Protects Everyone
The dim dawn light brightens the red world.
Patsutsutsuch!
The clash of each other’s mental images causes fractures in the world.
The air cracks like glass, and the surrounding scenery begins to shatter.
The bluish dawn light starts to erode the red world.
“Manifesting mental images… huh?”
Berserk’s eyes widen.
His face hardens, and his composure vanishes.
The only way to surpass a mental image is with another mental image.
When two different mental images collide, the stronger one takes control of the space.
And right now, Berserk feels helplessly pushed back as the endless struggle he manifested (Blood Valhalla) is being shattered by Kim Deok-Sung’s dawn breaking night.
But what shocked Berserk even more was…
“How… how… are you using the Black Prince’s mental image?!”
Kim Deok-Sung was using none other than the Black Prince’s mental image.
Manifesting a mental image means transcending the laws of the world through the culmination of a hero’s life, experiences, thoughts, emotions, and abilities in a microcosm, creating a unique reality.
Since each individual’s mental image differs, the mental image emerging from the culmination appears as a unique landscape for each person.
Therefore, it is impossible for two different people to share the same mental image.
Even close friends, family, or even identical twins—regardless of their genetic resemblance—possess different thoughts, abilities, lives, and experiences.
But right now, that common sense was completely shattered.
Kim Deok-Sung.
An absurdity unfolded as he wielded the Black Prince’s mental image.
Pasusss.
The black helmet that wrapped around Kim Deok-Sung’s head dissipated into smoke, revealing his unmasked face.
Backlit by the bluish dawn, a black glimmer sparkled in Kim Deok-Sung’s eyes.
“I don’t need to know about that.”
Muttering softly, Kim Deok-Sung lifts Durandal.
Behind him, a black sun formed from swirling black flames rises.
Flash! Flash!
The blue dawn light shooting down from the black sun strikes the red earth.
Berserk’s domain darkens as if erased with an eraser.
A translucent figure in the form of the Black Knight emerges behind Kim Deok-Sung.
[How dare you attack my dear little brother, you punk. You’re finished now. Crunch on this.]
The Black Knight, the Black Prince, speaks with a cheeky voice.
“This voice is…? Could it be the Black Prince himself? Did he not die then but instead became a spirit…?”
Berserk’s eyes waver.
That figure and voice undeniably belong to the Black Prince.
Ten years ago, he was said to have perished in an Omega Rank otherworldly battle against Paphnir, but in reality, he did not die; he survived as a spirit.
Years ago, the Black Prince, who was said to have perished alongside the Omega Rank interdimensional creature Pafnir, actually survived in the form of a spirit.
All the pieces in his mind come together.
Why the Kim Deok-Sung in front of him is using the Black Prince’s psychic projection.
If the spirit Black Prince merges with him…
If they can become one, transcending 100% unity into a psychic amalgamation…
Then, theoretically, the user Kim Deok-Sung could use the psychic projection of the spirit Black Prince.
However, the probability of that happening is almost nonexistent.
An absurd miracle that defies common sense, impossible to prepare for in advance.
Pachutsutsutsutsu!
With a spark, the crimson world shatters.
The dawning light shines through the burning black sun, splitting the world apart.
In an instant, the balance of power is overturned.
Standing tall on the tilted playground is Kim Deok-Sung, with the translucent figure of the Black Prince behind him.
The gazes of the two men turn toward Berserk.
[Yes. I am the Black Prince!]
The voice of the Black Prince resonates throughout the world.
Black flames ripple from the black sun.
The situation is turning unfavorable.
The odds are rapidly diminishing.
It’s a life-threatening scenario.
Thump.
Berserk’s heart beats.
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart races wildly.
“Ku, kuhuhuh, kuhuhuhahaha, hahahaha—!!”
Berserk erupts into maniacal laughter.
Blood boils with excitement.
A truly life-and-death battle.
Isn’t that what the battle maniac has longed for?
“Five Crowns! Black Prince Raul Napoleon Bonaparte! If it’s you, then I am willing to stake my life for a sacred duel!”
Berserk proclaims with exuberant laughter.
“Five Crowns, the legendary prowess of the Messiah who ended the great catastrophe 30 years ago and saved the world from calamity! Show it to me right now! Black Prince!!!”
Five Crowns.
Thirty years ago, the five great heroes who saved the world and humanity from the apocalyptic threat posed by the interdimensional invasion.
Among them, the hero of heroes who stood unparalleled even amongst EX ranks.
Though he lived in the same era as Berserk, he never had the chance to experience his skills directly.
If he can experience the technique of the now-mythical strongman…
Even if he loses, even if he dies here, he wouldn’t mind.
This is indeed his way of life.
“I am more than confident. Come at me, Black Prince! Kuhuhuhuhu!! Let’s duel right now!”
Berserk shouts with a face flushed from excitement.
The Black Prince, observing, replies:
[Show my skills?]
A voice full of incredulity.
Fwooosh.
As if to echo the Black Prince’s words, the black sun blazes even fiercer.
[While I, the Black Prince, am alive, a mere blooded wretch like you wouldn’t even dare to meet my gaze. Show my skills? Ha!]
The Black Prince clicks his tongue.
[Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable…]
Fwooosh.
Flames of black envelop the blade of Durandal.
[Listen closely, you little brat. From now on—]
The Black Prince’s voice booms across the world.
[I’ll demonstrate that a fight cannot even be established between you and me! Partner!]
*
The Black Prince’s voice echoes in his mind, no, in the entire world.
Just like characters from light novels, they’re engaging in pointless banter before the fight.
What is this, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?
It’s ridiculous, but for me, it’s great.
Because thanks to this, I’ve bought some time to prepare the ultimate technique of the Black Radiant Sword Style I learned through merging.
[Now’s the time!]
The Black Prince gives the command.
I summon the poem.
I raise my sword.
■■■■■■■■■!!
The black sun rising in the sky resonates with Durandal, releasing a strange echo.
The shockwave of magical power radiating from the black sun sweeps through the surroundings.
Flash.
A sphere reminiscent of a black moon emerges from the tip of Durandal, growing in size.
The moment the magical sphere covers the radiant blue light of the black sun.
[Black Light Sword Technique]
[Final Words]
[Golden Ring Eclipse]
The black sun and the magical sphere merge and plunge toward the ground.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Black flames fall to the earth, and blue flashes strike down like lightning.
During the descent, the additionally released shockwave tears the space apart and ignites the surroundings.
The moment the Black Prince unfolded his imagery through my body, I realized his visualization ability.
The Black Prince’s imagery technique, Dawn Breaking Night, attacks the enemy with a blue light descending from the black sun while healing my body.
And it amplifies the power of the Black Light Sword Technique and Final Words’ Golden Ring Eclipse.
The Black Prince’s ultimate skill, a skill that had once driven France to the brink of destruction ten years ago with the Omega Rank otherworldly being, Fafnir, manifests now in my hands.
Cataclysm.
A wide-area attack powerful enough to turn the surroundings to dust rains down upon Berserk.
“Khuhuhuhu! Impressive, truly impressive! As expected of the Black Prince! As expected of Five Crowns! As expected of humanity’s Messiah! Then I too must use my ultimate skill!”
Berserk bursts out laughing as he raises his sword.
A horrific crimson magical energy swirls around.
“Blood——Cyclone!!”
With a name that makes absolutely no sense, it erupts like a storm of crimson magic, ravaging the area.
Gooooooooo!!
The magical energy forming his imagery is absorbed, becoming a magical blade’s storm that could be called a typhoon.
“Take this! This is my full power! Black Prince!”
The moment Berserk’s words finish.
The crimson storm collides with the black sun.
KWA-CA-CA-CA-WOOOOM!!
A blinding flash goes off, and an explosive sound reverberates throughout the surroundings.
Sparks tear through the space, shaking the very earth.
The sky splits as if a quake has occurred, and the ground collapses.
“Hahahahahaha······.”
As Berserk’s voice gradually fades away.
Pop!
The red completely vanishes, and a black flash shines.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzap!
Space shatters like glass, revealing the landscape of reality.
Their respective imagery techniques are released.
The sense of omnipotence felt within the imagery, the thrill sensed from the expansion of perception, dissolves in an instant like a mirage.
The shockwave from the release of their imagery rises toward the sky.
Flash.
Even in the dead of night, the surroundings illuminate as brightly as daytime.
KWA-CA-CA-WOOOOM!
With the second explosion, through the flash, a figure presumed to be Berserk is seen disintegrating into dust.
[We won. Partner.]
I could feel it, even without the Black Prince saying anything.
This fight, I have won.
Sssssss.
As the flash dissipates and the smoke clears.
A crater formed from the depressed ground.
In it, Hrunting stands upright like a gravestone.
The body has already turned to dust and flown away.
Damn fight is finally over.
Berserk is dead.
“Ugh.”
Maybe it’s due to the tension easing.
A headache rushes in.
It’s been a while since my head has spun like this.
Flash.
Due to lack of magical power, both fusion and combat mode are entirely released.
Thud.
I insert Durandal into the ruined ground.
[Partner.]
The Black Prince speaks in a rarely serious tone.
[This Black Prince can only help you this one time.]
“Your Highness can only help once this time.”
His voice echoes in my head.
“Even if this Black Prince is the greatest genius in the world, conjuring a projection using someone else’s body is quite taxing on one’s existence. There won’t be a second time. I don’t want this body to disappear.”
I know about the rules of projection.
That’s why I understand how absurd it is that I used the Black Prince’s projection.
But I didn’t realize he had used it at the cost of his own existence.
“Partner. Thankfully, today’s little brat was weaker than this Black Prince, so I could deal with him right away, but there’s no guarantee that only such easy opponents will appear in the future.”
“I know.”
Berserk, the weakest member of the Four Horsemen.
Just the other two, Professor and Dokta Shinahel, are strong enough to match Seira in her prime and Ichiro.
Then there’s the second-in-command of the League, Undertaker, and the final boss, Messiah, who could even crush the Black Prince in his prime.
“In order to face strong foes ahead, you must become powerful enough to surpass the past me and today’s us.”
The Black Prince speaks in the style of a mentor from a shonen manga.
Surpassing the past Black Prince and today’s us.
“Only then can you protect everyone.”
The Black Prince states.
Protecting everyone.
A cliché line I’ve seen over and over in light novels and shonen manga.
Completely opposite to the ‘I’ll live for myself’ motto symbolizing the web novel cider, it’s a trademark of light novels filled with annoying tropes.
That’s why I dislike these words.
But now, that line resonates with me.
Not towards the Black Prince’s projection, but towards my own projection.
“Don’t forget today’s sensations, partner.”
As I listen to the Black Prince, I clench and unclench my fist.
The sensation of the Black Prince using my body for projection.
Cognition and sensation had expanded, and the thrill of consciousness rising to a higher dimension is no longer felt.
Like a phantom, it all vanished.
That sensation is indeed imprinted in my body, but I still cannot project it myself.
Right now, I haven’t reached EX rank yet.
I’ve surely touched the projection, but I couldn’t reach it on my own.
It’s like a moment in a martial arts novel where you grasp the hint of enlightenment but are interrupted externally, only catching a glimpse of it.
It’s close enough to touch but ultimately unreachable.
However, if I continue to practice reproducing that sensation, someday…
“I, the Black Prince, will make you the strongest. Don’t take me lightly! Prepare yourself!”
According to his words, I should be able to reach EX rank.
That confidence began to sprout.
“Yeah.”
I respond aloud to the Black Prince’s words.
Stagger.
My legs lose strength.
After the union and the projection, the massive magical power consumption reaction finally hits me.
A wave of weakness crashes over me like a tide.
Just then, as my consciousness was about to flicker out like a lightbulb…
“…Shin! Are you okay?”
I hear Olivia’s voice in my ear.
I see her blue eyes filling with tears.
Behind her, Rin, Haru, Makoto, Evangelin, Beatrice, and Eri come back to their senses.
And lastly, Mayuzumi-sensei.
I see them all rushing towards me.
Good grief, they’re all such softies.
“Sleep well, partner.”
With the Black Prince’s farewell ringing in my head, my consciousness shut down like a computer powering off.
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