168. Allen Cell and Political Marriage [19]

I put a little more strength into both feet and took another step towards Clown-san.

(All right, I can do this.)

Even with this much『weight』, I was able to forcefully move myself somehow.

(Another, five meters!)

As I dragged along my body and the distance shortened steadily, the weight which was acting on my body increased with every step I took.

「Guh!?」

「Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. The closer you get to me, the stronger the repulsive force acting on your body will be. Now, three meters left.」Clown-san said, with a nasty smile.

(I see, he has a pretty interesting personality.)

He waited to see what I would do before increasing the weight. It seems that he won’t let me win that easily.

(Damnit, like hell I’m gonna lose!)

I clenched my teeth and stepped towards Clown-san.

When the distance between us was about one meter,

「Hou, I didn’t think you would get this far in the『original state』. Far beyond surprised, I am utterly amazed.」he muttered, and thrust〈Lonely Crown〉into the floor.「Lonely Crest!」

The next moment, a magic circle, casting a pale light, appeared at my feet.

「Wha!?」

At the same time, super-powerful repulsive force weighed down on me.

(H, Heavy!)

My legs won’t budge at all.

Moving even a finger is too much.

It took everything just to barely stand.

(Damn, he didn’t plan on letting me win in the first place.)

When I glared at Clown-san,

「T-This is cowardly! Even though you can use your soul dress, Allen is forbidden to. There’s no chance of winning from the beginning!」

「Ria is right. This is significantly unfair for a『game』. No matter how you look at it, it’s a little too unfair, right?」

Ria and Rose raised their voices in protest.

「Cowardly? Unfair? What are you talking about…? The opponent you are going against is the Holy Ronelia Empire – the head of the Black Organization. They’re not opponents who fight fair and square. Cowardly and unfair is pretty much all there is. If you stay naive, no matter how many lives you have, you won’t achieve anything.」Clown-san said, indifferently, with extremely cold eyes that he had never shown before.

「「……」」

Ria and Rose kept silent, unable to answer.

Clown-san then began to speak quietly.

「I also have a lot of expectations for you. But it’s still too early… Way too early. Allen-san, you have grown at an incredible rate, surpassing『most expectations』. However, as a result of skipping several steps, you have not been able to acquire power in the『right order』. You are in a very unbalanced state right now. Going to the Empire in that immature state is nothing but suicide.」he said, and pushed his soul dress that had been thrust to the floor.

The blade sank into the floor, and at the same time, the repulsive force acting on my body increased by manyfold.

「Guh…!?」

「Let me be extremely clear. I didn’t have the slightest intention of letting you go to the Empire in the first place.」

Clown-san held down his soul dress, with a clear smile on his face.

「…!?」

At that moment, a tremendously massive weight pressed down on my entire body, causing me to finally fall to my knee.

「…Are you still conscious? Please don’t try to push yourself too much. Just give up. It’s at an output which would crush a living person to death, after all. No matter how monstrous your mind and body might be, you will still die if you’re a living person.」

After that, the power of the repulsive force gradually became stronger, as if tormenting me to death.

My bones started creaking and my muscles started to tear.

Pain slowly enveloped my whole body. It was literally hell.

(But, that doesn’t matter.)

The president wrote that letter with tears in her eyes.

She left for the Empire alone without even saying goodbye.

How heartbreaking it must have been for her?

How painful it must have been for her?

How much she must have wanted to cry for help?

She swallowed it all into that small body of hers.

She chose to sacrifice herself for the country, for her family – for us.

(This amount of pain… is nothing compared to the pain in her heart!)

Still on my knees, I slowly moved towards Clown-san.

And then,

「Y-You can still move…!?」

He became flustered for the first time today; he panicked and put more weight onto his soul dress.

The blade sank into the floor, until only the hilt was left.

「Wha…!?」

At the same time, the strength of the repulsive force increased again by several folds.

(Shit…)

My vision began to blur due to the excessive pain.

(Damn… I am so close…)

The distance between us was only fifty centimeters, where it seemed I could reach him just by stretching my hand.

If I move Clown-san just a little, it will be my win.

(From here on out… it’s a battle of perseverance.)

The only strength that I, who is without talent for swordsmanship, can take pride in is my perseverance.

(My body is already at its limit, but my heart hasn’t broken yet.)

Recall that hell.

That extreme state where I swung the sword single-mindedly for over a billion years.

Remember the pain in the president’s heart.

The pain of her carrying everything on her back.

(This level of『weight』is no big deal to compared to hers! Like hell I’m gonna lose in this place!!!)

I mustered every bit of power and clenched my fist tight.

「MOVE!!!」

As I desperately stretched my right hand forward,

「『This power』!? …Gaha!!」

Clown-san was blown away far back, as if he were pushed away by an『invisible force.』

At the same time, the repulsive force that was acting on my body disappeared.

「Haa haa… I, I did it… We won…!」

I don’t know what happened at the end there, but…

Anyway, I won the match against Clown-san.

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