Star-Slaying Swordsman - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

…Please work out.

I envisioned a canvas of a sky, drawing an arc on it with the swing of a sword as I ran.

And it came to life.

Their trails were even more dazzling than the bright moon— and they flashed across the sky like a star.

“——”

A fleeting moment of blankness was born, and a momentary silence followed suit.

It was only a fraction of a second, but it certainly brought a sense of awe throughout the space. 

And soon after…

“GAH—!!!”

A loud voice pierced my eardrums.

It was an ugly and painful scream that resounded throughout the vicinity.

Starlights soon descended rapidly from the sky, so fast that it didn’t give enough time to even blink.

“…Haha… HAHAHAHAHAHA…!!!”

What took over my body was an indescribable feeling of elation.

This was the cue where I laughed.

I swung my sword in all directions, drawing trails of stars wherever I ended up swinging to.

I drew, drew, and swung my sword in hopes of tearing through my enemy.

Swinging my sword mindlessly while smiling like an idiot, I was finally able to ignore the pain to a limited extent while cracking the emotional restraints I had been suppressing.

The starlights, without a single care, finally rushed in and devoured through the entirety of the Jabberwock’s outer shell.

However, unaware of my limit, my body started to swell up.

I checked my own status. But it didn’t matter.

The sound of something creaking.

The fresh blood dripping from nowhere.

And the stabbing pain rushing through my entire body.

It didn’t matter one bit.

“——!!!”

A groan enveloped by hatred and rage soon shook the place.

The Jabberwock’s eyes, which were now filled with dark emotions, changed colors.

Immediately after, the Jabberwock spread its wings and began to flap them while being pierced by the starlights in several places.

—This is bad…!

Even if I thought so, it was impossible to adjust the trajectory of『 Naglufar 』.

I just desperately unleashed it, and I couldn’t possibly hope to hit his wings by will.

“—Hey, this one’s on me! Make sure to take it—!!!『 Gladiator 』!!!”

It was Siva’s scream.

And as soon as he said so, black blades suddenly appeared from the earth and the sky, headed straight for the wings of the Jabberwock.

“Heh— you’re hooked here pretty well if I say so myself! Did you really try to escape just now? Huh?!”

Siva took advantage of this opportunity to let out a chuckle in a grand manner, plastering a clearly recognizable taunt to the Jabberwock’s face.

You ruined your last chance to escape, or so his taunting face said.

“Don’t you dare run away from me now!『 Gladiator 』!!!”

Siva’s ultimate goal was that blow.

The Jabberwock displayed hesitation at the blow aimed at its wing, and at the moment it took a stance to intercept, a swarm of black swords was unleashed, surrounding him in all directions.

It was as if the Jabberwock was trapped between me, Fiole, and even Siva, no matter which direction it decided to look.

“Hey— what are you doing?!”

“Brace yourself, Corpse Princess! You can’t expect to stall for time if you’ve delivered this much damage! We’ve got to finish off this big fella, so just help me already, Corpse Princess!!!”

“DON’T YOU ‘CORPSE PRINCESS’ ME, I TOLD YOU TO NOT CALL ME THAT, DIDN’T I?! BESIDES, I KNOW THAT TOO!!!”

—To be brutally honest, I wanted to beat the Jabberwock by myself.

But I already felt nothing in my right arm.

The Jabberwock’s whole body was flushed red with anger while trembling with utter rage towards me.

I hated to admit it, but this might be just impossible for me alone.

Thus, I decided to accept it for now.

I didn’t have the skills to affirm that I didn’t need their help after all.

And then I realized…

“…”

I couldn’t get a hold of my sword any longer, and so my right arm started to hang limp.

Screams were coming from all over my right arm, and it clicked to me immediately that this very arm would be rendered useless on the spot unless some kind of treatment was given.

And then, I choked.

My entire body went numb and rigid from the intense pain radiating from my right arm.

The intense pain burned my brain, and for a brief moment, my body didn’t move the way I wanted it to.

“…Ha—”

I alone bore the brunt of the Jabberwock’s hatred.

Its huge rock-like figure had already been pierced and penetrated so many times that its insides somehow started to peek out, but I never felt any sign of wavering.

And although the humongous monster in front of me was evidently seriously wounded, the flames of its fighting spirit had yet to diminish.

Immediately after, multiple steel tails were thrusting toward me at an incredibly unbelievable speed.

My right arm was useless, and my body was no longer functioning properly.

…I was too careless.

With such regret, I closed my eyelids as I fell to the ground, no longer resisting gravity.

I was going to die a defenseless death.

However, I had a premonition.

I had a hunch that something was going to happen.

And the moment where I should’ve been already pierced by the Jabberwock’s steel tail:

“…You’re too reckless.”

Instead, a voice of dismay shook my eardrums as I felt a slight shock in my back.

The next thing I knew, I was being carried on the back of the monster under Fiole’s magic, and the corner of my mouth curved up into a smile realizing that she saved my life just in the nick of time.

***

***

“Hey, it’s my turn now! Don’t just go after Julius!!! I’m here too!!! Hey… Hey, HEYYY!!!”

A roar.

It was a cry that was no other than that of a guy named Siva, who, perhaps thinking that he wouldn’t get close to the Jabberwock anyway, spreads his hands out in an exaggerated manner and shrilled his voice like an idiot to get his attention.

Come to think of it, he wanted to deal with the Jabberwock by himself too, I thought as I surveyed the surroundings with a glance.

What surfaced was that there were a lot of jet-black swords floating around Siva, and given that it was such an out-of-the-ordinary technique, I couldn’t help but think that it, too, wasn’t a human technique.

So instead, I just jerked my upper body up and focused on the woman in front of me, Fiole.

“I know you’re already aware, but I think your arm is undeniably destroyed. That fight probably still may not be enough for you, but if you can’t even hold a sword, you can’t really do much about it.”

Albeit partially, you managed to destroy his outer shell and did a considerable amount of damage.

You’ve done enough, so leave the rest to me and that red-headed guy, Fiole said, seeing right through my inner thoughts.

But I didn’t respond to her words and silently looked down at my own body.

“Hm.”

The numbness was fading.

Although I thought that the stiffness was only temporary, the pain that kept coming up made my face twist into a distorted expression.

No matter how many times I broke my arms in training, what once hurt would still hurt.

Of course, I didn’t have any special skill that made me insensitive to pain, so all I could do was endure it.

Despite this, however, there was a reason why I could turn my back on such things, even if forcefully.

And so—

“Um… You see, I have a skill I haven’t told many people about.”

I said, laughing in a funny way.

It’s a little strange to call it a special skill, but for me, it’s definitely one, since it allows me to wield a sword even in this kind of state.

“I’m actually an ambidextrous person.”

“…What of it?”

“Well, I was just saying that even if my right arm breaks, I can still wield my sword using my left.”

I only had one chance.

I only had one chance to settle this with my right arm, surely.

So I turned my attention to my empty left hand, and chanted my magic『 Sword: Creation 』deep in my heart, clutched the sword that surfaced in my hand, and laughed…

“…”

What I got in return was a combination of dismay and exasperation.

She silently looked at me as if she couldn’t understand what I was thinking at all.

Compared to the man in my memory, I was still an ordinary person, and if I didn’t accept a little pain as a matter of course, there was no way I’d be able to move forward properly.

And every time I defeated a strong enemy with my own hands, I felt a certain sense of fulfillment that I was getting closer to what I longed for. And that made me unbearably happy.

This pain was nothing compared to the purpose I had in mind.

“In any case, that monster is my prey.”

I had no intention of giving it up, even to Siva.

I’d take his breath away and feed on the Jabberwock with my own hands.

That’s what I decided—

“It’s about time to shut that big clamoring mouth of his.”

Declaring just so, I threw my body into the air once again.

Telling me to just do whatever I wanted with a wry smile on her face, Fiole closed her own distance once again as well.

“Hey!!! You can’t fight anymore, can you?! Just leave this to me and stay out of this, Julius!!!”

“Hm~? What are you talking about, Siva~?”

My cheeks twitched.

That very remark was so hilarious that I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

“To hell with my broken arm. I still have my left arm functioning just fine.”

You can only say that you can’t fight when both your arms are broken, unable to stand up due to excessive blood loss, and all you can do is crawl to the ground.

Even if your chest is slashed open by a large sword, if you can stand up, you can still fight.

If you only have distorted vision and can still hold your sword, you can still fight.

“The battle for the one who can take him down first isn’t over yet though, is it?”

“Ku— Ha— HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Okay, then. I ain’t gonna stop you if that’s what you want. Do what you want, but I‘ll do what I want, too!!!”

With a roar of laughter, Siva raised his left hand, and as if in tandem with his movements, all of the jet-black swords surrounding us pointed their blades at the Jabberwock.

Most of the outer shell shielding the Jabberwock was already damaged and crumbled, so there was an exposed unprotected section of his flesh.

In such a situation when so many swords are ready to come flooding in, I didn’t need to think about what to do anymore.

I followed suit and raised my sword.

And this would be the second time that I was going to unleash this technique, and so I felt that I would be able to do it at least a little better than before.

Time was already running out, I couldn’t afford to stay put.

“SHOOT HIM DOWN—”

“GO TO HELL—”

Our words overlapped.

The Jabberwock’s jaw was now pointed at me, and a familiar high-pitched sound soon shook my eardrums.

It was the sound I heard many times when shooting something off.

…It just might be his attempt to intercept.

But even so, I would tear through and slay him at all costs.

I then poured everything I had into my sword, following an attack that had no change in trajectory:

“—『 NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS: NAGLUFAR 』!!!”

“—『 THE BLACK PIERCER: GLADIATOR 』!!!”

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