Editing City Series:Volume8b Chapter12 (section)

===Aoe’s Sight Mode: In DT Castle===

'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

Aoe sat facing Akalabeth in the light of a glowing window.

Akalabeth was stroking the head of the fox Mouse wrapped around her neck.

“You seem to think you may have already dropped out, don’t you? Then what is this ‘killing power’ that made you drop out?”

Aoe groaned in thought while seated cross-legged in the darkness.

He recalled what Algo had told him when they fought.

“It is an interaction of the Plus and the Minus. Killing powers and the strongest power are both equations written with the plus and the minus.”

<Then what does this killing power add and subtract with its equation?>

Seeing that question in her window, Aoe thought about what a killing power really was.

He looked down at his clenched right fist for a moment before nodding and answering.

“What else but life? That power places life in the equation by subtracting it.”

“Correct. That is not a power a Plus person like you should be wielding, is it?”

She gave him an honest smile and he nodded, holding up his right fist.

“No, I don’t think I should be using this killing power.”

“Correct,” she said again, her smile deepening. <That means you must not defeat your opponent with that killing power, can you? So you already have your answer, do you not? That should tell you what the strongest power is.>

“Huh?” he responded, so she explained.

“It is a simple. Think of it in reverse. If the killing power subtracts life and you must not defeat your opponent with it, then what is the strongest power?”

She paused to think for a moment before looking him in the eye and giving the answer.

“The strongest power adds or subtracts something other than life…and you are willing to defeat your opponent with it.”



'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

Aoe rose from his sitting position when he heard Akalabeth’s answer.

Her argument was simple. If the killing power was something he must not defeat his opponent with, then the strongest power was…

'''“A power I am willing to defeat them with…but what the hell does that mean!?”

“That is the logical conclusion. Calm down, Aoe Shouzou. Do not reject it on reflex. Think about it: what kind of power would you be willing to defeat your opponent with?”

He shook his head at her question, clenching both his fists hard.

'''“That sounds too good to be true!'''

The shout of his willpower was followed by a sharp blow to his left cheek.

“…!”

[[Image:DT02_125.jpg|thumb]]

Feeling the pain running through his cheek, he glared at Akalabeth and stood up.

“You-” he started, but he gasped when something damp dripped down his cheek.

“What is this?”

His cheek was wet. He touched it and found red on his fingers.

He looked again and noticed Akalabeth looked pale in the window’s glow. He frowned.

“Are you injured?”

“I can survive a fall by altering the settings, but I was struck by a blade shortly beforehand.”

She was holding her side. The stomach of her clothing was very damp.

But she smiled a little.

“Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have struck the person I am asking for assistance.”

Aoe fell silent. “Mh,” he grunted deep in his throat before clenching his teeth and sitting back down in front of her.

Seeing Aoe’s lowered head, Akalabeth sighed and spoke.

“Let’s continue, shall we? So back to a power that you are willing to defeat your opponent with.” She nodded. “I am an amateur when it comes to martial arts, but I believe such a thing exists. But it is definitely something you do not have. Also…”

She made it sound so simple.

“Whether or not you are willing to defeat your opponent with it is not even the most prudent question. What truly matters is if your opponent feels they are willing to let that power defeat them.”

“Wha-?”

He started to protest again (“What are you talking about?”), but he swallowed the words.

She had a point. He would be much mor willing to defeat his opponent with a power if they were willing to accept it than if he were forcing it onto them. In other words…

'''“A power someone would be willing to lose to.”

“Do you get it now? It is the opposite of a power you don’t want to lose to.”

Algo had hit him with plenty of attacks he didn’t want to lose to, so he understood.

He dug up the memory of his loss to Algo half a year ago, when all of this had started.

<nowiki><I</nowiki> felt so frustrated and it revealed my fear and anxiety related to power.>

He fell silent there, but Akalabeth gave a small nod.

“Then a power you would be willing to lose to would be the opposite of that, wouldn’t it? A power that does not inspire frustration in the person it defeats and that erases their fear and anxiety related to power. So in the equation you mentioned before, that power would subtract regret, anxiety, and fear instead of life.”

He looked up.

He repeated her words under his breath, and…

“That power is only theoretical, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. It only needs to meet two conditions.” After a beat, she continued. “The first condition is of course belief that the attack will benefit your opponent. In other words, the answer it teaches them is how to believe, not anxiety or fear.”

And…

“The second condition is that you understand your opponent’s anxieties and fears and your attack surpasses those things. If you want to know they will accept defeat to your attack, you need to surpass their anxiety and fear and teach them that they will be fine without any fear.”

“I need to surpass their anxiety and fear?”

“Yes,” confirmed Akalabeth. “People fight in order to face their anxieties and fears. For example, Algo is driven by his anxiety and fear regarding Words Warn, which began with Alternative Kobayashi. So if you wanted to use the strongest power against him, you must understand his anxiety and fear and you must show him something that surpasses his reasons for attempting a godtact experiment. You need to show him he doesn’t need to do that.”

“Mh,” grunted Aoe, clenching his fist on his lap.

'''“I must believe in my fist so that I can understand and surpass my opponent’s anxieties and fears?”

“Yes. Do that and you will have the strongest power that your opponent will accept defeat to.”

Akalabeth clenched her right hand as well. She poured her willpower into the bloodstained fist.

'''“An attack like that could end a battle and leave both sides satisfied.”

'''<Aoe’s Sight Mode has updated>