Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 174 The Final Chapter (End)

The crimson world shattered under this blow, and even this pitch-black space was cleaved open with a huge crack, with burning flowers falling onto the lake surface.

Only Shido stared intently at the pale body that had been slashed down to a quarter of its original size. With a grim face, he did not choose to leave, but instead planted his sword in the ground, waiting for the collapse of this space.

The pale body looked extremely gruesome; its eyeballs had rolled off, and only the area from the hands to the eyes remained; the rest of the body seemed to have been cut off and disappeared.

"Ah, aren't you going to die yet? Didn't you already do what you wanted me to do? What's there to be nostalgic about now that you've crawled back here..."

Staring at the piece of flesh that could no longer be called a body, Shido suddenly began to mutter to himself. Even though the flesh had not changed at all, his eyes were so firm.

—It was as if they had already foreseen that Ming would eventually climb back up one more time.

"It seems my thought process has been seen through, Shido."

The sound came, and the piece of flesh began to wriggle slightly. A mouth slowly grew out of the palm, and then black flames surged from the flesh's body, constructing a pure black body formed by flames.

As Shido stood up again before them, a sound like a mirror shattering reached their ears. The space created by the magical artifact began to collapse, revealing numerous cracks.

Shido and Mei, who had planted the Executioner in the lake, looked at each other. Memories of the past between them surged up in this moment of exchange, and Shido knew that this was the last time they would look at each other.

"Aren't you going down yet? The chain that caused you so much pain has already been severed..."

"Yes, I am indeed preparing to go down, but if I just go down like nothing happened, she will be angry because of what I do."

"so what?"

"So we have to come back to pay off one last debt and resolve one last minor hidden danger."

You're talking about me, aren't you?

Guess~

Ming slightly raised the hand he used to speak, even though he was already on the verge of exhaustion. After the connection with the tree was severed, his spiritual energy was rapidly draining away.

Even if you leave it alone, it won't be long before it...

"Want to fight? Shido, it's weird to ask a good kid like this, but you won't refuse me, will you?"

"As you wish."

Upon hearing this, Shido slowly stood up, smiling, his fists clenched, and looked at Ming, who was already exhausted, with his fingers curling up slightly in a way that mimicked Ming's unrestrained and arrogant manner.

—My name is Itsuka Shido. I'll stake everything on this battle to end your decaying, stagnant dream!

"Wow, that's so cringeworthy, but it's also so real."

—My name is Gangfeng Ming, and I swear by my name that I will shatter your childish and empty dreams!

Their smiles were so unrestrained, just like the morning when Shido opened the door and the two first looked at each other.

The two charged at each other, their fists colliding.

A powerful energy wave erupted from them, and the surrounding collapsing space was further shattered by the impact of this force.

Shido's body trembled slightly, and Ming's black flames flickered uncertainly in the collision.

Neither of them backed down; both were determined to increase their efforts, appearing extremely in sync. Perhaps it was due to the spiritual energy channels, but neither of them needed to speak.

"Mr. Ming... I'm curious, what kind of person is the girl you love?"

"Well... well, she's not particularly pretty, but her dependence and acceptance are enough for me to spend my whole life pursuing her."

"I see."

As the two were talking, they punched each other in the face with their other fists.

Both of them clearly felt the pain of the fracture, but they still had smiles on their faces.

"Now that you're in this state, are you really not going to tell me why you killed him? This doesn't seem like you..."

"That's because your understanding is not comprehensive enough, Shido. Read more psychology books and don't be misled by appearances."

"what?!"

Both men landed their second punches heavily on each other's chests, and were both knocked back several steps.

Before they could even get their footing, the collapsing space around them suddenly began to spin like a vortex, pulling the two of them into it.

Shido and Mei were instantly thrown off balance by the powerful force, but their fists continued to hurtle towards each other.

"Okay, okay, enough with the jokes. It's true, that 1 million wasn't my intention, but I had to do it for this moment."

"I can't understand you..."

"I know, I'm just putting their lives and my own into the chamber of this gun, betting that you... will never let me go."

"Just for this!"

"Otherwise what? Do you want to listen to some high-sounding sophistry? I'm just betting that you'll empathize with these 1 million people and finally decide to kill me."

Shido glared angrily, while Mei grinned.

"You actually gambled with the lives of 100 million people!"

"Otherwise, how could you have been so resolute in breaking those chains? I wasn't going to live long anyway, so ending it this way isn't a regret."

At this moment, the pulling force of the vortex became stronger and stronger, constantly tearing at the two people in an attempt to move them out of this space, but it was all in vain. The two people just kept throwing punches at each other in this collapsing space.

One punch, two punches, three punches, four punches, five punches...

—Although this 30-year obsession is a long time, only at this moment do I feel like I am constantly dying and being reborn for something I cannot compromise on, and then continuing to die.

Shido didn't know how many punches he would throw, but he punched a fist-sized hole in the half of Ming's body created by black flames, causing Ming to take a heavy step back.

—For their own lives, and for the lives of those they wanted to protect, they wanted to stop me…

—Although burning the world was just a lie of mine, his persistence and belief were incredibly real.

Ming grabbed Shido by the neck and then slammed two heavy punches into his face.

In response, Shido gripped his waist tightly and, ignoring the burning sensation of the flames, delivered a full-force knee strike.

—You don't see yourself as a hero, but in my eyes you shine incredibly brightly.

—My name is Gangfeng Ming, a fool who destroys human reason and tries to meet someone. I was born in this world and will die in this world.

Shido and Mei were both exhausted and collapsed on the ground, panting heavily as they greedily inhaled the little oxygen remaining in the space.

—There's no reason why. Even if I've already failed, I'll still use everything in my life to defeat you... There's no reason why. I just want to beat up the hero I admire.

—My enemy!

—My ugliness!

—You are the destiny that governs me!

—Witness me! This short second life contains the simplest of stories.

Both stood up again, looked at each other simultaneously, and then rushed towards each other once more.

Shido's leaping punch hit his own face, but after staggering a couple of steps, he returned the favor with a punch to Shido's abdomen.

The boy was also knocked to his knees by the powerful impact, while I dragged my broken body forward.

—My life has been wonderful, much more wonderful than my last life. It wasn't just filled with hatred and sorrow... but also with the joy of sharing with companions and the emotion I felt when eating sweets.

"This is my true life!"

Ming's punch, aimed at the kneeling Shi Dao's face, came to an abrupt halt.

His fleshy arm, like soil gnawed by millions of ants, quietly crumbled, turning into countless tiny fragments that fell like snowflakes.

Seeing this, Shido simply stood up in silence and met Mei's gaze.

—Shido...All my exploitation of you...all the lies were true...But I was moved by your friendship, and I wanted to be your friend countless times, and that's also true.

Ming didn't say these words aloud, and Shido probably never knew them either.

However, Shido's abdomen had been cut open at some point, and a red crystal hidden inside was taken out and held tightly in his palm.

The pitch-black space shattered completely, and the sound of the mirror breaking echoed continuously. The two of them were thus returned to the snow-covered summit of Mount Fuji.

"Shido!"

The elves shielded Shido behind them, while Kotori's giant axe was held against Ming's neck.

"Oh, isn't this my beloved Commander? How nice, just finished your date with your brother..."

"Surrender...no, prepare to die now, Ming!"

Just as Kotori was about to make her move, Shido, clutching his stomach, emerged from behind the spirits, supported by Yuzuru, and called out:

"Kotori, let him go...let him go."

Kotori was stunned, looking at Shido in disbelief:

"Shido, have you gone mad? He's killed so many people!"

"I know! But he doesn't have much time left, just look at him now..."

Kotori looked at Ming's mangled body, the flesh on the verge of falling apart. If he could stand up and maintain consciousness now... he was truly a monster.

Ming looked at Shido and gave a weak but satisfied smile:

"Shido, you're still as kind as ever."

He slowly turned around and stepped forward step by step towards the unobstructed rear. When he saw the spherical monitoring device staring at him in mid-air, he waved cheerfully.

But none of the people in Fraxinus chose to respond to him; they simply watched him leave in silence.

Ming dragged his shattered body, flying in a certain direction. Snow whistled past him, each basic float seeming to require the utmost effort.

Suddenly, he felt the spiritual energy in his body flowing away like water bursting its banks, and his body was about to fall uncontrollably downwards, but the image of Sawa in his mind helped him stabilize himself.

From the palm, which was barely formed from black flames, came a series of disturbing insults.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I was so close... If that brat had used my power just a little more, I could have replaced him and become the new [Divine Child]! And you! Why did you stop me?!"

"Even like this, you could still bite off a piece of your mother's flesh..."

Asmodeus's roar echoed continuously in Ming's mind through the connection in his arm.

"Let go of me! Even if you die, your body is worthless now, there's no point in taking it, so... let go of me!"

Ming, amidst all this noise reaching his ears, simply flew towards the best grave he could find.

Gradually, he landed on an empty street in the photo, no longer having the strength to continue flying.

This is a small city in Tokyo, and the streets are deserted at this moment because of the evacuation.

Ming dragged his body along the familiar road home, a road that had always been the same for him...

Unfortunately, his body wouldn't allow him to continue walking; the flesh in his feet was completely torn apart.

Just as Ming was about to collapse, a hand caught him, and he managed to lift his head and meet the gaze of that golden clock-shaped eye. Kurumi was just quietly looking at him.

"You really look disheveled, Ming," Kurumi teased.

Ming smiled wryly, "There's nothing I can do about it. But my plan is complete. Now all that's left is to atone for my sins and close my eyes one last time..."

"Is that right?"

Kurumi supported Ming, looking at his broken body, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

It seems like this was the same road they used to take to Sawa's house to pet her cat.

Sawa and Kuriko have already left, and now Kurumi must watch her last friend depart for the underworld.

After walking half a street, Ming, supported by Kurumi's strong arms, arrived at the entrance of the cemetery, went inside, and came to Sawa's cenotaph.

"Alright~ Ming, I'll stop here. Please help yourself to the rest..."

Kurumi spoke casually, then lowered her head and disappeared into the nearest shadow.

Ming looked at the sky with a faint smile. Unbeknownst to him, two spears floated out from his soul, the Holy Lance Longinus and the Death Lance Key to the Land of the Dead, circling around him.

"Whoa! What are you doing! No... wait!"

As if sensing something, Asmodeus roared anxiously in Ming's hand, but Ming smiled calmly and directly integrated the red crystal into his body. The spiritual power that had been released was withdrawn, and Ming's body stopped collapsing.

But only Asmodeus knew that this was only the beginning of what this man was doing.

Magical interjections, chanted from his lips:

"Life or death... the soul is here, I declare to the world, I offer my body completely as a sacrifice to complete the mystery... Sing, and the soul will regain its body—!"

【Death Gun - Key to the Land of the Dead】opened up all the souls that were being absorbed, and hundreds of millions of souls drifted in the cemetery before finally pouring into Ming's body.

The body transformed into countless points of light, each containing a person's soul. Hundreds of millions of points of light slowly emerged, and Ming's physical body and spiritual power were consumed.

Countless points of light, like joyful sprites, fly to all corners of the world. Upon reaching their destinations, they take the form of souls and create new bodies for those souls, just like the most dazzling fireworks raining down in the daytime.

Watching this scene on Fraxinus's monitor, everyone was incredulous; it was practically a miracle!

"Now...the debt is paid off...Sawa and Kuriko won't be angry with me anymore, right..."

Before Ming's head turned into specks of light, he spoke wearily. After his body completely dissipated, the man finally closed his eyes.

Kurumi watched him leave silently from the shadows, feeling a slight sadness in her heart. Now, the last friend who knew about her past had also passed away.

"Goodbye, Ming, I look forward to the day you bring Sawa back..."