"Uoooooooooooooooooooh!!"
"Hmph... a last-ditch effort, then? What a tiresome, stubborn man."
Hypno sighed, his eyes narrowing as he watched Zenon hurtle toward him with his blade raised.
It was, quite literally, the last thing Zenon was capable of. Hypno felt a flicker of annoyance at the way the boy insisted on being a nuisance until the very end. He raised his arm.
(But I was killed by a fool just like this once before—one who didn't consider the consequences. I won't repeat that mistake.)
He knew better than most that a true idiot was often the catalyst for a true catastrophe. In his previous life, he had been cornered by a fool who committed murder out of nothing but a drive for revenge—an utterly inefficient, illogical act. Because of that, Hypno now handled every potential threat with absolute certainty.
He unleashed his magic power, weaving it into a solid barrier to intercept the falling Zenon. Even as the boy’s sword slammed into the wall of energy, Hypno didn't lower his guard for a second. He continued to pour his power into the shield, maintaining its integrity.
"Ugh! Ooooooh! Uooooooooooooooooh!!"
"Don't bother lingering. You're just making this tedious."
Hypno clicked his tongue, glaring at the boy's futile resistance. The gap between them in both condition and magic power was insurmountable; it was no exaggeration to say the outcome had been decided long ago.
Zenon’s momentum was fading, his magic flickering out. Yet, somehow, he held on.
"Guh! Gh— uuuuuuuuugh!"
"Enough already... you're persistent!!"
"Ugh! Gah-haaaaaaaaaah!!"
Hypno finally reached the limit of his patience. He surged his magic power, blasting Zenon’s sword back. With the boy’s strength spent and his body falling through the air, Hypno delivered a brutal kick to his midsection. Zenon hit the basement floor with a choked scream and tumbled across the stones.
"There. It's finally over. For you, and for those fools above."
"Gah...! Cough...!"
Hypno spoke with cold finality as he looked down at Zenon, who lay prostrate, coughing up blood. From the look of it, his internal organs were likely ruptured. Even if he didn't die this very second, his life would slip away soon enough.
Since there was no one here to treat him, Hypno saw no reason to exert himself further.
"Thank you for your pointless struggle. As a reward, I won't kill you immediately. You can stay right there and watch your beloved Claire take her own life."
Wearing a mocking sneer, Hypno turned his back on Zenon and began walking toward the magic item. Behind him, he heard the boy let out a pained, rattling groan.
"...I knew... from the start... that I couldn't win. I knew there would be no miracles..."
"Hehe..."
Hearing Zenon's desperate muttering after having exhausted everything and failed so utterly, the corners of Hypno's mouth curled into a smile. He was certain of his complete victory, but he stopped in his tracks when he felt a strange shift in Zenon's tone.
"That's why... what’s about to happen isn't a miracle. It’s an inevitability...!!"
"...What did you say?"
Hypno reflexively turned back. He stared at the boy lying broken on the ground, who had managed to turn only his face toward his enemy. Hypno found himself listening as Zenon gasped out his final words.
"I knew that even if I gave it my all, I couldn't beat you. That last attack... it wasn't meant to take you down. It was meant to make you use your magic power..."
"What are you talking about? Do you honestly think you could have exhausted me?"
"No... that wasn't it. That wouldn't have been enough. The important part was that you used magic power equivalent to mine to block me. That's what mattered..."
Zenon had known that a perfectionist like Hypno—someone who was wary of "fools" but simultaneously looked down on them—would never hold back or give Zenon a single opening. If Zenon launched an attack, Hypno wouldn't dodge; he would deploy a firm defense to ensure total control before counterattacking.
"I’m also someone who received a Reincarnation Bonus. I have more magic power than the average person. You unleashed magic power equal to or greater than mine to block that strike. We clashed with a massive amount of energy. Surely... someone has sensed that signal by now."
"...!?"
"This isn't a miracle, it's an inevitability! An inevitability that you brought upon yourself...!! I can't beat you. But... right now, the guy who can beat you is coming...!!"
While spitting up blood, Zenon forced a smile, looking at Hypno with absolute certainty.
In that instant, Hypno realized he had been played. His eyes widened—and then the world shook.
"Wh-What is this!?"
A tremendous vibration rocked the basement. As Hypno stood frozen in confusion, a hole tore open in the ceiling.
Simultaneously, cracks spiderwebbed across the Hypnosis Diffusion Magic Item. Hypno could only stare in horror as his equipment crumbled, his vision obscured by the thick clouds of dust and debris falling from the shattered roof.
(I should have been more cautious! I should have watched that fool who claimed he would risk his life for someone else! I should have seen Zenon Ash's action for what it was!!)