Anime, Girlfriend Shokuhou Misaki

"I can't learn it."

Blood flowed down Makoto Haramura's arm, and his expression turned gloomy.

If it were Edelweiss's acceleration sword, he was confident he could replicate it by training his muscles.

But Edelweiss's deceleration sword offered him no hope of replication.

After all, compared to pure swordsmanship, he was better at combining his ability with his sword.

Moreover, his Device wasn't just a sword.

Indeed, many people said he had talent in swordsmanship, but he knew very well that they were only talking about his physical aptitude.

But the heart that could truly wield a sword and stand at the peak had to have a sincere heart for the sword.

To him, the sword was just a means of attack.

He could never be like Ikki Kurogane or Edelweiss.

So, there was little chance he could learn Edelweiss's second sword.

In addition, Edelweiss had transmitted vibration energy into the sword he had just stopped, causing him to fly backward uncontrollably and crash into the spatial rift she had cut open.

"Is that all the resolve you have?"

Just then.

A clear, cold voice rang out from outside, not loud, but it entered his ears like a fine drizzle turning into silk.

"When will you be able to cast aside those unnecessary distractions?"

Unnecessary distractions!

These weren't words that could awaken Makoto Haramura as if from a dream; in fact, he had known for a long time what his problem was, but he had never consciously thought about it.

He had always been aware that he wasn't obsessed with becoming stronger.

Although he was diligent and worked hard.

But he ultimately didn't devote himself to it wholeheartedly like Ikki Kurogane or Ouma Kurogane.

This mindset could allow him to become a strong person.

Because he had the talent and ability to support it.

But this mindset would become a stumbling block on his path to becoming the strongest.

Also, he didn't have that indomitable spirit.

Thinking carefully about it.

Weren't all the difficulties and obstacles he had faced so far things he only truly faced when he had a certain degree of certainty?

Not necessarily absolute certainty, but a very high probability of success.

But when faced with those things he clearly had no chance of succeeding in, like his current duel with Edelweiss, his first thought was definitely to run.

But if it were Ikki Kurogane, he wouldn't do what Makoto Haramura was doing.

He himself would also understand what drawing his sword against the world's strongest swordsman meant.

However, Ikki Kurogane would only be more excited.

He would treat this battle as a test of himself, and even if he had a 99% chance of dying here after the battle, Ikki Kurogane would still not regret it.

Ouma Kurogane was the same.

(*But do I have to continue like this?*)

Makoto Haramura fell into confusion.

Not being impulsive, not getting carried away, always prioritizing self-preservation, and never doing things without certainty.

This had been his creed since he was a child.

Of course, it was precisely because of his personality that he was able to emerge from the bottom of Academy City from a penniless state.

Did he really think it was so easy to emerge from the bottom of Academy City?

It was filled with all kinds of deceit, trickery, and bloodshed.

Not knowing when to bow his head, not knowing when to pretend, and rushing forward like a reckless fool would only lead to being swallowed up by others, leaving no bones behind.

Was he going to change now?

Changing now was almost equivalent to abandoning his past self.

So, was he going to make himself pure?

Makoto Haramura didn't know the specific answer to this question.

Edelweiss didn't make any further moves, just standing there quietly, not at all like the murderous intent she had shown earlier, completely devoid of any intention to kill him.

She could see the bewilderment on Makoto Haramura's face.

"If you can get here, you can probably see the door."

Edelweiss thought to herself as she looked at Makoto Haramura.

That's right, just as Makoto Haramura thought, Edelweiss had no reason to attack him.

Edelweiss had such a good relationship with Nangou Hikojiro.

Her coming to attack Makoto Haramura was to help give him a push.

While there was certainly an element of repaying Nangou Hikojiro's kindness through Makoto Haramura, there was also her curiosity about Makoto Haramura.

If Nangou Hikojiro could discover Makoto Haramura's anomalies, how could Edelweiss not discover them?

She had also discovered that Makoto Haramura was not subject to the interference of fate.

She had also suspected that Makoto Haramura was a born Majin.

However, there were still questions about this.

If he was a born Majin, why hadn't Makoto Haramura's magic power increased?

So, there must be many special things about Makoto Haramura, and she was very curious.

She wanted to push Makoto Haramura to his limits today to see if there were any special changes in him.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Edelweiss murmured softly, her eyes already full of astonishment.

"So fast?"

"But why? Why is this kid's aura so unclear?"

She had seen the transformation process of several Majin.

It should be a process of going from building momentum to becoming sharp and revealing.

Why was Makoto Haramura's transformation process like this?

…

"Do I really need to think so much?"

"No, I don't need to."

Makoto Haramura's eyes suddenly became firm.

Indeed, he liked to consider many things before doing something, think a lot, and only put things into practice when he was sure of success, and he didn't have that indomitable spirit.

But he also had another advantage.

That was that he never hesitated when making decisions, and once he made up his mind, he would devote himself wholeheartedly to it without thinking about a way out.

Obviously, the path he was currently taking had become his shackle.

If this wasn't a world that needed force, and the worlds he was going to go to next didn't need force, then that would be fine.

But unfortunately, that was impossible.

In this world, there were Blade Bringers like the one in front of him who could rival a country.

In his original world, there were existences like Academy City's No. 1 who could withstand nuclear bombs.

He needed stronger force.

He needed stronger power.

In this world where power is paramount, only those who possess power have the right to set the rules.

Intrigue and weighing the pros and cons were indeed very important.

But in the face of true power, these things were not worth mentioning.

Shouldn't he have understood these things long ago in the past sixteen years?

If he had superpowers, if he was also a Level 5, why would he have to struggle so hard?

Because he had no power, he needed to struggle hard.

Because he had no power, he needed intrigue and calculation.

That's why he worked so hard to train himself, so that he, who was just an ordinary person, could fight with ability users.

But it was all over, his power limited him.

"That's right, I should have changed long ago, shouldn't I?"

Makoto Haramura's eyes suddenly flashed with brilliance.

It was like the sun, an unprecedentedly bright light.

His face was only calm, but the line of sight in his pupils was extremely firm, that was natural, the aggregation of will.

Forcibly, let yourself wholeheartedly pursue one thing.

Without any impurities, turn the power of the heart into an extreme point.

A huge stone door directly appeared in front of Makoto Haramura.

Yes, it was not Makoto Haramura approaching, but the stone door directly appeared in front of Makoto Haramura.

The stone door was tens of meters high, a completely enclosed space.

There were no decorations on the door, but it was obvious that the stone door had a sense of weight, which was as heavy as a star.

"I see, this is the obstacle that Ikki crossed today."

The magic power in Makoto Haramura's body surged wildly, and at the same time, he slowly raised his knife, and the essence, energy, and spirit of his whole body were highly condensed.

Suddenly, Makoto Haramura's leg moved.

He took a step forward suddenly, and in the next moment, he had come to the stone door at an extremely close distance.

"——『Space-Time Interruption』!"

The battle to seize this space, turned into a knife light that divided the sky and the earth into two, suddenly flashed.

"Clang——"

The sound of rushing through the sky, also passed on belatedly.

"The current me can cut off everything."

"A mere shackle, watch me break free for you."

The suddenly bright knife light even illuminated this dim space.

"Clang——"

A sword mark that ran through the entire stone door directly appeared on the stone door.

"Rumble——"

In an instant, the stone door was divided into two halves, falling down one after another, and then the broken stone door turned into glittering debris and dissipated in the air.

"Kid, I didn't expect you to do it so quickly."

The familiar voice exploded suddenly, Makoto Haramura didn't even have time to be surprised, and a feeling of dizziness that turned the world upside down attacked his head.

When he woke up again, he was already in a vast open space.

There was nothing in the open space, not even weeds, just bare yellow land.