That Person. Later on...

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As if proving his apotheosis, Shiro's hair which was mostly white-colored turned into pitch black. Even his laughing face turned into something twisted, something that destroyed his original personality.

The moment he did, he landed a punch on my cheek and got me blown to the wall.

I didn't feel pain from my back that hit against the wall, but pain soared in my punched cheek. I bit my inner cheek a little bit.

Blood accumulated inside my mouth, so I spat it out.

I was slightly startled by the pain that I hadn't felt for a while.

Since I had my nonsensical status, I never felt pain anymore…… When I was reminiscing of how it felt like to experience pain, Shiro appeared before me for a second time.

"Do you really have the time to play stupid?"

Shiro punched an uppercut. I barely saw that coming and got blown to the ceiling of the passageway, and still his fist caught up with me and caved into my stomach, causing the ceiling to gain a hideous crack.

And then Shiro grabbed my clothes, throwing me off to the ground.

"Urgh……"

"Come on, what's wrong with you? Is it over already? Are you going to die just like this?"

"I don't need you to tell me what to do, really…"

I forcibly pinned down the pain running all over my body, and I also executed my apotheosis.

"Let's do this thing!!"

My deified self stood up right away and threw a punch to Shiro.

With his ever plastered smile, Shiro grabbed my fist and threw his own as a counter attack, but I stopped that one and put us into this battle for dominance.

He snickered.

"Gugigigigigi…."

"Ahahahaha…."

Please spare me already…… Your laugh really grates on my nerves!!!

I pulled Shiro close and headbutted him. He staggered, and in that small gap, I kicked him away.

Shiro already flipped mid air even as he was kicked off. Standing on his feet, he made a perfect landing.

"Ahahahaha!! As expected of Wazu-kun!! You're so, so strong!! But….. It truly seems that after going through apotheosis, I'm the one with the higher status between us, am I right?"

I also thought the same as his words.

It wasn't as if we had confronted each other after the apotheosis for a long time, but I could notice that much.

Just like he said, I was slightly weaker than him…… It was more accurate to say that I had lower divinity though, because it truly felt as if he was of a higher position than me.

"……Tch."

"I wonder, why that is~"

"The hell if I'd know!!"

I instantly went to Shiro's vicinity, but he saw my movement and met my punch with his own fist.

Just like that, I got blown away and hit the wall just like before.

"Eh? You really don't know why? Then, let me tell you the reason. The difference between me and you, Wazu-kun, is the different between the complete and incomplete apotheosis!! Isn't your resolution way too weak? Are you really that reluctant to shed away that mortal shell of a human? Why are you so fixated on that? Isn't it better to get higher praises?? Because the two of us are the ones chosen by the God!!!"

…….ah, I see now…… So it's something like that…….

In that case, I just need to properly complete my apotheosis!! He's right though, I do feel a bit terrified of becoming something that's not human…… This divinity thing is a completely unknown territory for me…… But even if I'm hesitating, I can't let myself die here…… Because I have people waiting for me to come home to them!!!

I gathered power into my body and in that instance—

I felt the structure of my body turned into something that wasn't human.

I knew this was how it truly meant to obtain divinity.

"Can I ask you one thing?"

"What is it?"

I stared straight into Shiro's eyes.

"You put your effort to teach me how to win…… Shiro, do you really want to die that much?"

"……"

Shiro replied to my question with silence.

He was no longer showing a smile. His expression turned as still as a noh mask.

"……You see…… If you really want to have your answer…… I'll tell you the moment I die."

"Uh, isn't that the same as saying that you don't want me to know?"

I inwardly laughed the moment I had that mysteriously frivolous answer from him.

In contrast with Shiro's expression, I was the one making a bold smirk.

"Then here I go now!!"

"Anytime you wish~~!!"

After that, we punched, kicked, gripped, threw each other. We did about everything that we could do with our bare hands. That was our battle.

It felt like we did so many things in such a long time with my body, but I actually didn't know if those happened in a second, a minute, or an hour in reality.

However, I did know that it didn't take that long.

In front of me, with his violently ragged breathing, beaten signs all over his body, and large amount of blood coughing out from his mouth, Shiro sprawled on the ground while looking at me.

"……Ah, ahahahahaha……. Really, you're so strong……. This is my defeat………. So I'm going to die…… This is one thing that can't be helped……"

There was no such thing. With my thorough apotheosis, I could definitely heal him.

But I wouldn't do that.

Shiro had put us through so many troubles, and even dragged my wives into those troubles. I had no intention to forgive him.

"……That's right…… I'll attend your deathbed."

"…….A-as I thought…… Wazu-kun, you're really kind…… You stay by my side……until the very last moment……"

"Because I haven't heard your reasons."

"……That's true…… You're right……"

Along with those words, Shiro looked as if he was recalling all the moments that had passed in his life. He softly closed his eyes.

"……It's not a complicated tale…… in this kind of world….. The mundane, common tale of a person…..

…….Born to a common family, just like anyone else……

…….Lived day by day, just like anyone else…….

…….Got his whole family assaulted, just like anyone else…….

…….Being the sole survivor, just like anyone else…….

…….Resented the world, just like anyone else……

…….Started all over again, just like anyone else……

…….Stayed alive, just like anyone else…….

…….It's just something like that…….

…….Just with different……methods…….than someone else…….in his position……. Wazu-kun, if…….that happened to you……. What would… you do? ……….People precious to you…….got unreasonably endangered……. Would you…….curse the perpetrator…….or this world instead?"

I had no answer to his question.

If one day something happened to Sarona and the others……I would definitely, undoubtedly, destroy this world……by using every last bit of my power.

Shiro called us [similar yet different]……

That was because I had Sarona and the others for me.

But Shiro, he had nobody else.

That was the only difference between us…… But that difference was what set us worlds apart.

If Sarona and the others didn't have any feelings for me, and I met again with Aria in that condition, I would undoubtedly thread the same path as Shiro.

I would curse the irrationality, I would probably strike down the hammer of judgment to this world……

But that was the reason why I wouldn't sympathize with Shiro.

Because Shiro and I were different…… Because we had already thread different paths in our lives……

"……"

"……ha, hahaha, ha….. So you won't say anything to that…… But that is fine for me too…… Because we are [similar yet different]…… so we're not the same……. we're different…… and that's why we keep crossing each other……"

Shiro laughed weakly.

"……..That's why, this is…… my final parting gift………… Do your best…… to have a go……… against the very embodiment……of this world's irrationality……"

Shiro slowly raised his arm over his head.

"……so much better if…… this unreasonable world…… can just disappear….."

As if he gathered his final resolution, he balled his raised hand into a tight fist, and Shiro struck his own chest with that fist.

In that moment, there was a kachink sound from the spot he struck, a sound of something broken apart. And along with that sound,

Ghrooooooooooaar……

the ground was quaking. I got a terrible feeling emanating from the depth of the grotto.

Meanwhile, I confirmed that Shiro, from whom I could never look away, he had really died. Only then I looked at the depth of the grotto.

I had no words to say to him.

Because, no matter how similar we were, this guy was still my enemy……

I looked at the depth of the grotto and started running towards it.

Credits:

Isecai's Notes:

This is the noh mask:

It's a frozen mask that shows different emotions depending on the minute angle that the actor behind it shows you. The blog linked above talked quite a lot about it.

If I make mistakes with the names, please let me know. 😀

This is a commissioned chapter. <3 Thank you, Tomas!

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