Chapter 435: The Absolute All-Encompassing God

<Author’s Notes>

If possible, I’m hoping to update the next chapter tomorrow (October 20th) around 9:00 PM, but if there’s no update then, it will probably be updated the day after tomorrow (October 21st) around 9:00 PM instead.

I set my sights on one of the people with the early-version Fly King Outfit.

[————Tch!?]

But Ayaka caught up.

She smashed a sculpture that stood to the side of her path, seized a jagged piece of debris midair, and hurled it straight at me.

A small, sharp sound of shattering rang out.

Ayaka blocked even that with a personal weapon detached from her silver sword.

At this point, I found her the most troublesome and obstructive opponent of all.

(……How vexing.)

Her Inherent Skill allows her to create weapons and shields.

Instantly, and even at a distance, she can send her conjured weapons flying wherever she pleases.

Not only that, she refuses to let the distance between us widen, clinging to me relentlessly.

A wretch who should have died.

That grating, distinctive sound———— most likely the cry of her muscles tearing.

Her muscle fibers must be shredding within her body.

That flesh of hers might already be in a dreadful state.

And of course it is.

She’s forcing movements far beyond what a human body should endure.

It’s as if a broken puppet were being forced to move again———–

Its limbs jerked about by thick threads or cords.

And yet———-

She still refuses to fall.

[I should have killed her.]

The words slipped from my mouth unbidden, empty, devoid of emotion, a hollow murmur.

There was something else I had noticed a little earlier.

There exists a faint “gap” near the upper limit of my combat capability.

Even after consuming a large quantity of black purple orbs……

Even if, for example, my upper limit of 100 had been raised to around 200———-

About 10 of those points remain “blocked”.

By that calculation, my true limit right now is 190.

I had thought excessive intake might overcome it, but that 10-point region still cannot be accessed.

It seems that area won’t open until more time passes.

By rough estimation———- about the equivalent of one black purple orb’s worth.

Yes……

The very one I used back then, when I fought Hijiri.

I see……

So this was the role you were meant to play in this battle.

Hijiri…… Takao……

I glared up at Ayaka from beneath my lowered chin, my gaze sharp enough to pierce her through.

The Heroes…… from the very beginning, they were nothing but nuisances.

(……Heroes huh……)

Perhaps———- this battle could have been won far more easily.

Yes…… if only Asagi Ikusaba had been on my side.

Her actions remain utterly incomprehensible.

(What happened to her at that time?)

Now that I think about it……

I can’t believe she intended to betray us from the start.

It’s a strange way to put it, but……

It almost seemed as if even she herself hadn’t expected she would have to betray us.

At least, that was the impression I got.

Yes…… If she had stayed with us as planned, and if she had rejoined with Wormungandr afterward……

Wouldn’t this battle have been an effortless victory?

That’s what it feels like now.

Speaking of which…… what was it she said again?

Something about knowing a way to defeat Mimori.

Remember……

Mimori’s weakness……

If I recall correctly———–

“His ability to always play the optimal move…… is, paradoxically, his greatest weakness……”

My lips tightened, twisting slightly.

She hadn’t said anything more after that.

At that very moment, Asagi suddenly activated her Inherent Skill.

(What…… did she mean by that……?)

Always playing the best move being his weakness?

What of it?

I don’t understand.

Not at all.

(D*mn it…… if you were going to die, you could’ve at least finished your explanation first!)

She might as well have said nothing at all.

[…………………….]

———–No, that won’t do.

I must not rely on others. Nothing good ever comes of it.

That is the law of the world.

Only the answers I derive myself can be true.

Only those who walk the path they have laid with their own hands are truly strong.

That is why I designed this plan alone.

Others are not to be relied upon.

Others exist to be used.

More importantly————-

[——————–]

At this point, a faint hesitation stirred within me.

I noticed it immediately.

Even now, I was not at a disadvantage.

As long as I could defeat Mimori, the situation was still winnable.

No one else among them could wield status-inflicting skills.

That premise should not have changed.

And yet……

(……Asagi Ikusaba.)

Ayaka’s sudden intrusion had shaken my perception ever so slightly.

I was certain she was dead———-

Or at least depressed beyond recovery.

Yet now, here she stood before me, alive and fighting me.

(And I……)

……I never actually confirmed Asagi Ikusaba’s death with my own eyes.

When Wormungandr vanished…… she still seemed conscious.

(Even so, could she have possibly survived in that condition……?)

————No matter how I think about it, that was a fatal wound.

Could anyone survive such injuries?

Even if Loqierra had been there, I doubt she could’ve healed Asagi with most of her power already gone.

No, besides, her divine organs are sealed off.

Loqierra could never have used <Heal>.

(T/N: Goddess Breath / Heal)

Even if she could, Asagi’s body was too far gone for it to matter.

That should have been the case, but still……

I cannot be certain.

Lately, too many things I once thought impossible have been happening.

Mimori himself was proof enough of that.

Someone I was certain had died, yet lived.

(Yes…… there was one other thing besides Mimori’s Abnormal State Skill———– one fatal factor.)

Asagi Ikusaba’s Inherent Skill.

That ability of hers likely could not activate without direct contact between the user and the target.

Yet———- it pierced straight through my <Dispel Bubble>.

I doubt there’s even the slightest chance of it, but……

If she managed to land that on me, it could be checkmate.

Whether it struck my clone or my true body, it would be fatal either way.

No…… that should be impossible.

It should be. And yet……

Too many impossible things have already occurred at this point.

So many, in fact, that I can no longer hold certainty.

And though slight———— that uncertainty has begun to influence the precision of my movements in this battle.

(Tch———- Even so…… irritating as it is, I cannot dismiss the possibility entirely……)

Everything……

Every small detail———- fails to align perfectly toward the fulfillment of my goal.

Each one on its own may seem trivial———– but together they form an accumulation that obstructs my victory.

Even so…… I still aim for triumph.

Watching intently, I wait for the perfect moment to strike.

My will, an unending source of resolve, binds my very being together.

I have never known what it means to truly surrender.

The throne of the Absolute must be mine and mine alone. I, and no other, must reign as the Absolute All-Encompassing God.

Until the end——— until I shatter into nothingness———–

I shall play with you.

You pitiful, foolish flesh-toys.

Joining hands in unity?

Combining your strengths?

Clinging to one another for salvation…… such a childish, saccharine delusion.

————You truly believe such naïve reliance on others will let you defeat me, Vysis?

You, the vomit that stains the path I have walked……

…………A crow caws.

[——————]

(A crow……?)

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