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As I hid in the interior of the temple of Atlantis, I looked down at my hands. I then turned to my companion.
“R.”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure there isn’t anything we can use here?”
“Hmm, let’s see... I considered the possibility of space, but I’m not sure if outer space even exists in this mental world.”
This “mental world,” as R put it, seemed to be made from my memories. All of the stories I’d ever been a part of were jumbled together. Earth was connected to other worlds and planets, making me think that R’s concerns were valid about what really lay beyond the sky here. Well, even if space did exist, there would still be a question of how exactly to launch the dragon into it... I wasn’t even sure if he needed to breathe air or not.
The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that all I could really count on for sure here was myself.
“I guess I don’t have a choice...”
I gave in and stood up. R gave me a funny look as I did.
“Rekka?”
“If all I have is myself, then there’s only one option.”
Seeing my serious expression seemed to clue R in as to what I was thinking.
“Don’t tell me you’re going in for a suicide attack.”
“No, I don’t have any plans of dying today. I’ll just be charging in.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“It’s similar, sure. But I’m not charging in blindly, mind you.”
I took a quick survey of things from the shadows and located my target.
“I’m going to aim for the Gold Yaksha. I’ll take the Mask of Greed from him and turn myself into a demon. From there, I’ll figure out what to do with the rest of ’em.”
There were several reasons I was gunning for the Gold Yaksha first. He was comparatively less threatening than the other bad guys hanging around, for starters, and didn’t have any special abilities to wreck me with. And despite being huge, he was still at least humanoid. That made the task at hand seem just a little less intimidating.
“However, the Mask of Greed is stuck securely on the target’s face. How do you plan on ripping it off?”
“The Gold Yaksha carries a hatchet with him. I’ll use that to get the mask.”
“...”
“Don’t make that face. I know good and well it’s a crazy plan.”
While he didn’t have any special abilities, the Gold Yaksha had tremendous strength. He was no dragon or demon, but he was a frighteningly formidable opponent for an unremarkable human like me. On top of that, it wasn’t like the other bad guys would just sit around on their hands while I attacked the Gold Yaksha. I’d have to figure out a way to get his mask off before they interrupted us. No matter how you cut it, it was a reckless plan. My odds of succeeding were practically nil. But still...
“There’s no other way. If I’ve considered everything, and this is the only option available, then even if I have less than a one-percent chance of succeeding... I at least have to try, don’t I?”
“Good grief...” R sighed again as she pulled the brim of her hat down over her eyes. “The fact that you don’t hesitate at times like these is both endearing and insane.”
“Sorry for worrying you all the time.”
“I’m glad you knew that was a compliment.”
“Hahaha.”
After a good laugh, I steeled myself. I then took another quick look around from the shadows.
“!”
There he was. The Gold Yaksha. Seeing him, I clenched my fist. Fortunately, there were no other villains hanging around too close by. Only Demon King Grausam, the guy who tried to destroy the spirit world, hovered in the sky overhead. It would be difficult to evade his notice, but this would all be for naught if the Gold Yaksha wandered away while I waited for Grausam to leave. Exactly how long it took Grausam to notice me... That would all be up to luck. And historically speaking, my luck wasn’t so hot. I crossed my fingers and said a little prayer inside.
“!”
I took a deep breath... and then took off running. Without even looking anywhere else, I made a beeline for the Gold Yaksha. At some point, I think I even stopped breathing. I poured every ounce of my strength into my legs. All I was doing was running. Running with everything I had.
It was like my vision narrowed as I went. I could no longer see anything but the Gold Yaksha. Had Grausam already noticed me? What about the other villains? If they had, I didn’t know it. And even if they came after me right now, I had no spare energy to deal with them. I was already lacking in strength as it was. If I didn’t focus everything I had into a single point ahead of me, I would never be able to break through. And so I looked at the Gold Yaksha and the Gold Yaksha alone, prepared to do whatever it took to get his mask. If focus alone could raise my odds of success by even a tenth of a percent, I’d take it.
“!”
When I got close enough, the Gold Yaksha locked eyes on me. Perhaps it was because I was so hyper-focused on him, but his movements seemed slower than I remembered. He turned to face me. I closed in. He raised his hatchet. Its dull blade would drop into my skull any second. I wanted to avoid that, but I had so much momentum that I couldn’t stop running now even if I wanted to. Instead, I clenched my fist. I was just gonna have to hit him first. If I could divert the trajectory of the hatchet and deflect the blow, I’d count myself lucky.
It really felt like I’d been leaving everything up to luck lately, but who cared anymore? There was no way I could win this by anything other than a fluke. I’d known that from the start. All that was left now was to follow through and swing my fist for all I was worth. Either my fist or the hatchet would be faster. Either the Gold Yaksha would be thrown off by my punch, or I was a dead man. It was that simple. The results would soon be apparent enough. There was no point in thinking about it further. And so, with all my might, I raised my fist.