"My... defeat? Surrender? Don't screw with me! This isn't over yet! Don't you dare act like you've already won!"
Enraged by Yugo's offer of surrender, Isaac gripped his twin swords and lunged at him once more.
However, Yugo easily parried the strike. As Isaac stumbled and fell forward, Yugo looked down at him with a steady gaze.
"Isaac, have you even noticed? You're completely out of breath."
"Wh-what are you talking about...?"
Stung by the observation, Isaac realized his breathing was shallow and ragged, yet he still didn't seem to grasp the implications.
As a mix of impatience and anxiety began to cloud Isaac's face, Yugo continued.
"Isaac, can you still move the way you did when we started the duel? I don't think you can. You've exhausted your stamina far more than you realize."
"Stamina? That's... that's impossible. Because I'm—!"
Isaac tried to shout him down, but his voice died in his throat as he noticed his hands trembling against the hilts of his swords. The truth was undeniable.
The sweat pouring off him, the way his heart hammered against his ribs as if it might burst, the lungs that burned for air... his own body was cruelly telling the tale of his limits.
"This can't be... This is insane! Why? Why is this happening!?"
Isaac suffered from two distinct misfortunes. The first was his perception that this world was merely a game called Luminous History.
In a game, characters have HP and MP, but the concept of stamina is virtually non-existent. A character can fight as long as their HP holds out, and they can spam skills as long as they have MP to burn.
But the Isaac who had been reincarnated here was a living, breathing human being.
No matter how high his stats or how exceptional his physical abilities were, moving at full throttle took its toll. Unleashing high-level techniques in rapid succession drained his energy even faster. By forcing himself to fit within the logic of a game, he had invited his first misfortune.
The second was that he had simply been too strong.
If Isaac had ever faced an opponent who truly challenged him, he would have learned where his limits lay. He would have discovered exactly how much effort led to exhaustion and how many special moves he could chain together before his body gave out. He should have learned these lessons in the heat of battle.
But he had never been given that chance. His high-mobility, high-firepower status distribution, combined with various buffs, meant he had always been able to end fights with a single blow.
Because of this, Isaac never learned his own capacity. He had no idea how many moves it took to leave him spent.
His power was a borrowed gift, a "reincarnation perk" granted by a god. Unlike Yugo, he had never put in the work or the training; he had simply let his arrogance grow. In that sense, his very existence was a misfortune.
The moment he realized this, Isaac’s mind shattered into a chaotic mess.
Just as it had been with Zenon, mental instability took a physical toll. His exhausted body suddenly felt twice as heavy, and his fatigue skyrocketed.
"Damn it... damn it... DAMN IT ALL!"
"Let's end this, Isaac. I don't want to hurt you anymore."
Isaac had already passed his physical peak. The moment Yugo broke his ultimate combo, his chances of victory had withered away.
Deep down, Isaac knew he couldn't win.
And yet, his ego, bloated by layers of conceit, refused to accept the reality of his impending defeat.
"Don't... screw around... DON'T SCREW AROUND! I'm strong! I can't lose! I... I am the one! I got these swords and became the strongest! No one can beat me! I can live however I want! I'm the man whose name will be carved into history as the solitary hero! Someone like me can't lose in a place like this! I'm going to win! I won't lose! I don't want to lose! I don't want to lose! I don't want to lose, I don't want to lose, I don't want to lose! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE!"
"Isaac...?"
Yugo watched him with concern, wondering if the man had truly lost his mind. But then, Yugo’s expression sharpened beneath his mask.
He saw it—a dark, blood-red magic power sparking and clinging to the blades of Isaac's twin swords.
"It can't be...!"
He knew that magic power. It was a memory he could not erase even if he tried, a terrifying power etched into his mind as an absolute threat.
How? Why was it here? Questions raced through his head, but his instincts told him there was no time for answers. Yugo spun around and screamed to his friends.
"Everyone! Get down!!"
His allies looked up, confused by his sudden, desperate warning.
A heartbeat later, the magic power erupting from Isaac's demonic swords exploded, sending a massive shockwave roaring through the battlefield.