"Find my elegance… fuck, that's so vague." Dignitas cursed. Why was the job given to him so difficult?
Many times he could've ended the battle. Many times he could've charged forward guns (swords) blazing and dealt considerable damage to the imps.
But all those attempts were stopped by his mentor, the Crimson Maiden.
Even if he couldn't defeat the imps, he was positive that he could portray a good performance for Sayuri.
"Are you really having such a difficult time on this? And here I thought the person who found such a sword had at least some measure of skill within him. I guess I was wrong."
Dignitas was quite close to bursting, literally. His mood was getting increasingly foul as time went by. And if he allowed this to continue, the imps would reach a number so high that maybe even Sayuri would have to step in.
He didn't know this, but something about being talked down to by other people didn't seem right to him. Perhaps it was the sense of superiority of having "created" this world that he felt he was above everyone.
And that line of thought seemed to only grow more evident ever since he picked up his teammates.
As the author, he felt it was his job to guide the strong people down their correct paths and help them flourish.
Then with minimal effort, he would be able to accomplish his original mission of completing the story and at the same time, live a great life of his own separate from his old one.
This sense of superiority was something Sayuri had long felt in him as well. She had no idea why someone so weak, someone so… puny could think of himself so highly.
Still, as a mentor, she felt a certain feeling inside her telling her to guide this person to be better.
But really, isn't that what every mentor is supposed to do?
"Fuck!" Dignitas retreated. A scar from a nearby imp had inflicted a good deal of damage on his left arm and was now bleeding.
Dignitas swung his sword downwards, crushing an imp under its weight. He then kicked off the ground and brought the sword behind him, using it to land a devastating downward slam.
Four imps fell victim to this combo, but it was nothing compared to their ever-increasing numbers.
***
It was too fast to even comprehend. In just a blink of an eye, Kano had disappeared, along with the emissary.
A single flash of light shook the entire space and swallowed both of them. Only Cendria was left in the void, floating harmlessly.
"I'll need… to redirect myself in the direction of the planet. I'll just need to hope someone notices my body…"
Injured from the fight, Cendria nudged herself in the direction of her home world in a last attempt to return.
The black card held a shocking revelation within it the first time Cendria read the skill's info.
____
The Black Card| |S|
Call upon an emissary of death, capable of dragging even the strongest of foes to the Spirit Realm. Only the mightiest of warriors have been known to resist the full power of Death's grasp.
In exchange for bringing a spiritual being to the mortal realm, one must sacrifice a portion of their lifespan and give up their will to move permanently.
____
As seen from the skill's description, it quite literally sapped Cendria's powers away from her, leaving The Strongest Hero as nothing but a miserable hunk of human flesh.
Right now, Cendria was merely a normal person who had slightly stronger resistance to pain than ordinary humans.
But other than that, she was basically a powerless being.
And worse of all, Cendria wasn't even, or rather, unable to check if Kano had truly been dragged away from the mortal realm.
For all she knew, he might've escaped.
"It's okay… this year's cadets are shaping up to be strong individuals…"
Throughout the tournament, Cendria had kept her full attention on all the battles that had occurred.
Some weren't as eye-catching as the others, but she respected their will to fight for humanity as the protectors. A person's worth wasn't measured by their strength, of course.
But still, amidst the dozens of battles that took place, some particularly stood out from the bunch.
Those cadets showed extensive control over their own powers, some even more so than Cendria when she was at their rank.
She believed those cadets could possibly be the ones to take her place as the strongest.
"Ah… that's right. What was his name, again? Dignitas… that sword he carried was awfully familiar."
With that, Cendria closed her eyes, fully lending her body to the will of the world.
She had no control over what happened next and wasn't even sure whether she would make it back to her home.
But still, a part of her knew.
"Those guys will probably handle it," Cendria said, thinking of the Association.
***
Bloodied. If one were to describe Dignitas' current look, one could only say bloodied. It wasn't too far off the mark if you were to say he was literally bathed in blood.
This was a result of the many injuries the horde of imps had caused him. Dozens of scratches and bruises lined his entire body, making him look like a cat scratch tower.
Dignitas had given up on talking to Sayuri. She seemed to have no intentions of helping him defeat the imps. Instead, she stood there absentmindedly.
Everything he tried on the imps was useless. Slashes, bashes, stomps, thrusts, Death's Vision. Hell, he even considered using that same technique he did with Alicer.
The one where he induced a "berserk" state on himself forcefully by inflicting a grave wound.
A forcefully initiated adrenaline rush, one could say.
Dignitas ultimately decided against it. Professor Shib wasn't here to heal or repair him like last time.
But still, this constant situation of getting hit and dealing hits kept on continuing. It continued until Dignitas began to slowly reach the edge of his thinking.
It is said that every person has a breaking point.
A point where they just can't handle the series of events unfolding in front of them and react wildly.
Different people have different degrees of their tolerance. Some might break faster than most people do.
Some might not even break at all.
But there's always one thing that's common between "broken" people.
They don't have control over what happens next.
"...fuck it."
"?" Sayuri tilted her head. Dignitas had suddenly stopped attacking.
For the first time during the battle, he had stopped moving.
She figured that he had finally given up and had passed out from the pain.
Which was natural.
Sayuri didn't expect him to pass the mission.
After all, none of her past disciples did.
None of them could find their elegance.
"Hah… so I guess he really wasn't that much different than the others."
"Oh well. Maybe I can train him until he gets to a decent level. I just hope he can handle it."
Finally moving from her spot, Sayuri walked slowly towards Dignitas.
His body was still standing, unmoving.
"Don't move."
"Huh?" Sayuri stopped.
That voice.
It was terrifying. It carried the tone of someone who had reached their breaking point. Someone who had decided that enough was enough.
"I said… don't move."
"Do you remember who you're talking to? You are to address me as Teacher, and nothing els–"
"Don't. Move."
Sayuri stopped. Since when did Dignitas carry this much power in his voice? Since when did he carry this much authority? Even she felt stunned for a slight moment.
"Hah… fuck. Alright, I'll do it, I'll do it. Death's Vision."
At the same time, Dignitas raised his left arm.
Just like his other body parts, it was also bloodied.
But that didn't stop him from cutting open a large wound in the middle.
"You know, Teacher. I thought about it. I thought, and I thought. What is elegance? Is it ending a battle with quick moves like how you do it? Is it defeating your enemies in one blow? And then I realized… fuck that. I'd rather taste the blood and despair of my enemies. You see… this is my elegance. Let me show you. Let me show you… an elegant Dignitas Qwerdan!"