Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Ch. 299
Even in such a disadvantageous situation, Maximilien’s eyes continued to burn with fighting spirit, showing no signs of retreating.
I clicked my tongue in disbelief.
What is that? Is he the protagonist of some story?
Why is he still trying to fight?
Despite having achieved everything he could, Maximilien still pushed forward, seeking something more.
I almost applauded his attitude.
Life is a flame that will one day flicker out and when that flame dies, there will be no color left in the space it once occupied.
Only gray ashes will remain, carried by the wind to the ends of the sky.
Ah, life. Fleeting, yet brilliant.
Let’s all give a round of applause.
But then I remembered that his goal was “me” and the clapping hands turned awkwardly to scratch the back of my head.
No matter how much you enjoy watching a fire, if it’s coming to burn you, you either have to run or stomp it out.
That was exactly why, even though I admired him, I still had to kill him.
His desire would burn me to ashes.Probably into some bizarre, unheard-of existence known as the King of Sin.
I immediately prepared for the fight.
“Ria! Remember the rule about losing if touched?”
I asked, unsure if she’d remember something from so long ago, but Historia answered smoothly.
“Heh. You mean that rule you came up with during our first spar to score some cheap points? I remember. Some lanky guy made an absurd suggestion, so I humored him, only for you to keep sneakily targeting my insides. Hehe, I was so mad I could have killed you back then!”
“You remember the unnecessary parts, so I guess my worries were unfounded!”
Historia was giggling, but suddenly the ground beneath us shifted slightly.
Maximilien attempted to transmute the Steel Beetle we stood on, turning it into a steel swamp.
Just as I sensed it and tried to escape, Historia stomped down hard on the Steel Beetle.
Her Gon Qi Art rippled through the ground like an earthquake.
The steel plate dented slightly, causing some gears to fall off.
In alchemy, one must have a near-perfect understanding of the object being manipulated.
Any change during the process would result in failure, which is why using alchemy in battle is so difficult.
Thanks to Historia’s instinctive strike, the alchemy process was canceled.
The dissipated mana dispersed into the air.
Without any particular excitement about her success, Historia asked casually.
“Why? You want to do it?”
“Not with you, with the Warforger!”
Historia narrowed her eyes.
“…Why would you want to touch a man like that?”
“I don’t want to touch him, and that’s not the point! I have a trick up my sleeve. If I lay a hand on him, I can incapacitate him!”
“Heh, I’m just joking. I saw it earlier. I get it.”
The mana herbs must be messing with her mind, making her words spill out without thought.
We need to wrap this up before her condition worsens.
“Got it, Ria? I’ll cover and look for an opening. I’m counting on you!”
“Count on me? Hmm, for free?”
“Okay okay, but let’s deal with this first!”
Even in the heat of battle, she flashed a teasing smile.
Will this really be okay?
Luckily, my worries were unfounded.
Historia closed in on Maximilien and fiercely pressured him.**Clank! Clank! Clank!
Each time their fists and arms collided, the sound of steel clashing echoed.
While Maximilien’s hands were steel prosthetic, I had no idea why Historia’s limbs made the same noise.
Historia’s limbs stretched smoothly, her Qi Art flowing through her body like water.
When she stepped forward, her Gon Qi Art supported her lower body; when she threw a punch, her Geon QI Art surged out to her upper body.
The seamless connection between her body and Qi Arts made her much faster and more agile.
In contrast, Maximilien’s movements were methodical, like the hands of a clock.
When Historia extended her punches, his gear joints moved at precise angles and speeds to block them.
His arms and legs moved in unpredictable directions, deflecting her attacks outward.
After defending, he gathered his strength and unleashed it all at once.
Without warning, his arm detached with a click and extended a meter forward.
Since his elbow and shoulder were connected by gears rather than joints such surprise attacks were impossible to predict without Mind Reading.
｢As expected. He’s been gathering power.｣
But you don’t need to be a mind reader to engage in psychological warfare.
Historia rotated the grip of her gun, turning it into a makeshift hammer by holding onto the barrel.
She slammed the handle down on Maximilien’s arm.
Clang!
The Alchemic Steel crafted by the Military State’s greatest alchemist clashed with the steel imbued by one of the strongest Qi Art in the entire Military State.
The result of the intense exchange was a draw.
The overwhelming force of both sides collided, sending them flying in opposite directions.
However, Historia’s gun wasn’t really a hammer.
It was merely a barrel imbued by Qi Art, and swinging it was just an auxiliary use.
The reversed grip of the gun now sparked with Qi Art.
The blue flames reflected in Maximilien’s monocle.
Bang!
Maximilien’s head snapped back at a near 90-degree angle.
Hit by the shot imbued with Qi, his body was knocked back.
But he didn’t fall.
Historia lowered her stance and observed.
｢Did it hit? No, did he block it?｣
His monocle dangled loosely, shattered into pieces.
His face was bruised, and a large purple mark was already forming, but he was still standing.
The self-moving monocle was both an artifact for seeing the unseen and a piece of protective gear Maximilien had painstakingly created to safeguard himself.
The moment it detected the glow from Historia’s barrel, it had positioned itself in the bullet’s trajectory.
｢Ididn’t have enough time to gather more power. What a shame. I thought I hit the mark.｣
Regardless of her disappointment, Historia was dominating Maximilien in close combat.
Seeing that he couldn’t win in hand-to-hand combat, Maximilien slid backward, scraping the steel with his fingers.
A white light traced deep into the metal, and the steel plate cut and flipped like it had been sheared by scissors.
Beneath the torn plate was a dense mass of interlocking gears.
Maximilien reached out to them.
His arm became a magnet.
Just by bringing his hand closer, hundreds of gears attached themselves to him like a swarm of bees.
The gears, now under his control, spun and clicked into place along his arm, each one finding its proper position.
In an instant, Maximilien had a massive, functional mechanical arm. The fist alone was the size of Historia’s torso.
｢This is odd… His arm seems bigger than before. Am I seeing things?｣
You idiot!
It really did get bigger!
Thwack!
The mechanical arm extended and slammed into Historia with a force that was several times greater than before.
Its size and length were far too large to deflect with the gun.
Historia crossed her arms and leaped backward.
“…Ugh.”
Just as Historia staggered back from the immense impact, I acted half a beat faster and shouted.
“Ria! Move 8!”
Historia instinctively reacted.
Back in my school days, I was known for my excellent academics but abysmal practical skills.
Regardless of my real abilities, the Military State took opportunities away even from those who didn’t meet its standards.
So Historia and I worked out a system to showcase combat maneuvers far beyond my usual level.
We’d set specific movements ahead of time, and when I called out a number, she’d execute that move.
Pre-planned cooperation made even third-rate choreography look like a master’s duel.
Without wasting energy on second-guessing each other, we could focus on moving together.
Just like now.
Historia pivoted to the right, using her left foot as an axis, while I charged toward her back.
It looked like we were on a collision course, but at the last moment, both of us twisted our bodies, just barely brushing past each other.
As we crossed, Historia pushed me forward with her shoulder and arm.
Thanks to her shove, I was launched forward like a bullet.
Maximilien was much faster now, but it didn’t matter.
Whether he liked it or not, Maximilien was bound by the necessity of connecting gears to his arms.
Alchemy is, after all, a technique of transforming matter.
To move, you need energy, and for someone like Maximilien, who’s already optimized his performance, gears are the only option.
The moment I touch him, I’ll repeat the process from earlier.
I’ll reverse his Unique Magic, climb through the gears, and destroy his body from within.
｢The Human King is much more dangerous than the Major General. Even with only a fraction of his power, his power is still unreasonable.｣
I reached out.
My fingertips were just about to touch Maximilien’s mechanical arm.
All I had to do was touch it, and I’d irreversibly break it.
His power would become mine, and I would use it against him.
｢You’ll climb through the gears and attack me. You’ll destroy me with my own power, leaving me helpless.｣
Maximilien was all too aware of that.
Though he was fighting Historia, his focus remained on me, watching me closely through his monocle.
Even though I had suddenly emerged from behind Historia, his attention was firmly on me.
｢Then I’ll sever the connection before you can reach me. I won’t let that power touch me.｣
Tsk. I’m out of luck.
I’ll have to come up with a new plan.
Clang!
Maximilien detached his mechanical arm and his own prosthetic.
In his haste, some gears got stuck and scraped against the inner wall with a metallic screech.
He abandoned the arm, which consumed a significant amount of mana and gears to create, without a second thought, and made a full retreat.
Without any regard for his dignity, he rolled on the ground to distance himself from me.
A shower of gears fell in front of me.
I immediately shouted.
“Number 2!”
Historia quickly grabbed my cloak.
My body halted in midair, and the foot I had lifted scraped the empty space.
The mechanical arm collapsed before my eyes, but thanks to Historia pulling me back, I narrowly avoided crashing into it.
“Gah!”
Would crashing into it have been better?
The cloak pulled at my neck and shoulders, choking me.
After coughing a few times, I adjusted myself and spoke.
“At this rate, it’ll turn into a war of attrition. Ria, how much Qi do you have left?”
“’I’m not sure… but if I push myself, I might be able to keep firing?”
“And if you don’t push yourself?”
“Two shots.”
So, two shots left, huh.
If we were in top form, continuing the war of attrition would be the right choice.
Maximilien was using the back of the Steel Beetle as material to craft another mechanical arm.Plus, there’s the ‘trap’ I set while we were fleeing earlier so before long, he’ll run out of gears to use.
But we were also reaching our limits now.
We are the ones in a rush, so we will have to make a bold move.
“What about your ultimate move?”
“If I push myself, I probably could do it once.”
“Once, huh… We’ll have to bet everything on that. Alright, this time I’ll create an opening.”
It’s not much of a strategy—just a brute-force gamble.
There’s no choice but to force it, with no other options left.
This is normal. Beasts have always lived like this.
You run away and die. You fight and die.
Sometimes, you even die from eating something bad and getting sick.
I didn’t want to, but I’ll still protect myself.**I drew a card from my pocket.