Chapter 1063 - The Memory of the Past
...That being said.
I was genuinely startled by the relentless sequence of battles, but even without thinking about it calmly, the grade of the cast had definitely dropped for the second act.
From the [Rivelmet Wolf] to [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King].
In terms of visual pressure, it was hard to say which was superior... but the former was a phantom raid-class enemy that appeared in the Garden of Divine Creation, the true heart of the virtual world. The latter, despite being the lord of a hidden dungeon, was meant to be cleared by a standard six-person party.
If the challengers had done something to grow it by acting out as they pleased, that would be a different story. But barring that, it wouldn't deviate far from its base frame.
In short, the [Rivelmet Wolf] was far superior in rank. In fact, [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King] was well within the range of a reasonable boss by Arcadia standards.
Assuming, of course, that a certain someone didn't do something crazy like a limit time attack. Furthermore, if it were, say, an unlearned base state...
"Split the Helm!"
"Take this!"
To be blunt, even with our stats lowered and our skills sealed, it was a wall of the past that couldn't hold a candle to us now.
And so, a little over four minutes into the battle.
We finished off the giant suit of armor after knocking it around with movements we knew all too well, despite how it tried to rampaged skillfully on the path... which must have felt incredibly cramped for its massive frame.
The finale was a simultaneous charge from Sora and me.
It was like a reenactment of a day that felt like forever ago. Thinking that the kind of special treatment we had once left as a mystery was utterly unnecessary now, we ran through a path of crimson blades floating in the air. The swords we swung together reached their mark.
Thus, the Stella and the sand sword caught the knight's helm truly...
"Man, we really have come a long way."
"...I don't think I would have believed it was me even if the me from a year ago saw me now."
"Does that include the man standing next to you?"
"Eh, ah... hehe, yes."
Lingering emotion, landing, small talk, and then the explosion. It wasn't an end orchestrated by some unknown party like before, but a result of my own strength that I could take pride in this time.
Two sword flashes, bundled into one. The massive frame of [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King], whose helm had been crushed head-on, dissolved entirely into phosphorescence, grandly coloring the end of the second act in brilliant blue.
...And so.
"...And? Which one of us did this belong to?"
"There's a possibility it's for both of us."
I was entrusted with the final blow... or rather, we had both snatched it in the heat of the moment, but naturally, the two who had worked together to corner the knightly armor walked through the subjugation effects.
"For Sora, who participated as a partner, it appeared as one together with Haru. ...Assuming that's the case, whether that's the end for those two..."
"Or if two more will appear individually for the other two... we don't know."
"Mm."
"Gah... it would be so much easier if this were the end..."
What were we talking about as we gathered? None other than the Trial.
It wasn't that we'd been thinking about it during the fight. As two sudden threat events occurred in succession, each of us had naturally reached a simple speculation without much thought.
In short, the content of the Trial the Saintess had prepared was likely...
"Hey, listen. More than ours, more than anything else..."
"Iris-san's turn is... it's actually really scary..."
Whether it was for all participating players or for each faction, the scope would remain unknown until the very end. But it was the reproduction of some kind of connection for each individual.
Memorable encounters etched into our memories of adventure... that sort of thing was being projected, and we had to defeat them once again. That was probably it.
...Because we'd already predicted that much.
The next arrival was right there. It was the third act, and it wasn't going to wait.
"...Please, don't all look at me like that."
Once again, on the stage where the remnants of [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King] had vanished, my sharp avatar senses detected the presence of something being born from the void.
As Sora and I had said together, in this Trial that seemed to reproduce powerful foes from our memories, everyone was in agreement. It was only natural that all eyes would fall on a certain someone whose turn would be the most unpredictable and terrifying.
...I have a bad feeling about this.
I have a very, very bad feeling.
"...Ah... I won't say the name... but if... it's them..."
I was strongly wishing it was just my conceit.
I was especially hoping it was just a misconception.
On the other hand, if that thing really did show up, there would be absolutely nothing we could do. There was a sense of resignation that we could at least end things cleanly because of that.
Therefore...
"I know... it's probably impossible, but let's do our best. Haha."
"Don't 'haha' me."
"Laughing is all we can do."
"Ah, haha..."
I had already prepared for the worst while fighting [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King]. The other three must have been the same.
While harboring resignation... they wouldn't accept an unconditional surrender.
Just as I did, the three of them gripped their weapons again. While calming our breathing, which we couldn't quite steady due to the fatigue of the consecutive battles... we waited for a few seconds.
Now then, come if you're coming, Nobody (Rep-La Nobody), the monster whose name must not be spoken.
In my heart, I wondered if the worst possible finale would appear or not. As we waited with bated breath, our feelings a mix of hope and resignation...
...
It appeared.
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
"Hah?"
"..."
It was, at the least, not the pitch-black monster we had feared.
It was, if anything, dressed primarily in white. There were some black parts, but they were modestly (?) limited to the head... or rather, the color of the hair and eyes.
And it was... I mean, well, yeah.
That thing... it was me.
...
It looked at Ashe, then at Sora, then at Tora-kichi... and finally at me. It probably wore the same expression I did now, like a perfect mirror image.
It stared at me with a face clouded by confusion, a face that was more intimate than anyone else's and yet not intimate at all... and then it flashed a strangely confident smile.
"What are you smiling at? I'm gonna deck you."
It wasn't exactly hatred, but a powerful sense of repulsion from a different direction. A misplaced retort was dragged out of the real me along with pure, unadulterated irritation.
A Trickster smile for his own perspective.