Jack of All Trades, Party of None

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After that, the three of us spent a long time in the netherworld.

I don’t know exactly how long it was.

It felt like both an instant and an eternity at the same time.

In this place without any sense of time, I was mercilessly beaten by Mr. August so many times that even counting felt tedious.

Besides that, we talked about things concerning the future from his perspective, learned about magic together with Shion, and listened to stories about the fairy tale era. It was truly a meaningful time.

I learned countless things from Mr. August and made them part of myself.

...In the end, my memories didn’t return, and I still couldn’t defeat Mr. August, but I instinctively understood that this battle would be the last.

As before, I faced Mr. August while keeping a distance of about ten meters between us.

“Mr. August, thank you for everything up to now. I can’t express enough gratitude to you.”

When I spoke words of thanks, Mr. August looked momentarily stunned but soon broke into a bright smile.

“Ah, I enjoyed it too. I lost everything and had given up on everything, but Orun showed me that my footsteps had meaning. So, at least for this last time, show me that you can surpass me!”

“Yes, that’s my intention. With all that I’ve learned from you, I will surpass you! — [demonic sword unification (alteration)] [final form (mont ende)]”

I gathered the surrounding mana and absorbed it into my body.

Next, I activated the qi flowing inside me to its limit.

I combined mana and qi, which originally should never mix inside the body.

The ‘power’ that couldn’t be contained in my body began leaking out.

When it touched the coat I was wearing, which could be called a magic garment, it started flickering like black flames.

The power that couldn’t be contained even by the magic garment touched the air around me, generating deep blue-black electric sparks.

I then took hold of my demonic sword and assumed a stance.

(At this rate, I can only maintain this state for a few seconds.)

This was the first time I tried such an extreme technique of retaining so much power inside me, but it required more concentration than I had imagined, so I realized I couldn’t maintain it for long.

“...Hahaha! So, the place we reach is the same after all...!”

Seeing my state, Mr. August burst out laughing.

Then, just like me, he transformed the clothes he wore into a magic garment, which was imbued with crimson-black electric sparks.

He lowered his waist and took a fist stance.

Mr. August, who has mastered countless martial arts, favored unarmed combat most, just like Mr. Haruto.

Grateful that Mr. August was going all out for real, I also felt a surge of excitement.

With Shion watching, the distance between Mr. August and me closed in an instant.

The contact was momentary.

Passing each other, I swung my sword and Mr. August swung his fist.

An attack and defense so fast that ordinary people couldn’t even perceive it.

The one who won was—

“Haha, ha... Seriously...?”

Mr. August collapsed to his knees and then fell face down onto the ground.

“Hah… hah… hah… I won…!”

Although I received some damage, I didn’t fall.

Perhaps because combining mana and qi was quite a strain, a headache that had been absent since coming to the netherworld suddenly tormented me.

Still, looking at Mr. August lying on the ground, I indulged in the afterglow of victory.

“...Ugh…!”

However, the headache didn’t subside but grew stronger until it became so painful that standing became difficult, and I crouched on the spot.

“Orun!? What’s wrong!?”

Shion rushed over, worried about me.

I wanted to tell her I was okay somehow, but before the headache and the flood of various information pouring into my mind, I couldn’t speak.

(Is this... my memory...?)

The information flowing in included emotions.

Events from my childhood spent with Shion and my parents.

The cult’s attack, and parents and comrades dying before my eyes.

These were things Shion had told me, a reality impossible to forgive.