The Slit-Eyed Counterattack Character's Lighthearted Victory
The sky had brightened just a little.
The colossal building had literally crushed Marcus to the ground.
The moment the building slammed into the earth, a deafening roar split the air, and a gust of thick dust whipped past my face.
Even with the situation so obscured that I couldn't see an inch ahead, I kept my tension high and scanned the wreckage inside with Nature Realm.
Marcus's body didn't twitch a single muscle.
“......Did I get him?”
Just to be safe, I tried chanting a magic spell, but there was no change.
“Ha, ha, ha ha ha!!”
I collapsed backward and burst into laughter.
It was laughter born purely from joy. In the end, I had actually won.
“That... was an incredibly cool way, wasn't it!”
Even thinking about it now, it felt way too romantic. Cutting through a whole building with a sword and flattening the enemy in one go.
No other legendary skill could put on such a flashy performance.
Of course, its performance was far inferior, but as long as it was cool, didn't it count for something?
“Haah....”
Lost in that romantic, euphoric high, my head suddenly spun.
“Ugh.... This must be the effect of mana exhaustion.”
It felt disgusting. Like the constant discomfort someone would feel after living in their stomach for ten hours, spreading through my entire body.
Having this unpleasant sensation last for a whole hour? I guess I have to use Hollow Slash carefully.
“Plus, if I mess up Hollow Slash once.... I might lose all my money.”
The previous case was in Marcus's 'Death's Duel Arena,' so no issue. But if I replicated this exact situation in reality, I'd be paying off debts my entire life.
“Even if I am from a good family, that's not something I can do.”
Besides, I might even get financial help from the Prelia family.
Hollow Slash is meant to be used as a last resort.
“Wait, now that I think about it.... I couldn't use attack skills except for Counterattack, right? Why was Hollow Slash.... Ah.”
I figured it out after a moment's thought.
“Hollow Slash isn't really an attack skill to begin with.”
No matter how flashy it is, since it doesn't actually slash the enemy, technically speaking, Hollow Slash isn't an attack skill.
“Me? A character with no attack skills. Even calling me a unique MC would be an understatement.”
A faint sense of despair wrapped around me, but oddly enough, a surge of pride took root.
Watching a character with no attack skills reach the ending would actually be kind of fun.
“Ha, there's no such thing as 'can't do it.'”
A smile tugged at my lips. Looking at it from outside, it seemed like a big problem and I was laughing alone. That made me sound like a pretty crazy guy.
No, if I weren't crazy, I wouldn't have pushed Grand Fantasia to this point.
“Alright... let's see. Time....”
I looked up at the sky through the windows. The sun was clearly setting, so this Mock Occupation Battle would end in about an hour.
“Ah, now that I think about it, is Pascal Knight doing okay?”
I hoped he had broken down badly.
***
Where had everything gone wrong? Pascal gritted his teeth.
- **Ching!**
His subordinate's skill was lacking? No. They were the elite he had personally selected and formed.
Their skills had no flaws at all.
- **Ching!**
Then had the enemy strategically overwhelmed his squad? No. Misty's plans were perfect.
The enemy had fallen completely for her schemes, and his squad clearly held the upper hand.
- **Ching!**
“Gah...!”
Pascal's thoughts snapped. He had realized that the level of swordsmanship facing him far surpassed his own.
“Whew. Junior. Your swordsmanship isn't ordinary. If you're Megan Astorius-nim's little sister, I guess I really have no choice now?”
Sweat beaded on Pascal's forehead.
‘I heard she was around fourth-rank level... this is a monster beyond imagination.’
I could track her sword with my eyes, but I couldn't predict the next stance even once.
It was infinitely unpredictable and honest.
Moreover, Shina's gaze toward him was clearly hostile.
It wasn't just from the Mock Occupation Battle — it felt like pure enmity between people.
“Did I do something wrong to you, junior? As far as I know, this is our first meeting today.”
- **Ching!**
Shina dodged Pascal's aggressive sword strike and asked.
“....What is the reason you are troubling Shion-gun?”
“Eh?”
Shion? Why was that bastard's name coming up here?
Pascal leaped backward and frowned.
“Why did my cute little brother's name suddenly pop up?”
“I heard from Shion-gun. You hold an evil black heart and arbitrarily adjusted his squad so that Shion-gun could guard the territory alone.”
“.....Ah.”
This bastard. Spilling secrets to a friend.
“I will ask once more. What is the reason you are troubling Shion-gun?”
Shina asked again, but Pascal shook his head.
“It's a sensitive family matter. I can't talk about things that anyone could overhear.”
“No. I am not Shion-gun's acquaintance.”
“Hmm, what kind of talk is that? I don't quite understand.”
Pascal decided to play along with Shina for a moment.
It was convenient timing, since he needed a break.
“I am.... Shion-gun's friend.”
“.....If you're just friends, you're just acquaintances, right?”
Pascal tilted his head slightly.
Because he couldn't understand Shina's claim at all — viewing a friend as a subordinate.
“No. Shion-gun said that a friend is someone who can talk comfortably with each other and just enjoys being together. Such a person can't possibly be just an acquaintance to anyone.”
Pure and incredibly honest.
Pascal couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the unadorned words that sounded like they belonged in pure literature.
“Ah, ahaha! Ah, ah, sorry. It's been too long since I laughed, I can't control myself.”
Pascal barely suppressed his laughter and wiped away a tear.
“Astorius, you really are naive.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, it makes sense. You're seriously thinking of Shion that way.”
“That's correct. Shion-gun probably thinks the same way as me.”
“No, you're wrong. Astorius.”
Pascal whispered like a snake's tongue.
“Does Shion really think someone that way? The guy who laughs carefree even with a gentle breeze blowing? No, you're being fooled right now. You haven't seen the real him.”
Black poison seeped into their pure friendship.
“Born treacherous, breathing humbly every day, how could that guy cherish anyone? Just like a poorly educated child who doesn't know how to write, the guy who has never received love in his life wouldn't know how to cherish anyone.”
He cut Shion down with mocking laughter.
“Until the moment he loses his memory, that guy lived cheaper than anyone in the world. Everyone looked down on him, and he just obediently accepted his place like a fool. You should have seen that.”
“No. Shion-gun is not like that.”
At that moment, Shina cut him off decisively.
“You know nothing about Shion-gun.”
She pointed her sword at Pascal and continued without a stutter.
“Shion-gun doesn't despair even when he loses his memory. He constantly reflects for tomorrow. He joyfully mixes conversations with others and bravely discards his past self to pursue a modest goal. He trains himself endlessly for the future he can't see, and he smiles at such a grand reality as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He looks at the other's true self without any preconception.”
- **Uuwung....!**
Golden magic power gathered on Shina's sword.
“Even if you are Shion-gun's family, you have no right to speak ill of him who strives so hard.”
- **Uuwung....!**
Shina raised her golden sword, far longer than her own height, high above her head.
“Ha.”
Pascal clenched his teeth and gripped his sword. Could he really endure Shina's strike? He had no certainty.
‘That bastard Shion....!’
That bastard was the problem. Every damn situation originated from him.
Why? Why was he interfering? How dare he, on Shion's behalf? Someone who hadn't even seen his own mother's face — a pseudo orphan — what right did he have? If you're going to lose, lose properly and get crushed.....!
“.....You've been interfering until the end. You bastard.”
“Don’t demean Shion-gun.”
Shina wrapped Shion around her in an instant when she heard Pascal's mutter.
At this point, Pascal began to question things too.
What kind of relationship did Shina and Shion have that made her so devoted and trusting?
“.....They look far too close to just simple friends. Are they lovers?”
“Ah, no. They are not lovers.”
“Then what are they? Why do you speak of Shion like that, as if you would pull out his liver?”
“I am......”
Shina closed her eyes for a moment.
Then, with a faint, subtle smile, she opened them and answered without hesitation.
“I am Shion-gun's first friend.”
Shina's golden sword swung toward Pascal.
And.
- **Kwa kwa kwa!!**
A righteous golden stream of light illuminated the world.