Volume 1 Chapter 23 ACT.21 Sucking Mud, Crossing the River of Blood (II)
"W-wait, master!"
'If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you!'
In an instant, a violent shock hit the shield he had readied.
It was a tackle from Aslan, using the shield.
The sudden impact nearly made me fumble the shield for a moment.
However, a chilling sensation raced down my spine, snapping me back to reality, and strength surged back into my hand holding the shield.
At this moment, my experience cried out that losing the shield would mean death.
So, I strengthened my grip on the shield and pushed back.
"──I don't want to kill you, the benefactor of Rai!"
'Oh, how underestimated you are.'
The moment Aslan said that, the pressure on the shield vanished.
He had pulled back the shields that were clashing against each other.
As a result, he stumbled forward a few steps.
"Damn!"
Aslan did not let that moment slip by.
With the most efficient trajectory possible in this cramped space, a flash of the sword aimed at my neck.
"──!"
Anticipating his thoughts, I immediately threw my upper body off to the side.
It felt like a miracle that the sword just grazed my nose──I managed to dodge in time.
Instantly, I slipped under the oncoming sword strike, making my way to the other side, regaining distance and readjusting my shield.
"Hmm, that movement just now. You possess a cheat (special ability) that allows you to anticipate my actions."
Aslan, calmly analyzing the attack that had genuinely aimed to kill him, managed to pinpoint my cheat (special ability) from just a few moments of back and forth.
'Then, know that we can work with that.'
Aslan lowered his stance drastically, charging in an instant, closing the distance in a blink.
A flash of the sword shot upward, targeting the nape of my neck.
I narrowly evaded it.
But the attack didn't end there.
One after another, a flurry of lightning-fast sword strikes flooded in.
I barely managed to defend against them with the shield.
I couldn't read his thoughts and evade the attacks.
But why was that?
Aslan was reflexively pulling off moves faster than thought, or perhaps even before he could think.
As a result, evading after reading his thoughts was too slow.
Even now, the gradual inability to keep up with his defenses is becoming more pronounced.
In other words, Aslan's swordplay is gradually picking up speed.
Aslan still has plenty of room to increase his sword speed.
In contrast, I...
'──!'
In that moment, the shield's movement was off by a fraction of a second.
No, it was thrown off.
Aslan had unexpectedly mixed a feint into his whirlwind of a sword attack.
In that brief moment, it created a calm before the storm, causing a misread of the timing to raise the shield.
In an instant, a flash akin to burrowing through the shield was unleashed towards my throat.
* * *
When I saw that flash, everything seemed to slow down to a crawl.
And racing through my mind was the life that Rai Conwell had lived.
──Ah, so this is a life review.
Among those memories were the ten years of hell that Rai had walked since awakening.
The days of training with his master might have been the only peaceful times in that miserable existence.
Each day was spent killing Reincarnators over and over.
In Rai Conwell's short life, there was no room for happiness.
Everything was meaningless, destined to scatter.
──Is it my fault?
──Is it because of the Reincarnator that Rai will be unhappy again?
In that moment, something burst.
* * *
In an instant, I yanked the sword from the shield with my right hand and used the motion to parry Aslan's blade with the hilt.
'──umph!'
"Ah, ahh, I finally understand. Why I've been so hung up on Rai."
Yes, it's at times like these──no, because it's times like these, I've realized the nature of my feelings.
"I've been carrying around guilt! Guilt for turning that gentle boy into a demon because of the Reincarnator!!"
I'm sorry for making you live such a life because of the Reincarnator.
So, live as you please, on any path you choose.
I'll be your ally, I'll protect you.
"I won't let Rai's life end because of me, the Reincarnator──no way!! No matter what it takes, even if he doesn't want it, I will protect Rai's life until the very end!!"
I believe this is the only way for the Reincarnator, who has already sprinted through life once, to atone for his sins.
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