I Can See the Comments on the Doomed Novel

Still, It Was Fun

The swords of the hat maker and I clashed in the air.

For now, just a single strike.

After our blades met, we slightly distanced ourselves.

Having gone through destruction, I believed I had grown stronger in my own way.

But the hat maker’s accumulated experience was surely not to be underestimated.

The power I felt from his sword and the shock coursing through my arm made that clear.

“Don’t you think this is interesting?”

Suddenly, the hat maker spoke.

“To think we would end up fighting like this in the end.”

“Well, it is quite bothersome.”

I leaned forward, swinging my sword.

The hat maker stepped back as if to block it.

He had clearly stated that he couldn’t use his traits and skills in here.

That was probably true for him as well.

‘His fighting style is definitely different from mine.’

Throughout this time, I had relied heavily on exploiting my enemy’s weaknesses.

Unexpected attacks that took advantage of information.

Ambushes through instantaneous movement.

Strikes that surpassed my opponent’s expectations through unforeseen enhancements.

That had been the fighting style I pursued all along.

In truth, it was unavoidable.

I didn’t possess a talent as remarkable as glass, nor had I trained for long.

On the other hand, the bosses I faced only grew stronger.

The way to defeat opponents with stats and abilities far superior to mine.

It was simply to surpass them, if only for that fleeting moment.

But now, things were different.

‘Are his stats similar to mine?’

The physical specs are not vastly different.

Nor is there a significant difference in weapons.

I, too, have enhanced the sword handed to me by Yura with the power of a spirit, but still, the hatter is a merchant of the ruinous shop.

The weapon he wields is certainly not ordinary.

Yet it doesn’t seem to carry the immense burden of something like Gungnir.

Well, at this point, it’s unlikely he would bring a weapon with such high risks.

‘In the end, does that mean there are no variables?’

A pure contest of capabilities.

What decides the fight is the skills each has accumulated over time.

I gripped the sword with both hands and charged out.

The swords clash, clash, and clash again.

We exchanged blows countless times.

The hatter blocked my sweeping strikes.

I dodged the thrust he aimed at me.

The sword continues to seek out the opponent’s openings.

“Ahahaha! You really can’t seem to die no matter what you do! Well, I suppose that’s how you’ve managed to survive this long!”

The hatter laughed heartily as he swung his sword.

His blade was certainly fierce.

But it wasn’t sharp in the way I had seen from other swordsmen.

Perhaps that was true for me as well.

Our swords were exceedingly crude.

We might be the most special in this world, yet at the same time, we were born with nothing.

Thus, all we could do was clash.

“If I could use my skills, I could easily defeat someone like you!”

I couldn’t rely on the help of ‘metafiction’ as I usually do.

That deceptive ability to maintain composure before monsters was absent now.

Even so, I wasn’t afraid of this contest.

I wasn’t afraid of being cut.

Only cutting the opponent mattered first.

Just quickly, quickly, faster!!

It was like a fight between beasts that could think of nothing but killing each other.

– Splatter! Splatter!

The sleeves of my clothes were cut.

The hem of the hatter’s pants was slightly grazed.

Blood seeped from my arm, and blood flowed down the hatter’s face.

‘Now!’

I gripped the sword with one hand and swung it in a rapid spin.

The swordsmanship of the Möbius Knights that I learned from Yuri.

A strike filled with my earnest intent.

But he pulled his head back and dodged it.

His hat was torn and flew away.

Yet, all that happened was a thin line of blood drawn across his forehead.

“Not bad, but compared to the swordsmanship she uses, it falls far short. Clumsy and not sharp at all.”

The gap created by using a big technique.

He wasn’t soft enough to miss that.

In an instant, the hatter lunged forward with a quick thrust of his sword.

But I leaned into it instead.

“What?!”

Stepping forward, I burrowed into his embrace.

Then I grabbed him by the collar and threw him back.

“Guh?!”

The hatter’s body tumbled to the ground.

“I may not know swordsmanship, but I can throw. I’ve experienced that before, and it hurts quite a bit.”

I charged forward with my sword drawn.

However, the hatter pulled out a dagger from his fallen position and threw it.

The moment I deflected it, he rushed in and swung his sword.

Once again, our swords clashed in mid-air.

– Kaaang!!!

At that moment, his eyes met mine.

Our gazes reflected each other.

“Do you know what I think is the most damnable thing right now?”

Those eyes were unmistakably—

“That I find this fight entertaining!!”

I must have been reflecting the same light.

Both of us, straining our bodies, fell at the same time.

It’s entertaining.

Yes, perhaps that’s the pure emotion that has driven us to fight all this time.

It’s fun to learn.

It’s fun to grow stronger.

It’s fun to maintain relationships.

It’s fun to watch.

It’s fun to protect.

It’s fun to live.

“Yeah, I found it entertaining too.”

There were plenty of damnable moments.

Many times I wanted to cry during those terrible times.

Yet, it wasn’t all just that kind of story.

Living in this world was undoubtedly hard.

Still, there was something that lingered in my heart.

What I feel now is the same as what the hatter feels.

It wasn’t justice or a noble cause, or some higher aspiration.

I just want to fight.

I want to defeat the one in front of me.

I want to surpass this wall that seems insurmountable.

The instinct to win, to prove that I am right.

A testament to the value of my life.

What others call honor, worth, duty, or pride.

He wished for all of that to continue.

I wanted all of it to come to an end.

Because it was a choice I never regretted, one I always believed was right.

It was a story we had crafted and watched unfold.

Yes, we wanted to prove it without fail.

That’s why he and I engaged in this tale, this fight.

“Let’s keep going!”

“Let’s just end it.”

Our swords extended simultaneously.

We had not mastered any exceptional swordsmanship.

Even if we did, it would ultimately be nothing more than a mimicry of someone else.

Perhaps neither of us truly knew the extent of our own capabilities.

Neither of us was accustomed to this kind of battle.

And so.

The fact that my sword first found its mark in his chest was nothing but a coincidence.

“…Tch, I was hoping to enjoy this a bit more.”

His sword fell from his hand.

The stumbling hatter collapsed as he was.

The glass blade embedded in his chest did not come out.

From the wound, the blood began to stain his white clothes, gradually turning them red.

Both he and I were already far from normal.

It was a final fight that relied solely on our own swordsmanship.

We poured everything we had into it, and the outcome was decided by the slightest of margins.

The contest was already over.

It seemed he realized this too, looking up at me with a mix of regret and a strange sense of relief in his eyes.

“I know this might not be the right moment to say it, but…”

He spoke, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“I quite liked this world…”

“Even with so many people dying?”

“Because that’s the life we were given.”

Even with a sword lodged in his chest.

Even though everything he had wanted to continue was about to end.

The hatter was smiling.

“Regardless of how others see me, I found joy in this world.”

“…….Is that so?”

“Then tell me.”

He wore a joyful smile.

As if savoring the countless battles that had unfolded in this world.

Or perhaps anticipating the story that would follow.

“Is the story you dream of… more interesting than this one?”

“I don’t know.”

I can’t say how it might appear.

It might not even be entertaining.

It could turn out to be a story of no value at all.

Even so.

“That would be a happy ending.”

At my response, the hat maker seemed to want to say something.

In fact, he opened his mouth for a moment, hesitating.

“You’ll lose everything you’ve built?”

“I won’t lose everything. The connections and memories I have will remain. I can meet those kids again and slowly rebuild.”

I believe I can do it.

The life I’ve built with those kids gives me confidence.

Eventually, the hat maker fell silent, wearing a detached expression.

“That too… might have its own worth.”

His eyes closed gently.

I picked up the hat and placed it on his head.

Then I headed straight for Pandora’s box.

I brought my hand close to the bright golden light.

It drew my hand in, transforming into a book.

Before me, the hologram of the message window I had grown weary of seeing floated.

There was nothing written there.

It felt as if it signified my choice.

Or perhaps it hinted at the story of everything that lay ahead, now vanished.

“Thinking about getting close to that cold glass again makes the future feel so distant.”

I should talk more with Hyena. I’ll ask her to walk home together later. She won’t refuse, I’m sure.

I might have to argue a bit with Yuri. That initial one is completely headstrong. Hmm, getting back in sync might hurt a little.

I wonder if Eunbyeol and I can meet again if she goes to church. It might be a bit hard to adjust to her face without the eye patch. It’s already difficult to deal with older girls.

As for Eve… I’ll have to put in quite a bit of effort to meet her again. Still, I won’t give up.

“What’s this? Thinking about it like this… I actually had quite a bit of fun.”

Muttering that to myself, I activated Pandora’s box.

Everything returns to its place.

All that was lost to destruction returns to its rightful spot.

And yet, at the very end,

I felt a slight twinge of regret.