Such a powerful temptation...
For Iver, who was accustomed to shortcuts like the Shepherding Method, it should have been impossible to refuse.
--He was even willing to pay with his life. The price was merely a slight deviation from his true nature and the loss of his sense of self...
Yet for some reason, when Iver seriously considered whether to accept this powerful force, he inexplicably felt nauseated, along with a vague sensation of being watched by something.
That feeling was like walking alone through a lightless alley in the dead of night.
A cold, damp wind seemed to pass straight through his chest, and he could not shake the feeling that someone was watching him from within the darkness--an unease of that magnitude.
The Absolute Shortcut...might also be the Absolute Trap.
Although such paranoia made Iver feel somewhat ridiculous...it was precisely because of the intense disgust in his heart that he chose to refuse.
"...No. I still refuse."
Iver thought it over seriously for a long time before smiling and politely refusing the temptation. "I'd rather pay with flesh and blood, my life, or even my level...but this price is too heavy for me. So...thank you, but no.
"I still hope...that the legend of this sword can end here. Merlin was right. This sword is simply too demonic. To silently and permanently rewrite a person's mind...I don't have the confidence to control a curse of that magnitude, either.
"...If we believe Merlin and assume it's a living beast, then the fact that 'Galahad could use this sword normally without falling' might itself be a trap laid by the sword. Release one prey to lure more prey into the trap...there are beasts clever enough to do something like that."
The moment he made his choice, Iver suddenly felt his whole