Chapter 294: Luke: I'll Cut You Down, You Ungrateful Bastard!
"The reason is actually very simple. Because this matter benefits him."
Luke did not plan to force his own thoughts onto Ikki. That was his usual style.
What he planned to do was dissect the entire matter, then let Ikki come to the answer himself.
"Whether it is satisfaction, happiness, honor, responsibility, vanity, practical benefits, or some scheme, at the very least, it is to satisfy a passing whim of one's own."
"Only when people can obtain 'something' from an action will they do that action."
"Then what do you think your father gained from this matter?"
"Was it satisfaction and happiness? Or so-called honor and responsibility?"
Luke's words were like a sharp sword, stabbing straight into Ikki's heart.
He really wanted to tell Luke that his father was a great person, and that he did those things because of honor and responsibility.
However, compared to those things, the Kurogane Family had clearly obtained something far more practical.
That was…
"…Power and status."
Ikki said those words with difficulty.
And once he clearly realized the essence of this matter, all the beautiful scenes Luke had described before completely changed in meaning.
If Ikki chose to go back, what would that mean?
It meant he would join the ranks of those in power and enjoy the beauty brought by authority and status.
It meant he would use more than ten years of effort and his own powerful strength to exchange for and obtain authority and status.
Was that a bad thing?
Of course not.
Was there anything wrong with that?
Of course not.
But was that what he wanted?
Absolutely not!
Using strength to exchange for status?
Someone who would choose to do that was definitely not a true powerhouse.
To the strong, authority was something they could obtain with a casual wave of their hand.
Giving up the road of becoming stronger in order to obtain status and authority?
There was no need to think to reach a conclusion.
However, Ikki was slightly different from ordinary people.
He also had family affection, the wish he had always held, mixed into all of this.
So even though the essence of the matter was placed before him, Ikki still felt confused and shaken.
Luke naturally understood this as well, so he did not rush. He only patiently spoke to Ikki again.
"What I said just now, 'Only when people can obtain something from an action will they do that action.'"
"That sentence does not only apply to your father."
"Ikki, that sentence applies to you as well."
"To me?"
Ikki looked at Luke blankly.
He realized he could not keep up with his roommate's thoughts at all.
The one who possessed abnormal insight was clearly him, yet the one who often saw through the essence of things first was Luke.
"The reason Kurogane Itsuki's words shook you is because you can obtain 'something' from them."
"And those 'things' are precisely what you believed to be your wish and dream all this time."
"But have you ever thought about it? If they truly stood above everything else in your heart, if your wish really was only to receive your father's recognition…"
"Then why would you hesitate?"
"There should clearly be nothing more important than them, right? So why would you still hesitate?"
Ikki froze.
Following Luke's words, he sank all the way into the depths of his own heart.
That was right. Why was he lost? Why was he hesitating?
Shouldn't he be happy now that his wish had been fulfilled?
Why was he so sad, so resistant, and so unwilling to accept this result?
…There was only one reason.
From beginning to end, the wish of a man named Kurogane Ikki had never been to gain his father's recognition.
This result was fundamentally not what he wanted to see.
His wish had not been fulfilled at all, so of course he would not be happy.
"…Then what is my wish?"
Ikki muttered to himself.
Step by step, he recalled his own experiences, following the path of these past ten years all the way back in search of his starting point.
Then, he found it.
It was an old man.
Even now, Ikki still could not forget the words that the old man had once said to him.
"Are you frustrated by the fact that you are the 'weakest,' brat?"
"Then do not forget the regret you feel right now."
"Because that is the proof that you have not yet given up on your 'self.'"
Ikki had originally thought he already understood the full meaning of those words and had firmly engraved them in his heart.
But now, in the face of unprecedented wavering, when he traced everything back to the origin, Ikki suddenly realized something.
The beginning of the Blazer named Kurogane Ikki had never been something like wanting to gain his father's recognition.
It was to prove that the old man he had only met by chance, the one and only person who had acknowledged him back then, was right!
That was the one and only true wish of the Blazer named Kurogane Ikki.
However, that old man, Kurogane Ryoma, was already dead.
The instant he understood this fact, a powerful emptiness suddenly swallowed Ikki's heart.
At the same time, a strange voice began to appear, constantly echoing beside his ears.
"Was that meeting really correct?"
"That person merely said a bunch of irresponsible words."
"You took those words seriously, and because of that, chose a road that did not belong to you."
"People should understand that their abilities have limits."
"That person's words brought you only pain and loneliness."
"If you had lived a life of knowing your place, just as your father said, you never would have experienced so much suffering."
"Isn't it enough already? That person is already dead!"
"Are you truly going to let your entire life be bound by words casually spoken by a departed ghost?"
The words born from the wavering of his heart echoed beside his ears, and Ikki's consciousness gradually slid toward the "abyss."
That was right. The person who had given him the motivation to move forward was already dead. The source of all his effort had actually vanished long ago.
If that was the case, then what meaning did his persistence still have?
So what if he became stronger?
The person who acknowledged him was no longer here…
"…What kind of expression is that?"
"This is the first time I've realized you're this good at trapping yourself in a dead end."
Luke looked at Ikki, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
He had originally thought that once Ikki traced things back to the origin, he would pull himself together again. Who would have thought this guy's mood would sink lower and lower instead?
If Luke did not speak up now, Ikki would probably "self-destruct" before long.
"I'm saying, you spent all this time thinking. Don't tell me the final conclusion you reached is something like 'there's no longer any meaning in becoming stronger.'"
"Isn't that right… Waaah! What are you doing?!"
The moment Ikki's words left his mouth, he saw a flash of sword light before his eyes!
Clang—!
The clear sound of blades clashing instantly spread throughout the room.
Ikki gripped Intetsu with both hands, desperately blocking the Starfall Sword Luke had swung at him.
"And you still have the face to ask me what I'm doing?"
"I'm planning to cut you down, the person that wasted my time and feelings!"
Luke looked at Ikki and, in irritation, increased the strength in his hands.
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