"This is getting ridiculous!" The Jabberwock bellowed, and then dropped to his hips, posturing for Jack. "Then prove it to me! Convince me! Give me proof that I'm still alive! With that broken sword! White Knight!"
It was a desperate wail. Jack stomped his feet as he readied his Dáinsleif at the waist.
He could have fled at once, bringing Iberis with him. Her heartbeat was barely audible as he held her. He must protect her.
But.
He couldn't turn his back on this "man".
No way that can happen.
He must not escape.
Something within Jack was screaming at him.
If he fled here and now, no one would be spared. Not himself, not even Iberis. And neither will this Nightmare.
Nobody would be happy.
Not even Alice.
Or Raffi, who was sacrificed.
The same goes for Philrain.
All of it will be for naught.
Everything will be reduced to zero.
That.
I cannot accept that.
I cannot allow that.
It must not be allowed.
With a yell, Jack thumped the ground. The Jabberwock roared in response and started rushing towards him.
Jack swung his Dáinsleif broadly. With a zap, the air ripped open and a cleavage surface shot across the desert. The Jabberwock, whose figure had vanished, evaded the slash and appeared behind Jack.
His fist, delivered in the manner of a backhand blow, accurately landed on Jack's helmet. An unpleasant sound of metal cracking reverberated, causing Jack to squirm and crash to the ground.
However, he caught the blow as if it never happened, turned around and swung his Dáinsleif. Another slash was sent forth. Black blood fluttered around.
Tumbling across the ground, Jack leaped to his feet. The Jabberwock was left standing there, the chest part of his suit severely slashed and ripped open. From there, the wound was gouged out, spewing black blood.
It seemed he had narrowly dodged it. The Jabberwock said in a strained voice amidst a thick cloud of dust. "… Why are you going easy on me…?"
"…"
Jack silently set up his Dáinsleif on the lower position again.
"Why! Why are you holding back! Why are you doing this to me!"
"You're wrong!" Jack yelled at the Jabberwock, who was defeated and screaming at him. "We have to wake up. We have to wake up from this nightmare! We must never have another nightmare, never let another one present itself! We have to protect what we want to protect, this time with our own hands! To smile and… to laugh and to live!"
"There's no way that could be possible!"
The Jabberwock screeched and pounced on Jack. His figure disappeared and now he emerged directly in front of him. With both claws outstretched like knives, the Jabberwock attempted to seize him, but Jack shoved him back with his Dáinsleif.
For several seconds, they were locked in a kind of fierce exchange. The two men exclaimed to each other as they pressed the other with all their might.
"This is the truth! We are the data, the dust; this is the truth! We are nothing! Neither are our past, nor our present! Even the future! We are nothing! So we destroy it! That's why we commit crimes! And what's wrong with that!"
"That suffering is the proof that you are alive!"
Jack lifted his Dáinsleif up wide. The Jabberwock's torso was left open as his arm was struck.
"The fear, the despair! It's what keeps you alive! You are…"
Shrieking from the top of his lungs, Jack swept the Dáinsleif down with full force.
"You are wrong!"
The air ruptured. In the next instant, the desert split in two, hundreds of meters away. In the crevasse-like area, sand began to flow in like a waterfall.
Seemingly unable to escape, the Jabberwock, whose left arm had been blasted off, let out a roar that was no longer audible and lunged at Jack with his right hand. His right hand lashed out at Jack, nailing his helmet with a precise blow.
The regenerated left arm struck Jack in the torso. His white armor contorted into a soggy shape. The lion-headed monster battered Jack with a screeching wail.
"What even belong to… me! What mistake am I making! I am… I am!"
His fist caught Jack's torso, sending the massive armor flying. Flipping his body around, the Jabberwock drove his foot into Jack. As Jack collapsed onto the desert, the Jabberwock looked down at him and raised his fist… with eyes blazing with wrath.
"Hey, which part of you is a magical beast?"
He felt that he heard the voice of a "girl" asking this question with an innocent smile from somewhere, and ceased his movement with a start.
"Even though you're so kind. I love you, Jabberwock."
"Stop it!"
The Jabberwock held his head and bellowed to the heaven.
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Shaking his head, he let out a squeal, as if to escape the hallucination, as though to expel it.
"I'm… I'm…"
The end of his word was snatched away. His voice was now a cry. With his voice wavering, his body trembling with fear, the Jabberwock covered his ears.
Jack looked at the stunned, panic-stricken Jabberwock for a while, then stood up, stamping on the ground. Then, with a zap, he thrust the broken Dáinsleif across the desert.
One step.
And another step.
Jack approached the Jabberwock.
An enemy he had once feared.
A target he had once only sought to evade.
Yes, the "enemy"…
Jack clenched his right fist and… he caught the Jabberwock by the chest and slammed his fist as hard as he could into his cheek.