Tower of Endless: Death Granted Entry

Dave, after taking the pill, felt a rapid heat rising inside his body; gradually, he felt his echo flowing more rapidly, more vigorously.

He couldn’t believe Colten had let him use it. It wasn’t just a pill for a momentary burst of power; it also helped increase the upper limit of an individual’s echo capacity, which was the real reason it was so rare.

He watched Uon make his way out, leaving him finally alone with the savage who had made him suffer so much in a single day...

But he was still in a good mood; the pill was more than enough to brighten it. He was also holding the real deal, the sword of the Azure Flame. It was a sword so vastly different from his cheap one, highly echo-optimized, a fine piece of art that any aspiring knight, or anyone at the beginning of their path, would desire.

As for the helmet, it was meant to protect him completely from getting one-shotted by any trick the savage could throw at him. It was also Colten’s personal helmet. His own helmet was rather ugly and had a large gap as well. There was also the foot that had bruised his face. The slap mark wasn’t very visible anymore, but his lips were torn, and his nose was more swollen than usual and still bleeding.

Wearing a helmet was the right call by all means.

Now, he had been given enough time to maximize the effects of the pill and digest it completely, feeling endless power surging through his body.

He looked at Moon, who was standing perfectly still, unlike his usual self.

’Is he trying to plot something?’ Dave wasn’t sure, but his eyes were fixed on Moon nonetheless.

He took a stance and started to gather his echo, ready to attack at any moment, expecting the same from Moon. But Moon didn’t take a stance, nor did he radiate the slightest trace of echo.

Dave was puzzled. ’What is he trying to do?’ He kept his eyes locked on Moon.

The two kept their eyes locked on one another, but no movements were made, until suddenly, Moon raised his left hand toward Dave, signaling for him to come.

”Don’t tell me, after all of this, you’re still afraid,” Moon taunted.

Dave was even more puzzled by the absence of his insufferable smile. Still, he felt the blood rushing to his head. If Moon’s aim was to make him angry, he had done so successfully, and Dave was sure he would make Moon regret pushing his anger further.

His echo rushed to his blade and legs at the same time, increasing the sword’s reach exponentially in every direction, while supporting and strengthening his leg muscles to handle more power.

He dashed forward like a released arrow at Moon, aiming for a diagonal cut starting at the left shoulder and slashing all the way down.

The sword came down without the slightest resistance. Moon wasn’t even moving or trying to defend... his blade stayed low. But Dave’s falling sword wasn’t going to wait for him.

”I’ll cut you in half!” he roared.

But all of a sudden, something changed... Dave found himself looking at the crowd, and everyone was looking back at his clueless face.

His eyes darted around. He had seen blood... what was going on now? A fountain of blood had been there just a moment ago, but now he found himself looking at Samuel and Lucen... next to them, a man he didn’t recognize had a weird look on his face.

His eyes suddenly fell on Colten, who had a horrified look on his face... before he could see Moon standing below...

And lastly... his own body.

In that single moment, before everything fell into place, what he had failed to understand was that he wasn’t aimlessly drifting amongst the faces and the eyes of the witnesses. It was simply that his head had gone flying far away from his body.

He was angry, but there was no way to express this anger anymore.

’Colten, you stupid son of a bitch, did we have to provoke this monster?’ was Dave’s last thought before his eyes closed for the very last time, taking with him the never-ending malice and grudges he had harbored throughout his life.

Moon, in the ring, flicked Liquid Mountain so that no blood would stick to it. He was in a hurry to clean it; he came from a place where a weapon was a lifeline and had to be manually maintained.

He turned around to face the crowd, who were still stunned and unable to understand what exactly had happened. He looked in a certain direction—the place where Ed was seated.

Moon raised two fingers, his index and middle finger together, toward Ed, before he started wiggling his middle finger up and down.

At the very back of the crowd, Ed watched Moon’s gesture and started giggling. He understood perfectly what Moon was indicating with those fingers.

”This brat... ahahaha, he’s demanding I count this as his first victory,” he said out loud. Though Lucen was not aware of what he meant, he didn’t ask.

Ed, on the other hand, also raised two fingers, but instead of wiggling his middle finger, he put it down completely.

”Fine, you earned it, brat,” Ed said, completely pleased with himself.

Samuel stayed silent, but his eyes held a complicated look. As for Lucen, he looked at Ed.

”I guess an arm for the kid isn’t a bad price after all,” he said jokingly.

Ed laughed. ”I guessed as much.”

Apparently, the crowd was oblivious to their chattering. Everyone remained silent until someone from the masses finally broke it:

”What... just happened?”

Colten, who had been standing on his feet, finally fell to his knees. ”How... how did this...”

Abshi grabbed his arm, trying to support him.

Further away, a certain girl with red hair and a sword-with-wings emblem on her armor was standing perfectly straight, staring at the impossible scene.

”Lady Talia?” an unfamiliar voice called. She turned her head, seeing the purple-haired Roran. ”It was a magnificent sight, wasn’t it?” he spoke with an enthusiasm that lay just beneath his usual radiance.

”You... we met at the platform,” she exclaimed.

”Yes, we did,” he nodded. ”Did you manage to see what he did?”

Talia nodded. ”As much as I hate to admit it, it’s impossible to replicate... not under the same circumstances, nor without any echo.”

A sigh escaped Roran’s lips, his expression suddenly growing heavy. ”I almost got myself into a fight with him. Glad I managed to walk away with my lips intact.” Roran paused for a moment before continuing. ”Dave had a neck guard and helmet covering the edges, making sure not the slightest trace of his skin could be seen. But Moon... he waited for him to attack. He waited for the exact moment when Dave leaned forward. In that fraction of a second, the gap between the neck guard and the helmet aligned perfectly.”

Talia shook her head. ”You make it sound too simple. He didn’t just cut; the way he evaded the attack was another perfect move entirely.” Talia went silent for a moment. ”When the attack came, he stepped forward and simply placed his blade precisely where Sir Dave would dash.”

Talia turned around, looking Roran in the eye. ”He didn’t put the slightest force into it, nor did he swing his blade... he had his opponent deliver his own neck to the blade.”