Book 2: Chapter 194
Book 2: Chapter 194
Was it a bad thing to risk your life for a sense of accomplishment?
Or was it wrong to have such a desire in the first place?
“Bullshit…! Do you feel like you’re doing something great? No! Isn’t the only thing a Fighter does, at best, is take another Fighter’s life? Fighting for your lives? Wanting to prove that you’re stronger? Those are just vulgar and barbaric ideas no different from the thoughts of beasts! If you die then it’s all over!”
“That’s why we fight.”
To be remembered.
“Kaytai, you must have been a Fighter once too. Do you want to close your eyes quietly on a hospital bed with a fat stomach? Do you think people will remember such a Fighter?”
“Why do you want to die as a Fighter? Do you know how other Dragonmen view us here on Combat Island? They see us as simple savages! They curse at us and call us ignorant and uneducated fools!”
“Their curses don’t matter.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter what those bastards who know nothing say. They look down on us. But I don’t care about them either. I don’t care about their pointing fingers, insults, or contempt. At the very least we… I am proud of myself.”
“…”
“Is that the case for you? Brothers.”
Bargan’s voice cracked a little as he said this.
He wasn’t just speaking to Kaytai, but to all the Fighters around him.
“Are you proud of yourselves right now?”
“…”
“I…”
Bargan looked back at himself.
One eyeball had burst,
His left arm was numb,
His right leg was sprained,
His ribs pressed uncomfortably against his lungs.
He was no different from someone who had one foot in the grave.
However, even more, because of that.
“I am proud.”
…He continued to fight.
Even if he lost the fight and died, he did not regret even a single drop of blood spilled.
He had been prepared from the moment he picked up his weapon.
Because he knew.
Even if they were to kill him here today and no one else knew about it, they would never forget him.
It was ironic.
The enemies whom he was risking his life to defeat would end up becoming the only ones to remember him in the end.
Great Fighters would feel much comfort from that fact.
Bargan was no different.
He remembered all of those who had fallen and left their bloodstains on his club.
There was a sublime sensation that came with fighting to the death.
What did it matter if other people pointed their fingers?
His body, his heart, his soul.
He could say with perfect honesty that he was proud of himself.
“…those words don’t make any sense.”
Kaytai raised his sword with a stiff expression on his face.
Seeing that, Bargan quietly made his decision.
“Ssss….”
-A deep breath.
He swallowed what might very well be his last breath before slowly exhaling.
He was ready to accept his death.
Then he realised.
It was only now that he was able to truly see.
All of a sudden.
It felt like all of his senses had been enhanced.
His body felt light.
It was light as if something had been removed.
It was a strange, contradictory feeling.
Something had obviously disappeared, but now, instead of feeling a sense of loss, he had a sense of fulfillment.
‘Ah.’
At that moment, the pain that came from every part of his body seemed distant.
The world seemed to have lost its color and faded to nothing but black and white.
And in the midst of this, Bargan’s concentration seemed to soar to the limit.
‘This…’
Sometimes in a single battle, one might gain experience that they couldn’t obtain after decades of training.
No. It wasn’t just an experience.
This phenomenon wasn’t something that could have been obtained simply by training.
It was a miracle that only occurred when fate and fortune intersected with each other.
Bargan was currently experiencing only the very tip.
Ta, ta, ta.
Kaytai started running.
He was neither fast nor slow, but he seemed to be rushing forward with overwhelming momentum.
And it was coming.
An attack that could never be avoided with a limp leg.
-Drip.
“…!”
Kaytai’s eyes widened.
On the other hand, Bargan’s expression was extremely calm.
He slowly lifted his club.
Every time before this, he would always swing at his opponent.
But this time he didn’t do that. Instead, he thrust it forward.
Puk!
“Kuk!”
Bargan’s outstretched club pierced Kaytai’s solar plexus. The stab was so deep that almost half of the club was buried.
Kaytai groaned painfully. He felt a great deal of pain in his abdomen. It felt like all of his organs had done a flip.
“You son of a bitch!”
A spark appeared in Kaytai’s eyes and he made a diagonal slash with his sword.
This attack was so fast and strong that it was difficult to see.
Nevertheless, he could avoid it.
It might be too much for him to block it, but he could avoid it.
Bargan’s figure blurred slightly as he avoided the attack like a wraith. After that, he appeared behind Kaytai as if it was natural.
Kaytai, ranked 4th in the Lirua Arena.
In preparation to defeat him, Bargan took a step forward.
But suddenly.
Paak!
“…k-, uk.”
It felt like thunder in his head.
Bargan fell to his knees. He felt warmth flowing from the back of his head. This proved that his skull was cracked and blood was leaking out.
…It wasn’t Kaytai.
Someone else had attacked him.
“It really is such a waste, senior.”
Then he heard Aram’s voice.
“It seems that your fatigue has accumulated, which caused you to collapse so suddenly.”
Bargan didn’t respond.
It would be more accurate to say that he didn’t have the strength to even open his mouth.
He could feel exhaustion fill his entire body.
All he could do was stare at Aram with a subdued gaze.
“Why are you staring at me like that? It’s almost as if someone attacked you from behind.”
“…”
“I swear nothing like that ever happened. Look… we are all witnesses here. No one interfered with senior’s match.”
“Naturally.”
“There’s no trash here that would interfere with a Fighter’s fight.” (TL: At least they know they’re trash…)
“Kikiki!”
“…”
Looking at them, Bargan felt more like laughing than swearing at them.
But now, his tongue couldn’t move at all as if it had hardened.
“You impudent bastard!”
Kaytai strode towards him with an angry expression.
“I’m going to kill you…! I’m going to tear you into little pieces and feed you to a sky dragon.”
He had lost all his reason due to anger.
He lifted his sword high.
With Bargan’s current weakened state, his body would be split in two by this attack.
Bargan forcibly lifted his head to look at the oncoming sword.
At the very least, he wanted to face his death without shying away from it.
‘How unfortunate.’
He had just realised this fight.
That he could go higher.
That his growth hadn’t ended yet.
There…
‘It felt like I was almost grabbing ahold of something.’
In the end, it couldn’t be helped.
He closed his eyes.
Maybe they wouldn’t remember him in the end.
He could tell by looking at Aram. He had completely forgotten about the ‘Fangs of Kanesh’, a group that he had annihilated with his own hands.
But that didn’t matter.
Bargan felt that it was fortunate that he was able to at least have a satisfactory experience at the end of his life.
He decided to calmly accept his death.
But his death was delayed a bit further.
Clatter…
Because something rolled over.
It was a miraculous moment.
Not only the other Fighters, but even Kaytai, who was about to swing his sword, froze.
At first, they thought it was a ball.
It wasn’t.
“Huk…!”
Aram subconsciously drew in a breath.
What had flown over was a Dragonman’s head.
And the face on the head was someone Aram knew, someone who’d gone missing a few days before.
At the same time, their disappearance was the decisive cause for Kangki’s discomfort.
It was the head of a man. One of Kangki’s three henchmen was given the moniker ‘Midnight Reaper’.
It was Hubi’s head.
A cold voice slowly floated into their ears.
“If you kill that man.”
It came from the same direction Hubi’s head had flown in from.
The voice was low and quiet as a whisper, but for some strange reason, it was clearly heard by all of those in the arena. It penetrated their ears almost as if it had been spoken right beside them.
Bargan, who had just been ready to accept his death, opened his eyes wide.
“You will all die too.”
From the entrance of the arena.
A single man slowly walked in.
It was Lukas.