A formidable evil aura. Light burst forth into a space filled with purple mist.
Crack, Zing—!
The collision of the damp purple and the blue flash.
Amidst the blue lightning surging into the sky, a deafening roar shook the earth.
Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang!
<...Keh!>
The Emperor gritted out a pained groan amidst the relentless barrage of attacks.
Bone-shattering blows. Despite enveloping his arms in layers of evil aura, the impact still reached his bones.
‘How...’
The moment he unleashed his power as Destrue, the gap between them widened even further.
Sizzle, Swoosh.
Crossed arms. The restraint of the heaven-defying power flickering over his forearms. This accursed suppression remained, but even so, he was confident he could handle such a mere mortal.
‘But why!’
Boom!
At the moment the continuous attacks paused, the Emperor grabbed Aster by the neck and slammed him into the ground.
“...Keh!”
A body rebounding from the impact. A body bending like a bow. A mouth gaping wide, spewing a mouthful of fresh blood, which soon evaporated in the blue lightning.
<So...! Is this body so fragile!>
Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Emperor, as if venting his frustration, stomped on Aster repeatedly. With each kick, the ground trembled.
Blood spewing out like a sponge being squeezed!
Crunch!
The Emperor let out a scream amidst the intense pain.
<...Keh!>
A grotesquely bent ankle. It dangled. Then, with a snap, his vision went white.
Aster, who had immediately risen, struck the Emperor's jaw.
One, the Emperor was Destrue.
Crunch, Crunch.
That ankle returned to its original state as if time had been reversed, and the spirit that had wandered far returned to its place like a weathervane.
The restored vision.
Aster's sneering face filled the Emperor's field of view, and once again...
Zing!
<Choke!>
The Emperor took a few steps back from the overwhelming headbutt. As purple evil aura spurted out instead of blood, the Emperor regained his muddled senses.
<This brute! Do you have no pride!>
No matter how much of a scoundrel, the other was the master of heaven-defying power.
The great journey of magic. He possessed the qualifications to reach its end.
The greatest genius in the world would envy! A dullard with no talent would sell his soul to achieve!
The greatest privilege in all of history!
How could one who grasped it...
“Pride? What is it?”
<...!>
The Emperor hastily extended his hands downward. A shin aimed directly at his groin!
Click!
The Emperor's eyes sparked with flames as he blocked Aster's kick.
<This dog...!>
The battle with this accursed thing was generally like this.
He relentlessly used despicable means that even back-alley thugs would find shameful.
Though an enemy, his mastery of magic was awe-inspiring. Despite possessing a formidable battle sense and savagery, his actions were far below the level of a true warrior.
Thus, how could the Emperor not be enraged.
<First, I'll break that leg!>
The Emperor infused his hands, which gripped the shin, with evil aura.
Crackle, Crack!
The lightning of magic that enveloped his body flickered, and the shin bent grotesquely.
“Guh...!”
Crushing bones. Amidst the searing pain from the evil aura seeping into his bones, Aster did not remain idle.
<...!>
The Emperor reflexively ducked as Aster's hands grabbed his shoulder.
Usually, a headbutt follows. He had learned the pattern.
However, that was only for a moment. Soon, the Emperor's head was whipped backward.
<Keaaaaah!>
A deep scream rising from the depths of his lower abdomen.
Crunch!
The collarbone shattered. The grip was so strong that it crushed the flesh and compressed the bone.
Desperately trying to block the invasion with evil aura, but why did it scatter helplessly?
Crackle, Crack!
The blue lightning flashed several times, scattering the gathered evil aura.
Interference Style. The technique that dispersed Kalarhen's heaven-defying field in the previous battle. By aligning the magical waves, it dispersed the opponent's magic. This technique was now applied to Destrue's evil aura.
Crunch, Crunch!
A bizarre standoff. Each crushing the other's bones. But neither retreated.
<Keuuuuuuu!>
The Emperor, despite the pain that made his eyes roll back, exerted force to crush... no, to tear off Aster's shin.
“Huh.”
Aster, with his teeth stained red with blood, twisted the Emperor's shoulder forcefully.
Intense pain.
‘Indeed...’
The Emperor, with his barely open eyes, took in the sight of Aster.
He couldn't understand.
Unless one was a complete fool, they would know that such a war of attrition had no hope of success.
Even a fool would know this.
Crushing bones? What good would it do!
He, with his body filled with evil aura, could endlessly repair himself, nearing immortality.
‘But, with me...!’
To engage in such a war of attrition? It was an act of madness!
When the Emperor thought this far.
<Believing in... heaven-defying... Kaaaaah!>
Crack, Crunch!
A chilling sound of breaking bones followed by a searing pain. It felt as if someone had opened his skull and poured molten metal inside.
Soon...
Whoosh!
Evil aura rose thickly in all directions. The purple mist spread like the wings of a demon.
Thud, Thud.
On the ground, the Emperor's torn-off arms rolled.
<Keuuu, Keh...!>
It was a pain he had never felt before.
No matter how many battles the Emperor had experienced, how could he ever have experienced the pain of having both arms torn off while still alive!
Moreover, the Emperor was not accustomed to pain.
He was so overwhelmingly powerful. From a position where no one could approach, he had looked down on everything.
But.
<Keuuuuuuu...!>
The Emperor, barely suppressing the pain that clouded his mind, fixed his bloodshot eyes on the front.
The intense pain, it was agonizing. He felt like he was going mad. But, there was something even more painful.
Crunch, Crunch.
Stepping back, the opponent sat down calmly and massaged his leg.
Then, their eyes met...
“...”
A sneer.
Yes, that was it.
This pain, this absurd situation. This battle where nothing went as he wished.
Everything boiled his blood, but that smile was the greatest pain. No, that smile that cut into his pride. The pain of being torn apart was the greatest.
<Believing in... heaven-defying...?>
Crunch, Crunch.
The Emperor, waiting for his arms to regenerate, glared at Aster.
But, there was no response.
“...”
Just, Crunch, Crunch. Despite the broken bones not healing, he continued to massage the broken bone fragments.
The smile. The slightly curled lips occasionally distorted, but it was as if there was no pain. It was a chilling sight.
His mouth opened not long after.
“That was Collision Style. And this is...”
<...!>
Crackle!
The light flickering before his eyes. The Emperor, upon recognizing it, immediately launched himself. He didn't even wait for his arms to regenerate.
“...Annihilation.”
<This dog!>
The Emperor, stopping his roll, immediately deployed his heaven-defying field.
Flash! Crunch!
The shock of the heaven-defying field being struck like a storm. Before the fierce wave, the Emperor could not hide his shock.
‘Me...!’
Toying with?
Leading all battles according to his whims.
Forcing his way in and dragging the battle into a close-quarters fight, then when his attention was focused, a shock would suddenly erupt.
His already boiling anger soared limitlessly.
But, the Emperor had no way to counter.
‘Victory...? That was a predetermined sequence from the beginning.’
A ferocious aura like a beast. Though it didn't waver, that was all.
The Emperor knew.
That guy is still dying.
‘Even if heaven-defying power repels the evil aura... complete immunity is impossible.’
In the wounded areas, in the bones, in the flesh, the evil aura would seep in. It would gradually accumulate and rot his body from the inside.
Despite appearances, the Emperor had always been overwhelming Aster.
But.
<...>
Sizzle. Crunch!
The relentless shock waves of magic striking the heaven-defying field.
Flash!
The Emperor took in the sight of the heaven-defying field being shaken by the occasional blue lightning.
That guy... is abnormal.
No matter how brave, his spirit should have been broken long ago.
Strength? Overwhelming. No matter how well he held out, there was a limit to his magic, and he was barely managing.
Numbers? Not applicable. The other had to give up bones to take flesh, while he was nearly immortal.
But.
<But...>
That guy doesn't break. As if he's certain he will win.
A massive question arose in the Emperor's mind because of this.
<What are you... exactly!>
A voice reached his ears at that moment.
“What am I?”
<...?>
The storm of magic. The aftereffects hit his entire body as the other approached.
Snap! Sizzle!
Crack!
Despite it being his own technique, was he powerless to block it? His hair was scattered by the aftereffects, and his body swayed and bent.
Crack!
In the end, his flesh split, and a fountain of blood gushed out.
Amidst this.
Thud.
The other placed a hand on the heaven-defying field.
<...!>
The Emperor's eyes widened.
“A, this is Interference Style. You've never seen this application before, right?”
A strange wave spreading from the other's hand to the entire heaven-defying field. Soon...
Swoosh.
The heaven-defying field crumbled helplessly.
Evil aura surged around the Emperor at that moment.
<You...>
Whoosh!
The whirlwind of evil aura violently scraped the surroundings. Aster took a step, then another, into the whirlwind.
Limp, Limp.
Despite the broken bones, how could he walk on two feet? The Emperor was no longer surprised.
Just—
<...Die already.>
Gripping hands. Simultaneously, the veins on the Emperor's forehead bulged as a wave of evil aura surged over Aster.
Exerting his strength without fully recovering, considerable mental energy was consumed.
But.
Limp.
Aster did not stop.
<Ke, u...>
The Emperor's grip tightened again, but the limping steps merely slowed.
“...Keh!”
Spitting out black blood, the steps did not stop. One step, one step, limping closer.
And when he reached close.
“I...”
Thud.
Aster, as if collapsing, placed his hand on the Emperor's shoulder. His forehead leaned against the shoulder.
The Emperor remained motionless amidst this. He only focused on the opportunity that had finally come, pouring his mental energy into bursting Aster, who was bound by evil aura.
A raspy voice whispered softly in the Emperor's ear.
“I...”
What am I?
Aster thought.
‘Troubleshooter?’
No.
‘Academy student?’
No.
‘Black and white zone vagrant?’
No.
‘Future great sage?’
No.
He couldn't be defined by any of these.
‘I am...’
Once a troubleshooter. A dog of the Deculan family, now an Academy student in Zenion. Born a vagrant in the black and white zone, a body destined to become a great sage in the future.
But, he couldn't define himself by any of these.
Then...
“I am...”
What am I?
Slightly closed eyes. A dazed mind took in the blue sky. Where am I, and who am I? Ah, this is the place of death. Where I will die. But, this path...
Yes.
The path to freedom, rightfully earned.
“I am...”
Crunch, Crunch—
The pressure from Destrue intensified. Amidst this, Aster's mouth opened.
The blue sky. A bird flew across the sky in his mind.
...No.
It wasn't a bird.
“...A wyvern.”
At that moment.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
A massive sound of tearing through his mind.
A huge crack spread across Aster's mind. Starting from a small fissure, it quickly spread throughout, an uncontrollable rift!
“...Ah.”
Crunch, Crunch.
Gulp, Gulp.
The Emperor's evil aura grew stronger.
Black, dead blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and his organs rotted from the inside.
Aster realized.
“...Empty.”
Snap, Snap.
The wall firmly standing in one corner of his mind was collapsing.