CHAPTER 31 - Daniel vs The Dictator. Part 5.
The intense battle between Daniel and the Dictator continued, and while they fought, the people inside the walls prayed, begging for Daniel's victory, especially the elderly, who still remembered what their lives were like before the Dictator appeared.
They looked at their grandchildren and children, thin and sad, forced to live a life full of shortages. Their lives would change forever and for the better once the Dictator disappeared. They would be able to have well-paid jobs, eat more than twice a day, and even have vacations and their own house that they wouldn't have to share with other families.
Seeing Daniel brutally attacking the Dictator over and over again made them smile. A young man from another world, risking his own life for a country foreign to his own, from a world foreign to his own. They could feel the kindness that Daniel transmitted through the screen.
"Young man, thank you," said an old woman.
But Daniel is only human. He gets tired, and he is reaching his limit.
•
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(POV - Daniel)
I don't know how much time has passed, but it feels like hours since we started fighting. Since that small exchange of words we had, we haven't stopped for a single moment. I can feel the fatigue on my back; I'm reaching my physical limit. Since I was little, I was always studying. I may have a slim and somewhat toned body, but that's thanks to my father's genes. I've never been someone skilled in the physical area. I can run about 8 blocks before getting tired—that would probably be my limit without using magic—and I haven't trained enough to improve that limit even a little.
My heart is beating so hard it feels like it's going to burst out of my chest. Every breath burns my lungs as if I were inhaling fire. Hehe. What a good metaphor I used. But it's the truth! I didn't know this could happen to me!
Considering my heart rate and the pain, I can probably continue like this for the equivalent of running half a block.
Wow, wow. I don't know what to do when I reach my limit! Escape? Impossible. He literally has every corner of this world under surveillance; there's nowhere I can hide from him.
My heart hurts, my body burns, my body demands rest, but I can't stop. My whole body feels heavy, every movement makes me cry from the pain. Tears cloud my vision, but they are not from sadness—they are from pure physical agony. My legs tremble as if they were made of jelly and my arms feel like they weigh tons. Should I leave already? Maybe. It hurts, but my life is at risk. I don't know how I'll hide, but maybe there's some deserted island that could work for me. There's another thing I could use to my advantage: my appearance. I'm not an idiot; I've noticed that I attract the Dictator. I could use that to buy time, but… I hate doing that. I've always hated that what stands out most about me is my appearance, making things like my personality and way of thinking seem unimportant. No matter what I do, women treat me well only because of my looks. I…
Damn it!
Don't get distracted anymore! He almost hit me. I jumped in time and blocked his fist with my sword. He lunges at me again and I attack his left side, but… I no longer have enough strength to send him flying. I only made him take a few steps back. I don't even have half a block left—just a few meters.
I can't anymore. I'm sorry.
I let go of the sword and it immediately disappears, along with my strength. I can barely stay on my feet, but I don't know for how much longer. My knees buckle on their own, sweat runs down my forehead and into my eyes. My vision blurs for a second and I have to blink hard to avoid passing out right there.
"Wow, is that all? Let's see… They inform me that this fight lasted 14 minutes and 36 seconds. You have definitely exceeded my expectations. The previous record was 45 seconds, of course, only considering those fights where I actually took them a little seriously."
14 minutes? We destroyed the city in 14 minutes?! Yes, I know that time feels much slower when I use the spell "Muslar Asio," which allows me to react in time, but I really felt like hours had passed, not just 14 minutes!
My mind can't process it. Only 14 minutes? The city around us is a disaster: collapsed buildings, smoke everywhere from the fires, and here I am, feeling like I've run a thousand-kilometer marathon. And only 14 minutes have passed?!
"Ah… Ah… Wow, wow. 14 minutes? I thought it had been 15," I said, trying to sound uninterested.
Not a single wound, not a scratch, nothing. Seriously, nothing at all. I failed.
The Dictator stands there, impeccable, with that arrogant smile. Not a single drop of sweat on his forehead. How is that possible? I'm completely wrecked and he looks like he just woke up from a nap.
"So? Do you want to surrender? It would be a waste to kill such a wonderful specimen from another world, literally speaking. Why don't you join me? I only have one condition: that you impregnate every woman in this country."
Ah, yes, I should have imagined a situation like this. Because of my supposed superior genes, right? Powers, appearance, blah, blah, blah. You want to create a country with powerful inhabitants, just for fun. Ah, I don't even have the energy to feel embarrassed or shy about such a proposal.
Should I accept? I would buy time to return. It would be a very, very humiliating defeat, but as long as I can go back without dying, I can endure it. After all, I'm not a warrior who values his honor and such things. As long as I achieve my goal, I'll do whatever it takes.
"So? You'll only have sex with attractive women. I won't force you to fuck anyone you find unpleasant."
… Now that I think about it, that idea is…
"That's what you tried to do, right? But you failed, and out of fear of failing again, you stopped trying."
"Well, I didn't consider it a complete failure, to be honest. My son obtained a unique power in this world, but unfortunately his body couldn't withstand his great power and suffered the consequences. He gained weight easily and… Ah, the list of defects is long, and that idiot is already dead. Do you really want to talk about that right now?"
"But you didn't kill him. It was a mistake, whether you accept it or not. Why didn't you kill him?"
"Because he was my son. I didn't love him, to be honest. I won't lie to you about that. Ever since he entered puberty, the power went to his head too much and he did things I don't want to mention. But he was my son, after all—my blood. I just let him go free and didn't want to hear anything more about the matter."
"And what about your rule of 'no failures allowed'? I thought there would be no exceptions."
He laughs and claps, sarcastically or I don't know how to describe it. I don't even have time to think about that. My legs are about to give out. But if I fall, I will definitely lose consciousness. This is my last chance to get to know him. I want to know more about him and the way he thinks. I want to know more about the first villain who defeated me (the legendary demons don't count; I was exhausted when they kidnapped me).
"My son was not a mistake. He was planned. My son suffered the consequences of having great power, but no one had defeated him before. He knew how to take advantage of the elements within his reach and that made him untouchable, until you killed him. Someone from another world had to come and kill him, because no one else dared or could. Tell me, would you consider someone like that a mistake?"
I won't even reflect on that. Let's move on to the next thing. My time is running out!
"Now tell me, being able to conquer the world, why do you settle for just one country?"
"Because I just want to live happily and comfortably, that's all."
Happily?
"I'm 73 years old and I can afford to say that I didn't waste a large part of my life working just to have money to survive and be able to keep working to get more money. Do I want to eat something? I eat it. Do I want to go somewhere? I go there. Do I want to sleep? I sleep. Do I want to have sex? I have sex. I do whatever I want, whenever I want, without any complications. If I'm already so happy in my current situation, why would I need to conquer the world? That would just be extra work."
"And love? I know it's a meaningless question, but you know perfectly well that everyone hates you and fears you. Didn't you ever miss that? So much power, without being able to share it with someone. You didn't even care about the death of your own son. A husband who loved you without feeling fear, a loving son who would follow in your footsteps, a family. Didn't you ever want something like that?"
"I won't deny it. I've always wanted something like that, but everyone hates me. My son suffered a lot when he was little because of his defective body and it hurt to see him suffer, so I didn't want to have more children. And once he got used to the pain, he became someone repulsive, and that definitely took away any desire I had to have more children."
He let out a big sigh and began walking toward me.
Working to survive, and surviving to work and keep surviving… Wow, wow. It's sad to know that's an average life.
"Ah, it feels so good to talk with someone who isn't afraid of me."
The Dictator. He does whatever he wants, as long as he can live a comfortable life without difficulties.
"You could achieve the same result by having a happy and prosperous country. Why do you let them die of hunger and allow people in power who rape and murder anyone?"
"The others don't matter to me. I don't even know the people beneath me."
Huh? He doesn't know them?
"I only created the positions and they manage themselves. As long as they keep obeying me and giving me what I want, the rest doesn't matter to me."
"That means… if they had wanted to have a prosperous and happy country, they could have had one?"
"Yes, I suppose so. And what if we continue this conversation at home, with a cup of coffee?"
He doesn't care about anything, as long as he's happy and comfortable… I don't know what to think right now. Is he evil? Yes, he kills without hesitation. But he's not exactly a monster either.
Ah, I thought prolonging the conversation would give me some idea, but nothing. At least I got to know him better.
"Now just say 'I surrender' and we'll consider this fight over. I want to start this new plan I just thought of as soon as possible: a world with magical powers. Imagine our names in the history books of the future magical world. Me, the creator of the idea, and you, the future father of magic in this world. Do you have any preference on how to start? On how to go about getting a woman like that?"
Wow, wow. That idea is actually good, since it guarantees his name will be remembered for thousands of years. A dictator might be remembered for hundreds of years, but the one who gave rise to the magical world will be remembered practically forever.
Ah, whatever. I lost. I'll fall asleep and return to the other world in the blink of an eye.
"I surre…"
Huh? But… what?
"Do you still want to fight?" said the Dictator, stopping a couple of meters away from me.
The sword appeared in front of me. I didn't summon it. What's going on…? Wait, maybe it's a sign from God. You don't want me to surrender yet? But God, I can't defeat him. I haven't even scratched him. It hurts to surrender. I want to free this country. I want them to be happy and live without fear. But I don't want to die and waste a life. The future of all worlds depends on me. I can't risk it.
"One more," said someone else, someone not involved with us.
Huh? It's the voice from before, the one I heard coming from… Dex, do you really have a life?
… One more time? Okay. If my magic sword says so, there's no reason not to trust it.
"One last try!" I shouted, trying to sound cool, although my voice cracked a little at the end.
World, seeing me almost surrender probably made you lose hope, but please, trust me one more time. No, not in me.
"Trust in Dex," I said, looking straight at the camera.
I don't know how it records me, but I can see my face on the big screen.
Let's go, Dex. Let's do this!
I grab the sword with my hand. This could be my last attempt. I will definitely run out of energy. The final attack.
"Just let me attack you one more time," I said, to ensure an attack without complications.
There's no excuse for him to refuse my proposal. He already saw what I'm capable of. Letting me attack him is, from his point of view, very safe.
"Alright, fine. Go ahead," he said after yawning.
"Muslar Asio."
I hold it with all the strength I can muster. Dex, whatever you're thinking of doing, I hope it's worth it. Here we go!
Using all the momentum possible and gathering all my strength, I attack him right in his left side and…
[Activating "Accumulation"] [Kinetic energy accumulated, released.]
Huh? What are those messages that appeared in front of me? Accumulation?
Wow! What?!
•
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For 50 years, people had been researching ways to harm the Dictator, but none were even slightly effective. Weapons, diseases, mutated powers—nothing worked on him. People gradually lost hope of ever finding something that could hurt him.
No one imagined they would see him break in this lifetime. Daniel's last attack was seen only as a desperate attempt by someone who felt superior for having magic. They didn't have even a shred of hope in him… until they saw what happened.
A scene that left the entire world with their mouths open.
•
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(POV - Daniel)
Wow! The Dictator went flying, but extremely so! I sent him to the other side of the city. I can't even see him anymore!
Kinetic energy is the energy that makes an object go from rest to motion, like kicking a ball. The kinetic energy that attack generated was like hitting a baseball with… with… with a giant bat being used by a giant! It's the only metaphor I can think of! Everything Dex had accumulated during the entire fight came out in a single brutal impact. The air broke with a deafening roar. The ground beneath my feet cracked into a huge spiderweb and the Dictator simply disappeared in a straight line, leaving a trail of destruction in his path, like a meteor.
The kinetic energy that isn't used in movement is transformed into thermal energy, as far as I understand. And since his body was black, and that color absorbs heat easily, it must have spread throughout his body instantly. Considering the mini explosion and the speed at which he flew away… it must have reached a temperature equivalent to thousands of degrees Celsius, thousands of degrees hotter than the lava he swam in!
Dex, did you do that accumulation thing without telling me? Awesome!
I look up, because the huge screen is still broadcasting the fight. It focuses on both of us and…
"D-did I do it?"
I hear shouts of joy behind me, at the Dictator's base. Everyone is screaming with joy, so loud and in unison, that I can hear them even from here. Thousands of voices mixed into a single roar of hope. People who had lived under his yoke for years, most of them their entire lives, are now celebrating as if the sun had risen after decades of darkness.
The Dictator, right where he was attacked, is broken. A part of his side is shattered. I broke him. No, it wasn't me.
"Dex, you broke him. How?"
A new message appeared in front of me.
["Accumulation" allows you to accumulate unused kinetic energy, store it, and use it in a single attack.]
That means Dex was saving part of the kinetic energy generated to store it and use it right at this moment. He did it on his own…
"You're really alive, aren't you?"
… No response. Ah, wow, wow. I wonder if one day you'll actually talk to me.
I stood there, panting, with my knees trembling, but with a stupid smile on my face. Dex, we did it! We broke something that was supposedly indestructible!
"We di—!"
"Uraka, don't do it!!" shouted the Dictator, his voice filled with panic.
Huh? What's going on?
"Behind you, Daniel!!"
Dictator? Wow, he can still shout even without his… Wait, is he warning me about something? Me, his enemy? How strange. Wait, he's warning me about something, you idiot!
I turned around to look behind me and saw the bull woman who had been accompanying the Dictator earlier running straight toward me. I wonder if she's dangerous. What power could she have?
In slow motion, I see her stretching out her arm. She isn't trying to hit me with her fist or use any weapon—she's trying to place her thumb on my forehead. Such a specific and strange action that it filled my body with terror, because I'm so tired and weak that I don't think I can avoid it.
At the same time, I try to hit her in her left side with my sword. I'm sorry, but it's your life or mine. I'm not going to hesitate, not after coming this far.
I cut her in half, but she manages to touch me with her finger. I couldn't move to avoid it; I'm too tired. What will her power do…? Huh?
Just a blink. In the blink of an eye, I disappeared from where I was and appeared in… a bar?
The unmistakable smell of tobacco and alcohol. It was like those bars near my house. And the customers in the place stared at me so much that I felt uncomfortable.
"Wow, wow…"
What the hell is going on?!
•
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Froulen, who had barely gotten up from the ground, fell to his knees. Ignoring the pain from his shattered side, he repeatedly slammed his fist into the ground, cracking the concrete as he cried from a feeling of helplessness he hadn't felt in 50 years.
For the first time, someone had hurt him. For the first time, he had found someone genuinely interesting. He had finally gotten the legendary fight he had longed for so much. But the ending was the worst possible. The ending was an insult to the battle. Daniel was… murdered by a woman who wasn't even involved in the fight.
His body exploded the moment her thumb touched his forehead.
The Dictator's screams and cries were the only thing the whole world could hear, unable to believe that this would be the end of the only being who had managed to hurt the Dictator. The hero who had given them 14 minutes of hope had disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. Hope vanished in an instant, along with their hero, Daniel.
Nismei and the heroes who were still alive cried with frustration and helplessness. Daniel had finally been able to hurt the Dictator. He had proven that he was just another mortal, that he wasn't invincible. And if it weren't for Uraka, a member of Froulen who acted on her own, perhaps Daniel would have been able to kill him.
And the most affected was clearly Froulen. The end of his legendary battle had been ruined. That battle he had dreamed of having for dozens of years had been stolen from him. Living or dying didn't matter to him, as long as he knew he had given everything until the very end. But now his dream had been ruined forever… or had it?