The barrier lifted.
Nikephoros waited for Gene to come down. Perhaps certain there could be no escape, he merely looked up at him, utterly at ease. His drawn sword pointed toward the black floor.
An unavoidable fight was about to begin. This time, the duel had no spectators or mediators. Only death could end it. Gene put his right hand on Ganax’s hilt, then shifted it to his familiar sword. He unfastened Ganax, scabbard and all, and threw it to the ground. Then he spoke.
“When I go down, run back the way we came. If there’s a boat, take it. If there isn’t, swim.”
“What?”
Luke’s voice trembled as he asked. Gene answered.
“I don’t overestimate myself. But I should be able to buy you a little time.”
He steadied his breathing. Just as he was about to jump down, Tahyang caught his arm.
“Brother, I believe I told you I would not send you alone again.”
Without answering, Gene jumped. They heard him land. Then Tahyang drew the short spear made from the bone dagger and jumped after him. He had brought his bow too, but it would be useless. Their opponent was a god.
“Wh-what do we do?”
Luke went to the edge and looked down. Gene and Tahyang were slowly approaching Nikephoros. Raising his sword, Nikephoros pointed toward the outer part of the hall. He seemed to mean they should fight where there were no bodies.
Rosa stood motionless. Every kind of thought tangled in her mind. She had to do something. She could not leave them to die like this. And she could not die herself. Nana’s face appeared before her. For a moment, she regretted not bringing her. Then she shook her head. If she released Nana’s power in a situation like this, her sister would never return to being human. Even if Rosa herself died here, she had to protect Nana as she was now.
But she did not want to die either. The sight of Gene and Tahyang’s backs tightened her chest. Should she go with them instead? Her eyes passed over the sword Gene had thrown down. No. A sword would be useless. Magic might work.
Rosa stepped to the very edge. She chose a spell. At the same time, she was certain that the instant it struck, a counterattack would come and kill her.
Gene faced Nikephoros. It was their second time. Outwardly, his opponent looked no different from before. Yet he had already slaughtered more than a hundred people in the blink of an eye. Tahyang stood a little apart. For now, Ganax was their only hope.
“The outcome last time didn’t satisfy me either.”
That was Nikephoros’s own voice. For now. Gene wore a sneer.
“As far as I was concerned, I killed you about ten times.”
“I know. To be honest, I was a little impressed. Even at your age, I couldn’t have done as much.”
Perhaps because his superiority was now certain, he was frank in a way he had not been before. Then Nikephoros raised his sword.
“The difference, if you call it a difference, is that the power I had then was only borrowed for a time. Now it’s mine. Had I known what power truly was, perhaps I should have listened a little sooner to those arrogant fools.”
“Is that the difference? To me it’s all the same. And I’ve never considered anything mine except the strength I’ve honed myself.”
“When there’s something you want enough to die for, you’ll understand me.”
“What is it?”
Nikephoros raised his sword and charged. Gene swept his blade up and blocked. Its shape and weight were identical to the other sword’s, but the lack of the red afterimage felt slightly strange. Nikephoros shouted.
“Your youth!”
Steel rang sharply. For an instant, Gene bent backward and almost fell. He had never experienced anything like it from such a stable stance. Instead, he leaned farther back, drove inside his opponent’s reach, and struck for his right arm. But in an instant, Nikephoros’s sword drew inward, blocked Gene’s blade, and shoved him away. Gene staggered almost three paces before barely regaining his stance. The overwhelming strength was beyond anything he had imagined. It was fortunate he had not been flung to the ground.
Nikephoros laughed.
“You endure well. An extraordinary body indeed. Enough to make me want to change into it.”
Gene flinched. Could such a thing happen?
Seizing the moment, Nikephoros thrust at him. Gene thought he had moved aside, but the sword’s path was entirely different from what he had expected. Impossible, in fact, for human joints and muscles. Nikephoros used his body as though it were no more than a whip, and slashed deep into Gene’s left arm. Blood welled and ran out as though soaking through cloth.
Naturally, the blessings did not manifest. His left arm would not move, as though paralyzed. He would have to fight with his right alone now. But just as he took a defensive stance, Nikephoros stopped. Behind him, Gene saw that Tahyang had driven the short spear into his back.
“Heh heh heh…”
That strange laughter sounded again. This time, it was loud enough to fill the hall. The moment Tahyang released the spear and sprang back, something exploded where he had stood. Blood and flesh flew in every direction. One of the corpses had shattered. In an enormous voice, Nikephoros shouted.
“Do you think I’m doing this because I can’t kill you in an instant? If you won’t reenact the duel, die, all of you, now!”
Gene rushed him without thinking. If he did not signal somehow that the duel was resuming, Tahyang or the others might die like that in the blink of an eye. Nikephoros met him as though he had been waiting. Gene clenched his teeth.
Despair such as he had never felt before enveloped his body. And that despair made him lighter. Death stood one step behind him, leaving him no room to retreat. No reason to hesitate.
Even if he won, he would die. Death lay on every side. There was therefore no need to think at all. Was this not the final, finest moment a human could show? Those few seconds spent fighting a god…
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