Sslice-
Since the beginning, humans could not soar in the sky.
The celestial and demonic races flew with wings sprouting from their backs.
Dwarves honed their skills to fly in the heavens.
Elves clung to the powers of nature to glide through the skies.
Furry beings with wings naturally flew.
Those without wings couldn’t fly like them, but could maintain a hang time that felt like flying with their superior jumping ability.
But humans, with nothing at all, could not fly.
This was a law that persisted from the birth of the world to its eventual demise.
So, was it just flying skills that humans lacked?
Absolutely not.
Humans had shorter lifespans compared to other races.
Weaker muscles and stamina.
Slower reaction times and poor combat instincts.
Even their sensitivity to magical power was drastically lacking, and their history was in a state of abject failure compared to others.
If that was all, it would have been a relief.
These damned humans, even in such a dire situation, lived with thoughts of swindling others like a bunch of absolute idiots.
Of course, who knows what it’s like in the changed times now?
There are surely many who are not like that.
But in my mind, such an image is firmly embedded.
I’ve been hit in the back of the head quite a few times, after all.
Anyway, these detestable humans, despite everything, survived.
They lived until the very end, breathing the same air, seeing the same landscapes as others.
So, how on earth did such weak creatures manage to survive alongside them?
By sheer luck?
By clinging to other races?
Because the most magnificent and strongest being, myself, was leading them?
No.
The reason humans survived was simple.
They were, precisely, the weak.
Because humanity was ridiculously weak, they found a way to survive among the strong.
You might say that sounds ridiculous, but it’s the truth.
When thinking of how other races could win, humans instead considered how to survive among them.
They discarded their pride, held their breath, and if necessary, crawled into the ground, doing whatever it took to ensure their continuation.
They were so weak that survival became their fervent desire.
And so, having persevered against all odds, humans finally attained the right to survive, but they were still weak.
Thus,
We humans were weak, so we couldn’t afford to waste the time given to us.
We were weak, allowing us to synchronize with others.
We were weak, enabling us to hone skills to face stronger foes.
We were weak, granting us the ability to predict the next actions.
We were weak, allowing us to sharpen the wisdom of the weak that the strong would not require.
Descending-
The essence created from humans was.
Desperation.
Sorrow and pain.
Fear and fury.
And it was completed through poison.
At last.
It became the deadly dagger that took the breath away from those who once looked down upon humans with arrogance.
Soaring nobly in the sky.
Cutting off the neck of that arrogant lizard that stood above me on the ground a thousand years ago.
A thousand years later, just like now.
Rustle-
[KKAA…]
The dragon’s head, which was about to unleash a breath, was severed. The dark smoke and bright red droplets sprayed as the head fell to the ground.
In contrast, the body still floating above in the sky flapped its wings busily, unaware that its head had been cut off.
“Heh, dumbass.”
Using it as a stepping stone, I took a stride forward.
Again.
Boom-! With all my might, I dove back into the dragon’s ranks.
My body was shot forward at great speed, as ancient magic unfolded densely around me. Dragons belched out black smoke in a line with their mouths wide open.
From the throats of those creatures that loomed over me, flames began to condense, resembling destruction itself, capable of burning the very seas.
A wall of wind arose that a human body could never overcome. The heat of the breath felt from afar began to sting my skin. Finally, with the activation of the ancient magic circle becoming apparent, the world screamed.
Thousands of ancient magics were activated.
Hundreds of beings preparing their breaths.
In a net of no escape,
I closed my eyes.
I grabbed hold of the attitude that was like a life in my hands.
At the same time, time began to stretch.
The wall of wind blocking my body vanished.
The scorching heat fled away.
The thunderous cacophony quieted.
At long last, my mental landscape unfolded.
Filled with stillness and darkness, a river of sorrow flowed in the sky.
The bottom of a bottomless pit echoed only with regret and despair.
In that twisted victory-filled vision,
I reflected on the life full of failures.
I recalled the path I had walked.
I traced the achievements I had accumulated.
Then, I activated the unique ability I had sworn never to use again.
In that instant,
A thin golden line appeared in the midst of the wholly dark mental realm.
It looked as though it would vanish at any moment.
It seemed it would scatter if the wind blew.
It appeared as if it would crumble if touched.
Yet, it existed there.
Not vanishing, scattering, or crumbling.
It undoubtedly existed.
I turned my back toward it.
I took steps toward it.
I raised my attitude toward it.
I, toward it.
Along that line.
Following the victory given to me.
I swung my attitude.
———!
As the golden line was cut silently, my mental realm split apart.
The world’s flow of time began to operate again, revealing the wall of wind blocking my path. The heat of the breath felt even more intense against my skin. The world’s thrashing, turning screams, now turned to howls echoed deep within my bones.
And.
The golden thread I saw in my mental realm stretched long and weaved through the net of no escape.
Where it began was my left arm.
Where it ended was the primordial beast wrapped in lightning.
The fact that my victory did not reach the Nameless One was a bit unsatisfying.
But to take down that massive beast, sacrificing my left arm wasn’t so bad.
“Pretty cheap, huh?”
Hehe-
As I laughed like usual.
The first thread entangled with my body.
On the dragon’s claw, which was swinging toward me,
Exactly above where the storm swept.
Descending- I lightly landed.
What I was doing then was something that couldn’t possibly happen under the laws of this world. Initially, it was a feat that any being could not accomplish.
But I did it.
Just like the golden thread seen in my mental realm.
Like that victory that seemed nonexistent, but clearly existed.
I surely accomplished it.
I had no choice but to accomplish it.
For that was my unique ability.
The power to open the path towards victory.
[KKRRRRRRAAAAAAAA-!!]
Meanwhile, the dragon, horrified upon seeing me atop its arm, roared ferociously.
Naturally, it wasn’t an ordinary roar.
Dragon Roar.
A howl imbued with pressure that inferior beings living on the ground could not withstand.
Indeed. Inferior beings.
Naturally, I was not included in that.
I’m damn awesome.
Rustle-
I carved the deep black mark into the roaring mouth. Crimson droplets scattered everywhere, mingled with the storm, altering the color of the wind.
“Ugh, damn. Clean your mouth, would ya?”
Its opposite claw rushed toward me, attempting to grab my body. The ancient magic, finally completed and manifested, loomed overhead. The breath it shot out, whether it lived or died, filled my vision.
In that moment, I swung my attitude, severing the wrist that firmly held my ground below. Losing its footing, the body tilted to the right.
The roar bursting from the dragon’s mouth transformed into a desperate scream. A deluge of blood erupted from the neatly severed cut.
Using its pain-filled scream as background music, I surrendered myself to the storm shaking the world. The blood, swirling madly, avoided touching my body. The gravity trying to drag this audacious human down pressed heavily upon me.
In this paradoxical imminent scenario where my life could end at any second,
I leisurely enjoyed the sensation of falling encompassing my entire body.
Then.
———!!
Ancient magics, carrying the scent of calamity, poured down above the place I had just occupied. Breathes burning with heat intense enough to melt the sea spiraled chaotically.
Consequently, the one with the severed wrist clutching my attitude became ash, leaving behind only one arm.
Laughing at the pitiful fool who perished, I slowly observed the descending arm.
Finally, as the falling arm reached an appropriate position, slap- I thrust my attitude into it. Using it as a handle, I pulled my body upward. I landed atop the dragon’s falling arm.
I took a breath. Settled my stance. Swinging my attitude, I cleared the winds obscuring my sight, and Boom-! I hurled myself once more into the ranks of dragons.
Chasing victory through constantly changing scenery, my foot landed on the scarred dragon’s skull this time.
Now, its bright red-tipped claw swung toward me. Kachack- I angled my attitude to deflect its claw. Crash- I thrust my knee upward, shattering its horn. Rustle- Unable to pull it out due to insufficient strength, I severed the root.
[KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA―!!]
Just like before, a desperate scream resonated.
Just like before, an assault to kill a weak human unfolded.
Just like before, the dragons’ pride soared to the heavens to eradicate the weak human who had harmed one of their own.
“Fools.”
Despite witnessing their kin suffering like that, still wrapped in the notion of their supremacy, I captured it all through my eyes.
Thump-
I plunged my attitude into the screaming fool’s skull.
