Chapter 64: Not a Skill… but a Decision
A short silence filled the room.
There was nothing except the steady sound of my breathing.
Finally, I raised my head.
My gaze moved toward my arm.
The red gauntlet was wrapped around it in silence.
I whispered:
Anyway, Draig… can I activate the Balance Breaker now?
Her voice came from inside the gauntlet.
Slow.
Clear.
Hmm… yes and no.
My brows knit slightly.
What does that mean?
The gauntlet trembled lightly.
The green jewel glowed for a brief moment.
Your body is stronger than most humans… but the Balance Breaker does not open simply because the body is strong.
I kept staring at the gauntlet in silence.
What you think is training… is not.
A moment of silence passed between us.
Then the voice returned calmly:
The Sacred Gear is not a tool.
The Sacred Gear is me.
The words settled heavily in my chest.
The Balance Breaker is not a skill you learn… but a state.
Connection.
Synchronization.
Acknowledgment.
You must harmonize with me… not merely use my power.
I asked quietly:
So hearing your voice was the beginning?
Yes.
As for the Balance Breaker…
it is when there is no longer any difference between my power and your power.
My gaze lowered toward the gauntlet.
I studied it in silence.
So strength alone is not enough…
Physical strength is only the minimum requirement.
A short silence settled in the room.
Then her voice returned once more:
Your body must endure the dragon's power when it flows directly through you.
At that point…
your aura will no longer remain as it is now.
Instead, it will become a dragon's aura.
I felt a faint sting run through my arm.
A small sting… yet it was clear, as if something delicate had passed through the nerve before disappearing.
But that was not the most important thing.
My eyes fixed on the gauntlet.
The green jewels embedded in its surface released a faint glimmer… a slow glimmer, like a calm pulse echoing in the depths of the metal.
I raised my head slightly.
Then what is it?
A short silence followed.
A heavy silence… as if the air itself had stopped to listen.
Draig paused for a moment…
as if she was giving her next word greater weight.
Then the answer came in a single word:
The reason.
My brows furrowed without me noticing.
I did not understand it immediately.
Her voice continued inside my mind… low and steady.
The Balance Breaker does not open when you desire power…
but when you refuse to lose something.
My fingers slid slowly over the surface of the gauntlet.
The solid coldness of the metal beneath my skin made the words feel more real.
A short silence followed.
Then Draig continued.
A single moment when your mind, body, and soul reach one decision—
that you will not retreat…
even if you collapse.
My chest rose slowly.
My heart was beating with a clear heaviness.
One beat.
Then another.
Each beat echoed in my ears more clearly.
Only then…
will I fully acknowledge you.
At that moment—
the green jewels in the gauntlet shone with a faint glow.
A glimmer passed through them like a soft wave of light, as if something deep within them had responded to those words.
My eyes remained fixed on that light for a moment.
And when that happens…
you will no longer be using the Sacred Gear.
My voice lowered slightly without me noticing.
What will happen?
The answer was delayed for a moment.
Then her voice came… deeper than before.
Her voice lowered…
but it became heavier.
It will become a part of you…
and the armor will appear.
My fingers tightened slightly around the gauntlet.
My eyes slowly lifted.
At that point…
you will have opened the Balance Breaker.
Silence returned once again.
This time, the silence felt longer.
Heavier.
And if you are prepared to sacrifice a part of your body for my sake…
you can obtain an incomplete version of it.
The words settled in my chest with an uncomfortable weight.
I lowered my gaze slightly.
The green jewels were still shining quietly… as if they were waiting for something.
I took a slow breath.
My chest filled with air…
then it slowly left.
The echo of her words continued to resonate in my mind.
After a few moments of silence…
I began to understand.
My head slowly lifted.
There was no fundamental condition for the Balance Breaker.
It was not a level.
Nor was it strength.
It was…
harmony.
Between two beings.
I slowly raised my head after a brief hesitation.
My eyes shifted slightly toward the gauntlet.
Hmm… do you mean that I must stir my emotions in order to awaken it?
That I must obtain your acknowledgment?
I paused for a moment.
And that the type of emotion does not matter?
Whether it is hatred… or love… or anything else…
as long as it is genuine?
A short silence followed.
Then Draig answered calmly:
Yes… my partner.
She paused briefly.
Then she continued:
In any case…
your Balance Breaker will be different from the previous hosts.
Because of the essence of the dragon bloodline inside your body, its abilities will be directly connected to the bloodline you carry.
She paused slightly, then added:
I do not know its exact nature…
but it seems powerful.
Silence filled the room.
I raised my eyes slightly.
Do you know where I obtained the origin of this bloodline?
I exhaled slowly.
…Yes.
But at that moment…
a strange thought crossed my mind.
My eyes paused for a moment, as if my memory had drifted far away from this place.
Before I came to this world…
I was watching the series High School DxD.
The name passed through my mind clearly.
Issei Hyoudou.
He was not talented.
He was not intelligent.
And he was not even brave at the beginning.
I raised my eyebrow slightly, as if rearranging those old memories.
And yet…
he became strong.
Not because he was special.
But because his emotions were sincere.
His desire.
His longing.
His fear…
all of them were completely real.
And that was why Ddraig responded to him.
A short silence followed.
My fingers moved slowly over the surface of the gauntlet.
A faint smile appeared on my lips.
A small smile… but it carried no real warmth.
But…
I lifted my gaze toward the red gauntlet.
The light of the green jewels reflected faintly in my eyes.
There is a great difference between him and me.
Issei was the hero of that world.
The world itself pushed him forward.
It opened the path for him.
As for me…
I lowered my gaze slightly.
I never felt that the world would choose me.
I am not a hero.
I am an intruder among worlds.
A stranger who crosses the laws…
without enjoying the luxury of survival through coincidence.
I tightened my grip slightly.
The metal brushed against my skin with a faint sound.
If I want to open the Balance Breaker…
no one will save me.
No miracle.
I slowly shook my head.
No… I am not a chosen person.
And there is no prewritten ending for me.
A faint mocking smile appeared on my lips.
The corner of my mouth curved slightly… a small smile that carried no warmth, but something closer to sarcasm.
In truth…
being the hero is the real cheat.
The breath slowly left my chest.
As if I were releasing the weight of a thought that had remained stuck inside me.
I raised my head and looked at the ceiling for a moment.
My eyes remained fixed there.
Then I closed them calmly.
Alright…
I whispered in a low voice.
I will begin with myself first.
A moment of silence passed.
A short moment… yet it felt longer than it should.
Then…
I will open
the Balance Breaker.
I slowly opened my eyes.
And a dark red light had settled within my pupils.
And so had the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Balance Breaker
Mangekyō Sharingan
My gaze settled for a moment.
Then my eyes slowly lowered toward my hand.
I looked at the gauntlet.
A small smile formed on my lips.
A faint smile… as if trying to break the weight of the silence filling the place.
Draig… hmm…
What do you think about me returning the favor?
I paused for a moment.
The thought passed slowly through my mind.
I am thinking of giving you a massage.
I raised my hand slightly toward the gauntlet.
My fingers moved over its red surface, hesitating for a moment.
In any case…
I think you can transform into a human form.
A short silence followed.
"…A massage?"
I paused for a moment.
I raised my eyebrow slightly.
Hmm… well then, my partner.
Her voice came inside my mind… but this time it carried a strange tone.
Nevertheless…
Draig continued:
You are truly strange.
This is the first time something like this has ever been offered to me.
Another moment of silence passed.
Then she added:
You are the first Sacred Gear wielder who has thought about giving me a massage.
I cannot guess what is going on inside your head.
Since the moment I awakened…
you have not stopped surprising me.
This world…
this universe…
and even you.
She paused slightly.
Then she said calmly:
I do not know whether this is good luck or bad luck.
A faint smile appeared on my lips.
A calm smile this time.
Do not think too much.
Just get used to it.
I raised my gaze slightly toward the gauntlet.
I promise you…
you will not regret having me as your partner.
A brief moment of silence passed.
Then I said calmly:
So…
shall we begin?