MC POV
—
After we finished greeting one another, Megiddo—her crimson hair fluttering behind her—immediately stepped toward me without hiding her desire to fight.
"Let's fight! I want to know how strong you really are!" (Megiddo)
"Good grief, you gorilla woman~ Can't that muscle-brained head of yours think about something other than fighting?" (Shalltear)
With her arms crossed, Shalltear snapped back sharply.
"Besides, if you actually knew what his ability is, you'd realize that he's not something you can fight at all… literally." (Shalltear)
Hearing Shalltear's words, Megiddo didn't take offense. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and stared at me with clear curiosity.
Even Magnawell, Lillywood, Isis, and Ein began observing me closely. I could tell that what Shalltear had said carried enough weight to make them take me seriously.
Kuro, who had been watching the situation unfold, spoke in a firm tone.
"Megiddo, you should stop. Arthur-kun isn't a fighter." (Kuro)
"Kuromueina… even you're saying that?" (Megiddo)
Megiddo—and the others—were startled by the sight of Kuro's genuinely serious expression.
Megiddo turned her gaze back to me, scrutinizing me as if trying to uncover something.
"…" (Megiddo)
Meeting her stare, I asked calmly.
"Are you sure you want to fight me?" (Arthur)
"…I'm curious. Just how strong are you, to the point that even Shalltear—and even Kuromueina—are telling me to stop?" (Megiddo)
Hearing her answer, I quietly met her eyes.
"…!!!" (Megiddo)
The moment our gazes locked, I saw Megiddo shudder.
Without realizing it, she took a step backward. Cold sweat slid down her cheek.
—
3rd POV
—
As Megiddo gazed into Arthur's faintly glowing, rainbow-colored eyes, she felt no pressure emanating from his body.
And yet—
Her instincts screamed at her to run as far away as possible from the thing standing before her. Without realizing it, her legs began to retreat on their own.
Megiddo felt as though she was staring directly at an absolute end.
No matter how desperately she tried to resist that instinct—no matter how much she forced herself to advance—her body simply refused to obey her will.
At that moment, Megiddo finally understood what fear truly was.
It was the instinct to survive—the primal reaction shared by all living beings when faced with annihilation. The sensation of standing at the edge of death.
Perhaps because she had always possessed power great enough to place her at the summit, she had never truly known fear until now.
…
"Megiddo… are you alright?" (Magnawell)
Watching everything from above, Magnawell sensed that something was off.
Magnawell, Lillywood, Ein, and Isis were all shocked—this was the first time they had ever seen Megiddo step backward.
"Just who is this man…?" (Lillywood)
"He even made Megiddo—the battle maniac—retreat." (Ein)
"I can feel death coming from that man…" (Isis)
Lillywood, Ein, and Isis voiced their unease as they stared at the scene before them.
"Haa… I knew this would happen." (Shalltear)
"Megiddo is too reckless. I hope this teaches her where her limits truly lie." (Kuro)
Shalltear and Kuro couldn't help but sigh.
"Shalltear… Kuromu-sama… just who exactly is that man?" (Ein)
Ein finally voiced the question that Isis, Lillywood, and Magnawell had also been holding back.
The two of them then explained Arthur's identity—at least in broad terms—to Ein, Isis, Lillywood, and Magnawell.
"...… " (Isis, Ein, Lillywood, Magnawell)
"…I know. You're all speechless, aren't you?" (Shalltear)
Seeing their reactions, Shalltear could only give a bitter smile while glancing toward Arthur.
Kuro continued.
"But it's all true. I can tell that Arthur-kun's existence isn't something that can be explained through logic. He is the embodiment of something… something that could drive you insane just by trying to comprehend it." (Kuro)
Kuro understood this much, at least.
As half of Shiro, she possessed the ability to grasp a fragment of what Arthur was. Even so, she couldn't fully analyze him—and wasn't even sure such a thing was possible.
"He's different from you, Isis. You merely wield death magic. Arthur-kun is the embodiment of something that can't be compared to death itself." (Kuro)
"…" (Isis)
Isis fell silent. No one could know what she was thinking but herself.
—
MC POV
—
Seeing Megiddo trembling and frozen in place, I couldn't help but feel a little bad for her.
If she were in her Beast form, I wouldn't have felt any pity—but as she was now, I simply shook my head inwardly.
"Are you satisfied?" (Arthur)
I asked quietly. Hearing that, Megiddo snapped out of it and stared at me in disbelief.
"…" (Megiddo)
She slowly took a breath, forcing herself to calm down.
"…I suppose we're not on the same level… no—more accurately, you exist on a completely different dimension from everything else." (Megiddo)
Seeing the slight gloom on her face, I remained silent and let her process her thoughts.
Megiddo was strong. She existed solely to destroy. At her full power, she had once managed to leave a small scratch on Kuro's true form. If she continued honing herself, I had no doubt she would grow even stronger.
"…You understand now, don't you, Megiddo-san?" (Shalltear)
I turned to see Shalltear approaching, followed by Kuro, Ein, Isis, and Lillywood. Magnawell lowered his head slightly to join the circle.
"Megiddo-san, you chose the wrong opponent. Arthur-san doesn't fight… he ends things. You can't fight something like that." (Shalltear)
Shalltear shook her head lightly, then glanced at me.
"Don't worry about it, Megiddo! I'm no match for Arthur-kun either, so you don't need to feel down." (Kuro)
Kuro laughed softly as she patted Megiddo's back in consolation.
"Stop that, Kuromueina! It hurts when you keep hitting me!" (Megiddo)
Megiddo snorted, then turned her sharp gaze toward me and spoke again.
"With power like that… How does it work? Do you simply make things disappear?" (Megiddo)
At her question, Kuro, Shalltear, Isis, Ein, Lillywood, and Magnawell all looked at me with curiosity.
Hmm… I suppose they really wanted to know.
I raised one finger, as if indicating the number one, and explained slowly.
"What you said isn't wrong. I simply will it—and it happens. Fundamentally, everything works according to how I define it. For example… I can make a part of someone's body die. I can kill something abstract… something that never even existed… and much more." (Arthur)
Hearing my answer, their faces went pale.
Shalltear—having steadied herself first—suddenly deployed a barrier roughly seventy meters wide. The moment it formed, all pressure in the area vanished.
She then summoned a monster.
A Behemoth—about ten meters tall, shaped like a massive wolf.
"Arthur-san, would you mind demonstrating how your power works?" (Shalltear)
Hearing her request, Kuro, Isis, Ein, Megiddo, Lillywood, and Magnawell all focused their attention on the Behemoth.
"No problem." (Arthur)
I nodded and looked at the snarling creature.
"Grrrr!"
It looked like a cornered beast, ready to fight to the death.
This was my first time using Instant Death on a target. I couldn't help but feel a bit excited.
"RAAARGH!!"
As the Behemoth roared and lunged toward me, I quietly spoke.
"Front right leg." (Arthur)
Suddenly, the Behemoth collapsed as if it had tripped. It writhed in confusion, trying to move its front right leg—but it wouldn't respond.
"Back right leg." (Arthur)
When it tried to stand, it fell again.
Lillywood stepped forward and activated a spell, bathing the Behemoth in green light.
"…My magic isn't working." (Lillywood)
"It didn't work?" (Shalltear)
Shalltear approached as well, closely observing the Behemoth. Even with magic active, its legs still wouldn't move.
"I can't even alter the 'possibility' of its fall… it's as if the Behemoth's legs being dead is the natural state… regardless of causality." (Shalltear)
Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.
"I can't use my power on its legs either. You're incredible, Arthur-kun." (Kuro)
Kuro stared at the Behemoth's legs, then looked at me with shock and admiration.
Watching the Behemoth struggle, I decided to end it.
"Die." (Arthur)
The Behemoth abruptly stopped moving and collapsed lifelessly.
For a moment, no one could say a word.
"This isn't like magic… it's closer to intent…" (Isis)
Isis spoke quietly.
"That's right. I simply defined the end I wanted for the Behemoth." (Arthur)
I gave a small nod in her direction.
"Then why did you speak?" (Ein)
Hearing Ein's question, I answered confidently.
"Purely symbolic. Besides… doesn't it sound cool?" (Arthur)
They all stared at me as if I were some kind of weirdo after hearing that.