030 Checkmate
I had long since lost my sense of time, no longer knowing how long I had been fighting.
Naturally, there was nothing to measure time within the ‘Tower,’ and there were no such sophisticated items as wristwatches in this world. I continued to fight without any means or time to check the time, and now my consciousness was fading.
“Damn you! Damn you, damn you!! What are you!? What the hell are you!?”
“Baa-boo.”
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
My replies had become childish due to sheer exhaustion.
Still, the fact that it still functioned as a provocation showed just how low Babi’s boiling point was.
I realized after fighting for so long that it was impossible to solo this guy.
No matter what, I lacked the firepower, and even if I managed to wound him, Babi’s Regeneration ability would negate the damage.
The only attack that could inflict significant damage was the ‘False Saint’s Flash,’ but it required a slight ‘charge’ to unleash, preventing me from continuously hammering him with it.
And if I couldn’t follow up, the damage would be healed before I could strike again.
No matter how much I cut him, he wouldn’t die.
The only enjoyment I got from the fight was raising my Skill Levels.
Thanks to that, I had acquired resistance to three types of status ailments, and each of their Skill Levels was maxed out.
As for ‘Panic Resistance,’ it had evolved into the Skill ‘One Who Rages in Fear’ because I had been overcoming it with sheer willpower. I never intended to get such a forward-leaning Skill that increases attack power during a panic state!
“Dieee!!”
“No way!!”
I dodged Babi’s Battle Axe and kicked him in the face.
While Babi was flailing his Battle Axe clumsily in a reeling motion, I created some distance and caught my breath.
I used the power of ‘Qi Control (Small),’ which I had acquired during the fight, to recover a little bit of my stamina.
Since the recovery items I had brought before the battle were already exhausted, these small recoveries were crucial.
“…That’s enough.”
“Huh?”
“That’s enough! That’s enough! That’s enough! Ah, I indulged in your games, but I’m utterly bored of dealing with you! How long will we fight!? How far will we fight!? I’m sick of playing your games!!”
Babi shouted, and Ashura appeared behind him.
However, this Ashura only held one Battle Axe in its six arms, and its appearance was different from what I remembered from the game.
“(Seriously…)”
It seemed to be a new motion unique to this world that didn’t exist in the game.
I wanted to shout, “Don’t pull that out now!” but I didn’t have the energy to shout, so I reluctantly raised my shield.
“Be honored, human. This is the true power of me, a god! You shall prostrate yourself before my divine might!”
I focused my gaze ahead, watching every movement carefully.
I took a breath to calm my mind and heighten my concentration—and my left arm, holding the shield, was sliced off.
“—!?”
Before I could feel the pain, the shock of being cut off assaulted my body.
As I rolled on the floor, I looked up and saw Ashura, with four arms planted on the ground to support its body, and the blade of the Battle Axe in its remaining arms swinging down so powerfully that it was almost touching its back.
“Hmm, it seems my power hasn’t fully returned. It seems I was a bit overwhelmed by my own power, and my aim was off.”
“Guh…dammit…!”
“My power increases with each passing night. Seven nights have passed since I was resurrected with the power of Iris’s Mystic Eyes, according to my plan… It’s still far from my prime, but it’s more than enough to kill you.”
I used my remaining hand to prop myself up and sat down with my back against the wall. I had no energy left to stand due to exhaustion and injuries.
If there was a silver lining, it was that my current body was not physical but a transformation of my soul, so even if my left arm was cut off, I wouldn’t die from shock or blood loss.
In short, as long as I could maintain consciousness until the very end, I could still fight, but in other words, it meant that the soul equivalent to my left arm had been cut off, which made me feel like it was more problematic than having my arm cut off normally.
“(This is bad, my head is fuzzy and I can’t think straight…)”
Seven nights have passed, so is it the eighth day now?
When I thought about how I had been fighting non-stop for that long, I was amazed at how hard I had tried.
“You were somewhat useful as an opponent to get my newly resurrected body accustomed to. You deserve death for interfering with me, but I will acknowledge that one point as a merit.”
“You’re awfully presumptuous, coming from above.”
“Do you have any last words?”
“Last words, huh…”
This was checkmate.
Feeling that, I pondered what my last words should be, but I realized it was pointless to think too deeply, so I decided to say what I honestly felt.
So that I wouldn’t have any regrets, and while wearing a sneer that looked down on the utterly foolish scum in front of me, I declared.
“Youuuuuu Bakaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Disgusting, die.”
The world lost its color, and my vision slowed down.
The Battle Axe that Ashura swung down tore through the air, scattering shockwaves, and slowly approached while destroying the room.
In that world, I remembered all the Skills I had acquired so far, and a list of Skills, like a revolving lantern, spread out across my vision.
It was like a planetarium, with each Skill placed in space as a shining star.
The series of derived Skills extending from one Skill were artistic, like constellations drawn by connecting dots, and I was captivated by it for what felt like a long time, despite knowing that I was about to die.
The life (leveling up) I had walked was not wrong. These stars (Skills) are proof of that.
I was certain of that fact, and slowly closed my eyelids.