Volume 11 Chapter 27 The One Who Wants To Meet And Doesn't Want To Meet
Leader Chiero was battered by gravity magic, crashing into the ground, ceiling, and walls multiple times, and was covered in wounds.
"Hahahahah! Hahahahahahahah!"
But his laughter was eerie. The circus-like illusion dissipated, and in the simple, blood-stained space, Leader Chiero was laughing.
"Amazing, fantastic, incredible! Who would've thought that Domain Control would be broken in such a short time? Gah! The effect is weak, but breaking it is difficult, and yet, hahahahahahahah!"
He was taking damage, but Leader Chiero continued to laugh, spitting blood and breaking bones.
I slammed him to the ground, trying to drown him in his own blood. Chiero, however, twisted his limbs in unnatural directions and still managed to stand up, laughing.
"You're amazing, young man! What strength and observation skills! I've been waiting for someone like you. Hahahahahahahah!"
He was on the brink of death, but Leader Chiero was still laughing. I thought about using magic to shut him up, but I stopped, thinking that if I did, he'd die.
"Kyrie."
I called out to Kyrie, but they shook their head.
"Sorry, Wade. I don't do sneak attacks. I want to see Papa's full power before I act."
Upon hearing that, I realized that Leader Chiero still had an ace up his sleeve.
I let out a sigh and nodded.
"...Got it. But talk is cheap. Show me your guts."
I slapped Kyrie's back with a "Pan!" and pushed them forward. Kyrie let out a long sigh, saying "Ow! Ahaha, that's right...!"
"...Papa, you're still hiding your hands, aren't you? Show me. I'll take everything, and make it all mine, okay?"
"Alright, Kyrie. I'll show you everything, and then I'll leave."
Kyrie said this, and Leader Chiero nodded.
As I saw this, Gyurvi's face looked like he was about to cry for some reason. I looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.
"What's with that face, Gyurvi?"
"N-no way...! The child is going to take everything...! Ugh...!"
"I don't know what's getting to you at this age, but... Ah, I guess I can understand the emotional impact. I'd cry too if Moruru said something like that to me back then."
We set aside our conversation, and Leader Chiero raised one arm with a flourish.
"My Domain Control has 3 aspects. The first one is the recognition obstruction that prevents Kyrie from distinguishing between friend and foe. The third one is the shattered illusion of a circus that has just broken."
Team Leader Chiero held up 2 fingers with a bent hand.
"And the second one is the unbroken Domain Control of encounters."
Leader Chiero snapped his fingers, and the sound echoed through the simplified clock tower.
"You will meet the person you want to meet the most, yet fear meeting the most. That is the fate of love and hatred. The Domain Control that summons this fate of love and hatred."
At that moment, I blinked. I noticed the eerie shadow appearing behind Leader Chiero and doubted what I was seeing.
But, that's wrong. It existed. The Ajna Chakra is testifying to its existence.
Kyrie and Gyurvi, too, realized its true identity and were like, "What, what?! No way, what?!" "Whoa, that's one crazy joke. What's going on?"
I'm with them on that. I'm just as confused. It's like...
"Everyone, the one you all love and hate is surprisingly the same. ...You, young man, are truly loved and feared?"
"...No way, I didn't expect that."
Next to Chiero, the leader, stood that shadow.
It was me.
The same figure as me right now, with the same appearance. The Ajna Chakra is testifying. It was really me. Everything, from my thoughts to my strength, matched perfectly.
That me... let's call him Fake Wade. Fake Wade stood next to Chiero with a carefree face, looking around.
Then, he looked at Chiero and said,
"For now, you can just drop dead."
A powerful kick struck Chiero, sending him crashing into the wall.
"―――Papa!?!"
Kyrie rushed over, pale-faced. I thought he was dead for sure, but Kyrie shouted, "You're still alive! Don't die until I eat you!", so I knew he was still alive.
Then, Fake Wade said,
"Alright, refreshing. I turned the situation around. The pinball game earlier was a bit lacking, I thought."
"...!?"
That was exactly what I was thinking in my heart. Even the subtle emotions, the complete match was uncanny.
"And then..."
Fake Wade gazed at me intently, with an unyielding gaze, yet with expectation.
"What a situation, it's gotten quite interesting, hasn't it? Too bad, I... It seems like I've got more enemies than I can handle."
Fake Wade says, pointing at each person one by one.
"First, Kyrie. I have no idea what kind of power you possess, so it'll be fun to fight you. Next, Gyurvi. I'm grateful for the two times you saved me from a pinch, but since I'm a fake, I can fight you without holding back. I'm looking forward to seeing your colorful sorcery."
Then, Fake Wade looks at me.
"And most of all, I'm excited to fight you――― I mean, me. What do you think will happen if we fight?."
"...What's going to happen?"
"That's right, we're evenly matched, aren't we? Our strength, magic, and other abilities are all on the same level. Isn't that exciting? Who will come out on top? Or will it be a draw?"
It's worth a try, don't you think?
Fake Wade says, taking the fake Durandal in hand. He lifts the greatsword with ease and slings it over his shoulder.
His words make me realize something.
This guy is me. Or rather, he's the me who has gained self-awareness as a fake, shed his burdens, and is now focused solely on his current interests and desires.
I'm surprised at how reckless I've become, saying such outrageous things without any hesitation. But I guess it's not like I didn't know.
I mean, I'd also like to fight Kyrie and Gyurvi as an ally. And more than anything, I'm excited to see how the battle against myself will turn out.
Gyurvi asks,
"What's going on, Wade? You know your own strength. Is this... going to be a real challenge?"
"Ah, yeah, that's right... Yeah, that's it..."
"Wade?"
I grit my teeth, holding back my emotions. This is just cheap. It's so cheap.
In the final moments, doing something so ridiculous like this... it's just cheap.
"You were a mediocre enemy, Leader Chiero... but you were an amazing circus leader, perhaps the best."
"Guh... what an honor, young man..."
With his child Kyrie supporting him, Leader Chiero, with a crumpled hand, removes his silk hat and bows.
I, just like Fake Wade, carry the greatsword Durandal on my shoulder. Then, I think about what's going to happen next.
I have no choice. I can only clash with Fake Wade. But Fake Wade has options. He can fight Kyrie, Gyurvi, and others besides me.
And the first one I'll target is―――
"―――Run, Kyrie! You're the only one who can escape right now, so get out of here!"
"Ha! You really understand me."
Fake Wade is closing in on Kyrie, who's being supported by Leader Chiero.
He swing my greatsword Durandal with a big swing, aiming to knock Kyrie down with one hit.
But I know what's going on.
Fake Wade is just playing around. If he wanted to finish this quickly, he wouldn't do something like that.
He'll make Durandal incredibly light and fast, not getting close and stretching it out to the limit, and then make it extremely heavy at the moment of impact.
That's the proper way to attack.
So, why isn't he doing that? It's simple.
He want to see how Kyrie will counterattack.
"Ugh...!"
Just then, Kyrie moved.
Bare-handed. With that, Kyrie challenged the fake Wade. The fake Wade, despite being surprised, didn't stop the relentless attacks fueled by Durandal.
Even if it wasn't a serious attack, the power of the bare-handed defense was nothing to sneeze at. However, Kyrie didn't hesitate, standing up and charging forward.
Kyrie touched the side of Durandal and strongly repelled it, then struck the fake Wade's open chest with a palm strike.
"Ugh...! Gah!"
The fake Wade was shocked, eyes wide open, and spat out blood. He quickly retreated.
After that, he touched his abdomen and started muttering to himself.
"That was... sorcery. A combination of extraordinary martial arts and sorcery. The palm strike allowed sorcery to penetrate my insides and messed with my organs. Wow, I didn't know that was possible... This is interesting..."
"Ugh, Wade! The fake Wade is creepy! This is bad, really bad!"
"Sorry...! I'm really sorry..."
Analyzing during combat, that's what's fun. I'll probably come up with an attack like this. So, how do I counter it? If he uses an attack like this, he might follow up with something like that. And then...
I love fighting with my all, but it seems that's how it looks to the enemy. It's annoying. It's like facing a strong gamer who's really good at fighting games.
Just then, Gyurvi intervened.
"Hey, you two! Stop messing around and get serious!"
Gyurvi created a whirlwind in his hand, mixed it with ice, and released it. A snowstorm-like gust of wind blew the fake Wade away, destroying the clock tower in the process.
"Gyurvi!"
"Wade! Let's go kill that fake monster with me! Kyrie! You go talk to your old man and settle things quickly! That'll solve everything, you idiot!"
The instructions were really straightforward, and neither I nor Kyrie could say anything back.
"Okay, got it... Alright, understood☆."
"Alright! Let's go!"
Gyurvi gave my butt a good kick, and we flew out of the hole in the clock tower, riding the wind. I followed suit, using gravity magic to jump out.
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