Moriarty’s POV

Ah...

The Prince broke.

He broke.

I couldn’t believe this man managed to break the Prince this quickly.

It wasn’t just surprising. It was unsettling.

Still, I understood that feeling far too well.

The feeling of defeat.

That heavy, suffocating realization that no matter what you did, no matter how much you tried, it wouldn’t be enough.

He was the only man who had ever made me feel that.

That alone said more than enough.

I had felt that same kind of despair when I faced him before. That same crushing pressure that made your chest tighten and your thoughts slow down, like your mind itself was trying to give up before your body did.

And now, standing here again, I could feel it crawling back.

It was almost nostalgic in the worst way possible.

The difference between us was overwhelming. He moved through that transformation like it was nothing, like it didn’t cost him anything at all. Without any strain and no hesitation with no visible effort.

Meanwhile, my body already felt like it was burning itself apart just trying to keep up.

Muscles screaming, nerves on edge, with my breathing uneven. Every second dragged on, and yet he stood there like none of it mattered. Like the entire situation was just mildly inconvenient for him.

That gap... it was ridiculous.

This power I had wasn’t even mine to begin with.

It was something I borrowed when the Great Darkness died. My ability allowed me to manifest the powers of those who had already fallen. A convenient way to put it would be copying them at the moment of their death, like taking a snapshot and forcing it into myself.

That was why I could use someone like Norman’s ability. He had also been defeated by this man, which, looking back now, felt like a pretty bad pattern. Because of that, I could wield his power freely, as if it had always belonged to me.

Still, there were limits.

I could only hold about ten abilities at most. Ten slots, at most. That was why every single one had to matter and there was no room for waste, and no room for something that wouldn’t carry its weight in the long run.

So I had been careful.

Right now, I only had three.

Three abilities that I considered worth keeping.

One of them was the power of the Great Darkness itself, something I obtained after his defeat against this same person. That alone should have been enough to tip the balance, or at least make things manageable.

At least, that was what I told myself.

Clearly, I was wrong.

Even with that... it still wasn’t enough.

I opened portals around him, one after another, layering them in every possible direction. Above, below, behind, and even angles that didn’t even make sense if you tried to visualize them properly. From each one, attacks poured out, with blades, strikes, or even pressure from multiple sides.

It should have worked.

Anyone else would have been overwhelmed instantly.

I even tried to land a direct punch from a blind spot, timing it perfectly between the openings.

It felt like I was swinging at empty air.

Worse than that, it felt like I wasn’t even allowed to reach him.

I couldn’t even land a proper hit.

With the Prince already broken mentally, standing there like a shadow of himself, there was no way I could handle this alone.

Victory wasn’t just unlikely.

It wasn’t even part of the conversation anymore.

At this point, I didn’t even understand why I was still fighting.

Pride, maybe.

Stubbornness.

Or just the inability to accept what was right in front of me.

Even so, my body kept moving.

I continued slashing at him, forcing my blade forward again and again, putting everything I had into each strike. Speed, precision, timing, all of it sharpened to its limit.

Then suddenly—

He caught it.

With his bare hand.

Just like that.

"Do you really think you have any chance to win?" he said.

His voice was calm.

There was no anger, no excitement, not even irritation.

Then he looked at me.

That gaze...

Which was cold.

Empty.

And unshaken.

I had seen it before.

A long time ago.

Back when I first realized what kind of monster I was dealing with.

And just like that, the same feeling came rushing back.

Despair.

The kind that didn’t give you room to breathe.

His hand tightened around the Cursed Blade I was holding. Slowly, steadily, like he was proving a point rather than exerting effort.

Then it broke.

It shattered.

The blade cracked and fell apart like glass in his grip.

"W-Wha...?!"

The shock hit me immediately.

A Cursed Sword wasn’t supposed to break like that. It wasn’t some cheap weapon you could snap in half.

And yet, in his hand, it meant nothing.

"I think you haven’t been reminded of that fact enough," he said. "You think you’re the one controlling everything, but in reality, you’re the one being played. You lost the moment you decided to play this game, Moriarty."

Before I could even process it, his fist drove straight into my chest.

The impact was immediate and overwhelming.

Everything inside me rattled at once. My vision blurred, my breath left my lungs, and my body was sent flying backward without any control.

Straight toward the Prince.

He was still standing there, frozen, fear written all over his face like he didn’t know what to do anymore.

I hadn’t even hit the ground yet.

He was already there again.

Right in front of me.

Another punch.

Midair.

There was no time to react, no time to defend, and not even enough time to think of something clever.

The second hit landed just as hard, if not harder, and I was thrown even further back before crashing straight into the Prince.

That impact finally snapped him out of it.

The Prince regained some of his focus, just enough to move again. Flames reignited around him, flickering at first before growing stronger.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggghhhh!"

He roared as he charged.

It wasn’t just for intimidation. It felt forced, like he was trying to push something out of his system. Trying to burn away the despair that had taken hold of him.

His speed was incredible.

So fast that his form blurred as he moved, cutting through the distance in an instant.

For a moment, it almost looked promising.

Then—

One kick.

That was all it took.

The Prince was completely overpowered. His body was sent flying across the area, crashing into a building with enough force to tear through it completely. He didn’t even stop there. He went straight through and slammed into another building behind it.

That one didn’t hold.

It collapsed entirely, rubble falling and burying him underneath.

I barely had time to react.

Using my Portal Maker, I pulled out another weapon. A graded sword, one of the strongest ones I still had access to.

It probably wasn’t enough.

At this point, that thought was starting to feel like a running joke.

Still, it was better than going in empty-handed.

Right then, the Prince emerged from the rubble. Covered in dust, slightly unsteady, still trembling. He wasn’t fully back, not really.

But he moved anyway.

Still trying and still refusing to stay down.

We both charged at him at the same time.

Then—

My vision dropped.

The ground filled my sight before I even understood what happened.

My body gave out, strength leaving me all at once, like something had been cut off.

Consciousness started slipping.

And just like that...

Everything went dark.