of thought, Serin noticed the unusual weapon wrapped around her right hand.
Upon confirming it, she fiddled with the white cord and Crescent-Moon Weight wrapped around her hand as if in disbelief.
"Truly... you still use such a heretical weapon."
Serin's manner, as if speaking to someone else, was unmistakably alien.
"Did you just call it a heretical weapon?"
But as Daji, who had been watching Serin, exuded thick killing intent, Serin slowly raised her head and met Daji's gaze.
Then she looked at the Crescent-Moon Weight bound to Daji's right hand.
"A dancer who does not dance the sword dance—that is heresy indeed."
Serin twisted the corner of her mouth as if openly mocking Daji, and added one more remark.