“My inspiration’s finally kicking in! Don’t let me down now!!”
As Kay swung his baton, the sirens resumed their song, and the music from the small spirits grew more rhythmic. It signaled the continuation of the story Kay was weaving.
“Chapter Six: The Forest of Swords.”
With the siren’s voice, temporary trees burst from the ground, growing rapidly in response to her fierce singing, advancing toward Rourke like a wave.
“Now, how will our hero trapped in the cursed forest respond!?”
“………”
A wall of green filled Rourke’s vision as the trees closed in.
Facing the onslaught of nature’s fury, Rourke calmly thought to himself.
—That’s right. As Trallus said, I summoned a spirit with the resolve to win.
So, before overthinking, I should do what needs to be done.
“…Heavy Blade.”
Black spiritual energy enveloped the sword, emitting an eerie low hum.
As countless branches closed in, Rourke crouched low, gripping his sword—and swung it horizontally with all his might.
In an instant, the forest of swords shattered into pieces with a shockwave.
“What!?”
The shockwave from the blade obliterated the trees, carving cracks into the ground as it surged toward Kay.
Kay, caught off guard, quickly deployed a barrier just as the shockwave hit.
“……Ugh!”
He staggered back a step from the impact but managed to deflect the shockwave with a swing of his baton.
As debris from the shattered trees and ground rained down, Kay saw Rourke slowly pointing his sword at him.
“…I’ll beat you, Trallus.”
“Good. That’s how it should be…”
Kay recognized Rourke’s straightforward declaration as fitting for the hero of this story.
And Kay, who had been crafting this tale throughout the degree match, felt his heart race as the story approached its climax. He swung his baton.
Countless blades of wind danced through the air, thunder roared as bolts struck the ground, and flames raged like serpents before the world turned into a silver landscape.
It was a scene worthy of the term “natural disaster.”
Amidst the grand BGM, all manner of natural calamities were unleashed upon the lone boy in that small world.
“Hahaha!!”
In that space where even a few seconds of safety were uncertain, the boy at the center of it all—Rourke Areas—laughed as he darted through the air, a sound unimaginable from his usual self.
In this situation demanding extreme focus, Rourke seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.
“Hah!”
“Tch!”
Landing on a floating rock, Rourke immediately descended, gathering spiritual energy into his sword before swinging it down with all his might at Kay’s barrier.
The weight amplified by gravity and momentum
shattered two of the three layers of Kay’s barrier, forcing him to the ground.
“Ha!”
Despite the pain, Kay grinned wildly as he swung his baton. A deafening explosion erupted from the small spirits, forming a massive sound wave that collided with Rourke.
“Kuro!”
Rourke defended against the sound wave but was sent flying backward. As he tumbled through the air, he called out a name. Suddenly, his momentum shifted, and he landed on a nearby rubble pile.
“Ice Fang Twin Blades.”
Kay swung his baton, and pale blue notes were absorbed into the ground. From Rourke’s sides, sharp ice fangs like the jaws of a beast lunged at him. But just before they hit, the ice fangs shattered as if crushed by an invisible force, dispersing into mist.
Amidst the glittering ice crystals, Rourke calmly swung his sword, scattering the cold.
“Hmph, you’re moving quite in sync, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’ve been working hard.”
Rourke didn’t deny Kay’s teasing remark as he placed his sword spirit on his shoulder, answering matter-of-factly.
And indeed, he had worked hard.
After the failed ritual, Rourke had spent every spare moment trying to communicate with the spirit to prevent it from going berserk. One day, he realized that while he couldn’t understand the spirit’s words, it seemed to understand him to some extent.
From there, he struggled to establish a connection, and though it was somewhat one-sided, he managed to deepen their bond enough to fight together.
The name “Kuro” for the spirit.
It was a nickname Rourke had given the spirit, whose species and true name were unknown, and who spoke in mysterious words. It seemed to have taken a liking to it.
“Honestly… you’re terrifying.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Kay muttered with a bitter smile as he reinforced the barriers around him.
Since the spirit appeared, the situation had changed drastically.
Every attack Kay launched was either dodged or blocked. Meanwhile, Rourke’s attacks, though defended against, still took a heavy toll on Kay’s body.
In other words, Kay was being pushed back.
“Gravity manipulation, and even changing its direction. You’ve caught quite a high-level spirit…”
The main reason for this shift was the spirit’s gravity manipulation.
It amplified the power of Rourke’s strikes, made his movements freer and lighter, and added crushing pressure to Kay’s barriers. Without them, Kay would have been pinned to the ground, unable to move.
It was a tough situation, but Kay had also identified Rourke’s weakness.
—-But with this much spirit energy being used, he won’t last long, will he?
After all, it’s a temporary contract.
No matter how much spiritual energy Rourke has, he still needs to supply the spirit with his own energy to sustain its abilities. Even with improved efficiency, the limit isn’t far off. At this rate, he’ll likely last only a few more minutes.
In contrast, Kay’s contracts with seven spirits gave him overwhelming spiritual energy and efficiency. While his attacks and defenses consumed more energy, it was clear that Rourke would reach his limit first.
So, by continuing to attack and restrict Rourke’s movements while focusing on defense, Kay’s victory was all but assured.
In other words, Rourke running out of energy would likely lead to Kay’s win.
“—That’s boring.”
With a battle-hungry grin, Kay dismissed that thought.
That’s boring. Running out of energy? That’s the kind of ending a second-rate writer would come up with. It’s not fitting for this battle or for someone of my caliber.
“Only by crushing you at your full strength can this story truly conclude.”
An ending worthy of this tale’s climax.
Rourke had already filled Kay’s mind with inspiration. All that was left was to shape that image and pour his spiritual energy into making it a reality.
“Now, sing it out!!”
The sirens roared, channeling Kay’s vision into their fierce song, while the small spirits added a chorus of intense sounds, creating countless musical notes.
“I owe you thanks, Rourke Areas! Because of you, I’ll create my greatest work yet!!”
The ominous, evil notes imbued with spiritual power began to swirl and gather at the center of the arena, gradually taking shape in accordance with Kay’s vision.
“Final Chapter: The Demon King’s Descent.”
What formed before Rourke’s eyes was the upper half of a black giant with a pair of wings… no, it was the Demon King, forged from the power of darkness.
“Isn’t it a given that the final enemy in any story is the Demon King?”
[OOOOHHHHHHH!!!]
Facing the Demon King’s thunderous roar, formed by an immense surge of spiritual energy, Rourke calmly raised his sword.
“…Damn genius.”
Kay’s spiritual art allowed him to bring his imagination to life through sound. While this ability enabled him to wield spiritual techniques of any element, it also came with the drawback of being unable to activate a technique if he couldn’t visualize it.
Among the spiritual attributes, light and darkness were particularly unique. Even though they shared the same attribute, the abilities granted by their respective spirits were vastly different. Especially the darkness attribute, which remained shrouded in mystery due to the lack of any known contracted spirit users.
That was why Kay had never once used a darkness attribute technique in any of his matches until now. No, perhaps he couldn’t use it.
But Rourke summoning the evil spirit seemed to have allowed him to finally visualize it. The spiritual power that composed the Demon King, though artificial, undeniably radiated the unique malevolence of the darkness attribute.
“You’re pulling this out now, of all times?”
Such a flashy spiritual technique, combined with the unfamiliar darkness attribute, must have taken a toll on him. Sweat dripped from Kay’s forehead as he stood there, putting on a confident smile.
Rourke couldn’t help but smirk wryly.
If Kay had simply focused on defense, Rourke’s defeat would have been certain. So why go through such reckless trouble? No, there was no need to think about it.
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