When my consciousness returned from that white space, I was plummeting straight down from high in the sky.
That explosion—the collision of my full power against Asem's—had swallowed me whole and shattered most of my armor.
Judging by the complete numbness in my hands and feet, my actual body had taken a devastating amount of damage.
On top of that, the backlash from unleashing full power left me unable to move as I wanted—without even being able to break my fall, I crashed violently into the ground.
"Ghh…!"
A dull, agonizing pain shot through my entire body as I slammed into the dirt, forcing a groan from my throat.
For a brief moment, the sheer pain rendered me unable to even breathe properly, though it gradually began to subside.
The numbness faded just enough for me to regain control, and I slowly brought my right hand into view.
The gauntlet on my right arm was shattered to pieces, leaving nothing behind but lingering fragments.
…To think my Extreme Evolution form's armor could be reduced to this state.
I even had Ophis's blessing active, which meant the sheer scale of that clash was just that absurd.
As I lay there processing my condition and the clash that had just occurred, a voice filled with agony drifted over from nearby.
Turning my neck toward the sound, I saw Asem lying on the ground, in just as battered a state as I was.
"Gah…! Cough…!"
Asem spat out a clot of blood from his mouth.
From the look of it, he hadn't been able to break his fall either.
The fact that his shattered armor wasn't repairing itself meant Asem had also pushed his stamina to its absolute limit.
As we both lay there, immobilized by pain and exhaustion, Asem let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Heh heh… You think I'm foolish, don't you?"
"What…?"
"Failing to protect the one woman I loved, giving in to rage, and leading the world toward destruction. Losing my power as retribution, rendered unable to save a child I should have been able to rescue. Foolish… Ah, so utterly foolish. …What kind of god am I?"
The last words leaked out sounding pathetically weak.
There wasn't a trace left of his usual cheerful demeanor, nor the eerie, overwhelming aura that had intimidated us before…
Still lying flat on the ground, I questioned him.
"Hey… why? Why did you lie to us when we first met?"
The process of how Roswald came to be, and how he took over the boy's body.
The end result might be the same, but he hadn't done any of this out of pure, malicious thrill.
This guy was just like me.
Losing someone precious, consumed by rage…
I realized that the current Asem might very well be a version of myself that could have been.
Asem chuckled softly.
"If I had revealed everything from the start, you wouldn't have been able to harbor any intent to kill me, right? A tiny seed of sympathy is all it takes to make one's blade falter. Yaegaki-kun is a prime example, isn't he? You managed to defeat him, but you couldn't bring yourself to hold actual kill intent. …You people are far too kind."
"…We could have understood each other without fighting. You didn't have to go this far."
"Aha, didn't I tell you? If I didn't go this far, we wouldn't make it in time. The Evil Gods of the other world, 'E×E', are just that powerful. This world is changing, yes. But as things stand, it's far too slow. If they launch a full-scale assault, this world will undoubtedly be destroyed."
Just how powerful are they…?
"…And your reason for going this far for this world is…"
"To keep my vow to the boy who owned this body. Someday, the time will come for this child to be reincarnated. When that happens, I want to make sure he never has to suffer those same feelings again. That's why I will change it. To ensure this world doesn't walk the path of destruction—no matter how much pain it brings."
"…!"
Suddenly, an intense surge of power erupted from Asem's body…?!
He still had this much power left inside him?!
Wobbly and unsteady, Asem forced himself to stand up, looking down at me.
"This might be out of nowhere, Hero-kun, but what do you think is necessary for the world to change?"
"What's necessary?"
When I asked back, Asem gave a small nod.
Then, he spoke his answer.
"I believe that for the world to change, it requires 'pain.' Only when people experience 'pain' and feel regret can they finally change. The gods of Ast-Ade, Azazel-kun and the others, and you as well. You changed after losing your best friend right before your eyes, didn't you?"
"…!"
Asem's words choked the breath right out of me.
…I changed after I lost Light.
Originally living an ordinary life, concepts like war or losing someone important were things I knew about, but thought had nothing to do with me.
But then I was thrown into the world of Ast-Ade, dragged into war, and watched my best friend die right in front of me…
I learned what 'pain' was, and that was the moment I changed.
Just as Asem said.
Asem continued.
"Experiencing 'pain'—the desire to never lose anyone again, to never feel regret again. Thoughts like that shift people's consciousness, and eventually, even the world itself changes. Isn't that true in any era, in any world?"
I felt it was the same for Azazel-sensei, Sirzechs-san, and Michael-san.
Because of the war in the past, they chose the path of peace today.
Perhaps what Asem was saying was indeed a truth.
"That's why, through this battle, I decided to make both the strong and the weak experience 'pain' equally. To make them realize: they are not uninvolved. No matter what power they possess, no matter how high their pride, they are nothing more than a fraction of this world. That is one of the reasons I started this battle. I'll say it once more, Hero-kun. I will bring reform to this world through 'pain.'"
Hearing that, something welled up from deep within me.
My body, my soul, demanded to deny it with everything I had—driving my immobile limbs to force me back onto my feet.
"Changing the world through 'pain'… Don't give me that bullshit! …I understand how you feel. But that method—that's the one thing I'll never accept…!"
I clenched my fists with everything I had.
As if the flame ignited inside me was reigniting, an aura began overflowing from my entire body.
It was my own soul screaming at me—stop this guy!
Asem and I, both clad in our respective auras, glared at each other—and charged.
Kicking off the ground, we surged forward.
We ran at a speed that couldn't be called fast by any stretch of the imagination.
The moment we closed the distance, we drew our fists back—
"Wroaaaaaagh!"
"Haaaaaaaagh!"
We punched each other square in the face with all our strength.
Our fists dug deep into each other's cheeks, sending us both staggering.
A single blow.
That was all it took for my body to scream in agony.
My legs strained to support my collapsing frame, holding me up at the absolute limit.
Before I could even fully regain my stance, my body moved on instinct.
Putting my weight into the recoil, I swung another punch.
Targeting his face.
The blow I unleashed drove straight into Asem's cheek as if drawn to it.
The force of the punch sent Asem reeling backward… but he didn't fall.
Steely-eyed despite his faltering body, Asem bore through the impact and clenched his fist.
Asem's right uppercut caught me flush in the solar plexus, doubling my body over.
My knees nearly buckled.
Even so…!
"Tssaaaaaaagh!"
My retaliatory uppercut struck Asem square under the chin.
Asem's body lifted into the air before slamming back-first against the ground.
Chest heaving violently, I looked down at Asem lying flat on his back.
"Yeah, you're right! I changed after I lost Light! Just like you said, I learned 'pain' and I changed! But get this… the reason we've been fighting is to stop that 'pain' from repeating itself…! Because we don't want anyone else to get hurt…!"
Wiping blood from his mouth, Asem forced himself back up.
"Then doesn't that mean what I'm saying is correct?"
With those words, Asem took a fighting stance.
I raised my fists as well, and we collided once again.
We just punched.
We just took hits.
Relentlessly striking, endlessly receiving blow after blow.
The face, the stomach, the chest, the arms.
Skin split open under our fists, blood pouring out.
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