I Became a Raid Boss

“Not a pretty sight, huh?”

Edel looked completely different from the memory I had of her after such a long time.

In fact, she was so different that I momentarily mistook her for someone… no, a different god.

Her once-bright hair that shone with radiant holy power had lost its luster, and darkness had settled into her sparkling eyes.

“Aha ha. You’re not one to talk, are you? It’s not like either of us is in a good spot.”

“Hmm…”

…She’s got a point there.

As Edel said, my situation was hardly better to critique hers.

Pointing out her appearance would be like a dog covered in dirt barking at another dog that’s also dirty.

So, I decided to change the subject.

“…Where are we?”

I remembered going through the ascension ritual, but when I opened my eyes, I found myself in this strange place.

The sky glowed a bluish hue, dotted with countless lights resembling stars, and a river flowed gracefully below, as if a part of the sky had been sliced off to form this sea of stars.

Edel looked at me with a dumbfounded expression upon hearing my words.

“Really? You ask that as soon as you regain your senses? You’re going to ask that now?”

“They say the moment you think it’s too late is actually the earliest moment.”

“That’s just late.”

“But the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was you.”

If she didn’t want to be seen by me like that, she shouldn’t have been in front of my eyes in the first place.

Anyone else would’ve probably reacted the same way I did.

“If you were a normal person, you wouldn’t start picking a fight with someone the moment you opened your eyes.”

With a sigh, Edel turned away.

A shooting star trailed behind her as it descended from the sky.

“Your inner world… You didn’t expect to hear that, did you?”

“Of course not.”

There’s no way my inner world could be this peaceful and beautiful.

Unless, of course, inner worlds actually exist.

“Well, how should I put it? A place where souls circulate? The origin of the world? My home? Regardless, it doesn’t physically exist.”

“…Doesn’t physically exist?”

“Right. It’s originally impossible for us to have a conversation like this.”

“I don’t understand. If it doesn’t physically exist, then I shouldn’t be here. But I am here, aren’t I?”

“Exactly. That’s why I said it’s originally impossible.”

Edel pointed at me with her finger.

“If your soul still had a body, you wouldn’t be able to come here.”

“What?”

“Don’t tell me you think that’s your body right now.”

“Then if that’s not my body, what is it?”

I pinched my arm, which didn’t seem to have any muscle. The sensation of being pinched and the soft texture were both unmistakable.

…As much as I hate to admit it, this petite height and these stubby limbs are just as I remember them.

After confirming my pink hair swaying near my waist, I shifted my gaze back to Edel.

Edel, suppressing her laughter, finally burst into giggles when her eyes met mine.

“Pfft! That’s your standard for judgment?”

“Don’t laugh.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You’re just so cute I couldn’t help it!”

Edel wiped away the tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes.

“I think you’re misinterpreting things, so let me clarify. The only thing here is your soul. Your body is having a grand time in the lower realms. That was the plan from the start, remember?”

“…Ah.”

Right, that was it.

At the moment I heard Edel’s words, the hazy memories became crystal clear.

“The burden of the ascension ritual is fully placed on the soul…”

“Your body isn’t tough enough to withstand all the mana flowing from Raxia.”

While my body, honed to the master level, is sturdier than most, it still isn’t resilient enough to receive such a massive amount of mana.

On the other hand, my soul had been tempered while crossing dimensions, giving it absurdly high durability.

So the plan was to transfer the burden onto my soul to increase the threshold, and any unprocessed mana would be handled by Edel…

It was within the realm of expectations that my soul might bounce out of my body like this.

And now I could finally understand why Edel was in such a state.

“To be honest, I was a little worried, but you’ve done better than I expected.”

“…Is it a success?”

If everything went according to plan, I should have felt a rise in that threshold or whatever it was, but I felt nothing.

Unlike the feeling I had when I first became a master, like I could grasp the world in my hands.

As I flexed my fists to assess, Edel nodded.

“Yeah. It’s not the ultimate result, but it’s satisfactory. I twisted the flow of mana from Raxia to direct it towards me, and I’ve improved the constitution of the demon race. You won’t be persecuted by mana like before.”

“Would’ve been great if you did this sooner.”

“If the dimensional beings didn’t invade, we wouldn’t need to go through this at all. This is a riskier method, too. There’s a chance I could lose my status as a deity and fall from grace.”

“That’s not any different from now, is it?”

“It is. Now I have a higher being to take care of things if I fall. But enough about that, want to come over here?”

Edel beckoned me with her hand.

As I approached her, she drew a circle with her holy power.

Where the bright light once was, a round mirror formed.

It reflected my image, but it wasn’t me.

Seeing a girl dancing against dozens, or perhaps hundreds of opponents, I immediately understood what Edel was trying to show me and replied grumpily.

“Is there really a need for this kind of act?”

“An act? No, I’m trying my best here. It’s to make sure your body doesn’t harm anyone. If I just let you run wild and you hurt someone you care about, wouldn’t that be sad?”

“…”

“The best outcome would have been for you to perfectly endure the burden of the ascension ritual, but you clearly didn’t do that. So, we have to resort to a backup plan now.”

“Tsk.”

I understand, but I can’t help but dislike the sight of my dancing self in the mirror.

What’s with that inefficient fighting style?

And what’s up with the ridiculous swordsmanship?

Unable to take it anymore, I prodded Edel in the side.

“If you’re going to control someone else’s body, at least do it properly.”

“…I’m not controlling it, you know? I could if I wanted, but I wouldn’t do that. As a deity, would I engage in slaughter?”

“The Empire can do that.”

“Not allowed. If you want to do it that badly, you should do it yourself.”

“…Hmph.”

If I could’ve, I would’ve done it long ago.

And because I can’t, I say things like that.

How boring.

“Your amusement isn’t my concern.”

Edel stood up from the crouched position she had taken while looking into the mirror.

The mischievous glint in her eyes had vanished.

“It’s about time you start making up your mind, don’t you think?”

“….”

“I can’t say I gave you enough time… but now is when you need to choose. Whichever way you choose has its pros and cons. There will surely be regrets in your choice.”

It wasn’t really a surprising statement.

As Edel had already told me, something like this would await me if everything went according to plan.

“So, what will it be?”

Will I stay in this world and exert omnipotent power?

Or will I cross over to the other world?

“Make your choice.”

I looked into the mirror.

The ‘me’ in the mirror was still clashing swords with the Imperial soldiers.

Every now and then, familiar faces appeared, and I could see the dark red scars on the girl’s body, indicating she’d come prepared for a fight.

‘…If I look back on it.’

From the moment I regained consciousness to this moment, I’ve lived a life far from smooth sailing.

The girl in the mirror danced.

A black sword elongated, slicing through the neck of a knight charging at her.

I couldn’t hear the sound, but it was easy to predict her mouth would be wide open in a scream.

After all, I had seen this scene countless times.

The scent of death, perfectly mingled with fear and blood, and the expression tainted by hatred felt familiar.

Even during the happier times, I always had a sword in my hand, so it couldn’t have been a smooth life.

‘But—’

Even with such a life, there were memories worth cherishing.

It was those memories that allowed me to endure up to this point.

But the strongest pillar supporting me has left my side.

I thought I had nothing left…

So why am I still hesitating?

“….”

In the midst of my hesitation, the girl sustained a few more wounds.

A fireball struck above her, scattering embers in all directions.

Suddenly, I felt as though I locked eyes with the girl.

As I read the emotions in her distorted eyes, I found myself speaking as if entranced.

“…I am.”

*

“…Incredibly strong.”

Thud.

The Empire’s Fourth Sword.

Robert spat as a dark puddle of blood splattered on the floor.

He didn’t even grimace at that; instead, he launched himself forward.

Clang!

Before long, the girl had her pitch-black sword pointed at his neck.

A huge fireball flew at her suddenly.

Her pink eyes flicked towards it, and the heaviness pinning Robert vanished in an instant.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, as the dust settled, the girl had already swiftly retreated.

Taking a deep breath, Robert bowed his head.

“Thanks to you, I lived.”

“Don’t mention it. As a comrade, it’s only natural. Stay alert; you never know when they might strike again.”

“Yes.”

Robert responded and gripped his sword tightly, keeping a watchful eye on the girl.

The girl with the striking pink hair was someone he knew well.

She was the Empire’s enemy, the Red Reaper, the Bird of Death, the Calamity….

Despite her harmless appearance, she had an alarming number of ominous titles attached to her.

The reason Grasis, a small nation compared to the Empire, couldn’t be easily brought down was largely due to her.

If they invested their full strength to subdue her, Grasis wouldn’t have held that much value, but they couldn’t ignore her when she appeared on the battlefield, obliterating troops without mercy.

An annoying opponent, to say the least.

That was Robert’s impression of the girl.

“It’s good she’s lost her rationality. It’d be terrifying to think of what she could do wielding such power sanely.”

“Given her current state, she wouldn’t be doing this at all.”

“True, I guess.”

Seizing the brief moment of respite created when the girl retreated, Robert assessed the situation.

A girl threatening the Ardina Continent.

More than half of the knights brought to subdue her had already perished.

The remaining knights were in no state to fight after suffering injuries.

“Wow, this is insane… how is this even possible?”

“What will you do if it isn’t? If you have time to complain, then fight faster!”

As Robert analyzed the situation, the Apostles rushed toward the girl.

While it was admirable, their attacks were of little help.

“AAAAAAAH!”

Most couldn’t even endure a single clash before they couldn’t even get close and died.

They were useless.

Robert coldly concluded.

“Lord Redin.”

“Did you call for me?”

A casual voice responded.

“How many arrows do you have left?”

“I can shoot arrows all day long. It’s that wretched mana that’s the problem.”

Redin, the Empire’s Fifth Archer, had joined Robert.

With a mana-infused arrow perched on the bowstring.

“I’ll create an opening, so can you unleash your strongest shot?”

“…Ha! Is this the same guy who used to dismiss me as a mere archer? Has your attitude changed?”

“Can you do it or not?”

“Of course. But I’d rather ask you to create that opening for me.”

Robert chuckled softly.

Though casual, Redin took pride in his own abilities.

None of the injuries on the girl had been caused by Redin’s arrows.

He must’ve been feeling pretty irritated since he hadn’t landed a single successful attack up to this point.

“Where’s the Seventh Sword?”

“That guy? He tried to show off, got smacked once, and hasn’t been seen since.”

“Wow.”

It’s true that the guy was lacking, but he shouldn’t have been this easy to handle.

Even with three swords from the Empire and a sage present, they were struggling not just to fight evenly but were actually being pushed back.

Robert shuddered at the overwhelming power of the girl.

“This might just be where I meet my end.”

“Oh, then I’ll be the Fourth Archer, right?”

“…”

Robert didn’t bother to respond.

There was no point in answering him, especially when the girl, who had just slain a group of Apostles in an instant, was now looking at him with that gaze.

What could she possibly resent so much that she would look at him like that?

As Robert stared into the hatred-filled eyes of the girl, he drew forth gray mana.

Finally, his sword began to elongate.

Whoosh!

The trajectory of Robert’s sword had lowered compared to usual.

If he were an adult man, the blade would be near his abdomen, but it was now aimed directly at the girl’s head.

Catching her off guard, without showing any sign of surprise, her pitch-black sword met his blade.

Clash!

Instead of a sharp sound of blades colliding, a dull sound reverberated as if something was being gnawed away.

Fully aware Robert’s attack would be blocked, he immediately followed up with his next move.

Swish-

Sliding his sword along the girl’s blade, he directed the tip to her delicate neck.

If he thrust it in now, it would surely pierce her and paint the ground red.

“Damn it.”

However, Robert found himself forced to withdraw his blade.

He noticed the mana swirling into place where they were entangled.

He wouldn’t mind sacrificing his body to bring peace to the Empire, but that mana was determined to prevent him from injuring its owner.

Zing!

The moment he retracted his sword, a sharp, pointed mana was shot out.

Whether intentional or by chance, it was aimed precisely at his neck.

Either way, it was dangerous, so Robert swiftly deflected it with his mana-clad left hand.

“…How annoying.”

His left hand buzzed as if it had been hit by a heavy metal object.

Though claiming he would create an opening, it was increasingly difficult to find a gap.

But he sensed if he took a moment to catch his breath, a mana would surely lodge into his heart.

So instead of sighing, Robert stomped hard on the ground.

Thud—!

A powerful shockwave infused with mana radiated out from under Robert’s feet.

The mana rippling beneath him hesitated under the pressure.

But the girl didn’t falter.

As Robert dodged the approaching black sword, a past memory flashed through his mind.

‘If you want to take someone’s life, you have to bet your own.’

Those were the words spoken by his mentor when he first stepped onto the path of a sword master.

It was an obvious thing to say, but somewhere along the line, he had forgotten.

Once he reached a certain level, the number of people who could threaten his life had drastically decreased.

So he could take lives without risking his own.

Why that long-forgotten phrase resurfaced now was a mystery.

“…Are you telling me to bet my life?”

He had said he would sacrifice himself for peace, so why was he being careful?

Though no one had actually said that to Robert, he let out a hollow laugh.

“Fine. I’ll stake my life.”

Like armor for the unyielding, sometimes soft things could triumph over the hard. However—

Against the overwhelming gap in power, that notion became meaningless.

So if he planned to counter that enormous force with technique, he would need to match that strength to some extent.

At the very least, he needed the ability to clash swords.

Guh!

Robert began to draw in mana.

‘If I keep gathering mana like this I’ll die.’

His instincts relentlessly screamed at him, but he paid no heed.

A colossal amount of mana began to coalesce around his sword.

Finally, Robert, having drawn every last bit of mana needed just to survive, grinned.

For some reason, the girl appeared more tense than ever from beyond the clarity of his vision.

“This is the last sword wielded by the Fourth Sword. I hope you’ll receive it well.”

With that statement, Robert swung his sword—and—

─────!

The sky turned gray.

And then, a ray of light surged into the faded world.

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