Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: One Who Would Be a Hero vs. One Who Would Save a Child (2)
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Isaac’s gaze was fixed on the ground.
Blood dripped from his nose, splattering onto the floor.
The bleeding quickly began to stop.
Before facing Red, Isaac had used a healing kit.
A restorative that rapidly healed certain wounds.
The effects were immediate.
The unnaturally twisted bone in his arm snapped back into place, and the wounds from the blows healed.
But the pain lingered, causing him to drool. His thoughts were a mess.
Isaac screamed, veins bulging in his neck.
“Ugh… A cowardly… sneak attack!? You! How could you do this?!”
“Cowardly? Please. Our conversation was over. Besides…”
Unfazed by his furious rage, Red retorted, glancing around as she continued.
“That’s not something the guy who prepared all this should be saying.”
Red’s point cleared the confusion swirling in Isaac’s mind.
His expression regained some composure.
The fog still lingered.
The situation was still in his favor.
Isaac told himself he’d only been hit because he’d let his guard down.
But things were different now. No more carelessness.
A cruel smile played on Isaac’s lips.
“Hehehe. For old times’ sake, I was going to make it quick and easy for you… But if this is how you want to play it, I won’t hold back anymore.”
As he finished speaking, mana erupted from Isaac’s body.
A cold energy spread through the air.
“Haaaaah!!”
A frigid gale erupted from Isaac.
As the frost spread from him, freezing the floor, Red quickly retreated to escape it.
In that opening, Isaac swiftly vanished into the fog.
“I told you. I know you better than anyone! This is a fight I can’t possibly lose!”
As Isaac moved his hand, the frost solidified, instantly forming hundreds of ice arrows behind his back.
Isaac swung his hand forward, and all the arrows shot toward Red.
Sensing something approaching, Red leaped back lightly.
A volley of ice arrows rained down on the spot where she had just been standing.
Red turned and ran.
“It’s useless.”
The remaining arrows changed course, fiercely pursuing her.
A cruel smile hung on Isaac’s face.
She wouldn’t get far.
Just as Isaac was about to direct the arrows to converge on her from all sides, Red glanced in his direction.
It was for a mere instant, but their eyes met.
Her cold gaze sent a deep chill down his spine.
Impossible.
Isaac thought.
It had to be. The fog was obstructing her vision—a fog that completely concealed his presence and mana. There was no way she could know.
Just as he shook off his unease and prepared to move the arrows as planned.
Red suddenly stomped her foot, kicking up a head-sized chunk of debris from the cracked floor, then spun and kicked the airborne fragment.
With a roar that tore through the air, the fragment shot from her foot.
Shatter—!
The fragment pierced through the ice arrows.
The sheer force of its passage shattered them all.
The fragment grazed the side of Isaac’s head.
His expression twisted, and his cheek stung where the fragment had passed.
Isaac touched his cheek.
He felt a dampness on his palm, and it stung his skin.
The wound vanished moments later.
Isaac’s face turned pale. An intense chill ran down his spine.
If it had hit him squarely in the head, it might have burst like a firecracker.
The image flashed through his mind, making his stomach churn, and he covered his mouth.
Isaac gritted his teeth.
As if to shake off his fear, he swung his arm forcefully, and this time, ice spears formed. There were far more than before.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Letting out a roar, Isaac clenched his fist and swung it forward.
Unlike before, Red lowered her stance and kicked off the ground.
She dodged every one of the raining ice spears as she charged forward.
Realizing the spears were useless, Isaac focused his mana in one spot.
“Then how about this…!”
Behind him, a massive ice eagle with blue feathers materialized.
Following his will, the ice eagle spread its wings wide and shot forward in a straight line.
Its overwhelming size and mana radiated immense pressure, enough to make any ordinary person realize the gap in power and surrender easily.
A mere flap of its wings engulfed its path in ice, and its power was enough to freeze an opponent’s body, mind, and even soul.
It could be called Isaac’s signature move.
Isaac’s face was filled with confidence.
Red narrowed her eyes slightly.
The air had changed.
Even though the fog obscured her sight and senses, she knew something was rushing toward her.
But Red was unfazed.
Red raised her arm, snatched one of the raining ice spears, and swung it with all her might while still running.
A blue light flashed, followed by the sound of something tearing through the air.
Through the fog, a blue trajectory flew toward the ice eagle.
Craaash!
The spear brought the eagle down.
Isaac stared straight ahead, his mouth half-open, as he watched the eagle crumble.
Suddenly, he saw the red-haired woman cutting through the countless fragments. By the time Isaac snapped back to reality and tried to react, her fist was already upon him.
“Gahk!!”
The blow landed in his abdomen, his handsome face distorting grotesquely as he was sent flying.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
Only after his body rolled and slammed into the ground several times did Isaac’s consciousness return.
Isaac wiped the drool from his mouth.
Then he slammed his palm onto the ground with all his might.
Ice spikes shot up from under Red’s feet.
Naturally, Red dodged them with ease and continued running toward him.
*‘How does she know where I am?’*
Gasping for breath, Isaac struggled to his feet.
Veins bulged in his neck.
He lifted his head from the ground, his eyes wide as he roared.
“You think! You think you’re the only one confident in close combat?!”
A frigid wind raged as cold energy enveloped Isaac’s body.
When the swirling frost dissipated, it revealed a noble knight clad in magnificent ice armor.
Frost General Mode.
A skill that boosted all his stats, including speed, power, and stamina.
“Here I coooome!!”
Isaac threw a punch at Red as she closed in.
Red met it with a punch of her own.
When their fists collided, the world seemed to shake.
The air recoiled, and the ground cracked.
*‘Urk….’*
Isaac winced.
Even with the armor, searing pain shot up his arm.
Then, with a crack, fractures spread across the entire arm he had thrown the punch with.
Isaac’s eyes widened at the damage to his armor.
No way.
He panicked inwardly but was relieved to see the cracks quickly repair themselves.
*‘Yes. With this, I can win.’*
He knew all of Red’s techniques.
With their physical abilities now on par, Isaac was certain he could defeat her.
A triumphant smile formed on his face.
Just as he moved to counterattack.
Thwack!
*‘Huh…?’*
A strange sound.
Isaac belatedly realized he was on one knee.
The moment he wondered what had happened, an intense pain exploded across his face. Something had struck him.
Isaac staggered.
Through his blurred vision, he could see Red with a clenched fist.
“You idiot.”
Red muttered softly before unleashing a fierce barrage.
A relentless storm of punches and kicks.
Each one was fast and precise.
They landed on vital spots, making Isaac choke and groan.
Even though the armor protected his body, he could feel his organs being crushed and his bones shattering.
The injuries healed instantly. Then they were broken again. Then healed again.
Ironically, the healing kit he had used on himself was preventing him from finding peace.
As Red continued to beat him, Isaac couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.
He thought he knew her so well. Even in the game, he had always emerged victorious when they fought.
If not a landslide victory, it should at least have been an even match.
This wasn’t even a fight.
Then, through the endless pain, he heard Red’s voice.
“You know me well? A fight you can’t lose? Ha, I’ll throw those words right back at you. You can never beat me.”
Isaac’s anger flared at her contemptuous tone, but it was quickly extinguished by the continuous pain.
“You know why? Because you have zero talent for fighting.”
No!
He wanted to retort, but the relentless assault prevented him from even moving his mouth.
“You have more mana than others. You’ve had excellent procedures, so your physical abilities are outstanding. But that’s it. Everything else is garbage. Your reaction time is slow, your situational awareness is poor, and it’s not like you’ve learned any martial arts. What good are superior physical abilities if you don’t even try to get used to your own body?”
He wanted to shut her up, but Red gave him no respite, continuing her attack.
“That’s why when we worked together, I told you over and over again. Train. But what was your answer… Ah, right. You said it was no problem.”
Like a teacher instructing a student, Red listed his flaws one by one.
That very act made Isaac feel even more pathetic.
“Flexing your power might work on those weaker than you, but what do you think happens when you face someone on your level, or stronger? This is what happens.”
The final blow to his pride.
Ever since the man possessed Isaac, he had been reveling in Isaac’s talent.
The problem was, he treated Isaac’s talent as his own and grew lazy.
That arrogance led to his current situation.
Of course, even now, in this very moment, Isaac didn’t realize it.
Red put power into her fist.
At a speed invisible to the eye, her fist struck his abdomen eighteen times.
The armor completely shattered, revealing Isaac’s true form.
Just as Red was about to deliver the final blow, Isaac, barely clinging to consciousness, grabbed her arm.
A wide grin spread across Isaac’s lips.
Red’s arm was engulfed in frost.
Just as Isaac was about to increase his mana to freeze her entire body.
Red put her full weight into it and twisted his arm with all her strength.
“Gyaaaaaaah!!”
He cried out in agony as the joint bent far beyond its limit.
Even though his face was a mess of tears, Isaac tenaciously reached for her with his other arm.
He opened his palm, and a blast of frost shot toward her.
At this close range, she wouldn’t be able to dodge.
He panted, smiling in triumph, but an unexpected blow to his side made him groan.
“I’ll give you this, you’re persistent.”
He turned his head to see an unharmed Red.
Isaac snapped his fingers, and just as weapons of ice formed behind him to rain down diagonally.
Red dropped low, planted a hand on the ground, and swept her leg out in a wide horizontal arc.
Isaac’s body wavered.
In that opening, she pushed off the ground into a handstand, kicked him twice in the head, then quickly righted herself and kicked him in the abdomen.
Thud!
Isaac’s body was sent flying, crashing to the ground in a heap.
Isaac was completely knocked out.
The fog dissipated.
Red slowly approached him.
“It’s over.”
Just as Red stepped on his body and raised her fist.
“No! It’s not over yet!!”
Isaac’s mana exploded in an instant.
Red looked up.
Isaac had risen dozens of meters into the air.
“I’m the protagonist! The protagonist of this world!! I will not lose!!!”
His blood-soaked face was twisted with obsession and madness.
Isaac stretched both hands high, and over a hundred pillars of ice formed above him.
Filled with rage, resentment, and all his emotions.
Isaac swung his arms down, and all the ice pillars rained down on Red.
Red leaped up, using the falling ice pillars as stepping stones to run straight toward him.
“Huh…?”
Ironically, his decisive final attack had created a path for her.
Isaac’s face turned ashen.
“Stay away…”
His broken and missing teeth made his speech slurred and quiet.
“Stay away…”
Watching Red close in on him, he was consumed by terror.
“Stay awaaaaay!”
She kicked off the last descending ice pillar to launch herself again.
In a final, desperate act, Isaac used all his mana to encase his body in a sphere of frost.
Sharp spikes erupted from the surface of the ice, as if to protect him from external threats.
Isaac intended to use this to make Red hesitate, creating an opening for a counterattack.
Visions of the future he would create flickered in his mind.
The thunderous applause for saving the world.
A happy life with his heroines.
If I can just get past this!
It can all be mine!
Isaac did not doubt his victory.
Because he was the protagonist of the game.
The protagonist always wins.
“I am the hero who will save the world…”
“No!!”
With those cold words, a crack appeared in the icy barrier.
Isaac’s eyes widened.
As it shattered to pieces, his fantasy shattered with it.
Amidst the countless falling fragments of his dream, he saw a fist.
An instant later.
The fist connected squarely with Isaac’s face.
“You’re no hero.”
The man who took the sacrifices of others for granted just to win his game.
Was, by the fist of a Fixer who upheld justice.
Sent plummeting to the earth.