A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Gradually, I found this to be too troublesome."

"It would be better if they all just died."

"Whether it's a villain, Marek, or any of the 'I's'."

“What a boring reason,” Bray said softly, gripping his sword.

"Your reasoning is as mediocre as the question I asked."

“Isn’t that a bit much? I’m truly sorry.” Jonathan removed his hat apologetically and bowed deeply.

"I'm not the kind of person who likes to shout 'Let the world end!'"

"In fact, petty people are indifferent to things like destroying the world."

"I just wanted to make life more interesting, and then die smoothly." Jonathan finally took off his mask.

He turned his mask, revealing his handsome face.

Those eyes, etched with purple lotuses, seemed to see through everything, yet were utterly devoid of emotion.

Jonathan, having removed his mask, was still laughing lightly.

But even Bray could see through that fake smile at a glance. Jonathan's true intentions weren't as complicated as people imagined.

It could even be said to be excessively simple.

It wasn't about setting up some grand conspiracy, nor was it about wanting to destroy the world or anything like that.

I'm just bored with myself, so I want to find a way to die.

In a sense, Jonathan's mentality is very similar to that of Bai Mian.

One is bored, the other is tired.

A life that repeats itself endlessly, seeing people who never change, and observing a world that never changes.

Even as a reincarnator, he found it boring.

That's why he wanted people to be more different and more interesting.

He finds it fascinating to see people struggling in dire straits, because people often choose to give up rather than engage in such struggles.

Seeing someone choose themselves over their family members would be novel to him, because people often prioritize family.

However, no matter how much he pursued interesting things, Jonathan inevitably fell into the trap of "boredom".

Therefore, the best approach is to end it.

Each reincarnation inherits memories, but values ​​and personality are based on the life before awakening in this life.

Thus, Jonathan, who was originally a con artist, came up with all sorts of ideas.

It's interesting that fraudsters no longer commit fraud.

It's quite interesting that the reincarnated self is not the real self.

It would be even better if this disrupted cycle could be successfully ended.

The possibility was right in front of him, and even if it was Mr. Bijingren, he could not give up.

"Defeat me! Step over my dead body!"

“You have no other choice,” Jonathan said, snapping his fingers.

Sparks burst forth all around.

The ground beneath Bray and Jonathan's feet was lifted up, making it seem as if they were standing on a stage.

The audience below the stage was packed with people.

Those people couldn't see their faces clearly, but when Bray and Jonathan appeared, they all clapped in unison.

"Clap clap clap." The applause was like waves on the ocean, one after another.

“I’ve wanted to say this kind of domineering line for a long time.” After saying this, Jonathan put on another mask.

Unlike the clown mask he had thrown away, this mask now had several black lines on it.

"Thank you, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to say such lines."

“The villain is the final boss, the enemy that Mr. Ring-Bearer must face.” Jonathan said, then grabbed his cane and slammed it down on Bray.

“The mask left behind by the Golden Seed…” Bray said, squinting his right eye as he looked at Jonathan’s new mask.

"Clang!!" The sword in his hand collided with Jonathan's cane, making a dull thud.

“That’s right, as expected of Mr. Monk, you see things very clearly.” Jonathan held his cane in his right hand, facing Bray, while casually flicking his top hat with his left.

An unknown light shone on Bray and Jonathan.

At the same time, background music from a stage play began to play in the surrounding area.

"This is a rare opportunity for me to play the final villain, so please give me your support." Jonathan raised his cane and then struck it down.

One blow followed another, and each blow was more powerful than the last.

All of Jonathan's attacks left a mark on the stable space.

The traces emanated the aura of the dead.

Jonathan couldn't possibly defeat Bray on his own.

After all, this is a man who upholds the precepts; if one doesn't try every possible means, one cannot defeat him.

So he put on the mask that fell from the projection of "Lord of the Underworld, Dizoka"—

This is the Joker truly giving it his all.

Although petty people dislike violence.

"But, ah, I am really looking forward to this scene."

"when!"

"when!!"

"when!!!"

Faced with a storm of attacks, Bray steadily blocked them all with his sword.

He looked at Jonathan calmly, unlike the other man, he was completely unmoved.

Perhaps Jonathan was looking forward to this theatrical effect, but—

“I never expected it,” Bray said quietly, then shattered a ghost that was secretly clinging to him and deflected the clown’s cane.

The sword, broken and seemingly about to shatter at any moment, had its tip pointed directly at Jonathan's neck.

This stab was so ordinary that it carried no hint of murderous intent.

Bray's eyelids lifted slightly, as if he had just woken up.

He was not angry at Jonathan's absurd reason.

He was not affected by Jonathan's mood.

"Clang—" The sound of the sword cutting through the air rang out, but the thrust missed its mark.

The piercing shot hit a cloud of fog.

After thrusting the sword, Bray immediately turned around.

Just as he turned around, Jonathan raised his cane.

The cane is parallel to the ground, then the end opens up.

A bullet shot out from inside the cane.

"Blooming."

The bullet burst open in mid-air, shattering into spiky crystals.

The crystals continued to spread, replicating like a virus.

But before it could replicate the speed at which it climbed, a sword fell straight down.

As the crystalline dust scattered everywhere, Bray leaned forward amidst it.

As Bray drew closer, Jonathan's mask revealed an exaggerated smile.

"Hahaha!" Jonathan dodged Bray's sword strike with a dance-like gait.

"Hahaha, really, I feel really happy right now!" the clown said.

The audience erupted in applause.

"So you're a belligerent fellow too?" Bray said calmly, forcibly changing the direction of his swinging sword.

"Snap—"

The sword that Jonathan had dodged came again, tearing his mask apart.

However, even though the mask was slashed, it did not break apart.

On the contrary, the concepts overflowing from the masks are becoming increasingly pronounced.

The air was thick with the scent of death.

That's right, this is a mask left behind by "Lord of the Underworld, Dizoka". It would be strange if it were full of life.

"A petty person is belligerent? No, no, no, please don't misunderstand."

“I hate violence, I always have. Fighting is not for me,” the clown said with a grin.

His footsteps lingered on the edge of the stage, basking in the applause he had created.

This is the perfect stage, complete with lights, applause, actors, and a script!

And this stage is placed in a position that is just a little bit away from the will of the world.

What a magnificent feat!

"The reason why the petty person is happy is simply because he can face you like this."

“Now I can finally truly understand what it feels like to stand in front of Mr. Monk,” Jonathan said.

Without truly being the enemy, one cannot confront a minefield directly, nor can one experience the oppressive feeling of that moment. Simply standing before a minefield as an enemy will subject one to a sense of oppression.

An inexplicable sense of oppression.

It's not the kind of oppression that the strong exert on the weak, but something else entirely.

Even a higher species, stronger than Bray, would feel this way standing in front of him.

It's strange, where exactly does this feeling of oppression come from?

Momentum? Perhaps it's just momentum.

But Bray's appearance hardly evokes the word "imposing".

So this is how everyone has felt all along.

Since Jonathan never intended to "fight" with Bray, he never experienced it.

"Indeed, the world's will choosing an ordinary person as the one to bear the shackles is the most interesting thing I've ever seen." Jonathan's cane pierced towards Bray like a frisbee.

Bray effortlessly deflected all the attacks.

"Not a famous person, not someone with a tragic past, not someone with a complicated background!"

"Not a hero, not a great man, not a sage!"

"An ordinary person who is nothing!"

A thunderous applause erupted, sounding like thunder to Bray.

It also seems like a sarcastic remark.

"Just an ordinary person, but somehow I ended up in this place."

Behind Jonathan were countless undead, and the space trembled as his cane swept across.

Interspersed among the foil-like attacks were conceptual bullets.

The clown's attacks, like his words, were relentless.

Even during the conversation, Jonathan did not reduce the intensity of his attack in the slightest.