Volume 11 Chapter 17 Arch Nemesis
When that enemy shattered my Anahata Chakra, I acknowledged that they were a worthy opponent who could rival me.
"――――You've finally arrived, oh yeah!"
They dodged my attack with ease, not even flinching.
I thought to myself, "This guy's defense is on a different level." No matter how I attacked, I couldn't land a hit. But their counterattacks could break through my Repulsion Defense and even destroy my Anahata Chakra, which was my recovery method.
I revived my Anahata Chakra, calling it "Brahma," and thought about how to take down this enemy.
My only option was a high-speed attack that required absolute accuracy. If I missed, my entire body would be incinerated, and conceptually, my Anahata Chakra would be destroyed.
So if I took 2 consecutive hits, I'd be done for.
"Ah, this guy is ridiculously strong," I laughed.
On the other hand, their defense was flawless. It was like they had no weaknesses.
"Deep Gravity!"
I pointed at the enemy and unleashed [Collapse]. Just before it hit, they flipped their body and disappeared into thin air. I looked up, thinking "What's going on?" and saw them casting sorcery.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■."
Their swift attack pierced my body. My body instantly turned to ash, and then I revived instantly using my Anahata Chakra.
"You're really a pain in the neck, you know that?!"
I targeted their landing spot and struck. Durandal slipped past them, but my attack was meaningless. Meanwhile, 2 sorceries came flying towards me from behind.
One of them destroyed my Anahata Chakra. The next attack was rapid-fire, and I countered it by swinging Durandal in a wide arc to deflect it.
―――Ah, damn, seriously. An enemy as troublesome as this one, when did I last see?
Not even Durandal's slashes work. Direct manipulation with gravity magic is also useless. Even the Deep Gravity-induced [Collapse] is dodged with ease.
I'm facing an enemy I can't even land a decent hit on, and in a situation like this.
"Damn, this is fun. I'm getting a thrill like Don Fen. How do I take you down, huh?"
That's why I'm fired up. I deflect the incoming sorcery with Durandal, and observe carefully with a deep breath.
The enemy's physique is slender. Since they prioritize evasion, a solid hit might be able to take them down.
So, I think about how to break through their absolute evasion. That's going to be my winning strategy.
"...If Deep Gravity hits, I can break through that absolute evasion. From what I've seen, Deep Gravity is different from other physical attacks, and it seems like they need to dodge it deliberately."
In other words, Deep Gravity is an accuracy-based attack, but since it doesn't directly lock onto the enemy, I just need to avoid the effect range.
So, I decide on my plan. I'll hit them with Deep Gravity once. And I'll determine the breakthrough point where it takes effect.
And for that, I need to stop their movements.
Can I lure them into letting their guard down? I think not. That kind of carelessness is gone. They're not an opponent who'll fall for a simple act.
So, can I prepare a situation where they're physically unable to move? That's also a tough call. Restraints won't work either.
But then, I have one question.
"...What if I physically seal off their space?"
Let's think about this. If I fill the entire battlefield with physical objects, how will he dodge them?
―――If I don't know, I'll just do it.
I poured a massive amount of magical power into my left hand and slapped it.
"■."
The enemy took a slight step back when they saw the crystalline sword overflowing from my left hand like hot water. I didn't even glance at them and poured more magical power into my left hand, slapping it again.
The crystalline swords started filling up the surroundings. I used "Object Point Shift" to make all of them chase after the enemy. First, I'll fill up the area around him.
The enemy quickly moved and strengthened their attack on me. Are they bluffing, saying they don't care about the crystalline swords? Or do they really not care about them?
I gathered the crystalline swords to defend against the enemy's attack, quickly moved using gravity manipulation, and hid in the storm of crystalline swords.
The enemy lost sight of me for an instant. That's when the crystalline swords gathered like a moss ball. Saturated state.
"Here," I said, pointing.
"Deep Gravity."
"■■."
The enemy broke through the crystalline swords and kicked me, splitting my body in 2.
"Gaah...!"
There, the enemy unleashed another sorcery attack, shattering my Anahata Chakra. The follow-up attack was closing in on my head.
I laughed.
"You're amazing!"
I used my upper body to grab and throw my lower body, deflecting the enemy's attack. My lower body was completely carbonized and crumbled.
But as long as I can buy time, there's no problem.
"Brahma."
My entire body revived. I used Durandal to deflect the continuous attacks.
"No way, I was really scared. I thought I was gonna die for real. Amazing. I'm impressed that there's someone who can use it this far. But that's exactly why I've got you figured out."
This guy is amazing. Amazing, so amazing. I know what kind of existence someone like that is.
A hero.
And I, I have the skill to kill heroes.
"I'll make a declaration of war."
I draw my Durandal, assuming a stance. A stance of readiness. And the enemy, clearly changing its demeanor. Until now, it was attacking with all its might, but suddenly it's backing off and trying to escape.
You think you can escape? I chant.
"'O king, O hero, you will meet your end at the hands of a sl*ve'."
The replication effect of Durandal.
The Cursed Thirteen Blades of Victory, Muramasa's fate-devouring, sliced through the enemy's torso in one flash.
"――――――."
The enemy was clearly weakened by that one blow. A single sword strike that pierced through absolute evasion. I turned around and struck again.
"Deep Gravity."
The enemy's absolute evasion was shattered. From here, I'll keep pressing the attack.
When the enemy landed a strange attack and sliced through my torso, Sandra thought she was in serious trouble.
"...My Chakra can't recover."
Blood was flowing from my torso. It wasn't a large wound that spilled out internal organs, but something even more valuable was taken from me, and Sandra felt that.
The Sahasrara Chakra was already shattered. And a seal to prevent Chakra reconstruction was in place. This is bad. Really bad.
I'm going to die. Sandra thought. Death was right in front of her. Death, which had never shown its presence until now, was there.
This was the strongest enemy she'd faced so far. Even a grown Sandra was being pushed back, forced to use numerous colorful techniques to keep up.
Her breathing is rough. So, she'll focus and take it deep. Calm her heart down. It doesn't matter if her chakra is unrefined. Sandra can't die here.
If she dies here, Wade will definitely regain his sanity (and lose the thrill of battle).
"...No choice."
Sandra glared at the enemy in front of her.
This enemy is strong. If she hold back,she won't win. Even if she resort to self-destructive tactics, she'll still die here if she hold back.
The enemy approached her calmly, slowly drawing their sword.
They must be expecting something from her. Are they thinking she still have a secret trick up her sleeve? Can she still fight?
As if in response, Sandra glared back at the enemy.
"No choice, I'll use my hidden move."
Sandra placed her hand on her chest. Beneath it was the magic seal. ———The completed magic seal.
"Great magic."
She regulates her breathing. She'll calm her heart, then raise it. And in that heated heart, he will dwell.
"Zeus."
The god descended upon Sandra's body.
"———————————."
Immediately after, Sandra (Zeus) mercilessly pounded the enemy.
First, Sandra closed in on the enemy, grabbed their body, and threw them high into the air. The enemy couldn't react. They finally showed a slight reaction around ten meters above the ground.
And before that, Sandra had already jumped above the enemy. Summoning lightning. The lightning she has released before, but this time with tens of thousands of times more power and scale.
"Explode and fly away!"
Sandra brought down lightning without chanting, slamming the enemy to the ground. The lightning was incredibly powerful, a multi-hit attack that should have killed them instantly.
But the enemy was still alive. In the face of an unstoppable attack, they managed to defend against the lightning with a desperate defense.
Sandra saw right through their resistance, her gaze piercing through to the bottom of their defenses.
"Hmm? Ah, I see... So it's a fate-stealing ability. How inconvenient."
Sandra's tone was different from usual. Because she had surrendered her body to Zeus, the Greek king of the gods, her tone was affected by his influence.
And due to that nature, Sandra could only maintain her "Zeus" mode for one minute.
If she couldn't completely kill the enemy within that minute, Sandra's body would crumble to pieces and she would be left waiting for death.
"It's impudent to steal fate from the gods. I'll show you your place."
Sandra raised her hand, clenched her fist tightly, and gave a command to the heavens.
"Come, lightning! Crush that impudent enemy with infinite lightning bolts!"
Dark clouds gathered in the sky. Sandra floated in mid-air, her fist raised.
In her fist, she grasped a mysterious weapon that resembled an arrow.
"Let's go, Lightning Ceraunus! Crush all enemies!"
Sandra brought down her fist, and the dark clouds flashed multiple times.
And what seemed like infinite lightning bolts struck down, destroying both the circus and the Demon King's army base.
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
Sandra laughed. It was a massive attack that relied on sheer quantity, a way to overwhelm the enemy before they could even respond.
That was the ultimate weapon of the god Zeus, Lightning Ceraunus――a guaranteed, one-hit kill that could crush anything.
And the storm subsided. The ground was torn apart, the city was in shambles, and the Demons who had been fighting also lay burnt and charred, victims of Sandra's lightning.
Sandra sniffed.
"Hmph, as expected. Since they're being controlled by fate, their power is weak. But it was a bit too much to kill one enemy."
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■."
A voice echeoed. She turned around. There, an enemy was flying up, swinging a sword with their charred body.
"You're quite persistent, aren't you! If you're not a god, you should've died from the lightning!"
Sandra caught the sword with her bare hands. The difference in arm strength was overwhelming, and Sandra emerged victorious. She slammed the sword, along with the enemy, into the ground, and landed on top of them.
"Lightning! Thunder!"
She slammed her fist, accompanied by lightning, into the enemy's chest. But the enemy dodged it at the last second and got back up to attack.
"You're a beast! Your persistence reminds me of Typhon!"
"'■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■'."
Another blow, accompanied by the theft of fate, struck Sandra's body. But the body inhabited by Zeus was strong. The blow only scratched the surface.
"Can you really kill this Zeus with this much power?"
With a lightning-accompanied fist, she struck the enemy. The enemy's body turned to ash or sand and exploded, but quickly revived.
"Heh, you managed to break through. One needed to break through the conceptual defense and crush their physical body! What a lucky guy!"
This time, she wouldn't let them escape. Sandra poured conceptual power into her fist, along with the lightning, and unleashed it.
But the enemy dodged it. It was a narrow escape. When Sandra thought it was over, she felt a strange sensation in her body.
"Huh?"
Sandra's arm had fallen off.
Suddenly, the connection with Zeus snapped. Sandra returned to her self-awareness, but barely managed to hold on with her sheer willpower.
Time was running out, mere seconds left. The enemy was on the brink of collapse too. Losing here was not an option.
Sandra grasped the lightning-fast Keravnos with her remaining arm, while the enemy prioritized speed and released their sword to throw a punch.
It was a do-or-die situation. Sandra would decide the outcome with her stubborn determination. If she lost, she would sadden her beloved Wade――
Such a desperate clash was about to unfold.
But just as they were about to engage, 2 birds suddenly appeared, freezing both their faces in shock, and the battle was disrupted.
The one who would land the final blow would win. The situation was critical.
It was Ice's ice bird that had intervened.
"Whoa! Ahh!"
At that moment, I was desperate, thinking I might lose, and that's why I was determined to win no matter what. I swiftly brushed off the frost on my face.
I realized that the one swinging their fist in front of me was Sandra, who had lost an arm, and I was taken aback.
"...Eh...?"
Sandra was just as shocked. She stood there for a few seconds, lost her grip on the arrow-like artifact in her hand, and simultaneously spat out a large amount of blood.
"S-Sandra!? What's going on? No, wait, this can't be... Ah, I, I..."
I panicked and rushed to support Sandra, who was on the verge of collapse. Sandra's entire body was pale, and she had exhausted all her energy, losing her arm in the process, and was barely clinging to life.
The memories of our battle against the enemy were replaced with those of my fight with Sandra. That's how I realized what I had done and how I had fought.
"G-...""Wade... did I... do my best?"
"...Eh?"
My apology was overshadowed by Sandra's innocent question.
"Sandra...?"
"Was I strong? I tried my best to match Wade. I think I did pretty well in the battle, but how was it?"
"..."
Sandra didn't have any guilt or victim complex about our fight. She just saw the fact that she fought me with all her might.
I let out a sigh of relief, wiped my eyes, and told her.
"Sandra, you were incredibly strong. You fought me seriously, and I thought I was going to lose for real. I didn't know what would happen until the end. If things went differently, I would've lost completely."
"Really? I also thought I was going to die. That thing in the middle, was it Muramasa's?"
"Yeah. I thought Sandra was so strong that it might work. Did it work?"
"Yeah. I got tricked by Muramasa. It's the power of fate. It's like life energy. If you don't have it, a lot of things won't go well."
"That's right. ...and that's it. What you take won't be returned."
I tapped the Durendal with my finger, returning the fate I took from Sandra. As I did, Sandra's face started to look better.
"It's back. Yeah, I'd be in trouble without it. ...Wade, I have one favor to ask."
"What is it? Tell me anything."
"Hold my head close to your chest."
"...? Ah, got it."
I thought for a bit, understanding her intention. Just like Sandra did for me before, I held her head close to my chest.
Sandra closed her eyes for a while, listening to my heartbeat. It was about a minute. "Yeah," Sandra nodded.
"I got it. Now, let's do something about your arm. Ice, let's retreat from this battle. Take us out of here."
One of the two giant ice birds had grown enormous and was carrying Sandra on its back. Sandra had her eyes closed, taking deep breaths on top of the ice bird.
In the midst of that, on Sandra's chest――a vague, heart-like Chakra appeared.
The second heart, Anahata Chakra.
Under the pretext of healing a massive injury, Sandra was trying to acquire one more Chakra.
"...Impressive, honestly."
"I'll do it, since I'm living with Wade."
Sandra said with a slightly smug expression, her eyes still closed, in response to my half-joking, half-serious comment. Honestly, I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated.
"Well, Sandra, that's..."
Even when I tried to apologize, Sandra gazed at me with a half-lidded, reproachful look.
It was so typical of Sandra, and I let out a sigh, scratched my head, and rephrased my words.
"Thanks. I'm glad I could fight against the real Sandra. I have to say, among all the hells I've been through, Sandra was the strongest."
"That's great. I also think Wade was the strongest among all the people I've fought."
The two of us praised each other and chuckled. Then, I said:
"Sandra, I'm glad we became family."
"...Yeah. Me too."
Sandra smiled in satisfaction and left with the ice bird. As I saw them off, I said with a mix of emotions:
"Sandra, you're just too strong."
It was good that my opponent was Sandra. If it had been someone else...I would have definitely killed them. It would have been irreversible.
As I imagine that, I tremble with fear. The Domain Control that refuses to be understood. Just the fact that friend and foe become indistinguishable is enough to bring about a terrifying situation like this.
Thinking that far, I shake my head. Sandra has been telling me to "don't worry about it" with her attitude. I'm not naive enough to accept that honestly.
And besides, when I return home, Sandra will surely have mastered the Anahata Chakra.
If I see that, I'll be able to laugh off this conversation too.
"Let's change the subject. If we dwell on it, Sandra will get angry. ...Ice, will you guide us?"
The ice bird chirps. For some reason, another one appears, with one perching on my shoulder and the other flapping its wings as if leading the way.
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