*

　The Skeleton Lord's mouth lit up.

'd*mn it!
Huh?

　A shockwave was released and a roar echoed from the ceiling.
　The shockwave pierced the ceiling.

''........Ow!''

　Mako gritted her teeth.
　His left hand was gone, blood gushing from his wrist.
　It was the price of pushing his chin up with the bottom of his palm just before the Skeleton Lord unleashed a shockwave.
　If I had known this would happen, I would have hesitated a little more.

''Oooh!

　He lets out a yell to inspire himself and slams his right fist into the side of his armor.
　I can feel the hard touch.
　When he looked down, his armor had darkened slightly.
　The Skeleton General's armor has become easy to pierce, but it's only blackened--.
　If that's the case, I'll just hit it until it breaks.
　The next moment he raised his fist, the impact pierced his entire body and Mako was slammed into a pillar.
　He tried to get up, but he couldn't put any strength into his legs.

''Capture formation!''

　Yuka's voice rang out, and the band of light stretched out.
　But the Skeleton Lord was faster than that, accelerating.
　His right arm regenerates and he grips his sword. The sword is swung down.
　Makoto was sure of death, but the moment never came.
　The sword just passed in front of him - in short, it struck out.
　Mako kicked the floor hard to get some distance.
　Silver light flashed and his abdomen burned.

''Capture formation!''

　A band of light stretched out, but the Skeleton Lord sliced through it with his sword and escaped.
　He rushed forward, swinging his sword further.
　It can't be flattered as graceful, but the cutting edge slightly snatches my body.
　I found myself in a defensive position.
　There's no way to beat it, I admit, enduring the intense pain.
　You can follow your opponent, but you don't have the means to defeat them.
　The Skeleton Lord took a big step and swung his sword down.
　As quickly as he could, he kicked the floor, but it sliced through his shoulder and down his side.
　Mako bent to his knees as he landed.

''Capture formation!''

　A band of light tangled the Skeleton Lord.

''Run away quickly!''
I want to run away.

　His trousers are sopping wet with blood.
　Probably a fatal wound.
　I can only hope to recover by leveling up, so I have no choice but to fight and win.
　I look up at the Skeleton Lord to see how I can win.

''........d*mn it.''

　I spit out a small amount. The blackness of the armor is gone.
　It seems that the armor was also equipped with a repair ability.
　I don't know how much of a repair ability it has, but considering that my arms have been regenerated, I should think that it has an ability similar to that.
　It needs to have enough attack power to destroy the armor with a single blow.



　Makoto looked down at his right hand and came up with an idea.
　He had been converging the flames that erupted, but what if he could increase the amount of flames?
　If he could draw the flames out to the limit and make them converge, he could penetrate the armor.

''Can you do it?''

　Ask yourself and laugh.
　If you can't, you'll die.

Ignition!

　Jet-black flames erupt from his right arm.
　More flames, he reminds himself.
　The flames erupt with such force that they half-cover his body.

'Hey! What are you doing?!'
....

　Makoto ignores Yuka and focuses his attention on the flames.
　Wary, the Skeleton Lord has stopped moving.
　In the meantime, he imagines the flames.
　It's an image of a raging, all-consuming flame.
　But the flames did not grow.
　Suddenly, an event from the past passed through my mind.
　The time I couldn't go to college, the desperate search for a job, the power harassment, the handling of complaints, the brief period of peace and separation I spent with my girlfriend, the hatred I felt for my brother and his family.
　And the events of that night.
　I was happy to be normal.
　I wanted to go to college and get a job and have a normal life.
　But I just couldn't allow myself to do that much.
　Why did I have to do this to myself?

''........Screw it.''

　A small murmur.
　A sludge of emotion rises in me.
　It's anger.
　Anger at the environment that surrounds me - at the world.

''....Screw you.

　I think the anger has always been with me.
　I've sunk it deep inside and held it back so it wouldn't explode.
　But the anger never subsided.
　It kept flowing, hot as magma, waiting for the moment of eruption.

'Zakkesh!'

　Mako exploded in anger.
　Jet-black flames erupted from his entire body and clung to him like viscous magma.

''Convergence.........''

　Jet-black flames gather in his right fist.
　That's when.
　A high-pitched sound resounded, and intense pain crawled up.
　The pain is as if the nerves are being scratched with burning fire chopsticks.

"Geeee--!

　Gritting his teeth, he looked down at his hand and saw that the middle finger of his right hand - up to its first joint - was covered in something with an obsidian-like sheen.
　It must have been materialized by the converging flames.
　I'm confident that I can defeat the enemy with this.
　In order to do so, it would have to cover at least five fingers.
　However, just having my fingertips covered would cause unbearable, intense pain.
　If the five fingers were covered, how much pain would they be in?

''........Ha.

　Mako sneered.
　'If you can't, you'll die.

'More, more!'

　Makoto howled up to the heavens.
　Flames erupted from his entire body and materialized as if there was no end to it.
　The intense pain eats away at your thoughts.

''Ouch, ouch, ouch--!

　He sits up holding his right arm.
　The pain is so intense that it makes me want to cut off my hand and I regret the decision I made a few seconds ago.
　I would have rather died than suffer like this.
　That's right.
　Why did I think that I didn't want to die?
　When he looked up, the Skeleton Lord slowly raised his sword.

''........Haha.''

　Mako laughs hollowly.
　He couldn't wait to be killed.
　It felt as if he was holding back an ejaculation.
　How good would it feel to have your head split open with a sword?
　Surely that would be enough to make him feel a climax that he would be willing to trade for his life.
　The Skeleton Lord swung his sword down, but the climax he was expecting did not come.
　What came was the pain of a vertical slash across his left arm.
　Hi, hihihi, Makoto laughed as he looked at his vertically slashed left arm.

''Hi, hihi, hihihihihihihih!

　He laughs and says, "Tear your throat out, too.
　This is the kind of person I am.
　I am a filthy creature.
　I'd rather die, I say, but when the time comes, I realize I'm scared.
　The flames flood out and converge on my right arm.
　The flames materialize with a cracking sound and cover my right arm.
　Suddenly, the flames break off, and there is my right arm, covered up to the elbow in jet black armor.
　The intense pain has not subsided.

''Heehee!''

　With his hand sword, he severed the blade that had bitten into his left arm and stood up on trembling legs.
　Wary, the Skeleton Lord backed away.

''Kuhihihihi!''

　Mako swung her hand sword down as she fell down.
　The Skeleton Lord held his shield at the ready, but the hand blade cut both arms off to the arm that was supporting the shield.
　He quickly closed the distance and thrust his hand out with his five fingers open.
　The hand easily penetrates through the armor and goes through.

''........Ah?''

　I couldn't help but let my voice trail off.
　His consciousness returned to normal in an instant.
　I couldn't feel anything.
　He tore the armor apart as he pulled his arm out.
　Underneath the armor, there was no red sphere, the weak point, underneath the armor.

''Huh!''
Huh?

　As soon as he held his right hand out in front of him, the Skeleton Lord released a shockwave.
　My right hand is flung off.
　It was a shock that made me think my shoulder had been twisted off, but unfortunately, my right arm is safe.
　That intense pain still torments Makoto to this day.
　He grits his teeth and slams his fist into the skeleton lord.
　After the slightest resistance, the skull turned to dust and flew apart.
　His upper body swims and footsteps.

'Did you do it?'

　Turning around, the Skeleton Lord was standing there with his skull and one arm missing.
　It begins to regenerate with the sound of a beeping sound.

'Hey, what's going on!
Don't ask me!

　Makoto shouted back to Yuka.

''....maybe, really...''

　He swallowed the words "Is he immortal?" as quickly as he could.
　If he was truly immortal, he wouldn't have his men around the temple.

'There must be a trick.
What kind of trick is that?
You think about it!

　Mako let her thoughts run through her mind as she looked at the Skeleton Lord.
　Or should I say, he tried to make them go round.
　His thoughts were disturbed into a thousand pieces by the intense pain.

'd*mn, my right arm hurts.
Where's your left hand?
It's nothing compared to your right hand.

　Honestly, it seems like a miracle that I can keep my sanity.

''Well that's a relief,''

　Yuka held out her hand to her right hand apologetically.
　A bluish-white light shone on her right arm, and it seemed to ease the pain just a little bit.
　That gave him time to think about it.
　It reminded me of the actions of the Skeleton Lord.
　When he thought about it, there was a lot of unnatural behavior.
　Why was he catching it with his shield when he was fast enough to duck the flaming bullets?
　Why didn't he dodge Yuka's magic?
　Why did he strike out?

'If the theory is correct, isn't he hiding a red ball somewhere?'

　Yuka said absent-mindedly.
　Well, it's true that a villain who doesn't die even if he receives a special move, the theory is that he has a separate weakness.
　So where does the Skeleton Lord hide his weaknesses?

''The throne!
The throne!

　Makoto and Yuka looked at each other and shouted.

'Yuka!'
"Luno Cuesta Agata!　Like a cone through and through, O Periolis, you shall be a cone through my enemies!　Reveal, magic bullet!

　The magic bullets released by Yuka shattered the throne.
　A single red sphere came out from underneath it.
　Makoto ran out.
　I won't let that happen, and the Skeleton Lord chased after him.
　He didn't have the luxury of time to spare and didn't even look at Yuka.
　That is proof that the red sphere hidden in the throne is real.

''It's too late!''

　As he swung his right arm down with all his strength, the sphere exploded.
　A clattering sound echoed from behind me and I looked behind me over my shoulder.
　There was a dismembered bone lying there.

''Ahhhh, shindo.''

　Mako exhaled heavily and slumped into place.
　Maybe it was the injury, or maybe it was the fact that he had used too much fire, but the fatigue was weighing down on him.

'That's it, isn't it?'
I don't know.

　Tsk, Yuka clicked her tongue and removed her scarf.
　Then she knelt down beside Makoto and tied her left arm tightly.

'What's the angel's voice?'
I can't hear you, by the way.

　Has there been an error?

You're going to die.
Okay.

　Makoto pulled out a Marlboro and a Zippo from his pocket.

'You're not an idiot at a time like this,'
I don't mind.

　He held the Marlboro in his mouth and lit it. He led the purple smoke into his lungs and choked violently.
　I knew I had become incapable of smoking.
　My vision wobbled. At first I thought it was because of the blood loss--.

''An earthquake?''

　Yuka's words told me otherwise. The shaking is gradually increasing in intensity.
　If this continues, the temple might collapse.

''What's going on!''
I don't know.
Let's get out of here.
Oh, I can't.
It's not impossible!

　Yuka dipped her head into Makoto's left armpit and stood up.

'Isn't it usually the right?'
''How could I touch the right arm that sliced through such a strong undead?　What if you die!
Yeah.

　I start walking toward the exit, but I can't even go straight.
　It's all you can do just to stand.
　And yet, Yuka doesn't try to run away without Makoto.

''.........you're a good guy, aren't you?
I'm not such a bastard as to abandon my friends and run away!
They don't come around very often.

　Haha, Makoto laughed.

'What are you laughing at?'
'No, I just thought I was lucky!
What?

　Yuka shouted in frustration.
　That may not have been the trigger, but the cobblestones cracked and pillar after pillar fell.
　Huge boulders crashed through the ceiling, scattering like scattered bullets from the impact of the fall.
　Cracks appeared with another crack.

''What's this?''

　Yuka's eyes widened in surprise.
　As it should be, the cracks were running into empty space.
　The cracks crunched and widened with a crunching sound, branching out.
　The space deflected and shattered like glass.
　On the other side of it was darkness.

''........It's not glass.

　Makoto muttered quietly. For example, if I broke a drawing on a glass plate, it might look like this.
　The space shattered and the darkness expanded its range.
　The next thing you know, all but the scaffolding has been swallowed up by the darkness.

'What are you going to do now?'
Come on, baby.

　The scaffolding shattered and Mako's consciousness was cut off.
　It was as if he heard the angel's voice just before he did.