Great O’Browns ⑧
A single drop of sweet nectar trickled down the valley of the Witch’s breasts and into my mouth.
Awakening Water. Was there still some left?
Or had the Witch gathered materials and made more? I couldn’t tell which.
My consciousness became as clear as a camera lens focusing, enough for me to ponder such things.
But what I felt then was the sensation of suddenly being dropped into water and sinking.
My body couldn’t move a single finger. I sank deeper and deeper, endlessly.
In reality, my surroundings were a verdant, liquid-like space.
The breath I exhaled turned into bubbles, and a large amount of foam also emerged from my body.
And yet, it wasn’t as if I was wet.
It was an indescribably strange place.
Even though I was sinking, I couldn’t see the bottom.
“…”
This is inside me.
Inside my spirit, or my mind, something like that.
And I’m heading deeper, much deeper than before.
“…All the answers lie within me… huh?”
Suddenly, I fell to the ground.
“Ouch… W-what the…?”
I slowly got up.
It was dirt. The sky was dull and overcast.
“Where is this…?”
I was surrounded by a forest. Ahead, there was a small bridge, and I could see a building on the other side.
It looked like a church. Someone was on the bridge.
“…Is that…”
Standing imposingly on the bridge, using a sword thrust into it for support, was a knight in pitch-black armor…?!
“…!”
I couldn’t forget. There was no way I could forget. The Black Knight from That Forest.
The opponent I first lost to.
“Why is he here…?”
The Black Knight spotted me and readied his sword.
I understood instantly. I had to defeat this Black Knight.
Defeat the Black Knight—why, no, in the first place, why is the Black Knight…?
“…”
I checked myself. I was wearing clothes. I also had the ‘Gauntlet of Still Saint’ and my pouch.
I also had my knives. These were the latest ones, not the knives from back then.
I see. This is different from that time.
I approached the Black Knight at a walking pace.
The Black Knight readied his sword. As I entered his range, he swung.
I parried with ‘Agaro’s Knife Modified’ and deflected it.
But he immediately, unfazed, raised his sword and brought it down. I dodged it by a hair’s breadth.
“—It really is different.”
It was my movements. My mind was calm. I could clearly see the Black Knight’s actions.
The Black Knight didn’t move an inch from his spot, attacking anything that entered his range.
If I don’t enter his range—just then, the Black Knight moved.
He came towards me, swinging his one-handed sword horizontally.
I instinctively blocked with a knife, but it was knocked away. ‘Agaro’s Knife Modified’ flew through the air.
I stepped back and took out another knife. A silver, cross-shaped knife.
I used the Relic [Deep Silent One]. I aimed at his sword and threw.
“【Vanish】”
First, I’d make the Black Knight’s sword disappear. But then, something unbelievable happened.
The Black Knight timed it perfectly and swung his sword vertically.
My 【Vanish】 was cut.
“Wha… 【Vanish】!”
I aimed at the sword and threw again. The Black Knight reacted instantly and swung his sword.
With exquisite timing, my 【Vanish】 was severed.
How could this… The Black Knight closed in right before my eyes and brought his sword down diagonally.
“Kuh!”
I blocked with my knife. If the sword wouldn’t work, what about the Black Knight himself?
“【Vanish】”
It hit the Black Knight and vanished—no, it didn’t.
Only the Black Knight’s armor disappeared, and what appeared from within was… what is this guy?
“…”
When the armor shattered, a man appeared.
Long, shimmering purple hair. Purple eyes. Brown skin. Light clothing like some strange ethnic attire.
Purple hair and eyes, is he [Generous]!?
The man looked at me and raised the Black Knight’s sword. The blade shone with a reddish-black light.
He took a stance and came at me. Fast.
“【Vanish】!”
I aimed, but he swiftly swung his sword and easily cut it.
I knew it, but it’s still no good, huh? As I wondered what to do, he got into my guard.
Damn it… The reddish-black blade pierced my body.
“Gahaaaahhh!?”
I collapsed. It’s no use. My body won’t move.
What’s this? My body is suddenly feeling lighter.
“…No wound…?”
There’s no trace of the wound where I was pierced. What’s going on?
And there was no pain either. Was it because I died instantly?
“I see.”
This is inside my mind. It’s not reality.
So I can’t die. No, I can die.
It would be a spiritual death for me. That’s probably what will happen if I give up.
I slowly stood up. He had waited for me until then.
He shouldered a strange, triangular sword that glowed reddish-black and purple.
“Assuming this is inside my mind, I understand the Black Knight.”
But what is this guy? Is he Generous?
I picked up the fallen ‘Agaro’s Knife Modified’.
As I readied it, I was speechless.
Rhombus-shaped 【Vanish】es covered the sky.
I immediately realized this was the [Phantasmagoria] he had used.
If it’s come to this, I have no choice but to become [Generous] too.
I’ll become [Generous]… Huh?
“—Huh, I can’t transform?”
No matter how many times I focused my consciousness, I couldn’t use [Generous].
“What’s going—”
Before I could finish, I was torn apart by the raining [Phantasmagoria].
I regenerated instantly as if nothing had happened, but… seriously, what is this guy?
“…What should I do?”
The only remaining option is [Knife Magic], but it won’t work as things are now.
“Other than that…”
Is it that? Is that all I have left?
[Silent Auto-Move (Half): Guarantees success for one highly difficult, swift, and precise action. Consciousness is maintained during the action.]
[Deep Silent One] is about to wear off. I have to do it.
“—[Silent Auto-Move]!”
When I activated it, my body leaped.
With movements of such incredible speed I couldn’t believe it myself, I circled around to his blind spot.
I swung ‘Agaro’s Knife Modified’ upwards and wounded his arm.
I did it.
But my body’s movements also have limits.
He exploited that opening, and I was slashed apart by the triangular sword.
Night.
The rain was still falling heavily.
Occasionally, lightning illuminated the sky, and the sound of distant thunder could be heard.
Gazing at him, she slowly stroked Wof’s head as he slept in bed.
Looking at him like this, he just seemed to be sleeping.
In reality, it was close to that. However, the dreams he was seeing weren’t necessarily happy ones.
“Hey, hey, Kon believes in you, you know.”
With all her wishes, with all her prayers.
“So, so, you have to come back, okay, Wof-shounen.”
She gently kissed his forehead.
Please, please. May these feelings reach Wof.
I stood up.
Ah, how many times… have I died?
I don’t know, but I’ve been killed by him countless times.
That guy. He’s strong. Is [Generous] really that powerful?
I couldn’t help but give a wry smile, thinking about how much of a cheat I usually am.
But, even though I’m tattered and beaten, it’s not over yet. Not yet. I can still stand up.
“…Fuuuh.”
Besides, it’s not like I’m out of options.
A little more… just a little more… I feel like I’m about to grasp something.
“—[Silent Auto-Move]!”
I’ve used it so many times already.
Honestly, I can’t do these acrobatic movements myself. I think I can only do them because it’s ‘Auto’.
But, what if, even without ‘Auto,’ I could perform those movements with my own will.
If I could… I can win.
I tried to receive and deflect the triangular sword he swung down, failed, and was severed, then minced.
What a heavy sword.
“Y-You can use that too?!”
I was struck by his [Arms of the Cosmos] channeled through 【Vanish】.
I was annihilated. And then, before even a few seconds passed, I returned to normal.
“…Is this convenient or inconvenient?”
Fortunately, there’s no pain, so recovery is easy.
Besides, he waits for me too.
Well, it’s not reality but inside my mind, so in a way, anything… goes?
Anything goes.
“…Could it be?”
I thought, gazing at the ‘Agaro’s Knife Modified’ I was holding.
Then, ‘Agaro’s Knife Modified’ changed into an Elixir Knife.
The Undead-slaying knife coated with Elixir that I had lost long ago.
“Just as I thought.”
Why didn’t I realize something so simple?
This is inside my mind. It’s my mind. In other words, it’s me.
If it’s my mind, then it’s only natural for things to be convenient for me.
Not dying and feeling no pain are part of that.
This space, that guy, and the current me—everything is within my mind, created by my mind.
And the reason this is possible is due to the effect of the Awakening Water.
“In that case…”
Then there should be nothing I can’t do within my own mind.
Ah, I can become [Generous] now.
I realized that because I noticed it, I understood I could become it.
But I’ll defeat him just as I am.
There’s no meaning otherwise.
I see. The reason I wished to fight the Black Knight was because I hadn’t defeated him like this, as myself.
In a corner of my mind, there was regret, or perhaps lingering attachment. It must have been weighing on me.
“In that case, first off, this place is too gloomy.”
For times like this, there’s a more fitting location. A scene from the memories of my past life came to mind.
The moment I thought that, the scenery changed from That Forest.
An endless expanse of blue sky and clouds stretched out, and an endless blue sky and clouds were reflected beneath my feet as well.
“It’s Salar de Uyuni.”
I let out a fearless smirk.
Suddenly, I felt a gentle warmth on my forehead.