I had not been in my heart-realm for a long time. Naturally, it took me a little while to realize what this was. 'I can see the movements first.'
For a span of three seconds, one second, or even less. An illusion of the mass—a motion made of foam—attacks me first, and then an identical attack is made, following that exact trajectory. '...
Why?'
This was not my intention. It was a phenomenon I had never even imagined. First, I began my analysis.
I gathered information by dodging the mass's sword by a paper-thin margin several times.
"Tsk."
Watching the mass grow irritated at his inability to land a clean hit, missing by a razor's edge every time, I understood the difference between this phenomenon and Tide Sense. Predicting an opponent's attack with Tide Sense is ultimately about feeling their movements through the currents and then reacting.
It is seeing the movement of muscles and the trajectory drawn by the sword, then choosing a course of action based on a logical judgment of what comes next. That is Tide Sense.
Its drawback, however, is that if the opponent is too fast for my currents to reach, or if they have some means that only first-rate knights possess, they can block it. But it is different in the heart-realm. Here, every inch of space is filled with an incredibly dense current.
When I use Tide Sense within it, the focus shifts to feeling the sea itself, rather than the opponent. It does not matter if I cannot lock onto the individual called 'mass' with my currents. If you throw a punch in the sea, for a very brief moment, tiny bubbles of foam will form in front of the fist.
Tiny, minuscule bubbles, less than a millimeter in size. However, in the case of first-rate knights, those bubbles are much larger and longer. This was the true nature of the foam.
When Tide Sense is manifested within the heart-realm, I can see the movements an individual exerts on the world. That is what appears in the visible form of foam. Now that I can see this, am I not nearly invincible when it comes to evasion?
With that thought, I dodged every sword path with movements akin to acrobatics.
"What in the..."
In the end, it was the mass who gave up. He let out a dissatisfied groan and raised his sword.
"I wanted to take you with all your limbs intact, but you brought this upon yourself."
The next moment. The world turned white. Or so I thought.
When I came to my senses, I was engulfed in foam from every direction—above, below, left, and right. I realized with clenched teeth. In the end, I was not invincible, and I could not dodge an attack from an opponent far faster and stronger than me.
The mass intended to end it.
"... Remove."
Zero point one seconds, or even less time. I had to give something up. I made a quick decision. -Crack!
"...!"
Using Remove to stop the sensation of pain, I sacrificed my right arm. Perhaps because I had been slacking in my practice recently, I could not block the pain completely, and my vision swam. Clenching my teeth, I clutched my broken right arm and took a step back.
To prepare for the follow-up attack.
"You, you're out of your mind."
But the mass did not attack again. Instead, he looked at me as if he were seeing a literal madman for breaking my own arm.
"You broke your own bone just to get out of its path?"
"If I broke my leg, I wouldn't be able to move."
"A sound judgment. A worthy one, at that."
"...?"
The mass, having stopped his attack, gave a small nod. What's with this guy all of a sudden? As I was thinking that while forcibly holding my broken arm together with currents, he continued.
"Fast, and precise. Any other knight would have made the same call."
"What's your point?"
"But, if you're the original body, aren't you just a little over ten years old?"
"... I am."
"Heh heh."
The mass let out a sigh as if in disbelief.
"What kind of hell did you live in?"
"What?"
"No ten-year-old in this world would break their own arm just because they couldn't see a way out of a sword's path."
"Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to reach that conclusion in such a short moment."
"To reach such a conclusion, one needs a variety of experiences. For instance, the experience of having an arm severed being more painful than it being broken."
This shameless bastard was not one to suddenly pity an enemy, nor was he one to show mercy to a child. Wondering what he was getting at, I watched as he aimed his sword at me.
"To be honest, seeing your judgment just now, I don't think I can do this with my power alone."
"If it were Suirak, he might be able to freeze you and take you, but I don't know how to do such things."
"I also just learned that taking you by breaking your will won't work."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm going to kill you."
I was appalled. At the mass's intelligence.
"Really? I had no idea. You were trying to kill me. Thank you so much for letting me know. How kind of you."
"Until a moment ago, I was holding back a little to take you alive."
"For me, the best solution was to capture you and uncover your secrets. But if that's not possible, I'll have to kill you. And that is a much easier task than capturing you alive."
I could tell that the mass's threatening words were true. If he repeated the previous attack just a few more times, forcing me to give up something each time, I would eventually die.
"But you have another choice."
The mass extended his other hand, the one not holding the sword. As if offering a handshake.
"Join us."
"I'll tell you in advance, I already refused the offer from your colleague who said that first."
It was an offer not even worth considering. But the mass seemed quite serious as he tried to persuade me.
"I know. But look, how much did your Master torture you in the process of you falling into the Deep Sea?"
"?"
"In that mage's eyes, you are nothing more than a test subject, not a disciple. We, at least, will treat you as a comrade. It's no big deal. I'm just telling you to choose the lesser of two evils."
The mass was under a great misunderstanding. He thought that in the process of my fall into the Deep Sea, something had been done to me by Dersia. With a normal way of thinking, it was impossible to imagine the Great System manifesting without any incident, so his assumption was logical.
"Hmm..."
It was a misconception I could use. I feigned contemplation with a low groan, then glared at him and asked a question.
"Let me ask you one thing."
"What is it?"
"You, you stole Wihwa's ability last time to control Elysia, didn't you."
"Elysia? You mean that little girl I borrowed for a while?"
"Yes. Can you do that again?"
"... I don't know why you're asking that, but I can't. When you borrow a fallen one's body, you also take on their burden."
"Wihwa's burden is too dangerous for me. I used it for a bit of fun, but any more would be risky."
"I see."
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly. Judging by his pulse, it did not seem like a lie. Now that it was clear the possibility I had secretly feared the most did not exist...
There was nothing left to hesitate about. I raised my middle finger.
"Then go die."
"I won't go, even if I die."
"... Looks like I misjudged you. Do you still not understand the situation?"
"No, I see it perfectly."
I smirked and looked him over.
"You were fighting with the goal of capturing me alive, then you suddenly try to kill me, then you try to persuade me. It's obvious to anyone."
"What is?"
"You're starting to have trouble breathing, aren't you?"
"... Heh."
The mass showed a smile. It was a smile with the corners of his mouth trembling. He looked genuinely amused, but...
I gradually stepped back, steadying my stance as I continued.
"The seawater keeps clinging to your body, making it hard to move properly, and you must feel a sense of pressure."
"Your vision is so dark by now you can probably barely see me—and sometimes, you'll see unidentified monsters swimming through that dark vision."
"Really, what a damn miserable place you lived in. At least the Great Ocean is bright."
"Thanks for the high praise. As a former tenant, let me give you some advice. You won't last." - I quietly stated the facts.
Dersia had said it too. That she probably could not last very long in the Deep Sea either. This was not a place where a mere officer of the Red Lotus could survive.
"Surrender? I'll return those words right back to you. Surrender if you want to live. Once you've reached that state, I've already won."
"... Do you know how the fallen ones of the Great System fight?"
The mass suddenly brought up a random topic and grinned.
"They meet each other, manifest their heart-realms—and then do nothing."
"What?"
"They both just stand still. There's no need to do anything else. Because each other's burden is the greatest weapon."
"Then, when one side can't endure the other's world and collapses... that's when the winner is decided."
"It's a boring fight that can take as long as twelve hours, or as short as six..."
The mass raised a trembling hand.
"It must have been five minutes, or even less. You're right. I can't hold on much longer. Do you know what this means?"
A sudden feeling of unease washed over me. The mass slowly continued.
"Your world is beyond common sense, you bastard. How am I supposed to win against this? I did my best."
And he raised his sword, pointing it at his own neck.
"You win, kid. I can neither kill you nor capture you. At best, all I can do is report back."
"..."
I did not expect this. That battle maniac, that crazy bastard, would cleanly admit defeat here and take a step back? This would mean I just ended up giving away information about my abilities for nothing.
"But when we meet next time, I'll come prepared. Look forward to our rematch-" As he said that, the mass's eyes suddenly widened.
"... Hm?"
I have no choice. I have to throw the bait. As I released the heart-realm, I made sure the disoriented mass could see me as I collapsed to the floor and coughed up blood.
"Keuk, khh... aack..."
"?"
After a moment of bewilderment, the mass narrowed his brow.
"Don't tell me you lost to your own world?"
"... Uweck."
I did not answer and coughed up blood once more. It was not an act. As I turned off the heart-realm myself, I used the water pressure to crush my own internal organs.
That bastard is an officer of the Red Lotus who has killed and tortured countless people. If I were faking the pain, he would notice immediately. In other words, he would be able to distinguish real pain for certain.
As I had predicted, the mass, who had been looking bewildered for a moment, now looked extremely displeased.
"... No, is this how it ends? This is hard to accept."
"Kkhh... haaack..."
"Tsk... how boring."
Shaking his head, he let out a dejected sigh and walked over.
"It must have been excruciatingly painful before you were crushed by your world, but you endured it with sheer willpower. You're quite something."
He did not doubt it. He could not doubt it. Even if I were really acting, allowing the mass to approach within arm's reach would be my defeat.
The idea of acting for the sake of defeat would be incomprehensible to him.
"Let's see, Suirak will survive on his own, so I should just take this guy and leave..." -Tap.
"Hm?"
I grabbed the hideous shoulder of the mass, who was holding my nape and contemplating something. Taking advantage of his surprise, I muttered in a barely audible voice.
"This, this world is..."
"Tsk, he's about to die."
He seemed to think it was the ramblings of a dying man and paid no mind. And so, on his shoulder, I smeared my blood. The blood I had shed during the fight had been inside my Water Barrier.
That was why the deep sea creatures had not sensed it. But I knew best what would happen if blood was smeared outside the Water Barrier. I whispered into his ear.
"This world is the Deep Sea."
"-!"
The heart-realm unfolds. In a flash. The mass realized that I had been faking my pain.
At the same time, the edge of his hand shot toward my head. The world turns white. The strongest, maximum-output attack the mass could unleash just before the burden intensified.
At such close range, it is impossible to dodge. I might not have been able to even from a distance. Feeling an unavoidable end, I squeezed my eyes shut.
It felt like not even 0.02 seconds passed before his hand reached my head. -Thud. I felt the sensation of contact. It was less of a strike and more of a light touch, pressed down by weight.
Feeling that, I let out a sigh of relief.
"... What is this-" The mass, whose right and left arms had been torn off from the shoulder sockets, was horrified.
0.01 seconds.
In that time, two-headed eels had arrived and cleanly severed the mass's arms as if slicing them off. They did nothing else. The mass's blood spread through the Deep Sea.
The armless mass was deeply flustered. It seemed this was his first time encountering the danger of deep sea creatures.
"Wait, this is...!"
Bubbles rose from the mouth of the mass as he tried to say something. Fortunately, the burden had been compounded. His breathing was cut off.
Any knight would pass out if they could not breathe. This was my victory.
"Sev-" Realizing the situation, the mass clenched his teeth and tried to kill himself.
He tried to bite off his own tongue. I had heard that committing suicide by biting off one's tongue was not an easy feat. But looking at those sharp teeth, it seemed that common sense did not apply to him.
"You're not getting away...!"
Feeling a crushing pain in my abdomen, I used water pressure to stop him.
"Keuk...!"
The mass tried to kill himself by any means necessary. I, too, used all my strength to stop him. I could feel the Water Barrier gradually shrinking.
"...!"
Biting force versus water pressure. The struggle of strength continued for a long while. And as the Water Barrier closed in right before my eyes— "...
Ugh."
Watching the mass slowly sink to the floor, I barely managed a sigh of relief.