**Episode 049: Despair Once Again**

“Vooooo!!”

The giant shadow, with its legs severed, screamed in agony. Confident that I could defeat it with my current speed and attack power, I calmed my emotions, readied myself, and relentlessly struck.

“Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, aaaaah!”

I swung the sword wildly, cutting through the creature’s body continuously.

“Vooooo!!”

Due to the injuries inflicted by Shuji and Sato, the giant shadow continued to endure my attacks without any means of resistance. Its volume was gradually diminishing.

If I keep this up, I should be able to defeat it.

Thinking so, I continued my assault.

“Vooooo!!”

I sliced off the lower half of its body, closing in on the giant’s face like a daruma falling over. After the lower body, I severed its arms. At this point, it couldn’t resist anymore. Still, I cautiously cut off the upper body from below.

Finally, the face part fell to the ground.

“Voo, voo, voo, voo, voo.”

There, I finally saw the face of the giant shadow. The pitch-black hole resembling a mouth twisted, as if it were smiling. That smile seemed to mock me.

“Hah! If you can, give it a try!”

To deliver the final blow, I leaped and cleaved its face in two.

—Zuushin!

The face split into two halves, falling to the left and right.

“It’s over.”

I turned around, intending to check on Shuji and Sato immediately.

—Dokun!

“Huh?”

However, at that moment, I heard a pulsating sound.

—Dokun!

“What is it?”

The sound echoed again, but I couldn’t pinpoint its origin.

—DokunDokun!

“What on earth is this?!”

The initially faint sound kept growing louder until it became distinctly audible.

—DokunDokunDokunDokunDokun!

And it continued to increase in frequency.

Where is it? Where is the source…?

I looked around, but I couldn’t identify it from the overall noise.

“The entire…? No way…?”

Come to think of it, it was strange. The areas blown away by bombs or whatever weren’t left on the ground, but the parts cut by the sword remained. And even after defeating such a formidable opponent, I didn’t level up.

—DokunDokunDokunDokunDokunDokunDokunDokunDokun!

“Oh… seriously… damn it!”

In front of my eyes, the shadow fragments that were severed began to gather in one place, resonating with each other. It meant that the giant shadow was not yet dead.

“I won’t let you! Cross Slash! Cross Slash! Cross Slash! Cross Slash! Cross Slash!…”

To prevent that, I swung my sword to cut through the gathering parts. However, no matter how much I cut, they just shrank, and the attempt to gather did not stop.

My resistance was in vain. Gradually, the parts gathered, consolidated, and formed a body.

“Dammit! Fireball! Wind Cutter! Thunder! Ice Needle!”

If slashing doesn’t work, then I’ll use magic.

—DondonDooon!

The magic hit the writhing shadows.

“How about that!?”

If I can’t deal damage with a sword, then at least let the magic inflict some damage!

I shouted this plea before the smoke cleared.

“Voo, voo, voo, voo, voo.”

However, my efforts were in vain, and the fusion of the body progressed, forming a more refined humanoid shape than when it first fell.

“Damn it! I couldn’t stop it!”

Despite my final attempts with slashing and casting spells, I could no longer halt its movements.

“Vooooo!!”

Although it seemed weakened by the compact form, its roar exuded even more intimidation than when I first encountered it.

“Could it be that it revived and evolved? Is that even possible…?”

Facing the now stronger giant shadow, I felt a moment of despair.

“No, I won’t give up… If I don’t defeat it here, Sato, Shuji, Enjyu, and even Yuna and Kana might be killed.”

Thinking of my loved ones, I rallied my spirits, slapped my face, and infused determination.

“Alright! From here on, it’s a battle of endurance!”

I used all my strength to employ martial arts, raised my sword, and glared at the giant shadow.

“Voo. Voo. Voo. Voo. Voo.”

The giant seemed to mock me, licking its lips and smiling.

“You damn thing! Don’t underestimate me!”

“Voo!?”

The shadow seemed taken aback by my serious speed, emitting a startled sound.

“Consecutive Cross Slashes!”

Seizing the opportunity while it was still flustered, I leaped from its feet, sneaked into its embrace, and unleashed a series of Cross Slashes.

—Zubaaaann!

Just like the previous attack, a cross-shaped opening appeared on its chest accompanied by a fierce swordplay.

“Voo. Voo. Voo. Voo. Voo.”

However, the creature laughed defiantly, as if mocking me.

“Damn it. It started regenerating normally again…”

Up until now, it seemed like it was deliberately cut away to toy with me. Now, there was no more slicing, and the void gradually closed.

But that wasn’t the only thing.

“Voo.”

The creature threw a punch directly at me. I was airborne and couldn’t dodge.

“Ugh!”

I crossed my arms to shield myself, but I was sent flying towards the school building.

“Ugh.”

Mid-air, I managed to regain my posture and landed against the school building. Utilizing the momentum, I tried to leap back towards the creature.

But it was too late.

—Sudoon!

“Ugooooo!”

The creature was already closing in on me, and its fist was in front of my body. Immediately afterward, my body was slammed into the school building.

“Voo.”

“Ugh!”

“Voo.”

“Ugh!”

“Voo.”

“Ugh!”

…

The creature relentlessly pounded on me.

—Dogaaann!

The school building, supporting me, couldn’t withstand the creature’s attacks and broke. I floated lightly in the air, and the sky entered my vision.

“Voo.”

“Ugh!?”

Almost as if commanding a stop, it delivered a heel drop to my suspended form, smashing me into the ground.

—Merimerimeri!

I spat out blood, and my consciousness became hazy.

Hahaha. It’s already impossible, dealing with this thing.

Is it okay if I just give up?

I was on the verge of complete mental breakdown.