Chương 84: Interlude3: Warriors of the Outer Ring (Part 1)

The encounter happened all of a sudden. Looking back on it now, it's embarrassing, but I think I was drunk on myself. I had heard the term "dark history" before, but I never imagined I would end up creating one of my own. I had been practicing kendo since I was little, and had even won the individual division of the Inter-High. When the Gates opened, I went inside and naturally became a swordsman, cutting down monsters. I was invincible. I wasn't like the ordinary guys around me.

The guys with spears and the ones who fired beams weren't my enemies, at least from what I had seen on streams. The sword was a part of me, and I was also a sword. Like a gale, faster than the wind, the sword flashes I swung left the sound behind and made short work of weak monsters. With my enhanced physical abilities and my sharpened swordsmanship, I could close the distance and cut before they could do anything. First, whom I had seen on streams, used magic, but I was faster than that. Truly invincible.

Even now, I had dodged another beam and cut down a monster. That was probably why I had developed a certain prejudice against magic users. I met him by chance, when I was wandering around after eating near the Akihabara Gate. The city was noisy, but it had changed completely from usual, with police officers and members of the Self-Defense Forces walking around everywhere.

Normally, I would have wanted to enter the Akihabara Gate and test myself, but ever since First had declared it closed, entry had been prohibited. I could do it. If I went inside, I could easily clear it and come back. Hell, I could probably enter beyond the fifth Gate right now and breeze through that, too. After all, I was invincible. I had seen the videos, and enemies at that level were nothing to worry about. Monsters were slow. Much slower than me. If they were slow, I could cut them.

I had even recently gained the ability to attack from a distance. I was truly invincible. That overwhelming sense of omnipotence elevated me, turning me into a single blade and pushing me toward invincibility. That was probably why the voice that poured cold water on that superiority irritated me so much.

"Yeah, swords really are great. I'm invincible. If you can get close and cut, you can do anything."

"No way. Why don't you cool your head?" Maybe he had heard me muttering. The guy who passed by me had denied me. He didn't know how strong I was. He didn't know how fast I was. With nothing but a sword, I had already gone back and forth through the fifth Gate countless times. I had gone in with other people, too, and I was stronger than all of them. I was the best possible vanguard, and I didn't need any rear guard!

"You bastard! What's your class? Are you making fun of vanguards!?"

"First is a magic-class player, right? Then wouldn't magic classes be superior? I'm a mage. I'm different from a muscle-brained guy like you." What an irritating, smug bastard. I wasn't bad at school, either. My grades at university were decent. And yet some mere magic-class guy had denied that I was invincible. That fact pissed me off. Just because First was a magic-class player, the idea that magic was superior pissed me off. But he was still just a magic-class player.

Once he saw my weapon, he would get scared and change his mind. He would realize that the sword, the vanguard, was superior, and that a rear-guard magic user was useless.

"Magic class? Can you move faster than me?"

"Or will you turn to ash before you can move?" When I drew my sword, the smug bastard floated balls of fire around himself in response. Hah. This wasn't some haunted house. Being scared of fireballs was something children did. Something like that could be blown away by my wind. I could cut it apart with the pressure of my sword. I really was invincible. I had no intention of losing. I drew my sword. He drew his. Fine. I'd let him keep his fingers and wrists, if possible. Fortunately, I had several potions.

Even if I cut them off, I could reconnect them. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You two, that's enough. If you go any further, you'll die." A beautiful voice reached me. It was so beautiful that it seemed to leave the noisy surroundings behind, slipping smoothly into my mind. Die? Who? Me? Him? You've got to be kidding me!

"Shut up, outsider! My sword is invincible! I won't lose to magic!"

"You're the one who shouldn't come any closer if you don't want to die. Once my flames catch, they don't go out." The smug bastard reacted to the voice, too, but neither of us took our eyes off each other. I was going to cut him. I was going to crush the mage who had denied me, denied the sword, and denied the vanguard who stepped forward!

"There is no superiority or inferiority between classes. You chose your classes yourselves, and you are trying to become something through them.... Other people have nothing to do with it. What I just said—can the two of you form a firm image of it?" The words woven by that beautiful voice slipped into my head despite my desire to reject them, forcing me to think about things I didn't want to think about. I had started kendo. I had won the Inter-High. But that didn't mean I had never lost. A match. I lost.

Another match. I lost by decision. Another match. I couldn't win and came in second. A match. A match. A match. A mat—"Huh?"

"What!?" For an instant. Just an instant. In that moment when I was caught by her voice, the smug bastard's flames went out. Me? Invincible me? Lose? No. There was no way I could lose to some mage. And the short girl who had interrupted us was a mage, too. Then I wouldn't lose! If I got close, I could cut. Fast and sharp! A charge from the side stance, followed by an upward slash. This sword wouldn't sto—... p? I had stepped in and swung upward. I was sure of it.

But with my vision covered in smoke, I couldn't tell the distance. If I hadn't felt any impact, then I must have missed. But this smoke was in the way! Fine. Then I'd show him my strike. My strike that wouldn't give a damn about magic!

"Damn it! Secret Sword: Fujin's Blade!"

"Wind blows. Unfortunately, that rises into the sky and eventually becomes calm." With the returning stroke, I swung my sword downward and created wind, intending to cut the short girl who should have been right in front of me. If it hit, she wouldn't get away unharmed. It would probably hurt. But I had already released it. I... I...? The wind I had created was caught in the smoke, shot upward into the sky, and disappeared. The words she had spoken were simply logic.

All I could do was stare blankly at the technique that had vanished. Wind blows, but it doesn't blow forever. Eventually, it becomes calm. Then what had I considered to be invincibility? I wasn't undefeated. If anything, I might have won more matches than I lost. But I had still lost. I... I wasn't invincible.

"First?" That voice brought me back to myself. The short girl I had thought was some stranger was the girl I had seen on the streams. Red eyes. White hair and white skin, as though all color had been drained from them. She wasn't wearing the outfit I had seen on the streams, but even so, in a world full of color, only she stood there like a figure in a monochrome photograph. I looked to the side. The smug bastard seemed just as stunned. He stood frozen, unable to take his eyes off her.

Her words kept repeating in my mind. Other people have nothing to do with it. Can you form a firm image of it?... No. I remembered losing. I remembered the frustration. And then, I remembered how much fun kendo had been when I first started. Kendo was a competition against another person. But it began with a bow and ended with a bow. It was a path where you showed respect to your opponent, acknowledged one another, and carved out your own way. Yes, you needed an opponent.

But that opponent had nothing to do with my path.

"Listen to me. You have gained power. That power is your own. It isn't something to compare with someone else. Just like people, you each have your strengths and weaknesses, but there is no superiority or inferiority. I want you to think with an image that belongs only to you. Think about what you should do.... You two over there. You have good instincts. Keep at it!" With those words, she literally flew away.

It seemed she had put in a good word for us with the Self-Defense Force personnel who arrived, so we got off with nothing more than a severe scolding. Normally, we should probably have been prepared to go to prison. We had drawn weapons and fought in the middle of the city, after all. The smug bastard and I were released together, and we looked at each other.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Yuji Kizaki. You?"

"I'm Suguru Kanzaki. Hey, vanguard. Apparently, we've got good instincts."

"Yeah. I heard her. We got First's seal of approval.... Want to team up? I managed to knock First's hat off." We introduced ourselves without any pretense, and those words slipped out of our mouths before either of us really thought about them. She was strong. No, she probably hadn't even thought of it as a fight. She had merely reprimanded us gently, like an adult scolding children.

Her way of speaking on streams had been unusual, but the woman I had met in person was apparently much more mature than I had expected.

"I got completely crushed. I couldn't even touch her. But maybe the two of us can manage something." Suguru looked frustrated, but perhaps remembering her words, he was looking toward the Adachi Gate. I see. So you've got the spirit for it. Then there was only one thing to do. I had a new partner. And the woman who had given us those words was terrifyingly strong. As a goal, she was more than enough.

"If you've got time, wanna go? For now, let's run the fifth Gate marathon. Don't fall behind, okay?"

"You too. Being a vanguard is all about stamina. Don't let me pass you, either." After that, we ran the Adachi Gate marathon until late at night, exchanged contact information, and went our separate ways. When I quietly made it home, my parents gave me hell. Well, that couldn't be helped. I had intended to get home before midnight, too, but running the Gate with Suguru had been more fun than I expected, and I ended up staying out late.