Final Battle – 10
“What’s the deal? Are you just going to keep running away?”
With a voice I knew all too well, lightning struck. Rumble to the sound, I quickly rolled to the side. A bright yellow bolt hit the spot where I had just been standing.
The shockwave sending out sparks spread in a circle from the impact point, losing power right in front of me. My distance calculations were, once again, spot on.
A large double-headed axe wiggled in the hand of the creature resembling me, the Creature that Devours the World, standing a bit further away. Lightning danced around the axe blade. That was the weapon’s special ability.
“I know what weapon it is, but that’s beside the point…”
I knew every detail about the types of weapons, attack ranges, and special abilities. Excluding what I hadn’t used in Brightest Darkness 2, I had tried them all at least once.
Besides, wasn’t I the player of Brightest Darkness 4 myself?
Since I had acquired its memories, there was no way the way that thing swung the weapon wouldn’t match how the player character swung weapons in Brightest Darkness 4.
If I flipped my perspective on the distance that would just barely touch in the game, I could twist it to make it a distance that wouldn’t touch at all. Just like that lightning-touched shockwave from before.
For some reason, that thing mainly used the weapons from Brightest Darkness 4, which also played a part. It must have some ulterior motive.
Whatever that ulterior motive, it made evasion easier, but that was about it.
“I’m short on attack options.”
Even if I could dodge incoming attacks, there was no way to inflict damage on that creature. My mana and faith were still sealed.
If I could use either one, I would have found a way somehow, but in my current state, I was practically unarmed and couldn’t come up with any way to deal damage.
As I narrowly dodged that creature’s attacks from a distance, I managed to flinch once or twice on occasion.
Naturally, all those attempts were easily blocked.
“If you aren’t going to attack, then so be it. Time is not on your side.”
The weapon held by the Creature that Devours the World transformed again. The blade grew wider towards the top, bending into a crescent moon shape, with the point curving towards the hilt.
According to that shape, it was called the ‘Crescent Blade’ in Brightest Darkness 4.
“Are you going to just keep slashing from a distance?”
He completely ignored my provocation and swung his arm. From the crescent-shaped tip, a blade of wind matching its shape flew rapidly toward me.
I rolled to dodge, and the crescent slice whizzed through the air. Immediately, a second attack and a third attack followed. Behind those were at least four or five more slashes.
With a small sigh, I charged at the Creature that Devours the World.
That wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but if I kept running away like this, he’d keep throwing long-range attacks, which would be unfavorable for me.
“Time isn’t on my side, after all. Just like he said.”
As I confirmed my charge, the strangely shaped sword in his hand began to shift shape. The options for weapons he had at his disposal in this situation were rather limited.
Some kind of property attack weapon like a greatsword or blunt weapon that couldn’t be perfectly parried. Among those—
“Just as I thought.”
As expected, the weapon that had been idly waiting took the shape of a massive red greatsword. The blade looked as if lava had been half-solidified, with orange-colored molten spots glimmering within.
The glimmering color of the lava inside the blade deepened. That signified he was using a special ability. I quickly braked and turned in a different direction.
The enormous greatsword swung like a twig. Lava erupted along the trajectory of the blade, adding color to a world that was just darkness.
Even without directly touching the lava, a wave of heat washed over me. The scarlet lava overflowed in all directions, restricting my movements.
Just when I thought it was fading, the scarlet flame reignited. The special ability of the greatsword was to lay down a lava trap for one-time use in the next attack, but it seemed he had no intention of using it just once.
Searching for a spot that wasn’t already covered in lava, I closed the distance just before the greatsword’s blade ignited in scarlet.
—Bang!
As if he had anticipated my move, a massive flail smashed down a step ahead of me. If I hadn’t slowed down, my head would have been smashed for sure.
The weight of the flail was larger than any ordinary person’s head, a weapon I could acquire by defeating the Inquisitor. To put it bluntly, it was basically the same flail that Stella used.
Facing off with the Creature that Devours the World, now holding the lava greatsword in one hand and the flail in the other, their golden and orange colors gleamed together.
“I can’t parry. I have to roll to dodge.”
The lava greatsword was, fitting for its appearance, dealing half fire damage, while the flail had its weight shifted to the golden state, adding holy damage.
Even if I successfully parried, the property damage would still affect me, and since both were oversized weapons, the chance of being hit by a follow-up attack while being shoved back was high.
“First with the right hand.”
His right shoulder moved first.
Dodging the horizontally swinging greatsword, I checked the position of the flail. It was slightly diagonal from my right shoulder.
As I forced my body to stop and twisted, the protruding weight brushed past my right shoulder. Just how close was it? The wind pressure made me slightly stagger.
We both avoided the first strike, but it was still too early to relax. The flail that struck the ground lifted upward. A low hum echoed, and the golden weight changed to a brighter hue.
Before I knew it, he had dropped the lava greatsword, now gripping the flail with both hands. This special ability mimicked the three-hit pattern from the second phase of the Stella boss battle.
“If it’s a special ability…”
I quickly scanned for a place to roll. Left was lava, right was lava, and behind…
“I’m going to roll.”
There was no choice. I had to close the distance and circle around to the opposite side.
The flail that had been raised above swung down with all its might. Crash! the earth shook as a pitch-black pattern appeared briefly around the weight.
I had already dove in well within the range where the attack wouldn’t reach. With the power of the Wingless Nightmare, I swung my weapon hard, aiming for the essence of that thing.
—Clank!
Rather than the sensation of slicing flesh, I felt the dull thud of striking metal. The creature’s left hand was now adorned with what seemed to be a demon-shaped gauntlet.
Before long, the gauntlet turned soft and vanished. The empty hand grasped the flail shaft again. The Creature that Devours the World slightly levitated off the ground and swung the flail down again.
The pitch-black ground was struck by the flail. A much larger dark pattern was drawn compared to before.
“Two strikes.”
How ridiculous was it that he ended up pulling his punches in the middle of his special ability? It was inconceivable. Surely, Brightest Darkness 4 didn’t have such a feature.
While rolling earlier, I had identified the area where the lava was the thinnest and leaped over it in one go. The Creature that Devours the World leaped along with me.
He leaped up to nearly my eye level, preparing for the last third strike.
—KWA-KA-KA-KA-KAN!
The golden weight slammed against the pitch-black ground with all its force. A pattern, which could very well be several times my height, was emblazoned upon the ground.
As the pattern etched onto the ground, dark flames arose, followed closely by a shockwave erupting outward. I steadied myself against the shockwave, preventing the Wingless Nightmare from being thrust into the floor.
Drawn on the ground was a slightly brighter black pattern symbolizing the sun of the Holy Kingdom.
“The Popes would be seriously pissed.”
The moment I realized who was responsible for that pattern, they would definitely fly into a rage, calling it a desecration. It’d be the same even if Stella and Selene saw it.
“You’re running away like a rat. Is that all you can do?”
The Creature that Devours the World, rising from the center of the pitch-black pattern, spoke. A male figure with black hair, black eyes, and dressed in black looked genuinely villainous emerging from the dark flames.
No matter how I thought about it, this sentiment was just throwing spit while lying down.
“If you thought those little taunts would work on me, you were wrong. I’m not the type to engage in pointless antics and then run away in embarrassment.”
“……”
He seemed to have let that last jab slide, but his eyebrow twitched slightly before returning to normal. It was only a faint change, but it was enough to notice.
“Do you still have energy left to wag that tongue? Very well. Shall I drain you of a little more?”
The ground below the Creature that Devours the World began to tremble. The pitch-black substance scattered about the ground surged upward. And not just one or two, but exactly ten came up.
The pillars that rose gradually took on a human shape. My brow furrowed as I recognized them.
“Those are…”
The bosses from Brightest Darkness 4. Specifically, they were all based on the female forms I had around me. It was clear this had been a deliberate strike.
Now feeling strangely familiar, I surveyed the bosses I had fought to the point of boredom in Brightest Darkness 4. They looked just as they did in my memories.
“If you want, I can make even more. Have your fun till your health runs out.”
“I’m so familiar with them that it’s boring to play around. Got anything else?”
“I’ll consider it next time.”
He took a huge step back.
Simultaneously, the bosses from Brightest Darkness 4 charged at me en masse. I had been nervous, thinking they were all coming at me together, but it seemed they wouldn’t be doing that just yet.
I wouldn’t relax, just in case.
“Do I have to take them down one by one?”
First, I created some distance and pondered my options. At first, I thought about taking them all out one by one, but quickly concluded that would be impossible.
They were most likely under the Darkest Light Mod, and even with mana and faith still intact, being unarmed made it effectively impossible.
If even one of them engaged, it’d be tough, but if they all attacked at once, there’d be no chance of survival. Even if I managed to take one down, I’d get hit by some blind attack and die beforehand.
Traditionally, one-to-many battles were the absolute worst-case scenario in the Brightest Darkness series. Even fighting mobs, the outcome was predictable in a boss battle.
“…Wait. Perhaps this method might just work.”
Suddenly, a good idea popped into my head.
“Arcana, Arcana… Ah, there she is.”
To implement it, I needed a boss to leave alive until the end. I quickly scanned for Arcana’s location. Among all those bosses, she was the most specialized for area attacks.
After locating her position, I dashed towards her. While the others were rushing in with weapons drawn, Arcana stood regally alongside the Popes.
Her staff shone with a blue glow, generating a current of mana. Arcana swung her staff, unleashing the mana-filled torrent towards me.
I dodged with a roll at the familiar moment.
—KWA-A-A-A-A-K!
Instead of me, the rushing bosses behind were swept away.
Defeat
—Thud…
Pulling the blade from my neck, the last of my emaciated form crumbled down. The headless body gradually transformed into something resembling black mud and vanished.
After confirming there were no more moving objects around, I took a moment to catch my breath. I even thought that fighting the Creature that Devours the World would be easier.
Dodging through attacks while adjusting angles to induce team kills was exhausting.
At least it was fortunate that those bosses didn’t possess the intelligence to change their target or stop attacking just because their companions were caught in an attack.
“Well done, human.”
Clap, clap, clap.
A relaxed applause echoed from a distance.
“Was the game fun?”
The Creature that Devours the World, watching my struggle from afar, clapped with an infuriating expression.
“Not bad. It was much easier without you joining in. If you had, I would have been dead in no time. Quite the disappointment for you, right?”
“Not at all. I gained enjoyment watching your antics, and you wasted your stamina being preoccupied with playing around. What reason is there for me to regret that?”
From the way he spoke, it seemed that allowing team kills was part of his intent. Was he really trying to drain my stamina like that?
“…Why even?”
“You’re curious about why I behaved like this? If you want, I can explain. Would you like to hear it?”
“Sure. Go ahead and enlighten me about your brilliant plan. I’ll be sure to rate it.”
It was courteous of him to waste his time indulging in his own monologue. But from the looks of it, he had no intention of sharing willingly, a smug smile gracing his face.
“Very well. Listen closely.”
Urgently rolling forward to create distance, I felt a sinister sensation behind me. A long sword came crashing down, forcefully striking the pitch-black ground. Turning my head, I confirmed who my opponent was.
It was a boss modeled after Iris. As he stepped forward with his left foot, he shifted the sword sheath from his left waist to his right side.
While shifting his center of gravity back, a whirlwind formed around the sheath. Gray wind gathered.
Thud, his body rotated clockwise half a turn. As his body turned, his right foot stepped forward, and the long sword was drawn from the sheath.
As his right foot slammed down, a vertical slice of wind flew towards me.
I deflected the wind with the Wingless Nightmare, causing it to fly away like a curtain. The gale turned into a swirling vortex. It destabilized my body.
Soon after, another burst of wind surged from along the trajectory of the initial slice. I rolled aside just in time, and that creature came charging at me.
“If it’s one-on-one, I can manage.”
I deflected the long sword in his hand, looking for an opening to retaliate. In the backdrop, I could hear the Creature that Devours the World taunting.
“They aren’t summoned to kill you. I must do that myself. I have to repay the humiliation I suffered.”
“Did you forget that you proudly toyed with us the last time? To say you’re going to do that again, how generous of you! Thank you for the opportunity!”
The next pattern was something I didn’t even need to see.
I turned my head towards the Creature that Devours the World, smirking as I swung my sword. A sharp clang rang out four times as metal met metal, and I attacked from my side.
The tip of the blade plunged deep into the squishy flesh.
“If that’s the case, explain what opportunity I gave you. Is it the fact that I had them attack each other? I could create thousands, tens of thousands of them again. Is letting you kill ten or so of them what you call an opportunity?”
Deflecting the cyclone-imbued long sword and taking advantage of the moment, I severed the wrist holding the sword. Then I brought my weapon down on his head.
The blade half-piercing into his skull made him stop moving. I pulled out the sword. Stumbling, his unbalanced body fell backward. Shaking off the strange liquid smudged onto the Wingless Nightmare, I spoke.
“You haven’t inflicted any damage on me yet, human. Excluding that strange power and Draconic Language, killing me is impossible. But both have certainly caused you to fail over and over again, haven’t they?”
“……”
That wasn’t an incorrect statement.
The only way to injure him, the True Death, had been countered every time I tried it, and my attempts to create new laws using Draconic Language were thwarted by the one he invoked.
Fortunately, it seemed my previously cast Draconic Language hadn’t unraveled, but attempting to create new laws was impossible. At least, the fact that I could counter his language was a relief.
“How many times must I say it? Time is not on your side. The reason you’re still alive is simply so I can kill you myself.”
“Well, after taking a few more hits, I might think differently.”
The wannabe obsession represented by that creature usually ended up getting reversed onto its wielder. I figured I’d have to share some advice with its corpse after this fight was over.
The expression of the Creature that Devours the World, which had turned to respond to my words, shifted to one of slight intrigue.
“Oh, the goddess has come. It seems she’s here to assist you, human.”
“…What?”
If Eclipse had come this far, it meant she must have somehow dealt with the Immortal Centipede. I had no clue how she did it.
“She’s brought a bunch of humans alongside her, so those I sent must have all perished. But it’s unresolved since they were nothing but disposable resources. Rejoice, human. None of the women by your side have perished.”
“What’s your reason for telling me that?”
“Because a good idea just popped into my head. I’ll kill you, then pretend to be you and eliminate everyone. How does that sound?”
He chuckled.
“After a lengthy battle, if I killed you, I’d have the perfect story where my last desperate act was that of a mental trap. Isn’t that an intriguing plan? Those women will die trying to bring you back to sanity, completely unaware of the truth until their last moments.”
“Doesn’t that plan make you feel embarrassed?”
I was boiling over with suppressed anger. That was just nonsense he was spewing to provoke me. It wouldn’t really come to pass.
“No? Alternatively, I could leave you here and go kill everyone while coming back to check in on you. Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to bring back your head. You wouldn’t want to miss seeing your own death, would you?”
“……”
“Hm, I’m suddenly curious. If I threw your decapitated head while attacking, what would you do? Would you be holding your head as you flew away? Or would you let the attack hit while you leave your head on the ground?”
“……”
“What’s going on? I won’t let you get away to satisfy my curiosity. That wouldn’t be a bad choice either.”
“…I’d say what you just said back to you.”
Walking slowly towards him, holding the Wingless Nightmare, I understood he aimed to incite me into losing my composure. Still, I was nearing the limit where it became intolerable.
As yet, my anger wasn’t to the extent that I’d mess up. I wouldn’t be rushing in blindly.
“Go ahead and try.”
A sneer graced his lips.
The skirmishes continued: swords, daggers, greatswords, spears, blunt weapons, flails, axes, and more. Numerous familiar weapons repeatedly appeared and disappeared in his hands.
As the back-and-forth progressed, the one gaining the upper hand gradually became me. For some reason, he stubbornly insisted on close-range combat without using traps or long-range attacks.
The most troublesome aspects had dissipated, so of course, I would dominate.
The weapon in the hand of the Creature that Devours the World transformed. It became a sword that matched the length and size of the Wingless Nightmare. I lightly parried that sword and aimed for its neck.
Realizing the blade contained True Death, he didn’t try to dodge, instead conjuring a weapon with his left hand. A fake essence appeared behind him, suddenly blocking my strike with the Wingless Nightmare.
True Death twisted 180 degrees, slicing through the fake essence with ease. Ka-ching, I managed to slide the blade down its surface as I pulled back.
—Clank!
A sudden axe was now in his hand. As I parried the axe and aimed for his neck again, he reflexively conjured a fake essence, twisting his body to avoid the hit.
The blade slipped through just as a fake essence was created. The off-balance Creature that Devours the World stumbled. I seized the opportunity and swung my sword down.
He crossed the two weapons in his hands to block the attack. The blade containing True Death subtly vibrated near the head of the Creature that Devours the World.
“For the grand declaration you made, this is rather unimpressive.”
If only his wielding style differed, it could have been a challenge, but his attack methods matched nearly perfectly with the player character’s movements in Brightest Darkness 4. There was no way I couldn’t notice.
As I taunted, he hooted in laughter, wearing an expression that turned to contempt.
“A mere human such as yourself was unthinkable to possess such incredible talent. It seems even the goddess had her eye for talent.”
“What’s this? Why the sudden admiration?”
Receiving praise from such a creature didn’t bring me any joy. I couldn’t stop thinking he was certainly up to something.
The fact that he primarily used only weapons from Brightest Darkness 4 instead of the 2 and 3 weapons kept nagging at me.
“You tried to break my pride by defeating me at what I do best… but I have to acknowledge it now, human. No matter what, I cannot defeat you in this way. Consider it an achievement, something beyond what that goddess could accomplish.”
“Shut up—”
“Such joy will be short-lived, though.”
His pupils transformed into characteristic crimson slit eyes. Just for a brief moment, but seeing that sent a shiver down my spine. Just as I tried to create some space, an explosion erupted from under his feet.
“Gah?!”
As the shockwave swept through me, excruciating pain radiated throughout my body. My limbs went limp and my breath caught. My insides churned as I felt a sticky liquid rising in my throat.
‘This… is…?’
The shockwave, unfamiliar yet bearing a familiar color and shape.
It was the same pattern used by Lucia in the Lucia boss battle.
Even if I concentrated to the utmost limit, dodging the wave was something I could barely do. If I hadn’t anticipated it at all, I wouldn’t even have been able to react in time.
As the shockwave caught me directly, I staggered while the Creature that Devours the World moved. My mind registered the movement, but my body wouldn’t respond.
—Thud!
Something sharp pierced my abdomen. The flavor of that liquid filled my throat. As I coughed, red droplets splattered down.
Straining to look down, a blade that looked just like the Wingless Nightmare was embedded in my torso. My arm began to lose strength. I could feel my grip on the blade slackening.
“It’s been a long, long battle,”
muttered the Creature that Devours the World as the blade in my abdomen shifted.
Flesh tore; ribs and collarbone shattered, internal organs and muscle were ripped away as the blade finally withdrew from my right shoulder.
I could feel my entire midsection cleaved from around the solar plexus to the right shoulder. I lost my stability, and my right arm dangled down as blood gushed from the gruesome wound.
My vision swam, and I felt dizzy as I began to topple back. I slammed into the ground, but felt no pain. The cloying scent of the crimson liquid began to flow back into my throat.
“What’s… Ugh, long… about it…”
“I’m talking about the illusion I placed within you. You seem to have a lot of doubts, human. It took quite some time to get here.”
As I coughed, blood dribbled from my mouth. My right arm, barely hanging on by a thread of flesh, was devoid of sensation, while my remaining left arm trembled uncontrollably.
“Why do you think it took so long to combat you? If my intention was to simply kill you, I had a plethora of options.”
He stepped closer, hands folded behind his back. Then he kicked the Wingless Nightmare aside with a bemused expression, as if he had seen something unnecessary.
“Because I wanted to seize the perfect opportunity, human. To exact a perfect revenge on you.”
“……”
Gag.
“Imagine being just on the brink of victory, only to receive an unexpected strike, leading to your injury. This is a familiar scenario, isn’t it?”
“…You… lunatic…”
“I’ve repaid the debt for the attack you made on me, human. I can’t rest until I get even.”
A madman. I couldn’t finish the words and instead vomited blood again. Because of my posture, it pooled near my eyes, staining my vision red.
That creature continued its rant, regardless of my state.
“Doesn’t it bother you? Why is it that I used weapons only from ‘Brightest Darkness 2’ and ‘Brightest Darkness 3’, but only those from ‘Brightest Darkness 4’?”
“…Don’t tell me…”
“Just a bit of suspicion too could lead your thoughts to quantify those sorts of things. Tiny doubts accumulate, preventing you from seeing beyond them.”
At first, exposing the possibility was merely one way to play it out, but he had gone all out simply to cast my suspicions in that direction.
“Taking on your form, using only the weapons you wielded, and summoning the bosses you faced, everything was done to cleverly guide your thoughts in one specific direction.”
Looking back, he was right.
From the moment he materialized as me holding a weapon from Brightest Darkness 4, I unconsciously thought he’d only use weapons and techniques that I had used.
If he absorbed my memories, he must have fully understood the bosses’ attack patterns as well.
“Oh, I’ve made it long-winded. You seem to be a tough one, so perhaps you’ll think of a way to kill me in the meantime. I almost left a risk hanging.”
The world they had created with the Wingless Nightmare approached my head. The choice of that weapon indicated there were still feelings of animosity left.
My wounds no longer hurt. I was fading to the point where I couldn’t even feel pain. Considering how tough it was to identify where the limbs were attached, how could I feel pain?
“There’s no one left to stop me now.”
In my increasingly blurred vision, the only thing left to glimpse was the Wingless Nightmare waving towards me.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.