....................
....


　My body is lighter. I don't mean that I am physically lighter because my arms are gone. Everything that made up me felt so much lighter now.


　It moves. My body moves very well. I don't know why. I don't have an arm anymore. My left arm is never going to come back, yet this body is performing probably the best it has ever performed in its life.


''........d*mn!　What the hell is going on here!


　If I were in my opponent's position, I would have made the same complaint. My left arm has fallen off and the sword is wielded with only my right hand. My opponent is holding the sword firmly in both hands. I don't even need to ask who would win. The one who loses his or her arm will lose cruelly. It's obvious.


　But I had no intention of giving up. Losing an arm?　Then why not fight on the assumption that you have no arms? This life is not over yet. I can still fight. Even if I lose one of my arms, it doesn't matter.


　Just cut them down and discard them. That's all. As long as I can do just that, it's fine.



''........''



　Immersion. Just getting immersed in this battle. Perhaps evenly matched now. Our sword fights have been raised to the same level. The reason for this, after all, would be the fact that I recognize this left arm as something that exists and am fighting it.


　Up and down, left and right. The swordsmanship wielded in all directions, I was definitely receiving the sword strikes. With this right hand alone.


　But that is not correct in the strictest sense of the word. Perhaps my brain perceives my left arm as a certain thing. Yes, in other words, I am fighting with the assumption that my left arm is there.


　I am imagining it. That my left hand does indeed exist, and with both hands I am firmly holding this demon sword, Oborozuki Yoru, in my hands. What is this ability? Was it a final gift to me, already in a dead body?


　Humans have a strange phenomenon, one of which is called phantom limb pain. This is a phenomenon where one feels pain in a limb that should have been amputated, for example. This is rare, but it certainly exists as a real-life example. In my case, I don't feel any pain. It may just be that this body is under the illusion that it is clutching a sword. But thanks to this phantom limb, I am still able to fight.


　Perhaps, but I believe this is the result of wielding the sword hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, millions and tens of millions of times. As a result, my body remembers how to swing the sword. How should I wield the sword and move my body?


　This is no longer in the realm of the conscious mind. It is no longer in the realm of the conscious mind, but is imprinted on the unconscious mind, and becomes a part of this world through my body.


　It is enough to have this right hand that I physically hold.

　Because my body remembers the rest.

　All I have to do is manifest it engraved into this world.







　Deep breath. The sword fights so far have been exploratory. From here on out, it will be time to show the true value of each other. I deliver the Oborozukiyo that I'm clutching. Then I lower my hips and take a stance.


　The secret sword. It's impossible to recreate it with a single arm. Even that major was defeated in his last battle without even producing the secret sword when his arm was flung off. But now I'm different. This left arm is still here. Indeed, it is engraved in my brain. Then I have nothing to fear. As usual, I can project the secret sword, which I've reduced to the same level of gestures as my breathing, into this world.


''--The Eighth Secret Sword, the Shi-Den Single Flash.


　It is a super fast electromagnetic battling technique. It is one of the more versatile of the secret swords I possess. And this is the one that caused a fatal wound to this demon ten years ago. Maybe I have a sense of bitterness somewhere.

　Based on that decision, I decided to activate the Shi Den Ikusen.


''I see. Then.........''


　My opponent mutters that, but it's too late. It's completely within my range. It's impossible to make it in time for this Purple Electric Flash from here. That's the only way to handle this secret sword just like me........ With that thought in mind, that impossible assumption would become reality.



　Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin, their blades intersect with each other. A high-pitched sound hits my ears, but I wasn't paying attention to that. Right now, I'm just stunned. Because what the other party used was the exact same secret sword. How, how could this guy be able to use the secret sword? I almost let that thought control me for a moment, but right now, I'm in a battle. It's time to fight. I must remind myself that I am in a battle, and once again take my distance.



"You're looking at me like you're wondering how you can use the same secret sword.
....
'I'll tell you what. My sword steals all sword fights. I already stole the sword you humans use 100 years ago during the Great War. I knew that. All the Ten Secret Swords you use.
....


　The Ten Secret Swords. You're right. There are only ten secret swords that I inherited from my master and passed them on to Shelly.

　-- Guess what?　Or are you just saying the right thing?

　I thought for a moment, but that's not true. My eyes certainly caught it. I don't know how many times I've activated that secret sword.



'Come on, I'll smash all of that. I won't be as conceited as I was then. I will shatter all of it.
I'm going to kill you.


　With that muttering, I run across this vast expanse of twilight dominated land again.



　◇



"The fourth secret sword, the caltropic caltrop, the caltropic caltrop.
"The fourth secret sword, the caltropic caltrop, the caltropic caltrop.


　Completely the same. The fourth secret sword, the Snow Calyx Frost School [Setsukusoha], was the one that they released from each other. It is the one that shoots out binging qi from the sword. You will be able to find out if you are a good fit. You will need to be able to have a good idea of what to expect.

　As I sewed my way through the fluttering shattered ice, I layered more secret swords on top of each other.


''--Second Secret Sword, Hundred Flowers,''


　That secret sword continues to attack continuously, approaching a hundred. The body has already learned. This is the destination of this secret sword. But this time, the moment I activate it, my opponent also activates the same secret sword. In this way, our attacks completely cancel each other out.

　We once again keep our distance from each other and take up positions. I was already used to fighting with this feeling. In fact, perhaps I am more able to fight than I was with my left arm. I don't know if it's a backwater battle or some kind of ability that has been awakened, but if I can win.......as long as I can kill this guy, I don't care.


　I once again look at my opponent's movements. As I do so, the demon starts to open his mouth.


''It's an old technique........''


　The demon muttering to himself has a nostalgic look in his eyes. Perhaps what he is recalling is the Human Demon War 100 years ago. I've heard that this secret sword has been passed down for generations. I didn't know that it was completely imitated by my opponent....


'Bertina Wright. Your version of it reminds me of that guy from a hundred years ago. As good as him, or better. Oh yeah.............it's getting fun.
....


　A guy who talks a lot, as opposed to me. I thought so.

　Perhaps he's asking questions out of excitement but I'm not going to engage in such reminiscences. This is the enemy of the major. I must absolutely kill him, no matter what. Even if it means scaring the life out of me, I will kill this fiend. I swore on that day with tears in my eyes.


　I will have my revenge.


　I will take revenge on the man I respected and admired and loved with all my heart. I will gladly sell my soul to the devil for that. There's no doubt that I'm fighting for humanity, but right now I'm wielding this sword completely out of personal feelings alone. But killing a demon can be a great advance for humans. So I let these emotions take hold of me.


'Bertina Light. I will surpass all of you, and then I will rise even higher by taking your sword. And if I make that sacrifice, you will not complain?
Shut up. I'm going to kill you.
Yeah, the eyes. Those eyes. It's the same murderous look in your eyes. Now, you've got to help me enjoy myself more!



　We engage in sword fights again. The sense of time is completely lost. I am just immersed in killing the enemy in front of me. My senses become sharper and faster. Perhaps the peak of my ability is here. I will get there. To the realm outside of humanity. I know this because I'm cutting up with this demon. I'm the vessel that can reach that point.


　A moment later, my body becomes fiery and hot.

　This phenomenon is the Twilight Syndrome, or Twilight Syndrome. I, who was already in the terminal stage of my life, had often scorched myself with this phenomenon. I don't mean this in a metaphorical sense. In fact, I am being burned from the inside out.


　--How can I do this at a time like this........


　I think that, but I can't stop it. Every time I moved this body, wielded my sword, and caught the enemy's attack, I felt the phenomenon gradually accelerate.


　Hot, hot, hot. The sensation that my body is on fire, as if I'm really being burned at the stake. But I can't stop. Even if I was already dead, I knew that it was impossible to control my own body wielding this sword.


　I'm stepping into the land of the dead. There was no longer any doubt about that.


　But how could it be?　I'm not dead yet. I'm in pain, but I'm moving.


"No way, man...
....


　I stare at my opponent's twin eyes as we fight with each other in a battle of wits. What's there is impatience. But what is the demon in a hurry?　And what is happening to me here?


　Boom.


　My heart jumped. My body pumped blood throughout my body, and then........I understood with my senses that all the imprints were being sucked into this hazy moonlit night.


　Twilight Syndrome 《Twilight Syndrome》.


　It is an incurable disease that can never be cured. Until now, it had killed many opponents, and even the special-grade opponents were unable to resist its fate. But humans are evolving creatures. The fact that they cannot be overcome does not mean that it will last forever. No one knows what will happen in the future.


It's hot.


　Yes. It's hot. And this demon sword, this demon sword that is being used in a battle of courage, Oboro Tsukiyo, emits light as if it is burning bright red. Is this magic sword absorbing the Twilight Syndrome, Twilight Syndrome?　Could this twilight-infested body be...?



　This is how I arrived at this point. I became the first human being to overcome the Twilight Syndrome.


　I have reached a place outside the realm of humanity. I have arrived at a place that neither the Major, nor his master, nor any of the swordsmen who used this Oborozuki Night, could reach.


　The end point of humanity that had taken over the will of man and carried the death of others.


　There was nothing that could stop me anymore.