Beyond the Eternity

... What's going on?

Thinking so without knowing the truth, Angelica tried to get up. But she couldn't. It was then that she finally noticed.

"...?"

Something was pressing onto her body. To be specific, someone's weight was pressing down on her.

She glanced up, only to see someone wearing a black suit resembling a reinforced motorcycle riding suit on top of her. However, most of its components were severely damaged and the visor of the full-face helmet was scattered. Clearly, It was obvious that the suit has already lost all functionality, but that was not the important part.

Through the broken screen of the helmet, she saw a familiar face.

"... Jakga?"

Kim Jakga didn't respond to Angelica's dumbfounded mumbling. He didn't move. Looking closer, It seemed like he had lost unconsious.

As Angelica tried calling him out, her hand touched his shoulder. At the same time, she immediately noticed something was wrong with his body.

... Why did he feel so light?

Surely, he couldn't be lighter than her. But without knowing any better, she wouldn't have guessed it was the weight of a human pressing down on her.

Abruptly, her gaze dropped downward, and the reason for his lightness became clear. His entire lower half was missing, yet oddly, there was no blood. It was as if that part of his body had been obliterated, erased from existence along with the rest of him.

She was only holding what remained of his body. Thinking about it, wasn't his body unusually cold?

She was truly speechless. It was a sight that was too unreal to be considered reality so she could only stared at his upper half dumbfoundedly. It almost felt like something out from a dream.

"-------!?"

Angelica's consciousness awakened right there and then, and she remembered the moment like a flashback.

The enemy had appeared infront of her and Kim Jakga had protected her from the weapon of death by using his own body. By doing so, he ended up being sliced apart like a Christmas tuckey.

"...Ah."

The scene felt utterly unreal to Angelica. No, she desperately wanted to reject the cruel reality before her, very much so and wished to dismiss it as nothing more than a nightmare.

But It was the undeniable truth that the person known has Kim Jakga had sacrificed his life to save her own.

That truth ignited a change within the depths of Angelica's mind.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

She raised an aggrieved scream. It was a scream that emerged from someone that had experienced the cruelty of the story for the first time.

However, she was not only one that was shocked.

Keikoku Amane, who had retracted his black wings, looked at the scene with astonishment. He was shocked by a certain someone's actions. Namely, the actions of Kim Jakga who had been divided to two.

"What the hell?"

Though he was the one who delivered the fatal blow that sent Kim Jakga to hell, even he couldn't help but feel a sense of disbelief.

What happened was rather simple.

The moment before he swung his wing at the target, that person suddenly emerged, pushed the girl out of the way, and took the full force of the attack instead.

It was simply enough. But Keikoku Amane's mind still couldn't understand it.

The fact that he managed to reach him in time to save, meant he was fast enough to rival the speed of his antimatter explosion which was impossible. If that was the case, then he wouldn't have lost so one-sidedly before the woman arrived.

There was also another question that continued to nag his chest.

... Wait, If he could match my speed, why didn't he just carry that woman and evaded the attack entirely? Surely, if he used that kind of power, he would have put up a better fight. More importantly, why would he choose to sacrifice himself? Is there something I'm missing here?

Keikoku Amane was unaware that Kim Jakga had defied the rules of the Story and willingly faced the consequences.

This was why he had been unable to evade the attack; there had been no time to save both Angelica and himself, leaving him with the heartbreaking choice of protecting only one.

... It's not that It matters anyways. This isn't the first time something like this had happened.

He had destoryed countless worlds before this one and he had seen many mistakes people had made. Sometimes, they will combine forces and work together. Sometimes, he would sacrifice others to save their own skill. Then there were the rare occasions where others will sacrifice themselves to save the people they loved– parents saving children, siblings saving siblings and lovers saving lovers.

Keikoku Amane had seen all those stories and those stories were true. One thing those stories had in common though was that he was the one doing the killing.

The Main Evil, the Villain.

It was the role he had been playing for a thousand years.

That was why even though he didn't understand the actions of one person, he decided to place all his questions at the back of his head.

That person had died, plain and simple– end of story. So It was useless to think about it any further. Most likely, his soul must have already descended into hell.

It would be fun If he could resurrect the dead though. But that phenomenon was impossible even with his antimatter.

Antimatter could only destory things, not create.

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU DIE FOR THIS!!"

A voice was heard. In the next instant, a sword flew towards his nose and he evaded It by simply jumping back.

Infront of him stood his attacker.

It was the platinum-haired woman who had been despairing a few moments ago. Now she was radiating a menacing aura so intense that even Keikoku Amane could feel the pressure.

Only a rare amount of Actors could achieve that level of status. Even so...

"Isn't this interesting?"

Keikoku Amane's smile did not leave his lips. On the contrary, he was becoming even more excited.

"Ha ha ha! What's this? Why are you looking at me like that? Is it because I killed your boyfriend? But It's not my fault, you know. He's the one that walked right into that attack like an idiot.

Truly, I haven't seen an idiot in a long time so I'm really grateful."

"You bastard..."

The entire temperature of the surroundings seemed to have gone up a few degrees as if responding to Angelica's anger.

In the next moment, the space distorted and a sword emerged from the golden 'gate'. Angelica gripped the sword and slowly walked towards him.

Keikoku Amane tilted his head. He had an expression that visibly screamed 'I am confused'.

What kind of sword is that.... Angelica was a rare beauty but the eyes of Keikoku Amane was focused on something else. Namely, the sword she was holding.

It was a stereotypical double-sided Western sword and a hilt with a length of 80 centimeters long. However, the blade itself didn't have a tip nor a sharp edge, truly an abnormal shape.

The blade seemed to be made of deep obsidian material that absorbed the surrounding illumination, and the surface was etched with crimson neon lettering that glowed brightly like it was filled with unsolved 'mysteries'.

Clearly, the sword didn't match something that could be used for killing or brutal violence. In fact, It doesn't even look like artifacts or holy swords recorded in legends. Instead, it seemed more like a demonic sword from the demon plane.

It was the first time Keikoku Amane had seen such an strange artifact, which filled him with curiousity.

What a weird sword. It certainly has the appearance of a special artifact, but what exactly can It do though?

Perhaps It's the kind of artifact that lacks any physical power but possesses a special ability instead. A conceptual weapon? Tch. Weapons like that are so difficult to deal with.

Keikoku Amane clicked his tongue in displeasure.

It was the first time he was seeing such a thing, but It wasn't the first time he had dealt with a conceptual weapon.

More importantly, his heart was filled with a certain level of alertness as he stared at the sword.

He felt like he would be consumed if he stared for too long and his mind was in disorder as he couldn't solve the mysteries behind it.

Was it fear? Or was it caution... Either way, he decided against a direct confrontation and keep his distance.

Thud!

While he was thinking so, Angelica suddenly scattered the ground underneath her feet with a leap and shot towards him like a bullet.

The distance between them was ten metres but Angelica closed that distance with a single step.

Angelica swung the Nameless sword and Keikoku Amane calmly countered using his right hand.

Boom! A loud explosion rang out and the earth trembled as if there was an earthquake. The force was the result of a violent collision between attacker and defender.

However, the winner of this clash was already decided.

"What the hell was that?"

Extremely agitated, Keikoku Amane immediately retracted backwards. The bones in his right arm was dislocated. It was not completely crushed, but the arm was no longer usable.

A strange phenomenon occurred the moment his hand made contact with the Nameless Sword.

His hand was forcefully dragged into the sword.

No.

The word 'dragged' was somewhat lacking. The space around his arm was forcefully distorted with the intention of crushing his arm.

The force he felt was as if his hand were being pulled into a black hole. The sheer magnitude of the propulsion was overwhelming. Had he stayed in that spot, his entire arm, from shoulder to fingertip, would have surely been crushed.

"Tch. This is just bullshit! How am I supposed to fight with one harm?"

Keikoku Amane cursed at his current predicament, but his immediately shifted elsewhere. It was because Angelica appeared behind him while emitting a fierce killing intent.

He clenched his jaw and narrowly evaded the Nameless sword aimed for his back. It did not have a sharp edge, but Keikoku Amane dodged that sword with all his might as if it was the plague.

"You won't even give me a second to breathe."

[Antimatter cannon Lv. 10 has activated.]

Without hesitation, he unleashed the Breath of World Destruction to disintegrate Angelica in an instant. Even so...

"?!"

Angelica sliced through the black beam with the Nameless sword and continued her tremendous assault.

How? What the hell is that sword?!!

Keikoku Amane wanted to scream those words out but he was busy dodging Angelica's ruthless attacks. At this rate, wouldn't he truly be defeated?

Keikoku leaped into the air to create distance from Angelica who was swinging her sword like a madwoman. But he soon realised his mistake.

Boom!

The nameless sword was swung and a hurricane with wind speeds of a 120 meters per second blasted towards him like a cannon shot.

It was a sword that defied the principles of the world.

Fighting against a conceptual weapon was the same as bringing a knife to a gun fight. In principle, It was almost impossible to win.

At this rate, he would be the one laying six feet under.

Upon that realisation, something snapped inside Keikoku's head.

"Fuck this!"

[Antimatter Lv. 10 has activated.]

With a 'click' sound, all mental restraints were unlocked at once and Keikoku fell into madness.

So what if it was a conceptual weapon? That weapon will be shattered by the ability to manipulate antimatter just like the rest.

If he couldn't do so, he would simply crush the wielder instead.

Boom! Accompanying gale winds, the six Antimatter wings behind Keikoku instantly regained their forms.

Wings made up of antiparticles that would destory regular matter upon contact.

Those very wings of destruction tore apart the hurricane with an 'explosion' and flew towards Angelica's body like the jaws of a beast.