༺ A Dramatic First (1) ༻
The Forge of Struggle, that had been completely divided in half, tottered before collapsing. It looked as if someone had cut an apple in half and each piece fell to the ground.
Everywhere around, people were losing their balance, tumbling while screaming.
“Teach, we need to quickly get—!”
“What are you doing?! Why are you standing around—?!”
The screams of Riru and Iliya could be heard as well.
But, those sounds started to become more distant from my eardrums. They gradually slowed down and faded away.
“…”
Actually, it wasn’t a metaphor, my surroundings were ‘slowing down.’
The reason for this was the dense grey aura that emerged from Eleanor’s body. It encompassed everything around me.
It was the Grey Devil’s Authority, ‘Corrosion’. It was the ability to exercise absolute dominion over all nearby spacetime.
And when thinking of its appearance in the original game, a space that was under a state of Corrosion went beyond simply stopping time; It also distorted the very fabric of space, ultimately resulting in tearing apart everything.
When the Grey Devil revealed her true power, it could even reach such a phenomenon. The ability to ‘erase’ a part of the world.
Since she hadn’t collected all three Fragments yet, the true power of the Final Boss wouldn’t be revealed. Nevertheless, this much power would be enough to obliterate the entire Forge of Struggle without much difficulty.
System Message
[ A moment of danger has been detected.]
[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]
[ Skill: Desperation raised to EX-Grade. ]
Amidst the slowed down world, such a message appeared before my eyes.
Except for a very small part in the main scenario, in most cases, a Devil’s berserk event was pretty much a ‘Game Over’.
As could be seen from the fact that it happened without me doing a single thing, the saying that a Devil in berserk would cause the destruction of the world were not empty words.
〚…〛
And…
The piercing glare from Eleanor’s red eyes, as she floated in the air even though there was no space to stand on, was undoubtedly hostility verging on killing intent.
It wasn’t for no reason that the system window displayed a 0% probability of survival. In the first place, my attempts to survive were rendered meaningless because of the power gap between us.
If the Grey Devil herself emerged, then I could somehow try talking with her, but even that was impossible right now.
When a Devil’s Vessel went on berserk, it didn’t mean that the Devil herself would descend. Instead, the Vessel’s inherent evil disposition would be insanely amplified by the influence of the Fragments.
Although the Vessel contained the Devil’s demonic aura, the one causing this phenomenon was not the ‘Devil’, but Eleanor ‘herself’.
In other words…
There was no way out of this.
This was a certain death for me.
I felt the blood draining from my entire body.
[Get your shit together, you idiot! Why are you standing around like that?! Are you looking for death?!]
Amid such sensations, Caliban’s roar broke through my daze.
[…Wouldn’t she understand if you just explained to her that it wasn’t your intention? Weren’t you also writhing around, desperately trying to escape?]
Caliban spoke in a serious voice after seeing my expression.
Previously, right before I was about to receive the ring from Eleanor, he still acted carefreely. But now, it seemed that even he wasn’t able to maintain such a feeling.
It was obviously because, at this moment, the force bursting out of Eleanor was incredibly tumultuous.
“…That won’t solve anything.”
[What?]
“If she was able to accept a rational explanation, then, her state wouldn’t be called ‘berserk’, would it?”
It felt like this was the result of her venting all her displeasure for me. In other words, it wasn’t a problem that could be solved by persuading her with words.
Rather than listening to my explanation, it wouldn’t be strange if she were to immediately drew her sword and cut me to—
“…”
Huh, wait.
As I was thinking that, my mind became clearer.
The system window said the probability of survival was 0%, right?
That meant, if she really wanted to kill me, she would have done it already.
Since there was no way she’d be able to maintain her sanity during her berserk state, why hasn’t she killed me yet?
This meant, despite her not being in the right mind, there was some factor that prevented her from attacking me.
In fact, ever since she entered the berserk state, she had not spoken a single word, nor had she taken any further actions. She had only been glaring at me.
I scrutinized that expression closely.
[If an explanation won’t work, then at least run away right now, you idiot! Take Iliya with you no matter what and—]
“No.”
And finally, I realized something.
“She’s fighting right now.”
[…What?]
Compared to earlier, there was no focus in her eyes at all. It was as if she was completely void of consciousness.
Instead, the ‘atmosphere’ in her pupils continuously changed by the second.
According to the setting of the game, that was a battle for control.
Most likely, the evil side of Eleanor, amplified by the influence of her berserk state, was telling her to kill me while her rational side was refusing such an impulse.
“…”
In other words…
Even with her mind being encroached by the Devil’s Fragments’ berserk from the influence of her overwhelming anger…
She was instinctively fighting it.
Just so she couldn’t kill me with her own hands.
[…That’s very commendable of her. But how does that help with the current situa—!]
“This is enough help.”
As long as her mind wasn’t completely encroached by the fragments, it would be of help to me.
After all, it meant there was still room for ‘persuasion’.
[…What are you going to do?]
“I need to release her from her anger.”
Since that was the case, what I had to do was simple.
If the cause of her berserk was because she was angry, I just needed to release her from her anger.
In the first place, the reason for her anger was clearly stated in the system window.
All I needed to do was make her properly understand the reason.
[Didn’t you say just before that she wasn’t in a state to listen even if you said something?]
“Even if she can’t hear me, there’s something I can still try.”
Even if she was not in a state to listen to me right now…
There was an ‘action’ I could do, so that my intention would reach her.
So basically…
If my deduction was correct, I just needed to give her a little ‘shock’.
My judgment was quick. My decision was even quicker.
System Message
[ ‘Skill: King of Pandemonium’ is activated. ]
[ Gained an absolute advantage against Devil-type enemies for the next 5 minutes! ]
[ Facing a target with parallel abilities. ]
[ Resisting target’s unique ability ‘Authority: Corrosion’! ]
When I activated that skill, my gradually slowing body regained its speed. In this place, where even the laws of physics slowed down, only I could move ‘as usual’.
Amidst the slowed down world, I put strength into my legs.
This might have been impossible before, but I had recently raised my strength, agility and endurance to E-Grade.
With the help of EX-Grade Desperation, it was definitely possible.
“…Heup!”
And as I let out a shout of determination and leaped towards Eleanor…
The impact of me kicking off the ground shattered the floor beneath me before a shockwave rippled out.
Due to that influence, the already tottering and unstable surroundings shook like crazy. Almost as if an earthquake had occurred.
“…Holy fuck—!”
Nearby, I could see Iliya shouting in slow motion and Riru slowly gaping her jaw in surprise.
And then…
Almost as if I was a rocket filled with propellant, my body shot up.
“…”
It really was a bit absurd.
I had only increased by one grade. From F-Grade to E-Grade.
Although my previous increase in stats was already unbelievable, what I was doing now could match the specs of Eleanor who had eaten 2 Fragments, even if it wasn’t at the level of Kraut yet.
Contemplating how absurd the skill I possessed was, I sequentially activated my other skills.
System Notification
[ ‘Skill: Proof of Faith’ activated. ]
[ All stat bonuses are temporarily converted to ‘Endurance’. ]
Right before colliding with Eleanor, I fully braced myself to endure some punishment.
From what I could tell…
This was probably going to be quite painful.
“…Heugh…!”
The moment I collided with her, the air was knocked out of my lungs. It felt like I had tackled an electric pole with my bare body.
And, compared to the pain that followed, even that was nothing.
“…!”
Due to direct contact with Eleanor’s body, the Grey Devil’s aura instantly burrowed into my body.
It felt like my entire body was melting as it burned in flames.
This sensation made me instantly realize how much the Grey Devil had been holding back for my sake.
Although I had become somewhat desensitized to pain recently, this was hell at an unbearable level.
〚…〛
However, even as I went through this process…
Eleanor didn’t even budge an inch.
She continued to float silently in the air, in a state of complete stillness, and seemed utterly unaware of my collided figure.
This was undoubtedly true, judging how she remained in such a state, even as I hung onto Eleanor’s body while gasping in pain.
[…Alright. What are you going to do after sticking to her like this?]
“Caliban.”
With a mutter, I get into position.
Since there was no solid ground to step on, I had to support my entire body with only my arms, which made it quite challenging, but…
At least, this made it possible for me to get to my desired position.
A position where me and Eleanor’s face was ‘directly facing’ each other.
“First experiences are usually good if they’re dramatic, right?”
Well, actually, this might be a bit too dramatic, but…
It do be like that sometimes.
[What kind of bullshit are you—]
Before that sentence could continue…
My lips enveloped Eleanor’s.
“…!”
And then…
Eleanor’s pupils, which were blank until now, suddenly widened.
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