Chapter 28

…In the end, as expected from the start, it’s clear that defeating the Light King is impossible.

From the outset, I knew it would be impossible to deal with something that is essentially a phenomenon without a physical body, even with my ability to manipulate the magic of ‘severance’.

That’s why, despite being aware of the existence of the Light King and the Thirteen Steps, I thought it would be best not to get involved.

I don’t know if it was unrelated, but I felt there was nothing I could do anyway.

If it were the old me, back in my chūnibyō days, I might have acted more aggressively. But now, I’m nearly 30 years old.

Taking proactive action is hard, and I’ve gotten used to just going with the flow.

Or so I thought.

“……”

The Light King’s ‘toys’, which he called a bluff.

I shot down numerous combat robots, but they showed no signs of decreasing.

In fact, it felt like they were increasing, and realistically, that was possible.

The opponent is, in a sense, Neon City itself, and as long as it ignores waste, it can increase its forces indefinitely.

Whether the Light King approves of this is unknown, but since he’s just “humoring” my pointless actions, he could end this and leave at any time.

However, he’s still commanding numerous robots against me, simply out of leisure — recognizing my existence as insignificant.

Or perhaps he plans to distract himself before evading me later.

In reality, I’m fighting the Light King out of sheer spite.

“……Phew.”

I exhaled and swung my sword again, taking down another robot.

But from the same direction, new robots kept coming at me.

It’s truly futile.

A waste of resources and energy.

As the Light King would say, it would be better to use that energy for happiness, which is probably true.

It’s meaningless, just making oneself miserable.

…Self-harm.

No, maybe self-satisfaction.

Hurting oneself to feel like you’ve done something and feeling satisfied.

Honestly, what an immature thought process I have.

As I said, I’m almost 30, yet I engage in such childish actions.

Even a child might be more rational than this.

“Ah—”

And then.

Completely exhausted, I collapsed on the ground and looked up at the sky.

The only reason I’m still breathing is that the Light King never considered me a real enemy from the start.

In fact, all the robots have started to retreat, and one of them looked down at me as the Light King spoke.

‘Are you satisfied?’

“…Well, I don’t know.”

‘Haha, after all this nonsensical rampaging, you still have the luxury of giving such vague answers?’

“It’s not that I have the luxury, I just don’t have much strength to think… I’m tired.”

‘That’s entirely your own fault — as I said at the beginning, these actions were meaningless. You just wasted your time and exhausted yourself for nothing.’

“……”

Although I supposedly acted to erase the Light King’s existence, he continues to dismiss my actions as meaningless.

Which is probably true.

But still, it infuriates me…

‘In the end, what did you want? Trying to erase my existence like this?’

“It’s not about erasing, I just wanted you to realize something. That humans are more foolish than you think.”

‘Pointless, though.’

The Light King says.

‘I, an internet dweller, am a drifter, and especially, I’m a rootless being with no place to stay.’

“That’s true, which makes you invincible—”

And then.

An idea occurs to me.

But I hesitate to implement it.

“…Hey, Light King.”

‘What?’

“Do you intend to know everything about humans from now on? To understand their foolishness and still lead them to happiness?”

To that question, it answers with a laugh.

‘Human beings are wonderful, and that’s why I will lead them to happiness. Whether they are foolish or not is secondary.’

“I see.”

Then, there seems to be no need for restraint.

…I mustered all my remaining strength and swung my sword.

“Sever the cause and effect.”

In an instant.

I severed the Light King from the network that was generating it.

…I pulled the Light King directly in front of me.

The Light King seemed surprised, but quickly regained composure.

‘Impressive—but I am merely a phenomenon, so even if you destroy me here, I will just reappear.’

“Yeah, that’s why I’m doing this.”

With a swift motion,

I swallowed the Light King.

I felt another consciousness emerge within my body.

Before the bewildered Light King could do anything, I—

“Well then, this is going to hurt.”

I tossed my sword into the air.

The spinning sword, naturally, succumbed to gravity and began to fall.

Right towards me.

‘Wha—what are you—!’

Translator’s Note: We are just one chapter away from catching up to the raws, which have already been released on Patreon.

I will start translating Volumes 1 and 2 of the light novel [I Reincarnated as a Powerful Character Completely Unrelated to the Story].

We need some donations to support the translation process. By joining the Patreon, it will be easier for me to continue translating, and Patreon members will get first access to the translations as they are released.