Rogue Villain-Chapter 393: Afraid

Rage fueled Ackster’s body as he took another step forward, casting off the restraints from the being’s presence.

<Hoho. You really are like a mad bull! It’s even better seeing it up close—>

"Shut your mouth! What don’t you get?!"

Ackster stood up straight, grabbed his sword with both hands, slid one foot forward, and bent his legs.

The being tilted his head to the side while facing Ackster.

<Are you sure you want to do this?>

"If you’re scared, just piss off right now. I might just let you go."

<No, that’s not possible. I just meant that it seems like you’re fighting to save this world, are you not? It’s like you’re unaware that your mission is over. But if you go against me, this world will end, no matter what.>

"It will end if I don’t. It will end if I do. If it’s going to end no matter what, I might as well kill you while I’m at it."

<Hmm. Since you don’t seem to understand, I will introduce myself. Using words you understand, my existence would be known as something like the Observer. Do you know what that means?> 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"You’re a pervert with a voyeur fetish, you disgusting freak."

<No. It means I observe. Why do I observe? Because that’s what I like. But it also means I don’t act. I observe because I don’t act. Makes sense, right? But that’s not quite it. I observe because I don’t NEED to act!>

"So you’re lazy. Nothing to brag about."

<What they say about meeting your heroes in real life is true. It’s disappointing. I don’t even know why I’m entertaining you.>

The being sighed and glanced at Ackster.

Ackster thought the being had looked at him before, but it was nothing like this. Ackster felt like something was dissecting him to the very core of his soul while also pushing down on him with the weight of a mountain.

It was a nasty feeling. The momentum of the Observer’s gaze only grew and continued pushing down on Ackster. His body and muscles trembled under the perceived weight. His skeleton creaked and popped.

Ackster remained standing. His head and shoulders slumped.

But Ackster was never going to kneel. He glared at the Observer through his brow as Berserk fed his anger and gave him another burst of strength on top of his skills and burning Ichor.

"...I...was right...then. Impotent. Voyeuristic. Fucker."

Ackster felt his body shake as the Observer strengthened the power in his gaze. It seemed like he was intent on returning the humiliation Ackster had given him by forcing him to submit before killing him.

’Good thing fuckers like this have a fragile ego.’

<Unaware of the vastness of the universe, you underestimate the scope of my powers!>

The Observer shouted and took a step closer, further increasing the pressure on Ackster.

Ackster grinned and chuckled. He couldn’t even move. And it seemed like the Observer would make Ackster admit his wrongs before killing him, so he wasn’t immediately killing Ackster. The Observer wasn’t using his full strength.

But Ackster wasn’t going to let the Observer get his way.

The fire inside Smelting Furnace raged like the baby between a wildfire and a volcano’s eruption as it burned everything inside it and Ackster’s Ichor.

Ackster used Limit Breaker on his skills and body. His body fought against the Observer’s pressure, and in doing so, it broke down. But Stubborn Well-Being built it back up with the energy from the burning Ichor. He was continuously growing stronger under the hypergravity chamber that was the Observer’s gaze.

But it wasn’t enough. Ackster needed to become stronger. He needed more.

His skills weren’t enough. His body wasn’t enough. His weapon wasn’t enough.

Ackster had already hit his limits and broken past them in the fight against The Hero. Defeating the Voice had bumped up his limits a bit further. But it wasn’t enough.

He was still far from powerful enough to face a being that rewound time ten years for an entire world. Merely breaking through his limits and transcending his numerical capabilities weren’t enough. He had to go even further beyond.

Smelting Furnace burned with such intensity that the fire and the afire Ichor leaked out of his body. It alleviated some of the pressure from the Observer’s gaze. It was enough to let Ackster straighten his curved back, but only for a moment before the Observer swept away Ackster’s flames and doubled the pressure.

<Well? Can you resist? Can you fight back? Can you even blaspheme? No? Didn’t think so.>

Ackster continued fighting. He realized that he was only alive because the Oberver wanted to see him repent or punish him for his insubordination and straying from the script at the end of the story. If he could continue with making the Observer displeased, he could prolong his suffering.

"Fuck...OFF!"

Ackster roared and stood up. He was Unstoppable.

However, his Unstoppable wasn’t at a high enough rank to fight against the pressure from the Observer.

"I hope you aren’t bullying my sword."

The Observer’s head whipped to the side with a discongruent movement that blurred the space around it as he looked at the Sword God standing right next to him and Ackster.

<...Heh. It seems I was so busy with this organism that I didn’t notice you. Sword God. What an impertinent name. Do you think you can compare to a God?!>

"Nonsense. It’s the gods who can’t compare to me. Now, answer my question, are you a sword?"

<Hah. Right. Those things in that corner over there are what you call gods. Sure. They can’t compare to you. You’re impressive for a human. But, compared to false gods, even the dust on a butterfly’s wings is impressive.>

The Observer gestured at himself.

<You see this?! This! This is a god! Bow down!>

The Sword God poked Ackster’s cheek.

"Hey, do you have a sword I can borrow?"

Ackster sighed in relief as the Sword God’s poke dispelled the Observer’s pressure and let him catch a breather. He reached out with the Demon Sword.

The Sword God looked at the sword.

"Yep. You’ve done a good job taking care of it. But who are you?"

"Disciple."

"Disciple? Sounds familiar."

<You dare? You dare?! You DARE?! Ignore ME?!>

The Sword God looked at the Observer with disgust as he scanned the being from top to toe.

"And who are you?"

<I’m the OBSERVER! I am the one who witnessed your doom! I am the one who brought you back to life!>

The Observer roared at the Sword God. At the same time, balls of dark purple light appeared around him. Ackster could tell that each of the at least twelve balls was more powerful than The Hero’s final attack.

But Ackster wasn’t scared.

The Sword God grabbed the Demon Sword and stood in between Ackster and the Observer.

"Perverts die when they’re aggressive, you know?"

The Sword God raised the sword and pointed it at the Observer.

The world trembled.

Ackster could feel it.

The world itself was afraid when the Sword God picked up a sword.