Stealing Someone Away! - Anime: Infinite Swordsman! (Danmachi+Asterisk War+Rakudai)

Chapter 456: Stealing Someone Away!

Luke had barely finished speaking when Kurono tried to respond.

Before she could say anything, however, he raised a hand and stopped her.

"Director, why do you think excessive use of Desperado power causes someone to change?"

"Why…? Isn't it because they've surpassed the limits of humanity—"

"That's not what I mean."

"I'm asking about what comes before that."

As Luke spoke, he raised one hand and gathered mana within it.

He gradually transformed that mana, causing tiny points of starlight to appear in his palm, then gestured for Kurono to think about the process.

"What I mean is, why does using that power cause you to change?"

"Or rather, why does surpassing the limit make a person transform into something nonhuman?"

"Is the power itself somehow corruptive?"

"Or do humans simply have an absolute limit, and once they exceed it, they inevitably become something else?"

Kurono could not answer.

Without truly entering the Desperado realm, it was impossible to understand the essence of that power.

In fact, many Desperados could spend decades in that realm and still die without ever comprehending its true nature.

Luke did not understand it completely either.

His realm was still insufficient.

But someone beside him did.

To prevent Luke from taking the wrong path, Edelweiss had explained everything she had learned about Desperados over the years.

And now, Luke intended to share part of that knowledge with Kurono.

As well as with a certain Desperado secretly listening outside the door.

"The essence of Desperado power is actually the deep liberation of your own heart."

"At first glance, it seems like both the body and soul have changed."

"But fundamentally, it's still you."

"The core of who you are doesn't change."

"Those transformations that make someone look like a monster are actually manifestations of their truest self, buried deep within their heart."

"To put it simply, those changes are the 'evolution' you truly desire."

"They aren't 'mutations' imposed upon you against your will."

It was not particularly difficult to understand.

Stella was the easiest example.

She wanted to become stronger.

And the power of a Desperado responded to that desire.

But there were countless possible paths toward greater strength.

So how was the path chosen?

That depended upon the person themselves.

Their thoughts—Or more precisely, their will.

Stella's power was the concept of a dragon, and most of its manifestations took the form of light and heat.

Deep within Stella's heart, surpassing Luke, becoming stronger than anyone else, and protecting her homeland mattered more than anything.

If she could accomplish those things, whether she remained human was not particularly important to her.

And in Stella's understanding, dragons were obviously stronger than humans.

So she evolved toward becoming a dragon.

Likewise, the power she could wield manifested as endlessly increasing light and heat.

Ultimately, that transformation was Stella's own desire.

It happened because she did not consider her identity as a human more important than everything else.

Desperado power simply made her evolve toward what she valued most.

'Become stronger!'

'Surpass Luke!'

'Protect my homeland!'

'No matter what it costs!'

Those desires were what drove Stella toward becoming a dragon.

If she had instead held an unwavering desire to become stronger while remaining human, then that transformation would never have occurred.

Edelweiss was a perfect example.

When Edelweiss pushed open the Desperado gate, what she wanted was…

To lose weight.

Yes.

So her naturally weight-prone constitution evolved into one that could no longer gain weight.

Truthfully, when Luke first heard that story, his mind had gone completely blank.

The effect of Transcendent Awakening was weight loss…

For a moment, he had nearly become incapable of taking this world's Desperados seriously.

Of course, everything came with tradeoffs.

Perhaps because Edelweiss's evolution had been so unusually focused, the increase in her combat power had also become exceptionally extreme.

That might even be part of the reason she ultimately reached the summit of this world.

It was precisely because such a ridiculous example existed that Luke could confidently conclude that the changes caused by Desperado power were tied to consciousness.

Luke had no intention of telling Kurono that much detail.

After all, it was a small private secret belonging to his lover.

He had no intention of sharing it around.

But the conclusion itself was reliable.

Luke could say with certainty that becoming a Desperado did not inevitably turn someone into a monster.

Whether Kurono believed him—And how much she believed—Was no longer Luke's responsibility.

...

Kurono left.

If anything, the conflicted expression on her face was even worse than when she arrived.

That could not really be helped.

She had received too much information all at once.

She needed time to seriously consider what path she wanted to take from here.

With Kurono gone, the hospital room became quiet once again.

This time, however, Luke did not return to his student handbook.

Instead, he stared directly at the door.

Ten seconds.

Thirty seconds.

One minute.

Three minutes…

Time slowly passed.

Finally, after four and a half minutes, a small head cautiously poked through the doorway.

The owner gave Luke an awkward greeting.

"U-Um… Yo!"

"Th-This lady came to visit you!"

"Heh."

"You're the one who sent Director Kurono here, weren't you?"

Luke's icy stare made Nene instinctively shrink her neck.

She walked inside looking slightly embarrassed.

"This lady merely offered a tiny suggestion."

"I just told Kuro that maybe she should come talk with you."

"But seriously, I hid really well!"

"Even Kuro didn't notice me. How did you figure it out, Luke?"

"You seriously think Director Kurono didn't notice?"

Luke sighed helplessly.

These two really were unbelievable.

One worried about the other's unresolved feelings and subtly manipulated her into coming here, hoping Luke could help talk some sense into her.

The other clearly realized what was happening but never exposed it, simply following along and coming to Luke anyway.

Even earlier—Kurono had obviously noticed Nene outside the door long ago.

Yet she had pretended not to notice anything and simply allowed Nene to eavesdrop.

Their understanding of each other was honestly…

"So seriously, why didn't you two end up together?"

"This lady doesn't know either!"

"Kuro chose someone else! What was I supposed to do about it?!"

"…You're not even denying it?"

"That bastard Takumi!"

"He stole Kuro away before I even realized what was happening!"

"…"

Watching Nene suddenly flare up with rage, Luke found himself completely unsure how to respond.

He had only meant it as a joke.

A little teasing revenge for all the trouble Nene had caused him.

But judging from her reaction…

She really had been poached?!

At that moment, Luke felt endless admiration rise within him for the man named Shinguji Takumi.

...

After complaining for a while, Nene finally calmed down.

She looked at Luke expectantly, her eyes practically sparkling with stars.

"So?"

"How did it go?"

"What was Kuro's reaction in the end?"

"Did she finally decide to abandon her husband and child, announce her comeback, become a Desperado, and return to fight me to the death?!"

…

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Chapter 456 - Stealing Someone Away!