The Synthesis Magician

"Hah... ha-ha-ha..."

"Grah... Garh...?"

The Goblin General looked at me with a mix of confusion and irritation as I suddenly burst into laughter. Of course, it would. Even a monster would feel uneasy around a lunatic like me.

But I wasn't laughing at it. No, this was about me—about how utterly pathetic I had been.

For so long, I wondered why my Gift wouldn't activate. I spent sleepless nights questioning, doubting, and cursing my fate. But thinking had done nothing. The answer wasn't in my head; it was here, in this moment.

I'd never been pushed to my limits before. Not like this. My life had never been in this much danger. Without a Gift, I had no chance of standing here, no chance of surviving.

"Hah... HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I threw my head back, laughing loudly, defiantly. The Goblin General roared in response, its guttural cry echoing through the battlefield as though challenging my audacity.

"GAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

It was trying to assert dominance. A display of its superiority.

I wiped a tear from my eye and smirked. "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at myself—for how much of a joke I've been up until now."

The Goblin tilted its head, its intelligence failing to grasp my meaning. It didn't matter.

"Well, I'll figure out the details later," I muttered, raising my knife. The Goblin General's stance shifted. It understood. This was the endgame.

"Focus... focus... FOCUS!"

I crouched low, steadying my breathing. Inhale. Hold. My world slowed to a crawl as I activated my Gift, Concentration. Or rather, its true evolved form—Super Concentration.

And for the first time, I saw it.

No, I saw everything.

The Goblin General was no longer just a hulking mass of muscle and rage. Its movements, its intent, its weaknesses—all of it came into sharp focus. I could see the flow of its blood beneath its thick skin, the shifting of its weight, the twitch of its eyes.

Its next move was clear to me before it even happened.

The Goblin transferred its massive sword from its injured right hand to its left and hurled it toward me with a vicious roar.

I ducked. The blade screamed past my head, embedding itself into the ground with a heavy thud. As predicted, it charged at me, trying to tackle me with its massive frame. It was a signature move, a predictable one.

Normally, dodging such a direct assault would be impossible. But Super Concentration made the impossible... manageable. I moved as if guided by instinct, slipping beneath its path at the exact moment its feet lifted off the ground.

And then, I struck.

"There!"

I kicked off the ground, spinning mid-air. My knife found its mark at the base of the Goblin General's skull, piercing deep into its neck.

"Grkkk—!"

Its death rattle reverberated through the air. The vibrations from the blade in my hand were the only sign of its pain. The towering beast staggered, knees buckling, before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.

"I'm sorry... but I'm not ready to die yet."

Whether or not it understood my words didn't matter. Its glazed eyes told me everything. It knew. The Goblin General accepted its defeat, its inevitable demise.

I stood over its corpse, breathing heavily, the adrenaline rapidly fading. My hand trembled as I tried to release the knife.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Exhaustion overtook me, my body screaming in protest. My vision blurred, my thoughts growing foggy. No, this wasn't just fatigue.

"Oh... crap..."

I remembered. My back. It had been bleeding profusely since the start of the fight, the wounds tearing further during the battle. My entire body felt cold as the life drained from me.

"Damn it..."

But there was no time to even curse. A guttural roar tore through the air, accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"No way..."

Another Goblin General emerged from the shadows.

My legs refused to move. My strength was spent. Even lifting the knife in my hand felt impossible.

A laugh escaped my lips—hollow, bitter. "Ha... of course. Why wouldn't there be another one?"

The Goblin General roared, its fury palpable. Whether it felt rage for its fallen comrade or was simply a beast acting on instinct, I didn't know. What I did know was that I had no fight left in me.

The monstrous figure loomed closer, its massive sword raised high. I collapsed to the ground, knees buckling, accepting my fate.

"Sorry... Mikoto," I whispered. My little sister's face flashed in my mind, and regret twisted my heart. "I couldn't protect you."

The Goblin's lips twisted into a wicked grin. Its blade swung down toward me.

This is it.

I closed my eyes, ready to embrace the end. But instead of cold steel, a gust of wind caressed my cheek. A delicate floral scent filled the air.

"Glad I made it in time."

My eyes snapped open, and what I saw stole my breath away.

A slender figure stood between me and the Goblin General. Her frame seemed almost delicate, but the power radiating from her was undeniable. She had deflected the Goblin's blade with a single strike of her thin sword.

"GRAAAAAAHHHH!"

The Goblin reeled back, recognizing her as a threat. She held her ground, unwavering, her short, dark-red hair swaying slightly. Her sharp eyes locked onto the beast, exuding an aura of absolute control.

How? How was someone like her here?

I knew this woman, not personally, but by reputation. Everyone did. She was a legend.

Japan had three dominant Clans.

The Northern Clan: Polaris Cut.The Western Clan: Insania.The Eastern Clan: The Great Bell.

And she was the pride of The Great Bell—an S-ranked powerhouse.

The Sword Saint, Mizutani Yuri.