Prologue

Arata Kazuto’s Perspective

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“You know the difference between watching a documentary of a lion eating a zebra and a zebra running away from a lion?” I asked Owari, while casually walking on the aisle of corpses and bones piled like a carpet. This place was called Skull Island, after all. “It’s the fact where you choose which side you are on. If you first watched the zebra getting eaten by the lion, you’d feel tragic for the zebra. But if you watched the lion eating the zebra, you’d say it’s the circle of life."

“And I might’ve said something cool. Shit,” I continued. 

But, in reality, I didn’t know what I was saying. It was completely bullshit. 

The crashing sound of waves entered our eardrums as the heated fight came to an end. I was the victor. After stealing his powers, I managed to overpower my enemy and, somehow, turned the tides in my favour. But despite overwhelming him, the man remained calm, like a gust of wind outside this skull cave. His eyes weren’t frightened. The bloke showed no signs of regression or even panicking throughout the battle. This man, who was older than me, gave his best and tried killing me with everything he had. And he almost won the match. This man was the best enemy I had ever fought. But his abilities, despite being formidable, failed to finish me off. And when I returned the bloke’s gaze, I knelt and conjured another magical circle in front of him to block off his movement, just in case. The ability came from him, not from me. I stole it from my enemy.

"What a pity," I muttered, while watching the guy glare at my figure. “I can kill you anytime I want, you know?”

As pirates, we traversed the vast ocean to find the treasure marked by the map. “X” marks the treasure! It was always like that, so the same thing applied here. And like greedy pirates we were, our crew went hunting for the said riches. But this time, it wasn’t fortune. It was a plant.

The sketch gave us a clue. That paper told us that there was a legendary herb that could cure all illnesses and recover any amputated and swollen limb within seconds. What an overpowered root! It was a must-have reward for this hectic adventurer.

The herb was ginseng without a name. It was a root that lived for thousands of years, and the plant was a national treasure if extracted and used as a potion. This root was painted with a golden hue and had a shade of white, complementing the sun and moon. I called it “The Lunar Plant” or “Lunar” for short. And that was why I never had a wife or a kid. If I could have a baby, maybe the best name I could give was Thanatos. The other name was already taken. 

But we were not the only ones here. We were not the only ones after the herb that could cure any type of ailments. Before reaching this point, I had faced hundreds of monsters, pirates just like ua, and soldiers from the kingdom. And the bloke came from the latter.

This man clearly wanted to kill me. It was showing on his face, with those bloodshot eyes and his gritting teeth. His name was Owari, a Japanese guy like me. I didn’t know what kind of era or generation he had come from, but there was only one thing I learned. And it was… Owari knew nothing about fun. Everything seemed serious to him, as if all these things wanted to kill him, which was true. I tried to kill him. It was just like his name. The end of everything.

Yeah, right? What a fucking try-hard.

Owari was a master of all elements and had an arcane similarity to the vast ocean. It was his signature move. This man was the strongest opponent I had ever faced since the time we had met the Kraken. If I were a girl, he’d be a great romantic partner to conquer. I was not against other genders loving the same or other sexualities, but I wasn’t heading for that route either.

“Come on, Owari. Can we talk about this like the good old times? I could kill you right here and now, but…” I paused, unsure if I could make the bold claim.

I was a blood-thirsty man. My hands had killed more people than a toddler could count. Killing for me was just like taking candy from a baby, and that candy was their soul. And I will do everything I can to eliminate any enemies standing in my way. Everything for my sister.

And this was a perfect occurrence just to kill Owari and run away. However, I made a promise to HIM and Kirameki that I will never take someone’s life again.

Our swords clashed against each other like a Hollywood movie or an anime fight at the end of the last episode. If I were a third party watching from afar, I would’ve screamed in excitement and cursed at whoever I was rooting for. However, I was neither of them. I was one of the characters who had been fighting to survive and protect my sister. After everything we had been through, dying now wasn’t an option. It never will.

[Owari summoned Earthwall.]

I copied it and conjured mine.

[Owari launched an icicle spear.]

A similar cold lance emerged from my fingers with one wave of my hand.

[Owari materialised bullets from pistols out of nothing?]

Well, what do you expect?! I also copied it, like I was some sort of student who copied everything during a test. What a fucking dirty rascal I was!

But I had the upper hand every time that assholic Owari cast his spell, thanks to the nature of my system. He may be called a genius in this world. But against me? Owari was just a nobody who could manipulate all elements and create a new one for himself.

The difference between him and me was my power. Besides copying spells, I could level up. The more experience I had, the more powerful I became. Nonetheless, I wasn’t that powerful either. I wasn’t a god just yet. I also had some flaws. When Owari and I first fought, my level wasn’t high enough to compete with other individuals who had REAL talent in this fantasy world. Nevertheless, my fighting and thievery skills paid off, allowing me to stand toe to toe with whoever came in my way. And Owari wasn’t an exception.

However, there was something Owari didn’t know about the situation. As the battle prolonged, my mana would get the best of me. I had no idea how long I could last throughout this battle. And it seemed my body preferred to drink some tea soon rather than punching that man’s perfect face.

For a second, the fight was one-sided. And I was at the losing end. But alas, the battle changed when I activated my spell. I stole everything. It was ironic that in my class that the world gifted me was a pirate - a title known for stealing treasures and whatnot. And after getting what I deserved, the battle was won.

“Give it up, Owari. You can’t win against me,” I intoned.

Owari, the man who was also reincarnated in this world, faintly chuckled and answered, “I will…. Never…. Give up… Even if it means…. Dying here…. I will… kill all pirates.”

“YOU TORTURED MY PEOPLE! YOU DESTROYED MY KINGDOM! AND YOU… YOU TOOK AWAY MY WIFE! YOU FUCKING KILLED MY FAMILY!” Owari cried.

“I don’t even know who you are,” I uttered, as if I was a purple alien with a gigantic blade in my hands and a glove on the other. “No, seriously, who the fuck are you, even?”

No matter how hard I squinted my eyes or squeezed my brain, I couldn’t recognise this guy. Heck, he didn’t even ring a bell when Owari introduced his name! But maybe this man was also suffering from what I had been feeling lately. It was as if we were connected.

I, too, lost someone from the hands of the kingdom, just like Owari had come from. But the difference was… those people who could be the closest person I made a relationship with died at the hands of a different person, not with the guy whose name was Owari. So naturally, Owari must have also felt the same way. But we weren’t the best pals to know what happened to each other just yet. The only information we had with each other was superficial, just like small talks of couples on their first date.

Little did I know he was obsessed with pirates. He wanted to kill us all. From what I remembered, this man had a tragic past and an abyssal beginning. But no matter how ludicrous Owari underwent inside my head, I did not know what had happened to him. Not a single clue entered my mind. My crew never crossed tides against him; even if we did, we killed no one and spared our enemies, only to kill themselves because of their stupidity.

“I also lost someone… But I never blamed you!”

Some of me wanted to destroy this madman, but my brain told me otherwise. Owari did nothing wrong besides attacking my ship, hurting my crews, and chasing down the treasure my comrades already feasted with our eyes. Well, if I thought about it, I had more reasons to kill him. However, the words of my sister stopped me. And it was enough to calm me down… For now.

After casting one spell after the other, I finally brought down the titan. He was a fucking titan, alright. And a handsome one, to boot. I can feel something rising at the bottom of my pants if it weren’t for the two of us killing each other. Maybe that, too, was a kink hidden inside of me? Who knows…

Owari spat on the ground and brushed off the streak of blood from his mouth. He wasn’t done talking. But if this man continued forcing his body to fight, he would lose his life.

Not until I had the upper hand. When I pushed Owari into a corner, I aimed my pistol at him and threatened him with the firearm in my hand. I was itching to pull the trigger. And I couldn’t wait to end his life right here and now…