"What's wrong? Is that all?"
Laguna Brave, the First Hero, taunted me as I lay buried under the rubble.
His face... yeah, it looked just like mine. He looked like a version of me about fifteen years older. Seeing myself in my thirties looking like a lecherous middle-aged man was incredibly off-putting. If he were some kind of sophisticated gentleman, it would be one thing, but a dirty old man?
I knew he was a different person and I wouldn't necessarily end up like that, but the resemblance made me recoil in disgust.
"Don't look down on me, old man."
I burst out from the debris and slammed a right straight directly into his face. The First Head grinned, gritting his teeth as he took the blow head-on. It felt like I was punching a massive block of solid iron.
"Light. Too light. Put more heart into it when you swing."
"No barrier? You're just taking that raw?"
The sensation against my knuckles was definitely living flesh. I wondered what kind of physiology he actually possessed. I was beginning to understand a glimpse of why he had once been hailed as immortal.
"On the other hand, you use a barrier? You've coated yourself in a film just a few millimeters off your skin that works for both offense and defense. That’s a sophisticated piece of magic. Plus, you’re using Recovery Magic for self-complementation within the barrier... It’s way too precise. Are you really my descendant?"
The First Head tilted his head, effortlessly seeing through the mechanics of my magic.
"First Head, the Young Master is an Analytical Type, not an Intuitive Type like yourself," Sebas offered.
"Whoa. He must be someone else's kid then."
"However, the Clad Barrier itself carries the sentiment of being 'the strongest magic I've ever conceived because it ensures I will absolutely never die.' In that regard, he is very much your descendant."
"Yeah, okay. That's my descendant, all right."
"You two sure like to talk..." I grumbled.
It was true that I had developed this barrier because I believed I wouldn't die as long as I had it, but I had gone through hell to reach that level of mastery.
"I'm only struggling in the first place because you died and left behind nothing but these bizarre customs," I snapped.
He was leisurely chatting with Sebas, but when I lunged at him again, the First Head tilted his head and dodged by a hair's breadth, as if he had known exactly where the strike was going. He spoke as he pulled back his own fist.
"Idiot. A parent-child quarrel is where you punch each other one at a time while saying what's on your mind. It’s my turn now. Your magic is well-made, but I don't really like the feel of it. According to my personality diagnosis, an idiot who hides behind a barrier like this is reserved, obsessed, and naive!"
"Gah!?"
His strike bypassed the barrier completely, the impact slamming directly into my body. As I was blown back toward Sebas, the butler looked down at me with a smile.
"He isn't far from the mark."
"Is this really the time for that?"
Ignoring the carefree Sebas, I tried to figure out how the First Head's attacks were penetrating my barrier. Since the First Head was a manifestation of memories living within the bloodline, his ability to move was largely fueled by my own magic power. There was no way I could defend against my own essence; the pain was transmitted directly through the connection.
"It seems similar, but it’s a bit different," the First Head said, grinning as if he had read my thoughts. "It’s true that I exist inside you, but I’m not exactly using your magic power to attack. The quality is just different."
"...Quality?"
"You could call it the raw Hero's Power. Or, to put it simply, it’s like a soul." The First Head continued, "It's strange. I used to think all living things just remembered and thought with their heads. I didn't realize how things worked until I became like this. But it’s still exactly like it was back then."
In this world, mana is a fundamental component of the substances that constitute the body. While people often speak of memories being carved into DNA, creatures with a strong connection to mana have their memories deeply etched there as well. It is a place where the will holds great sway.
"She must be waiting, too... Oops, I'm rambling again. Come on, let's trade blows. If I've shown you this much, you should know what you need to do, right?"
"I suppose so."
I stepped up directly in front of the First Head. We both pulled back our fists and punched each other square in the face.
"Gufu! Hey, kid! What’s the land of Yudaina like now!?"
"Ugh! It’s as poor as ever!" I shouted back.
Because of him, it was hated and called The Abandoned Land. I suspected he hadn't been able to completely purge the miasma from his body before he died. Or perhaps he had moved it slightly into the mountains with Sebas's help? Either way, it remained a harsh place to survive.
"I see! But it's still there, and people are still living!?"
"Yeah! Everyone’s living with their feet on the ground by their own strength!"
"Kid! Have you ever eaten a monster? My body was made tough, so if you're hopelessly starving, you can even eat those!"
"They were on my dinner table until recently! Thanks for leaving behind such a shitty custom!"
"Hahaha! They don't taste very good, do they?"
"Not at all!"
We continued to trade blows, slugging each other head-on. I felt a strange sense of nostalgia, remembering how I used to do this with my father and my brothers.
But this time was coming to an end. This brawl was a collision of two similar yet distinct souls—a conflict that was simultaneously a fusion. Gradually, I felt the First Head's strength beginning to wane.
"...You've aged."
"Haa... haa... It's a first for me. I kicked the bucket before I could ever become an old man..."
"Honestly, you could have just handed the power over normally..."
"If you don't vent some of that energy first, you're the one who'll be embarrassed later. Right, Sebas?"
"Since I set his survival instinct as the trigger just in case, if the power had been transferred normally and he couldn't control it, his sexual desires would have exploded," Sebas explained.
"See?"
"..."
So that was the true identity of the "Beast of Brave" after all.
The First Head, now a frail old man with white hair, panted as he reached out and placed a hand on my cheek.
"Kid, I’ll ask you one last thing... Do you have... someone precious to you?"
"...I have many. In the Brave Territory you left behind."
"Haha, I see... I see."
The First Head smiled with relief. I decided to tell him more.
"I even found someone I love. Someone I want to protect for the rest of my life."
"...Then I can rest easy. And no, I'm not talking about what happens when your sex drive explodes."
"...You ruined the moment."
"Indeed. First Head, please try to read the mood," Sebas added, frowning slightly.
"It was just a final joke... well, whatever. Kid—no, Ragna."
The hand touching my cheek grew burning hot.
"I won't tell you to fulfill my wishes. Just protect those you hold dear and the one you love, no matter what."
"..."
"You need the power for that, don't you? That's why you came here. Then take it—take all of it."
A boiling, surging magic power flooded into me from the First Head's palm. It was a brilliant, pale-blue radiance. It was a mass of power that deviated so far from the Laws of Humanity that it was permitted to stand alongside the dragons.
The moment I felt that magic power, I understood why they called him immortal. Even if his head were lopped off or his entire body were reduced to ash, this inexhaustible well of magic would simply restore his body to its original state.
"Incredible... it’s the real deal."
By the time the words left my mouth, the First Head had vanished from my sight.
Even with this much power, if the person you want to save doesn't reach out their hand wanting to be saved, you are powerless. Fragments of the past within the bloodline flickered through my mind, and my heart ached as I realized how the First Head must have felt back then.
"Good work, Young Master."
"You look lonely, Sebas."
"Not at all. I was simply glad I could see the First Head with an aged face for once."
"I see. You were here the whole time, weren't you?"
To wait within the bloodline for centuries, thinking of his friends trapped inside the barrier, was something only a truly kind person could do. He had even accurately called out the exact time that had passed earlier.
I stared at the spot where the First Head had stood.
"You're already included among the people I'm going to protect. Leave the rest to me."
—Thanks.
I thought I heard a voice echo in my heart.
"Shall we return?"
"Yeah. There are people waiting for me."
The identity of the enemy had become muddled, but now everything had converged into a single point. First, I would smash that barrier. That was all that mattered.
"First Head, you can still talk for a little longer, can't you?"
"Eh? My role is over. I'd really like to vanish now."
"Don't say that. Please wait just a bit longer."
"Is this your doing, Sebas? Come on, I can finally move on..."
"Now, now. Didn't you notice something when you touched him?"
"Eh? ...Ah—I felt a bit of Onyx's magic power. He’s looking after things, isn't he? That guy has a foul mouth, but he's a good fellow. Also... it's faint and strangely small, but is this Menou's magic power too...?"
"The reason House Brave—which has been loathed until today because you died after failing to handle the miasma—has survived this long is entirely due to Lady Menou's support."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Fufu. That is the beauty of it. Even after many generations, that deep, deep story of love is still being spun even now."