117 – The Foreign Demon Realm.
The divine palace dyed in white light.
A most beautiful sight, but to the woman in that place, it only approached as something utterly empty.
By the time all the fragments of light melted into the air and disappeared, Eris and Sawako, who had rushed here in haste, reached the depths of the divine palace and found the woman with crimson-tinted hair standing alone.
“Ah.”
Sawamura Sento, who had been immersed in this place for a long time, suddenly realized that the demon inside her had disappeared.
She sighed at the fact she had not wished for desperately, even though she had wished for it.
The man she had wanted more than parting with the demon had suddenly vanished before her eyes.
Turning her head, Sento smiled at Eris and Sawako with a puzzled expression.
Though her eyes and the corners of her mouth were rounded, the blonde sorceress Eris looked hesitant for a moment before asking.
“…Where did Shiki go?”
At that question, Sawamura Sento put on a nonchalant expression, but still whispered with a sad expression.
“I, I lost him for a moment.”
Believing he would come back even if it took time, she said so.
***
The bright red moonlight gradually intensified, showing off its grandeur through a window on one side.
A white man bathed in crimson moonlight.
Standing before the challenger beneath my throne, the god who had ruled the world for ages simply smirked.
“You think you can kill me?”
Deus Macina tilted his head, his face full of laughter, as if savoring those words.
“Yes, if anyone, you have the qualifications.”
For thousands of years, no one had reached this star world, let alone shown the potential to kill her.
Even the gods who descended for amusement couldn’t withstand earthly humans.
And yet, could there truly be someone to rival her?
I had believed there would be none in the future… but the answer was right before my eyes.
As Macina, illuminated by the moonlight outside the castle, began to radiate a golden glow, he whispered his name with a smirk.
“Ichimaru Shiki.”
The name of the man, so pale as to be chillingly white.
He was the only interpreter I had awaited for ages, my adversary.
Ichimaru Shiki reached out into the void and drew his sword. The woman, who had gathered enough power to stir the castle, also regarded him with caution as she created her own weapon.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
Deus Macina spread light in the surroundings, and in that moment, space ruptured.
“─Transcend (初月), the technique of arms.”
Moonlight Slash.
A strike that transcended space in an instant cleaved a corner of the castle.
Light swirled in the space.
A radiant destruction that annihilated everything in its presence in an instant.
It was an attack close to instant death, yet Macina, with a dry expression, gazed beyond where the strike had landed.
The man with eyes that laughed as usual stood shrugging his shoulders.
“Oh, oh. This might have been a bit risky.”
Macina, also smirking, inquired with a raised corner of his mouth.
“How exactly did you dodge that? Precognition? Intuition? Or did you secretly freeze time again?”
“hahahaha, if I froze time, wouldn’t it have been more efficient to slit your throat silently?”
“Hmm, that does make sense. So, you won’t tell me what the secret is?”
“Hey, figuring that out on my own is part of the fun! I don’t want to spoil such a valuable opportunity.”
Ichimaru Shiki added,
“Especially since I plan to take your life soon.”
The man with laughing eyes said so, drawing his sword into the void with an expression devoid of emotion.
“Eternal Petrification (永劫硬化).”
In that moment, the world was dyed in ash.
***
Deus Macina had long awaited a worthy adversary, yet no one had ever satisfied her.
Trapped by the constraints of the world, the tyrant with a devastating power was undoubtedly arrogant.
Since her birth, every being she encountered had fallen short even at her feet.
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Surely, they would let their guard down.
So, I had no intention of making such a fatal mistake, believing without a doubt that I would prevail.
My best preparation.
The window that doubts it will pierce everything, but thinking that the opponent must have prepared equally was correct.
For a long time, an existence that had lived only for the moment of confronting an adversary was not without reason for being wary of complacency at the very moment it had longed for.
Due to the memory of Ichimaru Shiki fiercely fighting in the past, I was even more cautious of that fact.
“Eternal Hardening.”
The moment the sword was drawn into the air, the world was dyed in ash color and time stood still.
The original power, enhanced by constraints.
Even beings equal to or greater than me are momentarily hardened by this power.
When I faced her avatar before, I imposed a self-imposed limit of ‘one month’ on its use.
I calculated that would be sufficient.
Then, how much constraint should be imposed when facing the real Makina?
–I will only use this power against ‘Makina.’
I staked everything in this moment.
Unprecedented immense power imbued the sword that cuts through space, and the world solidified.
The woman emitting a brilliant light in the Castle of Shadows was the same.
“Reversal, Black.”
In an instant, I swiftly approached her, wielding the sword, and at that moment, Makina’s pupils moved to gaze at me.
A sharp exchange of glances.
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
“Slash, Sword’s Art.”
The sword within her scabbard glowed and reached my side in an instant.
I immediately adjusted my trajectory and struck the sword.
Kwaaang!! The moment the blades clashed, an explosion occurred, pushing our bodies away.
“–Shiki!!! You didn’t think you were the only one who could use swordsmanship, did you!”
Deus Makina, enveloped in a golden radiance, followed suit with a grin.
The sword of light swirled.
Clang!! Roughly colliding, and when I barely deflected it, another slash came flying.
“–If you’re going to play tricks like that, you shouldn’t have shown yourself to me! How can you defeat me in a state where even the avatars are helpless without powers!”
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Successive slashes came flying.
Each of those swords was strong enough to easily crush Kenichi’s full power, meaning I couldn’t completely deflect them.
While barely parrying them, I surveyed my surroundings.
‘It seems slashes won’t suddenly emerge from thin air.’
Occasionally, when Makina waved her hand, a slash that transcended space would come flying, but it was far from an attack that would immediately annihilate the spot.
Stronger than anything faced before, but only linear attacks come.
There is no merciless attack like a deity of space.
Equivalent Exchange.
Our powers have not completely vanished, but to some extent, they clashed.
Against my power, Makina also accepted some significant constraints, relying on her own abilities and immense magical power in the exchange.
“…No, it’s not just that. Since entering the castle, the divine generals have not been visible.”
Compared to Makina and me, the only lacking aspect was her subordinates, who could exhibit an aura surpassing that of a corrupt emperor – a great demon – when descending to the surface.
However, apart from the two of us, no presence could be felt within the castle.
Either Makina absorbed it directly, or it vanished through some other means.
I raised Makina’s power higher than originally intended, releasing a portion of her soul’s abilities.
“Unfold.”
Simultaneously, I added more force and momentarily pushed aside Makina’s sword.
With a slight distance opened up, I aimed the tip of the blade at the opponent.
Before I knew it, the sword was stained red.
“Dragon Cannon.”
The entire field was dyed crimson.
***
Rumble──!!
Thud──!
In a straight line where the sword extended, the entire structure of the castle vanished, and thunder cracked in the dark sky.
From the heated sword, a hiss of sea-blue smoke emanated.
My inner dragon roared.
─How was that? Pretty impressive, right? It’s scorching, isn’t it? Indeed, even the Divine Dragon couldn’t surpass the world’s unique dragon firepower!
Thanks to the fusion with the self-proclaimed Red Dragon, Kisshot Acerola Orion Heart Under Blade, my entire magical circuit merged with the dragon’s veins and was replenished.
Now, I wouldn’t fall behind even in terms of class.
“…Phew.”
It was just unfamiliar, causing a slight overload on my body.
As I exhaled and stabilized my inner magic, another inner voice spoke.
─When is it my turn? I want to fight quickly too. I doubt I’ll ever face an opponent of that caliber again in my lifetime.
─Hey, it’s my turn now! Behave yourself!
When the Goblin King, Shtendoji, intervened, the inner dragon, with horns protruding, also intervened, but it seemed unnecessary to argue, as everything had to be used up anyway.
Beyond the dark mist, a woman’s shadow emerged. A flawless shadow without any defects.
“I see impurity has tainted our sacred encounter.”
Finally emerging from the mist, Makina was engulfed in the dark aura.
Like someone I had left behind, she reached out into the void with an expressionless face.
“Unfold.”
The battle begins.