“Nuwahahahahaha, been a while since I last played with a human… was it since Kaguya? Well, that one being classified as a human being was questionable… now then…”
Vasalar got up as if to lend his chest to me, saying, “Come at me,” as I activated the breakthrough and got into a fighting stance.
For the other side, it’s not a battle, he’s just trying to assess me.
『Unlike the time against Jamdi’el, there is no strategy. Think of nothing, just clash into him.』
「Osu!」
In the battle against Jamdi’el, I was only thinking about winning anyway.
For that purpose, we made a strategy and played a lot of tricks.
But this time it’s not a fight.
It was a kind of self-introduction.
In other words, there was no need to hold back.
“【Great Magic Spiral】!!”
“Hou~”
An effective way to let people know who you are was by giving them your best from the start.
A roaring spiral. A whirlwind blowing.
And just as I was about to jump in, Vasalar squinted a little.
“I see. After th’ breakthrough… it’s not just “knowing” it… but actually seeing it with your own eyes…… no, it’s as if you’ve experienced it, not just a mimicry… how nostalgic…”
In those words, I muttered “correct answer” inwardly.
Yes, over and over again… is it even a dream? No, I’ve been shattered many times by this technique in a world where it’s a dream but it’s reality.
I’m not just an imitation.
I’ll prove it!
“【Earth Spiral Break】!!”
Attack, drill through! The legendary Dragon King.
No need to worry about anything.
“Pieeeeeeeeeeerce!”
“Nuuuuuuuuuuuuuunh!!!!”
As Tre’ainar said, don’t think about anything, just hit it–
“Nuwahahahahahahaha…… such grit. Spirit is also good. However…… th’ power still has a long way to go, compared to him… a juggling act.”
“Eh!?”
Hard! That was the moment I jumped in and thrust the spiral, the feeling that was transmitted to me.
The moment my spiral touched the scales of Vasalar, it had a completely different feel and sensation than any other time I had used this technique.
And it wasn’t just hard.
“Wha, r, rotation… but”
Even the rotation of the thrusting spiral has stopped.
“With his spiral, by its mere rotation, it creates a great maelstrom that kicks up th’ clouds and roars even in th’ heavens, literally causing a catastrophe.”
It’s hard, thick, heavy, with high density, and it’s not the scales and skin hardness and flesh thickness and whatnot.
I mean…I can only say “It’s different, it’s gargantuan”.
This thing is so fundamentally different from any creature I’ve ever encountered that I can’t even begin to describe what makes it different.
“But it was quite impressive. Now then…… I shall give my name.”
“Eh!?
“With power… Gaeh―――――!!!!”
For a moment, I thought Vasalar was going to let out a deep, sighing breath of air… but then my entire body was flung violently as if I had been charged by a rampaging horse, and I struck on the ground countless times.
“Gah, tsu, gah!”.
“Earth!?”
It’s not about endurance or anything like that.
“Wee and light~ …… well, I could tell just by th’ sight of you. Now…… what will you do?”
I felt a force so strong that human beings could never withstand it.
An attack? Even though I wasn’t touched directly, it was engraved into my bones.
“ts, gah… wh, what the… hell was…”
What power.
Using the breakthrough, my reaction speed has also improved, but it is as if my pride at having gotten a little stronger over the course of these intense battles had been shattered…
『But you still live. Do not forget. Your task is not to defeat this one. He understands the difference in power between you. And has no intention to kill you.』
“Eh!?”
Then, just as the blow made me realize the difference in power, Tre’ainar told me.
『What Vasalar wants to see is beyond here. What would you do from here in this situation … there, Vasalar will attempt to gauge the essence of the person.』
I knew from the beginning that I couldn’t win.
Even so, I could have faced it the first time if I felt like it, as long as I was foolhardy enough.
If you’re just a momentary idiot…
“Earth, pull yourself together, Earth!”
“tte~… but…”
“?”
However, what if you could experience the power of the opponent and realize the difference is immeasurable?
Also, getting up again to fight is quite difficult.
But it sounded like Tre’ainar was saying, “I want to see if you can do it”.
“From here…… I’m…”
And then……
『That’s right.』
“Nu…”
As if she could see through my thoughts, Vasalar nodded with a smile.
“Foolishly enough, anyone can challenge th’ strong once or twice. But knowing fear, can you still throw yourself out again for something that you can’t give up on? Show me. There I shall see your nature.”
It’s terrifying…
“Jeez… it’s exactly as you said…”
The Dragon King… is not as terrifying … as Tre’ainar.
『Nuh? What was that?』
As Tre’ainar said, this is the kind of guy Vasalar is.
He saw through everything from the beginning.
And I wonder why.
If you think about it like that……
“So strong and big… but…”
Tre’ainar has fought with this guy and won.
I spar with that Tre’ainar every day, and he still believed in me and pushed my back.
Then I should be able to do it.
“More than the fear of what’s in front of me… I’m more afraid of being a disappointment and abandoned.””
Not to the Dragon King… no. To Tre’ainar.
“Earth…”
“One more time… more than before… I’ll go through you!”
The difference in power was drilled into me, but somehow I was not afraid.
“Su~… hah~…”
So I was able to calm down and get into position.
“Nuwahahahaha, you’re a cheeky wee laddie, skillful too. D’you also use Magical Breathing?”
“【Great Magic Spiral, Earth Spiral Break】!”
“Perhaps, you may really be his disciple, but…”
Take a breath, inhale the magic power, and dive back in with full force —
“Th’ technique itself is th’ same. You can’t numb me with th’ same thing you already once showed.”
“Blah blah blah, enough talk! Ruaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeehh!!!
“With no result, I can’t give much praise to useless screaming.”
Even a little bit. I want to leave my mark on this guy.
However, just “thinking” does not bring immediate results.
As long as the power of the technique itself does not change, it may be natural … it’s not just about feelings… to get results, I need more power…
『Do not delve into negative thoughts now. Think simpler.』
“Eh!?”
『More power? I have given you the hint already, have I not? So you should be able to do it now.』
Are you teaching me? What? More? How?
『Well, be that as it may… what are you doing there? You have the same genes as I do…』
“Earth…”
『The child denied it, but… if are unable to move anything in this place, you truly will be nothing but a doll, will you not? Well, so long as you play the role of summoning Vasalar… I do not care anymore…』
At that time, I was losing myself, so I didn’t know for certain, but it sounded like Tre’ainar was whispering something to Kron, who couldn’t see him or even hear his voice.
Author’s Note
I LIVE