Wary of the Hero’s gaze, I watched as the tree trunks hovering in mid-air pivoted toward me.
“...You’ve got to be kidding.”
Massive objects, easily exceeding ten meters in length, came hurtling straight for me.
“—Damn it!”
Still wielding Schwarzhase in its magic sword form, I lashed out, sending several Black Slashes through the air.
I combined these with attack magic to intercept the incoming trunks, but I was being drowned by the sheer volume of his assault.
(I should have used [Culmination] from the start! If I had, I could have used advanced or special-grade magic. Well, I might have intercepted them more easily, but there’s no guarantee the situation would have stayed the same...!)
Finally, a tree I failed to block plummeted toward me.
I stopped swinging my blade and threw myself out of the way.
With my counter-offensive broken, even more trees began to rain down.
By some stroke of luck, a thick cloud of dust kicked up from the impact, and it seemed he had lost sight of me again.
The Hero switched to area suppression, blanketing the area with timber.
Desperately, I continued to dodge, taking care not to wander out of the dust cloud.
After a while, the rain of wood ceased. He must have run out of ammunition.
(Now it’s my turn to strike back—!)
The Hero likely believed we had both lost track of each other in the haze.
But I could still see him perfectly.
Ever since the joint subjugation back in February, my spatial awareness had improved exponentially.
I didn't know why.
But my field of vision had expanded to the point where I could view the entire battlefield with Bird's-eye Vision.
That was the reason I had been able to fire magic so accurately while hidden earlier, and why I had successfully dodged the trees inside the dust cloud.
“【Fourth Form: Mont Vier】.”
Schwarzhase shifted into the shape of a spear.
“—Hah!”
I hurled the spear directly at the Hero.
It tore through the air toward him at high speed.
With this single-point concentrated attack, I thought I might finally pierce his force field.
However, that hope was heartlessly shattered.
Just like my previous magic, the spear’s trajectory was effortlessly diverted by the field.
“Not yet!”
The spear suddenly detonated, transforming into a mana diffusion.
A Black Shockwave swallowed the Hero whole.
But I knew this wouldn't be enough to reach him.
As expected, the Hero emerged from the black mana completely unscathed.
Then, he swung his sword toward the spot where I had thrown the spear.
(Right there—!)
It was almost certain that the Hero’s Ability was generating a force field that obstructed all incoming attacks. But if he was repurposing that force for offense, then my own attacks should get through at the exact moment he struck!
The black mana lingering around the Hero suddenly converged into my right hand. I had already moved behind him using [Space Leap], and the mana formed into a longsword.
I swung the magic sword with everything I had.
However—.
The blade was caught by the Hero’s force field.
Worse yet, while I had only been pushed back before, this time I felt a pull from the opposite direction. I was being held in place, unable to even retract my weapon.
(Was my hypothesis wrong?)
I tried to let go of Schwarzhase to distance myself, but I was caught in the force field as well. I couldn't move an inch.
“Your array of unique attacks was quite entertaining. Personally, I would like to drag this out a bit longer, but—”
This force field restraint worked by applying an equal and opposite force to whatever power I exerted.
If that was the case, a sudden, unexpected burst of power might allow me to break free.
Ignoring the Hero’s mutterings, I focused and circulated Ki throughout my entire body.
“Culmine—”
“It’s over.”
Before I could invoke [Culmination], I was slammed face-down into the dirt by an overwhelming downward pressure.
“Gah... agh...!”
Something began crushing my entire body against the earth.
Every inch of me was being flattened; I couldn't move a single finger as a white-hot agony flared through my nerves.
(Can't... breathe...)
The pain was bad enough, but the compression on my chest made it impossible to draw air.
The Hero, having quietly landed beside me, spoke.
“You, too, shall taste the agony of suffocation as you wander the threshold of death.”
Leaving me with those words, the Hero turned his back and began to walk away.
My consciousness slowly began to fade—
◇ ◇ ◇
A Life Review.
That’s what they call the phenomenon where your past flashes before your eyes when you face the end.
If so, are these images racing through my mind my own Life Review?
But if they are, something is wrong.
Because among the events passing through my mind, there are many events that I don't remember experiencing.
◇
I became an explorer at the age of nine.
Oliver, Luna, and I formed a party and threw ourselves into the Great Labyrinth of the South.
We advanced through the floors at a staggering pace.
Oliver and I had trained in our village and already had the strength of B-Rank explorers. Luna had a natural aptitude for magic; although her casting time was long, she could already handle special-grade magic.
We reached the middle floors in no time, conquering everything in our path.
The first time we truly struggled was against the 40th Floor Boss, a Giant.
Even then, we wouldn't have lost. It just wasn't an opponent we could defeat easily.
No matter how thick its natural armor was, it would have eventually fallen if we kept hammering it with Oliver’s Heavenly Flash and Luna’s advanced and special-grade spells. It was just a matter of time.
In contrast, back then, I hadn't manifested [Mana Convergence]. The best I could do was beginner-level attack magic. I was clearly dead weight for a 40th-floor conquest.
Even so, telling myself I would do whatever I could, I leaned into my high adaptability and acted as a defender so the other two could focus on their attacks.
It was frustrating.
I didn't understand the concept of roles yet, so I was furious at myself for only being able to contribute in such a pathetic way.
“Why am I so weak...?! I want to attack like Oliver! I want to be strong!!”
I remember shouting something like that while glaring at the 40th Floor Boss.
Perhaps that self-directed rage bore fruit, because that day, I sublimated my innate ability to perceive mana and manifested [Mana Convergence].
◇
“Whoa! Orun, you finally manifested an Ability! And it’s the same as mine? We really are two souls in one body!”
“Congratulations, Master Orun.”
“Thanks, both of you. With this, I can get stronger too!”
“Still, it’s odd. I’ve heard Abilities are unique to the individual. There are similar ones, of course, but for them to be this identical?”
“Don’t sweat the details! Now all of us are special ability users! There isn't another party like us out there. We might get famous even sooner than we thought!”
◇
“Grandpa! Listen! I manifested an Ability!”
As soon as we finished the 40th floor, I couldn't sit still and rushed to Grandpa’s general store.
I had met Grandpa a few days after becoming an explorer, when I was looking for tools. He’d called out to me and had been as kind as a real grandfather ever since.
My story must have been a mess, told with all the incoherent excitement of a child.
Even so, Grandpa listened with a gentle smile.
The words he said to me that day are still etched into my mind.
“Ability users usually have a certain understanding of their own powers. However, you must not let yourself be bound by that understanding. Abilities can undergo 'Expanded Interpretation.' Perhaps your power isn't just 'gathering mana in a sword to fire it.' You should always explore the possibilities of your own gift.”
Those words changed everything for me.
Without Grandpa’s advice, I never would have thought of hardening mana into footholds or adapting it into original magic.
I would have been a completely different explorer.
◆
“Orun is our King, isn't he?”
A void of nothingness.
A silver-haired girl stood there, calling out to me.
I knew she was looking at me.
But her face was obscured, as if hidden behind a thick mist.
Even though I should have been able to see her.
“——————”
A boy’s voice replied to her.
But I couldn't understand the words.
“Ahaha! That’s so like you, Orun. But you’re going to fight, right? That’s why I’ve decided, too. I’m going to fight against the world.”
“——————”
“Yeah. I’ve thought it through. That’s why I want you to lend me your strength. I want you to help me think about the possibilities of my Ability.”
“——————”
“...Sorry for asking the impossible. But I know I’ll hit my limit soon if I’m alone. Oh, I’ve already gotten permission from your father and mother.”
“——————”
“Ehehe, they’ve told me over and over to make sure the groundwork is laid properly. Anyway, I’ll tell you everything I know about my Ability—[Time Rewind]. So, I want you to use Orun’s Ability to perform an Expanded Interpretation of [Time Rewind]. With that ■■■■.”
◆
Memories I’d experienced and memories I had no recollection of raced through my mind.
I’d heard that a Life Review is a phenomenon that pulls useful information for surviving the present from one's past experiences.
If so, was there a hint on how to escape this situation buried in the memories that were just unearthed?
More importantly, why am I being so calm about this?
No, that’s not what matters right now.
I ruminate on those flashing images one more time.
—I admired Oliver’s Heavenly Flash, and because I wanted to perform an attack like it, I manifested [Mana Convergence].
—Luna said my Ability and Oliver’s were too similar.
—Grandpa said Abilities can undergo Expanded Interpretation.
—The silver-haired girl said my Ability was useful for the Expanded Interpretation of [Time Rewind].
————Ah. That’s what it was.
◇ ◇ ◇
After the Hero had walked a short distance away, I pushed myself up from the ground.
Sensing my movement, the Hero spun around.
“............How are you standing? I should have crushed the life out of you.”
The Hero muttered, his eyes wavering in disbelief.
“I’ll let this be my answer.”
I swung my magic sword and unleashed a Black Slash.
The Hero didn't even try to dodge, just like before.
It made sense. My slashes had been completely powerless against his Ability until now.
—Until this very moment.
My slash struck the Hero’s force field.
But without being diverted in the slightest, it tore right through and hit him.
I had dialed back the power so as not to kill him, but for the Hero, it was a complete surprise.
It would have been nice if that ended it, but—
“It wouldn't be that easy, would it?”
He must have crossed his arms at the last second to brace for the impact.
The Hero emerged from the smoke, his forearms bleeding from the strike.
“...You neutralized my Ability...?”
He was visibly shaken.
I didn't miss the opening. I invoked [Thunder Arrow] from the sky.
A rain of lightning bolts poured down on him.
Seeing the threat, the Hero finally chose to dodge.
Whether it was because of the Life Review or something else, my mind felt incredibly sharp—crystal clear.
Deciding that I could now perfectly control my Ki, I circulated it through every fiber of my being.
“—[Culmination].”
I cast off the limiters binding me.
I closed the distance in an instant, lunging at the Hero as he dodged the lightning.
“【Third Form: Mont Drei】.”
I swung Schwarzhase, now in its greatsword form.
The moment the magic sword made contact with his force field, I used my own Ability to offset the repulsive force.
The Hero blocked with his own blade, but I used my enhanced physical strength to drive the magic sword forward, blowing him away.
Ironically, my Ability was of the exact same type as the Hero’s.
If I hadn't possessed this power, I wouldn't have stood a chance.
My Ability wasn't [Mana Convergence].
[Mana Convergence] was merely an Expanded Interpretation of my true power.
I had been mistaken about my own gift all this time.
If I had to name my true Ability—it would be [Gravity Manipulation].
I can freely manipulate the gravitational forces in my surroundings.
But that still leaves one question.
[Gravity Manipulation] isn't an Ability that originally interferes with mana.
So then, why am I able to perceive mana?
Only those with Abilities that interfere with mana are supposed to be able to sense it.
Well, there’s no point in overthinking it now.
The fact that I can see it is a bonus, and I’ll take it.
“Hero... it’s time for the second round.”
Thank you for reading.
Starting from the next chapter, we will spend a few chapters on the 《Twilight Moonbow》 side of the story.
I hope you continue to enjoy the series.