Level Raiser - Chapter 15 - Novels for Hime

014: A Person’s True Nature Doesn’t Change, Even in Death.

“Where in the world is Sakurai!?”

It was midday, and Higaki had arrived at the plaza, the designated meeting spot, after scouting potential base locations. However, no matter how long she waited, Sakurai didn’t show. Her irritation grew, and she raised her voice in anger, not caring about the eyes around her.

“(That guy… Could he be in the ‘Tower’?)”

It was just a thought, but even in their short time together, she had somehow grasped that he was fundamentally an idiot. Maybe he had distanced himself and was challenging the ‘Tower’ alone. Come to think of it, during their initial role assignment, he had tried to challenge the ‘Tower’ without any preparation.

The more she thought about it, the more certain she became, and Higaki rushed towards the ‘Tower’. Her anger at being deceived was far stronger than her concern for him. She was determined to make him pay as soon as she found him. She knew it wasn’t like her to be so violent towards others, but she didn’t feel a shred of guilt.

When she arrived at the ‘Tower’, she noticed a crowd of people. Judging by the way the people (or rather, the dead) were acting, it was clear that something was amiss. And there was one person who came to mind as the cause.

“Excuse me. Has something happened?”
“Huh? Apparently, a new type of monster appeared in the ‘Tower’, and there’s infighting among the monsters inside. Because of that, the ‘Tower’s’ system is acting up, so they’re going to seal it off to investigate.”
“What in the world did that guy do…!”
“Huh? Oh, hey, wait a minute! Hey, miss!!”

Higaki pushed through the crowd and headed towards the ‘Tower’. She was certain that Sakurai was causing trouble inside. She had to find him and get him out of the ‘Tower’ until things calmed down. He had caused unnecessary trouble, and she didn’t want any penalties to delay her resurrection.

With that in mind, Higaki stepped into the ‘Tower’ and was met with a mountain of monster corpses.

Unlike the monsters of the living world, the monsters of the ‘Tower’ were said to be beings made of human regrets, merely wearing the skin of a monster. Normally, their corpses would dissolve into ash and be carried away by the wind. Of course, the monsters lying before her were also gradually dissolving into the air. But the sheer number of corpses scattered around made the entire view look like a gray dust storm.

Moreover, if she listened carefully beyond the dust, she could hear the death cries of the monsters. The continuous sound led Higaki to grip her sword and slowly advance.

What she saw was Sakurai, wielding his sword, single-handedly hunting down the monsters.

“The respawn is too slow!!! There’s no way there are so few regrets here!! Come at me harder!!”

His smile, devoid of any sanity, was stretched so wide that his mouth was contorted, and with a loud laugh, he effortlessly decapitated a newly spawned monster. He immediately kicked off the ground, dodging a spear thrust from the side, grabbed its shaft, and with a backhand motion, slashed the hand of the monster holding the spear with his sword.

His laughter echoed with each monster he killed, and his eyes, shining brightly, were wide open as if he were on drugs, never blinking. Indeed, if one were to see this, they could not complain if he were called a new type of monster.

But that didn’t matter. The problem was his slashes.

“That, that… that sword!!”

Sakurai’s slashes—they were the beautiful, and maddeningly beloved, single strike of the ‘Sword Saint’ from her dreams.

When her life was taken, the shock of being ‘counterattacked’ and the thought that he couldn’t possibly do it had made her harbor a slight doubt, but she had suppressed it without believing it.

But now, Sakurai was actually unleashing that single strike. It wasn’t something similar. There was no way she could mistake it, no way she could misjudge it. That was why Sakurai’s flash was identical to the ‘Sword Saint’s’ single strike, so perfect that it was no exaggeration to say it was a living copy, and Higaki saw it as if it were a mirror image.

She stood there, dumbfounded.

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The nature of a person doesn’t change, even in death.