Chapter 13: Warrior Who Never Despairs②

In front of me, Mobidik never showed weakness.

Even when others despaired.
Even though I was a hero.
Even when I knelt down and whined.

Mobidik stood firm. He always moved forward, carrying a burden heavier than mine.

That’s why I forgot that Mobidik was human like me. Because Mobidik was the reason I couldn’t give up hope, I didn’t know that he too could despair.

So I don’t know how Mobidik died.

With what kind of heart, with what kind of conviction did he leave the world?

What was it that finally made him despair?

It was still an unanswerable question.
I couldn’t hear it directly. The fact that I couldn’t watch his last moments when he fell into despair was still one of the biggest regrets of my life.

If so.
Even now, wouldn’t it be possible?

[…Can you carry my despair?]

Mobidik asked.
Wrapped in darkness all over his body, he looked like he was about to die at any moment, following the darkness.

I had to listen.

I wanted to hear.
I didn’t have the courage back then.

Because the terrible inferiority complex that I wouldn’t be able to understand him was tormenting me.

Mobidik is staring at me.
I feel a feeling that it’s impossible to feel like virtual reality, just a game. Wasn’t it a mistake to send a warning to adjust the assimilation rate?

Certainly, I might have been too immersed.

…But.

“Gladly.”

I’m different now.
I am a hero, and I have risen above all despair.

There was nothing of Mobidik in it. Now I was ready. I didn’t want to keep it in my heart and suffer any longer.

I drew a smile on my lips.
My right hand was not holding anything. However, I definitely had the will.

Mobidik was standing still.
It was a moment. The darkness overflowed from Mobidik, who had come right in front of me before I knew it. It was terrible, but it was a definite scent.

A huge halberd wraps itself in darkness and rushes at me.

He was asking me.

Dare, can you handle it?

As I always do.

“I will show you with my conviction.”

I will prove it. Then the halberd fell over my head.

“I will show you with my conviction.”

After Yujin’s words, the battle began.

-‘Conviction’ LOL
-Wow… What I’ve been doing until now wasn’t Eftarel LOL
-Every time the halberd hits the ground, an earthquake occurs LOL
-It’s amazing that she’s avoiding that?
-That’s right; I’d just close my eyes and let my head break LOL

The viewers expressed their respective impressions in the chat. It was, of course, the battle between the two that forced them to have impressions.

Yujin was smiling. It was brighter than ever.

Mobidik was silent.
A tremendous offensive, to the level that it was just a joke until now, unfolds. Because the straight sword that Yujin used was broken, the pressure felt by the viewers far exceeded the impressions.

The battle was dazzling.

Mobidik’s halberd pierces the air and thrusts its head. Yujin turns with her right foot drawing a clock. The halberd

passing through her pure white hair makes a whooshing sound. When the torn air touches her ears, Yujin feels

goosebumps rising on her neck.

The darkness that follows chases Yujin. Unlike the wind, Yujin turns her head to the heterogeneous energy. After that, when Mobidik’s fist greets through the darkness, Yujin rather lowers her body and boldly digs into Mobidik’s inside.

The armor was hard. If she threw a punch, it was clear that Yujin’s fist would be torn in reverse. Moreover, because it was wrapped in darkness, even the sword marks that were engraved were covered.

‘It’s troublesome.’

There’s no sword, so I hesitate to attack because of the recoil. What I want is a sure victory. Knowing when to back down is also the formula for victory.

‘If I drag out time… will I be satisfied with that?’

And Yujin knows.
In the other world where she was active as a hero, the end of those who used the darkness called ‘despair’.

They wield explosively strong power for a moment, but in the end, they wither and crumble more pathetically than a fading flower.

In fact, it was true.
It’s not that Mobidik in Eftarel always won against the users. Although the difficulty was easy, it was the track record of users called hardcore players.

After barely overcoming phase 3, they continued to drag out time when they reached the berserk phase.

Because all the bosses who use the energy of ‘despair’ will eventually self-destruct. It is a similar end to what Yujin knows.

Yujin was already, for this moment, accepting it as reality, not a game. That’s why she is applying the experience of another world to Mobidik in front of her.

In the end, it was Yujin who clicked her tongue. When their bodies got closer, Mobidik’s knee flew towards Yujin’s abdomen.

It’s a big move.
No matter how much power difference exists between the opponent, one leg must always be supporting the ground. Thanks to that, Yujin could aim for a gap.

Mobidik’s right leg rises up. I rolled into the gap below it. Because it was virtual reality, there was no judgment that I was invincible the moment I rolled, but Yujin never hesitated when necessary.

‘Will it work?’

Yujin worried for a moment. Right to the right, Mobidik’s left leg was firmly planted on the ground. It was difficult to take the risk of failure to break the posture with a fist.

‘…Damn it.’

In the end, I come out again. If the thought is over, the choice follows immediately. There were no gaps in Yujin’s thoughts. In fact, Yujin came out just before Mobidik’s right foot, which had risen up, was about to crush her head.

‘…What do I do?’

It was a somewhat desperate situation. My senses were on high alert, and I could continue to just avoid it, but.

You, can you be satisfied?

“…Mobidik.”

It’s a murmur that was uttered while exhaling, so it didn’t make a proper sound. The distance between Yujin and Mobidik was widened.

It was about 10 seconds.
The viewers express their respective impressions of the battle that dazzles the eyes, a level that is hard to see anywhere.

And, apart from that.

-So is it a hidden trigger?
-Yeah, it seems to be right.
-Mobidik’s lines have never appeared in any of the Mobidik clear videos so far.
-For now, it seems certain that the difficulty must be Lunatic to see it…

Some were confused.
It was also excitement. Engulfed in such excitement, they discuss the current situation.

It was understandable.
Because Mobidik, the tutorial boss who thought there was only a forced defeat event.

Another event actually existed.

Eftarel was such a game.
Of course, there aren’t just one or two similar types of games.

There is an existing route.
It’s a route that all users who play Eftarel know, just a ‘official’ route.

After ‘experiencing’ the forced defeat event by Mobidik, entering the story, of course there is an ending. But what fun would there be if the game content was just straight?

Of course, people want something new. In particular, they love to change things they were familiar with. If it’s not forced, but a voluntary choice, they get even more excited.

Eftarel was like that.
Countless bosses and NPCs.

Items unique to the world view.

Dark and gloomy areas.
Among all those elements, there is sometimes something called a ‘hidden trigger’.

Trigger.
It’s a word that refers to the trigger of a gun. It has the meaning of making something happen. In the case of Eftarel, mainly, events that proceed differently from normal events occur.

Mobidik was also a boss who was known to never speak in any case.

He was just a boss that could only force the player to defeat, but that was Mobidik.

-Then the hidden route opens?
-If it’s real, I can’t even imagine;
-I’m really curious LOL

The viewers’ curiosity grew as the battle continued, and because of that, they were even more immersed in the battle.

-But how do you win?
-If you drag out time in berserk mode, he self-destructs.
-Wow; Just watching it makes my skin tremble LOL
-Is she seeing all of that and avoiding it LOL?

Then I felt a question.
Soon the question became anxiety.

-Is it right to drag out time?
-She’s just dodging very close? What is she thinking;
-She can’t attack in the first place LOL

It’s the last phase, where you just have to drag out time to make him collapse on his own, even though it’s the last phase, it’s evaluated as the easiest, Mobidik in berserk mode.

-Wow, just now LOL

Yujin was facing it head-on. She barely avoided the halberd just now. The ground that could not withstand the impact of the halberd that was slammed into the ground cracks. There were already more than ten cracks created like that.

-How much time has passed?
-It’s Lunatic, so I don’t know when it will end;
-I believe in our ‘hero’…

The battle is getting longer.
In proportion to that time, the anxiety of the viewers only increased.

-Ah, just distance yourself!
-Damn it, what if she dies like that;
-Nun… I can’t hold it in… Nun… I can’t hold it in… Nun… I can’t hold it in… Nun… I can’t hold it in…

It was definitely Yujin who was playing, but the party involved was continuing the battle with cool reason. The viewers were the ones having a seizure.

So, the offensive that continued several times lost its flow. Mobidik was the one who continued to maintain the offensive. Yujin kept dodging.

Yujin didn’t like that very much, but there was no way. Because she had complaints herself.

[…I was everyone’s hope.]

The halberd held in Mobidik’s hand trembled. Because of that, the voice coming from inside Mobidik’s helmet was also constantly shaking.

Because time had passed, Mobidik’s health, which had run amok with ‘despair’, was gradually decreasing, and because of that, it began.

Since the release of Eftarel Verden, Mobidik’s unique event, which has never been revealed, was the moment when it occurred ‘for the first time’.

-It’s finally here!
-Something big is coming…!
-Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~ Let’s go~
-Carry the despair…! Carry the despair…! Carry the despair…!
-Everyone’s hope… Damn it, Mobidik TT

When the viewers who sensed it were excited.

“…Ah.”

Only, Yujin.
She let out a small groan, and then closed her lips tightly as if to hold something back.

[…I was everyone’s hope.]

Mobidik’s voice was heard.
It was covered by the helmet, and it was mixed with darkness, but it was definitely Mobidik’s.

[I had to carry everyone’s despair and share hope instead. I had to show them. I had to remain as a being of hope only to them.]

Mobidik was strong.
He was so strong that I thought he should have been the hero, not me.

[But looking back, I was always in despair.]

But he was also human.
He was more steadfast and reliable than anyone else.
He was human after all.

[The despair I carried, the thing that made me suffer the most was none other than my own.]

He never gave up.
He was always looking at hope, but that’s why he must have known better than anyone else.

[I couldn’t abandon their hope, but at the same time I couldn’t live up to it. I thought I only made them have vain expectations.]

That the situation was too desperate.
Kill, kill.
The demon king appeared endlessly. If you kill the demon king, on the contrary, it was like calling for new despair.

[But.]

Mobidik cut off his words.
With a stuffy feeling that makes it hard to breathe just by listening.

[Now, you are here.]

Mobidik melted it softly himself. I felt a little comfort and mourning in his words. Finally, gratitude comes.

[Please, it’s a sorry thing but…]

Mobidik knelt down.
He put the halberd on the ground, gathered all the darkness that was staying around him near his heart. His two hands also creaked and covered the heart of the armor.

[Because I’m too small to carry it anymore.]

And there was light.
A pure white radiance, and then a little yellow.

It seemed like the rays of sunlight of the sun were extracted and forged. It was long and purely beautiful.

[Please… carry my despair.]

It was a sword.
But to say it was a sword, it was closer to a fragment.

There was no crossguard.
There was only the handle and the body of the sword. With that one, it couldn’t be said to be one. The rest of the fragments were needed.

I know what that is.
What I used, what Mobidik, who passed away first, left me as a last gift.

Pulled from Mobidik’s heart, the light that drives away all the darkness he wore was directed at me. My hand naturally rises towards it, which is slowly approaching. Then it seemed like laughter was heard.

It was caught in my grasp. It was warm.
It was very light, and it was too heavy to swing carelessly.

Conviction is like that, and so is will.
Determination is more, and finally hope is the heaviest. Especially if it’s someone else’s.

I am a hero. I was able to barely hold on by reminding myself of that countless times.

How does Mobidik think of me?

Until just before he died, was he still thinking of me as a greenhorn?

Radiance arises in the sword held strongly with one right hand. Mobidik nodded, grabbed the halberd, and slowly stood up.

And he took the last stance.
It was the stance he used most often, the one I knew well. With both hands holding the shaft of the halberd, twisting his body to the right.

The kind of blow that sweeps away everything in front, shatters anything that touches the ax blade of the halberd, and overwhelms the enemy with the approaching wind pressure.

“…Mobidik.”

I called his name softly.
Mobidik was quietly gathering darkness on the halberd.

“Is it all true?”

Or is it a lie?
I wanted to ask that, but you wouldn’t be able to answer. Because this isn’t real.

I swallow a sigh. I want to suppress the heat in my eyes, but it’s not something that can be done as I please.

I do not know.
I can’t tell the truth of his words.
All I received was a part of him, caught in my hand.

Mobidik’s hope, and at the same time, despair.

Before I heard Mobidik’s inner thoughts, he became the owner of despair from the symbol of hope. So he passed away.

“I, I…”

But if.

“I, I…”

If Mobidik’s words are true.
If the Mobidik in front of me is real.
If the goddess who prepared all this for me is conveying Mobidik’s words to me.

If that’s the case.

“I’m, sorry…”

I had to apologize.

“I, I’m sorry…”

For making it hard, for not realizing it sooner.

And yet.

“And… thank you.”

For making me not give up.

For helping me to hold on to the conviction and will that I wanted to give up many times.

For giving me hope, very much.

Thank you, Mobidik—.
Because I had a friend like you, I was able to not despair.

“Now, I’ll carry that burden.”

Such a thought, for the first time, found a gap in my thoughts and intervened. So I couldn’t see the last. If I were to find the closest memory, it would only be the darkness that fell in front of my eyes being split by light.

Before I knew it, I was kneeling in front of Mobidik.

His halberd, Mobidik’s armor, his traces became dust. Mixed with the darkness, it was entrusted to the wind.

Putting down what he gave me for a moment, facing the emotions that I had been deliberately ignoring until now.

“H, haaaa…!”

I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer.

There was no need for a silent prayer.

Rather, with the hope that Mobidik could hear, I cried out as loudly as I could.