84 – 84. Release.
Was it the hardest and sharpest material that pierced through the toughest scales above all?
If the situation had been more relaxed, he might have pondered deeply, but unfortunately, the demon’s temperament was not so forgiving at the moment.
Without the luxury of worrying about something, he faced the harshness of his life.
– …Crack!
Countless swords pierced through his body, causing him to kneel in agony, and he defiled the source of power.
The blood, the origin of all life, flowed. The impurity of the soul was cleansed.
The dragon, writhing in unfamiliar agony of flesh and spirit, was buried under the jet-black rain that spewed from his own body, convulsing on the ground.
Above all, a dense darkness silently enveloped the fallen dragon.
“…How dare! How dare mere humans dare!!”
In the realm of darkness, in the black swamp, the dragon trapped soon lunged at his body.
There was clearly fury and shame, but the strongest desire was for survival.
The burning red eyes of the evil spirit yearned for life like never before.
“…I must find a way to escape from here.”
Normally, killing the foolish human would have naturally resolved everything, but the situation had been unfolding strangely since earlier.
While the god himself was writhing on the ground, the only male figure who retained a glimmer of light in this jet-black realm continued to wear a sinister smile.
He had a repulsive face, ready to strike him dead, but a hint of cold composure remaining in the evil spirit’s mind held back an eruption of rage.
…Unlike himself, who was struggling, why did the other side seem so relaxed?
That man was peculiar.
It was strange enough that he could unfold his realm under mere human authority, yet he seemed to have spare capacity.
There was a possibility of a reckless move, but the evil spirit was not brave enough to risk his life on it.
“…For mere humans to dare to mock the gods! Such a grave and heavy sin!”
The black dragon, writhing in darkness, finally made up his mind.
“…So, someday, for sure! I will return and demand retribution for your sins!”
Rather than killing the human right away, it seemed better to regain strength and come back later for revenge.
If he crouched for a few years ahead, he could select a new host and receive the human sacrifices again.
If he could finally throttle the guy’s neck with the power of anger during that time, what a satisfying moment it would be.
“…First, I must escape from here. This unpleasant realm is even hindering the release of my arrival.”
The black dragon poured countless powers into his true form, but nothing was more valuable than his soul.
Once he could escape this realm, he would immediately be freed from his physical form and could flee.
With that decision, the evil spirit struggled to break free from the darkness clinging to his body and rose back into the air.
The swords embedded all over his body hindered his control, but the desire for survival helped him overcome the pain.
“…Just breaking the barrier.”
It was easier to forcibly dismantle this unpleasant realm than to kill that man.
For something human-made, it was quite robust, but there were always vulnerable points.
The evil spirit, rising from the dark swamp, flew towards the weakest point in this space, which was presumed to be the ceiling of this jet-black universe-like area.
Up until then, the man with the third eye simply watched the flying evil spirit.
“Heh heh heh.”
He watched with a chilling laughter akin to a madman.
The evil spirit was startled to the core but thought.
What’s this, does that guy not have enough energy to chase after me as well?
“Should I just kill him right now?”
…No, he seems ominous for some reason.
Just in case, it was better to escape from here first and lift the ban of arrival.
To the evil spirit, protecting his soul was far more precious than dismantling the feeble human body.
Before long, nearly reaching the ceiling, the relieved demon, filled with anger, shouted,
“─…Someday! Definitely! I will tear you apart and kill you! When my time comes! Make the screams of your precious ones echo by your side like a reverberation! Everything related to you-!”
Somehow, the demon felt relieved every time the words inside were spoken out loud.
It was also something that would be done in reality.
Having made such a vow, the demon, with its six legs, attempted to tear the ceiling of its domain.
Even until then, the demon, still looking down at the human on the ground, grinned.
“hehehehe! Make you regret your arrogant and foolish actions today and forever!!! Fear and wait for the imminent moment!
Despite the decree of the one known as God, the man with the real eyes did not tremble in fear.
With a smile on his face, Ichimaru Shiki turned his head towards the demon and asked,
“Who exactly told you that there is a next for you?”
The man in white grasped his sword.
From Noble mtl dot com
On the long sword, black and white flames coexisted, and its shape was peculiar.
Consistently undulating flames that were not flames but a pattern, holding their form firmly on the sword.
Ichimaru Shiki tilted the blade diagonally in the air, raising one corner of his mouth.
“I never allowed such a thing.”
Soon, time stopped.
“─…How dare you, you…!”
Gradually, the hope of an unknown world was forgotten, and when the dragon regained its time, the man was already gone from his sight.
He was nowhere to be seen, even when he looked around the whole world.
With a vague sense, the demon raised his head and found the man above him in the empty space overhead.
The demon tried to exert its power in fear, but Ichimaru Shiki’s movement was faster than that.
“As ephemeral as a dream of hundreds of years.”
The mere human’s blade cut through the dragon’s scales.
The swift strike cut the demon’s body in half from the neck down.
Feeling his heart being cut, the black dragon flipped his eyes and collapsed to the ground.
Ichimaru Shiki looked at the falling god with pity and murmured,
“More futile than I thought.”
Godslayer.
***
Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
One single step and shout destroyed the city.
It felt like the giant monster from the cartoons and movies seen in childhood was right in front of them.
Kitagawa Kenichi, with a frown on his face, sighed and swiftly moved under the giant’s foot.
Swish!
Placing a knife cut on a foot larger than most buildings was a matter of course.
Although the difference in size between the sword and the giant was not fatal, building up hundreds of blows would eventually become significant.
─Kwaaah!!!
The giant, whose ankle flesh had become tattered, reddened his eyes and kicked at Kenichi on the ground.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! With each movement of the foot, all the high-rise buildings were destroyed, but the orange-haired boy skillfully avoided the giant’s foot and the building debris as he continued his wheeling action.
“…It’s going to be tough.”
Of course, the consumption of physical strength was immense, but it was inevitable to aim for the giant’s weak point.
Aiming for that thick torso was meaningless, and one had to somehow kneel to reach the head.
Sometimes, the giant’s stomping veered into a dangerous trajectory,
Kwaaah───!!!
Each time, an explosion occurred on the giant’s face.
As the pitch-black smoke rose before his eyes, the giant’s actions faltered, and Kenichi moved aside.
Apart from obstructing his vision, he didn’t suffer much shock to his face, and he quickly resumed his movements. Yet, escaping from such a terrifyingly wide-range attack was of great help.
“Hey! Look at me, not at that guy!”
Kenichi swiftly ran around the giant, catching sight of Eris Betelgeuse floating in the air.
The blonde sorceress, whose hair was still damp, as if she had just showered, was helping Kenichi stay alive.
For some reason, not only was she casting spells, but she was also provoking the giant with heightened aggression.
“Do you think you can ignore me just because you’re big!”
…Kenichi felt like he knew the reason but forcibly dismissed the thought.
What mattered now was not Eris’s petite stature but lowering the giant’s eye level.
Kenichi recalled what Eris had said with a frown.
“…That guy, strange magic surrounds the part thought to be the weak point, so my magic didn’t harm him! It’s not that my magic is weak!”
“…I didn’t say anything.”
“Hmm, anyway, you have to use your strange ability to either cut off his neck completely or strip away the magical barrier around him. You know, the ability to eliminate magic.”
His current ability had evolved beyond simply cutting magic, but Kenichi didn’t feel the need to mention that.
After all, his role at the moment was already determined.
“To disrupt the balance of the giant.”
If it couldn’t stand up again, he might as well expose the giant’s neck completely by slicing through its foot.
After repeating the attack dozens of times, at some point, the bones of the foot were exposed.
No matter how thick the giant’s physique was, Kenichi, too, was a swordsman with superhuman strength.
With a swift motion!
He delivered another blow.
If it had been an ordinary building, he would have cut it in half long ago…
Feeling regretful, Kenichi swiftly passed the giant’s foot.
It was a plan that had taken quite a long time, but it was still just Plan A.
Feeling the legs starting to ache, Kenichi muttered irritably.
“Why do you make two plans just because you’re good at studying.”
I don’t care about your busy schedule.
Muttering to himself, Kenichi swiftly moved again to strike at the giant’s ankle.
By continuing to accumulate damage like this, when an opportunity presented itself, the sniper lying low would silently pierce the giant’s back of the head.
“How long are you going to gather strength, are you some kind of Sun Wukong.”
Another disciple of the damn master was preparing a grandiose move.
***
“My spirit is made of light.”
The shaman murmured.
“Therefore, the essence of my soul, the fire that illuminates the world, is my light.”
Sawamura Sento continued her long incantation from the temporary shadow curtain she had unfolded.
“I have created countless lights so far, and this time, I will ignite the enemy as well.”
In front of her, a cluster of light shone so brightly that it was hard to believe it was inside a shadow.
“That’s why I wish for it.”
As the world’s strongest swordsman and sorceress, she had fully absorbed the teachings of the deceased master.
She understood how to handle her soul.
The ancient weapon, Sawamura Sento, gathered the cluster of light with her red eyes.
“The light that will burn everything before my eyes.”
By compressing such formidable spiritual power, she created a cannon that had not existed in the distant past.
“Release.”
A weapon sufficient to kill the giants in myths.